Texas Metro News

VOL.8 NO. 42

July 29, 2020

MY TRUTH

By Cheryl Smith,

Publisher

Time to stop punishing Selma

Please wear your mask and wash your hands!

COLLABORATION:

The Dallas Morning News partners with Black-owned Texas Metro News for content, events and training

Credit: Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer

The likes of Dick Gregory, Harry Belafonte, Hon. John Lewis, Xernona Clayton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Hon Maxine Waters, George Curry, Dr. Johnnetta Cole, Dorothy Buckhanan Wilson, Amanda Fitzpatrick, Dareia Tolbert, Danny Glover, Santita Jackson and the Obamas were all there.

Ten years earlier I visited Selma and was awarded the “Invisible Giant” Award from the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute. Talk about honored. see MY TRUTH, page 9

By ALLANA J. BAREFIELD Texas Metro News

The partnership will allow Texas Metro News to publish stories free of charge, while Hair is always a hot topic. Black hair is definitely hot! helping boost The Dallas Morning News’ coverage of communities of color.

It was at the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in March 2015 when I last visited Selma, Alabama. Full disclosure: I was brought into Selma to handle the media (local and national).

Still, I was excited about being involved with such a historic commemoration of that 1965 March from Selma to Montgomery and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

On Edmund Pettus Bridge during 40th Bloody Sunday commemoration

Marc Anthony hair product resembles popular brand

Copies of The Dallas Morning News roll off the presses at the company’s printing plant in Plano.

Under a new partnership, The Morning News will pay a consulting fee for Texas Metro News journalists to help with sourcing, story idea generation and more.

ing with Texas Metro News, a Black-owned publication that covers news and issues in Dallas’ Black community.

The agreement will allow Texas Metro News to publish articles from The Dallas Morning News at no charge, Credit: Smiley N. Pool:The Dallas Morning News while The Morning News will Smiley N. Pool:Staff Photographer pay a consulting fee for TexMike Wilson, editor of The Dallas as Metro News journalists Morning News, photographed on to help with sourcing, story Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019, in Dallas. idea generation and more.

“They don’t and won’t ever

By CHARLES SCUDDER pay us anything,” said Mike The Dallas Morning News Wilson, editor of The Dallas Special to Texas Metro News Morning News.

The partnership comes as In an effort to boost covThe Morning News expands erage of Dallas’ communicommunity-based coverage ties of color, particularly in southern Dallas, The Dallas see COLLABORATION, Morning News is partnerpage 11

Black hair care giants have long been a mainstay, benefiting from their knowledge of Black hair.

Corporate America definitely

Mahisha Dellinger

realizes that Black hair care is big business and with more and more women deciding to divest from using chemicals to straighten their hair, the natural hair care market is booming and profitable. see HAIR CARE, page 7

Natural hair/ancestral guru cleanses South Dallas confederate cemetery I WAS JUST THINKING

By Norma Adams-Wade

Isis Brantley is better known for blazing trails with natural hair than engaging the moon to bring peace in a South Dallas/ Fair Park Confederate cemetery.

But Brantley –one of, if not, Dallas’ leading natural hair care salon and training school own-

ers -- is not known cemetery in the for walking away predominately from a challenge African-American with good cause. area.

The hair care The long-standand African aning but litcestral guru has tle-known site is taken on the task the Confederate of informing a Cemetery at 4225 Isis Brantley, owner/operator South Dallas Electra St. beof Naturally Isis hair salon community and tween Reed Lane and a braiding school the public about and Pine Street what she sees as the need to in this South Dallas/Fair Park cleanse and transform any neg- neighborhood. With no identiativity that may still linger in a fying nameplate for years, many small, overlooked confederate locals speculated that it was a

pet cemetery. The site’s origin is linked to the Dallas Chapter of the United Daughters of the confederacy, a women’s organization that helped wounded and needy Confederate soldiers during the Civil War and whose parent body formerly organized in 1894.

Currently and in recent years, the Daughters group has spoken against racist acts and rhetoric and attempted to set a conciliatory tone while sustaining its purpose to honor their see THINKING, page 5

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JULY 29, 2020

Too much to Say! QUIT PLAYIN’ BY VINCENT L. HALL

History has a way of enveloping lives and legacies. How we live our lives has a direct bearing on what history has to say about us. United States Representative John Lewis and lifelong activist Reverend Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian left more than we can say grace over.

The fact that the two men died so closely is enriched by the reality that their sojourns were even more closely aligned. Ernie Suggs of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution painted the portrait of their tethering.

“In 1963, they were famously arrested and sent to one of the most brutal prisons in Mississippi for daring to use a “whites only” bathroom.

In 1965 in Selma, they were each brutally beaten just a month apart while trying to register Black vot-

ers and bring attention to the generational plight of disenfranchised Blacks.

And last Friday, the Rev. C.T. Vivian and Congressman John Lewis died within hours of each other.

“They walked together, talked together and strategized together,” Willie A. Watkins said. “They took the beatings that others didn’t and survived unafraid. God took them at the ages of 95 and 80. And now here they are in the same room — together!”

C.T. Vivian, who was once called the “Greatest preacher to ever live” by his cohort, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was on the road to legacy early.

At age 23, on his first professional job, he began a litany of civil rights actions worthy of being chronicled.

The target in 1947 was to sit-in at Barton’s Cafeteria in Peoria, Illinois.

By 1960 Vivian had teamed up with future leaders at Nashville’s American Baptist College to convince the city that its racial policies were

wrongheaded. Flanked by Diane Nash, Bernard Lafayette, James Bevel, James Forman, and John Lewis; they were successful in getting the mayor to issue a public statement admitting that racial discrimination was a moral failing.

In a book, he would later write, “Black Power and the American Myth,” Vivian expounded on the strength of Dr. King’s strategy. “It was Martin Luther King who removed the Black struggle from the economic realm and placed it in a moral and spiritual context,” Vivian wrote in his book. “It was on this plane that The Movement first confronted the conscience of the nation.”

John Lewis is widely known for the beating that he suffered on Bloody Sunday. He was one of the worst among 58 people treated for injuries after police were unleashed on Montgomery, Alabama’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. However, historians will note that Lewis spent his

life beating up on racism, sexism, ignorance, and hatred.

In 1961, Lewis was one of 13 Freedom Riders who were assaulted four years before Bloody Sunday. On May 9, in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Lewis was beaten viciously. One of the Klansmen later admitted what happened.

“The bus pulled in. He (Lewis) got out and started over there to the door,” said former Klansman Elwin Wilson in 2010, adding that he started beating Lewis when he opened the door to a “whites only” waiting room. “I remember him laying there, and it was blood on the ground, and somebody done called the police.”

In 2009, Wilson found Lewis and apologized. Lewis accepted it.

The 1961 picture that shows both Lewis and Vivian jailed at the same venue was a prophetic foretelling of their paralleled existences. Both would go on to receive the Presidential Medal of Honor. Both of them would die within hours and be buried within days of one another.

History has a way of enveloping lives and legacies, and there is more of Lewis and Vivian than these dedicated column inches will allow me to say.

Vincent L. Hall is an author, activist, and award-winning columnist.

TEXAS METRO NEWS MAILING ADDRESS 320 S. R.L. Thornton Freeway 220 Dallas, TX 75203 WWW.TEXASMETRONEWS.COM 214-941-0110 Cheryl Smith PUBLISHER - EDITOR editor@myimessenger.com

CREDO OF THE BLACK PRESS The Black Press believes that America can best lead the world away from racial and national antagonisms when it accords to every person, regardless of race, color or creed, full human and legal rights. Hating no person, fearing no person, the Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.

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JULY 29, 2020

METRO BRIEFS Washington, Roberts featured in new drama

By ALLANA J. BAREFIELD Texas Metro News

on the project but Netflix prevailed. The response on social media so far has been positive. People are excited to see these talented, but familiar faces back together.

The bonus is the duo is coming right into their homes.

Princell Hair joins The Black News Channel

Wear your Mask…

Yes! Even in the Store

Congratulations are in order!

Princell Hair has been named President and CEO of The Black News Channel (BNC), the na-tion’s first 24-hour news network to focus on diverse stories regarding the Black community.

Hair grew up in South Florida and began in local news. He became Vice President of CBS Tele-vision Stations group and was Executive Vice President and General Manager of CNN-US. Hair even went to Boston in 2016 to spearhead NBC Sports Boston as Senior Vice President and General Manager.

