To the POINT DN
Message from the Associate Editor
Texas attempts to control state university courses
If you haven’t seen the 2006 movie Idiocracy, don’t worry; you’re living it. Te movie shows a nation whose citizens are so dumbed down that they fall for any nonsense, challenge learned scholars with BS opinions and create a society that is literally killing itself with its own ignorance. We’re seeing this Idiocracy in action as Texas has joined Florida and Ohio in seeking to give gubernatorially appointed boards the power to control university curriculum and eliminate degree programs. In a word, folk who possess no subject matter expertise will be making curriculum and degree program decisions. Tat’s like a person with zero medical training or expertise (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) running the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Isaac Kamola, director of the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom at the American Association of University Professors, put it this way: “It’s an existential attack on higher education that we’re facing… Political operatives have basically used their positions of power — political power, economic power — to demand that the institutions conform to their ideas.” And nine times out of nine, their ideas refect an anti-science, anti-facts, anti-humanity slant.
Law and disorder
this new system of “justice.” Additionally, an army of judges declared Trump’s gangster move unconstitutional, and a handful of law frms said, if we made that deal, it would equate to selling our souls and justice itself to the devil. And several major corporations that hire law frms moved their business to the law frms that stood on justice, on principle and on business. Judges, lawyers and clients are recognizing that any law frm that refuses to stand and fght for themselves will never fght for their clients.
Get into it, get involved
One of Donald Trump’s frst moves in his second term in ofce was to threaten all big-time law frms that had represented clients Trump saw as against his interests with being barred from entrance into federal buildings. In other words, they wouldn’t be able to practice law. So, several of the biggest and most respected law frms in the country made deals with Trump. Tey dropped the clients and lawsuits he didn’t like. Tey pledged billions of dollars of pro bono (free) legal services to Trump’s billionaire buddies. In essence, he bought of a huge chunk of the judicial system that blocked so much of his anti-democracy agenda during his frst term. Amazingly, though, not all law frms chose to be slaves to
During a recent episode of the Defender Roundtable, while discussing the madness that is the Trump administration, the conversation turned to what we’d like to see resistance from the Democratic Party look like. Defender Culture and Lifestyle Reporter Laura Onyeneho suggested that the national Democratic leadership form a Shadow Cabinet that would counter every anti-democratic executive order, policy and proposed bill with an alternative policy/position that’s for “We the People.” Powerful idea. But we can’t leave all the work of resistance to politicians. So, when the daily barrage of anti-Black, anti-Democracy attacks make you “wanna holla,” remember what James Brown called us to do: “Get into it; Get involved!” A recent Word In Black article reminded readers that the answer to any social challenge is not giving up, but rather, organizing. We each must join the fght. How? Find one of the many organizations in your community doing good work and in need of help, and join. And get busy. Te enemies of humanity have historically thrived when good people do nothing. Good people, do something. Get into it; Get involved!
On the web
• Navigating Southwest Airlines’ new baggage fee policy.
• Community urges HSPVA to preserve Black History production.
• Katy Jordan’s point guard Jaden Holt seeks opportunity at next level.
Attempts to dumb down college education and bully law firms remind us that we’re called to resist and organize. Credit: Alexander Williams/Unsplash.
Aswad Walker
TEA extends HISD takeover
By Tannistha Sinha
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced that it’s extending the intervention of Houston ISD for another two years. It also appointed four new members to its state-appointed Board of Managers, extending their authority until June 1, 2027. Meanwhile, state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles will continue in his current role.
“Houston ISD has always been a district with some of the highest performing schools in the country, but it was also a district that allowed some of its schools to fail students for over a decade,”
Commissioner of Education Mike Morath said in a statement. “Ultimately, two years has not been enough time to fix district systems that were broken for decades. The extension of this intervention will allow the district to build on its progress and achieve lasting success for students once the board transitions back to elected leadership.”
He noted in the statement that HISD made improvements in providing special education services and student academic performance.
What’s next?
For the state takeover of HISD to end, the school district must meet three exit criteria, including:
• Having no multi-year “academically unacceptable” or failing campuses
• Compliance with special education requirements
• Better board governance focusing on student outcomes
Additionally, Wheatley High School, which triggered the TEA takeover, must earn a “C” grade or higher for the next two years.
