Vol 27 Issue 31 by AFRAMNEWS.COM

Hard Work, Life, and famiLy Cont. on Pg. 3 Chief Troy Finner August 21, 2022 GREATER HOUSTON EDITION Vol. 27, Issue 31 “Addressing Current & Historical Realities Affecting Our Community” African-American News&Issues Success is one of the greatest cause of failure - Roy Douglas Malonson We the People

OfWildernessIsAmericaInTheIgnorance News: Ofﬁce: (713) 692-1892 Wednesday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. President/Chief Editor Chelsea Davis-Bibb, Ed.D.: Editor Nick Jones: Afram TV Tristar: Layout Design AboutThink It By

Black man in Akron, Ohio being shot more than 60 times by police following a pursuit for what allegedly was a traffic violation. We can still remember an other Black man who was shot because he had a cell phone in his hand when confronted by police. The list is almost endless, from California to Chicago to North Carolina, from Mis souri, and from New York City where a Black man was choked to death over some cigarettes. Now let’s look at the “White” side of law en forcement, starting with the most recent Fourth of July mass shooting in Illi nois. An 18 to 31woundspeoplekillswhite20-year-oldmalesevenandothers. Phd Dr. John E. Warren ARe lookInG CommunITy BlACk hIsToRy all over the houston area (Acreage homes, Independent heights, Third Ward, fifth Ward, missouri City, Piney Point, Carverdale, Bordersville, north forest, and all other Black communities) that can produce stories that address current and historical realities affecting our community. Please send your inquiries to news@aframnews.com.

The recent shootings by law enforcement of in dividuals being pursued by police have reminded many people of color of what appears to be an unwritten universal double standard. One would think that after the George Floyd murder and the subse quent murder of a young Black man following a traffic stop in the state of Minnesota, that something might have been learned. We just witnessed a young

For more aframnews.comvisit For more aframnews.comvisit EDITORIAL A Revival of ConsciousnessGod Bobby Mills,

And

America are we capable of embracing spiritual redemption and Godly love toward each other? Or shall we repeat the whirlwind and the sins of the past, because it’s good for corporate busi ness and corporate greed? Or shall we ignore the les sons of history, and no one wins, but Gravediggers and Undertakers? How ever, “For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 Peter 2: 15). However, we know: “Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favor” (Proverbs 14: 9). Thus, it has rightly been said, “Convince a fool against his will, you leave him a fool still”. Glory to God! Hence, if you must spiritually convince any American citizen regard less of race, creed, color, or itualatrulylaw,ispationalsocio-economic-occustatusthatnooneabovetheyouarewaginglosingspirbattle.

2 AFRAMNEWS.COM August 21, 2022 GREATER HOUSTON EDITION

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America: even though we are a nation-state,democraticweare des perately seeking to destroy ourselves from within, because of lack of God conscience. However, we do hear the spiritual cry of Godfearing individuals, and Godly parents who are spiritually nurturing their children, and hon estly asking is America drifting toward Civil War? Prayerfully and hope fully, the Righteous in America are hearing the Prophetic spiritual voice of John the Baptist crying in the wilderness of blatant ignorance: repent, repent, repent! Therefore, let every American clearly under stand what the wilderness truly is: an ungodly mind set. Therefore, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every Spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every Spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that Spirit of anti christ…: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4: Questions:1-4).

