04.09.2026_Defender-e-FULL

Gig workers!

Don’t get in trouble this tax season

Volume 95, issue 25 April 9, 2026

NEWS

PROFILE

V VICTOR GLOVER G

JAMIE PERRY Y

The Houston astronaut ma akes history as the first Bla ack man to go to the moon.

The Houston vio olin nist is rewriting the ruless for Black women in n music.

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2 | April 9, 2026 |

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DN To the POINT

One -OnOne (L-R) Black Restaurant Week founders Derek Robinson, Falayn Ferrell, and Warren Luckett launched the event in 2016 to boost economic empowerment for Black-owned culinary businesses through marketing and promotional support. Credit: Black Restaurant Week

Message from the Reporter 17% of those earning under $25,000.

For many, the primary issue is home Black Restaurant Week is back in Houston. repairs, including damaged roofs, leaks, mold For those who know, this week is so much problems, and damage to personal items, more than just good food. which caused unanticipated financial burdens.

At its core, the event is a celebration of For others, loss of income, insurance, or African American, African, and Caribbean FEMA concerns, health and mental health cuisine. It is also a platform for local, indepenissues, displacement, and utility issues have dent businesses that often lack the resources caused lingering barriers to staying afloat. to market themselves on a larger scale. It will While some residents reported delays and run until April 19. outright denials from insurance companies Through curated events and partnerships, Tannistha Sinha and FEMA, leaving them to cover costs on Black Restaurant Week shines a spotlight their own, health and mental health challenges on chefs, food trucks, caterers, and specialty food brands. It impeded other residents’ recovery, per the report. extends beyond the traditional restaurant model and tries to For some Houstonians, the impact of Beryl still lingers. The authentically showcase the full spectrum of Black culinary real recovery, for them, is yet to come. talent across the city.

The experience is intended to bring people together, trying HISD’s Pre-K push a new spot, supporting a neighborhood favorite, or discovering Houston ISD’s enrollment has been on the decline for years, flavors tied to generations of cultural traditions. but the losses have grown in both size and pace since the Texas But another important aspect of this week is the economic Education Agency (TEA) takeover in 2023, a University of impact. Driving foot traffic and visibility, it helps strengthen Houston study found. As of 2024-25, the district is serving local businesses while encouraging Houstonians to invest in 13,208 fewer students than in 2022-23, and annual losses contheir own communities. tinue to grow year over year.

To mitigate this issue, the school district is trying to expand Still recovering after Hurricane Beryl its pre-K footprint.

Since Hurricane Beryl tore through Houston in July 2024, On one side, HISD is partnering with Collaborative for some residents, especially lower-income households, struggled Children to create more PreK access through communito return to normal life 4-6 months or even a year after the ty-based centers through the state-backed 1882 partnership. storm.

On the other hand, it’s doubling down on door-to-door canA new report from Rice University’s Kinder Institute found vassing, led by canvassing nonprofit Groundwork Outreach, that while most people say life has returned to normal, a signif- to connect families with available seats. icant number of residents are still dealing with the aftermath Per HISD, some campuses have high waitlists, while others of Beryl, with not many to share the burden with. have empty seats. Last year alone, outreach efforts reached Most respondents said their day-to-day lives were either roughly 56,000 families and contributed to one of the district’s completely (74%) or mostly (20%) back to normal, while 6% largest grade-level enrollment gains, even as overall numbers said their daily lives remained somewhat or mostly disrupted. declined.

The differences in normalcy depend on household incomes.

This year, that effort is expanding to 65,000 families in the Only 2% of those making $100,000 or more reported that their feeder patterns of the high-density Chavez, Milby, Sterling, lives were still somewhat or very disrupted, compared with and Yates high schools.

Houstonians, Black Restaurant Week is back

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT

Dr. Tomikia P. LeGrande

Coming Next Week April 16th

April 9, 2026 |

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| 3

DN News FIRST BLACK MAN TO THE MOON

Victor Glover makes history

By ReShonda Tate

When Victor Glover boarded NASA’s Artemis II on April 1, 2026, he didn’t just pilot a spacecraft—he stepped into history.

Today, as the Orion capsule “Integrity” swings around the lunar far side, Glover has officially become the first Black man to travel to the Moon.

F o r G l o v e r, a Pomona, California native who calls the Houston area home, this moment is layered with pride, responsibility, and deep reflection.

“I live in the America that sent me to Glover space, told my grandfather he couldn’t fly during the Korean conflict when he was enlisted, but he got to sit and watch me fly,” Glover said in a previous interview with the Defender. “We live in a very complicated country.”

The Artemis II mission marks the first crewed lunar journey in more than 50 years.

While the crew is not landing on the surface, they are currently achieving milestones that haven’t been touched since the Apollo era.

Later today, the crew is expected to reach a maximum distance of 252,757 miles from Earth, breaking the record for the farthest humans have ever traveled into deep space— surpassing the mark set by Apollo 13.

Glover is j oine d by a divers e,

(L-R) Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen of CSA (Canadian Space Agency), pilot Victor Glover, commander Reid Wiseman and mission specialist Christina Koch walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building ahead of the launch of the Artemis II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

international crew: • Reid Wiseman: Mission Commander.

• Christina Koch: The first woman to embark on a lunar mission.

• Jeremy Hansen: The first Canadian astronaut to leave Earth’s orbit.

Together, they represent what NASA calls a new era of exploration—one that reflects a broader cross-section of humanity.

Even as history surrounds him, Glover admitted the magnitude of the mission took time to sink in. “I have to be honest

— it was a little bit of shock,” he told the Defender. “But also I just felt like, wow, this is big… it just seemed really big.”

A decorated Navy test pilot, Glover’s resume prepared him for this 10-day gauntlet. With over 3,000 flight hours and 24 combat missions, he previously served as second-in-command of SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission in 2020. However, his path was non-traditional; growing up, he didn’t see many astronauts who looked like him.

“I saw a space shuttle launch on TV

and thought I would love to drive that machine,” he recalled. “But I didn’t even have the context to say, ‘I want to be an astronaut,’ because I didn’t know any.”

