Houston Style Magazine Vol 32 No 12

Houston Style Magazine March 18 – March 24, 2021

Houston’s Premiere Weekly Publication, Since 1989

Volume 32 | Number 12

H Troy Finner – New Houston Police Chief H

2021 WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH HONORING Houston Women Who Inspire Us

By Jo-Carolyn Goode, Managing Editor

Ashley Small BUSINESS HISTORY MAKER

Winell Herron BUSINESS HISTORY MAKER

Complimentary

Jesse Jackson

Right To Vote Is The Essential Foundation of Democracy

Ashley P. Turner BUSINESS HISTORY MAKER

Stacey Abrams

New Republicans’ Voters Laws Are Really Bad For Americans

Dr. Kathy C. Flanagan BUSINESS HISTORY MAKER

Misha ‘Mimi’ McClure BUSINESS HISTORY MAKER

Ivy Walls BUSINESS HISTORY MAKER

STAY HOME H WORK SAFE CORONAVIRUS – US NUMBERS: Cases: 30,301,478 Deaths: 550,761

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Houston Leaders Speak-Up About Attacks On Asians

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Blue Ivy Carter Wins Her First Grammy

Priscilla T. Graham

Author Releases Historic YMCA Trilogy Book Series

STYLE HAUTE SHOTS

N E W S | C O M M E N TA R I E S | S P O R T S | H E A LT H | E N T E R TA I N M E N T Support Black Owned Businesses

Week of March 15, 2021

1. United Memorial Medical Center, 510 W Tidwell Rd., 77091 | Drive-thru | Healthcare nasal swab | Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. | No appointment required.

2. METRO Addicks Park & Ride, 14230 Katy Fwy, 77079 | Drive-thru | Nose self-swab | Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. | Tuesday, Thursday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | Call 832-393-4220 for access code.

3. Memorial Park Running Trails Center, 7575 N. Picnic Lane, 77007 | Walk-up | Mouth self-swab | Daily: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. | Appointment not required but available via curative.com.

4. Minute Maid Park, Lot C, 2208 Preston St., 77002 | Drive-thru or Walk-up | Mouth self-swab | SaturdayWednesday: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Thursday-Friday: 12 p.m. – 8 p.m. | Appt not required but available at curative.com.

5. University of St. Thomas, 3800 Montrose Blvd, 77006 | Walk-up |Nose self-swab | Diario: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Appointment not required but available via curative.com.

6. Miller Outdoor Theater, 6000 Hermann Park Dr., 77030 | Walk-up | Mouth self-swab | Daily: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Appointment not required but available via curative.com.

7. LeRoy Crump Stadium, 12321 Alief Clodine Rd, 77082 | Drive-thru | Healthcare nasal swab | MondayFriday: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Appointment not required but available via texas.spartancovidtesting.com.

8. Houston Metro West, 11555 Westpark Dr, 77082 | Walk-up | Mouth self-swab | Daily: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Appointment not required but available via curative.com.

9. PlazAmericas, 7500 Bellaire Blvd, 77036 | Drive-thru | Healthcare nasal swab | Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. | No appointment required.

10. Southwest Multi-Service Center, 6400 High Star Dr, 77074 | Drive-thru | Nose self-swab | MondaySaturday: 10 a.m.—7 p.m. | Registration available onsite or online via doineedacovid19test.com.

11. Aramco Services Company, 9009 West Loop South, 77096 | Drive-thru | Nose self-swab | Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. | Tuesday, Thursday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | Call 832-393-4220 for access code.

12. Fountain of Praise Church, 14083 S Main Street, 77035 | Drive-thru | Nose self-swab | March 16-20: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | Call 832-393-4220 for access code.

13. Houston Community College - Southeast Campus, 6815 Rustic, St., 77087 | Drive-thru | Healthcare nasal swab | Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. | No appointment required.

14. Charlton Community Center, 8200 Park Place Blvd., 77017 | Walk-up | Nose self-swab | March 1620: 9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. | Call 832-393-4220 for access code.

15. Multicultural Center, 951 Tristar Dr, Webster, 77598 | Drive-thru | Nose self-swab | Tuesday-Saturday: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. | Call 832-393-4220 for access code.

Rev: 03/14/21 5:50 p.m.

Rev: 11/09/20 11:15 a.m.

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

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President Joe Biden Promised 100 Million COVID-19 Vaccination Shots In His First 100 Days 4

President – Joe Biden

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN www.BuildBackBetter.gov

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

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COMMENTARY

Right To Vote Is Essential Foudation of Democracy

By Jesse Jackson, National Political Writer

he right to vote is the essential foundation of democracy. Yet today, across America, there is a systematic campaign by one party to curtail the right to vote, targeted particularly at minorities and the young. As the Brennan Center for Justice reports, Republicans have introduced more than 250 legislative bills in 43 states that would make voting more difficult.

The campaign is propelled by the big lie spread by Donald Trump that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. Republicans claim to be intent on restoring people’s confidence in the election system. In fact, Trump’s lies were refuted by state Republican election officials, by federal courts, many presided over by Trump-appointed judges, and by Trump’s own attorney general. Republican senators and legislators and elected state officials do not question the legitimacy of their victories. Yet they are now using Trump’s big lie as the rationale for suppressing the right to vote.

Many of the legislative changes are surgically targeted to impact black and minority voters. In Georgia, for example, Republicans are pushing legislation to limit early in-person voting days, to end no excuse mail voting (except for voters over 65, who tend to vote Republican), and to limit the hours that mail ballot drop boxes will be open. They even seek to end Sunday in-person voting in the weeks leading up to the election, to curtail the “souls to the polls” efforts by Black churches to encourage civic participation.

