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FEATURE

TEXAS SENATE VOTES TO GIVE TEACHERS, LIBRARIANS PAY RAISES P9

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Volume 88 | Number 19 MARCH 7 |2019 |FREE

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NATIONAL JACQUELYN SMITH case takes a disturbing turn

CENTERFOLD BEYONCE ' among Black women making history in Houston

P6 President Dr.Austin Lane

State Rep. Harold Dutton

LAW SCHOOL breaks from TSU? H PAGE 2

Michelle Obama gets real on tour

The former first lady’s book tour is selling out stadiums across the country. The personality that has made her #ForeverFlotus was on full display at her recent ‘Becoming’ Houston visit. In case you missed it, hear what she had to say. H PAGE 5

North Shore

headed to state They’ve already won the Texas 6A Division 1 football title. Now, Jalen Means and the North Shore basketball team seem to be on the same road to a state tournament. They’re heading to the semifinals in San Antonio and the Defender is covering it all.

H PAGE 11

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SPORTS KAHMARI MONTGOMERY

dominates for UH at track meet

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TOP EVENTS

Ava Graves and Pastor Mia Wright at former First Lady Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ book tour.

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newstalk

Will Marshall School of Law break from TSU?

an independent public university – one of just four in Texas…,” Lane said. “From A bill that would separate a fiscal perspective, TSU has the Thurgood Marshall School made tremendous strides in of Law from Texas Southern the past several years, includUniversity is sparking coning our latest Moody’s ratings, troversy, but the author of the which give the university a legislation said some people ‘stable outlook’ due to our are in an uproar without knowfinancial practices, healthy reing all the facts. serve, days cash on hand, and a “I came up with a bill that capital expenditure plan that is said if – and only if – TSU is updating and modernizing the going to be placed into a sysuniversity in substantial ways." tem, would the law school be Dutton reiterated that he a standalone university,” said was simply being proactive. Houston State Rep. Harold State Rep. Harold Dutton President Dr.Austin Lane “[March 8] is the last Dutton. “It’s not what people to a potential legislative plan to move day you can file a bill in the are making it out to be. Some the university into one of the state’s legislature,” Dutton said. “And so if people who have not talked to me at systems of higher education. TSU goes into a system, the bill would all decided that they knew better “It is important to note have to be filed by Friday. What I didn’t than I did what my intent that there were no diswant to get caught with was if someone was.” cussions with TSU’s had filed a bill to go into a system, we Dutton, who is an administration or would’ve had no other option but to alumnus of both TSU Board of Regents defeat that bill, which we’ve done on and the law school, prior to the filing of previous occasions. I wanted to give us filed the bill on Feb. this bill,” Lane said. another option.” 25, which would “Likewise, TSU is Dutton said his bill was a protective transfer operational unaware of any plans measure, designed in no way to harm the oversight of the law or discussions among school. school from the TSU state legislators regard“I’ve got two degrees from TSU, Board of Regents to ing TSU becoming part I have four sisters that graduated from its own separate governof a university system, TSU, my mother went to TSU when it ing body, and would grant which we understand to be the was Texas State for Negroes,” Dutton eminent domain for the new rationale behind this bill.” said. “I couldn’t have gone to college board to purchase land in support of The bottom line, according to TSU but for TSU. Why anybody would ever the new school’s operation. administration, is that there is no plan to reasonably think I’d do something negaIn an email to alumni, TSU Presitive toward TSU moves beyond ridicudent Dr. Austin Lane laid out the univer- move TSU into any system. “TSU is very proud of its history as lous.” sity’s disapproval of the bill, and alluded Defender News Services

Fun days designed for entire family Defender News Services

In celebration of National Nutrition Month and spring break, the Center for Children and Women will host free “Fantastic Family Fun Days” at two center locations. The fun days will be held Wednesday, March 13 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 700 N. Sam Houston Parkway West and Friday, March 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 9700 Bissonnet, Suite 1000. Activities will include an obstacle course, hula hoop contest, healthy cooking demonstration and performances. The Houston Food Bank will distribute tasty treats. Participants can learn helpful wellness tips to ensure that the rest of the school year goes smoothly. The Center for Children and Women is a patient and family-centered medical home for members of Texas Children’s Health Plan, the nation's first health maintenance organization (HMO) created just for children. For more details visit www.jointhecenter.org/ funday or call 1-800-9908247.