As Orion prepares for its return journey and a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, Glover’s journey stands as a visible reminder of progress. Only 24 Americans had ever traveled to the Moon before this journey. Now, Victor Glover is one of them—carrying the hopes of a new generation watching the stars from below.

KP GEORGE GUILTY VERDICT

Fort Bend county left in limbo

By Tannistha Sinha

Fort Bend County Judge KP George has been found guilty following a jury trial on a felony money laundering charge. His sentencing is set for June, but in the meantime, George remains in office.

Fort Bend County d e put i e s pl a c e d George in handcuffs and escorted him out of the courtroom after the unanimous verdict. A judge set his bond at $20,000, split at $10,000 per charge, and asked George George to surrender his U.S. passport.

After a closed executive session with County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson, county commissioners unanimously voted to revoke George’s authority to sign county documents, appointed Precinct 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage to preside over

the commissioners court, and authorized County Auditor Robert Sturdivant to conduct an internal investigation into potential financial risks tied to George’s conviction.

Governor Greg Prestage Abbott’s office also froze 27 state grants covering cybersecurity training and emergency medical services.

The decisions effectively sideline George from core administrative functions while stopping short of formal removal, a process governed by state law and still pending.

What happened?

Court records show that on March 31, 2025, George was indicted on two felony counts of third-degree money laundering, totaling $46,500. The defense mounted a

pretrial challenge, arguing that the state failed to prove criminal intent and that investigators relied on incomplete financial records.

George’s attorneys, Jared Woodfill and Terry Yates, argued George was repaying himself for a campaign loan, permitted under Texas Ethics Commission rules, and accused Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton of prosecutorial misconduct and pursuing a political vendetta.

George will remain the county judge after posting bond, and Commissioner Grady Prestage will act as the “temporary presiding officer.” During a commissioners court meeting, Prestage said the appointment was to ensure the county government continued to function.

Under the Texas Local Government Code, a county official is removed after a felony conviction, but the removal takes effect only upon a final judgment, not a jury verdict. Therefore, George will not be removed until the case ends with a

sentencing, expected on June 16.

“The law says [removal from office occurs] ‘immediately upon conviction,’ but the removal language is in the judgment, and the judgment cannot be complete until we have a punishment,” Wesley Wittig, Second Assistant District Attorney for Fort Bend County Justice Center, said. “The way we look at trial, we’re not done until we do punishment. He can’t even appeal his conviction until we finish punishment.”

Political consequences Even before the conviction, voters had begun to move on. George, first elected as a Democrat in 2018 and reelected in 2022, switched parties to join the Republican Party after his indictment.

In the March primary, he finished last in a five-candidate race, securing just 8.4% of the vote. Former Sugar Land City Council member Daniel Wong won the primary with 54.1% of the vote.

4 | April 9, 2026 |

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DN Education

School districts sound alarm on funding crisis

By Tannistha Sinha

The numbers coming out of the Texas School Districts’ Perspectives at this year’s Houston Investor Conference are stark.

Across four of Texas’s largest school districts, Houston, Dallas, Austin, and Cypress-Fairbanks ISDs, chief financial officers gathered at the event organized by City Controller Chris Hollins’ office. They describe a system under financial strain, underfunded by the state and forced into increasingly hard choices about staffing and the future of public education.

The ‘$10 billion worth of need’ at HISD For HISD, the infrastructure crisis is waiting to be resolved.

Dr. James Terry, chief finance and business services officer at HISD, said the district is on track to balance its budget this year, a significant turnaround after facing a deficit that once reached $528 million.

The progress, however, comes with difficult decisions, including school consolidations tied directly to financial realities.

Additionally, HISD’s $4.4 billion bond proposal failed at the ballot in November 2024.

But if HISD were to seek another bond, public support would be crucial to pass one, Terry added.

“The bond’s going to have to rise from the people,” Terry told the Defender. “That’s the only way. Somebody’s got to become kind of the hero and say, ‘the school district needs a bond.’”

In reality, he added, HISD’s needs far exceed that bond amount.

“We have $10 billion worth of need,” he said. “We use duct tape to keep our HVAC systems together. The need truly is there.”

Per Terry, most school districts seek a bond every five years. But HISD has not had one since 2012.

In a similar move, Eduardo Ramos, deputy superintendent of business services for Dallas ISD, said his district has also proposed a $6.2 billion bond package for voter approval on the May 2 ballot. This measure,

From L-R: Katrina Montgomery (Austin ISD), Eduardo Ramos (Dallas ISD), Karen Smith (Cy Fair ISD), and Dr. James Terry (at podium). Credit: Tannistha Sinha/Houston Defender

if passed, would become the largest school bond request in Texas history.

He said Dallas ISD had spent a year building a facility scoring system that evaluated every building on physical condition and educational relevance, then structured the program across phases to minimize tax rate impact.

The bond funds would be used to upgrade safety systems, expand physical education and athletic facilities, and purchase new school buses, among other things.

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD CFO Karen Smith described a similarly methodical approach, noting that her district’s long-range planning committee deliberately spread bond investments across multiple years to keep the community’s tax burden as steady as possible.

CFOs like Smith are already preparing for a difficult 2027-28 budget cycle, planning to move to zero-based budgeting to find efficiencies that incremental cuts can no longer deliver.

For HISD, the state takeover in 2023 complicated the trajectory of its bonds.

“All those things did not lead to a lot of good publicity for Houston ISD, so when we went out for a $4.4 billion bond, it failed,” Terry explained. “Like many of the school districts here, we have some schools that are

VOLUME 95, NUMBER 25 - APRIL 9, 2026 The Defender newspaper is published by the Houston Defender News- paper Inc. and audited by Alliance for Audited Media (AAM). Only digital subscriptions are available at: www.defendernetwork.com/subscribe No paper subscriptions available. All materials covered by 2025 copyright. No materials herein may be reproduced without the written permission of the Publisher.

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over 100 years old. When we started, we had a position control of 37,000 employees. We now have less than 25,000 employees. We did not affect our teachers.”

He added HISD is going to refinance “in the near future.”

The reasoning behind consolidation While the bond question remains open, HISD is taking a more immediate step to stabilize its finances: Consolidating underenrolled schools.

