Vol 27 Issue 20

June 5, 2022

GREATER HOUSTON EDITION

African-American News&Issues

“Addressing Current & Historical Realities Affecting Our Community”

Vol. 27, Issue 20

We print without fear or favor.

- Roy Douglas Malonson

A Call Answered Rev. Dr. Rolen Womack Jr.

Cont. on Pg. 3

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June 5, 2022

EDITORIAL

President/Chief Editor

Chelsea Davis-Bibb, Ed.D.: Associate Editor Nick Jones: Afram TV Tristar: Layout Design

News:

A Revival of God

Consciousness Bobby E. Mills, PhD

Office: (713) 692-1892 Wednesday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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It’s All About Money Pursuing one’s own pleasure while ignoring or exploiting the needs of others leaves an individual void of God’s conscience, spiritually unfulfilled, and an empty vessel that is under God’s anger and judgment. God desires that we enjoy life, but He also desires that we avoid those things and activities that leads individuals away from fellowship with Him (truth).

The vulgar love of money is the main thing that separates individuals from God and from each other.

It is written: “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many arrows” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary most individuals vulgarly believe that money brings happiness. Money is a cruel master. Rich individuals who crave greater riches usually get caught-up in ruin and self-destruction.

To whom much is given much is required, because when God blesses you, He

also has others in mind.

Remember the Rich Man who thought his wealth would permit him to live forever, because his harvests were great. He could eat, drink and be merry. Therefore, he declared that I shall tear-down these old barns which were completely full to the brim and build bigger barns. The death angel appeared to the Rich Man and declared: “thou fool this night your soul is required of thee” (Luke 12: 16-21).

Who will the harvest belong to? America, the harvest belongs to GOD, because as Job declared: “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1: 21). The Wisest and Richest man that the Bible records declared, everything is futile, but God. Hence, “Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1: 2-3)?

Christian Right Evangelicals the church should not be an economic enterprise, but a spiritual union of faithful believers in the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Likewise, families should be spiritual units; not economic units, even though families have economic functions.

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Partin’ the Waters

By Omowale Luthuli-Allen

Appealing to the Right High Priest Maybe I shouldn’t have a comment, but this is an opinion piece. All of us have a nose and all of us have an opinion.

My first marriage lasted six years. I was in love, but our love was not to stay, for we didn’t have the right ingredients to bake the cake. Relationship coaches, marriage counselors and soothsayers were not an option, so we crashed. The last days were an example of uglification.

In the 1990’s, Rep. Joe Kennedy and his lovely wife decided to part through the instrument of holy annulment. Specialists, who can make words mean many different things, say that Annulment is different from a divorce because it is intended to leave the parties the way that they were before the “marriage,” without ongoing legal and financial entanglements such as spousal support.

Interpret spousal support to be the same as cheaper to keep her, Alimony.

Bad boys who fail to pay alimony and child support can end up in jail.

The civil judge and courts

can decide to grant a divorce and your religious faith can decide to grant an annulment. Somewhat similar to your religious faith having the power to decide if you can break the bread and drink the cup.

Speaker Pelosi’s faith has made the decision to make her persona non-grata at the Eucharist (holy communion). If Nancy sits on your row, you either want to pinch the hell out of her or go home.

Rose Rausch Kennedy achieved a civil divorce. She and her so called husband were married 12 years and had two boys. Rose believed that during the early years that they had a strong marriage until a young intern came to work at the statehouse. We know the young intern as the “Clean up woman “.

The archbishop ruled that she and Joe never had a marriage. Did he cite mental illness or drugs as the precipitating factor for dissolving the marriage, putting the marriage asunder? I don’ t think so. The Kennedy family was rich, influential and powerful.

Money and power talk and the peacock prancing looks good but has no substance.

The Boston Archdiocese high priest decided contrary to the civil courts, inflaming Raush-Kennedy.

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June 5, 2022

RELIGION

A Call Answered

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Join me Gilbert Andrew Garcia in celebrating

By: Chelsea Davis-Bibb, Ed.D.

HOUSTON- “I just did what God wanted me to do,” said Rev. Dr. Rolen Womack Jr., the oldest of six children, who was born in Houston, Texas on February 17, 1946. His father moved to Acres Homes from Montgomery, Texas in 1936. His mother was from Louisianna and stayed home to take care of the family. His dad was a businessman and was the sole provider of the household. He also held a full-time job working in the oil industry and was the first African American manager at his company.

Rev. Dr. Womack attended A.B. Anderson Elementary and attended Carver Junior Senior High School.

He grew up working with his dad at one of his businesses and working on cars. He graduated from Carver Junior Senior School in 1964. He had a good childhood growing up as his dad took his family on vacations, and his father, being the hard worker he was, sent all his kids to college without the use of any loans.

After he graduated from high school, he attended HutsonTillotson College where he met his wife, Dr. Betty Womack in September of 1964. A few weeks before he met his wife, he received his calling to preach, but without

the life experiences he wanted, he asked God to wait. He mentioned that God gave him “the desires of his heart,” so that he would accept his calling without any excuses.