CORRECTION

A Defender online article about HISD schools named after African-Americans omitted Holland Middle School named after William Holland.

localbriefs STATE REP. RON REYNOLDS of Missouri City has filed legislation to address the #Sugarland95 and the Convict Lease System that the State of Texas once authorized. The legislation is designed to replace the Confederate monument in the capitol with a plaque to honor the victims of convict leasing, to commission a study to determine the legacy of convict leasing, to establish a museum to educate the public on the history of convict leasing, and to administer $95 million in reparations to the descendants of the 95 victims of the convict leasing system discovered in Sugar Land........ FORMER HARRIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER TOM

BASS died March 3 at age 92. Bass, an Army veteran, started out as a teacher. He later pursued graduate studies in political science, a subject he taught at St. Thomas University, Texas Southern University and Dominican College. Bass was a state representative from 1963 to 1972, Precinct I commissioner from 1973 to 1985 and chair of the Greater Harris County 9-1-1 Board of Managers from 1983 to 2009. Current Precinct I Commissioner Rodney Ellis said Bass’ public service blazed a path for younger elected officials to follow, including in the areas of civil rights and voting rights. “His work in redistricting commissioners’ precincts led

to the first minority – El Franco Lee – elected to Commissioners Court,” Ellis said…….HOUSTON HAS BEEN RANKED NO. 2 as one of the most stressed cities in Texas. BabylonHealth released its list after analyzing Twitter content to find out where people are most likely tweet about stress, anxiety and frustration. The company used a tool called TensiStrengh to estimate stress levels in these tweets based on a classification of words. Texas was ranked No. 12 among the most stressed states. San Antonio was ranked as the most stressed city in Texas, with Arlington coming in as the least stressed.

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national

U.S.briefs OPPONENTS OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border appear to have enough Senate votes to reject his move, now that Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky has said he can’t go along with the White House. The House has voted to derail the action, and if the Senate follows later this month, the measure would go to Trump for his promised veto. Congress is unlikely to have the votes to override it. Many lawmakers opposed to the emergency declaration said it tramples on Congress’ constitutional power to control spending and would set a precedent for future Democratic presidents to make such a declaration for their own purposes. They also are concerned Trump would siphon money from home-state projects to barrier construction… ….THE BROTHER OF A BLACK MAN SHOT TO DEATH by police in Sacramento said he wants to see the officers who fired the fatal bullets held accountable. Stevante Clark called on California’s attorney general to prosecute them after the local district attorney declined to do so. He told reporters his family was devastated, first by his brother Stephon’s killing last March as he held a cellphone, and again when Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert announced the officers would not be charged. Sacramento police fatally shot 22-year-old Clark 8 times in his grandmother’s backyard during a vandalism investigation. An autopsy determined Clark was shot in the back........TULSA FORMER POLICE OFFICER Betty Shelby will face no punishment for killing an unarmed Black man. Shelby shot and killed 40-year-old Terence Crutcher during a routine traffic stop in 2016 in Tulsa. The Justice Department said it “found insufficient evidence” to prove that her use of force was “objectively unreasonable.” Shelby was tried for manslaughter before being acquitted last May. She resigned from the Tulsa Police Department after she was acquitted.

Chicago will elect first Black woman as mayor a 55-year span before Emanuel took the oath in 2011. A former federal Emanuel 's decision prosecutor and a county not to seek a third term board leader will face drew some of the bigeach other in a runoff to gest names in state and become Chicago's first municipal government Black female mayor afas would-be succester leading a large field sors, along with some that included a member political newcomers of the Daley family that with strong support, in has dominated the city's Lori Lightfoot (left) and Toni Preckwinkle are in a runoff for mayor a transitional election politics for much of the of Chicago. for a lakefront metropolis last six decades. still struggling to shed its reputation for corruption, Political outsider Lori Lightfoot, who was a fedpolice brutality and street violence. eral prosecutor in northern Illinois, and Cook County Lightfoot, the first openly gay woman to run Board President Toni Preckwinkle were the top for Chicago mayor, has been critical of efforts to two vote-getters among 14 candidates, but neither reform the Chicago Police Department in the wake received more than the 50 percent needed to avoid of the 2014 fatal shooting of Black teenager Laquan an April 2 runoff. McDonald by a white police officer. The winner will succeed Mayor Rahm Emanuel Preckwinkle, who leads the county's Democratic to lead the nation's third-largest city. Emanuel did Party, also made a campaign issue out of McDonnot seek re-election. ald's shooting. Among those they defeated was William Daley, Although a nonpartisan election, the candidates who has never held major elected office but feawere all attached in varying degrees to the Demotured the most famous surname in the race. His cratic Party. The Republican Party has virtually father, Richard J. Daley, and brother, Richard M. disappeared from city politics. Daley, held the city's top job for nearly 43 years of Associated Press

