Houston Defender: June 20, 2019

AFRICAN MIGRANTS TRAVELING TO THE U.S.-MEXICAN BORDER P8

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Houston’s Leading Black Information Source

Volume 88 | Number 34

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NEWSTALK

Executive Director Deloyd Parker

KAMREN JONES killed in case of mistaken identity

P2

NATIONAL IESHA HARPER sues Phoenix police after viral incident

P3

HS SPORTS RAY MARTIN JR. works hard with Progressive Amateur Boxing Association

P11 TOP EVENTS

Deric Muhammad and Al Rucker at the ‘Encourage Black Fathers’ event.

P12

Legendary TSU debate coach

Dr. Thomas Freeman

Celebrating 100 years H PAGE 6

Tembi Locke

celebrates new book

George Springer hosts stuttering camp

In her debut book, “From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily and Finding Home,” the actress and Houston native honors the memory of her husband, as she builds a new life for their daughter, Zoela, and returns to his hometown on the island of Sicily.

The Houston Astros’ star is the national spokesperson for SAY, Stuttering Association for the Young. He’s promoting a camp that offers comprehensive and innovative programs that address the physical, social and emotional impacts of stuttering. Get the details.

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DEFENDER | JUNE 20 | 2019

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Dad grieves son killed in mistaken identity Defender Services Channelview father Kenyatta Jones spent his Father’s Day weekend burying his 11-year old son, Kamren Jones.

Harris County Sheriff’s Investigators are still searching for whoever is responsible for shooting and killing the child as he slept in his Channelview home.

Kamren Jones was shot in what the Harris County Sheriff’s Office believes was a case of mistaken identity.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said an unknown person shot at the home, ultimately striking and killing the boy while he was sleeping.

Gonzalez said a number of casings were found The family of Kamren Jones is mourning his death. in the driveway.

“They’re cowards to shoot into a home not play. These kids are active. They needed that room. It’s the only knowing who was in there,” said Gonzalez. “They shot an innocent child that’s there and this is uncalled for. This is reason I picked It,” Jones said.

But what Jones didn’t know was that the house was sad, tragic, senseless and we’re going to go after you.” notoriously known for ongoing criminal activity. The HarTwo months ago, Jones decided they would upgrade and ris County Sheriff’s Office said that last year there were move into a bigger home. six service calls to the home. One of those was a shootThey moved to the quiet side of Channelview on North ing where one of the tenants was targeted. No arrest was Brentwood. The little tan house he picked is surrounded by made. families who were long-time residents.

“A lot of activity and possible criminal activity was a “The house, it was on three acres. It was plenty of room to

part of that,” investigators said when talking about the previous renters.

Investigators say they don’t believe the Jones family was the intended target of Sunday’s shooting.

Jones says his son was a leader, an overachiever, and had so much in store.

“As a parent, when we put in our hard work, providing for them, waking up, going to work every day, going to school... you want to be rewarded and the best reward is watching your kids grow.”

The night of the shooting, Jones said Kamren he initially thought the gunfire was someJones one banging on a window on the home.

“We didn’t know we were being shot at,” he said.

Later they found his car and the home riddled with bullet holes, he said. Jones was renting the home, but he said the family likely won’t live there anymore.

The children range in age from 5 years old to 15 years old. They were in the room at the time of the shooting but were not injured.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Harris County Sheriff’s Office at 713-222-6000 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

Celebrating Juneteenth

The Defender participated in Mayor Sylvester Turner’s annual Acres Homes Juneteenth Parade. The Defender team with Engagement Manager Margo Williams Hubbard, David Hubbard and Texas Southern University graduates Valerie Madison and Autumn Gray, gave out “I Am A Defender” Tshirts, candy, beverages and Mardi Gras beads. High School Sports Reporter Jodie B. Jiles managed the Defender booth along the parade route and provided beverages to parade participants and Acres Homes residents. “Today we celebrated Juneteenth and celebrated the freedom, opportunity and community that we have in this great city where anything is possible,” Turner said.

localbriefs A COMMUNITY BRICKMAKING WORKSHOP WILL be held Saturday, June 22 from 10am-6pm in historic Freedman’s Town. Grounding Study (Brick by Brick), will allow people to build bricks by hand using Texas clay and Buffalo Bayou sand left over from the aftermath of HurricaneHarvey.