According to HISD’s own unofficial accountability ratings, which it has released since TEA’s ratings are blocked due to ongoing lawsuits, 170 campuses received an “A” or “B” grade, improving from 93 schools the previous year, while 41 schools earned a “D” or “F” ratings in 2024, dwindling from 121 schools the year prior.
New board members
Board members Cassandra Bandy, Rolando Martinez, Audrey Momanaee and Adam Rivon will transition off the Board of Managers and will be replaced by:
• Edgar Colón, a full-time lecturer in Political Science at the University of Houston-Downtown since 2008, who teaches courses on government, constitutional law and nonprofit management and has led his own legal practice in public finance and corporate law since 2003,
• Lauren Gore, a Harvard Law graduate
who was appointed to the Texas Southern University (TSU) Board of Regents in 2024,
• Marty Goossen, who retired as Vice Chairman of J.P. Morgan Private Bank in 2024 after working in Houston’s financial sector since 2006 and served on the boards of the Asia Society Texas, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the United Way of Greater Houston,
• Marcos Rosales, a trial lawyer and partner at Beck Redden LLP who previously served as general counsel of a multi-industry business enterprise and on HISD’s Community Advisory Committee
“These new board members - advocates for the students of Houston and their communities - will join the remaining board members in moving the district forward with a continued focus on student outcomes and meeting the exit criteria,” said Morath, thanking the four departing board members.
Board President Ric Campo, Secretary
Board of trustees
While HISD’s nine elected trustees currently serve in an advisory capacity to the Board of Managers, they will progressively regain control of the district once HISD satisfies TEA’s exit criteria.
In November 2023, HISD elected four trustees, Savant Moore, Plácido Gómez, Dani Hernandez and Patricia K. Allen for a four-year term. The next election for the remaining districts, currently served by Elizabeth Santos, Sue Deigaard, Kendall Baker, Bridget Wade and Myrna Guidry, will take place in November 2025.
Mixed reactions
“To our community: do not be discouraged. This extension does not mark defeat—it is simply a reminder that the work of improving public education is ongoing,” wrote current HISD trustee Savant Moore. “Keep showing up. Keep volunteering at your neighborhood schools. Keep attending school board meetings. Your voice matters now more than ever.”
Veronica Garcia, executive director for Houstonians for Great Public Schools, said the progress made by HISD in the last two years is not enough.
“The path forward must include deeper, more transparent engagement with the communities that HISD serves. Families, educators, and students deserve to be part of shaping the decisions that affect their schools and their futures,” Garcia said. Real transformation will require collaboration — not just from the district itself - but from all of us who care about public education in Houston.”
HISD budget reveals funding gaps
By Tannistha Sinha
As Houston ISD’s state-appointed Board of Managers prepares to vote on the school district’s 2025-26 budget, new data from a budget workshop shows a widening gap between campuses undergoing major reform and those operating under traditional models.
Students enrolled in Superintendent Mike Miles’ 130 New Education System (NES) schools, a sweeping component in his “Destination 2035” plan, will receive $8,566 as base funding per student, compared
HOW IS DECLINING ENROLLMENT PLAYING A ROLE IN THE BUDGET?
to $6,133 in non-NES schools. In total, NES students will receive $10,635, while others will receive $7,103. Te additional costs in NES schools include $1,268 for learning coaches and teacher apprentices per student and $660 in teacher salaries.
Balancing the budget
Despite higher funding levels at NES campuses, HISD has trimmed the overall department budget by $71.4 million by reducing stafng and purchased services. According to the district’s general fund expenditure summary, the
department budgets will shrink from $447.4 million in 2025 to $375.9 million in 2026, resulting in the $71.4 million diference.
Te school district foresees a 9% reduction in the central ofce, including the academics, chief of staf, communications, Facilities, Maintenance & Operations (FMO), fnance, human resources, legal, police and special education.
While HISD anticipates $83.3 million in increased revenue, overall expenditures are still expected to exceed revenues by $55.8 million next year. Te school district expects to end the 2025-26 fscal year with a $746.1 million fund balance, down from $801.9 million in 2025.
The 2025-26 budget proposal highlights growing financial divides across Houston ISD’s restructured school system. Credit: AP photos
Angela Lemond Flowers and members
Michelle Cruz Arnold, Janette Garza Lindner and Paula Mendoza will remain in their roles.