Georgia election officials notoriously cut the number of polling stations, particularly in Fulton County where black voters are concentrated.

That forced voters to wait for hours in

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long lines to cast a vote. That, of course, made it more difficult for workers and those who were ailing to vote. Now to make it even harder, Republican legislators seek to prohibit volunteers from giving water and food to those waiting in line. Lines themselves are a national disgrace. The ban on water and food is an offense against basic decency.

Sadly, in America, the right to vote has always been contested. The Founders limited the right to vote to male property owners; neither women nor, needless to say, slaves could vote. It took massive struggles - and eventually a Civil War - to end slavery and gain the right to vote for African Americans. But almost immediately, across the South, the Confederate establishment erected Jim Crow laws to enforce segregation and devised a range of tactics - from poll taxes, to rigged exams to plain violent intimidation to keep African Americans from voting. One of first objectives of the civil rights movement was passage of the Voting Rights Act, mandating federal protection of the right to vote, and prior review of changes that would discriminate against African Americans.

Today’s Republicans - the modern-day Confederates - are brazen in their efforts to ensure that only the “right” people vote. The gang of five right-wing justices on the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, opening the floodgates to discriminatory state restrictions. The election in 2022 will be the first post-census election since the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. And Republicans are once more intent on making it harder for minorities to vote.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed essential legislation - HR 1, the For the People Act - to provide

March 18 – March 24, 2021

federal standards to elections to federal office. HR1 (labeled S1 in the Senate) would provide for automatic voter registration and same-day voter registration.

It would mandate a minimum of 15 days for early voting, with polls open at least 10 hours per day so that workers might have a chance to vote. It would limit purges of voting rolls. It requires nonpartisan citizen commissions to do redistricting after a new census. It would require super PACs and “dark money” operations to disclose their donors.

It would provide matching grants for small donations, reducing the force of big money in our elections.

These are simply common-sense standards for a clean election system.

Yet Republicans furiously denounce them, and Senate Republicans promise to filibuster against the act, blocking its passage unless Democrats can unify around suspending the filibuster in order to allow the majority to pass it.

Over the last years, America has become increasingly polarized politically. But democracy - and the right to vote - must be above partisanship.

There ought to be universal support for creating an election system that makes

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voting easy, limits big money, and requires nonpartisan redistricting. It is shameful that the efforts to suppress the vote of African Americans and others that were perfected under segregation are being revived in a new guise in the 21st century.

Americans must mobilize to demand that the Senate pass HR1 to protect the right to vote. And whether it passes or not, African Americans, Latinos, the young should see the efforts to suppress their vote as the insult that it is.

And we should mobilize to vote in large numbers - overcoming whatever barriers are put in our way - to reaffirm our democratic rights - and to hold accountable those who would try to trample them.

Follow him on at: Twitter @RevJJackson Share this story online at:

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

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Texas Republicans’ Voters Discriminatory Bill – SB7 By www.StyleMagazine.com – Newswire

Judge – Lina Hidalgo

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newly proposed bill – SB7 introduced in the Texas Senate this week marked as a priority from the Texas Governor Greg Abbott would ban voting measures Harris County implemented or attempted to implement in 2020.

Six of the State Affairs committee’s nine members are co-sponsors of the bill.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has spent 22,000 hours looking for voter fraud and uncovered just 16 cases of voter registration forms that contained false addresses, according to The Houston Chronicle.

Texas – the second-most populous state in the US – has more than 16 million registered voters. The office has discovered 100 voter fraud cases, since 2005.

GOP – sponsored bills in Texas would purge voter rolls, add more layers to voter ID laws, shrink mail-in voting periods, and shut-

ter early voting and mail-in voting sites.

Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis Issues Statement on SB7

“Senate Bill 7 is a voter suppression bill, plain and simple. It pulls straight from the Jim Crow playbook, targeting communities of color to silence their voices.

“In 2020, Harris County garnered national praise for our innovative approaches, which brought out a record-breaking number of voters. We should be pushing forward with these initiatives to expand access to the ballot box, not turning back the clock to the era of poll taxes, literacy tests, and other bogus excuses to keep people from voting in the name of so-called ‘integrity.’

“We had a historically clean election in November. Governor Abbott, Republican legislators, and

Commissioner – Rodney Ellis

anyone who supports this bill is not trying to protect our democracy, they are just trying to protect their own power. This bill attacks our fundamental voting rights, and we cannot let it stand.

“I urge our residents to call their legislators and let their state representatives know that voter suppression belongs in the Jim Crow Era, not in 2021.”

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo Statement on SB7

“You reap what you sow. These attacks on voting rights in Texas and across the south must be stopped. Regardless, the attempts to suppress our voice will only serve to embolden us. We’ve see it in Georgia. Texans don’t like being pushed around either.

We’ll remember in 2022.”

www.HarrisVotes.com

America Should Listen To Stacey Abrams’ Warnings About ‘Racist’ Election Laws “Jim Crow Laws, Now In A Business Suit”

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By Stephen Collinson www.CNN.com / www.StyleMagazine.com

tacey Abrams’ stark warning about Georgia’s new election bill being racist is shining a spotlight on a nationwide battle over whose voices will be heard at the ballot box, as Republicans around the country try to suppress voting rights.

The Georgia Democrat’s comments on CNN Sunday come amid a building showdown over GOP efforts to make voting harder in multiple states following former President Donald Trump’s loss and his lies about ballot fraud, and Washington Democrats’ vast federal election and civil rights bill that would counter such efforts. Flurries of bills have been introduced in the key battleground states that decided the 2020 election and were the focus of Trump’s attempts to undermine it, but Republicans are also ramping up in Texas and other strongholds that Democrats have lately tried to challenge.