Participants will also be able to write down their memories of the neighborhood and hopes for the future of Freedmen’s Town. The event is free and open to the public and is designed to link the past, present and future history of Freedmen’s Town.…….FORT BEND COUNTY AND SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICIALS are

pleased with a new law that allows the county to operate and maintain a cemetery. Sixteen months ago, while the Fort Bend ISD was building a new technology center, backhoe operators unearthed human remains. Eventually, 95 sets of bones were discovered at the century-old unmarked cemetery. It’s believed the remains belonged to Black prisoners – among them former slaves – who were forced to perform hard labor for plantations andailroad companies, so the state could make a profit. The county and school district are now making plans to re-inter the remains exactly where they were found…….A

COMMUNITY ACTIVIST BANNED FROM HOUSTON ISD premises for making threats against school employees and engaging in bombastic behavior has filed a federal lawsuit against the district, alleging a violation of his free speech rights. Gerry Monroe said district officials issued an illegal ban from district property in April, stemming from two incidents.

During one incident, Monroe wore a T-shirt bearing a middle school principal’s face and a white bandanna over his mouth, frequently shouting, “Either you take her out, or I’m going to take her out.”

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U.S.briefs THE U.S. SUPREME COURT HANDED REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS in Virginia a defeat, leaving in place a ruling that invalidated state electoral districts they drew because they weakened the clout of Black voters in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The justices, in a 5-4 decision, sidestepped a ruling on the merits of the case. They instead found that the Republican-led state House of Delegates lacked the necessary legal standing to appeal a lower court ruling that invalidated 11 state house districts for racial discrimination. The Supreme Court’s action let stand a 2018 ruling by a federal three-judge panel that the 11 districts all violated the rights of Black voters to equal protection under the law under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment……..A PRELIMINARY DESIGN FOR A NEW $20 BILL FEATURING Harriet Tubman was leaked in a New York Times report, less than a month after the Trump administration delayed plans to release it, citing technical reasons.

As it turns out, the mock-up was finished in 2016, according to the paper. The original deadline was 2020. The redesigned currency shows a portrait of the famed abolitionist in a wide-collared coat over a white scarf. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin pointed to currency security as the main concern for changing the bill, stating that other bills would be prioritized instead……..ANITA HILL SAID SHE COULD SEE HERSELF voting for 2020 presidential hopeful Joe Biden if he became the Democratic nominee, even though he derailed her testimony against now-Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991, Biden refused to allow testimony from several witnesses who could have corroborated Hill’s sexual harassment claims against Thomas, who was later confirmed to the court. Over the last few years, Hill – now a law professor at Brandeis University – has criticized Biden’s repeated attempts at apologies, calling them insufficient.

VOLUME 88 • NUMBER 34 JUNE 20, 2019 Publisher Sonceria Messiah-Jiles Ad/Client Relations Selma Dodson Tyler

Strategic Alliance Manager

Clyde Jiles Art Director Tony Fernandez-Davila Photographers

Ray Carrington III Jimmie Aggison

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

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

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Phoenix mayor apologizes after police terrify family Defender News Services

The mayor of Phoenix is apologizing to the city following recently released video showing police officers pointing their guns and threatening to shoot a 22-year-old father who was with his pregnant fiancée and two young daughters. Police said they were investigating allegations that one of the children shoplifted a doll from a Family Dollar store.

Viral footage of the incident captured by bystanders prompted an internal police probe, a $10 million civil rights claim and a chorus of fury on social media. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said the officers’ actions were “completely inappropriate and clearly unprofessional,” calling the recordings “beyond upsetting.”

“I am deeply sorry for what this family went Dravon Ames, Iesha Harper and their children attend a press conference after their treatment by police went viral. through, and I apologize to our community,” Gallego said on Twitter. “This is not who we are, and I refuse to allow this type of behavior to go unchallenged.”

