The curious case of Carlee Russell
I don’t know what happened to Carlee Russell (the young woman who was missing for 48 hours in Alabama) but I’m dumbfounded by the number of folks who immediately cast doubt on her story because she was found. Could it be that whoever took her felt like it was too much media attention so they dumped her? (Shout out to the amount of media coverage this story got because you know usually Black women can’t get a story on the Classifed page). Could it be that she had a mental breakdown? I understand the doubt that “things don’t add up.” But people feeling like their prayers “were wasted” (which I saw a lot of comments about on social media), makes me question, are we as a society jaded to immediately think the worst? And whether she was truly abducted or something concocted in her head that blew out of control, she’s going to have some healing to do. Of course, I will be disappointed if this turns out to be a hoax, but the main thing is that she’s home. And isn’t THAT what everyone wanted? We’ve got to stop feeling entitled to explanations from people’s trauma. Either pray genuinely or don’t pray at all. Tat’s just my two cents.
payments from borrowers with deferments and forbearances as well as those who made partial or late payments to assist with forgiveness. Tough this is a major feat, cue the complaints that it’s not enough.
Hip-Hop old school vs new school
Dr. Dre is sparking controversy after weighing in on new school rap. During a conversation with Kevin Hart on his Peacock show, Hart to Heart, the legendary producer gave a nuanced answer that did not crush today’s hip-hop but didn’t necessarily give them all of their props either. He said, “Hip-Hop is what it is. Anybody that’s talking about the state of hip-hop right now, when talking about it from a negative place, sounds like somebody’s f**kin’ grandfather. Tis is just what it is. Hip-Hop is evolving. If you don’t like it, don’t listen to it, you know what I’m saying? I’m keepin’ it all the way 100 with you. Most of this sh*t, I don’t like. I don’t listen to. But I’m not hatin’ on it. I’m never gonna hate on it.”
President
Joe Biden is still trying to work on student loan forgiveness, despite a ruling from the Supreme Court striking down his forgiveness plan. Biden’s administration has announced they will automatically forgive $39 billion in student debt for 804,000 borrowers. Tis aid is due to adjustments to the student loan system’s income-driven repayment plans. According to those plans, afer 20-25 years of repayment, borrowers will have the rest of the debt canceled by the government. Tis would vary depending on when they borrowed as well as their plan and loan type. Payments that made borrowers closer to being debt-free weren’t accounted for in the past, per the Biden administration. It will also count
Te criticism from many modern day rappers is that those who look down on today’s hip-hop are playing the exact role that previous generations did when hip-hop frst came into prominence. I agree. Hip-hop is a genre that is meant to evolve. Te core of the genre is taking something that’s already been done and using it to create something unique and fresh. Hip-hop is not going to sound like it did 30 years ago. Just as our parents and grandparents thought Too Live Crew and Too Short were vile and disgusting, today’s rap stands on its own merit for those that appreciate it. Now, having said that…I agree with Dre about today’s hip hop. Te mumbo-jumbo makes my head hurt. I guess that makes me someone’s grandma...
ON THE WEB
• Top 5 Texas’ most Googled injuries
• OpEd: Is Gov. Abbott ‘touched or just cruel & unusual’?
• Buy from a Black Woman + H&M tour
Half a million Texans have lost their Medicaid coverage since April, mostly for procedural reasons like not responding to messages from the state.
Preliminary data by the state’s Health and Human Services Commission, paints a grim picture of Texas’ early eforts to redetermine Medicaid eligibility for the frst time since COVID-19 hit three years ago.
By Aswad Walker
Harris Health is seeking support from Black voters for their $2.5 billion bond proposal, which they hope gets passed during the upcoming November election. Recognizing the power and importance of the Black vote, Harris Health ofcials met with 35 Black pastors, including Dr. James Dixon, pastor of the Community of Faith Church and president of the NAACP Houston Branch.
Following that meeting, at the behest of the NAACP, a coalition of individuals and organization reps, under the banner of the LBJ Community Leaders Coalition, met to discuss potential benefts and concerns they have regarding the $2.5 billion bond proposal. The group also began formulating a list of demands for services rendered to the Black community in order to receive their endorsement.
Dixon details a list of demands as follows:
1. Address Healthcare Disparities:
“One, we’ve got to have healthcare disparities addressed, not just in the way of treatment, but in the way of prevention”
• Education on nutrition, dieting, heart-healthy meal preparation, high blood pressure, etc.
• Workout space in the facility for community residents who can’t aford gym memberships.
• Educational Curriculums for schools and churches: “We want Harris Health to help to… teach and disseminate information where people gather already on a regular basis.”
2. Address Black Maternal Health:
“We know that the maternal death rate for African-American mothers is twice, if not three times higher than their white counterparts. Tis is a serious issue.”
3. Address Mental Health: “Prior to COVID, we already had major issues from stress and anxiety. Poverty itself is stressful. Resource defciency is highly stressful. When you add to that you’re sick, lack of funds, lack of resources, lack of access, lack of hope, it adds to stress and anxiety.”
• Suicide Prevention: “Suicides are up in our community, especially among our young people. So, we’ve gotta deal with mental health in a very serious way.”
• Addressing Multiple Forms of Trauma: “Northeast Houston and other underserved communities have high rates of human trafcking. We’ve got youth and young people being trafcked. Where do they go for help? Who understands that the reason they’re acting out in school, the reason they’re suicidal, the reason they’re doing drugs is because they’re dealing with the trauma from having been sexually exploited.”
