African-American Pastors Unite for Marriage and Fatherhood -See Page 5
Protest of Black Males Pg. 3 Vol. 16 Issue 14
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HOUSTON | GALVESTON | TEXAS CITY | MISSOURI CITY | BEAUMONT | PORT ARTHUR | SUGARLAND | BAYTOWN | SAN ANTONIO | AUSTIN | PRAIRIE VIEW | KILEEN | TEMPLE | DALLAS | IRVING | FORT WORTH | ARLINGTON
MAY 4-10, 2011
AUSTIN- Capital City AfricanAmerican Chamber of Commerce will explore the utility of social marketing at Monthly Lunch and Learn on May 11, from 11:30 a.m.1 p.m. The luncheon will be held at the Chamber building, located at 5407 North IH 35, Suite 304. For more information, please contact Kristine Pryor-Davis at admin@ capcitychamber.org or (512) 4591181, ext. 201. DALLAS- Gov. Rick Perry said he wants to make public institutions of higher education more affordable, by providing bachelor’s degrees that only cost $10,000. “It’s entirely feasible. It’s something we are going to pursue aggressively,” Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes stated. Such programs wouldn’t be appropriate for every degree or student, but a large share of the state’s growing population of low-income students will be left out of higher education if affordable options aren’t developed, Paredes said. Elements of a low-cost bachelor’s degree would include online classes, open-source electronic textbooks, courses of varying length so students can move at their own pace and a curriculum with few electives. Other elements could include internships for which students get paid and earn academic credit, also someone who served as a medic in Iraq or Afghanistan ought to get credit toward a nursing degree. HOUSTON- Join the St. Monica Catholic Church Walk Team for their 6th Annual Walk with National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), on May 14th, at Sam Houston Park/ Allen Parkway. Walker check-in time begins at 7:30am with the official walk time beginning at 8:30am. NAMI’s support and public education efforts are focused on educating America about mental illness, offering resources to those in need. Mental illness is a serious medical illness that affects one in four families. To sign up as a walker, contact Carolyn Parker at (281)447-6345.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Happy Mother’s Day from AAN&I!
Houston Author And Hip Hop Artist Talks Stroke At Age 32 By SHELLY WHITE MILWEE Contributing Writer
A stroke can happen to anyone, at any time and at any age. It happened to Houston author, hip hop artist and mother Toni Hickman when she was just 32 years old. Her gorgeous brown hair was shaved, she had staples in her head, she couldn’t talk and she was completely paralyzed. In that split second, her life had forever changed. A picture of good health, Hickman regularly exercised and was always conscientious about the food she ate in order to set a strong example for her six-year-old son, Javon. “I was always health conscious. Sometimes I would drink socially, but I always did things that were productive to my health,” said Hickman. “My major problem was stress.” Hickman admits that recovering from a stroke was at times very difficult to bear. When her doctors suggested to her mother that she look into long-term care at a nursing home, her mother said “As long as my child gets her mind back, the body will come.” And the body did come in time. Just one year later, Hickman was beginning to stand up straight, walk slowly and talk.
thing bad to happen.” The hardest part of Hickman’s recovery was the pain she saw on her young son’s face. For a small child, she worries that the image her son saw of her in recovery has destroyed him. She admits that he is extra cautious of her now and constantly concerned about her health. During her recovery, she struggled with depression and feelings of hopelessness. “My son, mom and two aunts pulled me out. Their strength helped me. My aunt would come to the hospital every day,” said Hickman. According to the American Stroke Association, stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in America, and while it affects all Americans, African Americans are at particularly high risk due to factors such as high rates of elevated blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. “My advice to people would be to please watch what you are eating. Please do everything you can to get healthy. I’m young and this Toni Hickman and her son, Javon. Toni was just 32 years when she had a happened to me,” said Hickman. stoke. Although she was health conscious, stress was a major issue. May is American Stroke Month. To learn more about the signs and While Hickman can’t wear her longtime volunteer with the Amerifashionable heels or run anymore, she can Heart Association, and feels that symptoms of a stroke, please visit www.powertoendstroke.org or call knows that she is lucky to be alive sharing her message is important and be able to share her story. She is because “people often wait for some- 1-800-AHA-USA1.
Educating Your Child Should Not Be a Crime By DR. BOYCE WATKINS Contributing Writer
When I heard about the case of Tonya McDowell, the homeless mother sent to jail for sending her 5year-old son to the “wrong” school district, I immediately thought back to the case of Kelley Williams-Bolar not long ago. (She was convicted by a jury for using her father’s address to claim residency status that would allow her children to attend a higher-performing suburban school.) I wondered how the world has gone mad enough to somehow think that it should be against the law for mothers to find ways to get their children access to a high qual-
Tonya McDowell, the homeless mother sent to jail for sending her 5-year-old son to the “wrong” school district.
ity education. As a result of this, a homeless single mother having the audacity to get her child into a good school, is being charged with first-degree theft and also being asked to repay the $15,686 it allegedly cost to educate her child in the Norwalk, Conn. school district. “If Ms. McDowell is convicted and sent away for 20 years, who tells her son, who is 5, that his mother is in jail for 20 years for getting him an education?” said attorney Darnell Crosland. No one cares that this family has no home. No one seems to care about what will happen if this child grows up without the only woman on earth wired to love him unconditionally. No one seems to care about the massive costs to the state of prosecuting this mother and eventually the child, as we deliberately trap them in an intergenerational cycle of poverty and criminal justice. All that seems to
matter is that they keep this little boy out of their school. What’s wrong with this picture? When we formed our coalition to support Tonya’s situation, we were initially confused about the school predicament in Connecticut. If the schools in Ms. McDowell’s own district had been adequate in the first place, there would be nothing to prosecute (even though she told me that she lived in a van in Norwalk, making it legal for her to educate her child in that area). So, perhaps local officials should also be prosecuted for unconstitutionally denying Ms. McDowell’s child his educational opportunities. If taking a seat in a public school is worth incarceration and living life as a convicted felon, then stealing a child’s mother and his future should certainly call for an even harsher
See EDUCATING on page 3
GOP Blows It With Animal Depiction Of President Obama -See Page 3
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