VOL XVIII ISSUE 14 FEBRUARY 20, 2019
MY TRUTH Cheryl Smith, Publisher
Lie to people and you teach them to lie to you One of the worse feelings is to believe in someone only to find out that they lied to you. After all, telling the truth is about accountability, doing the right thing, standing up for what you believe in and owning your narrative. If you are big and bad enough, if you are old enough or if you think you are “grown” enough to do something then you have to be all of that when it’s time to tell the truth. A rule in my house has always been to tell the truth. I told a relative to watch her behavior because of her influence on young people. “If you teach children to lie, they will lie to you!” Which brings me to my truth. Back in the day if you called my house and one of the Three Live Crew Plus One said that I wasn’t there, guess what? I wasn’t there! If I had to leave out of the house, get in my car, and drive off to ensure that they were not lying, that’s what I did; because I wasn’t there! And I told my crew that they should tell the truth, and especially to me because when times get rough they may need someone to believe them and I’m the one because I will go down and stick with you until the end, but you have to be honest. Too often I’ve seen others teaching their young the wrong thing, not realizing those same lessons would come back to haunt them. Sadder than the children who lie, has to be the adults who lie. It’s pathetic to see adults who can’t own their narrative and turn into little kids when they are confronted with the simplest of questions. You know the look. You ask a question and the first indication that you are about to be lied to is the hesitation, followed by the look that resembles a deer caught in the headlights of a car. If you’re like me, that look is enough to raise your blood pressure a few digits because you don’t like being lied to either. According to psychologist Paul Ekman, people lie to avoid punishment, conceal reward or benefit, protecting someone from harm, protecting yourself, maintaining privacy, for the thrill of getting away with something, avoiding embarrassment or being polite. I had to grow into understanding all the ramifications and implications of lying. As a child, I remember going over to my mother’s friend’s house. The woman wanted my mom to see her new grand baby. I didn’t care to see the child, but I had to go. When we got there, the proud grandma kept telling my mother that she loved her grandbaby but, “that child look just like a little monkey.” I was surprised to hear her make that declaration and as I had never seen a live money before, I was definitely curious. As my mother took the baby into her arms, she exclaimed, “Oh isn’t he adorable, he is so beautiful.” Well, I looked in amazement because at that moment I could see what the grandma was talking about. Then my mother turned to me and asked, “Isn’t he beautiful?”
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Garland City Manager Bradford nominates Jeff Bryan as Police Chief Garland City Manager Bryan Bradford has nominated Jeff Bryan as the new Chief of Police, effective Feb. 20, 2019. City Manager Bradford submitted his selection of Assistant Chief Bryan to the Garland City Council for formal approval in accordance with Texas Civil Service statutes (Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code) on Feb. 19, 2019. Bryan currently serves as Garland’s Assistant Chief of Police, and will succeed former Chief Mitch Bates, who will now serve as Deputy City Manager for the City of Garland. A national search was conducted, garnering several qualified applicants including experienced chiefs and law enforcement professionals.
The City conducted a formal candidate review process on Thursday, Feb. 7, for the top four candidates, which included a series of interviews with three panels, including various community group leaders as well as current police chiefs, city managers, City department directors, and members from the Garland Police Association and Garland Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association. Panel interviews addressed the top priorities and characteristics shared by Garland stakeholders during the community input process. “Through a number of citizen input meetings and close work with our community leaders, we were able to confirm there is strong support for continuing the current direction in police,”
said City Manager Bradford. “There is no question that Garland has benefited from the strong relationship between the Police Department and the community. After careful consideration, I believe that Jeff Bryan is best suited to build on the advances that we have made.” Assistant Chief Bryan has served with the Garland Police Department 22 years (with a total of 24 years in law enforcement), including 13 years in a leadership role. He has held numerous ranks including lieutenant, captain and, most recently, assistant chief. Bryan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in political science (with a minor in economics) from Texas A&M University and a Master of Public Affairs degree from
Assistant Chief Jeff Bryan
the University of Texas at Dallas. He also has a Master Peace Officer Certification from Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE). Additional professional development and training include FBI National Academy (FBINA) and Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP).
