I MESSENGER
BRINGING THE WORLD TO YOU!
NOVEMBER 27, 2015
December 11, 2015 Issue 5 Number 15
Supporting your community!
SINGING PRAISES See you at KWANZAAFEST 2015 PAGE 1
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
Message to the People... Come and support Minnie’s Please accept this invitation to join me at the annual DFW-ABJ mixer on Thursday, December 17, 2015. We're paying tribute to some very special people and we’ll have an informative Q&A conducted by veteran journalist Clarence Hill, Jr. We are paying tribute to: The Dallas Examiner and WFAA-TV reporter DeMond Fernandez won Salute to Excellence Awards at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention this summer. A long-time friend, Bob Mong, retired from the Dallas Morning News as Executive Editor and he’s now the president of the University of North Texas at Dallas. Former DFW-ABC now J and Press Club of Dallas President John McCaa continues as Managing Editor and Anchor at WFAA-TV and this year he earned his doctorate degree. The Dean of Black Journalists in D/FW, Bob Ray Sanders retired as VP and columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. As NABJ celebrates 40 years, the D/FW Metroplex has the honor of having one of the founders among us, Dallas Morning News columnist Norma Adams-Wade. Also, we are collecting donations for Minnie’s Pantry. Coats, hats, non perishables, monetary donations…we’ll take it all! Bring your donations with you! Please RSVP to 214-941-0110 by December 15, 2015. Hope to see you!
Laquan McDonald 10 Ask Alma
19
James Clingman 22
AT&T, American Airlines & Don’t Believe the Hype Foundation present the
Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists’
ANNUAL HOLIDAY MIXER honoring
I MESSENGER Mollie Belt
Dr. John McCaa
Dallas Examiner
WFAA-TV
We’re also collecting coats, gloves, hats and monetary donations for Minnie’s Food Pantry so PLEASE bring your gift!
Bob Mong
Demond Fernandez
Bob Ray Sanders
WFAA-TV
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (ret)
UNT-Dallas/Dallas Morning News
Also featuring a JUST CHILL on Sports Q&A with a special guest conducted by Clarence Hill, Jr.
Join us as we celebrate NABJ’s 40th anniversary with founder Norma Adams Wade, pay tribute to NABJ Salute to Excellence Award winners - The Dallas Examiner and Demond Fernandez, salute John McCaa on receiving his doctorate degree and honor retirees Bob Mong and Bob Ray Sanders
Thursday, December 17, 2015 6 - 11 pm SISU UPTOWN RESORT 2508 Maple Ave Dallas, TX 75201
Norma Adams Wade NABJ Founder/Dallas Morning News
RSVP to
214-941-0110
or dfwabj@gmail.com
Food, fun, fellowship, prizes and more!
honor
Cheryl
Cheryl Smith, Publisher Established 2011 IMESSENGER is a tribute to Le Messager, founded by Cameroonian journalist Pius Njawe and The Messenger, an independent magazine, founded by labor activist A. Philip Randolph and economist Chandler Owen. IMESSENGER is committed to informing, inspiring, enlightening and provoking thought in a forum that is international. Submissions for publication consideration may be submitted to www.myimessenger.com.
PAGE 2
I MESSENGER
Spiritually Speaking By James A. Washington
The concept of freedom has been rattling around in my brain lately. I am focusing on the freedom afforded all of us who claim salvation through Christ. There is something quite liberating when you know or realize that you have been “set free.” Have you ever thought about what that really means? The word release comes to my mind. Some claim relief as how they understand it. However you want to describe it, I think the revelation of Jesus as Lord and Savior removes a lot of barriers and obstacles and yes, burdens, that we as human beings place upon ourselves. That’s why I believe as people initially come to Christ, they are overcome by a fresh perspective about life. It’s an enlightened one; one filled with less pressure. I think that’s why folk cry in church when it happens. “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1. What are you a slave to?
DECEMBER 11, 2015
Free and Good Enough In a very real sense, addictions are withstood, hurt feelings are healed, guilt is removed and insecurities conquered when Jesus enters the picture. Whatever you have been enslaved by, you become freed from. One of the biggest things that happens when Christ enters your life is that fears are conquered. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we all have fears. I know I do. It can be the fear of being alone, of being without, of being humiliated, ostracized or even the fear of dying. The knowledge of Christ in all of these situations cancels those fears. You are released from them. That’s what I believe people mean when they say “set free.” That’s how I’ve come to understand real joy. In that context of spiritual awareness being blood bought and saved. I have been set free from fear, anger, greed, selfishness, self doubt and even self hatred. Believe it or not, so have you. These things have hopefully been replaced with honesty and integrity, hope and truth, confidence, self worth, the promise of everlasting life and yeah I know, above all love. One of the hardest things to understand in this life,
and then act upon, is this love yourself thing. God even commands us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Without Christ in your life, I believe that concept of self love can sometimes be distorted and in many cases become perverted. Love with humility is an awesome thing. When love is set free within you, life takes on a whole new meaning. You no longer have to live in the shadows of pretense; rather, you can now live in the light of truth. I can be who I really am and so can you. Then the world will see you as God sees you and not who you think it ought to see. I am who God made. If that’s good enough for God, then certainly it’s good enough for anyone who wants to deal with me and that includes you. I am free and it is wonderful. Freedom is my gift from God paid for by Jesus Christ. Know the truth and the truth shall set you free. You are not what the world would have you be. You are what God made you to be. Seek Him and you will undoubtedly find the real you. May God bless and bless and keep you always.
KINGDOM BUSINESS:
Setting Our Minds on the Things Above
PAGE 3
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
Obama is a Brother!! In one of his other a B*@$%, but you philosophically rich don’t necessarily enjoy standup performances, that same privilege. Chris Rock made no News Flash…If Allah is bones about what he not your God, cut the fears when it comes to cartoons and ignorant By VINCENT L. HALL terrorism in America. Islamic characterizaIn his 2004 road tions. America hasn’t got show; “Never Scared” this Jesus thing figured Vincent L. Hall is an award winning Chris says defiantly; “I out yet and we got writer, author and activist. ain’t afraid of Al Qaeda radicals too. I'm afraid of Al Cuz Jesus don’t get Cracker.” down with Mass Now maybe that's just a Black thang but I agree. Incarceration, 20% Child Poverty Rates and millions Long before I ever thought about “Jihad” I worried of helpless who are poor mentally, financially and about “Yeehah.” spiritually. The WWJD book does not include a You know Yeehah. It's that familiar sound and chapter with the United States as a shining example. spirit when a bunch of vigilantes get ready to take Quit the self-study on the Quran and finish those 66 “Justice into their own hands.” That Yeehah mentality chapters you claim as The Gospel. that strung up Emmett Till. Nationalistic White folks love to talk trash and Their brand of justice is always prejudiced, telegraph their next moves. Negroes go underground shortsighted, and willfully ignorant of defendants’ into guerilla tactics. Most of what we think and do in rights and their own responsibilities as self-appointed the face of a fight is covert and conniving. prosecutors. There is something about that backwoods Somewhere behind that smirk on Obama's face, is an Southern brand of racism/activism that scares me and insolent intent to destroy ISIS militarily and I’m not easily spooked. (No pun intended.) physically whip Donald J. Trump’s arrogant AssThese vigilante types (and their sympathizers urance. include some Negroes, Mexicans and Muslims) want We don't do the John Wayne thing. We are taught President Barack Obama to adorn his anti-terrorism to avoid a fight if possible, but if it was imminent addresses with an accoutrement of arrogance. They always throw the first punch or the best counterpunch. want a bold, brash talking leader like “Brain-dead If a fight is inevitable, the odds on favorite is the Bush,” whose braggadocios and bombastic blubber person who “passes” the first lick. If you get whipped, created ISIS and a chaotic Middle East. you gotta fight every day until you win. Obama has weathered some pretty profound Obama has a look in his eye that is reminiscent of racism and criticism leading up to Paris and San Muhammad Ali during his mystifying “Rope-a-dope” Bernardino. Fox News Contributor Lt. Col. Ralph routine. Peters proclaimed Obama a “Pussy” on air this week. Behind that gaze of innocence and insecurity is a Black folks don’t talk like that unless a fight comes deep seeded desire to protect this nation and his rep. with it. Presidents have legacies, and Obama is well situated White folks at Fox News and other notable lynch in crafting his own. Any politician worth his or her mob hangouts love to talk because talk is cheap and salt wants to leave an indelible mark on history. because Goddammit…it’s “Written in the U.S. Those who still love and respect the Obama Constitution.” legacy must recall that he has been here before. Black folks love talking too…to a point. But Obama rarely answered his critics out loud, but one when it comes time to fight, Black words become day Osama Bin Laden just vanished. strategically measured and statistically minimized. Obama is a brother and that’s just how we do it. The Constitution allows for free speech, but Black So calm down!!! folks respect the limits. I may call my significant
QUIT PLAYIN’
PAGE 4
BRINGING THE WORLD TO YOU!
