BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
SELMA in pictures and words
I MESSENGER VOLUME 4 ISSUE 28 March 13, 2015
PAGE 1
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION March 13, 2015
Message to the People...
Not everyone celebrated the family reunion in Selma It was like a family reunion. Thousands of family members were gathering and it seemed like they wouldn’t stop coming. There were vendors all over the place and plenty of food, t shirts and memorabilia were for sale. BILL DUKE 6 8
Cheryl Smith
They came from across the country and all around the world, gathering as one to commemorate the time in our country when valiant men and women, boys and girls spoke up in support of the right to vote, for all citizens. There were people proudly sharing their experiences and others showing them love and thanking those “foot soldiers” for their service. But there were detractors, or haters. There were people who wanted no part of the gatherings. Sure they had been gathering for decades but none were like this one. With an estimated 100,000 expected and projected numbers considerably higher, the commemoration of Bloody Sunday was big. There were the Freedom Flame honorees, inductees into the Women’s Hall of Fame, Foot Soldiers and other voting rights giants who were recognized. And just as 50 years ago, when the Ku Klux Klan had a strong presence, members made their presence felt by disseminating recruitment literature, among other things. Selma has a lot of growing to do. The town of less than 25,000 has dismal numbers, in terms of employment rates and its poverty level. Crime rates are alarming. Selma needed the March, the infusion of dollars into its economy and the attention that may move people to action, instead of folks leaving and acting as though they did not see the
ASK ALMA 11
devastation they left behind.
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. IM ESSENGER is committed to informing, inspiring, enlightening and provoking thought in a forum that is international. Submissions for publication consideration may be submitted to www.myimessenger.com.
PAGE 2
Selma needs jobs, better housing and more. Selma also needs a citizenry working together to make the town grow and prosper. Nothing good can come out of the increased presence of the Klan. Instead more people who are sane and conscientious need to be working together to save Selma. Plans are already underway for Selma 51. It’s an election year so we can expect that presidential candidate will be in attendance for the commemoration. Hopefully we will see a change, for the better. We must. People in Selma put their lives on the line and we are the beneficiaries. We traveled to Selma, had marches simultaneously around the country, trended on social media and participated in great programs that educated us on the voting rights movement. Now it’s time to pay it forward. Those shoulders don’t need anyone else standing on them, it’s time for us to make our mark on history.
Cheryl I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
Some things are hard to explain.
We offer the solutions.
With  more  than  15  years  experience  in  business- to-Âconsumer,  as  well  as  business-Âto-Âbusiness,  marketing,  Enigma  LLC  knows  how  to  get  results  by  listening  to  your  needs,  goals  and  objectives.
ENGIMA Â LLCTN BUILDING Â TRUST. CHANGING Â MINDS. INFLUENCING Â DECISIONS.
DFWMSDC  2013  Supplier  of  the  Year  -  Category  1 Small  Business  Administration  (E-Â200)  Emerging  Leaders  Class  2014 TUCK  Executive  Education  at  Dartmouth  Class  2014  Goldman  Sachs  10,000  Small  Business  Program  (Dallas)  Class  of  2014 Quest  for  Success  2013  -  Dallas  Black  Chamber  of  Commerce
enigmallc.com
&UHVFHQW &RXUW _ 6XLWH _ 'DOODV 7H[DV _ 2I¿FH _ )D[
PAGE 3
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
JOHNSON: Greater dangers found in Tobacco Smoking
By Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
Smoking tobacco products causes at least five additional diseases than previously thought, and is responsible for the deaths of an additional 60,000 people above the approximately 500,000 Americans who die each year from smoking, according to a study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers found that smoking, which had been previously linked to
cardiac arrest, lung cancer, stroke, pneumonia, tuberculosis and approximately 16 other lifethreatening conditions, was also a major health detriment for those who suffered from kidney disease, certain heart and lung ailments and intestinal diseases caused by improper blood flow. Another major danger of smoking is that it weakens the immune system and lessens the body’s ability to fight diseases. The ten-year study tracked one million adults and was financed by the American Cancer Society. It included scientists from the American Cancer Institute. The researchers concluded that the impact of smoking on public health was heavily understated. Beginning in 2000, they compared the deaths of smokers to non-smokers. They found that people who smoked died at twice the rate of nonsmokers from respiratory ailments,certain infections, kidney
disease and heart failure caused by hypertension. Fifteen percent of all American women and 21 percent of American men are smokers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Those who do not smoke outlive smokers by about ten years, according to health officials. The majority of those who smoke have limited education and live close to or below the poverty line, CDC health experts said. Smoking is responsible for more deaths in our nation than the total number of people who are killed by automobile accidents, homicides, HIV/AIDS, and alcohol-related illnesses combined, according to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, an anti-smoking advocacy group. There are 28,000 smoking related deaths in Texas each year, the group said. Our society must address the increased dangers and societal problems caused by smoking. Texans under the age of 18 purchase
43 million packs of cigarettes each year, according to data from antismoking advocates in Texas. Fourteen percent of all high school students in Texas are smokers, they said. Even non-smokers are harmed by smoking. According to analysts, the annual healthcare cost, eventually paid by taxpayers, related to smoking in Texas is nearly $9 billion. Businesses in our state lose approximately $8 billion in worker productivity due to smoker-related illnesses each year, the analysts said. Our country spends approximately $133 billion annually in direct medical care for adult smokers, health officials said. The costs of smoking to our healthcare system are draining. As your representative in Congress, I will continue to support laws and policies that deter smoking, and that promote healthier lifestyles for all Americans. Eddie Bernice Johnson represents Texas’ 30th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. She is the first registered nurse elected to the US Congress.
MOHAMED ELHASSAN MOHAMMED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SUDAN
STOP THE GENOCIDE BRING PEACE TO DARFUR NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH UNITED STATES For more information go to Mohamed Elhassan on Facebook
Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed was born in the Sudan in 1961. Mr. Mohamed is vice president of the National Reform Party in Sudan and was nominated to run for President in 2010 and 2015. Mr. Mohamed is running again to become the President of Sudan and plans to end the genocide in Darfur and begin the process of normalizing relations with the United States of America. He wants to utilize his knowledge from living in America for over 30 years and incorporate that in his presidential administration and bring peace and harmony to all of Sudan.
May God bless and keep you always… the methods with the objectives.
"Our people have made the mistake of confusing 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 Speaking mind at all times that weSpiritually are not fighting for separation. We are fighting for recognition as free humans inbythis Jamessociety." A. Washington
Malcolm X
PAGE 4
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
Selma Lord Selma Selma Voting Rights Matriarch
Amelia Boynton Robinson comes to Dallas Saturday, March 14, 2015 3:00pm The Black Academy of Arts & Letters (TBAAL) 1309 Canton Street Dallas, TX 75201
Selma Lord Selma Selma Voting Rights Matriarch
Amelia Boynton Robinson “Selma was Amelia Boynton’s idea,” said Ambassador Andrew Young. “Amelia Boynton was a Black comes to Dallas
woman who went to Selma in 1929 with George Washington Carver; she registered to vote in 1932.” Young said that Boynton was a member of Delta Sigma Theta who “led a march across the “Black Belt” to get Barack Obama elected in 2010 when sheMarch was 14, 100-years-old.” Saturday, 2014 3:00pm “This is the woman that nobody knows who came to see Martin Luther The King, just before of Christmas in 1964 and said, ‘You need to come and help Black Academy Arts & Letters (TBAAL) us in Selma,’ and that is where the Selma movement started,” said Young. 1309 Canton Street Dallas, TX 75201 Admission: $10.00
Proceeds benefit NBUF Educational Program For tickets, call the TBAAL Box Office at 214-743-2400
“Selma was Amelia Boynton’s idea,” said Ambassador Andrew Young. “Amelia Boynton was a Black woman who went to Selma in 1929 with George Washington Carver; she registered to vote in 1932.” Young said that Boynton was a member of Delta Sigma Theta who “led a march across the “Black Belt” to get Barack Obama elected in 2010 when she was 100years-old.” “This is the woman that nobody knows who came to see Martin Luther King, just before Christmas in 1964 and said, ‘You need to come and help us in Selma,’ and that is where the Selma movement started,” said Young. Admission: $10.00
Proceeds benefit NBUF Educational Program For tickets, call the TBAAL Box Office at 214-743-2400
PAGE 5
TINO E
I MESSENGER
NSTI
Barbara Steele
I MESSENGER Enterprises, LLC
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
Students to commemorate Historic Selma March Senator West looks forward to students' practice of civic involvement State Senator Royce West (DDallas) has called together students from more than 20 student government and youth organizations across Dallas County to reenact the historic march that took place 50 years ago on Saturday March 21, 1965 in Selma, Alabama in protest of restrictive voting laws. The tribute to those who fought for voting rights legislation will take
PAGE 6
place Saturday, March 21, 2015, on the Continental Avenue Pedestrian Bridge, located at 101-115 Continental Avenue, west of downtown Dallas. The march will begin at 1:00 p.m. "It can seem that today's youth are far removed from what young people, both Black and White, were involved in across the South some 50 years ago," said Senator West. "But we as adults, as leaders and parents and Sen. Royce West as beneficiaries, many who were alive in 1965, cannot allow those efforts to be confined to video images and history books. They happened and those sacrifices helped pave the way for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that replaced, for the better, a patchwork of laws across a number of mostly Southern states that restricted the ability of minority citizens in this country to cast
ballots for their candidates of choice. "Now 50 years later, we are faced with new challenges to the right to vote, but the biggest obstacle we face may be that of voter apathy," Senator West added. "It's time for a new generation to become involved." Students will symbolically reenact the successful March 21, 1965 march from Selma, (Dallas County, Alabama) to the state capitol in Montgomery. It was the third attempt following the first march, now called "Bloody Sunday," two weeks earlier when state and local lawmen attacked peaceful demonstrators. The 54mile march was successfully completed under a federal court order and the protection of some 4,000 federal troops and state police. President Lyndon Johnson
I MESSENGER
signed the Voting Rights Act into law less than five months later. Following this year's commemorative march, students will discuss their thoughts about what happened in 1965 and how it impacts America today. Schools from Dallas, DeSoto, Duncanville and Cedar Hill will participate including middle schools Curstistene McCowan, DeSoto East, Permenter, Barack Obama, Seagoville and the St. Philip's School and Community Center. High schools include Madison, Skyline, West Mesquite, A. Maceo Smith, Sunset, Pinkston, MacArthur, Lassiter Early College High School at El Centro, Harmony School of Science and NatureGrand Prairie, Collegiate Institute, DeSoto - Freshman Campus, Duncanville and Lancaster. Youth groups taking part in the march include South Oak Cliff High's Mayor's Rising Star Council, Circle 10 Boy Scouts of America, and the Boys and Girls Club of Arlington.
