Some call it karma. I call it the work of the ancestors. Trump’s route to and from Fulton County Jail where he was arraigned took the accused felon through literally the Blackest neighborhood in the country, rolling down Joseph Lowery Blvd and Bankhead Hwy (Hootie Hoo). You couldn’t get Blacker than that if you were cruising with Dick Gregory, Nina Simone, Maya Angelou and Malcolm X with “diamonds in the back, sunroof top, diggin’ the scene with a gansta’ lean, oo-oo.” Te neighborhood that dude who tried to throw out Atlanta’s 2020 Presidential Election votes rode through was home to Black icons MLK, Julian Bond, Maynard Jackson, Lowery and others; with streets named afer folk who bled and died for Blackfolk’s right to vote. Watching the coverage of Trump being arraigned in that jail notorious for its brutality against Blackfolk put America’s two-tiered justice system on blast. Not the BS justice system Trump references, but rather, how any of us would have been thrown under the jail had we done 1/1000th of what Trump did. It also showed the power of Black women. With all his tough talk, when soul sister Fani Willis said “Jump,” that “scared little [Trump]” replied, “How high?” Tink about that for a moment; a sister did what no other human on the planet has been able to do—put Trump in the crosshairs of potentially being held accountable for his misdeeds. And while that twice impeached former president rode through the same So So Def streets as Jermaine Dupree, Goodie Mob and OutKast, I swear I could hear ATLiens chanting, “You need to get up, get out, cut that bull[stuf] out.” Donald Glover couldn’t have written a better episode of “Atlanta” than that.
In the 1980s, conservative politicians demonized hip hop, blaming it for all the nation’s ills. Today, 40 years later, rappers are being arrested for their lyrics—for their art. I need
to know why Democrats and progressives in 2023 aren’t using that same energy to criminalize everyone who 24/7 promotes the “Big Lies” (the stolen election lie and the “All Blackfolk are savage criminals” lie). Tose lies continue to feed bigoted haters who already existed, but feel more emboldened with each repeated “Big Lie” to infict violence (physical and political) on us. Te evidence is overwhelming. Most recently, we saw it in Jacksonville. Every year since 45 hit the national political scene, demonizing immigrants, Muslims, Asians and Blackolk, hate crimes have skyrocketed. Every month there’s a new Jacksonville, a new Bufalo, a new Charlottesville. Big Lie pushers, whether they’re politicians, media networks or everyday citizens, have blood on their hands.
Anyone looking for Black votes needs to make something happen. Period. Voting rights protection. Criminal justice reform. Environmental justice. Equal pay for women. Checks and balances on a SCOTUS gone wild. Young folk are turned of from voting because they see the majority of Americans wanting these things, yet, a minority of rich, entitled lawbreakers successfully blocking everything. Tey say, to hell with gridlock; make something happen! And Dems, just so you know, when you do make things happen but don’t tell anyone, young voters equate that with doing nothing. Hell, Republicans do a better job of taking credit for wildly successful laws that they voted against than the Dems who made them happen. Do better. Democracy is literally on the line.
• Blacks breaking into the oil and gas industry
• Westbury HS’s Christopher Jones: From camp domination to Texas State
• Maximizing back-to-school energy: Parenting strategies
HISD’s newly appointed Police Chief
Shamara Garner along with her former colleagues from the Houston Police Department, and the Harris County Sherif’s Ofce, and community members, gathered at Madison High School to kick of the Project Safe Start Initiative for this school year Aug. 28.
This initiative, entering its 34th year, aims to ensure the safety and security of HISD’s students, staf, and campuses as the new school year commences.
The primary objective is to bolster the presence of police ofcers within the district and in the vicinity of school campuses to create a secure learning environment.
Garner, the district’s frst female police chief is leading the eforts, and brings her extensive experience from a 28-year tenure with HPD.
Beginning Sept. 1, residents of Texas have a slew of new laws they need to be aware of. Hundreds of bills were approved during the 2023 legislative session covering topics from education equity and inclusion ofces to new road measures. Legislators also determined how to spend the $321.3 billion state budget — using it to pay for infrastructure, broadband and tax cuts.
Here’s a look at some of the more notable laws:
MEDICAID
HB 12 expands Medicaid coverage to 12 months after childbirth for low-income Texans. While the law technically took efect in June, its future hinges on federal approval, which has yet to be granted.
SCHOOLS
SB 17 bans diversity, equity and inclusion ofces as well as diversity-related training or programs ofered by higher education centers in the state.
VOTING
SB 1599 requires election ofcials to tell voters if there are errors in their mail-in ballots or ballot applications and to let them
know how to submit correct forms via mail, online or in person.
HB 357 changes the information voters need to provide to use the state’s online tracking tool to keep track of their mail-in ballot.
