Houston Defender: August 17, 2017

FEATURE

STUDY LINKS CHILDHOOD ASTHMA AND RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION. P4

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Volume 86 | Number 44

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NEWSTALK CHARLES DUPRE FBISD Supt. addresses Willowridge closure

P2 NATIONAL AL SHARPTON blasts Democrats for ‘shortchanging’ Black voters

#ThisIsNotUs A NATION IN DENIAL H PAGE 6

Dr. Holly Carter presents summit The CEO of Relevé Entertainment is the woman behind the Merge Summit, which brings Hollywood talent and executives to major cities. Find out which stars will appear at the Houston summit on Aug. 26.

H PAGE 5

P3 SPORTS GARRY DUNHAM coaches Kashmere to rebound

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Willie Simmons coaches Panthers The Prairie View A&M University football coach begins his third season with the Panthers and would love to win a SWAC title. Read about the team’s chances and meet the playmakers who shine for PVAMU. H PAGE 10

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TOP EVENTS

Jarren Small, Shala Walker and A.J. McQueen at the Defender Millennial Roundtable.

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DEFENDER | August 17 | 2017

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Willowridge students to attend Marshall Defender News Services

When Willowridge High School students begin school on Tuesday, Aug. 22, they will temporarily attend Marshall High School as an effort to remove mold continues on the Willowridge campus.

Facilities crews discovered the mold problem this summer, and according to Fort Bend ISD, “The clean-up process will take some time as environmental experts work 24 hours, seven days a week to ensure that no area of the school is overlooked, as the health and safety of our students and staff is the top priority.”

Willowridge has 1,301 students.

Marshall has 1,211 students and a campus capacity of 2,466. The district Willowridge will remain closed until the mold is cleaned up. continues to work out details of the arrangement. together to provide a solution that is in the best “The WHS administrative team worked with us to weigh several options and select- interest of all students in both communities.”

Willowridge Principal Thomas Graham said ed Marshall High School based on its proximity, Marshall “has done a tremendous job of welcoming capacity and the positive relationships that already exist among students and staff,” said FBISD Super- us to the campus” in our time of need.

“We still realize that the primary objective of intendent Dr. Charles Dupre. our campus and of our staff is to make sure we in“I am especially pleased by the way both the Marshall and Willowridge communities have joined still in our students a quality education. By having

all of our students on one campus under one roof, we can ensure all of those educational needs are met during this very difficult time,” Graham said.

“For this transitional time we will not have Willowridge students and we will not have Marshall students. We will have students that we will all service.”

Marshall Principal Alfred Holland said he and Graham previously worked together as middle school principals and are excited to have the opportunity to work together again.

“The good thing about this unique situation is that our students from Marshall High School and Willowridge High School already interact in the community together,”

Holland said.

“They hang out on the weekends together, they go to church together. So I think this opportunity will help bring students even closer together in that they will be under the same roof to interact even more so.”

Parents and students who want more information and updates can visit www.fortbendisd.com/

More HISD schools meet TEA standards Defender News Services

The Houston Independent School District is one step closer to moving away from a conservatorship after new Texas Education Agency ratings show significant improvement in several schools.

In fact, HISD says the number of schools meeting state standards is now the highest it has ever been under Texas’ tougher new accountability system that was

introduced in 2012. According to the new TEA ratings released on August 15, 90 percent of HISD schools rated (251 out of 278) earned a “met standard” rating for the 2016-2017 school year. At the same time, 11 fewer schools received an “improvement required” rating.

HISD earned a “met standard” district rating.

Last week, TEA officials sent a letter to the district warning about 13 schools in need of improvement and the prospect of them being taken over by the state.

According to the new ratings, nearly half (18 out of 38) of the schools that were considered “improvement required” last year achieved a “Met Standard” rating in 2017.

This means in all, 21 campuses came off of “Improvement Required” for 2017.

HISD earned this progress in spite of facing the toughest standards since the inception of the state’s new accountability system began in 2013.

event.” The rally was being organized by a white lives matter group that brought Spencer to the campus last December.……..THREE CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS joined 11 other organizations in filing friend-of-the-court briefs in the seeking affirmation of a district court judge’s decision that prevents Harris County from holding misdemeanor defendants in jail simply because they can’t afford bail. In a case that has the potential to reshape bail practices across the United States, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU of Texas and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law are among the groups filing briefs in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of

Appeals. “Harris County’s bail procedures are an affront to the bedrock constitutional principle of equality before the law,” said ACLU of Texas attorney Edgar Saldivar.… …..A FREE HEALTH FAIR will be held Saturday, Aug. 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Westbury High School, 11911 Chimney Rock. It is sponsored by Congressman Al Green in conjunction with Community Health Choice and HISD. There will be immunizations and a flu clinic, assistance with WIC registration, registration for free dental screenings, information on Medicaid and CHIP, free backpacks for the first 200 kids and free blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol checks.

localbriefs TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY CANCELLED a Sept.

11 campus rally featuring white supremacist Richard Spencer. The rally was promoted with a press release titled “Today Charlottesville Tomorrow Texas A&M.” The school made the decision after consulting law enforcement and because of concerns about the safety of students, faculty, staff and the public. “Texas A&M’s support of the First Amendment and the freedom of speech cannot be questioned,” the university said in a statement. “However, in this case circumstances and information relating to the event have changed and the risks of threat to life and safety compel us to cancel the

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national

U.S.briefs A NEW POLL SUGGESTS THE FIGHT AGAINST OBAMACARE should end. The poll, released by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, was taken following last month’s Senate derailment of the GOP drive to supplant much of President Barack Obama’s statute with a diminished federal role in health care.

