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My Truth By Cheryl Smith Publisher
Stay tuned... Sometimes the best laid plans are disrupted. You can plan and mark your calendar, but then guess what? Life happens! That’s right. You map out your life, sometimes in a vacuum and other times, with the help of friends or loved ones. It seems perfect, easy to achieve if you take certain steps. It sounds easy and you are confident; that is…until life happens. Which brings me to my truth. I wasn’t trying to come up with something I planned to be doing into another century. I was living for the moment. I asked for friends to help me fulfill a need. I had a mission: raise funds to help our youth go to college, participate in educational programs and grow. First Chuck D of Public Enemy gave his support, followed by comedian Dick Gregory (who came almost every year prior to his death in 2017). I’m talking about “Cheryl Smith’s Don’t Believe the Hype Celebrity Bowl-a-thon,” usually held in June. In addition to providing scholarships, internships and fellowships, we even bought a suit for a young man to wear to his high school graduation. Can you imagine graduating with honors and not having anything to wear to the ceremony? Well, the Don’t Believe the Hype Foundation has fulfilled similar needs for over 25 years. In addition to funding trips to journalism conferences/ conventions from Seattle to D.C. and Milwaukee to Baton Rouge; a student in Sen. Royce West’s Dr. Emmett J. Conrad Leadership Program received a scholarship for the past 25 years — the Dr. Betty Shabazz Academic Excellence Scholarship— and aspiring journalists received over $50,000 between the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists scholarship program and Urban Journalism Workshop. Usually our biggest fundraiser, the celebrity bowl-a-thon, is held in June and people from all over come to support. With major corporate and community support this much-anticipated event was always a success. We are grateful to the “leaders,” celebs and media; as well as the community members who participated. In spite of COVID-19, we have still awarded scholarships and provided internships. Although we haven’t had the bowla-thon since 2019, we did have the Healthy Living Expo at the African American Museum on Dr. Martin Luther King Day last January and we were able to provide scholarships through that effort. I asked someone when were they going to open up a facility and they said “when COVID is over!” I told them that would be a long time, because the way things are going, COVID is part of our reality as other epidemics have become. Our communities have been in a state of pandemonium for a long, long time. We must survive COVID-19 and we must continue working for our future. As far as the Don’t Believe the Hype Celebrity Bowl-a-thon goes; we’re looking forward to gathering again, one day. In the meantime, let’s continue supporting our youth. Please give today. I’m calling on everyone who cares about our future, all who have participated in the past, previous scholarship winners or benefactors, let’s all continue to lift as we climb! And stay tuned right here because we will be inviting you back out again soon and we are prayerful that we will see your face in the place!
SERVING NORTH EAST TEXAS
THURSDAY JUNE 16, 2022
Opal Lee Continues Fight For Freedom a Year After Juneteenth Becomes National Holiday By Sylvia Dunnavant Hines Texas Metro News
After years of teaching, founding the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society, and being a catalyst in the movement to make Juneteenth a federally–recognized holiday: 96-year-old Opal Lee remains a shining example of perseverance and commitment as she continues walking for freedom. A grandmother to more than two dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Lee is known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” as she got to see her dream become a reality last year when on June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed Senate Bill S. 475, making Juneteenth the 11th federal holiday. “I still pinch myself sometimes, because I am not sure that it really has happened,” said Lee, who is not resting on her accomplishments. “Sometimes it is hard to believe that Congress took what we had to offer and moved forward with it. When
Opal Lee is not resting with Juneteenth being a nationally recognized holiday. She is continuing to walk for freedom with the June 18, 2022 Walk in Fort Worth, TX Credit: Sylvia Dunnavant Hines
the bill was first signed, I wanted to do a holy dance, but my kids say when I do my holy dance it looks like I am twerking!” In celebration of Juneteenth, Lee will continue her 2.5 mile walk in Fort Worth on June 18, 2022, representing the two and a half years that it took Texans to enforce the Emancipation
Proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln. The newly-recognized national holiday, a combination of the word June and the nineteenth day of the month, is a celebration of the end of slavery. Although the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, Texas didn’t find out about it until Union
soldiers arrived in Galveston on June 19th in 1865. From this point on, the date has been celebrated with prayer, feasting, singing and dancing. Lee’s historic commitment led her to walk over 1,400 miles from Texas to Washington, DC to make sure the holiday was not only recognized in Texas, but around the country. “I felt like if a little old lady in tennis shoes started walking to Washington DC, somebody would notice,” said Lee. Lee’s capitol crusade received national attention which garnered her over 1.5 million signatures to help declare Juneteenth as a national holiday. She started walking from Fort Worth, Texas in September of 2016. She reached Washington, DC in January of 2017. “We were still building momentum by the time we reached the White House.,” she said. “Can you imagine if we had three million people on the same page?
