I Messenger

I M essenger VOLUME 8

JULY 5, 2019

ISSUE 46

T he EDUCATOR

D r . W right L assiter

jr . remembered

IMessenger An IMM LLC Publication MAILING ADDRESS 320 S. R.L. Thornton Freeway Suite 220 Dallas, TX 75203 WWW.TEXASMETRONEWS.COM 214-941-0110 Cheryl Smith PUBLISHER - EDITOR news@texasmetronews.com S. Curet GENERAL MANAGER stewartcuret@myimessenger.com Nina Garcia Marketing/Sales Manager Marva Sneed EDITORIAL ASSISTANT EDITORIAL TEAM Lajuana Barton Eva Coleman L. Diane Evans Dorothy J. Gentry Vincent Hall Dr. Felicia N. Shepherd Monique P. Stone Dareia Tolbert Andrew Whigham III Chelle Wilson MARKETING TEAM Carlton McConnell Terry Allen PR DESIGN/LAYOUT 619

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Established 2011 CREDO OF THE BLACK PRESS The Black Press believes that America can best lead the world away from racial and national antagonisms when it accords to every person, regardless of race, color or creed, full human and legal rights. Hating no person, fearing no person, the Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.

JULY 5, 2019

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myimessenger.com

INSIDE

FROM CONGRESS

Congress

QUIT PLAYIN’

People who believe in justice and equality owe U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brent Kavanaugh a most sincere appreciation because of his recent refusal to allow the state of Mississippi to put a man to death whose case was tainted by a senior prosecutor who excluded nearly all non-whites from juries that decided his guilt or innocence.

I love graduations! I thoroughly enjoy the sense of achievement and possibility that permeates the air. Graduations signify an ending, but the term “commencement” is used to signify beginnings since they are not only an opportunity to mark completion, but also to mar

“1989 the number, another summer, sound of the funky drummer. Music hittin’ your heart, ‘cause I know you got soul!!”– Fight the Power – Chuck D and Public Enemy 1989

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JULY 5, 2019

MY TRUTH

by Cheryl Smith, Publisher

Joshua Johnson The longer I live, the more I realize that not only do the more things change, the more they stay the same. I also realize you can’t foresee the future or map out exactly how things in life are going to evolve or end.

When I started the Don’t Believe the Hype Celebrity Bowl-a-thon, I had a goal in mind of raising lots of money for scholarships. I never envisioned that 25 years later we would still be bowling for scholars, with more and more “friends” embracing the idea and supporting the effort.

When I moved to Dallas, in 1981, no one on this earth could have told me that this was the destination that I would embrace as “home.”

Which brings me to my truth.

I always knew I liked teaching. I remember sitting my sister, Tracy, JULY 5, 2019

down with my two younger cousins, Valerie and Nini; as I conducted class. I was eight and they were two and four, but I had a big ruler!

Well, fast forward decades later, and I began working with the DallasFort Worth Association of Black Communicators (DFW/ABC) Urban Journalism Workshop, which was founded by veteran journalist, and then Dallas Morning News editor, Rochelle Riley.

Over the years I became director of the program and aside from my work in the classroom at Paul Quinn College; the hours spent with students in the workshop has to be at the top of my list of most gratifying moments in my life.

It helped to have students like Joshua Capel Johnson.

When Joshua walked into the Workshop, the 4

Lincoln Humanities and Communications Magnet High School student immediately endeared himself to the professionals and students because of his skillset, work ethic and commitment to excellence.

He excelled in the program and participated 100%.

When Joshua graduated from Lincoln and enrolled at Paul Quinn College, he probably thought his tour of duty (aka reign of terror) was over. That is until he walked into the classroom and saw me sitting at the desk.

For the next four-plus years, not only did he have me as his professor. I made sure he continued participating in the Journalism Workshop and additional NABJ programming. myimessenger.com

We traveled to NABJ conferences and conventions and it was no surprise when Joshua won numerous awards.

Our association also took him to several companies where he honed his skills, like KKDA-AM, Dallas Weekly, Dallas Examiner and North Dallas Gazette.

I was a permanent fixture in his life so much so that he figured out how to neutralize me, using his charm to stop some of my many rants, in and outside of the classroom.

His parents, like so many others, were very supportive of the workshop, Josh, and his continued growth and development.

I am so appreciative to Joshua’s family for sharing him with us. Joshua was like family and I will always remember his sheepish smile as he mimicked me or told his classmates what they needed to do to survive. He was a selfmyimessenger.com

proclaimed expert on Cheryl Smith.

There are also some wonderful memories to cherish, like when after losing several pounds he joked when we went to Sweet Georgia Brown’s and he was able to sit

comfortably in one of the booths! Or when we had long, late nights at my house working on either the Quinn Quill (PQC), The Journal (DFW/ABC) or some other project where he could use his writing, layout and design, or editing skills.

Joshua had a sense of humor, and he had a beautiful heart. At the 5

time of his death, he was the Executive Editor-inChief of the Focus Daily News, where he also won several awards.

A few years ago we talked about collaborating again but we never got around to it. I know the experience would have been great!

I was saddened to hear the news. He was only 36 years old, but believe me when I tell you, in that short period of time he had a significant impact on the lives of many.

It’s still hard to imagine that he is gone.

I am grateful for the time we had together.

There’s something to say about living life like it’s golden and making the best of every day.

When you get up int he morning, if you don’t already know what your purpose is, you’d be better served to find out and find out quickly because the clock continues to tick, regardless of what you are doing.

JULY 5, 2019

SPOTLIGHT Big Tex is Hiring:

State Fair of Texas Seasonal Job Applications now available The 2019 State Fair of Texas® is a little more than 90 days away, and Big Tex is officially looking for job applicants.

Seasonal job applications are now available online for a variety of departments and positions.

The State Fair is a beloved Texas tradition, so it’s easy to see why working at the Fair is just as fun as attending the annual event.

The Fair provides more than 7,000 seasonal job opportunities every year, with approximately 2,200 people employed directly by the State Fair of Texas.

The minimum wage for job openings paid by the State Fair of Texas for 2019 is $11.15/hour, raised from $10.00/hour in 2018.

As the annual event is a collection of small businesses, the remaining seasonal positions

report to independent contractors including concessionaires, ride operators, and vendors.

