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Vol. 38 No. 41 Website: theaustinvillager.com Email: vil3202@aol.com Phone: 512-476-0082 Fax: 512-476-0179 February 25, 2011

2011 Black History month theme: African Americans and the Civil War

Atlanta, GA - In com-memoration of Bloody Sun-day, on the weekend of March5 - 6, SCLC/Women’s Orga-nizational Movement forEquality Now, Inc. (SCLC/W.O.M.E.N) will take busloads of people from diversebackgrounds on a two-daytour through the cradle of theCivil Rights Movement. Cre-ated in 1987, the annualEvelyn Gibson Lowery CivilRights Heritage Tour visitsseveral historic sites andmeets with people instrumen-tal in the Movement. Stu-dents, seniors, elected offi-cials, dignitaries, and celeb-rities have joined the tour overthe years.This year founderand chair of SCLC/Women’sOrganizational Movementfor Equality Now, EvelynGibson Lowery, will honorthe family of slain activist,Jimmie Lee Jackson, whosemurderer - an Alabama StateTrooper - plead guilty to the1965 crime in 2010 and wassentenced to six months injail. The tribute will be helddirectly in front of the monu-

The Capital City Afri-can American Chamber ofCommerce (CCAACC) held itsAnnual Black Elected offi-cials Luncheon, Wednesday,February 16, 2011 at the OmniHotel downtown.

Annually the chamberhosts a luncheon for Blackelected officials in an effort toespress their appreciationand voice their concerns. Thisyear’s theme was “New Eraof Cooperation.” The SpecialGuest were Senator KirkWatson (D-14) and LindaWatson, CEO, CapitalMetro.Senator Watson couldnot attend, but Linda Watson(no reelations) took the oppor-tunity to tell the attendeesabout the new things that aregoing on at Capital Metro.

A four member panalistanswered questions concern-ing their area of expertise. Thepanalist included Austin CityCouncilman Chris Riley,Danny Thomas, Constable,Pct. 1, Jeffrey Richard, ACCBoard of Directors and Presi-dent of Austin Area UrbanLeague, and Anthony Snipes,Adminstrative Assistant toCity Manager. The Moderatorwas Brian Marshall.

Juanita Stephens, In-terim CCAACC presidentgave the welcom and later in-troduced the new President,

CCAACC introduces new Presidentat annual luncheon

CHANGING OF THE GUARD--Newly appointed President of Capi-tal City Sfrican American Chamber of Commerce (CCAACC)Clarence Goins shares a moment with Interim President JuanitaStephens during Black Elected Officials Luncheon

Clarence Goins who will takeover the agency on March 1,2011.

The mission of theCCAACC is to promote thedevelopment of AfricanAmerican businesses and theexpansion of the business

community by providing re-sources, technical assistance,and leadership on policy issuesthat enhance economic growthand by promoting conventionsand tourism. For more informa-tion contact the chamber atwww.capcitych am ber.org.

The state of Texas His-torically Underutilized Busi-ness program was founded in1991 with the aim of helpingminority- and women-ownedbusinesses gain access to pub-lic and private sectorcontracts.Housed within thecomptroller’s office, the pro-gram allows for a business tobe certified as an HUB, andthus eligible for contractingopportunities with the state.A recent disparity study com-missioned by the comptroller,however, has revealed that thestate still has quite a ways togo when it comes to achiev-ing across-the-board equity incontracting opportunities. Forexample, of $38.61 billion instate spending on prime con-tracts, HUB vendors receiveda little more than $2.95 billion,only 7.64 percent. For AfricanAmerican HUBs, it was a pal-try 0.63 percent.

The report, which coversthe period from September 1,2005 to August 31, 2008,shows HUB utilization to bestrong in some areas. For in-stance, the rate of HUB utili-zation for “special trades”construction, a procurementcategory, was nearly 27 per-cent. However, the generalpicture that emerges is one ofdeep and continuing dispari-ties, particularly in categoriessuch as heavy construction,where some of the largest and

most lucrative contracts areto be found. Data was gath-ered from a variety of sources,including data from 210 par-ticipating state agencies andinstitutions of higher educa-tion, a review of anecdotalevidence from four publichearings, and a survey of1,032 firms.

Clifton Miller, believesthere is one way to have sus-tained economic recovery. “Ithas to be job-based,” he said.”In order for it to be job-based, it must include smallbusinesses - because smallbusinesses have been ac-knowledged for the last 15years as the engine of eco-nomic growth and job cre-ation - and the fastest-grow-ing segment of small busi-nesses are those owned bypeople of color.”

Miller is a founding di-rector of the Minority Busi-ness Enterprise Institute ofPublic Policy, a non-partisannonprofit organizationfounded in 1997 to serve as ameans for minority entrepre-neurs in Texas to participatein the politicalprocess.Among other things,Miller, who is Black, is ada-mant about the need for Blackentrepreneurs in particularto act as more of a unifiedpolitical bloc, even to thepoint of going beyond a tra-ditional civil rights frame-work.

Miller challenges thebelief that economic develop-ment is driven mainly by at-tracting large corporations toa city. Miller believes that jobgrowth - with the associatedbuilding of a city’s tax base -is much more determined bysmall businesses, and thatthis is true on many levels forAfrican Americans.

”The reality is, whenAT&T moved here, they cre-ated

See HUBs pg 5

Texas Minority Businessesremain underused

By Imani EvansSpecial to the NNPA from

The Dallas Examiner

Jim Wyatt , TAAACC Chair

Tour bus travels from Atlanta to Selma, Montgomery, and the Edmund Pettus Bridge with a Specialtribute to Jimmie Lee Jackson

ment SCLC/W.O.M.E.Nerected in Jackson’s memoryat the historic Zion Method-ist Church, once a meetingplace for civil rights workers.The tour bus departs from theorganization’s headquarterson Auburn Avenue in At-lanta and traces the paths ofhistory by visiting historicalsites in Birmingham, Marion,Selma, Whitehall, Montgom-ery, and Tuskegee, Alabama.In addition to meeting peoplewho made history participat-ing in the movement and re-living events that forced dra-matic change in America, thegroup will visit monumentsconstructed in memory of:Viola Liuzzo, Rev. Hosea Wil-liams, Earl T. Shinhoster,Coretta Scott King, Rev. JamesOrange, Rev. James Reeb,Albert Turner, Sr., Rosa Parks,and Freedom Wall. Tour par-ticipants will also Marchacross the Edmund PettusBridge reenacting the “BloodySunday” march.On March 7,1965, 600 peaceful protestorsstarted a 50-mile march fromSelma to Montgomery in re-

sponse to Jimmy LeeJackson’s murder and to pro-test for voter’s rights. As theycrossed the Edmund Pet-tusBridge, the marchers wereviolently attacked by StateTroopers with nightsticksand teargas. The violent inci-dent - known as “Bloody Sun-day” - was broadcast on livetelevision and caused outragearound the country. Twodays later, Dr. Martin LutherKing Jr. led a second marchthat was turned back by StateTroopers. After a federal judi-cial review, over 25,000 peoplewere allowed to march es-corted by the National Guard.Soon afterward, Congresspassed the Voting Rights Actof 1965 forcing states to enddiscriminatory votingpractices.The Heritage Tour isopen to the public. Travel pack-ages include transportation,lodging, two meals per day,and snacks. For more informa-tion call SCLC/Women’s Or-ganizational Movement forEquality Now at (404) 584-0303 or email sclc womeninc@aol .com.

2011 Evelyn Gibson LoweryCivil Rights Heritage Tour

The 44Th African Ameri-can Men and Boys Conferencewas held at Reagan High SchoolFebruary 19, 2011. This was the1st Joint Conference with AISDand Manor ISD. It was practi-cally standing room only; manychairs had to be brought in. Therewas also two workshops toyouth associated with SummerYouth Employment Opportuni-ties for Travis County. APD Of-ficer, Antoine Lane was theKeynote Speaker.

The next conference willbe Friday, March 25Th at ALC,“Alternative Learning Center”,working with the entire schoolon this particular day.An esti-mate between 350 and 400 Juve-

niles will be there, and it willtake a min. of 35 facilitators forthis particular conference. Onlyadults will be able to participateat this particular conference be-cause all the youth there are re-ferrals from either the juvenilecourts or other campus’s for dis-ciplinary reasons. This will thefirst time for this conference atALC. The conference time willbe from 9:30 until 2:30, Friday,March 25th, 2011.

Hispanic Volunteers,Men and Women, are neededThe Conferences Are For Ev-eryone. Interested parties cancontact the Harvest Founda-tion at mrloftontalkshow@att.net

44th African AmericanMen and Boys Conference

held at Reagan

Overflow crowd attended the conerence at Reagan

Black HistoryMonth one of themost active ever!

As we come to theend of the 2011 Black His-tory Month observation,we note that it was one ofthe most active ever. Icannot account for theactivity, but it was veryexciting to see. It appearsthat everyone got in themove And started celebrat-ing from the beginning ofthe month.

Typically, most of theBlack History events aredone at the end of themonth. But, not so for thisyear. Things started tohappen from the begin-ning of the month andcontinued throughout.

There are still a fewthings left on the agendato round out the month.On Saturday, February26, the 12th Annual Afri-can American Commu-nity Heritage Festival willbe held on the campus ofHuston-Tillotson Univer-sity, 900 Chicon Street,from 1 - 5 p.m. This eventis sponsored by State Rep.Dawnna Dukes, ProArtsCollective, AMERIGROUPand Huston-Tillotson andwill feature a VendorsFair, Health Vendors,Kid’s Zone, and FamilyEntertainment. There willalso be prizes, food, andentertainment.

The month will windup with the Texas Legis-lative Black Caucus 2011African American Legis-lative Summit. It will beheld on February 28 thruMarch 1. The summit willexamine the issueswhich impact the AfricanAmerican communityacross Texas, so that wecan provide a forum forchange in our communi-ties.

This will be an excel-lent time to meet face toface with your represen-tatives from across Texasas well as many othercommunity leaders whowill be in town for thesummit.

One of the greatestbenefits that could comeout of the summit is forthe various communi-ties to get on the samepage with our issues andhow to combat them.

While educationseems to attracting themost attention duringthis session, we alsoneed to focus on the un-employment issue in ourcommunities. The is oneof the more critical is-sues in the state andshould attract a lot at-tention.