Abrams, the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Georgia and a voting rights activist who helped President Joe Biden become the first Democrat in nearly three decades to carry the state, has been in the trenches, getting people out to exercise a right that is again under threat.

The clashes over who can vote, where and when could define the future of America’s political system and therefore represents one of the most important issues currently before the country. Many of the disputes between Republicans and Democrats concern rules and procedures that were introduced to make voting -- the core and vital bedrock of a democratic system -- easier and more universal amid the

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

pandemic.

Abrams was asked about Georgia state bills that would end automatic voter registration and limit voting by mail and Sunday voting, all steps that experts say disproportionately target Black voters who tend to vote for Democrats.

“I do absolutely agree that it’s racist. It is a redux of Jim Crow in a suit and tie,” Abrams told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union,” referring to historic state and local laws that institutionalized racism and segregation in the 19th and 20th centuries.

“The only connection that we can find is that more people of color voted and it changed the outcome of elections in a direction Republicans do not like,” Abrams said, referring to recent elections in Georgia that helped President Joe Biden win the White House, handed Democrats control of a 50-50 Senate and delivered the only red-to-blue House district flip that wasn›t because of redistricting.

Efforts to curtail Sunday voting particularly target Black voters. The Christian Sabbath is traditionally important to Democrats as African American churches organize voter drives after weekly services.

Attempts to shorten voting hours, meanwhile, often lead to long waits that are likely to depress turnout in cities where Democratic voters live.

Abrams, the former state House minority leader who’s regarded as a likely 2022 gubernatorial candidate, is not the only key political figure in the Peach State to condemn the bills moving through the state house. Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan

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Stacey Abrams agreed that the bills deliberately target Black voters.

“I’m very sensitive to that,” Duncan said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“There (are) a lot of solutions in search of a problem. Republicans don’t need election reform to win. We need leadership,” Duncan said. “I think there’s millions of Republicans waking up around the country that are realizing that Donald Trump’s divisive tone and strategy is unwinnable in forward-looking elections.”

A FLURRY OF VOTER SUPPRESSION

Georgia is not alone in seeing a fight to define election laws for political advantage.

In Texas, a new Republican bill seeks to limit who can vote by mail. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott plans to hold a news conference on what he calls “election integrity” on Monday. Republicans in Arizona, which Trump lost narrowly to Biden, are seeking to restrict the vote-by-mail system and cut back on early voting. Iowa’s Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has already signed a new bill that makes it harder to vote early. Many of these efforts appear to be attempts to make life more difficult for diverse electorates that tend to favor Democrats.

These efforts are taking place against the volatile backdrop of once-in-a-decade redrawing of CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

“Jim Crow Laws, Now In A Business Suit”

JIM CROW LAWS were a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation. Named after a Black minstrel show character, the laws—which existed for about 100 years, from the post-Civil War era until 1968—were meant to marginalize African Americans by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education or other opportunities. Those who attempted to defy Jim Crow laws often faced arrest, fines, jail sentences, violence and death. congressional districts, which is always a fraught process and will be especially divisive this time around after Trump’s single term left the country and its state and local politicians even more polarized.

Trump’s false claims about vote fraud in 2020 are meanwhile already shaping the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 presidential vote. The former President is using his vast popularity in his party to effectively condition his endorsement on candidates accepting his false version of reality. At the Conservative Political Action Conference last month, Trump demanded citizen tests for ballot access, said voting should only take place on Election Day and said independent judges should be barred from adjudicating voting disputes.

“The Republicans have to do something about it,” Trump said. In support of the ex-President, 145 Republican lawmakers in Washington -- including a majority of the House GOP conference -- refused to vote to certify Biden’s victory, despite there being no evidence of voter fraud or widespread irregularities in November. Thus, large swathes of the Republican Party, which once touted its triumph over communism in the Cold War, have now turned against American democracy itself. This scenario is the reason why many voting rights campaigners consider the coming months vital for the preservation of the most fundamental right of a citizen -- voting. It also explains why the fight to save American democracy, which was left reeling but intact by Trump’s presidency -- will go on even though the former President has left office.

REPUBLICANS SAY VOTERS HAVE LOST CONFIDENCE IN THE SYSTEM

National and local Republicans justify their push to restrict access to the ballot by arguing that after the last presidential vote, millions of Americans have lost confidence in the process. But those doubts are largely fueled by a campaign of lies by Trump and the conservative media about the last election, which were abetted by many GOP office holders who helped stir the hysteria that incited the deadly US Capitol insurrection.

Trump’s claims were rejected by multiple judges and refuted by his own Justice Department,

which means that this effort by Republicans, who have failed to win the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections but have nevertheless controlled the Senate for long periods and built conservative dominance on the Supreme Court, looks like an attempt to use election laws to enshrine minority rule.

Democrats view their best chance to fight back as H.R. 1, or the «For the People Act,» a huge voting rights bill that has already passed the Democraticcontrolled House and is awaiting action in the Senate.

The measure is at the center of controversy as some Democrats argue that its importance justifies either the removal or the modification of filibuster rules that allow minority Republicans to kill major legislation by requiring a 60-vote supermajority.

Abrams argued on “State of the Union” that a total overhaul of the filibuster, which Biden and several moderate Democrats oppose, is not necessary to get the bill through the Senate.

“I don’t believe that it’s necessary to wholly eliminate the filibuster to accomplish the purposes of passing these bills,” Abrams said, suggesting a similar carveout from the filibuster as applies to confirming Cabinet and Supreme Court nominees. Abrams also rejected Republican claims that H.R. 1 represents an unlawful power play by liberals that crushes state power.

“The elections clause in the Constitution guarantees that the Congress alone has the power to regulate the time, manner and place of elections. That is a power that is sacrosanct,” Abrams said.