Applications for seasonal positions can be found online, with opportunities available in the following areas: Clean Team, Commercial Vendor Booths, Coupon Sales, Creative Arts, Food and Beverage, Games, Gates, Greenhouse/Landscape Operations, Guest Services, Livestock, Maintenance, Plumbing, and Security.

To apply for a seasonal position at the State Fair of Texas, please visit BigTex.com/Jobs.

In addition to encouraging job seekers who don’t have access to a computer to visit their area public library, the Fair has partnered with several local organizations who will be opening their computer facilities to those wanting to fill out job

applications.

Assistance with the application process, resumes, creating professional email accounts, and virtual phone numbers will also be offered at specific locations through CARDBoard Project. Please find details on all participating locations: Cornerstone Baptist Church 1819 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Dallas, TX 75215 (214) 426-5468 Monday – Friday, 10 am – 5 pm Saturdays, 10 am – 1 pm Cornerstone Kitchen (with online application assistance in partnership with CARDBoard Project) 2815 S. Ervay St., Bldg B. Dallas, TX 75215 (214) 421-5532 Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10 am – 1 pm Frazier House 4600 Spring Ave. Dallas, TX 75210 (214) 324-4443 Mondays & Wednesdays,10 am–2 pm Martin Luther King, Jr. Library (with online application assistance in partnership with CARDBoard Project) 2922 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Dallas, TX 75215 (972) 571-3202 Wednesdays, 11:30 am – 2:30 pm West Dallas Public Library (with online application assistance in partnership with CARDBoard Project) 2332 Singleton Blvd.

Dallas, TX 75212 (214) 670-6445 2nd & 4th Wednesday of each month, 11:30 am – 2:30 pm Details related to future potential locations will be posted as they become available at BigTex.com/ Jobs. Themed “Celebrating Texas Creativity,” the

JULY 5, 2019

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myimessenger.com

NNPA CONVENTION

Sanders labels Trump “worst president in history”

By Stacy M. Brown

NNPA Newswire Correspondent @ StacyBrownMedia

One night after many pundits said he acquitted himself well in the debate in Miami between himself and other 2020 Democratic Presidential hopefuls, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders arrived in Cincinnati to deliver the keynote address at the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Legacy Awards Dinner.

Sanders addressed a large local and national media contingent, which also included many members of the Ohio press.

Sanders was the lone candidate to accept an invitation to speak at the gala, which is part of the NNPA’s weeklong national convention.

The NNPA is a trade organization that represents the more than 200 African American-owned newspapers and media companies throughout the country.

The organization does not endorse candidates, leaving such decisions up to its member publishers whose influence and readership comprise the nation’s largest media markets, including New York, Los myimessenger.com

Angeles, Washington, Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Tennessee, San Francisco, and numerous swing states around the country.

After being introduced by

a racist and a bigot and he promised that, if elected, he will work to make college tuition-free, eliminate student debt, take climate change seriously, and make every effort to level the playing field economically, educationally and in other ways that reflect his stance on social justice for African Americans and other individuals of color.

“It is absolutely imperative to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of this country,” Sanders said. “He is a racist and a bigot.”

Sanders said he and his wife thought long and hard before he decided to enter the race this year.

Even after deciding to run, Sanders said he slept on it and almost reconsidered, but he believed it was important that he step up for the sake of all Americans, particularly the underserved.

“We are going to have to transform this nation and create an economy that works for all of us, not just the one percent,” Sanders said. “People aren’t able to go to the doctor because they can’t afford to and if you go to a hospital, you’re afraid to get hit with a $50,000 medical bill.”

former Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner, Sanders gave an inspiring 25-minute address in which he blasted President Donald Trump as

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Promising that a Sanders Administration would work to provide medical coverage for all, he added. “My anger at [Trump] is not just that he wanted to take away health care for 32 million people, but his [proposed] massive cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security and his tax cuts which …. were for the top one percent,” Sanders said.

The senator drew applause several times from the packed crowd inside the second-floor ballroom of the Westin.

He also blasted Trump for the president’s disbelief in climate change. “It is the great existential threat of our time and this is not an issue that we have a choice about.”

Sanders promised to focus his presidency on social, environmental, racial and economic justice. “We have a president who deliberately is trying to divide America and not only do we have to defeat the worst president in the history of our country, we will have to transform this nation and create an economy for all of us and not just the one percent,” he said.

Houston Forward Times Publisher Karen Carter Richards elected NNPA Chair Karen Carter Richards said she understands that being the chair comes with a lot of responsibilities and work.

JULY 5, 2019

WHO’S WHO

Featuring UBER EATS

JULY 5, 2019

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myimessenger.com

COMMENTARY

by Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson

Bad news for President Trump

It can get unbearably hot and humid in Washington during the summer months, and no one is likely to feel the awfulness of Washington’s weather, and the anguish that it brings, more than President Donald J. Trump.

Just watch and wait!

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s congressional testi-mony scheduled for July 17th before two house panels will not be easy for the president, and should produce more sweat in and around his collar.

Mueller will not be an earth-shattering witness, but to hear him repeat what is contained in his report that the president’s behavior neared obstruction of justice more than ten times will be damning enough.

Most Americans have not read the 488 report that Mueller and his team produced, but when they listen to the chief investigator explain what is contained in it their mouths will hang over, some with lips nearly touching the ground.

President Trump has repeatedly said that the report does not find any evidence of obstruction.

But just wait until Mueller is sworn in, myimessenger.com

and tells what was found.

The president, who has repeatedly attacked Special Counsel Mueller and his team, will no doubt invent a new term, “fake report!”

Specifically, the report states that the president urged witnesses to be untruthful, and threatened witnesses that did testify before investigators.

It also connects the Trump campaign with agents of the Russian government.

These activities are illegal, and carry significant prison terms if juries were to return guilty verdicts.

While President Trump has been critical of Mueller in the past, the public can expect harsh characterizations of the special counsel’s motives after he appears and answers questions that are asked of him by members of two congressional panels.

I do not think that the president will be happy with Mueller’s appearance nor his response to questions.

President Trump will loudly assert that Special Counsel Mueller has personal reasons for being critical of him like dated business disputes.

President Trump will find himself in

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even more dangerous territory than he is now, with his own internal polls showing that he is running behind former vice-president Joe Biden in a number of crucial states.

In fact, in one poll, taken by pollsters who worked for the Trump campaign, the president was running behind Mr. Biden by as many as fifteen points in an election match up.

Not good news, and once again proclaimed by the president as “fake polls.”

Even if people on his side conducted them!