By ALLANA J. BAREFIELD Texas Metro News

Denzel Washington

Everyone is looking for something new to watch or binge-worthy, due to COVID. And you’re in luck.

Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts are hitting the big screen together again, according to Variety.

The duo first appeared together in “The Pelican Brief,” that debuted in 1993.

Now 27 years later they are back at it with another drama, “Leave the World Behind.”

This movie is based on an upcoming novel from Rumaan Alam and scheduled for release this fall from the publishing company HarperCollins, through their imprint Ecco.

The storyline focuses on a blackout in the city where two families have to get along and intertwines themes such as race and class.

Companies such as MGM and Apple bid

COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere. That’s our reality and the sooner everyone realizes that we’re in a global pandemic, then the sooner we will flatten the curve.

Texas is going backwards and for some reason people don’t want to take this virus seriously.

By wearing masks, consistently cleaning our hands, staying six feet apart, and disengaging from social activities; we can increase our chances of going back to normal.

To wear a face-covering can reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Many retailers such as CVS and Walmart made the decision to enforce the mask policy and that directive became in full effect on July 20 nationwide for their stores. But for Target Stores, they are implementing the policy on Aug 1.

This helps to protect customers and makes employees to be safe.

Everyone has to go shopping during this time to buy necessities but shoppers shouldn’t be scared to go into the store.

Think about others. Wear your mask.

By ALLANA J. BAREFIELD Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of NNPA/Black News Channel

Princell Hair

A graduate of Florida International University in Miami and earned a degree in Bachelor of Sci-ence and then went to Goizueta Business School at Emory University, where he received a Mas-ters degree in Business Administration. He is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.

DPD issues changes to protest protocol

By ASHLEY MOSS Texas Metro News

used to control violence but not peaceful demonstrations.”

The Dallas Police Department began making changes in June, and is not the only one making changes - police departments all across the country are reexamining their use of tools often used to subdue protestors, commonly known as “kinetic impact projectiles.”

DPD deployed these tools during Dallas protests in early June.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. mourns loss of 24th Intl President, Dr. Eva Lois Evans

The NABJ/NAHJ Virtual 5K race website is live!

Photo courtesy of Police Chief Renee Hall/Twitter @ChiefHallDPD

Police Chief Renee Hall

Dallas Police Chief U. Reneé Hall has issued new guidelines to ensure that peaceful protests continue peacefully in the city. In an updated general order issued on Wednesday, Hall noted several changes to the department’s policies towards protests, including restrictions on the use of tear gas and other projectiles, like pepper balls.

Chief Hall’s order will dramatically limit the use of these tools in future peaceful protest situations.

The Chief did distinguish that criminal acts and attacks on people could warrant tear gas with approval.

In a statement, Chief Hall noted: “SWAT must continue to have reasonable and necessary tools in its continuum of force options. There will now be limits on their appropriate use. They can be

www.grandpasecret.com

As the members of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) plan to convene virtually, the tradition of the Healthy NABJ 5K Race doesn’t stop, even during a pandemic and joint convention year. This 2020 race reinforces the commitment of both organizations to the health and wellness of #NABJ and #NAHJ members.

Proceeds will benefit the NABJ JSHOP high school program.

The NABJ JSHOP is an opportunity for high school students all over the country to experience a hands-on journalism workshop in conjunction with the NABJ national convention.

Class of 2020 is rolling with the times!

Although many are preparing for the upcoming school year, I Messenger Media Lifestyle & Culture editor Eva D. Coleman plans to continuously celebrate the Class of 2020. She was happy to hand-deliver gifts to her media students, longtime friends and others who invited her to their graduation drive-by celebrations. They received a custom shirt containing a logo she designed.

Photo Credit: Western Michigan University College of Health and Human Services

Dr. Eva L. Evans

The organization notified its members via email late in the evening on July 21 and has since released the following on social media: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our 24th International President Dr. Eva Lois Evans. Her sweet, sweet sisterly spirit and [sic] epitomized the Alpha Kappa Alpha woman. Her warm and loving personality will always be remembered.”

Dr. Evans served as International President from 1994 to 1998.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. had its humble beginnings as the vision of nine college students on the campus of Howard University in 1908. Since then, the sorority has flourished into a globally-impactful organization of nearly 300,000 college-trained members, bound by the bonds of sisterhood and empowered by a commitment to servant-leadership that is both domestic and international in its scope.

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JULY 29, 2020

Our babies are dying, where are our friends?

OUR VOICES

BY NABA’A MUHAMMAD

The governor of Georgia has called in the National Guard. Tears are flowing in Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore and other cities as pain over the deaths of Black children lost to gun violence burns deep in the hearts and souls of Black folk.

Despite the pain, questions must be asked, like where are the police? In Chicago, cops decided not to come to work or not work during recent bloody spikes of violence. Upset with calls for greater accountability, the boys in blue decided they would show the city by not showing up. Police officers in New York and Chicago, cities with long histories of torturing Black people and records of killing Black children, women and men, threatened to abandon their posts over the July 4 weekend.

Heavy violence in Chicago made national headlines, calls for “blue flu” over the July 4 weekend did not. A reporter for the CBS News affiliate reported June 22

about “a new push by members of the police union to get officers on the street to stand down—and even stay home.” The police union president supported the officers’ actions—or rather inaction.

“In the first 28 days in June, the number of murders was up 83% compared with numbers from the same period in 2019, Chicago Police Department statistics show.

And the number of arrests was down 55%, street stops fell by 74% and traffic stops dropped by 86%,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported July 1. John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, told the Sun-Times, “I’m not telling them not to do police work … But I hope they just slow down and decide ‘Is this necessary?’ before they do it.”

“Citywide, the number killed or wounded in shootings in June rose 110% — to 541 victims — compared with June 2019. Meanwhile, there were about 3,330 arrests, a 55% decline, and about 3,800 people were stopped on the street, a 74% drop. Gun arrests, though, were up 45%,” the Sun-Times noted.

While the conduct of cops in this crisis ought to be questioned, the real question is where are our Jewish friends?

Why? Because every effort by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam to stop Black people from killing one another has been met with vicious, deliberate Jewish assault and sabotage.

Eight years ago, when the Minister led the men of the Nation into streets to promote peace and lessen tension it was Jewish groups who fought against the peacemaking. Even then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is Jewish, said Nation of Islam efforts to bring peace were welcome in a city with a 40 percent spike in homicides in 2012.

But Jewish groups’ nonstop smear campaigns push the anti-Semitic lie and try to put a hate jacket on a man trying to save lives.

And, they can’t prove their lies. It is not unexpected; the Jewish groups have tried to paint Min. Farrakhan with the anti-Semitic tag since 1984. It started with Zionist groups opposed to the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s call for a balanced Middle East pol-

icy during his historic first run for the White House.

It was also Jewish organizations that forced security companies owned by individual Muslims out of public housing in the 1990s at the expense of Black life. They literally forced congressional hearings where the companies like N.O.I. Security were shown doing good jobs. But the American Jewish Committee and others pressed federal lawmakers to withhold federal money from local public housing authorities. The local agencies, unable to survive without federal funds, killed the contracts.

The killing of Blacks in public housing complexes soared and our Jewish friends said and did nothing.

No matter what, the Anti-Defamation League, Alan Dershowitz, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Jewish organizations dredge up these false and scurrilous charges.

They don’t care if Black children die—and they don’t care if they are lying.

We should.

Black folks should care enough about our own suffering, our

own children, our own future to reject this constant interference that leads to the loss of Black lives.

What would our neighborhoods look like had the Minister and the Muslims been left alone to pursue peace in public housing since the 1990s? What would Chicago and other cities look like if the Minister had been left alone to teach and raise our people, dispensing wisdom and promoting peace?

Jewish friends? No. These individuals and organizations are our enemies intent on pursuing their agenda and forcing their views and beliefs down their throats. That is to be expected.

But there are final questions for Black America: Do you really love your children? Do you really love yourself? Are you still slave-like in your desires to be accepted by people who care nothing for you?

Do Black Lives Matter to you? If so, why would you allow others to stop a man who has devoted his life to stopping us from killing us?

Naba’a Muhammad is editor in chief for The Final Call newspaper.

