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African-American News and Issues Newspaper

VOL. 22 ISSUE 28

AframNews

Did you know?

One of Houston’s Own Made Ultimate Sacrifice for Civil Rights

Greater Houston Area

Was Young Black Entrepreneur Victim of Racial Profiling?

“The mission of the Harris County Constable’s Office Precinct One is to enhance the quality of life in our precinct by working in partnership with the community and to enforce laws, preserve the peace, reduce fear and provide a safe environment. Our Mandate is to do so with honor and integrity while at all times conducting ourselves with the highest ethical standards to maintain public confidence.”

Is Constable Alan Rosen wrong for defending his officer vs. supporting a non-violent citizen?

1890–1931

O. P. DeWalt, was a powerful and active civil-rights leader right here in Houston. He was a charter member of the NAACP in Houston.

Background The son of John and Caroline DeWalt, he was born near Livingston, Polk County, Texas, probably around 1890.

SEE PG 4

Community Demands Answers From Harris County Precinct One Constable Alan Rosen and Deputy Shane Cates on “Mowing While Black” Incident #AframWants2Know

DeWalt attended a rural school in the area and entered Prairie View College in 1907.

He graduated with high honors in 1910.

He later moved to Houston, where he worked as a real estate agent with T. M. Fairchild.

In 1913 he married Maud Pernetter; they had one son.

• Did the actions of the officers violate the mission and vision of the Precinct 1 office and how they treated this Harris County citizen?

For a brief period DeWalt worked as principal of Independent Heights School, before opening the Lincoln Theater.

• Should a public servant identify themselves when asked by a citizen, due to the office being funded through tax dollars?

The theater was the first exclusively Black theater in Houston.

• Was excessive and brutal force was used by the officers in this case?

• When will the body cams be released from the attack that occurred on the inside of the home?

The Lincoln Theater, on Prairie downtown, originally operated under White management, but DeWalt pushed its owners to let him manage it.

TO CONT. READING SEE PAGE 5

African

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American News&Issues

Editorial & Opinion

The Wisdom of the Elderly is Priceless

McCain’s Health Battle Casts Ugly Glare On GOP Health Care

McCain is the best argument that all should receive the same quality of care.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson Author & Political Analyst Arizona Senator John McCain will get and deserves the best medical care he can get in his battle against brain cancer. Millions rightly will be pulling for his healthful recovery.

But McCain’s health battle also casts an ugly glare on the hypocrisy and

Roy Douglas Malonson Chairman Shirley Ann Malonson President/C.E.O. Chandra Jarmon

Production/Editor

Kimberly Taylor

Production Asst.

Darwin Campbell

Senior Journalist

Chelsea Davis-Bibb

Journalist

Rebecca S. Jones

Contributing Writer

Mark Spivey

Contributing Writer

Lorenzo Tolbert

Contributing Writer

Jadarrius West

Distribution

General: news@aframnews.com Ads: sales@aframnews.com Website: www.aframnews.com African-American News&Issues is published

by African-American News & Issues, Inc., 6130 Wheatley Street, Houston, Texas 77091, (713) 692-1892. Our office hours are Monday-Friday, 9am - 5pm. The entire contents of the paper are copyrighted by African-American News & Issues, Inc. All rights reserved. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the publisher. African-American News&Issues is not responsible for any claims made by advertisers.

The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the publisher.

African-American News&Issues assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs and other material, unless accompanied by a self-address stamped envelope.

Letter to the Editor

W

e welcome all original responses from our readers to content found in the African-American News&Issues.

Letters to the Publisher may be sent via e-mail to news@aframnews.com. Please keep all letters under 300 words. Be sure to include the author’s name, area of residence. All letters and articles may be verified before they are published. All letters are subjected to editing or being cut for spacing purposes. Thank you in advance for your submission.

TX-2

contradiction in the GOP’s relentless war against Obamacare. It starts with McCain. In August 2016, he was in a mildly tough fight for re-election to his sixth Senate term. The issue that McCain went after was health care, specifically, Obamacare. He bluntly told a Fox Business interviewer that Obamacare was

“

collapsing like a house of cards.”

This was not simply another case of a GOP senator taking a straight, hardline stance against the Affordable Care Act. McCain made it plain before he lashed out at Obamacare on Fox that health care should be mostly left to the free market. He ticked off a checklist of ways health care should function. It included such things as: risk pools, greater interstate insurance availability, and letting people opt out health care completely. Said McCain, we must go back to “square one” with health care and take a “capitalistic approach to it.” He voted each time against various measures to scrap the Affordable Care Act. McCain has been as good as his word and belief about what health care should be about and the limited role government should play in it. Between 1996 and 2007, he voted against every federal measure to either expand or strengthen health care coverage.

This includes: funding for the State Children Health Insurance Program by increasing the tobacco tax, increases for AIDS prevention drug assistance, tax credits for long term and chronic health care needs, credits to small business owners for employee health insurance coverage, and the extension of health care coverage to mental illness.

In every case when a proposal was made to increase funding or expand a vital health care program, McCain could be counted on to oppose it. In contrast, the government will pay the bulk of the costs of McCain’s care.

Continue reading online @ www.huffingtonpost.com

TEXAS • JULY 31 - AUGUST 6, 2017

The Black Whisperer Darwin Campbell, Senior Journalist

I

n 25 years of journalism, one of the greatest privileges enjoyed by a writer is to sit and listen to hours of the recounting of situations, incidents and times in the lives of people.

It is amazing how a simple little talk and a snapshot in time can yield a lifetime of invaluable wisdom and reflection.

I notice that in speaking in a comfortable setting, folks can be loose, let their hair down and just be themselves.

One such visit a few years ago was a sit down with Ms Jewell S. Houston. It was a once in a lifetime encounter that will always be in my memory.

On The Village Our talk started off going back in time to a season of life where the community was a real “village”.

First, Ms Houston talked about a time when neighborhoods were safer.

People respected property of others.

There were little to no break-ins and it was her recollection that it was a time when once could leave doors unlocked with no security systems to protect you up or lock you in at night.

Today, one can hardly live anywhere without fear of a break-in or intrusion of some kind violation that leaves one feeling unsafe and unsettled the neighborhood or at home.

The character and makeup of communities have changed with more people moving in that are not AfricanAmerican and bringing their unknown pasts and values into the community. Those quiet changes have affected the pride, the look and appearances and history in our neighborhoods.

On Education Ms. Houston knew education and truly it was a different time then than today.

Education was more than going to school and sitting in a class for a few hours. Real learning about life and living were taught by older teachers with some life experience under their belts.

Teachers were dedicated to preparing students for life and not just teaching for test.

The idea was to help kids get ready for life by sharing parallel stories that worked to shape the inner man and woman.

As a result of this kind of that unheralded work, many great names and leaders were born and bred coming from Acres Homes, Fifth Ward and Third Ward and many other places across Texas and the South.

She was a Houston native and a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, Paul Quinn College and Houston College for Negroes.