AFRAMNEWS.COM 3August 21, 2022GREATER HOUSTON EDITION

of his officers. There is a “relationalandbridgeareFinnerthewhofeartrustpeopleety,somesystemthedivertcrime.lowthatthosedency,fromthatupingindividualsingarestrategiesresourcesthathaveyougoingorcation,thereworking“WeChiefbutofcontrolbelievingwithmisconceptionsomepeoplethatpoliceallaspectsreducingcrime,“it’snottrue,”Finner,stated.needeverybodytogether.Ifislackofedulackofjobs,nohope,youaretohavecrime,know?So,wetothinkofwayswecandirectandhavewherewereallyidentifythereallyviolentandliftthoseindividualsinthecommunityaresufferingdrugdepenmentalillness,individualsarecommittinglevelnon-violentLet’strytothemfromcriminaljusticeandgetthemhelp.”Intoday’ssocitherearemanywhodonotthepolice,whothepolice,andwanttodefundpolice.ChiefandHPDworkinghardtothosefearsmistrustthroughpolicing,” Hard Work, Life, and famiLy LOCAL Chelsea Davis-Bibb, Ed.D. Photo Credit: HPD Media HOUSTON - After 32 years on, “it’s still easy for me to come to work. Not because I am chief, but be cause I love this job, I love helping people, I love my city, and I love my department,” stated Chief Troy Finner.AsChief of the Houston herenottheirsawworkwatchedones.whoaBo’sHeuntilRiceistfathercaretheilybutjobsmomHirambutofborncity.servingtakestheFinner,lenges,withStates,estforDepartmentPolice(HPD)thefourthlargcityintheUnitedthisjobcomesitssetofchalbutforChiefheembraceschallengesandgreatprideinthisgreatChiefFinnerwasinthe5thWardHouston,Texas,wasraisedinClarke.Hisheldafewhereandtherewasprimar“themanagerofhouse”takingofsixkids.HiswasamachinforUncleBen’sformanyyearshisretirement.thenworkedforPlace,whichisserviceforthosehavelostlovedChiefFinnerhisparentstirelesslyandtheresultsofhardwork.“I’mjuststandingbymyself.Ihad in wantsfamily,erationinandcaresurethoseresourcesmakecomeaskrightiswhocaredsystem.selingwithoutdaytheyaboutbecauseneighborhoodsespeciallyneighborhoods,highcrimenoonetalksthetraumaareexposedtoinanddayoutanycounnorsupport“Peoplewhoandpeoplekeptusinlinewhat’slackingnow…AndIourentirecitytotogetherandsureweputthebackintoareasandmakewearetakingandcoachinglovingthosekidsthoseareas.”Asafirst-gencopinhisChiefFinneryoungmentwo great role mod els. My mom taught me Evelynhisday.partofHoustonwasvillage.andwork,itwithwentpolicepointedseehave27,lostroots.”veryhardlove.unconditionalDadtaughtmework,butI’mproudofourAlthoughhehismomonJuly2001,shedid“thechancetohersonbeaptochiefofbeforeshehometobeGod.”ForChiefFinner,isallabouthardlife,family,havingatrueHisfamilyfromalloverandbecausehisvillage;itisaofwhoheistoHereflectedon3rdgradeteacher,Spencer,who and young women of color to con sider a career in law enforcement or in criminal justice because of the many people you can help and how rewarding the job is. “Don’t get caught up in just looking at what’s on the TV with a few officers who have done wrong, look at the true profession, look at what most of us do, and look at what you can do for the FinnermuchCOVID,safe,thefacedlengesDespitecommunity.”thechalthatHPDhaswithkeepingcityofHoustonissueswithandsomore,Chiefisveryproud he still talks to today and how she has greatly impacted his life. “She’s still alive and I’m still in touch with her because she was so important to me, and that’s what kids don’t have right now.” His teacher not only cared about him and other kids, but also would come down on them with a firm hand when needed. “That’s the importance of fami ly, the aboutisonnow.”westated,order.”structures,neighborhoodandthenAgain,he“That’swhatdon’thaverightHethenreflectedhowhurtfulitforhimtothinktheyoungkids Hard Work cont’d PG. 5