The Texas Education Agency will oversee Houston ISD for two more years, citing slow but steady progress. Credit: AP Photos
Morath
HARRIS COUNTY LEADERS SERIES
Carla Wyatt
Lives to serve as Harris County Treasurer
By Tannistha Sinha
Harris
County Treasurer Dr.
Carla L. Wyatt says she never set out to make history.
But in 2022, when she was elected the frst African American woman to hold the post, she fnally realized the weight of this milestone.
“I am not a politician by any stretch of the imagination,” Wyatt told the Defender. “I am a public servant and I work every day to try to be that. I know there’s some politics involved and some of it gets on the bottom of your shoes sometimes, but if you keep on marching, you’ll still reach your destination.”
Wyatt won the race for Harris County Treasurer with 51.6% of the vote (550,214 votes), defeating Republican Kyle Scott, who received 48.4% (515,472 votes).
Now, having been in the role for more than a year and serving the public for over two decades, the Houston native wears her duties like a second skin, often adding pragmatic and human touches to her job.
From
biology to budgets
Wyatt completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biology and her Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology at Texas Southern University. She aimed to become a doctor, but life had other plans. Following an internship with the Harris County Engineering Department that pulled her into public service, Wyatt rotated within various county departments over the next two decades, including food control and emergency management during Hurricane Harvey.
During the hurricane, she coordinated global media communications out of the county’s emergency operations center and recalled sleeping on the foor for 37 days straight.
“You just didn’t see me because it takes a team of people to make these things happen,” Wyatt said. “I was the person in the background, throwing chairs and yelling, but somebody has to run the show that’s not trying to be on camera. And that person was me.”
What a treasurer actually does
Harris County residents ofen do not realize what the Treasurer’s ofce does.
“I move the money from place to place,” Wyatt explained. “I don’t make the decisions on where it’s going. I simply move it at the will of the Commissioner’s Court… We move it to the contractors, to payroll, to anything that you see at Harris County, from paint to fooring and jury duty.”
Despite the workload and responsibilities, Wyatt said her ofce employs 11 stafers and has advocated for more personnel and to be paid at par with the Commissioners’ ofces.
“To be the third largest county in the U.S. and to be the largest county in the state of Texas, we have 11 people working in our ofce,” she said. “I do not believe that 11
people can serve the will of the county in a way that they deserve.”
Equity as a practice, not a buzzword
Although Wyatt does not decide on where county funds are channeled, she shows up in underserved communities — seniors’ breakfasts, churches and youth programs — to build trust and provide assistance.
“I’m working very hard to get an outward-facing portion of our ofce to the public so that they can know what we’re doing,” Wyatt said.
For Wyatt, equity is not about fashy campaigns but access to city ofcials. “If you don’t know who we are and what we do or how to get in contact with us, then it’s pointless,” she explained.
The life behind the job Refecting on years of public service, Wyatt veered into a spiritual terrain.
“Tis is not a job. Tis is life,” she said.
She carries it with purpose, following what she calls the “four Ls”: life, logic, law and legacy.
“Life may have you in a situation that logically you should not be in, but the law will govern that that is where you’re going to be,” Wyatt said. “And those three things can have a positive or negative efect on your legacy of life.”
From Hurricane Harvey to fiscal oversight, Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt’s journey blends logic, service and community.
Credit: Harris County
Treasurer Carla Wyatt aims to transform equity from a buzzword into everyday access for all Harris County residents. Credit: Carla Wyatt
WYATT RESPONDS TO RECENT CONTROVERSIAL ALLEGATIONS AGAINST HER.
Guns & Blackfolk
A long, complicated history
Civil Rights Movement
The “non-violent” Civil Rights Movement was full of non-stop violence perpetrated by whites against Blacks. And contrary to popular belief, Blacks were all about defending themselves with guns.
“Non-violence was a movement tactic to raise awareness to injustice, not a way of life for Blacks,” said African American Studies professor who asked that his name not be used for fear of institutional reprisals.
Today
Regardless of which side you’re on in the gun debate, gun violence impacts Black people disproportionately.
By Aswad Walker
Are Black people for or against gun ownership? Both. And it’s complicated… or maybe it’s not.
To some, Hu Sani Sallah-Wilson doesn’t fit the media image of the typical gun enthusiast, i.e. white, male, MAGA-leaning, outspoken and often anti-Black. Though definitely male, Sallah-Wilson is progressive in his worldview, humble and soft-spoken, and unapologetically proBlack. And he has no problem letting you know that he’s a proud gun owner.