Around four in five of those polled want the Trump administration to take actions that help Obama’s law function properly, rather than trying to undermine it. Trump has suggested steps like halting subsidies to insurers who reduce out-of-pockets health costs for millions of consumers. His administration has discussed other moves like curbing programs that persuade people to buy coverage and not enforcing the tax penalty on those who remain uninsured. Just three in 10 want Trump and Republicans to continue their drive to repeal and replace Obamacare..…..A FOX NEWS HOST COMPARED GRIEVANCES OF WHITE SUPREMACISTS and protesters to those of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Fox & Friends” co-host Pete Hegseth argued that Black citizens’ protests against police brutality is comparable to the feeling of being a “second-class citizen” that many young white men feel. Though many have criticized Trump for giving an abstract condemnation of violence on “many sides,” Hegseth said he “nailed it” and applauded him not “immediately picking a side right out of the gate.”……..

EDUCATION SECRETARY BETSY DEVOS IS BACKTRACKING on a February statement when she met with Historically Black College and University leaders and said HBCUs were “pioneers when it came to school choice.”

Following the statement, critics accused Devos of whitewashing history, and the graduating class of Bethune Cookman College booed her when she delivered a commencement speech. Devos admits that she “should have decried much more forcefully the ravages of racism in this country,” though she has rolled back civil rights protections enforced during the Obama presidency.

Democrats ‘shortchanging’ African-American voters Defender News Services

National Action Network founder Rev. Al Sharpton said that Democrats are not paying attention to their AfricanAmerican base and that progressives are not taking “real action.”

In an opinion piece for USA Today, Sharpton decried the fact that, just like in the 1980s when Rev. Jesse Jackson ran for president, there is now “a great deal of talk” but “no real action.”

“The press speaks a great deal about the supposed fact that the ‘Democratic base’ is Rev. Al Sharpton riled up and activated by the state of play in America. This assessment ignores the most important segment of that base: the African-American voter,” he wrote. “We are not motivated by anyone right now.”

He specifically pointed to the fact that neither Bernie Sanders nor Hillary Clinton was able to excite the African-American base of the party, noting that it was arguably this very lack of engagement that cost Clinton the votes she needed to win the presidency.

“It would be unfair to claim that leaders like

Clinton and Sanders do not care about issues that are important to people of color. They do,” Sharpton said. “However, it is equally inaccurate to claim that the current progressive movement is fueling African-American participation or interest in our political process. It is not.

“Blacks largely sit on the sidelines while the game of politics is being played around us. In the post-Obama era there is the sense that Democrats feel people of color – African-Americans in particular – have had their chance and we should now take a back seat to new leadership and let them handle the politics of today. However, such a sentiment is both foolhardy and wrong.”

The civil rights leader blasted Democrats for not having enough African-Americans at the table and for not working hard enough on African-American issues.

“Talk is not enough anymore to be on the righteous path for justice and Black political participation. Nor is caring about, or sympathy over, unjust policies,” Sharpton said. “An effective progressive movement is more than an intellectual exercise espousing policy goals: it requires action and results.”

Charlottesville moves CEO to resign Defender News Services

VOLUME 86 • NUMBER 44 August 17, 2017 Publisher Sonceria Messiah-Jiles Ad/Client Relations Selma Dodson Tyler Digital Editor LaGloria Wheatfall Art Director Tony Fernandez-Davila Engagement Manager Margo Williams Hubbard

Editors ReShonda Billingsley Marilyn Marshall Contributing Writers Aswad Walker Jasemine Knowles Sports Editors Max Edison Darrell K. Ardison

The Defender newspaper is published by the Houston Defender Inc. Company (713-663-6996.. The Defender is audited by Certified Audited Circulation. (CAC). For subscription, send $60-1 year to: Defender, P.O. Box 8005, Houston TX 77288. Payment must accompany subscription request. All material covered by 2012 copyright. (No material herein may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher).

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The Black CEO of the nation’s third largest pharmaceutical company resigned from President Donald Trump’s American Manufacturing Council citing “a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.”

Kenneth Frazier’s resignation came shortly after the confrontation between white supremacists and protesters in Charlottesville, Va. that left one person dead and 19 injured. Trump was criticized for not explicitly condemning the white nationalists who marched.

Trump lashed out almost immediately at Frazier on Twitter, saying Frazier “will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!” Frazier said that the country’s leaders must “honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy.”

The Harvard-educated son of a janitor, Frazier joined Merck as a general counsel in 1992 and became CEO in 2011.

Kenneth Frazier

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Study links childhood asthma, segregation

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A new Princeton University study links childhood asthma and residential segregation.

Black children are twice as likely to develop asthma as a child. Prior research suggests that this may be due to a lower average birth weight. However, even when comparing infants of all races with low birth weights, Black children are still more likely to develop asthma.

To help figure out why, Professor Janet M. Currie and Princeton Ph.D. Diane Alexander co-authored a study where they “compared low-birth-weight children of all races and ethnicities who lived in ‘Black’ zip codes in New Jersey.”