Terry confirmed that consolidations were planned for the coming fiscal year, the underlying math being, “For a school district to, in accounting terms, break even, they need about 300 to 400 kids,” he explained.

Every school in the consolidation plan falls below that threshold, meaning each one is a fixed-cost drain before a single variable expense is added.

Eliminating those losses, he said, would help the district hold its ground.

“We’re going to break even this year, so it will help us with our funds next year,” Terry said to the Defender. “But we don’t know exactly what the legislature is going to do next year or exactly what the enrollment is going to be.”

The sentiment echoed across the panel.

Smith [Cy-Fair ISD] described a recent process of cutting $58 million from her district’s budget, one that she said had to begin at the top before any asks were made of individual campuses.

Katrina Montgomery, CFO of Austin ISD, described an even steeper climb of a projected $100 million in reductions needed for the coming year, layered on top of years of deficit budgets that had left the district’s fund balance fragile.

“Year over year over year…we’ve passed deficit budgets, and so now we’re in the place where we have to figure out how to continue to grow our fund balance,” Montgomery said.

“That’s where the stress and the hard work really come in.”

Austin ISD also lost approximately 3,000 students in a single year, compounding the gap. Her takeaway was that staffing allocations demand far closer monitoring, citing one campus that was overstaffed by 14 fulltime positions at an average cost of $85,000 each.

“When I came to Austin, there was a saying, ‘At Austin ISD, you can have everything,’” Montgomery added. “Yeah, you did, and that’s probably (why we are) where we are now.”

Publisher | CEO Sonceria Messiah-Jiles

Content Manager Terrance Harris

Strategic Alllance Clyde Jiles

Associate Editor Aswad Walker

Managing Editor ReShonda Tate

Culture/Lifestyle Reporter Laura Onyeneho

Special Assignments Reporter Tannistha Sinha Sports Terrance Harris Jimmie Aggison Video Editor Bryan Erdy

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| 5

DN Feature

TSU sit-ins 66 years later, the legacy endures

By Tannistha Sinha

On the morning of March 4, 1960, a group of 13 Texas Southern University students walked from campus to a Weingarten’s grocery store on Almeda Road.

They took seats at the lunch counter and ordered food from a business that refused to serve Black customers. The students were denied service, but they did not leave, remaining seated in quiet protest and igniting Houston’s first major civil rights demonstration.

“On March 4th, 1960, they [students] sat down so the nation would be forced to stand up,” said Serbino Sandifer-Walker, a professor of journalism at TSU. “They wanted to be treated like first-class citizens because, for too long, they had been treated like second-class citizens. This is something that they felt had to come to an end.”

At the time, segregation laws and customs across the South barred Black customers from sitting at “white-only” lunch counters.

Sixty-six years later, the lunch counter is gone. The city has transformed. The laws have changed.

But the spirit of student activism that began that day still echoes across the TSU campus, even as today’s students confront a very different set of political battles.

A lunch counter that sparked a movement

It was the protest that changed Houston.

Historians say the 1960 sit-in was both local and national in its significance.

The protest, organized by the students’ Progressive Youth Association, challenged the city’s system of legally enforced segregation and strategized to dismantle it.

It gave me a lot of determination to want to fight down the bastions, those remaining bastions of segregation.”

SENFRONIA THOMPSON Texas State Rep

Members of the Progressive Youth Association, mostly TSU students, protested at Weingarten’s in 1960. Credit: Texas Southern University

According to TSU’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law professor James Douglas, the protest began with just 13 students and then quickly became a turning point for the city.

“At that time, African Americans did not have the ability to eat in white restaurants,” said Douglas. “This was the beginning of the civil rights movement in Houston…

They integrated the lunch counter soon after that.”

Decades later, the protest site looks very different. A U.S. post office now occupies the location where Weingarten’s grocery store once stood.

‘We just believed it was the right thing to do’

For those who participated, the demonstrations carried real danger.

Texas State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, a TSU alum, was among the students who participated in the 1960 sit-in at a Medex Pharmacy, a separate protest that was part of the same movement. It took place where a Walgreens sits today.

Many students faced the risk of arrest or violence. Others worried that being arrested could damage their future careers.

But Thompson recalled that those fears did not deter the protestors.

“It gave me a lot of determination to want to fight down the bastions, those remaining

bastions of segregation,” Thompson said. said “We just believed it was the rigght thing to do.”

New issues, new activism m

While the civil rights moveement of the 1960s focused on segregattion and voting rights, the political lan ndscape facing students today is diffeerent.

Artist Tyson, a senior polittical science major with a minor in African American studies at TSU, said he had heard about the broader ciivil rights movement growing up in th he South, in “deep” Louisiana and Alabam ma, but did not initially know about the TSU U protest.

He added that, in the post-segregation era, students’ issues have chaanged.

Among his peers, he sees an increased concern about voter turnout and representation in Congress.

Texas State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, a TSU alum, participated in the 1960 sit-in.

Credit: Senfronia Thompson

“We’re a part of Congressional District 18, and for nearly a year, we were without representation,” added Tyson, referencing the gap in representation after Sylvester Turner died in office last year and Christian Menefee winning the run-off election last January. “If you don’t have a representative, that means you don’t have a say in things that go on in Texas, and that affects you.

We’re very much living in a time where our democracy is flawed and in need of leadership that won’t be negligent to the needs of the American citizens.”

Sandifer-Walker said the students’ protest was grounded in constitutional rights and that their actions helped shape lasting legal changes and continue influencing student activism today.

“These TSU students today stand on their shoulders,” she said. “They have stood up through so many different means…their way of protesting is through social media.

People don’t realize how social media has democratized people to be able to use their voices in an effective way.”

6 | April 9, 2026 |

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DN Feature

Black southern belles Redefining the meaning of:

The Southern Belle was never meant to be Black. The image was built on whiteness, wealth, and leisure, upheld by a system that excluded Black women entirely.