4. Economic Equity: “Beyond the health and medical care, this is $2.5 billion, nearly $3 billion countywide. We refuse to support a bond issue that is not guaranteed to produce equitable participation for Black and minority contractors… If we don’t begin to use public dollars in a way that’s more
responsible and equitable, we’ll continue to see poverty generationally. So, we wanna see local minority-owned businesses participating at signifcant levels from start to fnish.”
• In construction and operations
• Business opportunities including “ongoing goods and services that are gonna be needed at this hospital and businesses connected to it.”
5. Set Terms of Agreement: “We’re expecting that Harris Health will present to us a document with terms of agreement that we’ll be able to document and ofcially say Harris Health has committed to these things for health, medical services, human services, but also for economic and business opportunity.”
6. Faith Institution Involvement: “Churches are large landowners in these communities. We’ve gotta talk about how churches beneft because they’re the anchor of our communities.”
7. Historic Integrity of Community Maintained: “What we don’t wanna look up and see is, five-to-seven years from now, afer this hospital gets built, the entire neighborhood around it doesn’t look like Kashmere Gardens, Trinity Gardens, Houston Garden, Settegast, Pleasantville, and Fifh Ward.”
Dixon said the LBJ Community Leaders Coalition doesn’t want to see a $2.5 billion project erected in the Black community, generating hundreds of millions annually, yet “all the money leaves the community and goes to resource other parts of town.”
Nowhere was this “unwinding” going to be easy. But Texas — with its high uninsured rates, strict rules to qualify for Medicaid and persistent delays in verifying eligibility — was on particularly poor footing to handle the sudden infux of renewals.
Now, hundreds of thousands of Texans are scrambling afer suddenly losing health insurance — and the consistent care from trusted health care providers that it enabled them to access. Meanwhile, advocates say many of the people who lost coverage may actually still be eligible, and they’re calling for the state to pause redeterminations until they can ensure low-income children don’t fall through the newly apparent cracks in the renewal system.
“If the high percentage of procedural denials continues, then Texas is on the verge of knocking a lot of eligible kids of of their health insurance,” said Diana Forester, director of health policy at Texans Care for Children. “If state leaders can’t quickly pivot to a more efective process, then they should consider pausing the Medicaid removals until they can get this right.”
Texas is one of just 11 states that has not expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Afordable Care Act, and the state has the highest rate of uninsured residents in the country.
In the first month of this process, Texas reviewed the eligibility of almost 800,000 people. Of those initial cases, about 111,000 people were determined to still qualify for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. About 95,000 people were found to no longer qualify. But an additional 400,000 people were moved of of Medicaid for procedural reasons, meaning the state terminated their coverage without reviewing their eligibility.
Unless the business is right, the politics are gonna be wrong. We’re not going to support it if it does not meet the smell test of proper opportunities for participation”
JAMES DIXON
Police in Alabama are still trying to unravel exactly what happened to Carlee Russell, while her parents continue to maintain that she was kidnapped.
Hoover ofcials recently revealed that Russell searched for information about Amber Alerts, bus stations and taking money before she went missing. Te U.S. Secret Service found these searches on her phone, which was lef in her car afer she disappeared afer reporting a toddler walking along I-459.
Russell, 25, also called a relative and told them she saw the toddler in a diaper on the side of the road and that she was stopping to check on him, but that relative lost contact with her. When ofcers arrived at the scene, they found her wig, cellphone and purse on the road near her car, but no sign of Russell or the child she called about. Her call was the only report about seeing a child on the interstate, police said.
Two days later, police received a call notifying them that Carlee Russell had returned home.
Russell’s parents say their daughter has to not only deal with the physical and mental trauma but she’s being victimized all over by the “mean and vicious things people are saying online.”
Speaking on NBC’s “TODAY” show in an interview, Talitha Robinson-Russell, said she felt “just so much joy” afer her daughter returned home afer being missing for 48 hours.
“We tried to hug her as best we could, but I had to stand back because she was not in a good state,” she said.
Talitha Robinson-Russell and Carlos Russell, Carlee Russell’s father, told the “TODAY” show they could not share details on how their daughter returned home or on
her account of what unfolded during her disappearance, citing the ongoing police investigation but they were adamant that their daughter had been abducted.
In the days since her return Carlos Russell said his daughter was struggling with “bad dreams” and “moments where some things make her cringe, afraid,” including loud noises. “Just diferent things that trigger,” he said.
Her mother said the family has also been lef traumatized. She also said they received “many” texts and calls from people who “maliciously lied” to them and pretended to know their daughter’s whereabouts while she was missing. “I just didn’t know people could be so evil,” Talitha Robinson-Russell said, noting that there has also been widespread speculation around what happened during her daughter’s disappearance in the wake of her return home.
Hoover police say they have found no evidence of a toddler, and don’t think the public is in any danger. Tey stopped short of disputing Russell’s story, but did say the reveal of her search engine showed searches of everything from “how to take money from a register without being caught” to information about the movie “Taken.”
Surveillance footage from her work at the spa shows that she concealed a bathrobe and toilet paper when she lef, and neither were in the car afer she went missing.
Defender News Service
Rev. Jesse Jackson has named Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes, III, as the new president and CEO of Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Rev. Jackson ofcially announced his retirement at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s national convention.
Jackson is stepping down as leader of the Chicago-based civil rights group he started more than half a century ago due to health reasons. For the last eight years, he has been dealing with Parkinson’s disease and is now in a wheelchair. In 2021, he also had gallbladder surgery, contracted COVID and fell at
Howard University, which led to a severe head injury.
In addition to this new role at the helm of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Haynes is the senior, is the senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas, with more than 13,000 members. While Haynes recently announced Pastor David McGruder as the Executive Pastor of Friendship-West, Haynes will remain the senior pastor.