They defined them as areas in which half or more of the residents are Black.

Currie and Alexander found that regardless of race, all low-birth-weight children in these zip codes had a higher risk of asthma. Since a physical trigger is needed to cause the disease, the researchers speculated that air pollution is to blame. The New Jersey communities studied were closer to busy highways and “twice as close as other neighborhoods to major industrial sources of air pollution.”

They also found that the houses were about seven years older than in other neighborhoods, and parents in these neighborhoods are “somewhat more likely to smoke indoors.”

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AUGUST 17 | 2017 | DEFENDER

entertainment

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Symposium brings Hollywood to Houston Defender News Services

Houstonians interested in learning more about the entertainment industry will have the opportunity as Hollywood comes to Houston with the Merge Symposium Tour. The event, which will integrate faith and entertainment, will be held Saturday, Aug. 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Higher Dimension Church, 9800 Club Creek Drive.

Participants will include Houston’s own Yolanda Adams, actress LisaRaye McCoy and actress Meagan Good and her producer husband DeVon Franklin.

The tour offers education, encouragement, empowerment and opportunity to attendees across the globe. It brings Hollywood talent and executives to major metropolitan cities where individuals can glean the insight and tools they need to reach their personal and professional goals within their local communities and within the entertainment industry.

“This is an engaging opportunity for those aspiring in the areas of arts and entertainment,” said Dr. Holly Carter, president/CEO of Relevé Entertainment and founder of the Merge Summit.

Carter said her affinity for Houston made this the perfect spot to take her successful Merge Symposium on the road.

“Thousands of attendees have benefited from the educational and networking experiences provided by the Summit in Beverly Hills. Attendees can apply what they learn to a vast array of business and ministry endeavors. Now, our hope is to bridge the national boundaries of business, entertainment, and ministry with Hollywood.”

Derived from the Merge Summit in

Yolanda Adams

Dr. Holly Carter

DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good

Hollywood, the tour is designed to be an inspirational gathering of industry talent in cities throughout the nation.

The programs offer industry insider tips designed to educate and empower attendees on a wide variety of topics encompassing music, television, film, content, development, production, and management skills.

At each event, participants will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and interact with actors, directors, producers, writers and other industry executives. Leaders will share insight, expertise, and provide feedback through compelling, educational and instructional panels, speaking sessions and platforms. Additionally, the program will offer focused master classes providing advice for practical application and intimate breakout sessions.

Lisa Raye

During the single-day event, attendees will enjoy speakers from across the nation through intensive sessions that will include “Life360” with McCoy and presented by Walgreens, “Are You Ready for This” with celebrity stylists Kim Kimble and J. Bolin, producer/musician and former assistant to Sean “PDiddy” Combs Fonzworth Bentley, as well as choreographer, dancer and TV personality Laurieann Gibson.

A panel discussion and breakout session will feature Emmy Award-winning casting director Robi Reed. Master class options in Houston range from “The Wait” to “Girl Boss!” and “Bold, Beautiful and on Purpose,” moderated by editor Mikki Taylor and featuring gospel star Adams. A special “Pastor and First Ladies Leadership Forum” will also take place highlighting insights from Higher Dimension Pastor Terrance Johnson and First Lady Torsha Johnson.

Additional talent and executives participating include actress Erica Ash, gospel artist Kierra Sheard and media executive Michelle Thornton.

For information and registration visit www.themergesummit.com.

what’sup Netflix announced it has signed SHONDA RHIMES to an exclusive, multi-year deal.

Rhimes, who created “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy” and produces “How to Get Away With Murder,” is moving her production company ShondaLand away from Disney’s ABC studios.

While Rhimes will continue to work with ABC on projects that are still on the air and in development for ABC, her new projects will fall under the new umbrella of Netflix’s deal. As for Rhimes, she said that she has wanted to “build a vibrant new storytelling home for writers with the unique

creative freedom and instantaneous global reach.”

Rhimes has reportedly generated around $2 billion in revenue for ABC and that the new production deal would see Rhimes earning around $10 million a year…….OPRAH WINFREY has launched a line of comfort food with a healthy twist that you’ll soon be seeing in the refrigerated aisle.

Oprah opened up about the line to People in their latest issue, covering the initial offerings that the “O, That’s Good!” line has to offer. “I’ve been asked over the years to do anything you can imagine to attach my name to,” Oprah explained. “I

have always just wanted to stay in my lane and to do what was organic for me, authentic and natural. Food would be it.”…….WILL SMITH has told a talk show host that he has been approached numerous times to play the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, on the big screen.

While the offers alone were enough motivation to seal the deal, Smith revealed that it was Obama’s blessing that really pushed him forward. “I talked to Barack about it,” he said. “He told me that he felt confident that I had the ears for the role.” No other details on the project have been released.

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DEFENDER | August 17 | 2017

Three people were killed at a gathering of white nationalists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Va.

#ThisIsNotUS A NATION IN DENIAL

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By RESHONDA TATE BILLINGSLEY Defender

fter hundreds of white supremacists descended upon Charlottesville, Va. recently, clashing violently with anti-racist protesters, the hashtag #ThisIsNotUS began trending on Twitter. But instead of uniting a community rocked by hatred and bigotry, the hashtag prompted a war of words from many who say it denies a troubled history.