Page 2/THE VILLAGER/February 25, 2011

By. Julianne MalveauxNNPA Columnist

Deep Enough, Far Enough, or Just Too Much?

President BarackObama has proposed a2012-2013 budget that is,at best, politically prag-matic. Responding to theRepublican sway in con-gress, he has decided toimpose a set of his owncuts, anticipating thosehis opponents might offer.Their response is predict-able. The Obama cuts arenot deep enough; they donot go far enough. And, Ithink they are just too

much.In other words, Presi-

dent Obama has beenforced to take the knife toprograms he supports, andhe chooses to do so to holdanother set of programsharmless. He would cutcommunity service pro-grams, but he’d hold firmon education. In yieldingto the new Republican ma-jor i ty , he has a lso re-minded us that educationis a priority for him, andthat he will not cut theplethora of educationalprograms that buttress hisvision.

Still, it is disturbingthat education is on thetable in a number of citiesand states. When peoplehave to balance budgetsthey come up with a l lk inds of cockamamieschemes, including reduc-ing school days from five

to four, or reducing class-room hours, or reducingsomething that not onlyimpacts the ways studentsencounter learning, butalso the quality of theirlives.

Some school districts,thanks to cuts, have nomore than 900 hours a yearof instruction for students;others have as many as1400. Imagine what thismeans on a daily basiswhen, post high school,these students encounter aclassroom. Some are wellprepared, some are unpre-pared, both are products ofdecision that grown folksmade, often mistakenly,about ways to managebudgets.

And now the budgetthing is really rearing itsugly head. What will wedo to balance federal, state,and local budgets? In

Wisconsin, there is a pro-posal to change the waythe state deals with teach-ers. In North Carolina weare blessed to have a gov-ernor who says she willnot sacri f ice c lassroomstudy on the altar of ablanked budget. In otherstates, there are challenges,and the challenges are alsofederal, because our gov-ernment has been asked,as states must, to balancebudgets. What does thismean for education?

To cut education inrecession is akin to eatingseed corn when it is clearthat planting will provideresources for a new day.We can cut a plethora ofthings, but cutting educa-t ion is unconscionable.Education is our nation’sinvestment into futures,our opportunity to shine,grow, compete we have to

wrap our arms around ouryoung people , youngachievers , and providethem with opportunities.

One of the most dis-turbing ends of the early21st century is the extent towhich parents have em-braced the notion of, “ev-ery person for herself”.Some phenomenal youngwomen can use more pa-rental support than theyget, and more of an oppor-tunity to explore life’s op-portuni t ies . Afr icanAmerican students are lesslikely than others to havethe access that comes fromunpaid internships, oftenbecause parents and othersexpect them to work, andto earn, during their sum-mers.

If we want to developa world that is resplendentwith diverse opportunities,we must develop a world

where our young men andwomen are held harmlessfrom cuts that are too deep,too harsh, too much. Presi-dent Obama has been a vi-sionary in suggesting that wein the United States can againlead the world in college at-tainment, but a budget thatcuts education does not re-flect his goals. Politics not-withstanding, it is on timeand overtime for us to figureout ways to educate morepeople. Even as programsare cut, education fundingmust be expanded.

Those who have bud-gets in their hands must beprudent. Sound fiscal plan-ning does not mean cuttingtoday to hurt tomorrow. Edu-cation must be our priority.Whether we are looking at cit-ies, counties, states, or our na-tion, we must hold educationharmless as we exercise fis-cal prudence.

By Dr. Benjamin F.Chavis, Jr.

NNPA Columnist

President Barack H. Obama: Leadership That CountsNo one ever expected

that the first African Ameri-can to be elected the Presi-dent of the United Stateswould be given a free passwith no criticism or pressurefrom those who did not votefor him. Although the ma-jority of voters in 2008 de-cided that the United Statesneeded a change in direc-tion and leadership, thereare social and politicalforces that are attempting togain momentum in espous-ing their critique of theObama Administration.Now that there are renewedcalls for the reduction of thefiscal deficit that PresidentBarack H. Obama inheritedfrom President George W.Bush, there are too manypeople who appear to beconfused by the cynics anddoomsday predictors whohave been relentless in theirattempts to unfairly blamePresident Obama for all the

economic and geopoliticalwoes that United Statesfaces today.

Leadership is definedas the demonstrated abilitywith a dynamic characterthat establishes change andattains specific goals andobjectives for people whofollow and who are im-pacted as a direct result ofthe actions of the respon-sible leader. The executiveand political leadership ofPresident Obama has madea positive difference in thequality of life for millions ofAmericans in his first twoyears in office. But, all lead-ers, by definition, will beconstantly measured by notjust by their abilities, but willbe ultimately evaluated bytheir actions and how theiractions will impact thepresent and the future.

President Obama re-cently submitted The Fed-eral Budget for Fiscal Year

2012 to the U.S. Congress.The White House issuedthis statement: “ThePresident’s 2012 Budget isa responsible approach thatputs the nation on a path tolive within our means so wecan invest in our future - bycutting wasteful spendingand making tough deci-sions on some things wecannot afford, while keep-ing the investments we needto grow the economy andcreate jobs. It targets scarcefederal resources to the ar-eas critical to winning thefuture: education, innova-tion, clean energy, and in-frastructure.”

I was happy to see thatthe first notification byPresident Obama in “win-ning the future” of Americawas “education.” AfricanAmericans, as well as allAmericans, know that if wedo not improve our stan-dards and performances as

a society in the multiplefields of education, then fu-ture opportunities for na-tional wellbeing will not berealized nor optimized.More than anything elseeducation is the key to eco-nomic growth and prosper-ity. Our children, and allchildren, deserve the bestand highest quality educa-tion without any reserva-tions or limitations. Thus,the budget for educationshould provide more oppor-tunities and options for chil-dren and parents to attainthe best education in theworld.

Obviously, the federalbudget is not about race,class or partisan politics. Itis about competence andleadership. It is about fixingthe American economy. It isabout putting millions ofpeople back to work. It isabout financial recovery andeconomic sustainability. It

is about education. One thingfor sure is that PresidentObama can count. The Obama2012 Budget calls for more than$1 trillion in deficit reductionduring a 10 year period and afive-year freeze on discretion-ary spending. He stated,“America is emerging from theworst recession in generations.In 2010, an economy that hadbeen shrinking began to growagain. After nearly 2 years ofjob losses, America’s busi-nesses added more than onemillion jobs. Our capital andcredit markets are functioningand strong. Manufacturing iscoming back. And after teeter-ing on the brink of liquidationjust 2 years ago, America’s autoindustry is posting healthygains and returning money tothe taxpayers who helped itthrough a period of turmoil.”

President Obama is on thejob. And notwithstanding thechorus of critics and cynics, hisleadership is making an impor-

tant difference for the nation.What we have to do is to not letall the weight fall on him alone.We should be raising our voicesmore and we should be gettingready once again to cast ourvotes. Let’s make sure that theinterests of the education of ourchildren do not get triaged dur-ing the current budget debate.Active leadership at the commu-nity level should strive to matchthe leadership now in The WhiteHouse. Civic responsibility isfor all.

By George E. CurryNNPA Columnist

The showdown be-tween public unions and thegovernor of Wisconsin isdrama likely to be replayedin other budget-challengedstates during the next fewmonths and may determinewhether American unionsrebound or become a fadingfixture of the past. Accord-ing to the National Confer-ence of State Legislatures, 44states and Puerto Rico haveintroduced legislation gov-erning labor unions and col-lective bargaining. Becauseso much is at stake, both pro-and anti-labor groupsaround the nation have sentprotesters to Wisconsin dur-ing the past week to supporttheir cause. Thousands of

Labor Unions are Fighting for Survivalprotesters, including teach-ers, rallied in Madison, thestate capital, to voice theirconcerns. Anti-labor pro-testers have also marched inthe streets to express theirsupport for a proposed mea-sure to strip public unionsof much of their power. Atthe center of the debate isGovernor Scott Walker’sproposal to save $330 mil-lion through mid-2013. Un-der the plan, governmentworkers will have to paymore than half the costs oftheir pensions and at least12.6 percent of theirhealthcare premiums.Unions would still be al-lowed to represent workers,but could not seek pay in-creases above the ConsumerPrice Index unless approvedby a public referendum.Firefighters, police officers,and state troopers would beexempted under the newplan. Labor officials saythey are willing to compro-mise on pension andhealthcare benefits, but nottheir ability to freely negoti-ate on behalf of governmentworkers. At the nationallevel, the budget battles fea-

ture organize labor, a keybase of Democrats, and fis-cally conservative Republi-cans, the key to GOP elec-tion gains last November.

Although publicunions are being blamed formany of Wisconsin’s woes,they are not the real culprits.The Associated Press re-ported on February 1st, thata “new analysis releasedMonday showed thatWisconsin’s budget couldbe between $79 and $340million short by June 30,2013 due largely to antici-pated Medicaid expensesand a court-ordered repay-ment to a fund that wasraided four years ago.” Wis-consin is obligated to payMinnesota $58.7 million af-ter the end of a tax-reciproc-ity agreement between thetwo neighboring states. Thestate is under court order topay $200 million that wasillegally transferred in 2007from a state medical mal-practice fund, according tothe Milwaukee Journal Sen-tinel. Further complicatingmatters, Governor Walkerpushed through tax cuts inhis first month in office that

are estimated to bring in$117 million less in pro-jected state taxes during thenext two year. Another $72million drop is a result oflower than expected tax rev-enues. Like his federal coun-terparts, Walker arguedthat the lower tax cuts willcreate economic growth.This is the same argumentthat President George W.Bush used in getting twofederal tax reductionsthrough Congress. But, thepromised economic growthnever materialized. In Wis-consin, organized labor islosing the public relationsbattle as anti-labor Republi-cans enjoy a larger share ofstate houses and governors’mansions.

