‘IT IS WHAT IT IS’ Former first lady Michelle Obama urges America to vote. Local leaders respond urging Blacks to the polls.
FEATURE
AL SHARPTON Activist leads vastly different Civil Rights March on Washington amid COVID-19 pandemic.
Volume 89, issue 43 August 20, 2020
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SAUNDRA MONTGOMERY The first lady of Abundant Life Center (Cathedral) is mourned.
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FIT & FINE Jada Smith Age: 39 Occupation: Boxing Management and Trainer Education: Merritt Community College Major: NASM Certified/B.S. Exercise Science
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Sen. Kamala Harris, now the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, spoke during a rally in Aiken, S.C. in 2019. -Michael Holahan/AP
Message from the Associate Editor He called his former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman a “dog.” Supporters of Sen. Kamala Harris often deHe said New York Congresswoman Alexandria scribe her as principled, brilliant, fearless and Ocasio-Cortez was “not even a smart person.” compassionate. He said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was Then there’s President Donald Trump, who “stone-cold crazy.” has labeled Harris as mean, angry and a mad He called his former Democratic opponent woman. By doing so, Trump is reinforcing the Hillary Clinton a “nasty” woman, an adjective stereotype of the “angry Black woman,” who is he recently attached to Harris. supposedly hostile and ill-tempered by nature. Marilyn Marshall Trump also refused to quash the birtherInstead of seeing Harris as an accomplished ism nonsense – that he used against President elected official who is well-qualified to be vice Barack Obama – conspiracy theorists are now trying to use president of the United States, Trump and other haters against Harris. Would they even question Harris’ citizenseek to typecast her out of bigotry and spite. ship if she wasn’t a woman of color? Some theorize that the stereotype goes back to slavHarris said she expected her opponents to trot out “lies” ery, with the notion that Black women were harder and and “deception.” stronger than other women. Black women were later often “Th ey’re going to engage in an attempt to distract from portrayed as sassy, bossy and rude in popular culture, inthe real issues that are impacting the American people,” cluding the Sapphire character on the radio and TV show Harris said. “And I expect that they will engage in dirty tac“Amos and Andy.” tics. And this is going to be a knockdown, drag-out. And In recent years, well-known Black women, ranging from we’re ready.” former First Lady Michelle Obama to tennis star Serena All Americans, regardless of their race, gender or politWilliams, have been labeled as angry. Mrs. Obama told Oprah Winfrey in 2016 that she was ical affiliation, should be ready to take a stand against the ignorance and intolerance that only serves to divide us and taken aback by the insulting description. “We are so afraid of each other…” she said. “Color, diminish us. Go vote! wealth, these things that don’t matter still play too much of a role in how we see one another.” ON THE WEB • Learn how you can support area COVID-19 reporting RACIST AND SEXIST through the Local News Fund. The way Trump sees Harris and other women of power is • Discover health news you can use, whether your goal is to often racist or sexist or just plain hateful. stay in shape or get a good night’s sleep. He called California Congresswoman Maxine Waters an • Check out the latest in the world of pro and college sports “extraordinarily low IQ person.” as teams try to play ball amid a pandemic. STOP THE STEREOTYPES
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DN News TEXAS BLACK CAUCUS PUSHES GEORGE FLOYD ACT Defender News Services
The Texas Legislative Black Caucus has produced legislation — the George Floyd Act— seeking to make tangible the demands for justice in the wake of the murders of unarmed Blacks, including Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Floyd, a native Houstonian. The legislation is a sweeping police reform proposal that seeks to ban chokeholds statewide while also requiring law enforcement officers to intervene or render aid if they witness a fellow officer using excessive force. “We acknowledge that the road to justice in Texas — particularly for Black and Brown people in Texas — has been fraught with dead ends, dead ends of white supremacy, racial hatred and bigotry,” said State Rep. and TLBC chair Harold Dutton during a virtual press conference announcing the Floyd Act, and attended by 17 of the TLBC’s 19 members. Members of Floyd’s family were also on-hand virtually for the online announcement. Floyd’s death in Minneapolis in May while a white officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while three other officers on the scene refused to intercede, set off global protests and calls for criminal justice reform. According to State Rep. Jarvis Johnson the Floyd Act would not only limit the use of force by officers, but also require them to attempt to de-escalate the situation and ban lethal force “if another lesser level of force could have worked.” “It is long past time to put statutory limits on the use of lethal force and more clearly set out expectations for all use of force by peace officers,” added Johnson. “These provisions go a long way toward reducing the harms to the Black community currently associated with policing.” The Legislature is set to meet again in January 2021, at which time the TLBC will seek to make the George Floyd Act Texas law.
Members of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus at a press conference in Houston.