Mountains of air-conditioning will not abate the intense heat and humidity that the president is about to face.

Please don’t open any windows, someone just might jump out! *Congresswoman Johnson represents the 30th congressional district of Texas in the United States House of Representatives. She chairs the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology

JULY 5, 2019

NNPA elects new leadership team

Newly elected NNPA Board Members following the ceremonial swearing in of new officers. (Pictured left to right: Treasurer Brenda Andrews, Publisher of the New Journal and Guide; 1st Vice Chair Janis Ware, Publisher of The Atlanta Voice; Judge Tyrone K. Yates, who officiated the swearing in of officers; 2nd Vice Chair, Fran Farrer, Publisher of The County News; Chair of the NNPA, Karen Carter Richards, Publisher of the Houston Forward Times; Secretary: Jackie Hampton, Publisher of The Mississippi Link

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire

Cincinnati, OH – The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the national trade organization that represents African American newspapers and media companies, known as the Black Press of America, has elected new officers and a Board of Directors to guide the 79-year-old organization for the next two years.

The voting took place during the NNPA national convention in Cincinnati on Friday, June 28, 2019.

In an overwhelming mandate from the publishers who voted at the convention, Houston Forward Times Publisher Karen Carter Richards easily won election as the organization’s new Chair.

The mandate extended to include the other newly elected officers: 1st Vice Chair: Janis L. Ware, Publisher of Atlanta Voice 2nd Vice Chair: Fran Farrer, Publisher of The County News Secretary: Jackie Hampton, Publisher of The Mississippi Link Treasurer: Brenda Andrews, Publisher of New

Journal & Guide

JULY 5, 2019

Directors At-Large: Sonceria (Sonny) Messiah, Publisher of the Houston Defender and James Washington, Publisher of the Dallas Weekly “It’s time for a new vision and leadership that goes beyond where we used to be,” Carter Richards said.

“We are the Black Press of America, the National Newspaper Publishers Association, so when I ask are you down with O.B.P., I am talking about letting people know that we are the Original Black Press, and we aren’t going anywhere,” she said.

“I was pleased that we as members of the Black Press could move forward with renewed energy and I am thankful that the membership selected me to serve, and as a member of the new executive team and I will not let them down,” said Secretary Jackie Hampton.

Since its founding, NNPA has consistently been the voice of the Black community and an incubator for news that makes history and impacts

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the nation.

As the largest and most influential Blackowned media resource in the world, the Black Press of America delivers news, information, and commentary to the more than 47 million African Americans and others from all backgrounds each week. Now in its 49th year, NNPA member resources, including newspapers, websites, digital assets and evolving social media presence are trusted information resources both domestically and internationally.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., civil rights icon and President and CEO of the NNPA emphasized, “Karen Carter Richards is a strong, gifted, freedom-fighting publisher. We are all blessed to have her as our Chair as we respond to the challenges and opportunities facing Black America and all people of African descent throughout the Diaspora.”

myimessenger.com

COMMENTARY

by Dr. Julianne Malveaux

Tone deaf Congress wants military pork

The F-35 stealth fighter aircraft is one expensive plane. It costs $135 million to produce a single aircraft, but Congress is prepared to authorize spending for 90 more planes, a dozen more than the Pentagon has requested.

Why? Lobbyists for Lockheed Martin, the company that produces these aircraft, have exercised their fine art of persuasion to convince the House Armed Services Committee that these aircraft are needed for our national “defense.”

Wouldn’t you think the Pentagon has a better idea of what they “need” than lobbyists?

Or are the profits of this corporation more important than the fiscal prudence that so many in Washington crow about when looking at education, Social Security, health care or programs that address human needs?

There is much to object to about the “Defense” budget, as defense spending absorbs more than half of all of spending from our budget. But spending on the F-35 aircraft is especially egregious.

More than a trillion dollars will be spent on this aircraft, a trillion.

Enough to eliminate all student debt, or fully endow the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with money left over!

What do we get from this trillion?

We get an aircraft with supply chain problems that the General Accounting Office has described as “falling short of warfighter requirements.”

They say the aircraft, “cannot perform as many missions or fly as often as required,” partly because of a “shortage in spare parts and limited myimessenger.com

repair capability.”

So Lockheed Martin is producing this $135 million aircraft, more than two thousand, to be exact, without producing the requisite spare parts or developing the appropriate repair capabilities.

Bloomberg News described the F-35 program, “as the world’s costliest weapons program.” Its entire history has been fraught with both cost and efficiency problems.

Why, then, are lobbyist pushing Congress to order more of these planes, more, even than the Pentagon wants?

Follow the money.

It’s all about the profits.

While the House Armed Services Committee is planning to waste billions of dollars on these costly and flawed F-35 planes, poor people around the country gathered in Washington to hear from Rev. William Barber, and Rev. Liz Theoharis about the Moral Budget.

Believe me, there is no room for F-35 fighter planes in the Moral Budget.

Instead, the poor People’s Campaign increased spending on human needs, like heath care, education, and that ohso-basic need – food!

It might have been impactful for members of the House Armed Services Committee to spend a few moments with the Poor People’s Congress, the thousand or so people who crowded into Trinity Hall at Trinity Washington University to demand equity in education, affordable health care, and more.

The Poor People’s Moral Budget has the theme, “Everybody Has the Right to Live.”

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The budget would cut $350 billion in military spending, while increasing taxes on the wealthy, corporations, and Wall Street.

It represents a paradigm shift from our nation’s current focus on militarism to a focus on human needs.

Our nation’s hawks, and our President, believe that profligate military spending makes our world safer, which is nonsense!

Indeed, the possibility of military action against Iran (and the deployment of a thousand more troops to the Middle East in late June), suggests that militarism makes the world dangerous, not safer.

In any case in this militaristic climate, the move to order more F35s than even the President wants is nothing more than a profit-serving move to benefit Lockheed Martin, the corporation that can’t even produce enough spare parts for the planes it has already produced!

The Poor People’s Congress operated in stark contrast to the House Armed Services Committee.

Rev. William Barber testified before the House Budget Committee on June 19, 2019, calling for an end to police violence against poor people and urged Congress to embrace its moral budget.

By continuing profligate spending on F35 fighter planes, and funding more planes than even the Pentagon wants, Congress is engaging in policy violence against all Americans, but especially the 140 million who are poor!

Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an author, economist, and social commentator.