According to a surveyconducted earlier thismonth by the Pew ResearchCenter for the People & thePress, “The favorability rat-ings for labor unions remainat nearly their lowest levelin a quarter century with45% expressing a positiveview. Yet the public ex-presses similar opinionsabout business corporations– 47% have a favorable im-

pression – and this rating isalso near a historic low.”The Pew report observes:“Americans express mixedviews of the impact of laborunions on salaries andworking conditions, inter-national competitiveness,job availability and produc-tivity. About half (53%) sayunions have had a positiveeffect on the salaries andbenefits of union workers,while just 17% say they havehad a negative effect. Viewsare similar about the impactof unions on working con-ditions for all workers (51%positive, 17% negative).” Itis ironic that the debate overthe role of unions is beingplayed out in Wisconsin, thefirst state to enact of majorcollective bargaining law in1959. The American Federa-tion of State, County andMunicipal Employees wasfounded in 1936 in Madison.According to the U.S. De-partment of Labor, the unionmembership rate of publicsector workers (36.2 percent)is more than five times theprivate rate of 6.9 percent.Within the public sector,union membership was

highest among local govern-ment workers such as policeofficers, fire fighters, andteachers. A Labor Depart-ment survey in 2010 showedthat African-Americans weremore likely to be union mem-bers (13.7 percent) thanWhites (11.7 percent)),Asians (10.9 percent) or His-panics (10 percent). Union-ized full-time wage and sal-ary workers had a medianweekly income of $917 in2010. Workers not repre-sented by unions earned$717 -- $200 less than unionwages. The U.S. Bureau of La-bor Statistics reported that11.9 percent of all wage andsalary workers in the U.S. be-longed to unions in 2010,down from 20.1 percent in1983. By all accounts, laborunions were primarily re-sponsible for creating theAmerican middle class in thebygone era when manufac-turing was king. In an era ofeconomic belt-tightening andrising Republican influencein politics, however, they areserving as convenient scape-goats for pro-business voicesthat wanted to get rid of themall along.

By Judge Greg MathisNNPA Columnist

Improve Infrastructure, Create JobsYou have no doubt

heard a lot about PresidentObama’s proposed federalbudget in the news lately.With an eye toward reduc-ing the nation’s trillionplus dol lar def ic i t , thePresident suggests somedifficult to swallow budgetcuts while still investing inAmerica’s future. It’s notmuch different from whata struggling corporationwould do, or a family. Oneof those proposed invest-ments would not onlymodernize our nation’shighways and railways, itwill also create millions of

jobs.During the last sev-

eral years, bridges acrossthe U.S. have collapsed,gas lines have exploded,and streets have deterio-rated to unsafe levels. ThePresident proposes thatwe shore up our infrastruc-ture and put Americans towork at the same time.How? By spending justover $50 billion to build ahigh-speed rail system andby investing slightly morethan $330 billion in ournat ion’s h ighways .Obama’s advisors est i -mate the plan would cre-

ate more than five millionconstruction jobs and 10million additional jobs inrelated industries.

Yes, this is a lot ofmoney. However, invest-ing in America and its in-frastructure is the smartthing - the right thing - todo. Americans will be ableto travel from place toplace , knowing thatbr idges and roads aresound. High-speed railwill connect towns and cit-ies and, over the long term,improve our environment,since there will be fewercars on the road. Lastly,

the new jobs this invest-ment will help create willbring the unemploymentrate down from its recordhigh levels. Of course, theproposal has its critics.They say there’s no waythe government can pay forit. The President thoughtof that, too. Currently, thegasoline tax raises about$35 billion a year. Thatmoney is used to pay forhighway projects . ThePresident wants to use thatfund to offset the infra-s tructure pro jects andraise additional revenuethrough var ious other

taxes and tolls.There is no doubt that

the President’s plan is astrong one, with past suc-cess to back it up. The 2009st imulus package in-cluded more than $130 bil-l ion in infrastructurespending; this spendingcreated eight million jobs.So, we know this is theright way to go. Moneyspent now, would improvethe economy – and ourbridges and roads – andposition the country for amore prosperous future.Write your Congress menand women; tell them to

support the President’splan to create jobs by im-proving our nat ion’si n f r a s t r u c t u r e . V i s i twww.usa.gov if you needhelp locating your electedofficial’s contact informa-tion.

JOSHUA CHAPEL CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

1006 Yeager Lane, Suite 102-A Austin, Texas

Sunday ServicesSunday School 10:00 A.M.Worship Service 11:00 A.M.

WEDNESDAY Bible Study 6:30 P.M.SATURDAY New

Member Assimilation 10:00 A.M.

Agape Baptist ChurchIn “The Centre” Bldg. F-15 7801 N. Lamar Blvd. (SE Corner of N Lamar and 183)

AGAPE is a chuch for all people. “Where Jesus Christ is Magnified and the love He exhibited isExemplified.” Come, receive God’s unconditional lovefor you. For there is no greater love!

Church ServicesSunday School 9:30 AMSunday Worship 11:00 AM

Mid-Week ServiceThursday: Praise, Prayer and Bible Study 7:00 PM

Call 454-1547 for TransporationWebsite www.agapebcaustintx.org

St. Peter’s United Methodist Church 4509 Springdale Road Austin, Tx 78723

Office 512- 926-1686 Fax 512-929-7281Christian Web Site-

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Sunday School 8:45 a.m. Praise and Worship 10:15 a.m.

Wednesday Bible Study 12:00 p.m.and Praise /Bible Study 6:30 p.m.

(to include Children’s Choir Rehersaland Bible Study with age appropiate Activities)

Rev. Jack C. Gause Pastor

Imani Community ChurchDavis Elementray Auditorium 5214 West Duval Road

Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Worship Service 10:00 A.M.•Power Hour Bible Life Group 6:00 P.M.

Imani Complex & Office,11800 Mustang at Duval Austin, Texas 78727

Visit:imanichurch.comOffice: 512-343-9300

Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Donald-Mims

Ebenezer Baptist Church1010 East 10th Street 512-478-1875 Fax: 512-478-1892

Radio Ministry (KIXI 970 AM 9:00 A.M.TV Ministry (ACTV. Ch 32) 9:00 A.M.Bus Ministry Call 512-478-1875

Sunday ServicesWorship Service 8:00 A.M.Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Discipleship Training 10:00 A.M.Worship Service 11:00 A.M.

WednesdayMidweek Prayer Service 7:00 P.M. Child Development CenterAges 0-5 years (Daily) 512-478-6709

Rev. Marvin C. GriffinPastor

Rev. H. Ed CalahanPastor

February 25, 2011/The Villager/Page 3

St Annie A.M.E. Church1711 Newton StreetAustin, Texas 78704

Voice mail (512) 444-4509E-mail: saamechurch@peoplepc.com

Church School 9:30 A.M. SunMorning Worship 10:45 A.M. Sun

Bible Study 7:30 P.M. Sun.

Rev. Derwin D. Gipson, Pastor

AFRICAN ASSEMBLIES of GODCHURCH

A growing church ministering to African American andother nationals

Come worship with us

Sunday Worship 11:30 A.M.Wednesday Prayer Meeting 6:45 P.M.

Place of WorshipThe Church of Glad Tidings 2700 Northland Dr. Austin, TX 78756

For more information, contact Pastor Jonah Ghartey512-873-8103 www.allnationschurch@yahoo.com

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Rosewood Avenue Missionary Baptist Church1820 Rosewood Avenue, Austin, Texas 78702

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Weekly ServicesSunday School 9:30 a.m.

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WORSHIP SERVICESSunday Worship - 7:45 a.m. & 11 a.m.Church School - 9:45 a.m.Bible Studies - Mon, 6:30 p.m. & Wed., 12 noonWednesday Night Worship - 7 p.m.

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Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Chruch1701 Chestnut Avenue Austin, TX 78702

Church Phone (512) 476-0838

Morning Worship Service @ 11 a.m.Sundays @ 9:00a.m.- Sunday schoolSunday @ 10:00am Bible Study Monday @ 6:30 pm Bible Study Mid-Week Service each Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m., where there is Prayer, Praising, and Preaching going on. Come and worship with us!!!

Rev. Ralph H. Daniels, Pastor

NEW YORK, NY—TheBalm In Gilead, one of thecountry’s pioneering organi-zations in leading a multi-faith community in the fightagainst HIV/AIDS, an-nounces the 22nd Annual Na-tional Week of Prayer for theHealing of AIDS (originallythe Black Church Week ofPrayer for the Healing ofAIDS) March 6-12, 2011. TheWeek engages people of allfaith to unite in prayer for theeradication of HIV/AIDS.

“As members of thefaith community, we are a di-verse group of believers,” saysPernessa Seele, founder andCEO, the Balm In Gilead andcreator of the National Weekof Prayer for the Healing ofAIDS. “Often, we strugglethrough our differences andfar too many times, we retreatand live behind walls thatdivide us from our fellow be-lievers. Prayer is the mysticaltruth of divine love that iscommon to all believers. Rightnow in this moment, I inviteall believers to step forwardbeyond the walls that divideus into the circle of consciousprayer and education for thehealing of AIDS.”

After 20 years of execut-ing the highly successfulBlack Church Week of Prayerfor the Healing of AIDS andmobilizing thousands of con-gregations across the UnitedStates and the Caribbean toengage in a week of educa-tion, service, advocacy, andprayer, the Balm In Gilead re-named the Week, The Na-tional Week of Prayer for theHealing of AIDS. What beganin 1989 as a pioneer move-ment to mobilize Blackchurches to fight HIV/AIDSin the Black community hasexploded into a multi-coun-try, multi-faith movement to

The Balm In Gilead, Inc Calls on People of All Faithsto Unite in Prayer, Education, Advocacy and Servicefor the 22nd Annual National Week of Prayer for the

Healing of AIDS

Pernessa Seelestop this pandemic.

Today, The NationalWeek of Prayer for the Heal-ing of AIDS continues to beobserved in not only theUnited States but also in theCaribbean. With more than56,000 new HIV/AIDS caseseach year and with more thanone million people livingwith HIV in the United States,the leadership of the faithcommunity is still critical.

While the week en-gaged thousands of multi-faith leaders and congrega-tions last year as its first yearas The National Week ofPrayer for the Healing ofAIDS, President BarackObama said in a statement tothe Balm In Gilead, “…Al-though we have made greatstrides in the fight againstHIV/AIDS, our battle is farfrom over.”

This year, during TheNational Week of Prayer forthe Healing of AIDS March 6-12, The Balm In Gilead is call-ing on all leaders and peopleof faith to unite with purpose,compassion, and hope to dothe following:

• Educate every Ameri-can about AIDS facts;

• Encourage and sup-port HIV testing;

• Advocate for the avail-

ability of compassionate careand treatment for all those liv-ing with the

disease in every com-munity in America

• Love, uncondition-ally, every person living withand affected by HIV/AIDS.

