I Messenger 29

I MESSENGER NO 1 ISSUE 29 MARCH 30, 2012

Let’s TALK I mean, REALLY TALK Brought to you by Harwood 609 Restaurant and Jazz Club

1955 EMMETT TILL

2012 TRAYVON MARTIN 609 North Harwood Street, Dallas, TX 214.740.0609

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MARCH 30 , 2012

“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.” . Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Come on PEOPLE! 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 Also, if you want extra protection, check out Street Safe at www.streetsafe.peopleguard.com PAGE 2

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MARCH 30 , 2012

Message to the people...

INSIDE I MESSENGER March 30, 2012

Senegal elects new president

8

Vicki Meek has a “talk” with her son

10

Edna Pemberton honored

15

Dr. Julianne Malveaux

I MESSENGER Cheryl Smith, Publisher Established 2011 IMessenger is a tribute to Le Messager, founded by Cameroonian journalist Pius N j a w e a n d T h e M e s s e n g e r, a n 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 cheryl@cherylsmithonline.com.

I felt as though there was a gaping hole in my stomach.

There was an emptiness, a sense of loss that at the time, I could not explain after receiving word that my “line sister” Donna Charles had died.

Together, with 32 others, we pledged the Beta Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, on Florida A&M University’s campus in the Spring of 1978.

When pledging sororities and fraternities, you lined up by height and all those going through the pledge process with you were referred to as “line” brothers or sisters.

Some are referred to as “links” because in the face of obstacles or adversity, the “line” would link arms to remain a force, like a chain. A more modern day name used is, “isms.”

Donna was Number 22 and I was right in front of her, Number 21.

On March 26, I received a message I so dreaded, that one of the Elusive Ladies, one of my line sisters, or isms was no longer with us. Something happened that no “Big Sister” could do. Our chain has been broken.

Although Donna and I had not talked in years, which was strange because there are so Cheryl Smith many of the 34 “Elusive Ladies” who are in constant communication; the loss was felt so deeply inside of me. Immediately I began having flashbacks to my late teens when I was a sophomore on FAMU’s campus.

At the time I was clueless about what I was getting myself into, but I did know that some of the most together sisters on campus were members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., so it seemed only natural that I would become a member also. It seemed the right thing to do!

Then too, for some reason my father, Joe Smith, mentioned Delta Sigma Theta to me. I already had my eyes on Delta but I didn’t let him know. I just played it cool The Beta Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. shortly after the Elusive Ladies were initiated. Donna is 5th from the left on the top row, standing in front of me. Donna is a past president of Beta Alpha. and when it came time to finance the endeavor, I told him it was his idea!

There was an interesting group of ladies -- “type A” personalities -- scholars, queens, student leaders, and me! There were the country girls and the big-city cool girls coming together as one. That’s right if one did it, we all did it.

I have so many fond memories of the experience. Sure it wasn’t all fun and games, but everything was a learning process and learning about the other women was a serious undertaking as we became more informed about the wonderful legacy that is Delta Sigma Theta.

Over the years we have been in one another’s weddings, we’re Godmothers to some children and “Auntie” to all others; and we’ve traveled to graduations, family reunions, and other monumental occasions. There’s also our Delta conferences and conventions where many of us have reunited.

At our 25th anniversary celebration, it was really emotional. We had lived through so much with one another and it was a different experience as we looked back on a time when there was nothing we couldn’t do and we thought we would live forever.

Over 25 years we had shared enough tears and overcome so many obstacles that we really showed appreciation for one another.

As we gathered at our 30th anniversary, another Beta Alpha soror, T’keyah Crystal rd At our 3 anniversary, Sheryl Barnes, Donna, Me and Angela Keymah was celebrating her line’s 25th anniversary and she spoke about losing one King. of her line sisters. Now today I can identify with her expressions.

While we were still in college, one weekend I went on a mini-road trip with Donna to visit my grandmother in Plant City, Fl. My grandmother told us that she thought she was going to have to come in the room because we sounded like we were about to come to blows. I don’t recall what we were talking about but that is the beauty of true sisterhood, when you can hash out your issues or problems and still keep that bond.

We’ve already been talking about how to celebrate our 35th, which actually comes the same year as our illustrious sorority celebrates its centennial! We had hoped that all of us would be able to attend some of the festivities together. Today it is my prayer that the remaining 33 of us will be able to link up in 2013.

I know that I am a better person because of the people I have encountered in life. I am so glad I had the opportunity to know Donna Charles. A pharmacy major, she also became president of the Beta Alpha Chapter.

Interestingly right in front of me, Number 20 Alvena Smith was also a pharmacy major and they were both from Miami, Fl., (the Bottom!). A Jersey Girl had to hold her own!

The Omega Omega Service for Donna was held Thursday, March 29 in Pyramids(Pledgees) Michelle Boseman, Lillie Burke, Donna Charles perform Florida. Sorors from across the country are reaching out, as are Rattlers, other Greek-letter organization members and other HBCUers. Clearly there’s a deeper understanding of what a great experience we all shared. The Elusive Ladies know Cheryl Smith--the good, the bad, the not so pretty--and they still love me. When I am with them, there’s nothing pretentious or guarded about our actions. I so love the bond that grows stronger because we know that despite all efforts, every soror is not a sister and every sister is not a friend. The Elusive Ladies are my sorors, my sisters and my friends!

Now another Angel -- Soror, Sister, Friend Donna Charles -- joins our chapter advisor Soror, Sister, Friend Willie Mae Miles.

Enjoy this short time we have on earth and cherish relationships, while you can!

Cheryl

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MARCH 30 , 2012

Code enforcement key to safer, better communities From Staff Reports

Keeping communities safe, clean neighborhoods is a priority for many neighborhood groups and, also city of Dallas officials.

Unfortunately, however, there are some people who couldn’t care any less about the way their homes, yards and streets are maintained. At least by attending the fifth annual Community Outreach Code Conference, citizens will find out how to empower their neighborhoods and protect their communities from violations that erode the quietly of life and bring down property values.

Scheduled for April 13 and 14 at the Texas Discovery Garden Center at Fair Park 3601 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., the Conference is open to all Dallas residents, neighborhood associations and City of Dallas Code Enforcement professionals.

The two-day forum is one of the ways city officials attempt to “educate neighborhood stakeholders and code enforcement professionals on different strategies to keep Dallas neighborhoods clean” and keep out people who have

Crawford elected chair of Urban League of Greater Dallas Jesse Crawford was sworn in as the new Chairman of the Urban League of Greater Dallas Board of Trustees at its 2012 Annual Meeting Luncheon.

loitering, violence, prostitution and corporation. more.

The Community Outreach Code WHAT Community Outreach Conference provides classroom-style Code Conference workshops where attendees are taught Conference Registration is free - register important information that will help at www.dallascommunityoutreach.com f o s t e r c l e a n a n d s u s t a i n a b l e FREE Food & Refreshments communities.

F R E E D o o r P r i z e s a n d R a ff l e s “What’s good about the workshops is Admission to Texas Discover Butterfly that they are free,” said Ms. Davis. “All House reduced to $2.00 for attendees over this city we must take responsibility Vendor booths to visit by helping make sure that everyone understands the violations, like high weeds, abandoned cars, dumping in vacant lots and making sure IDEAL FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER! that houses are boarded up so that no one will be Advertise on moving in and setting up nuisances, like drug Cheryl’s World houses.”

This year’s Conference coM-F 6-8 pm on Blog Talk Radio hosts are John McCaa, anchor/news manager at Get four 60-second commercials per weekday for a month for WFAA-TV Channel 8 and $500. Buy two months, get one free!That’s 3 months of prime advertising for LESS THAN $10 A DAY! John Martinez, President of Includes 1/4 page ad in IMessenger for 12 weeks the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association Inc. CALL a 501 c (3) non-profit

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Hon. Carolyn Davis Dallas City Council

don’t have a vested interest in the community out.

“A bad quality of life is why many people leave the community,” said Dallas City Councilwoman Carolyn Davis, who encouraged personal responsibility. “When houses are left vacant and open, they tend to come in and plant their seeds there.”

The seeds that Ms. Davis refers to are not ones that are a positive influence on the neighborhoods. Instead you have

Mr. Crawford, Senior Group Manager-Global Supplier D i v e r s i t y a t Ve r i z o n Corporation, has served as a board member for four years.

Mr. Crawford has held p o s i t i o n s i n s a l e s , s t a ff management, customer care/ quality management, engineering, supply chain, supplier diversity and strategic sourcing and is responsible for leading Verizon’s Global Diversity Advocacy and Outreach initiatives across the enterprises. Verizon is the nation’s

construction of a 50,000 square foot Trade/Technical Skills Training Center.”

Mr. Crawford also serves on the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce’s Corporate Brain Trust Advisory Board. He is active in the community and continues to be a strong advocate for minority and small business entrepreneurs.