She began teaching in Aldine in 1951 and dedicated 34 years of her life teaching and instilling a “can-do” attitude in her students. She wanted all children to rise to the challenge of seizing opportunity in a world ripe with opportunity.

She loved children and had a big heart and desire for every child to pursue their talents and passions reach their tip-top potential and succeed in life. In the words of this writer, she was the great “coach” and mentor for kids who never had coaching in sports or did not have that parent to urge them to the education finish line.

On God and Church I was most impressed with her ideas about the eroding values and loss of respect in the Black community for God and the Church.

God and Church are not being taken as seriously today as was in the days of the revival days of the old pastors, Churches and brush harbors.

The old days were a time when people desired to hear the word of God and that focus reflected in the lives of people who demonstrated that with lives showing great character development, spiritual values and an unselfish desire to serve others and the community.

God and living the Christian

Jewell Rebecca Simpson-Houston

life before others meant something.

It was not checking in or punching a time clock on Sunday morning.

The genuine realness of God shown in every aspect of Black life from handling small disputes, developing marriages and relationships to dealing with issues directly affecting the Black community.

During that time people sought the guidance of God, the Church and Pastors to lead during those critical history making moments.

On Parents She recalled how people shared parents were parents. The life, words and work of Mother and Daddy in the home were respected and honored at one time in our Black history.

“Honor thy father and mother” was a golden rule that was honored and never broken, even by the most hard-headed of the kids. The values of God were communicated in life and translated to the lives of children.

That lesson learned in the home helped underscore the values of respecting and honoring authority, whether it was the teacher, policeman, pastor or next door neighbor.

Talking back and profanities were few to non-existent during those days among children, because many understood the consequences – a swift and harsh judgment by switch, belt or back hand.

Continue reading online @ www.aframnews.com

TEXAS • JULY 31 - AUGUST 6, 2017

Editorial & Opinion

My Son Was Shot In The Head By A Stray Bullet.

This Is Why Sensible Gun Laws Matter.

On February 1, 2014, a single bullet changed everything for my family. It was a very typical winter day in Indianapolis. The sun was shining like it hadn’t all winter long. I felt like I was beaming on the inside but, in my belly, existed an unexplainable worriment - a deep uneasiness.

That uneasiness was quickly confirmed in the most unimaginable way.

My then-13-year-old son, DeAndre, had been shot in the head while attending a birthday party. A stray bullet ripped through the bay window as the boys played and pierced my son’s skull, penetrating his brain. My heart stopped when I received that call. How could this happen? Dre was in the right place at the right time - playing with friends as a child should. How could such a normal Saturday occurrence become an act of gun violence?

Dre was the type of teen most parents wanted their younger child to look up to. He was funny, creative, outspoken, kind, and generous. He wasn’t perfect, but he was mine.

Dre’s smile would light up a room, and it still does. But needless to say, our lives have been changed forever.

That one bullet left my son paralyzed and unable to speak. Dre told me he loved me only hours before his voice was taken away, words I’ll never forget.

My tall, dark and handsome son now needs 24-hour care. He can’t do anything for himself except breathe.

The once-athletic honor student now has the mind of a small child, we can only assume. Because he cannot speak or do much on command, we really can’t be sure of what he understands.

Caring for a 6’1”, 220lbs, 16-year-old is quite the task. Dre has to be changed and repositioned every two to three hours. He must be kept dry and turned

to prevent bedsores that could lead to infections in his skin and bones.

He has to be bathed with the assistance of at least two people, only after he is lifted out of his bed by a Hoyer lift. Not quite the life we imagined for this standout ball player.

One shot diminished every hope and dream my son had of being a football player, a fireman, and even the class clown. I can no longer look forward to him learning how to drive, his prom pictures, hearing about his first broken heart, his high school graduation.

Because this wasn’t the life my son ever deserved, I have become his voice, and not only his but the voice of so many others who have been silenced too soon. As a member of the Everytown Survivor Network, a local voice for gun violence prevention in Indianapolis, and most importantly, a mom, I advocate for common-sense gun legislation in the US. Along with other concerned parents I’ve met through my advocacy, I’ll be urging our leaders in Indianapolis to reject permitless carry, a proposal that would let people carry loaded handguns throughout Indiana without a permit. We’ll also be urging our representatives in Washington to oppose concealed carry reciprocity, which would undermine Indiana’s ability - and that of all other states - to enforce strong standards for who can carry a concealed gun in public.

My hope is that through sharing our story - by letting the world see who Dre was and now is - we can help show our leaders why sensible gun laws matter. I don’t want another mother to cry the tears I’ve cried.

DeAndra Yates, Contributor of www.huffingtonpost.com

African

American News&Issues

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The Untold Story: White Folks Ain’t Go Into No Jungles!

An excerpt from Maya Angelou’s, Stop Black on Black Crime – Enough is Enough, revealed the following.

She wrote,

“

The anger we feel when we hear about a White person (a cop, a KKK member and the like) killing a Black person, should be multiplied by 100!

Where is the outrage when it comes to killing one of our own? Why have we become immune and anesthetized to these horrific acts of violence? When will we hold ourselves accountable and take action?

Each and every one of us (regardless of race, but especially those of African descent) has a responsibility to lead the next generation.”

I could not agree with the deceased poet and civil rights leader more. I think one of the best words I can think to answer the questions asked above is the term, “hypocrite”. For those who don’t know what it means… One of the definitions of “hypocrite” according Webster’s Dictionary is, “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.”

This topic came to mind as I sat thinking about all of the vile and evil things Black folks have done to Black folks since forever. But the sad part is the fact that Black folks choose to minimize what is done to one another by each other; and maximize when those who do not look like us do something similar. Truthfully, most of the time the things that are done to us by others, was first done to us by us!

We MUST Understand that even though the effects of slavery imposed itself on Africans living in America a couple hundred years ago, the origin of what brought our ancestors here then, are still amongst us today. However, the reality is that it was not the White man or should I state… The Europeans that captured Africans to begin with. There has been a grave misconception throughout the ages of time, in regards to how slavery came to be. It wasn’t no damn White folks going into the jungle to capture Africans. It was Black folks that caught other Black folks! As a matter of fact, I will go back into our history even deeper than that. Who in the hell do you think the Europeans purchased the slaves from? They certainly didn’t sell them from one another to one another… They didn’t start doing that until they got to America. We should be reminded that Africa is not a part of Europe. It was an independent nation by itself.

We MUST Understand that the original slaves that were first sold to White men were sold from other Africans. To that regard, I believe that it is also relevant for me to denote that a great number of slaves that were purchased by the Europeans; were already enslaved or imprisoned when they were purchased. In fact, some of the slaves that the Europeans purchased were on their way to being executed by their very own.

While some people may know the facts and origin of how the slave trade came to be, it is rarely ever talked about or discussed. I felt compelled to share this information with the faithful and loyal readers of AfricanAmerican News&Issues. Why??? For a couple of reason… Firstly, AfricanAmerican News&Issues is a publication that thrives off of highlighting current and historical realities affecting our communities. Therefore, I have made it a vow to present any and every topic that affects our community. That is, with no respect to any race, culture, creed or color, including our own!