T

By Laura Onyeneho

oday, Black women across Houston are confronting that legacy while reshaping what it means to be a Southern Belle in a modern Black context. Historically, the Southern Belle emerged as an idealized representation of white womanhood in the pre-Civil War South. She was expected to be charming, modest, and dependent, her “delicacy” reinforcing racial and class hierarchies. The plantation economy allowed her to embody leisure while enslaved Black women performed the labor that sustained Southern households and culture.

But according to Dr. Karen Kossie-Chernyshev, a history professor at Texas Southern University, centering the term Southern Belle is one example of Black womanhood being misrepresented in history.

Black women did not arrive in the Americas without concepts of beauty, femininity, or self-presentation, she said. Enslaved African women carried cultural traditions with them, including adornment, braiding, color, and carriage, even as systems of enslavement worked to strip them of dignity and bodily autonomy.

“Enslavement was designed to strip women

of femininity and beauty,” Kossie-Chernyshev said. “But Black women resisted that in subtle and persistent ways.”

The Southern Belle archetype, by contrast, was a constructed ideal tied to whiteness and economic privilege. While popular culture later romanticized the image through films like 1939’s Gone with the Wind, Kossie-Chernyshev says the ideal was largely reserved for women of the planter class, whose leisure was sustained

by Black domestic labor. That dynamic, she said, complicates modern attempts to reclaim the term.

“Black women historically did not define their beauty in response to white women’s standards,” she said. “So resistance to the term makes sense.”

After emancipation, Black women navigated a new set of expectations shaped by survival, respectability, and safety. Dress, grooming, and etiquette became tools for protection and social mobility. Churches, HBCUs, sororities, and civic organizations emphasized presentation as a way to reclaim dignity in a society that

routinely denied it.

Sunday church attire, gloves, hats, and formal dress offered moments where Black women could assert humanity after a week of labor. In some cases, clothing even functioned as resistance, signaling sanctity or respectability to protect against sexual violence in a post-slavery South.

“Black women were never allowed to just be pretty,” Kossie-Chernyshev said. “They always had to be strong at the same time.”

That history, she explained, is why the Southern Belle remains a fraught reference point. While Black women helped create Southern culture, from foodways to fashion to hospitality, their labor was excluded from the archetype’s rewards and recognition.

Chef Tiffani Janelle (right) is raising her daughter to take up space in the world as a young Black woman. Credit: Tiffani Janelle via/ Instagram

Carmen Jones, founder of Black Girl Social Club. Credit: Black Girl Social Club

When the label doesn’t fit

“When I hear Southern Belle, I think of a white woman,” said Dr. Ashandra Batiste, founder and CEO of Elite Dental Wellness. “It doesn’t feel endearing because it wasn’t created with us in mind.”

“If we’re talking about intelligence, access, leadership, and running businesses, Black women have always embodied that,” she said.

“But the definition has to be honest.”

She describes herself as a “Southern rebel,” someone who carries herself with dignity and elegance but refuses to romanticize the past.

Raised in a family that emphasized education, discipline, and accountability, Batiste said she is intentional about passing those values to her children, particularly as she watches standards shift.

“We can’t lose the sense of pride in how we present ourselves and how we move through the world,” she said, noting concerns about younger generations being disconnected from both history and how Black people have to move in the world. “The standards have dropped to hell. We have to do better at teaching our children about etiquette, hospitality, and carrying themselves with confidence. You have to be the best version of yourself.”

Houston resident Demetra Liggins Banks embraces Southern hospitality and etiquette,

Dr. Ashandra Batiste is a Houston professional who says the term Southern Belle wasn’t created with Black women in mind.” Credit: Dr. Ashandra Batiste

but she resists labeling herself a Southern Belle.

“The word carries a history,” she said. “Even if parts of it resonate, I wouldn’t claim it.”

Banks said she was raised around strong Southern women who modeled warmth and generosity without needing a title. For her, the reluctance is less about rejection and more about self-definition. She values tradition, but resists archetypes that feel limiting or outdated.

“The cornerstone of being a Southern woman is probably Southern hospitality and etiquette,” she said. “These are characteristics I proudly possess.”

Redefining Southern womanhood on Black terms

Popular culture has played a key role in expanding how the Southern Belle is imagined.

Characters like Whitley Gilbert on A Different World offered a version of Southern refinement that was unapologetically Black, educated, and self-assured.

Reality television figures such as former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Phaedra Parks and shows like The Belle Collective further position Black Southern women as socially connected, financially empowered, and culturally influential.

These portrayals matter because they shift the archetype from a state of dependency to one of autonomy. The modern Southern Belle in entertainment is no longer defined by who she marries, but by what she builds, owns, and leads.Tiffani Janelle, a Houston native and chef with more than two decades in the culinary industry, says that today’s Black Southern Belle is a woman who moves through the world assured in who she is, benefiting from the groundwork laid by generations before her.

A Southern belle is a romanticized archetype of an upper-class, white young woman in the antebellum South, noted for charm, hospitality, and social etiquette. This image historically excluded Black women, who were enslaved. Credit: Chat GPT images

That foundation was built through service, hospitality, and community care. Janelle comes from a long line of women who served as church leaders, bakers, hosts, and caretakers, women who fed people not just with food, but with presence. That lineage directly shaped her life’s work.

As a private chef, Janelle has shared Southern-rooted cuisine across the globe, from Europe to the Caribbean, carrying family traditions with her into elite and international spaces.

Janelle now watches that legacy take shape through her 15-year-old daughter, who is beginning her own entrepreneurial journey.

Her advice to young Black women is to understand that the world was not built with you in mind, but space has been carved out for you to occupy fully.

“Take up space,” she said. “Build something legacy-centered. There’s no timeline on purpose, but once you know you’re called to something, you belong there.”

Power of sisterhood

Carmen Jones, founder of Black Girl Social Club, frames the modern Black Southern Belle as someone rooted in values and intentional behavior. Raised learning etiquette and social standards from older generations, Jones views refinement not as elitism, but as respect and protection.

“Showing up with integrity, knowing how to move in different spaces, and honoring community still matters,” she said. Her work emphasizes mentorship, accountability, and the preservation of traditions that have long helped Black women navigate Southern society.