He also thinks more Blacks must consider owning and becoming proficient with a weapon.
“I agree with gun ownership for us,” said Sallah-Wilson. “It allows for self-defense and protection of family, friends and loved ones. The choice to say I will or won’t own a weapon is important to me, as well.
I prefer to have a gun or more in my household and/or on my person.”
ourselves and our families. It levels the playing field against others who carry guns. I’d rather meet my enemy with it than without it,” he said.
Regarding the minuses, Sallah-Wilson pointed out that guns are used to “take precious human lives.”
gun violence in America, says Black people’s relationship with guns in the U.S. started even before our ancestors made it to these shores.
“Right from the jump, guns were tied up in America’s thorny relationship with race,” Stephens told NPR, referring to the fact that guns were the currency used by Protestant slavers to purchase captured Africans.
“They are mishandled and used by our people to hurt and kill our people,” he added.
“There’s a direct correlation between the increase of gunpowder imports into the African continent, going along with the increase in slave exports leaving the continent.”
So, even as guns symbolize self-determination and freedom for Blacks, as they do for whites, for us, they also symbolize the mechanism of our bondage. Again; the relationship is complicated.
Unlike many conservative, right-wing 2nd Amendment zealots, Sallah-Wilson recognizes both the positives and negatives of guns in society.
“The plusses regarding gun ownership include the fact that as violent as our cohabitants can be, we must be able to defend
Still, Sallah-Wilson owns multiple guns and trains his children on their proper use, adding, “I teach my kids to shoot responsibly and to assemble and disassemble the weapons. Why? Because I have accepted the responsibility of defending myself and certain others by any means necessary.”
Sallah-Wilson is far from alone. Blacks have a long history of gun ownership, using them for hunting and self-defense from the ever-present threat of white domestic terrorism.
Still, because Blacks are most impacted by gun violence in the U.S., countless Black voices are calling for gun control or standing against gun ownership altogether.
Complicated history
Alain Stephens, a reporter with The Trace, a website dedicated to investigating
Pre-Civil War
Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676 saw enslaved Black people and white indentured servants fight together using firearms against wealthy white landowners. In response, the U.S. government passed multiple “slave laws” making it illegal for Blacks, free or enslaved, to own guns.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed “slave patrollers” to enter northern free state territories to capture Black people who emancipated themselves from slavery. Blacks realized immediately that this law put all Blacks, legally free or freed yet considered “fugitive slaves,” in danger.
“So what you actually see here is this entire self-defense armament movement that restarts back up… Black people and abolitionist whites had flooded to gun stores to start purchasing revolvers [in response to the act] and how white accomplices and allies were actually donating firearms to their Black compatriots for self-defense,” shared Stephens.
Post-Civil War
With the end of the Civil War, Blacks were determined to maintain their freedom by any means necessary and were technically free to
secure guns. However, the federal government responded to white fears of armed Blacks by passing a law allowing the rearmament of white militias strictly to go out and police Blacks, which they did via torture, harassment, and stealing their weapons.
But while this was happening, and even before, some states (Texas, Arkansas, and South Carolina) that were threatened by
violent insurrectionist activities by confederate/white supremacists, formed “Negro” militias that Stephens says fought an “underground war against white supremacists throughout the country.” In fact, Arkansas’s governor in the 1860s “raised a [mostly] Black militia that combed Arkansas for four months and essentially eradicated the Ku Klux Klan there,” for a brief time.
Still, many are surprised to learn that Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizers were involved in an ongoing battle to attempt to convince Black southerners not to bring guns to protests. Moreover, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose family was constantly threatened, owned a gun. So, too, did civil rights activist Medgar Evers, who had a rifle and a pistol in his car the day that he was assassinated in front of his home.
Rosa Parks stated that while she was being told to get up out of her seat on that bus, she thought of the man she most admired: her grandfather, who owned a rifle and spoke of his willingness to use it to defend his family. Voting rights legend Fannie Lou Hamer, told every Black person she encountered that she kept the shotgun in every corner of her house for protection against white violence. Additionally, the Deacons for Defense, a progun, pro-self-defense group out of Louisiana, often provided protection for MLK and other activists.