JULY 5, 2019

How judges analyze racial discrimination during jury selection

By Judge Brandon Birmingham

In July, 1996 in Winona, Mississippi, a man arrived at his job at Tardy Furniture and discovered what Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas described as a bloodbath.

"Store owner Bertha Tardy and bookkeeper Carmen Rigby had each been murdered with a single gunshot to the head. Robert Golden had been murdered with two gunshots to the head, one at close range.

Derrick Stewart had been shot, "execution style" in the back of his head. Stewart was 16, and was killed on the second day of his first job.

Stewart and Golden were hired "to replace Curtis Flowers, who had been fired a few days prior and had his paycheck docked for damaging store property and failing to show up for work."

Investigators eventually pieced together a case against Mr. Flowers, and he was charged with murder. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.

Over the last 23 years, he has been tried six times. The first three ended in convictions, but each of those were overturned for either prosecutorial misconduct or because of racially discriminating practices during jury selection.

The next two jury trials ended in mistrials because jurors were unable to agree on a verdict.

In 2010, Flowers was tried for the 6th time.

He was convicted and sentenced to death.

His appeal eventually landed in the United States Supreme Court. Last week, the Court JULY 5, 2019

issued their opinion. The sixth jury convicted Mr. Flowers and sentenced him to death.

The state struck five of the six black prospective jurors. The Supreme Court took up the case to answer this question: were the strikes motivated in substantial part by discriminatory intent?

The Court outlines a three- step process. First, the side claiming discrimination must make a show the appearance of racial discrimination.

Once that is made, the burden shifts to the other side to articulate a race neutral explanation for the strike. Finally, the trial court must then determine whether the juror the strike was in fact racially neutral.

"America's trial judges operate at the front lines of American justice."

Those of us in the trenches are responsible for ensuring that race and gender play no part in jury selection, and that all strikes are discrimination free..

How does that work here in Texas? Flowers illustrates four categories of evidence the Supreme Court tells trial judges like me to use in making that determination.

First, Courts look at the numbers of strike per race. Of the 26 prospective jurors called in the 2010 trial - six were black and 20 were white.

The state struck six blacks and one white from the jury. The jury therefore consisted of 11 white jurors and one black juror.

The Court also looked at the history of that case, including the jury selections at the previous six trials.

Over the course of all six of those trials, 42 potential jurors were black. 41 of those 42

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were struck by the prosecution.

Courts also try to identify "Disparate Questioning," noting that this line of questioning can reveal a discriminatory motivation or intent.

In Flowers, Justice Kavanaugh noted that the State spent "far more time questioning black prospective jurors than white jurors."

Finally, were there any "Disparate Strikes?"

In other words, if a reason was given to justify a strike for one person, was that same reason used to strike all people?

By making this comparison, Courts may be able to tell whether the reason given for the strike was true or merely a pretext used to disguise a discriminatory intent.

Using this analysis, the Supreme Court found that the prosecution engaged in discriminatory tactics during jury selection in Mr. Flowers trial, and overturned his conviction.

Now that the case has been reversed, it goes right back to the beginning as if the other six trials had never happened.

Whether there will be a seventh trial is up to District Attorney Doug Evans.

For those of you who listen to podcasts, look online for "In The Dark" at APMReports.org - they detail the case from the investigation through the arguments in the supreme court in Washington D.C. You can also keep up with the latest trends in the criminal justice system by reading my blog at judgebirmingham.com or follow me on all social media at @judgebirmingham.

If you have any questions or comments, send me an e-mail at brandon@judgebirmingham.com or come by my Court - the 292nd on the 6th floor of Frank Crowley any time.

And Justice For All - A column by Dallas County Felony Judge, SMU Adjunct Professor, and Candidate for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Brandon Birmingham. Visit Judgebirmingham.com for more.

myimessenger.com

From Marva with

By Marva Sneed

SouthFair Community Development Corporation celebrates: National Home Ownership

community institutions and assets.

SouthFair’s mission is to provide affordable housing and other services to low and moderate income families through multifamily, single family economic development and services a s connector of social services. This has been their mission since they were incorporated in 1991.

June was National Homeownership Month and SouthFair Community Development Corporation celebrated the joys and benefits MS: Mrs. Evans can you share with us what of homeownership on June 29, 2019 at 2824 is happening…

South Blvd. Dallas, Texas. The celebration AE: We serve the South Dallas Fair Park was to inform, recognize and acknowledge our area. The services we offer to home buyers. homeowners.

They had guest speakers on environmental They are all free. responsibility, South Dallas history and the MS: The SouthFair Community new District 7 Councilman, Adam Bazaldua.

For more information: on SouthFair Development Corporation has some impressive Community Development Corporation www. stats can you tell us about them? southfaircdc.org.

AE: SouthFair has been around since 1991 On “From Marva with Love” on BlogTalkRadio.com Cheryl’s World, I had serving the South Dallas Community. We focus the pleasure to interview Annie Evans the on the Jeffries-Meyers neighborhood in South Executive Director of SouthFair Community Dallas. We have been an affordable housing Development Corporation. SouthFair CDC developer ever since. formed in 1991 and they became a 501C3 We have built a little over 400 units of single nonprofit corporation in 1993 they are and multifamily housing, along with one dedicated to the revitalization of the Jeffries- commercial development. In addition, we manage 22 units of multifamily housing. We Meyers neighborhood.

The area has experienced extensive also are sponsor for HUD PRAC 202 senior deterioration with the exception of the housing development.

SouthFair offers a myriad of free counseling historical homes on Park Row and South Blvd.

SouthFair’s objective is to expand the housing and workshops. and economic development opportunities, Tune in to From Marva with Love, every Friday at 11am-1pm on while striving to promote the stabilization of BlogTalkRadio.com. myimessenger.com

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JULY 5, 2019

QUIT PLAYIN

by Vincent Hall

“Fight the Power” – The 30Versary!

“1989 the number, another summer, sound of the funky drummer. Music hittin’ your heart, ‘cause I know you got soul!!”– Fight the Power – Chuck D and Public Enemy 1989 The summer of 1989 wasn’t just hot; it was funky as a James Brown lick. Everything was in upheaval.

Donald Trump ain’t the craziest shitstorm to ever hit America; just the most recent. The whole world was a cast-iron skillet that ranged from simmering to hot as fish grease!

Solidarity, the Polish Labor Union led by Lech Walesa, broke the bonds of Communism. Lech, the “Bernie Sanders” of Poland, piloted a victory for populism and the people. International populism shook so hard that the Berlin Wall tumbled down in Germany.