“Rev. Jesse Jackson has made the world a better place, breaking down barriers, opening previously locked doors of opportunity, fghting for justice and refusing to take “no” for an answer on behalf of those who have no voice,” said Haynes. “Rainbow PUSH has been the organizational vehicle that he has driven in the movement for justice. I am honored and humbled that he has “tapped” me to serve as his successor as the President and CEO of this great organization. Rev. Jackson has been a mentor and I have been greatly infuenced and inspired by this game-changing social justice general, international ambassador for human rights, and prophetic genius. Sadly, justice and human rights are under attack in the nation and around the world. Te work of Rainbow PUSH is as necessary as ever and I am committed to standing on the shoulders of Rev. Jackson and continuing the fght for freedom, peace, equity, justice and human rights.”
Haynes is best known as a social justice pastor and advocate for marginalized communities. Known nationally as “the drum major for justice,” he has modeled his ministry like Dr. Martin
VOLUME 92, NUMBER 36 - JULY 20, 2023
Publisher | CEO
Sonceria Messiah-Jiles
Strategic Alllance Clyde Jiles
Digital Content Manager Get Current Studios
Managing Editor ReShonda Tate
Associate Editor Aswad Walker
Education Reporter
Laura Onyeneho
Special Assignments Reporter
Tannistha Sinha
Sports Terrance Harris
Jodie B. Jiles
Photographer Jimmie Aggison
Social Media Manager
Tia Alphonse
Jordan Hockett
There are moments when she had to physically fght for her life and moments when she had to mentally fght for her life.”
Talitha Robinson-Russell
A heat wave that has consistently pushed temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) across much of Texas this summer has family members of inmates calling for lawmakers to ensure that all of the state’s prisons are fully air conditioned.
“They’re cooking our inmates in the Texas prison system,” said Tona Southards Naranjo, who believes the death last month of her son, Jon Southards, was caused by excessive heat in his prison, the Estelle Unit in Huntsville. Naranjo was one of more than 60 people who attended a rally outside the Texas Capitol recently.
Advocates and others have been highly critical of the lack of air conditioning in the nation’s largest prison system, alleging temperatures that often go past 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48.9 degrees Celsius) inside Texas prisons in the summer have been responsible for hundreds of inmate deaths in recent years. Only about 30% of Texas’ 100 prison units are fully air conditioned, with the rest having partial or no air conditioning. Texas currently has more than 128,000 inmates.
However, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, or TDCJ, says there have been no heat-related deaths in the state’s prisons since 2012. Officials are still investigating what caused Jon Southards’ death, said Amanda Hernandez, a TDCJ spokesperson. At least eight other inmate deaths in recent weeks that advocates allege are heat-related were either
due to cardiac arrest or other medical conditions, Hernandez said. The cause of some are still under investigation.
But Naranjo said her son’s body was covered in a heat rash. The last time she talked with him, just hours before his death on June 28, the 36-year-old, who had asthma, complained about not being able to breathe in his cell’s
stifling air. He also complained about having to drink water out of his toilet because it was colder than the water from his sink.
“As a mother, this is crushing,” she said.
Texas is one of at least thirteen states that doesn’t have universal air conditioning in state prisons, according to a report last year by the Texas A&M University Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center and Texas Prisons Community Advocates, an advocacy group for inmates.
State Rep. Carl Sherman was one of several Democratic lawmakers who unsuccessfully tried getting bills passed in the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature this year that would have required prisons to be fully air conditioned.
“This is not a political issue. This is a humanity issue ... This is about survival,” Sherman said.
During this year’s regular legislative session, which ended in May, the Texas House had proposed more than $343 million for the next two years to install air conditioning in state prisons and pay for operating expenses and maintenance. But the Senate declined to provide any funding. The lack of funding took place as Texas had a more than $32 billion budget surplus to work with during this year’s legislative session.
Former Houston ISD educator Calvin Mitchell said that his time with the district had to come to an end.
“It was time to take my talents elsewhere, and with the recent shake ups happening with the superintendent’s New Education System plan, I felt I made the right decision,” he said. “I want to go where I feel valued and heard.”
Houston Independent School District (HISD) is undergoing signifcant changes with the introduction of Superintendent Mike Miles' New Education System (NES) initiative. While the plan aims to improve low-performing schools and address the achievement gap, the district is experiencing an exodus of educators just weeks before the start of the new school year. Te departure of teachers has raised concerns about the impact on continuity and stability within the district.
Mitchel was an 8th grade middle school English Language Arts and reading teacher. He taught the class for a year working on his teacher certifcation, and was frustrated that with his education experience, his compensation was “equated to that of a secretary.”
“As an educator, we work too hard and make sacrifces for our students,” he said. “and this NES plan will make things worse for educators.”
Initially, almost 30 underperforming schools were designated for the NES program, and an additional 57 schools voluntarily joined the initiative. Te comprehensive changes include extended instruction time, classroom surveillance cameras for discipline assistance, stringent educator evaluations primarily based on standardized test scores, and a revamped stafng model resembling a "hospital model" where teachers are likened to "surgeons."
“This plan limits a teacher’s style of teaching. All
students don’t learn the same. We have students who can barely read in the eighth grade. Just image introducing them to new material,” Mitchell said. “Te superintendent is selling the salary component of this, but what it really means is you’ll work more hours, you’ll be micromanaged, and you’ll be restricted with the NES curriculum.”
Mitchell now works in Alief ISD and is paid a teacher’s salary while he completes his certifcate.
“I’m not leaving the district. I work at a disciplinary alternative education program. I work with students with
behavioral problems and not everyone can work with these types of children,” said HISD educator, Larry McKinze. “Te superintendent is selling the program like a car salesman at these family events and has no regard for the actual concerns of the people.”