Two-faced 2nd Amendment
The 2nd Amendment is regularly mentioned by gun advocates as their constitutional protection to own guns as essential to U.S. citizenship. However, When Ronald Reagan was governor of California, and members of the Black Panther Party marched on the California state Capitol armed with guns, as was their constitutional right, they were stopped, guns confiscated, and Reagan, with blessings from the National Rifle Association (NRA) – the biggest supporter of open and free gun ownership – passed laws restricting gun ownership.
Black people account for only 14% of the U.S. population, yet make up 60% of those killed by firearm homicide each year, according to the gun prevention organization, Brady, named after the person for which the famous Brady Bill was named. On average, Black people are over 11.5 times more likely to be victims of firearm homicide than their non-Hispanic white peers.
The report also showed that among young Black people, the disparities are even higher. Black children (aged 0-17) are over 13.6 times more likely to die by firearm homicide than their non-Hispanic white peers. However, this disparity is largest among young, Black people (aged 18-24), who are 19 times more likely to die by firearm homicide than white people (aged 18-24).
Young Black males (aged 18-24) are nearly 23 times more likely to die by firearm homicide than their white male peers. Black males under the age of 18 are 14.5 times more likely to die by firearm homicide than their white male peers. While Black females continue to be more likely to die by firearm homicide than their white peers, the likelihood of such is far lower than for Black males. That said, Black gun enthusiasts remain committed to carrying on the long tradition of African Americans staying armed, especially in America’s current racial climate.
Right from the jump, guns were tied up in America’s thorny relationship with race.”
ALAIN STEPHENS
March for Our Lives participants protest gun violence and call for major gun reform legislation. Courtesy Houston Public Media.
Black Panthers at the California Capitol in 1967, an incident that sparked the gun control movement. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Union soldier with his gun. Courtesy Bettmann Archive.
Hu Sani Sallah-Wilson
Alain Stephens
Feature DN Family fights to preserve unity through foster care
By Laura Onyeneho
A Houston family is fighting to keep children together in foster care. For Black families, the numbers are disheartening. Black children are disproportionately represented in the system, while Black foster parents are underrepresented.
However, Cynthia Rose shifs that narrative by opening her home and holding her family together.
“Tese are my frst cousin’s kids,” she said. “In the Black community, we’ve always cared for our own. Tat’s just what we do.”
When it became clear that the children’s biological mother couldn’t care for them, Rose and her extended family stepped in. Seven children were at risk of being scattered through the foster system. Te family wouldn’t allow it.
“We couldn’t keep them all in one house, but we made a plan,” she said. “I have three of them. Other relatives took the rest. We live near each other and the kids still see each other, play and celebrate birthdays together. We kept them close. Tat’s what mattered most.”
Teir 93-year-old family matriarch was the moral anchor behind that decision. “She said, ‘Get the kids. Keep them together,’” Rose said. “And we listened.”
But love alone doesn’t make it legal. Te family had been doing the work of feeding, clothing and raising long before the paperwork. Tat’s when they turned to someone who’s helped hundreds of families just like them, Houston attorney Rodney Jones, who specializes in family law and adoption.
Jones has been practicing law for nearly
Aunties, uncles, grandparents take in children when the parents can’t. We just don’t always go through the legal steps.”
RODNEY JONES Houston attorney
two decades, but his journey with foster care started long before that.
“My mother was an adoption attorney,” he said. “I grew up helping her work with families. I’ve been involved in this work for over 25 years.”
Jones plays a key role once families, like the Rose’s, are ready to move from foster care to adoption.
“I come in when the children are legally eligible for adoption afer the biological parents’ rights are terminated and the state gives the green light,” Jones said. “I fle the suit, compile the necessary documents and prove to the court that this family is the right ft.”
For the Rose family, it was a long road. There were home studies, background checks, even counseling options that they didn’t know they had. One surprise was college tuition.
“We found out that if you adopt through the foster care system, the kids can get tuition covered by the state of Texas. Tat was huge. We want all of them to go to college.”
Jones says that kind of beneft is ofen unknown in the Black community, where informal kinship care is more common than formal foster arrangements. In Texas, more than 892,000 children live in homes where a relative is the head of household and 286,000 youth are raised by kin with no parent present.
“Black families already do this,” he said. “Aunties, uncles, grandparents take in children when the parents can’t. We just don’t always go through the legal steps. But when you do, there are real protections, fnancial support, medical access, college tuition and more.”
But he’s also seen the painful side of the system. Texas currently faces a foster care crisis.