Find him on Facebook and follow @ RMfinalcall on Twitter.

Adding fuel to the fire of our pandemics THE LAST WORD BY DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX

Nero, the Roman Emperor who legendarily fiddled while Rome burned is a symbol for an irresponsible, ineffective, and callous leader who shows indifference to people in crisis. The great Rome fire took place in the first century AD. The fiddle wasn’t invented until the 11th century, so it is unlikely that the hedonistic emperor played the fiddle while

his city was burning. More likely, he was engaged in some trivial or sybaritic act, regardless of the crisis.

Our 45th President puts Nero to shame. Our country is burning, with COVID cases rising, racial tensions rising. The President is pouring fuel on an already-flaming fire with his callous indifference, ineffective leadership, and irresponsible proclamations. He has so utterly failed to provide a national plan to combat corona that Republican governors have called him out. Notably, Maryland governor Larry Hogan,

who chairs the National Governor’s Association, excoriated Mr. Trump in a July 16 Washington Post op-ed noting that our president seemed “more concerned about boosting the stock market or his reelection plans.” That’s fiddling while Rome burns.

Forty-five fanned the flames of fear and uncertainty about COVID 19 with false comments about the virus. First, he said it was going to go away, and that it was no more severe than the flu. Then he suggested a drug, hydroxychloroquine, that has proven to be ineffective. Then he “joking-

ly” suggested Lysol or bleach to cure the virus. He has prioritized the economy over human lives, urging governors to open their states up for commerce, even as the number of COVID cases has risen. Still, he and his Education Secretary are urging the full reopening of schools for fulltime in-person instruction, even though the numbers suggest otherwise. They are saying they schools that fail to meet their demands will forfeit federal dollars—fuel to the fire.

Since the economy closed in see FUEL, page 9

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JULY 29, 2020

NFL will play Black National Anthem at games

Thinking, from page 1...

By STACY M. BROWN NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the playing of the national anthem to bring awareness to social and other injustices faced regularly by Black and Brown individuals in America, the National Football League, President Donald Trump, and others wrongly associated the quarterback’s actions as a protest against the U.S. flag and the nation’s military.

In the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd, protests and demonstrations have awakened America and most of the world to the plight of African Americans who long have suffered injustice, inequality, and an overall lack of understanding.

The NFL remains at the forefront of the new understanding, and now they’ve taken that knowledge, and, in an unprecedented decision, the league announced it would play Lift Every Voice and Sing – the Black National Anthem – before every opening day game this year.

The performance of the song will occur before “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the NFL said. The league’s season opener is scheduled for September 10, with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Houston Texans.

“The league taking the opportunity to play ‘Lift every voice and sing’ (the Black national anthem) is sweet. It’s a great way to honor those who started this movement year and years ago,” tweeted Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Chris Conley.

“For those who aren’t familiar with it, this song seeks to remind us of our past as a country and to strive to be better. It speaks to all of us, not just Black people, even tho it became a rallying cry for Blacks in the Jim Crow era. It is a beautiful message birthed from pain,” Conley added.

“To those claiming the song is derisive, I ask which part? Much like America the Beautiful is played to honor, this song is the same. It’s isn’t for “just Black

people” it’s for all who acknowledge the past and press toward a better future.”

As noted in Sports Illustrated, Lift Every Voice and Sing has an extensive history since its first inception as a poem in 1899. According to the NAACP, its lyrics were penned by writer and NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson (a Jacksonville native).

It was eventually adopted for music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson.

Years later, it was adopted by the NAACP as the organization’s official song.

According to the NAACP, the song was first performed in Jacksonville at a school where James Weldon Johnson was the principal.

As part of a celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on February 12, 1900, Lift Every Voice and Sing was publicly performed by 500 school children at the Stanton School.

The NFL has recently acknowledged it was wrong in how it handled Kaepernick, who has mostly been white-balled from the game. Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he now would encourage teams to sign the former Super Bowl quarterback.

Because Goodell has reversed course and said he would allow kneeling, the league came under enormous criticism from President Donald Trump, who now is calling for a boycott of the NFL. Sen. Ted Cruz called the decision to play the Black National Anthem “asinine,” further fueling racial tensions that have already boiled over since the Floyd killing.

Entry to Confederate Cemetery, Pine St., Electra St., Reed Ln. in South Dallas/Fair Park

Southern ancestors who members say bravely fought to preserve their land and economy during the war. Brantley said she would welcome a public conversation with group members.

Meanwhile, she said she plans to do a cleansing rite at other Confederate cemeteries in traditionally African American neighborhoods once she completes researching their locations.

“I accidentally ran across it (the cemetery) while in the neighborhood visiting my aunt,” Brantley said. “I really never noticed it before but it caught my eye this time.”

Brantley, aside from using her innate natural hair skills, has studied and trained in African ancestral ceremonies and spiritual rites. She said the cleansing idea came after she and a friend walked over and looked at the cemetery. Various headstones showed that some of the confederate soldiers and their families who were buried there had been born as early as the 1820s and were buried there in the early 1900s.

She said she thought about the irony of a confederate cemetery in a now predominately African-American community considered to be middle-to-lowincome. She said she thought about how society currently is awakening to

the injustices that still linger from the Civil War and the South’s attempt to break away from the Union to preserve the Southern way of life that included the institution of slavery.

She said the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a Black man by an Anglo police officer in Minneapolis was an example of a lingering aftermath of slavery and oppression.

So, she took it upon herself to rally a small group of friends and relatives for a spiritual cleansing ceremony, called “smudging,” designed to rid a space of negative energy and bring peace and healing. She chose the date and time of 8:30 p.m. Sunday, July 19 because, as part of the ritual, it was the night of the July new moon – when the moon is invisible from earth and cleansing energy is strong. The age-old practice is kin to burning incense and traced back to various cultures and religions including Native Americans and the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Elements of the rituals may encompass fire, water, air, and earth. Brantley added a prayer for peace to her ceremony.

I was just thinking...is there value for the nation in Brantley’s spiritual cleansing –and prayer -- to change hearts and minds? This while we also make -- as the late iconic Congressman and civil rights warrior John Lewis said -- “good trouble” in our peaceful protests and challenges to seats of power.

Can we combine open-minded elements to make a powerful potion that allows us to see common humanity behind the façade of our perceived enemies? You can’t dig up the dead in a sacred cemetery. But maybe, just maybe, you can cleanse the air around it.

Isis Brantley is owner/operator of Naturally Isis natural hair salon and the trailblazing Institute for Ancestral Braiding training school. Her businesses began in South Dallas/Fair Park, moved to Oak Cliff, and now are at 17290 Preston Road #104 at McCallum Blvd. in North Dallas. Phone 214329-3820. Website www.naturallyisis. com. Email naturallyisis@yahoo.com.

Norma Adams-Wade is a veteran, award-winning journalist, Graduate of UT- Austin and Dallas native. One of the founders of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), she was inducted into the NABJ Hall of Fame

6

JULY 29, 2020

We Still #SayHerName: Remembering Sandra Bland Five Years Later

By MICHA GREEN AFRO D.C. Editor mgreen@afro.com Sandra Bland. Sandra Bland.

Sandra Bland. Sandra Bland.

Sandra Bland. Say her name for every year since her justice-fighting light was dimmed.

It’s been five years since Bland was arrested, detained and found hanging three days later in a Waller County, Texas jail cell. Her death was ruled a suicide, however, with the unlawful nature of her arrest in a routine traffic stop- for failure to signal a lane change- Bland’s passing still raises concerns as her family and activists continue to beg for a reopening of her case.