Mayor Turner presents Chief Finner with a proclamation

By: Travis L. McGee Sr. HOUSTON - If you haven’t noticed, historical BLACK communities which include ours are being bought out, priced out, taxed out, flooded out, and more importantly SOLD OUT at a record-breaking pace. Some of our Black “Elected Employees” are selling the “Hood” out and some of the White “Elected Employees” a long with property vultures are buying the “Hood” out for pennies on the dollar. How can they see the value in our communities when some of us don’t? Being a home, business and property owner in the Black communities is a lifetime achievement in and of itself. The value of the properties you worked a lifetime for should be priceless, but if you had to sell it, it shouldn’t be for pennies on the dollar. Black Wall Street can be every street if we keep our property and protect our communities from the neighborhood killer called “Gentrification.” There should never be halfway houses opening and schools closing in our communities. Soon there will be more halfway houses than churches, and that’s a lot of halfway houses! Trades should be available as an option for our children just as college is. Trades are the backbone of this country and the start of independence. This is the real reason why they were removed from the schools where they were offered for free and as a part of the curriculum. Now if you want access to those same trades that were once free, you either have either have to pay at a trade school or community college or be incarcerated in a correctional facility. understand its “No Limit” to how far we can go. Our elders made it through racism, segregation, the depression, and many other hardships due to their sense of However, there are issues with these “options.” Not having them in the schools is not convenient nor accessible to the masses who really need them. Trade schools and colleges are often not affordable for many. Although trades should be an option in correctional facilities, they should first be an option in our tax funded schools. In other words, it should be prevention before detention.Varioustrades made up Black Wall Street. By contributing to and controlling our communities through ownership of our homes, businesses, and properties, we collectively create our own Black Wall Street. This is the only way to fight gentrification and keep our communities. If we continue to allow them to take our communities, they will. How can we consider this our community, if we’re giving up ownership of it and refusing to fight for it? If we continue to ignore the obvious this will affect us more than we might think. Taxes will steadily increase, and city services will further decrease. This is taxation without representation and it should be considered a crime. We are worth more than “Ima do” speeches, excuses, photo ops, cheap smiles, the latest line dance and free stuff. It’s time for us to wake up and take our neighborhoods back! We as one can accomplish much more together than we can apart. Both the young and old have to be involved in this well overdue movement. The elders have to remind the youth of how far we have come, so the youth can

not for SaLe COMMUNITY

all they had were each other, so they had no choice but to be united.

Not for Sale cont’dPG.5 4 AFRAMNEWS.COM August 21, 2022 GREATER HOUSTON EDITION

Things that happen yesterday are the past, anything happening now is the present, and the goals we set and a note taken from former police Chief Acevedo. “I still support that and that’s still a part of my administration because every contact, positive or nega tive…it’s an opportunity to build a stronger relationship.” He also mentioned the importance of youth programs and how those programs should continuously be pushed as well as officers going to visit schools if they have downtime so kids can see a police officer in a more positive environment and not just when a situation arises. In addition, Chief Finner strongly believes in being trans parent and honest with the community as well as commu nicating effectively about what is going on. “The best thing that you need to do is watch how you talk to people. Take the little time and explain things to people. It diffuses a lot instead of just stopping somebody and writing them a bunch of tickets and go on about your way, or stopping somebody and don’t write them a ticket, but don’t explain anything to them, and it’s like, well, why is this officer stopping me? They may not even know. Just as we are intentional on increasing those activities that we know are going to reduce crime, you have to adjust your mouthpiece. What I mean by that, talk to people with respect, talk to them the way that you want your family’s members spoken to.” Under Chief Finner’s leader ship, many great things have occurred. In recent events, Chief Finner and Mayor Turner were invited to the White House and praised by President Biden on Houston’s One Safe Houston Plan. The plan involves reducing crime, which is funded by the American Rescue Plan. Ad ditionally, the department was recently apart of the gun buyback event, that collected more than 800 firearms off the streets ofWhenHouston.itis all said and done, Chief Finner wants to be known as a person who tried to make things better. “I’m only chief for a few days, but I’m Troy Finner for life and it’s important for me to be somebody who cared enough to do something and get involved. For my legacy, I want the police department and rela tions better than when I arrived here.”Hepassionately closed with. “If I leave here and most people refer to the police department as my police department, my chief, my police officers and not those cops, that department, I think we’ve arrived.”