He graduated with Summa Cum Laude and Magna Cum Laude honors in Business Administration and Management from Northwood College.

Thanks for supporting Cheatham and Associates Corp in 2011!

UTILITY FUNDS AVAILABLE NOW AT URBAN LEAGUE Funds are available NOW through APRIL 3, 2012 from Atmos Energy, TXU, First Choice, City of Dallas Water, City of Glen Heights, City of Lancaster and City of Mesquite at all Urban League of Greater Dallas offices.

Households throughout Dallas County who have past due gas, electric and water bills are eligible.

Participants must have verification of income, social security cards for all household members, photo identification for all adult household members and copies of all past due utility bills.

CALL the Urban League of Greater Dallas at (214) 915-4620.

largest wireless provider and the premier broadband internet company in the United States.

“Jesse brings over 20 years of experience in telecommunications and is responsible for bringing a team of Verizon IT volunteer experts who conduct the Urban League Verizon Web Design Workshops for students and adults,” said Dr. Beverly Mitchell Brooks, Urban League President and CEO. “We look forward to his leadership as the League prepares to meet the future needs of area industries and citizens throughout Dallas County, through the

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SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...

A mother’s talk

PSL presidential candidate speaks out on “racist killing”

By Peta Lindsay Special to I Messenger

Emmett Till with his mom, Mamie

Year’s ago, Mamie Till Bradley Mobley and her husband visited Dallas, on a trip sponsored by the Don’t Believe the Hype Foundation.

During a program at the Hall of State and the next day at St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church, she shared the story of the horrible way her son was murdered in Money, MS, during the summer of 1955.

Emmett Louis Till left his mother at home in Chicago and went to visit relatives in Mississippi. Of course, his mother did not want him to take the trip, but after several conversations with family members and pleas from 14-year-old Emmett, she finally agreed to let him go.

Before he went, however, she did have a talk with her only son. She said she told him that things were different where he was going and that he had to be cautious and very polite. She discussed racism, segregation and the subservient way that Blacks were treated, especially in the South.

“Don’t cross anybody down there because Mississippi is not like Chicago,” she instructed.

“What you can get away with here, you might

Emmett Till

Trayvon Martin

not be able to do it there.”

Little did she know that her son would lay the foundation for thousands of talks over the years as concerned Black parents later cautioned their children about the dangers of interacting with whites.

Imagine her anguish when she had to identify her son’s savagely mutilated body -- the result of punishment for allegedly “whistling at a white woman.”

Although it happened over a half century ago, still today parents have that “talk” with their children about racism, and yes, Emmett Till.

Mrs. Mobley shared her son, and those devastating pictures of his mutilated body, with the world.

She died in January 2003 at the age of 81.

She did not give birth to any other children, but for the rest of her life she made sure that the world knew what racism and bigotry looked like.

Now, unfortunately with the murder of 17-yearold Trayvon Martin in Sanford, FL, another mother finds herself in the same situation, as people refer to her son as 2012’s Emmett Till.

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MARCH 30 , 2012

PSL presidential candidate Peta Lindsay

Photo: Bill Hackwell

On Feb. 26 in Seminole County, Fla., George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin. The 17-year-old Black youth was walking home from the store. Martin was unarmed with only a pack of Skittles and a can of iced tea in his pockets. Zimmerman, captain of the local neighborhood watch, pursued Martin and gunned him down in broad daylight, in front of many witnesses. Zimmerman stated that the unarmed Black teen appeared “suspicious” and “threatening.” As of the time of this writing, Zimmerman has not been arrested.

What was so threatening about Trayvon Martin? Only the color of his skin. In order to deflect from the racist nature of the crime, recent news reports have proclaimed that George Zimmerman is not white, as was first reported.

The issue is NOT whether Zimmerman is white. The issue is that Trayvon Martin was killed for being Black.

And Zimmerman has gotten away with it so far, because killing a Black man rarely brings severe legal penalties in this country.

Just look at Johannes Mehserle, the former transit cop who got out after serving less than one year for killing Oscar Grant in Oakland, Calif.

What happened to Trayvon Martin proves, as do the cases of Emmet Till, Oscar Grant and literally hundreds of other cases that have shaped the nightmares of every Black parent— that Black youth (almost always male) can be targeted and killed with virtual impunity in the capitalist United States.

The extent to which Black people have won respect, consideration and representation under this system is the extent to which we have organized and fought for it.

That now, both the FBI and Seminole County feel obliged to investigate this case reflects the outraged struggle sparked by this killing.

We live under a system, the racist capitalist system, that cares not about people’s lives but only about the

exploitation of our labor. Our very survival depends on the ability of young people to carry this fight forward.

Trayvon Martin’s family deserves justice.

And Black people all over the U.S. deserve a system that values Black lives, protects Black School Without Walls walkout for Trayvon Martin. children and holds vile racist murderers accountable. We must organize and fight.

The only reason that the Justice Department is investigating the killing of Trayvon Martin is because of the outrage of the masses.

S i m i l a r l y, when Johannes Mehserle was brought to trial for the murder of course of history itself.

It is time that we organize for more Oscar Grant, it was the first time that a than reforms of a rotten system that California police officer had ever been has exploited and oppressed Black brought to trial for a so-called “lineof-duty” killing, though it is certainly people since we were brought to this country in chains.

We need to organize for revolution, a fundamental change. As Trayvon Martin’s case shows us, despite the progress we have made under capitalism, this racist system has no trouble turning back the clock; every reform can be taken away.

Why must we continue to protest to insist that killing Black men is a crime? Only a socialist revolution can instill rights and protections for Black Americans that cannot be taken away.

A socialist revolution will smash this system, which relies on racist terror Trayvon Martin. and super-exploitation as well as on the police and extra-legal armed not the first time that a California bodies of men to protect the interests police officer had ever killed a Black of capital.

Socialists believe in fighting racism man. wherever it raises its head. We believe It was the massive outpouring of in real, full equality and legal outrage and nationwide protests that protections, and we believe that those made the difference, forcing the government to take some measure of who promote racism and racist accountability for his murder, because violence should be punished.

So while we fight for Trayvon they feared what we might do if they Martin and for every other Black did not.

They are right to fear the organized youth, let us also fight for a future in outrage of the Black community. As which there will be no more Trayvon the Civil Rights movement showed, it Martins.

Let’s fight for socialism. is a force that can affect powerful Reprinted with credit to VotePSL.org. change in this country and change the !

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MARCH 30 , 2012

DCCCD Sustainability Summit and Trammell Crow encourage others to Go Green Special to I Messenger

-- Go green. Embrace sustainability -- a move that gives individuals, the local business community and educational institutions a chance to benefit from their own journey toward sustainability by adopting the concept of the "triple bottom line" -- the idea that actions must be good for people, the planet and everyone’s wallet.

That's the focus for the Dallas County Community College District's second annual Sustainability Summit on Thurs., April 5, at Eastfield College.

Dallas business leader Trammell S. Crow, former member of the DCCCD Board of Trustees, will deliver the keynote address during the summit, which is free and open to the general public, students, DCCCD employees and anyone who is interested in sustainability. Sessions will be held in Building G (the Learning Center),

located near the college's Texas, Texas Business for entrance on La Prada.

Clean Air and Texas Land Anyone who pre-registers by Conservancy.

5 p.m. on Tues., April 3, will Summit participants can be eligible for special door choose from five tracks that prizes. Visit www.dcccd.edu/ss address these topics: to register and to see a full Zero Waste –A zero waste schedule of the day's activities system is one in which all and sessions. discarded materials are Mr. Crow is a native of designed to become Dallas and serves as chairman resources for others to use.

Trammell Crow of the Trammell and Margaret Nature is a zero waste system, Crow Collection of Asian Art. He but is it really possible for businesses or received a bachelor’s degree in art from municipalities to achieve zero waste?

Yale University and is active in Have any achieved that goal? Will education, social issues and business. He achieving zero waste cost more or boost supports myriad conservation and profits? In this session, attendees can environmental efforts both locally and learn how to change practices to emulate nationally, including Earth Day Dallas. sustainable natural cycles.

A father of four, Mr. Crow is actively Local Report Card - What are the involved with various groups, including challenges and opportunities in north the League of Conservation Voters, Texas related to water, air quality, R e p u b l i c a n s f o r E n v i r o n m e n t a l mobility and climate change?

Protection, the Nature Conservancy of

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Sustainable Careers – What are some of the hot new "green" careers and where is training offered?

Sustainable Schools and Colleges – Find out what Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas at Arlington, Irving Independent School District and others are doing to "green" their campuses.

Sustainable Homes –Where can everyone exercise their right to choose a more sustainable future for their children and grandchildren? At home, of course!

Learn how to reduce fossil fuel use and energy costs and how to conserve water and other natural resources as well as preserve the quality of life for future generations.