Author and journalist Jelani Cobb tweeted, “People are saying #thisisnotus. Of course it is. Refusing to grapple with that fact [is] how we got here in the first place.” Cobb said he understands people were trying to show their support, but the sentiment is problematic.

“It is in a certain way exculpatory in saying that this is not us. Of course it is,” said Cobb, author of “The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress.”

“This is a country in which our bloodiest conflict centered on the right to own people, to sell people,” Cobb said. “We now have over 1,500 monuments and schools and roads named after the people who fought for the right to own people, to continue to own people.

“Maybe this is not all of who we are, certainly. But it is a vi-

tal and vibrant and dynamic stream in American history, and until professor Dr. Ronald Goodwin noted President Donald Trump’s we’re willing to confront that, we don’t really have much chance approach to the issue. of ever getting past it.”

“Trump took the southern strategy of the 1960s Republican Party and ran with it,” Goodwin said. Like [Richard] Nixon and Cobb and others criticized the hashtag as a form of denial [Barry] Goldwater, Trump played to the racist base, playing on – of both America’s racist past and the bigotry that continues to their fears and prejudices, using code words to hammer home their flourish across the nation. message.

“Over the last half-century it could be said we’ve experi“For example, from the Jim Crow era to the 1990s a realtor enced the best of times and the worst of times,” University of would often say, ‘There’s a good Houston professor Dr. Gerald school in this neighborhood’ or Horne said. “We participated in tak‘This is a good area’ – code for ing down the major barriers of Jim predominantly white area. Using Crow, which provided us a huge similar ‘dog whistles,’ Trump leap forward.

DefenderNetwork.com/facebook played to what his base wanted to “However, invisible barriers hear,” Goodwin said. were erected in its place negatively “He made it abundantly clear that there was a certain group impacting every facet of our lives. When comparing the mistreathe was talking to, and whether people want to admit it or not, ment of past decades to the rates at which Blacks are being jailed we [Black people] were clear, and the white supremacists that and imprisoned today, there seems to be little difference from the Trump’s message addressed, they were crystal clear. You can institutional mistreatment of the 1960s,” said Horne, who holds go back to his campaign rhetoric, or look at the individuals with the Moores Professorship of History and African American Studwhom he’s surrounded himself; individuals who appear very ies at UH. questionable.”

The clashes like the one in Charlottesville are largely a pheGoodwin said he had been optimistic about what he called nomenon of the Trump era, which many believe is shining a light “slow changes,” but Charlottesville changed that. on hatred and bigotry. Prairie View A&M University assistant

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“Over the past years, with the deaths of Trayvon n, Michael Brown and so many more, even goack to James Byrd, we’d like to say we’ve seen e. And, of course, there have been changes; but es like these they’re hard to quantify,” Goodwin .

Goodwin said as positive as he tries to remain, the reality is, ore things change, the more they stay the same.

“My gut reaction is, ‘Sure things are much better. We had a president, for goodness sake. So things have changed.’ But a personal standpoint, I’m still trying to consume and digest happened over the weekend [in Charlottesville]. And the nse from national leadership was disheartening. Expected, ill disheartening,” Goodwin said.

Cobb said it is important to realize that transitioning the idea of “This is not us” to “This is not who we want to mplies a certain degree of responsibility.

“One of the things I think is most important in this particular hat we’re at now is simply the regard and respect for Ameristitutions that have been bruised by some of what we’ve politically in the last year,” Cobb said. “But we can’t do any se things if we start from a kind of idea that we will remove lves from the history that produced this moment.”

Aswad Walker contributed to this report.

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HATE

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& bigotry on the rise

Charlottesville, Va., may have been the most recent epicenter of white supremacist rhetoric and rage, but it’s certainly not the only U.S. city where hate groups have taken root.

At least 917 active hate groups are currently operating across the country, according to a February 2017 report published by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights advocacy group.

SPLC found that the number of hate groups (defined as people harboring “beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics”) had been declining since 2011 but spiked in the last couple years during the presidential election. “[President Donald] Trump’s run for office electrified the radical right, which saw in him a champion of the idea that America is fundamentally a white man’s country,” the report stated.

SPLC reported 1,094 “bias incidents” swept the country in the 34 days following Election Day in 2016.

“The hate was clearly tied directly to Trump’s victory,” the report stated.

Many white nationalists, such as those involved in the violent clashes in Charlottesville while protesting the removal of a Confederate statue, have embraced Trump and felt emboldened by his rise to power.

Hours after 20-year-old white nationalist James Alex Fields allegedly rammed his car into a group of counter-protesters Saturday, killing Heather Heyer, 32, Trump vaguely condemned the hatred and bigotry from “many sides.”

Days later, the president had yet to personally denounce extremist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis, involved in the protests, which left three dead and at least 19 injured.

Lawmakers on both the left and right lambasted his soft response, while some white supremacist groups praised it.

The Anti-Defamation League said Charlottesville was the largest gathering of white supremacists in more than a decade.

“Our people are feeling real good right now,” said white nationalist organizer Eli Mosley.

“We view this is as a civil rights movement at this point. We’re advocating for white rights and white people, who will soon be a minority in this country. This day was a milestone pushing us into our next stage. We had a large turnout.”

“We’re coming back to Charlottesville,” he added defiantly.

5

things you can do now

Hate in America has become commonplace. What can we do to stop the hate?

