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December 24-30, 2008 ™ Vol. 13 Issue 47
TEXAS’ Widest Circulated and Read Newspaper with a Black Perspective
Merry Christmas!!! From: The AAN&I Staff www.aframnews.com
Houston - Galveston - Texas City - Missouri City - Conroe - Woodlands - Huntsville - Beaumont - Port Arthur - Grove - Orange - Lumberton - Liberty - Cleveland - Livingston - Crockett - San Antonio - Mexia - Gatesville - Bellmead Austin - Brenham - Hempstead - Prairie View - College Station - Bryan - Killeen - Temple - Waco - Dallas - Irving - Fort Worth - Arlington - Waxahachie - Elgin - Round Rock - Harker Heights - Copperas Cove - Ennis - Corsicana
African-American
LIVING LEGENDS
Houston’s Bill White Makes Senate Run CARMEN WATKINS
African-American News&Issues
Ernest & Jewell McGowen: Cultural Arts Community Leaders Ernest and Jewell McGowen have been part of the northeast Houston for over 50 years. Their passion for the arts started when they were both students at Prairie View A&M College. Ernest sang with the PV Collegiate band and orchestra, and Jewell was a member of the Drama Department where she performed in several stage productions. Ernest Sr. has been a public servant for many years—serving as a postman, pastor and a politician. As a Houston City Councilman he authored and/or sponsored legislation that created the South African Divestment Ordinance; Minority & Women Business Enterprise Ordinance (MWBE); the establishment of Martin Luther King’s birthday as a celebrated city holiday; securing parity of pay for policemen and firemen; increased wages for sanitation workers, public school janitors and other lower level city and school district employees; and most importantly the organizing of the Northeast Cultural Arts Council. His wife of 60 years, Jewell, is a retired school teacher and guidance counselor. She is also deeply passionate about exposing youths to the arts, and she believes when children are exposed to the arts during their formative years, they develop creative interests which become incentives to stay in school and provide tools with which to develop their talents and career potentials. Over 2000 youths have gone on to become professional dancers, choreographers, gymnasts, vocal musicians, actors and actresses. Others are in the process of “becoming” and have chosen to study in magnet schools and join choral clubs, bands, orchestras, Theatre, and school dance teams. This dynamic duo have four children, eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren. We salute them for their lifetime commitment to public service as this week’s “Living Legends.”
Quote of the Week:
“The Black family of the future will foster our liberation, enhance our selfesteem, and shape our ideas and goals.” -Dorothy Height
mittee and transferring $1 million into it from her federal account. If she goes ahead as planned and steps down before the term ends, Gov. Rick Perry would appoint a replacement to the seat until an election is held.
Mayor says Texas needs a new voice in Washington’s decisions HOUSTON- Mayor Bill White in a two-minute video launched from his new campaign Web site, brought to an end the speculation surrounding his next political move. Some thought the road could lead to a bid for the governor’s spot, but that was not to be. According to White, the country is facing unprecedented economic challenges, high unemployment along with an economy that is in bad shape and a national energy policy that is short of affordable energy, secure energy and clean energy. “I know those things, and I think I could help,” he said of the national energy plan that will anchor his campaign platform. White will no doubt spend time on the campaign
trail highlighting his experience in emergency management and preparedness since Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike. There will also be other areas that should ring familiar with would-be voters like him adding more jobs than any other mayor in the United States in five years and his previous national service, while serving as deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Energy under President Clinton and his business saavy while serving as CEO of the Wedge Group. According to the press release announcing the bid, White said, “Working for my neighbors as mayor has been a great honor. Texas needs a new voice in decisions that will be made in Washington, and my business experience and administrative expertise will ensure utilizing fiscally responsible means to get our economy moving.” He will seek the
Houston Mayor Bill White wants to translate his success as the leader of the fourth largest city in the U.S. to helping the state of Texas as Senator. seat soon to be vacated by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. She will not seek re-election and is not expected to complete her current term which ends in 2012. Instead Hutchison said in a recent news release that she’s setting up a gubernatorial exploratory com-
Where is The Black Family? Stacie Ray
Contributing Writer
I always hear people talking about how the system cheated them out of money, family, and in most cases freedom. Yet, I often wonder just how much of the cheating the system is actually doing. Considering the fact that we are not battling the same Jim Crow Laws of a more prehistoric era (some would describe as the good old days), is it the system that has us between the barrel of a gun and the blade of a knife? There is no doubt African-Americans have been through a lot in America. However, it seems as though the lessons we have learned are forgotten or minimal at most. In 1619, the first Africans arrived in Jamestown, Virginia to assume their new status in life as prop-
Some people say this idealistic picture of the Black family is practically non-existence and call for a return to the values of old.
