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“Addressing Current & Historical Realities Affecting Our Community”
SEMINAR CALLS FOR UNITED ACTION AGAINST YOUTH VIOLENCE
By: Roy Douglas Malonson
Community leaders, law enforcement officials and youth advocates delivered a unified call for emotional awareness, redemption and shared responsibility at Houston’s “Stop the Violence Youth Seminar” held Saturday in the Third Ward. Homicide remains a leading cause of death for Houston youth, with rates more than nine times
higher for Black males ages 15 to 24 than their white peers, according to a youth violence profile published by the Houston Health Department. Investigator Lance Watkins of the Baytown Police Department opened the program by addressing the realities behind youth conflict. “We can’t stop Seminar on pg. 3
TRUSTEE APPOINTED TO NATIONAL COMMITTEE
By: Roycelyn J.Bastian
The Lone Star College System Board of Trustees’ membership in the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) reinforces its priority to innovative solutions that help all stakeholders achieve their goals. Reflecting this commitment, the ACCT recently appointed Iesheia Wilson, LSCS board secretary, to serve on its 2026 Governance and Bylaws Committee.
“I am honored to represent Lone Star College System and the incredible work that we do on the ACCT Governance and Bylaws Committee,” said Wilson. “I look forward to working with other national community college leaders and contributing to policies that will not only strengthen this institution but provide important resources and support to ensure that our students succeed in the classroom and beyond.”
The ACCT Governance and Bylaws Committee reviews resolutions that govern the association, amendments to the bylaws and board policies. Wilson’s appointment is a one-year term that begins in January 2026. She and other new appointees will attend their first Governance and Bylaws
A Revival of God Consciousness
Bobby Mills, Ph.D.
MORAL CHARACTER AND SECULAR CULTURE
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Individuals cannot buy and sell character. Character is about intellectual integrity. Integrity is about honesty and sincerity. A democratic society risks long-term instability when it no longer chooses leaders who demonstrate strong intellectual integrity and high moral standards. Hence, hate is a deadly character poison. President Trump and his MAGACult GOP have divided America into extreme partisan political camps rather than strengthening a united political approach to democratic governance and collective problem solving. The Trump MAGA-cult is hell bent on initiating Autocracy instead of strengthening multicultural democracy. Hence, as a multicultural nation, we are marching full force ahead towards White Privilege
EDITORIAL
Autocracy. Consequently, the new normal among President Trump’s MAGA Cult is White Privilege Insanity. What a disgraceful shame! Remember: actions have consequences. To add devilish fuel to the character and culture conflicts raging in American society the Supreme Court refuses to enforce time-honored constitutional legal governanceguard rails on the Trump Administration. The question is: what are we as a multicultural nation going to do? Hence, what is fueling America’s character/ culture conflict is her original sin: slavery and institutional racism. Lest we never forget the spiritual admonishment of President Abraham Lincoln’s Godly reminder: “a nation divided against itself cannot stand”. The source of the problem is not simply Black and White, but human greed and the unwillingness of a GOP controlled House of Repre-
sentatives and U. S. Senate to enforce institutional guard rails upon President Trump. Therefore, President Trump is openly waging his revenge programmatic campaign with the complicit moral consent of the GOP controlled House of Representatives
We Must Understand
Roy
Douglas
Malonson, Publisher
BLACK VOTERS STILL HOLD THE FINAL SAY”
The Supreme Court’s latest move should make every Black voter in Texas sit up straight. By allowing the state’s new congressional map to go forward for now, the Court handed Texas lawmakers a quiet advantage that could echo through the next election. A federal court had already said the map likely discriminates against Black and Hispanic communities. They saw through it. They called it wrong. They ordered a correction. But with one signature, the pause button was hit, and the new lines remain in place while the appeal drags on. What does that mean for us? It means the people in power are once again playing a long game. They know time is everything. Filing deadlines, voter outreach, primary schedules — all of that moves fast. If the map stays in place long enough, even temporarily, the political reality begins to harden around it. And that is exactly what the designers of this map want.
Black voices and Black neighborhoods. When lines are redrawn to split up our communities, it weakens our collective punch. It makes our vote look bigger on paper than it is in practice. It keeps certain seats safe and certain voices quiet.
But here is the part they always forget. Black voters have never been strangers to obstacles. Every time the system shifts against us, we shift right back.
This isn’t just a political tactic. It’s a calculated strategy that directly affects
The first step is awareness. Know what district you live in, and if it changed, tell someone. Confusion is a tool. Information is a weapon. The second step is community. Talk about this at church, at the hair salon, during lunch breaks, on group chats. The more our people understand what is happening, the more we control the response.
Third, vote early, vote loud, and vote in numbers that make map-drawing games look foolish. Even the best gerrymander can’t stop a community that shows up with intention.
And finally, step into leadership. Run for local seats, serve on boards, join civic groups, support lawsuits challenging unfair maps, and build political strength from the ground up.
Texas may try to redraw us out of power, but they cannot redraw our determination. Our vote is still our voice — and it gets louder every time we use it.
Seminar Cont. Culture Cont. teenager. He challenged youth to rethink what strength looks like. “Violence is not strength. Real strength is walking away,” he explained. “The biggest punchline in life is redemption.”
violence. What we can do is reduce it,” he emphasized. Watkins urged attendees to recognize the role emotional regulation plays in preventing harm. “If you don’t understand your emotions, other people can control you.”