For more information, contact summit organizer Georgeann Moss at DCCCD by e-mail at gemoss@dcccd.edu or by phone at (214) 378-1823; or call Ann Hatch at (214) 378-1819, ahatch@dcccd.edu.

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MARCH 30 , 2012

Frisco ISD- TV captures national awards -- Frisco ISD-TV received several honors for work produced during the Student Television Network (STN) national convention held March 21 -24 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Dallas.

More than 1900 student journalists and filmmakers from all over the country were in attendance to experience the various workshops offered and on-site contests.

Students competed in the preconvention Sweet 16 broadcast competition where as a team, they selected the word “progressive” from a list of 16 words.

The broadcast team then had 16 hours to produce an entire broadcast focused on that word.

The show was completed in 14 hours and 45 minutes. It was a grueling task and experience, but one that will not be forgotten.

The Frisco ISD-TV news team competed in a variety of other on-site contests, including Anchoring, Broadcast Newswriting, Movie Trailer, Sixty Second Silent Story, Sports Highlights, Stand Up, Street Reporter, and Tell the Story Editing.

The team brought home 1st Place honors in the Street Reporter category for the entry produced by Kayla Kawalec and Alyssa Herzog, both of Frisco High School.

They were challenged with producing a segment, given the prompt “Only in Texas”. The team chose to take to the Dallas

streets, interviewing people about unusual laws that are unique to Texas.

They were given two hours of production time and two hours of editing time to complete the task.

Frisco ISD-TV received Honorable Mention in two categories, Anchoring

by Jamie Miller of Wakeland High School, and Tell the Story Editing by Millicent Macena of Lone Star High School and Jamai Harris of Wakeland High School. Miller was given wire news copy of stories from which she had to write and deliver a broadcast script live-to-tape that had to time between 45 – 60 seconds. Macena and Harris were given raw footage from which they had an hour to review and two hours to write and edit a news story from that footage.

It was recently reported that Frisco ISD-TV’s Alyssa Herzog was selected to serve as a closing ceremony awards presenter.

Ms. Herzog even presented and proudly made mention of one award to her “very own” Frisco ISD Career and Technical Education Center.

All 2011-2012 Frisco ISD-TV Crew Members deserve credit for such a productive and rewarding experience.

They are Senior Producers/Senior Editors: Sydney Gray (HHS), Erica Mackler (LSHS), and Teresa Diaz (HHS); Producers/Editors: Micha Caldwell (LSHS), Madi Eggers (CHS), Jamai Harris (WHS), Alyssa Herzog (FHS), Kayla Kawalec (FHS), Alex Le

Frisco ISD-TV Group Shot w-Awards)

(LHS), Millicent Macena (LSHS), Jamie Miller (WHS), Jacob Rimes (LHS), Lexi Rodriguez (FHS), Brittany Sides (HHS), Sam Stockard (CHS), and Morgan Yarnik (CHS).

Since Frisco ISD-TV started in 2008, under the direction of executive producer Eva Coleman, they have been members of STN which refers to their organization as the nation’s largest scholastic broadcasting network

comprised of high schools and middle schools with an active interest in broadcasting.

This was Frisco ISD-TV’s first trip to the annual convention, which takes place in different parts of the country. Next year’s convention is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, Calif.

Check the Frisco ISD-TV YouTube Channel for contest pieces produced.

Cheryl’s World Weeknights 6-8p.m.

Join us at Monday Night Politics, sponsored by the Da!as Examiner on Monday Nights at the African American Museum.

Tuesdays, - Thursdays, we are live from Harwood 609 Restaurant and Jazz Club.

Tune in for inspiring, informative, educational and entertaining commentary, news and talk!

www.blogtalkradio.com PAGE 7

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Presidentials in SENEGAL: President Wade defeated by former aide

By Moussa Niang

The opposition candidate and former prime minister Macky Sall defeated the 85- year old President Abdoulaye Wade in a free and transparent election on Sunday, March 25, 2012. It was around 9:30pm that President Wade called Macky Sall to congratulate him as preliminary results gave an overwhelming lead to his runoff rival. The victory was celebrated all night long in the streets of Dakar (capital city of Senegal) by thousands of people singing and dancing.

These elections were considered as a referendum to say whether or not they approved of Abdoulaye Wade’s 12 years of politics of “injustice, embezzlement of public funds, banditry, and of total disrespect “ of the Constitution.

Furthermore, voting for Wade meant giving the power to his French son Karim Wade whom his father

Voters cheered Sall’s victory

made Minister of State for International Cooperation, R e g i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t , A i r Tr a n s p o r t , a n d Infrastructure.

About 70 per cent of the voters expressed their disapproval and decided to give Mr. Sall, 51, a chance to reduce poverty, solve the energetic

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Cheryl’s World Weeknights 6-8p.m.

Tune in for inspiring, informative, educational and entertaining commentary, news and talk!

Senegalese President-elect Macky Sall

TUNE IN www.blogtalkradio.com

crisis, give employment to the youth, but most importantly to restore the country diplomatic reputation.

Supporters say Sall, a geological engineer, embodies hope, trust, and generational change. In his victory speech, the new elected president declared, “The main winners are the Senegalese people… tonight, a new era begins for Senegal.”

Macky Sall who is set to take office on April 1, was backed by a coalition of 12 candidates who ran in the first round and by the Grammy-winning artist Youssou N’dour whose candidacy was rejected by the Constitutional court. Wade, whose candidacy was deemed unconstitutional, was very controversial did not have any significant political support.

Once again, the Republic of Senegal has shown to the world that it does not have to take any lesson of democracy from anybody. We have proven our political maturity, our commitment to preserve our democratic traditions, and our individual liberties. With President Macky Sall leadership, we are sure that we will build together an emerging country.

Moussa Niang attends Amberton University. Senegalese born, he can be reached at M_niang@yahoo.Fr..

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MARCH 30 , 2012

NABJ Exclusive:

Lawyer for Trayvon Martin's family expects state charges At the spring board meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists, board members interviewed attorney Daryl D. Parks, the principal in the Tallahassee, Fla.-based law firm representing the parents of the 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch captain.

By Wesley Lowery Special to NABJ

An attorney for the family of slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin on Saturday shed light on his legal team's strategy, the status of state and federal investigations and the outpouring of support for the Atty. Daryl D. Parks case.

In a wide-ranging interview with board members of the National Association of Black Journalists, conducted via Skype, attorney Daryl D. Parks said that after separate meetings with federal and state authorities, he doubts Travyon's killer will be indicted with a federal hate crime.

However, Mr. Parks said he is increasingly hopeful that the gunman, George Zimmerman, will face state criminal charges.

The 17-year-old Trayvon was killed Feb. 26 as he returned from a trip to a convenience store to his father's finance's house in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. Unarmed, carrying Skittles candy and ice tea and wearing a hooded sweatshirt, he was spotted by Mr. Zimmerman, 28, a captain of the community's neighborhood watch.

In 911 tapes released by Sanford police, Mr. Zimmerman tells the operator that Trayvon was suspicious and appeared to be drugged.

Mr. Zimmerman then pursued Trayvon on foot and after a struggle shot and killed the teenager, according to police.

Police say Mr. Zimmerman was not arrested because there was no evidence disputing his claim of self defense, prompting national outcry for state and federal officials to level charges.

Members of Trayvon's family met with U.S. Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigations officials on Thursday afternoon.

"It was rather clear that the attorney general is quite aware of the situation, and they have devoted a great deal of resources to this matter," Mr. Parks said. "It's very clear that this is a very high priority for this administration."

The Martin family also met briefly Friday with attorney Angela Corey, who was appointed as special prosecutor this week by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to head the state investigation.

The legal team representing Trayvon's family plans to pursue civil litigation against Mr. Zimmerman and the community's Homeowner's Association.

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Trayvon Martin

Confessed murdered George Zimmerman

Mr. Parks, who also is president of the National Bar Association, said that, ultimately, he does not believe the Justice Department will pursue federal hate crime charges against Mr. Zimmerman.

Even without hate crime charges, Mr. Parks said it's clear that race played a role in Trayvon's killing and that the family believes Sanford police actively covered up the racial component to protect Mr. Zimmerman.

America that a lot of people don't talk about."

Mr. Parks said he hasn't seen any photo or video evidence documenting any injuries sustained by Mr. Zimmerman during the altercation with Trayvon. He also said Trayvon's girlfriend, whom attorneys say spoke with him just moments before his death, has yet to give a statement to police.

Mr. Zimmerman's attorney, Craig

Photo by Velvet McNeil

"At this point ... you charge the guy. If he wants to try to explain it away, explain it to the jury."

Mr. Parks said that Mr. Zimmerman's legal team has not been in touch with the team representing the Martin family, and that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been in contact with Mr. Zimmerman.

In addition to a slew of civil rights leaders, various celebrities have reached out to the Martin family. Mr. Parks said the family received a call from Oprah Winfrey and is appreciative of the public support from various professional athletes.