While her family and friends remember her as an activist, who had been outspoken against police brutality and involved in the Black Lives Matter Movement, much of the world remembers Sandra Bland as a hashtag and reminder of the horrors of racism. Further than her own name as a trending topic, Bland’s death sparked another hashtag,

#SayHerName–calling atten- police brutality, but what makes believe in God, which is fine, but tion to the importance of Black her death even more chilling, I want you to know on {Sandy women- whose cases tend to be and Sandy Speaks, quite eerie Speaks}, I’m going to talk about treated as small conflicts in the considering the activist’s de- God, because for me, He has massive fight for Black Lives and mise, is that she was prepared truly shown me there’s somecalls for police reform. to change the course of history. thing out there that we can do,” In the five years since Bland’s Bland was prepared to be the Bland said quite propheticalpassing- there have been shifts, difference. ly in {Sandy Speaks}. “We can resurgences and mostop sitting around mentum in the fight and saying, ‘Maybe against police brutalnext time,’ or ‘Well we ity and systemic racknew that was going ism. Yet what’s even to happen.’ It’s time more telling is that in to stop knowing ‘that the five years since was going to happen,’ Bland’s death, so litand it’s time to start tle has changed- so doing something.” much has stayed the Five years later and same. what are we doing? In “It’s time y’all. It’s early May video from time. This thing that (L-r) A screenshot of Sandra Bland from her self-titled Bland’s phone was I’m holding in my social media show, Sandy Speaks; and her mugshot in a released, showing a hand, this telephone is Waller County, Texas prison after being unjustly arrested White state trooper pull and detained three days earlier. (Courtesy Photo) quite powerful. Social her over, demand she media is powerful. We get out of the car and can do something with this. If “Laugh all you want to, say point a weapon at her, before rewe want a change, we can real- what you want, but I’m here to quiring her to get on the ground. ly, truly make it happen,” Bland change history. I’m going to do With the new footage, Bland’s said in an old video she posted, what I need to do for this next family is demanding a reopencalled, “Sandy Speaks.” generation. It’s time for me to ing of the case. In the meantime, Bland was not afraid to speak do God’s work at the end of the activists are still saying Bland’s out against wrongs, racism and day… I know everybody don’t name- and other wrongfully

killed Black women and men- in hashtags and at protests.

To better retort to Bland’s charge over five years ago, we’re doing something, but that’s because Black bodies are still being used as target practice.

In 2020, there have been several instances of police brutality and racism that have led to the deaths of Black people, including that of Ahmaud Arbery (killed by a former officer and his son in Georgia), George Floyd (killed by Minneapolis police), Rayshard Brooks (killed by Atlanta police) and Breonna Taylor, who was killed while asleep in bed by Louisville police, and her murderers are still free.

On this fifth anniversary of Bland’s death, readers must remember her call to action, to “start doing something,” so that Black people are no longer hashtags in a larger fight to end systemic racism.

Sandra Bland. Sandra Bland.

Sandra Bland. Sandra Bland.

Sandra Bland.

We still say her name.

O’Rourke stumps for Biden

By ALLANA J. BAREFIELD Texas Metro News Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, serving as his surrogate, addressed former Vice President Joe Biden’s plans for the presidency on a conference call recently. O’Rourke is confident that Biden will be able to become President even in the midst of a pandemic.

According to Congressman O’Rourke, who was also once a candidate for president, although, numbers are in-

creasing for unemployment and there is a spike with COVID-19 cases but this is the time more than ever for change.

“This is unacceptable, and this is clearly a reflection of a lack of leadership that we see in the White House,” O’Rourke said.

COVID-19 has had a huge impact on many communities especially in Texas. In Corpus Christi, they have run out of space in the morgue and had to contact FEMA for a morgue trailer.

Many people have been feeling hopeless and losing loved ones. O’Rourke also mentioned Congressman Joaquin Castro tweeted to the public that his stepmom passed away from COVID-19.

“They are experiencing what no family should have to experience but what so many families across this country are going through right now,” he said. “We send them strength and we send them our love.”

O’Rourke, who agrees with Biden that there needs to be

a stop to the virus, said it is important to have employees back on their feet.

“I’m grateful for the plans that he [Biden] has laid out to address COVID, the sickness, the suffering, and the death that we’re seeing here in my hometown El Paso, across Texas and throughout the United States.”

O’Rourke said Biden’s top priority is to keep everyone safe, by developing a vaccine and getting the United States financially stable. Biden plans to invest $700 billion

for employees and also stop the pay disparity that is happening towards women.

“Especially Black women who are paid 61 cents on the dollar for a white man and Latinas who are paid 53 cents on a dollar for a white man, have equity in their paychecks,” O’Rourke said.

Biden also would like critical medical equipment made and purchased under America’s government. He also plans to invest 300 billion dollars for research and desee O’ROURKE , page 7

7

JULY 29, 2020

What’s in Your Hand?

FAITHFUL UTTERANCES

BY DR. FROSWA BOOKER-DREW

There is a television commercial with actor Samuel Jackson asking, “What’s in Your Wallet?” The ad is informing viewers that when you spend your money, you will receive cash back from the company. The goal is to encourage you to not only get the card, spend money but expect something in return. Although there may be some benefit, the impact could be significant. “According to Experian’s 2019 Consumer Debt Study, total consumer debt in the U.S. is at $14.1 trillion, with Americans carrying an average personal debt of $90,460.”

Having debt not only keeps us in bondage to those we owe but we have been told that our needs can be solved outside of us. We have been sold an idea that if we only get stuff, we will find happiness, peace, and joy from our material possessions.

There is nothing wrong with the desire to have nice things, but when our identities are tied to the stuff, we have placed our trust in something outside of ourselves---when what we have been seeking has been there all along. We often doubt ourselves believing that if only we had that type of car, house, or job, our problems would be over. We believe that

O’Rourke, from page 6...

velopment to face challenges like COVID-19 and climate change.

“We’ve got to get back at least to where we were,” O’Rourke said. “Where people are employed, where the economy is growing, where no one has to fear going to school or to the supermarket.”

if we only got “it”, (whatever your “it” is), things would change. We fail to recognize what we already have.

In Exodus 4, Moses was doubting his ability because he stuttered. He did not believe that people would listen to him not recognizing what he had was much bigger than what he believed he lacked. “Then Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”2 And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3“Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So, Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4“Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5“This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

God has given you dreams and a purpose despite what might be visible to others. God reminds Moses in this passage that what he needed for success was already there. He had a staff, something that he did not regard as necessarily important to his purpose. What is it that you are disregarding because it is so common to you? What is already in your possession that has been dismissed as insignificant? Is there a talent, a

O’Rourke envisions Texas, a red state, will secure the Democratic vote in this year’s election. Despite Biden’s campaign will not be able to travel or knock on doors since the public guidelines said there should be no massive indoor rallies even though President Trump had one in Oklahoma last month. Biden’s campaign has been contacting registered Democrats by phone to inform them

Haircare,

dream, a gift that you have neglected?

When you take what you have and believe God for multiplying it, watch how He will turn what is in your hand into something mighty and powerful. Many of you have gifts of gold that could be the key or solution to a problem but because you don’t feel you are smart enough, make enough money, or know the right people, you are dismissing what you do have...a God that is all powerful who can take your gifts and turn what you see as irrelevant into something that will make people listen and change those around you.

Scripture tells us in Deuteronomy 28:13 “And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them.” When you trust God for what you already have, you will not need to worry about what’s in your wallet.

He will provide as soon as you take advantage of what is in your hand.

Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew is the Founder and CEO of Soulstice Consultancy, specializing as a Partnership Broker and Leadership Expert for companies and organizations to thrive with measurable and meaningful impact.

She also is the VP of Community Affairs and Strategic Alliances for the State Fair of Texas.

Beto O’Rourke

from page 1...

Strictly Curls

Curls

Mahisha Dellinger is currently one of the largest natural hair care brands with a deep footprint in the market, not just because of the quality products, but also her philanthropic efforts and dedication to mentoring.

As the owner of the Dallas-based hair care brand CURLS, Dellinger recently posted on Facebook expressing her concern when another company released products that clearly resemble her brand.

She wrote, “I am so sick and tired of companies trying to RIP OFF of successful black brands.”

She also posted three pictures of her products CURLS and Marc Anthony products side-by-side.

Both of the products have similar colors, bright yellow

about the election.

Addressing a source of contention in Black communities across America, O’Rourke said Biden has not announced his running mate but is committed to selecting a woman. “It would be hard for me to see Black women not at the top of the Vice President’s list,” he said. “I have no fear about him picking the right person who will be his partner in office… and also be

and light blue intertwining.

If a shopper did not focus on the names and went into the store wanting CURLS then they could easily pick up Marc Anthony products instead.

“Look at this mess! Yet your people claim it looks ‘nothing alike’ and that you didn’t know who we were,” continued Dellinger.

Facebook users commented on Dellinger’s post expressing their displeasure of the clear infringement and their support for CURLS. For user Ayingi JonesKimble she wrote, “wow despicable, I love your product. Those look ugly they couldn’t trick me.”