Secondly, We MUST Understand that the biggest harm that any person can ever do to us Africans

We MUST Understand

By Roy Douglas

living in America is ourselves. White folks don’t have to sell us out; we do that on our own! White folks ain’t got to kill us, we been doing that to each other! White folks don’t have to try to keep us down; we have kept one another down, long enough! White folks don’t have to work to destroy us; we do that all by ourselves. White folks don’t have to create division between us; we built those walls many years ago.

So the next time, you hear somebody talking about, “The Man” keeping us down, selling us out, killing or trying to destroy or divide us, remind them that they got the idea from Black folk to begin with. And for the record, I detest the despicable things found in the Willie Lynch Letter to slave owners. But, I must remind you Africa existed long before Willie and his letter was ever thought of. Now my statements are not an admission that I condone slavery or the baffling and cruel effects that it has left amongst our society. Because right is right and wrong is wrong. Nevertheless, I have always believed in the old stance of, “calling an ace an ace, and a spade a spade”. So what I’m stating here, I hope that it would be a message to enlighten our people to wake the hell up! My message is loud and clear…

Black folks have always had a way of dividing and destroying one another.

So no, the White man don’t have to go into: “the jungle”, “the hood”, “the ghetto” or even “your home”; because he already got you to do the job!

- END TX-3

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African

American News&Issues

RACIAL PROFILING from pg. 1

Cover Story

Mowing While Black – The Clash

This time 20-year old Marlin Gipson is the latest example of how some police just don’t get the full meaning of being compassionate in the field and who look to harass young Black men even if in full view doing good work or performing a lawn service in a community.

In his own words on youcaring.com, Gipson wrote: Marlin Gipson; Part Owner of D & M Lawn Service

HOUSTON - Many associate racial profiling with being Black, singled out and stopped in a vehicle for a traffic stop.

However, profiling does come in many other forms, and now for Precinct One Constable and its deputies, it may now be too dangerous to be “Mowing While Black”.

It seems Black men can drive while Black, Walk While Black or even Work While being Black and be profiled, stopped and harassed.

Such appears to be the case for a Black student entrepreneur and his small group running a new up and coming lawn service.

It represents one of the latest incidents that demonstrates the continued frictions and clashes Between the “Black” and the “Blue”.

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TX- 4

“On July 18, 2017, my brothers and I were out cutting yards when we were racial profiled by a Precinct 1 Deputy Shane Cates. He claimed that we “fit the description” and wanted to question us about what we were doing in the neighborhood. It seemed like it was kind of obvious what we were doing with lawnmowers, weedwhackers and leafblowers but I explained that we were landscaping anyway.”

Gipson was also going door to door putting business cards out in Willow Park area to advertise and offer his services to the community.

According to the video released on the incident, Deputy Shane Cates approached the Black man and begin to question him about what he was out in the open doing going door to door in the subdivision.

There was no shaking of windows, peeping into homes or going into back yards reported at the time. Police only reason used to question the hard working youth was the alleged increase in property crimes in the area. It was that excuse that was used as an opportunity to stop Gipson and question him. Gipson even asked for the officer’s name and a card. When Deputy Shane Cates approached Gipson, he told the officer he was working. (performing his lawn services in the area).

The vision of Precinct One Constable’s Office promises to provide the highest level of professionalism, protection and service to our citizens in Harris County and visitors of our community.

Precinct One Constable Al Rosen held a news conference in attempt to bolster and justify the use of force in the case. He put on his toughest police personna to blast and describe Gipson’s faults and do damage control explaining the actions of his deputy and department.

However, the excuses and explanations for the treatment of Gipson are weak and fall way short of the community’s mark and fair and equal justice standards.

Did Precinct One fail in its mission and vision in Gipson’s encounter with the officer?

That is the question.

The Black community deserves the truth, respect and better treatment.

The Gipson case and the public relations snafu Precinct 1 finds itself fits a trending national pattern that the “Blue” still doesn’t get it. They fail miserable on knowing and understand African-Americans and the Black community.

The question is does Constable Rosen and his Precinct 1 officers on the street really have enough training to understand Black history and are equipped with adequate community culture and sensitivity needed to police the Black community.

Pulling out handcuffs moments after a non-confrontational response from a citizen to an officer is a power move that seems a little over the top, out of line, groundless and sets the stage for greater escalation to conflict, not communication.

“We do need to change policies and laws, but more importantly we must change a culture of denying to African-Americans the rights and privileges guaranteed by the Constitution,” said Gary Bledsoe, President of the Texas National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

In the United States, police officers still continue to have little to no respect for Black men and have police officers have their own mental problems and need some serious counseling, retraining and treatment when dealing with African-Americans and working the beat in our neighborhoods.

The Precinct 1 deputy involved apparently did not like how the lack of communications were going, so the video shows how the deputy then reached for his handcuffs and told Gipson to turn around and place his hands on his head, the 21-year-old began to walk away.

Editor’s note: During the recent NAACP forum in Acres Homes recently, the public was encouraged by law enforcement officials to report issues and ask for information and report complaints with police officers. Gipson obviously attempted to do just that and the deputy was not very cooperative with a citizen asking for information from a public servant.

Gipson did note that if he does not act and do something about what was happening to him, he was afraid someone else could get hurt.

“I was scared of what might happen next

TEXAS •Texas JULY 31 - AUGUST 6, 2017 • August 12-18, 2013

so I backed up slowly and started heading home,” he said.

Gibson is a high school graduate and college student majoring in business accounting and operates his lawn care business on the side to support himself and help his family.

“The truth is there were no complaints or robberies in that area recently,” Dallas-Fort Worth Civil Rights Attorney S. Lee Merritt, Esq. said in his video response to actions against Gipson. “This is exactly what we ask kids to do… go out and earn an honest living.

It was deflating even then to see a Black man being targeted by law enforcement.”

According to Merritt, Gipson posed no danger to the community, but the police later came to his home and even allegedly with his hands up and complying with officer command, he was tasered, had a K-9 dog sicced on him and was bitten numerous time by the same K-9 dog and then stomped by officers.

He was charged with evading arrest and failure to identify himself.

“If is turns out there were not reports (on record), then it is an unlawful stop,” Merritt said.

Racial Profiling Real

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, racial profiling is a longstanding and deeply troubling national problem despite claims that the United States has entered a “post-racial era.”

It occurs every day, in cities and towns across the country, when law enforcement and private security target people of color for humiliating and often frightening detentions, interrogations, and searches without evidence of criminal activity and based on perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion.

Racial profiling is patently illegal, violating the U.S. Constitution’s core promises of equal protection under the law to all and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Just as importantly, racial profiling is ineffective. It alienates communities from law enforcement, hinders community policing efforts, and causes law enforcement to lose credibility and trust among the people they are sworn to protect and serve.

Racial profiling affects a wide array of communities of color. More than 240 years of slavery and 90 years of legalized racial segregation have led to systemic profiling of blacks in traffic and pedestrian stops.