Members of the Miami Heat, including Lebron James and Dwyane Wade, posted on their social media accounts pictures of the team wearing hooded sweatshirts in support of Trayvon's family.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who has three sons living in Sanford, has talked to the family by phone, Mr. Parks said. "I don't think it's a political statement," Mr. Parks said of the professional athletes who've expressed support. "Trayvon's situation speaks to all of us. We've all had some situations where we felt that race played an issue ... and they can identify with that."

Atty. Parks said Trayvon's killing, which has prompted a national dialogue on racial profiling in the U.S., is not unlike the historic case of Emmett Till, a 14year-old black boy murdered in 1955 after allegedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi.

Till's death and the choice of his mother to have his casket open during the funeral prompted a national effort to eliminate Jim Crow laws.

"Most of us, especially those of us who live in the South, can clearly identify with this type of interaction with the police."

Mr. Parks said. "It's not too often that we as African Americans get to help America with its conscious just a little bit. This is our opportunity."

Mr. Parks spoke from Atlanta to NABJ board members, who had gathered in Boston for a meeting.

Wesley Lowery is the Student Representative on the NABJ board of directors. He is a senior journalism major at Ohio University.Â

National Association of Black Journalists Board members at Directorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meeting in Boston, last week.

"Trayvon's situation is very tragic for this family and, I think, for every black person who lives in America," Mr. Parks said. "We all know many situations where the person of color was not given the benefit of the doubt. That's a subtlety in

Sonner, said earlier Saturday that if charges are filed against his client, defense attorneys will argue that Mr. Zimmerman was acting in self defense.

"George Mr. Zimmerman is trying to turn the story around," Mr. Parks said. !

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization of journalists, students and media-related professionals that provides quality programs and services to and advocates on behalf of black journalists worldwide.

Founded by 44 men and women on December 12, 1975, in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation. !

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Let’s TALK

MARCH 30 , 2012

Encouraging parents to talk to their children is nothing new. There’s a serious talk that parents continue to have with their young male children. Here are some perspectives on that “talk” and why it is so important.

Why wait till the child is 11 The Birth of A Black Male Child: A Black Mother’s to teach him he's black?

Dream/ Nightmare

By Roger Witherspoon

Moving to the suburbs or an overwhelmingly white community doesn't change a kid's skin color or the nature of American society. There is no reason to buy into the frankly racist rantings of white reporters who call this period "post racial," as if an election magically changed the hearts and minds of a large part of white America -- including the 20+ million who worship Rush Limbaugh.

While it may be preferable or easier to tell a 6-year-old that there are people out there who are willing to "hurt" you because of your skin, rather than the blunter "kill you" because of your skin, the basic message should have been taught particularly as they entered school.

It is not surprising that white journalists would make a big deal over these fact of life discussions. the notion that black adults are telling their kids that white adults are dangerous goes against their grain. But why are black journalists making a big deal about it?

If anything, we should comment that if more white parents told the truth to their kids about what racism does to society and their contribution to it, these kinds of talks in black families wouldn't be necessary.

I think its a sad commentary on black parents if they wait till national incidents like this to remember who they are and the perils associated with just being black in America.

And in case you're wondering, I was Emmett Till five when Dad pulled out Jet magazine, showed me pictures of Emmett Till and helped me read the story accompanying it. Mom left the room.

The takeaway message was if I was going down the street and saw two or more white men in front of me to cross the street or otherwise walk well around them. But racism wasn't a new discussion in our home. Dad was studying for the bar exam. He would end up taking it 5 times before "passing" and being admitted to the bar in '56. It wasn't that he couldn't take a standardized test or didn't grasp the legal concepts. The rule in NY was only the top two blacks who passed the bar exam could be admitted to the bar -- a rule which didn't change in NY till 65, and in NJ in 68. The third time Dad "failed" he had a 92, but was 4th among the blacks who took the bar exam that time.

Discussions about racism, fairness, and the rule of law as it applied to us and applied to them were regular subjects of discussion -- along with black history and our role in it.

But as we got older there were never discussions about difficulties of "the Talk." There were, and are, discussions of the persistent, pervasive racism which makes such discussions necessary. Still.

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By Vicki Meek

The Birth of A Black Male Child: A Black M o t h e r ’s D r e a m / Nightmare: that is the title of an art installation I did not long after the birth of my son. It was inspired by the reality of the dual emotions I experienced upon hearing the doctor say “it’s a boy!”

29 years ago.

The birth of my son was both one of my greatest joys that was sadly tempered by the anxiety that accompanies raising a black male child in a racist society.

The birth of my son was both one of my greatest joys that was sadly tempered by the anxiety that accompanies raising a black male child in a racist society.

Ten years after giving birth to this beautiful child, his father and I were faced with that dreaded moment most of us can’t avoid, i.e. the racism talk.

The need to have this talk with our son came as a result of an incident he was involved in that

could have ended badly but luckily did not. He, like so many in his generation, was growing up in a world of multi-racial friendships.

On a school field trip to the Science Place, the bus driver agreed to stop at a 7-11 so the kids could get some snacks.

My son and his friends, one white and one Latino, went into the store to make their purchases. When they re-boarded the bus, my son’s white friend laughingly told him that he stole some candy. The other friend had also done the same.

Another classmate overheard the conversation and told the accompanying teacher who reprimanded all three friends for this crime. He called the parents which is how we found out about the incident.

Given that our son had not stolen anything, a fact that both of his friends corroborated, this should have been an easy situation to dismiss.

However, the reality of a black boy living in a racist society mandated a different kind of conversation with him, one that ended with him in tears and his father and I both sorry that we had to be so brutally honest with him.

We had to let him know that even though he had done no wrong, had he been caught in the company of these boys and the store manager deciding that all of them were guilty until proven innocent, chances are he as the sole Black member of the group could have been singled out as the ringleader or worst, the actual thief!

We had to impress upon him the importance of choosing your friends carefully and how easily a black boy can have his rights compromised simply because he’s black.

Hurtful as it was, our admonishment was not optional in our view; it was a responsibility we had to school him on life in racist America.

Trayvon Martin is sadly not an anomaly. We all know countless cases of Black boys being victimized by police or vigilantes.

We must warn them; it is our obligation to do so.

Their very lives depend on it. vicki.meek.artist.arts administrator.educator

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MARCH 30 , 2012

When a white boy wears a

HOODIE

By Queen of Spain QueenofSpain.com Special to I Messenger

My son wears a hoodie every single day to school. He covers his head faithfully and rarely hears friends say hello as we walk inside or adults saying good morning as he tends to be lost in his own world, muffled by the hoodie around his ears.

My son would do anything for his little sister and happily get her candy. He would even question any adult questioning him for no reason- as we have taught him to stand up for himself, speak out for what is right, and question authority. He would run from strangers.

He would, however, feel safe with a police office.

I think.

My son, however, can do all of these things without fear.

He is white. He ‘belongs’ in that suburb. He looks like every other white kid in the area and a ‘neighborhood watch captain’ would easily dismiss his walking down the street as a normal, every day occurrence. As would a police officer. As would the community.

As a white mother to a white son, I’ve never had to explain to him what he should and should not do when confronted by police. I’ve never had to talk with him about how the world views him or prayed he wouldn’t be next.

Yet we live in a world where people deny racial issues still exist. They do not even understand white privilege.

They actively cry ‘reverse racism’ as if they are the victim. They even have the nerve to call those who fight for racial equality ‘race baiters,’ ’racers’ and have attempted to spin and twist and re-write history as if THEY have lost out because Americans owned slaves and those slaves were oppressed for generations, after which they were then oppressed under Jim Crow and then under the institutionalized racism that continues to permeate our culture today.

Yet these NON ‘of color’ victims’ have started a very dangerous trend, a very risky trend, a very uninformed and downright stupid trend that has them looking like very scared white folk, realizing their hold over the majority-and power-is slipping.

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You see, as ‘one of you’ I get to hear all about it from family and friends and neighbors and others who seem to think that just because I am white I ‘understand’ what they mean when they say ‘our neighborhood is changing’ and ‘that school has too many kids who don’t speak like our kids’ or ‘you know the high school only recruited him because he can play ball.’

Then there are the comments on blogs and national media calling the NAACP racist, the United Negro College Fund racist, and those who support our President racist because we have the nerve to notice these overwhelmingly white people are angry and saying things and doing things they would NEVER do if the man occupying the oval office were caucasian.

They say all these things while innocent children, carrying candy in a suburb, are shot for walking down the street while black. As Jackie Summers writes, “This isn’t some fresh new hell; it’s torn open old wounds most would prefer to believe have healed.

--The concept that you are suspicious.

--The concept that you have to justify where you are and what you’re doing.

--The concept that there are people who are so afraid of you, they feel they’re protecting themselves and others, by killing you, even if you’re unarmed.

--The concept that those charged with law can show up, knowing exactly what happened, and choose not to uphold it.