Watkins said he hopes the seminar motivates continued community involvement. “Our young people can be whatever they want to become. They just need the opportunity,” he said. The seminar also featured testimony from Leroy ThaThird, a comedian and mentor who spoke openly about being incarcerated as a
Event MC and Youth Violence & Conflict Resolution instructor Karataza Israel stressed that preventing violence requires a unified community effort. “It takes a village to raise a child,” he said. “It’s the neighbors, the teachers, the officers, everyone who takes a point to raise that child.” He encouraged residents to rebuild connections by “gathering ourselves together, getting to know one another, learning
from one another, teaching and training one another, and then also training our children.”
Instructor Irama Israel closed the event by calling on adults to take greater responsibility for the examples they set. “Your children are watching your actions. They learn through your behavior,” he said. “If we want our children to be fixed, we must fix ourselves as parents. The Youth Violence and Conflict Resolution organization is dedicated to empowering and inspiring today’s youth to create change in their communities. For more information, contact info@ youthviolencecr.org.
LEGAL NOTICE
and Senate. What an ungodly disgraceful shame when individuals have power and do not know what to do with it! What an abomination.
Like the Kings in Biblical times President Trump desires to throw his critics or adversaries in the lion’s den or the fiery furnace. President Trump says he is not a King. President Nixion said that he was not a crook. Both lied. Sadly, the Trump Administration is attempting to delegitimize descent by claiming that those who criticize his administrative policies hate America. The No King Rallies in America and around the world were called hate America
rallies. Criticizing the militarized mistreatment of illegal immigrants is not hatred, but human decency. The ungodly and militarized behavior of ICE has America on ice. ICE is cold-hearted and devilishly cruel to the core. The Trump Administration has attempted to delegitimize the time-honored principle of descent and peaceful protest and establish the principle of “my way or the highway”. Millions of Americans as well as in millions in foreign countries on Saturday, November 18th, 2025, participated in a No King March. The ERA of Kingship is dead. The teachings, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ destroyed it. Jesus
is the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, and if: “we keep his commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.” (1 Timothy 6: 14-16). America, life is not passive we must spiritually and diligently fight for righteousness’ sake every day. It is important to recognize that the adversary (devil) is deceptive and seeks to undermine, steal, and destroy on a continual basis.
August 28, 1963: Approximately 250,000 people take part in The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Martin Luther King gives his “I Have A Dream” speech as the closing address in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
September 15, 1963: A bomb at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama kills four young girls and injures several other people prior to Sunday services. The bombing fuels angry protests.
July 2, 1964
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, preventing employment discrimination due to race, color, sex, religion or national origin.
February 21, 1965: Black religious leader Malcolm X is assassinated during a rally by members of the Nation of Islam.
March 7, 1965: Bloody Sunday. In the Selma to Montgomery March, around 600 civil rights marchers walk to Selma, Alabama to Montgomery.
April 4, 1968:
Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray is convicted of the murder in 1969.
April 11, 1968:
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act, providing equal housing opportunity regardless of race, religion or national origin.
HOUSTON
TEXAS TAKEAWAY
Houston officials have announced the allocation of $1.2 million in disaster relief funds to support an expedited heavy-trash cleanup initiative following prolonged delays that left large volumes of bulky waste accumulating in neighborhoods across the city. The funding will enable Houston to deploy additional resources, including contracted crews, to conduct a systematic clearing effort beginning in the southwest and progressing northward. According to city leadership, the accelerated cleanup is essential due to the growing public-health concerns and heightened flood risks associated with the debris buildup. For residents who have experienced months-long delays, the initiative offers long-awaited relief and represents a temporary but necessary emergency measure as the city evaluates more sustainable long-term approaches to heavy-trash management.
AUSTIN
A new initiative enables commercial property owners with rooftop solar installations to sell the electricity they generate directly to Austin Energy.
SAN ANTONIO
The Copperas Cove resident secured the win with a 500X game ticket purchased at Star Mart 15, located at 1903 N. 1st St. in the Central Texas city. Copperas Cove is positioned north of Austin, near Killeen.
CONROE
Holiday fundraiser aims to raise $10,000 to keep Conroe-based World War II aircraft operational.
Alonzo Herndon (1858–1927) was an African American entrepreneur, born into slavery, who rose to become Atlanta’s first Black millionaire and a prominent philanthropist. He founded the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, one of the nation’s most successful Black-owned businesses, which continues to operate today.
ALONZO HERNDON
CRIMINAL JUSTICE STUDENTS TOUR WOMEN’S PRISON EDUCATION
By: UP College Relations
Lone Star College-University Park criminal justice students gained firsthand insight into the correctional system during the program’s first women’s prison tour in Dayton, Texas recently. The visit to the Lucile Plane State Jail gave students a powerful opportunity to connect classroom learning with realworld experience.
“This tour is one of the most impactful experiences we can offer our students,” said Alicia Castillo, criminal justice faculty at LSC–University Park, who led the trip. “It takes the concepts they’ve read about in textbooks and
brings them to life in a very real, human way. Seeing the environment firsthand and hearing from women who are currently incarcerated challenges students to think more critically about the justice system and the people within it.”
For years, LSC–University Park’s criminal justice program has provided behind-the-scenes tours of correctional facilities, including Huntsville, TX and Angola, LA, to help students understand
the operations and human dimensions of the justice system. This visit marked the first time students explored a women’s facility, where 25 participants were guided by the warden through daily living areas and rehabilitation spaces.
Students also met with incarcerated women nearing release, who shared their personal experiences and hopes for the future— conversations that left a lasting impression on many participants.
“Visiting Lucile State Plane Jail was an eye-opening experience. Behind the walls and the crimes are mothers, daughters, and sisters who have dreams.
Seeing them as people, not just Read more at aframnews.com
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