The “For the People Act” takes the opposite approach to most of the Republican electoral bills in the states. It would create automatic voter registration nationwide, expand voting by mail and reverse restrictions on voting hours imposed by states. The bill would end partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts -- the practice of drawing seats that has protected incumbents and tended to radicalize both parties in Washington. It also requires organizations to disclose the names of all their big donors and introduces new security measures to protect American elections following assaults on the process by foreign powers.

In another change to campaign finance practices for congressional elections, the measure would also give federal candidates as much as a 6-to-1 match of pub-

Stacey Yvonne Abrams is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights

activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, serving as minority leader from 2011 to 2017 www.StyleMagazine.com

lic funds for small donations to spur more grassroots giving.

ABBOTT THREATENS LEGAL BATTLE

Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn on Sunday blasted the “For the People Act” as a “hijacking of state and local election laws.”

“This is a power grab. It’s that simple,” Cornyn said on “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox News, urging moderate Democrats to intervene to stop a gutting of the filibuster rules.

“A lot of this is going to depend on how strong people (are) like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, two senators who said they oppose eliminating the requirement of 60 votes in order to pass things in the Senate,” Cornyn said, referring to Democrats from West Virginia and Arizona.

When the bill passed the House, Oklahoma GOP Rep. Tom Cole argued against it by saying that it would federalize elections in a way that was not consistent with the republican structure of the country and said its changes to campaign finance law would amount to a “federally funded campaign ATM.” Abbott, who is calling for new measures to tighten mail-in ballot procedures, plans to hold his news conference on Monday alongside state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, who is a co-sponsor of bills that would require more extensive documentation for voter registration and require uniformity on voting hours and days for all Texas counties. Such moves could centralize power in Austin and take discretion away from jurisdictions like Harris County -- a key Democratic stronghold around Houston -- to set their own voting hours and other balloting rules.

Also speaking on Fox News on Sunday, Abbott warned that if the “For the People” Act passes the Senate, the vote would only mark a new phase of the battle to control how and when America votes.

“Before I was governor, I was the attorney general of Texas. And when the Obama administration tried doing things like this, I filed 31 lawsuits against the Obama administration,” Abbott said, before making a series of unproven claims that mail-in voting is “one of the easiest ways to cheat in elections.”

“The strongest tool that we have is the litigation tool,” Abbott said, raising the eventual prospect that a conservative Supreme Court -- led by Chief Justice John Roberts, who has a long been willing to challenge voting rights laws -- could have the final say on the fight to preserve American democracy.

www.HarrisVotes.com March 18 – March 24, 2021

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IRS, Treasury Has Disbursed 90 Million Economic Impact Payments From The American Rescue Plan By www.StyleMagazine.com – Newswire

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oday, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service announced they disbursed approximately 90 million Economic Impact Payments from the American Rescue Plan. As announced last week, Economic Impact Payments are rolling out in tranches to millions of Americans in the coming weeks.

The first batch of payments were mostly sent by direct deposit, which some recipients started receiving this past weekend. As of today, all recipients of this first batch of direct deposit payments will have access to their funds. Here is additional information on this first batch of payments: · These payments began processing

on Friday, March 12. Some Americans saw the direct deposit payments as pending or as provisional payments in their accounts before today’s official payment date.

· The first batch of payments pri-

more than 35 million people have received their stimulus payment status through the “Get My Payment” tool on IRS.gov, which is updated on a regular basis as updated information is available.

marily went to eligible taxpayers who provided direct deposit information on their 2019 or 2020 returns, including people who don’t typically file a return but who successfully used the Non-Filers tool on IRS.gov last year.

these payments means that they are being delivered remarkably faster than would otherwise be possible. · While the majority of payments

approximately 90 million payments, which are valued at more than $242 billion.

were delivered by direct deposit, which reach individual taxpayers more quickly than paper checks, Treasury mailed roughly 150,000 checks worth approximately $442 million.

· The use of direct deposit to issue

· Finally, since this past weekend,

· In total, this first batch included

Amanda Edwards, Founder Of Be The Solution Announces Virtual Event To Empower Women Empowering Women During Womens History Month By www.StyleMagazine.com – Newswire

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ormer Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards’ new 501(c)(3) organization - Be The Solution: Community Empowerment Organization will host the virtual event: “An Evening of Women’s Empowerment: The 2021 Women’s Renaissance” to take place on Tuesday, March 30 from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. in honor of Women’s History Month.

This free event, which is in partnership with the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce, WatchHerWork, Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance, Women’s Masters Network, and SocialMama, will be an unforgettable evening of panel discussions and empowering talks from inspirational women

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

including: Mayor Annise Parker (President & CEO, Victory Fund), A’shanti Gholar (President, Emerge America), Emily Cain (Executive Director of Emily’s List), Mikaila Ulmer (Founder, Me & the Bees Lemonade), Shauna Clark (Global & US Chair of Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP), Suzan Deison (CEO & Founder of the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce), Denise Hamilton (CEO & Founder of WatchHerWork), Amanda Ducach (Co-founder, SocialMama), Pastor Juanita Rasmus (Author & Co-Pastor of St. John’s Church), and Royce Brooks (Executive Director, Annie’s List), Candace Valenzuela (Former Candidate for Texas Congressional District

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Additional batches and payments will be sent in the coming weeks by direct deposit and through the mail as a check or debit card. The vast majority of all Economic Impact Payments will be issued by direct deposit. No action is needed by most taxpayers; the payments are automatic and, in many cases, similar to how people received their first and second round of Economic Impact Payments in 2020.

Individuals can check the Get My Payment tool on IRS.gov to see the payment status of these payments.