• Faith leaders are in-vited to submit a statement ofacknowledgement, prayer,and education for posting onwww.NWPHA.org.

The National Week ofPrayer for the Healing of AIDSis the inclusive, expansion ofthe highly successful BlackChurch Week of Prayer for theHealing of AIDS. It was thenation’s first national mobi-lization campaign that spe-cifically focused on HIV/AIDS. The campaign has pro-vided AIDS information tomore than five million Afri-can Americans through theengagement of Black congre-gations of every sector acrossthe United States. Launchedin 1989 as the Harlem Weekof Prayer for the Healing ofAIDS, the week engagedHarlem’s Christian, Muslim,Jewish, and traditional faithcommunities brought na-tional attention to the criticaland urgent need to engagefaith communities in address-ing HIV/AIDS, especially inthe African American com-munity.

For more information TheBalm In Gilead is a 501(c) (3), not-for-profit organization whosemission is to improve the healthstatus of people of the AfricanDiaspora by building the capac-ity of faith communities to ad-dress life threatening diseases,especially HIV/AIDS in theUnited States and in Africa. Toget more information on the Na-tional Week of Prayer for theHealing of AIDS, visit www.NWPHA.org.

Eastside MemorialGlobal Tech High School hasbeen awarded a U.S. State De-partment grant through theNational Security LanguageInitiative for Youth (NSLI-Y)that will allow the school tosend eight students to Chinathis summer. The grant, ad-ministered by AmericanCouncils, will allow GlobalTech to administer a studyabroad program in collabora-tion with the InternationalEducation Fund (IEF), anAustin non-profit that offerstransformative overseaslearning experiences to tradi-tionally under-representedhigh school and college stu-dents.

The project will sendeight students and twoteacher chaperones to Shang-hai this summer for a six-week intensive language andcultural immersion experi-ence. Shanghai program lo-gistics will be handled byLearning Programs Interna-tional (LPI), an experienced

Eastside Memorial Global Tech High SchoolWins Grant to Send Eight Students to China

high school overseas ex-change provider founded inAustin in 1989.

In addition to fourhours per day of intensiveMandarin language instruc-tion at East China NormalUniversity, students will liveon campus, visit historicallysignificant sites, participate ina range of cultural activitiesand community serviceprojects, and experience aweekend home stay with aChinese host family. Studentswill present a final languageportfolio upon their return.The project is intended tohelp develop the Global TechChinese program, and ad-

vance the overall interna-tional educational mission ofGlobal Tech.

The grant will coverround-trip travel betweenAustin and Shanghai, tuition,room and board, materialsand preparation, in-countrysupport, cultural activities,pre-departure and re-entryorientations, a modest stu-dent stipend, medical insur-ance and visas for programparticipants.

Global Tech studentswill also be organizing fundraisers to help them and theirfamilies meet personal expen-ditures not covered by thegrant.

On Saturday, January29, 2011, at the Carver BranchLibrary, four new talented, andenergetic educators were in-ducted into the Delta BetaChapter of the National Soror-ity of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., atthe Carver Branch Library,who named their group Fabu-lous & M.A. D. ( Making A Dif-ference). These four new mem-

Delta Beta Chapter Continues To Focus On Growthbers a Gikeitha M. Berry, AISD;Erica M. Blaylock, BISD; Dr.Margaret Reid, Austin Com-munity College ( ACC ); andAursha Walker, AISD. Thesefour educators presented edu-cational issues which in-cluded attending to learningstyles, improving and increas-ing reading levels, science andself-esteem of the African-

American student. Manymembers were present to ex-tend a welcome to these newmembers. The new membersrecognized their Dean of Pledg-ees, Ida Hunt, with a gift. Theprogram ended with refresh-ments and viewing of theirproject. Annette Stephens con-tinues to serve as the presidentof the Delta Beta Chapter.

Check usout on our

website

Kealing Middle Schoolhosted an African AmericanRead In on Wednesday, Feb-ruary 23. Students and teach-ers shared favorite pieces ofwriting authored by AfricanAmericans. These pieces in-cluded poetry, short stories,essays, and speeches. Stu-dents also took the opportu-nity to compose their ownoriginal pieces that celebratedthe successes and struggles ofthe African American com-munity.

The Black Caucus andthe National Council forTeachers of English sponsorsthis event each year. EachParticipant receives a certifi-cate with the spponsors’name on it.

Kealingholds African

American Read In

www.theaustinvillager.com

Page 4/THE VILLAGER/February 25, 2011

Managing campaigns for corporationsaround the clock, around the world.

Youth of Today, Hope of Tomorrow

Alonzo BlackHendrickson High School

Jaquarry WilsonLBJ High School

Kayla MitchellManor High School

By Adrian JacksonPflugerville Middle School

Marshay HatcherPflugerville Middle School

Jaylon KnightenDailey Middle School

Will PurcellManor New Tech High

On Saturday, the Aus-tin Park and Recreation helda Basketball Tournamentthroughout the city. My teamplayed four games before wewere eliminated from theTournament.

The day started at 9amwith our first game againstthe Red Hawks at South Aus-tin Rec Center. The final scorewas Spur 26 Red Hawks 6.Then we traveled over to Aus-tin Rec Center at 2pm andplayed Dove Springs, finalscore Spurs 37- Dove Springs7. Third game of the day wasplayed at 5:45pm against theSlam, score Spurs 29-Slam 13and the final game was at7pm which determine whowould play for the Champi-onship Title.

The Hornets wonagainst the Spurs 14-6. Cham-pionship game was held onSunday at the Virginia BrownCenter in St John.

PARD Basketball Tournament

Tayla TerryLBJ High School

It won’t affect me butPflugerville ISD will imple-ment a new master schedul-ing system at each of the dis-trict high schools beginningwith the 2011-2012 schoolyear. As a result of a study,and based on conversationsthat were conducted with thestaff, a recommendation wasmade to pursue a traditionalA/B Block schedule. A tradi-tional A/B block schedulewill allow students to takefour 90 minute classes perday, along with lunch.

Why Change to BlockScheduling?

The primary reason forthe change centers on creat-ing a master schedule formatthat achieves reasonable staff-ing efficiency and also allowsstudents to explore more op-tions during their four-yearhigh school experience. Cur-rently, the typical studenttakes seven courses per year.However, increased credit re-quirements from the State re-quire four years of math andfour years of science for highschool graduates in 2012.This has placed greater de-mands on students. With

block scheduling, most stu-dents will have an opportu-nity for 8 credits per year, to-taling 32 credits over theirhigh school experience.

This change will allowstudents more opportunitiesto take advanced level, elec-tive, career, and exploratorycourses. Secondly, by concen-trating on only four subjectson a given day, students andstaff have the chance to de-velop closer and more in-depth working relationships.Additionally, by havingfewer transitions betweenclasses, the pace and tone ofthe building change in a waythat we believe will create amore positive learning envi-ronment.

What is Block Schedul-ing?

In a very basic form,block scheduling is a systemthat takes the conventional 7or 8- period day and con-denses it into a 4-period day.To accomplish this, classestypically taught for an entireyear in 45 to 50-minute peri-ods are consolidated into pe-riods of approximately 90minutes in length and taughtin semester increments.(Please refer to the followingsample schedule) The excep-tion will be in the area of ath-letics and band.

These courses are“double blocked” and willmeet daily. In addition, Alge-bra 1 will be offered in twoversions, every other day anddouble blocked. Studentplacement will be based on8th grade math assessments.

PISD to implement a new masterscheduling system

This week I report toyou about a Youth Explosionthat was held this past week-end. This group consist ofyouth and students from allschools and churches.

We came together tosing! Our debut was in honorof Black History Month andwas held at New LincolnBaptist Church in Austin,Texas.

Ms. Madelyn Walkerwas our choral director andwe performed the Negro Na-tional Anthem, “Lift Every

Voice and Sing” and a coupleof songs that she wrote andpublished. The musicians onpiano, organ, drums tam-borines and bass guitar werealso youth. The Youth Explo-sion Choir is an extension ofThe KLB Musicians Allianceand is open for all youth tojoin and all adults to support.

I am happy to be a partof this group. I was gratefulto be lead singer on one of Ms.Walkers’ compositions. It al-lows me to meet new people,learn new songs, give thehighest praise and teaches mevocal technics.

I have a very specialthanks for Mr. Barry Franklinfor having a vision for the fu-ture of youth. He is a very in-spiring man. Also, thanks toMs. K. McDowell, my par-ents, friends and all theadults that came out to sup-port us.

Remember kids andadults stay in school and stayoff drugs!

The Youth Explosion

Toni Morrison was bornon February 18th, 1931 toGeorge and Ramah Wofford.Ms. Morrison is best knownfor being an African-Ameri-can female writer and win-ning the Nobel Peace Prize in1993. Her booked titled Be-loved was made into the 1998movie starring OprahWinfrey and Danny Glover.

Ms. Morrison haswritten many novels includ-ing The Bluest Eye, Sula, Songof Solomon, Tar Baby, Beloved,and Jazz. She has also writtenchildren’s books titled, TheBig Box and The Book of Mean

People. Including all theseworks of art, she also haswritten a play titled Dream -ing Emmett which was per-formed in 1986. She has wonnumerous awards including,the 1993 Commander of theArts and Letters, Paris, the1994 Condorcet Medal, Paris,the 1994 Pearl Buck Award,the 1994 Rhegium Julii Prizefor Literature, the 1996 Na-tional Book Foundation’sMedal Of Distinguished Con-tribution to American Lettersand recently the 2000 Na-tional Humanities Medal.

Most recently, Ms.Morrison was nominated fora Grammy award in 2008 forBest Spoken Word Album forChildren - “Who’s Got Game?The Ant or the Grasshopper?The Lion or the Mouse?Poppy or the Snake?” Ms.Morrison is truly an inspira-tion and icon not only to fu-ture African-American liter-ary writers, but future writersin general, and to her, we sayThank You!

A look in Black History

From Washington toLincoln, from Roosevelt toClinton, all of these men haveimpacted the US no matterhow big, or little. 1789, almost300 years ago, the first Presi-dent of the United States was

The Significance of President’s Dayinaugurated into office, hisname was George Washing-ton. The US has had 44 presi-dents since 1789. Signifi-cantly, our current presidentchanged history by being thefirst African American presi-dent of the United States. Hehas been greatly serving theUS since 2009. Two yearshave already passed since hisinauguration. His name isBarack Obama. President’sday isn’t about honoringyour favorite president, or theone you like the most, theholiday is about honoring allof the American Presidentsand always having them inour memory.