McKinze said the superintendent’s “military style of leadership doesn’t work well with regular people” and describes Miles’ analogy of treating teachers like “surgeons” as problematic for educators who don’t agree with a one size fts all approach to teaching.
“It’s a nightmare within itself especially for teachers who’ve been in HISD for a very long time,” said Michelle Williams, President of the Houston Educators Association. “We’ve never seen anything like this, don’t get me wrong, HISD has it’s issues, but not like this.”
More than 500 positions at HISD's central office were eliminated, with Superintendent Miles noting that approximately 30% of the cuts were vacant positions. HISD, being the largest employer in Houston with over 20,000 employees, has felt the impact of the organizational restructuring. Teachers at nearly 30 high-priority schools, including Wheatley High, Kashmere, North Forest, and their feeder schools, are required to reapply for their positions as part of the New Education System. Tis has added to the uncertainty and disruption within the afected schools as educators grapple with the decision to continue under the new system.
“A lot of our Black educators have lef. I’m interested to see the confrmed percentages from HISD,” Williams said. “Mike Miles just doesn’t have a plan for this large of a magnitude of people. He says many are on board with his idea, but there are a lot of people who still don’t trust his actions.”
During a recent HISD family event session at the headquarters, frustrations arose among some Houston ISD teachers who discovered that their contract ofers included lower salaries than anticipated.
Tese revelations have sparked concerns among educators regarding the fairness and transparency of the New Education System (NES) implemented by Superintendent Mike Miles.
Te recently published NES salary tables reveal a salary range for elementary teachers starting at $63,000 and reaching a maximum of $110,000. Middle school salaries range from $65,000 to $110,000, while high school teachers can expect a minimum of $70,000 with a maximum salary of $115,000. Te salaries are infuenced by the subjects taught and the teachers' level of experience.
However, some teachers expressed disappointment as they had expected higher minimum salaries.
"Our experienced teachers are being
given lower salaries and I hope that's not the case," said Michelle Williams, President of the Houston Education Association. "I hope you are not weeding out veteran teachers... research does not support inexperience teachers with high needs students."
Miles reassured the crowd that NES teachers will be making what was promised.
"You should be happy about that, as a person who supports teachers that at least 28 schools have much higher salaries than average," Miles said. "If your salary for some reason is lower than the salary we ofered...you will receive the salary that you would have received this year."
Teachers have taken to social media to address their concerns about the lack of information from their school district about their contracts.
A teacher, who has been teaching at HISD schools for three decades, wrote on Facebook that they were frst ofered $105,000, then later received a call reducing the ofer to $92,000.
“I had already accepted an ofer of 105 she said she would make a note of that and hung up,” their post read. “Ten I get an email stating I'm getting $92,000. I have literally lost $13,000 over a weekend.”
Many teachers were concerned because they didn’t know their salary until a day afer the July 14 resignation deadline. By
state law, teachers must announce their resignations 45 days before the frst day of school or face certifcation penalties. An NES-approved elective teacher with fve years of experience, who did not want to be named due to fear of retribution, expressed her dissatisfaction around the current pay structure of the HISD.
BE
HAVE
Your symptoms may point to something more serious like ATTR-CM (transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy), a rare and underdiagnosed disease that gets worse over time. It afects the heart and other parts of the body, causing symptoms that may seem unrelated.
Recognize the signs of ATTR-CM and talk to your cardiologist. To learn more, scan here or visit: BiggerPicturefortheHeart.com
According to Marc Morial, the National Urban League (NUL) is one of the nation’s historic civil rights and urban advocacy organizations, and arguably the best and strongest. However, he may be a bit biased as Morial is president and CEO of the NUL, a position he has manned for 20 years.
“We’re unique amongst those who do this work in that we do advocacy and direct services,” said Morial, the former mayor of New Orleans. “Our direct services involve serving people literally from cradle all the way until they’re seasoned citizens, through job training, afterschool programs, homebuyer education, workforce development, entrepreneurship initiatives, and the like.”
The NUL does that work through a network of 93 affiliates across the nation. Morial counts the Houston Area Urban League (HAUL) as “one of the best,” and is partnering with this local affiliate, the City of Houston and the Houston community to bring the NUL’s annual conference in Houston July 26 - 29.
The Defender spoke with Morial, who is also a best-selling author and former Louisiana state legislator, about the upcoming conference.
DEFENDER: Why is the ongoing assault on our civil rights one of the main themes of the 2023 NUL conference?
MARC MORIAL: Because much of what’s happening now strikes directly at the heart of the work that the civil rights generation did to bend the arc in this country. They wiped out legal segregation. They finally secured the right to vote in a meaningful way. They created programs to address poverty, to educate the poor. They opened America
to make it a different America. What is happening now threatens to wipe out that progress. And that to me is a significant, clear and present danger, which is why have to be more than woke. We have to be in action mode to work and to fight. And we can’t do it alone. We’ve got to demonstrate our assertiveness. We need our friends, we need our allies, we need others to be able to do this. Because what we’re trying to do is build this multicultural America that respects this value, [and] has a place at the table for all.
DEFENDER: Some young adults are lukewarm at best about traditional civil rights organizations.What’s your message to them?
MORIAL: Get involved somewhere. If we are not the choice, get involved somewhere. Because ultimately, we’re going to be partnering with you. We’re going to be aligned with you. Don’t be a naysayer. Don’t stand on the side. Get involved somewhere. Create something on your own, but be involved in
the issues. We welcome you into our house. We welcome you into our tent. But our tent is not an exclusive tent. Our tent, our house is part of a bigger movement. Whatever works for you. The other thing I’d say is don’t judge us until you try us. See if it works for you. See if there’s something in it for you. Don’t judge us based on hearsay and trash-talking and things that may be inaccurate or outdated, but get involved. Be an active citizen. Be a voter. Be involved in an organization that meets and fits your sensibilities and values.