Additional information on these Economic Impact Payments, along with a fact sheet of frequently asked questions, is available:

www.IRS.gov

24), Hami Arrington (President, Women’s Masters Network), April Day (President, Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance), Mary Grace Landrum (Former Spring Branch ISD Trustee), and Terri B. Williams (Author, Find Your Fire).

“2020 showed us is that people everywhere are in need of inspiration, light and empowerment.

An Evening of Women’s Empowerment will feature women who have blazed trails in business and in the community, and will remind our participants to ensure that they are whole as they pursue their dreams. We want every woman to tap into their own potential and embrace that 2021 can be the year of the Women’s Renaissance in a variety of ways. Every woman in attendance regardless of age, race, education or profession, will leave this virtual event with the inspiration and motivation to dream their boldest dream and overcome anything to accomplish it.”

About Be The Solution: Community Empowerment Organization

The mission of this 501(c)(3) organization is to encourage, engage, equip, educate and empower residents to “be the solution” in their respective communities. Amanda Edwards founded Be The Solution: Community Empowerment Organization to continue the empowerment work she did while serving as an At-Large Houston City Council Member. Be The Solution: Community Empowerment Organization will offer tailored programming to support and empower senior citizens, women and more. Earlier this month, the organization has hosted successful disaster relief efforts, such as its homebound senior citizen food & water drop off in response to the Texas winter storms.

Meeting 1 - March 2, 2020: 10 am-11:30 am https://www.eventbrite.com/e/h-e-b-quest-for-texasbest-informational-meeting-1-of-3-registration-139570090899 Meeting 2 - March 10, 2020: 1 pm-2:30 pm https://www.eventbrite.com/e/h-e-b-quest-for-texasbest-informational-meeting-2-of-3-registration-139571946449 Meeting 3 - March 11, 2020: 10 am-11:30 am https://www.eventbrite.com/e/h-e-b-quest-for-texasbest-informational-meeting-3-of-3-registration-139572981545

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

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Houston Style Magazine

HONORING Houston Women Who Inspire Us

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By Jo-Carolyn Goode, Managing Editor – www.StyleMagazine.com

person can be inspired by anything from anywhere. Inspiration can fuel our actions, thoughts, feelings, and takes us on a journey toward success. The

women featured in this week’s cover story inspire little ones growing up but also adults in their various fields of expertise. We can learn from their missteps and act wisely based

on their accomplishments. We can get behind causes to motivate the masses due to their influence. Read their stories and see if they can inspired you.

Ashley Small BUSINESS HISTORY MAKER Founder and Chief Executive Officer Medley, Inc. PR and Digital Marketing

Winell Herron BUSINESS HISTORY MAKER Group V.P. Of Public Affairs, Diversity & Inclusion H-E-B Food Stores

Ashley P. Turner BUSINESS HISTORY MAKER Executive Director, Community Relations Lone Star College

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e know way too much information about each other thanks to social media. Every person has at least one social media account and it is a must-have for all in business. Plus, it is the place where Ashley Small lives.

In 2005, Small was a fresh face wanting to jump all the way into the communication field. She got her start as intern with Jones Magazine while simultaneously building her side hustle until it became her main gig. Small started her business right when social media was gaining popularity in 2007. The twenty-four-year wanted to be her own boss by launching her own pr and digital marketing agency, Medley Inc. Her mission was to marry traditional PR with the latest trends in technology. Hire Small and her team to showcase brand visibility, develop the voice of your brand, and expand those two messages across the world. She will work with anyone and any brand that wants to get their message out, especially to African America and Latino consumers. Thirteen years later Small’s business is thriving. As founder and CEO Small’s client list includes Major League Baseball, AT&T, The City of Houston, The Rose Houston, MOCAH (Museum of Cultural Arts Houston), Belle Epique Salon and Makeup Bar, Melodrama Boutique, Houston-based publishing house, AddisonCraft, and pop-soul artist Deandre Wright.

She believes her success is attributed to the hard work she has put and the advice of mentors. Small thinks everyone needs a coach or mentor because they always have information that can help you.

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

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s the youngest of eight, Winell Herron knows how to work with a team. She is H-E-B’s group vice president of public affairs, diversity, and environmental affairs where she interacts with consumers and H-E-B’s 116,000 employees. It is a demanding job and has kept her busy for the last 33 years. Yet, she always makes time to give back.

Serving the community is a major priority for Herron. She sits on the board and/or works with a plethora of organizations including: March of Dimes, the Houston Museum of African American Culture, the Houston Zoo, Ensemble Theater, Community Artists’ Collective, the University of Incarnate Word, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, Texas Lyceum, MD Anderson Board of Visitors, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Houston, Links, Incorporated – Houston Chapter, Houston Area Urban League, Girl Scouts of the San Jacinto Council, the Texas NAACP Corporate Advisory Council, and the American Leadership Forum and the Medical Indigent Care in Texas Taskforce. On these boards, she works to make sure values of diversity are forefront. On these boards Herron can be a part of the solutions to make changes to make everything better for the people she serves.

Herron is a native of Texas, growing up just on the outskirts of Austin on a dairy farm. So it seems working in the food industry was her destiny. Helping her father on the farm allowed her to develop a good work ethic. She has been educated at the University of Texas at Austin, earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration; the University of Texas at San Antonio, earning her EMBA, and the University of Southern California, completing the Food Industry Management Program.

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er life went from private citizen to public figure when her father became the 62nd mayor for the city of Houston. As Houston’s First Daughter, Turner fulfills many roles traditional done by the spouse of the mayor. She has given many speeches, received awards, attended community functions, and performed numerous hours of community service. A constant professional and joy to be around, it is as if Turner has been preparing for this role her entire life.