Harris County weighs in on Census
City leaders launch initiative honoring Leland
Defender News Services
Defender News Services
The fight to decrease the spread of COVID-19 continues, but with the 2020 presidential election nearing, local leaders are also reminding people to vote. Houston leaders announced a voting initiative to help increase participation in Harris County in the midst of the pandemic. The initiative, which will include a series of billboards across the county, was announced in memory of the late Congressman George Thomas “Mickey” Leland. “We may feel helpless at times because we can’t control the pandemic or other issues like jobs and housing, but as proud Houstonians we do have the power to vote,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said. Billboards addressing the voting initiative have already been recently installed in Hermann Park, along with a statue commemorating Leland, who died in 1989 while leading a relief mission to an Ethiopian refugee camp. The announcement of the initiative comes
Photo of the Mickey Leland memorial. Mary Benton/City of Houston
just months away from the 2020 presidential election. “It is important that every voter participates in the process,” Turner said. “As Houstonians and Americans, each one of us has a civic duty to cast a ballot for person/persons of our choice. And each one of us has a stake in what happens in our city, and in our country and county and
quite frankly all over.” City leaders are encouraging people to vote, especially after nearly 400,000 vote-in-mail applications were sent into Harris County back in June ahead of the July 14 elections in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Forty percent of Houstonians have not completed the Census. Harris County Commissioners voted 3-2 along party lines to have the county attorney file a friend of the court brief in a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s early Census cutoff date of Sept. 30. County leaders have been concerned for months over a possible undercount in the Census, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such an undercount could wind up costing the county federal funding. By the end of July, just half of all Houston households had completed the questionnaire. The brief joins other counties and states that have challenged the Trump Administration’s push to place a citizenship question on the census form. “The same group of counties and states that are challenging the notion that non-citizens will not be counted when we reapportion congressional districts has been discussing the idea of challenging this particular action,” said First Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard.
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DN News Emergency rental assistance available Defender News Service
John Guess, Jr., CEO emeritus of The Houston Museum of African American Culture, talks about the bronze statue “The Spirit of The Confederacy” on display at the museum. AP/David J. Phillip
Confederate statue part of healing Associated Press
A Houston museum dedicated to conserving African American culture said that its decision to display a more than 100-year-old Confederate statue is about providing Black Americans with a way to confront slavery’s painful legacy and include their lived experiences in the conversation. The towering bronze statue, called “Spirit of The Confederacy,” was removed from a downtown Houston park in June following a recommendation more than two years earlier by a task force established by Mayor Sylvester Turner. The statue, which had been in storage since its removal, arrived at the Houston Museum of African American Culture and was viewed by reporters with The Associated Press on an exclusive tour. “There is a need for our folks to heal. The way you get rid of the pain is to not bury it as if it had never existed, but to confront it and engage with it,” said John Guess Jr., the museum’s CEO emeritus. “This allows our community to do this.” The 12-foot statue depicts a winged male figure holding palm tree foliage and a sword. An inscription on a plaque below the statue reads: “To all heroes of the South who fought for the principles of states rights.” While Confederate sympathizers argue that the Civil War was fought to establish states’ rights, historians say slavery was the root cause of the war. “We now have a chance to dialogue with that history and say something about it. Know this was really about slavery,” Guess said. “And we have an image that our community can consistently speak
to, especially during times like now when the whole concept of white supremacy has so much sway in the White House.” The statue was erected in 1908 by the Robert E. Lee Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It was removed during nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, whose death at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer became a worldwide symbol in demonstrations calling for police reform and an end to racial injustice. During the protests, many Confederate symbols and monuments were damaged or brought down by demonstrators and removed by local authorities. Guess said he believes the museum is the first African American institution in the country to house a Confederate monument. The “Spirit of The Confederacy” statue will be displayed in a courtyard. New fencing has been built around the statue so it cannot be seen from the street. People will be able to view it online or make an appointment to see it from behind a window. Museum officials say people will be able to see the statue up close from the courtyard at a later date. The museum’s decision to display the statue was criticized in June by James Douglas, the president of the Houston chapter of the NAACP, who said the history of the Civil War should be discussed in museums but not in the form of statues. In a recent email, the NAACP’s Houston chapter said that after meetings on the issue, it supports “the removal and relocation of the Confederate monument to a place of historical rather than sovereign context.” Publisher | CEO Sonceria Messiah-Jiles
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Harris County and the city of Houston are teaming up to release another round of emergency rent relief funding for renters whose landlords agree to the terms of the program. Landlords can sign up online through Aug. 26 and renters can apply from Aug. 24-30 if their landlords have enrolled in the program. If a landlord does not sign up for the program, then the renter will not be eligible to receive funding. According to BakerRipley, the agency running the program, Harris County is providing $25 million, while the city is providing $15 million, along with another $5 million in private funds. They estimate around 21,000 households, from both the city and county programs, will receive assistance. Renter applications will be selected starting Aug. 31, with payments to landlords going out after Sept. 8. The program includes a temporary pause on evictions at participating properties through Sept. 30. A household can receive up to $2,112 from the city program, or up to $1,200 from the county program. The amount of available funding is unlikely to meet demand for emergency aid in the Houston area.The city has responded to criticism that the first round favored households with fast internet connections — this time, funding will be awarded based on criteria not speed. Compared with renters in many other major cities, Houston-area renters are more vulnerable to the threat of eviction during the ongoing public health disaster. Houston — where renters make up half the population — is the largest city in America in which renters don’t have additional emergency legal protections currently in place during the pandemic.