“We have children without placements, living in hotels, being watched by caseworkers because we don’t have enough foster families,” Jones said. “Especially Black foster families. Black children are overrepresented in the system, but there aren’t enough culturally connected homes to receive them.”
Rose’s story is an exception.
“Usually, when you have seven siblings in care, they’re split up,” Jones said. “Tey get adopted by strangers, maybe moved to diferent cities or even states. Sometimes they never see each other again.
“But in this case, four different family households stepped up. I handled the
adoptions for all of them. Now these children are being raised by their own blood, near each other. Tat kind of outcome is rare and it’s powerful.”
Still, emotional challenges remain.
“Te hardest part was explaining to the kids why their mom couldn’t be around,” Rose said. “Tat part hurt. But now? Tey wake up and say, ‘I love you, Mom.’ Tey hug us. They go camping with family. Tey’re thriving.”
Jones emphasized the legal importance of doing things right.
“Once adoption is final, the child becomes yours in every way. You have the legal right to make medical decisions, choose their school, say who they can visit. Tat’s why it’s so important to go through the courts.”
He also pointed to the strict background checks that sometimes make it harder for families, especially in communities disproportionately afected by criminal justice, to qualify.
“A non-violent charge from 20 years ago can prevent someone from fostering. Tat shrinks the pool of eligible families. We need reforms that balance safety with fairness.”
And as more children enter the system, especially with banned abortions happening across the nation, the need for safe, stable, loving homes will only grow.
“We don’t just need people to adopt,” said Jones. “We need people to foster, to be temporary homes, role models, safe places. Tese kids don’t just need a bed. Tey need consistency. Tey need love.”
NOTICE TO BIDDERS
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO) is planning to issue the procurement documents listed in this advertisement.
IFB No. Doc1560279003: 1910 Fannin Street Temporary Surface Parking Lot. Solicitation will be available on or about 06/03/2025. Prospective bidders/proposers can view and download these solicitations by visiting METRO's website at ridemetro.org/Open Procurements If you are unable to download the documents or are having difculty, please contact 713-615-6125 or email Contracts/ Property Services at propertyservices@ridemetro.org.
BID NOTICE
The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD will be accepting proposals for the following: Agency Wide Security Guard Services
Specifcations may be secured from The Harris Center website www.theharriscenter.org beginning Tuesday, June 17, 2025. The Harris Center utilizes Bonfre for their solicitations https://theharriscenter. bonfrehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities . A Mandatory meeting with vendors will be held at 9401 Southwest Freeway., Houston, Texas, 77074 on Monday, June 23, 2025, at 11:00 AM. Deadline for prospective vendors to submit questions to this RFP is Friday, June 27, 2025. Proposals must be submitted by 11:00 a.m., Monday, July 14, 2025. Historically Underutilized Businesses, including Minority-Owned Businesses and Women-Owned Businesses are encouraged to participate. 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.
In Texas, more than 892,000 children live in homes where a relative is the head of household. Photo courtesy: RJ Law Group
Sports DN
TSU AD Kevin Granger accused of sexual assault in lawsuit
By Terrance Harris
Texas Southern Athletic Director Kevin
Granger is being accused of sexual assault on a staff member in a lawsuit that controversial attorney Tony Buzzbee has filed.
The lawsuit alleges that Granger approached a staff member while in his office and asked her for sex, telling her that if she complied, it would `help her career.’ The lawsuit further says that Granger started by asking the woman if she was recording him or wearing a wire while inappropriately patting her down.
Granger, who is married, allegedly then propositioned her for sex, while at the same time groping her breasts and vagina, while putting her hand on his erect penis, the lawsuit claims.
Granger could not be reached for comment, but when the Defender contacted TSU for comment, the school responded with a written statement. It’s unclear whether Granger is on leave while the university investigates the allegations.
“Texas Southern University became aware of the allegations involving a senior member of the leadership team following the filing of civil litigation,” said the statement from Communications Manager Kerrigan Williams. “The University takes all allegations of misconduct seriously, as the safety of our students, student-athletes and employees is our top priority. As a standard practice, the University does not comment on pending litigation.”
Buzzbee, who in recent years has brought sexual misconduct lawsuits against high-profile Black men like former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and rap moguls Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs, has been hired to represent the plaintiff. His office also issued a statement that includes alleged vulgar language from Granger to the unnamed victim.