The Southern Poverty Law Center has suggestions on five things you can do now.

1. Act - Do something. In the face of hatred, apathy will be interpreted as acceptance by the perpetrators, the public and — worse — the victims.

Community members must take action; if we don’t, hate persists.

2. Join forces - Reach out to allies from churches, schools, clubs, and other civic groups. Create a diverse coalition. Include children, police, and the media.

Gather ideas from everyone, and get everyone involved.

3. Speak up - Hate must be exposed and denounced. Help news organizations achieve balance and depth.

4. Pressure leaders - Elected officials and other community leaders can be important allies.

5. Stay engaged - Promote acceptance and address bias before another hate crime can occur.

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DEFENDER | August 17 | 2017

Faith leaders raise awareness about breast cancer fatalities First Ladies, and health ministry representatives—will learn effective ways to promote According to the American Cancer Society, breast healthcare among churchgoers and share success stories. breast cancer is the second leading cause of “Out of the 845 uninsured African cancer death among African American women, American patients we served last year, 23 were due to factors such as late diagnosis and long diagnosed with breast cancer and the youngest intervals between mammograms. Of even more patient was just 38 years concern is the fact that old,” said Dorothy Gibbons, the mortality rate from CEO and Co-founder of breast cancer is 40 The Rose. “Events like this percent higher in African help us reach more women American women than and remind them that someCaucasian women. one is on their side.”

Awareness and access The mission of are key to impact The Rose is to save lives these alarming stathrough quality breast health tistics and the reason services, advocacy, and behind The Rose’s access to care for all. The Annual Pastors and Annual Pastors and ComCommunity Summit.

Ashley Turner and Chris Noble of The munity Summit will be held The Summit is a Rose Houston at First Pastors Summit in partnership with several collaborative event invit- Spring of 2016.

Community Supporters ining faith leaders and the cluding: Bee Busy Wellness public to come together Center, Body of Faith, Dee Coleman/State Farm, and learn how they can help change breast The Fort Bend Church, Garden Oaks Church cancer outcomes for women of color. It will be of Christ, Greater Grace Outreach Church, the held on August 31, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Greater Houston African American Chamber of in the 3rd Floor Conference Room of The Rose Commerce, Houston Health Museum, Houston Galleria. The address is 5420 West Loop South, Museum of African American Culture, MD Bellaire, TX 77401.

Anderson Cancer Center, and New Beginning Houston faith leaders— including pastors, Defender News Services

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AUGUST 17 | 2017 | DEFENDER

opinion

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After Charlottesville, push for real reforms

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By REV. JESSE JACKSON SR.

acism, exposed once more in the terror visited on Charlottesville, Va., still scars America. Hundreds of neo-Nazis, white supremacists, klansmen and other fervid racists gathered – some armed with assault rifles, wearing camouflage.

They marched with lit torches, yelling Nazi slogans, looking for trouble.

They provoked violence, terrorized a city, took the life of Heather Heyer and injured many more. In the reaction to those horrors, character is revealed.

For Heather Heyer, the neo-Nazi assault revealed her passion for justice.

She died standing for what she believed in, and her sacrifice helps to redeem an America that is far better than the haters.

She joined a peaceful demonstration against the neoNazis, standing with African-Americans and people of conscience unwilling to be intimidated by the mob. She was crossing an intersection when a 20-year-old man plowed his car into the peaceful demonstrators and took her life, injuring 19 others.

She now joins the blessed martyrs of America’s long struggle for equal rights. She stands with other angels who sacrificed their lives: Viola Liuzzo in Selma, Ala. in 1965; James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner near Philadelphia, Miss. in 1964; the four little girls –Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robinson and Denise McNair – blown up in the Birmingham, Ala. church bombing in 1963.

Donald Trump’s reaction to Charlottesville will be etched in infamy. At first he refused to condemn the neoNazis and white nationalists, choosing only to decry the “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.”

Some Republicans showed they know better. Conservative Sen. Orrin Hatch tweeted simply, “My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged

here at home.” Sen. Marco Rubio spoke forcefully against the haters. Some Republicans even rebuked the president for his failure.

Decrying racism is necessary. Words are important, but actions are needed. Dr. Martin Luther King always warned against being satisfied with words: “Loose and easy language about equality, resonant resolutions about brotherhood fall pleasantly on the ear, but for the Negro, there is a credibility gap he cannot overlook. He remembers that with each modest advance the white population promptly raises the argument that the Negro has come far enough. Each step forward accents an ever-present tendency to backlash.”

Denouncing hatred is important, but we need to focus on who is prepared to act.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia denounced the haters that terrorized Charlottesville, and did so with a record of action. As governor of a Southern state, he pushed for voting rights reforms. He called on his legislature to accept the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare that would have provided health care to poor working people of all races.

He personally signed some 200,000 clemency grants of those who had served their sentences so that they could regain the right to vote and be reintegrated into the political

community. His denunciation was important; his actions even more so.

We applaud Republicans who call out the neo-Nazis and the Klansmen. But the measure of their sincerity is how they act. The Trump Department of Justice, under former Alabama Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, has moved consistently to reverse and weaken civil rights.

He’s turned away from reforming discriminatory practices of police departments, even as Trump has celebrated police brutality. He’s turned civil rights laws on their head, gearing up to investigate university affirmative action programs that allegedly discriminate against whites. He’s backed off enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, which he has called “intrusive,” opening the door to more efforts to suppress the vote.