Visit www.bakerripleyrenthelp.org to apply.
People Editor Aswad Walker Sports Terrance Harris Jodie B. Jiles Photographers Ray Carrington III Jimmie Aggison
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DN News TAKEAWAYS In keeping with the virtual nature of the convention, Michelle Obama’s remarks were recorded before Joe Biden’s announcement that he had chosen California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. Here are some key points from her speech: On voter suppression: “Right now, folks who know they cannot win fair and square at the ballot box are doing everything they can to stop us from voting. They’re closing down polling places in minority neighborhoods. They’re purging voter rolls. They’re sending people out to intimidate voters, and they’re lying about the security of our ballots.” In this image from the video, former first lady Michelle Obama speaks during the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. -Democratic National Convention via AP
‘IT IS WHAT IT IS’ Local leaders answer Michelle Obama’s call to get Blacks to the polls
Defender News Service
Former first lady Michelle Obama issued the challenge for people to vote “like never before” at the 2016 Democratic National virtual convention, and Texans are stepping up to the plate to answer. “Mrs. Obama is real and tangible. She’s our sister, auntie or daughter in our hearts and we feel that she speaks to us and speaks for us. Her plea for action was so genuine and our respect for her is so deep, we can’t help but vote and encourage others to vote. It’s non negotiable,” said political consultant Sharon Watkins Jones. “Hearing former First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech was a timely reiteration of the power of the vote in our democracy,” added Martha Castex-Tatum, Vice-Mayor Pro Tem, District K. “Over 100 million people did not vote in the last presidential election. Democracy is learned and we can never grow weary of teaching others about our journey to gain access to the ballot. I’m inspired to register more voters and ensuring they are informed and armed with a plan to vote in every election.” “If you think things cannot possibly get
worse, trust me they can; and they will, if we don’t make a change in this election,” Mrs. Obama told her party in a blunt and emotional appeal. The former first lady outlined dire stakes for the election ahead, declaring Trump “in over his head” and the “wrong president for our country.” Warning of possible voter suppression, she told Americans they must vote for Joe Biden “in numbers that cannot be ignored” if they want to preserve the “most basic requirements for a functioning society.” The scathing assessment was delivered in the last and longest speech in Democrats’ experiment with a virtual convention in the coronavirus era, a spot Mrs. Obama earned through her overwhelming popularity in her party. She delivered her remarks in a casual setting — a living room, with a Biden campaign sign on the mantle — and identified as much with the beleaguered voters of America as the lineup of politicians that preceded her in the program. “You know I hate politics,” she said, before diving into a speech that appealed to both her longtime fans in the Democratic coalition
and a broad audience she’s drawn since leaving the White House and becoming a bestselling author. The president “has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head,” she said. “He cannot meet this moment.” “It is what it is,” Mrs. Obama said — echoing a remark Trump made recently about the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus. Citing the pandemic, the flagging economy, the political unrest that’s broken out nationwide over systemic racism and what she described as America’s lack of leadership on the world stage, Mrs. Obama said the nation is “underperforming not simply on matters of policy, but on matters of character.” In contrast, Mrs. Obama said, Biden is a “profoundly decent man” who “knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country.” She recounted how Biden has prevailed through the personal tragedy of losing his first wife, baby daughter and adult son and said Biden will “channel that same grit and passion to help us heal and guide us forward.”
On being prepared: “We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag dinner and maybe breakfast too, because we’ve got to be willing to stand in line all night if we have to.” On her “go high” motto: Mrs. Obama put an asterisk on her 2016 rallying cry, “When they go low, we go high.” “Let’s be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty. Going high means taking the harder path.” On what young people see: “They see people shouting in grocery stores, unwilling to wear a mask to keep us all safe. They see an entitlement that says only certain people belong here, that greed is good, and winning is everything because as long as you come out on top, it doesn’t matter what happens to everyone else.”