Husband, not panhandler, killed woman Associated Press

VOLUME 88 • NUMBER 19 MARCH 7, 2019 Publisher Sonceria Messiah-Jiles Ad/Client Relations Selma Dodson Tyler

Strategic Alliance Manager

Clyde Jiles Art Director Tony Fernandez-Davila Photographers

Ray Carrington III Jimmie Aggison

Editors ReShonda Tate Billingsley Marilyn Marshall Contributing Writer Aswad Walker Sports Max Edison Jodie B. Jiles Engagement Manager Margo Williams Hubbard

The Defender newspaper is published by the Houston Defender Inc. Company (713-663-6996.. The Defender is audited by Certified Audited Circulation. (CAC). For digital subscriptions, visit www.DefenderNetwork.com/ subscribe. No paper subscriptions are available. All material covered by 2019 copyright. (No material herein may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher).

A Maryland woman whose death last year was blamed on an attack by a panhandler was actually killed by her husband and his adult daughter, according to police. Keith Smith, 52, had told police that his wife, Jacquelyn, Keith and Jacquelyn Smith an engineer from Harford County, was trying to give money to a panhandler at a traffic light when she was robbed and fatally stabbed. Her death attracted national attention and prompted many to regard panhandlers warily. Even Oprah Winfrey, whose early career included several years covering Baltimore news, comment-

ed that she would "think twice" about giving to panhandlers after reading about Jacquelyn's death. Police Commissioner Michael Harrison announced first-degree murder charges against Keith Smith and his daughter, Valeria Smith, 28. Both were arrested in Harlingen, Texas, near the Mexico border. Harrison said the two were preparing to leave the country. Harrison did not explain what specific roles police attribute to Keith and Valeria Smith, nor did he articulate a possible motive. He said at the news conference that the concocted story took advantage of negative perceptions of Baltimore crime and credited detectives for their work in solving the crime.

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'Leaving Neverland' re-examines Jackson self with their families, so much so that he deluded their mothers into thinkThe four-hour docuing that it was an innomentary “Leaving Nevercent gesture of friendship land” presents an controverfor him to share a bed sial perspective on Michael with their young sons. Jackson’s alleged child “For many years, sexual abuse, and has some Jackson posed as this inre-examining the pop icon’s nocent lover of children already complicated legacy. and we wanted to make it Director Dan Reed’s absolutely clear that what film centers on two men, happened was sexual acWade Robson and James tivity, without any doubt Safechuck, who as kids were whatsoever,” Reed said. inducted separately into It wasn’t until their Jackson’s inner circle under 30s that Robson and what they say was the guise Safechuck, who met of artistic mentorship. only briefly as children, Robson, who went on allegedly came to realto choreograph tours and ize that their respective videos for Britney Spears Wade Robson, who knew Jackson as a child, now accuses and ’N Sync, was 7 when he him of sexual abuse. Jackson’s family disputes his claims. experiences amounted to life-altering assault. met Jackson through a dance Reed noted he initially approached Robson and competition. Safechuck, who was cast in a Pepsi Safechuck's stories with "a good deal of skepticommercial starring Jackson, was 9. cism" but after extensive research, verified their What really happened with the acclaimed claims with police documentation from 1993 and singer, Robson and Safechuck say, was a gradual the 2003 to 2005 criminal investigations against predation that introduced the boys to kissing, porJackson by the LAPD by the Santa Barbara Shernography, masturbation, oral sex and more. iff's Department. Over the course of several years, beginning in The Jackson family has called “Neverland” a 1987, the boys allege that Jackson ingratiated himDefender News Services

“public lynching” by the media and filed a lawsuit against HBO. Many family members believe these cases against him were simply a means of extortion by the accusers who were looking to profit. In a variety of interviews and statements over the years, just about every family member has had something different to say about Jackson and his life — and at the time, one of them did believe he was guilty. As before, the Jackson clan denies Jackson ever molested boys. He was acquitted of such charges in 2005 and settled similar claims in 1994 (for a reported $22 million, despite admitting no wrongdoing). They slam the new documentary (Sunday and Monday, 8 EST/PST) as absurdly one-sided, noting that its director, Dan Reed, never requested interviews with any of the star’s family or friends. “They weren’t interested in gathering any evidence that wouldn’t corroborate what they’re saying,” Marlon Jackson says. “That wasn’t the plan. It was a one-sided documentary.” “Leaving Neverland,” which is currently on HBO, is split into two parts. The first part details Robson’s and Safechuck’s experiences. The second part chronicles the lingering trauma of Jackson’s alleged misdeeds and the way it has torn apart Robson’s and Safechuck’s adult lives. Oprah Winfrey interviewed the pair after the show aired in what she said was a “desire to broaden the conversation and deal with the topic of sexual abuse in children.”