Dirk enjoys final NBA All-Star Weekend representing MAVS By Dorothy J. Gentry Sports Editor
Charlotte – It was a family affair for Dirk Nowitzki in what was likely his last-ever NBA All-Star appearance. “My wife is here, my friends. The whole crew is here one more time. I was
on the stage for the last time, so it’s been great. My brother-in-law is here; he came to support,” Nowitzki said of NBA All-Star Weekend held in Charlotte, North Carolina. “So I had fun. I look forward to closing out this weekend
out on a high. Then go back home and finish the season strong.” The 40-year-old Nowitzki kept a busy weekend in Charlotte – serving as coach of the World Team for the Rising Stars Challenge – Continued on page 2
Civil Rights groups sue Texas over voter citizenship question Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
Civil rights organizations are suing Texas officials about alleged plans to purge thousands of naturalized citizens from its voter rolls, a move that intentionally targets minority voters, according to their lawsuit. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the national ACLU, the Texas Civil Rights Project, Demos, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed a lawsuit against Texas Secretary of State David Whitley and Director of Elections Keith Ingram over the creation and rollout of a flawed voter purge list that discriminates against naturalized citizens. The lawsuit also includes election officials from Galveston, Blanco, Fayette, Caldwell, and Washington
counties for sending out notices threatening to cancel voter registrations based on the list, according to CBS News, which first reported the lawsuit. “The right to vote is sacrosanct. Yet, the Texas Secretary of State has engaged in a sloppy exercise that threatens to unfairly strip people of the opportunity to participate in American democracy,” said Andre Segura, legal director for the ACLU of Texas. “Even after we told Texas officials that this would happen, they doubled down on this failed experiment and left us with no other recourse but to take this to court. We look forward to ensuring that all eligible Texas voters can make their voices heard on election day.”
The lawsuit claims that Texas officials created and sent a flawed advisory to counties that flagged tens of thousands of registered voters for citizenship reviews, despite knowing that the list included naturalized citizens eligible to vote. “There is no question that Secretary Whitley released a flawed and inaccurate advisory that risks throwing thousands of eligible voters off the rolls,” said Beth Stevens, Voting Rights Legal Director with the Texas Civil Rights Project. “Our lawsuit seeks to put the brakes on this voter suppression by rescinding the flawed advisory. Not one single eligible Texan should lose the right to vote because state officials have decided to pursue a radical anti-voter agenda.” Whitley said his office has
identified 95,000 non-citizens who are currently registered to vote in of Texas — 58,000 of whom have voted in one or more election. Texas Secretary of State spokesman Sam Taylor says they “are very confident” the citizenship data used is current. But the organizations who have filed suit disagree. “The Texas Secretary of State simply chose to assume the worst,” said Brendan Downes, Associate Counsel with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s Voting Rights Project. “The idea that nearly 100,000 non-citizens knowingly and willfully registered to vote, thereby risking deportation and threatening the wellbeing of themselves and their families, is an absurdity.
Sheriff Brown relies on faith, family and core values Her life is one of faith, service, commitment and leadership. If you had met a younger Marian, you might have encouraged her to pursue that career in journalism; the area where she received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. After all, she was articulate, focused and a consummate professional; attributes that would definitely ensure success for her in a field that was desperately in need of “qualified Black journalists.”
Instead, however, she ended up following a different career path and fortunately, just like in the media; law enforcement was also sorely in need of diversity, on all levels. The need for people of color and women was the battle cry in the law enforcement community as well, and she accepted the call, going on to become the first African American female hired as a police officer in Duncanville, TX, in 1988. From a patrol officer to
Assistant Chief of Police, she rose quickly through the ranks in several positions, including: serving as a first line supervisor; formulating and supervising the Community Oriented Policing Unit; Crime Prevention/Community Relations Supervisor; Patrol Watch Commander; and Criminal Investigations Commander. Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price praises the Dallas native for several reasons.
Sheriff Marian Brown
“Sheriff Brown is a proven leader who worked her way up through every rank in law enforcement on her way to a key leadership position,” he said. “She is a consummate Continued on page 3