Common sense Gun Laws a Must Last Wednesday, June 1, State Senator Royce West (D-Dallas) was appointed to the newly formed Texas Senate Special Committee to Keep All Texans Safe by Texas Lt. Governor Dan. Patrick. The Special Committee, created by the Lt. Governor at the request of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, is charged with examining issues surrounding school safety in the wake of the deadly Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, Texas, during which 19 innocent children and two fourth grade teachers were brutally gunned down by an 18-year-old, using a military-grade, assault rifle.
Sen. Royce West
lators to work even faster towards Griner’s release. Reed described the experience saying, “Every day that you’re in prison there, it’s like you’re waking up to a nightmare.” He likened the food and holding areas as “medieval.” Reed expressed that Griner would likely face even more challenges due to her being Black and a member of the LGBTQ community as systematic oppression remains a global phenomenon that is alive and well in Russia. He went on to say “There is no justice in Russia. Brittney and Paul (not another American detainee) will not receive justice in Russia. They’re not going to receive a fair trial; they will not receive a fair investigation. They will be there as hostages until the United States gets them out.” Reed encouraged Griner’s advocates to demand action from their senators and federal representatives. “Write them, call them, anSee HOUSTONIANS GATHERED , page 7
See WEST: SENATE SPECIAL, page 5
See OPAL LEE FIGHT, page 5
By Grace Boateng
Houston Forward Times
and their voices will be heard in Washington, DC, and all the way to where Brittney is held. We hope this rally and prayer vigil will continue to propel the Administration and the President of the United States to continue to work to secure the release of Brittney Griner and Paul Whalen. Houstonians’ voices should never be silenced until Brittney Griner is brought home and we hope many voices will join us on June 6, 2022, at 6:00 pm at the Houston Rockets Toyota Center at the corner of Polk and La Branch, in Houston, TX. Please join us to stretch our hands to our athletic friends across the nation; to the WNBA, and NBA; to our schools; and to our many friends around the nation.” Trevor Reed, an American veteran who was recently released in a prisoner exchange program after spending three years in Russian detainment, was among Griner’s supporters. He expressed his concern for Griner’s safety and is calling on the White House and legis-
WEST:
He thanked the Lt. Gov. for his appointment to the Select Committee, while challenging fellow senators and committee members to look past ideological differences and make a serious effort to examine all causes and factors that contribute to mass shootings. “It is imperative that we have an honest discussion as it relates to the intent of the 2nd Amendment, now within the context of military-styled assault rifles that are in the hands of civilians; and too many times in the hands of those who should not have them,” said Senator West. “Other areas that should be explored include mandatory cooling-off periods before the completion of certain firearms purchases and the fact that the majority of Texans and Americans support universal background checks. “Further, the hardening of schools alone is not a panacea for preventing the loss of lives connected to school shootings,” he West said. “Without a discussion about common-sense gun regulations, my concern is that we will issue a report that does little to provide guidance as we head into the 2023 Legislative Session and more importantly, does even less to make parents feel they can safely send their children to school or have the freedom to frequent the public venues that’s ingrained into all our lives.” Sen. West, formerly a Chief Felony Prosecutor for Dallas County, authored a bill to ban assault weapons during his first Legislative Session in 1993. He has been an advocate for common-sense gun regulations for nearly 30 years, writing and supporting bills that require trigger locks, would close gun show loopholes and prohibit straw purchases of guns for people who cannot legally buy them. Mental health, along with school security, he adds, are rightly component parts of a healthy discussion with the inherent goal to protect all Texans but should not define its limits. “Mental health, another issue that I have worked on for years, must be part of the dialogue, including addressing the mental health needs of students who have been removed from the classroom for behavioral problems and those with truancy is-
Houstonians Gathered in Support of Brittney Griner at Prayer Vigil, Rally
After more than 100 days, WNBA star Brittney Griner remains in detainment in Russia. According to Russian state media, she is to remain in pretrial detention through June 18th. On Monday, a rally was held for Griner in Houston as she is a native to the city. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee made a statement prior to the event saying: “Brittney Griner was taken into custody in Russia in mid-February 2022 and shortly thereafter the tyranny of Putin raged and invaded a democratic Ukraine. Unfortunately, I knew that Brittney Griner’s destiny was going to be wrapped up in the leadership of the United States of America and the American people who had expressed their outrage and care for her. Brittney Griner is a hometown girl raised in Houston, a graduate of Nimitz High School, excelled in basketball, and went on to Baylor University where she continued to excel onward to the WNBA and an Olympic championship. She has received many accolades for her basketball prowess, but what has come to define her most definitely is her kindness and proclivity for charity and helping others. On Monday, June 6, 2022, the voices of Houston will be raised with clarity to say— Brittney Griner is a hostage in Russia and the whole community of Houston demands that she be released immediately. Our nation is founded on the values of equality and Democracy. On Monday, Houstonians will stand up with pride in their love of Democracy, equality, and justice;
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