Being in the spotlight like Turner requires that you are always “on” meaning your hair is impeccable, your attire is eye drooling, your accessories sparkle, and everything about you is well-put together. This can be a real struggle but, Turner makes it look effortless.

Brighter than anything that she can put on is her smile.

It is a woman’s best accessory, and I might also add so is confidence.

Looking at Turner and you can tell she exudes self-love and self-confidence. She is a big proponent of women having a positive self-image of themselves.

Just reading some of her posts ought to make women feel loved. On one post Turner writes about how she is striving to be the kind of woman that can look at herself in the mirror, see all of her flaws and failures, and still say I love myself. This is how Turner inspires the women of Houston by not allowing anyone still the shine she has created.

Currently, the newly engaged Turner is the Executive Director of Community Relations at Lone Star College. It is a job that she loves because it allows her to be out in the community engaging students and families. Helping people is embedded in Turner’s DNA. Growing Turner she can recall countless times when she would lend her services, and she hasn’t stopped now.

Houston Style Magazine

HONORING Houston Women Who Inspire Us

Dr. Kathy C. Flanagan BUSINESS HISTORY MAKER Chair, Medical Care Subcommittee For Mayor Turner Health Equity Response Task Force

W

hen Dr. Kathy Flanagan was a little girl, she knew she wanted to be a medical doctor. However, she didn’t know what type. That is until she saw a scripture in the Holy Bible. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Flanagan said reading Proverbs 4:23 changed her forever.

“Be care how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.”

Upon reading those words, Flanagan knew she wanted to work with those dealing with their mental health. It is a field of medicine that affects the way a person acts, feels, and thinks.

Flanagan began her pursuit to be a doctor with a specialty in psychiatry, a field that does not have many African Americans. She first started working in the industry while she was still in high school. She went on to earn her medial degree and been practicing psychiatry for over 30 years.

Mayor Sylvester Turner realized how a doctor like Flanagan could help residents in Houston He appointed her to be chair of the Medical Care Subcommittee on the Health Equity Response Task Force. Currently, she is having critical conversations surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines in a campaign called Get the Facts. Share the Facts. Stop the Rumors.

Many communities of color have been hit disproportionately hard by COVID-19. Flanagan is on a team to help address people’s concerns about the various historic and cultural factors. This campaign is in support of the Houston Health Department’s “Take Your Best Shot – Prevent and Protect Against COVID-19” PSA campaign.

Flanagan is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. She has also received several gubernatorial appointments. President George W. Bush appointed her to presiding officer of the Private Sector Prison Industry Oversight Authority Board. In addition, Governor Rick Perry appointed Dr. Flanagan to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments-Advisory Committee and to the Texas Medical Board, District One Committee.

Misha ‘Mimi’ McClure BUSINESS HISTORY MAKER Manager of External Communications Comcast Houston

T

alking is Misha McClure’s game. Whether it is forming partnerships for Comcast as the Manager of External Communications, promoting her lipstick line Color Me By Chaun and Mimi, or chatting about the latest fashion trends on her blog, Mimi is a conversationalist and she loves it. Since she was in the fifth grade Mimi, as she likes to be called, has had a love to communicate.

Her current professional role with Comcast involves brand building to inform the community about the many ways that Comcast is addressing their cable needs and making things better in the community.

Trained through many of Comcast’s internal programs, McClure is Comcast made and it shows. She is a graduate of the companies 2017 cohort of Comcast’s high potential development program: Developing a Leadership Mindset (DLM), and she also participated in and graduated from the Women in Cable Telecommunications Inspire Mentor Program, an intensive and selective mentorship cohort.

It is not all business for McClure when it comes to communicating. Merging her love of journalism with her sense of fashion and beauty, she has a popular blog fashionablymimi.com, YouTube channel “According to Mimi,” and lipstick line with her sister – Color Me By Chaun and Mimi.

The Louisiana native made Houston her home in 2002 and has garnered a treasure chest full of accolades, including being featured in Health and Fitness Magazine (2011) as one of Houston’s Most Beautiful Women, she received a Top 40 Under 40 Award from i10Media (2013 and 2016), she was a TWEF Women’s Leadership Empowerment Honoree (2015), and she was apart of the Inaugural 40 Under Forty cohort for the Southern University Alumni Federation National Conference where she was honored for pushing the mission of the University.

In her few moments of spare time, she volunteers in the community and enjoys family time with her husband and son.

All of this makes up Misha McClure – media professional, community advocate, and brand strategist.

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Ivy Walls BUSINESS HISTORY MAKER Owner and Operator Ivy Leaf Farms

unnyside is an area in Houston that has been named the #1 most dangerous community in Texas and the 6th most dangerous in America.

It was not dangerous because of drugs or crime but because the area was a food desert. Living in an area where there is a lack of resources and access to fresh produce made the neighborhood even more dangerous to residence’s health. Instead of eating fruits and vegetables, people opt to eat food high in calories with little nutritional value.

Ivy Walls is a resident of that community.

Daily she saw how her neighbors craved fresh produce in their diet. Desperate to help her neighbors have healthier food options, she created Green Houwse, a mobile nursery and grocery store to get the produce in the hands of her neighbors. Walls started Ivy Leaf Farms shortly thereafter. The budding farmer started small at first sharing the fruits of her labor with her community. Word quickly spread throughout the community and Walls had herself a business.

The creative community farm is a space for the growth of sustainable healthy foods to end food scarcity in the area. In doing so, Walls also created ways for residents to have opportunities to grow, develop and have healthy and sustainable food sources.