Thursday,February17th the Panthers had another

Advertise in the VILLAGER!Call 476-0082 for info. or go to

www.theaustinvillager.com

practice-TAKS assessment.We took the practice-TAKSassessment for Math.

The test covered theskills and procedures that thestudents learned in theirmath classes.The test lastedabout four and a half hourslong (for the whole school tofinish). After the test, studentswent to lunch and attendedfirst and second period.

This practice testhelps students and staff tostudy and prepare for the2010-2011 TAKS test that iscoming soon.

The Choir Festival is onTuesday, February 22, 2011 at6:30 to 8:30 at PflugervilleHigh School in the Fine ArtsCenter. Students have beenrehearsing after school forweeks so that they will have

P.I.S.D Choral Festivala successful performance.

The middle schooland high school choirs willbe performing with the in-coming elementary studentsthat want to be in choir. Wehave had a lot of fun teachingthem all that we have learnedin choir.

Special thanks go to themusic teachers Terri Castroand Suzanne Spieler-Huff,along with the fifth gradersfrom Timmerman andWindermere Elementary forparticipating in this eventwith

On February 17, theManor Mustang basketballteam crushed the Elgin Wild-cats 78-55 in Elgin. At the be-ginning of the game the Wild-cats were winning 6-5, butManor took command con-trol. The Mustangs were able

Olivia SmithLockhart H.S.

Manor Mustangs beat Elgin

Tori Smith, Lockhart Junior High School

All students thatwere interested in takingACC classes had to takethe ACC test and pass it toget accepted in the classes.I took it, thinking it was go-ing to be extremely diffi-cult. But it was actuallyvery easy, except for “ El-ementary Algebra” thatwas the most challenging.

The test consisted

of 4 parts of writing, read-ing, algebra, and an essayat the end. The test was ofcourse timed in 25 minuteintervals. We were in therefor five hours! I think Ipassed the test.

Others said theythink they failed it. Andeven though we had to takethe test to get into theclasses, it will be worth itand we will earn our col-lege credit ( if we pass theclass).

I also chose to takethe ACC classes as op-posed to AP classes be-cause ACC c lasses aremore challenging, becauseyou are learning freshmancollege subjects. And a realprofessor from the univer-sity comes to teach you.You can always get out ofthe class if it is too chal-lenging.

Taking the Austin CommunityCollege Test

to score 19 points straight onthe Wildcats in only the first8 minutes of the game whichthe score was now 24-6.

One of the players L.D.Williams gave the Mustangs20 points in the game. At theend of the first half the scorewas 44-26.

When the game startedagain, Elgin was able to score17 points making the score atthe end of the quarter 51-34.At the end of the game,Javante Taylor scored somefree throws and Elgin got intheir final shots, the gameended 78-55. That must havebeen embarrassing for theWildcats. Just shows that theMustangs are the best at ev-erything.

Alon RodgersKelly Lane Middle School

Well its February andthat means 3 months left of

the school year. March iscoming pretty soon also ac-tually next week. Everyonewill be talking about “thebig test” and how there isonly couple diagnostics be-fore “the real test”.

I know everyone can’twait for spring break also(they say it’s basically onlya week, but from the timewe get off and the day weleft before school starts)March 12th-March 20th. Wellthat’s all for now see you allnext week!

The “Big Test” is coming soon

Panthers get Busy!

We had two great victo-ries for the Knights last week.UIL Academic Teams did verywell here at KLMS. They tookhome the championship tro-phy with many students earn-ing 1st place in their competi-tions. That same day, KLMSCheerleaders took a squad toSan Antonio and broughthome “Nationals Champion”jackets/hardware. Congrats toboth groups for adding to theoverflowing KLMS trophycase.

This year’s Teacher ofthe Year is Ms. Tracy Palmer.Ms. Palmer is both an 8th grademath teacher and Team Leaderfor that grade level. Humani-tarian of the Year is Ms. SarahColeman. Ms. Coleman worksas the front office assistant inthe front office, but also does amillion little things for othersall over the school.

Last week, the girls’basketball teams all deliveredvictories against WestviewMiddle School. The boys’teams both won in the 7thgrade against Pflugerville andthe 8th grade boys finished theseason with a victory overWestview.

Spring sports kicks offat home with the first trackmeet at Hendrickson HighMarch 3 and golf match atBlackhawk Golf Club March 7.

Teacher of the Year chosen

February 25, 2011/The Villager/Page 5

Mueller

Masked Ball

about 400 jobs. Thosewere all White-collar jobs,most of those people ended upliving in the suburbs, and thatdidn’t bring any economicdevelopment to the city ofDallas,” Miller said.” Smallbusinesses create the value,create the jobs, and that’s howyou turn a tax consumer intoa taxpayer.”

Another “soldier” in thebattle to close the HUB utili-zation gap is Jim Wyatt, chair-man of the Texas Associationof African American Cham-bers of Commerce. Comment-ing on the same disparitystudy that Miller finds so con-cerning, Wyatt observes, “weare not making very muchprogress in the realm of mi-nority businesses doing busi-ness with state agencies. Ifyou just put it in the capsuleand look at that particulardocument, we’re not doingvery well.”As a professionalwatchdog, [as far as] what’soccurring in trying to make adifference for small busi-nesses, we look specifically atwhere the money is,” Wyattsaid.

”The money is in heavyconstruction. If we look atthat, African American busi-nesses make up half a percentof those firms doing businesswith the state.”

TAAACC recently cre-ated its own Professional Ser-vices Committee to providehands-on troubleshooting toHUBs still struggling to landstate contracts. ”We’re on afact-finding mission, and try-ing to do the due diligence offiguring out what’s causingour African American busi-nesses to not get a piece of thepie,” Wyatt said.

Texas’ HUB programwheezes along during a timeof massive buddget deficits forthe state, and in the face of a

By Jeremy M. LazarusSpecial to the NNPA from the

Richmond Free PressDr. Calvin C. Green led

the fight against segregatedschools in New Kent County.In the process, he would fa-ther a U.S. Supreme Court casethat legal scholars now ranksecond in importance to thelandmark 1954 Brown v.Board of Education case thatoutlawed racially separatedpublic schools.

He is the unsung heroof the case known as Green v.New Kent County, whichcame 14 years after Brownand finally required govern-ments across Virginia and theSouth to end school apart-heid. Dr. Green, who also wasa pastor, schoolteacherm andArmy Reserve officer, suc-cumbed to cancer earlier thismonth, at his residence inQuinton in New Kent County.He was 79.

”He was devoted tohelping people,” said EllaMary Osborne Green, his wifeof 56 years. “He pushed edu-cation.”

Dr. Green launched thelandmark lawsuit while serv-ing as president of the NewKent NAACP branch, whichhe led for 16 years. He led thefight in 1964, a decade afterthe nation’s highest court hadissued the Brown decisionoverturning segregatedschools. But, little hadchanged in New Kent which,like hundreds of Southernschool districts, largely ig-nored the Brown ruling. Fedup, Dr. Green rallied Blackparents and began pushingfor change based on provi-sions of the newly enacted1964 Civil Rights Act. The newlaw contained provisionsbarring school segregation.

But, the most thecounty would offer was a so-called “freedom of choice”

Dr. Calvin C. Green, Unsung RightsHero Succumbs at 79

plan that allowed Black par-ents to petition for their chil-dren to attend all-whiteschools instead of the shab-bier Black schools. Workingwith NAACP lawyers, nota-bly Oliver W. Hill Sr., SamuelW. Tucker, and Henry L.Marsh III, Dr. Green rejectedthat approach as a sham andbrought the federal lawsuit,with his youngest son,Charles C. Green, now ateacher in Winston-Salem,N.C., as the lead plaintiff.

The effort was vindi-cated four years later whenthe U.S. Supreme Court is-sued the Green decision.

Impatient with the slowpace of desegregation, thecourt used the Green case toreject freedom of choice plansand to order school systemsto provide racial balance in allschools. The goal: To “con-vert promptly to a systemwithout a ‘white school’ anda ‘Negro school’ but justschools,” the court wrote. Inthe wake of the case, the per-centage of black students at-tending desegregated schoolsrose from 32 percent in the1968-69 school year to 72 per-cent in the 1970-71 schoolyear. Busing for racial pur-poses became commonplace.

Born into a Middlesex

We have beenServicing the Community

Since 1973!

County family of 11 children,Dr. Green served in the Ko-rean War and then spent 36years as an officer in the ArmyReserve. He rose to the rankof colonel and served in themedical service and as a chap-lain before retiring in 1991.

He also was a school-teacher in Richmond for 33years. He began teaching atArmstrong High School andled the school’s JROTC pro-gram after earning abachelor’s degree in biologyfrom Virginia State Universityin 1956.

He would later add amaster’s degree from NorthCarolina A&T and a doctor-ate from Nova SoutheasternUniversity. He served aschairman of the science de-partment at Thomas Jeffersonbefore he retired in 1990.

He also found time tofollow his father, the Rev.James H. Green, into the min-istry. He served as pastor ofLebanon Baptist Church inNew Kent for five years andalso was pastor of CalvaryBaptist Church in Saluda for13 years.

He earned a master’s oftheology degree from VirginiaUnion University, a doctorate oftheology from the InternationalBible Institute and Seminary inOrlando, Fla., and doctorate inpastoral counseling from the In-ternational Seminary Universityin Plymouth, Florida.

In recent years, he oper-ated an income tax service andcomputer servicing business.In2000, he created and ran twotrusts to offer financial aid tohelp students attend college andvictims of natural disasters.

political climate duringwhich the very concept of af-firmative action - which in-cludes set-asides for minority-owned firms -as a result ofrecent court decisions com-bined with three decades ofsustained attacks from con-servatives, hangs on by athread.

”There are always at-tacks or efforts to eliminate orlimit those preferences forhistorically underutilizedbusinesses, or minority busi-nesses. It happens repeatedlyin different [pieces of legisla-tion], or some of it is done bystealth. For instance, that’swhat the Texas ConservativeCoalition and Research Insti-tute is doing; they just wantto wipe it out in the name ofthe budget,” said Miller, refer-ring to a conservation orga-nization that has recently pro-posed completely eliminatingthe HUB program for the sakeof balancing the state budget.