America was bouncing with Bobby Brown to “My Prerogative.” Prince Akeem left Zamunda; came to America and landed in Queens, just one borough southwest of Brooklyn’s BedfordStuyvesant. “Driving Miss Daisy” bigger at the box office but I still can’t watch it.

“Coonin” just ain’t my thing!

Spike Lee was fresh off his HBCU dissertation in “School Daze” and looking to dig deeper into the Black culture. “Do the Right Thing was almost ready for “prime time,” but it needed a musical hook. Movie soundtracks have the potential to bring more attention and more money to even the best cinematography.

Spike summoned Public Enemy to his office. He wanted PE to create a rap or revisited version of J. Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson’s; “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Chuck D talked him down….Thank God! The Negro National Anthem gets much love but “Radio Raheem” had a boom box.

JULY 5, 2019

Radio Raheem

Chuck D

“Fight the Power” was pitch and picture perfect.

The critics in ’89 didn’t understand hip-hop or the cultural fluid that was fermenting. The genre came with its own malodorous funk. Rap enthusiasts wore their hats backwards and treaded ground in unlaced sneakers. The music played amidst a new-jack-crack epidemic that threatened the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker.

Crack sold by volume and by vials led to a vile addiction that poor communities still can’t shake. In 1989 The Cosby Show was top 10, but far less than 10% of Black folks could afford “Koos” sweaters like Heathcliff Huxtable. (They were Koos not Coogi – Google it!)

As he reflected on his movie and the year, Spike Lee made a statement in the New York Times recently that should make all of us shutter.

“We had the crystal ball,” Lee said, recalling scenes as if he had shot them a week ago. “There was global warming, gentrification. The film, you could say, is ripped from the headlines presently.”

Lee said he can’t see his film’s police chokehold death of Radio Raheem without thinking of the real-life police chokehold death of Eric Garner.

Fight the Power was all that Spike could have asked for and more. Each swath of its lyricism is counter-cultural and a blaring

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anathema to the flag-waving hooligans that Trump attracts.

FTP is straight blasphemy to the pseudo-patriot posturing we see now.

“Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant shit to me you see. Straight up racist that sucker was simple and plain; MF him and John Wayne.

‘Cause I’m Black and I’m proud, I’m ready and hyped plus I’m amped; Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps.”

In an article published by The Guardian, Chuck D explains the plot and plan that support the riveting bass and percussion lines. The hard-driving beat is set in direct contrast to a recurring sirenlike descant. Chuck D’s background in the Fruit of Islam bleeds through. Militarism is obvious in his music and videos.

“The drums had to feel like African war drums, but instead of us going to war, it had to be like we were already winning.

Black skin is noisy and seen as more hostile than anything we can ever say.”

Take a moment to digest that one!

This 30th commemoration rates your review of the song and the movie.

The sweltering racial climate in 1989 condoned the kidnapping of the Central Park Five. 2019 is no better. The way “they see us” ain’t changed.

Until America is willing to do the right thing, we still have to fight the powers that be!

Let’s use this “4th of You Lie” to remember America’s commencement exercise in inhumanity. The independence we seek comes from developing the right psychological constitution and not one drafted by anyone else’s forefathers…

Fight the Power! #30years #400years #QuitPlayin #CherylSmith #MyTruth myimessenger.com

We’re at a turning point FOR THE PEOPLE

BY SEN.KAMALA HARRIS

I hope I made you proud during the debate.

From combating the climate crisis to expanding health care to curbing gun violence, each of the candidates on that stage brought real, bold ideas to the table on how to achieve a better America.

Let me be clear: I’m the only candidate on that debate stage who has the proven ability to prosecute the case against four more years of this Administration.

If you’re with me in this fight, I need you to make an investment in our campaign today.The task we have ahead of us won’t be easy, but I’m not running to be your next president because it’s easy.

I’m running because I firmly believe in our vision for the future of this country -- and I’m willing to fight for it.

If you believe in what we can accomplish What we are trying to accomplish is not myimessenger.com

insurmountable. Many of us have been through some difficult times -- moments where progress seemed impossible. We were fearless then, and we must be fearless now.

I know that if enough people step up and pitch in, we can keep up the momentum we have seen so far during our campaign, continue building our movement, and deliver the change millions of Americans are ready and waiting for.

I’m fired up. If you’re with me, let’s show them all the energy and power of our grassroots team.

We’re at a turning point, both in this race and in the history of our country. I’m confident we have what it takes to win.

Thank you for believing in the future of this country. I’m proud to stand with you in this fight.

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Dallas County Community College District announces death of former chancellor Dr. Wright Lassiter Jr. Dr. Wright Lassiter Jr., former chancellor of Dallas County Community College, local minister and educator died Monday at his home in Dallas. He was 85.

Dr. Lassiter was appointed chancellor in 2007 after serving as president of El Centro College for 20 years.

“It is with tremendous sadness that I inform you of the death of beloved former Dallas County Community College Chancellor Dr. Wright Lassiter Jr.,” said Dr. Joe May, DCCCD’s chancellor.

“We all live in the spirit of hope and service that was the trademark of Dr. Lassiter’s life,” said Dr. May said.

“He lived by example. He was larger than life, yet he lived with humility. He taught us how to serve our students with passion and focus.

“We will carry on his legacy of teaching, leading and ensuring that higher education is accessible to all,” Dr. May said.

Dr. Lassiter was the district’s first African American chancellor.

During his time as chancellor, he oversaw a $450 million bond election which resulted in the construction of 29 buildings including five new community education campuses.

“Dr. Lassiter served many students and employees at DCCCD for over 25 years.

His leadership is a testament to his commitment to a higher education for all,” said DCCCD Board Chairwoman Diana Flores. “He often spoke with a quiet eloquence.

We are saddened to learn of his passing, and the DCCCD Board offers condolences to JULY 5, 2019

his family.”

Trustee Charletta Compton recalled Dr. Lassiter as a “dedicated leader who championed worthy causes.”

“I first met Dr. Lassiter when I worked at the Dallas Black Chamber where he chaired the Education Committee,” Compton said. “He did an outstanding job as president of El Centro College, and worked well with

his leadership qualities, but also for his ethics and kindness.”

Dr. Jose Adames, president of El Centro College, said he was deeply saddened by news of Dr. Lassiter’s death.

