Every Breath You Take
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FAITHFUL UTTERANCES by Dr. Froswa Booker-Drew
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Celebrating the Life of The Honorable Mayor Curtistene S. McCowan
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MY TRUTH
By Cheryl Smith Publisher
Gotta Love Black Women Black women are finally getting some of the recognition they deserve, but there’s still a long way to go. Political candidates and pundits are praising Black women, especially ones like former Georgia State Representative Stacey Abrams, who led the campaign to educate, register and encourage almost a million voters. Her influence and leadership is evident as Georgia voters head to the polls for a January 5, 2021 runoff election in two senatorial races. During Election 2020, as I watched and listened to conversations and reports about Black women and their influence, with folks also touting the leadership of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, First Lady Michelle Obama and journalist Abby Phillip; I couldn’t help but think about the burden of the Black woman, especially in America and how great it was to hear positive words as we realize that a Black woman is the next vice president of the United States. Which brings me to my truth. If we go back in time, let’s say about 400 years ago, African women were held captive until the next ship came to steal them away. Many became pregnant and their children were taken from them and murdered before they left the shores of the Motherland. Then there were the ones who were tossed into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Fast forward to the arrival of millions of women and girls on these shores. Their bodies did not belong to them. Actually their bodies belonged to everyone but those who inhabited them. The bodies that were revered in Africa were used and abused, time and time again. We were used for nursing children who weren’t ours and anything else that anyone felt a use for. We belonged to everyone. Black women are referred to as “strong,” “angry,” “mean,” “hot,” “overly sexual,” and other negative characterizations that allow others to feel as though they can say or do anything to us. It’s the same mentality that has men thinking it is okay to assault the daughters of their women, or think they can do anything to a female because she wants it. Sadly some men think it is okay to treat women any kind of way until they have daughters. And even sadder has to be the women who, because of a perverse indoctrination, also dehumanize, vilify and cast dispersions on the characters of young girls and other women. It’s like self-hatred. Just think about the times you have heard women telling their sons to “stay away from those hot heifers,” or something similar. Or surely you have seen the countless DNA shows where See MY TRUTH, page 5
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2020 VOLUME X
BIDEN SAYS
BIDEN-HARRIS! Win is not only historical, but He’ll turn to science and experts to defeat COVID-19 emotional By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
By Valerie Fields Hill
Soon-to-be former President Donald Trump once suggested several cures for the coronavirus. Among the unhinged Republican’s off-beat recommendations: Sunlight. “The whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute, that’s pretty powerful,” a wild-eyed Trump stated during an April 24 news conference. Another suggestion by Trump which alarmed not just medical experts, but most reasonable thinking Americans: ingesting disinfectant. “And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute,” Trump bellowed back in April, clearly clueless about how to stop the pandemic. “And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets
Joseph R. Biden, Jr., whom President Donald Trump mocked as “Sleepy Joe” during a contentious campaign for the White House, became the 46th president-elect of the United States Saturday, bringing with him the country’s first Black and first female vice president-elect, Sen. Kamala Harris.