--The concept that it requires a national outrage to incite justice.

--The concept that there are those who would vociferously defend the murderer out of one corner of their mouths, and accuse the murdered from the other.

For no other reason than the color of your skin.”

Yet if you were to read a Right Wing blog today, you would think THEY were the victim or horrible racial attacks. The last I checked, white children like mine, even in hoodies, even walking in a suburb with candy, were not being shot for walking while white.

It is far from time for the white, rightwing to drop this act of victimhood in the American stories of racial inequality.

It is embarrassing. It is ignorant. It is offensive.

Trayvon is not the first black child to die, he will not be the last. We owe it to every child to move the discussion on race FORWARD. Forward means NOT back to eras that have long past and have long ago put an indelible mark of hatred and evil on our nation that some on the right seem to think have been made up for, erased, or should be at the very least whitewashed, refusing to feel guilt for something they had nothing to do with.

As a white mother to a white son, I’ve never had to explain to him what he should and should not do when confronted by police. I’ve never had to talk with him about how the world views him or prayed he wouldn’t be next.

I don’t feel guilt as a white liberal, I feel anger. I feel anger that some conservatives say they see no color, claim to operate on an even playing field, and refuse to even discuss racial implications in any debate for fear they will have to be honest with themselves, our history, and the glaringly obvious fact we have NOT come as far as we would like to think.

We owe it to children of color to know the world MY children have grown up knowing. Where they don’t need to be told that they have to make allowances for other people’s racism because …’That’s part of the burden of being black. We can be defiant and dead or smart and alive.”

It is time to change the conversation, and it starts with the adults. I have no right to send my son to school tomorrow morning in his hoodie without fear, when so many other mothers will be sending their sons off wondering if they will ever come home.

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Erin Kotecki Vest is BlogHer, Inc.’s* Social Media Strategist helping BlogHer make the most impact in the quicklyevolving new media landscape. Erin also served as BlogHer’s Political Director throughout the seminal 2008 election cycle and beyond, connecting community members directly to legislators and policy-makers. And as BlogHer’s Producer of Special Projects, Erin spearheaded several online video and editorial initiatives aimed at raising the profile of BlogHer ’s 20 million plus community members.Prior to joining BlogHer, she spent ten years as a broadcast journalist in Los Angeles, Orlando and Detroit winning six Golden Mic Awards with LA news institution KFWB.In addition, Erin speaks to audiences across the country (SXSW, Politics Online, Gov 2.0 LA, BlogHer, BlogWorld, Journalism Week at the University of Reno, Chicks Who Click, Nevada Interactive- just to name a few) and provides commentary for national media outlets including CNN. She has also tends to do things like advise singer-songwriter Alicia Keys on finding the right blogger for her site, and briefing the White House and members of Congress on how to reach and engage with women online.When she’s not on the road or on your tv, you can find her at home in Los Angeles with her two children, husband, and new puppy.Explaining the “Queen of Spain” Blog Name:Back before blogging was cool, a friend thought Erin was being obnoxious. He asked the now infamous question “Who the F do you think you are, the Queen of Spain?”

When it came time to choose a blog name, it seemed clear.

This was a soapbox, and Queen of Spain = Obnoxious Erin.

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Young & Black: A Response to Trayvon

By Patrick Washington

believe Steven, the only sane kid in the meeting, even vouched for me, but no GO. I was done, livid at this point… they even told us that our chaperone claimed he was coerced by me to pull over.

Not a good day, but even worse was what came next.

THE TALK This was the beginning of many adolescent/youth talk my parents had with me. My mother I remember seemed just like the teachers and principal ... she didn’t want to hear my side, like I was just as guilty as the kids who did, I realize now her fear had forced her into a confused and scared state, but then she just came off as someone who didn’t trust me. My father on the other hand, was concerned, obviously concerned, and I realize now why.

He IS a black man and was my age at the time in 1960 Chicago… quite a different perspective than my mother. Now my father can talk… and I mean talk, and usually I just tune him out until I hear the key “nod your head” and yes/no response cues, but this time he made sense.

I remember the quote exactly, “Do you realize, son, that you are a black man and what that means?”

I recall the only reason I really remember it was because my father had called me a man, which is big for all young boys and their fathers, but I don’t think I had ever heard my dad refer to me with anything more than my name and son. So I was struck with that clarity missile and grateful for it.

At that moment I realized the black man, whom I trusted sold me out for the sake of his own merit.

The white kids got off with a slap on the wrist and reading the Thou Shalt Not Steal Commandment, the black girl who told the fake truth, actually admitted she was wrong to me later, but not to the teacher for fear of her own punishment… and me I gotta reality check.

I began to watch the world different, and more importantly I would watch me. What I would say in front of white people, or authority figures, how I was moving, what I was wearing… and let me tell you, It just makes you mad. The type of fury that can’t be quelled with discussion or resolve, the type that just makes you hate.

If it weren’t for my own intellect I can’t say I would be here today. I buried myself in history and self discovery an idea that escapes many of us black men because of sheer lack of information and ignorance, but it helped… to learn of Malcolm X and Marcus Garvey, Chaka Zulu and Zumbi, and even the Black Panther Party.

I saw that being a black man is more than being blamed for the ills of society, it’s about correcting them, and fighting to make sure the next generation is better off. The struggle is was makes us strong and the overcoming of said struggle is what makes us eternal.

But, every year just like my youth there is something that brings it all back to reality. Trayvon Martin’s murder is just such an event.

And now, God willing, justice for his family, and a new catalyst in the fight for equality acceptance and peace and his memory will inspire the youth to make those changes and fight for that peace for our new black men.

Well my first time speaking with my parents about race wasn’t as surprising as one may think. The situation was the last in a series of what seemed to be yearly events of the universe reminding me I am black culminating into a “discussion” with my parents after an incident with some school friends.

As I said, the universe spoke to me very clearly even as a child about race in America and what it really means to be black here.

I can chronologically categorize each incident within the first 10 years of my life that led me to the attitude I have today. From young white kids in kindergarten striking matches and throwing them under the desk of the teacher (I got looped into that), to guards at the Dallas Museum of Art singling me out after a couple white girls were near me touching paintings… my distrust of white people became more and more intense the older I got, then the fifth grade came and the big event went down.

The basics are, we were on a field trip, the BLACK MAN who was our chaperone agreed to stop by 7-11 to get us young exhausted kids a snack or something and he agreed. We went in, we got stuff, we left. When we got back to school one of the white kids I was with and a Hispanic/Spanish friend and his brother (who could just as easily had passed for white) were chuckling proudly that they had succeeded in stealing some candy from the store.

Now not really caring about it I went about my day, but another black girl (I chuckle remembering her need to fit into our TAG academy told on the boys but mentioned my name).

My teacher Mr. Schulte, whom I really liked, came into our class and was literally red with anger.

He pointed at Steven, Sergio and Clayton, the boys who committed the theft, and me… confused but obviously not trying to get into trouble for being disobedient I calmly went with them, knowing full and well I didn’t do anything.

In the principal’s office we were told what happened, who told, and all that and given a chance to come clean… so I did; however, no one Patrick Washington is the Director of Strategic seemed to care that I really didn’t do anything, I Alliances for The Dallas Weekly.

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MARCH 30 , 2012

Does a Black Man’s Life Have Any Value?

By Jeffery Muhammad Imagine this. A Black man is running for his life.

He is unarmed. He is eventually caught and murdered.

A quick investigation is conducted.

The media immediately begins to vilify and lay the basis for the justification of his murder.

The murderer is not sent to prison.

Unfortunately, depending on who is reading this article, the name of the victim could be that of any countless number of Black men, especially youth, murdered in the streets and back alleys of America every day.

Is his name Trayvon Martin? Or, is it, as Dallas Observer writer Greg Howard describes him, that black thief Marcus Phillips, who ran out of the Diamond Shamrock Kwik Stop on Martin Luther King in South Dallas, was chased down the street and shot in the chest by a Korean Clerk. The fact that he was running away with a cash register, seems to be justification in the mind of some. The fact that he was unarmed and running away, which meant he was of no threat to the clerk’s life, matters little. How much money has to be in a cash register to justify taking a human life.

Today, children all over America and the world are having fun, sitting in their bedrooms killing people and animals in lifelike simulated video games, not realizing that this is having an effect on how we view and value human life.

Television is filled with violent images and children don’t know what it’s like for the television to actually go off.

Michael Vick went to prison for training a dog to do what is in the nature of every dog to do, which is to fight and kill other dogs. President George Bush sent soldiers, whose nature is to love their fellow human being, but were trained to use video game like controls and monitors that remove the humanity of the “enemy” they were sent to kill, in a war that was based on lies, and never went to prison. The media sold the American public on the idea that there were weapons of mass destruction and the military has yet to find a firecracker. How soon we forget.

