T E X A S
MetroNews
ACLU
DELIVERING NEWS YOU NEED
• Vol. 9 • June 24 - 30, 2021
MY TRUTH By Cheryl Smith PUBLISHER
Critical conversation time When Judy Foston Stanford of Foston International Communications, Inc., reached out to me about a program hosted by Texas Voters Forward and the Houston NAACP; I was immediately intrigued. As the media coordinator, she explained that there would be a “crucial conversation” with Texas Black Media and members of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus; and I got excited because as mid-term elections rapidly approach, I was of the belief that there needed to be many “crucial conversations” or there was going be hell to pay for some, in the very near future. The fact that she also said there would be world-famous Frenchy’s Chicken served at the beautiful Buffalo Soldiers Museum, was worth a pause for the cause. But seriously we needed to have some candid discussions that needed to begin right where organizers said, with the review of the 2021 Texas Legislative SesSee MY TRUTH, page 10
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Publisher seeks re-election at June Convention
LEADERSHIP
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire
According to Karen Carter Richards, the state of the Black Press of America is more robust than it has ever been. The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) chair and the Houston Forward Times publisher expressed even more optimism for the future. “I’m proud to chair this organization,” she told NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., during an extensive discussion inside the trade association’s new stateof-the-art television studio and headquarters at the Thurgood Marshall Center in Washington, D.C. “We’ve always known that we are a resilient people, but the pandemic forced a lot of us to take a deep breath because it was new,” Carter Richards continued. “A lot of us were print publications, but we had to
Texas
Karen Carter Richards Credit: NNPA
change the game. We took a breath and started doing what we do. Some of us were already making digital strides, but it was gradual. The pandemic forced us to step it up, and we had a lot of help from the NNPA office, and the publishers helped each other.” The NNPA represents the hundreds of newspapers and media companies in the Black Press of America family. From June 23 to June 26, the NNPA will host its national convention. The convention will feature a special performance by the legendary Grammy winner Chaka Khan and Nu-Soul and Jazz artist
Candice Hoyes. The NNPA will also hand out its prestigious Legacy Awards, including to: • Darnella Frazier, the African American teenager who courageously filmed the police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, will receive the Ida B. Wells National Photojournalism Award. • The Rev. John P. Keewill receive the 2021 National Gospel Transformative Award. • Earth, Wind & Fire Lead Singer Philip Bailey will be presented with the 2021 National Lifetime Achievement Legacy Award for Outstanding Achievement, Impact, and Creative Genius. • Scotty Barnhart, the legendary Count Basie Orchestra leader, will receive the 2021 National Performance and Outstanding Leadership Award. • The Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson will receive the 2021 National Achievement and Outstanding LeadSee LEADERSHIP, page 13
Richardson bolts into history, Tokyo Olympics By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire
Crossing the finish line.
Credit: NCAA
With lightning-like quickness and a will to dominate, Sha’Carri Richardson is on her way to the Olympics in Tokyo. The 21-year-old native of Dallas, TX, won the women’s 100-meter final during the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. Richardson’s victory came in just 10.86 seconds – amazingly, it was an eye-lash slower than her head-spinning performance in the semifinal heat, where she crossed the finish line in just 10.64 seconds. Many are comparing the Olympic-bound track and field star to greats like Florence Griffith-Joyner, and Gail Devers. Richardson has remained humble, and she credits her grandmother, Betty Harp, for much of her success. “My grandmother is my heart, my superwoman,” Richardson told Runners World. “To have her here at the biggest meet of my life, it’s just amazing. That probably felt better than winning the races, just being able to hold her after becoming an Olympian.” Already turning heads in and around the sport, Richardson further raised eyebrows when she dominated the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials in Eugene, OR. Jumping out to a fast start, Richardson appeared to purposely slow down toward the end of the race and point toward the clock, which registered her dramatic timing.
“Give me your tired” …or… “Do not come” I WAS JUST THINKING... By Norma Adams-Wade We all love Vice-President Kamala Harris. Yet we admit her recent words set off an international firestorm. On her diplomatic visit to Guatemala in June, the United States’ second most powerful
person was roundly quoted in media as saying to potential immigrants, “Do not come. Do not come.” Her admonition addressed the controversial and yet unsolved issue of undocumented migrants crossing the nation’s southern border and entering Texas, largely from Mexico, Guatemala, and other Latin American sites. Her message was: stay where you are and allow America to help solve the “root causes” that compel you to
Vice-president kamala Harris Credit: Wikipedia
leave, including corruption and poverty. Some politicians and
media pundits criticized Harris’ words, particularly migrant advocate U. S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) who said “This is disappointing...” Aside from criticism, though, Harris’ statement also delves up much ignored or maybe even willfully concealed history about the Statue of Liberty and the mood of Black and White America at the time that the statue was dedicated 135 years ago in 1886. We are familiar with the welcoming inscription:
“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, …”
We are not so familiar with how Black Americans reacted to those much-hyped words during those hateful postReconstruction years filled with lynchings and Jim Crow discrimination. I was just thinking…when VP Harris said “Do not come,” did See DO NOT COME, page 6