The incident occurred last month when Dravon Ames, 22, and his fiancée, Iesha Harper, 24, along with their two young daughters, London Drake, 1, and Island Drake, 4, visited a Family Dollar store.

Unbeknown to the parents, one of their daughters took a doll from Invitation to Bid the store without paying for it.

Stage Lighting Fixtures and Cable Equipment Police said they were tipped off about the alleged shoplifting Purchase and Delivery (Phase II) by a store employee just as the family’s car was leaving the parking Houston First Corporation requests proposals from experienced, theatlot, and police lighting equipment companies to provide and deliver the stage See the viral video at followed the car. rical lighting fixtures and cable. www.defendernetwork.com Police eventuPlease visit https://www.houstonfirst.com/do-business for complete ally cornered details. the vehicle in the apartment complex of the family’s babysitter. A heated standoff ensued.

Invitation for Bids Cell phone videos taken by witnesses show officers shouting profanities at the family as officers order them to put their hands Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc. is soliciting bids for subcontractors and vendors for construction of control no 1062-04-058 on FM 2100 up. If they did not comply, an officer can be heard saying, “you’re at .23M S of Antelope Dr to FM 1960 that bids on July 9, 2019. Mail, gonna f***ing get shot. Get your f***ing hands up!” fax, or email quotations to Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc., 1701 Directors Blvd, Suite 1010, Austin, Texas 78744 fax: (512) 707-0798 Police wrote in an incident report that they feared the mother email: bbiisw@bbiius.com. DBE/HUB contractors are encouraged to was “hiding something” or was reaching for a gun. No weapons submit bids. Plans and specifications are available to be reviewed at TxDOT Plans On-line: http://bit.do/dBJ5G E.O.E. For information were recovered from the family. contact Brian Ficzeri at (512) 707-0797 In the parents’ civil rights claim, they said when Harper exited the vehicle, officers injured her 1-year-old daughter by pulling on REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS one of her arms when Harper would not follow an officer’s order to hand over her baby.

CIVIL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS The family also alleged that Ames was thrown against a FOR THE EMERGENCY GENERATOR AT 1313 MAIN STREET IN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON FOR vehicle and kicked so hard that he collapsed before a police officer THE HOUSTON DOWNTOWN MANAGEMENT DISTRICT “kept his knee between the father’s legs. He punched the father very hard in the back for no reason,” the parents’ lawyer, Thomas The Houston Downtown Management District (the “District”) will receive Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) from engineering consultHorne, wrote in the claim. ants for the preparation and issuance of sealed construction and bidHarper passed off her baby to a bystander before police ding documents for an Emergency Generator at 1313 Main Street in Downtown Houston, Texas. Statements of Qualifications will be handcuffed her and her fiancé and they were placed in a police received until 2:00 P.M., local time on Friday, July 12, 2019, by the patrol car.

Director of Operations and Capital Projects, Houston Downtown Management District, 1313 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002.

“I could have shot you in front of your f***ing kids,” an ofQualifications received after this time will not be accepted. Respective ficer said to her, according to the family’. of this advertisement, telephone, mail, email queries or requests for information will not be addressed by the District.

Horne alleges that the incident violated the family’s civil rights by committing battery, unlawfully imprisoning them and Beginning Monday, June 24, 2019, hard copies of this project’s Request for Qualifications (RFQ-190624) may be retrieved from the causing them emotional distress. The claim is seeking $10 million District’s office at 1313 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002 or downloaded from the District’s website at http://www.downtowndistrict.org. in damages.

Queries or requests for information will be addressed by the District, Phoenix Police Department Chief Jeri Williams said an interpursuant to the instructions provided in the RFQ. Based on the Qualifications submitted, an evaluation and selection committee will review nal investigation is being conducted over the incident.

classifieds

and award the contract to the selected consultant.

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DEFENDER | JUNE 20| 2019

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entertainment

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Tembi Locke talks love, grief in new book Defender News Service

When Houston native Tembi Locke met Saro, a handsome and kind Italian chef on a street in Florence, Italy, they fell hard for each other. Their transracial relationship drew derision from his family in Sicily, who were unhappy that he would want to marry a Black American.