Early on in my presidency, I had the pleasure of sharing lunch with Dr. Lassiter.

He appeared to be a kind and wise soul who graciously shared with me some of

the Board when he was chancellor. I am sorry to hear that he has passed, but I know that he led a full and active life. My prayers go out to his family.”

Trustee Wesley Jameson said, “It was an inspiration to know Dr. Lassiter. His legacy of insightful analysis and intuitive perceptions that he shared with others are a testament to his life’s work. He was a gifted orator who motivated thousands of individuals studying leadership skills.

Not only will be he missed for

his wealth of experience. I will forever be grateful,” Dr. Adames said.

Born in Vicksburg, Miss., Dr. Lassiter received a bachelor’s degree from Alcorn State University; a master’s degree from Indiana University, and a doctorate in education from Auburn University.

He arrived in Dallas in 1983 to become president of Bishop College, now Paul Quinn College.

Dr. Lassiter was the recipient of numerous awards and honors. In 2013, the ear-

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ly college high school at El Centro College was renamed in his honor, The Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. Early College High School.

In 2002, he was nominated

by Pres. George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as a member of the National Advisory Council to the National Endowment for the Humanities. He previously served as a commissioner for the United States Commission of Minority Business Development and as a member of the Texas Council for the Humanities.

In 2006, BKM Total Office of Texas, a Dallas-based furnishing company established the Dr. Wright Lassiter Jr. BKM scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to students attending any of the seven DCCCD colleges who are majoring in entrepreneurship studies and other disciplines.

Dr. Lassiter retired in 2014 but continued to serve as a graduate school faculty member at Dallas Baptist University. An ordained minister, he taught at Concord Baptist Church and was an interim pastor at St. John Missionary Baptist Church, both in Dallas.

In 2016, he received the national Leadership Award from the American Association of Community Colleges.

A lifelong learner, Dr. Lassiter was the author of several books.

He is survived by his wife, Demetria Lassiter; two adult children and two grandchildren. His first wife, Bessie Lassiter, died in 2014.

Funeral arrangements are pending. myimessenger.com

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JULY 5, 2019

DCCCD’s Kramp Scholars view education as the road to overcoming obstacles The four 2019 Erin Tierney Kramp scholars from the Dallas County Community College District know the value of education and are looking forward both scholastically and globally to the future. .

The DCCCD Kramp scholarship winners are: Grace Mulumba Lupandu Nibert, Richland College; Elizelda Martinez, Brookhaven College; Quyen Nguyen, Brookhaven College; and Marlen Pacheco, El Centro.

The Erin Tierney Kramp Scholarship program, created by the Erin Tierney Kramp Encouragement Foundation, (ETK) is awarded to recipients who demonstrate courage and perseverance through extreme personal hardship and adversity.

It is named for Erin Kramp, a breast cancer victim who created a videotape legacy on “life lessons” to leave her daughter, Peyton.

Erin’s personal journey JULY 5, 2019

was featured on Oprah and 20/20. The Kramp Scholarship program, administered by the DCCCD Foundation and the ETK Foundation, will help all four students with financial support and additional

Erin Tierney Kramp Encouragement Foundation and its Board members.

“The Erin Tierney Kramp program awards college scholarships to students based on their courage and perseverance in

to the Kramp family.

“As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ETK Foundation and its scholarship program, we reflect on all of our past recipients as well as our new recipients, and the theme still rings true today –

2019 Erin Tierney Kramp Recipients

resources to complete their education and improve their lives. In addition to full tuition and books for up to six semesters, the students will receive mentoring and special enrichment programs throughout the year from the

the face of adversity,” said Michael Brown, founder and president of the Erin Tierney Kramp Scholarship Foundation. “These new recipients all have demonstrated these qualities, and they will be wonderful additions

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when individuals face tremendous adversity, the struggles they endure will either make them stronger or defeat them,” Brown added.

“Winning that battle requires both courage and perseverance – traits possessed by all of

our former recipients and certainly these new recipients as well.”

Telling their stories Elizelda Martinez Brookhaven College student Elizelda Martinez knows how it feels to be on the receiving end of relentless bullying.

Bullies tore at her self-esteem during her elementary, middle school and high school years. In fact, her torment began on her very first day of school. The laughter from other students was sickening, Martinez recalled.

“Kids would laugh at my clothes, my shoes, my body shape,” said Martinez. “I never wanted to tell my parents because I would just be another burden.”

She began bottling up everything inside and pretended she was happy. But the harassment had a myimessenger.com

DCCCD Scholars

He arrived in Dallas after having undergone a surgery on both of his feet. continued from previous page Despite the difficulties he experienced detrimental effect. At 13, Martinez medically along with new change of culture and environment, Nibert strived considered taking her own life.

“When I was about to take my life, God and academically, he succeeded with a spoke to me on a different level. He let me GPA of more than 4.0. He was able to know that it did not matter what others transfer to college at the age of 16 prior thought of me because I was beautiful to completing high school.

Nibert is pursuing a degree in from the inside out,” she said.

Martinez found her purpose, and music Biomedical Engineering, and he plans became her refuge. She was helped when to transfer to the University of Texas a close friend encouraged her to find her at Dallas. His career goal is to become purpose by helping others. She counsels a Physician. Currently, besides pursuing others on building their self-esteem and his education, he enjoys volunteering at Well Being for All, an organization that self-worth.

“I have helped girls who ate in the works to alleviate poverty worldwide. restroom because they had no friends,” said Martinez, who plans to graduate Quyen Nguyen from Brookhaven in 2021. “It makes me Quyen Nguyen came to the United so happy now to see them in college and States for a better life, following years of doing what they were meant to do.”

Martinez had considered majoring childhood mistreatment. She was born in in nursing but switched her allegiance Vietnam to a father who not only belittled to business because she wants to help and devalued her but also physically her family start their own remodeling, abused her. Quyen’s mother and sister also were subjected to his violence. painting and home repair businesses.

“For 18 years – every single day – I was beaten by my father. This is the biggest Grace Mulumba Lupandu Nibert obstacle I have overcome. My wish every Grace Mulumba Lupandu Nibert is an day was to run away, but I could not,” international student from Belgium. He Nguyen said.

Trapped by her circumstances, Nguyen traces his most enduring challenges to life in his former home, the Democratic saw education as her only means of Republic of Congo. Political tensions escape. During high school, she excelled, brought on by a civil war forced him and becoming a class leader, a teacher’s assistant and a script writer for every high his family to flee to Europe for safety.