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
Support Black owned bookstores
Support the Black Press GARLAND
Texas MetroNews
JOURNAL Send your books for review to: Cheryl Smith, 320 S. R.L. Thornton Freeway, Suite 220, Dallas, TX 75203
PAGE 7
ELITENEWS I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
Edna Pemberton’s experience While being a foster child in Chicago, Dr. M.L. King Jr. came to my church, Greater Berhesda and spoke and after speaking he asked for kids and you to join the Freedom Riders...I came home and packed up my things to join the Freedom Riders...but my beloved foster mom, wouldn't let me join the Freedom Riders because she loved me so...I cried all night because I wanted to join Dr. M.L. King Jr....when the freedom bus came by to pick me up...I just waved them on still crying. When the opportunity came again, where I could walk across a bridge of hope...I walked, sang, prayed, waved my hands and joined others...remembering myself as child wanting to join Dr. M. King Jr. March...well as I told my family(with tears in my eyes) nothing is stopping me now. Even today a group of us are still honoring the movement of Selma Bloody Sunday. Today, talk with your family about how it is important to reflect and honor the past, while you march towards a better future. OH!....This time, as we marched...we had police protection, they were friendly and polite(thank you Chief Brown)
a
a
p C a
m B
a
PAGE 8
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
27th Image Awards Celebration The Legacy of Service Foundation in partnership with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®,
PAGE 9
Omicron Mu Omega Chapter of Dallas, Texas, will host the 27th Image Award Celebration at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas on March 28, 2015. The Image Award Celebration honors outstanding citizens who have made significant contributions in the community and serves as our foundation’s major fundraiser. This year’s theme is Aspirations, Knowledge, Accomplishments – Celebrating the Legacy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Image Award Honoree is Michael Sorrell, Esq., President of Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas. Entertainment will
I MESSENGER
be provided by the Lancaster High School Jazz Ensemble. The mission of the Legacy of Service Foundation, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, is to promote education, youth development, health, community service, and the arts. The Legacy of Service Foundation has gifted more than $335,000.00 in scholarships and over 1.5 million hours of community service since its inception in 1993. For information on sponsorship opportunities, vendors, souvenir journal ads, or tickets please contact Mavis Y. Lloyd 469-853-5829
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION 16 MARCH 4, 2015
WWW.TEXASMETRONEWS.COM
(214) 941-Â0110
The Black Press believes that America can best lead the world away from racial and national antagonism when it accords to every person, regardless of race, color or creed, full human and legal rights. Hating no person, fearing no person, the all are hurt as long as anyone is held back. Credo of the Black Press "We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. Too long has the public been deceived by misrepresentations in the things which concern us dearly."
www.garlandjournal.com
GARLAND
J OURNAL
I MESSENGER NO 2 ISSUE 32
BRINGING YOU ENLIGHTENING, EDUCATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
APRIL 19, 2013
Single Mom Chronicles p.12
!
New Voices
TIME TO FORGIVE? YVETTE BROOKS Your Curlfriend!
GWENDOLYN JONES Ask The Advocate
FAMU Rattlers victorious
INSIDE
JOURNA
FOUR MORE YEARS PRESIDENT OBAMA VICTORIOUS
Available at newstands in Garland, Plano, Balch Springs, Seagoville, Rowlett, Mesquite, Richardson, East and North Dallas
PAGE 1
I Messenger Enterprises LLC
Joyce Ann Brown lost Nine Years, Five Months and 24 Days of her life
D’LYTE & EBONY Music Happenings
MISS RAY Going Deep in the Roots
I MESSENGER
VALDER BEEBE That Celebrity Interview
p.7
Say NO to any ASSAULT By Cheryl Smith - Texas Metro News
KENNY JAY Making Women Happy!
Welcome Home Ambassador Ron Kirk!
TEXAS METRO NEWS
NO 2 ISSUE 32 APRIL 19 2013
VOL XI ISSUE 7 NOVEMBER 15, 2012
534 -*,& " 104&/4*"- 4"2(&4 $"/ /04 *..&%*"4&-9 *%&/4*'9 " 12&%"402 *4 *3 0'4&/ )"2% 40 10*/4 054 4)& 6*$4*. 0' 3&85"- "33"5-4 02 %0.&34*$ "#53& )&2&=3 /0 #*( -&44&2 4"4400&% 0/ 4)&*2 '02&)&"% 02 " $&24"*/ -00, 3.&-- 02 )"*2%0 4)"4 7*-- "-&24 905 4)"4 4)& 1&230/ 905 "2& -00,*/( "4 *3 4)& 3526*602 0' 7)"4 ."/9 )"6& % # "33"5-4 12*- *3 &85"- 33"5-4 7"2&/&33 0/4) "/% 4)&2& "2& '5-- 3$"-& &''0243 40 ;2"*3& 15#-*$ "7"2& /&33 "#054 3&85"- 6*0-&/$& "/% 40 &%5$"4& $0..5 /*4*&3 "/% */%*6*%5"-3 0/ )07 40 12&6&/4 3&85"- 6*0 -&/$& < )*3 9&"2=3 $".1"*(/ ;'0$53&3 0/ )&"-4)9 3&85"-*49 "/% $)*-% 3&85"- "#53& 12&6&/4*0/ < %60$"4&3 "2& &/$052"(*/( ;&6&290/&< 40 +0*/ 4)& $0/6&23"4*0/ "/% 34"24 4"-,*/( "#054 ;)&"-4)9 $)*-%)00% %&6&-01.&/4 40 12&6&/4 $)*-% 3&85"- "#53& < -.034 470 %&$"%&3 "(0 "/5"29 ".&$," 2"4& 7"3 6*0-&/4-9 "44"$,&% "/% )&2 2&$06&29 )"3 #&&/ $"--&% " ;.*2"$-& < 4 7"3/=4 -0/( "'4&2 4)& "44"$, #&'02& 4)& 6"-*"/4 9&"2 0-% 7"3 (*6*/( */4&26*&73 4&--*/( 0' 4)& #254"- "33"5-4 4)"4 "-.034 &/%&% )&2 -*'& "3 %0$4023 01 &2"4&% '02 06&2 )0523 40 2& .06& " 1"*2 0' 3$*33023 '20. )&2 3,5-- ' 905 3"7 )&2 40%"9 905=% Tamecka Grate Frazier 3&& +534 "/04)&2 #&"54*'5- 70."/ 7)0 *3 */ -06& 7*4) )&2 -*'& )&2 '".*-9 "/% -*6*/( 3 2"4&=3 "44"$,&2 ."/5&- 0''&24 7)0 "$
45"--9 %"4&% )&2 /&*()#02 7"3 $"5()4 #&'02& )& 7"3 "#-& 40 2"1& )&2 #54 4)& "33"5-4 7"3 30 #254"- 4)"4 4)& 3$"23 -&'4 #&)*/% $05-% )"6& $0/ 4*/5&% 40 "33"5-4 )&2 *' /04 '02 " -06*/( '".*-9 $)52$) $0. .5/*49 "/% )&2 '"*4) 7 & / % 0 - 9 / Debra Mars 0/&3 7"3 "3 3"5-4&% #9 )&2 34&1 '"4)&2 )& "3,&% )&23&-' 4)& $ ! $ 30/ "$4 4)*3 7"9 407"2% .& . 2&310/3*#-& *% %0 30.&4)*/( 40 $"53& 4)*3 *% .9 $"2&4",&23 ,/07 " $ $ 3401 *4 )& -*,& 30 ."/9 04)&2 905/( 6*$4*.3 7"3 /04 #& -*&6&% 7)*$) $"53&% $0/3*%&2"#-& 42"5." "3 4)& 6*$ 4*. *3 47*$& 6*$4*.*:&% %.*44&%-9 30.& ;6*$4*.3< )"6& -*&% 120%5$*/( "/ 04)&2 -&6&- 0' 6*$4*.3 */ 4)& 720/('5--9 "$$53&% #54 4)&2& "2& 04)&2 -&6&-3 -*,& 4)"4 6*$4*. 7)0 2&."*/3 3*-&/4 '02 7)"4&6&2 2&"30/ "/% 4)& '".*-9 "/% -06&% 0/&3 0' 4)& "'02&.&/4*0/&% 7)0 0'4&/4*.&3 %0/=4 ,/07 7)"4 40 3"9 02 %0 07 7)0 *3 4)& 6*$4*. 4 $05-% #& " /&7#02/ #"#9 ' $0523& 905 4)*/, 4)"4 4)*3 $05-%/=4 #& 4)& $"3& /'0245/"4&-9 4)&2& "2& 30 ."/9 $"3&3 0' 6&29 6&29 905/( #"#*&3 #&*/( "3
See Sexual Assault, page 18
Michael Baisden leaves airwaves -Skip Murphy moves to slot "4*0/"--9 39/%*$"4&% 2"%*0 1&230/"-*49 *$)"&- "*3%&/ "/ /05/$&% " )*"453 '20. )*3 2"%*0 0/ )*3 "$&#00, 1"(& "*3%&/ 7)0 $0.."/%3 " %"*-9 "5%*&/$& 0' 06&2 3&6&/ .*--*0/ -*34&/&23 3"*% )& *3 5/"#-& 40 %*3$533 4)& 1"24*$5-"23 #54 $0/$-5%&% 4)"4 " %&"- $05-% /04 #& ."%& 0/ .545"--9 "(2&&"#-& 4&2.3 &$0(/*:&% "3 0/& 0' 4)& .034 */ & " &% "'4&2/00/ %2*6& 2"%*0 120(2".3 )&"2% */ 4)& 401 52#"/ ."2,&43 & *3 "-30 " 4"-, " %
Martin named NABJ Â Journalist of the Year )& "4*0/ "- 330$*"4*0/ 0' -"$, 052/"-*343 )"3 "//05/$&% 4)"4 0 -"/% "24*/ /"4*0/"--9 39/%* $"4&% $0-5./*34 4&-&6*3*0/ )034 "/% 2"%*0 "/% 4&-&6*3*0/ $0..&/ 4"402 *3 40 2&$&*6& 4)& 02("/*:" 4*0/=3 052/"-*34 0' 4)& !&"2 "7"2% 4 *3 0/& 0' =3 .034 $06&4 &% )0/023 $&-&#2"4*/( 4)& "$$0. 1-*3).&/43 0' #-"$, +052/"-*343 "/% 4)03& 7)0 3511024 #-"$,3 */ 4)& .&%*" "24*/ 7"3 3&-&$4&% '02 4)& "7"2% #9 =3 0"2% 0' *2&$ 4023
Roland S. Martin
; ". &/02.053-9 4)"/,'5- "/% )5.#-&% 4)"4 )"3 #&3407&% 4)*3 ".":*/( )0/02 0/ .& '02 .9 702, "3 " '&"2-&33 60*$& */ "%60 $"4*/( 4)& $2*4*$"- *335&3 '"$*/( 604&23 */ 4)& &-&$4*0/ #54 &31&$*"--9 "3 4)&9 2&-"4& 40 '2*$"/ .&2*$"/3 < 3"*% "24*/ ; )01& 4)*3 )0/02 3&26&3 "3 " -&330/ 40 "/9 905/( 02 6&4&2"/ +052/"-*34 4)"4
See Martin, page 11
INSIDE +0%.+"0(,+")
#&34 3&--*/( "54)02 7*4) /&"2-9 470 .*--*0/ #00,3 */ 12*/4 07 */ )*3 4&/4) 9&"2 0/ 4)& "*2 "*3%&/ 7"/43 )*3 2"%*0 '".*-9 40 ,/07 )& %*% &6&294)*/( */ )*3 107 " " $ 4)& "*2 "3 300/ "3 1033*#-& */ " 7"9 " ! " " % $ 85. )*3 #53*/&33 ."/"(&2 "*3%&/ #&("/ )*3 $"2&&2 "3 "/
See Baisden, page 6
%0., %.2(#%*%+ %./-%#0(2%/
,**1+(04 ")%+$". (&%/04)% 3"''%. 155)%
1/(+%// Michael Baisden
320 South R.L. Thornton Freeway Suite 220 Dallas , TX 75203
214 941 0110 WWW.MYIMESSENGER.COM WWW.TEXASMETRONEWS.COM WWW.GARLANDJOURNAL.COM WWW.BLOGTALKRADIO.COM/CHERYLSMITH
PAGE 10
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
In Selma, Ala., Obama Proved That He is ‘Black Enough’
The Obama family join hands as they begin the march with the foot soldiers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson) By George E. Curry NNPA Editor-in-Chief NEW ANALYSIS
S E L M A , A l a . ( N N PA ) – Throughout his campaign for the presidency, Barack Obama was dogged by one question: Is he Black enough? The question was repeated so often that after showing up late for an appearance at the 2008 annual c o n v e n t i o n o f t h e Na t i o n a l Association of Black Journalists in Las Ve g a s , O b a m a s a i d , “ I w a n t t o apologize for being late, but you guys keep asking whether I am Black enough.” After a 33-minute speech Saturday in Selma, Ala. commemorating the Selma to Montgomery March and passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, nobody was asking: Is Barack Obama Black enough? President Obama rarely discussed the issue of race in his first six years in office except in reaction to a major racial catastrophe such as the shooting deaths of Trayvon Martin in Florida and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. or the arrest of Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. for breaking into his own home. On Saturday, however, President Obama seemed comfortable discussing race in public, showing he has a deep appreciation for the accomplishments
PAGE 11
of the Civil Rights Movement and quoting or referencing the Bible, Black spirituals, James Baldwin, Sojourner Truth, Fannie Lou Hamer, Langston Hughes, the Tuskegee Airmen, Jackie Robinson and even his favorite hiphop artist Jay-Z. While connecting with African Americans, President Obama also underscored the significance of civil rights warriors making America hold true to its creed. “As John [Lewis] noted, there are places and moments in America where this nation’s destiny has been decided. Many are sites of war – Concord and Lexington, Appomattox, Gettysburg. Others are sites that symbolize the d a r i n g o f A m e r i c a ’s c h a r a c te r – Independence Hall and Seneca Falls, Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral,” the president said. “Selma is such a place. In one afternoon 50 years ago, so much of our turbulent histor y — the stain of slavery and anguish of civil war; the yoke of segregation and tyranny of Jim Crow; the death of four little girls in Birmingham; and the dream of a Baptist preacher – all that history met on this bridge.” He made his comments with the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where civil rights marchers were attacked by Alabama State Troopers on “Bloody Sunday,” serving as a backdrop.