Deeply in love, they married and settled in Los Angeles, but he became ill with a rare Actress Tembi Locke has written a memoir. She is the daughter of Sherra Aguirre, an entrepreneur cancer. and author, and Gene Locke, a former Houston city attorney and Harris County commissioner.

Locke cared for didn’t know how or in what way and I sat down him for close to a deand I began writing. And, I had been writing durcade before he passed, leaving her in despair.

Her debut book, “From Scratch: A Memoir of ing Saro’s illness, mostly as a way to make sense of my life experience while I was a caregiver for Love, Sicily and Finding Home” (Simon & Shus10 years.” ter), honors the memory of her husband, as she Writing proved therapeutic in dealing with builds a new life for their daughter, Zoela, and her husband’s illness. returns to his hometown on the island of Sicily.

“Writing became a way for me to kind of Locke, an actress, was a regular on the series have something that was just for me a way to “Eureka” and has guest-starred on such shows express the things that all caregivers know can be as “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “NCIS,” “SWAT,” really challenging: you can’t share those directly “Bones,” “House of Payne” and “The Jamie Foxx with your partner, but I needed a place for myself Show.” and the page became that place for me. So after The book was a way for Locke to repurpose his passing, I had written, you know, pages upon her heartbreak. Part love story, part recipe colpages of things about that period of my life, and lection, the book details Tembi and Saro’s unique at the time, which I also became a mother…I kept love story, as well as the couple’s heartbreaking trying to hold on to memory and really keep him battle with cancer. alive at every level: at the level of the palate, and “It lived many years in my imagination, at the cellular level inside of me in my imaginanot even as a book, but as something that I felt tion. I just kept writing and it became apparent needed to be expressed,” recalled Locke. “I just about three years after his passing maybe there’s

Locke’s book is titled “From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily and Finding Home.”

a book here.”

Locke chronicles the three summers she and her daughter spent bonding with Saro’s mother cooking rustic southern Italian foods together in a tiny hamlet of farmers. In strengthening the relationship with his family, she learned about love, parenthood, forgiveness, multicultural identity and culinary discovery.

“It’s my story, but it’s also his story, and I think in some ways, it’s a lot of our stories,” Locke said. “It touches on the way in which all of us when we’re in that deep grief, we are bleeding inside, we don’t demonstrate it on the outside. So the days that I was writing about those parts of my feelings, I had to go right back into it to be able to share it and write about it.”

Locke, the sister of author and “Empire” writer, Attica Locke, also provides guidance and inspiration for others dealing with grief and loss, as she does on the website she founded, the Kitchen Widow at http://thekitchenwidow.com/.

what’sup Comedian TIFFANY HADDISH pulled the plug on her June 22 show in Atlanta in protest over Georgia’s controversial new abortion law. The “heartbeat” abortion law, signed by Gov. Brian Kemp (Rep.) last month, bans the procedure as soon as a doctor can detect fetal cardiac activity, which typically happens about six weeks into a pregnancy, when many women are not yet aware they are pregnant.

“I love the state of Georgia, but I need to stand with women and until they withdraw Measure HB481, I cannot in good faith perform there,” said Haddish, who was scheduled to perform at the Fox Theatre in

Atlanta……..“Empire” star BRYSHERE GRAY is the latest actor from the Fox series who has had a run in with Chicago police. Gray, who portrays the youngest Lyon, Hakeem, on the hit series, was arrested in the Windy City after he was pulled over for an issue with his registration.

Police said the tags on the 2014 Rolls-Royce he was driving didn’t match the car. Gray was also driving without insurance and a license. Gray was charged with a misdemeanor and later released.

He received a ticket for driving without the proper documentation for himself and his car……..

ANDREA KELLY, who used to be married to R. KELLY and has three children with him, said she has been disrespected by a lot of women since talking about the alleged abuse she suffered during their marriage. She first started giving details about it in 2018 during a series of interviews and was also one of the women in “Surviving R. Kelly,” the docuseries where many of Kelly’s alleged victims talked about their time with him. She talked about how difficult it has been for her to move past the alleged abuse, because her ex’s name is always in the press.