The family left everything behind, school play performed by the literature including their friends, homes, cars class.

In 2016, Nguyen left Vietnam for the and jobs, said Nibert, who is attending Richland College. “We had to flee to find United States to attend college so she could provide a better way of life for a better and more peaceful life.”

Adapting to new circumstances, a new her family. Nguyen enrolled in Mesa culture and a new language, Nibert lived Community College in Arizona before in Belgium before leaving that country at moving to Dallas, where she now attends 14 to pursue his education in the United Brookhaven College. Learning became her outlet.

States.

A graphic design major, Nguyen myimessenger.com

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plans to transfer to a four-year college.

Nguyen hopes to intern at Pentagram’s Austin studio and to eventually become a graphic artist for Pentagram Design, the world’s largest independent design consultancy.

Marlen Pacheco Marlen Pacheco lived in an area where kids her age were smoking illegal drugs and getting pregnant as teenagers. Education helped Marlen Pacheco sidestep the trappings of her environment.

A graduate of Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, Pacheco excelled at the challenging coursework at the single-sex education school. Her most immediate challenges, however, have been finding enough funds to afford college. Her parents, she said, were not astute at finances and taxes, leaving her to figure out how to complete her education.

“I’m still overcoming this adversity and just hoping for the best,” said Pacheco, who wants to become a police officer and plans to major in criminal justice at El Centro. “In high school, I went to the Dallas Junior Police Academy which assured me that being a detective was my goal in life.”

She also is part of the Geo Club at Rangel which is a group that helps children and women who suffer from neglect. “I want to promote wellness.

I have always been passionate about helping those in need,” said Pacheco.

For more information, contact Kathye Hammon-tree in the DCCCD Foundation office at 214-378-1536 or email her at khammontree@dcccd. edu.

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If I would’ve known then, what I know now INTERLUDE

By Cierra Mayes

Cierra Mayes is a 2019 graduate of the University of

College.

There is so much emphasis behind that one word.

When I was in High School, my teachers would mention that word around me and I would instantly get anxious.

My parents and I both knew I would go to college. It was just the thought of making it through those long four years.

For the most part, I thought college would be a long four years until I realized I was in my senior year of college.

College had come and was about to go!

I attended the University of North Texas in Denton, with a focus in Broadcast Journalism.

In my adolescent years, I always dreamt of being on television or a media mogul.

Being a role model and informing others about what’s going on in the world was very interesting to me.

My first two years of school, I had taken all of my basics before stepping into my major.

In order to get into my major, there was one requirement that I was not looking forward to.

Anyone that wanted to be a journalism major was required to take a GSP test. myimessenger.com

The GSP test focused on grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

If you failed the test more than three times you would not be allowed to be a journalism major.

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation is very important in journalism of course.

So, I prepared myself until the day it was time to take the test and I aced it.

I had worried for nothing.

My Junior year, I had entered my upper level classes and they were pretty interesting. I learned so much about the law and ethics side of journalism.

However, I wanted to be more on the entertainment side of journalism.

Entertainment news is more fun and interesting, especially when you have the chance to interact and network with people in the industry.

I knew in order to reach this goal I would need to get involved in organizations on campus that were related to the entertainment side of journalism.

I joined “NTTV” also known as “North Texas Television.”

Due to a conflicting schedule, I wasn’t able to make the audition for the entertainment show I hoped to be on.

Instead, I got involved with promotions and marketing for NTTV. I got to work with others and make creative content about

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ongoing issues on campus.

Over the course of my years, I did not realize how important it was to find an internship.

During the summer I had taken classes and kept a job, but neither was for an internship.

I knew that an internship would help me gain the experience I needed but only when it was my senior year.

I didn’t know that I could complete an internship while in my junior year because I thought I needed more school experience and resume building.

My senior year was the only time I gained “on set” experience.

I started to feel overwhelmed and as if I had waited too late to get an internship.

I thought to myself, who would hire a senior in college who doesn’t have an almost complete resume?

I knew that someone had to hire me because no one starts in their career as professionals.

I then thought about how I didn’t have anyone to guide me on what needed to be done during my early college years.

Here I am, post-graduation working at Texas Metro News as an intern.

I now believe that I wasn’t delayed on my career path.

It was all on God’s plan to put me where I need to be at the right moment and time.

JULY 5, 2019

SPIDERMAN:

FAR FROM HOME

BY HOLLYWOOD HERNANDEZ

In SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, Peter Parker, played by English actor Tom Holland, is on a school field trip where odd things occur, like an attack from a huge monster made of water and an appearance by Jake Gyllenhaal as a new Avenger, known as the mysterious Mysterio.

Spider-Man is the new standard bearer of the Avenger franchise. Handpicked by Tony Starke, the young superhero matures over the course of the movie to be the new leader of the band of superheroes.

Samuel L. Jackson is back as Nick Fury, the brains and the founder of the Avengers.

The movie breaks down into three parts. There's the slow-paced intro to the movie; then second third which is supposed the meat of the movie, but instead, it just made me confused about what was really going on and who was the good guy and who was the bad guy; and in the final third of the movie it really shows Spider-Man in action when his friends lives are all in danger.

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about SPIDER-MAN; FAR FROM HOME. There's great action and plenty of humor, but it's also confusing.

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME is rated PG-13 and has a run time of 2 hours and 9 minutes.

On my “HOLLYWOOD POPCORN SCALE” I rate SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME a L a r g e . " H O L LY WO O D POPCORN SCALE" I rate Also, there are two bonus SPIDER-MAN: FAR scenes at the end of the movie FROM HOME a that are critical to the story; so Large. be sure and stay until the very end.

I've got mixed emotions

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Scenes from National Newspaper Publishers Association

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JULY 5, 2019

WE’RE A WINNER: IDA B. WELLS TEXAS METRO NEWS places third for Ida B. Wells Best News Story

By Cheryl Smith

MURDER Dr. Ben Chavis, 1st place Richard Muhammad of the Final Call, Third Place Texas Metro News Publisher Cheryl Smith and Atlanta Voice Publisher Janis Ware.

“Not Again. Not another hashtag!”

That’s the cry around the country and now across the waters as many heard the news reports that yet another unarmed Black man had been gunned down by a police officer on Friday, September 7.

