Thought-provoking, informative, enlightening and entertaining news and commentary from around the world! VOL 5 ISSUE 21
January 22, 2016
I MESSENGER
www.myimessenger.com
This sister speaks
TRUTH TO POWER
Dr. Julianne Malveaux to speak at Delta Sigma Theta Founders Day program. P. 3
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Message to the People...
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Quit Playin’ 8
Living in and loving the moment! I am excited about hearing Dr. Julianne Malveaux. She’s the speaker for the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. DFW Area Chapters 2016 Joint Founders Day Luncheon, Saturday, January 23, 2016, at 11:30 a.m. at the Irving Convention Center. An exciting aspect of the event will be the honoring of Delta Sigma Theta 25 and 50-year members, and recent college graduates. This won’t be my first time hearing Dr. Malveaux and I don’t know what she’s going to say but I am sure her speech will be informative, enlightening, inspiring, thoughtprovoking and challenging, as well as entertaining. Over the past week, I heard a young woman talking on FOX News about there not being a need for “Black” this or that. Her comments caused me to think about folks who have questioned the usefulness and viability of Black Greek letter organizations. I’ve always deplored those conversations decrying any and everything black. The older I get the less tolerant I am. I don’t feel the need to validate Black schools, businesses, churches, and organizations. Frankly, I ain’t got time for those discussions. I can give so many reasons why I am glad to be a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and why it is a viable and necessary part of society. Julianne Malveaux is one of those reasons! I love this woman. She’s smart, loving, conscientious, supportive, spiritually grounded, candid, funny, sincere, dynamic, loyal, and, so much more. While the National Association of Black Journalists, by way of the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Communicators, is how I met Dr. Malveaux; the bond is deeper. Sure her brilliance was impressive, but her heart was so endearing and when I realized she was a Delta, well, then I knew I had a friend for life. Unfortunately for many, we don’t realize how short life really is until we have lived a large portion of our time on this earth. Then and only then do we really begin to value the things and people that are really important. When you find someone like Dr. Malveaux, you’ve found a friend indeed and you should cherish that relationship. Dr. Julianne Malveaux legacy is intact. She has impacted so many lives, as an economist, president of Bennett College, columnist, mentor, speaker, author, commentator and critical thinker. She is one of our best and brightest. And yes, she is my soror, sister and friend.
Cheryl Note: Condolences to the family of my Soror Denise Stovall. A journalist and loving woman, Soror Stovall transitioned this week.
WOMAN OF THE YEAR 13
GEORGE CURRY 21
I MESSENGER 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.
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JANUARY 22, 2016
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Time Eternal. Life Eternal. Spiritually Speaking…. By James A. Washington
I had a wild but humbling thought recently when I was wondering in sheer amazement about God’s eternal being. I mean He always was and always will be. In simple terms, there was never a time when there was no God. There will never be a time when He won’t exist. Just to contemplate that is a challenge to one’s ability to comprehend as well as an impossible reach for the imagination. But I’ve come to appreciate imagining the awesome power of God. My point about being humbled in this respect is that in God’s infinite knowledge, I’m supposed to have been there. I mean God knew me before I knew me. Apparently, if I believe scripture (and I do), I am an integral part of God’s great plan. I have a role to play. Somehow then, I was there when Adam was created, if God fashioned me (and you) as a descendant of the original man. That means you’ve also been around in God’s mind forever. Scripture teaches that if you believe in the Godliness of Christ, then our very existence in eternity
is guaranteed. It’s incredibly humbling to think that the Almighty in His infinite being and power had and has room for you and me in His thought process. I still struggle with that. That means from the moment I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, I became aware of my immortality. So often as we grow older, we tend to accept our mortality (maybe even begrudgingly), when really we should be more aware and appreciative of our own immortality. The bible reaffirms this constantly throughout scripture. “And this is the (God’s) testimony: God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12. Baptized believers understand the words of Christ. “I tell you the truth; whoever hears my words and believes Him who sent me has eternal life…” John 5:24. I am merely, in as humble a way as possible, accepting this truth. The reality of that truth is what boggles the mind. If I calculate time in human terms, I was born. I lived and I will die. By accepting Christ as my Lord
and Savior, I must recalculate time as follows: I was born. I lived and I will die in this physical world. At that moment I will live again, forever. One of the by products of this truth is also a fundamental belief in God’s Word because Jesus is the one telling us God’s intention. So therefore, faith here demands we’ve got to accept God’s Word first and above all else. Now I don’t know about you, but given an option of taking God’s Word or not, you pretty much can take what I’m going to do straight to the vault in heaven. I mean just think about it for a moment. From the instant God thought of you, you became eligible for immortality. That eligibility gets realized when you start an intimate relationship with Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, we confirm our relationship with Christ and our existence in eternity. All we have to do is choose. Listen up! Choose life or choose death. I’ve made my choice. I choose life, and you know what? I’m going to live forever. You know what? You are too. Imagine that. May God bless and keep you always.
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JANUARY 22, 2016
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From the U.S. Congress By Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson
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Financial expert keynotes Delta Sigma Theta’s Founders celebration Harris also to pay tribute to 50 and 25 year honorees
With headlines of the largest lottery ever dominating news coverage, the Dallas Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., is celebrating the founding of the public service organization with a financial expert, Carla A. Harris, as the keynote speaker. Attendees at the public event will surely have finance questions for this Vice Chairman, Wealth Management, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley when she joins her sorority sisters for this year’s program, Saturday, January 30, 2016, 11:30a.m., at the Dallas Hyatt Regency Hotel, 300 Reunion Blvd. Dallas. Considered one of the most powerful women in business, Ms. Harris is an honors graduate of Harvard University and in August 2013, she was appointed by President Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council. Ms. Harris will join Dallas Alumnae Chapter president Tonya Derrick as the organization recognizes 50 and 25 year honorees for their service to Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Also on hand for the 103rd anniversary of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the 92nd anniversary of the Dallas Alumnae Chapter is Marjorie McColl Petty, J.D., M.S., Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The Dallas Alumnae Chapter has been very instrumental in educating citizens about the Affordable Healthcare Act and other critical issues affecting their communities. The 50-year honorees are: Jennifer Brown Clark, Cressie M. Menefee Ellison, Katharine Williams-Hunter, Verna G. Brown Mitchell, Henri L. Simpson, Ph.D. and Zelma Brooks Washington. The 25 year honorees are: Felicia Cox Henderson, Aundrea Denise Mitchell, Keva Phillips Munson, Leslie Annette Swann, Dr. Rosalyn Walker and Courtney Dawnyell Weddington. Tickets are still available for the luncheon at www.dallasalumnae.org/ FoundersDay.html. It was a historic day for Dallas, Texas, in 1924 when the DALLAS ALUMNAE CHAPTER of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was established. Soror Frederica Chase Dodd, one of the twenty-two National Founders, organized the chapter and served as its first president. Along with Soror Dodd, the following sorors will long be remembered as the cornerstones of the chapter: Jessie Pollard, Ruth Mason, Ruby Pollard Reed, Nettie Wycliff, Rowena Wilkins Blackmon, Lillian Thompson, Koletta Jefferson Washington, Marie Starks Burke, Jessie T. Rice, Rezolia Thrash, Doris Tipps, Irene Dobbs Jackson, Deraline Winston McKenzie, Leatrice Porter, Myrtle Saddler, and DeArtis Pryor Purify. Today, as inheritors of a remarkable legacy of greatness, the Dallas Alumnae Chapter has withstood the test of time and continues to grow tremendously in its membership, which enables the chapter to be in the forefront fulfilling the mission of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. empowering people and making a difference in the Dallas, Texas community. DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY, INC. was founded on January 13, 1913 by 22 collegiate women at Howard University. These students wanted to use their
collective strength to promote academic excellence and to provide assistance to persons in need. Local member Frederica Chase Dodd was one of the 22 founders. The Grand Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. has a membership of over 200,000 predominately African-American, college-educated women. The Sorority currently has over 900 chapters located in the United States, Tokyo, Japan, Okinawa, Japan, Germany, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Seoul, Korea, and St. Thomas and St Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information on the history and other areas of interest of this dynamic organization, please visit the official website of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Noted members include: recently deceased member singer/actress Natalie Cole, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, journalist Soledad O’Brian, U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, economist Dr. Julianne Malveaux and Former United States Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman. Dr. Paulette C. Walker is the National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Initiated into the Sorority through the Epsilon Epsilon Chapter of Michigan State University in October 1966, Dr. Walker has shown an uncompromising commitment to service for nearly 50 years.