The deeper, underlying spiritual problem at the root of the senseless murder of Black men at the hands of the police, vigilantes and yes, other Black men, is found in a question asked by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. Is there sacredness and value to human life? Is there only sacredness and value to white life, and not Brown Red and Black life?

Black men have been negatively portrayed in movies ever since we’ve been allowed by those who controlled the movie industry to appear in them. This was the reason the Million Man March was called by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. He wanted to give the world a different view of Black men, because we were being set up for slaughter under the guise of a war on drugs, and there would have been no outcry, because our murderers would have been viewed as having done society a favor.

The media is trying to vilify Trayvon Martin in order to paint the picture and make the case, that George Zimmerman did society a favor. DOES A BLACK MAN’S LIFE HAVE ANY VALUE? !

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Tribute to Trayvon Martin kicks off 2012 Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage

Fort Lauderdale -- As a tribute to the slain Florida teenager Trayvon Mitchell, nearly 3,000 passengers on the

2012 Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage presented by Ford paused for a moment of silence, and draped their heads with their hands or clothes to represent Martin’s hoodie. While the cruise is traditionally, titled “Party with a Purpose” to support students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the sense of community rallying around Mr. Martin took hold as the ship was leaving Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.

Mr. Martin, wearing a hoodie at the time of his death, was shot by George Zimmerman in the gated community of Retreat at Twin Lakes, on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla. The incident has sparked rallies around the country, fueled by social media and punctuated by many participants wearing hoodies.

Right before the ship set sail, Mr. Joyner rallied his passengers to join him poolside to take a picture with the guests in memory of Martin. Several of the guests were wearing T-shirts that recognized Martin’s death.

For seven days and six nights, more than 3,000 passengers will be on board the Royal Caribbean International’s ‘Navigator of the Seas’™, helping to support students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This luxurious ship will be home to some of the most fantastic artists in soul music including headliner - Queen Latifah along with Fantasia, Chante Moore, SWV, Boyz II Men, Silk, HTown, Shai, Tony Toni Toné , Yarbrough & Peoples, Rose Royce, Taste of Honey, Anita Ward, Con Funk Shun, Glen Jones, Phil Perry, Tony Terry, Michael Cooper, Keith Sweat, Guy, Bobby Valentino, and Lenny Williams.

National Black United Front prayer vigil

Jose Campos Torres or is it Trayvon Martin Died Too Soon?

oozed away from the stilted debates of semantics Beyond the questionable flexibility of primal screaming The reality of our city, jungle streets and their Zimmermans Has become an attack on home, life, family and philosophy, total It is beyond the question of the advantages of didactic niggerisms The motherfucking dogs are in the street In Houston maybe someone said Mexicans were the new niggers In LA maybe someone said Chicanos were the new niggers In Frisco maybe someone said Orientals were the new niggers Maybe in Sanford and Florida they decided they didn't need no new niggers I had said I wasn't going to write no more poems like this But dogs are in the street It's a turn around world where things are all too quickly turned around It was turned around so that right looked wrong It was turned around so that up looked down It was turned around so that those who marched in the streets with bibles/korans and signs of peace became enemies of the state and risk to national security So that those who questioned the operations of those in authority on the principles of justice, liberty, and equality became the vanguard of a Tea Party attack It became so you couldn't call a spade a motherfucking spade Brother Trayvon is dead, the Holy Land 5 are still incarcerated George W Bush, Joseph Lieberman, Rudy Giuliani, and Chuck Schumer are still alive And the dogs are in the motherfucking street I had said I wasn't going to write no more poems like this I made a mistake!

I had said I wasn't going to write no more poems like this I had confessed to myself all along, tracer of life, poetry trends That awareness, consciousness, poems that screamed of pain and the origins of pain and death had blanketed my tablets And therefore, my friends, brothers, sisters, in-laws, outlaws, and besides -- they already knew But brother Trayvon, common ancient bloodline brother Trayvon is dead I had said I wasn't going to write no more poems like this I had said I wasn't going to write no more words down about people kicking us when we're down About racist dogs that attack us and drive us down, drag us down and beat us down But the dogs are in the street The dogs are alive and the terror in our hearts has scarcely diminished It has scarcely brought us the comfort we suspected The recognition of our terror and the screaming release of that recognition Has not removed the certainty of that Jr. knowledge -- how could it The dogs rabid foaming with the energy of their brutish From Friendship-West Baptist Church ignorance Stride the city streets like robot gunslingers And spread death as night lamps flash crude reflections from gun butts and police shields I had said I wasn't going to write no more poems like this But t h e Original by Gil-Scott Heron 1978, battlefield has Improvised by Thomas Muhammad 2012

“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.”

Dr. Martin Luther King,

MARCH 30 , 2012

2020 W. Wheatland Road, Dallas

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MARCH 30, 2012

A talk with my son about Trayvon Martin

By Aaron Hopkins

As I reflected on the assassination of Trayvon Martin, like most black men and women in this country I could not help but feel that could have been my son.

I realized after listening and participating in discussions and commentary about this young innocent black man and the admitted killer,

George Zimmerman, there is a growing sense of hatred towards black men, women and children in this country regardless of the age.

It appears to me that a certain faction of neo-colonial minded people have declared open season on black people.

To go a step further there are more and more laws and legislative bills being set forth to support this racist activity.

Our own President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have felt the sting of this growing radical racist behavior.

More than ever before it now seems to be the most dangerous time in America to wake up every day as a black person.

My wife, Kendra, and I have discussed what life would be like if our son Eryk would have been Trayvon facing a gunman with no intentions of using reasonable caution but only deadly force.

I was asked a few days ago by my dear friend, Cheryl Smith, if I had talked to

A Common Ghostwriter Earlier this week my fellow Urban Leaguers and I joined with tens of thousands of Americans who marched through the streets of Sanford, Florida, as part of the fight for justice for Trayvon Martin.

Days later, we held a protest rally at the Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C . , headquarters of the American Legislative Exchange Council, which wrote and advocated for the shoot-to-kill law, also known as “Stand Your Ground,” that contributed to Trayvon’s death.

We also delivered a letter to ALEC demanding that the organization end its promotion of legislation involving firearms.

Most Americans know little about ALEC, as the Council is known.

Ostensibly a pro-business o rg a n i z a t i o n , A L E C i s responsible for some of the most destructive attempts in recent history to roll back gains in civil rights, consumer and worker protection, and social justice.

ALEC drafts model legislation, then hands the bills off to state legislators who introduce them - sometimes passing them off as their own work, sometimes not even bothering to change a word of the language.

The wave of voter suppression bills that have swept state legislatures over the last year were ghostwritten by ALEC. Efforts to repeal prevailing wage laws and workplace health and safety regulations were ghostwritten by ALEC. Legislation to limit collective bargaining rights, to dismantle consumer protections, to make it harder for political refugees to seek sanctuary, even to strip citizenship from native-born Americans, all were ghostwritten by the same secretive cabal that produced the shootto-kill law.

ALEC and its supporters must be held accountable for the consequences of the reckless laws they initiate and promote, as should the state lawmakers who carry out their bidding.

Marc Morial National Urban League PAGE 14

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my 13-year old my son concerning this event. This is what came out of the “talk.

My first few questions for my son, Eryk, were aimed at picking his brain for a level of fear in his mind that he and any number of his young black male friends are in the same amount of danger right now.

I asked him first what he would do if he was walking somewhere and was followed and then approached by an armed man without a uniform or badge.

He said he would ask why am I being followed. I immediately got a chill.

The only thing I could think about then was Trayvon’s voice screaming for help at the top of his lungs.

I looked at my son and asked him what he would do if the man pulled out his gun.

He said he would beg for his life.

This conversation was becoming difficult to continue because I needed to see my son’s view of this reality but I

did not want to put unjustified fear in him.

I asked him to go and listen to all of the news reports and the 911 call that recorded the dispatcher’s instructions to Mr. Zimmerman not to follow Trayvon and to wait on the police to arrive.

After my son did his own research he said he could see holes in the story on both sides but he could not understand why Mr. Zimmerman had not been arrested.

I am suggesting that every black family in America discuss this case for no other reason but to insure to our children that this is not a game or an isolated incident.

We are now the target of every angry, confused, self –appointed and so called crime preventing vigilantes on every street and every neighborhood.

Aaron Hopkins is the CEO/ B.B.N.B Entertainment LLC

Florida State Attorney Corey will “Stand the Ground” for Florida’s Law Enforcer’s Pensacola, FL --On the heels of the National Southern Christian Leadership (SCLC) Chair-Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr., Florida State SCLC Chair- Art Rocker and Jacksonville, FL Chapter SCLC President- Rev. R.L. Gundy voicing that State A t t o r n e y A n g e l a C o r e y ’s appointment in the case of Trayvon Martin is questionable (and that in previous cases she has lacked concerns in diversity and human rights), Corey has gathered three supporters in her defense.