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DEFENDER | JUNE 20 | 2019

Pastor & legenda

F

Dr. Thomas F. Freeman

By RESHONDA TATE BILLINGSLEY Defender

or 90 years, Dr. Thomas F. Freeman has been spreading the gospel. Whether it’s from the pulpit or in the classroom, he has been inspiring, motivating and uplifting others since the day he first began preaching at age 9 in Virginia.

Freeman has long worn two hats as pastor of Houston’s Mount Horem Baptist Church and legendary debate coach at Texas Southern University. He officially retired from TSU in 2013 and is now a distinguished professor emeritus.

He arrived at TSU in 1949 and through the years, gained national recognition for his work with the debate team. The late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan was one of his most famous students. In 2007, he was sought out as an advisor to Denzel Washington for the Golden Globe-nominated film “The Great Debaters.”

The Thomas F. Freeman Honors College was established in 2009 at TSU. Now, as Freeman prepares to turn 100 years old, he shares some of his nuggets of wisdom and how he’s enjoyed a fruitful life.

Defender: Why did you choose the two professions of pastor and professor?

Dr. Thomas F. Freeman: I was called into the ministry at a very early age, so I’ve known nothing more than that. Then I experienced a form of disillusionment and that came about because of the lack of training on the people that interacted in my life.

I decided I would not be that way. I would become equipped so that I would be in the position to teach. I didn’t set out to teach. I just set out to prepare myself so that I could perform the duties assigned to me. Because of my involvement, I just moved on into education. I was pastoring in Virginia before I came to Houston. I didn’t come here as a pastor, I came as a professor and it was after I got here that I was called into the ministry and I’ve been here ever since. I don’t know what has kept me here, other than my response to the call.

Defender: Considering that you have been on track for both of these career paths, what have been the biggest challenges you faced?

Freeman: I don’t look at it as a challenge, but rather an opportunity. The opportunity to influence young people. The opportunity to assist members of the congregation in their spiritual growth and development.

I think about the debate team, and the opportunities the students have on the team in developing into competent persons.

Defender: When you look at your life, what are some of the lessons you’ve learned that can empower or help others.?

Freeman: The demand and expectation of excellence. I say to students and others, there is no substitute for excellence. One of the reasons I was accepted

everywhere I have been, I think is the excellence of my performance. I don’t think I could’ve stayed at a church for 68 years with inferior performance. I don’t think I could’ve stayed at a school for 70 years with inferior performance. I wouldn’t have been invited to Rice University to teach for 20 years, or Houston Community College to teach for 30 years, with inferior performance. At the top of the list is excellence of performance. Students should not accept mediocrity.

Defender: You have taught at multiethnic universities and HBCUs. What would be your advice to HBCUs? Freeman: There is greater need now for excellence of performance than ever. Because of the technological advances, we must train young people to meet these advances. It should be so structured that our young people should be able to fit into highly technological society, which is multicultural in nature.

Defender: Why is debate important in the life of a person?

Freeman: Debate is a broad term. I don’t mean argumentation, I mean the forensic art; everyone has to speak. And the better one speaks, the more capable he is of achieving his objective. You have to convince people the better you are to analyze and structure ideas and concepts, the greater are your chances of being successful. It is important that you know how to advance an argument, defend an argument and refute an argument. All of these things you have to do every day of your life.

Defender: What do you credit your longevity to?

Freeman: The grace of God. According to man, I would’ve been gone a long time ago. At an early age, doctors said I wouldn’t live beyond seven years of age.

My mother tells me when I was five, she and my dad took me to the doctor and the specialists said I had no chance of living. She visited a storefront church. The pastor asked them to come to the altar if they had faith and ask God for one thing and one thing only, the one thing that meant the most to them and that they could not do for themselves. Mother said, she got up went down to the altar and this was her prayer: Lord, heal my son.

From that day to this, whatever I had, I have not had it. From six to 100, I have not had it. There is no way to explain it other than the grace of God. Nothing I did, or do, determines my destiny, God does. And when I hear the voice of God saying, ‘Thomas, go’ then all I can do is go! People question how do you do it. I don’t question how I do it, if God says this is what I want you to do, I have to do it. I didn’t apply to TSU, TSU called me. I didn’t apply to my church, my church called me. God’s voice has been prominent in my life and that has been my guide.