Through Black Girl Social Club, Jones creates spaces centered on mentorship, accountability, and sisterhood, reinforcing values she believes have been diluted over time. Her work is about preserving standards while allowing Black women to define them for themselves.

Michiel Perry, founder of BSB Media, describes Black Southern Belles as women who have always shaped Southern culture, even when they were excluded from its imagery.

“To me, I think of the women in my family (from the hairdressers to the seamstresses) and who I grew up with in church, through community activities, the teachers and administrators at my schools,” she said. “The archetype to me means the women who are the artisans of the traditions of home and lifestyle, whether they worked on a farm, factory, campus, or office. She is a woman who serves her

community through hospitality, graciousness, and tradition.”

Perry created BSB Media after noticing a lack of Black Southern lifestyle representation while planning her wedding and decorating her home.

“When I was planning my wedding and decorating my home, I wasn’t seeing enough Black and southern lifestyle content, especially Black-owned vendors,” she said. “I wanted monogrammed items that represented the HBCUs my bridesmaids attended, and it inspired me to find this content, and when I didn’t see it, I bought the URL and went from there.

What began as a personal search became a platform highlighting Black-owned businesses, home décor, food, travel, and family traditions.

Perry views the work as honoring skills Black women have long practiced.

“I believe we are here to shine a light on what has already existed within our communities and to honor that tradition,” Perry said. “Our ancestors created and developed these crafts and expertise in home and entertaining, and today’s modern women are continuing the tradition to cultivate our professional careers, deepen our friendships, and maintaining our LEARN HOW family traditions and WOMEN ARE connections, all while REDEFINING THE TERM innovating and creating new traditions.”

8 | April 9, 2026 |

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DN Feature

GIG WORKERS!

Don’t get in trouble this tax season

By Laura Onyeneho

If you braided hair, catered a party, drove for a rideshare app, or sold handmade goods at a pop-up shop and got paid through Cash App, Zelle, or Venmo, the IRS already knows about it. And if you didn’t report it, this tax season could be costly.

With the April 15 federal deadline weeks away, tax professionals are urging gig workers and side hustlers to get their finances in order before the IRS comes calling.

“Always report all of your money, regardless of how much it is,” said Aliah Minor, a Houston-based business tax strategist. “Let’s write stuff off so that you don’t get something that says, ‘Hey, you are trying to evade us,’ other than you wrote off a bunch of stuff that you may be able to prove versus you not putting enough money on your return.”

The stakes are real. According to IRS guidelines, any gig worker who earns $400 or more in net income is required to pay a 15.3% self-employment tax, which covers Social Security and Medicare contributions.

4

That obligation exists whether or not a worker receives a 1099-K form from a payment platform.

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which governs the 2025 tax year filed in 2026, the threshold for payment apps like Venmo and PayPal to issue a Form 1099-K has been reset to more than $20,000 and over 200 transactions. But tax professionals stress that this reporting threshold does not determine taxability. All income, even a $50 cash payment for a service, must still be reported.

“The misconception is that people do not like to report cash,” Minor said. “That money still goes to your bank account, and the IRS still gets it because whatever the third-party company is has to report it.”

Minor also drew an important distinction that many app users overlook. Not every digital payment is taxable. Splitting a dinner bill or reimbursing a friend through the “friends and family” option on Venmo does not count as income because you didn’t earn

it. But the moment a transaction is marked as a business or service payment, it is reportable, trackable, and owed to the IRS. She also stressed the importance of separating business and personal finances immediately.

“You never want to commingle funds.

Have your business at one bank, your personal at another. If you need to pull from your business account for personal use, transfer it first and document it properly,” Minor said. “Because when an audit comes, they want to see everything, and every line that doesn’t make sense is a problem.”

Michelle Levi McDaniel, president and CEO of Elite Image Tax & Notary Service in Houston, says many gig workers are also missing out on significant tax benefits simply because they are not structured properly as businesses.

“A lot of people in the gig economy work under their social security number, which means that income is taxable to them personally,” she said. “If you get a DBA, a ‘Doing

GIG WORKERS BEST PRACTICES

Michelle Levi McDaniel President & CEO, Elite Image Tax & Notary Service

Set a Plan. Most cash-

based and gig workers go with the flow and don’t have a financial plan. Without one, you’re not benefiting from what you’re earning.

Get Involved and Determine Your Direction.

Decide where you want to take your gig business. Is it staying a side hustle, or do you want to grow it into a legitimate, revenue-generating business?

Be Active in Your Business Growth. Whether

your hustle is part-time or fulltime, stay engaged and involved in its growth.

Have a Trusted Resource — Not Google. The internet

gives partial information that doesn’t apply to every industry.

Find a licensed tax professional who knows your specific field.

The IRS is actively tightening reporting requirements for side hustles and gig work, with a new phase-in for 1099-K reporting that began in 2025.

Credit: Ai

Business As’ certificate, and an EIN from the IRS, you become a sole proprietor, and you can start writing off your expenses.”

A DBA, or assumed name certificate, can be obtained at most Texas county offices for as little as $25 and is valid for 10 years. With that structure in place, eligible deductions can include supplies, marketing, mileage, utilities, a dedicated home office, and even uniforms, all expenses that reduce taxable income.

Mileage, in particular, is one of the most commonly missed deductions and one of the most scrutinized. Minor recommends an app called Mile IQ, which automatically tracks every trip and generates a year-end mileage summary, the kind of documentation the IRS demands in an audit.

“When that audit comes, they’ll ask you to prove your mileage, and whatever you put on there that you cannot prove, they will take off,” Minor said. “And if they take it off, that means you’re going to end up owing them later.”

Both experts also flagged Schedule C, the IRS form used by sole proprietors to report business income and losses, as a major audit trigger. McDaniel noted the IRS redflag returns where a business shows a loss every single year.

“Typically, you get two years of a new startup business to be at a loss,” McDaniel said. “But when you’re at year five or six and still in the same business, that’s an indicator.”

For side hustlers who haven’t tracked a single expense, experts say it is not too late. Go back through bank statements and payment app histories month by month.

Create a simple spreadsheet, 12 tabs for 12 months, logging every dollar earned and every expense paid. If you filed incorrectly in a prior year, IRS Form 1040-X allows you to submit an amended return.