Walls calls herself a budding farmer, community entrepreneur, and creative visionary. She might want to add serial entrepreneur. Several other businesses sprouted from the establishment of Ivy Leaf Farms. According to her Facebook page, Walls also owns Ivy Leaf Outdoors, a practical, fashionable, outdoors brand that has functionality from the farm to the city. She also owns Ivy Leaf Seed Co. This company is dedicated to produce Non-GMO organic seeds. Lastly, Black Farmer Box is a partnership with her farm and with Fresh Life Organic to create a sustainable, equitable, and affordable food system from farmers to food desert communities.

Walls calls herself a budding farmer, community entrepreneur, and creative visionary.

However, a better description of her is that she is a change agent. She is a woman of action. People like Walls are those who see a problem and act to find the solution.

March 18 – March 24, 2021

11

Mayor Turner On Asian Attacks Mayor Turner Appoints Troy Finner As New Police Chief

Houston Mayor Responds To The Hate Crimes Against Asian American Pacific Islanders Communities

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By www.StyleMagazine.com – Newswire

t my request, the Houston Police Department is increasing patrols beginning today near homes and businesses in Houston’s Asian community. We are taking these steps following the violence in Atlanta and acts of hate against Asian-Americans nationwide.

HPD assures me that there are no credible threats in Houston, nor has our city experienced an increase in hate crimes reported against Asian-Americans. However, I understand that many of our neighbors are concerned and fearful for their safety.

Houston’s Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is beloved throughout the city. They operate successful businesses, support local initiatives, and assist with resources following every disaster – from donations of food and masks during the pandemic to financial contributions to aid recovery after Harvey and other natural disasters.

The shooting that claimed the lives of the AAPI women in Atlanta is an unspeakable tragedy. The spike in hate crimes across the country against the AAPI community is alarming and must

C

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner

end. As mayor and as a Houstonian, I want you to know that I stand with you in grief and solidarity.

It is not enough to condemn these acts of violence against Asian-Americans and hold the victims’ families in our hearts. We must act to protect them. I am calling on all Houstonians to recognize our AAPI brothers and sisters’ pain and fear and do what you can to ease those feelings. Please do your part to make them feel safe, whether it’s by reporting a hate crime or calling out anti-Asian sentiment when you see it.

There Is NO Place For Hate Representative Gene Wu Responds To Hate Crimes Against Asian American Communities

S

By www.StyleMagazine.com – Newswire

tate Representative Gene Wu responds to hate crimes against Asian American communities.

There have been nearly 3,800 instances of discrimination reported against Asian Americans in the past year and many more are not being reported. The Mexican American Legislative Caucus stands with Representative Wu in support of HCR 66 Condemning Violence and Hate Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in Texas.

“There is no place for hate in our communities. We must immediately stand in solidarity with our Asian communities to condemn any form of hate, violence, or discrimination. We are seeing an alarming spike of hate crimes against our neighbors, with many more going unreported because of fear and intimidation.”

“Only two days ago here in Texas, a Taiwanese restaurant was vandalized with anti-Asian graffiti.

And yesterday, six Asian women were murdered in Atlanta. Words matter and the rhetoric of fear that people hear has a

12

Texas Rep. – Gene Wu

By www.StyleMagazine.com – Newswire

hief Finner began his career with the Houston Police Department in 1990 and has worked in every aspect of the department, serving the citizens of Houston in the Office of Public Affairs, Southwest Division, South Gessner Division, and the Internal Investigation Command.

Chief Finner has also worked as Assistant Chief of South Patrol Command.

As Executive Chief, Finner oversees the HPD Field & Support Operations, which includes responsibility for three patrol region commands and one support command encompassing 15 patrol divisions, the Traffic Enforcement Division, Emergency Communications Division, Mental Health Division, and the Gang Division. His oversight encompasses approximately 3,550 classified and sworn personnel and 230 civilian support staff.

“Executive Assistant Chief Finner is highly regarded in the Houston Police Department and has earned the trust and respect of our diverse community. He possesses a style of leadership best described as quiet with a strong demeanor,” said Mayor Turner.

“He has never hesitated to lead from the front during major events, civil unrest, and protests. He embraces the use of technology and data-driven analysis in the reduction of crime.”

Troy Finner was born in Houston’s 5th Ward, raised in Hiram Clarke, and graduated from Madison High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Sam

Houston State University and a Master of Criminal Justice from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

“I am grateful to Mayor Turner for this opportunity to lead the men and women of the Houston Police Department. I have spent my entire career preparing for this moment, and I will not let down the mayor or the people of Houston,” said Executive Assistant Chief Finner. “I have a proven track record of bringing unity within the community balanced with leading operational improvements and initiatives, which have enhanced departmental productivity and reduced costs.”

“I am confident Chief Finner is the right person for the job at this time.

I know he will focus first on the needs of the Houston Police Department,” Mayor Turner said. “I have asked him to stay focused on relational policing and bridging the gaps in trust and communication between Houstonians and our police department.”

Mayor Turner’s appointment of Chief Finner as Police Chief is expected to take effect April 5th. www.houstontx.gov/police/

Houston Style Magazine stands with our Asian American brothers and sisters against ALL attacks and acts of violence!

direct connection with rising hate crimes — hateful language leads to hateful acts.

It is time for state leaders to denounce anti-Asian rhetoric and language that is killing women, and families and destroying people’s livelihoods. ” “I also call on all Asian Americans to stand with the Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and all minority communities who have suffered from violence and discrimination.”

www.app.DAO.HCTX.net

March 18 – March 24, 2021

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BENEFITS OF

GETTING THE COVID-19 VACCINE Discover the benefits of getting the COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC dives into what is currently known and why it’s important to get vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccination will help keep you from getting COVID-19 • All COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States have been shown to be highly effective at preventing COVID-19.