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entertainment

Michelle Obama book tour wows audience We went to counseling and counseling can look like all types of things. That can be being open to all types of things. I certainly thought counseling was going to be to fix him. Which is why I went. Brought him here to get fixed. I was like, Doctor, talk to this man. Fix him. Then the doctor looked at me and I was like, why you looking over here. I am fine. He’s my problem. And through counseling and the work of it, you understand it’s hard and you’re both flawed. What I learned was, it wasn’t Barack’s job to make me happy. We made each other happy. I had to figure my life out and a lot of my anger was I was looking for him to fix things that only I can fix for me and I wouldn’t have learned that had we not talked openly with someone.”

By RESHONDA TATE BILLINGSLEY Defender

here’s a reason why theformer First Lady Michelle Obama book tour is selling out stadiums across the country. The personality that made her #ForeverFlotus is on full display, keeping the audience entertained as she recounts through humor and inspirational messages her journey from a workingclass family in Chicago to the White House and beyond. Obama recently made a stop at Houston’s Toyota Center in front of a packed house. The event opened with clips from some of her viral videos and late-night show appearances from over the years. After some local residents – Pastor Bridget Hilliard, James Harden’s mother Former First Lady Michelle Obama shared the Houston stage with former NPR host Michelle Norris. Monja Willis and a Girl Scout – opened the chy. That is so important for the strength of a girl. Those early men show talking about what they were “becomin a girl’s life help her set her bar. And my father, in everything he ing,” former NPR host Michelle Norris took over, introducing the On supporting Obama’s race for president… did, the way he carried himself in the household, the way he went mammoth bestseller of a book, which was released last November “I kind of, sort of thought he wasn’t going to win. I was to work, the way he loved the women in his life, my bar was really and is still easily the top-selling book of 2018. planning on being that supportive person at the end. ‘Honey, you high of what I would allow in my life. So, we cannot underestiBy the time Obama arrived onstage, donning a sparkly silver gave it your best, let’s just go home.’ I had that speech ready, mate the role men play in creating strong pantsuit, she immediately brought then he won Iowa and I was like aww, snap. But I believed in women.” an intimate feel to the stadium. She www.DefenderNetwork.com Barack Obama. I said this when I campaigned, this is a special talked about the same things she On making it work with her brother. Not because he’s my husband, but it is rare to find the Michelle Obama on dealing with negativity covered in the book, growing up husband… gift of intelligence, honesty, charisma, heart, values, intellect, in Chicago a driven kid hungry for “There are many young people deep curiosity and a willingness to put yourself out there. Then education and accomplishment who became a Harvard-educated that look to us. We are #RelationshipGoals. ‘Michelle and Barack, an ability to put yourself out there and run a campaign, then be lawyer, loved punctuality and order and plans, and who met a yeah!’ As role models, I felt like we have to help people understand the president. This is a hard job. I’ve tried to tell America man – former President Barack Obama – who wasn’t particularly the journey to being a solid couple and that there are bumps in that.” interested in any of those things. it and it’s hard. If we pretend like its easy, then when couples go On raising her daughters Malia and Sasha… Over the next hour and a half, she gave the audience their through the natural hardness of marriage, they quit. They think “They had to learn how to drive, they had to learn how to money’s worth. Here are a few of the highlights of what she had Michelle and Barack didn’t go through this but yes…Marriage is navigate in the world with security. I had to be a regular mother. to say. hard and we don’t say that enough to young people. It’s one of the I had to go to parent potluck. I had to sit on the sideline at soccer On the importance of fathers… hardest things that you will ever do. It’s two independent people, games with men with guns, trying to pretend like this is normal. “A father’s love makes you believe early on that he not only hopefully whole, and oftentimes not whole, trying to build a life But I’d like my legacy to be that I gave the world two whole huloves you, but he respects you. He puts you up high on the hierartogether. You will be fine. You have to work through that. man beings.”