“It was not a clash of armies, but a clash of wills; a contest to determine the true meaning of America,” Obama said. “And because of men and women like John Lewis, Joseph Lowery, Hosea Williams, Amelia Boynton, Diane Nash, Ralph Abernathy, C.T. Vivian, Andrew Young, Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and so many others, the idea of a just America and a fair America, an inclusive America, and a generous America – that idea ultimately triumphed.” Pr e s i d e n t Obama also acknowledged the contributions of thousands whose name will never be known to the public yet played a critical role in securing the right to vote. “As is true across the landscape of American history, we cannot examine this moment in isolation. The march on Selma wa s par t of a broader campaign that spanned generations; the leaders that day part of a long line of heroes. We gather here to celebrate them. We gather here to honor the courage of ordinary Americans willing to endure billy clubs and the chastening rod; tear gas and the trampling hoof; men and women who despite the gush of blood and splintered bone would stay true to their North Star and keep marching towards justice. “They did as Scripture instructed: ‘ Re j o i c e i n h o p e , b e p a t i e n t i n
I MESSENGER
tribulation, be constant in prayer.’ And in the days to come, they went back again and again. When the trumpet call sounded for more to join, the people came –- black and white, young and old, Christian and Jew, waving the American flag and singing the same anthems full of faith and hope.” President Obama admitted what many, if not most African Americans have long accepted as fact – it was through their efforts that other groups obtained their rights. In fact, often ahead of Blacks. “Because of what they [protesters] did, the doors of opportunity swung open not just for black folks, but for ever y American,” Obama said. “Women marched through those doors. Latinos marched through those doors. Asian Americans, gay Americans, Americans with disabilities – they all came through those doors. Their endeavors gave the entire South the chance to rise a gain, not by reasserting the past, but by transcending the past.” The president said in order to be true to those who sacrificed to make America a better place, everyone – Black and White – has an obligation to address America’s unfinished business. “First and foremost, we have to recognize that one d a y ’s commemoration, no matter how
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION special, is not enough. If Selma taught us anything, it’s that our work is never done. The American experiment in self-government gives work and purpose to each generation. Selma teaches us, as well, that action requires that we shed our cynicism. For when it comes to the pursuit of justice, we can afford neither complacency nor despair.” He said, “If we want to honor the courage of those who marched that day, then all of us are called to possess their moral imagination. All of us will need to feel as they did the fierce urgency of now. All of us need to recognize as they did that change depends on our actions, on our attitudes, the things we teach our children. And if we make such an effort, no matter how hard it may sometimes seem, laws can be passed, and consciences can be stirred, and consensus can be built.” Obama addressed two hot-button issues – the criminal justice system and voter disenfranchisement efforts – directly.
“With such an effort, we can make sure our criminal justice system serves all and not just some. Together, we can raise the level of mutual trust that policing is built on – the idea that police officers are members of the community they risk their lives to protect, and citizens in Ferguson and New York and Cleveland, they just want the same thing young people here marched for 50 years ago – the protection of the law. Together, we can address unfair sentencing and overcrowded prisons, and the stunted circumstances that rob too many boys of the chance to become men, and rob the nation of too many men who could be good dads, and good workers, and good neighbors. With effort, we can roll back poverty and the roadblocks to opportunity. Americans don’t accept a free ride for anybody, nor do we believe in equality of outcomes. But we do expect equal opportunity.” Regarding Republican-led efforts to suppress the Black and Latino vote, Obama said: “Right now, in 2015, 50
years after Selma, there are laws across this countr y designed to make it harder for people to vote. As we speak, more of such laws are being proposed. Meanwhile, the Voting Rights Act, the culmination of so much blood, so much sweat and tears, the product of so much sacrifice in the face of wanton violence, the Voting Rights Act stands weakened, its future subject to political rancor.” But the problem does not stop there, Obama said. “Of course, our democracy is not the task of Congress alone, or the courts alone, or even the president alone. If every new votersuppression law was struck down today, we would still have, here in America, one of the lowest voting rates among free peoples. Fifty years ago, registering to vote here in Selma and much of the South meant guessing the number of jellybeans in a jar, the number of bubbles on a bar of soap. It meant risking your dignity, and sometimes, your life.
discard the right for which so many fought? How do we so fully give away our power, our voice, in shaping America’s future? Why are we pointing to somebody else when we could take the time just to go to the polling places? We give away our power. “ Hip-hop artist Jay-Z’s remix of the song, “My President” has the popular line: “Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther could walk / Martin Luther walked so Barack Obama could run / Barack Obama ran so all the children could fly.” In his speech, Obama had his own line that showed he was in tune with Jay-Z’s lyrics: “We honor those who walked so we could run. We must run so our children soar.” He added, “And we will not grow weary. For we believe in the power of an awesome God, and we believe in this country’s sacred promise.”
“What’s our excuse today for not voting? How do we so casually
LBJ's defenders cheapen his accomplishments
By George E. Curry NNPA Columnist
Lyndon B. Johnson has done more to help African Americans and poor people than any modern president. But his defenders are cheapening his legacy by inflating his accomplishments, which is an insult to the people - Black and White - who lost their lives fighting for civil rights. The first and most obnoxious example of a LBJ supporter becoming unhinged is Joseph A. Califano, Jr., President Johnson's domestic policy adviser from 1965 to 1969. In a column for the Washington Post, he wrote: "In fact, Selma was LBJ's idea, he considered the Voting Rights Act his greatest legislative achievement, he viewed King as an essential partner in getting it enacted and he didn't use the FBI to disparage him." The idea of a Selma-to-Montgomery March actually originated in Marion, Ala., about 30 miles northwest of Selma, with the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson. Marchers were protesting the arrest of James Orange, a key Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) field organizer. In fact, they were marching from Zion Chapel Methodist Church a short distance to the jail when Jackson was killed by an Alabama State Trooper James Bonard Fowler. At the time, he was trying to defend his 82-year old grandfather, a scene vividly captured in the movie, "Selma." The account is also recounted in Selma 1965: The March That Changed the South by Charles E. Fager.
PAGE 12
Instead of a an opportunity to traditional funeral, the 'liberate himself' by idea was proposed to linking the voting march to Montgomery rights struggle with and present Jackson's the struggles, 37 years body to Alabama Gov. earlier, of his poorest George C. Wallace at [Latino] students in the state capitol. Cotulla..." Wiser minds Dr. King worked hard prevailed and the idea to build coalitions was refined to hold a with other groups, traditional funeral for including Latinos. In Jimmie Lee Jackson fact, many were in and march 54 miles attendance in great from Selma to numbers at the 1963 Montgomery to March on demand full voting Washington. rights for Blacks. Former New York It was the death President Lyndon Baines Johnson City Councilman of 26-year-old Jimmie Gerena Valentín said, Lee Jackson that inspired the Selma to "Martin Luther King Jr. invited me to Montgomery March, not an "idea" Atlanta, Ga., to discuss the march that floating around in LBJ's head. Neither was being organized, and I went there Califano nor anyone else is entitled to with a strong team. He personally use the blood of the Civil Rights invited me to organize the Latinos in Movement to create a myth that is New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, contrary to history and common sense. Connecticut and Massachusetts, and so I The most recent attempt to superdid." size LBJ's legacy is the assertion that it King's famous "I Have a Dream" was the former president's idea to speech - made two years before the include Latinos in the Civil Rights Selma to Montgomery March - was a Movement. broad appeal for justice for "all of God's An Associated Press story noted, children." "While this week's commemorations of So it's preposterous to suggest that it the 50th anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday' was President Johnson's idea to include may invoke memories of historic events "Mexican-Americans in the struggle for in which the 'real hero,' as Johnson said, equality." was 'the American Negro,' little is said The reality is that Johnson was about Johnson's call in that speech to anything but a civil rights advocate in include Mexican-Americans in the Congress. struggle for equality." PoliticFact.com, the fact-checking The story added, "Appalled by the site, noted that Robert Caro, LBJ's brutality in Selma, Johnson viewed it as biographer, said: "for eleven years he
I MESSENGER
had voted against every civil rights bill against not only legislation aimed at ending the poll tax and segregation in the armed services but even against legislation aimed at ending lynching: a one hundred percent record. "Running for the Senate in 1948, he had assailed President Harry Truman's entire civil rights program ('an effort to set up a police state')...Until 1957, in the Senate, as in the House, his record - by that time a twenty-year record - against civil rights had been consistent." Luci Baines Johnson accepted an award from march organizers Sunday morning in Selma on behalf of her father, saying, "It means the world to me to know that a half-century later you remember how deeply Daddy cared about social justice and how hard he worked to make it happen." It was only after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Johnson's elevation from vice president that he overcame his past, signing into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Those three laws forever changed the United States for the better. LBJ's legacy is firmly established. He doesn't need his supporters to lie about his
record in order to enlarge his reputation. George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the Na t i o n a l Ne w s p a p e r P u b l i s h e rs Association News Service (NNPA) and BlackPressUSA.com. He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com. You can also follow him atwww.twitter.com/currygeorge
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
National Voting Rights Museum and Institute Voting is the cornerstone of a democratic society, which we all participate. It is one of the most important gains acquired during the Civil Rights Movement. The National Voting Rights Museum & Institute offers America and the world the opportunity to learn the lessons of the past to assure we will not make the same mistakes in the 21st century and beyond. It is a place where past and present struggles and future possibilities can be studied, felt, and remembered. The National Voting Rights Museum serves as a living reminder that we stand on the shoulders of giants. Therefore, our mission is to be a Museum and Institute that chronicles and preserves the historic journey for the right to vote that began when the “Founding Fathers” first planted the seeds of democracy in 1776. As such, the struggle for justice and democracy is a never-ending one. Each generation will have its barriers to overcome and its stories to share. The Museum is committed to collecting and sharing these stories, struggles, and victories for generations to come. Though the voting rights struggle is rich in memorabilia and documentation, the National Voting Rights Museum & Institute plays an important role in enhancing public knowledge through the following: Black Belt Heritage Tours Personal Collection Exhibits Living History Projects Community Forums AS A MUSEUM The NVRMI exhibits materials and artifacts from the voting rights struggle in America, especially those that highlight the experiences, which fueled "Bloody Sunday”, the Selma to Montgomery March, and the Civil Rights Movement throughout the South. The NVRMI provides research forums, community action, and makes presentations that impact or support voting rights issues in America. AS AN INSTITUTE The NVRMI will serve as a steward of history and repository to identify, acquire, organize, preserve, and administer records and information of enduring value, as well as care for and protect the collection of historical records and manuscripts. Its primary goal is to educate, inform, and remind individuals of the lessons of the past by enriching and enhancing the knowledge of voting rights through visual and audio means. Its purpose is to also preserve and make accessible archives and information it contains. At the heart of the Museum lie its archives, which house the museum’s collections, artifacts and digitization. The NVRMI Archives will promote the collection, description and use of archives and manuscripts in Selma and Dallas County. The NVRMI provides a means for individuals and institutions to work together to preserve the historical record of Selma and Alabama
PAGE 13
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
Journalists covering #Selma50 Journalists came from around the world to cover Selma AL and the commemoration of Bloody Sunday.