Texas Metro News
On November 9, Biden formally announced a task force to confront the COVID-19 crisis. Photocredit: joebiden.com
in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that, so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me.” The President never developed a plan to combat the virus, which
has now infected more than 10.1 million Americans and claimed more than 238,000 lives. While cases are reportedly down in the African American community, Black people remain disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. See COVID-19 page 6
Paul Quinn continues to serve community during COVID-19 crisis By Ashley M. Moss Texas Metro News
(L to R): LTC Ret. Bernard Taylor, Cadet/LTC Adia Larzeia, MSG Brian Henley
At one point on Saturday the cars lined up for food and COVID-19 testing at historically Black Paul Quinn College (PQC) stretched all the way to U.S. Highway 45. The overwhelming response was the result of persistent efforts to serve the Highland Hills community while the pandemic rages on, supporters said Saturday. “We didn’t advertise anything but turkeys on purpose, so the canned food and dry goods are ex-
the hatchet over past disputes with friends and loved ones. The internet and social media are chock-full of recommendations from counselors and sociologists for
Biden won 279 Electoral College votes – 50.5 percent of the popular ballots - across the nation compared with President Trump’s 214 Electoral College votes, or 47.7 percent of ballots cast in last Tuesday’s general election, according to CNN, which was among many media outlets that called the race in favor of Biden Saturday afternoon. Felicia Caldwell, 60, Arlington, became emotional after viewing news coverage of Saturday’s Electoral College tally. “We have been living our worst nightmare,” Caldwell said of she and her African American friends and family. “I’m so glad it’s almost over.” She acknowledged there still could be legal challenges to Biden’s and Harris’ election. Trump “isn’t going away,” she said, “but at least he will not control the levers of power. To God be the glory.” Biden and Harris accepted the apparent win Saturday night during nationally televised speeches from Wilmington, Del. In Dallas and across the Metroplex, the historic election of Harris, the daughter of a southeast Asian immigrant mother and a Jamaican-American father, brought many voters to tears and sparked small, impromptu, in-home gatherings amongst intimate friends. “I’m absolutely overjoyed about this and finally able to breathe a sigh of relief for our democracy,” said Kmeal Winters, 45, of Dallas who, like Sen. Harris, is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. “I had been watching the news nonstop all week, not wanting to miss the actual moment President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris were announced.” Leshawnda Larkin, 45, also of Dallas, planned to join a pair of virtual Zoom gatherings, Saturday evening, among friends to celebrate the election of Harris, a graduate of the historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C. “I am ecstatic. I have experienced so many feelings today,” said Larkin, a Howard graduate and also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
See THINKING, page 5
See BIDEN-HARRIS, page 3
tra,” said Bruce Brinson, Chief Financial Officer at PQC. Saturday’s food giveaway included more than 11,000 pounds of food in addition to 200 turkeys. PQC has offered free COVID-19 testing and food boxes to help area residents as part of its “Safe for My City” initiative just about every weekend for the last few months but Saturday’s event was the result of a distinct partnership between PQC and The Dallas Police Department Office of Community Affairs, African American Outreach initiative. See PAUL QUINN page 6
Martin makes strides with digital newscast By Valerie Fields Hill and Allana J. Barefield Texas Metro News
Digital media and television journalist Roland S. Martin has much to celebrate: He turns 52 this week and his popular digital newscast recently celebrated its second anniversary. And there’s more. Martin’s daily podcast, #RolandMartinUnfiltered, recently reached 675,000 YouTube subscribers - a significant milestone for both the veteran journalist and for the varied online platforms on which the show is streamed. Martin’s podcast is streamed live
Roland S. Martin
five days a week on FaceBook and YouTube with multiple rebroadcasts. It also can be viewed on the iHeartPodcast Network and other digital networks.
Over the last 30 days, the #RolandMartinUnfiltered podcast has been viewed 9.2 million times, a 10 percent increase over the prior 30-day period, according to SocialBlade.com, an industry outlet which tabulates viewership of programs on YouTube, Twitter, FaceBook and Twitch. SocialBlade.com projects that Martin’s podcast will reach 110 million views by the end of the year, according to data the outlet published Friday on its Web site. Meanwhile, as of Nov. 6, subscription sales to #RolandMartinUnfiltered were up a whopping 44 percent for the last 30 See MARTIN page 3
America searches for cure-for political anxiety I Was Just Thinking By Norma Adams-Wade By the time you read these thoughts, President Donald Trump still may be complaining that votes cast in this month’s presidential election were mishandled, inaccurate, and should be thrown out. So goes the “democratic” process
of letting the populous pick its leaders in these unprecedented times. No wonder we’re hearing and reading so much about anxiety across the land in this year’s elections. It seems so many of us Americans are grappling with how to move forward in these uncertain times, as civil unrest, hateful rhetoric, and racial conflicts rule the day. This national malaise -- as former President Jimmy Carter once called it -- has cast a shadow over positive anticipation for a new year of opportunities and a chance to bury
VP-Elect Kamala Harris and President-Elect Joe Biden
Ellen Sweets, topnotch writer and ace cook.