Rocker states, “Who are these supporters and where were they when she supported giving a 12year-old Hispanic child life in prison after he was given up by State Attorney Angela Corey his 12 year old mother, became a foster child, then endured several counts of molestation?”

Rocker continues, “Rev. R.L. Gundy says Angela Corey supported JSO officers when they fired 42 shots and wounded 2 people and both JSO officers resigned from duties.”

Rocker goes on, “Angela Corey cannot receive redemption from her past, and she is definitely not the one to give a fair hearing in the Trayvon Martin case. Florida Law Enforcement has never been protective of the victim. Law enforcement in Florida ran over Victor Steen in Pensacola, FL and said he had a throw down gun and he did not. Tia Ritchie in Starke, FL and her unborn child were found dead in jail. The day after she was found dead, it was determined that she was not guilty of the charge brought against her (inmates also said she was whipped by officers while in jail). None of the allegations were investigated by Florida Law enforcement. Derrick Humble was riding a bicycle in Bradenton, Florida and was tased and killed by law enforcement, later it was suggested that drugs were thrown down near his body by Law Enforcer’s but it was never investigated by the State of Florida. Therefore, Angela Corey’s appointment is a “Law Enforcer Watcher” like Zimmerman was a “Neighborhood Watchman.”

“Before this hearing takes place with Trayvon Martin in Florida, he will be classified as a drug dealer, gun carrier, and violent menace to society; this all at the hands of Florida Law Enforcement.”

A Press Conference will be held on Saturday, March 31, 2012, at 9:00AM at the Stage in Sanford, Florida before the march. !

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Checking out the Scenes Boys & Girls Club with Kimberly-Clark

MARCH 30, 2012

Edna Pemberton It was so fitting that there was a standing-room only gathering at Southwest Center Ma! recently to pay homage to Edna Pemberton and wish her a happy birthday..

Mrs. Pemberton has been upli&ing her community and others for so long and she continues to do so, despite health issues. Always with a kind word , she continues to be a source of inspiration and support to so many.

Approximately 50 Boys & Girls Club teens from around the country participated in a hands-on career experience courtesy of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation and several senior executives, including CEO Tom Falk, at Kimberly-Clark headquarters on Friday, March 23. The teens were part of a large group of young people attending Boys & Girls Clubs of Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual Keystone Conference, which focuses on youth leadership.

Dr. Worta McCaskill-Stevens:

An African American Scientist on the Frontier of Cancer Research

Photo Credit: Clara Brown

Special from the National Cancer Institute

BETHESDA, Md.,-- She is an African American woman and she is a medical doctor, a researcher for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National institutes of Health. Meet Worta McCaskill-Stevens, MD, one of the key players behind the scenes when it comes to addressing cancer health disparities.

Recently observed Black History Month is always an ideal time to learn about African Americans who have contributed in all professions, whether they are historical or contemporary figures. For example, we can read about the accomplishments of black medical pioneers like Dr. Charles Drew (who discovered blood plasma) and Dr. Percy Julian (who promoted the use of cortisone to treat arthritis and similar diseases). And many African American medical researchers are making medical history in our society today, including Dr. McCaskill-Stevens.

Her official title is Program Director and Acting Chief of NCI's Community Clinical Oncology Program, and she is the director of and advisor to several additional NCI programs, including the Breast Cancer Prevention and MinorityBased Community Clinical Oncology Program groups and various clinical trials initiatives. Titles aside, it boils down to Dr. McCaskill-Stevens' research passions: breast cancer, including its impact on African American women, and cancer clinical trials, including increasing the participation of African Americans and other minorities.

"Clinical trials provide the evidence for implementing research advances into practice," said Dr. McCaskill-Stevens. In fact, her work has included serving as program director of a large-scale NCI-sponsored breast cancer prevention trial, the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR). This clinical trial was designed to see how the drug raloxifene compares with the drug tamoxifen in reducing the incidence of breast cancer in postmenopausal women who are at increased risk of the disease. It was one of the largest breast cancer prevention studies ever and took place at more than 500 centers across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

In the trial, both drugs greatly reduced the risk of developing invasive breast cancer in women at high risk. Both drugs are now approved for breast cancer risk reduction in certain groups of women.

With a mission to help "provide access to clinical trials in institutions that serve underrepresented populations in clinical research and underserved for cancer care," Dr. McCaskill-Stevens adds that new generations of agents that are more targeted to the cancers must also be tested in those "for whom the burdens are the heaviest," including African-American women. (African American women overall are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than white American women but more likely to die from the disease.)In the course of her job as a biomedical scientist, Dr. McCaskill-Stevens often gives lectures about the connection between research and health outcomes for women, the recruitment of minorities in clinical trials, and bringing clinical trials "into the community" to audiences of fellow scientists. She sets and reviews strategy for research programs. She also arranges scientific meetings, prepares articles that discuss the latest research advances, and tours sites around the country where clinical trials are conducted.

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Mirror Mirror

By Deanna McKinley I Messenger Film Critic Roberts’ evil Queen is deliciously diabolical. After The King disappears in the forest, The Queen takes over the kingdom and keeps Snow White locked behind the palace walls for nearly a decade.

The Queen relies on her black magicproducing mirror to keep herself young, and the fear of a horrid beast in the surrounding forest to keep her subjects loyal.

Mirror Mirror gives the classic fairy tale Snow White a remix. Starring Academy Award-winner Julia Roberts as The Queen and Lily Collins as Snow White, movie goers are told from the start that this movie is ALL about The Queen.

Collins’ Snow White starts off with a coy innocence until her 18th birthday.

Ho we v e r, s h e g e t s a g i r l p o we r makeover with the help of a band of seven dwarves after she charms the handsome and wealthy visiting Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer), and The

Queen orders her murder. The dwarves teach her how to fight, and fight she does.

She battles The Queen head-on to reclaim her bir thright, f ree her kingdom from tyranny and capture the heart of the Prince.

Filled with light-hearted goodness, amazing costumes and the never dull Nathan Lane, this movie works for adults and pre-teens alike. It’s a little girly, but there are some moments of chuckle for the men too.

Collins is a sweet enough Snow White, b u t j u s t a s we we r e to l d i n t h e beginning of the movie, this story belongs to Julia Roberts. I mean, The

Queen. She’s the reason you watch.

She’s the reason you care.

Mirror Mirror, a Relativity Media release is rated PG for some fantasy action and rude humor. The run-time

Wrath of the Titans Deanna McKinley I Messenger Film Critic

A family feud spins out of control and threatens to destroy the world in the Greek mythological fantasy, Wrath of the Titans. This sequel to 2010’s Clash of the Titans, finds the Greek Gods in a state of turmoil. The faithful have stopped believing, and the Gods are becoming weak. The lack of prayers has caused a lack of power among the once invincible Gods, and evil threatens to consume the world. Brother is pitted against brother, and son against father. Self-sacrifice, forgiveness and unconditional love are needed to save the world from the evil Titans.

Zeus (Liam Neeson) has been captured. His son Ares (Édgar Ramírez), and brother, Hades (Ralph Feinnes), made a pact to deliver Zeus to the underworld and into the hands of Kronos, leader of the Titans. Kronos’ strength grows as Zeus’ power diminishes, threatening mankind. Perseus (Sam

Worthington), a demi-god and Zeus’ son, must save his father from the depths of the underworld, and u l t i m a t e l y, save the earth.

Perseus teams with Q u e e n Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) and his cousin Agenor “The Navigator” (Toby Kebbell), son of Poseidon, on this fast-paced, thrilling, 3D, high-tech marvel. We watch the motley crew fight realistic-looking twoheaded, fire breathing monsters, one-eyed Cyclops, Minotaurs, devilish warriors and Gods alike. Each battle seems to have more nail-biting intensity than the

comes from prayer, family, humor and love.

Wrath of the Titans, a Warner Brothers picture, is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of fantasy violence and action. The run-time is 99 minutes.

Support the Black Press

Support Black -owned bookstores

Send your books for review to: Cheryl Smith, P.O. Box 860 Grand Prairie, TX 75053 PAGE 16

last. The high-flying action is coupled with slapstick humor, which keeps the plot moving and gives moviegoers a much needed breathing break!

This is a fantastic movie, destined to please Greek mythology buffs and novices alike. A thrill ride from beginning to end, and a plot that reminds viewers of the personal strength that

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In Memoriam Earnest Reese Long-time sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Earnest Reese passed on March 29, 2012 at his home in McDonough, GA with his family.

He was a resident of McDonough for 47 years. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Artelia Reese, his daughter Regina Tate, and son Renford Reese.

Mr. Reese was a native of Jackson, Mississippi, where he attended Jim Hill High School.

Before graduating in 1959, he was a two-time all-state quarterback and first baseman, was president of the student body and his senior class, was student principal and for two years was sports editor of the school newspaper and yearbook.

He attended Alcorn State University on an athletic scholarship, playing football and baseball. He became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, was sports editor of the ASU newspaper, and as a drama club member, wrote several short plays.