Defender: What are your plans for the future.

Freeman: Whatever is in store for me, I’ll be here to receive it

Freeman has a long history in religion and education.

“A Legend in His Own Time” 100th Birthday Brunch

Honoring Dr. Thomas Freeman Sat., June 29, 11 a.m.

TSU Sterling Student Life Center All-white attire requested Call 713-313-7205 Visit https://giving.tsu.edu/ dr-thomas-f-freeman-100th-birthday

defendernetwork.com • Serving th

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DEFENDER | JUNE 20| 2019

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African migrants coming to Mexican border Associated Press

Undaunted by a dangerous journey over thousands of miles, people fleeing economic hardship and human rights abuses in African countries are coming to the U.S.-Mexico border in unprecedented numbers, surprising Border Patrol agents more accustomed to Spanish-speaking migrants.

Officials in Texas and even Maine are scrambling to absorb the sharp increase in African migrants. They are coming to America after flying across the Atlantic Ocean to South America and then embarking on an often harrowing overland journey.

In one recent week, agents in the Border Patrol’s Del Rio sector stopped more than 500 African migrants found walking in separate groups along the arid land after splashing across the

Rio Grande, children in tow.

That is more than double the total of 211 African migrants who were detained by the Border Patrol along the entire 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border in the 2018 fiscal year.

“We are continuing to see a rise in apprehensions of immigrants from countries not normally encountered in our area,” said Raul Ortiz, head of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Del Rio sector.

The immigrants in Texas were mostly from the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. Cameroonians have also been traveling up through Mexico and into the U.S. in larger numbers and seeking asylum at ports of entry.

More migrants are on the way. Mexico is on pace to triple the number of African immigrants it is processing this year, up from 2,100 in 2017.

African immigrants are traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border in growing numbers.

The Ryan White Planning Council Invites You to Meet Houston Public Leaders and Give Public Comment on…

Ryan White Part A, Part B & State Services Priority Rankings and Allocations for 2020 A l s o l ea rn a b out … Special Topics in HIV

Monday, July 1, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.

This televised Public Hearing will be held at the Houston City Hall Annex - City Council Chambers 900 Bagby Street, Public Level - Metered Parking in Back

Watch LIVE online: www.houstontx.gov/htv; or on Comcast Ch. 16, Phonoscope Ch. 73, Suddenlink Ch. 14, U-Verse Ch. 99 Ryan White Planning Council Office of Support 2223 West Loop South, Suite 240; Houston, TX 77027 832 927-7926  713 572-3740  713 572-2813  www.rwpcHouston.org

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City and County government answer:

"WHAT ARE WE DOING FOR THE BLACK COMMUNITY?" REGISTER FREE

9:30 a.m12 noon

TO ATTEND THIS ‘FIRST OF ITS KIND’ EVENT SPONSORED BY:

At:

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Internet offer ends 6/24/19. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. New residential customers only. Limited to Performance Starter 15 Mbps Internet. Early termination fee applies if all Xfinity services (other than Xfinity Mobile) are canceled during the agreement term. Equipment, installation, taxes and fees extra, and subject to change during and after agreement term. After agreement term, regular rates apply. Service limited to a single outlet. May not be combined with other offers. Actual speeds vary and are not guaranteed. Xfinity xFi is available to Xfinity Internet service customers with a compatible Xfinity Gateway. Ability to pause limited to home WiFi network. Does not apply to Xfinity WiFi hotspots. Call for restrictions and complete details. NP224353-0003

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DEFENDER | JUNE 20 | 2019

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sports

George Springer

Astro helps stutterers through Camp SAY

By MAX EDISON Defender

In 2014, Astros outfielder George Springer became SAY’s national spokesperson and since then he has inspired countless people who stutter.

SAY stands for the Stuttering Association for the Young, and the non-profit organization believes that every voice matters. SAY offers comprehensive programs that address the physical, social and emotional impacts of stuttering. They also sponsor Camp SAY, a summer camp for young people who stutter.