DECEMBER 11, 2015
PAGE 5
BRINGING THE WORLD TO YOU!
DECEMBER 11, 2015
Call today to get your booth for KWANZAAFEST 2015 December 12-13 at FAIR PARK 214-653-6671
PAGE 6
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
Let’s End the Dysfunction By Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
PAGE 7
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
Men of the Heartland! QUIT PLAYIN’
By Vincent Hall
EVERY DAY is WORLD AIDS DAY! "Our people have made the mistake of confusing the methods with the objectives. As long as we agree on objectives, we should never fall out with each other just because we believe in different methods, or tactics, or strategy. We have to keep in mind at all times that we are not fighting for separation. We are fighting for recognition as free humans in this society." MALCOLM X
PAGE 8
BRINGING THE WORLD TO YOU!
DECEMBER 11, 2015
PAGE 9
BRINGING THE WORLD TO YOU!
DECEMBER 11, 2015
Chicago Cops Not Endangered When Officer Shot Black Teen 16 Times Patton stated, "Finally, the plaintiffs will point to the fact that there were no pedestrians, automobiles, other folks who were near McDonald at the time he was shot and as to which he might have posed an imminent danger." The Better Government Association, an Illinois watchdog group, reported earlier this EXCLUSIVE year that since 2004, Chicago has paid $521.3 million in settlements and legal fees growing out of police misconduct, violence and abuse. Another 500 cases are still WASHINGTON - None of the other policemen present when Officer Jason Van Dyke's pending. riddled 17-year-old Laquan McDonald's body with 16 bullets on October 20, 2014 ever felt their life was in danger, Stephen R. Patton, the head of the city's law BGA reported, "Public records show the city paid $391.5 million in settlements and department, testified earlier this year. judgments over the last decade. More Patton, Chicago's corporation counsel, than a quarter, or $110.3 million, was shared that conclusion April 13 when he related to 24 wrongful-conviction testified before the Chicago City Council lawsuits. Finance Committee, chaired by Edward "A dozen of those 24 involved nowM. Burke. A 15-page transcript of the imprisoned former Chicago police Cmdr. hearing recorded by McGuire's Jon Burge, whose detectives were Reporting Service has been obtained by accused of torturing confessions out of George Curry Media. mostly black male suspects over many The hearing, held shortly after Rahn years. Overall, the city has paid alleged Emanuel was re-elected mayor, was victims of Burge detectives more than called to consider a proposed $5 million $57 million, records show." settlement with McDonald's estate. The money paid in settlements does Initially, lawyers for the Black teen slain not include other costs such as higher by the White police officer as he was insurance premiums and the cost of walking away had sought a $16 million incarcerating innocent victims. settlement, according to Patton. With an extensive juvenile record, However, through a series of Laquan McDonald seemed headed negotiations, that figure was reduced to toward a life behind bars. That was $5 million, including all attorney fees and compounded - and perhaps caused - by a Laquan McDonald costs. severely scared childhood. Officer Van Dyke, who was jailed and released on $1.5 million The Chicago Tribune chronicled McDonald's early obstacles. bond, contended that McDonald was walking toward him and he felt his life was in "According to court records, McDonald's father abandoned the family and had 'no danger. However, police department dash-camera video clearly show that McDonald presence' in his life. At 3, McDonald became a ward of the state when the Illinois was walking away when he was shot repeatedly by Van Dyke, mostly while he was Department of Children and Family Services took him into protective custody over already on the ground in a fetal position. allegations that his mother had neglected him, according to state records," the Patton made a strong case for settlement, which is ultimately provided from taxes newspaper reported. paid by Chicago residents. In the transcript, the victim's first name was incorrectly "He spent about two months in foster care before he was moved to a relative's home spelled LaQuan instead of Laquan and Van Dyke was referred to as Officer A because and eventually back to his mother in 2002. But after just a little more than a year, he of an agreement between the city of Chicago and the Fraternal Order of Police was again back in foster care when his mother's boyfriend beat him, causing cuts, prohibiting the city from revealing the name of an accused officer prior to his or her welts and bruises, according to the records." identity being disclosed in legal proceedings. The Tribune continued, "McDonald was placed with his great-grandmother in "...The attorneys for the estate will argue that Mr. McDonald did not pose any 2003, and she eventually became his legal guardian. He lived with her for about a immediate threat of death or great bodily harm to Officer A and that instead decade before she died in 2013 and he was placed with an uncle." McDonald, as I mentioned before, was walking away from the police when he was Ironically, McDonald was in the process of turning around his troubled life when he shot, and they will argue that the videotape supports their version of events," Patton was shot to death by Officer Van Dyke. stated. "As to damages, although McDonald had an extensive juvenile record, he had He continued, "The estate or plaintiffs will also argue that their position that deadly recently obtained summer employment through a church social agency's; and further, force was not justified is demonstrated by the conduct of the other officers at the in September of 2014, just a month before he was - before he passed, he had enrolled scene, none of whom fired their weapon at McDonald. in the Sullivan Alternative School, which is a school for troubled youth, and his "This is kind of a unique case where we had the original two officers who arrived at mentor there will testify or would testify that McDonald had good grades at the time the scene, followed Mr. McDonald for some number of blocks and matter of minutes of his death and was making progress in turning his life around," Patton testified. and never saw fit to discharge their weapons. His mother's life appeared to be on a similar trajectory. "It also applies to Officer A's partner who is right beside him when they exited the Patton recounted, "McDonald is survived by his mother and a 15--year old sister. At police vehicle also got out of the police car with gun drawn but did not shoot. the time of his death, he was a ward of the state and in the temporary custody of an "So the plaintiffs will contend, if this matter were not resolved, that the uncle; however, LaQuan's mother had initiated a petition to regain custody of unreasonableness of Officer's A's conduct is shown by the restraint that was LaQuan, and in May of 2014 the Juvenile Court had ordered supervised visits in demonstrated by the other five officers, none of whom discharged their weapons." anticipation of granting her petition." By George E. Curry Editor-in-Chief George Curry Media
PAGE 10
BRINGING THE WORLD TO YOU!
DECEMBER 11, 2015
HIV's Hold on Communities of Color "Three decades into this crisis, let us set our sights on achieving the "three zeros" - zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. On this World AIDS Day, let us pledge to work together to realize this vision for all of the world's people." - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, United Nations, World AIDS Day 2010
To Be Equal
By Marc H. Morial President and CEO, National Urban League via George Curry Media
More than 30 years ago, America, and nations around the world, came face to face with HIV/AIDS - a devastating global, public health concern that decimated cities, communities and countries alike. In the three decades since its discovery, much has changed - and thankfully - much has improved. Today, advancements in prevention and treatment have led to a significant reduction in HIV transmission; the expansion of HIV screening and testing has resulted in far more people knowing their HIV status and getting help early; and new and better drugs are allowing those infected with HIV/AIDS to lead longer and better quality lives. That's the good news. But the news that should give us pause is that while we stand undisputedly victorious on a variety of battlefronts against this devastating epidemic, we are losing a costly war - one that primarily claims young, male and female African-Americans and Latinos as its victims. HIV/AIDS does not discriminate. Sexual orientation, race or gender cannot protect you from HIV infection, but unfortunately, in far too many cases, those factors could increase your risk of infection. An estimated 1.2 million people are living with HIV infection in the United States today. Compared to other races and ethnic groups, Blacks and Hispanics are the groups most affected by HIV - accounting for a higher proportion of new HIV infections, of those living with HIV and of those ever diagnosed with AIDS. In 2010, African Americans accounted for 44 percent of all new HIV infections. While African Americans are 12 percent of the U.S. population, in 2011, they accounted for 41 percent of people living with HIV. Hispanics represent 16 percent of the population, but accounted for 20 percent of those living with HIV. In 2010, Hispanics accounted for 21 percent of new HIV infections. The numbers are graver still for African-American women. CDC statistics point to AIDS as the fourth-leading cause of death among African-American women
ages 35-44. According to the latest statistics, African-American women accounted for 64 percent of new HIV infections. Hispanic women accounted for 15 percent of all new infections and White women accounted for 18 percent. To win the war on HIV/AIDS; to achieve the three zeroes; we cannot approach the epidemic as a standalone public health crisis. Our nation must develop a multi-pronged approach to HIV/AIDS that also addresses equal access to health care and civil rights. The lack of access to healthcare must be addressed in communities of color if we are going to effectively address the prevalence of this disease. While the Affordable Care Act has expanded the coverage of HIV prevention services and medical care, it can only work where it exists. It comes as no surprise that in states that rejected ACA, which also tend to be poorer states, HIV/AIDS remains at crisis levels. One in every eight people diagnosed with HIV is unaware of their status. That lack of awareness, the lack of access to prevention and education are needlessly decimating communities of color. According to the CDC, African Americans also have the worse outcomes for continued care after diagnosis. While there can be no true statistical measure of the effect of stigma, fear and discrimination around HIV, the oftentimes real fear of rejection and stigmatization plays are large role in people choosing to not get tested or to keep their status to themselves. We must all do our part to stop the spread of this disease. The National Urban League has joined the Act Against AIDS Leadership Alliance. The organization is one of only 20 agencies taking part in the federal government's first HIV prevention media campaign in 20 years. As a part of AAALI, more than 500 HIV-related events and trainings have taken place. The leadership of community-based organizations, corporations, and local and the federal government is important, but there is work out there for every one of us. Know your status; get tested; and encourage the people you love to do the same. And when you meet someone with HIV/AIDS don't perpetuate the problem of stigma and discrimination, be a part of the solution and help us get to zero.