Granger, 51, has been affiliated with TSU for 32 years, first as a star basketball player and later as an athletic administrator. He was promoted to athletic director in 2019.
TSU gave Granger a five-year contract extension last year. In October, he was inducted into the TSU Sports Hall of Fame.
Transitions from Olympic silver to winning in life NIA ABDALLAH
By Terrance Harris
Nia Abdallah likes to joke that she isn’t “real” famous-- just kind of famous.
But to know Abdallah’s story and rise from anonymity to becoming the first U.S. woman to medal in taekwondo at the Olympics when she earned Silver during the 2004 Games is to know this Acres Homes product is the real deal. Abdallah may not be a household name, but she is Houston royalty.
“I’m not famous enough that if we are in the mall, I’m not going to be stopped by everybody,” Abdallah said during a recent conversation with the Defender at a local mall. “But in certain circles, it does feel good for people to know and understand who I am and what I’ve done. But I don’t think of myself as any different … I just feel like a regular human that just did something incredible. I feel equal to a teacher who got Teacher of the Year. I was just the top of the thing that I did.”
Indeed, she was at the pinnacle and flirted with greatness as the kid who came out of nowhere, competing in only one international event –taking Bronze at the 2003 Pan American Games – before making the U.S. Olympic team in 2004, to land on the world stage. Since then, life has been a series of highs, like having her daughter, venturing into coaching and now as an executive with Visa.
But there have been some lows, like dealing with disappointment in trying to
make it back to the Olympic team in 2008 and 2012, a messy battle with the USOC, feelings of isolation during her ascend in a sport that didn’t have girls who looked like her and having to seek counseling to help make sense of it all.
What seems like a blessing and a curse to most is just Abdallah’s journey, and she wouldn’t change much about it.
“Of course, it’s a blessing because I got access to things that not everybody has access to. I’ve experienced stuff, I’ve gotten to travel and all those things,” said Abdallah, who was introduced to taekwondo at nine years old by her stepfather. “I had a lot of experiences because of taekwondo. But it was at the expense of social life. This was all that I had. This was my anchor. I wasn’t dating. I had to find friends later. It was at the expense of that and also my career. I literally had to start all over at 28, something most people did at 18. I was kind of 10 years behind the ball.
“It was a give or take, but it was more positive than negative. But there are some things I had to give up.”
Her sacrifices ultimately landed Abdallah where she had secretly dreamed of being: on the Olympic stage. The world was left stunned and amazed as Abdallah came out of nowhere to make it to the Athens Games in 2004. She defeated Sugar Land
native Diana Lopez, who would become a nemesis, to get there.
But then came the disappointment of the 2008 Olympic trials when Abdallah lost a controversial match to Lopez for the right to go to the Olympics in Beijing. An expensive lawsuit ensued against the USOC because it was widely believed that the Olympic committee put the more marketable story of the Lopez family -- two brothers and their sister competing in the Olympics in taekwondo and the brother who coached them all -over the actual results on the mat.
The lawsuit was eventually dropped.
Abdallah finally walked away and retired from taekwondo at 28, after another failed attempt to make the Olympic team in 2012. Her main reason for walking away was that she was now a parent and wanted to focus on raising her daughter.
“But the other thing was I wanted to retire on my own terms,” said the 41-yearold. “I didn’t want an injury to do it.”
That’s when Abdallah, who says she was really like an 18-year-old at 28, began her new life as an everyday person. She started building her career, working in customer service-related jobs and considering education, before the USOC stepped in and helped her get a job with Visa in a rotational program that had her work in various capacities of the company to figure out her passion.
The George Washington Carver High School graduate has ultimately settled into a Business Analyst role, but desires to work in sports eventually. If not within Visa, Abdallah says working with the WNBA would be great, and if the Comets were to return to Houston, that would be
“Somewhere where I can utilize these skills in sports,” she said. “I’m 41 now and the sky is the limit for me.”
Nia Abdallah won bronze medals at the World Championships in 2007 and the 2003 Pan American Games and earned the Silver Medal during the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Credit: Terrance Harris/Defender
Nia Abdallah Credit Nia Abdallah
Athletic Director Kevin Granger
YOUNG WOMEN’S COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY
Sports DN Seniors SPIKE expectations
By Jimmie Aggison
In their final high school volleyball appearance, seniors Davyn Johnson and Amber Jenkins proudly represented Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy in Houston ISD’s All-Star game, capping their athletic journeys at a school where 100% of graduates are college-bound.
