TEXAS MY TRUTH
Change is good What a year 2018 was. If folks didn’t learn anything, the world is in bigger trouble than anyone could have ever imagined. You’ve heard that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Well, things can’t stay the same. They just can’t! And you may be or have to become the change we need. Readers have been sharing their thoughts on things that can’t stay the same. Here are just a few of the things folks had issues with in 2018; in no specific order: 1. Voting 2. Don’t ask for support because you are Black if you don’t support other Black institutions or businesses 3. Stop trying to get hookups 4. Stop Gossiping 5. People must pay back things they borrow 6. Tired of looking at sagging pants and underwear 7. Leave the bedroom shoes in the house 8. Teach our young girls to treasure their bodies See MY TRUTH, page 14
Quit Playin’ Page 4
DOC SHEP Page 6
America, Home of the What?
VOL. 7 NO. 19
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
Beverly E. Smith, national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will be the keynote speaker for the Dallas Alumnae Chapter’s annual Founders Day celebration, Saturday, January 12, 2019, 11:30a.m., at the Omni Mandalay
Beverly E. Smith Delta Sigma Theta Sorority President
Hotel at Las Colinas. Elected in 2017, almost 50 years after she was inducted into the sorority through the Epsilon Omicron Chapter at Bowling Green State University, President Smith has had an eventful
term as she addressed issues including the effectiveness of Black corporate and business leadership and adults with literacy challenges; consoled members as the lives of past national presidents Mona Humphries Bailey and Frankie Freeman and national parliamentarian emeritus Ada Williams were celebrated; spoke out about violence as members mourned the death of Delta Sigma Theta member, DeEbony Groves, who was killed in the Waffle House shooting in April of 2018; and, celebrated the installation of member Keisha Lance Bottoms as the 60th mayor of Atlanta, GA. This year’s celebration for the Dallas Alumnae Chapter, which is under the leadership of educator Leslie Swann, will also feature eight sorority members who have each accumulated 50 years of membership, and 21 who have each amassed 25 years of service! Congratulations to the honorees: 50 -Virginia Stewart Adams, Raquel Byrd Sanders, Helen Cooper Hicks, Ella Goode Johnson, Georgetta Harding
Ella Goode Johnson Delta Sigma Theta Sorority 50-Year Member
Johnson, Cassandra C. Lindsay, Phyllis E. Thomas Simpson, and Sandra Williams Stephens. 25 - Lisa Clifton Ayala, Sherry Bagby-Glover, Juli Bailey, Gayle Colston Barge, Terri Bell, Regeina Hall, Dora
C. Joyner, Jocelyn Kidd, Ella Frances Langston, Lela Mays, Connie Brooks McCall, Jackqueline Nelson, Lisa Payne, Kirsten Price, Ramonia Simpson-Shepherd, Cheryl Terrell, Dawn Walker, Kay Walker, Raquel Washington, Paula Watkins, and Candace Wicks. While these outstanding women are worthy of recognition, the spotlight today is on 50-year honoree Ella Goode Johnson. Recently a college student asked, “what does leadership look like?” Good question as so many examples, some positive, and then others not so positive, dominate news reports and social media threads. Mrs. Johnson’s career professionally and philanthropically is to many a shining example of leadership. She modestly describes herself as a “highly motivated, experienced professional with proven analytical and problem solving skills. As a self-starter, I have a proven record of working in an See Leadership, page 8
Brown granted clemency for murder conviction
INSIDE
calendar
JANUARY 9, 2019
LEADERSHIP is ...
by Cheryl Smith, Publisher
METRO NEWS
Page 10
This past September, I was in New York on business and had the opportunity to visit the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Visiting the museum, gave me the opportunity to reflect on the 17th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States soil. The museum had video footage of journalist from various new stations reporting the attacks on the World Trade Center. We have all seen the footage of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers and the ultimate collapse of the towers numerous times. Seeing that footage again inside the museum changed my perspective. When 9/11 attacks occured, I was safely giving a benchmark test to my 5th grade class in Dallas, Texas. How many times have we seen that footage & went back to our daily lives? It was never an emotional attachment to the attacks. As with any crisis, it doesn't affect you until it hits close to home. It doesn't make you an unfeeling person, you just didn't make the connection internally. We know 2996 Americans lost their lives on that day.
Sparkle discusses r. kelly Page 11
So what changed for me? The moment I turned the corner and went inside to view the Memorial Wall something inside of me changed. Inside this area were pictures and names of
By Washington Informer Web Staff Cyntoia Brown, a 30-year-old woman serving a life sentence for killing a man who solicited her for sex when she was 16, has been granted clemency and will be released from prison this year to parole supervision, the Tennessee governor’s office announced Monday. Brown, who said she was forced into prostitution at a young age, was convicted of the 2004 murder of Johnny Mitch-
ell Allen, 43, ic and complex whom she said case,” Gov. she killed in Bill Haslam self-defense. said in a stateShe will be ment. “Cynreleased Aug. toia Brown 7 after serving committed, 15 years in by her own prison. admission, a Cyntoia Brown “This decihorrific crime sion comes afat the age of ter careful consideration of what is a trag- 16. Yet, imposing a life sentence on a
juvenile that would require her to serve at least 51 years before even being eligible for parole consideration is too harsh, especially in light of the extraordinary steps Ms. Brown has taken to rebuild her life. Transformation should be accompanied by hope.” Brown’s case became a cause célèbre for several high-profile advocates, including comedian Amy Schumer, reality star Kim Kardashian West and actress Ashley Judd.