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DN ON SOCIAL THE WEB Elections
GET OUT THE VOTE
ReShonda Tate Billingsley
within days of Election Day. It is imperative that we The United States Postmaster might have sus- have a fully functioning postal service prepared to pended his efforts to make sweeping changes to follow standard delivery times to ensure all votes by the postal service, but Harris County is moving full mail are counted,” the NAACP wrote in a statement. speed ahead with making sure Houstonians votes Hollins said due to the coronavirus pandemic he are counted. is expecting unprecedented use of mail-in ballots. “We are expanding voter access to give voters more Already, his office has sent out nearly 400,000 mailoptions to have their voice heard and cast their votes in-ballot applications to Harris County voters who are safely,” said Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins. “Vot- 65 and older. ing by mail is hands down the safest method to vote “We want our seniors to be safe, and so we took that this November. I encourage all proactive step of sending mail baleligible voters to apply to vote by lot applications to all of our seniors mail and return their application in Harris County,” said Hollins. “It OFFICIAL ELECTION and ballot as soon as possible to remains the safest most convenient WEBSITE Get details and avoid delays.” way to vote, not only for you being deadlines for voting Trump made clear recently that able to sit down at your dinner table in your area he was blocking $25 billion emeror at your sofa to cast your vote www.votetexas.gov/ gency aid to the Postal Service, safely, but also for the other people www.Harrisvotes.com acknowledging he wanted to curtail who are voting in person because election mail operations, as well as that’s one less person in line in front Election date a Democratic proposal to provide of them and one less person who General election - Nov 3 $3.6 billion in additional election they might be exposed to when they Registration money to the states to help process come to vote in person.” deadlines By mail/In person an expected surge of mail-in balHollins added he is in talks with Oct 5 lots. Trump-appointed Postmaster Toyota Center to use the currently Absentee voter General Louis DeJoy immediately empty facility as a polling location to deadlines began removing mailboxes across aid with social distancing and high Application by mail the country and slowing down mail voter turnout. Oct 23 service, prompting outcries. The Plans are already underway to Application in person backlash led DeJoy to announce move Harris County’s election Oct 23 that he would “suspend” several of headquarters to NRG Arena, which Submission by mail his initiatives until after the elecwill also be used as a voting center Nov 3 Submission in person tion “to avoid even the appearance for in-person and drive-thru voting. Nov 3 of impact on election mail.” Hollins reminds voters you do Early voting “We will deliver the nation’s elecnot have to rely on USPS to cast a Begins - Oct 13 tion mail on time,” DeJoy said in a mail-in-ballot. Voters concerned Ends - Oct 30 statement. with mail delays will be able to drop Many leaders, including Hollins, off their marked ballot in-person at as well as the NAACP had vowed any of the County’s eleven offices to fight what they called Trump’s attack on the postal and annexes during business hours, beginning whenservice. ever they receive their ballots and continuing through “We’re working with local postal leaders to ensure Election Day, November 3, at 7:00 PM. your mail ballots are going to be sent through in an “This is the first time in Harris County history efficient way and that they find their way to our office where voters can drop off their marked ballots during and that your voice is heard and that your voice is the Early Voting Period to ensure on-time delivery. going to be counted,” Hollins said. We encourage eligible voters to use this method of “These unprecedented attacks on the Postal Service voting to avoid long lines at voting centers,” Hollins will disenfranchise voters of color, who are already said. “The earlier you apply to vote by mail, the faster more harshly impacted by coronavirus and require my office can mail your ballot to you. Don’t hesitate alternative methods to in-person voting in order to to mail it back to us, but you also have the choice to protect their health and safety. Many states rely on utilize our drop-off locations to return your ballot deadlines for requesting and returning absentee ballots directly.”
This is the latest form of voter suppression in this country and it’s intended to scare us.”
Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins
MAIL-IN BALLOT DROPOFF LOCATIONS Open: Monday – Friday 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM Downtown 201 Caroline St., 3rd Floor Houston, TX 77002 (713) 274-8600 Baytown Annex 701 W. Baker Rd. Baytown, TX 77521 (713) 274-2248 Chimney Rock Annex 6000 Chimney Rock Rd. Houston, TX 77081 (713) 660-7902 Clay Road Annex 16715 Clay Rd. Houston, TX 77084 (832) 927-7230 Clear Lake Annex 16603 Buccaneer Ln. Houston, TX 77062 (281) 486-7250 Cypresswood Annex 6831 Cypresswood Dr. Spring, TX 77379 (832) 927-7290
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Humble Annex 7900 Will Clayton Pkwy. Humble, TX 77338 (281) 540-1173 North Shepherd Annex 7300 N. Shepherd Dr. Houston, TX 77091 (713) 697-5193 Pasadena Annex 101 S. Richey St. Pasadena, TX 77506 (713) 274-6230 South Belt Annex 10851 Scarsdale Blvd. Houston, TX 77089 (281) 464-0115 Wallisville Annex 14350 Wallisville Road, Suite 111 Houston, TX 77049 (713) 274-6925
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS How do I determine if I’m eligible to vote by mail? Must either be 65 years or older, out of the county on Election Day, confined to jail but eligible or sick/disabled, which includes pregnant voters. Can fear of catching Coronavirus make me eligible to vote by mail? The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled that lack of immunity to COVID-19 can be considered as a factor in your health decisions about if voting in person will create this likely of injury to your health. It can’t be the only factor (example, you’re fearful that the
How do I vote by mail? First apply by printing out an application. Then either mail that application in AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, or drop off at one of 11 annex locations.
How can seniors vote? Senior voters who are unable to stand for long periods of time can cast their votes from their vehicles by parking at a handicapped spot. Once parked, they can ring the buzzer available or call the polling location’s number so a staff member can bring out a polling machine to them, per the representative.