what’sup After being gone since December, WENDY WILLIAMS is back on the air and returned to talk about her health and marriage. The 54-yearold said she was off because of continued thyroid issues, which are associated with Graves’ disease. She said doctors were adjusting her medication and she’s doing “swell.” She also said she’s going to the gym seven days a week. She addressed rumors that her marriage to Kevin Hunter is in trouble. Williams said she’s still “wearing my ring” and “it ain’t going anywhere.” Williams said “marriages have ebbs and flows” but her husband is her “best friend” and “lover.” Guest hosts during her absence

included SHERRI SHEPHERD and NICK CANNON……...Singer-songwriter MARVIN GAYE, whose hits included “What’s Going On” and “Sexual Healing,” will soon get a postal stamp in his honor. The U.S. Postal Service is releasing a stamp of the soul music legend on April 2, which would have been his 80th birthday. Gaye was killed by his father in 1984. The stamp is part of the postal service’s new Music Icon series designed to resemble the cover of a 45 rpm record……. PETER THOMAS, who was often considered an extra “housewife” when he was married to CYNTHIA BAILEY on the popular reality show

“Real Housewives of Atlanta,” is facing trouble, much like his good friend on the show, APOLLO NIDRA. Nidra is serving out a jail sentence for fraud. Thomas has been arrested for passing bad checks. The 58-year-old was arrested on a warrant from Louisiana for allegedly writing the counterfeit checks……..TYLER PERRY’S Madea character is going out with a bang. “A Madea Family Funeral,” the final installment of Perry’s long-running franchise, beat box office expectations and opened with $27 million in earnings. It came in second behind “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” which earned $30 million.

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DEFENDER | MARCH 7 | 2019

A DOZENFIR

Black women make history in Hous

Defender News Services

arch is Women’s History Month, a time to pay tribute to generations of women who have ma national celebration began with Women’s History Week in 1982. Congress designa Here, the Defender profiles contemporary African-American trailblazer

1 2

Dr. Marguerite Ross Barnett – First Black president of University of Houston (1990).

Beyoncé – First woman to have three albums surpass a billion streams (2018), first Black woman to headline Coachella (2018), first woman to win six Grammy Awards in one night (2010) and first woman to have an album and single simultaneously top the U.S. and U.K. charts (2003).

3 4

Simone Biles – First woman to win five U.S. Gymnastics all-around titles (2018).

Dr. Joye Carter – First Black woman appointed chief medical examiner in the United States when she became chief medical examiner of Harris County (1996).

Shirley DeLibero – First Black female president and CEO of Houston Metro (1999) and first Black female chair of American Public Transit Association (1998).

6 7 8 9 10 11

Yolanda Ford – First woman and African-American elected mayor of Missouri City (2018)

Dr. JoAnn Horton – First female president of Texas Southern University (1993). Dr. Mae Jeminson – First African-American woman to travel in space. Simone Manuel – First African-American female swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold medal (2016).

Call for nominations

Do you know a visionary woman? Nominate them now on facebook. com/defendernetwork Beyoncé made history at the Grammy Awards.

Dr. Lois Jean Moore – First Black woman president and CEO of Harris County Hospital District (1989).

Dr. Ruth J. Simmons – First female president of Prairie View A&M University (2018) and first African-American president of an Ivy League university (2001).

May Walker – First female constable elected in Harris County (2004) and first female solo patrol officer with Houston Police Department (1975).

Simone Manuel at the Olympics

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ston and beyond

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Texas Trailblazers succeeded against the odds In observance of Women’s History Month, the Defender presents condensed profiles of three African-American women who made a difference. They are featured in-depth in the Texas Trailblazer Series edited by Patricia Smith Prather and the late Bob Lee.

BESSIE COLEMAN (1892-1926)

ade invaluable contributions to America. The ated it as a monthly observance in 1987. rs with ties to the Houston area.

Bessie Coleman probably had no idea when she left the cotton fields of north Texas that she would be flying planes covered in cotton cloth or that she would become the first licensed African-American aviatrix. What Bessie did know when she left Waxahachie, Texas at age 23 was that she intended to follow her mother’s advice and “amount to something.” Thanks to Doris L. Rich, author of the biography “Queen Bess, Daredevil Aviator,” there is a written record of Bessie Coleman’s legacy. According to Rich, Bessie’s life began to change when she moved to Chicago in 1915. During that period in American history Blacks left the South in droves seeking a better life in northern cities. Aviation was in its infancy. However, few Blacks or women were part of that elite group. Bessie apparently made her decision after her brother returned from France and noted that French women had careers and were even piloting airplanes. But Bessie refused pilots training in America so she sailed to France. On June 15, 1921, she became the first African-American to earn an international pilot’s license from the distinguished Federation Aeronautique Internationale in Paris. She sailed back to America and became front page news. She was popular on the speaking circuit and also performed exhibition air shows throughout America to raise money for her school. In 1925, Queen Bess returned to her native Texas. Her first air exhibition was in Houston on June 19th. Bessie Coleman’s school never opened because her life ended in Florida when she crashed during a test flight. Her short life had been powerful. She earned a pilot license two years before Amelia Earhart and only 18 years after the Wright Brothers pioneered aviation in America.