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Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Dallas Alumnae Chapter 2016 Honorees Jennifer Brown Clark was initiated into the Epsilon Iota Chapter in 1965 at Ohio University. A retired elementary school principal, she is a member of New Hope Baptist Church.
Verna G. Brown Mitchell was initiated into the Alpha Kappa Chapter in 1965 at Huston-Tillotson College (University). A past president of Dallas Alumnae Chapter, the education administrator is a member of Friendship-West Baptist Church.
Cressie M. Menefee Ellison was initiated into the Delta Omega Chapter May 14, 1966 at Bishop College. A healthcare professional, she is a member of Pleasant Zion Missionary Baptist Church.
Henri L. Simpson, Ph.D. was initiated into the Delta Omega Chapter May 6, 1966 at Bishop College. A real estate agent and retired educator, she is a former Miss Bishop College.
50 year honorees:
Katharine Williams-Hunter was initiated into the Alpha Kappa Chapter April 22, 1966 at Huston-Tillotson College (University). A member of Concord Baptist Church, she is a retired systems analyst for the Social Security Administration.
25 Year Honorees Felicia Cox Henderson was initiated into the Zeta Eta Chapter April 20, 1991 at the University of North Texas. A member of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, she also has a masters degree in Human Resources Training and Development. Aundrea Denise Mitchell was initiated into the Theta Gamma Chapter April 19, 1991 at Stephen F. Austin University. A Claims Supervisor in Risk Management, she is a member of Concord Church. Keva Phillips Munson was initiated into the Epsilon Beta Chapter in 1991 at The University of Texas at Austin. A senior
Zelma Brooks Washington was initiated into the Dallas Alumnae Chapter in 1966. She received her Bachelors Degree from Jarvis Christian College and Masters Degree from University of North Texas. A teacher-counselor, she attended Greater Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church.
financial analyst, she is a member of Concord Church. Leslie Annette Swann was initiated into the Iota Eta Chapter in 1991 at Texas Christian University. An educator, she is a member of Mt. Olive Baptist Church (Arlington, TX). Courtney Walker Weddington was initiated into the Iota Eta Chapter in 1991 at Texas Christian University. A senior product surveillance specialist for St. Jude Medical, Inc., she is a member of Greenville Avenue Church of Christ. Dr. Rosalyn Walker was initiated into the Zeta Eta Chapter April 20, 1991 at the University of North Texas. A higher education administrator, she is a member of Concord Baptist Church.
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JANUARY 22, 2016
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QUIT PLAYIN’: Dirty, Shallow Water! Quit Playin’
By Vincent L. Hall
And although you think that's just the plight of the people in Flint, Michigan, it could very well be happening in “Your neck of the woods.” America has some serious environmental problems and as usual, poor Black folks are the specimen trapped in the national Petri dish. Hillary Rodham Clinton, former First Lady and a lifelong advocate for children, made her position
was forced on the people as a Republican show of force…which really proves they don’t give a f*ck about your constitutional rights, just theirs. If you don't know this story, Google it. I can’t add any symmetry without crying…again!! Mrs. Clinton's remarks are being grafted for future arguments against discrimination, but don't wade out into the deeper parts of her argument and
known at the latest Democratic debate. According to the Washington Post; “I spent a lot of time last week being outraged by what's happening in Flint, Michigan, and I think every single American should be outraged. “We've had a city in the United States of America where the population which is poor in many ways and majority African American has been drinking and bathing in lead-contaminated water. And the governor of that state acted as though he didn't really care. “He had a request for help and he had basically stone walled. I'll tell you what, if the kids in a rich suburb of Detroit had been drinking contaminated water and being bathed in it, there would've been action.” Usually, I’d give a synopsis of the Flint, Michigan l e a d - i n f e s t e d w a t e r s t o r y… a f t e r a n unconstitutionally appointed, unduly-elected Mayor
neglect to do something about this dirty, shallow water. For me the Flint water story is analogous to the dirty, shallow water that runs through the American public school system. The dirty water that runs from the shallow street cop into America’s courtrooms and crests in the public and private jail industry. This former “cottage industry” that makes its living on the misery of poor folks with inferior court appointed attorneys and judges armed with mandatory minimums. It’s that same dirty, shallow water that calls out all Muslims in the name of “just keeping it real.” The dirty, shallow water that wants to build a dumb ass wall in Mexico that any farmer in a crop duster could fly over. Dumb idea Donald! I’d rather be dead and in my grave than be a dirty, shallow water slave!! Lawd Please!!!
Vincent L. Hall is an author and award-winning columnist.