“I can’t spread a message to kids and adults if I’m not willing to put myself out there,” Springer said.

Last year alone, Springer and SAY provided more than $1 million in financial aid and underwritten tuition support so more children could have access to its programs, including the two-week accredited summer camp for kids and teens 8 to 18 who stutter.

Camp SAY blends a traditional summer campexperience with programs and activities that empower young people who stutter. The camp also helps campers build confidence, communication skills, and friendships to last a lifetime.

Springer will host his fifth annual All-Star Bowling Benefit on Thursday, June 27. The benefit is a fundraiser to send kids to Camp SAY. Because of his personal story, it’s easy to see why Springer would be an advocate for Camp SAY. As a youngster growing up near Hartford, Conn., Springer said that stuttering caused him to withdraw from social interaction.

“It’s extremely isolating, debilitating,” Springer recalled. “It’s the worst feeling you could have, to know that whatever it is you have to say, you can’t say it. I didn’t speak in class. I didn’t want to participate.”

“I would talk and they would respond with the ‘duh, duh, duh,’ as if I was stupid. I didn’t understand why they didn’t speak like me or why I didn’t speak like them,” he said.

His father, George Springer Jr., echoed his thoughts.

“You began to see as the stuttering became more pronounced, he began to withdraw, afraid to speak out and speak up,” he said.

The Springers sought professional help to manage George III’s stuttering. His growing success in baseball, as a four-year starter in high school and an All-American at UConn, gave him the personal confidence to confront his stuttering head on.

“The game allowed me to be who I am,” Springer said.

“It allowed people to see who I am. It allowed folks to see my personality because I wasn’t afraid to talk because I knew I wasn’t going to stutter.” “[George III’s] work with the stuttering association isn’t just improving lives, isn’t just helping lives; in many cases it’s saving lives,” his father said.

For more information about Camp SAY contact Houston@SAY.org or 202-919-4848.

Astros star George Springer, who knows about stuttering first-hand, continues to help young stutterers through the non-profit SAY and its summer camp.

George Springer All-Star Bowling Benefit

Thursday, June 27, 7 p.m.

Bowlmor Houston, 925 Bunker Hill www.say.org/springer/

Springer has been an Astros playmaker since 2014 and in 2017 was the World Series MVP and an MLB All-Star. He said baseball “allowed me to be who I am.”

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JUNE 20 | 2019 | DEFENDER

h.s. sports

11

The Martins are joined by boxers at the Third Ward institution. PABA’s motto is, “You can’t open a knife or fire a gun a boxing glove on.” (Photos by Jimmie Aggison)

PABA continues to make community impact

T

By JODIE B. JILES Defender

DefenderNetwork.com

View the PABA photo gallery

he Progressive Amateur Boxing Association, or PABA for short, was founded the day-to-day running of the gym. So, I have in 1968 by Houston’s fighting preacher, been transitioning into this for quite a few years Rev. Ray Martin. PABA, a Third Ward and have been prepared to continue this institulandmark, has touched the lives of counttion that we have here in Third Ward. less kids, most notably the Charlo twins – Jermell and Defender: Why do you believe PABA is Jermall – who fought in amateur boxing tournaments important to the community? at PABA during their youth.

Martin Jr.: The people let us know how Due to renovations PABA is currently not ofimportant this organization is even with the fering a formal summer program but kids can drop so-called changing demographics of the neighby after 6 p.m. Rev. borhood. Time has proven that PABA is just as Martin, whose misrelevant now as it was in the ‘60s. Since school sion was to give kids has been out [youth] come through the gym on a in the community a daily basis whether it’s to use the water fountain place to go to keep or just hang out for an hour or two to get out of them off of the streets the streets and learn a little bit of boxing. We get and out of trouble, anywhere between 10 to 50 youth a day. PABA has since passed the is quite relevant to the community as far as day-to-day responRev. Ray Martin and his son, Ray Martin Jr., keeping the youth off the streets and giving them sibilities to his son, are the men behind PABA. a safe environment with discipline where they can Ray Martin Jr., who The Defender spoke to let out that pent-up energy they have inside. operates and coaches Ray Martin Jr. about his role Defender: How can the community help PABA at the facility. at PABA and the organizacontinue its legacy?