”Under the Bush Ad-ministration, funding to theSmall Business Administra-tion and to every agency thatsupported minority- andwomen-owned businesseswas cut. There are a coupleof key issues here: Numberone, there’s a movement toresist what they call ‘prefer-ences.’ The reality is thatpreferences exist all the time,and the only time prefer-ences are a problem is whenit’s for somebody whodoesn’t look like the main-stream. Preferences exist incollege admissions becauseif your daddy went there, itmeans you’re a

legacy. So that’s a pref-erence. The reality is thatmost of the preferences outthere benefit large busi-nesses as opposed to smallbusiness, and those pro-grams are sacred.”

HUB businesses remainunderserved from page 1

The Austin IndependentSchool District is facing a bud-get crisis unlike anything theDistrict has ever faced. The Dis-trict is currently looking at a bud-get shortfall that is more than$100 million.

Austin finds itself in thisposition largely because of cutsin state funding for educationthat are unprecedented in thehistory of the Lone Star State. Butbeyond the cuts, our entire pub-lic school financing system isoutdated and in need of an over-haul.

To put this in perspective,let me share some facts with you.Austin is considered a property-rich school district—despite thefact that nearly 3/4th of our chil-dren are low-income.

Our status as a property-rich district means that the Stateof Texas recaptures a significantportion of District revenue tosend to property-poor school dis-tricts elsewhere, in an attempt tobalance the inequities across thestate that the Texas Legislaturehas so far refused to do so.

As a result of recapture,more than $127 million must be

sent back to the State this budgetyear alone. That’s right. That$127 million, if the District couldkeep it, would likely solve ourbudget problem. Over the pastdecade, AISD has paid $1.3 bil-lion back to the State.

This financing formulahas not been adjusted for thepast decade. Perhaps during thissession lawmakers will find thecourage to fix it. In the meantime,school districts all across thestate—urban, suburban and ru-ral—are looking at school clo-sures and massive layouts as away out of this budget crisis.AISD is not alone.

In this climate in whichcommunity members are con-cerned about how the cuts willaffect their children, their cam-puses or even their livelihoods ifthey work for AISD, let me as-sure you that the Board of Trust-ees is taking this situation seri-ously.

The Board has tough de-cisions ahead of it for at least thenext two years, given the size ofthe deficit. The deficit is so large,it cannot be fixed in one year.That means that unless some-thing changes at the state level,this is the reality for AISD for thenext two years.

But, there is a way to pushfor change. At the state level,please join Texans from allacross the state as Save TexasSchools holds a statewide rallyat noon on Saturday, March 12at the Texas State Capitol. Ourmessage to lawmakers is clear:“Keep Texas smart – make pub-lic education a top priority!”

As discussions are enfold-ing at the local level, it is impor-tant for people to be armed withgood information.

As the Board and Super-intendent Meria Carstarphen tryto solve this crisis in a way thatdoes the least harm to students,communities are encouraged tolearn about the budget process,and to make their voices heardin this decision making-process.

Although it has becomeincreasingly popular for peopleto suggest that the budget crisiscould be helped by eliminatingthe bonus for the Superinten-dent, in reality, the Superinten-dent has already offered up herbonus to be cut for this budgetyear. (Some of the bonuses towell-deserving principals andteachers cannot be cut becausethey are funded by grants, andthe funds are not discretionaryand cannot be used for otherpurposes.) But bonuses, elimina-tion of employee travel, and othersimilar reductions are insuffi-cient to get us out of our currentdeficit dilemma.

To help citizens be-come better informed andhave a way to voice theirconcerns, the District ishosting two CommunityBudget Dialogue sessionsnext month. The first is at 6p.m. on Thursday, March 24at Reagan High School, anda second one is at 6 p.m. onThursday, March 31 atBowie High School. Istrongly encourage all com-munity members to attendone of these important meet-ings to have your voiceheard. This will help pro-vide some understandingand perspective on the bud-get, and the difficult deci-sions before the Board.

Between now and thetime the budget is adoptedthis summer, there will besome very difficult discus-sions, a lot of soul-search-ing and praying by some ofus, and some very long andemotional meetings. I askmy community to becomeinformed, became involvedand stay patient. Our crisis didnot develop overnight, and itwill not be solved overnight.

In the meantime, rest as-sured that I will do everythingin my power to do right by mycommunity.

AISD Budget Crisis Demands East Austin Community BecomesWell-informed, Engaged — and Patient

By District 1 Trustee Cheryl Bradley

Page 6/THE VILLAGER/February 25, 2011

By Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

By Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

LotteryAISD Pride

Judge Charlie BairdOn February 17, 2011

the American Civil Lib-erty, the Austin branch ofthe National Associationfor the Advancement ofColored People, the Austinbranch of League ofUnited Latin AmericanCitizens, and other non-profit organizations pre-sented an award to JudgeCharlie Baird for extensivework toward true justice.The Honorable CharlieBaird was a judge who didnot only talk about restor-ative justice but actuallyused it in his courts. Inother words, he was ajudge that was willing toaddress the root cause of

crime.During the cer -

emony, the microphonewas opened to the public;consequently, the attendeecame and spoke aboutJudge Charlie Baird. Law-yers, community activist,elected officials, local lead-ers, and regular citizensspoke about the fairnessthat they experienced inJudge Baird’s court. Nu-merous people mentionedthat Judge Charlie Bairdwas interested in the factsof a case, rather than “hearsay.” Also they mentionedthat Judge Charlie Bairdwas a tough but was veryfairperson.

Judge Charl ieBaird is one the mostpopular judges in CentralTexas. He was one of thefew judges that sought re-storative justice for thepeople who came beforehis court. He was one ofthe few judges who pre-sided over tough cases.Moreover, Judge CharlieBaird sought to help; in-stead of “just throwingpeople in jail.” In otherwords, he worked hardthroughout his career toaddress the root causes ofcr ime. F inal ly , JudgeCharlie Baird would bemissed by the entire com-munity.

Austin city councilBy Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

On March 3, 2011, theAustin city council willconvene in the heart ofdowntown, in order, to dis-cuss and vote on issuesthat affect the developmentand growth of the city. Dur-ing the next meeting the citywill be hearing testimoniesand also voting on items setbefore the council. More-over their vote will eitheradd new regulations ortake away certain regula-tions. Consequently, theregular citizens living andworking in Austin shouldbe involved in this processbecause the council’s voteaffects everyone in CentralTexas.

The city council willseek to “approve the execu-tion of agreement betweenthe City of Austin andMeals on Wheels and Morefor the lease of two (2) CityVehicles to Meals on

Wheels and More for thepurpose of service and de-livery of congregate meals toseven (7) Parks and Recre-ation Department sup-ported facilities. The tempo-rary lease will begin with theexecution of the agreementand end September 30, 2011(initial term) and then bemonth to month with theoption for either party to ter-minate at anytime for anyreason provided the give theother party thirty (30) daysnotice. “Moreover, this con-tract will help feed thosewho are in lack of foodsecurity.Also, the city coun-cil will seek to “authorizean award and execution ofa contract with FLINTCOINC., Austin, TX, for the de-sign and installation of athermal energy storage tanklocated at the TechnicenterPlant, 4201 Ed BluesteinBlvd., in an estimated

amount not to exceed$537,000. Funding is avail-able from the U.S. Depart-ment of Energy (DOE), as aresult of the American Re-covery and ReinvestmentAct (ARRA) of 2009 for thegrant period of December 28,2009 to December 27, 2012.No match is required. Solebid received. This contractwill be awarded in compli-ance with Chapter 2-9C ofthe City Code (MinorityOwned and Women OwnedBusiness Enterprise Pro-curement Program) by meet-ing the goals with 1.58%MBE and 0.41% WBE sub-contractor participation. Tobe reviewed by the ResourceManagement Commissionon February 15, 2011 andthe Electric Utility Commis-sion on February 28, 2011.Moreover, this would allowa minority firm to take partin the bid process.

The African Continent In Quest of Democracy

In the past weeks, theentire African continent isbeing changed fromwithin. From North Africato West Africa, countriesare saying yes to democ-racy and yes to the right ofself rule. People are march-ing in the streets to change

their society dependencieson Western influence, whotend to support oppressiveregimes because they caneasily get that countries re-source, without much ac-countability. In West Afr ica , thepeople of Ivory Coast are

saying no to foreign inter-ference and saying yes toself rule. As a result, West-ern nations, like the UnitedStates, have decided towage war against the selfrule of that nation by plac-ing an embargo on its re-sources and also by en-couraging certain banks toclose their doors. How-ever, the people of theIvory Coast are determinedthat they will win this warfor se l f - rule . In North Africa, acountry l ike Libya hasbeen facing violence due tothe government unwill-ingness to embrace democ-racy and self rule by thepeople. Currently, thou-sands of people are march-ing in the streets to expresstheir desires and inten-tions to have a new formof government in whicheveryone can take part of.Hopefully, the Libyan gov-ernment and its peoplewill be able to come to anagreement.

Judge Charlie Baird

February 25, 2011/The Villager/Page 7

JANITORIAL WORKERSNEEDED

ISS Facility Services, Inc. has open-ings for supervisory, floor men, andgeneral cleaners for part-time eveningemployment. Apply at ISS FacilityServices, Inc. Austin, M-F, between4-6 pm, 8101 Cameron Road # 304.ISS Facility Services, Inc. is an Equalopportunity Employer (EOE) andpromotes a Diverse Workforce.

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EMPLOYMENT/BIDS/PROPOSALS /

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Apply at HR5930 Middle Fiskville Rd.

6th Floor, Austin, TX 78752Job Line (512) 223-5621hhtp://www/austincc.ed

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Austin CommunityCollege

BIDS/PROPOSALS

FTWOODS ConstructionCSI is soliciting bids for the follow-ing projects:

02/09/11 at 2:00PM GameWarden Training Center Located atF.M. 1047 Star, TX HUB partici-pation is requested 02/17/11 at11:00AM Ground TransportationStaging Area Located at 9300 RentalCar Lane Austin, TX. MBE’s andWBE’s participation is requested02/17/11 at 11:00AM Jester 2nd

Floor Dining Hall Renovations Lo-cated at Austin, TX HUB partici-pation is requested 02/24/11 at9:00AM Austin Bergstrom Interna-tional Airport Remain Over Night(RON) Apron Expansion Phase 2Located at 2716 Spirit of Texas Dr.Austin, TX DBE participation isrequested

Contact: Alma RiosPhone: 512-930-2607Fax: 512-930-3748Email:arios @ f t woods .comPlans Available at: ftp:\\ ftp.

ftwoods.com & Local Plan Rooms

Austin Community CollegeDistrict is requesting proposalsfrom firms for the purpose of se-lecting a provider for District-WideSignage and Services.