Mr. Reese graduated from Alcorn State in 1963 and served as teachercoach in Mississippi for one year before working in the same capacities in Georgia for nine years. During those nine years, he wrote for two weekly publications, including the Atlanta Voice.

In 1970, Mr. Reese was one of four classroom teachers selected from over 500 applicants statewide to participate in WSB’s first radio-TV fellowship programs.

After a summer of employment at the Atlanta Constitution in 1974, Mr.

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Reese the following January became one of the first blacks hired as a fulltime sportswriter at a major daily newspaper at a major daily newspaper in the South. During his 31 years on the paper’s sports staff, Mr. Reese won 11 national and state awards.

In 1986, he was one of three writers on the staff to win the Associated Press Sports’ Editors’ first place award for an 8-part series entitled “Run for Respect.” That composition addressed the role athletics has played in integrating southern society.

Mr. Reese wrote, on occasion, for national magazines. He was one of the first sportswriters to focus attention on football Hall of Famers Walter Payton and Jerry Rice.

He covered the great Edwin Moses early in his track career at Morehouse College and covered Evander Holyfield during his Golden Glove boxing days. He also interviewed Muhammad Ali on two occasions.

In a college sports market dominated

by Georgia and Georgia Tech, Mr. Reese was a champion for coverage of smaller state schools, especially those in the Atlanta University Center. ''He made sure we didn't forget about the other colleges,'' said former AJC Sports Editor Robert Mashburn. On a personal note: ''He was greatly loved for his easy-going nature," Mr. Mashburn said. ''He's someone you could always count on to talk to about something other than sports.''

Over the years, Mr. Reese developed quite a following in the community.

His work was sorely missed but his legacy lived on after he retired in 2003.

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Mark your calendar

MARCH 30, 2012

972.557.0988 info@balchspringschamber.org Monday Night Politics forum is from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the African American Museum. This forum will feature those persons who are running for

MARCH 30 BYLOE LLC. INVESTMENT CLUB PARTY/MIXER! 6:00 PM - 9:00 P CHOCOLATE SECRETS 3926 OAK LAWN RD DALLAS TX MARCH 31 Exotic Popcorn & SheWear Hair Party!

DISD School Board Trustee District 9:: Bernadette Nutall and Demarcus Offord.

6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (CT) 1601 E Lamar Blvd #104, Arlington, TX 76011 APRIL 1

April 7 P.E.A.R.L. Girls of Promise, Inc. will host their 5th annual Miss P.E.A.R.L. of Dallas Inner-Beauty Scholarship Pageant at Bishop Lynch High School at 7p.m. Here’s an opportunity to support young ladies who are focusing on the inner beauty, building character and academic excellence.

LOVE & UNITY ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS "AN EVENING OF SUNDAY BEST" AT 7PM ST. LOUIS BAPTIST CHURCH 4000 FRANKSTON HWY, TYLER, TX TICKETS $15 PRESALE/$20 AT THE DOOR TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT ST. LOUIS BAPTIST CHURCH- 903-561-0431 PLATINUM 1 CUTS & STYLES- 903-593-1004 1603 W. FRONT ST. ONLINE AT SUNDAY BEST TYLER

ELITE NEWS

EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA

INAUGURAL EASTER EGG HUNT William “Bill” Blair Jr. Park (formerly “Rochester Park)

Saturday, April 7, 2012 1-5p.m.

Through Our Eyes A Celebration of Women and Jazz Magnolia Lounge Fair Park Dallas,

Vendors!

Space still available

Spring Workshop 2012 Arlington Southeast Branch Library, 900 S.E. Green Oaks Blvd, 76018 817-459-6395 10:30am—2:00pm

First Annual Chamber Golf Tournament Keeton Park Golf Course 2323 N. Jim Miller Rd, Dallas Texas 75227 Balch Springs Chamber of Commerce www.balchspringschamber.org !

Fun!

Cookie/Cupcake Decorating!

April 14 Dance Contest!

Cake Walk!

Face Painting!

APRIL 2

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Bring the entire family!

Coffee & Conversation Lecture Series presents: Mindshift with the star of the ABC television show, SHARK TANK, DAYMOND JOHN at the 7-Eleven Headquarters.

April 16

Food!

Prizes!

C a l l “ E L I T E N E W S ” f o r m o re i n f o 2 1 4 . 3 7 2 . 6 5 0 0

214.909.0830

Sponsored by

No Limit Bail Bonds * Phyllis Lister Brown for Judge

Sophia Stimpson ESSAY AND ORATORICAL SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST DEADLINE FOR ENTRY FORM AND ABSTRACT/OUTLINE: April 16, 2012 !

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MARCH30, 30,2012 2012 MARCH

We invite you to participate in the forthcoming Chicago conference on April 20-21, 2012, and join confirmed speakers Cynthia McKinney, Law Professors Vernalia Randall and Carla D. Pratt, Political Science Professor Tyson KingMeadows, Attorneys Dr. Ava Muhammad, Chokwe Lumumba and Standish Willis, multiple HBCU past president Dr. John Waddell, National Black Farmer's Association President John Boyd and Queen Quet of the Gullah-Geechee Nation, as well as international legal experts and UN representatives, in exploring the potential of international human rights to advance the African American struggle.

Oratorical Presentation, Finalists Compete: May 5, 2012, 2:00- 5:00PM For Additional Information: Shannon Johnson-Lackey, 214-738-5963 or via email: sjlack05@sbcglobal.net

April 21 South Dallas Business and Professional Women’s Club Annual V. Alyce Foster Awards Luncheon, noon at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. Subscriptions are $ 60.00.

Walnut Hill Elementary School is having a “Community Health and Safety Fair” on Saturday, April 21, 2012 from 11 am-3 pm. There will be free dental and eye exams.

Immunizations are offer for $5 each. Carter Blood Care will be there as well as other free giveaways. Contact Gwen Walker or Debra Ginchansky at 972-502-7809 or email gwwalker@dallasisd.org and dginchansky@dallasisd.org. Visit our website for more details at www.dallasisd.org/walnuthill. Located at 10115 Midway Road, Dallas TX 75229.

March of Dimes premier event, March for Babies, is the nation’s oldest fundraising walk at White Rock Lake’s Norbuck Park at 8:30am. Those wishing to join the fight against prematurity can sign up today as an individual or start a team at marchforbabies.org.

Sheila Brooks will speak at Grambling State University April 16 - 17 "Visiting Professionals Program" Sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism Phoenix, AZ

April 19 “A Community Cooks” is back! At 6p.m. It is my hope that you will join us for our second annual fundraiser to celebrate the exciting additions and accomplishments of the newly named, We over Me Farm at Paul Quinn College. The event features some of the best chefs in the area creating amazing dishes at stations located directly on the Farm, a keynote speaker, and a live band.

April 20-21 The International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM) is an NGO in Consultative Status with the United Nations.

From CIVIL RIGHTS to HUMAN RIGHTS and SELFDETERMINATION? CHICAGO CONFERENCE 2012 AGENDA YOU DONT NEED TO JUST SAVE THE DATE APRIL 20-21, 2012, you need to REGISTER NOW. The International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM) is an NGO in Consultative Status with the United Nations.

NEW TIME! Cheryl’s World on Blogtalkradio.com at 6p.m.

Monday, April 2

Tuesday, April 3

Join Cheryl, and Lady T • Black Economic History Fact of the Day • LIVE from the African American Museum - It’s Monday night politics

Join Cheryl and Lady T • Black Economic History Fact of the Day • LIVE from Harwood 609

Wednesday, April 5

Thursday, April 6

Tune in to Reporters Roundtable

Friday, April 7

Join Cheryl and Lady T Join Cheryl and Lady T Join Cheryl and Lady T • Black Economic History Black Economic History Black Economic History • • Fact of the Day Fact of the Day Fact of the Day • LIVE from Harwood 609 • LIVE from Harwood 609

Soul 73 KKDA Sundays at 6a.m.

214-787-1730

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Delegation to

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VOTERS GUIDE • I MESSENGER is published every Friday, emailed to thousands of unique addresses, FaceBook and Twitter addresses and website subscribers, and receives over 20,000 views. My extensive lists include: my media list (local and national media), National Association of Black Journalists (regional and national), D/FW Association of Black Journalists, Dallas Press Club, Dallas Metroplex Council of Black Alumni Associations, Divine Nine (Black Sororities and Fraternities), Delta Sigma Theta (1913 - has list of 17,000). Then there are my several personal pages on FB (5001, 885 subscribers, 600 fans, 1500) • On my website (cherylsmithonline.com) I have over 2500 subscribers to I Messenger • According to Issuu, since January 16, 2012, I Messenger has 2064 readers and 20650 unique page views (In a campaign, we did 114,061 placements) • We are printing 20,000 guides in additional to the social media campaign.

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