I may have said this before; if you heard it, please forgive me. You know writing weekly editorials is a lot like preaching. At some point or another you will use the same analogy more than once. My brother, the Reverend Victor Hall recalls that the Old Black Preacher used to petition God with three sober supplications. “Lord don't let my body outlive my mind,” which, when translated is just a prayer that one will not fall to dementia. The second prayer was; “Lord don't let me outlive all my mourners.” That says, “I want to live a long good life, but Lord let there be someone in my funeral congregation who knew me back in the day.” The final leg of the prayer tripod was; “Lord don't let me die in shallow water.” Now that one is trickier, but what it means is “don't let me die under a cloud of public embarrassment or controversy after having lived a reputable and well regarded life.” You know, like Bill Cosby, who was once America’s classiest parent and has rightly or wrongly been rendered a closet pervert and criminal pharmacist. That’s shallow water! Those pleas make a lot of sense, but we have to add another one. “Lord don't let me die from this dirty, shallow water.”
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I MESSENGER The Truth about Your Health and Fitness There are several reasons why people do not choose a workout lifestyle or healthy lifestyle for that matter. Please understand, your approach to living a healthy lifestyle is also your approach to everything else in your life, period. Here are just a few I would like to mention. Reason#1 – Lazy – If you were not introduced to working out or living a healthy lifestyle as a child or pre-teen the chance of you choosing a workout lifestyle as you get older decreases. If I could only count the number of people who come for a few sessions then quit. Or should I say see some adversity, and then quit. How many people expect to get results without putting forth their best physical and mental effort? These attitudes and behaviors began as a child. Does this behavior carry-on into other parts of your life? Right. #2 – Do Not Know Where to Start – Living a healthy lifestyle is a scientific and spiritual idea. It should be approached with a certain level of education. You do not have to know
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everything but you need a basic education, first. This is where Aaron Johnson Fitness Club comes in. Too many people start their workout programs for 4 – 5 days per week, 1 - 3 hours per workout. Even uninformed fitness trainers will tell you to workout 4 or 5 days per week. Then by week 3 maybe 4 your workout program is over for the year or two years or twenty years. Give me a break, literally. Is what your body is saying. You hear it, you feel it, you listen to it, you quit. Your body is always sending you messages, FYI.
My solution is a 1 day per week, for 34 minutes workout lifestyle program. Breathe oxygen inhale through the nose exhale out of your mouth, outside nature oxygen, and preferably through the day. At least 1 day per week. Keep it simple. Increasing your heart rate through exercise will increase blow flow throughout your body and give you more energy. Break a sweat. Your body loves to sweat or release toxins. Stretch your muscles for increased blood flow through your body. This is fundamental it releases and relives pain through the entire body. Visit my blog for workout videos and tips www.FitnessTrainingDallas.com .
#3 – Self Sabotage – If I give you two options. Eat healthy or eat unhealthy, 75% to 25% of the time, respectfully. Or if you eat too much of this you get a disease. Or if you eat this you become disease free. Whichever you choose ultimately determines how you view your life and what it is worth. Make the right choice most times, your family will thank you for this. You can thank me later.
My solution for eating healthy is to watch portions sizes first. Eat for energy mostly not entertainment. Then begin to educate yourself and family, slowly, about the best foods to eat and where to buy those foods for budget efficiency. Healthy eating choices are a cultural phenomenon. What is healthy eating for one culture is different for another culture. Take that into consideration when you choose foods which your culture may deem unhealthy but another deems to be healthy. Fruits and vegetables works in every culture. Keep it simple. Visit my blog for more information www.FitnessTrainingDallas.com.
#4 – I Do Not Have Time or Money – Do you have time and money for injury or illness? Prevention is less expensive. That goes for working out and eating healthy. If you pay a trainer one day per week for the rest of your life it will be neither as expensive nor as time consuming as going to repair damage from not working nor choosing healthy foods choice.
Aaron Johnson, M.S. www.AaronJohnsonFitClub.com www.SkateBuds.com - "A New Generation of Fitness" 214-622-1467
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Ask Pam 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
JANUARY 22, 2016
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.
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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
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JANUARY 22, 2016
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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
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JANUARY 22, 2016
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MALVEAUX: This is the woman of the year By Dr. Julianne Malveaux Jannie Ligons is an Oklahoma City grandmother who left a friend’s house to drive home. She collided with Daniel Holtzclaw, the rogue police officer who seemed to think it was part of his duty to sexually abuse black women. He raped them because he could. They did not accuse him because they feared they could not. Some had criminal records – they had been involved with drugs or had other skirmishes with the law. They felt both vulnerable and violated, and they thought nobody would believe them. At least 13 women were violated, and they were only identified because one courageous woman, Jannie Ligons, took her complaint to the police. She had no criminal record and nothing to hide from. She simply had the harrowing experience of encountering a white (really half Japanese, but that’s another story) man with a badge, feelings of superior racial identity, and a penis. According to many of the accounts of women who encountered Daniel he referred to his whiteness as he violated them. Many of the women had other matter s with the law, and he intimidated them into silence. In our nation’s sordid history, when black women spoke they found themselves denigrated or ignored. In 1944, Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old mother, was abducted as she walked form church with her friends. A car full of white men threatened her with a shotgun, then took her into an abandoned field and repeatedly raped her. The men who raped Ms. Taylor said she welcomed the sex and they paid her. They could have been arrested, but a complicit sheriff
ignored the law. When an all-white jury heard the case, they failed to indict the six men who raped Recy Taylor. In 2011, Alabama offered Recy Taylor an apology for failing to properly manage the case. Justice delayed is justice denied. There are too many black women, raped by white men, whose experiences are swallowed in the vacuum of history. There are some experiences that have been captured, though. Consider Betty Jean Owens, a Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) student, who was talking with three friends when a group of white men, armed with shotguns and switchblades abducted her. They admitted, as they were arrested, that they were looking for a black woman to rape, and made jokes about it. The horrible criminals might have escaped prosecution and gotten away with their crime had not a young white police intern organized a search party to find Owens. Had there been no protests or national attention, the rapists may have been acquitted. They were convicted, but Betty Owens was further demeaned through a trial that questioned her virtue, and asserted that she didn’t fight hard enough (with a shotgun to her head). Her dress, they said, wasn’t torn
enough to indicate a rape. Unexpectedly, the all-white jury found the rapists guilty, with life sentences. At least one of them was paroled to rape and kill again (and he did). T h o s e wh o d e f e n d e d D a n i e l Holtzclaw took a page from the historical playbook when they paraded the backgrounds of his rape victims before the all white jury. They were on drugs. They had arrest warrants (sometimes for simple parking tickets). Well, someone who has dabbled with drugs can be raped; someone with outstanding warrants should not be victimized. The women with police records may have been reluctant to come forward, but Jannie Ligons had no record and no warrants. She was a grandmother minding her business and her speaking up opened the door for others to speak. She reminded other women that they could stand up to injustice. Too many black women have been forced into silence; those who speak up pay consequences. Jannie Ligons deserves to be acknowledged because she took a risk and may pay a price for outing a rouge police officer. He took advantage of women simply because he could. Jannie Ligons the selfdescribed “ wrong woman to stop” was willing to spotlight Holtzclaw’s abuse. She is my woman of the year, and she deserves all acknowledgements. I am encouraging our African American organizations to lift this sister up, to give her high props, to give her every award that is available. She stands on the shoulders of Recy Taylor, Betty Owens and countless others. She has helped serve Mr. Holtzclaw a steaming plate of justice. She fought the fight and so must we. In the words of Mari Evans, “look on her and be renewed.” She is my woman of the year!