LGBTQ
SB 12 will criminalize performers and businesses that host sexually explicit shows performed in front of children. Lawmakers chose to remove language from the bill that aimed it directly at drag performers but lef in language regarding accessories that “exaggerate male or female sexual characteristics.”
SB 15 bars transgender college athletes from competing on a sports team that does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. Te law specifcally applies to games that happen between colleges and not intramural sports.
ROAD LAWS
House Bill 1885 came from a 2021 pileup of 133 vehicles caused by poor visibility and slippery conditions. It allows Texas Department of Transportation engineers to
temporarily adjust highway or road speed limits based on weather conditions or road construction without permission from the state’s transportation commissioners.
SB 24 funds a network of crisis pregnancy centers — some of them religiously afliated — throughout Texas as part of the state’s Alternatives to Abortion program.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
HB 2126, signed in June, keeps cities and counties from creating local ordinances that go beyond what already exists in state law.
HB 17 will stop elected prosecutors who do not want to pursue certain cases.
HB 9 aims to expand internet availability, telecommunications services and 911 services to rural Texans by allocating $1.5 billion to an infrastructure fund.
DRUGS
HB 6 allows prosecutors to pursue murder charges against Texans who have provided someone a fatal dose of fentanyl by classifying the overdose as “poisoning.”
She outlined the proactive approach for ensuring safety. “Faith-based leaders will walk the halls of our schools to reinforce good behavior and decision-making,” she stated. “Moreover, the law enforcement presence will be visible to contribute to a safe and secure start to the school year.”
Project Safe Start began as collaboration between ofcers and clergy on the 1980s. It is also launched at the start of every school year and before the winter break.
HISD Superintendent Mike Miles also addressed the readiness for the frst day of school. Ensuring an efcient bus transportation system and optimizing classroom conditions amid the anticipated high temperatures were key points of discussion. Extra measures, including providing more water, ice, temporary cooling units, and fans, were highlighted to tackle the extreme heat.
Quality instruction was also emphasized. Principals and teachers underwent comprehensive training, and a special training session known as “Demo Day” was organized for NES and NES-Aligned educators.
“High quality instruction is not the enemy of enthusiasm or fun,” he said. “Just because the kids are learning, does not mean they won’t have fun on the frst day of school.”
One signifcant change highlighted was the district’s new policy concerning classroom doors. Beginning this academic year, classroom doors will no longer be closed and locked during instructional periods.
Miles explained that this policy is aimed at fostering cooperation among educators and enhancing instruction quality. He mentioned that safety is paramount, but the quality of education is equally crucial.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, his wife Arndrea King and daughter Yolanda King participated in the 60th Anniversary Of The March On Washington. Getty Images
Sixty years afer the March on Washington, civil and workers’ rights leaders are calling on the nation to look to its past as it works to address rising racial tensions in the U.S. and political debates on issues ranging from Black freedoms to the economy.
During a weekend marking the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, civil rights leaders partnered with labor leaders to reignite the collaborative movements for racial and economic justice. Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III led the civil rights community in joining the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest federation of unions, as organizers of this year’s march.
“Tis historic occasion could not be coming at a more pivotal moment in our history,” King III said in a statement.
Referring to actions taken by Republicans to ban Black history in public school classrooms and restrict voting access in historically marginalized communities, the eldest son of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., added, “Not since Dr. King took to the streets of Washington have we seen such an assault on our democracy and attempts by politicians to disenfranchise marginalized communities, particularly Black and Brown Americans.”
Fred Redmond, secretary-treasurer of AFL-CIO, said partnering with civil rights leaders was important for labor unions because the march was always intended to be a joint movement for economic and racial justice – something he says is needed now more than ever.
“What a lot of people forget is that the full name of the original March on Washington was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” said Redmond, who served as a labor organizer for decades before being elected last year as the highest-ranking Black American ofcer in the history of the U.S. labor movement.
Days afer a gunman killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Fla., in a racially motivated attack, and as grief and anger reverberated through the community, new details about the gunman’s writings and the timeline of events continue to emerge.
On August 26, the gunman, identifed as Ryan Christopher Palmeter, 21, from neighboring Clay County, used an AR-15-style rife that bore swastika markings to kill two shoppers and an employee before killing himself.
At the time of the shooting, his family found a last will and testament and a suicide note in his bedroom as part of more than 20 pages of racist writings, Sherif T.K. Waters of the Jacksonville Sherif’s Ofce said.
Te FBI identifed several documents that included “racist writings and rants that depict a hatred toward African Americans, as well as other groups.”
Waters said that the gunman’s writings indicated that he was acting alone and seemed to indicate a broader focus for his rage.
“He didn’t like government, he didn’t like lef or right,” he said. “He didn’t like anything.”
Palmeter was held for involuntary psychiatric evaluation in 2017, when he was 15, and that a year earlier the police received a domestic violence call involving him and his brother.