Dr. Frederick D. Haynes of Dallas’ Friendship-West Baptist Church said he was in South Africa when he and others heard that Botham Shem Jean was

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in his home when an intruder, Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, entered the premises and shot the 26-year-old PricewaterhouseCoopers analyst.

“People are wondering, ‘what is going on,’’’ said Dr. Haynes as he stood with other members of the African American Pastors Coalition (AAPC) in front of the Dallas Police Department Headquarters, as they prayed for the Jean family, answers, transparency, the Chief of Police

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U. Renee Hall, the city and yes, Officer Guyger.

“Our community is sick and tired. All I’m hearing is the mystery surrounding the circumstances. We are concerned about ‘Blue bias.’ We want this (shootings of innocent Black men and women) to stop. We want to be served and protected by the police department!”

It was a somber Pastor Bryan Carter who talked about the shooting of the Saint Lucia

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OR MANSLAUGHTER

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JULY 5, 2019

ASK ALMA

What do I do with my past?

Dear Alma, I recently decided to digitize my old photos and ran across a ton of family pictures of my first husband as a baby and while he was growing up, along with his family. We had a short marriage and divorced after only two years. My first husband and I didn’t have any children together, so I haven’t been in contact with him over the years.

I wasn’t very close to his family, either. When we came home from college together, I didn’t pass the paper bag test (if you know what I mean) but that’s another question for another day.

During our marriage, I never quite measured up when it came to his mother and she let me know it at every opportunity she could.

He was the only son and truly devoted to his parents. I’m very happily remarried now and have been for over 20 years. I’m not sure if he’s remarried and I don’t really have any interest in contacting him. Sometimes people can misread your intentions and I don’t want this to be the case. But what I do want to do is forward this box of pictures to his parents. I’ve checked and confirmed their home address. My plan is to send the box without a return address, so that way they won’t feel obligated to get in touch with me. But if I do, they might not even know where JULY 5, 2019

the box came from. I definitely don’t want to throw them away. I know it would be a wonderful surprise for them to receive them. What do you think Alma, how can I return these photographs incognito?

Name withheld Take a step back, Detective Benson, I think you’ve added more Law & Order than what’s necessary to complete this pursuit.

Don’t get it twisted on your end.

This is a very thoughtful act on your part and that’s all it is. Just let that be. Without rereading the entire map of your first marriage’s misfortunes, I’d venture to say you have legitimate reasons for anticipating the worst of the worst and, you could be right. Two wrongs don’t make one right, so there’s probability you also could be wrong.

You said you’ve gone on with your life. You’re happily remarried, totally and unequivocally uninterested in line dancing with your exhusband’s family foolishness. Ok, I get it. But I think you’re moving way ahead of yourself here. We’re talking returning old pictures.

You aren’t inviting them to attend your granddaughter’s graduation celebration.

It’s not what you have in your hand but what you have in your heart that lays the groundwork for this task of thoughtfulness.

I applaud you for not holding a

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grudge towards your ex-husband and his family. If you’ve got the right attitude and you’re sending the pictures with the best of intentions, there’s no need to expect discord, disharmony or discontent.

Yes, absolutely add a note that says: Hello, I recently ran across these photographs and just knew I had to return them to your family. All the best blessings to you and yours.

Signed, you.

There’s no room or need for a suggestion of follow up in those words.

Once you’ve sent the pictures, it out of your hands. You can’t control their reaction, you can only control your response. So stop worrying about it. If they follow up with foolishness – as they say in Brooklyn, just FagetAboutIt! Although I’ve gotta say, I don’t think they will. Time has passed, wounds have healed, and old ways have changed. Send the box, with the note, I can tell your heart is in the right place. By the way, I don’t think the post office will let you send letters or packages without a return address. But I am certain you can come up with something, ask a friend to ask a friend. You know how we do, LOL. All the best of blessings to you and yours.

Alma myimessenger.com

LIFESTYLE

by Valder Beebe

That Celebrity Interview:

Sen. Tom Cotton (AR) June 19th is celebrated in commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

Dating back to 1865. Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.

This announcement came two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. Just as the Jewish community has vowed that the world would not forget the horror of the Holocaust against the Jewish people, the same vigor and vim I hope is applied to the recognition of June 19th.

Tom Cotton is the US Senator from Arkansas and he is also the author of Sacred Duty: A Soldier’s Tour at Arlington National Cemetery.

It is both an inspiring portrait of Arlington National Cemetery’s Old Guard, but also a personal chronicle of Senator Cotton’s time as a platoon leader in the unit of America’s oldest activeduty regiment that conducts daily military-honor funerals on the 624 rolling acres of Arlington.

Senator Cotton served in Iraq myimessenger.com

with the 101st Airborne Division and in Afghanistan with a Provincial Reconstruction Team.

Between combat tours, he served with the United States Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment --“The Old Guard”-- at Arlington National Cemetery. His military decorations include the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Ranger Tab.-Text provided by Senator Cotton’s publicist.

VBS: Senator Cotton you are an attorney, military veteran and politician serving as Senator for Arkansas since January 2015. In full disclosure you are a member of the Republican Party.

Thank you for being my SATELLITE Studio guest for the Valder Beebe Show. In addition to all of your titles, you are also the author of Sacred Duty. Give us details from of Sacred Duty: A Soldier’s Tour at Arlington National Cemetery and how did you know to write this book?

STC: Thanks Valder for being interested in Sacred Duty. Sacred Duty is the story of the old guard of Arlington the 3rd U.S. Infantry regiment. The oldest regiment in the United States Army going 29

back to 1784.

For a hundred years and sixty-years it fought in all of country major conflicts like the Mexican American War, the Civil War. Some of most iconic battle like the first Battle of Bull Run, battle of Gettysburg. For the lasts 71 years the old guard has been station at our most scared grounds, Arlington National Cemetery where it performs military honor funerals and guards the tomb of the unknown soldier and performs in world famous ceremonies like Presidential inaugurations.

I served in the old guard 20072008 between my tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. I used that experience as well as my time back at the Cemetery at Ft. Myer last year researching Sacred Duty to tell a grateful nation what these young men and women do on their behalf……. complete interview YouTube.com/ ValderBeebeShow.com, 411RadioNetwork.com, Youtube.com/valderbeebeshow, 411RadioNetwork. com; Podcast audio: Soundcloud.com/valderbeebeshow, Soundcloud.com/kkvidfw, 411RadioNetwork.com, PChatman Streaming TV Network

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR

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