DEFENDER: What’s your challenge to young people who want to see a changed society?
MORIAL: I think it was healthy to see people involved in the Black Lives Matter movement. But young people who were involved, my challenge [to you] is stay active. A march for a year or 18 months by itself is not going to change 400-year-old problems. You can’t be someone who thinks that we’re going to either litigate one case, one bill, one march, one this, one that. This work is hard because the history is very challenging. Slav ery goes all the way back to 1500 in Lisbon. We’re now [23 years past] the year 2,000— that’s 500 years. People have to be aware that it’s difficult and hard. I’m just a proponent of active citizens. That’s what we need in our community—people active where they’re comfortable being active.
DEFENDER: What’s the L.E.A.D. Summit?
MORIAL: It’s highly focused on under 40. And its content is designed for and by
WEDNESDAY, JULY 26
Urban League Fights for You
Rally on Civil Rights, Gun Violence, Women’s Rights & Economic Justice
3p.m. – 4p.m., Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney St., Houston 77010
“Gumbo Coalition”
Documentary Premiere
6p.m. – 8p.m., Wortham Center-Cullen Theater, 501 Texas Ave, Houston 77002
THURSDAY, JULY 27
Forum: Black Men Thrive: Moving Beyond Survival
10:45a.m. – 12p.m., GRB Room 310B
Women of Power Awards
Luncheon
12:30p.m. – 2:15p.m., GRB Ballroom ABC
the under 40. And the under 40 Young Professionals cohort creates a very specific group of young people with self-governance. They elect their own board, elect their own leaders. So, it’s developmental. I was a young elected official. I started young and I had to
DEFENDER: Why have you chosen to kick off the conference with an Urban League Fights ForYou rally?
MORIAL: We have to send a message to Governor Abbott, to the Texas State legislature that trying to take over the election system in Harris County is wrong. Trying to suppress and censor books is wrong. Trying to take over the Houston Independent School District is wrong. It’s modern-day colonialism. So, we believe we have to stand up and lend our voice.
We’re doing it for that reason. I want everyone to know that we’re coming to Houston to support the resistance.
DEFENDER: If people can only attend one conference event, which would you recommend?
MORIAL: Depends on your flavor. But I think the rally’s going to be great. I think Community & Family Day will be great. I think there’s going to be a great number of workshops. Go to www.nulconference.org. Check it out. Registration is modest. Come and be a part of it.
YP L.E.A.D.S. Forums on mental health, Black rights advocacy and leveraging Black economic success for community empowerment
2:30p.m. – 3:45p.m., GRB Room 310 A, B and C
Urban League LIVE! A Celebration of Hip Hop’s 50th Anniversary 8p.m. – 11:55p.m., House of Blues, 1204 Caroline St., Houston 77002
FRIDAY, JULY 28
Plenary II: State of Black America
8a.m. – 10:30a.m., GRB Ballroom C
Legacy Leadership Luncheon & Awards
12:30p.m. – 2:15pm, GRB Ballroom AB
Whitney M. Young Jr. Awards Gala, 8p.m. –10p.m., GRB Ballroom AB
SATURDAY, JULY 29
Small Business Matters
Entrepreneur Summit
8a.m. – 6p.m., Marriott Marquis Houston, 1777 Walker St., Houston 77010
MARC MORIAL CEO, National UrbanLeague
Community & Family Day Expo backpack giveaway. Legal clinic, college fair, 9:30a.m. – 4:30p.m., GRB Hall A & Expo Hall
We’re unique amongst those who do this work in that we do advocacy and direct services. Our direct services involve serving people literally from cradle all the way until they’re seasoned citizens..."
By Laura Onyeneho
As the city eagerly prepares to host the highly anticipated 2023 National Urban League (NUL) Conference on July 26-29, the Houston Area Urban League Young Professionals (HAULYP) have been diligently working to empower the local community. With a range of impactful initiatives, HAULYP has emerged as a driving force in addressing pressing social and economic issues faced by Houstonians.
Te NUL Conference is one of the most signifcant civil rights events in the country, where the most impactful community activists and leaders in media, business, and government gather in person at the George R. Brown Convention Center to collectively move the needle toward equity for Black people.
HAULYP will host the YP L.E.A.D (Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Advocacy, Development) Summit during the conference for young professionals to connect, exchange ideas, and develop skills that will enable them to make an impact within their communities and professions.
“It’s highly focused on under 40, and its content is designed for and by under 40,”
said President and CEO of the National Urban League Marc Morial. “It’s also making sure that we are not setting up in a situation where we expect young people to come and sit in the back. Young people, you are on stage. Young people, you’re talking. Young people, you’re running the meeting.”
In his 20 years of leading NUL, Morial said he is most proud of the new generation of leaders both “young professionals and at the local level” embracing technology and reaching millions through social media outlets, and is optimistic about aligning and partnering with young people as the organization grows and transforms.
“It’s important to remember that on a local level in Houston, it’s a big election year, we have city council races and mayoral races, and it’s important for us to reiterate the needs of the people and put ourselves in positions to have our voices heard,” said Markia Bordeaux, president of HAULYP. “Young people really have the power to
impact change at the local level and that is part of the ground work we do.”
One of HAULYP’s primary focuses has been on empowering Houston’s youth through education by launching mentorship programs, career development workshops, and scholarship opportunities, has actively worked to bridge educational gaps and foster a culture of academic excellence. Teir efforts have equipped young individuals with the tools they need to succeed, setting them on a path towards a brighter future.