Schools ofcials at the historically Black college, Edward Waters University, said that they believed that the gunman had most likely aimed to carry out the attack there as he parked his car on the campus and donned body armor, gloves and a mask while in the parking lot.
“He could have gone any place in the city, but he came to Florida’s frst HBCU frst. And so I think you know, circumstantially, we can conclude that this is where he aimed to complete his horrid act,” the university’s president, Dr. A. Zachary Faison Jr., said.
Faison Jr. said that students on campus were “having a really hard time,” adding that they were afraid and that there was a lot of apprehension.
“Tis has rocked our community,” he added.
Part of the afermath has been outrage directed at Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who has been at odds with the Black community in Florida for months and who has come under fre for rejecting the curriculum of an Advanced Placement class on African American studies and for rewriting African American history courses.
DeSantis said he would award $1 million through the Volunteer Florida Foundation to Edward Waters University to “bolster campus security,” as well as $100,000 to the families of the three victims.
In response, State Representative Angie Nixon, a Democrat who represents Jacksonville, urged the governor to “reckon with
the damage he has caused, to apologize for the harm he has inficted and to actively work towards undoing the racist system he’s helped uphold and grow.” Te governor was widely condemned at a protest march afer the shootings.
Te protest came a day afer DeSantis was heckled and booed at a prayer vigil for the three victims.
As the authorities continue to piece together the timeline of events, the local community is reckoning with what led up to the deaths of the three victims, who were identifed as Angela Michelle Carr, 52; Anolt Joseph Laguerre Jr., known as A.J., 19; and Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29.
VOLUME 92, NUMBER 42 - AUGUST 31, 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
Sports Terrance Harris
Jodie B. Jiles
Photographer Jimmie Aggison
Social Media Manager
Tia Alphonse Jordan Hockett
AsBlack Business Month comes to an end, questions about the state of Black entrepreneurship in the greater Houston area emerge. Are entrepreneurs experiencing good or bad times? Are more government contracts being awarded to Black business owners due to the results of disparity studies?
In an efort to address these questions, the Defender asked several Black business organization leaders their thoughts and interviewed Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a crusader for disparity studies.
According to a recent Brookings Institution report using Census data, Blacks represented 14.2% of all Americans but only 2.4% of all employer-frm owners in 2020. With an average workforce of nine employees, these frms employed a total of 1.321 million people, adding $1.7 billion in aggregated payroll to the U.S. economy.
At the current growth rate of 4.72%, it will take 256 years for Black Americans to reach parity with the white population in the U.S.
Te pandemic demonstrated Black-owned businesses’ resilience with an increase in revenue and employees despite lining up behind Hispanic and Asian American-owned firms. Te Brookings Institution points out that for African Americans, higher unemployment during COVID was a push factor for the decision to start a business.
The Houston metro area is ranked No. 6 among the top 10 highest number of Black-owned employer business firms but based on the volume of Black businesses, ranked 20th. Te economic impact of Black-owned business tends to be smaller in metro areas with more Black residents.
The heartwarming tale of Black-owned businesses right here in Texas speaks volumes about our spirit and resilience. Despite the hurdles we’ve faced, our state witnessed an uplifing 4.72% surge in Black-owned frms, outpacing the setbacks seen in white-owned businesses. This embodies the true entrepreneurial essence of our community.From 2017 to 2020, Black-owned businesses in the Lone Star State soared by an impressive 13.64%, leaving a substantial imprint on our economy. They raked in a remarkable $141.1 billion in gross revenue in 2020, marking an inspiring 11% upswing since 2017. What’s even more remarkable is that they provided employment to 1.321 million Texans, generating thousands of fresh job opportunities and fortifying our workforce. These numbers spotlight the invaluable contribution of Black entrepreneurship in shaping our state’s economic landscape.”
RON REYNOLDS CHAIR, TEXAS LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUSAugust is recognized as Black Business Month, but for those of us in the business of Black business, *every* month is Black Business Month. Texas has the third-most Black owned businesses - and the most Black people! When we support Black business, we improve the quality of life in Black Texas!”
CHARLES O’NEAL PRESIDENT, TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
I’d say that (the state of Black Business in Texas is anemic. We’re still not doing what we need to do. We’ll continue to preach it and we’ll continue to do it. Are there opportunities available? Yes. But the question is whether we’re taking advantage of it. It is important businesses understand that business is politics and politics is business. And number one, making certain we understand what the issues are.”
The State of Black Business is hopeful! The murder of George Floyd brought awareness of the disparities. Several corporations made commitments to increasing their Black spending. The commitments have been made, now it is important for Black businesses to push for opportunities and for our advocacy organizations to hold corporate America accountable to fulfll the commitments.”