JUANITA CRAFT (1902-1985)

Mayor Yolanda Ford made Missouri City history.

made history s.

When the NAACP was founded in 1909, Juanita Craft was just 7 years old. She would later risk her life to help form more than 100 chapters of the NAACP throughout Texas. In 1946, Craft was named field organizer for the NAACP. She and Houstonian Lula White traveled thousands of miles organizing chapters and collecting membership dues. Their organizing efforts were often hampered because many could not join the organization, fearing the loss of their jobs and sometimes their lives. Craft’s work with the NAACP put her in the midst of such U.S. Supreme Court cases as Sweatt v Painter, allowing African-Americans to attend the University of Texas in 1950. She worked alongside Thurgood Marshall, general counsel for the NAACP. Craft became the first Black woman to vote in Dallas and in 1952 became a precinct chair. Craft led efforts to integrate the University of North Texas and helped integrate the Texas State Fair in Dallas. Throughout her life, Craft witnessed horrors of inequality. Yet, her faith in an equal society never wavered. She was a guest at the White House of three U.S. presidents, including Lyndon B. Johnson. She was bestowed numerous awards. She remained politically active throughout her life and at the age of 73, became the second African-American woman elected to the Dallas City Council She and her husband, Johnny E. Craft, had no children. As director of youth for the NAACP, she influenced hundreds of kids and often hosted functions for them in her South Dallas home. That home has been preserved as the Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House and open for tours.

DR. THELMA PATTEN LAW (1900-1968)

Dr. Ruth Simmons made history at PVAMU.

he Houston area for over 88 years

Thelma Patten, a graduate of Howard University, became Houston’s first African-American female medical doctor when she set up practice in 1923. She was born in Huntsville but raised in Houston and was valedictorian of Colored High School of Houston in 1917. Her father, Mason B. Patten, was a founding member of the Houston NAACP and a railway mail clerk. Her mother, Pauline Garza Patten, was an educator. Dr. Patten’s specialty was obstetrics and gynecology. She offered female patients prenatal care and the opportunity to have babies in a hospital attended by a physician, most for the first time. She delivered hundreds of babies at Houston Negro Hospital after it opened in 1926. Perhaps the most famous of her babies was Barbara Jordan who rose to become a United States congresswoman. Patten’s office was in the Odd Fellows Building at 500 Louisiana along with other AfricanAmerican physicians and professionals. She then set up practice in the Pilgrim Building at 222 West Dallas in historic Fourth Ward. She married James H. Law, an educator. They lived near Texas Southern University and their only child was a daughter. Thelma Patten Law was an active member of the Lone Star Medical Association, a member of the Planned Parenthood Center, a board member of the Health Department of the City of Houston and co-founder and first president of the Houston Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority in 1927. In 1951, she organized the Houston Chapter of The Links. She was also active with the Blue Triangle Branch of the YWCA.

DEFENDER | MARCH 7 | 2019 defendernetwork.com

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MARCH 7 | 2019 | DEFENDER

Texas Senate passes $5,000 teacher pay raises Texas Tribune

Alfred Dewayne Brown hugged his sister on the day of his release in 2015.

Freed death row inmate declared innocent Defender News Services

Alfred Dewayne Brown spent nearly a decade on Texas’ death row before his conviction was thrown out by the courts. Despite being freed in 2015, he didn’t qualify for the state payout given to those wrongfully convicted because he was never declared “actually innocent.” That changed when Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced that an outside attorney she assigned to investigate the case found Brown innocent, paving the way for Brown to receive $80,000 for each year he was wrongfully in prison plus smaller monthly payments over the course of his life. She filed an amended motion in the trial court. That motion is expected to be approved and clear Brown's last hurdle to get compensation. The appointed attorney, John Raley, is well known for his years-long fight to free Texas’ Michael Morton from a 25-year-long wrongful sentence in his wife’s murder, a case that led to new legislation requiring prosecutors to share their complete investigation with defense attorneys. Brown was released from prison nearly