Marc Morial is President/CEO of the National Urban League. He is also the former mayor of New Orleans.
PAGE 11
BRINGING THE WORLD TO YOU!
DECEMBER 11, 2015
PAGE 12
BRINGING THE WORLD TO YOU!
DECEMBER 11, 2015
Who Put the NRA in Charge of Our National Security? "I have supported legislation in the injured by a gun every 30 past which would place reasonable and minutes in 2013. More than careful restrictions on the use of 2,400 children and teens died By Marian Wright Edelman firearms, and I am co-sponsoring S.1...I from guns, enough to fill 122 President, Children's Defense Fund believe this bill would impose classrooms of 20 children. Why necessary controls without unduly in God's name are we so reticent via George Curry Media curtailing the use of firearms for to stand up to the pro-gun lobby legitimate sport shooting or hunting, when American children are 18 and without curtailing the lawful times more likely to die by a gun activity of sport gun clubs. than children in 25 other high Basically this legislation would only subject deadly weapons to the same income nations? Are we so spiritually dead that the killing of children has control we have always imposed on automobiles, liquor or prescription become routine and unimportant? Where is the faith community? drugs. The use and sale of these items are carefully regulated by Federal, State, and local government. The same should be true of firearms." -Senator Recent gun violence prevention research should help point the way forward. Robert F. Kennedy, May 2, 1967 A recent study found that a Connecticut law that expanded background checks to all handgun purchases helped achieve a 40 percent reduction in With the echo of gunshots from the San Bernardino massacre ricocheting gun homicides during the first 10 years following the law's enactment. across the country, and another American community reeling with new Another study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association broken hearts, it sounds like a reasonable plea for common sense legislation Internal Medicine found states with background checks on private as well as a responsible lawmaker might make today. online gun sales had 16 percent lower gun fatality rates. Since Robert Kennedy's and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1968 deaths, more Some say that background checks alone will not prevent every gun tragedy than 164,000 children have died from gun violence in America - three times and they won't, but they are a critically important step forward. We need more than all the American soldiers killed in action in the Vietnam War and more research on laws, other policies, and technologies that might save more every external conflict since. lives. Proposals to require background checks for ammunition sales, impose a tax on ammunition, require liability insurance for guns, and smart gun In the decades since the deaths of Senator Kennedy and Dr. King very little technologies all merit immediate attention. has changed. Mass shootings have become the new normal. Since the beginning of this year we've had on average more than one a day. After a Sadly, the National Rifle Association, other members of the gun lobby, and new mass shooting makes headlines our national discussion of gun violence their cowardly allies in Congress and in many state legislatures have barred feels and sounds like a broken record stuck on one horrifying song that never the CDC from conducting research and sharing the truth about the impact of ends. on gun violence on our nation's public health since the mid-1990's and imposed similar restrictions on the National Institutes of Health in 2011 due The president expresses his outrage that these tragedies continue to happen to fears that research might show concrete ways to reduce its deadly impacts. and calls on the public to push Congress and state legislatures to do the right thing. Members of Congress release proposals without a clear timetable for a Just this week physicians' organizations including Doctors for America, vote or a path to passage. Public support for gun safety measures swells. The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Student Association, and gun lobby pushes back, accusing those who seek reform of politicizing others delivered a petition to Congress from more than 2,000 doctors in all 50 tragedy while continuing their relentless work to loosen restrictions on the states and the District of Columbia urging Congress to remove these barriers deadly weapons that continue the carnage. Broken families and and provide funding for such research. communities struggle to pick up the pieces after the media leaves town. Why is the NRA afraid of the truth? Is it because they fear the research may These horrible mass shootings that destroy and shake up so many lives with show concrete ways to reduce the impact of guns that sapped 33,169 lives in ever-increasing frequency tell only part of the tragic cost of gun violence that America in 2013 and injured 83,075 yet remain the only unregulated pervades our cities and towns every single day across our nation. consumer product? It makes no sense to regulate toy guns that kill not a Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s single person and let real guns that should only be in the hands of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control earlier this year show there military kill tens of thousands annually. We should protect human beings was a death by a gun every 16 minutes and a child or teen was killed or rather than guns.
Child Watch
PAGE 13
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
QUESTIONS FOR THE CANDIDATES The Last Word By Dr. Julianne Malveaux Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist based in Washington, DC. She can be contacted at www.juliannemalveaux.com.
PAGE 14
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
The Underbelly of America's 'Exceptionalism' By Lee A. Daniels George Curry Media Columnist
The horrific killing sprees at the Planned Parenthood office in Colorado Springs, Colo. and at a health department holiday party in San Bernardino, Calif. underscore the fact that there's a poisonous spirit gouging deep trenches in the surface of American society now. It has many causes and shows itself in numerous ways. But it's most shocking manifestation - these mass shootings has a double edge to it. The first is how "routine" the incidence of mass shootings has become. Experts debate whether the number of mass shootings per year - defined by congressional researchers and other experts as incidents in which at least four people were shot - have increased in recent years. But we do know that since January, there have been at least 354 such incidents, or, as the first sentence of a New York Times article exploring the statistics starkly put it: "More than one a day." The second "edge" of these killings is even more poisonous. That is how politicized the reaction to them has become - as exemplified by the response of Democratic and Republican politicians to the two latest shocking incidents. Immediately after both attacks, Democratic politicians, led by President Obama, along with expressing sadness and sympathy for the victims and their families, called on Congress to enact gun-control legislation that balances the rights of individuals to own guns with the need to reduce the near-complete indiscriminate access to such weapons that now exists. "We have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world and there's some steps we could take, not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don't happen as frequently, common-sense gun safety laws, stronger background checks," Obama said. The Republican response, however, was starkly different. When Robert L. Dear, Jr., a White Christian conservative, attacked the Planned Parenthood office on Nov. 27, killing three people, including a police officer, and wounding nine others, Republicans in general and the GOP presidential candidates in particular limited their remarks to muted, generalized expressions of sympathy for the victims. They said nothing about Dear's religious background or the phrase police officials said he muttered when captured - "no more baby parts" - which unmistakably indicated hostility to Planned Parenthood's support of women's right to abortion. And they declared the violent language they use to describe those who help women seeking abortions isn't responsible for the murderous
attacks on Planned Parenthood offices, abortion clinics and doctors who provide abortions. Nor did Republicans comment on the fact that in carrying out his rampage, Dear killed a police officer acting in the line of duty. In sharp contrast, the Dec. 2 San Bernardino mass shooting provoked the GOP presidential candidates to full-throated war cries against the president and homegrown "radical Islamic terrorism," in Donald Trump's words. Texas Senator Ted Cruz thundered that the San Bernardino attack proved the U.S. needs "a war-time president." Not worrying about a "rush to judgment" of the incident, Carly Fiorina immediately declared its perpetrators' Arabic backgrounds proved it was "a homegrown terrorist attack." In other words, the two mass shootings underscored what has long been apparent: That gun-rights absolutists, from the National Rifle Association to the GOP candidates and elected officials, are willing to tolerate mass shootings of Americans - as long as they're perpetrated by mentally-unstable Whites or Whites whose views on gun ownership and other political and social issues seem to match their own. For all their talk of sending their "hearts" and "prayers" to the victims' families, they're unmoved by the murder of innocents unless they can make political hay from the profile of the killers. That horrible reality has now become the leading evidence that there still exists a deeply-perverse underside to the society's cherished notion of "American exceptionalism" - the boast that America is the most freedom-loving, peaceloving, generous and welcoming nation, etc., etc. country in human history. There was always a lot of fluff and outright hypocrisy to that notion, especially when one contrasted it to the "exceptionalism" with which the White majority treated Americans of color and the way it acted when it felt under stress. Indeed, the full history of America shows how continually American society has always struggled to live up to its ideals. That that struggle is the American experience today was briefly and poignantly put by Vicki Cowart, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains in the aftermath of the Colorado Springs attack. "We've experienced so much hateful language, hateful speech," she told a New York Times reporter. There's no way out of the awful predicament presented by a political party whose true campaign strategy is rooted in the underbelly of American exceptionalism - in empty boasts, outright lies, and "so much hateful language, hateful speech" - except to defeat them at the ballot box. That's the only way the exceptionalism Americans like to think is the stuff this country is made of can have a chance to show itself.
