VOL. XXXIII • JULY 11, 2019
50 cents
A champion, through the pain: Our Yards, Our Gardens
The Body’s Warning Signs
State/Metro Pg 2
Health Pg 6
Local student advocates stem cell, bone marrow donations By DIANE XAVIER The Dallas Examiner
She felt powerless at times. Every morning, Genesis Jones wakes up knowing her days will be filled with pain. Jones, 20, has been fighting painful episodes since she could remember. A nursing student at Richland College, Jones has been battling excruciating and constant bodily pain since she was 3 years old. She has also had two silent strokes, frequent blood transfusions, hospital visits and dealt with major depression as a preteen. Jones was born with sickle cell disease, a group of inherited red blood cell
disorders that cause pain throughout the body and can cause life-threatening complications such as stroke or organ failure. In sickle cell disease, the cells are shaped like a crescent instead of a doughnut. The misshapen cells cause the sickle cells to die early, which then causes a shortage of red blood cells, and when they travel through small red blood vessels, they get stuck and clog the blood flow. Today, Jones is in search of a matching blood stem cell donor, the only known cure for sickle cell disease. “I plan my life around my pain,” Jones said. “I have been in and out of the
A protester holds a sign outside the U.S. Supreme Court where the court ruled that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration did not give an adequate explanation for its plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, delivering a victory to New York state and others challenging the proposal in Washington, D.C., June 27. – Photo by Carlos Barria of REUTERS
U.S. Justice Department: Fight over 2020 census not over By TARA BAHRAMPOUR and JOHN WAGNER The Washington Post
(The Texas Tribune) – The Justice Department affirmed Friday that it still is pursuing a path for adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census, according to a filing in federal court in Maryland. The filing followed statements earlier in the day from President Trump in which he said he is “thinking of” issuing an executive order to add the controversial question. Government lawyers said in their filing Friday that the Justice and Commerce departments had been “instructed to examine whether there is a path forward” for the question and that if one was found they would file a motion in the U.S. Supreme Court to try to get the question on the survey to be sent to every U.S. household. Attorneys for the government and challengers to the addition of the question faced a 2 p.m. deadline set by U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel to lay out their plans. Hazel said earlier this week that if the government stuck with a plan to try to add the question, he would move ahead on a case before him probing whether the government has discriminatory intent in wanting to ask about citizenship. The Justice Department lawyers argued in Friday’s filing that there was no need to start producing information in that case since for now courts have barred the government from adding the question. But the government also agreed to follow a schedule to move ahead if that was laid out. The government has begun printing the census forms without the question, and that process will continue, administration officials said. Trump had raised the possibility that some kind of addendum could be printed separately after further litigation of the issue, a move would almost certainly carry additional costs and may not be fea-
See 2020 Census Page 3
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Genesis Jones – Photo courtesy of the Be The Match campaign
hospital growing up and had my first stroke at the age of 8. I wake up daily and I wait to see how I feel at that moment and kind of
just get going. I just learned to cope with what I have with a lot of different strategies and manage how I feel with my back, which
is where I usually have my pain. I just keep going because I know it is always something that is going to be there, and I just focus on more of the things I need to do, like school.” Jones is one of approximately 100,000 African Americans battling sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease disproportionately affects African Americans. It is estimated that sickle cell disease occurs among about 1 out of every 365 Black births, and that 1 in 13 Black babies are born with sickle cell trait, according to the Centers for Disease
See Jones Page 7
First Black DCCCD chancellor dies at 85
Special to The Dallas Examiner
Dr. Wright Lassiter Jr., former chancellor of Dallas County Community College, local minister and educator died July 1 at his home. He was 85. Between 2007 and 2014, he served as the DCCCD chancellor. He was the first African American to be appointed as the district’s 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 his family.” Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, 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. For decades, Lassiter served as an educator at colleges like Tuskegee University and Morgan State University, before moving in 1983 to Dallas and becoming the president at Bishop College, now Paul Quinn College. He went on to serve as president of El Centro College for 20 years. Dr. Jose Adames, president of El Centro College, said he was deeply saddened by the news of Lassiter’s death. “Early on in my presidency, I had the pleasure of sharing lunch with Lassiter. He appeared to be a kind and wise soul who graciously shared with me some of his wealth of experience. I will forever be grateful,” he said. Trustee Charletta Compton recalled Lassiter as a “dedicated leader who championed worthy causes.” “I first met Dr. Lassiter when I worked at the Dallas Black
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Dr. Wright Lassiter Jr. – File photo courtesy of DCCCD
Bryan Carter persents a plaque honoring Dr. Wright Lassiter Jr. for his mentorship of Black young men during the African American Pastors Coalition’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. holiday celebration, Jan. 19, 2015. – File photo courtesy of Concord Church
Chamber where he chaired the Education Committee,” Compton said. “He did an outstanding job as president of El Centro College, and worked well with 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.” Lassiter was the recipient of numerous awards and honors. In 2002, he was nominated by President 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. In 2013, the early college high school at El Centro College, a Dallas ISD program, was renamed in his honor as The Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. Early College High School. Calling him “the Campus Gentle Giant,” Laura Allen offered condolences and prayers of comfort on a legacy website. “He was always approachable by the students. He shared a wealth of wisdom and encouraged students and myself to ‘always do your best work.’ It was such an honor to have met him,” she expressed. 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. In 2016, he received the national Leadership Award from the American Association of Community Colleges. A lifelong learner, Lassiter was the author of several books. “We all live in the spirit of hope and service that was the trademark of Dr. Lassiter’s life.
See Gentle Giant Page 6
214-941-3100
Congressman Colin Allred stands on the steps of the U.S. Capitol July 9 with his congressional colleagues holding photos of constituents that would lose health care or be harmed if the federal lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act succeeds. – Photo courtesy of U.S. House of Representatives
Texas seeks to overturn Affordable Care Act: Attention focuses on a potential swing judge By EMMA PLATOFF The Texas Tribune
NEW ORLEANS – On the left was Judge Carolyn Dineen King, an appointee of Jimmy Carter; on the right sat Judge Kurt Engelhardt, a nominee of Donald Trump; and in the center sat Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, the George W. Bush appointee expected to represent the critical swing vote on a three-judge panel now charged with deciding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. It was that perhaps fitting seating arrangement that greeted attorneys for Texas on Tuesday afternoon, as the state and its allies asked this three-judge panel on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down the sweeping health law known as “Obamacare,” a legal means to a political end that has eluded conservatives for the better part of a decade. Texas won a major victory in its bid to end the law in December, when a federal district judge in North Texas sided with the state, declaring that the law is unconstitutional in its entirety after Congress in 2017 gutted one of its important provisions, a tax penalty for individuals who chose to remain uninsured. The U.S. Department of Justice, in a highly unusual move, has declined to defend the law. A California-led coalition of blue states that has stepped in to oppose Texas in the lawsuit quibbles with that question of “severability,” arguing that even if one slice of the law must fall as unconstitutional, its other hundreds of provisions – including a host of popular patient protections – should stand. The question of how much of the law may rightly be salvaged was a focal point of court discussions Tuesday. Texas’ odds of total vindication remain in question after nearly two hours of
See ACA Page 9
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