Dellinger is not only in the hair care business.

She’s a best-selling author and TV host on Oprah Winfrey Network where she focuses on helping female entrepreneurs take their business to the next level.

Stay tuned for updates.

ready to serve, day one.”

In spite of COVID-19, the movement Black Lives Matter has inspired and encouraged O’Rourke.

“Seeing young leaders who aren’t elected in any office of power or position of public trust who nonetheless who are taking a lead right now,” he said. “With those who are elected as leaders failing at their job, gives me so much hope.”

8

JULY 29, 2020

OUR VOICES

BY MILES JAYE

What’s on Miles’ Mind?

“TROOPS”

You wake up, say your prayers, and make your bed.

You brush your teeth, shower, and get dressed. You Keurig a coffee into your favorite travel mug, grab your keys and purse and leave the house. Start the car, start your morning praise music, and pull out from the driveway. You’re heading down the street toward the main road; but off in the distance… long before you reach the intersection, you notice something strange. The traffic leading toward the intersection is backed up and traffic on the main drag seems a bit unusual. What’s going on-- an accident?

As you get closer, it appears someone is directing traffic-- someone in uniform, looks like Army fatigues. All traffic is diverted to the right.

When you reach the intersection, you’re directed to make a right turn, just as the cars before you did-- but you can’t seem to make sense of what you’re witnessing.

First of all; why is a uniformed soldier posted at this intersection? More importantly, why is a convoy of military vehicles stretched along your otherwise familiar roadway, as far as the eye can see?

You’re halfway to the next intersection where you see another soldier directing traffic, but before you reach the corner, a soldier runs to your driver side window, directing you to make a sharp right into the service station. Okay now,

what’s going on?

Startled by the abrupt appearance of someone at your window, you turn in and pull up to what looks like a checkpoint. “Roll your window down please ma’am. License and registration please.” The

diers dressed in combat gear, riot gear-- camouflage fatigues, face masks, the whole nine? They were dressed for business.

You lower your window, but before handing over your ID, you ask for his. “Who are

it was locked. Now your anxiety has turned to cold fear. You should have called someone as soon as you saw something going on. You should have made a U-turn before reaching the main road. Now it’s too late! Just give him the ID, you

young soldier spoke with feigned authority-- the lack of experience was noticeable, it was obvious. You detect a bit of nerves, coupled with the high pitch of his rushed command, what you do not notice is military insignia.

This is a military town.

Everyone here is familiar with uniforms. You may not know all of the ranks, but you know the basics, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, Army, or Air Force on one pocket flap, last name over the other, but these uniforms had no identifiers, no insignia. Who were these sol-

you? What’s going on?” You know you asked politely, but you could hear the anxiety, the nervousness in your own voice. Ignoring your request for an explanation, he barks, “Ma’am. license and registration please.” Nervous tension turns into indignance, attitude, “Sir, I simply asked you what’s going on? Why did you pull me over? Why are you checking IDs? Are y’all looking for somebody? Who are you?”

“Ma’am, I’ll have to ask you to exit your vehicle.” He pulls on the driver’s door but luckily

haven’t done anything wrong.

“Here! Take it, here’s my license, registration and my insurance card, but I still don’t know what’s going on. I know I haven’t done anything…”

You lowered your window to pass him the ID, but he reached in to unlock the door.

He pulls it open and grabs you by the arm to snatch you out of your car. “Wait! Wait a minute! What are you doing?

Let go of me! Take your hands off of me. Help! Somebody, help me!” Thank God, you see someone rushing toward you to put a stop to this foolish-

ness, this madness. You’re thinking, ‘thank God!’ Coming to your rescue is someone dressed exactly like the first guard, but he’s not coming to save you.

They forcibly remove you from your vehicle, with the car still running, purse and cell phone still on the front passenger seat, radio still playing gospel music, and whisk you off to an unmarked van across the parking lot.

The door slides open, the only words you’ve heard were, “Stop resisting, you’re being detained.”

No explanations, no answers to your barrage of questions, just the sound of the van starting, shifting into gear, then pulling off.

It’s daytime, but it’s dark inside the van. Your eyesight is blurred from tears. Your heart is racing, and your mind can only process one thought-God please let this all be a bad dream, but it’s not a dream… it’s a nightmare!

Trump’s Troops have descended on your city, your neighborhood to restore order.

Who are they, where are they taking you? Who will know how to find you? Will they find you? What’s going to happen to you?

This is America! Portland today! Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Atlanta, tomorrow.

Maybe your town will be next.

Ready?

That’s what’s on my mind!

Website: www.milesjaye.net Podcast: https://bit.ly/2zkhSRv Email: milesjaye360@gmail. com

9

My Truth, from page 1...

I can’t thank board member Thomas Muhammad enough for the role he played in not only sharing Selma with me, but also the naming of me, as an “Invisible Giant.”

The original “Invisible Giants” served as foot-soldiers of the struggle for voting rights and marched in the Selma to Montgomery Marches of 1965, the “Bloody Sunday March,” and the “Turn Around Tuesday March.”

Thomas, who I have known for decades, praised my work as a journalist in dealing with and fighting for those issues impacting Black people; as did those valiant men and women who came before me. As they introduced me at the awards program, they compared my journalistic contributions to Ms. Oprah Winfrey!

The Invisible Giant award is an honor I cherish because in addition to those from Selma and around the world, I joined the ranks of other “giants” who have been recognized from right here in Dallas County, Texas: the Rev. Zan Wesley Holmes, Jr., Dr. Frederick D. Holmes III, Hon. Diane Ragsdale, Judge Marylellen Hicks, Hon. Kathlyn Gilliam and Ghulam Warriciah.

The year I was honored, which was at the 40th anniversary commemoration, I was also with civil rights notables and honorees Amelia Boynton Robinson, Claudette Colvin and Susan L. Taylor. During that first trip to Selma, I even ran into old friend, Chuck D of Public Enemy, who was visiting the museum!

I have learned so much about Selma and the struggle. I am so thankful to Thomas, Selma, those who fought for US then and those who continue to fight today.

Which brings me to my truth.

America has never thanked Dallas County, Selma, Alabama. Instead, the city of what was then a revolution has actually been punished!

Yes, significant strides were made because of what happened in Selma.

The world saw, just as they did with

JULY 29, 2020 the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the savagery of racism.

I can just imagine what people think of when they hear someone talking about Selma, Alabama.

Usually, since I have visited, I think of Lainnie’s. Talk about good food!

I also think about good folks who have come from there, like LaWonda Peoples and Judge Remeko Edwards.

But what I have noticed during my visits was a city stuck in time. This is not an attempt to throw shade. I toured the city and viewed a city that helped cities across the country grow, only to see their city remain the same.

It seems as though America said that despite all the pain and suffering inflicted previously, with change, there was more paying to do, “OK, we’ll give you concessions, but somebody is going to pay in a big way.”

Selma, Dear Selma!

Sadly, what I have seen with Selma is that in a city with, according to the 2010 Census, a population of just under 21,000 has today an African American population that is 80%, but back in the 1960s it was 50%.

In Selma, about one in six live below the federal poverty line; school dropout rates teeter around 30 to 40 percent; and less than 20% of residents have a bachelor’s degree.

With an overall poverty rate of almost 30%, at least 39.1% of African Americans in Dallas County (AL) are living in poverty with 33.5% receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or food stamps, and 43% of children living in poverty.

What the heck happened or didn’t happen.

I’m not airing dirty laundry. I’m making a plea.

On this Black Agenda I keep hearing about, we need to include: “HELP SELMA.” Let’s face it. Selma helped make this country better, and the only time we look to Selma is for annual commemorations or as we did this past weekend, to honor giants like Rep. Lewis.

We owe Selma.

Shame on us.

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Fuel,

from page 4... late March, there has been plenty of time to develop a coordinated response to COVID 19, develop a back-to-school plan, and get school districts the additional resources they need to serve our nation’s young people effectively. Instead, he says he is leaving it to the states, just like he left the acquisition of personal protective equipment to the states. Why doesn’t he do his job instead of playing golf?

Fiddling while Rome burns, the President and his daughter Ivanka, are auditioning as shills for Goya Foods. The president photographed in the Oval Office with an assortment of Goya Foods and a maniacal grin. The First daughter posted a picture of herself, holding a can of black

beans. More than 135,000 people are dead, and the first family is hawking beans!