PAGE 15
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
PAGE 16
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
PAGE 17
I MESSENGER
Methodist Charlton’s Family Practice Clinic Hosts Book Drive The Family Practice Clinic at Methodist Charlton is hosting a book drive for the Charlton READS program during the
DECEMBER 11, 2015
month of December. The program is designed to encourage reading and improve literacy among children in the community by providing free books and educational materials to each child during Well Child Visits for infants and children up to 8 years of age. Boxes will be available 24/7 in the hospital’s cafeteria and main lobby, and during Family Practice Clinic hours. Contact Kay Anderson at 214-947-5410 for more information. CITY LOCAL TRUCK DRIVER
TRUCKING 519 N. Cedar Ridge Dr., Suite #7 Duncanville, TX 75116 www.mycrossroadtruck.com We are seeking Local City Drivers who must have a Class A - Commercial Driver License. NOTE: All Drivers must have a clean background (no felonies or misdemeanors) and at least one year driving experience with a clean MVR. Must have medical card, valid DL, SSC card, DOT card and must pass a required physical and drug screening. Driver should have a minimum of one year of driving experience in the last 3 years and 5 years of driving experience in the last 10 years. Must be 21 years of age and have a required High School Diploma/GED. Minimum Requirements Driver’s License Type: Class A - Commercial Commercial Driver’s License Endorsement: X - Combination of N and H T - Doubles/Triples Between $900.00 /WK and $1,000 / WK. Rotating Shift - home daily. Work week - full time 30-45 hours. Additional details: We are looking for drivers who are safe and will not have customer complaints. Driver must be free of accidents, service violations, and accident services. Cell: 214-475-3052 Office 214-245-5157 or email us at cr.trucking519@gmail.com
REGIONAL DRIVER
TRUCKING 519 N. Cedar Ridge Dr., Suite #7 Duncanville, TX 75116 www.mycrossroadtruck.com
Seeking Team Drivers (OTR). .42 cents per mile, must have a Class A - Commercial Driver License. NOTE: All Drivers must have a clean background (no felonies or misdemeanors) and at least one year driving experience with a clean MVR. Must have medical card, valid DL, SSC card, DOT card and must pass a required physical and drug screening. Driver should have a minimum of one year of driving experience in the last 3 years and 5 years of driving experience in the last 10 years. Must be 21 years of age and have a required High School Diploma/GED. Minimum Requirements Driver’s License Type: Class A - Commercial Commercial Driver’s License Endorsement: X - Combination of N and H T - Doubles/Triples Additional details: We are looking for drivers who are safe and will not have customer complaints. Driver must be free of accidents, service violations, and accident services. Cell: 214-475-3052 Office 214-245-5157 or email us at cr.trucking519@gmail.com
PAGE 18
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
Long distance lover
Ask Pam
Ask Alma By Alma Gill via George Curry Media
Q - I’ve been on Medicaid for several months and drawing SSI from Social Security Administration (SSA). I’ll be turning age 62 next month, I was informed by SSA that my SSI would go away because I’ll start drawing a Social Security Retirement check. Since my retirement income will be significantly greater than the SSI I’ll no longer be eligible for Medicaid assistance. I’m concerned about keeping some medical assistance so my question is will I get Medicare too when I turn 62 next month? A - That depends; people are eligible to enroll in Medicare prior to age 65 only if they’re on Social Security Disability and have met the 24-month waiting period, or have a special condition. Check with the Social Security Administration to see when you will be eligible for Medicare. If you find that you’re not eligible for Medicare yet, then you can always visit yourtexasbenefits.com or call 2-1-1, that’s if you live in Texas, to find what medical resources are available in your area. Medicare Annual Open Enrollment period: October 15th thru December 7th. The Affordable Care Act - Federal Marketplace Exchange – 2016 Open Enrollment period: November 1st 2015 thru January 31st 2016. P A M E L A J. D A Y E S is a Licensed & Certified Health Insurance Agency serving North Texas area. She is passionate about learning and gaining knowledge in the area of HealthCare reform. She is devoted to passing on that knowledge in particularly to the Senior Market. Her expertise is in making Medicare clear and understandable. I look forward to answering your questions. Email questions to askpam@med-supps.com Follow me: Twitter: pjdayes Facebook: askpamdayes
Hi Alma, I am a 50-year-old field service engineer who travels 75 percent of the year for work. I love my job and appreciate the opportunity that I am able to travel around the world. No, I’m not in the military, so I can pick and choose where I decide to reside long term. Basically, the problem is maintaining long distant relationships with my family, friends and holding down a love life. I try to stay in touch with my family and friends through cell phone calls and Facebook but sometimes it’s just not enough. I miss them when I’m traveling and honestly, it’s hard to maintain a healthy adult relationship with a woman without her
eventually telling me I’m away too much. I’m single, active and I would consider myself to be handsome. How would you suggest I meet a woman who would understand my situation and consider being in this type of a relationship? Lamont in Ohio Lamont from Ohio, Yes, I’m putting you on blast, cause this is the first time I’ve run across, a truly handsome (yes girls, I saw his picture), and gainfully employed engineer with benefits, who’s discussing how difficult it is to maintain a long distance healthy adult relationship. The first thing that comes to my mind is, “Seek and ye shall find, my brotha ~ you came to the right place, LOL.” I’m here to agree with you sweetheart, there’s no double about it, long distance relationships (LDR’s) take an enormous amount of hard work, but then again, a regular in your face, every day relationship does, too. I say, navigate the negativity, as long as the two of you are serious about your commitment and devotion to each another, a LDR can be quite successful. In my opinion, a LDR requires two mature adults who are completely confident in their own right. Each has got to be comfortable in their own skin and not looking to be completed or validated by the other. All lines of communication must remain open and honest always. You’ve gotta trust each other. That’s super important! With today’s technology options, you can keep in touch daily, practically face to face. I’m sure you’ve heard it said before, absence does make a loving heart grow fonder. Can you see it in your minds eye? Lawddy, can you imagine anticipating the next time you’ll see each other? Wheew, kool it down, this columns rated: PG, LOL. I could go on and on with the positives, but no need, I’m sure you feel me. Evidently you’ve been looking in all the wrong places or you’d be hooked up by now. Today’s the day to steer yourself in a new direction. Start looking to find a woman who’s pursuing her dreams, occupying her time, joyfully participating in her life. Since you’re on the road most of the time, I’m sure this task won’t be easy. Soooo, you know me, I just can’t help myself, I’ll see what I can do to help you out. Ladies: If you’re interested in contacting Lamont, shoot me an email. I see springtime and love just around the corner.
Alma Gill's newsroom experience spans more than 25 years, including various roles at USA Today, Newsday and the Washington Post. Email questions to: alwaysaskalma@gmail.com. Follow her on Facebook at "Ask Alma" and twitter @almaaskalma.
PAGE 19
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
Racism on College Campuses By George E. Curry George Curry Media Columnist
As I followed recent events at the University of Missouri that culminated in the resignation of its president for mishandling incidents of blatant racism on the Columbia, Mo. campus, I thought back to an article I wrote as a Washington correspondent for the Chicago Tribune nearly three decades ago. The article, published Feb. 17, 1987 - long before this current crop of college students were born - ran under the headline, "Racial Climate Turn Cool on Campuses." I began the article by recounting the story of Douglas Wilson, an African American, being paired with Wade Bartley, who is White, in a dorm room at Penn State University. "Luckily for both of us, I try very hard not to be prejudice (sic), but the fact is that because we are of different races, we are very different both physically and mentally," Bartley wrote in a term paper. "...My roommate, like m o s t B l a c k s t o d a y, a b u s e a n d overextend (sic) the rights they have received." After reading the paper, Wilson was fuming. "The two never reconciled their differences, and Wilson finally moved out and roomed with another black student." I wrote. "While it is not the most dramatic example, some educators have called the Penn State incident symptomatic of an increase in racial tension on the campuses of the nation's predominantly white universities. "More vivid examples rocked the Citadel, a military academy where five white cadets dressed in Ku Klux Klan regalia burst into the room of a black cadets, and at the University of Alabama, where a cross was burned in front of a building that was to house a black sorority." I also noted that a Black woman leaving her job as a telephone operator at the University of Pennsylvania was
called derogatory names and was struck by a bottle of urine thrown from a dormitory window. At Smith College, an elite women's institution in Northampton, Mass., the minority cultural center was defaced with the inscriptions, "Niggers, chinks and spics stop your complaining" and "Niggers go home.� Two Black students at the State University of New York at Albany returned to their dorm and was met by a sign attached to their door reading, "We don't want niggers on our floor. Leave tomorrow or die." The New York Times recently recounted a string of racist incidents under the headline, "At University of Missouri, Black Students See a Campus Riven by Race." It began, "At first, Briana Gray just chalked up the comments and questions from her new roommate at the University of Missouri to innocent ignorance: How do you style your hair? What do you put in it? "But then her white roommate from rural Missouri started playing a rap song with a racial slur and singing the slur loudly, recalled Ms. Gray, a black senior from suburban Chicago. Another time, the roommate wondered whether black people had greasy skin because slaves were forced to sweat a lot. "Then one day, Ms. Gray said, she found a picture tacked to her door of what appeared to be a black woman being lynched..." Symone Lenoir told The Times about the burden of being Black on a White campus. "It can be exhausting when people are making assumptions about you based on your skin color," she said. "It can be exhausting feeling like you're speaking for your entire race."