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Reel-ality TV Talk By Marquesa LaDawn - George Curry Media ColumnistÂ
After seasons of unrelenting drama, Kandi has finally found her happy place. She's a wife, new mother the second time around (she just had her baby o-screen), publishing new music projects, and her unpredictable mom seems to be adding great things to her life instead of taking away. Guess who can't handle the Kandi bubble? On-and-o friend, Phaedra Parks. Yes, I know she's going through a dark season, but putting down others only makes things worse. She loves putting down Kandi's husband every chance she gets. Although her one-liners are funny, she needs to lighten up.Â
Porsha is having a really hard time handling her sister's pregnancy. She got vulnerable this week - she ate her feelings as she shared how she would give up everything she has for a family. She's not just a single lady dreaming of a husband - she had a husband and was pregnant. Porsha tends to hide her pain, but she let it all out finally! Cynthia's dreams of a stable and loving marriage may be headed in the right direction; she's headed on a getaway with her hubby!  The Real Housewives in Beverly Hills are also loving someone else's life. The newest housewife, Erica Jayne, is getting all types of heat for being gorgeous, rich and talented. Lisa Vanderpump, the self-appointed head diva, is dissing Erica the most by asking ridiculous questions. Erica is a smart and seemingly secure housewife; the comments roll o her back.
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 On the Real Housewives of New York (RHONY) front, I love Bethenny, but often cringe when she attacks. She loves giving unsolicited advice. Again, much respect B, not everybody cares. Housewives Yolanda Foster and Evelyn would love to step into someone else's shoes for dierent reasons. Yolanda does everything she can to get better, including getting her breast implants moved; and her thenhusband just insults her - it's hard to watch. Evelyn, also feels insulted by Lisa V., one comment leads to an interrogation of her past aair. Well, we can't call them boring!  Marquesa LaDawn is a professional businesswoman who escapes the pressures of living in New York City by retreating into the real world of reality TV. Follow her on twitter @realityshowgirl, Periscope and subscribe to her podcast at www.RealitytvGirl.com
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JANUARY 22, 2016
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Michigan Poisons Poor to Save a Few Bucks By Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. President, Rainbow PUSH Coalition via George Curry Media
Flint, Mic. is impoverished. The auto plants have closed. Forty percent of the city's 100,000 residents live below the poverty level. It is majority minority. It's been in fiscal crisis since 2011, with the state taking over budgetary control and a stateappointed "emergency manager" driving policy focused on cutting spending. Flint residents are Americans, but like many impoverished Americans they are forgotten. And state officials led by Gov. Rick Snyder have shown that they consider the residents disposable. In Flint, the water supply has been poisoned by lead. Police are now delivering bottled water from door to door. But it may be too late for hundreds of kids who are already suffering from elevated levels of lead in their blood. The damage done is irreversible with lifelong consequences, including lowered intelligence and long-term mental and emotional damage. How did this happen? The emergency manager - accountable only to the governor and state officials - decided to save money by switching Flint's water supply from
Lake Huron to a cheaper source, the Flint River. Only the river had been poisoned by waste from nearby factories for generations. The toxic wastes not only turned the water brown, it corroded the aged pipes of Flint's water system, unleashing lead into the water. Federal law required that the water be treated, but that would have cost $100 a day, so it was not done. Parents began to complain of rashes and hair loss. The state's environmental quality agency denied there was a problem. High-level state officials knew that the water supply was lead poisoned for six months before declaring an emergency. Finally, a Flint pediatrician tested the blood of children and discovered lead levels double and even triple the prior amounts. State officials denounced her work before realizing the truth could no longer be hidden. Finally, Gov. Snyder ended the denial. He declared an official emergency, and four days later called for delivering bottled water. The head of his environmental agency resigned. Snyder apologized for the catastrophe, but calls for him to resign continue to build. Flint is not alone. Across America, in ghettos and barrios, reservations and rural valleys, the poor are isolated and too often forgotten. Systems basic to civilization - plumbing, water systems, school houses, garbage collection and treatment, roads and public transport - are in squalor,
lacking even the investment to keep them up to minimum standards. Impoverished neighborhoods often lack hospitals, grocery stores, and decent public spaces. The poor are left to fend for themselves, rising to attention only when violence breaks out, when innocents are shot, when tragedies like Flint become public. The cost of this callousness - in lives lost, disease, mental damage, crime, drugs, hopelessness - are immense. This isn't about money. We pay more on the back end - in prisons and emergency rooms, cops and guards, prisons and addiction centers - than we would have to spend on the frontend investments that would give every child a chance. Conservatives continue to call for dismantling environmental regulations. They slash budgets for policing violations by corporations or cities. They want to slash support for poverty programs and block-grant them to the states and localities. The next time you hear that rap, think of Flint, its poorest children betrayed by state officials. Think of F lint deprived even of safe water in order to save a few bucks. Think of Flint and investigate your own community - the horrors of Flint are not exclusive to that city. 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
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JANUARY 22, 2016
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Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists URBAN JOURNALISM WORKSHOP APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED The Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists (formerly the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Communicators) will present its annual Urban Journalism Workshop for high school and college students in 2016. This 12-week workshop is open to students in Dallas, Tarrant, Ellis, Collin and Denton counties. Students receive hands-on experience working with seasoned professionals who have gained a reputation locally and nationally, as well as internationally. The program, which emulates one started by George Curry, Gerald Boyd and other members of the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists in St. Louis, has graduated students who have gone on to anchor newscasts, edit newspapers, open public relations firms and produce radio shows. Mr. Curry visits the Dallas workshop students annually to conduct his “basic training.” Mr. Boyd died of lung cancer in 2006. “We’re excited about continuing the tradition that was started almost 30 years ago,” said Eva Coleman, one of the instructors for the program. “I am looking forward to working with students this year.” Ms. Coleman, who teaches radio and television in Frisco ISD will be overseeing the radio and television segments of the workshop, pulling together experts in the field.
Greater Community Missionary Baptist Church celebrates 25th Anniversary Greater Community Missionary Baptist Church, the church where everybody is somebody, proudly announces the celebration of the church's 25th anniver sary to take place on Sunday, January 24, 2016 at 126 E. Park Row Drive, Arlington, TX 76010. The guest speaker for the afternoon service is Dr. Dennis Wiles, Sr. Pastor of First Baptist C hurch in Arlington, Texas.