He was married by his junior year in 1966, had a child, dropped out of college, started working, and helped his wife through school. Even though he was satisfied in his professional life, he felt uncomfortable being around people “who matriculated their way through a university” and he had not done so.

With this feeling, he went back to school and attended Texas Southern University where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and History in 1988.

His intention was to never be preacher, let alone a Pastor, but God has a way of bringing you into your purpose. “I didn’t think I was going to be a preacher because we didn’t grow up in a church…I do believe God was working on my life.”

In the early 80’s, his wife wanted to take a job out of state, so they moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Saturday June 18TH

a Tip from Gilbert Talk, Inspiration and Prayer Mondays 11:00 am to 12:00 pm KWWJ 1360 AM/96.9 FM KYOK 1140 AM Call in at: 832-570-8075 www.atipfromgilbert.com Episodes are also streamed live on my facebook: www.facebook.com/gilbertandrewgarcia1

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POLITICS Parable of the Prodigal Gun

By: Laisha Harris

HOUSTON - The NRA (National Rifle Association) Convention was held this weekend at the George R. Brown Convention center, open only to members of the NRA and their families. The convention was held in the same week that 21 children and adults were slaughtered by an 18-year-old in Uvalde, Texas. Succumbing to political pressure, Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Patrick did not attend the convention in person but spoke on a prerecorded video.

Musicians set to perform included Jacob Bryant, Don McLean, Larry Gatlin, Lee Greenwood, and Danielle Peck, and they all withdrew from their performances set at the NRA convention in light of the violence in Uvalde. However, guest speakers like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz stood their ground, loud and proud to deliver “an important address to America” as they continue to pray for the victims, their families and for [the] entire nation—we are all in this together,” Donald Trump said.

The NRA denounced ’the acts of the ‘lone, deranged gunman,’ and remained extremely silent on the many issues relating to gun regulation. The shooter in Uvalde waited until his 18th birthday before being able to lawfully purchase two assault-style weapons. While the purchases were lawful, many are pointing

out that it is easier to purchase automatic assault-style weapons than it is to obtain an abortion or even baby formula.

NRA Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre thinks he’s “fighting against partisans who would rather disarm lawabiding Americans than protect the innocent and our God-given rights.” Somehow, convention goers like Ryan Busse believe that enforcing stricter gun laws would not have prevented the school shooting and that they are “unfairly targeting lawabiding gun owners’ rights.”

Let’s unpack that.

“Law-abiding Americans/ gun-owners”In 2009 and 2014, there were two mass killings carried out at Fort Hood Army base. In 2017, 26 people were killed at First Baptist Church during Sunday morning service in Sutherland Springs. In 2019, a racist in El Paso opened fire at a Wal-Mart. The shooter in Buffalo, New York drove 1,700 miles to kill 10 black people. The shooter in Uvalde, Texas shot his grandmother before driving to a school and opening fire on children. The mass shootings of people of color are motivated by racism and hate. In no capacity are we intending to suggest that lawabiding Americans are included in those who commit acts of racial violence. However, a hit dog will surely holler.

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EDUCATION

Aldine ISD Students Designed a Bus Shelter

By Chelsea Davis-Bibb, Ed.D.

HOUSTON - It has been a few years since, Hector Balazar, Sergio Garcia, and Eliezer Guillen won a contest to design a bus shelter.

Recently, many gathered at Eisenhower High School for the ribbon cutting of the beautiful new bus shelter that will forever be a part of the community. The students started this project back in 2018, but due to the pandemic, the ribbon cutting ceremony was placed on hold.

The Aldine Independent School District (AISD) partnered with METRO on this project so that students would have a real-world experience through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. The vision was brought to Metro by Brad Kaplan, a Digital Learning Specialist who recently retired from the district after 33 years, who pitched the idea to Tom Lambert, CEO of Metro. He stated, “This innovation challenge empowered our students to

apply academic content to solve a relevant problem in their community.”

These three students worked on their proposal for months before presenting their proposal to a board of judges on April 23, 2019, at Metro headquarters. Teachers assisted them with their project, but majority of it was student led.

There were eight AISD teams who presented their proposal, and they also competed against hundreds of other students, but only one design could win.

Only two of the students were able to attend the ceremony, but they were amazed and excited to not only be back on their alma mater, but to see their work in person firsthand.

Balazar stated, “It felt amazing knowing that our bus shelter For more visit came to life. aframnews.com

L to R-Sanjay Ramabhadran, P.E., Chair, Tre’von Ridley, Randy Bates, Eliezar Guillen, Dr. Viola Garcia, Dr. LaTonya M. Goffney, Connie Esparza, Mandelé Davis, Alex Baltazar, Hector Balazar, Remelia Arpino, Troi Taylor, and Tom Lambert, CEO, Da’Vion Curry

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June 5, 2022

Mindful of what’s important At Bank of America, our employees’ emotional wellness is very important to us. We drive open and ongoing conversations to help break through the stigma around mental health. Whether it’s one-to-one professional counseling during critical life events or simple education and tips to manage daily stress, our goal is to ensure our teammates get the resources they need.

After all, when our employees are at their best, they’re able to give their best to our clients and communities.