PAGE 14
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
Selma Coverage by Dallas Socialite Amanda Fitzpatrick Once inside, they had several staging areas for the media. Most Presidential events will put the media in one row to park their news vehicles.In this case it was not the case, they beefed it up for security. They also were very tight on making sure the Presidents were safe. We were able to make our way to the media area where we were credentialed to take pictures and record the speech. Georgia Congressman and Civil Rights Activist John Lewis gave a rousing speech. After all, he was one of the foot soldiers who took a beating at the bridge 50 years ago. He said he would've never imagined being there that day, delivering a speech as a member of congress! President George W. Bush and Former First Lady Barbara were on hand to show their support. First Lady Michelle looked fabulous as always,
by police for medical help. It was unknown why, or what but interesting that they chose that time to interrupt the Presidents speech.
Day 1 Saturday Selma Presidential Address When I first heard the news that I would have the opportunity to go to Selma, Alabama for the 50th anniversary of the Selma march, I knew it would be an awesome opportunity. I packed my bags, met up with radio personality Dareia Tolbert and drove nine hours to the place where my ancestors fought, bled and died to help ensure the freedom I now enjoy. Once we arrived we checked into the Holiday Inn Express in Selma around 5am. I immediately met a family from Birmingham, brought in to provide their special pound cakes to the Jubileeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dignitaries and celebrities. After taking a quick nap, then showering, we were on our way to hear President Obama deliver a compelling speech. He was scheduled to land at 11am on Air Force One, and I was going to cover his arrival but I was afraid I would miss the speech on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Traffic as you can imagine was terrible, most people got out of their cars and walked 30 minutes or more to the site of the speech. Tens of Thousands of people were there. Young, and old crowding around just to hear from the President and other dignitaries. The opportunity to listen to President Obama was surreal! But it wasn't an easy task. Blocked roads, heavy traffic, tight security and tens of thousands of people made it a battle just to get to the media area near the President. Fortunately, I was blessed to follow a mentor and one of the heads of Pubic Relations through the tight crowds to get to the media area. Note to self: be earlier!
PAGE 15
and sat proudly on the stage. The Presidential speech was uplifting and many people were able to feel the real emotion in his voice as he talked about equality and recognized that he was standing there, 50 years after Bloody Sunday as a Black President. I saw a lot of celebrities, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tom Joyner, Victoria Rowell and others were also there. I must admit the weather was perfect, and pretty warm. Some people even passed out from dehydration. Georgia Representative Calvin Smyre (who I've reported on since I was an intern in 2002!) was glad to see me. I also met the mother of slain unarmed Ferguson teen Michael Brown. During Mister Obama's speech there was a drumming sound and I realized that there were a few protesters chanting Black Lives Matter. I recognized one of the girls as being with a group traveling from Ferguson. It quickly was squashed, after one of the members had a medical emergency and was taken out
President Obama continued his speech, and eventually addressed the senseless deaths of unarmed Black Men. Once the President spoke, he discussed the importance of unity, continuing the strength and hope of those who were there on Bloody Sunday and most importantly working together to create a peaceful, unified Country. The speech was amazing. There was also a parade and festival with vendors and amazing soul food, food trucks. The cell service was extremely slow and I couldn't post any pictures of videos to social media during the day and it was extremely hard at night.
Day 2 Bloody Sunday Anniversary March Close your eyes and imagine the biggest group of people you can imagine, now imagine them standing side by side for miles filling the streets and town of Selma. That's what the streets of Selma looked like as
I MESSENGER
preparation for the Anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march took place. People arrived early for the pre-march rally and stood for hours in the hot sun to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Once the march began, everyone walked slowly. Some chanting, some singing spirituals and others quietly absorbing the moment. It was amazing, I literally cried...I really broke down and let a few tears fall down...I feel like it was a historical moment that everyone should experience. How my ancestors were able to walk so far with dress shoes, knowing that their lives were at risk, makes me proud to be an AfricanAmerican. It takes a lot of work and a lot of strength to risk your life. After we walked in solidarity, across the bridge we ended at the stage where the BET & Centric Networks held the March Concert. I really enjoyed the show! Every possible celebrity was there. There were so many people on the bridge, at one point there were reports that the bridge was closed because of so many people walking the bridge. The great part, is that the entertainers weren't paid to perform and did it because they wanted to contribute to the movement. Each performer sang one or two songs and the crowd went wild! I was blessed to have full access and while backstage I snapped a few photos and interviews for this blog. I talked to Ruben Studdard who told me the performances were just a soundtrack to the movement. Check out the videos posted on YouTube.-Selma video page link https://www.youtube.com/playlist? list=PL6ytaDYoPeewSX0MfkODze1PhDe9mmt_I embed code <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ videoseries? list=PL6ytaDYoPeewSX0MfkODze1PhDe9mmt_I " frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Amanda Fitzpatrick is an award winning journalist based in Dallas, Texas. You can catch her filling in on WFAA-TV, blogging for Dallasblack.com and reporting on the red carpet. Follow Amanda Fitzpatrick on Instagram/ Twitter @watchamandatv www.amandafitzpatrick.com personal blog
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
PAGE 16
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
Foot Soldiers there in 1965 and back again in 2015 FOOT SOLDIERS Foot Soldiers hailed as significant contributors to the civil rights and voting rights movement during the 1960s. In addition, well-known events such as The March on Washington “Bloody Sunday ” Selma to Montgomery March the desegregation of the Universities of Alabama and Mississippi and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 have come to represent the major events of the civil rights and voting rights movement. The National Voting Museum and Institute and Wallace Community College have partnered to interview, preserve and make accessible the valuable interviews collected of the foot soldiers. The oral history interviews focuses on trailblazers and unsung foot soldiers, those individuals who, despite playing significant, powerful, and historic roles in the movement, remain unknown to most people. It is crucial to recount the stories of these foot soldiers, for although their efforts have not been well documented or widely publicized, their courage and contributions have nevertheless transformed our country. As the beneficiaries of their courageous actions, this generation bears the responsibility of continuing their struggle for freedom and justice.
Letter to the U.S. Attorney General To: The Honorable Eric Holder, United States Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20530 From: Miles Jaye Davis, Sr. Date: March 12, 2015 Dear Mr. Attorney General; My name is Miles Jaye Davis, Sr. I am an American citizen, a native of Brooklyn, New York, a proud father and grandfather, a veteran of the United States Air Force and a national recording artist. I was 7 years old at the time of Bloody Sunday and the black & white images of that violent day in 1965 are as troubling as ever.
PAGE 17
While investigated, broadcasts of indicted or the recent otherwise ceremonious brought to festivities justice for the commemorating hate crimes the 50th committed that anniversary of day in Selma. Bloody Sunday, aerial views of Municipal the Edmund records as well Pettus Bridge, as news footage Congressman should help John Lewis’ identify the testimonials and officers on duty President that day who Obama’s were involved in ATTY. GEN. Eric Holder passionate the brutal attacks. speech are compelling and cause for reflection, What troubles me deeply is the what concerns me most is the thought that as I watch the Selma ongoing question of equal justice in broadcasts, watching right along America. with me in the comfort of their homes are some of the retired I’d like to know if any of the Alabama Troopers, retired Selma officers who took part in the Police Officers and local officials Bloody Sunday attacks have been who either had a direct hand in the
I MESSENGER
violence of that day or in covering up the actions of those who did. The thought that they and their families watch the festivities with impunity, secure in the knowledge that they are in no danger of prosecution for their despicable criminal acts is outrageous. That they may be enjoying state pensions and health benefits is absolutely unconscionable as we push harder and farther toward justice in America. I would like to know if a Special Prosecutor can be assigned to investigate the events of that day in spite of the 50 years that have lapsed. Only then can the contempt and bitterness that I feel as I’m reminded of that tragic day in American history begin to dissipate. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
SELMA 50
PAGE 18
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
SELMA50 Selfies
PAGE 19
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
Journalist Daria Tolbert was with the people in Selma
PAGE 20
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
Sherilyn K. Rudolph at Selma 50
PAGE 21
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
Selma’s Lesson: The Struggle Continues
by: Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Special to the AFRO(Courtesy Photo) President Obama marked the 50th anniversary of Selma by celebrating the ordinary heroes who sacrificed so much to make America better. Noting that nearly 100 members of Congress were in the audience, he urged them to return to Washington to strengthen the Voting Rights Act, weakened by the illconsidered decision of five conservative Supreme Court Justices in Shelby County v. Holder. Today, 50 years after Selma, states are moving once more to make voting harder rather than easier. Reviving the Voting Rights Act is essential, but it is not sufficient. The marchers in Selma were marching not just for the right to vote, but also for jobs and justice. And today, Selma itself reveals how far we have to go.