For the first time, self-employed workers who receive tips may be able to deduct up to $10,000 to $12,500 from their taxable income under new provisions from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Minor confirmed the deduction applies to self-employment income, a significant benefit for Houston’s service-based workers that many have yet to discover.

“You have a business, not just a side hustle,” Minor said. “Run it like one.”

Free tax help is available across Houston through the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and the AARP Tax-Aide program for qualifying individuals.

For more information, visit irs.gov/vita.

April 9, 2026 |

DEFENDER NETWORK

| 9

DN Profile

Jamie Perry Rewrites the music rules for Black women

By Laura Onyeneho

She was four years old, sitting beside her mother in a church pew, when she saw it for the first time, a violinist, bow in hand, filling the sanctuary with sound. Jamie Perry didn’t know what the instrument was called. She only knew she wanted to do that.

More than two decades later, that little girl from Houston, Texas, is now the violinist at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, a recording artist, a music educator, and a multi-genre performer who has taken her bow to stages across the world.

Perry’s path was paved right here in Houston. At five years old, she enrolled in the violin program at Parker Elementary School, a magnet school whose music curriculum gave her both in-school lessons and access to private instruction. Her first teacher, Shirley Cook, laid the foundation for her early education. Kathy Karpicki carried her from third grade through tenth, sharpening her technique through private lessons and orchestra training.

From there, the pipeline that Houston’s arts community built for students like her guided Perry to Johnston Middle School, now Meyerland Middle, where Dr. Catherine Brown taught her how to carry herself in an orchestra.

“She made sure that we knew how to play in an orchestra, how to sit, what to wear, how to be in a group,” Perry says.

Dr. José Rocha then trained her as concertmaster in eighth grade. Then came HSPVA (Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts), where Dr. Hector Aguero further cemented her craft.

In 2014, at just 18, she went to London to pursue her bachelor’s degree in violin performance at The Royal Academy of Music, the oldest conservatoire in the United Kingdom. She was one of three Americans in her graduating class of 88 students. She was the only Black American.

“I really felt like I met God again in London because I was by myself,” Perry says.

“Being around people who are really excellent at that level, it kind of humbles you, but at the same time, it gives you this fuel.”

The Royal Academy pushed her hard, but it was her teacher there, Joshua Fisher, who helped her find herself.

“He really taught me how to be Jamie,” she says. “He made it clear that no matter what I did, as long as it was technically sound, as long as it was excellent, it was beneficial to me.”

She walked the same hallways as Jacob

Collier, now one of the most celebrated musicians in the world.

“We were in the same graduating class,” Perry says. “We saw each other in the canteen. Being around people like that, you’re like, ‘wait, I can actually hang with the big dogs and still be myself.’”

Coming home

Perry began thinking about her next move before graduation. She turned to someone who had always believed in her, Minister Leon Lewis, the minister of music at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church.

He had watched her play since she was a child, had invited her to perform during summertime and holiday services when she came home from school, and had always seen the potential in bringing strings into the church’s ministry.

“I sent him a long email. I thanked him for his support and, at the end, asked if there might be a place for me on his team,” Perry says. “ He said, ‘Absolutely. We would love to have you. This has been part of my vision for years.’”

That was eight years ago. Todayy, Perry is the lone violinist in the Wheeler b band, the only woman among a group she describes as “some of the top musicians in the world.”

She is also the assistant orchestra director at Booker T. Washington High School, pouring into the next generation of Houstton’s musicians.

Sisterhood in creativity

Q Olivia Rivers, the dance diirector at Wheeler and Perry’s closest friiend, has had a front-row seat to all of it. The two connected at church years ago, Rivers, R 10 years Perry’s senior, drawn in by the t sound of strings she’d always loved.

“The way Jamie plays music in a church

Jamie Perry, Houston-born violinist and Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church musician, studied at London’s Royal Academy of Music, becoming the only African American in her graduating class of 88.

Credit: Jimmie Aggison

setting, there’s a spectrum,” Rivers says. “There are moments of quiet reverence where a hymn sounds so soft and sweet and melodic. And then Q Olivia Rivers there are times is the dance where we are rockdirector at ing out, it’s almost Wheeler Avenue like a rock band.”

Baptist Church W h e n Pe r r y and Jamie released her single Perry’s closest “Church” on her friend. Credit: birthday, Feb. 1, Q. Olivia Rivers/ R ivers chore oInstagram graphed a dance piece for it, collaborating with her friend to visually bring the music to life.

“Did you ever think our ancestors would be praying p y g in the cotton fields about this little Black girl who was going to grow up and play the violin?” Rivers said. “There are spaces our ancestors fought for us to be in, stages we would never have been able to dance on.”

Perry’s debut EP, Driving Music, released in 2020, was born from a sound she heard in her Mini Cooper vehicle every time she

started the car, the seatbelt chime. She and a friend recorded it, slammed the door, revved the engine, and built a beat from the sounds. Five tracks later, she had her first project. Her new single “Church” marks her first foray into gospel music, and she hints that a larger project is in the works.

“I can’t give too much away,” she says, “but it’s gonna be lit.”

Perry grew up in classrooms where the number of Black students in orchestra dwindled each year. Her advice to the young girls coming up behind her is as grounded as the faith that drives everything she does: “Give yourself grace. Slow practice is your best friend. Have fun with it. And place positive affirmations onto what you’re doing, because it is a difficult instrument, but if you invest the time now, it won’t be as hard in the future.”

“In kindergarten, everyone’s doing it. By first grade, there are a few. By fifth grade, it might just be you and one other kid,” Perry says. “Now, seeing all types yp of Black violinists, doing rock, EDM, gospel, and seeing us take the violin and make it fit into our culture, I think, is really, really cool.”

