This paper canbe recycled

TPATPATPATPATPATEXASPUBLISHERSASSOCIATION

Presorted StandardU.S. Postage Paid

Austin, TexasPermit No. 01949

TheAustinVillager.comTheAustinVillager.com

INSIDE

RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’Tommy WyattTommy WyattTommy WyattTommy WyattTommy Wyatt

Vol. 41 No.39 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: vil3202@aol.com February 14, 2014

CEREBRATE THE IMPACT OFAUSTIN’S AFRICAN AMERICAN VIPs

Barbara Jordan

CEREBRATE THE IMPACT OFAUSTIN’S AFRICAN AMERICAN VIPs

Born on February 21, 1936, in Houston, Texas, BarbaraJordan was a lawyer and educator who was acongresswoman from 1972 to 1978—the first African-American congresswoman to come from the deep Southand the first woman ever elected to the Texas Senate (1966).She captured the attention of President Lyndon Johnson,who invited her to the White House for a preview of his1967 civil rights message. A groundbreaking African-American politician, BarbaraJordan worked hard to achieve her dreams. She grew up ina poor black neighborhood in Houston, Texas. The daughterof a Baptist minister, Jordan was encouraged by her parentsto strive for academic excellence. Her gift for language andbuilding arguments was apparent in high school, where shewas an award-winning debater and orator. After graduating from Texas Southern University in 1956,Jordan continued her studies at Boston University Law

See HEROES & LEGACIES , page7

Renowned Author,Distinguished Panel toDiscuss Contemporary

Civil Rights in America

Renowned Author,Distinguished Panel toDiscuss Contemporary

Civil Rights in America

The Texas Book Festival, Austin NAACP,KAZI Book Review, and George WashingtonCarver Museum and Cultural Center will com-memorate Black History Month with “Defining TheStruggle: Past, Present, and Future of Civil Rights,”a presentation by renowned author Susan Carlefollowed by a panel discussion of civil rights inAmerica. The event is free and open to the public.

Attending are Keynote speaker Susan Carle,professor of law at American University and au-thor of Defining the Struggle: National Organizing forRacial Justice, 1880-1915 and Nelson Linder, Presi-dent of the Austin NAACP. Teddy McDaniel,President of the Austin Area Urban League, JaniceSumler-Edmond, professor of history at Huston-Tillotson University and Hopeton Hay, host andproducer of the KAZI Book Review weekly talkshow are also scheduled to appear.

The event will be held Saturday, February 22,6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at the George WashingtonCarver Museum and Cultural Center, 1165Angelina St.

Greater Austin Black Chamber ofCommerce Announces 2014 Small

Business Award Honorees

Greater Austin Black Chamber ofCommerce Announces 2014 Small

Business Award HonoreesThe Greater Austin

Black Chamber of Com-merce (GABC) is proudto announce honoreesfor the 2014 Small Busi-ness Awards Gala onFriday, February 21,2014. The annual eventwill take place at theOmni Southpark, Aus-tin, 7:30 p.m. to mid-night.

The awards eventrecognizes the best ofthe best in Austin’s busi-ness community, cel-ebrating the dedication,passion and influenceof small, medium andlarge Black-ownedbusinesses and diver-sity supporters. Honor-ees are chosen for excep-tional leadership, ex-traordinary standards ofprofessional excellenceand commitment tocommunity.

Honorable Ron Kirk

“Our 2014 honor-ees demonstrated suc-cess in business, charac-ter and commitment tocommunity,” saidNatalie MadeiraCofield, President andCEO for the GABC. “Welook forward to high-lighting them beforetheir peers and thegreater Austin commu-nity.”

New to the pro-gram is the Interna-tional Business/Part-nership of the Year

Award, which recog-nizes a company or in-dividual that positivelyimpacts internationalgrowth in respectivecommunities.

The awards event isthe largest celebration ofBlack businesses in Cen-tral Texas. Over 400guests are expected atthe black-tie event. Key-note remarks will bemade by Robert Smith,Chairman and CEO ofVista Equity Partners.Ron Kirk, former U.S.Trade Ambassador andSenior Counsel withGibson, Dunn &Crutcher will receive theGABC’s LifetimeAchievement Award.Austin Mayor Pro TemSheryl Cole will serveas Honorary Chair.