Previous speakers have included: Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, Senator Royce West, Star-Telegram editor and columnist Bob Ray Sanders, Dallas Morning News columnist Norma Adams Wade, Our Texas Publisher General Berry, PR gurus Lyria Howland and Rose Gafford, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Irwin Thompson, K104’s Sam Putney, 97.9’s Gary with the T, Dallas Examiner Publisher Mollie Belt, Producer Haile Gerima and Dallas Weekly Publisher James A. Washington. Ms. Smith, who has been with the program since its inception, took over the directorship in the mid 90s and continued through 2004. Ms. Smith returned to the program as director in 2007. At the conclusion of the workshop, the students will participate in a closing ceremony where they will present a newspaper, television and radio broad-casts, a website and a special project. For more information about the workshop, contact Ms. Smith at 214-941-0110. Applications must be turned in by January 30, 2016. Mail completed applications to: DFWABJ 320 South R.L. Thornton Frwy #220A Dallas, TX 75203
Founding Pastor Kennedy Jones is the o nly pastor to serve the Greater Community MBC congregation since its inception in January 1991 and throughout his tenure, the church has grown from 19 members he started with to its present membership of over 2,000. For 25 years now, GCMBC has served Arl ington with the mission of reducing crime and inspiring hope through the redemptive love of Christ. Pastor Jones has worked diligently to combat social injustice by holding elected officials and public s ervants accountable. GCMBC's focus is to continue
spreading the message of the love of G od in Christ Jesus by addressing the needs of the community. Pastor Jones is looking forward to worki ng with Christian Churches of all denominations to develop programs that will help with tutoring the youth and job training. Low income fam ilies will benefit from GCMBC's future child care and after school services. Sunday’s anniversary celebration begins at 4pm. For more information on GCMBC and its rich history, please visit the website www.greatercommunitymbc.org
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I MESSENGER Let’s make 2016 a better year by doing more than we did in 2015 to make this world a better place for ALL.
JANUARY 22, 2016
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Loved like a son Dear Alma: I am 35 and my sweet lady is 57. I love her and she loves me. Although we don’t go out much, we show our affection to each other in many ways. She and I both are Ask Alma homebodies. By Alma Gill We live in via George Curry Media different states, so our time together is special. She has a beautiful, spacious home. We have dinner, dance and watch movies. I’m a great cook, and I fix things around the house. We’re both avid readers and it’s a real nice relationship. Here’s the problem. We were at the bank and she was taking care of some business. At first I was in the car but noticed she forgot something, so I took it to her. As I was walking away, I overheard her tell the teller that I was like a son to her. When I asked her about it, she said she lives in a small town and she really didn’t want the woman in her business. She said she really didn’t mean anything by it and asked me to drop it. I can’t get it off my mind. How do I confront her about this again? Name withheld Dear NW: Dang! That was wrong…and kinda creepy. Maybe she didn’t mean it. Ok – aaah, maybe she did. That’s worse than calling your second husband by your first husband’s name. Ok, that was me, now back to you, LOL. She owes you an apology and a decent
conversation at the very least. I’m sure hearing her describe you that way was shocking and downright disrespectful. I know you’ve been bruised, and I can understand. You’re right; she needs to clarify. Now, let’s cross this bridge for a minute and see what’s on the other side. Depending on where you live, older men with younger women are still more acceptable than older women with younger men. Older women are perceived to be improper or even desperate when taking on a younger suitor. Some view a few years as ok, but over 10 is pushing it. (I don’t think Tina Turner would agree with this part of our conversation, since she just married her Boo, 16 years her junior.) It sounds to me like you guys have a great companionship going on. Anything beyond that is questionable. Your personalities are similar, and if you believe that men and women hit their physical peaks at different times, age wise you two are perfectly suited for one another. Like any relationship, it works as long as the two of you work at it. In my opinion, people are allowed to have various types of relationships. Some are meant to last forever and some are meant to last for right now. Which one are you involved in? If you’re enjoying this journey, by all means, stick with it. Tell her how you feel. Tell her how uncomfortable you were to hear her describe you that way, and after your conversation, if she’s still embarrassed, that’s your cue to keep it moving. Unfortunately, unlike Stella, she’s just not ready, publicly, to get her groove back.
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Unrepresented by our Representatives Blackonomics By James Clingman via George Curry Media
Does it really matter who wins the presidency? How can it matter to Black folks, considering the way we "play" politics? We have no power, no leverage, and little or no influence in the political arena. Even worse, it seems we are reluctant to do what it takes to gain any political clout. So why do we care so much about the upcoming election? Having "played" this political game for more than 50 years, getting thousands of Black folks elected to public office, and even a Black POTUS, we are still far behind and even nonexistent in serious public policy discourse and legislative initiatives. As we face yet another "most important election" of our lifetime, what are you willing to do to improve our political situation in this country? Hint: Handwringing won't help. Is our political strategy, "I got plenty of nothing, and nothing is plenty for me?" Or, "You got to give the people what they want?" Do we even have a strategy other than listening to flowery words from politicians and watching them give speeches and participate in debates? We, the bi-polar electorate, have empowered an aristocratic class of p o m p o u s , s e l f - r i g h t e o u s , l y i n g, condescending, affluent, aloof, moneyg rubbing, narcissistic, insincere, unconcerned, yet powerful individuals that many of us hold in high esteem for reasons unbeknownst to me. They play
JANUARY 22, 2016 with our emotions and draw on our sympathies, the result of which is a never-ending roller coaster ride. Even sadder is the fact that many of us believe they will save us. All the incumbents and candidates need are a few nice sounding phrases to make us think we are in high cotton. To make matters worse, Black "leaders" once again are telling us to vote, but they are not in specific discussions about who to vote for and why. Oh yeah, I forgot; the NAACP is "nonpartisan" (yeah, right) and cannot endorse or support any candidate. How convenient; and what a joke that is. The vast majority of Black folks are already in the tank for Hillary; anyone can see that. Black organizations will feature her at their conventions, and preachers will invite her to their pulpits. On the other hand, Bernie is courting Blacks via his Black Lives Matter rhetoric, and Trump is saying how much Black people love him, while the other Republican candidates - including Uncle Ben - are reluctant to seriously lobby the Black vote. We are merely props for a circus act. The day after the State of the Union speech, many of our people were more interested in what Michelle Obama wore than what her husband said - or did not say. She wore a dress originally priced at $2,095, made by Narciso Rodriguez, a non-Black gay designer, and we went bonkers. Preceded by Michael Kors, Azzedine Alaïa, Jason Wu, Barbara Tfank, Rachel Roy, and Isaac Mizrahi, I must ask if there are any Black designers' dresses good enough for the SOTU soiree? Where does all of this political high drama leave us? Our unemployment rate is still double that of Whites, and we are not creating jobs. \ Our health is the poorest in the nation, especially with illnesses such as diabetes, and we don't own a dialysis center. Our education is substandard, and we are not establishing our own schools. We
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are disproportionately incarcerated, but we are not selling anything to the prisons. Many economic solutions are in our hands. And here's a political solution proposed years ago by then-Missouri Congressman William "Bill" Clay: "If you want equity, justice, and equality, you must...become irritants, become abrasive. Your political p h i l o s o p hy mu s t b e s e l fi s h a n d pragmatic. You must start with the premise that you have no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, just permanent interests." We have set politicians up as kings and queens, the price for which can be found in 1st Samuel, Chapter Eight: "This is the way the kind of king [you want] operates. He'll take your sons and make soldiers of them... regimented in battalions and squadrons. He'll put some to forced labor on his farms, plowing and harvesting, and others to making either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury. He'll put your daughters to work as beauticians and waitresses and cooks. He'll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and orchards and hand them over to his special friends. He'll tax your harvests and vintage to support his extensive bureaucracy. Your prize workers and best animals he'll take for his own use. He'll lay a tax on your flocks and you'll end up no better than slaves. “The day will come when you will cry in desperation because of this king you so much want for yourselves. But don't expect God to answer [The Message Bible]." Unnerving, isn't it?