DR. COURTNEY JOHNSON ROSE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REAL ESTATE BROKERS
In Houston, the Black population is 18.59%, with Black businesses comprising 3.3% of local firms. Increasing the bottom line through public and private contracts is key to their growth. The timing for minority and women-owned businesses (MWBEs) to get a piece of the government contract pie could not be better, according to Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, an outspoken advocate of economic equality.
“Metro will spend $7 billion-plus,” Ellis said. “The county has a record amount of federal money coming in. We haven’t had this much money since [former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s] Great Society. The county did a $2.5 billion flooding bond issue. We put another $1.2 billion on the ballot.
“The city has substantial infrastructure needs it is investing in,” Ellis said. “There is additional money that the federal government is making available on a competitive basis.
Harris Health [has a] $2.5 billion bond issue
to replace a couple of hospitals they desperately need. Minorities and women also desperately need these business opportunities.”
Ellis is a firm believer in a disparity study as a tool to reveal the public sector’s government spending with businesses owned by people of color and women. Ellis has promoted disparity studies to allow government and quasi-government entities to be transparent and determine if inequities exist in public procurement and contracting.
By 2022, Ellis and his colleagues on Commissioners Court secured commitments for Harris County, Metro, the Port of Houston and Harris Health to conduct disparity studies in order to implement MWBE programs. The July report by the Harris County Department of Economic Equity and Opportunities revealed that between October 2022 and March 2023, about 25% of the $377 million awarded in contracts went to MWBEs. Ellis drilled down on the progress being made.
“A big part of the success that we’ve had so far in Harris County comes from transparency, knowing where we were doing the disparity study, making it public and then monitoring what we do,” he said.
“It sent a signal to people that we were serious about it. We have unbundled some projects to make them a bit smaller. We don’t delay projects but make it easier for some of our smaller vendors, which tend to be a minority…African American numbers went from 0.5% to 5.3%, a significant increase. At Harris Health, which had the worst number of all, it went from zero for African Americans to about 7%,” Ellis said.
Considering that the City of Houston conducted its first disparity study over 10 years ago, the Harris County Commissioners Court, under Republican leadership, was slow to use the disparity study tool, claiming higher MWBE procurement numbers. When the twoyear study results were presented in 2020 to the court, the numbers showed 9.1% minority and women-owned businesses compared to a 28.4% market share.
“When they weren’t collecting the data, they were assuming the numbers were higher than they are,” Ellis said. “I hope that they decide to go ahead and set up a race and gender-based program. It’s a goal, not a quota because all the experts I’ve talked to say the only way it really works is if you focus on what the problem is.”
On a mission, Ellis encourages others to
conduct disparity studies despite resistance from those who continue to hide behind unsubstantiated numbers.
“The ones who won’t do a disparity study
don’t want to know, and for one simple reason: they can buy a banquet table from some group that gives them an award [for business]. They don’t know what their numbers are.”
Ellis added that, “People are afraid of transparency. They know their numbers are not what they think they are because they don’t collect the data…and they’ll say, ‘We have a program.’”
In a good faith move, the Harris County Commissioners Court approved a $200,000 fund that provides seed money for community colleges and school districts to conduct multi-jurisdictional disparity studies to determine whether MWBEs fairly participate in the procurement process. Only Lone Star College, Aldine ISD, Alief ISD, Spring ISD and Fort Bend County have agreed to conduct a disparity study, leaving over 27 government entities that have chosen not to learn their real numbers.
Other cities have implemented programs to monitor and report annually on the progress of their MWBEs. For the last eight years, New York City has produced a report card with recommendations for improvements listing the top 50 companies receiving the most city
dollars, featuring a breakdown of total dollars spent and MWBE subcontractor dollars spent. Ellis suggested that advocacy, civic and business organizations could join forces to demand a similar report card to monitor the progress of Houston-area MWBEs.
The limited number of Houston African American businesses with the capacity to service public contracts is a concern. Recognizing that there are fewer African American-owned businesses than white or Hispanic-owned businesses in the Houston area, Ellis shared his perspective.
“It’s a twofold process to make sure that African Americans are getting an equitable share,” he said. “Number one, we need more African Americans to set up businesses. We must also stop African American [Houstonians] and others from being afraid of people coming from Atlanta, New York, Detroit, Chicago and Dallas,” Ellis added.
“It’s an uphill climb for me to push both to open the door for minority women-owned businesses and then say, just the ones who are here,” he said. “For African Americans in particular, there are very few who are here. And
when they get the opportunity to perform, the worst thing they can do is mess it up. If they mess it up, they don’t just mess it up for themselves. They mess it up for a whole host of people because whether we like it or not, we tend to be judged by others who look like us or are similar to us.”