The President’s comments on both masks and race are incendiary. It is irresponsible to making face coverings a matter of individual choice while COVID infections are rising.. Politicizing masks causes tension among citizens who share public space.

In Tulsa, Rev. Robert Turner has rallied for reparations every Wednesday for the past two years. On July 15, a rabid anti-mask white mob surrounded him, poured water on him, called him “boy,” and assaulted him. Confederate flag-loving Trump has empowered these racists to behave horribly.

And the president’s idiocy on the Confederate flag suggests he does not know history. His refusal to utter the words “Black Lives Mat-

ter” reminds us (but we already knew) that he doesn’t think Black Lives Matter. His request that NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace apologize for reacting when he found a noose in his area was spacious.

His response to a CBS interviewer who asked him about Black people’s police shooting was to note that white people are shot by police, too. “More white people, by the way,” the deflector-in-chief said. Black people are 2.8 times as likely to be killed as whites, but perhaps the president does not understand the concept of dis-proportionality.

Since the president refuses to develop a national plan to address the corona pandemic, even as the death toll increases, deaths increase, let him hawk beans. He is far more adept at that task than he is at running the country.

10

JULY 29, 2020

Your Scalp Can’t Breathe

• Your scalp can’t breathe because it has layers of dirt, sweat and heavy oils. Shampoo your hair as often as necessary to remove accumulation of everything on your scalp.

Don’t be lazy during any season. Develop a pamper routine for your hair and scalp.

are usually not worn in the office. Military personnel also wear hats while on duty. Baseball caps are worn by many males to conceal hair thinning and alopecia conditions.

Women also, may wear various hats to sport their fashionista style.

• Your scalp can’t breathe because women wear lace frontal wigs, glue to their hair line for weeks at a time. We do not recommend this…image over scalp health is not a wise choice. In addition, a wig worn all day and sleeping in it. Oh My! No, Stop it!

Take your wig off at night and allow needed blood flow to your scalp.

• Your scalp can’t breathe because women wear scarfs 24/7. There are limitless scarf designs available for women and trans-

• Your scalp can’t breathe because you wear a hat daily for outdoor occupations. There are exceptions for construction workers, lawn businesses, painters, etc. Hats worn for corporate jobs,

gender people. Beware of wearing your scarf too tight around the hair line and nape areas. You can make it secure, without a concern of it falling off. Remove the scarf at home. Then there is the

ABOUT YOUR HAIR BY DR. LINDA AMERSON

Scalp health is vital to healthy hair growth. Consumers have many accessory options available to make a hair fashion statement.

Are you taking risks to be a fashionista or fashion king?

Listed are a few contributors for men, women and even children.

WE NEED TO MAKE THIS MOMENT A MOVEMENT BY MAINTAINING MOMENTUM THE BLACK CARD

BY TERRY ALLEN

Art: Derek Payne - DPI Graphic Design

night sleep scarf or cap.

• Your scalp can’t breathe because men wear a durag 24/7. This is not a fashion statement men.

You are trying to make waves that you do not have naturally…trying.

Men may also choose to keep your ‘man weave’ in place overnight and use excessive ‘black ice’ spray color.

• Your scalp can’t breathe because of scalp odor.

Yes, your scalp can hold odor from scalp excretions of sweat, and certain occupations are the reasons for hair and scalp odor. Children are active, and older children…preteens and teenagers may be involved in athletics.

Parents, it is ok to be the enforcement officer. To avoid them being a target of social embarrassment and bullying, give your child the ‘I’m not playing with you look.’ They will never ‘forget’ to shampoo their scalp and hair regularly.

Dr. Linda Amerson, Board Certified Trichologist, LA’s Hair & Scalp Clinic, 817 265 8854. Our award-winning products may be purchased at Hairandscalpessentials.com #ScalpDoctor #39yrVeteran

My good friend, Jewel Diamond Taylor says, “Your main thing is to make sure your main thing stays your thing.”

So, the point of my column and Jewel’s quote is to keep the main thing front and center. ... In short, the quote is about staying focused on the main thing, and not be distracted by all the other things popping up around you. I am excited about the chants for remove, reform and defund but those shouts signify our collective response to this moment sparked by the eight minutes forty-six (8:46) second death of George Floyd. We must now make this moment a movement so we will not have to revisit this again.

We can applaud all those corporations that have symbolically denounced systemic racism as well as stepped up to pledge huge dollar amounts aimed at racial equity. Yet, WE must control the narrative. We must invest in our wealth creation. We must save ourselves to make this moment a movement.

Many of those dollars will be difficult to obtain and we will give up. When we do not obtain the dollars set aside by enlightened institutions then it will be perceived as a buffer response to our moment. We will never get to a movement unless we own this moment. We cannot allow for our Diaspora to get back to “racism” as usual status.

In the words of my mentor,

George Fraser, “Black people have to save Black people.” Our success will never stay top-ofmind by any other race than us.

We must maintain this global momentum.

Donating money to nonprofits, establishing unattainable loan funds and creating diversity & inclusion departments will not make up for our missing 40 acres and a mule. It will not rebuild our Wall Streets. Home ownership (40 acres) is the first step American families took to build wealth.

Business ownership (the Mule) is the second step Americans use to build wealth.

We must mandate that these corporations create revenues infused line items for multiple years not just one.

Let’s create opportunities for us. How about technology and entrepreneurial development for young Black men? Can we make a sizable dent in the income/ wealth gap in Black communities thereby creating Black prosperity while simultaneously reducing the pipeline to prison paths in our neighborhoods. We must make investments in ourselves and our businesses. So, join me and my Good Trouble Mentoring Program for young Black men and women. Those are my thoughts. Now yours?

In closing, please if we use our collective faith to guide our steps, we will have a movement from this moment. We can then give ourselves a High Five!

Please email me at the paper and tell me you are with me. Terryallenpr@gmail.com Terry Allen is a multi-media journalist and board member of the National Association of Black Journalists.

11

Collaboration, from page 1...

through its website and local newsletters, targeted for specific geographic communities across North Texas. Currently, the initiative serves Allen, Arlington, Colleyville, Frisco, Garland, Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Irving, McKinney, Mesquite, Oak Cliff, Plano, Richardson and Southlake.

Wilson and North Texas editor Jamie Hancock, who oversees the local initiative at The Dallas Morning News, said they recognized that coverage from the newspaper had not been as strong in some of those communities, which is why they reached out to Texas Metro News.

“We came to that with a full awareness that we haven’t been around those communities as well as we could have through the years,” Wilson said. “We’re coming into it humbly.”

Cheryl Smith, the editor and publisher of Texas Metro News, said she appreciated that editors from The Dallas Morning News approached the relationship as an opportunity for both publications to improve their journalism. It would not be just about checking a box for diversity, she said.

JULY 29, 2020 “Our team knew it wasn’t a light decision; it wasn’t tokenism,” Smith said. “The Morning News wanted journalism.”

Smith started Texas Metro News in 2012.

The printed newspaper has a weekly circulation of 5,000, and the staff also reports daily in newsletters and podcasts online.

She said the partnership with The Dallas Morning News will help her staff better serve its readers.

“If you want good, solid journalism, collaboration is key,” Smith said. “We’re trying to shed light and show the Black experience, but we’re also saying you don’t have to be Black to appreciate it.”

The two staffs are already meeting weekly to discuss stories and opportunities for collaboration. Readers of columnist Norma Adams Wade, for example, can see her columns monthly in The Dallas Morning News and weekly in Texas Metro News.

Hancock said Smith has helped Dallas Morning News reporters cover important topics in southern Dallas such as “shingle mountain” in southeast Oak Cliff and a recent story about how a Black-owned business is responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

“She knows everybody in the community and has relationships with every-

body,” Hancock said, “and we want to leverage that and do whatever we can to help them grow their business.”

Smith is also an officer in local and national journalism organizations, including the National Association of Black Journalists. Editors at The Dallas Morning News first connected with Smith through local NABJ programs, including training sessions for early-career journalists at Paul Quinn College, Wilson said.

Journalists from Texas Metro News are participating in professional development and training programs offered for Dallas Morning News reporters. Wilson said that when it is safe for public gatherings to resume, he hopes to work with Texas Metro News to plan in-person events for readers and subscribers.