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. He is the author of Black Dollars Matter: Teach Your Dollars How to Make More Sense, which is availablethrough his website; professionalpublishinghouse.com and Amazon Kindle eBooks.
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JANUARY 22, 2016
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White Anger is the New Black By Lee A. Daniels George Curry Media Columnist
Have you heard? Apparently large numbers of American adults are "angry" about their own circumstances and about where they think the country is headed. For months, numerous politicians, pollsters, and pundits have touted this anger as an important factor in the line-up of who's supporting who in both the Re p u b l i c a n a n d D e m o c r a t i c presidential primary campaigns. So, you could say that anger is all the rage (pardon the pun) now in considering the state of American society. Or, to put it in fashion-and political-terms, that anger is the new Black. But, to be more precise: it's really White Americans' anger that's the new Black. A survey of 3,000 Americans released this month by NBC News and Esquire magazine, found that 54 percent of Whites say they've grown more outraged during the past year. That compares with 43 percent of Latinos and 33 percent of Black Americans who say so. Nearly three-quarters of Whites say they get angry upon hearing or reading something at least once a day, compared to 66 percent of Latinos and 56 percent of African Americans. Further, while 45 percent of Blacks say the American dream is alive, just 35 and 34 percent of Latinos and Whites, respectively, agree. The survey, appropriately titled "American Rage, " explores what these and other findings mean in
limited but nonetheless fascinating detail. Its opening passage declares that from "their views on the state of the American dream (dead) and America's role in the world (not what it used to be) to how their life is working out for them (not quite what they'd had in mind), a plurality of whites tend to view life through a veil of disappointment." But, the survey bluntly states, Whites' expressed anger about these things is the "anger of perceived disenfranchisement - a sense that the majority has become a persecuted minority, the bitterness of a promise that didn't pan out -- rather than actual hardship." It notes parenthetically that "If anger were tied to hardship, we'd expect to see nonwhite Americans - who report having a harder time making ends meet than whites - reporting higher levels of anger. This is not the case." In that regard, the passage concludes: "Indeed, despite having what many would consider a more legitimate case for feeling angry, black Americans are generally less angry than whites. Though they take great issue with the way they are treated by both society in general and the police in particular, blacks are also more likely than whites to believe that the American dream is still alive; that America is still the most powerful country in the world; that race relations have improved over the past eight years; and, most important in the context of expectations, that their financial situation is better than they thought it would be when they were younger. Their optimism in the face of adversity suggests that hope, whatever its other virtues, remains a potent antidote to anger."
The NBC News-Esquire survey, in effect, reaffirms the findings of numerous polls over the years of a prevalence of "optimism" and "hope" among Black Americans. Given the serious problems bedeviling Blacks as a group, some researchers have found this mystifying. But the "mystery" solves itself if one substitutes, as I did in another column several years ago, for "optimism" and "hope," the word "equanimity." "Poise. Aplomb. Equilibrium. Balance. Levelheadness. Presence of mind. Selfassurance. Self-command. These are some of the synonyms for equanimity," I wrote then. "They are rarely, if ever, used in the public discourse to describe the behavior of any group of black Americans. Yet black Americans have always displayed extraordinary poise in their struggle" to overcome the discrimination and injustice they faced in the past and continue to face in the present. It's not that they're not "angry," as the NBC News-Esquire survey points out. But the Black freedom struggle was built and still rests on anger that is governed by hope, compassion for others, a rejection of violence - and, above all, a commitment to democracy. That standard makes me wish those conducting this very important survey had asked one additional question of those Whites who now view life "through as veil of disappointment:" Wh ere is your patien c e, your discipline, your poise, your optimism; where is your faith in America?