four years ago after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals tossed out his conviction and death sentence in the 2003 murder of a Houston police officer, Charles Clark, during a botched robbery. Phone records found in the prosecution’s possession but not shared with the defense at trial supported Brown’s alibi that he was at his girlfriend’s house during the crime. After the conviction was tossed, thenDistrict Attorney Devon Anderson dismissed the case completely. Two other men, including one on death row, had also been convicted in the officer’s murder. But the Texas Comptroller, which handles payments for wrongful incarcerations, denied Brown’s request for payment after his case was dismissed. Ogg said she accepted Raley’s recommendations that Brown is innocent. Brown's lawyer, Neal Manne, said the filing and new case dismissal needed to be approved by the court, but it was expected to be approved with the prosecution and defense on the same side. Then, Brown will file a new petition with the comptroller for money.

The Texas Senate has unanimously passed a bill that would provide $5,000 annual pay raises for full-time classroom teachers and librarians, at a cost of $4 billion over the next two years. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott declared teacher pay an emergency item at his State of the State speech last month, allowing lawmakers to move more quickly to get related bills through the legislative process. Senate Bill 3 is the first bill addressing an emergency item to be passed out of either chamber. Every single member of the Senate signed onto the bill as co-author. “We know that teachers are dipping into their own personal funds to pay for classroom supplies. Our teachers are struggling financially,” said the Senate's lead budget writer Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound. "The one thing we need to do first and foremost is to recognize the need to uplift our whole teaching profession."

She successfully proposed an amendment to SB 3 that would add librarians to the group of educators who would receive the raise, adding $53 million to the cost of the bill. But she resisted efforts by Democrats, including Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, to add other school staff such as counselors and nurses to the bill, because it would increase the cost too much. She said school districts could decide locally to increase raises for other staff. Outside of the upper chamber, responses to the bill were mixed, with the conservative group Empower Texans, a key contributor to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's campaign, coming out against it unless lawmakers also pass "sufficient property tax relief." And the proposal could face steep odds in the lower chamber, where House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, has maintained that he would prefer to instead provide local school districts more flexibility with how they spend those funds.

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2/28/19 3:02 PM

DEFENDER | MARCH 7 | 2019

sports

Obi Igbokwe was another individual winner at the AAC championships.

UH Cougars dominate at indoor championships

By MAX EDISON Defender

he University of Houston teams traveled to Birmingham recently for the American Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. When it was all said and done, one could make a case that the conference meet should be renamed after Houston. The Cougars dominated the field winning both the men’s and women’s championships. UH is the first school in AAC history to sweep the league's indoor track and field title. For the men it was their fifth straight American title. For the Lady Cougars it was their first indoor title since claiming the 2006 Conference USA Indoor Championship. The Cougars also swept the league's most outstanding track performance awards. Senior sprinter Kahmari Montgomery claimed the men's track honor, while sophomore hurdler Naomi Taylor claimed the women's honor. UH women grabbed three individual titles as Taylor (60-meter hurdles), Brianne Bethel (200-meter dash) and the 4x400-meter relay team stood atop the podium joining the titles from Taylor Scaife in the weight throw and Samiyah Samuels in the long jump. Cougar men captured six individual titles as Montgomery (400-meter dash), Felipe

Valencia (shot put), Mario Burke (60-meter dash), Obi Igbokwe (200-meter dash), Amere Lattin (60-meter hurdles) and the men's 4x400-meter relay each claimed titles to go along with Trumaine Jefferson's

Kahmari Montgomery won the men’s outstanding performance honor at the AAC championships.

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Naomi Taylor received the women’s outstanding performance honor.

long jump win. Montgomery clocked a 2019 world-leading time of 45.04 in the 400 to move up to No. 9 on the NCAA's all-time performance list and better both his own Houston, American Championships and Birmingham Crossplex facility records. The Cougars closed out the weekend with a sweep in the 4x400-meter relay as both the Houston men and women set American Championships record. The women’s quartet of Payge Side, Birexus Hawkins, Jazmyn Tilford-Rutherford and Bethel snapped UConn's five-year old meet record with a time of 3:37.82. The men’s foursome of John Lewis III, Quivell Jordan, Burke and Jermaine Holt combined to clock a time of 3:09.99, breaking Houston's own year-old record in the event. Next up for the UH track team is the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Houston men will enter the national meet with seven entries while the Houston women will have four entries. Montgomery (a senior) leads the men’s team. He is No. 1 in the nation in the 400 meters and he’s a member of the No. 1-ranked 4x400 meter relay. Igbokwe (senior) is third in the nation in the 400 meters and seventh in the nation in the 200 meters. Burke (senior) is seventh in the nation in the 60 meters. Lattin (senior) is 10th in the nation in the 60-meter hurdles. Jefferson (senior) is ranked 11th in the nation in the long jump. Taylor Scaife (junior) leads the contingency of Cougar women. She’s ranked No. 4 in the nation in the weight throw. Taylor (sophomore) is ranked 10th in the 60-meter hurdles. Bethel (junior) is ranked 16th in the 200 meters. Samuels (junior) is ranked 16th nationally in the long jump.