How do I register to vote? You can head to your county’s Voter Registrar’s Office. Usually, these are located in the same place as the Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office for your county. You can also download an informal application from the Texas Secretary of State’s Office and mail it to your voter registration office.
When can I expect my ballot? The Harris County Clerk’s Office says ballots will start being mailed out at the end of September. The U.S. Post Office recommends mailing your ballot by Oct. 27, one week before Election Day on Nov. 3.
How do I know if I’m already registered? You should have received a voter registration card in the mail within 30 days of your application. That card will include important information, like your precinct number and the districts and municipalities in which you can vote.
What do I need to register? Anyone who registers to vote in Texas must provide a Texas driver’s license number or personal identification number issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety. If you don’t have either of those, you can provide
virus can complicate your asthma, or other medical issue).
the last four digits of your Social Security number. If you don’t have a Social Security number, you should state that on your application. Check your voter registration status at: Harrisvotes.com See how to walk-through the voting process: https://tinyurl.com/y6nm6h5y
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DN Feature
COVID-19 impact on incarcerated, Blacks probed Defender News Service
Texas Southern University’s Center for Justice Research and the Black Public Defender Association released “Save Black Lives: A Call for Racially-responsive Strategies and Resources for the Black Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” a comprehensive report that details why public health responses and strategies to address COVID-19 must be centered around race and the criminal legal system. “This report unpacks the nested structural reality of racial injustice, disciplinary bias, and the lack of attention directed at the practical needs of the historically disenfranchised,” said Dr. Howard Henderson, founding director of the Center for Justice Research. “Black people are being infected and dying from COVID-19 at alarming rates. They are also overrepresented in carceral systems that increase their risk of exposure to this deadly virus.” The report shows that race-neutral responses to the pandemic within the criminal legal system are ineffective, and how they cause harm to Black communities. Solutions to COVID-19 within the criminal legal system should be developed with the expertise of Black public defenders and justice-oriented researchers, who are closest to the problem of mass incarceration and this pandemic. “The best approach to address the COVID-19 pandemic is not to simply treat it as a disease, but rather as a public health problem, a matter of systemic racism and socioeconomic inequalities, all of which have been entrenched in the American body politic,” said Dr. George K. Kieh, dean of the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs. Key findings & recommendations: • Race-neutral advocacy in criminal legal and public health systems is harmful to Black lives. • Black public defenders and Black researchers play a critical role in advancing equitable policy solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic within the criminal legal system. • The COVID-19 crisis presents an opportunity to fight for decarceration measures that address and reduce racial disparities in the criminal legal system. • Decarceration must be coupled with effective reentry support and services.
Christopher Lumpkin, a custody assistant, poses for a picture at the hospital ward of the Twin Towers jail in Los Angeles. -AP/Chris Carlson
The Rev. Al Sharpton addresses the crowd at a Juneteenth rally in Tulsa, Okla., Friday, June 19, 2020.
SHARPTON PREPARES TO LEAD CIVIL RIGHTS MARCH
Massive event to comply with virus rules Associated Press
Amid widespread protests and unrest over the police killings of Black Americans, a national commemoration of the 1963 civil rights March on Washington is being reconfigured to comply with coronavirus protocols in the District of Columbia. Although many marchers will arrive via charter buses from surrounding communities on Friday, Aug. 28, the Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the organizers, will ask some to join satellite marches planned in states that are considered hot spots for COVID-19. “We’re following protocol,” Sharpton told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview. “The objective is not how many thousands of people will be [in Washington]. It’ll still be a good crowd.” The commemoration, taking place on the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, will begin with a rally at the Lincoln Memorial. Martin Luther King III, a son of the late civil rights icon, attorney Benjamin Crump and the families of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor are expected to participate in Washington. Following the commemorative rally, participants in Washington will march to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in West Potomac Park, next to the National Mall, and then disperse.
All participants will be required to wear masks, Sharpton said. Organizers also will provide hand sanitizing stations and conduct temperature checks throughout the event. “The objective is to put on one platform, in the shadow of Abe Lincoln, the families of people that...have lost loved ones in unchecked racial bias,” Sharpton said. “On these steps, Dr. King talked about his dream, and the dream is unfulfilled. This is the Exhibit A of that not being fulfilled.” The revised plan appears to avoid a potentially awkward faceoff with Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser’s government over COVID-19 restrictions in the nation’s capital. In late July, with local infection numbers rising, Bowser ordered that anyone traveling or returning to Washington from a virus hot spot must self-quarantine for 14 days. The list is revised every two weeks and the newest list, released on Aug. 10, classifies 29 states as hot spots. Bowser, when asked on July 30 about the potential conflict, said government officials had been in contact with march organizers and that Washington would not be relaxing its virus rules for participants. Sharpton’s civil rights group, the National Action Network, is working with its local chapters to hold commemorations in Kentucky, South Carolina and Texas, where outdoor jumbo screens will display a live simulcast of the rally in Washington. All of those states are currently on Washington’s hot spot list. The NAACP, one of several partners in this year’s commemoration, launched a website for a virtual March on Washington. The site will livestream the Washington march, in addition to other programming leading up to and after the event.