Trump has pushed for a selective ban on Muslim travelers to the U.S., and he continues to prey on immigrants and posture on his “wall.”

The Republican Congress, with its push to strip millions of health insurance to pay for tax breaks for millionaires, and its budget plans to cut top-end taxes while gutting funding for education and for food and housing programs that support the most vulnerable, only adds to our entrenched injustice. The Republicans’ actions speak much louder than their words.

America has come a long way from the horrors of slavery and segregation. We are a better people and a better country for that struggle. Yet, as Charlottesville revealed once more, hatred and racism still fester. Unprincipled politicians can still play on race and intolerance for their own purposes. Violent hate groups are literally on the march.

These must be denounced, even as we celebrate Heather Heyer and the forces of conscience. We must also act. A good response to Charlottesville would be a massive voting coalition to drive out the forces of division and push for a new era of reform. We must act, change the institutionalization of bias, protect and extend the right to vote, and fight to ensure equal justice and opportunity for all.

Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is founder of Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Open letter to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg and Sheriff Ed Gonzales

Wrong is wrong, you cannot make it right Criminal charges against two Harris County deputies have been dropped in the 2015 body cavity search of a young Black woman. After seeing the video on TV it was outrageous, disturbing and showed total disrespect by law officers, who are supposed to be committed to public service, as they invaded the body of this woman. Considering a grand jury under former District Attorney Devon Anderson led to a criminal indictment of the deputies, it is baffling to hear that prosecutors under District Attorney Kim Ogg dismissed the case and then re-presented it to an entirely different grand jury.

Allegedly there was new evidence. Well, it may not be

criminal but it is a crime for two public servants, who are sworn to uphold the law, to totally disregard the importance of personal dignity and privacy of any individual. This young lady was thrown to the ground at a Texaco gas station, her legs pried open and physically searched by these two male officers. Why? For some drugs? She was already handcuffed and being arrested.

Why couldn’t they wait until they got to the sheriff’s department?

One of the members of the DA’s team stated that “no one condones that…no one thinks it appropriate.” She added, “Bad decisions, bad judgement may not rise to the level of a

criminal offense.”

Knowing that this young lady has a lawsuit pending against the county in this matter, I understand that the DA may want to protect the county from legal admissions of this offense, however, you cannot sit quietly by and allow this kind of behavior to be tolerated in Harris County.

Today, these two officers sit on administrative leave awaiting the decision on their future. They should be fired because they are violating their duties to protect and serve, showing disrespect and disdain for the dignity of mankind.

Wrong is wrong and you cannot make it right.

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DEFENDER | August 17 | 2017

sports

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PVAMU, Simmons hope third year could be charm Coach Willie Simmons

I

By MAX EDISON Defender

t’s a fact that Prairie View A&M University head football coach Willie Simmons is one of the top young coaching minds in the SWAC. Simmons’ coaching acumen was first put on display as the offensive coordinator at Alcorn State University. Over a three-year period he helped turn the Braves into one of the FCS’s top offenses, winning the 2014 SWAC and SBN Black College National Championships.

Simmons is preparing to enter his third year as the “Top Kat” on the Hill, and the Panthers are out to prove his third year will be the charm as they pursue a West Division crown and an opportunity to win a SWAC championship.

The Panthers’ ascent under Simmons has been steady and sure. In his first year at the helm (2015), the team finished third in the West. Last season, Simmons’ second, they finished third. Could this be the year the Panthers sit atop the West?

PVAMU returns some 50 lettermen and 14 starters from last year’s 7-4 team that posted a 7-2 mark in SWAC play. Of those 14 starters, eight Panthers have earned preseason accolades. Simmons’ teams are 15-6 in his two seasons as PVAMU head coach.

So far Simmons is happy with the Panthers’ work ethic in the spring and as they prepare for the 2017 campaign.

“Our guys have worked extremely hard this offseason, harder than they’ve ever worked before,” Simmons said.

“Their bodies have really changed, and their attitudes have been phenomenal. I’m excited to start this camp. I believe this will be our best camp by far.

“I think for the first time in our three years here, we as a coaching staff feel really comfortable with the amount of returning players we have in all three phases,” Simmons continued.

“Our first year, we were a veteran offensive team, and very young on defense. Last year it kind of flipped as we were young and new on offense, with a little bit of experience on defense. This year, we feel we have experience in all three phases – offensively, defensively and we return all of our specialists.

“We really feel good about the amount of experience we have returning. This gives us a ton of leadership and a lot more depth than we’ve had previously,” he said.

Four Panthers were named to both the first and second

Wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge

All-SWAC teams.

First-team selections are Donovan Wheaton (OL), KhaDarel Hodge (WR), DeVohn Reed (DL), and Owen Hoolihan (punter).

Second-team selections are Sta’Fon McCray (RB), Darius Floyd (WR), James Harper (DL) and Joshua Simmons (WR). This gives the Panthers experience and balance at every level except one, quarterback.

Defensive lineman DeVohn Reed There’s an old saying that says if you have three quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks. Neiko Hollins, Lavell McCullers and Jalen Morton are all vying for the job and all three could see time in the opener against Texas Southern University on Sept. 2 in Houston.