The Field will Soon be Crowded Just as White announced his candidacy for the position, so did another well-known Texan, Michael Williams, a former prosecutor who served in the Departments of Education, Justice and Treasury. He began his work at the Railroad Commission in 1999 after he was appointed to fill a vacant seat by then-Gov. George W. Bush. Williams was elected the following year to the unexpired term. He was re-elected to a full six-year term in 2002 and again this year. It is expected that others will soon join in the race, including former state comptroller John Sharp, a Democrat, and Republicans, Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones and GOP fundraiser Roger Williams. erty, thus beginning the AfricanAmerican’s long history of exploitation in America. Since the Africans were considered slaves, they were totally at the mercy of their masters, answering to every beck, call, whisper, and whim. Of course with labor being so cheap, slavery soon became marketable. A good strong buck could be auctioned off to the highest bidder for field work or breeding (in those days we never conceived children, we bred them like dogs, cats, cows, and horses). With so much breeding, buying and selling the Black “family” was almost nonexistent. To counter act the isolation of not having a family or home, Blacks bonded together in what is known today as extended families. It was the norm for older women and men to take in young children as their own after they were sold away from their mothers. Many men lost their lives protecting; the few loved ones they were allowed See FAMILY page 3
Saving Auto Industry Requires Concessions by All Parties NATION U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison This fall, our financial crisis reached a flashpoint that threatened the sustainability of our credit markets and the economic security of every American family and business. On October 1, after two weeks of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations, the Senate took the unprecedented step of passing legislation intended to stabilize our imperiled economy and shore up our credit markets. While some opposed the rescue, I heard from many small business owners that they were unable to get credit for payroll and inventory purchases. The frozen credit market threatened Americans’ ability to get car loans, mortgages, or financial aid for school. I believed it was respon-
sible to infuse the financial markets with liquidity to avoid further crises, so I helped shape the legislation with a priority of keeping people in their homes and jobs and protecting the taxpayer (the interest paid on the loans and warrants would reduce national debt). As I travel through Texas, I have been very disappointed to see that more credit is not flowing through our markets. I am frustrated at the mismanagement of the relief funding and at the constant fluctuation of the Treasury Department’s strategy. Many of my Senate colleagues have expressed the same view. Our economy is in a recession. Unemployment has reached a 15 year high. Our nation’s “Big Three” car manufacturers, General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford are suffering and, without some fundamental changes to the way they do business, face bankruptcy. The Big Three’s executives testified before Congress that GM and Chrysler were weeks away from running out
of operating cash. Ford faces similar, though less imminent, financial challenges. Although lawmakers have differing views on the best solution to this crisis, we agree that these companies are critical to the U.S. economy. They sell more than half of all the cars and trucks in America, and they directly employ more than 250,000 men and women across the country. Furthermore, up to 3 million more Americans work at dealerships, suppliers, and other places in the supply chain. In Arlington, 5,000 Texans work at the GM plant, which pumps over $300 million into the local economy annually. On December 11, Congress went into session to debate legislation to provide GM, Chrysler, and Ford short-term loans to prevent imminent collapse and protect jobs. My colleague, Senator Bob Corker, put forward a reasonable proposal that would require that the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union
Kay Bailey Hutchison will not seek re-election, but instead, has her sights on the governor’s office. reduce wage and benefit packages to be competitive with other U.S. plants making cars and trucks for Toyota, Nissan, and Volkswagen by the end of 2009. Late night negotiations between Republican and Democratic lawmakers and UAW See AUTO INDUSTRY page 3 TX-1