The Small BusinessAwards Gala is spon-

sored by IBM, H-E-B,The University of TexasDivision of Diversityand Community En-gagement, CapitalMetro, Dell, WellsFargo Bank, SetonHealthcare Family andJ.P. Morgan Chase.

2014 Greater AustinBlack Chamber ofCommerce Small

Business honoreesinclude:

Small Business of theYearNatasha Harper

Madison, EcoChicFloralCharmaneSellars, Aleon

Properties,Inc.Austinpreneur of

the YearLuke Kyohere,Founder and CEO,

BeyonicTeenpreneur ofthe YearHanna Lashay,

Founder,Hanna’s Handmade

HairbowsInternationalBusiness/Partnership ofthe YearJosé Vicente,Founder, Zumbi dos

PalmaresLeadership in Diversity

Awards:DiversityChampion of the

YearHugh Forrest,President, South by

Southwest InteractiveFestivalDr. KevinFoster, Professor,

EducationalAnthropologist,

University of Texas atAustin & Founder,

BlackademicsTelevisionCorporate

PartnerChris Genteel,Head of DiversityMarkets, Google,

Inc.African AmericanCorporate Executive of

the YearTerri BroussardWilliams, Vice

President ofGovernment Relationsfor the American Heart

Association,SouthWest AffiliateProfessional Leadership

Awards:LifetimeAchievement

AwardThe HonorableRon Kirk, Senior of

Counsel, Gibson Dunn& Former U.S. TradeAmbassadorEmergingBusiness Leader of the

Year VirginiaCumberbatch,

Marketing and PublicEngagement Manager,Division of Diversity

and CommunityEngagement, University

of Texas atAustinAmbassador ofthe Year AJ Bingham,Legislative Director,

McWilliamsGovernmental Affairs

ConsultantsDeePatience Copeland,

Founder,LeanBranding.org

We posed that question tomany of the candidates inlocal races recently as weurged them to reach out toour voters by asking them fortheir votes. This is the letterthat was sent: “It is hard to believe thatwe are only a few days awayfrom the elections and youhave not asked for ourreader’s vote. It cannot bebecause you do not knowwho we are, because wehave covered most of yourcampaigns. Our paper has beencovering Political campaignsfor more than 40 years andour readers look forinformation in our paper tomake their decision on thecandidates. We want tooffer you this last opportunityto ask our readers for theirvote. I have attached our rateinformation for yourconsideration. We lookforward to putting yourqualifications and platform infront of our readers as theymake their final decision. Please feel free to call ouroffice should you have anyquestions. Good luck to allof you.” Early voting begins nextTuesday, February 18 andwill continue throughFebruary 28. Today wehave received a response foronly one candidate to ourletter. Andy Brown (D),candidate for Travis CountyJudge. While candidates arespending millions on the races,there is no money, as usual,being used to target the Blackvote. Then some wonder whythe turn out is so low in ourcommunity. I know that if thecandidates do not speak toand commit to our issues, theydo not owe us anything andwe cannot accuse them ofbreaking promises to thecommunity when they havenever made any. On the other hand, the bestway to get a politician’sattention is to work in theircampaign or make a donationto their campaign.

Tenacious candidatesdetermined to turn

Texas blue.See BROWN

Page 6

Indulge in Austin’srich black history.See STRONG

Page 7

Republicans extendbenefits for 1.7

million Americans.See UNEMPLOYED

Page 2

Is the BlackVote

Important?

Page 2 ~ February 14, 2014/THE VILLAGER www.theaustinvillager.com

THE COMMUNIQUÉBlack Unemployment Rises to 12.1% By Freddie Allen - Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON(NNPA) – The Blackunemployment rate in-creased from 11.9 per-cent in December to 12.1percent in January, ac-cording the Departmentof Labor’s latestmonthly report.

At 12.1 percent theBlack unemploymentrate is nearly double thenational unemploymentrate of 6.6 percent. Theunemployment rate forBlack men over 20 yearsold jumped from 11.5percent in December2013 to 12 percent inJanuary, compared toWhite men who expe-rienced a decrease intheir unemploymentrate from 5.6 percent inDecember 2013 to 5.4percent in January.