So exhausting, she said, that some mornings she asks herself, "Do I even want to go to class and sit with people?" Politico observed, "But many claim there's a glimmer of hope: The next generation of Americans, they say, is 'post-racial' - more tolerant, and therefore more capable of easing these race-based inequities. Unfortunately, closer examination of the data suggests that millennials aren't racially tolerant, they're racially apathetic: They simply ignore structural racism rather than try to fix it." The Washington Post was even more blunt: "Millennials are just as racist as their parents." There is a sharp contrast in the treatment of Black and White millennials. In 2013, the incarceration rate of Black men 18 and 19 years old was seven times higher than they were for Whites in this same age group and twice as high as for Latino men in that age bracket. More than half - 54.4 percent - reported that they or someone they knew was harassed or subjected to violence by police, compared with 32.8 percent of White youth and 24.8 percent of Latino youth. One of my prized high school journalism workshop students from St. Louis, Vivian King, told about the excitement of being named homecoming queen in 1985 along with Marvin Cobbs, the Black homecoming king. "I think some of the alumni were not ready for two African-Americans to be king and queen," she recounted. "When we were announced at halftime, there was a spattering of boos. It was a little disheartening to hear that. It created quite the discussion on campus." And so have the recent protests. Now, it's time for action.
George E. Curry is President and CEO of George Curry Media, LLC. He is the former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA). He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reached through his Web site, georgecurry.com. You can also follow him at twitter.com/currygeorge, George E. Curry Fan Page on Facebook, and Periscope.
PAGE 20
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
1
PAGE 21
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
Missouri's Football Team wins On and Off the Field Recollections of my 1995 article on the business of college athletics danced in my head when I heard the news about the University of Missouri football team's refusal to play until the president of that University, Tim Wolfe, resigned or was dismissed. The players said, "due to his negligence toward marginalized students' experience" and his lax attitude regarding racial issues on campus, they would no longer participate in football activities. Ultimately, Tim Wolfe resigned. As I noted in 1995, and in several articles on college athletics and the billions of dollars they generate, money is the name of the game. When coaches of college teams earn several million dollars per year and half-billion dollar stadiums are being built, the actual laborers, the players, get lost in the shuffle. Well, the players on the University of Missouri football team are far from being invisible as they are making a statement that has divulged an economic vulnerability. There are lessons to be learned and actions to be replicated from this case. According to an article on CBS Sports, "Canceling game with BYU would cost Mizzou $1,000,000." Everything boils down to dollars, if you look deeply enough, and the young men on Missouri's team are illuminating that reality by their actions. The same thing could be done in professional athletics as well, in an effort to change the business-as-usual approach to racial inequities and mistreatment in the general society. It would be much more effective than Tshirts and hoodies. Instead of wearing shirts with a nice-sounding slogan on them, or hoodies that connote illegal killings of Black folks, black armbands, or writing something on their shoes,
Blackonomics By James Clingman via George Curry Media
Missouri football players chose the "nuclear option," as some in Congress would call it. They put their prospective livelihoods and their scholarships on the line by actually doing something substantive rather than symbolic in response to their legitimate concerns about the conditions on their campus. The sacrifice these young people are making cannot be overstated, and I commend them for being strong and committed enough to put core values before fame. Fortunately, they won their came Saturday against Brigham Young University 20-16, upping their record to 5-5 for the season. They took a principled stand against racism. Other athletes have already fought that battle and some are still paying the price decades later. Tommie Smith, John Carlos, Muhammad Ali, Curt Flood, and Craig Hodges, just to name a few, took their stands against the system and took the blows that their peers were unwilling to take. They paid a hefty price for having the temerity to stand up and speak out. The Missouri football players now find themselves in a crucible of consciousness, and we should stand with them and assure that they do not s u ff e r t h e s a m e f a t e a s t h e i r forerunners. If they are "blacklisted" by the NFL, Black people - and other sympathizers should boycott NFL games. The same goes for Head Coach Gary Pinkel who took the unusual step of standing with his players.
I pray that someone other than the usual suspects, who are simply looking for the nearest camera, microphone, and a big check to boot, will stand by the players now that the players and students got what they wanted. The players have done their part by exposing the underbelly of racial mistreatment at the University, and they have also exposed the school to a financial liability that more than likely does not end with Brigham Young University or the last two games against Tennessee and Arkansas. The economic lesson from the players' threatened "work stoppage," juxtaposed against Mizzou student Jonathan Butler's life-threatening hunger strike, is quite revealing. Butler's life was virtually ignored, but when the dollars came into play, things changed right away. The university's message: A Black life does not matter, but Black dollars do matter. Considering all the critical issues facing Black people in this country, we would do well to use economic power instead of relying on political influence to make appropriate changes to our overall condition. We should celebrate the Missouri players for taking the "road less traveled" as they fight for their rights on their campus; they chose substance over symbolism, action over passivity. Rather than merely wearing their complaints on their chests or their shoes, they chose to wear their concerns on their hearts by letting the world know they are quite serious; they took their protest to the only level that gets results-the economic level. Much respect to those young men and their supporters at the University of Missouri.
Jim Clingman, founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce, is the nation's most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people. He can be reached through his website, blackonomics.com.
PAGE 22
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
How to Win Elections Behind the Cotton Curtain We won the Voting Rights Act of 1965 at Selma, combining the power of a principled mass movement led by Dr. Martin Lu t h e r K i n g, J r. a n d a compassionate president who did the right thing despite the By Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. heavy political price. President, Rainbow PUSH Coalition via George Curry Media What was that cost? Well, President Lyndon B. Johnson said it best when he told his jumped. The South could finally have aides that Democrats "just lost the South professional sports teams. for a generation." The Civil Rights Movement forced the The Civil Rights Movement made the development of integrated football teams moral move by marching across the at Southern colleges that now dominate Edmund Pettus Bridge at Selma. LBJ did the sport. The Olympics could be held in the right thing by signing the Voting Atlanta in 1996, with Muhammad Ali and Rights Act into law, knowing the price his Stevie Wonder at the closing ceremonies. party would pay. Toyota and Mercedes Benz could locate plants in the South, providing better jobs The Jefferson Davis Democrats in the than cotton ever had. South did the wrong thing by responding to the "Southern strategy" of Richard Yet Southern politicians, stuck in the Nixon and the racial dog whistles of politics of fear, still poke at racial wounds Ronald Reagan. Due to race, the oncefor short-term success. solid Democratic South became today's solid Republican South. In order to starve the government, Southern politicians still refuse to invest Now it's been half a century. Not just a in infrastructure across the region. generation, as LBJ predicted, but twoRebuilding our ports and harbors, and-a-half generations - and still the investing in jobs programs that would Republican Party dominates below the employ White and African-American Mason-Dixon Line. workers, preparing our coasts to survive the future Katrina-like storms that climate As MSNBC's Rachel Maddow brought up change will bring, accepting the Medicaid two week's ago in the presidential forum, expansion that would provide needed the Democratic Party in today's South has health care for so many families - these been "hollowed out," with only a handful public policy initiatives would develop of successful statewide Democratic the region even more, and open up the candidates. futures for so many young Southerners. As long as that situation exists, the Yet too many politicians and voters Democrats will be able to win the continue to choose race over reason. presidency. But what about the Senate White working-class Southern voters and House? continue to run from race, choosing the party that backs both tax cuts and job The sad irony is that the South has cuts. benefited the most from the Civil Rights This is a political odd couple that makes Movement, Whites and African-Americans no sense. Half a century after the Voting together. The tearing down of the "Cotton Rights Act, too many Southern voters are Curtain" by the civil rights martyrs and still afraid of change, even when it would marchers meant that the South could join benefit them. our modern economy. Population
TRUTH TO POWER
How do we break through? First of all, former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean was right - we need a 50-state strategy. We need to compete everywhere in the country, from the local level to the state level to t h e p re s i d e n c y. Th e Democratic Party in the South needs to rebuild, to move from the outhouse to the courthouse to the statehouse to the White House. Second, candidate Barack Obama showed us how we win in the South - with a message of hope and change, combined with a massive voter registration effort and a huge voter turnout. In 2008, that combination carried Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. In 2012, Florida and Virginia again went blue, with North Carolina barely missing out. Third, we need to battle voter suppression. Sen. Bernie Sanders was right when he pointed out that too many Republican leaders are "cowards" for repressing the African-American vote. Bernie also mentioned universal voter registration during Rachel Maddow's forum, and right afterwards, in an interview with Chris Matthews, he raised an idea that I have been pushing - a constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to vote to every American. And we must protect and restore the power of the Voting Rights Act. Fourth, we need to invest bottom-up in the South, economically and politically. If we raise wages, provide health care for everyone and open up voter registration to all our people, hope will rise, the South will develop, and people's lives will be better. If White working-class families choose hope over fear, their lives will improve and so will those of Southern Latinos and African-Americans. And Democrats will be able to win state and local elections again.
Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. is founder and president of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition. You can keep up with his work at www.rainbowpush.org
PAGE 23
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015 1-800-532-9014 mention offer 47222VDF or www.OmahaSteaks.com/mbgift29
MEDIA BIDS CLASSIFIED
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS. Unable to work? Denied benefits? We Can Help! WIN or Pay Nothing! Contact Bill Gordon & Associates at 1-800-795-6803 to start your application today!
Meet singles right now! No paid operators, just real people like you. Browse greetings, exchange messages and connect live. Try it free. Call now: 800-259-1089
Got Knee Pain? Back Pain? Shoulder Pain? Get a painrelieving brace at little or NO cost to you. Medicare Patients Call Health Hotline Now! 1- 800-718-9452
DIRECTV Starting at $19.99/mo. FREE Installation. FREE 3 months of HBO SHOWTIME CINEMAX starz. FREE HD/DVR Upgrade! 2015 NFL Sunday Ticket Included (Select Packages) New Customers Only. CALL 1-800-792-4730
ENJOY 100% guaranteed, delivered-to-the-door Omaha Steaks! SAVE 76% PLUS 4 FREE Burgers - The Happy Family Celebration - ONLY $49.99. ORDER Today
SAY NO TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
COMPUTER PROBLEMS? We will Fix Your Computer TODAY! | 24/7 Emergency Service Available | | Mac & all PC Brands |
800.912.4993 CALL US NOW FOR A FREE DIAGNOSIS!
Get your booth for
Restore your credit! Lexington Law offers a FREE consultation with a Credit Consultant. Regain your financial health - Call Now! 800-429-3515
| Friendly Certified Computer Repair Experts |
Call 214-653-6671 for KWANZAAFEST 2015
REAL PEOPLE REAL DESIRE REAL FUN
CHATLINE TM
800.845.7156
| Regular Maintenance | Data Recovery | | Virus Removal |
Imagine The Difference You Can Make
DONATE YOUR CAR
INJURED
IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT? THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE A CASE IS TO TALK TO A LAWYER
1-800-597-8713 FREE TOWING TAX DEDUCTIBLE Help Prevent Blindness Get A Vision Screening Annually
Ask About A FREE 3 Day Vacation Voucher To Over 20 Destinations!!!
FIND AN ATTORNEY FOR FREE PAY NOTHING UNLESS YOU COLLECT THE INSURANCE COMPANIES HAVE LAWYERS AND SO SHOULD YOU. CONNECT WITH A LOCAL LAWYER TODAY! AUTO ACCIDENT • CONSTRUCTION • DOG BITE • SLIP AND FALL • WORKERS’ COMPENSATION • WRONGFUL DEATH • AND MORE
1-800-607-6171
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. Advertising paid for by participating attorneys. Injury HelpLine is NOT a law firm or lawyer referral service. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contingency fee refers only to attorney’s fees. Client may incur other costs. Participating Independent Law Firms and Attorneys - New York Call the 800 number to be connected with the independent law firm responding to calls from your geographical area. Geographical areas served listed under firm’s address.
Call 214-653-6671
Try for FREE
Ahora en Español Teligence/18+
| Laptops, Desktops, Printers, Networks |
GET THE MONEY YOU DESERVE
KWANZAAFEST 2015
Computer problems - viruses, lost data, hardware or software issues? Contact Geeks On Site! 24/7 Service. Friendly Repair Experts. Macs and PCs. Call for FREE diagnosis. 1-800-912-4993
FRIEDMAN, HIRSCHEN & MILLER, LLP 100 Great Oaks Blvd., Albany Serving: Troy, Schenectady, Poughkeepsie, Fairport, Ulter Park County, Rome, Liverpool, Utica, Vestal, Hamburg, Depew
Trim the Family Tree in matching Premium PJs
BARRETT & PAVLUK, LLC 1200 Eagle Ave., Suite 204, Ocean, NJ Serving: Edison, New Brunswick, Freehold, Jackson, Asbury Park
INTRODUCING
2-YEAR TV PRICE LOCK Call Now and Save.
1-800-514-6901 Se Habla Español Offers expire 01/13/16. Restrictions apply. Call for details. IS HOW WE DO IT DR_17250_3x2
Do you or a loved one STRUGGLE on the stairs? We have the AFFORDABLE solution!
Pantone 207 Match C: 0 M: 100 Y: 65 K: 31
MENTION THIS AD FOR
Pantone Cool Grey 7 Match C: 0 M: 1 Y: 5 K: 39
$250 OFF*
PURCHASE OF A NEW STAIRLIFT!
Pantone 207 Pantone Cool Grey 7
1-800-996-1382 CALL NOW TOLL-FREE
*Certain restrictions apply.
Dec. 12-13
Meet sexy new friends who really get your vibe...
FREE TRIAL
Connect Instantly
Automobile Building In Fair Park
FREE Gift Packaging !
Call 1.800.993.5790
or visit PajamaGram.com/holiday to order.
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY LAW Win...No Award / No Fee Applications/Hearings/Appeals Immediate Access to Experienced Personnel We Strive For Quick Claim Approval Free Consultation
CALL TODAY FOR IMMEDIATE HELP!
(800) 795-6803
800-239-9374 18+
2 (5 oz.) Filet Mignons 2 (5 oz.) Top Sirloins 2 (4 oz.) Boneless Pork Chops 4 Boneless Chicken Breasts (1 lb. pkg.) 4 (4 oz.) Omaha Steaks Burgers 4 (3 oz.) Gourmet Jumbo Franks 16 oz. pkg. Omaha Steakhouse® Fries 4 Caramel Apple Tartlets Omaha Steaks Seasoning Packet
47222VDF Reg. $209.91 | Now All Cases Considered
Bill Gordon & Associates is a nationwide practice limited to representing clients before the Social Security Administration. Bill Gordon is a member of the Texas & New Mexico Bar Associations. The attorneys at Bill Gordon & Associates work for quick approval of every case. Results in your case will depend on the unique facts and circumstances of your claim.
20+ Years of Credit Repair Experience
Happy Family Celebration
Regain Your Financial Health With help from a credit repair advocate.
4999
Only $
Plus, 4 more Burgers
FREE
Call 1-800-532-9014 ask for 47222VDF www.OmahaSteaks.com/mbgift29
Limit 2. Free gifts must ship with #47222. Standard S&H will be added. Expires 12/31/15. ©2015 OCG | 510B120 | Omaha Steaks, Inc.
Contact us today and start taking control of your credit.
1.800.429.3515 We have helped our clients see millions of questionable negative items removed, including**:
FREE
consultation
Collections Late Payments
Bankruptcies Repossessions
**A 2013 study using previous Lexington clients saw that the average result was 10.2 removals across their three reports. John C. Heath, Attorney at Law, PLLC, dba Lexington Law Firm, 360 Cutler Drive, North Salt Lake, Utah 84054.
PAGE 24
I MESSENGER
Perry County, was shot by a state trooper
DECEMBER 11, 2015
PAGE 25
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
MAXIMIZE
Your Exposure While We Have Your Audience’s Undivided Attention! Your AD in print and in our online editions! • Your ad will give you an opportunity to salute the spirit of freedom and equality. • Your ad will include your logo, company information, artwork and a personalized quote commemorating Black History Month 2013! • Your ad will show your support in the community and regenerate your audience.
DON’T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY - ACT TODAY!
www.garlandjournal.com
GARLAND
CIRCULATION*AUDIT*BY
J OURNAL
VOL.1 NO.16
By Cheryl Smith - Texas Metro News
Recycle this newspaper when finished reading
KENNY JAY REVIEW: MakingBOOK Women Happy!
INTIMATE SEDUCTION
City of Dallas Sanitation Dept.
www.DallasWeekly.com
INSIDE Speaking of People Ron Price elected to national organization post
Light rail, Trinity River road highly scrutinized in South Dallas By Patrice J. Holmes
INSIDE Metro 3 Perspectives 5 Community Calendar 6 Lifestyle 12 HBCU Homecomings 19
Page 2
Studies by the University of Texas at Dallas Institute of Urban Policy, United Way and Texas A&M are taking place now to assess the quality of life in the South Dallas community before billion dollar projects involving the new DART Light Rail and the Trinity
National
Toll Road are brought to the area. Some construction has begun with the demolition of homes to follow later this year. At a meeting held by the three institutions, a focus group of sorts dished ideas and findings on the surveys that have told the story of the residents of South Dallas. “We are measuring conditions that may vary from street to street,” said Dr.