Continue reading @ www.aframnews.com By: Darwin Campbell

TEXAS • JULY 31 - AUGUST 6, 2017 DID YOU KNOW from pg 1 - By: Darwin Campbell

He and his wife, Maud, would voluntarily come in and do things like take tickets.

In addition to running the theater, DeWalt maintained a real estate office in the building’s upper floors, which served as a professional space and meeting place for African-American fraternities.

During the 1920s, DeWalt was president of the Houston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. (NAACP) History The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was established in 1909 to insure the equal rights of minority citizens and to improve the quality of life for people of all races. From the ballot box to the classroom, the dedicated workers, organizers, and leaders who forged this great organization and maintain its status as a champion of social justice, fought long and hard to ensure that the voices of African Americans would be heard.

The NAACP Houston Branch is a non-profit organizational unit of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People.

The Houston Branch was established in 1918 to help the un-served and underserved communities of color within Houston/Harris County. Governed by a dedicated group of volunteer members, the NAACP Houston

Politics Branch has an estimated 20 standing committees, which provide a myriad of civil rights and social justice initiatives, programs and services are provided at no cost to the community and include, but are not limited to Civic Engagement, Legal Redress, Health and Educational Advocacy.

Read us online! www. aframnews. com

President Trump Bans Transgender Americans from Serving in the Military

5

DALLAS - “As a granddaughter, daughter, niece, wife and sister of a veteran, I find it shameful for the president to During the time when the Ku Klux Klan experideem a certain group of people as unqualified to serve in our enced a resurgence in activity, and DeWalt was heralded military. The United States military is deserving of all who we as an influential civil-rights leader who stood up to the are undoubtedly committed, dedicated and willing to humbly KKK. serve our nation. A person should not be deemed unfit to lay down their life for their country based on their gender He was involved in the White Primary fight in which identity. Our transgendered friends and family member the Democratic Party excluded black participation. He should be treated equally and allowed to serve and protect also pushed for the establishment of a branch of the our democracy and liberties.” ~ Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson National Urban League in Houston.

Killed in the Fight for Justice

DeWalt remained active as NAACP president until his death.

HOUSTON - “The President’s harmful and hate-filled policy announced via Twitter to ban Transgender Americans He was assassinated on April 24, 1931. Funeral ser- from military service represents a new and disturbing low. vices were held first in Houston and then in Livingston, Mr. Trump’s blatant discrimination against those who wish to serve runs counter to the ideals and principals espoused where he was buried. by our founding fathers and articulated in the United States Sources: Constitution. “The decision on who can serve should be left to Houston Branch NAACP History ; Michael L. Gillette, The the military and not to the political whims of an ill-informed NAACP in Texas, 1937–1957 (Ph.D. dissertation, University and intolerant Commander in Chief. I strongly urge the of Texas at Austin, 1984). Darlene Clark Hine, Black Victory: President to reconsider this move, which only serves to deniThe Rise and Fall of the White Primary in Texas (Millwood, grate those persons who wish to bravely defend the greatest New York: KTO Press, 1979). Houston Informer and Texas nation on earth.” Hon. Sheila Jackson Lee

METRO is developing a new plan for transit in the region.

Learn more by attending an upcoming open house near you.

For a complete list of dates and METRO route information for each Open House visit METRONext.org.

Join us at one of these meetings or give us your input at METRONext.org.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 1 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

MONDAY, AUGUST 7 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

TUESDAY, AUGUST 15 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Tracy Gee Community Center 3599 Westcenter Dr. Houston, TX 77042

Houston Community College Brays Oaks 8855 West Bellfort St. Houston, TX 77031

Hiram Clarke Multi-Service Center 3810 W. Fuqua St. Houston, TX 77045

Katy ISD Education Support Complex 6301 South Stadium Ln. Katy, TX 77494

8 West Bellfort 46 Gessner

11 Almeda/Lyons 14 Hiram Clarke 54 Scott 98 Briargate

25 Richmond WEDNESDAY, JULY 19 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

TUESDAY, JULY 25 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

THURSDAY, JULY 27 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Humble Civic Center Phillip Cezeaux Recreational Center 100 N. Houston Ave. Humble, TX 77338

White Oak Conference Center 7603 Antoine Dr. Houston, TX 77088

Quail Run Community Center 16748 Quail Park Dr. Missouri City, TX 77489

Metropolitan Multi-Service Center 1475 W. Gray St. Houston, TX 77019

THURSDAY, JULY 20 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

WEDNESDAY, JULY 26 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Acres Homes Multi-Service Center 6719 West Montgomery Rd. Houston, TX 77091 44 Acres Homes 64 Lincoln City

85 Antoine/Washington

Sagemont Park Community Center 11507 Hughes Rd. Houston, TX 77089 88 Sagemont

SATURDAY, JULY 29 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Magnolia Multi-Service Center 7037 Capitol St. Houston, TX 77011 METRORail Green Line 20 Canal/Memorial 28 OST-Wayside 38 Manchester-Lawndale 50 Broadway 76 Evergreen

32 Renwick/San Felipe 40 Telephone/Heights 41 Kirby/Polk THURSDAY, AUGUST 3 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

TUESDAY, AUGUST 8 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Wyndham Houston West Energy Corridor 14703 Park Row Blvd.

Houston, TX 77079 75 Eldridge 162 Memorial Express

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Lone Star College University Park 20515 SH 249, Building 11 Houston, TX 77070

Judson Robinson Senior Community Center 1422 Ledwicke Houston, TX 77029

44 Acres Homes

48 Market

Montie Beach Community Center 915 Northwood Houston, TX 77009

Third Ward Multi-Service Center 3611 Ennis St. Houston, TX 77004 4 Beechnut 9 Gulfton/Holman

THURSDAY, AUGUST 17 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

26 Long Point/Cavalcade 44 Acres Homes

Any person who requires language interpretation or special needs accommodations is encouraged to contact METRO Public Affairs at 713-739-4018, or via email at METROPublicAffairs@ridemetro.org. Every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate your needs.

TX- 5

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African

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — The number of women who die after giving birth in Texas is at an alarming rate, on par with developing countries. Black women in Texas are at the greatest risk. The reasons why have stumped the health community. On Wednesday, one state lawmaker unveiled a bill that could find the answers. Cheryl Perkins says her 21-year-old daughter, Cassaundra, knew something was wrong a few days after delivering premature twins by Cesarean section. “She just said, ‘Mom I’m sick. I’m still sick,'” Perkins said. So the day after Labor Day 2014, her daughter went to the hospital. Three days later, she was dead. “Never would I have dreamed death,” said Perkins, who watched doctors unsuccessfully scramble to save her daughter. An autopsy revealed that doctors left behind pieces of placenta after the surgery, causing a deadly infection. Now, Cassaundra’s 4-year-old daughter, Jurnii, and her twins, Camille and Catreyal, are in their grandmother’s care.