Request for ProposalNo. 962-11015RWAll proposals must be sub-

mitted to the Purchasing Depart-ment by no later than Thursday,March 24, 2011at 2:00 p.m., Cen-tral Time. Proposal packages areavailable on the ACC Purchasingwebsite at http://www.austincc.edu/purchase/.

In addition, the proposaldocuments will be available in theACC Purchasing Office [(512) 223-1044] between the hours of 9 amand 4 pm, Monday through Friday.During Spring Break, ACC of-fices will be closed from Monday,March 14, 2011 through Friday,March 18, 2011.

All responses must be sealedand returned to the ACC Purchas-ing Office, ACC Service Center,9101 Tuscany Way, Austin, Texas78754, by the date and time indi-cated above. Electronically trans-mitted responses will NOT be ac-cepted unless otherwise stated inthe documents.

The ACC Board of Trusteesreserves the right to reject any and/or all responses and waive all for-malities in the solicitation process.

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By Dr. Frank Smith(TriceEdneyWire.com) -

Did you know that whenPresident Lincoln issued the13th Amendment which abol-ished slavery, it included aproposal to pay loyal slaveowners for their slaves and aproposal to provide federalhelp for newly freed Blackswishing to leave the U.S.?

The Lincoln proposal toCongress stated as follows:“Every state, wherein slaverynow exists, which shall abol-ish the same therein, at anytime, or times, before the firstday of January, in the year ofour Lord one thousand andnine hundred (1900) shall re-ceive compensation from theUnited States——for eachslave shown to exist as statedin Article I.”

In Article II of the 13thamendment, he stated thatslave owners “who shall nothave been disloyal, shall becompensated for their slaves.And, Article III stated, “Con-gress may appropriatemoney, and otherwise pro-vide for the colonizing of freecolored persons, with theirconsent, at any place orplaces, without the UnitedStates”.

So there you have it,President Lincoln trying fortwo years to put down the re-bellion, win the Civil War andkeep America united underone flag without touching theissue of slavery at all. At theend of two years, he now re-alizes that he needs the helpof the freed enslaved personsto set in shambles the

economy of the South and pro-vide additional soldiers inorder to complete his nobleobjective of saving the Union.Lincoln first issues the Eman-cipation Proclamation as a fitand just military necessity toaccomplish both objectives ofending slavery and savingthe nation.

Lincoln knows how-ever that slavery is allwrapped up in the Constitu-tion and validated in a courtdecision called the Dred Scottcase which stated that thefounding fathers never in-tended that Blacks - neitherslave nor free - be citizens ofthe U.S. So Lincoln started towork the Congress to get the13th amendment passed and- with his message to congress- lay the groundwork for com-pensating loyal slave hold-ers. He offered no compensa-tion for the enslaved who hadbeen forced to work for free formore than two hundred yearsbuilding the economicgroundwork for the rich andprosperous economy that weknow today.

Congress rejected thecompensation idea saying itwould bankrupt the countryand that gradual emancipa-tion would prolong slavery foranother 37 years till the year1900. A few Blacks took a looksee at the proposed coloniza-tion idea, rejected it andclaimed their stake in theUnited States of America. In1870, Congress would thengo on to pass the 14th Amend-ment making Blacks born inAmerica citizens and requir-

ing states to accord them“equal protection under thelaw”. The 15th amendmentarmed Black men with theright to vote that was quicklytaken away by state laws andthe wrath of the KKK.

It would take almost ahundred years of litigation,marches, deaths and frustra-tion to erase the legal aspectsof White supremacy. It wouldtake several civil rights actsand a 1965 voting rights actthat abolished the poll taxand literacy test and sent fed-eral registrars into the formerconfederate states enablingBlacks to once again registerto vote, run for sheriff, mayor,congress and serve on juries.It all began with Black sol-diers in the Civil War and in2008, Black voters would joinwith well-meaning Whites toelect Barack Obama the 44thPresident of the UnitedStates.

At the urging of the As-sociation for the Study of Af-rican American Life and His-tory (ASALH), PresidentBarack Obama issued a Na-tional African American His-tory Month, proclaiming stat-ing, “This year’s theme ‘Afri-can Americans and the CivilWar’ invites us to reflect on150 years since the start of theCivil War and on the patriotsof a young country whofought for the promises of jus-tice and equality laid out byour forbearers”. For the fulltext,gotohttp://www. afroam civilwar.org/

April 12, 2011 will markthe 150th Anniversary of thefiring on Ft. Sumter and thestart of the American CivilWar. The African AmericanCivil War Memorial Founda-tion will commemorate the be-ginning Civil War with celeb-rities reading from Civil Warperiod newspapers,speeches, and other docu-ments announcing the com-ing of the war and its pro-found effect on the ending ofslavery in America. We willalso have celebrities read fromselected press responses to theelection of President Lincolnand the anti- slavery platformof the Republican party of1860.

The African AmericanCivil War Memorial lists thenames of 209,145 Black unionsoldiers who joined PresidentLincoln to save the Union andkeep it united under one flag.The monument, located at thecorner of 10th and U StreetsNW Washington, D. C., wasbuilt by a private foundationthat operates a museum. OnJuly 18, 2011 the museum willhost a Grand Opening for itsnewly renovated 5,000 sq. ft.space with new exhibits, arti-facts, and state of the art edu-cational programs adjacent tothe monument.

Lincoln Proposed Help for Freed BlacksWishing to Leave the U.S.

By Chris LevisterSpecial to the NNPA

from the Blackvoicenews.comWhat would happen if

34.5 percent of White men didnot have jobs? According tonew U.S. Bureau of Labor sta-tistics joblessness for 16-to-24-year-old Black men hasreached Great Depressionproportions — more thanthree times the rate for the gen-eral U.S. population.

A jobless Moreno Val-ley man wipes tear from hiseyes as he and more than adozen others discuss the revo-lutions in Egypt and Tunisiaand how the movements re-late to the 34.5 percent unem-ployment rate among AfricanAmerican men. From a na-tional policy perspective, howwould people respond andwhat would happen? Wouldthere be a revolution? A refo-cusing of national priorities?A massive jobs creation pro-gram?

As the tide of revoltsweeps Egypt and Tunisiasparking anti-governmentprotests in other countries inthe Mideast, some AfricanAmericans are asking the pro-verbial question: “Will it takea revolution to spark eco-nomic change in BlackAmerica?”

“All eyes are on theuprisings playing out inEgypt and Tunisia yetAmerica systematically turnsa blind eye to the oppressionin its own backyard.” That’swhat 24-year-old Reggie“Tony” Scruggs, a MorenoValley computer technician,who has been unemployedmore than two years, said.

Scruggs born andraised in Mississippi sayshe’s never had any troublewith the law, other than a fewtraffic violations, and leads amiddle class life in MorenoValley. He says being Blackin America today is just aboutthe same as having a felonyconviction in terms of one’schances of finding a job.

“It’s a cruel irony of lifethat, as Billie Holiday sang,“Them that’s got shall get,”said Scruggs. “I’m not a thug,I’m not lazy, I’m not a highschool dropout, I don’t havea college degree but I haveusable skills. Black men wantto work, but they won’t hireus.”

These days he spendsmuch of his time knocking ondoors looking for work or pentup in his mother’s one-bed-room apartment, the TV blar-ing hour after hour. Heclinches his fist and repeat-edly pounds on a pile ofmother boards, hard drives,cables, and other computerparts.

“I can take a computerapart and rebuild it. I cantroubleshoot hardware andsoftware. Yet employerswon’t hire me. Why? Scruggsasked. He held up a certifi-cate of completion for a com-puter technician apprentice-ship program. So far, the mostthe training program hasyielded was a temporary techsupport representative. Thejob lasted 11 days. “When Iwalk into a place of businessand ask for a job application,the first thing the receptionistwants to do is call security.”

Monday, nearly adozen jobless men stood out-side a popular mini-marketon Alessandro Boulevard try-ing to stay out of the streetsand out of trouble.

“People are condemn-ing the oppression in Egyptand Tunisia. U.S. govern-ment officials, the media,they’re all over the Mideastrevolution. But, many of thosesame people will walk over ajobless African American toget to their microphone,” saidRichard Hedrick an out ofwork truck driver who has anAA degree.

“Our plight doesn’tmake the headlines,” said

Black Unemployment Sparks ChorusOf Discontent

Tide of Mideast revolt gives rise to homegrown frustration

another man who wiped tearsfrom his eyes.

As young Black men,they belong to a group thathas been hit much harderthan any other by unemploy-ment. Joblessness for 16-to-24-year-old Black men hasreached Great Depressionproportions — 34.5 percent inDecember, more than threetimes the rate for the generalU.S. population.

And last week, the Bu-reau of Labor Statistics re-ported that while the nation’sunemployment rate droppedto 8.5 percent, Black jobless-ness remained virtually stag-nant going from 15.8 to 15.7percent and Black teen joblessfigures, still the highest of anygroup, actually ticked up from44.2 to 45.4 percent.

“Can you imagine anyother group at that level ofunemployment and the me-dia dismissing it as not im-portant?” the Rev. Jesse Jack-son asked during an inter-view posted on the website‘Africana Online’.

“This has become soacceptable that it doesn’t evencause anyone to stop andwonder how we are failing,”said Jackson reflecting on thelatest federal unemploymentreport. Jackson added accessto appropriate education andtraining, employer bias, incor-rect background checks, inap-propriate credit checks andother structural barriers alsoserve as barriers to employ-ment.

A cross-sectionalanalysis of employers byHarry J. Holzer, of George-town University, found thatemployers are generally moreaverse to hiring Black malesthan those from any other ra-cial and gender group, espe-cially in jobs that require so-cial or verbal skills and in ser-vice occupations.

Another study fromPrinceton University ofnearly 1,500 employers inNew York City found thatBlack applicants withoutcriminal records are no morelikely to get a job than Whiteapplicants just out of prison.The statistics from the studyalso suggested that employerdiscrimination againstpeople of color and ex-offend-ers has significantly under-mined the job opportunities

for young Black men withlittle education and training.