Amateur boxer tion’s role in the community.

Martin Jr.: I am basically a volunteer trainer/coach Clarence Jiles, a Defender: What has the and I have two other volunteer coaches who workwith Yates High School transition to PABA director me and these dudes put in at least 20 hours a week or student who plays been like? more helping me with the kids. We take in gym dues, football and runs Martin Jr.: The transiwhich is a very small fee when compared to the track, said PABA has tion has been a process. for-profit boxing gyms in the city. We work with the helped hone his skills A PABA coach trains Worthing High School’s Terrance Thothion for a debut fight on July 12 at the Knockout Factory.

I’ve been working with the majority of these kids for free. If anyone would like in the ring. program since my early 20s, to make a donation to PABA, they can definitely feel “[PABA] let me free to do so. know that boxing isn’t all about punching,” Jiles said. “It when I became a certified coach. And now that I am 46, I have been doing this for a period of time and for For more information about PABA takes technique. I have been coming here ever since and the past five years especially I’ve done a lot more of call 713-520-9585.

I love it.”

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DEFENDER JUNE 20 | 2019

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

topevents

JUNETEENTH/BLACK LOVE FEST HTX……..The Emancipation Park enjoyed by the throngs of people present along with the live music acts. Some Conservancy in conjunction with The Black School presented a combined Juneteenth of the many attendees included Chris Mac, Mechelle Phillips, Donald Donley, Celebration and Black Love Fest HTX. The joint event was an art and music festival Ravonda and Justin Sanders, Iris Ferguson, Tiffany Goodlow, Alaina Bish promoting a cultural movement for Black love while highlighting the history and and Nico Bush, Alyssa Carter and many others……..BLACK FATHERS’ DAY significance of the Juneteenth holiday. Food and free music by DJ Elevated and OF ENCOURAGEMENT…….. Stormy weather that forced a last-minute venue a host of performers accentuated the art festival, speakers, merchandise vendors change could not dampen the spirits of those gathered to participate in the Black and workshops. Project Row Houses also had a hand in supporting the event that Fathers’ Day of Encouragement. The event celebrated those fathers who have been welcomed attendees Ernest Walker, Kynetta Moore, Marc outstanding role models for their families and the community, Furi, Faruq and Adilifu Sabur, Lyane Foreman, Jairus Elder, Defender TOP EVENTS and encouraged those fathers seeking to be better. Fathers were Tessa Mallett, Bishop Beckham, Paige Phillips, Trey, Krislyn More photos on defendernetwork.com encouraged to bring their children out for a day of activities, and Bryce Marsh, Holly Charles and scores more……..2019 music, food, fun and inspiration. Those gathered pledged to be HOUSTON FOOD FEST……..Billed as Houston’s premier better fathers. Attendees included Deric Muhammad (event food festival, the 2019 Houston Food Fest lived up to the hype as attendees enjoyed coordinator), Al and Shontell Rucker, Joshua Matthews, Vanessa Johnson, their choice of food options. Held at Midtown Park, the event featured over 70 Ray Waites, Unique Smith, Yolan Young, Karissa Young, Kaila Young, Ashlie different food vendors from Houston, Austin and other surrounding cities. Everything Young, Keirra Johnson, Zihyon Johnson, Le’Man Veal, Heavén Veal and from tacos to gumbo to ice cream to vegan burgers to barbecue was available and many others.

Bishop Beckham, Ernest Walker

Chris Mac, Mechelle Phillips

Deric Muhammad, Al Rucker

Lyane Foreman, Gregory D. Anderson Jr., Sybil Sybille

Iris Ferguson, Tiffany Goodlow, Alaina Bush, Nico Bush

Yolan Young, Karissa Young, Kaiya Young, Ashlie Young

Paige Phillips, Shani Peters, Joseph Cuillier, Zachary Taylor

Stacey Deckard, Andrea Fennell, Chris Cooper

Keirra Johnson, Zihyon Johnson, Le’Mel Veal, Heavén Veal

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