AUSTIN-Though a key responsibility of our city government is protecting our residents’ safety, our historic over-reliance on criminal charges, arrests and incarceration is not making us safer — in fact, in many cases it’s making our city more dangerous. For example, in 1990 the Austin City Council created a criminal offense for a juvenile to “walk, run, idle, wander, stroll, or aimlessly drive” during curfew hours. To this day, young people can be cited with a criminal offense for merely being out in public during school hours or at night. Instead of protecting us, policies like the decades-old curfew ordinance have pushed our community’s kids into the criminal justice system, thereby increasing the chances they will become victims or perpetrators of crime in the long run. Furthermore, heavy enforcement of low-level offenses wastes scarce public safety resources that could be better dedicated elsewhere.

AUSTIN-Mayor Adler and other city leaders unveiled a historic plaque to commemorate and celebrate Austin's black history. Downs Field has been an East Austin treasure for decades. It was home to the Black Senators, a semi-professional baseball team, with stars like Satchel Paige, Roni Stone, Hilton Smith, and Willie Wells. It was donated to Samuel Huston College and was used as the school's baseball stadium in the late 1920s. City leaders gathered alongside members of the Downs family to recognize the value of the field and the role it has played in years past. "What this does is represent the maintenance of context, and how things happened and also controlling of the narrative of telling the story so it's very important that the story is told, it means a lot," Robert Downs Jr. said. Downs Jr.'s grandfather and great uncle were heavily involved with the college.

Years later, in the late 1930s, the field was sold to Austin public schools, it was used as a football field for Anderson High students. Today, it’s open for the community to enjoy as well.

CYPRESS - A Harris County sheriff's deputy was found dead in his home Wednesday night in Cypress, Sgt. Collier said. Precinct 4 deputies said the deputy's daughter called for a welfare check on her dad just after 10 p.m. in the 20000 block of Sunshine Ridge Lane. Deputies said they entered the home and found Michael Collins unresponsive. He was pronounced dead by EMS on the scene, officials said. Collier said it appears Collins died from a gas leak in the home and believes it was accidental. The deputy has been with the Harris County Sheriff’s department since 1991. The Harris County Fire Marshal’s office and sheriff’s deputies are investigating.

DALLAS - One year after the Dallas shooting at a protest over the police killings of two Black men, the man initially mistaken as the suspect is speaking out about how that night has affected him.

“The first thing that came to my mind was they’re going to kill me out here,” Mark Hughes, owner of a snowcone stand, tells NBCDFW Wednesday, July 5, of how he felt when he learned he was deemed a suspect. “I was angry. I was frightened. I feared for my life. I was confused and didn’t know what to do.” The July 7, 2016, protest in downtown Dallas was in response to the police shooting deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling days earlier and things turned chaotic when a gunman opened fire, killing five police officers and injured nine others. The shooter was later identified as Army veteran Micah Johnson. In the aftermath, Hughes said he was threatened with notes that called him a “cop killer” and his five children were forced to stay with relatives. Although the threats have since stopped, he is still upset about how things were handled. Now, he’s trying to rebuild his

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DALLAS (AP) — A woman alleges that police in the Dallas suburb of Arlington offered to drop charges against her two teenage sons in exchange for cellphone video she shot that she says shows an officer needlessly pushing her older son to the ground and arresting him At a news conference Thursday, Latasha Nelson said two police officers told her that they would give back her cellphone, which she says was illegally seized during the July 3 incident, after she surrendered the video. Her attorney, Kim T. Cole, said the officers insinuated that the charges against Nelson’s sons would be dropped if she agreed.

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WACO,Texas-Community leaders are paying their respects to Wilbert Austin Sr., who overcame an upbringing of poverty and prejudice to become a tireless community volunteer, minister and District 1’s longest-serving city councilman. Austin died after a long battle with the stomach cancer that had caused him to resign the city council seat in May. He was 76 and had served on the council for 11 years. “There’s no question he made a mark on Waco, from the work he did in the early days to his time on the city council,” Mayor Kyle Deaver said. “His leadership and personable style made it easy for him to work with others while working as a team member in a cooperative way to

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TEXAS • JULY 31 - AUGUST 6, 2017

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Name: Matthew B Glidden Company:Lone Star College System Phone: 832.813.6532 PUBLIC NOTICE Fax: 832.813.6513 Adaptive Instructional Modeling, L.L.C.Matthew.B.Glidden@lonestar.edu is bidding on Email: Address for Tearsheets: Project 16-10-47 Tutorial Services For Students for the 5000 Research Houston Independent School District. Forest Drive The Woodlands, We are looking for possible M/WBE subcontractorsTexas 77381-4356

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Sealed electronic proposals will be received by Lone Star College for: • CSP #533 – Replace 4 ea. Air Handling Units at LSC-Kingwood Electronic. Submittal due by 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 23, 2017.

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RFP # 526 Automated Manufacturing Line including Mechatronics/ Robotics Lab Equipment – Lone Star College-University Park. RFP Due: 8/17/17 @ 10:00a.m. Online WebEx pre-proposal meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 8, 2017, 11:00 – 12:00 a.m.; call–in number 832-813-6705. Contact michelle.allen@Lonestar.edu 832-813-6299

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PUBLIC NOTICE THE GEORGIA PORTS AUTHORITY P. O. BOX 2406 SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31402 The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) will receive sealed bids for providing all labor, materials, equipment and services required for the design, fabrication, transport, erection, testing, certification and placing into service eight (8) rail mounted gantry (RMG) cranes to serve the GPA’s new Port of Savannah International Multi-Modal Connector (IMMC) project at the Garden City Terminal in Garden City, Georgia. For detailed information, please visit the Georgia Ports Authority website at www.gaports.com/engineering/projects.

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American News&Issues

Acres Home Chamber for Business & Economic Development. Inc.

TEXAS • JULY 31- AUGUST 6, 2017

Life after a Felony With: Johnnie Tatum & Second Chance Consulting and Outreach

HOUSTON - Johnnie Tatum hails from Dallas but was reared in the Acres Homes’ community, by his mother. He attended MacArthur High School. During his youth, he became a victim to some of the perils associated with his environment. From this experience, he was labeled a convicted felon. While Tatum initially appeared to be just another statistic, he was determined and motivated to persevere through the negative hype. As a result, he has completely transformed his prior blemish into a platform of educating, encouraging and motivating members from his community. His actions are evident through his organization, Second Chance Consulting and Outreach.

Background Insight on Founder, Johnnie

Tatum:

As a writer, I have chosen to omit certain elements of Mr. Tatum’s story; at an attempt to provide our readers with the most vital concept that lies behind the implementation of Second Chance. It behooves our readers to take note and understand that regardless of where a person has been or what they have done; there is always life after a felony… African-American News&Issues has afforded me the opportunity to present the stories of scores of successful African-American greats from our communities. In doing so, I have found that everyone’s story is inspired by some person or some people. During our interview, Mr. Tatum revealed that he was no different. Unlike many others, Tatum was moti-

vated by “naysayers” and those that vowed he would never amount to anything in life.