As part of the national conversation about racial equity in America, newsrooms across the country are finding new ways to boost coverage of communities that previously have been overlooked. For some, that has meant creating new positions for diversity reporting, or devoting other resources to covering Black issues.

Wilson said the partnership with Texas Metro News will help The Dallas Morning News meet its own goals for improving the diversity of its coverage.

“It’s something here that it was time to do,” Wilson said. “The Black press in Dallas has always been an important news source.”

The Dallas Morning News has a similar reporting partnership with KXAS-TV (NBC 5), wherein the newspaper’s journalists appear on the TV station to promote articles. The TV station also provides video for stories on dallasnews.com.

The newspaper is also expanding its coverage of southern Dallas. Report for America fellow Brooklynn Cooper joined the newsroom in June; Report for America places young reporters in local newsrooms across the country. Carrington Tatum also currently reports on southern Dallas.

Charles Scudder, Staff writer.

Charlie Scudder is a general assignment reporter and has worked on the features and news desks for five years. He’s also an adjunct professor at UNT’s Mayborn School of Journalism.

Raised in Colleyville, he is a graduate of both Southern Methodist University and Indiana University. cscudder@dallasnews.com @cscudder

Do you know this man?

HE IS A SERIAL RAPIST He targeted members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. but this is more than about a sorority. We’re talking about a community.

Come on PEOPLE! Don’t you CARE? Will it matter when it is your sister, mother, aunt or grandmother or maybe YOU?

Crimestoppers

877-373-8477

12

JULY 29, 2020 THAT CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

VALDER BEEBE SHOW Dr. Richard Besser

By VALDER BEEBE

The world-wide pandemic continues to be the central focus as the Valder Beebe Show invited Dr. Richard Besser, into the studio to clarify aspects of COVID19, how public health is the roadmap to a safe and equitable economic recovery, and why it’s important that Americans hear from public health officials daily during a pandemic.

The United States is experiencing a massive surge in coronavirus cases and deaths, overwhelming local healthcare systems and forcing several states to delay their economic recovery efforts.

Compounding the problem is the politicization of the pandemic. Public health officials have been harassed and threatened, and some policymakers have based reopening decisions on political whims rather than sound science.

It is more critical than ever that government and community leaders follow a public health roadmap to economic recovery.

To do this, we must understand how the pandemic is playing out at the neighborhood level, ensuring that all people are considered and cared for—particularly people of color and essential workers who continue to die at disproportionately higher rates. Today, data collection efforts are woefully inadequate, and as a result, communities across the nation remain in the

dark about how this pandemic is truly playing out; complicating efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

Dr. Besser, who is also president & CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—explains that “data deficits that vary

Dr. Richard Besser

greatly state to state and locality to locality will lock in our disturbing status quo,” which will further exacerbate reopening efforts that have been “erratic, unsafe and profoundly unjust.”

He urges data collection efforts by race, ethnicity, age, sex, and ZIP code, and he calls for federal funding for states and localities so they have the resources to implement the stronger collection protocols. Dr. Besser notes that the CDC and local health departments need adequate

funding and support to use their public platforms to share timely and critical information to keep Americans safe and guide ongoing recovery efforts. Dr. Richard Besser - publicists provided text in conjunction with the Valder Beebe Show VEB: Dr. Besser can you give us an update on COVID-19?

RB: Valder, I think we are in a really good situation right now with COVID19. The reason I say this, we are seeing a clash in public health messages. Some officials are saying this is a critical time. You will hear other leaders saying this is going to go away. This is not going to go away. I like to refer citizens to local public health officials, this will tell us what is going on in our own communities. I like also, going to the CDC web site.

VEB: What kind of local information can we find?

RB: Information about current polices, about business, school and work place status……Complete interview: soundcloud.com/valderbeebeshow ValdeBeebeShow.com broadcasting to a national audience on KKVI FM Radio, Streaming TV, Social Media, Print Publications.

Valder Beebe hosts the Valder Beebe Show on FM and streaming TV: ValderBeebeShow.com, 411RadioNetwork.com; SoundCloud.com/valderbeebeshow FM Broadcast: KKVI FM 89.9, KRER FM 102.5; Streaming on ROKU & Amazon Fire: YouTube/ValderBeebeShow; VBS affiliate broadcasters; BMIA, PChatman Network [Roku TV].

EDUCATOR’S FORUM Saturday, August 8, 2020 11:00am Blog Talk Radio 646-200-0459 Texas Metro News FB Live

What are teachers talking about?

Is it SAFE to go back to school?

Joann Dickerson

LaQueta Sturns-Brew

Debra Brown- Sturns

Cheryl Jackson

Tolernisa Butler

Magnolia

Larry Davis

Tune in as educators from around the country discuss COVID-19 and how educators and students are impacted.

Call now

(214)372-6321 6090 Bonnie View Rd, Dallas, TX 75241 Hours of services may differ

13

JULY 29, 2020

To fight COVID-19, generously apply common sense!

By ROYCE WEST Texas Senate For how many of us did it take more than one experience to learn the simple lesson of ‘don’t stick your hand in the fire?’ Maybe you took your parents word, or saw what happened to others who did not heed the warning. But five months into a deadly virus that’s claimed more than 637,000 lives worldwide, there remain too many who still do not believe that the incendiary spread of the coronavirus is tragically real.

To hasten efforts to bring the virus under control, I offer a simple standard. If instructions offered to combat COVID make sense, DO IT! If you hear something that doesn’t, DON’T DO IT! For example, wearing a mask helps slow the spread of the virus.

Since a cure has yet to be discovered and we know the disease is highly contagious, DO IT! Wear a mask!

On the other hand, most Americans were dumbfounded by ramblings from a White House podium which pondered ingesting bleach or other toxic disinfectants as a COVID remedy. Please, DON’T DO IT! Worldwide, we have been given the message to avoid large crowds and have learned the term “social distancing.” The virus, experts repeat, is most easily spread from person-to-person when within six feet of another. It makes sense that if you are not in close proximity to others, you are less likely to be contacted by spraying saliva droplets that could transmit COVID. So keep apart. DO IT. But last month, there was a rally in Tulsa and a Sunday church service in Downtown Dallas where social distancing was not observed; few wore masks, and one even had a packed choir stand from where days later, positive tests were reported. Indoor crowds, no masks, medical officials say loudly, “DON’T DO IT!” Here are the facts. During the early weeks of the virus when national and state stay at home orders were in place and even grudgingly adhered to by most Americans, the spread of the virus appeared to be reasonably under control. When those lockdowns were lifted, the raging wildfire that is the coronavirus began to engulf the country city-by-city, state-by-state and region-by-region.

In Dallas County, on April 28, just days before the expiration of the stay at home order, the number of positive cases reported since testing began totaled 3,240, with 94 recorded deaths. Three weeks later, by May 18, those numbers had more than doubled to 7,679 cases and 177 deaths. The number of cases reported for June 15 in Dallas County had nearly doubled again to 14,232 with 284 deaths.

We were alarmed when the 7-day average of new cases climbed to 300. This month, beginning July 5, Dallas County reported more than 1,000 new cases for 16 straight days, with the cumulative total now exceeding 44,750 and nearing 600 deaths (7/24/20).

Statewide, about 370,000 people have conSen. Royce West tracted the coronavirus and the death toll has topped 4,700. For a broader perspective, on March 27, there were about 540,000 COVID cases worldwide. But even then, the United States was a dubious #1, with more than 80,000 cases. And although the U.S. comprises less than five percent of the world’s population, one-fourth of the 15.65 million COVID cases worldwide are in America. DON’T believe it when someone says America is doing a great job fighting COVID. Yes, it is an unenviable task to strike a balance among competing interests of public health, the economy and the need for Texans and Americans to earn a living. But what we have seen is an example similar to those in a canoe when everyone does not row in the same direction. There’s a lot of thrashing and splashing, but the boat is not moving forward. Stern, single-minded direction is required.

When someone tells you that the reason there are more cases is because we are conducting more tests, DON’T fall for it. And DON’T believe it when you hear that the outcomes of “99 percent of these cases are totally harmless,” when more than 145,200 Americans have died.

But when someone gives practical advice like wearing masks, avoiding crowds and washing your hands will help slow the spread of a virus that has no cure, think once, twice if you must. Then DO IT!