ANTI-DEI CAMPAIGN
Conservative activist Ed Blum, who fought against establishing a City of Houston MWBE affirmative action program in the 1990s, recently won a U.S. Supreme Court decision banning race-conscious admissions in colleges and universities. There are concerns that Blum will refocus on MWBEs next.
“Mr. Blum has done everything he can to stop diversity, equity and inclusion [DEI] programs,” Ellis said. “I think there’s a time when we should not be shy. I’m being even more aggressive about getting them in place, and I’m going do everything I can as long as I can,” Ellis said. “We’ll always have to follow the law. It’s a right-wing Supreme Court that would go back and have us under Plessy versus Ferguson again.They just rolled back the clock to the ‘40s and ‘50s.”
A big part of the success that we’ve had so far in Harris County comes from transparency, knowing where we were doing the disparity study, making it public and then monitoring what we do. It sent a signal to people that we were serious about it.”
RODNEY ELLIS HARRIS COUNTY COMMISSIONERVIDEO: Excerpts from Commissioner Ellis interview
Educator extraordinaire Ruby Revis Poindexter, a life member of both Delta Sigma Teta Sorority Inc. and the NAACP, and an active member in countless other professional and civic organizations, died Aug. 14, 2023. She was 95.
Born Ruby Mae Revis on May 16, 1928, Poindexter was the last of 10 children born to Billy Turner Revis and Hattie Elizabeth Stredic Revis. Her parents, six brothers and three sisters preceded her in death.
Born in Van Vleck, Texas, a Negro settlement in Bay City, Poindexter was raised with a strong sense of family and community; values that she evinced throughout her life.
Poindexter attended Hilliard High School in Bay City before continuing her educational journey at Prairie View A&M University and Texas Southern University, obtaining her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science with a minor in Spanish. Poindexter continued her postgraduate education at the University of Southern California. Her quest for knowledge led her to attend various educational seminars during her teaching career which spanned over two decades.
Her work as a HISD teacher at Pleasantville Elementary, Miller Junior High and Hartman Junior High lasted 19 years. A civil rights activist and matriarch of her family, she frmly advocated for the pursuit of higher education, mentored her students and positively influenced the lives of many.
Poindexter joined her husband Zeb in business by 1960 as they built Te Sunnyside Clinic; the frst health facility to house a General Physical Surgeon and General Dental Surgeon in Houston. Together they worked and built Poindexter Dental Inc. which she managed from 1972-1998.
Poindexter took pride in being in the Divine Nine family as a member of Delta Sigma Teta Sorority Inc. She was a leader in dental professional organizations, civil rights organizations (including the NAACP) and community organizations. She also cofounded Loyal Missionary Baptist Church and participated in a host of social clubs, especially the Coterie.
For 57 years Poindexter was a fun-loving wife to the late Dr. Zeb Poindexter Jr. She is survived by three children, Merlene
Friends, family and fellow University of Houston alumni are mourning the passing of Janelle Brown, who passed away Aug. 28.
Janelle, who has worked at the University of Houston Alumni Association for the past ten years, is being remembered for her spirit of volunteerism and unwavering Cougar pride. As an alumna who deeply understood the value of giving back, Janelle exemplifed the Cougar spirit through her enthusiastic volunteer eforts. Whether it was organizing events, assisting with alumni relations, or mentoring current students, friends say Janelle was always front and center, ready to contribute with a beaming smile and an infectious positive attitude.Te UH Alumni Association is dedicating their Party on the Plaza to UH alumna Brown (’90).
“No one epitomized the spirit of volunteerism more than Janelle,” said Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations, Mike Pede (’89). “For as long as I have been at the UH Alumni Association, Janelle jumped at every chance to help and did so with a smile, a positive vibe and an indelible Cougar spirit. She will be greatly missed by the Cougar family. I think it is only ftting that we dedicate this week’s Party on the Plaza (the biggest one-day volunteer event) in Janelle’s honor.”
Te devoted member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (Xi Alpha Omega Chapter) was known for her support of all members of the Divine Nine. Funeral services are pending.
Russell, Eleanor Patricia Dixon, Dr. Zeb F. Poindexter III, her daughter-in law Anna Maria Barba Poindexter, 11 grandchildren, a growing number of great grandchildren, a variety of other close family members, some close friends, kind neighbors, former students, a host of dignitaries and many admirers.
Jordan Williams always had his sights on attending a four-year university one day. During his days as a high school student in his native state of Oklahoma, he struggled to fgure out what he wanted to do as a career and didn’t want to run the risk of entering into a bachelor’s degree program without a solid game plan.
Instead, he chose to pack his bags and enrolled at San Jacinto College to explore his interests.
“I knew I liked computers and engineering, but I never knew that I could combine the two,” he said. “I wanted to be as cost-efcient as possible. Community college would allow me to get a good education without breaking the bank.”