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MARCH 7 | 2019 | DEFENDER

HS sports

Members of the North Shore basketball team celebrate their 6A regional win over George Ranch. (Photos by Jimmie Aggison)

Coach Sam Benitez cuts the net after securing the title.

North Shore teamwork makes dream work

By JODIE B. JILES Defender

game up at the end of regulation. In overtime, North Shore managed to outscore their opponent 12-5. The following afternoon, North Shore finished off George Ranch in a grind-it-out, low- scoring 3332 victory, punching their Cinderella ticket to the UIL state tournament semifinal game against none

his winter, North Shore High School’s football team proved to be the best in the state by winning the Texas 6A Division 1 football title. Now that spring will soon be here the North Shore basketball team seems to be on the same road to a state title. Area UIL state semifinal games to watch, Alamodome A closer look at how the two North Shore Friday, March 8 teams arrived at their state tournament desti3 p.m. Yates vs. Oak Cliff Faith Academy nations reveals a tale of two cities. While the 7 p.m. North Shore vs. Duncanville football team’s roster is loaded with four- and 8:30 pm Klein Forest vs. Cibolo Steele five-star recruits right and left, the basketSaturday, March 9 ball team doesn’t have one highly recruited 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m. - State championship games player. Despite lacking big names and flashy stats, the basketball team’s ability to come together other than Duncanville, the same team the football and fight toward one common goal shows that if team defeated in the state finals. there is one thing these two teams do have in comSenior guard Jose Murray spoke about how the mon is that they both know how to win. team has been able to win. Out of the gate, North Shore has easily been one “We just keep doing what we have been doing – of the hottest teams in the city going 29-3 during the listening to our coaches and following the plan because regular season. During the regional semifinals, the it is all in God’s plan,” Murray said. Mustangs defeated Fort Bend Elkins in a 67-62 overCoach Sam Benitez said time thriller after being down he was "just so happy" about 13 points in the fourth quarter. North Shore's Cinderella run www.DefenderNetwork.com North Shore then rallied back Watch state tournament highlights and noted the team's "East going on a 18-7 run to tie the side pride.”

North Shore forward Jalen Means slams dunk a victory over Elkins in the regional semifinals.

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DEFENDER | MARCH 7 | 2019

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Happening in Houston For event coverage email: events@defendermediagroup.com

MICHELLE OBAMA’S I AM BECOMING TOUR HITS HOUSTON……. Since releasing her memoir last year, former First Lady Michelle Obama has crossed the country with her “I Am Becoming” tour and she continues to be overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. That support was on full display as Mrs. Obama made her way to Houston’s Toyota Center. The packed house welcomed her as she shared stories and life lessons from her childhood to her days as first lady. Before wowing the Toyota Center crowd, FLOTUS had brunch with the HTX Book and Brunch book club. She also had a surprise meeting with students from Worthing High School. Along with photos on this page taken by the Defender, many were taken by those who submitted photos and attended the event, including Rose Spencer, Dr. Lisa Thompson, Dr. Reagan Flowers, Amber Slaughter, Ava Graves, Mia Wright, Dr. Carla Brailey, Tera Stidum, Madison Nealy, LaRence Snowden, Miara Shaw, Franka Baly, Cherie Jones, Jackie Caviel, Jaimi Canady and ReShonda Tate Billingsley.

topevents Ava Graves and friends

Amber Slaughter, Dr. Lisa Thompson.

Michelle Obama and Michelle Norris

Cherie Jones, Dr. Reagan Flowers

Tera Stidem, Madison Nealy

A screen shot

Book tour slideshow

LaRence Snowden, Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama

Capacity crowd

Ava Graves, Pastor Mia Wright

More faces in the crowd

Life-size Michelle Obama, Rose Spencer

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