My teammates and I are proud to work for a company that creates a supportive and emotionally healthy environment for all of us.

Hong Ogle President, Bank of America Houston

What would you like the power to do?® Learn more at bankofamerica.com/houston

Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Credit Opportunity Lender © 2022 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Arts and Entertainment NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NAACP Act-So FOR PROPOSED SERVICE CHANGES Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO) Competition By: Crystal Toussant

HOUSTON - As a long-time NAACP Act-So Ambassador and Recruiter, I am always excited to sing the praises of the extraordinarily talented youth who participate in this cornerstone program that has existed for 44 years. At the end of each school year, NAACP youth members compete in NAACP’s Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO). This program gives Black high school students — over 300,000 to date — a platform to bring their ideas to life, compete, and begin their journey to becoming leaders in STEM, humanities, business, and

the arts. In more recent years, the NAACP has included other people of diverse ethnic backgrounds in NAACP ACT-SO competitions, because Black youth were not taking advantage of this amazing opportunity.

High school-aged students from all over the nation participate in the NAACP ACT-SO competitions in their local city.

If a student wins a gold medal, their local NAACP chapter pays for the student to attend the national For more visit NAACP ACTSO competition. aframnews.com

Notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, TX (METRO), will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, at 12 noon to receive public comment on its proposed August 2022 changes to METRO service. The public is invited to attend the hearing and provide comments in person.

The public may also join the hearing and provide comments virtually on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86980778422 or by dialing: 346-248-7799 or 1-888-475-4499 (toll free), meeting ID: 869 8077 8422. Additionally, if you do not want to provide comments during the public hearing, visit RideMETRO.org/Pages/BoardStreamingVideo.aspx to view a livestream of the public hearing. A video recording of the meeting will also be archived on METRO’s website at RideMETRO.org for review.

The proposed service changes may include: the implementation of a new route — 314 Hiram Clarke - curb2curb, schedule changes to routes 5, 7, 47, 50, 153, Park & Ride corridors serving downtown, and the METRORail Red Line. METRO will continue to make temporary service adjustments in response to changing ridership and workforce availability.

Copies of proposed route maps and available timetables will be available beginning on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 for public review online and in the lobby of the METRO RideStore, located in the Lee P. Brown METRO Administration Building at 1900 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays.

The public hearing on Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at noon will be held in the 2nd floor Board Room at 1900 Main Street, Houston, TX (served by METRO routes 6, 11, 32, 44, 51, 52, 54, 82, 85, 102, 137, 160, 161, 162, and METRORail).

HOW TO COMMENT ABOUT THE SERVICE CHANGES

If you would like to make public comments in person or virtually, please register as a public speaker with the METRO Board Office at least 48 hours in advance of the hearing, by calling 713-739-4834 or sending an email to BoardOffice@RideMETRO.org, and providing your name, address and telephone number. As explained above, you may attend the public hearing in person or virtually on Wednesday, June 8, 2022 to provide comments. If you pre-register, your comments will be heard first at the public hearing. Your name will be called at the appropriate time for you to make your comments.

You may also provide comments by: • Writing to us at METRO, ATTN: August 2022 Service Change, 1900 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002; • Faxing comments with a subject line referencing "August 2022 Service Change" to 713-652-7956; • Calling METRO's Customer Service at 713-635-4000; • Submitting comments on METRO's website – RideMETRO.org All comments should be submitted to METRO by 12 noon on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.

HELP FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES For individuals with disabilities, assistive services or copies of public documents in an alternate format can be provided. Individuals with impairments may call 713-750-4271 a minimum of five (5) working days prior to the public hearing.

LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE Upon request, METRO provides free language assistance to help patrons who have a limited ability to read, write, speak or understand English in accordance with its language assistance plan. Request for language assistance and other accommodations should be directed to the Board Office at 713-739-4018, or via email at METROPublicAffairs@RideMETRO.org at least 48 hours in advance of the hearing.

1st Row Left to Right Names of Persons in the Group ACT-SO Photo Derek Holmes Jr., Michael Plummer, Azana Mims, Karrington Adams, Okory Thomas, Anaya Brown, April Houston, Enrique Yanez, Giselle Hernadez, Alkania Garcia, Kayla Cohen, Madison Shimaj, Kendall Moshay, Jona Sargent, Avelina Holmes 2nd Row Left to Right Names of Persons in the Group ACT-SO Photo Benjamin Pope, Alexander Curtis, Marcus Harris II, Michele Martinez Gordillo, Naiam Rodgers-Muhammad, Joseph Emerson, Cameron Marshall, Naari Kemebrew, Kerrigan Gaston, Zion Alexander, Kaci McNeil, Sydnei Cross, Kemi Alade, Gabrielle North

OTHER 1. This Public Hearing conforms to requirements described in the Federal Transit Administration's Circular 9030.1E, published January 16, 2014, page VI-7.

2. METRO does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, or in treatment or employment in, its services, programs, and activities.

3. METRO is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, its transit services on the basis of race, color, or national origin, as protected by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

RideMETRO.org • Call or text 713-635-4000

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