Williams is one of many community college students on the path to earning a bachelor’s degree. While it makes fnancial sense to go to a community college, students may discover that some credits can be denied when attempting to transfer courses from one school to the next. Community college attendees also run the risk of taking too many classes, resulting in lost time and excess debt.
According to the public policy think tank
Texas2036, in the fall of 2020, roughly 17,000 students failed to transfer a combined 70,000 courses to Texas public universities. Of those students, 5,500 failed to transfer fve or more courses – or a full semester’s worth of coursework, while nearly 200,000 Texas students were graduating annually with an excess of 22 additional credit hours.
Colleges nationwide are implementing measures to facilitate seamless transfers between
institutions and designing academic and career pathways that align with transfer requirements. Tat is exactly what the University of Houston-Downtown’s Houston Guided Pathways to Success (Houston GPS) program has accomplished since 2015.
Houston GPS is a consortium of 13 Houston-area colleges and universities, including Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), helping students stay on track within their respective degree programs.
Their easy to navigate pathway strategy includes:
Degree Mapping: Students receive clear roadmaps outlining the courses they need to take from day one of community college and throughout their bachelor’s degree program.
Structured Schedules: Tis provides students with a consistent schedule plan to better serve working students.
Proactive Advising: Tis ofers guidance and support for students transitioning between institutions.
The thought of going to college seemed daunting to Williams considering mounting
college debt has been a hot-button news topic, but he is thankful for the guidance and mentorship provided by San Jacinto through its Student Success Curriculum for frst-year students.
“The key part of this transfer program is locking them down so that there won’t be any surprises along the way so they can be fully acclimated to the experience from day one,” said University of Houston-Downtown President Dr. Loren J. Blanchard. “Timing and degree completion is important in terms of creating more fexibility for students on the fnancial side.”
Blanchard said community colleges and fouryear universities are in communication about what they can provide each student. Academic advising, tutoring services and mentorship are a few resources students can use to keep on track.
Williams is in his second-year, and has his eyes on PVAMU next spring to complete his degree in computer engineering.
“I didn’t have a lot of Black role models in the feld of STEM,” Williams said. “It’s a good feeling to attend a school where people look like me in high positions. What I do in the next two years is going to lay that foundation for me, and I’m excited for what’s ahead.”
While the debate about whether Deion Sanders was SWAC went on among coaches inside of the HBCU league, there was no debate at all to the rest of the world.
Coach Prime was Jackson State and the SWAC.
But now that the league’s loudest voice and greatest ambassador has lef for Power 5 glory, the question is what will happen to the spotlight Sanders brought to the SWAC the last two years? Does the league fade back into relative obscurity to much of the nation or does it fnd a way to keep the attention that Sanders brought?
Tese are the questions the SWAC faces as its football season gets going in earnest this weekend.
“I think we continue by doing the things that we did prior to Deion coming and the things that we did while Deion was there,” SWAC commissioner Charles McClelland said to Te Defender. “Te SWAC has always been an extremely popular league.
“When we ran the numbers based on the attendance, Deion brought a signifcant number of eyeballs to the Southwestern Athletic Conference. It’s our job to make sure we have a quality product to continue those eyes to stay on the Southwestern Athletic Conference.”
Sanders brought dominance to the Jackson State football program during his two complete seasons at the helm, going undefeated in league play and winning back-toback conference SWAC championships. But bigger than the victories on the football feld were the of-the-feld wins he brought to the tradition-rich conference.
With the magnetic, outspoken and boisterous Pro Football Hall of Famer came the national cameras like never before. Suddenly, ESPN was not only broadcasting Tigers games, but other SWAC games were being broadcast across ESPN’s family of channels.
ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show rolled in to broadcast from Jackson, Miss. last season, while Michael Strahan and Te ABC Morning Show and CBS’s 60 Minutes also stopped through. It was unprecedented attention for any Football Championship Series (FCS) conference, let alone an HBCU league.
Te national shows may not show up this season, but McClelland is proud of the broadcast package the league has been able to put together. Between the ESPN network and
Byron Allen’s HBCUGo.Tv, over 80% of this season’s SWAC games will receive national coverage.
Tis past weekend, Jackson State and its new head coach T.C. Taylor opened the season with a dominating 37-7 win over South Carolina State in front of a national ESPN viewing audience for the MEAC/SWAC Challenge.
“Te foundation has been laid and set,” McClelland said. “It’s our responsibility just
to keep it going forward.”
While the television cameras came because of the personality Sanders has been throughout his playing and post-playing career, it might have been the encouragement he ofered to the SWAC and other HBCU leagues that may prove most valuable. He encouraged them to negotiate from a position of power with their business partners, to upgrade facilities, to not accept less than their worth for “money” games against Power
5 schools and HBCU Classic games.