Timothy Bray, director of the Institute of Urban Policy Research. He helps
“OVER THREE TO FOUR YEARS THERE ARE CHANGES IN CONDITIONS AND WE WANT TO KNOW HOW IT AFFECTS THE AREA” oversee the The Field Research Team which underwent 80 hours of
YVETTE BROOKS Your Curlfriend!
training in administering the anonymous surveys. “Over three to four years there are changes in conditions and we want to know how it affects the area.”
Evaluating President Obama’s First 100 Days Political analysts, both mainstream and Black news media and intellectuals around the country have given their grade evaluation on President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office, marked on April 30. Here’s how several people from the local front graded the new president.
JOURNA
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
A
Grade: A Page 4
“I am deeply impressed with the progress that President Barack Obama has made during the first 100 days of his administration. Already we are seeing evidence of the administration’s plan to dig our country out of recession and develop long-term, sustainable prosperity. President Obama has made two trips abroad, proving to us and to the world that he intends to repair our frayed alliances and restore our international leadership. Finally, the Obama administration’s code of ethics has brought much-needed transparency and accountability to the White House. President Obama is delivering on the change that he promised.”
FOUR MORE YEARS
Mavericks surpasses Spurs in playoffs
PRESIDENT OBAMA VICTORIOUS
Available at newstands in Garland, Plano, Balch Springs, Seagoville, Rowlett, Mesquite, Richardson, East and North Dallas
Page 9
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
C
Grade: C “In just 100 days, we’ve seen an alarming acceleration of policies that will take America down the wrong track. The administration has proposed trillions of dollars in new spending, which will result in higher taxes on Americans, while sharply raising our indebtedness to foreign creditors. On the national security front, I am very concerned about the President’s intention to close Guantanamo without a workable plan to relocate detainees. It is my sincere hope that, moving forward, the administration will adopt the productive, responsible approach to our nation’s challenges that Americans deserve.” (The office of John Cornyn of Texas was contacted but did See 100 DAYS, page 19
SPIRITUAL
TS OF THE SECRE
Remebering Joe Hudson Jr. Page 1 0
The Dallas Weekly
years celebrates 56 Black of serving the Community
THE HUNDRED DAY SCORE
Why Democracy hangs in the balance
Metro
Volume No. 56 Issue No. 18
The Long and Winding Road editorial@dallasweekly.com
FAMU Rattlers victorious
Page 13
No. 1 serving the African American Community
April 30-May 6, 2009
TIME TO FORGIVE?
In having the conversation about building within South Dallas, many issues arise with respect to GWENDOLYNand JONES education business in Ask The Advocate See ROAD, page 19
PROPOSITIONS 1 AND 2 Why YES means no and NO means yes Dallas is abuzz at the election issues before them on May 9 when citizens are asked to vote on the controverD’LYTE sial & EBONY Convention Music Happenings Center Hotel that is being backed by Mayor Leppert. But what does voting “no” and voting “yes” mean? It is important to remember that the propositions are to amend the Dallas City Charter which, among other things, gives the MISSpower RAY to acquire city the Going Deep in Roots property fortheany public purpose. The propositions are worded to prohibit the city from acting on these before stated powers. Therefore, if a citizen would like the city to maintain those powers, they are to vote NO and vice versa. See VOTE, page 38
VALDER BEEBE That Celebrity Interview
Just+ like+ a+ potential+ target+ can+ not+ immediately+ identify+ a+ predator,+ it+ is+ often+ hard+ to+ point+ out+ the+ victim+of+sexual+assault+or+domestic+abuse.++There’s+ no+ big+ letter+ tattooed+ on+ their+ forehead+ or+ a+ certain+ look,+smell+or+hairdo+that+will+alert+you+that+the+person+ you+are+looking+at+is+the+survivor+of+what+many+have+ assault. April+is+Sexual+Assault+Awareness+Month+(SAAM)+ and+there+are+full*scale+efforts+to+“raise+public+aware* ness+ about+ sexual+ violence+ and+ to+ educate+ commu* nities+and+individuals+on+how+to+prevent+sexual+vio* lence.” This+year’s+campaign+“focuses+on+healthy+sexuality+ and+ child+ sexual+ abuse+ prevention.”+ +Advocates+ are+ encouraging+“everyone”+to+join+the+conversation+and+ start+talking+about+“healthy+childhood+development+to+ prevent+child+sexual+abuse.” Almost+two+decades+ago,+January+1,+1996,+Tamecka+ Grate+ was+ violently+ attacked+ and+ her+ recovery+ has+ been+ called+ a+ “miracle.”+ It+ wasn’t+ long+ after+ the+ attack+ before+ the+ valiant+ 24*year*old+ was+ giving+ interviews,+ telling+ of+ the+brutal+assault+that+almost+ ended+her+life+as+doctors+op* erated+for+over+13+hours+to+re* move+a+pair+of+scissors+from+ her+skull.+ If+you+saw+her+today,+you’d+ Tamecka Grate Frazier see+ just+ another+ beautiful+ woman+ who+ is+ in+ love+ with+ her+ life,+ her+ family+ and+ living.+ Ms.+Grate’s+attacker,+Emanuel+Moffert,+26,+who+ac*
Page 15
BUSINESS Page 16
ALL
X-Men Origins: WOLVERINE Movie Tidbits Pg. 12
How to brand you
BOOK REVIEW:
THE BISHOP’S DAUGHTER Page 10 Volume No. 55 Issue No. 44
stop+it? She,+like+so+many+other+young+victims,+was+not+be* Roland S. Martin lieved+**+which+caused+considerable+trauma+as+the+vic* tim+is+twice+victimized.++ Admittedly+some+“victims”+have+lied,+producing+an* “I+ am+ enormously+ thankful+ and+ other+level+of+victims+in+the+wrongfully+accused,+but+ humbled+that+NABJ+has+bestowed+ there+ are+ other+ levels,+ like+ that+ victim+ who+ remains+ this+amazing+honor+on+me+for+my+ silent+ for+ whatever+ reason+ and+ the+ family+ and+ loved+ work+ as+ a+ fearless+ voice+ in+ advo* ones+ of+ the+ aforementioned+ who+ oftentimes+ don’t+ cating+ the+ critical+ issues+ facing+ Page 5 know+what+to+say+or+do. voters+ in+ the+ 2012+ election,+ but+ Now+who+is+the+victim?+ especially+as+they+relate+to+African+ It+ could+ be+ a+ newborn+ baby.+ + Of+ course+ you+ think+ Americans,”+ said+ Martin.+ “I+ hope+ that+this+couldn’t+be+the+case.+Unfortunately+there+are+ Obama’s win may this+honor+serves+as+a+lesson+to+any+ so+ many+ cases+ of+ very,+ very+ young+ babies+ being+ as* young+ or+ veteran+ journalist+ that+ face limitations
See Sexual Assault, page 18Curry looks at the George
York$Times+best*selling+author+with+ nearly+two+million+books+in+print.+ Now+ in+ his+ tenth+ year+ on+ the+ air,+ Baisden+ wants+ his+ radio+ family+ to+ know+he+did+everything+in+his+pow* * the+air+as+soon+as+possible+in+a+way+
future with President Obama
See Martin, page 11
INSIDE
International Metro
Nation elects first African
Page 6
Perspectives 4L5 American president , as Barack wins handidly INSIDE PAGES: Community Calendar 6 Lifestyle
See Baisden, page 6
2
Obama3wins election and makes ...
HISTORIC 3
Servicemen
Lifestyle Is gospel music dying? Swagger Puzzle
15
Business
17
Business Food for thought Congresswoman addresses
Heart disease remains high on list of illnesses Page 15
CHANGE! See PAGE 7
12
Management blamed for issues
Page 8
Michael Baisden Oak Cliff Chamber Page 12
Prevent heart attacks
all the Find out on Marvel’s n lowdow mutants t PG. 12 weirdes
APRIL 19, 2013
INSIDE
Health
How to avoid the Swine flu
BRINGING YOU ENLIGHTENING, EDUCATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
tually+ dated+ her+ neighbor,+ was+ caught+ before+ he+ was+ able+ to+ rape+her,+but+the+ assault+ was+ so+ brutal+ that+ the+ scars+left+behind+ could+ have+ con* tinued+to+assault+ her,+ if+ not+ for+ a+ loving+ family,+ November 6 church,+ com* munity+ and+ her+ faith. G w e n d o l y n+ Debra Mars Jones+ was+ as* The election is over saulted+ by+ her+ step*father.+ + She+ asked+ herself+ the+ * now we can begin son+act+this+way+toward+me?+Am+I+responsible?++Did+I+ Election night coverage on do+something+to+cause+this?++Did+my+caretakers+know+ KKDA focuses on issues
* * ed+ afternoon+ drive+ radio+ programs+ heard+in+the+top+urban+markets.++ Exum,+his+business+manager. He+ is+ also+ a+ TV+ talk+ Baisden+ began+ his+ career+ as+ an+ New$
HEALTH
Choose either or
APRIL 1, 2013
Martin named NABJ Journalist of the Year
WASHINGTON**+**+The+Nation* al+Association+of+Black+Journalists+ (NABJ)+ has+ announced+ that+ Ro* land+ S.+ Martin,+ nationally+ syndi* cated+ columnist,+ television+ host,+ and+radio+and+television+commen* tator,+ is+ to+ receive+ the+ organiza* Recycle this tion’s+Journalist+of+the+Year+award.+ newspaper when It+ is+ one+ of+ NABJ’s+ most+ covet* finished ed+ honors+ celebrating+ the+ accom* reading plishments+of+black+journalists+and+ City of Dallasthose+ who+ support+ blacks+ in+ the+ Sanitation Dept. media.+Martin+was+selected+for+the+ No. 1 serving the African American Community award+by+NABJ’s+Board+of+Direc* 12, 2008 www.DallasWeekly.com tors.