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DN Feature
Vaccine trials slow to recruit minorities Defender News Service
The multi-billion-dollar effort to get a coronavirus vaccine on the market could see delays because researchers haven’t recruited sufficient numbers of minorities to join the clinical trials. Of the 350,000 people who’ve registered online for a coronavirus clinical trial, 10% are Black or Latino, according to Dr. Jim Kublin, executive director of operations for the COVID-19 Prevention Network. That’s not nearly enough, as study subjects in trials are supposed to reflect the population that’s affected. Research shows that more than half of U.S. coronavirus cases have been among Black and Latino people. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, gave the Moderna trial, the first in Phase 3 in the United States, a “C” grade for recruiting minorities. “From the first week I saw the numbers, and they were not as encouraging as I would have liked,” Collins said. The stakes are high. Operation Warp Speed, the government’s effort to develop a coronavirus vaccine, says it aims to deliver
More Blacks are needed for vaccine trials. Credit: CNN
300 million doses by January — a speed unheard of in the history of vaccine clinical trials. If not enough Black people and other minorities enroll, the panel of experts who monitor the trials could force a delay until they get the numbers they need. “That’s something that’s been actively discussed,” said Dr. Nelson Michael,
coordinator of community engagement activities for Operation Warp Speed. “There’s a lot of concern.” Michael said several factors have led to the low numbers: historical abuse of Black people in medical experiments like Tuskegee; present racial injustices and health care disparities; and recent social unrest and the financial strain placed on the Black
community by the faltering economy. Black leaders agree that it’s a challenge to recruit Black people into the vaccine trials, especially since it needs to happen very quickly — the first two Phase 3 clinical trials started in late July and expect to finish enrollment in September. “When we Black people hear ‘clinical trials,’ we think ‘we’re not going to be researched on,’ and that’s across economic status and across educational status, not just one sector,” said Renee Mahaffey Harris, president of the Center for Closing the Health Gap in Cincinnati. Moderna and Pfizer, the two US companies currently in Phase 3 trials, won’t reveal how many of their participants are from minority groups. Each trial eventually expects to recruit 30,000 participants. Moderna’s 89 trial sites across the U.S. are “actively working within their local communities to reach a diverse population of volunteers,” said Ray Jordan, a company spokesman. “We hope to achieve a shared goal that the participants in the [vaccine] study are representative of the communities at highest risk for COVID-19 and of our diverse society.”
COVID-19 kills Latinos at disproportionate rates Defender News Service
risk to them.” Local health officials have been scrambling to underShe said another big factor is the uninsured rate. stand reasons for an increase in the number of Latino Nearly 30% of Hispanics in Texas don’t have health deaths from COVID-19. They’ve implemented new insurance, according to the Kaiser Family Founmultilingual in-person outreach prodation, compared to 13% of white grams, where health workers go to flea non-Hispanics. LATINOS markets, food banks or door-to-door to “We had someone reach out to us on educate communities about the virus. social media because they were undocuBut at least 400 Latinos have already mented and the mother was having difTexas population died from COVID-19 in Harris County ficulties breathing and they were scared and Houston. because they were uninsured to go to the Hispanic men have been especially hospital because they couldn’t afford it,” impacted. In the Houston area, they Perez said. COVID-19 fatalities account for 48% of deaths, but 42% of Misinformation is also a problem, *Department of State the adult male population, according to according to Perez, who said rumors Health Services analysis of county and city data. about the virus spread quickly on social One of the driving reasons behind media and that some people may not the numbers is that many Latinos work believe it’s real. essential jobs. She also said undocumented communities may be “They’re frontline workers, so grocery stores, waste especially susceptible to misinformation, since they management, cleaning, sanitation, food delivery,” said already have their guard up. Elizabeth Perez, communications and outreach director “They’re scared to go to a site and get tested when at Harris County Public Health. “So there’s an increased they see a police officer there,” she said, adding that
40% 52%
COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting Latinos in Texas and other states. -AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez
people are worried about information being shared with law enforcement or immigration officials. Hispanics are also more likely to live in multi-generational households where COVID-19 can spread within families.