Where it all started:

According to Johnnie Tatum “I remember it like it was yesterday. Some time after I was released, I was in Utah working construction. I was down in the trenches and I remember this White guy was on a tractor up high… And when he rolled over me… I was like… ‘Lord have mercy! I’m doing exactly what they said I would do!’ I remember as a kid how they would all say… ‘You this and you that and you will end up digging ditches.’ I left that job that day and enrolled back in school.”

From that moment on, the rest is Second Chance

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Upon making the decision to turn his stumbling-blocks into stepping-stones, Tatum was inspired to establish Second Chance Consulting and Outreach. In his own way of giving back to his beloved Acres Home community, he is determined to educate members from within. During our interview, Tatum said, “So many of us have potential, but were not given the opportunity to maximize it because we didn’t have the right guidance or proper education to help prepare us for society.” “Unfortunately, a lot of my peers have passed away, are imprisoned, plagued with alcohol and drug problems amongst other things; but I believe I have a duty to help reach those that I can, through Second Chance,” he added.

Life at Second Chance Consulting and Outreach:

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Consulting and Outreach history. After Tatum made up his mind to enroll in school, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Advanced Radiological Science with a minor in MRI from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. He later continued his education at the University of Phoenix where he attained a Masters’ degree in Business Administration.

Simultaneously, he pursued a professional career in the healthcare industry. He contributed a sum of 18 years in the field, having worked in leadership for 13 of them.

Throughout the course of the last six years, he served as Director of Radiology.

4/5/17 7:57 AM

Second Chance Consulting and Outreach was established on June 25, 2010. Since that time, the facility has serviced over 3,000 clients on their road to recovery. The outreach partners with Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), METRO, Goodwill and most

recently, the Acres Home Chamber for Business & Economic Development, Inc. Services offered by the agency include: Alcohol and Drug evaluation, anger management education, anti-theft, Battering Intervention Prevention Program (B.I.P.P., Domestic Violence), individual counseling, parenting classes, intensive outpatient program, supportive outpatient program, Texas Drug Offender Education Program (TDOEP), DWI 32-Hour Repeat Offenders Program, First-time DWI Program, urinalysis, and group sessions, just to list a few.

Participants receive personal effective education courses from licensed counselors who provide resources and techniques to help manage life's challenges. Furthermore, clients of Second Chance have provided positive feedback suggesting that they enjoy being a part of the program. Many attribute the success of the outreach to the counselors, who are genuine and deliver real-life classes, involving real-life situations catered to their needs.

The counselors at Second Chance understand their clients because they were once in similar predicaments, and can relate to them. Currently, Second Chance provides school supplies to local students. In past, they have provided dinners for senior citizens within the community. Tentatively, the outreach is working to incorporate a food bank, assistance with SNAP benefits and medical assistance for clients at the location.

Tatum expressed that he and his staff strive to show respect to all clients regardless of their situations. He said, “While working in class, I choose to focus on the whole person, I believe that listening skills and truly understanding who you are, is key. If you don’t

Johnnie Tatum

know who you are, then it’s really hard to build a strong foundation and family.” He continued, “I have to talk to our clients about overcoming abuse because many people do not realize they have been abused.

Abuse comes in all types of forms not just physical… When people constantly tell you, ‘you are going to jail, an early graveyard or you will never be nothing,’ that’s abuse! And after a while your actions show that you believe what they say.”

“So, overcoming these things are vital and we aim to offer a support system to assist our clients with this,” he added.

The Resurrection of Rest Lawn Cemetery:

In addition to mentoring and uplifting residents at Second Chance, Tatum has set out on a mission to restore the historical Rest Lawn Cemetery. Some years ago, the final resting place was nearly destroyed in a torrential flood. As a result, headstones were dismantled and sinkholes were found throughout. For nearly five years, Tatum and other members from the community have Cont. on pg 9

TEXAS • JULY 31- AUGUST 6, 2017 From pg 8

not ceased from preserving the landscape and sanctity of the 18th century graveyard.

So far, they have cleared the lot, secured a fence, replaced and restored many fallen headstones and turned the site into a historical landmark. Although it has been a challenge, Tatum and others remain committed to the task. Recently, Mayor Sylvester Turner blessed the cemetery with community service partners to assist in their efforts. Consequently, there are attendees present at the site seven days a week. With the project nearing its completion, a Rededication Ceremony for family members to attend will be hosted. A pictorial map has been created so that family members will be able to locate the designated place of their loved ones.

When asked, Tatum said that he was inspired by a quote from a book. It read, “Show me your graveyard and I can tell you about your people.” He says, “I took that personally because I’m from Acres Home, and when a lot of people hear Acres Home they associate it with negativity. But I want people to know that there are a lot of good people from there.”

Rest Lawn Cemetery is located at 7000 Wheatley Road, 77088. The contact number is (713) 448-6963. To contribute to the maintaining of the property, visit www.gofundme. com/historical-texas-cemetery-marker.

Advice to the AfricanAmerican Community:

Acres Home Chamber for Business & Economic Development. Inc.

HOUSTON - “I came straight from the streets to the pulpit. They call me Rev. Real because my story is so real and touches the everyday person…nothing is sugar coated, I’m just telling everyone what God has told me to say.”

Pastor Leroy Henderson was born in Houston, Texas, but was raised in Prairie View, Texas. He attended church at St. Peters Missionary Baptist Church where he was ordained under Fred Thomas III, and he served under his ministry for 17 years. From there, he came to Houston and started his own ministry.

He is currently the pastor of The House of Praise Worship Center. Although he has only been there six months, his congregation is constantly growing, and he thanks God everyday for the opportunity to spread the word of God. “I’m just glad to be serving God, and doing God’s will,” he expressed. Pastor Henderson is not only a pastor, but a businessman too. He owns a beauty and a barbershop (Executive Barber and Beauty & Executive Salon Suites), which is located on Jones Road.

With everything that has happened in his life, Pastor Henderson gives all of his glory to God. “God is good. He is blessing me financially, spiritually, and emotionally,” expressed Pastor Henderson.

Pastor Henderson didn’t always want to be a preacher. In fact, he never thought that it was his calling. He had a rough life growing up on the south side of Houston. As a child, he was in and out of trouble, and his mother sent him to Prairie View to live with his grandmother.

His grandfather was a deacon at a church called Progressive Missionary Baptist Church. He would attend church with his grandparents, and he would just hang around the church. “The church wasn’t in me, I was just hanging. But it was one day when my grandma had told me that if I ever needed Jesus to just call on him.”

Little did he know that day would be soon.

of whom I’m very grateful for.

When asked of any advice They were not in my life back that he would like to share with then but my decisions then members of our community, still affect us. So I encourage Tatum revealed the following. people to understand that once “I made a lot of bad choices you make that choice it’s going as a young man and now that to be difficult to find the job I’m 50-years-old, I have a lot of that you want and be able to regret. Things that I have done make the salary that you desire.