Through strategic partnerships with local businesses, they have organized job fairs, entrepreneurship workshops, and fnancial literacy programs. Tey’ve planned volunteer activities, community
clean-ups, and initiatives addressing food insecurity. HAULYP organized rallies, forums, and town hall meetings, they have sparked important conversations around racial equity, and launched health health and wellness initiatives to address disparities in healthcare access through health fairs, ftness programs, and educational workshops.
“I’m extremely proud of this organization. Tis is a movement. It’s like a family reunion,” said Bordeaux. “Tis is a party with a purpose. We are at a time where afrmative action and women’s reproductive rights are being overturned among other issues. Tis is the best time to get involved with the Urban League.”
By ReShonda Tate
Throughout her childhood, CBS News National correspondent, Michelle Miller had two burning questions – who is my mother and where do I really belong?
The questions haunted her growing up in Los Angeles in the 1970s, followed her as she became a reporter and anchor on WWL-TV, New Orleans’ first lady, cohost of “CBS Saturday Morning” and a CBS News national correspondent. Miller admits that she grew up loved. Her father, a prominent Black surgeon and Compton City Council member and her grandmother, known affectionately as BigMama, made sure of it. But what she didn’t have was a mother’s love and she always wanted to know why.
Her usually loving father, turned cold whenever she pressed him about the woman who had given birth to her and left her in the hospital nursery.
Miller was born in a deeply segregated Los Angeles in 1967, the product of an extramarital affair between her Black father and her Latina, mother who presented as white.
Young Michelle was bused to wealthy white schools as the city tried to integrate, further obscuring her own mixed-race identity. When she was twenty-two, and her father was dying of cancer, he urged her to find her mother, whom she’d only met once when she was nine - a surprise meeting that her father engineered that didn’t end well.
For years, Miller’s yearning to see how she fit in sat on the back burner. That changed in the summer of 2020, when the country was rocked by racial turmoil after the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of white Minneapolis policemen.
Because Miller had covered racially charged incidents, a senior producer at CBS told her, “I want you to bring this perspective to what we’re seeing now,” she said.
That push caused her story to pour out.
“It was like God touched me,” Miller said. “It wasn’t unusual for me to share parts of my story, … but it has to be relevant. It was so relevant to this...
She told her story on “CBS Mornings.” Within an hour after the show went off the air, Miller said, “a pub lisher from Harper Collins contacted her to write a book.
A collabora tor, Rosemarie Robotham, pushed her beyond her usual still of writing short pieces for television, and urged her to dig deeply to share her emotions — something that journalists are taught to shun in favor of dispassionate reporting.
The toughest work, she said, came when she was writing about her encounters with her mother, including a tense session when Miller introduced her to Miller’s husband, former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, now National Urban League president, and their two children.
“This book is the story of one woman’s search for herself,” Miller said. “In the context of my mother’s early abandonment of me, and my coming of age in the racialized crucible of my American homeland, it is a search that has involved the painful work of constructing an identity that is authentic and purposeful, healed, and whole. Perhaps, as my father suggested when he urged me to explore the unknown, this is the task we must each engage—to find our lives. We are each, after all, born to a quest whose starting point is
set by the providence of where our star is cast, and we must place our feet upon the path where we awaken, and follow it home.”
Even though she was never more than civil to her daughter, Miller promised never to name her mother. In the book, she is called Laura Hernandez; Miller doesn’t know whether her mother is still alive.
She has moved on. “There are circumstances at birth,” Miller said. “You do not need to have them define the person you can be.”
BOOKSIGNING
Harris County Cultural Arts Center
13334 Wallisville Road
Houston, TX 77049
Saturday, July 29 · 3:15 - 5:30pm
Tickets via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ belonging-by-michelle-millertickets- 663448431117? aff=oddtdtcreator
Part of that moment was to let people know that we all come to the table with a lens. You see things differently from the ways other people do.”
Michelle Miller
For the past 30 years, José Griñán has been more than a fixture on Fox 26 KRIV-TV, he’s become a Houston icon. However, most recently, Griñán has taken on a new title—retired.
Te Tampa-born Griñán, who takes pride in his Cuban roots, built a formidable media career before coming to Houston in 1993, working in El Paso, Miami, New York and Dallas with multiple outlets, CNN being one of them.
At Houston’s Fox 26, Griñán made a name for himself as the senior morning news anchor for the 6:00 a.m., 7:00 a.m., 8:00 a.m. and 12 noon newscasts. But Griñán did as much work of air as on—actively serving the greater Houston community as a volunteer for the National Kidney Foundation, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Special Olympics and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, among others.
But now that Griñán has reported on his last big story, and there have been many, he took a moment to speak with the Defender about his transition into retirement.
DEFENDER: How does it feel nowto be actuallyretired?
GRIÑÁN: Well, I’m still trying to fgure out what I’m going to do next with my life, because I know that there is a lot more to come. I just don’t know exactly what that is right now and what phase I’m going to have to go through in order to get to that particular point. But retirement, it’s a joy not having to wake up at 3:30 and 3:45 in the morning to make it to work and be on the air at 7a.m. I thought about destroying my alarm clock <laughs>. Because it had been part of my life for a very long time. And now I’m on my own time. It’s just that now I’m trying to fgure out what to do with the time.
DEFENDER: What big stories while in Houston stand out?
GRIÑÁN: One morning on the air, in my earpiece, someone was saying that there was a plane crash into a particular building in New York City. I happened to glance to the side and see a little bit of video, and I just started talking about the video. Te director followed me, and we eventually put on one of the frst hits on the Twin Towers in New York City. Tat was on 9/11.