Much attention was rightly paid to the 103-year-old Amelia Boynton Robinson. In 1965, she was a leader in planning the Selma demonstrations, and her home was the site for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and legislators to gather as they wrote the first draft of the Voting Rights Act. This weekend, 50 years later, she joined President Obama on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, sitting tall in her wheelchair. Yet, her home – which ought to be a national memorial – now sits boarded up, joining other vacant and foreclosed homes in her neighborhood. Selma is now 80 percent Black. Dallas County, where it sits, suffers the highest unemployment in the state at 10.2 percent. The official figure doesn’t count the many who have simply given up trying to find a job. Downtown Selma has as many boarded up stores as operating ones. USA Today quoted David Garrow, the author of Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who warned against “reducing history to a photo op.” The focus, he argued, “should be on investment and economic development in places like Selma. The focus should be on what we can do for Selma, not what Selma can do for us.”
And of course, it is not just Selma. African American unemployment remains at more than twice the level of White unemployment. Only 60 percent of all African American men have a job of any kind, with only one in five African Americans 16-19 employed. We lock up more people – mostly people of color – than any other nation in the world. The Justice Department’s investigation of Ferguson, Mo. showed a destructive racial bias still stains our criminal justice system. Our schools in poor communities – ghettos, barrios and rural areas – still suffer a savage inequality in resources and capacity. Yes, great progress has been made, and it is important to recognize and remember the courage and costs of those who sacrificed to make America better. But the commemoration must be a call to action. We should be protesting in Selma, not celebrating. The Civil Rights struggle was in some respect a movement that had three parts. The first was ending legal segregation. The second guaranteeing the right to vote. The third, the one Dr. King knew would be the most difficult, was to guarantee economic justice, equal opportunity and a fair start for all. As Selma shows today, and as the Fergusons
Thomas Muhammad, board member National Voting Rights Museum and Institute shares his Selma Moments:
across the country demonstrate, that part has yet to be achieved. President Obama was right. It’s great to see 100 legislators at the demonstration, but we need them to legislate, not demonstrate. We need them to return to Washington and raise the minimum wage. We need a jobs program for young people in urban America. We need to fulfill the easy rhetoric about education as an answer, by investing the most in those who need it the most – the sons and daughters of the poor and low wage families. President Obama called out to the young to lead once more: “It is you, the young and fearless at heart, the most diverse and educated generation in our history, who the nation is waiting to follow.” We’ve seen the stirrings in the BlackLivesMatter demonstrations across the country. What Selma reminds us is that to make America better will take much more action to demand what could be, and much less acceptance of what is. 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
US Congressman John Lewis a key part of the voting rights act's passage.
Ilyasah Shabazz is one of Malcolm X's daughter it was a pure pleasure taking this photo. Most people didn't know that Brother Malcolm was a key player in passage of the voting rights act. Comedian Dick Gregory was a key player he raised thousands of dollars to fund the voting rights movement and also was a prominent entertainer among the many who came from across America to perform on nights during the successful Selma to
PAGE 22
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
President Obama’s remarks in Selma It is a rare honor in this life to follow one of your heroes. And John Lewis is one of my heroes. Now, I have to imagine that when a younger John Lewis woke up that morning 50 years ago and made his way to Brown Chapel, heroics were not on his mind. A day like this was not on his mind. Young folks with bedrolls and backpacks were milling about. Veterans of the movement trained newcomers in the tactics of non-violence; the right way to protect yourself when attacked. A doctor described what tear gas does to the body, while marchers scribbled down instructions for contacting their loved ones. The air was thick with doubt, anticipation and fear. And they comforted themselves with the final verse of the final hymn they sung: “No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you; Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you.” And then, his knapsack stocked with an apple, a toothbrush, and a book on government -- all you need for a night behind bars -- John Lewis led them out of the church on a mission to change America. President and Mrs. Bush, Governor Bentley, Mayor Evans, Sewell, Reverend Strong, members of Congress, elected officials, foot soldiers, friends, fellow Americans: As John noted, there are places and moments in America where this nation’s destiny has been decided. Many are sites of war -- Concord and Lexington, Appomattox, Gettysburg. Others are sites that symbolize the daring of America’s character -Independence Hall and Seneca Falls, Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral. Selma is such a place. In one afternoon 50 years ago, so much of our turbulent history -- the stain of slavery and anguish of civil war; the yoke of segregation and tyranny of Jim Crow; the death of four little girls in Birmingham; and the dream of a Baptist preacher -- all that history met on this bridge. It was not a clash of armies, but a clash of wills; a contest to determine the true meaning of America. And because of men and women like John Lewis, Joseph Lowery, Hosea Williams, Amelia Boynton, Diane Nash, Ralph Abernathy, C.T. Vivian, Andrew Young, Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and so many others, the idea of a just America and a fair America, an inclusive America, and a generous America -- that idea ultimately triumphed. As is true across the landscape of American history, we cannot examine this moment in isolation. The march on Selma was part of a broader campaign
PAGE 23
that spanned generations; the leaders that day part of a long line of heroes. We gather here to celebrate them. We gather here to honor the courage of ordinary Americans willing to endure billy clubs and the chastening rod; tear gas and the trampling hoof; men and women who despite the gush of blood and splintered bone would stay true to their North Star and keep marching towards justice. They did as Scripture instructed: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” And in the days to come, they went back again and again. When the trumpet call sounded for more to join, the people came –- black and white, young and old, Christian and Jew, waving the American flag and singing the same anthems full of faith and hope. A white newsman, Bill Plante, who covered the marches then and who is with us here today, quipped that the growing number of white people lowered the quality of the singing. (Laughter.) To those who marched, though, those old gospel songs must have never sounded so sweet. In time, their chorus would well up and reach President Johnson. And he would send them protection, and speak to the nation, echoing their call for America and the world to hear: “We shall overcome.” (Applause.) What enormous faith these men and women had. Faith in God, but also faith in America. The Americans who crossed this bridge, they were not physically imposing. But they gave courage to millions. They held no elected office. But they led a nation. They marched as Americans who had endured hundreds of years of brutal violence, countless daily indignities –- but they didn’t seek special treatment, just the equal treatment promised to them almost a century before. (Applause.) What they did here will reverberate through the ages. Not because the change they won was preordained; not because their victory was complete; but because they proved that nonviolent change is possible, that love and hope can conquer hate. As we commemorate their achievement, we are well-served to remember that at the time of the marches, many in power condemned rather than praised them. Back then, they were called Communists, or half-breeds, or outside agitators, sexual and moral degenerates, and worse –- they were called everything but the name their parents
gave them. Their faith was questioned. Their lives were threatened. Their patriotism challenged. And yet, what could be more American than what happened in this place? (Applause.) What could more profoundly vindicate the idea of America than plain and humble people –- unsung, the downtrodden, the dreamers not of high station, not born to wealth or privilege, not of one religious tradition but many, coming together to shape their country’s course? What greater expression of faith in the American experiment than this, what greater form of patriotism is there than the belief that America is not yet finished, that we are strong enough to be self-critical, that each successive generation can look upon our imperfections and decide that it is in our power to remake this nation to more closely align with our highest ideals? (Applause.) That’s why Selma is not some outlier in the American experience. That’s why it’s not a museum or a static monument to behold from a distance. It is instead the manifestation of a creed written into our founding documents: “We the People…in order to form a more perfect union.” “We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal.” (Applause.) These are not just words. They’re a living thing, a call to action, a roadmap for citizenship and an insistence in the capacity of free men and women to shape our own destiny. For founders like Franklin and Jefferson, for leaders like Lincoln and FDR, the success of our experiment in self-government rested on engaging all of our citizens in this work. And that’s what we celebrate here in Selma. That’s what this movement was all about, one leg in our long journey toward freedom. (Applause.) The American instinct that led these young men and women to pick up the torch and cross this bridge, that’s the same instinct that moved patriots to choose revolution over tyranny. It’s the same instinct that drew immigrants from across oceans and the Rio Grande; the same instinct that led women to reach for the ballot, workers to organize against an unjust status quo; the same instinct that led us to plant a flag at Iwo Jima and on the surface of the Moon. (Applause.) It’s the idea held by generations of citizens who believed that America is a constant work in progress; who believed that loving this country requires more than singing its praises or avoiding uncomfortable truths. It requires the occasional disruption, the willingness to speak out for what is
I MESSENGER
right, to shake up the status quo. That’s America. (Applause.) That’s what makes us unique. That’s what cements our reputation as a beacon of opportunity. Young people behind the Iron Curtain would see Selma and eventually tear down that wall. Young people in Soweto would hear Bobby Kennedy talk about ripples of hope and eventually banish the scourge of apartheid. Young people in Burma went to prison rather than submit to military rule. They saw what John Lewis had done. From the streets of Tunis to the Maidan in Ukraine, this generation of young people can draw strength from this place, where the powerless could change the world’s greatest power and push their leaders to expand the boundaries of freedom. They saw that idea made real right here in Selma, Alabama. They saw that idea manifest itself here in America. Because of campaigns like this, a Voting Rights Act was passed. Political and economic and social barriers came down. And the change these men and women wrought is visible here today in the presence of African Americans who run boardrooms, who sit on the bench, who serve in elected office from small towns to big cities; from the Congressional Black Caucus all the way to the Oval Office. (Applause.) Because of what they did, the doors of opportunity swung open not just for black folks, but for every American. Women marched through those doors. Latinos marched through those doors. Asian Americans, gay Americans, Americans with disabilities -- they all came through those doors. (Applause.) Their endeavors gave the entire South the chance to rise again, not by reasserting the past, but by transcending the past. What a glorious thing, Dr. King might say. And what a solemn debt we owe. Which leads us to ask, just how might we repay that debt? First and foremost, we have to recognize that one day’s commemoration, no matter how special, is not enough. If Selma taught us anything, it’s that our work is never done. (Applause.) The American experiment in self-government gives work and purpose to each generation. Selma teaches us, as well, that action requires that we shed our cynicism. For when it comes to the pursuit of justice, we can afford neither complacency nor despair. Just this week, I was asked whether I thought the Department of Justice’s Ferguson report shows that, with respect to race, little has changed in this country. And I understood the question; the report’s