But for these two standout student-athletes, the game marked not an ending, but the beginning of new paths.
Last season, Johnson earned honorable mention on the 2024–2025 Texas High School Coaches Association Academic AllState Team. She served as the 2024 team captain, was named Co-Player of the Year and received First Team All-District honors as a defensive specialist. Johnson also earned the Outstanding Hitter Award at the 2025 HISD All-Star Volleyball Game.
Jenkins was a second-team nominee for the 2024–2025 THSCA Academic All-State honors and also served as the 2024 team captain. She was recognized by the Texas High School Education Foundation and earned frst-team All-District 21- 4A honors from HISD.
“Davyn and Amber brought the leadership necessary to lead our team to another district championship,” said Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy head volleyball coach Tala’Shandria Allen. “Tey kept the team together and brought a fresh and fun outlook to the program that will be carried on by the returning players.”
has made this season by becoming the frst student-athlete from YWCPA to commit to playing sports at the collegiate level. She will attend Huston-Tillotson University, a historically Black university in Austin, to study nursing with hopes of becoming a labor and delivery nurse.
“I have worked so hard to show the other athletes at Y-Dub that it is possible to excel
Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy (YWCPA), an all-girls STEM-focused school in Houston’s Tird Ward, has only had a varsity volleyball team for fve years. Yet, Johnson and Jenkins have already lef their mark.
While Jenkins has decided to focus frst on her academics with the possibility of walking onto the team in college, Johnson
ABOUT DAVYN JOHNSON
Class: 2025
IG: @d.avynnnn
Twitter: @davyn_johnson
Position: (For school) 6 rotation outside hitter. (For club) Defensive Specialist (DS)/Libero (L).
Height & weight: 5-feet-6, 125 pounds
Status: Committed to Huston-Tillotson University
Favorite artists: Drake
Favorite subject: English
Shout-outs: Mom, Ms. Kandie and my amazing coaches!
athletically and academically,” said Johnson. “I want to see the school grow outside of academics and be a role model for the girls who are just as passionate about their sports as I am about volleyball.”
Johnson, who holds a weighted GPA of 4.3 and an unweighted GPA of 3.65, chose Huston-Tillotson for its strong nursing program, supportive team environment and
campus culture. Though initially unsure about attending an HBCU, she changed her mind afer visiting the campus.
“Although the school that I currently attend is predominantly Black and Hispanic, I feared being boxed in by cultural expectations and being unable to build my cross-cultural communication skills,” said Johnson. “But once I experienced Huston-Tillotson’s campus and culture for myself, I knew that was the place I wanted to spend the next four years.”
Jenkins will take a diferent path, focusing on her academics at Texas Woman’s University, where she will pursue a degree in nursing with the goal of becoming a forensic nurse. She was inspired by her experience at a CompassRN Nursing Camp and has a deep concern for the lack of advocacy for domestic and sexual assault victims.
“Becoming aware of the lack of advocacy for domestic and sexual assault victims in our country is something that stuck with me,” said Jenkins. “Instead of just looking past this issue, I chose to look deeper into the profession.”
With a weighted GPA of 4.629 and an unweighted GPA of 3.96, Jenkins chose Texas Woman’s University for its strong NCLEX passage rate, its proximity to home and the scholarships she received, including the BoldlyGo! and Outstanding New Student Scholarships.
Together, Jenkins and Johnson represent the future of YWCPA—students who defy expectations, challenge boundaries and redefne what success looks like on and of the court. Teir legacy will echo not only in the halls of YWCPA but also in hospitals, communities and courtrooms where they will one day serve as advocates, caregivers and leaders.
“People of color can ofen be underserved, so I also want to ensure that I work in an environment where my presence will make a diference for people who look like me,” said Johnson.
ABOUT AMBER JENKINS
Class: 2025
IG: @amb3r.r3na3
Position: Outside hitter
Height & weight: 5-feet-6, 146 pounds
Status: Will attend Texas Woman’s University
Favorite artists: Rod Wave
Favorite subject: Statistics
Shout-outs: Family, friends, YWCPA Volleyball Team
Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy seniors Davyn Johnson (2) and Amber Jenkins (9) are all smiles after playing their last high school volleyball game. Credit Jimmie Aggison/Defender.