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DN Feature COVID-19 exposes racism, inequality Defender News Service
“Unmasked,” the National Urban League’s 2020 State of Black America report, addresses what it calls the power and urgency of the moment: “America caught the coronavirus and Black America caught hell.” This is the 44th year the NUL has released the report, which looks at such areas as economics, employment, health and criminal justice. The 2020 report also explores how the coronavirus pandemic revealed the face of racism in America. “Like an earthquake exposes the fault lines in the earth, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fault lines in America’s social and economic institutions,” said National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial. He said that against the “grim backdrop of an exploding public health crisis,” America experienced the tragic death of George Floyd. Morial noted that Floyd’s last words, “I can’t breathe,” became emblematic of more than Floyd’s personal struggle in the moment. “Our reporting revealed the common denominator in the alarming and disproportionate ratio of Black people left gasping for air in emergency rooms and at the hands – and knees – of law enforcement: centuries of systemic racism,” he said. The NUL report includes a partnership with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, which demonstrates that as states began to collect race-based data about the pandemic, a bleak picture emerged: Black, Latino and indigenous people were getting sick and dying in higher numbers. Report essay contributors include civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, political
commentator Van Jones and Black Women’s Health Imperative President and CEO Linda Goler Blount. For more information visit nul.org. Key findings • African Americans and Latinos are more than three times as likely to contract the coronavirus as whites, and African Americans are nearly twice as likely to die. • Essential workers are disproportionately people of color and undervalued. Twenty percent live in poverty and more than 40% rely on public assistance. • Even at record lows, in recent years the Black unemployment rate consistently remained twice as high as the rate for whites. The Black homeownership rate is now as low as it was before the Fair Housing Act.
Abundant Life first lady Saundra Montgomery dies Defender News Services
Dr. Saundra Montgomery, the first lady of Abundant Life Center (Cathedral) and a life coach, author and leadership consultant, died Aug. 10 at age 66. She founded and led the charitable organization You! Woman in the Now/U-WIN. “We ask that you pray for our family at this time,” said her husband, Pastor Ed Montgomery. “…Saundra loved her family deeply. Her ministry to her family birthed her life’s passion of helping teen girls and women around the world. She was a courageous, bold, funny and compassionate first lady to the Abundant Life Center (Cathedral) family.” She was a native of Cleveland, Ohio. She attended the University of Houston and the College of Biblical Studies and received
an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Thomas Christian College. Survivors include two sons, Eddie and Simeon. A daughter, Angela, preceded her in death. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to: Abundant Life Center (Cathedral), P.O. Box 772300, Houston, TX 77215-9973. For information on services visit myalc.org.
Saundra Montgomery
CLASSIFIED Invitation for Bids
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc. is soliciting bids for subcontractors and vendors for construction of TXDOT CSJ: 1685-03-098 on FM 1960 at E of Twigsworth Ln to W of San Jacinto River Bridge that bids on September 4, 2020. Mail, fax, or email quotations to Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc., 1250 S Capital of Texas Hwy, Bldg 1, Suite 200 Austin TX 78746 fax: (512) 707-0798 email: bbiisw@balfourbeattyus.com. DBE/HUB contractors are encouraged to submit bids. Plans and specifications are available to be reviewed at TxDOT Plans On-line: http://bit.do/dBJ5G E.O.E. For information contact Brian Ficzeri at (512) 707-0797.
will be accepting Request for Proposals for the following: Specifications may be secured from The HARRIS CENTER, Purchasing Department located at 9401 SW Freeway, Houston, Texas 77074; telephone (713) 970-7116 and/or via The HARRIS CENTER website www.theharriscenter.org or the Electronic State Business Daily Site https://portal.cpa.state.tx.us/, beginning Tuesday, August 25, 2020. Deadline for prospective vendors to submit questions to this RFP is Tuesday, September 1, 2020. Solicitation documents must be submitted to Purchasing Services, 9401 SW Freeway, Houston, Texas 77074 by 10 A.M., Monday, September 14, 2020 in a sealed envelope marked "RFP FOR CMMS ASSET COLLECTION/PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE SERVICES” - DO NOT OPEN UNTIL – MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 AT 10:00 A.M. Any questions pertaining to this solicitation should be addressed in writing to James Blunt, Buyer II or E-mail questions to james.blunt@theharriscenter.org cc: sharon.brauner@theharriscenter.org., or via fax at (713) 970-7682. Historically Underutilized Businesses, including Minority-Owned Businesses and Women-Owned Businesses, are encouraged to participate. The HARRIS CENTER reserves all rights to reject any and/or all proposals, to waive formalities and reasonable irregularities in submitted documents as it deems to be in its best interests, and is not obligated to accept the lowest proposal.