10 | April 9, 2026 |

DEFENDER NETWORK

DN Sports WELL-TRAVELED SWAC QB

CAM’RON McCOY Excited for Texas Southern opportunity however, has come at JSU and Southern, Cam’Ron McCoy is getting his footing where he spent a year at each school. during Texas Southern’s spring drills, grow“It gives me a good edge,” McCoy said. “I ing more comfortable and excited about a told Coach Dishman a couple of weeks ago place he never imagined he would be. that I’ve beat every team in the SWAC and For those who’ve followed SWAC football I’ve also lost to every team in the SWAC. over the past couple of seasons, you might be “Knowing that, I just think I know everymore familiar with McCoy than you realize. body’s strengths and weaknesses now, a lot You may have seen the dual-threat quarter- of the things the defenses are going to bring back in action. to me, and give knowledge to our defense A couple of years ago, he played quarter- about the things that the offenses are going back in spots for the Jackson State Tigers. to give. Just spreading knowledge all over.”

And he got in some snaps, even starting a McCoy, a promising duo-sport athlete game, for the Southern Jaguars last season. out of St. Louis, had his best college season Now McCoy is suiting up for the Tigers statistically with SWAC West foe Southern. with his best chance of becoming a full- Last season, the speedy 6-foot-1 quarterback time starter. completed 51 of 108 passes for 698 yards, If you are surprised McCoy is wearing the five touchdowns, and two interceptions in maroon and white, you aren’t the only one. the 10 games played, including one start.

“It’s not where I thought I would end up,” But his production didn’t result in wins, McCoy said recently as the Jaguars finto the Defender. “If ished 2-10 and 1-7 TSU Spring Game I took it back to high in the SWAC, while When: Saturday, April 11 school and told myself head coach Terrence Where: Durley Stadium that I would end Graves was fired up here, I wouldn’t during the season believe myself. after a 1-6 campaign.

“But I’m glad. Everything is a learning NFL Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk has since lesson, and I’m glad to be in the position I taken over the program. am right now.”

The whole experience of last season didn’t That position is potentially filling a gap- sit right with McCoy, who jumped into the ing hole in the Tigers quarterback room after portal on Jan. 12 and landed in the division last season’s starter, KJ Cooper, and primary with the Tigers. backup Jordan Davis both left this program “I just want to finish it out,” McCoy said this offseason via the transfer portal. when asked why he decided to transfer to Third-year TSU coach Cris Dishman and his third SWAC school. “Last year left a bad his staff this offseason added bodies to the taste in my mouth at Southern, so I didn’t QB room, including junior college transfer want to just leave the conference like that.”

Jeremiah Harrell and Nelson Peterson, the So far this spring, the coaching staff has younger brother of former NFL star Adrian been impressed by how McCoy has gone Peterson, from Forney High School. While about his business, tackling the playbook, Dishman and quarterbacks coach Harold earning his teammates’ respect, and taking Smith are quick to make the point that the on a leadership role. quarterback competition is still wide open, “Cam has been looking really sharp,” said there is no denying that McCoy should have Dishman. “We’re not naming anyone right the leg up based on sheer experience in the now. Everyone thinks Cam is going to be league alone. our guy. But he has (some) practices to go In 23 college games that span stops at to prove he is the guy.”

Eastern Michigan, Jackson State, and SouthSmith, who has taken over as the sole ern, McCoy has completed 81 of 174 passes quarterbacks coach this offseason, has been for 1,081 yards, nine touchdowns, and six equally impressed. interceptions, and a 108.9 passer efficiency “I think Cam is doing an awesome job,” rating. The bulk of his playing experience, Smith said. “He’s got here from Day 1; he’s

By Terrance Harris

It’s a great quarterbacks (room).

Anywhere I’ve ever been, the best teams I’ve ever played on, it’s a competition every day in the quarterback room. I feel like these guys are pushing me to be the best I can be, and that’s all I can ask for.”

CAM’RON MCCOY

got the playbook in his hands. He’s a student of the game, he’s a professional, he’s a pro.

He is out here every day. He is the first one out here, the last one to leave.

“I’m excited about what we are getting out of him.”

McCoy is equally excited about this new opportunity at TSU, his new teammates, and

the possibilities of this upcoming season.

“It’s been a good transition,” said McCoy, who also played baseball at Eastern Michigan. “Everybody has been real welcoming to me. They haven’t looked at me like an outsider or anything like that.

“So the transition has been very good, fluid, and easy for me.”

April 9, 2026 |

DEFENDER NETWORK

| 11

DN Sports ports ABOUT ANTHONY AVALOS

Class: 2026 IG: @Anthonyavalos2026 Position: Forward Height & weight: 6-feet-6, 200 pounds Favorite artist: NBA YoungBoy Status: Uncommitted Favorite subject: Math

Anthony Avalos (right) shakes the hand of his coach, Craig Maura, after one of his recent dunk contest dunks. Credit: Jimmie Aggison.

MADISON HIGH

ANTHONY AVALOS Wins HISD’s 2026 Dunk Contest

By Jimmie Aggison

The gym buzzed as the final attempt neared, but few predicted what happened next.

Madison senior Anthony Avalos, already known for his above-the-rim skills, stepped up, focused, and launched himself, clearing not just one, but two players before delivering a dunk that had the entire arena on their feet.

It was the highlight of the 2026 HISD All-Star dunk contest, but for Avalos, it was just another chapter in a journey that started years earlier, when a 13-year-old first realized he could fly.

Avalos faced tough competition in a field full of dunk enthusiasts: Rico Taylor from Yates, Riley Hudlow from Bellaire, Collier Coleman from Wheatley, Kendarion Payne from Wheatley, Michael Daniel from Westside, and Adam McIntyre from Lamar.

“There were many thoughts in my mind before the dunk, but I knew if I jumped over two people, everyone would jump out of their seats,” said Avalos.

Avalos had previously jumped over someone in the second round, and the gym erupted, creating even more creative

pressure on his competitors.

However, this specific dunk wasn’t spontaneous; it was the result of weeks of practice and preparation.

“I had been practicing that dunk every day for two weeks,” said Avalos.

While the dunk may have seemed like a breakthrough moment to the crowd, for Avalos, the art of dunking took years to develop, dating back to when he first gained crowd support after dunking in middle school.

“It was the best feeling,” said Avalos. “I was able to dunk at Lawson Middle School during layup lines in front of everybody.”

Feeling that excitement and energy was contagious.

“After that, I kept practicing dunking because dunking made everything else in the game easier,” said Avalos.