DEFENDER: You’ve been a fxture in the Houston community, doingasmuchofcameraas
you did on.Whyhas serving the Houston community been so important toyou?
GRIÑÁN: I think as a journalist, you have a responsibility to the community which you are working in because you’re serving that community. And, when folks asked me to emcee an event for them, I did not see any problem with doing that. I just think that in addition to getting the facts right [as a journalist], you do have a responsibility to the community. Because without the people you’re serving, you don’t have a job because they’re the ones who support you. Tey’re the ones who speak up for you. Tey’re the ones who will come to your aid if need be. In fact, they’re kind of family to a certain extent. People talk about community.
Community is not just your neighborhood. It’s not just your city. It’s not just your county. It’s all of the folks who are your viewers in my case. And that extended past Harris County, past Montgomery County, past Galveston County.
DEFENDER: Doyou have any adviceforup-and-coming journalists,especially journalists ofcolor?
GRIÑÁN: First of, I tell anyone who is thinking in terms of being a reporter or a
journalist, know your history, know social studies. History is not something that just happened in the past. Something today happens because something in the past happened. And if you can relate those two things, you have part of your story already written. Know your community. Know your city ofcials. Know your county ofcials. Know what they’re doing. Try and get as much knowledge as you can, but also be a part of the community that you’re serving or that’s serving you. Because without that support, you’re not gonna make it as a journalist.
Some call us pioneers. Others call us surgeons. Nurses. Paramedics.
Saving lives in the middle of the night at a nationally renowned trauma center.
Delivering at-risk babies against all odds, from all across the county.
Year after year, training the majority of the doctors who practice in the most famous medical center in the world.
And, day after day, providing essential care and vital resources to those who need it most in every one of our communities.
You might not know our name. And that’s okay.
YOU’LL KNOW US BY THE WORK WE DO.
Phoenix Mercury star center and Houston native Brittney Griner scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help Team Stewart to a 143-127 win over Team Wilson during the WNBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas.
Dylan Campbell drafted by LA Dodgers University of Texas star baseball player and Strake
Jesuit product
Former University of Houston standout and the No.25 pick in the recent NBA Draft Marcus Sasser scored an NBA Summer League-high 40 points to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 100-85 win over Indiana in their final game.
Dylan Campbell was drafted in the fourth round (136th overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the recent MLB Draft. Campbell, an outfielder for the Longhorns, was the first UT player taken in the draft. His slotted bonus for his draft position is $473,700.
The Rockets may have been without some of their key young stars like No.4 overall pick
Over the years, Johnathan Motley has always associated Fonde Recreation Center with the most competitive basketball you can find away from the glare of the cameras.
The basketball tradition at the Sixth Ward gym runs deep and there ain’t no passes just because you are an NBA player or the star of your college basketball team. When you show up at Fonde, lace’em up and be ready to be challenged.
And on a recent Sunday afternoon, Motley and his Competitive Choice teammates were being pushed to the limit against Mob Ties during NEPL, otherwise known as No Excuses Pro League, action on Fonde’s immaculate hardwood floor. It looked like Mob Ties has sealed it with a three-point lead in the final five seconds, but at Fonde no lead is safe until the whistle blows.
Cam WhitmoreAmen Thompson and second-year forwards Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason for much of their time in the Las Vegas Summer League, but their absences didn’t prevent the Rockets from going undefeated and advancing to the championship game where they faced the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. Rookie Cam Whitmore had some shining moments as did former UH guard Nate Hinton to help lift the Rockets to a 5-0 record heading into the championship game.
The Texas Southern men’s basketball team has promoted former four-year letterman
John Jones
John Jones to assistant coach and director of player development. Jones, who is the son of head coach Johnny Jones, spent last season as the team’s graduate assistant. Jones played for the Tigers from 20182022 and remains one of the top three 3-point shooters in program history.
“It’s pretty competitive,” said Motley, a Houston native who played at Baylor and spent some time with the Mavericks and Clippers organizations but now plays in Turkey. “Guys always want to compete with the guy who plays pro and show that they can play on the level that we play at. So, it’s always competitive and it’s a little trash talk.”
That’s the Fonde tradition. You check your ego and star status in the parking lot. Once you are inside, you’re just another baller who is about to be talked to and dealt with like anybody off the street.
It’s been that way for decades now. Fonde has a reputation around the country as one of the best gyms to get a run in, especially during the summers when players like NBA legends Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Elvin Hayes and Calvin Murphy used to be regulars at the rec center on the edge of downtown where the sweat on the floor can make staying on your feet tricky.
Malone once famously said, “You ain’t done it, till you’ve done it at Fonde.” And that is still plastered on Fonde’s.
As a kid, Nate West used to be in the stands watching his dad, Nathaniel West, compete against some of the big names in the game with Houston ties. Now, the 5-foot-10 point guard who starred at Strake Jesuit and LeTourneau and is now playing professionally in Switzerland is back home playing on that same floor.
“I used to come up here as a kid and I’ve seen a lot of NBA players growing up,” said West, who was the Division III National Player
of the Year in 2020. “I know that it’s a real traditional thing for Houston players to come play.”
For a few years, the tradition of Fonde had fallen off some, but by all accounts the reputation is slowly returning. Former Rockets player and current Philadelphia 76er Danuel House is the biggest name and his old Rockets teammate and Houston native Gerald Green will sometimes join him as members of the Yungs.
On this particular Sunday, both were no-shows. But the game still went on and was as competitive as ever.