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION narrative was sadly familiar. It evoked the kind of that rob too many boys of the chance to become men, every aspect of our lives. We take for granted and stealing home in the World Series anyway. abuse and disregard for citizens that spawned the Civil and rob the nation of too many men who could be conveniences that our parents could have scarcely (Applause.) Rights Movement. But I rejected the notion that good dads, and good workers, and good neighbors. imagined. But what has not changed is the imperative nothing’s changed. What happened in Ferguson may (Applause.) of citizenship; that willingness of a 26-year-old We are the people Langston Hughes wrote of not be unique, but it’s no longer endemic. It’s no deacon, or a Unitarian minister, or a young mother of who “build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we longer sanctioned by law or by custom. And before With effort, we can roll back poverty and the five to decide they loved this country so much that know how.” We are the people Emerson wrote of, the Civil Rights Movement, it most surely was. roadblocks to opportunity. Americans don’t accept a they’d risk everything to realize its promise. “who for truth and honor’s sake stand fast and suffer (Applause.) free ride for anybody, nor do we believe in equality of long;” who are “never tired, so long as we can see far outcomes. But we do expect equal opportunity. And That’s what it means to love America. That’s enough.” We do a disservice to the cause of justice by if we really mean it, if we’re not just giving lip service what it means to believe in America. That’s what it intimating that bias and discrimination are to it, but if we really mean it and are willing to means when we say America is exceptional. That’s what America is. Not stock photos or immutable, that racial division is inherent to America. sacrifice for it, then, yes, we can make sure every child airbrushed history, or feeble attempts to define some If you think nothing’s changed in the past 50 years, ask gets an education suitable to this new century, one For we were born of change. We broke the old of us as more American than others. (Applause.) We somebody who lived through the Selma or Chicago or that expands imaginations and lifts sights and gives aristocracies, declaring ourselves entitled not by respect the past, but we don’t pine for the past. We Los Angeles of the 1950s. Ask the female CEO who those children the skills they need. We can make sure bloodline, but endowed by our Creator with certain don’t fear the future; we grab for it. America is not once might have been assigned to the secretarial pool every person willing to work has the dignity of a job, inalienable rights. We secure our rights and some fragile thing. We are large, in the words of if nothing’s changed. Ask your gay friend if it’s easier and a fair wage, and a real voice, and sturdier rungs on responsibilities through a system of self-government, Whitman, containing multitudes. We are boisterous to be out and proud in America now than it was thirty that ladder into the middle class. of and by and for the people. That’s why we argue and and diverse and full of energy, perpetually young in years ago. To deny this progress, this hard-won fight with so much passion and conviction -- because spirit. That’s why someone like John Lewis at the ripe progress -– our progress –- would be to rob us of our And with effort, we can protect the we know our efforts matter. We know America is what old age of 25 could lead a mighty march. own agency, our own capacity, our responsibility to do foundation stone of our democracy for which so many we make of it. what we can to make America better. marched across this bridge –- and that is the right to And that’s what the young people here today vote. (Applause.) Right now, in 2015, 50 years after Look at our history. We are Lewis and Clark and listening all across the country must take away Of course, a more common mistake is to Selma, there are laws across this country designed to and Sacajawea, pioneers who braved the unfamiliar, from this day. You are America. Unconstrained by suggest that Ferguson is an isolated incident; that make it harder for people to vote. As we speak, more followed by a stampede of farmers and miners, and habit and convention. Unencumbered by what is, racism is banished; that the work that drew men and of such laws are being proposed. Meanwhile, the entrepreneurs and hucksters. That’s our spirit. That’s because you’re ready to seize what ought to be. women to Selma is now complete, and that whatever Voting Rights Act, the culmination of so much blood, who we are racial tensions remain are a consequence of those so much sweat and tears, the product of so much We are Sojourner Truth and Fannie Lou Hamer, For everywhere in this country, there are first seeking to play the “race card” for their own purposes. sacrifice in the face of wanton violence, the Voting women who could do as much as any man and then steps to be taken, there’s new ground to cover, there We don’t need the Ferguson report to know that’s not Rights Act stands weakened, its future subject to some. And we’re Susan B. Anthony, who shook the are more bridges to be crossed. And it is you, the true. We just need to open our eyes, and our ears, and political rancor. system until the law reflected that truth. That is our young and fearless at heart, the most diverse and our hearts to know that this nation’s racial history still character. educated generation in our history, who the nation is casts its long shadow upon us. How can that be? The Voting Rights Act was We’re the immigrants who stowed away on waiting to follow. one of the crowning achievements of our democracy, ships to reach these shores, the huddled masses We know the march is not yet over. We know the result of Republican and Democratic efforts. yearning to breathe free –- Holocaust survivors, Soviet Because Selma shows us that America is not the race"I is not yet won. We know that reaching that (Applause.) President Reagan signed its renewal defectors, the Lost Boys of Sudan. We’re the hopeful the project of any one person. Because the singlewant Dr. King to know that I didn't come to blessed destination where we are judged, all of us, by when he was in office. President George W. Bush strivers who cross the Rio Grande because we want our most powerful word in our democracy is the word Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come the content of ourIcharacter admitting as signed he was in office. (Applause.) kids to know a better life. That’s how we came to be. “We.” “We The People.” “We Shall Overcome.” “Yes We thinking couldrequires make it easier. If theits renewal whitewhen people much, facing up to the truth. “We are capable of One hundred members of Congress have come here (Applause.) Can.” (Applause.) That word is owned by no one. It realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be bearing a great burden,” James Baldwin once wrote, today to honor people who were willing to die for the belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are more willing to hear Dr. King." Malcolm X “once we discover that the burden is reality and arrive right to protect it. If we want to honor this day, let We’re the slaves who built the White House given, to continually try to improve this great nation of where reality is.” that hundred go back to Washington and gather four and the economy of the South. (Applause.) We’re the ours. hundred more, and together, pledge to make it their ranch hands and cowboys who opened up the West, There’s nothing America can’t handle if we mission to restore that law this year. That’s how we and countless laborers who laid rail, and raised Fifty years from Bloody Sunday, our march is actually look squarely at the problem. And this is work honor those on this bridge. (Applause.) skyscrapers, and organized for workers’ rights. not yet finished, but we’re getting closer. Two for all Americans, not just some. Not just whites. Not hundred and thirty-nine years 105 after this nation’s Robert Hallback Jr. 408 West Renfro St, Ste just blacks. If we want to honor the courage of those Of course, our democracy is not the task of We’re the fresh-faced GIs who fought to founding our union is not yet perfect, but we are Owner / Operator Plant City, FL 33563 who marched that day, then all of us are called to Congress alone, or the courts alone, or even the liberate a continent. And we’re the Tuskeegee Airmen, getting closer. possess their moral imagination. All of us will need to President alone. If every new voter-suppression law and the Navajo code-talkers, and the Japanese rhallback57@gmail.com feel as they did the fierce urgency of now. All of us was struck down today, we would still have, here in Americans who fought for this country even as their Our job’s easier because somebody already got need to recognize as they did that change depends on America, one of the lowest voting rates among free own liberty had been denied. us through that first mile. Somebody already got us our actions, on our attitudes, the things we teach our peoples. Fifty years ago, registering to vote here in We’re the firefighters who rushed into those over that bridge. When it feels the road is too hard, children. And if we make such an effort, no matter Selma and much of the South meant guessing the buildings on 9/11, the volunteers who signed up to when the torch we’ve been passed feels too heavy, we Tune in to Cheryl’s World on Blog Talk Radio, or call how hard it may sometimes seem, laws can be passed, number of jellybeans in a jar, the number of bubbles fight in Afghanistan and Iraq. We’re the gay will remember these early travelers, and draw 646-200-0459 to hear informative, entertaining, enlightening and consciences can be stirred, and consensus can be on a bar of soap. It meant risking your dignity, and Americans whose blood ran in the streets of San strength from their example, and hold firmly the and thought-provoking commentary and news with veteran built. (Applause.) sometimes, your life. Francisco and New York, just as blood ran down this words of the prophet Isaiah: “Those who hope in the journalist Cheryl Smith on Sundays at 8a.m. , and Mondays at bridge. (Applause.) Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on [the] 6p.m., Felicia Shepherd on Tuesdays at 6p.m., Love A Natural With such an effort, we can make sure our What’s our excuse today for not voting? How We are storytellers, writers, poets, artists who wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. Me with Yvette and Amy on Wednesdays at 6p.m., Inside the criminal justice system serves all and not just some. do we so casually discard the right for which so many abhor unfairness, and despise hypocrisy, and give They will walk and not be faint.” (Applause.) 234 with Dareia Tolbert on Thursdays at 6p.m., and open lines Together, we can raise the level of mutual trust that fought? (Applause.) How do we so fully give away our voice to the voiceless, and tell truths that need to be at noon on Saturday policing is built on –- the idea that police officers are power, our voice, in shaping America’s future? Why are told. We honor those who walked so we could run. members of the community they risk their lives to we pointing to somebody else when we could take the We’re the inventors of gospel and jazz and We must run so our children soar. And we will not protect, and citizens in Ferguson and New York and time just to go to the polling places? (Applause.) We blues, bluegrass and country, and hip-hop and rock grow weary. For we believe in the power of an Cleveland, they just want the same thing young give away our power. and roll, and our very own sound with all the sweet awesome God, and we believe in this country’s sacred people here marched for 50 years ago -– the sorrow and reckless joy of freedom. promise. protection of the law. (Applause.) Fellow marchers, so much has changed in 50 May He bless those warriors of justice no Together, we can address unfair sentencing and years. We have endured war and we’ve fashioned We are Jackie Robinson, enduring scorn and longer with us, and bless the United States of America. overcrowded prisons, and the stunted circumstances peace. We’ve seen technological wonders that touch spiked cleats and pitches coming straight to his head, Thank you, everybody. (Applause.)
CHERYL’S WORLD
PAGE 24
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
CALENDAR March 13 Charlie Wilson w/ Special Guest KEM, Joe The Forever Charlie Tour March 13, 2015 8:00 pm The Verizon Theatre – Grand Prairie
March 14
The Freedom Fund Scholarship Banquet hosted by the Grand Prairie NAACP. It will be Thursday, March 19, 2015 at The Ruthe Jackson Center located 3113 S. Carrier Parkway, Grand Prairie, Tx 75052 starting at 7p. Rev. Preston Dixon from Mt. Gilead B.C of Italy, Tx will be the keynote speaker and yours truly will be the special guest. Adult admission is $40, looking to see you there.
March 21 Jazz Weekend in Dallas - A Night That Rocks featuring Najee and Jeff Lorber at the Black Academy of Arts and Letters
The Honorable Carolyn R. Davis, Councilmember, District 7 and The Elsie Faye Heggins’ Family would like to invite you to an Unveiling of the New Street Name Change – Elsie Faye Heggins at the corner of Hatcher and Malcom X on Saturday, March 14, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. A gathering will be hosted at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center immediately following the ceremony: 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center Senior Center, Building E 2901 Pennsylvania Avenue Dallas, Texas 75215
See the Matriarch of the Voting Rights Movement, Amelia Boynton Robinson at the Black Academy of Arts and Letters 3p.m.
March 18
PAGE 25
Awaken | An Evening with Priscilla Shirer Going Beyond Ministries from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM (CDT) Concord Church
March 28 Benefiting Galaxy Counseling Center Be a sponsor or vendor of KidsFest 2015 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. Firewheel Town Center For more information call Stephanie Pierre, 972 272-4429 or e-mail sward@galaxycounseling.org.
The Dallas Chapter of the Links, Incorporated An Evening of Jokes and Jazz featuring comedic talent Tommy Davidson and jazz flutist Bobbi Humphrey on Saturday, March 28 at The Winspear Opera House in the Arts District downtown. Broken Dolls - a 50l (c) 3 that serves moms of chronically ill children and parents whose children are deceased, presents a Seminar on March 21st at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for parents of chronically ill/or long term ill children. This is an annual event, and this year's main speaker is Mrs. Robin Cornish, widow of Frank Cornish former Dallas Cowboy. The theme is Caregiving the Ultimate Challenge. Please visit web page for more information about us. www.Brokendollsnonprofit.com
Re-enactment of March with Sen. Royce West March 24
I MESSENGER
March 29 The Legacy of Service Foundation in partnership with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, Omicron Mu Omega Chapter of Dallas, Texas, will host the 27th Image Award Celebration at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION 4:30 – 7:30 pm Tearod Robertson Employee to Entrepreneur Seminar 2015 Hilton Garden Inn Dallas Market Center 2325 North Stemmons Freeway Dallas TX 75207
April 18 2015 African American Education Hall of Fame Program, Luncheon & Induction Ceremony at 12:00 Noon at the Hilton Garden InnDuncanville. The cost of tickets is $50.