Sanders also questioned why HBCU schools didn’t pursue the top African-American players, who were then only being recruited by the Power 5 schools. He successfully recruited his fair share of four and fve-star recruits at JSU, including cornerback Travis Hunter, who was the No.2 best recruit in the 2022 class.
Tat opened the door for other top African-American athletes to at least include one HBCU in their recruiting mix, which hadn’t been a thing since predominantly white schools in the South started accepting African-American student-athletes.
SWAC coaches were careful not to heap too much praise onto Sanders when he was coaching at Jackson State. Tat caution still exists even now that he is coaching at Colorado.
“I think the SWAC was already trending in the right direction before Coach Prime came,” said Alabama State coach Eddie Robinson, Jr., who last season got into a war of words with Sanders about who is more SWAC. “Te attention he brought to it was benefcial because we had more people watching, more eyes on the conference. You had some people out there who were fans of Coach Prime, so whatever team he goes to or whatever league he was in they were going to come watch him.
“I think ultimately, the SWAC has been here for over 100 years, the conference will stand on its own and no one individual can make that happen.”
But Taylor, who has the unenviable task of following Sanders at JSU, sees nothing but benefts from Sanders’ time in the conference. He worked under Sanders and now must keep the Tigers moving forward even afer 59 players transferred out with Sanders’ exit.
“Coach Prime put us on a great platform,” said Taylor, who is a JSU alum and former Tigers’ football player. “He brought a lot of eyes to HBCU football. I can remember pulling up to campus and seeing Good Morning America, Michael Strahan on our practice feld shooting live, ESPN’s College GameDay. It’s a lot of momentum we’ve got going right now because of Coach Prime and what he did those two years at Jackson State.
“It’s up to these football teams to continue to carry the torch. I talk to our guys about let’s make sure we put a good product on the feld because all eyes are watching.”
The Elkins varsity football program withstood a tough season last year. Facing a slew of team injuries, Elkins finished second to last in 6A Region III District 20. With their history-making coach, Dennis Brantley retiring in May 2023, Elkins brought in Pearland Dawson defensive coordinator, Trae Grimes, to lead the program.
“I’m excited to lead this group of great young men and coaches into the season,” said Grimes. “I’ve only been here a short time but the buy-in and reception has been great. This will be an exciting year and we’ll get better and better as the year progresses.”
Grimes now oversees a team returning three starters on offense and only two on defense. While some transferred away from the program, others transferred into the program and began to compete. One of the big pickups is defensive back Marquis Kiatta who transferred from St. Thomas High School to Elkins in hopes of competing for a UIL state title.
“I wanted to play more competitively, guard more four stars, and show all the coaches what I have to offer,” said Kiatta.
“He’s a hard-working, confident kid who has quickly become a leader in our program. Very dynamic and impactful in all aspects of the game,” said Grimes.
Last season Kiatta recorded 52 tackles with three interceptions. These stats led him to being nominated to the All-State defensive team.
Kiatta understands stats like these are the results of countless hours of hard work, and preparing for the season.
“I worked out with Elkins during the summer. Two-a-days allowed our bodies to prepare for the heat. It was great work,” said Kiatta.
Standing 5-feet-8, Kiatta measures small for a D1 defensive back. However, his physicality levels the playing field.
“I stay in the gym every day, constantly
lifting weights so I’m stronger and faster than other receivers I match up against,” said Kiatta.
Receivers like Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson and Miami Dolphins’ Jalen Ramsey, inspire Kiatta to continuously train both physically and mentally.
“They’re really good receivers,” said Kiatta. “I like how they move. I try to watch other receivers, how they move off the ball, in and out of their breaks. When I line up, I’m looking at the receiver’s feet, hips, arms and head movement. This allows me to know when they are coming into their break.”
While in college, Kiatta plans to study kinesiology, and play football on the collegiate level. Although he is currently uncommitted, he is looking for an opportunity to earn a spot and make an impact on the team.
“I’m looking for a good defensive coach and a team that’s very physical,” said Kiatta.
“The University of Miami has been my dream school since I was little.”
Class: 2024
IG: @Marquiswilliams123
Twitter: @Marquisk234
Position: Defensive back
Height & weight: 5-feet-8, 155 pounds
Players he studies: Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings), Jalen Ramsey (Miami Dolphins)
Status: Uncommitted
Favorite artists: J. Cole, Lil Wayne
Favorite subjects: History, English Shout-outs: Family, Elkins, Coach Grimes, Coach Holmes
Defender News Service
Simone Biles is not going to explain herself. Part of this is by design. Part of this is because she simply can’t.
When the gymnastics star is at her best, as she was in her latest competition where she won her record eighth U.S. championship, she feels like she’s in a “fever dream.” It’s not autopilot exactly. It’s more of a vibe. A fow.
It’s in those moments that the doubts that still plague her almost daily even now, a decade into a run of unprecedented excellence, fade away.