“The men’s is picking up this year. We have an energy and a buzz like I have not seen in over 10 years,” said Casey Williams, who is the executive director and commissioner of the NEPL. “That’s basically due to a big-time rivalry between Danuel House, Gerald Green, Savion Flagg and De’Angelo Harrison, who comes out of St. John’s and they are all one team. And they are going up against the twotime defending champions who have Jonathan Simmons, formerly of the Spurs and Magic, Shannon Shorter, who is the current No.1 player in the league and Simmons is the No.2 player in the league.
“That game when they played, there was a lot of talk about who is the best and that was a one-point game that went down to the wire.”
While players show up to compete and stay in shape, they also show up to hone their skills and add different dimensions to their games for the upcoming season.
“It’s always good to play against good competition, see what works and what won’t work in a game,” West said. “You go play and do whatever against guys at LA Fitness and it’s easy.”
But nothing comes easy at Fonde.
“If you are here, you can play,” Williams said. “And I try to protect the essence of that always by just now allowing anyone to come in and play. But honestly, that’s not something I have to too much regulate as much because the competition takes care of itself. You get on that floor, they are going to be going after you.
“We want to keep that kind of competitiveness going on. It’s the NEPL for a reason, that’s the No Excuses Pro League. No matter if you are this or that or an NBA All-Star, if you play here you are going to have to put it on the line when you step out here.”
Darian Lewis, a senior at Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men, has always displayed immense dedication to improving his three-point shooting. However, this summer he made a deliberate shif in focus, dedicating himself entirely to enhancing his scoring ability around the rim and refning his mid-range jumper of the dribble.
“I believe he’s really starting to learn how to be a three-level scorer,” said coach Ventress Johnson. “When he frst came to our team, he was more a three-point shooter. But now that he is playing the point guard position he’s forced to read defenses and decide when to shoot and when to drive.”
Prior to basketball, Lewis was extremely passionate about playing football.
Afer watching the flm “Concussion,” which shed light on the severe and lasting head injuries caused by football, Lewis’s mother prohibited him from
continuing with the sport. Tis forced Lewis to explore other sporting avenues.
“I began playing basketball in the seventh grade. I wasn’t really skilled, but my coach was nice enough to give me a chance afer seeing me run cross country,” said Lewis.
During his seventh-grade year, Lewis only participated in two basketball games. However, the summer leading to his eighth-grade year, he devoted countless hours to working on his shooting. As a result of his dedication, he was able to play in six of the 12 games, which marked a notable step forward in his progress.
Determined to push himself further, Lewis continued with his training during the following summer, leading into his freshman year. This commitment earned him a spot on the varsity team at Mickey Leland.
While facing adversity and experiencing a challenging sophomore and junior season due to subpar shooting and limited playing time, Lewis demonstrated remarkable resilience by refusing to give up.
“Tat was probably the worst of my high school basketball career. Just watching and everybody else playing was discouraging,” said Lewis.
Despite not getting the minutes he wanted, Lewis received encouraging words from his teacher, Marcus Watson, who emphasized the importance of practice and perseverance.
Lewis could have easily given up on his aspiration of playing on the varsity team and opted to join the junior varsity squad, but he recognized that such a decision would hinder his development. Instead, he decided to intensify his training eforts.
“Tis summer I’ve been going to shooting workouts every day, Monday – Tursday with my best friend Jarius Mattox, trying to get my shot right,” said Lewis.
Next season Lewis hopes to play a bigger role on the basketball team as he will be a returning senior. He also plans to continue with other sports such as golf. For the past two seasons, he has participated in both basketball and golf.
“I thought it was going to be boring, but once you get the sense of what’s going on, it’s a hard sport,” said Lewis.
Lewis has yet to decide on what college he would like to attend, however, he would like to study mass communications with a minor in business while continuing to play basketball.
Did you know you may be eligible to receive free, in-person testing and vaccines without insurance?*
By Jamal Downer, PharmD, Walgreens Pharmacy Manager
Despite the end of the federal public health emergency, COVID-19 is still present, disproportionately affecting Black and Hispanic communities. That’s why it’s crucial to keep protecting ourselves and our loved ones.
Your local Walgreens pharmacist is committed to keeping you safe and healthy, providing reliable services in testing and vaccines.
Testing remains essential for the diagnosis and containment of COVID-19. Walgreens offers in-person rapid tests as well as at-home tests. Uninsured patients may be eligible for a free in-person test.* If you do have insurance and questions about your coverage, you can reach out to your individual provider.
Testing can determine if you are infected, even if you have no symptoms, and help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by informing those who test positive for an infection, so they may isolate to prevent spreading to others.
If you do test positive, talk to your pharmacists about treatment options. Oral antivirals are available to qualifying patients at your local pharmacy to aid recovery. With convenient pickup and delivery options, getting the care you need has never been easier.
Vaccines are also available at no cost and have been proven to be the most effective way to prevent the spread of the virus. You can receive multiple vaccines, including those for shingles and pneumonia, at your local pharmacy, saving you time and ensuring you’re up to date on the recommended immunizations in a single visit.
Your Walgreens pharmacist is committed to providing access to necessary testing and vaccine services, restoring health to our communities.
Visit walgreens.com/findcare/services, use the Walgreens app or call 1-800-WALGREENS to learn more about COVID-19 vaccines, testing, and treatments.
At Walgreens, getting tested is easy and quick. Here’s how our COVID-19 testing works:
• Choose a location and time for your COVID-19 test.
• Complete a brief questionnaire.
• At the time of your appointment, go to the pharmacy drive-thru or follow signs to the store’s designated testing area inside the store. Wear a mask if entering the store to ensure the safety and health of fellow patients.
• Show your confirmation email, a valid state ID or driver’s license, and an insurance card or voucher, if applicable.
• Perform the nasal swab yourself under the direction of a pharmacy team member.
• Receive an email with a secure link to test results.