The one Achilles heel for the Panthers has been their defense. While the offense averaged 38.5 points over two seasons, the defense gave up 32 points over the same period. Simmons believes those day are over.

“I see a unit that is ready to take that next step,” Simmons said. “Many of the guys on the field right now defensively were puppies two years ago [freshmen and sophomores]. Now those guys are juniors and seniors.

They’ve played a lot of snaps, heard about our woes on

defense, and I feel they are playing with a chip on their shoulders. I expect this unit to be one of if not the best unit in the conference.”

If one of the three QBs is able to separate from the pack and the defense holds up, the Panthers could be dangerous, but those are big ifs.

The schedule-makers didn’t do the Panthers any favors. They open against an improving TSU squad in the Labor Day Classic. In week No. 2 they host national titan Sam Houston State for a nationally televised game on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 6:30 p.m.

For week three they travel to Thibodeaux, La. to face Southland foe Nicholls State.

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h.s.zone Kashmere expecting bounce-back season

teams rarely find it difficult to score. Last year was an exception to the rule.

“My philosophy has always been to do what It wasn’t a typical football season at Kashmere that year’s group of kids can do the best,” Dunham High School in 2016 and yet the Rams still almost said. “If I have a kid that can throw it and we’ve made the playoffs. got some kids that can catch it, then we’ll sling it Garry Dunham will begin his 15th season as around the field. head coach when Kashmere takes on Northside “If I have an exceptional runner, then we’ll (formerly Jeff Davis) on Sept. 2 at Cowart Stadium put it on the ground and run it. Our offense will (6 p.m.). revolve around whatever suits those kids,” DunThe Rams are coming off a disappointing 2-8 ham said. campaign when they tied Wheatley and Washing“My offensive and defensive coordinators ton for fourth place in District 11-4A Division I know that our style is not dictated by the coaches. with a 2-4 ledger. Kashmere missed the postseason It’s based on what our kids do the best.” by virtue of a tiebreaker as Washington advanced.

Off the field, many HISD schools have reKashmere had been playoff qualifiers in 11 of ceived major upgrades from the 2012 bond electhe previous 14 seasons. tion that was voter-approved. Kashmere High “We’re looking to do a lot better than we did School is nearing the end of a three-year project. last year,” Dunham said.

“We didn’t get a “We lost some key kids new building, but we to injuries early on and did get a $14 million reFind out latest football news at that set us back when the model,” Dunham said.

Sterling High School season began.

“If you haven’t been in “My projected starter Kashmere High School at quarterback missed the first seven weeks with within the past three years you’re in for a shock. a heart murmur,” Dunham said. “We’ll have him “It’s not a new building but it’s much better back from the start along with several kids that than it was,” Dunham said. “I thought the Kashwill be four-year starters for me. We should be mere community deserved a new builddecent based on that alone.” ing but that wasn’t my decision. A new The 11-4A Division I configuration for school would have brought new kids 2017 is the same as last year and includes into our school.

HISD members Kashmere, North Forest, “However, based on what we Scarborough, Booker T. Washington, Wheatdid get, I’m happy for the students ley, Worthing and Yates. and I’m happy for the community,” Most preseason predictions have inDunham said. “I think our people will stalled North Forest as the heavy like what they see.” favorite to emerge as district champion with Wheatley not far behind with 13 returning starters. The district’s remaining two playoff berths will be up for grabs.

“I don’t know if we’ll have the numbers to compete with North Forest. But I’m going to do my best to get them prepared to go,” Dunham said.

In this age of pass-oriented offenses, Kashmere Coach Garry Dunham

By DARRELL K. ARDISON Defender

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August 17 | 2017 | DEFENDER

11

sportsbriefs Elliott suspended Dallas Cowboys second-year running back Ezekiel Elliott has been suspended for six games by the NFL for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The suspension came after a year-long investigation by the NFL into allegations of domestic violence by Elliott against a former girlfriend.

The NFL’s move came after the Columbus, Ohio City Attorney’s Office refused to press charges last September due to “conflicting and inconsistent” stories. In the course of its investigation, the NFL found “substantial and persuasive evidence supporting a finding that [Elliott] engaged in physical violence” against the victim “on multiple occasions during the week of July 16, 2016.” Elliott plans to appeal the decision. “I am both surprised and disappointed by the NFL’s decision today and I strongly disagree with the League’s decision,” he said.

Lynch sits during anthem Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch was observed sitting on the bench during the playing of the National Anthem for the Raiders’ preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals. Lynch did not speak to reporters after the game and has not explained why he sat. Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio shared his conversation with Lynch.

“He said, ‘This is something I have done for 11 years. It’s not a form of anything other than me being myself,’ ” Del Rio said. “I told him I very strongly believe in standing for the National Anthem. But I respect him as a man and he can do his thing, so, it’s a non-issue for me.”

classifieds Standard Legal Notification Interested in helping to build a new 320-mgd plant for Houston’s Northeast Water Purification Plant’s (NEWPP) expansion? The City of Houston is building a new water treatment plant near Lake Houston.