Michael Baisden leaves airwaves -Skip Murphy moves to slot + Nationally+ syndicated+ radio+ personality+ Michael+ Baisden+ an* nounced+a+hiatus,+from+his+radio+on+ his+ Facebook+ page.+ Baisden,+ who+ commands+a+daily+audience+of+over+ seven+ million+ listeners,+ said+ he+ is+ unable+to+discuss+the+particulars+but+ concluded+ that+ a+ deal+ could+ not+ be+ made+on+mutually+agreeable+terms.+ Recognized+as+one+of+the+most+in*
NO 2 ISSUE 32 APRIL 19 2013
NO 2 ISSUE 32
p.7
BRINGING NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM ACROSS THE STATE AND AROUND THE WORLD
Say NO to any ASSAULT
New Voices
I MESSENGER
Welcome Home Ambassador Ron Kirk!
TEXAS METRO NEWS
Single Mom Chronicles p.12
WWW.TEXASMETRONEWS.COM
Digital Illustration: Joseph Shelby
VOL XI ISSUE 7 NOVEMBER 15, 2012
SPECIAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION PAGE 1
Democrat
!
NOVEMBER 4, 2008 ELECTION
!
Republican
Joyce Ann Brown lost Nine Years, Five Months and 24 Days of her life !
I MESSENGER
JOHN
V.S. M CAIN C
BARACK
OBAMA
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE DALLAS WEEKLY, FILL OUT THIS FORM AND MAIL TO: SUBSCRIBE TODAY! DALLAS By mailWEEKLY or on line $ P.O. BOX 151789 www.myimessenger.com www.garlandjournal.com www.texasmetronews.com DALLAS, TX 75315 annually I want to receive copies of __ I Messenger __ Garland Journal __ Texas Metro
80
$
50
annually
News at $50 per subscription
I want to receive ___copies of The Dallas Weekly at $80 per subscription Card Check Card CARD #____________________________________________________ EXP. DATE______________________ Amount: __________________
Check
SIGNATURE________________________________________________ NAME _____________________________________________________ ADDRESS__________________________________________________ CITY ____________________________STATE ____ ZIP ___________ TELEPHONE #_____________________________________________ FAX # _____________________________________________________ E-MAIL ____________________________________________________ TO NO. SUBSCRIBE TO EITHER OR ALL PUBLICATION, COMPLETE COMMUNITY FORM AND MAIL TO: 1 SERVING THE AFRICAN AMERICAN
I MESSENGER ENTERPRISES 320 SOUTH R.L. THORNTON FREEWAY, SUITE 220
DALLAS, TX 75203
PAGE 26
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
Lose
5 5
pounds in days
1BNFMB + %BZFT -JDFOTFE 4BMFT "HFOU 1BNFMB + %BZFT %BZFT "HFODZ
-JDFOTFE 4BMFT "HFOU
3PZBM -BOF 4VJUF & (SBOJUF 1BSLXBZ %BMMBT 59 4VJUF 1MBOP 59
Q Q BTLQBN!NFE TVQQT DPN *OTVSBODF 4WDT!MJWF DPN
PAGE 27
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
The perfect gift for the one you love!
The Warmth of May “I pledge to you my soul this night and give you my heart with a fawn’s delight” Order at www.simplyforyou.us or at Amazon Illustrated, $14.95 117 pages
Felicia N. Shepherd M. Ed Founder/CEO
Booking Contact Information: info@fnsconsultingservices.com 972-638-SHEP (7437) Visit our website at www.fnsconsultingservices.com FiNeSse Consulting Services Staff Development, seminars on Relational Aggression, Conference/webinar presentations, motivational speaking, school and workplace conflict workshops…
Robert Hallback Jr. Owner / Operator
408 West Renfro St, Ste 105 Plant City, FL 33563 rhallback57@gmail.com
“Let me put my experience to work for you.”
PAGE 28
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
CHERYL’S WORLD Tune in to Cheryl’s World on Blog Talk Radio, or call 646-200-0459 to hear informative, entertaining, enlightening and thought-provoking commentary and news with veteran journalist Cheryl Smith and sports guy Andrew Whigham on Sundays at 8a.m. and Mondays at 6p.m., Felicia Shepherd on Tuesdays at 6p.m., Inside the 234 with Dareia Tolbert on Thursdays at 6p.m., and Miss Yvette at noon on Saturdays
" I w a n t D r. King to know that I didn't come to Selma to make his j o b d i f f i c u l t. I re a l l y d id co m e thinking I could make it easier. If the white people realize what the a l t e r n a t i v e i s, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King." Malcolm X
PAGE 29
I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
CALENDAR December 11 District 4 / “Deck the Halls” Christmas Celebration 1st Floor Lobby Dallas City Hall Time: Starting @ 6pm – 6:55 (Mingle & Jingle) / 7pm – 11pm (Christmas Celebration) Sixth annual Black on Black Mingle and Jingle - A Holiday & Dance Experience on December 11-12, 2015. The festivities begin at 6 p.m. each night at the DBDT studios located at 2700 Ann Williams Way in the Dallas Arts District. ******* Join the Dallas-Fort Worth FAMU Alumni Chapter for a Christmas Party at Sasha’s (807 S. Central Freeway, Richardson, TX) from 6-9 pm for food, laughs, and a merry time! Please bring an unwrapped toy to be donated to children in the area.
December 16 Tarrant County Mayor’s Luncheon, the Fort Worth Club, benefitting UNCF.
100 BLACK MEN HOLIDAY PARTY 2015 8:00 PM The Hall of State 3939 Grand Avenue Dallas, TX
December 17 Balch Springs Chamber of Commerce Member Appreciation Mixer @Holiday Inn Express 21850 Lyndon B Johnson Freeway, Mesquite, TX 75149 6pm-8pm RSVP to Martha 972.557.0988
******* El Centro College has installed a new artwork piece near the Market Street entrance and will host a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. ****** Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce for the 2015 Membership Meeting & Luncheon “Building for Our Future: State of Oak Cliff” Update at Dallas Baptist University, featuring keynote speakers, Councilmen Scott Griggs of District 1, Casey Thomas of District 3, and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Erik Wilson of District 8.
December 12 KWANZAAFEST 2015 at Fair Park PAGE 30
I MESSENGER Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists Annual Holiday Mixer, presented by AT&T, American Airlines and the Don’t Believe the Hype Foundation, will be held at SISU UPTOWN RESORT, 2508 Maple Avenue. RSVP to 214-941-0110.
December 18 "Holiday Treasures!" and Carol SingAlong Concert December 18, 8 p.m.
DECEMBER 11, 2015 The Garland Symphony Orchestra presents the annual holiday hit, "Holiday Treasures!" and Christmas carol singalong concert. Celebrate the holidays with music guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit! Tickets: $17.50-37.50 at GarlandArtsBoxOffice.com or 972-205-2790. Granville Arts Center Brownlee Auditorium, 300 N. Fifth Street Downtown Garland
April 2
Center Members get access to the best available seats. Call Membership Services at 214-978-2888 or go to www.attpac.org/support to join. Center Membership presale began Tuesday, September 29 at 10 a.m. Ticket prices for Herb Alpert & Lani Hall range from $76.75 to $36.75 and can be purchased, beginning on October 2 at 10 a.m., online at www.attpac.org, by phone at 214-880-0202 or in person at the AT & T P e r f o r m i n g A r t s C e n t e r Information Center at 2353 Flora Street
HERB ALPERT & LANI HALL 8 p.m. Majestic Theatre The nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center and AEG Live announced Herb Alpert and Lani Hall will perform at the Majestic Theatre in downtown Dallas.
The Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC) will celebrate the 9th annual Appetite for Advocacy Luncheon featuring keynote speaker Brené Brown on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at 12 p.m. at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel, 400 N. Olive Street.
PAGE 31
Come on PEOPLE! Don’t you CARE? I MESSENGER
DECEMBER 11, 2015
POLICE have not apprehended Pookie the serial rapist. Aren’t you concerned? Do you care? We know he has attacked members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and there is a $5,000 reward offered by Crime Stoppers. If you have ANY information, PLEASE call Crime Stoppers
877.373.8477 Join I Messenger in the call for justice. Turn Pookie in today!
Also, if you want extra protection, PAGE 32 check out Street Safe at www.streetsafe.peopleguard.com