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JANUARY 22, 2016
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Keeping Children Healthy, in School and Learning Child Watch By Marian Wright Edelman President, Children's Defense Fund via George Curry Media
Brandon, a 6-year-old in the Houston Independent School District, had two working parents until his father was laid off. Brandon lost his health insurance when his father lost his job. Brandon's mother quickly scrambled to try to enroll her son, who has asthma, in new coverage, but met some obstacles and didn't know where to turn. Then, the school district, which had been working with the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) and the School Superintendents Association (AASA) through a partnership supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies, stepped in and helped her find coverage for Brandon under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). With his new health coverage, doctors discovered Brandon also had high blood pressure and prescribed medicine to control it. Now, the school nurse monitors his blood pressure every day and Brandon is healthy and happy to be in school learning. This U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Acting Deputy Secretary Mary Wakefield on behalf of HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Acting U.S. Department of Education Secretary John King, spoke recently in Brandon's school district to encourage other districts across our country to take important steps to ensure children everywhere are in school each day healthy and ready to learn. The Secretaries urged state and local health and education entities to collaborate around five action items: Helping eligible students and family members enroll in health insurance; Providing and expanding Medicaid reimbursable health ser vices in schools, including
immunizations, health screenings and others; Providing or expanding services that support at-risk students, including through Medicaid-funded case management; Promoting healthy school practices through nutrition, physical activity, and health education; and Building local partnerships and participating in hospital community needs assessments. The Departments of Health and Human Services and Education have created a toolkit of existing resources to support real action in states and communities to strengthen the link between health and education. CDF and AASA's schoolbased child health outreach and enrollment model that links health enrollment to school enrollment is one the Secretaries highlight as a best practice to increase enrollment in health coverage for students and their families. After five years of piloting school-based child health outreach and enrollment in Texas, in 2007 CDF began working in partnership with AASA to introduce and expand health enrollment as a routine and ongoing part of school district operations. The model provides a basic question for districts to add to their school registration materials: "What type of medical insurance do you have for this child?" Parents who answer "none" are noted and able to receive information from school district staff on Medicaid, CHIP, or other health coverage options. But it doesn't stop there. Parents can receive help applying for or renewing coverage for their children and for themselves and are introduced to community partners who can help them successfully navigate the process. CDF and AASA over the years have partnered with school districts in Texas, California, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi, including urban, rural and suburban school systems serving elementary through high schools and hundreds of thousands of Black, Latino, Asian and White students. This work has gotten many children health coverage
and led to an increased awareness among school superintendents, staff and parents about the important and positive connection between health and academic success. In one of these districts, the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District (ECISD) in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, health coverage screening has been built into the daily operations of Parental Involvement Assistants, or PIAs. Each of the district's 41 school campuses has a PIA who, among other responsibilities, calls absent students' homes every morning to ask why students are missing school. The PIAs make a home visit that same day if they don't reach anyone, about 80 visits each day. If a child is home sick, the PIA asks about their insurance status and, if the student lacks coverage, offers the parent assistance filling out the application. Sandra Rodriguez, the district's PIA Coordinator, is especially excited they have a new school-based health center attached to the district headquarters to refer families to through a partnership with the Doctors Hospital at Renaissance. For many Edinburg families this is the first time they can receive care near their home, school, and work, and regardless of their immigration status. Thanks to additional support from another local health system, the 945-square-mile district will soon have two mobile clinics making scheduled visits to school campuses farther from the clinic site. More students and families need these kinds of supports. It is critically important that school districts and community partners across the country respond to Acting Secretary King's and Secretary Burwell's call to action to connect children to needed health coverage and ensure they're in school and ready to learn. As Superintendent Lillian Maldonado French of the Mountain View School District in El Monte, California puts it, "Being in school matters and if we can do something to make sure our kids are in school every day, then that's what we need to do."
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Dr. King did not dream of winning the Lottery By George E. Curry
George Curry Media Columnist
Evidently, neither you nor I had the Jan. 13 winning Powerball combination: 4, 8, 19, 27, 34, (10). After allowing ourselves to dream of winning it all, fantasizing about how we would spend the first few millions, and vacillating between whether to take our share in an annuity or a lump sum payment, reality has set in. We did all that dreaming for nothing.
JANUARY 22, 2016 grandkids, stashing money away in some conservative long-term investments and setting aside allocations for the tax man, I wanted to figure out a way to help save my alma mater, Knoxville College, which is perilously close to permanently closing its doors. I have always dreamed of setting up a family education fund to support any relative who will need financial assistance in the future to attend college. Winning even a third of the Powerball would have provided enough funds to endow that project. On a smaller scale, I also dreamed of funding my new business venture,EmergeNewsOnline.com, a digital version of Emerge: Black America's Newsmagazine, where I served as editor until it closed 15 years ago. Winning the Powerball would have allowed me to discontinue my GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to make that a reality. Ah, dreams are so nice - until you wake up to the cold reality of not having Powerball numbers 4, 8, 19, 27, 34, (10). As I mentioned, I don't usually buy lottery tickets. It's not a regular habit I am about to adopt now. I am going to bring a digital version of Emerge back in the next month or so and continue writing my weekly
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wasn't the only person who had a dream. After tithing, sharing some of my winnings with relatives, setting up trust funds for the
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"Why? Maybe because most of the lotto machines are in the poorest neighborhoods, in the liquor and convenience stores and delis that are more prominent in low-income areas. "Some studies estimate that the poorest households - those bringing in less than $13,000 a year - spend an average of 9 percent of their income on lottery tickets." Like conservatives, some states have misappropriated Dr. King's name - and dream - to sell lottery tickets. "Kasey Henricks, a law and social science fellow at the American Bar Foundation, who has a book coming out later this year on 'State Looteries' argues there's also been a racial component to states' increased reliance on lottery revenues, since people of color play the lottery more, even controlling for income," according to Fortune magazine. "In an interview, Henricks noted that advertising in the 1980s by the New York a n d Wa s h i n g t o n D . C . l o t t e r i e s actually played off Martin Luther King's famous 'I have a dream' speech. 'All you need is a dollar and a dream,'' was the New York slogan. DC proclaimed: 'His [Martin Luther King's] vision lives on ... honor the dream.'" We're expected to feel good about buying lottery tickets because most of the money goes to good causes, such as scholarships and improving schools. But even that often has a catch to it.
But it was fun while it lasted, which wasn't long. I don't usually purchase lottery tickets. But after spending Christmas and New Year's in Georgia and attending a funeral in Alabama, heading back home I bought tickets in Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. It takes neither a rocket scientist nor a social scientist to figure out that 1 in 292,201,338 are not good odds. As we kept being reminded, we had a better chance of getting struck by lightening (1 in 134,906), being attacked by a shark (1 in 11.5 million) or dying in a terrorist attack on an airplane (1 in 25 million) than winning the Powerball drawing.
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syndicated column. Instead of merely dreaming about winning the Powerball, I have an obligation to write about the downside of state-sponsored gambling. One of the cruelest aspects of lotteries is that they prey on people who can least afford to stand in those long lines to buy tickets. Writing in the Washington Post, Petula Dvorak observed, "In many states, it's the poorest counties bringing in the most lottery revenue. North Carolina Policy Watch found that counties where nearly a quarter of the population lived in poverty sold as much as $434 a person in lottery tickets.
One report concluded, "There is a growing body of research that concludes that the reverse Robin Hood effect is indeed a problem when lottery revenues fund meritbased scholarships. Two recent studies have examined Georgia's HOPE scholarship and Florida's Bright Futures scholarship. "Rubenstein and Scafidi (2002) estimate the tax incidence of the Georgia lottery combined with the incidence of the benefits of the HOPE scholarship for households in each of Georgia's counties. Their results indicate that lower income and non-white households purchase a disproportionately large number of lottery tickets; whereas, higher income and white households receive a disproportionately large number of HOPE scholarships."
