VOL. XXXIII • JULY 25, 2019
50 cents
Rep. Johnson: I’m not sorry Transition Back to School
‘Don’t Call Me Racist’
Education Pg 7
Perspectives Pg 5
Congresswoman stands by her 1994 crime bill vote By ADAM WILLIS The Texas Tribune
WASHINGTON – On the afternoon of Aug. 18, 1994, Eddie Bernice Johnson, a barrier-breaking freshman congresswoman from Dallas, stood on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and stumped for the most infamous legislation of that decade. “Every day, most of the headlines have to do with crime,” she said, describing a desperate state of affairs in her home district. “School has been open less than two weeks now, and already teachers have had guns in their faces. They found a gun arsenal underside of the building. It is overwhelming, but we
U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, at her office in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. – Photo by Lexey Swall of the GRAIN/The Texas Tribune
must do something about it.” Johnson was slated to speak that morning about health care, but she held off for 10 minutes to weigh in on President Bill Clinton’s crime bill, which
looked to be in jeopardy despite Democratic control of both chambers of Congress. “I cannot understand why there is so much opposition and so much rhetoric and so much
demagoguery surrounding the bill that will address these issues,” she said. Three days after Johnson’s speech, the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act – better known today as the 1994 crime bill – passed the House. The next month, Clinton signed it into law. Two and a half decades later, Clinton’s $30 billion tough-oncrime bill has become a flashpoint in heated debates about criminal and racial justice. A sweeping package, the bill included several measures that Democrats still broadly support. It included more than $1 billion to fight violence against women and remains the last
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State Sen. Royce West enters Democratic primary By ALEX SAMUELS The Texas Tribune
State Sen. Royce West made it official Monday: He’s running for U.S. Senate, joining a crowded and unsettled Democratic primary in the race to unseat Republican John Cornyn. If he wins the seat, he will be the first African American to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. Recorded among the Associated Press’ list of “Movers and Shakers,” West has 40 years of legal and political experience. “I’m battle tested,” West said at his campaign launch event. “You’ve seen me in battle, and I’m ready today to announce my candidacy for the United States Senate.” West once worked for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and later in the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office as the chief felony prosecutor, the first African American to hold the position in Texas. In 1993, he was elected to serve in the Texas Senate, and re-elected to another four-year term in 2018. In 1994, he became a senior partner at his law firm. The Dallas attorney has been viewed as a potential primary contender for some time now, but he remained mum publicly on his plans. In June, West met with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., where he reportedly had a “positive meeting” and signaled that he was likely to throw his hat in the ring. He filed the Federal Election Commission paperwork to formally launch his bid Friday. He will not have to give up his seat to run for U.S. Senate.
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State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, has joined a crowded Democratic primary to unseat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. – Photo by Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson/The Texas Tribune
The Democrat formally launched his bid a block away from the Democratic Party’s headquarters in Dallas. Supporters – including colleagues, party leaders and elected officials – huddled at the Communications Workers of America Union Hall to give a nod of support to West’s U.S. Senate launch. During his kickoff speech, West said that, if elected, he would work on immigration reform, curbing the negative effects of climate change, ensuring Americans have “affordable universal health care” and promoting fair elections. He also said that 10 of the 12 Democrats in the Texas Senate encouraged him to “move forward” and run for U.S. Senate, and that 47 out of the 67 Democrats in the Texas House did the same. “We need an individual who is seasoned, who knows what they’re doing and who has support from the state of Texas,” said state Rep. Barbara GervinHawkins, D-San Antonio, co-finance chair for West’s campaign. “Sen. West has a big voice, a big presence, has a lot of knowledge of the state, and I just think he can represent us really well up in D.C.” A number of prominent Democrats – including U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and former U.S.
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Trade Representative Ron Kirk – also praised West for wading into the primary field. “We are here to present today a change agent who will bring forth justice and fairness,” said Johnson, a Dallas Democrat. “We could use a lot of that in Texas.” West’s announcement comes days after Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards, another African American Democrat, launched her bid for U.S. Senate. The two enter a crowded primary that includes MJ Hegar, a 2018 U.S. House candidate and retired Air Force helicopter pilot, and Chris Bell, a former Houston congressman and 2006 gubernatorial nominee. A group of Democratic progressive operatives is also focused on Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, founder and executive director of Jolt, a nonprofit she started three years ago to mobilize young Latinos in Texas politics. “It’s going to be a long road,” West said. Still, he described the process as “healthy for the Democratic Party.” Whoever wins the primary will square off against a well-established Republican incumbent who has already amassed
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Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards – Photo courtesy of Facebook
Councilwoman Amanda Edwards of Houston joins Democratic primary
By ABBY LIVINGSTON and PATRICK SVITEK The Texas Tribune
Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards announced on the morning of July 18 she is running for U.S. Senate, joining an increasingly crowded primary to challenge Republican John Cornyn. It will be a campaign against several Democratic rivals and, possibly, a threeterm incumbent whose reelection war chest tops $9 million. But should Edwards win, she would be the first African American Texan to serve in the U.S. Senate. “As a woman, as an African American, as a millennial – and in certainly as someone who generally ... believes in solutions and not just rhetoric – I think I’m going to be the candidate that can do the job,” she said
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214-941-3100
Lending discrimination: Stock photo
Why the Community Reinvestment Act needs to do more – AN ANALYSIS –
By RICKIE C. KEYS
Special to The Dallas Examiner
Ever tried to buy a home in the United States on a low or middle income? Families in this bracket – known as LMI, who are primarily from minority communities – have long been inhibited by discrimination that makes it difficult for them to achieve their homeowning dreams. And this despite the passing of federal legislation designed to combat such discrimination over the last few decades – in particular, the Community Reinvestment Act.
The CRA then … Let’s rewind to 1977. Jimmy Carter is in the early stages of his presidency. The CRA was passed with the chief aim of combating redlining, a disturbing practice that prevents minority LMI families predominantly from buying their own homes. Redlining is systematically denying residents access to mortgages, loans, insurance and other financial services, based solely on the repayment default history of the area in which they live. Banks are point blank refusing to lend to people from LMI areas, deeming them high risk. No consideration was being given to an individual’s actual creditworthiness. And it’s becoming clear that the practice is disproportionately affecting minority races and ethnicities. So the CRA was introduced to create a framework for banks that directs them to cease preventing LMI communities from receiving financing for home ownership, encouraging the banks to lend to these communities. The CRA now … Back in 1977, the legislation indeed represented a step in the right direction, helping more people own their own homes by improving access to credit. But now in 2019, with the legislation beginning to show its age, many experts think it’s time to take root and branch review of the situation and make changes. That’s precisely the challenge that Congress and the private sector are facing right now, the ultimate goal being to reduce incidences of housing discrimination further. So what is it about the CRA that is falling short of expectations? Here we take a detailed look at nature to see how the situation can be improved. Who enforces CRA legislation? Since its inception, responsibility for the enforcement of the legislation and the overseeing of banking activity related to it has fallen upon the shoulders of a trio of federal regulatory agencies: • Federal Reserve Board • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – known as the FDIC • Office of the Comptroller of the Currency These bodies assess the performance of banks in terms of their response to an entire community’s credit requirements, not just LMI neighborhoods. According to the Congressional Research
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State/Metro . . . . 2
Editorial . . . . . . . 4
Keep Cool on the Grill
Perspectives . . . 5
Health . . . . . . . . 6
Health Pg 6
Education . . . . . 7
Classifieds . . . . 9
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