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MAY 20, 2020

July 29 Hollywood Live!

With Michael “Hollywood” Hernandez and Co-host Shavonda with a “V” Fields, Guests: Singer Allura, Comedian Lisa Love, Singer Ja’Daku on Hollywoodlive.com. From 2 pm – 4 pm.

Meet A Black Mental Health Professional: “We Are Here,” hosted by Dr, Tanisha Guy & Megan Pickens, LPC-S. 7 – 9 pm. The event will introduce you to 20 Black mental health professionals.

Register: Eventbite.com.

Black Pandemic Virtual Form host New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church of Forth Worth. 2:00-3:30 pm.

Moderator Pastor K.P. Tatum. Register: RO6HHSRD@hhs.gov.

The U.S. Census Bureau has openings for part-time, year-round survey interviewers. Includes 20-40 hrs a month $16.12 per hour & $0.575 per mile. Email: name, phone, full address, county to denver.recruit@census.gov. Bilingual english/spanish speakers.

Texas Women’s Foundation Leadership Forum Virtual Series. Texas Women’s Foundation recognizes the amazing leadership of the Maura Women Helping Women and Young Leader Award recipients.

Moderated by: Jana Etheridge Capital One. Tracey Doi. 10:00 am. Tickets: txwf.org.

Dallas Virtual Career Fair and Job Fair. 10:00 am6:00 pm. Online event. Find a better job at our FREE Dallas Virtual Career Fair. It is a must attend. Meet with top hiring companies in Dallas. Tickets: Eventbrite.com.

July 30 Tri-Cities NAACP. Special Called Meeting. At 7:00pm. Via zoom conferencing system: https://shsu.zoom. us/j/97655021370 Dial In Number: (346) 248 - 7799 Meeting ID: 976 5502 1370.

If you can not be on the conference call please email Romeal.naacp@gmail.com.

Being Black and Blue Form hosted by Dallas College Mountain View Campus, Dallas College Eastfield Campus. Online event: http://blog.dcccd.edu/2020/07/being-black-andblue-a-student-forum/ 3:30 pm- 4:30 pm.

Thursday Night Live hosted by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters. 7:00 pm-8:00 pm. Online event: www.facebook.com/tbaaldallas.

July 31 The Pathway To Home Ownership: First Time Home Buyer Webinar Online event. There have been

Virtual and liVe Community Calendar

changes in the housing market. The webinar shows how to buy your first home in the Era of COVID-19. Guest Speakers: Isaac Ricard, Realtor and Brian McCauley, Sr. Loan Originator.

7:00 pm-9:00 pm. Tickets: Eventbrite.com.

Positive Reflections Ministry Free Groceries (Includes meat, non-perishables goods & produce while supplies last) location: Pleasant Zion Missionary Baptist Church 1910 N. St Augustine Rd. Dallas from 9 am to 1 pm.

Call 214-208-5536

100 Women March Everyone is welcome! It will center black voices, black stories, and black solutions. We will be marching from Dallas City Hall to the Frank Crowley Building beginning at 7PM. Masks Required! At the City of Dallas, 1500 Marilla St. 6:30 pm- 9:30 pm.

Smart Summer: Children’s Story time with Clarice Tinsley, online event, https://dallaslibrary.librarymarket.com/events/smart-summer-childrens-storytime-clarice-tinsley-0. Tickets: dallaslibrary.librarymarket.com. Stories for kids with Clarice Tinsley from Fox4 News.

Friendship-West Presents Spiritual Care. Hosts Be Made Whole Counseling Center. Fridays Spiritual Care of our souls helps to encourage us through difficult times.1:00 pm CDT via Zoom: Click the link below: https://zoom. us/j/8567036848? Access Code: 856 703 6848.

August 2

3rd. Annual Dallas Pizza Fest Hosted by 2020 Dallas Pizza Fest Live at Deep Ellum Art Company 3200 Commerce St. 12:00 pm-9:00 pm. Tickets: www.prekindle.com.

Rhythm and ReVERB Pull-Up Edition (Best Sunday Social Distancing Happy Hour) at Heroes Lounge 3094 N. Stemmons Fwy. 4:00 pm-6:00 pm. You will be able to enjoy the drumming and music from your car and order drinks and food from your vehicles. Event will stream live on Instagram and Facebook. Verb_Kulture on Instagram and Verb Kulture Ent. on Facebook.

August 3 Marvelous Marriage Mondays at Friendship-West Baptist Church 2020 W. Wheatland Rd. 7:00 pm-8 pm. Helping Marriages be More Marvelous! Register online at https://friendshipwest.zoom. us/meeting/register/upcpcOmhqz4rqNU-lYrUaJHUISSKLziBMg Janet Jackson in Concert Black Diamond World Tour 2020 host Country Concerts USA at American Airlines Center 2500 Victory Ave. 8:00 pm. Tickets: www. ticketgrow.com.

August 4 Glenn Heights City Council Meeting, City Hall 1938 S. Hampton Rd. Glenn Heights 7:00 pm-9:30 pm.

August 1

August 5

Dallas PV Alumni Annual Membership Drive thru Picnic Hosted

by Dallas PVAMU Alumni Chapter. Stop by to pay your annual dues $50. 11am.

Drive thru to receive your goodie bag. Not attending or wanting to pay dues in advance? Text dallaspvalumni to 97000.

Hollywood Live! With Michael “Hollywood” Hernandez and Cohost Shavonda with a “V” Fields, on Hollywoodlive.com. From 2 pm – 4 pm.

Live Music at The Warehouse Lounge Who DAQ Daiquiris host Jim Austin 1125 E. Berry St. Ft. Worth 8:0011:00 pm. Celebrate With Us. Featuring Natural Change. Tickets: www.jimaustinonline.com

SoulJazz Thursdays Under The Stars feat. Natural Change at 813 Sandaga, 813 Exposition Ave. 8:00 pm12:00 am. Bring your lawn chairs and come enjoy the sounds of Natural Change Under the Stars. Food Truck, BBQ, Hookahs, and Cigars. Doors at 8PM. There is limited seating available.

More info: visit www.sandaga813.com or email info@sandaga813.com.

First Saturday Harvest Project Food Rescue, Free Fruits and Veggies, at Pan African Connection 4466 S. Marsalis Ave. 10:00 am-3:00 pm. Free Fruits and Veggies until their gone. Call 214943-8262.

August 6

August 2-9, 9-15 111th National NAACP Convention. Over the course of two weeks, the NAACP Virtual Convention will provide two modules, one tailored to our members, and another open to our supporters and activists at large to convene critical discussions. For more information: www.naacpconvention.org.

A Message For You, with I Messenger Media multi-media journalist Allana Barefield and the legendary Norma Adams-Wade. Mondays at 11am. Live on Facebook/@TexasMetroNews & Blog Talk Radio.com Join the conversation.

BLACK LIVES MATTER #NationBuilding w/ Michael Sorrell, at 12:30 pm. CDT, Wednesdays on Facebook & Twitter. Follow Paul Quinn College’s President, Michael Sorrell on all social media platforms. @MichaelSorrell on Twitter & Instagram and @Michael J. Sorrell on Facebook.

A Message For You, with Anthony Council Morehouse student and I Messenger Media intern. Tuesdays at 11am Anthony brings that perspective from those born in this century. Live on Facebook/@TexasMetroNews & Blog Talk Radio.com Join the conversation.

Andrew’s World with host Andrew Whigham III on BlogTalkRadio.com 8 am.-10 am. Sundays Tune in for thought-provoking, enlightening, informative, and entertaining news and commentary. Join the call at 646-200-0459 The Stimulus Show, hosted by Cheryl Smith publisher of Texas Metro News, Garland Journal and I Messenger. She is a FAMU grad and secretary of the National Association of Black Journalists. Join in on Facebook/@CherylSmith and BlogTalkRadio.com at 11 am Mondays. Call 646-200-0459.

SIP and Eat with LaShante’ “The Lifestyle Chef.” LaShante Williams, Every Thursday at 7pm CST on FB live and IG live and https://www.instagram.com/ lashante@thelifestylechef/

A Message For You, The Stimulus Show with Marva Sneed from11 am -1 pm. CST, Wednesdays and Fridays on Facebook Live/@TexasMetroNews, and BlogTalkRadio.com.

Call in and join the conversation at 646-200-0459.