$199.00 per person and $99.00 for each additional person from same company
April 9 Dallas Art Fair, presented by Ruinart Champagne, will feature nearly 100 prominent national and international art dealers and galleries drawn from 22 cities. The fair will return from April 9th-12th, 2015, to the Fashion Industry Gallery (f.i.g.), located at 1807 Ross Avenue in the dynamic Downtown Arts District.
***** UNT-Dallas Campus, Dallas, Texas will host the Cutting Edge Youth Summit on April 18, 2015, from 9am-2pm, at the University Center, 7300 University Hills Blvd, Dallas, TX 75241.. Register for the Cutting Edge Youth Summit today: www.cuttingedgeyouthsummit.com The summit workshops will focus on academic, mental and physical health, civic responsibility, and leadership skills. Once again, each organization and student
will be recognized for their involvement. Many sessions will cover a variety of topics: Financial Aid: Money Talks, College Application Process, The Importance of Being A Global Scholar, and many more sessions. In addition, sessions are also available for parents and community leaders. For example, a grant workshop will also be available for local community members. This year’s theme is “Mastering the Keys to Success” The Cutting Edge Youth Summit is designed to do two things: recognize organizations/students for their hard work, and educate students on how to become effective student leaders. The summit will have great speakers and session leaders!!!
April 23
Ęå ŞåųüåÏƋ čĜüƋ üŅų ƋĘå ŅĹå ƼŅƚ ĬŅƴåú
Felicia N. Shepherd M. Ed Founder/CEO
Booking Contact Information: info@fnsconsultingservices.com 972-638-SHEP (7437)
Wkh#Zdupwk#ri#Pd| ģL#sohgjh#wr#|rx#p|#vrxo#wklv#qljkw ##dqg#jlyh#|rx#p|#khduw#zlwk#d#idzqġv#gholjkwĤ
Visit our website at www.fnsconsultingservices.com
kųÚåų ±Ƌ ƵƵƵţŸĜĵŞĬƼüŅųƼŅƚţƚŸ Ņų ±Ƌ eĵ±DŽŅĹ
FiNeSse Consulting Services Staff Development, seminars on Relational Aggression, Conference/webinar presentations, motivational speaking, school and workplace conflict workshops
FĬĬƚŸƋų±ƋåÚØ âŎĉţĿĂ ŎŎƀ ޱčåŸ
“Let me put my experience to work for you.”
IN MEMORIAM
Cheryl’s World on Blogtalkradio.com at 6p.m. Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
I Messenger CHERYL SMITH
FELICIA SHEPHERD
HOST - YVETTE BROOKS
HOSTS: DAREIA TOLBERT
Call in to 646-200-0459 PAGE 26
I MESSENGER
Donna P. Charles 5/20/1958 - 3/23/2012 Elusive Lady #22 Spring 1978 Beta Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., FAMU
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
PAGE 27
I MESSENGER
3/13/15
BR INGING ENLIGHTENING, EDUC ATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION â&#x20AC;&#x153;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.â&#x20AC;? . Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Come on PEOPLE! Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you CARE?
0$;,0,=(
<RXU ([SRVXUH :KLOH :H +DYH <RXU $XGLHQFH¡V 8QGLYLGHG $WWHQWLRQ
A FAMILY
.
POLICE have not apprehended Pookie the serial rapist. Arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you concerned? Do you care? We know he has attacked members A guy who hits aof woman can be called lots of things. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,â&#x20AC;&#x153;Manâ&#x20AC;?Inc. is not one of them. and there is a $5,000I MESSENGER reward offered by Crime Stoppers. J L <RXU $' LQ SULQW DQG LQ RXU RQOLQH HGLWLRQV
Â&#x2021; <RXU DG ZLOO JLYH \RX DQ RSSRUWXQLW\ WR VDOXWH WKH VSLULW RI IUHHGRP DQG HTXDOLW\ Â&#x2021; <RXU DG ZLOO LQFOXGH \RXU ORJR FRPSDQ\ LQIRUPDWLRQ DUWZRUN DQG D SHUVRQDOL]HG TXRWH FRPPHPRUDWLQJ %ODFN +LVWRU\ 0RQWK Â&#x2021; <RXU DG ZLOO VKRZ \RXU VXSSRUW LQ WKH FRPPXQLW\ DQG UHJHQHUDWH \RXU DXGLHQFH
HQTOGTN[
'21¡7 0,66 7+,6 23325781,7< $&7 72'$<
VOL XI ISSUE 7 NOVEMBER 15, 2012 www.garlandjournal.com
GARLAND
!"#!$%&'"()*&$+"'*,-
OURNA
.+/#0!,+#01!
By Cheryl Smith - Texas Metro News
KENNY JAY REVIEW: MakingBOOK Women Happy!
INTIMATE SEDUCTION
9:4/+ 308-+ .+ L1/-2/0.3+ /.;F-/+ 5.2+ 21/+ 0DD->0./-3C+ 0>-2/06C+ .+ L;->./1;B+ 0/+ 04+ 16/-2+ ,.;>+ /1+ L102/+ 1:/+ /,-+ E05/0D+16+4-W:.3+.44.:3/+1;+>1D-4/05+.K:4-@++(,-;-H4+ 21+ K0F+ 3-//-;+ /.//11->+ 12+ /,-0;+ 61;-,-.>+ 1;+ .+ 5-;/.02+ 3118B+4D-33+1;+,.0;>1+/,./+J033+.3-;/+C1:+/,./+/,-+L-;412+ C1:+.;-+311802F+./+04+/,-+4:;E0E1;+16+J,./+D.2C+,.E-+ FDOOHG WKH PRVW KRUULÂż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amecka Grate Frazier 4--+ M:4/+ .21/,-;+ K-.:/06:3+ J1D.2+ J,1+ 04+ 02+ 31E-+ J0/,+ ,-;+ 306-B+ ,-;+ 6.D03C+ .2>+ 30E02F@+ A4@+';./-H4+.//.58-;B+VD.2:-3+A166-;/B+PYB+J,1+.5*
NO 2 ISSUE 32 APRIL 19 2013
BRINGING YOU ENLIGHTENING, EDUCATIONAL, EMPOWERING, INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING INFORMATION
NO 2 ISSUE 32
APRIL 19, 2013
p.7
2*3,43,4!,%"(!',5!3,6+*)'$3+,!6*+)!'-*+((!$7%!($'$%!',5!'*+8,5!$7%!"+*/5!
!
!
Say NO to any ASSAULT
New Voices
Recycle this newspaper when finished reading
Welcome Home Ambassador Ron Kirk!
TEXAS METRO NEWS
Single Mom Chronicles p.12
!!"""#$%&'()%$*+,%"(#-+)!
!
!
'9*3/!0:!;<0=!!!!!!!!!!
Martin named NABJ Â Journalist of the Year
!"#$%&'()&**+**+(,-+&./012* .3+"44150./012+16+73.58+91:;2.304/4+ /:.33C+ >./->+ ,-;+ <&"79=+ ,.4+ .221:25->+ /,./+ ?1* 2-0F,K1;B+ J.4+ 3.2>+ #@+ A.;/02B+ 2./012.33C+ 4C2>0* 5.:F,/+ K-61;-+ 5./->+ 513:D204/B+ /-3-E04012+ ,14/B+ ,-+ J.4+ .K3-+ /1+ .2>+;.>01+.2>+/-3-E04012+51DD-2* ;.L-+,-;B+K:/+/,-+ /./1;B+ 04+ /1+ ;-5-0E-+ /,-+ 1;F.20G.* Recycle this .44.:3/+ J.4+ 41+ /012H4+91:;2.304/+16+/,-+I-.;+.J.;>@+ newspaper K;:/.3+ /,./+ /,-+ when %/+ 04+ 12-+ 16+ &"79H4+ D14/+ 51E-/* 45.;4+3-6/+K-,02>+ finished ->+ ,121;4+ 5-3-K;./02F+ /,-+ .551D* reading 51:3>+ ,.E-+ 512* L304,D-2/4+16+K3.58+M1:;2.304/4+.2>+ /02:->+/1+.44.:3/+ City of Dallas/,14-+ J,1+ 4:LL1;/+ K3.584+ 02+ /,-+ Sanitation Dept. ,-;B+ 06+ 21/+ 61;+ .+ D->0.@+A.;/02+J.4+4-3-5/->+61;+/,-+ No. 1 serving the African American Community 31E02F+ 6.D03CB+ .J.;>+KC+&"79H4+71.;>+16+N0;-5* November 6 - 12, 2008 www.DallasWeekly.com 5,:;5,B+ 51D* /1;4@ D:20/C+ .2>+ ,-;+ 6.0/,@ ' J - 2 > 1 3 C 2+ Debra Mars 912-4+ J.4+ .4* The election is over 4.:3/->+ KC+ ,-;+ 4/-L*6./,-;@+ + #,-+ .48->+ ,-;4-36+ /,-+ TXHVWLRQV WKDW PDQ\ YLFWLPV DVN :K\ we GLG WKLV now canSHU* begin 412+.5/+/,04+J.C+/1J.;>+D-\+"D+%+;-4L1240K3-\++N0>+%+ Election night coverage on >1+41D-/,02F+/1+5.:4-+/,04\++N0>+DC+5.;-/.8-;4+821J+ KKDA focuses on issues DERXW WKLV DQG LI VR ZK\ GLGQ W WKH\ GR VRPHWKLQJ WR 4/1L+0/\ #,-B+308-+41+D.2C+1/,-;+C1:2F+E05/0D4B+J.4+21/+K-* Roland S. Martin 30-E->+**+J,05,+5.:4->+51240>-;.K3-+/;.:D.+.4+/,-+E05* /0D+04+/J05-+E05/0D0G->@++ ">D0//->3C+41D-+OE05/0D4S+,.E-+30->B+L;1>:502F+.2* O%+ .D+ -21;D1:43C+ /,.286:3+ .2>+ 1/,-;+3-E-3+16+E05/0D4+02+/,-+J;12F6:33C+.55:4->B+K:/+ ,:DK3->+/,./+&"79+,.4+K-4/1J->+ /,-;-+ .;-+ 1/,-;+ 3-E-34B+ 308-+ /,./+ E05/0D+ J,1+ ;-D.024+ /,04+.D.G02F+,121;+12+D-+61;+DC+ 403-2/+ 61;+ J,./-E-;+ ;-.412+ .2>+ /,-+ 6.D03C+ .2>+ 31E->+ J1;8+ .4+ .+ 6-.;3-44+ E105-+ 02+ .>E1* 12-4+ 16+ /,-+ .61;-D-2/012->+ J,1+ 16/-2/0D-4+ >12H/+ 5./02F+ /,-+ 5;0/05.3+ 044:-4+ 6.502F+ Page 5 821J+J,./+/1+4.C+1;+>1@ E1/-;4+ 02+ /,-+ PQRP+ -3-5/012B+ K:/+ &1J+J,1+04+/,-+E05/0D\+ -4L-50.33C+.4+/,-C+;-3./-+/1+"6;05.2+ %/+ 51:3>+ K-+ .+ 2-JK1;2+ K.KC@+ + )6+ 51:;4-+ C1:+ /,028+ "D-;05.24BS+ 4.0>+ A.;/02@+ O%+ ,1L-+ /,./+/,04+51:3>2H/+K-+/,-+5.4-@+]261;/:2./-3C+/,-;-+.;-+ Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s win may /,04+,121;+4-;E-4+.4+.+3-4412+/1+.2C+ 41+ D.2C+ 5.4-4+ 16+ E-;CB+ E-;C+ C1:2F+ K.K0-4+ K-02F+ .4* C1:2F+ 1;+ E-/-;.2+ M1:;2.304/+ /,./+ face limitations
BOOK REVIEW:
THE BISHOPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAUGHTER
If you have ANY information, PLEASE call Crime Stoppers City of Dallas Sanitation Dept.