If we want stronger, more sustainable, educated, financially stable, environmentally hazardless, and safer communities, it will take ever man, woman and child. I repeat, every man, woman and child in that order. With zero zoning and detrimental ordinances like Chapter 42 our communities become even more vulnerable to gentrification. Chapter 42 allows developers to construct larger multiple structures on minimal size lots with prehistoric infrastructure. Chapter 42 is city ordinance that has to be approved by Houston City Council and therefore has to be amended by Houston City Council.Ifourcommunities are below the poverty level, who in the hell can afford $300,000 homes in the hood? Their idea of affordable does not translate the same in our communities. We can’t afford to be neglected nor misrepresented not a second longer. This will take a very unapologetic movement that can’t be dictated by anyone, other than, “We the People,” because there is no compromise with dictatorship.Wehavebeen thinking too small for too long. Why just 40 acres and a mule? It’s 2022? Why not unlimited acres and creating generational wealth in our own Black Wall Street? Voter registration, Voter Education, and Voter mobilization is a must!!!!

Chief Finner (GHPAL) at the Texans Training Camp 2021

During the civil rights era we stood for something, but now we fall for anything. If we don’t take pride in our neighborhoods and know it’s our responsibility to hold Ourselves and our ”Elected Employees” accountable, we should expect more taxation without representation.Weownedmore during the depression and Civil Rights Era when racism was at its peak. We had very limited resources, elected officials, and black millionaires were almost unheard of. Times have somewhat changed for the better. Now we have money, can live where we choose, attend colleges of our choice, apply for any job we want, and the privilege to VOTE. Your right to vote is priceless, so your vote should be equally as priceless. Neither should be taken for granted. It must also be an educated vote and not “Just vote” (motto) or the popular vote. We made it through all of that. Why give up and be bought out now to be sold out later? We still have a long way to go, in which a broken generation will have to get us there. We rather complain and make more excuses than come up with a solution for our problems. The only solution is taking responsibility and contributing to our Black Wall Street. We can’t complain and be upset when we see our neighborhoods being taken over if we’re not investing in and claiming ownership of them ourselves. We have been here for years and some a lifetime, but we just been praying without works. There was a time when we were denied the right to vote, access to loans and grants, the ability to buy property, to superior jobs, equal trades, and quality education. Additionally, we will never have a fair trial or adequate representation whether it be in the courtroom or in politics until we demand more and not settle for anything less. Though we experience most of these injustices even today in 2022, many of us still vote on a whim versus being an educated voter by doing our own research. It shouldn’t matter if we’re young or old, the agenda should be the same. It’s time because we still have time to stop procrastinating.

Not for Sale cont’d Hard Work cont’d AFRAMNEWS.COM 5August 21, 2022GREATER HOUSTON EDITION

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ThePROGRAMSAldine Independent School District offers career and technical education courses in the following areas; agriculture food, & natural resources, architectural and construction, Arts, a/v technology and communications, business management and administration, education and training, finance, health science, hospitality and tourism, human services, information technology, law public safety corrections and security, manufacturing, marketing, sales and services, science technology engineering and mathematics (stem) and transportation, distribution and logistics and exploring careers. Admission to these programs is based on ability, aptitude, interest, grade level and class size. It is the policy of the Aldine Independent School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or handicap in its vocational programs, services, or activities as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. It is the policy of the Aldine Independent School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, reglion, sex, handicap, or age in its employment practices as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. Aldine Independent School District will take steps to ensure that lack of English language skills will not be a barrier to admission and participation in all educational and vocational programs. For information about your rights or grievance procedures, contact the Title IX Coordinator, Dr. Javier Villarreal, chief human resources officer, 2520 W.W. Thorne Blvd., at 281.985.6301, and/or the Section 504 Coordinator, Efrain Uribe, program director, guidance and counseling, 9999 Veterans Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77038 281.985.6425.

next generation of change-makers Younger members of our community are more involved and empowered than ever. I can’t wait to see the progress they make. Hong President,OgleBank of

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Through

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For nearly two decades, our Student Leaders® program has helped prepare civic-minded high school students to become successful in the workforce by connecting them to employment, skills development and service. leadership training and paid internships with local nonprofits like Houston Area Urban League and Avenue Community Development Corporation, they gain practical life It’s just one more way the America