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS
DOWNTOWN MANAGEMENT DISTRICT 1313 MAIN STREET STANDBY GENERATOR The Houston Downtown Management District (the “Downtown District”) will receive sealed bids for the 1313 Main Street Standby Generator Project, located in Downtown Houston, Texas. Bids will be received until 11:00 AM, local time on Thursday, September 17, 2020 by the Director of Construction, Downtown District. Bids received after this time will not be accepted. Bids are to be delivered to 1313 Main Street Houston, Texas 77002. Beginning Tuesday, at 9:00am on August 18, 2020, Bid Documents will be available at www.civcastusa.com. Any Addenda will be distributed through www.civcastusa.com. Bid Documents may also be viewed online at isqft.com. An ONLINE MANDATORY Pre-bid Conference will be held at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, August 25, 2020. All bidders (general contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers) are invited to attend. Due to COVID-19 and the District’s work safe protocol, all potential bidders who intend to participate in the pre-bid conference and submit bids are required to register their intention by 2:00 p.m. on Monday, August 24, 2020 by email to Brett DeBord, Director of Construction at brett@downtowndistrict.org. Potential bidders are to provide Company Name, Address, and Phone plus (two maximum) Representative Names & Titles, Representative Emails, and Cell Phones. All bidders who register in advance of the pre-bid conference will receive a calendar invitation providing access to the online meeting venue. Bids will be ruled nonresponsive if received from an individual who did not attend the pre-bid conference. Bidders shall comply with City Ordinance 95-336 (March 29, 1995) and Exec. Order No.1-2 (June 14, 1995), and City of Houston Affirmative Action and Contract Compliance Division Minority/Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Procedures (June 1995). The successful Bidder will be required to make good faith efforts to achieve an M/W/DBE participation goal of 20 percent. Beginning August 13, 2020, the District’s procurement for the general contract for this project is advertised in the Houston Business Journal, the Houston Defender, the Southern Chinese Daily News, and the Greater Houston Business Procurement Forum.
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DN Sports Texans receiver Kenny Stills passed his physical and has been moved to the team’s active roster.
The Southland Conference, home to Houston Baptist and Sam Houston State, canceled fall sports due to COVID-19 concerns.
Sports Briefs: Scoring king James Harden won the NBA scoring title for the third straight year after averaging 34.3 points during the interrupted regular season. Harden is just the fourth player since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976 to win the title three consecutive years, joining George Gervin, Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant. He is also just the third player to average more than 34 points in multiple seasons after also averaging 36.1 points during the 2018-19 campaign.
Houston Rockets’ Eric Gordon (10) shoots over Philadelphia 76ers’ Matisse Thybulle (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Aug. 14, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Ashley Landis/AP
ROCKETS GUNNING FOR IT ALL IN PLAYOFFS Terrance Harris
Since the NBA has returned in the form of the Orlando bubble, we’ve heard star guard James Harden boldly predict that this is the year the Rockets will win it all. As absurd as that may sound to some, perhaps Harden is right to feel that way. Even the 8th-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who drew LeBron James and the No. 1-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, have a right to feel that way too. The point is in the unprecedented bubble playoff environment where there is no such thing as home court advantage, no fans and no travel, it seems like anything is possible. So why can’t the Rockets, who opened up the playoffs in the West against Oklahoma City, win it all even with star guard and second-leading scorer Russell Westbrook sidelined for at least the start of the bubble postseason? “I think we have a chance,” said Rockets reserve guard Austin Rivers. “I
don’t know how many times in a guy’s career where they can honestly feel like that. Obviously, right now with Russ being down it makes it a lot harder for us, but we have guys who can step up and we have guys who are really good players who if they were on other teams would probably be starting.” In a neutral court environment that has more of a tournament feel to it, a lot of a team’s success could hinge on who gets hot at the right time. The Rockets have without a doubt the best and most explosive backcourt tandem in the NBA in Harden and Westbrook, which could prove critical in the playoffs. The Rockets also bring the small-ball speed and shooting element that no team seems to be able to match this season. But with 6-foot-5 P.J. Tucker trying to hold it down in the post against the likes of the Thunder’s 7-foot center, the planned mismatches could work against the Rockets. “There are disadvantages that come with that but that’s not what we are focused on,” Rivers said. “We are
focusing on us being able to switch, us not creating too many weak side problems, us being able to play at a certain level speed, spread the floor out. These are things we feel like we have the advantage on. If we execute well it gives us a chance but if we don’t, it won’t.” The real unknown element is how the players will adjust without real fans in the arenas at Disney World. Resolve will play a role, too, with the championship round likely not to end until early October. “Since both teams are dealing with the same thing, I think it’s a competition on the court and once you get started there won’t be any distractions and the team that is more discipline and can stick with it …,” said Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, whose team is up 1-0 after winning against the Thunder in Tuesday night’s opener. “These players are conditioned to play under any conditions. I think once you get started it doesn’t matter. You can play in front of one person or 20,000. It’s going to be great.”
Stepping up With Russell Westbrook and his production perhaps out for a while in the opening playoff series, the Rockets are going to need a lot more from a lot of different players. Eric Gordon will step into Westbrook’s starting spot, but it also means Austin Rivers will have to do even more coming off the bench and perhaps contributing with the first-team unit. “I love moments like this when things get tough and during this time you’ve got to try to play your best every game,” Gordon said. This is a team game where everybody has to play well. That’s what it boils down to.”
NBA boots Houston photographer Houston-area NBA freelance photographer Bill Baptist has been booted from bubble in Orlando after he posted a meme disparaging presumptive Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris shortly after Joe Biden named her as his running mate. The meme read, “Joe and the Hoe.”
17885-PIPC-EN-Houston-TheDefender-9.75x13-F.pdf
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