Page 13
No. 1 serving the African American Community www.DallasWeekly.com
April 30-May 6, 2009
INSIDE
TIME TO FORGIVE?
Speaking of People
Ron Price elected to national organization post
Volume No. 56 Issue No. 18
The Long and Winding Road Light rail, Trinity River road highly scrutinized in South Dallas
The Dallas Weekly
years celebrates 56 Black of serving the Community
Timothy Bray, director of the Institute of Urban Policy Research. He helps
YVETTE BROOKS Your Curlfriend!
Page 10
Volume No. 55 Issue No. 44
INSIDE
Page 2
FAMU Rattlers victorious
Studies by the University of Texas at Dallas Institute of Urban Policy, United Way and Texas A&M are taking place now to assess the quality of life in the South Dallas community before billion dollar projects involving the new DART Light Rail and the Trinity
National
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
A
Grade: A
Page 4
Metro
â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am deeply impressed with the progress that President Barack Obama has made during the first 100 days of his administration. Already we are seeing evidence of the administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan to dig our country out of recession and develop long-term, sustainable prosperity. President Obama has made two trips abroad, proving to us and to the world that he intends to repair our frayed alliances and restore our international leadership. Finally, the Obama administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s code of ethics has brought much-needed transparency and accountability to the White House. President Obama is delivering on the change that he promised.â&#x20AC;?
FOUR MORE YEARS
Mavericks surpasses Spurs in playoffs
PRESIDENT OBAMA VICTORIOUS
Available at newstands in Garland, Plano, Balch Springs, Seagoville, Rowlett, Mesquite, Richardson, East and North Dallas
oversee the The Field Research Team which underwent 80 hours of
training in administering the anonymous surveys. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Over three to four years there are changes in conditions and we want to know how it affects the area.â&#x20AC;?
Evaluating President Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s First 100 Days
Political analysts, both mainstream and Black news media and intellectuals around the country have given their grade evaluation on President Barack Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first 100 days in office, marked on April 30. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how several people from the local front graded the new president.
!"#$% & '"$()"*#+,"(-------. /%0012+#3-/45"264$--------------------------------7 8+9"(#35" :; <=/>-<%0"*%0+2?(--------------------------------------:@-----------------------------
JOURNA
â&#x20AC;&#x153;OVER THREE TO FOUR YEARS THERE ARE CHANGES IN CONDITIONS AND WE WANT TO KNOW HOW IT AFFECTS THE AREAâ&#x20AC;?
THE HUNDRED DAY SCORE
Why Democracy hangs in the balance
INSIDE
Toll Road are brought to the area. Some construction has begun with the demolition of homes to follow later this year. At a meeting held by the three institutions, a focus group of sorts dished ideas and findings on the surveys that have told the story of the residents of South Dallas. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are measuring conditions that may vary from street to street,â&#x20AC;? said Dr.
Page 9
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
C
Grade: C â&#x20AC;&#x153;In just 100 days, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen an alarming acceleration of policies that will take America down the wrong track. The administration has proposed trillions of dollars in new spending, which will result in higher taxes on Americans, while sharply raising our indebtedness to foreign creditors. On the national security front, I am very concerned about the Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intention to close Guantanamo without a workable plan to relocate detainees. It is my sincere hope that, moving forward,
the administration will adopt the productive, responsible approach to our nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s challenges that Americans deserve.â&#x20AC;? (The office of John Cornyn of Texas was contacted but did See 100 DAYS, page 19
SPIRITUAL
ETS OF THE SECR
Remebering Joe Hudson Jr. Page 1 0
In having the conversation about building within South Dallas, many issues arise with respect to GWENDOLYNand JONES education business in Ask The Advocate See ROAD, page 19
PROPOSITIONS 1 AND 2 Why YES means no and NO means yes
Dallas is abuzz at the election issues before them on May 9 when citizens are asked to vote on the controverDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LYTE sial & EBONY Convention Music Happenings Center Hotel that is being backed by Mayor Leppert. But what does voting â&#x20AC;&#x153;noâ&#x20AC;? and voting â&#x20AC;&#x153;yesâ&#x20AC;? mean? It is important to remember that the propositions are to amend the Dallas City Charter which, among other things, gives the MISSpower RAY to acquire city the Going Deep in Roots property fortheany public purpose. The propositions are worded to prohibit the city from acting on these before stated powers. Therefore, if a citizen would like the city to maintain those powers, they are to vote NO and vice versa. See VOTE, page 38
VALDER BEEBE That Celebrity Interview
How to avoid the Swine flu Page 15
BUSINESS
X-Men Origins: WOLVERINE Movie Tidbits Pg. 12
How to brand you Page 16
ALL
%&'($)*+",+K-4/*4-3302F+.:/,1;+J0/,+ 2-.;3C+/J1+D033012+K1184+02+L;02/@+ &1J+ 02+ ,04+ /-2/,+ C-.;+ 12+ /,-+ .0;B+ 7.04>-2+ J.2/4+ ,04+ ;.>01+ 6.D03C+ /1+ 821J+,-+>0>+-E-;C/,02F+02+,04+L1J* HU WR FRQWLQXH KLV 0LFKDHO %DLV* GHQ 6KRZ ZLWKRXW LQWHUUXSWLRQ :H UH DOUHDG\ SODQQLQJ WR UHWXUQ WR /,-+.0;+.4+4112+.4+L1440K3-+02+.+J.C+ WKDW ZLOO JLYH WKH 0LFKDHO %DLVGHQ 6KRZ D PRUH GLUHFW UHODWLRQVKLS ZLWK RXU DIÂżOLDWHV DQG PRVW LPSRU* WDQWO\ RXU OLVWHQHUV FLWHV 3DPHOD VW:DB+,04+K:402-44+D.2.F-;@ 7.04>-2+ K-F.2+ ,04+ 5.;--;+ .4+ .2+
See Baisden, page 6
future with President Obama
See Martin, page 11
INSIDE
3>?@A>B?CD>BE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!;
Obama wins election and makes ...
)@?AD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!=
HISTORIC
(@AFCG@H@>!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!=
Nation elects first African
Page 6
9@AIJ@G?CF@I!!!!!!!!!!!!!KLM American president , as Barack wins handidly INSIDE PAGES: -DHHN>C?O!-BE@>PBA!!1 Lifestyle
See PAGE 7
SPECIAL COLLECTORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EDITION
(RBSS@A!9NTTE@!!!!!!!!!0M
Page 8
Business Food for thought Congresswoman addresses
PAGE 1
Democrat
2NIC>@II!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0U!!!!
Prevent heart attacks
all the Find out on Marvelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lowdown mutants PG. 12 weirdest
CHANGE! Join the rally,
/CQ@I?OE@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0;
Is gospel music dying? Management blamed for issues
Michael Baisden Oak Cliff Chamber Page 12
Health
HEALTH
Choose either or
See Sexual Assault, page 18Curry looks at the George
Michael Baisden leaves airwaves -Skip Murphy moves to slot
+ &./012.33C+ 4C2>05./->+ ;.>01+ L-;412.30/C+ A05,.-3+ 7.04>-2+ .2* 21:25->+.+,0./:4B+6;1D+,04+;.>01+12+ ,04+ T.5-K118+ L.F-@+ 7.04>-2B+ J,1+ 51DD.2>4+.+>.03C+.:>0-25-+16+1E-;+ 4-E-2+ D033012+ 304/-2-;4B+ 4.0>+ ,-+ 04+ :2.K3-+/1+>045:44+/,-+L.;/05:3.;4+K:/+ 51253:>->+ /,./+ .+ >-.3+ 51:3>+ 21/+ K-+ D.>-+12+D:/:.33C+.F;--.K3-+/-;D4@+ ?-51F20G->+.4+12-+16+/,-+D14/+02* Ă&#x20AC;XHQWLDO PHQ LQ UDGLR KLV 0LFKDHO %DLVGHQ 6KRZ LV RQH RI WKH WRS UDW* ->+ .6/-;2112+ >;0E-+ ;.>01+ L;1F;.D4+ ,-.;>+02+/,-+/1L+:;K.2+D.;8-/4@++ $-+ 04+ .341+ .+ (U+ /.38+ VKRZ KRVW ÂżOP PDNHU DQG !"#$
Digital Illustration: Joseph Shelby
877.373.8477 3.23.13 By Patrice J. Holmes
editorial@dallasweekly.com
Heart disease remains high on list of illnesses Page 15
!
!
Joyce Ann Brown lost Nine Years, Five Months and 24 Days of her life !
I MESSENGER
Join Mayor Mike Rawlings for The Ten Thousand Man Rally Against Domestic Abuse at 10am on March 23rd at V.S. M CAIN OBAMA Dallas City Hall. (DART exit at Convention Center Station.) Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for the men of Dallas to say, enough is enough. NOVEMBER 4, 2008 ELECTION
Republican
JOHN
C
BARACK
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE DALLAS WEEKLY, FILL OUT THIS FORM AND MAIL TO: SUBSCRIBE TODAY! DALLAS By mailWEEKLY or on line $ P.O. BOX 151789 www.myimessenger.com www.garlandjournal.com www.texasmetronews.com DALLAS, TX 75315 annually I want to receive copies of __ I Messenger __ Garland Journal __ Texas Metro
$
50
Also,80 if you want extra 39946_MOROCH_MAA_NP_Ad_BW.indd 1
News at $50 per subscription
annually
2/28/13 1:41 PM
protection, check out Street Safe at
I want to receive ___copies of The Dallas Weekly at $80 per subscription Check Card Check Card CARD #____________________________________________________ EXP. DATE______________________ Amount: __________________
SIGNATURE________________________________________________ NAME _____________________________________________________ ADDRESS__________________________________________________
www.streetsafe.peopleguard.com CITY ____________________________STATE ____ ZIP ___________
TELEPHONE #_____________________________________________ FAX # _____________________________________________________
E-MAIL ____________________________________________________ TO NO. SUBSCRIBE TO EITHER OR ALL PUBLICATION, COMPLETE COMMUNITY FORM AND MAIL TO: 1 SERVING THE AFRICAN AMERICAN
I MESSENGER ENTERPRISES 320 SOUTH R.L. THORNTON FREEWAY, SUITE 220
DALLAS, TX 75203
DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T BE SILENT Join I Messenger in the call for justice. Turn Pookie in today! PAGE 28
I MESSENGER
3/13/15