The jobless rate forBlack women over 20years old didn’t changefrom December to Janu-ary, staying flat at 10.4percent, compared toWhite women who sawtheir unemploymentrate tick down from 5.3percent in December to5.2 percent in January.

Young Blacks, 16-19 years-old, continueto suffer the highest rateof unemploymentamong all workergroups at 38 percent.The jobless rate forWhites in the same age

Rep. John Conyers wants emphasis on job creation (NNPA Photo by Freddie Allen)

group is 17.5 percent.Many economists be-lieve that lack of job ex-perience during theirteenage years, hindersBlacks from learningcrucial job skills at ayoung age, stunting anyfuture job prospects.

The labor force par-ticipation rate, the num-ber of people who areeither employed orlooking for work, rosefor all adult workergroups. In a statementon the jobs report, U.S.Secretary of Labor Tho-mas E. Perez noted theincrease in the laborforce participation rateand the slowly shrink-ing unemployment rateas signs of economicprogress in the flailingeconomy.

That progress hasnot trickled down to theBlack community,where the jobless ratefor Blacks is nearly twicethe national average.The labor force partici-pation rate also in-creased among Blacks,which may indicate thatmore Blacks were look-ing for jobs in January,but hadn’t found one.

Last Thursday, Re-publican senators bur-ied a deal that wouldhave extended unem-ployment benefits for1.7 million Americans.

Perez said that Con-gress remains a road-block to progress.

On a post on theCenter for Budget andPolicy Prioritieswebsite Chad Stone, thecenter’s chief economist,wrote that, “Familiesrely on unemploymentbenefits to meet basicneeds like food, healthcare, and housing whilethey look for work.”

Stone continued:“If Congress doesn’t re-start the [long-term un-employment benefits],the number of affectedworkers will continueto climb each week,reaching 4.9 million bythe end of the year.”

Stone wrote thatjobless benefits go topeople that spend themoney quickly whichhas a positive effect onthe overall economy.

“In fact, without theconsumer spending thatthose benefits gener-ated, the Great Reces-sion would have beeneven deeper and the re-covery even slower,”wrote Stone.

In an effort to findways to spur jobgrowth, last week, theCongressional BlackCaucus announcedplans to create a “FullEmployment Caucus.”The caucus will “host

expert economists andpolicymakers to dis-cuss proven job-cre-ation proposals andimplement strategiesfor their adoption.”

In a statement onthe creation of the cau-cus penned by Reps.John Conyers (D-Mich.)and Frederica Wilson(D-Fla.), the CBC mem-bers implored lawmak-ers to make job creationa top priority.

According to a re-port by the Macroeco-nomic Advisers, an inde-pendent economic re-search, partisan gridlockand budget cuts havestripped $700 billionfrom the economy andslashed 2 million jobsfrom the labor force.

“Achieving fullemployment isn’t onlyabout helping joblesspeople. When we re-turn to full employ-

ment, investors andbusinesspeople havemore customers. Whenwe return to full em-ployment, workershave power to bargainfor higher wages,” thestatement said.

The CBC statementcontinued: “Finally,when we return to fullemployment, crime de-clines as desperatepeople gain a paycheckand a purpose.”

Appeals Court ‘Net Neutrality’Ruling Clouds Internet Access

by Zenitha PrinceSpecial to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper

A federal court ruling in January striking down “net neutrality” could for-ever change consumers’ access to the full Internet experience, observers say.

Web surfers could find themselves having to pay to watch videos onYouTube or seeing traffic on their favorite news site slow to a crawl now thatthe court has overturned a 2010 Federal Communications Commission (FCC)rule meant to stop Internet service providers (ISP) from playing favorites ordiscriminating against specific content sources.

The FCC rule was championed by President Obama, who said in 2010 thathe felt it was necessary to preserve the “democratic spirit” of cyberspace byhelping to “preserve the free and open nature of the Internet while encouraginginnovation, protecting consumer choice, and defending free speech.”

Supporters were afraid ISPs would, for example, bog down the websitesof rival companies while boosting their own, among other abuses. Otherswere concerned that if premium content came with a cost, it could be pro-hibitive for poorer consumers thus limiting their access.

The FCC safeguard was undone, however, by its own writing of thelaw, which classified ISPs as information services instead of telecommuni-cations services, exempting them from common carrier anti-discriminationrules. As a result, the agency did not have the statutory authority to enforcethe policy, the court ruled in Verizon v. FCC.