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JANUARY 22, 2016
January 21
January 23
Oak Cliff Chamber for its Annual Awards & VIP Reception, "Spotlighting the Cliff." Featuring Master of Ceremony, Rep. Rafael Anchia, the Awards Ceremony will recognize the best Oak Cliff businesses, organizations and individuals in 2015 for their achievements, community contributions and milestones. Bishop Arts Theatre Center 215 Tyler Street, Dallas, TX 75208
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 2016 Joint Founders Day Luncheon purchase online http://tinyurl.com/joint-founders-2016 January 23 2016 11:30AM Irving Convention Center / 500 Las Colinas Blvd. / Irving, TX 75039 Subscriptions are: $50 Alumnae & Guest $30 Collegiate
Jan. 21-Feb. 13 Garland Civic Theatre presents the hard-boiled mystery, "The Man with Bogart's Face" by Andrew J. Fenady. Full of twists, turns, intrigue and deadly danger, this play's heart is a loving tribute to the private eye mysteries rooted in classic Hollywood film noir. "The Man with Bogart's Face" will run Fridays and Saturdays, Jan. 22-Feb. 13 at 8 p.m., with Sunday performances on Jan. 24 and 31 at 2:30 p.m. There is a Thursday performance on January 21 at 7:30 p.m. Granville Arts Center Small Theatre 300 N. Fifth Street Tickets: $22 at GarlandArtsBoxOffice.com or 972-205-2790. Balch Springs Chamber of Commerce 1st Network Luncheon for 2016 Guest Speaker Leslie Hassler of Your Biz Rules Topic: "Five Rules of Growth: What You Need to Know to Build Your Business Quickly & Profitably" Time: 11:30 AM In her talk, "The Five Rules of Growth: What You Need to Know to Build Your Business Quickly and Profitably," Leslie will teach your members:
January 22 -23 Friday, January 22, 2016 @ 8:15pm Saturday, January 23, 2016 @ 3:15 & 8:15pm Clarence Muse Cafe Theater Dallas Convention Center Theater Complex Admission - $16.50
January 23 - 24 The USA Film Festival announces the schedule of events for the 32nd annual KidFilm® Festival taking place Saturday, January 23 and Sunday, January 24, 2016 at the Angelika Film Center, 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas. All programs will be presented FREE to the community. KidFilm is the oldest and largest-attended children’s film festival in the United States, featuring an entertaining, educational, and diverse line-up of new and classic films for both children and adults.
January 24 Greater Community Missionary Baptist Church 25th anniversary at 126 E. Park Row Drive, Arlington, TX 76010 with guest speaker for the afternoon service is Dr. Dennis Wiles, Sr. Pastor of First Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas.
January 25 The H. Paxton Moore Fine Art Gallery at El Centro College presents: Trans.lation Vickery Meadow January 25 – February 17, 2016 H. Paxton Moore Fine Art Gallery Reception: Thursday, January 28 from 3-5 p.m. Workshop: Wednesday, February 10 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. January 27 Dallas Theater Center Presents Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Directed by Joel Ferrell Kalita Humphreys Theater, Dallas Theater Center • 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd., at the corner of Blackburn and Turtle Creek
January 26 The Harlem Globetrotters will celebrate their 90th year with three games and a series of goodwill appearances in Dallas this month. The team is dedicating this season to Globetrotter legends Meadowlark Lemon and longtime Plano resident Marques Haynes, who both passed away in 2015. Watch - https://youtu.be/M6s3Ic9SK5g. Female star TNT Maddox will join her teammate and world record holder Buckets Blakes in Dallas on Tuesday, Jan. 26 and Wednesday, Jan. 27 for goodwill appearances. The team will play three games at American Airlines Center on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 31 at 12:30 p.m. www.harlemglobetrotters.com/dallas
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January 30 Nontombi Naomi Tutu the daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, will speak at 1:00PM at The Black Academy of Arts & Letters (TBAAL) 1309 Canton Street Dallas, Texas 75202 (Corner of Canton & Akard St). John McCaa WFAA-TV News Anchor will act as Master of Ceremonies. Tickets $10 call 214-743-2400 ****** Neighborhood Vitality Matching Grant - Updated Guidelines The Garland City Council has approved updated guidelines to the Neighborhood Vitality Matching Grant (NVMG) program, which allows neighborhood groups to apply for matching funds to complete enhancement or beautification projects on public property. Applications are due March 1, and are available online. Learn more about the grant program at the NVMG workshop, scheduled from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 30. For more information, call 972-205-2451. ****
Dallas Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., is celebrating the founding of the public service organization with a financial expert, Carla A. Harris, as the keynote speaker. Attendees at the public event will surely have finance questions for this Vice Chairman, Wealth Management, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley when she joins her sorority sisters for this year’s program, Saturday, January 30, 2016, 11:30a.m., at the Dallas Hyatt Regency Hotel, 300 Reunion Blvd. Dallas.
February 1 You’re Invited to Black History Month Restaurant Row Hosted by MOSAIC Join us as we celebrate Black History Month by showcasing your business’ menu and offerings to over 3,000 Frito Lay employees. Black-Owned Restaurants and Food Businesses (Pepsi Pour preferred, others will be considered) When: Week of February 1st, 2016 Frito Lay North America Headquarters 7701 Legacy Dr., Plano, TX 75024 If interested, please contact Courtney M. Cola Courtney.cola@pepsico.com
I Messenger 320 South R.L. Thornton Freeway, Suite 220, Dallas, TX 75203 | 214-941-0110 | www.myimessenger.com
I MESSENGER for more information.
February 3 DBCC Power Lunch! Bill J Priest Institute 1402 Corinth Street, Dallas 75215 1-3pm February 3, 2016 Understanding Government Contracting *********
February 6
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Bluebonnet Room Ticket Price: $25.00 per Person 2016 Honoree: Linda Darden Lydia, Sojourner Truth Award
February 10 Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, running February 10th March 6th. All evening performance will start at 7:30 at the Undermain Theatre
Annual Sweetheart Dance Dads, granddads, brothers and uncles are invited to watch their little princess shine at the annual Sweetheart Dance on Saturday, Feb. 6, at The Atrium at the Granville Arts Center, 300 N. Fifth St. Cost is $16 per person and will include dinner, dancing and a professional 5x7 photo. Registration is required and may be completed in person at any Garland recreation centeror by calling 972-205-3991. Space is limited, so register early! For more information, visit GarlandTx.gov. Artist Exhibition/Reception Saturday, February 6, 2016 - 5PM Featuring works of Johnathon Foster, Kirk Garnett, ShaLana Mitchell, Kevin Owens & C-Ray Rayson Irving Arts Center - Main Gallery 3333 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving, TX Admission: FREE
**** Straight Talk about the use of the “NWord” with Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III at the Black Academy of Arts and Letters.
February 7 South Dallas Business and Professional Women’s ClubAnnual Founders' Day Observance Focus: Celebrating 62 Years of Community Service "Continuing The Legacy of Community Service, Lifting Others As We Climb" Time: 3:00 -6:00 PM DeSoto Civic Center, 211 E Pleasant Run Rd, DeSoto, TX
"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 I Messenger 320 South R.L. Thornton Freeway, Suite 220, Dallas, TX 75203 | 214-941-0110 | www.myimessenger.com
Come on PEOPLE! Don’t you CARE? POLICE have I MESSENGER
not apprehended PAGE24 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!
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