During nearly a year offieldwork, teams of testersaudited hundreds of job ap-plicants applying for a widerange of entry level jobs suchas waiters, sales assistants,laborers, warehouse workers,couriers, and customer ser-vice representatives.

The results of thesestudies were startling saidDevah Pager, an AssociateProfessor of Sociology andFaculty Associate of the Officeof Population Research atPrinceton University. His re-search on Black men and thelabor market revealed grossdiscrimination in the hiringof Black men.

“The young Black menposing as job applicants inmy studies were bright collegekids, models of discipline andhard work; and yet, even inthis best case scenario, theseapplicants were routinelyoverlooked simply on the ba-sis of the color of their skin.The results of multiple stud-ies suggest that Black menmust work at least twice ashard as equally qualifiedwhites simply to overcomethe stigma of their skin color.”

The employment ratesof African-American men re-mained stagnant even duringthe economic booms in the1980s and 1990s, saidAlgernon Austin, a sociolo-gist with the Economic PolicyInstitute, a nonpartisan re-search center in Washington,D.C.

Austin said thegroup’s continued high un-employment rates even aftermany years of a strongeconomy are influenced bymultiple factors, includinghigh rates of incarceration,limited education, child sup-port arrearages, and discrimi-nation.

Even as the recoveryslowly takes hold, Austinsaid none of the projectionscall for unemployment amongBlacks to fall much below 10percent. “Blacks are going tohave double digit unemploy-ment until 2014. It’s a diresituation and unfortunatelynot many people are treatingthis as a crisis. ... Even college-educated blacks are facingshockingly high unemploy-ment,” he said.

The Seton Family ofHospitals has selected the Cityof Austin as one of the AustinBusiness Journal’s “HealthiestEmployers of Central Texas.”

The City will be honoredat an awards event March 1.

For almost two decadesthe City of Austin’s HumanResources Department hasgrown its employee wellnessprogram, now calledHealthyConnections, to in-clude a wide array of healthand wellness activities.

TheHealthyConnections programmanages a weekly PE pro-gram, where hundreds of em-ployees participate in groupexercises such as running,walking, swimming, kick-box-ing, tai chi and yoga. Otherhealth programs include bi-annual free health screenings,smoking cessation classes,Weight Watchers at Work,seminars with healthcare pro-fessionals on various topics,chair massages, and a Farm toWork program where employ-ees can buy locally grown pro-duce.

In 2009, 24 percent ofemployees participated inHealthyConnections. In 2010,49 percent were involved.

“I’m very proud of ourorganization for makingwellness and healthy lifestyle

a priority,” Mayor Leffingwellsaid. “The City is accomplish-ing the goals outlined in myLet’s Move Austin campaignwhich will help our commu-nity adopt a long-term, sustain-able and holistic approach tofighting childhood obesity.”

Council Member LauraMorrison also is an advocateof employee wellness initia-tives.

“I’d like to thank the em-ployees in the Human Re-sources Department whomI’ve worked with first-hand onvarious health awareness cam-paigns on issues includingbreast cancer and hearthealth,” Morrison said. “Thecreative efforts being devel-oped in the wellness programwill help us realize our visionof being leaders of workforcewellness, providing a modelfor private and public organi-zations throughout the na-tion.”

The wellness program isa good investment, City Man-ager Marc Ott said.

“The City of Austin’sgreatest asset is its people whoprovide our community withoutstanding service on a dailybasis,” Ott said.“HealthyConnections paysdividends. Studies have foundthat a healthy workforce is amore productive workforce.”

City earns selection as oneof Central Texas’

healthiest employers

Explore UT is held onthe first Saturday in Marchwhen The University of Texasat Austin opens its doors andwelcomes the state of Texasto explore, learn and have funwith its faculty, staff and stu-dents on the main campus.Explore UT invites Texans ofall ages to experience the in-tellectual life, technologicaladvances and rich naturaland cultural resources of oneof the leading research uni-versities in the world. Ex-plore UT seeks to broadenhorizons and motivate thechildren of Texas to aspire tohigher education.

When: Saturday, March5, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where: The Universityof Texas at Austin campus

Background: ExploreUT offers more than 400 pro-grams for visitors of all agesso there is something of inter-est for everyone.

Explore UT at TheUniversity of

Texas at Austin,The Biggest Open

House in Texas

Page 8/THE VILLAGER//February 25, 2011

By George HardinBy George HardinBy George HardinBy George HardinBy George HardinSportsBeatSportsBeatSportsBeatSportsBeatSportsBeat

YMCAMile Station

Negro League veteran dies; Kaiser known for fast ball

Cecil Kaiser, one of thedwindling number of playersfrom the Negro League era ofbaseball, died Feb. 14 at theage of 94. He had fallen at hishome in the suburban Detroitarea and was taken to a hos-pital, where he died. He wasone the many who was con-sidered as good enough for theMajor Leagues but wasblocked out because of hiscolor. Born in New York City,Kaiser was a childhood fan ofthe Yankees and began play-ing on sandlot teams in the1930s. He was with the De-troit All-Stars, 1939-40, andthe Motor City Giants, 1941-44. He joined the HomesteadGrays in 1945 and laterplayed with the PittsburghCrawfords, two of the best-known teams in the NegroLeagues. Kaiser was initiallyan outfielder but while play-ing with the Crawfords was

pressed into service on themound by the manager,“Candy” Jim Taylor, after theteam’s pitchers were hit by sev-eral injuries in a row. Althoughreluctant to assume the new du-ties, Kaiser pitched a winnerover the Cincinnati Clowns. Hebecame known as a powerfulleft-handed pitcher. Last month,on Jan. 13, Kaiser was honoredat the opening of an exhibitionat the Muskegon (Mich.) Mu-seum of Art, “We Are the Ship:The Story of Negro League Base-ball.” The title was taken from astatement by Andrew “Rube”Foster, who founded the NegroNational League in 1920. Fostersaid, “We are the ship, all elsethe sea,” suggesting that Negrobaseball was a self-sufficiententity. (Born in Calvert, Texas,in the Bryan-College Stationmetro area, Foster sometimeswas a pitcher as the owner-manager of the Chicago Ameri-can Giants. Former Los AngelesMayor Tom Bradley also wasborn in Calvert.) The slightlybuilt Kaiser was 5 feet 6 andweighed 165 and earned thenickname “Minute Man” be-cause he often struck out oppo-nents in about a minute with his“unhittable” fast balls. Likemany others in the NegroLeagues, Kaiser also played inthe Canadian and Latin Ameri-can leagues. During the 1949-50 season, when he was with

the Caguas of the Puerto RicanLeague, he compiled a league-leading 1.68 earned run aver-age. At the peak of his careerin the 1940s he earned $700 amonth.

The museum exhibitionfeatures original painting ofNegro Leagues players suchas Josh Gibson, Satchel Paigeand James “Cool Papa” Bellby the African American art-ist Kadir Nelson. At the exhi-bition Kaiser described howhe was the pitcher and Gibsonthe catcher on the same teamand also recalled playing withPaige. Referring to his formerassociates, Kaiser told a re-porter for the MichiganChronicle, “They’re prettymuch all gone now. Not manyare left.” The interim presi-dent of the Negro Leagues Mu-seum in Kansas City, Mo.,Raymond Doswell, has saidthat between 125 and 150former Negro Leaguers are be-lieved to be still alive. After hisbaseball career ended Kaiserbegan working for the FordMotor Co. Upon retiring fromFord he began working againand continued until retiringfor the last time several yearsago from a printing company.The Negro Leagues baseballexhibit is scheduled to cometo the Museum of Texas TechUniversity in Lubbock June19-July 1, 2011.

Cecil Kaiser

Bowlers’ league mixes fun, fellowship, gamesEvery weekend

members of the Fr idayNight Jets make their wayto Dart Bowl at 5700Grover Ave., for an eveningfun and fellowship. The 14teams that make up theleague consist of retireesand those still working ev-ery day, singles and mar-ried couples, the youngand those on the other sideof the hill. The league’sseason runs from Augustthrough May, with winnerschosen for the first half andthe second. League mem-bers frequently travel toout-of-town tournamentsand have brought backmany trophies.

Charles Drain, who iswith the Strokers, said, “It’sa lot of fun; it’s competitive,which I l ike . I ’ve beenbowling here for the last 25years and I’ve been bowl-ing lifetime about 40 years.We’ve had (mostly) thesame team here togethers ince I came in ’85 :Ernest ine Hi l l , JamesJohnson, George Et ta

Swisher, and a new bowlerthis year is Tony Houston.When one is off the othersare on so we’re doingpretty good this year.”

Others also offeredvaried comments. ToniLerise said, “To me, bowl-ing is fun, excitement andstress-relieving.” WynonieBell said, “We finished thefirst half in last place butwe plan to take first placethis half.” Vera Williamssaid, “I’ve bee bowling for50 years. I just love bowl-ing.” Maurice Owens, an-other longtime participantin the league, said she is“still trying.” Alicia Cartersaid, “I just started backbowling last year, trying tofeel my way through it.”Clarence Williams said,“I ’ve been bowling forquite a while and I reallylove the game.”

When the seasonends in May various win-ners will be announcedand cash prizes will beawarded.The High Five team participates in the Friday Jets Bowling League. Shown, from left, are

Vera Williams, Wynonie Bell, Toni Lerise, Maurice Owens, Alicia Carter and Clarence Williams.Photo by George E. Hardin

Weekly update is released by D-League Austin TorosThe Austin Toros in

their weekly update onMonday indicated theteam had a 14-19 recordand was ranked eighthout of nine teams in the

NBA Development League’sWestern Conference. TheTulsa 66ers, with a 24-10record, were in first place.

James Anderson is theleading Toros scorer with

15.5 point per game. Otherleaders are MarcusCousin , rebounds 8 .2 ;Car ldel l “Squeaky”Johnson, assists 5.8; andCarldel l “Squeaky”

Johnson, minutes 34.The update featured

Leo Lyons who attendedthe University of Missouriand was with theAltshuler Saham Gal i l

Gilboa in the Euroleaguebefore joining the Toros.

The Toros werescheduled to play the NewMexico Thunderbirds inaway games Feb. 24 and 26.

Coached by Brad Jones, theToros play their homegames at Cedar Park Cen-ter, 2100 Avenue of theStars, in Cedar Park.