Tere is no thinking. No overanalyzing. No “twisties.” All of it recedes into the background. Her coach Laurent Landi calls it a skill. Biles, even at 26, won’t go that far. Maybe because she simply doesn’t want to.
She spent a long time, far too long, getting caught up in her head. She’s intent on not doing it this go-round.
So yeah, she was smiling midway through a foor routine that made almost every other competitor on the foor stop what they were doing to watch and drew a standing ovation from a portion of the sellout SAP Center crowd. No, she can’t explain why. When her coaches told her she’d nailed every tumbling pass, she was clueless.
“It just doesn’t feel real for some reason,” Biles said.
It is. Remarkably.
Ten years ago she was a teenage prodigy who doesn’t remember much from her ascension to the top of her sport. She was always fxated on the next thing. World championships. Team camps. Te Olympics.
Now she’s a 26-year-old newlywed determined to enjoy this. For real. Six months ago she wasn’t sure she was all in. Tree weeks ago she returned to competition in Chicago feeling as if she was going to “throw up” every time she saluted the judges.
The woman who posted a two-day allaround total of 118.40 this weekend in northern California — four points clear of runner-up Shilese Jones and well ahead of Florida junior Leanne Wong in third place — is not ready to hit fast forward. She won. She’s letting herself be happy this time. Tat didn’t always happen before.
“We really try to celebrate our success individually and as a team just so that in a couple of years you can remember this,” she said. “Because I really don’t remember a lot from the past.”
She knows that gymnastics won’t last “forever” even if, for her in a way it has.
Peaks aren’t supposed to last this long. Most
elite gymnasts at 26 — at least the ones who haven’t retired — are simply hoping to hold on to what they have.
Te athlete who became the oldest woman to win a national title since USA Gymnastics began organizing the event in 1963 is not interested in that. Landi called Biles’ foor routine in the fnals the best he’d ever seen her do.
“I think it’s maturity,” he said.
Biles’ eight crowns moved her past Alfred Jochim, who won seven between 1925-33 when the Amateur Athletics Union ran the championships and the men’s competition included rope climbing.
Yes, really.
Te sport has come a long way over the last century. No one has spent more time at the far end of the Bell curve than Biles, whose singular talents continue to push boundaries.
She’s training smarter these days, her only real acquiescence to the miles she’s put on it for the last 20 years. While she remains one of the most visible active athletes in the Olympic
movement, she’s making it a point not to let the world in on every single little thing as she eyes a trip to Paris next summer.
Biles joked it’s because people are “nosy.” Te reality is, she’d just like a little privacy.
“I like to keep (my goals) personal, just so that I know what I’m aiming for,” Biles said. “I think it’s better that way. I’m trying to move a little bit diferently this year than I have in the past. I think it’s working so far, so I’m going to keep it secretive.”
Tere appears to be more balance in her life, leaning into the “it’s just gymnastics” mantra that helped fuel her rise.
Age hasn’t caught up to her yet, though she played it relatively safe — by her standards — on Sunday. She tweaked her right ankle while drilling her electric Yurchenko double pike vault on Friday.
Te 14.850 she received for her Cheng vault was still the highest of the night on the event. So was the 14.8 she earned on beam. Tat 15.400 on foor, too.
Next stop is Antwerp in late September, where Biles will try to add to the 25 world championship medals — 18 of them gold — she’s captured so far.
Jones figures to be on the plane too. The 21-year-old is a marvel on bars, where she thrives despite being tall (5-foot-6ish) for someone who opts to do this for a living. Te crowd erupted when she nailed her dismount, her 15.000 score was tops in the meet on the event and put 10 months flled with injuries that have slowed her training frmly behind her.
Who joins Jones and Biles at worlds remains very much up in the air.
Reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, who has spent most of the year battling a kidney issue her doctors are still trying to get a handle on, could have a chance as a specialist.
Wong, one of several athletes trying to compete at the NCAA and elite levels at the same time, put together two stellar nights that included an elegant bars set and a foor exercise that makes up for in precision what it lacks in power.
Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles, teammates of Biles’ at the 2020 Olympics, who have also spent the last two years splitting time between college and elite, weren’t quite as sharp. Chiles fell of both the bars and beam. Carey fnished in the top 10 on just one event — vault — where the Americans fgure to be loaded.
Biles will lead the charge. She joked she asks herself every day why she’s out there. Te answer is simple. She feels like she owes it to herself.
“I still feel like I’m capable of doing it,” she said.
It certainly looks that way.
I like to keep my goals personal, just so I know what I’m aiming for. I think it’s better that way. I’m trying to move a little bit diferently this year than I have in the past. I think it’s working so far, so I’m going to keep it secretive.”
SIMONE BILES OLYMPIC GYMNAST