30 years ago still affect me to- I was blessed to be able to get day. They also affect my loving to the director level, but they wife of 16 years, Sharon and my put so much pressure on me in daughter 13-year-old daughter

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Religion Profile: Pastor Leroy Henderson

One day, he got ministry, he started into a situation it with a mustard to where he seed of faith. He needed Jesus, didn’t know where and when he or how he was called on him, going to start the Jesus answered. ministry because When Pastor he didn’t have a Henderson was building or any delivered from resources for a that situalocation, but he tion, he knew Pastor & First Lady Henderson did have a vision.

Jesus works.

On December “He worked in my life…I told him that 16th of last year, he asked the if he helped me out of this situation, I manager of Hotel Preet if he could would serve him” Although he made this use the ballroom to start his ministry. promise to God, he still had one foot in the For the first few weeks, he didn’t have church, and one foot out of the church. any members, but he stayed faithful and loyal to his calling. By the Another situation arose when he was eighth week, he received his first two faced with congested heart failure. “I members that came in to hear the word was laying on that gurney looking at the of God. “I was so happy that when ceiling at the hospital…and it came back they came in the door, it reminded to me what I told God, that if he got me me of when I was preaching to those out of that first situation, I would serve empty chairs. I remember that God him.” The doctor told him he had to quit said if he be lifted up, he would draw smoking, drinking, and running the streets, all men. I remember that God said that or his heart was going to stop working. he would also add to the church as he “I turned to God and asked God that if saw fit, and the tears fell from my eyes. he helped me, I would do his will.” God I knew that God’s word would never allowed him to get out of the hospital after fell.” Pastor Henderson couldn’t be four days, but he still kept doing what he happier as the ministry has grown, and wanted to do. After another episode with is still growing. “I thank God for him his heart, he knew he had to finally change to allow me to have a vision to start my his ways. At that moment, he started ministry. There are so many churches praying because he was running from his in Houston, but God’s work is still becalling. “As I would run away from my ing done.” Pastor Henderson is always calling, I kept finding myself in a situation. ready to touch lives with the word of Instead of me running from my calling, I God. He is so humble and happy to be ran to my calling. Ever since I ran to it, as serving the Lord. the old folks would say, I grabbed hold to the gospel plow, and I’ve been living the By every good man, there is Christian life ever since.” always a good woman by his side.

Pastor Henderson has a wife that is When Pastor Henderson started his

doing so. So that’s what really drives me at Second Chance. I tell them all the time… ‘Guys, don’t let your kids slip through the cracks.’ We have to start training our children early.

Because I realize now that a lot of our people have the ability but they lack the right support and exposure. I earned my degrees after prison and that let me know that I was always

capable of doing it, just like most of our clients.”

Second Chance Consulting and Outreach is also an approved CTI Site (Counselor Training Intern) for Counselor Interns Level I, II and III. Anyone in search of LCDC, internship hours, is encouraged to contact the facility. It is located at 7208 North Shepherd Drive, Suite 107,

77091. For more information or details regarding services contact (713) 623-1811; email jtsecondchance@gmail.com; or visit their website at http:// www.secondchancereentry. com/index.html. Hours of operation for the organization are: Monday – Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm and Saturday – Sunday, 10:00am – 5pm.

By: Rebecca S. Jones

9

very supportive and has been there through it all. He has been married to the beautiful Laconya William Henderson, for over 27 years, and they have four children named Bianca Henderson, Jedidiah Henderson, Leon Henderson, and Leroy Henderson III. If you are interested in attending his church, it is located off of Little York at 14996 North West Freeway in the Hotel Preet Ballroom. You can also visit their website at www.houseofpraiseworshipcenter.org.

“The story is just yet being told, I’m still writing the book.”

-Pastor Leroy Henderson By: Chelsea Davis-Bibb, M.Ed.

Upcoming Chamber Events

AUGUST 3 THURSDAY Acres Home Chamber for Bus. & Eco. Dev. Montly Business Networking Luncheon

GUEST SPEAKER Hon. Al Green U.S. State Representative, District 9 Congressman

10 THURSDAY AHCBED

E-Commerce Online Markets From 6:30pm - 7:30pm

The events will be held at 6112 Wheatley St. Houston, TX 77091 For more info on upcoming events or to inquire about joining AHCBED contact (713) 692-7161 or email info@acreshomecenter.org

TX - 9

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Education/Youth

Teacher Authors Book to Inspire Readers to Overcome Obstacles

Texas • July 31 - August 6, 2017

Thurgood Marshall School of Law (TMSL) partners with The Chauncy Glover Project Houston

Photo: Jessika C. Hearne shown during her book launch and signing at Barnes and Noble in Pearland Town Center.

FORT BEND ISD - Many people doubted Jessika Hearne would ever succeed in life, but she has proven them wrong on so many levels. Some said she wouldn’t graduate high school, but she did. Her educational pursuits went even further with her receiving a Bachelor’s degree, soon to be followed by a Master’s degree in Education Administration, which she’ll receive this August. Others tried to destroy her self-esteem, not knowing that her personal pride and strong self-worth would one day help her overcome the many obstacles she faced throughout her childhood and most of her adult life.

As a child and young adult, Hearne suffered from neglect and abuse, but she thanks God that her life is now peaceful, secure and worth living.

The proud mother of three is also living her dreams, one after the other.

She is enjoying a humbling and rewarding career as a middle school teacher. Last year, she received the honor of being named McAuliffe Middle School’s Campus Teacher of the Year, followed by being named an FBISD Teacher of the Year finalist, and finally, FBISD’s 2017 District Secondary Teacher of the Year. She is also working on her natural hair product line, A Touch of Parrys, which will be released soon. And to top it off, she recently became a published author.

“Having my book published is a big

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accomplishment for me,” admits Hearne. “It feels amazing and crazy all at the same time.

I feel like everything is falling into place for me.”

Her book, Growing Up: Life Behind the Chalkboard, chronicles key life-changing moments in the life of main character, Musik Raine. Musik overcomes a life of poverty, physical and verbal abuse, and even a kidnapping – all while keeping her dreams of becoming more than her situation alive.

“The messages I want people to receive from reading my book is that they are responsible for their own lives, and not even the sky is the limit to what they can achieve,” said Hearne.

“So many people tried to discourage me and make me feel smaller than who I am.

I refused to let those negative people impact my life, and remained positive knowing that I would someday achieve my goals.”

Hearne also feels it is important to rise above the hurt and pain caused by others and avoid trying to get even. “The universe will take care of them,” she said.

What’s next on the horizon for the author?

Hearne plans to write another book. Stay tuned, she promises it will be one that all readers can enjoy.

TMSL is proud to host and partner with the Chauncey Glover Project (CGP) – an extensive, handson mentoring program and federally approved non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that was created to groom inner-city teenager boys into upstanding and accomplished gentlemen-on the law school campus July 26-29, 2017. CGP was founded in June 2013 by Emmy award-winning reporter and anchor, Chauncey Glover. It was after spending a year reporting on the streets of Detroit and covering a story of a Martin Luther King, Jr. High School student who was shot and killed after allegedly trying to rob the school’s coach, that Glover was moved to begin his own mentoring program. Glover, now based in Houston as an anchor and reporter for KTRK ABC 13, has successfully brought CGP to the young men of Wheatley High School, Navarro Middle School, Fleming Middle School and Foster Elementary in the completion of its inaugural year in Houston this past June.