“Given that the Commission has chosen to classify broadband provid-ers in a manner that exempts them from treatment as common carriers, theCommunications Act expressly prohibits the Commission from nonethelessregulating them as such,” Judge David S. Tatel, of the U.S. Court of Appealsfor the D.C. Circuit, wrote in the opinion. “Because the Commission has failedto establish that the anti-discrimination and anti-blocking rules do not im-pose per se common carrier obligations, we vacate those portions of the OpenInternet Order.”

The decision was a win for telecommunications giant Verizon, whichled the charge against the FCC rule. But Randal Milch, Verizon general coun-sel and executive vice president of public policy, said the company had noplans to implement a preferential access system.

“One thing is for sure: Today’s decision will not change consumers’ability to access and use the Internet as they do now,” he said in a statement.“Verizon has been and remains committed to the open Internet, which pro-vides consumers with competitive choices and unblocked access to lawfulwebsites and content when, where and how they want. This will not changein light of the court’s decision.”

Some advocacy groups remain doubtful, however, despite such assur-ances. Rashad Robinson, executive director of ColorofChange.org, called thecourt’s decision a “blow,” particularly to consumers of color.

“Because the court has given Internet service providers the green lightto start openly discriminating against web content they don’t want to com-pete with, the Internet could very soon start looking like cable TV, whereone corporation holds the power to decide which content we’re able to ac-cess,” the communications advocacy group’s head said in a statement.

“Black folks’ ability to be heard is now in real danger,” he added. “Ourcommunities rely on the Internet to speak without a corporate filter, to ac-cess information and connect to the world, and to be able to organize andhold public officials and corporations accountable. Without decisive actionby the FCC, just a handful of major corporations will control which voicesare heard most easily — and which may never get heard at all.”

FCC commissioners have said they will consider all options to safe-guard consumers, including a possible appeal.

www.theaustinvillager.com THE VILLAGER/February 14, 2014 ~ Page 3

CHURCH & TOWN BULLETIN

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

Sunday Services Worship 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

Bus Ministry Call 512-478-1875

Dr. Ricky Freeman, Pastor

True Hope Apostolic ChurchThe Apostle Gerald E. Loveless, Senior Pastorwww.thcm.org

8863 Anderson Mill Rd.Austin, TX 78653

512-744-5851 Cell

512-547-HOPE Church

512-767-4979Assistant, Elder Walker

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

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

stpetersaustintx.ning.comstpetersaustintx@att.net

THE PLACE WHERE WE STEP OUT ON FAITH.COME AND STEP OUT ON FAITH WITH US

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

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 Heexhibited is Exemplified.” 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 Service Thursday: Praise,Prayer and Bible Study 7:00 PMCall 454-1547 for Transporation

Website www.agapebcaustintx.orgRev. H. Ed Calahan

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: 512-343-9300Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Donald-Mims

Damon LuckettSales Consultant

Charles Maund Toyota8400 Research Blvd.

P.O. Box 1608Austin, TX 78758

(512) 458-2222damon_luckett@

charlesmaundtoyota.com

7801 N. Lamar Blvd,Suite D 102,

Austin, Texas 78752

Worship: Sunday--10:00 am - 12:30 pm

Tuesday Bible Studies--7:30pm - 9:00 pmFriday Prayers--7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

The Church of Pentecost, USA Inc,Austin offers a wide variety of opportuni-ties for children, youth, adults, and olderadults to be involved in worship, spiritualgrowth, education, community outreach,and making a tangible difference to thosein need in our community. You too, canmake a positive difference in our commu-nity through your prayers, your presence,your gifts, your service, and your witness.Tel: 512 302-1270

Leading People to Experience God’s Love, Know Jesus Christ & Grow in His Image

The Church of Pentecost

Olive Branch Fellowship of Austin / All Faith Chapel4110 Guadalupe St Bldg #639 Austin, TX 78751

Sunday MorningWorship @ 11: am

Romans 5:1 Therefore,having beenjustified by faith, we have peace

with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

This life, therefore, is not righteous-ness, but growth in righteousness; not health,but healing; not being, but becoming; not rest,but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be,but we are growing toward it. The process isnot yet finished, but it is going on. This is notthe end, but it is the road. All does not yetgleam in glory, but all is being purified.