Phase I, the west plant, will consist of two 80-mgd trains. Early site development contract packages have been divided into smaller sizes to encourage participation by the Minority, Women and Small Business Enterprise contractor community. Remaining contract packages for plant construction are as follows: 8 - Site Civil/Yard Piping 9 - Site Electrical 10 - I&C System Integration 11 - Admin & Maintenance Building 12 - North Plant 13 - Central Plant 14 - Backwash Equalization Basins 15 - Dewatering Building 16 - High Service Pump Station and Switchgear Building 17 - Substation Building 18 - Ground Storage Tanks 19 - Intake Pump Stations (IPS) and Bridge 20 - Electrical for IPS Enroll with the Design-Builder, Houston Waterworks Team, HWT, (a joint venture of CH2M and CDM Smith), on their website (www.newppexpansion. com). HWT is looking to gather preliminary information from each contractor interested in participating in the construction of this new project utilizing the project’s procurement website. Instructions for enrollment are included in the Reference Documents section and the Enrollment Form button is in the Project Links and Contacts section. Contractors and suppliers are both invited to enroll so that a qualification form can be sent to potential Tier 1 contractors/suppliers.

All interested contractors and suppliers are invited to enroll on HWT’s website (www. newppexpansion.com) and begin the procurement process. Join us on this adventure for the next eight years as we design and build this expansion of the water plant for Houston and four of the local Regional Water Authorities.

Interested contractors in the packages listed above need to complete the enrollment and qualification process before the Request for Proposals (RFPs) will be released in the fall 2017 to shortlisted qualified Tier 1 contractors/suppliers.

This is NOT a hard bid, instead it is a Competitive Sealed Proposal.

This is a progressive design-build project so all contract packages will be issued at 30% design and contractors selected based on “best value” with consideration of both their technical qualifications and cost. Consequently then, as the design progresses to 100% HWT will revise the scope, schedule and cost estimate, in conjunction with the selected contractors. Contracts will be finalized with selected contractors for each separate package.

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DEFENDER | August 17 | 2017

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Defender listens to

Houston Black millennials

Clyde Jiles, Britney Hunter, Lawrence Battle

Millennial Roundtable participants

M

Jarren Small, Alexis Herron, Joe P., Shala Walker, Shar-day Campbell

Jarren Small, Shala Walker, A.J. McQueen

Lawrence Battle, Tiffany Williams, Ray Shackelford

illennials are the largest generation in U.S. history born between 1980 and 2004. This group is at the center of the economy shaping art, culture, technology and driving trends.

But African-American millennials, especially young men, are sometimes stereotyped as dangerous or lazy.

Continuing its listening tour, the Defender recently hosted the Listen & Learn: Millennial Roundtable at The Power Center.

During the discussion, the Defender learned how Houston young professionals are shattering negative stereotypes about their generation.

“Our role as African-American millennials is to change the narrative. Media perceives us in a way that is different from who we are,” said roundtable participant Ray Shackelford.

Clyde Jiles, a millennial and the Defender’s strategic alliance manager, facilitated the discussion.

“Our objective for the roundtable was to listen and learn how millennials and the Defender can work together synergistically in terms of tailored news delivery, developing Baby Boomer mentorships, creating social interaction, and engaging in purposeful community involvement. The discussion was phenomenal,” said Jiles.

The millennials asked us to present more editorial content in list format. We’re listening. Here is a list of roundtable highlights: w Millennials are an entrepreneurial generation. Tiffany Wil-

B.J. Kemp, Frank North, Deric Muhammad, Shar-day Campbell

liams advised millennials to “start building wealth, collaborate and start and support Black businesses.” Similarly, Alexis Herron said millennials should, “create opportunities for themselves and others that look like them.” w Millennials drive social media. Our Houston roundtable millennials are strong Instagram and Facebook users. While they had Twitter accounts, they were not as active on that platform.

Some felt millennials have “slept on” LinkedIn. “If you want a job or [nonprofit] board position, LinkedIn is where to go,” said Jarren Small. “Woke conversations won’t happen on LinkedIn,” Shar-day Campbell added. w Millennials respect the contributions of their elders, but want to do things their own way. Deric Muhammad said millennials are ready to “take the baton and run faster than the previous generation.” w Millennials want their mentors to be authentic. “Intimate engagement is what we’re looking for. We want to engage with people who will be real,” Small said. w Millennials want to party with a purpose. “Sometimes, the party overshadows the purpose. Make certain the purpose is purposeful. Choose a charity that is relevant. Give to a space where people aren’t giving all the time,” Muhammad said. w Millennials get behind causes when they know why they should. Several participants said that they need in-depth infor-

Deric Muhammad, Shar-Day Campbell

mation, including stats, on causes and issues before they decide whether to lend their support. “Go to where millennials are and share why something is important,” Herron said.

The Defender plans to collaborate further with this group of professional millennials to help provide them with potential mentors and other resources.

“I relate to this group of millennials,”said Defender CEO Sonceria Messiah Jiles.

“As publisher, I purchased the Defender at age 27 and faced many challenges and opportunities. I want to help these young people accomplish their goals and gain the needed access to do what they want to do because I understand where they are coming from.”

“The Defender is thankful to each roundtable participant,” said Engagement Manager Margo Williams Hubbard. “Each young professional shared their authentic views freely while also supporting the points of view of their peers. It was refreshing to hear their unfiltered responses. The Defender staff left the roundtable inspired and proud of this group of millennials who each demonstrate Black excellence in their own unique ways.

“We invite our participants and more Houston area millennials to join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram,” Hubbard said. “There, you can also view the videos from the roundtable and let us know your thoughts on the issues.”

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