Per Glover, “CGP continues to impact young men with great potential who need extra guidance from positive role models. Our initial focus was solely young, male seniors in high school; however, we soon realized that selecting young men who are also in middle school allowed us to reach them earlier, in anticipation of our mentors assisting them avoid common pitfalls and setting them on the pathway to success much sooner. We offer one-on-one mentoring and monthly empowerment sessions which focus on varied aspects of manhood and success to include education, self-empowerment, financial responsibility, college readiness, etiquette, relationship building, community service-our list goes on. We are excited about our new partnership with Thurgood Marshall School of Law and the law school opening its doors to us to host our 2017 summer mini-camp for our young men. This summer, we plan to expose our newest class of young men to a small dose of college readiness, study skills, etiquette, and more as they prepare to start the school year. We envision this partnership being one where our young men can continue to learn about professionalism and the importance of higher education, while simultaneously, being inspired by accomplished legal professionals in this great city of Houston.”

For more information about CGP contact Christina Porter, CGP Project Coordinator at thechauncycloverprojecthouston@gmail.com.

TEXAS • JULY 31 - AUGUST 6 , 2017

W

hat if reality as we know it wasn’t what we knew it to be? What if the stories of the past were changed by one small detail? However, that one small detail being one that would change it drastically!

What if the slaves that were brought from Africa had been White, the slave masters had been Black, and every event of the past, up until the present, were also in reverse?

In this series you will discover that the ethnicities of oppressor and oppressed have been reversed. This had been done in order to open the minds of the readers to …. WHAT IF? This gallery of illustrations has been created to assist the reader on grasping the understanding of why we are promoting that “Black Lives Matter”. Throughout this book you will see illustrations of the Caucasian race placed in the African-American experiences.

To my brothers and sisters who may be offended by my whitening our history and our historical figures (e.g. Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, The Black Panther Party, Colin Kaepernick, etc.) to validate a point, please forgive me. However, in order to display our complete struggle, it is essential that I illuminate our iconic leaders’ defiance in the mist of our struggle. For that is the only way one will understand why it was imperative for them to embrace a position of slugging it out against an oppressive system.

Also, I expect for these illustrations to bring clarity to all of you who fight against understanding our stance against injustice.

Part II: Coming of A New Era Chapter 6: Jim Crow: The Klan In 1863, after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, all slaves were officially set free. This act signified the abolishment of the horrific institution of slavery in these United States. It was also the impetus of the formation of a group of hate mongers that would become known as the Ku Klux Klan.

The initial group of Klansmen was made up of ex-confederate soldiers. Theses ex-soldiers, feeling the loss of their war, their way of life, their property, and their wealth, fostered a vile hatred that was directed upon former slaves.

This hatred was manifested in various forms of harassment and torture ranging from cross burning to lynching.

The Ku Klux Klan spread an ideology amongst the Black people stating that the former slaves were going to become their equal. Or, the former slaves would become vengeful and turn the tables enslaving those who has once enslaved them. The spreading of this ideology insured that the ranks of the Klan grew.

Naturally the spreading of this ideology induced fear in the Black community. That made it easy for the southern states to pass the Jim Crow laws designed to keep the children of former slaves underfoot for as long as the Jim Crow system

What If? stayed in place.

The movie “The Birth of a Nation” was produced in 1916.

This movie depicted the Ku Klux Klan as saviors. The Klan was to save Black America from the descendants of farmer slaves.

Chapter 6: The Hanging In the years spanning between 1882-1930, 3,386 whites were lynched by the Klan, and other frustrated Blacks who bought into the Klan’s ideology.

Often times, these lynching’s were turned into a celebration. Black folks would gather and have a picnic, drink toast, and take pictures. They would even bring their children to these atrocious gatherings to ensure that this evil would become a tradition.

Naturally, these inhumane acts that were being committed without any form of legal recourse, instilled fear in the white community.

The Klan used cross burnings, and lynching as their calling card. This madness proliferated across the south, and it promulgated the Klan’s message of Black supremacy.

Chapter 7:The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

Between 1930-1970, the government conducted experiments on the white community. These experiments took place in Tuskegee, Alabama. Under the pretense of free vaccination shots, the government injected white people with the syphilis disease.

During the 40-year span, the government did find a cure for the disease. However, the cure never administrated to any of the test subjects. Instead, the government monitored these individuals like lab rats. In cruel fascination, they watched as the disease progressed and spread to spouses and children.

Chapter 8: Rosa Parks Defiance In 1955 Jim Crow laws forced whited to sit in the back of public buses. These same laws also had a provision that allowed Black citizen to appropriate a seat that was occupied by a white person if so desired.

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American News&Issues

11

One day Rosa Parks, exhausted from working all day, decided to take a stand. Ms. Parks chose not to give up her seat when a Black man told her to move because he wanted the seat. By refusing to obey, Ms. Parks broke the law and was summarily arrested.

Ms. Parks arrest led to a 13-month boycott of the public busing system. With all of the whites abstaining from using public transportation, the busing company lost a tremendous amount of revenue. For it was the white people who made up the majority of the bus riding populace.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN NEXT WEEK?

DON’T MISS OUT ON THE WEEKLY HISTORY SERIES “WHAT IF?”

Tune in next week for Chapter 8 to continue...

Bio Carlos Walker, 35, a budding artist was born and raised in Halifax, CO., Va. To Hilton and Inell Walker, who has 6 children. Mr. Walker being the sixth.

Carlos has been drawing since the early age of eight. He was encouraged to continue to do so in school

by Mrs. Fitzgerald his high school art teacher and now by his family and Washika Arnold his future spouse. Not envisioning a future in art, Mr. Walker chose to put this talents to the side and sell drugs.

Which landed him in prison at the age of 24, when most young men and women are just starting to live life and start their careers.

For him, little did he know GOD had a blessing in store and his career would just be getting started to become an artist/ activist and book writer. While incarcerated he put together 3 exhibits and a single piece, plus he has written a book based on his artwork entitled “What If”. One of his projects is a 48-piece illustrated entitled “Walk A Mile In Our Shoes And You Will Understand From Whence We Came”, Illustrations called “Endangered Species”, a 3-piece illustration entitled “The Greatest”, and a single called “Hunting Season”. His greatest work of art is arguably “Walk A Mile In Our Shoes”, because what it portrays is the Black EXPERIENCE in a different way. In creating this exhibit, he seeks to show a mirror effect to Caucasians of what the Black EXPERIENCE looks like. Mr. Walker’s pictures have been created with the sole intent to invoke a thought in all who refuse to understand the plight that Blacks have had to endure in their experience from slavery up until now. His work can be viewed on Instagram….@walkers_gallery.

TX - 11

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