• Based on what we know about vaccines for other diseases and early data from clinical trials, experts believe that getting a COVID-19 vaccine may also help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19.

• Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, particularly people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

• Experts continue to conduct more studies about the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on severity of illness from COVID-19, as well as its ability to keep people from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19.

• Getting COVID-19 may offer some natural protection, known as immunity. Current evidence suggests that reinfection with the virus that causes COVID-19 is uncommon in the 90 days after initial infection.

However, experts don’t know for sure how long this protection lasts, and the risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 far outweighs any benefits of natural immunity. COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you by creating an antibody (immune system) response without having to experience sickness.

• Both natural immunity and immunity produced by a vaccine are important parts of COVID-19 disease that experts are trying to learn more about, and the CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.

COVID-19 vaccination will be an important tool to help stop the pandemic • Wearing masks and social distancing help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others, but these measures are not enough. Vaccines will work with your immune system so it will be ready to fight the virus if you are exposed.

COVID-19 vaccination is a safer way to help build protection • COVID-19 can have serious, life-threatening complications, and there is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you. And if you get sick, you could spread the disease to friends, family, and others around you.

• The combination of getting vaccinated and following CDC’s recommendations to protect yourself and others will offer the best protection from COVID-19.

• Clinical trials of all vaccines must first show they are safe and effective before any vaccine can be authorized or approved for use, including COVID-19 vaccines. The known and potential benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine must outweigh the known and potential risks of the vaccine for use under what is known as an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

• Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available. As experts learn more about how COVID-19 vaccination may help reduce spread of the disease in communities, CDC will continue to update the recommendations to protect communities using the latest science.

Source: CDC

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

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BOOKS FROM LEFT: Colored YMCA, Bagby Street YMCA and 555 Grace: A Trilogy of Our Past

f you love books that enlighten you on Houston’s forgotten past, then you are in for a treat, with an extraordinary historical trilogy by author Priscilla Graham. In these books, Houston’s YMCA for Negros trilogy Boxed Set: Colored YMCA, Bagby Street YMCA, and 555 Grace: The Black YMC Genii – Graham pulls back the curtain on the early days of the Young Men’s Christian Association and shares the true history of its inception in Houston, Texas. Each book focuses on only one specific location during that time in history and contains a stunning array of archival and contemporary photos that peels away the many layers of Houston’s African-American YMCAs. The trilogy is an evolution of time and history when people of African descent were called Negro, Colored, Black people, and then African Americans. Creating the name of each location open to African Americans.

“For more than 160 years, African-Americans have shared in the historic mission of the YMCA, providing leadership and making the YMCA Movement stronger, richer and better,” said Priscilla Graham. “One of my goals for these books is to demonstrate a vivid and active portrayal of African American leaders in Houston struggling to build black-controlled institutions in their search for cultural self-determination,” said Graham. “We owe so much to the struggles of those who have fought for equity and equality, but there’s still a lot more work to be done and issues to be addressed.”

From the time of its emergence in the United States in 1851, the Young Men’s Christian Association excluded

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blacks from membership. However, they did encourage African Americans to form their own associations and to join the Christian brotherhood on “separate but equal” terms. So in 1853, Anthony Bowen, a former slave, minister, and the first person of color to work in the United States Patent Office, founded the nation’s first YMCA dedicated to serving African Americans.

Eight years before the American Civil War and ten years before the institution of slavery was officially ended in the United States.

In Houston, men like L.H. Spivey, T.M. Fairchild, E.O. Smith, and several other African American leaders met with William A. Hunton the National Colored Secretary to discuss establishing a Houston YMCA for Negros in 1905. These Houston leaders continued to meet on Sundays for many years; however, their initial quest to establish a Y failed until the National War Work Council established the Colored Soldiers and Sailors Branch of Houston Young Men’s Christian Associations of the United States in 1918.

Along with these photos from the past come historical details of stories about the men and women who established the Colored YMCA and help build Houston. Get all three photo books that trace the YMCA’s changing racial policies and practices and examines the evolution of African American associations and their leadership from slavery to desegregation. Priscilla Grahams is currently working on the next YMCA book project that focuses on the South Central YMCA for African Americans in Houston that currently remains historically significant.

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

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TSU’s Police Chief – Mary Young

Traggic – Mom & 3-Kids Killed

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Should Houston Mayor – Sylvester Turner Run For Texas Governor In The 2022 Elections?

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

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VOLUNTEERING: A Shot Of Hope

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Blue Ivy Carter, 9 Wins Her First Grammy

By Chloe Melas, www.CNN.com / www.StyleMagazine.com – Newswire

Blue Ivy and Mom – Beyoncé Saint Jhn and Wizkid.

The Grammy Awards are a big night for Blue Ivy’s mom, Queen Bey, who is nominated for 9 awards, leading the way with the most nominations

B

Dad – Jay-Z, First Time Grammy Winning Daughter – Blue Ivy and Mom – Beyoncé lue Ivy Carter, 9, is the second youngest artist

a Grammy, but that record is held by Leah Peasall,

to win a Grammy Award.

who won in 2001 at the age of 8.

The daughter of Beyoncé and Jay-Z

“Brown Skin Girl” is featured on Beyoncé’s

won her first Grammy on Sunday for Best Music Video

“Lion King: The Gift” album. The video, which

for “Brown Skin Girl.” Blue Ivy received a writing

premiered last summer, stars Lupita Nyong’o, Kelly

credit for the song.

Rowland and other famous faces as they sing about

Blue Ivy would have been the youngest to win

of the evening. She could make Grammy history as the most awarded recipient ever.

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Black female empowerment. The single also features

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

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March 18 – March 24, 2021

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