That early moment didn’t just spark excitement; it sparked obsession. Avalos began training to improve his vertical jump.

“I began to run a lot and do around 200 calf raises a day,” said Avalos.

By the summer of his eighth-grade year, Avalos was not only dunking but doing so confidently. This soon encouraged him to

study the great players who came before him.

“My high school coach, Craig Maura, is a big Dr. J fan, so we watch a lot of dunk contests,” said Avalos.

Besides the legendary Julius Winfield “Dr. J” Erving, Avalos also examined former NBA stars Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, both known for their incredible dunks.

“I would watch Vince Carter and try to recreate his 360-windmill dunk,” said Avalos.

“He studied Dr. J, Vince, and Tracy McGrady as he tried to mimic their explosiveness,” said Madison head coach Craig Maura. “You can see these influences in his game today, in his workouts in the weight room, and his explosive training in the gym.”

While those influences helped shape his identity on the court, they only tell part of the story. Avalos helped lead his team to a 16-0 first-place finish in 5A Region III District 21, but at 6-feet-6, he feels part of his game is still underrated.

“I feel my shot blocking and ball handling are underrated,” said Avalos. “Everybody sees me as a small 5, but I would love to show them that I’m not. Beyond being able to dunk, I have the ability to directly impact

the game by getting my teammates involved and taking over when I need to.”

“Outside of highlights, he can really shoot the basketball,” said Maura. “I believe if they had allowed him to participate in the threepoint contest the other night, I believe he would’ve won that one as well, but they limited him to just the dunk contest.”

As his game continues to evolve, so do the opportunities ahead of him. Avalos is looking for a college program with a winning basketball culture, strong family ties, and a strong emphasis on player development.

I’m not committed right now, but I feel confident about my recruitment progress because everyone’s path is different,” said Avalos. “Panola College, Frank Phillips College, Blinn, and Dallas College Cedar Valley have all expressed interest.”

“Him being a late bloomer and only starting to play basketball a few years ago, I think that with proper coaching, putting in the work, and working really hard, I believe he could reach the highest level, whether it be overseas or in the United States,” said Maura.

No matter where he lands next, one thing is clear: Dunking over two people isn’t easy.

12 | April 9, 2026 |

DEFENDER NETWORK

DN Feature REPORT

Screen time rules for kids ineffective

By Laura Onyeneho

Parents have been told to simply limit their children’s screen time.

Set a timer. Two hours maximum. Turn off the tablet before bed. But according to new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), that approach is no longer enough.

The AAP’s comprehensive review, covering hundreds of studies on the effects of digital media over the last 20 years, marks a departure from previous thinking on screen use.

The report emphasizes that simply enforcing rigid time limits can backfire, and that parents should focus on the quality and design features of digital platforms rather than just the quantity of screen time.

Dr. Stephanie Chapman, director of primary care psychology at Texas Children’s Hospital, welcomed the shift in thinking.

“What I really liked about the new policy statement is taking some of the pressure off of parents and saying, yeah, it’s not your job to try and get electronics out of children’s lives.

It’s all of our jobs,” she said. “It’s really hard to get electronics out of our children’s lives because we live in this digital ecosystem.”

Rather than obsessing over screen time limits, Chapman recommends parents focus on the type of content their children consume. “Things that are problematic are the scrolling, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube shorts, or things that are hyper-stimulating with flashing lights and action, or things that have algorithms,” she said. “Kids click on a button five times, and suddenly all they’re seeing is eating disorder or body image issues.”

On the other hand, she says using computers for creative activities represents beneficial screen time.

“You’re watching YouTube videos and following their origami folding, or you’re using your iPad to practice filming stop animation, or you’re watching a 20-minute PBS Kids cartoon that has language and character development and academics built in. That kind of media, we want to push back less on and encourage.”

Dr. D. Ivan Young, a clinical behavioral scientist specializing in neuroscience and emotional intelligence, explains what happens inside children’s brains.

“Companies spend millions of dollars every year designing content algorithms, getting granular all the way down to the colors, the fonts, and the characters to captivate your child’s attention,” he said. “Every time you look at something that validates your perspective, your belief, or entertains you, you literally experience neurochemical interaction ranging from dopamine to serotonin to getting your adrenaline up to even oxytocin, which is a bonding hormone.”

Parents must lead by example The report recommended making a greater investment in public resources that give families real alternatives to screens, including libraries, parks, after-school programs, childcare, and community spaces.

“The apple does not fall far from the tree,” Young said. “Parents, in many instances, are not modeling behaviors that suggest intimacy. What kids need more than anything else in order to be well integrated and self-regulated is quality time with a parent.”

He says that children imitate what they see at home. “Children have a relationship with their tablet that is far more attached and in alignment than they have with their parents. Hence, you see children who will throw a hissy fit if you take their tablet away.”

For parents feeling overwhelmed, Chapman recommends starting small.

• Start small by shutting down electronics 30 minutes to one hour before bed and removing them from children’s bedrooms.

• Establish media-free zones in family life, such as during car rides or at meal times, with adults modeling and enforcing this behavior.

• Monitor content intentionally by teaching children proper use of technology and ensuring they are engaged in homework rather than playing games or chatting with untrustworthy individuals.

CLASSIFIED BID NOTICE The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD will be accepting proposals for the following: Courier Services: Mail, and Pharmaceuticals RFP Specifications may be secured from The Harris Center website www.theharriscenter.org beginning Tuesday, April 14, 2026. The Harris Center utilizes Bonfire for their solicitations https://theharriscenter.bonfirehub. com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities. A non-mandatory vendor conference meeting will be held via Lifesize at 2:00 p.m., on Monday, April 20, 2026. Deadline for prospective vendors to submit questions to this RFP is Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Proposals must be submitted by 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, May 6, 2026. The Harris Center reserves all rights to reject any and/or all proposals, to waive formalities and reasonable irregularities in submitted documents as it deems to be in its best interests and is not obligated to accept the lowest proposal.

New guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics indicates that screen-time limits alone are insufficient as children grow up in a digital world that impacts their sleep, learning, and mental health. Credit: Getty Images

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