--- Martin Luther

Kenneth Hill, Pastor

DOUBLE

GROCERY“R”

450l East Martin Luther King Blvd.

*We cash ALL Tax Refund*Checks *Check Out

1179 San Bernard Street,Austin, TX 78702, 512-478-7023

Sunday Morning Bible Study, 9:00 A.M.Sunday Morning Worship, 10:15 A.M.

Visit our website @ www.obcaus.org

Globalizing the Gospel

A Ministry That Ministers

Edward M. Fleming,Sr. Pastor

OLIVET BAPTISTCHURCH

The bills don’t stop whenyou’re sick or hurt and

have no income statefarm.com

INSURANCE THAT IS!

Richard Glasco, Agent11824 Jollyville Rd

Suite 300Austin, TX 78759-2300

(512) 250-5533

Ask me about DisabilityIncome Insurance the

State Farm Way.

HEALTH?HOW’S YOUR

Call for details on coverage, cost, restrictions and renewability

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

*Home Office: Bloomington, Illinois

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

SpearsSpearsSpearsSpearsSpearsLaLaLaLaLawwwww

spears.law@aol.com

Felix Bamirin, Pastor

GRACEWAY CHRISTIAN CHURCHExperience Grace For Life

(By Parmer Lane Baptist Church building, behind Wells Fargo)

Call: 682.472.9073 l Email: gracewayaustin@aol.com lVisit: www.gracewaycca.org

JOIN US This SUNDAY / THURSDAY@ 12424 Scofield Farms Drive, Austin, TX 78758

SUNDAYS 10:30 A.M., THURSDAYS 7:30 P.M.

Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church 5900 Cameron Road Austin, Texas 78723-1843

(512) 451-0808 (512) 302-4575 Fax Web Site - www.themount.net

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.

“Ministries For Mankind” Luke 4:18

A.W.. Anthony Mays, Senior Pastor

Wes SpearsAttorney Personal Injury,

Criminal andFamily Law

512-696-2222512-687-3499

401 Congress AvenueAustin, Texas, 78701

Suite 1540

*Austin and Kileen | *Principal Office

30 Years Experience

SpearsSpearsSpearsSpearsSpearsLaLaLaLaLawwwww

We Want YOU!Advertise With The

VILLAGER

Shiloh PrimitiveBaptist ChurchAnnouncement

The Gospel Stars ofAustin, TX., cordiallyinvites each and every-one to “An Evening ofPraise”, Saturday, Feb-ruary 15,2014 @ 7:00 PM@ Shiloh Primitive Bap-tist Church, 385 FM 20,Bastrop, TX., 78602, El-der Larry Washington,Pastor.

The program willbe featuring “TheWimberly Singers” ofBaton Rouge, Louisi-ana. The special guestworship leader will beSister Brenda Vincent,of Favor ProductionMinistries, of Houston,TX.

For more informa-tion contact DeaconWaymon McLamb @512-351-5134 or SisterMay Lott @512-882-8054.

ADD YOURORGANIZATION TO

OUR CHURCHNETWORK.CALL US AT

512-476-0082 TODAYFOR MORE

INFORMATION

NationalAfrican

AmericanHistory Month

2014: CivilRights inAmerica

Posted by HeatherFoster on February 03,2014 at 12:35 PM EST

Progress in Americahas never come easy.Through centuries ofstruggle and hard-wonvictories, our country hasbeen shaped by genera-tions of Americans whobelieved this could be theNation envisioned in ourfounding principles —anation where all aretreated equal, and all arefree to pursue theirdreams. With the leader-ship and resilience of Af-rican Americans, whohave tirelessly champi-oned these principlesthroughout our history,our Union continues tomove forward toward astronger, more just futurefor all.

This National Afri-can American HistoryMonth, as we reflect on“Civil Rights inAmerica,” we celebratehistoric achievementsand foot soldiers, well-known and unknown,who fought to securerights long denied. Butas we hail our successesas a nation, we also ac-knowledge that there ismore work to be done.We still have more to doto ensure every Ameri-can has access to thehealth care they need at

a price they can afford.We must keep fightinguntil every workerknows the stability of afair wage, every familyhas access to ladders ofopportunity into themiddle class, and everyyoung person gets aworld-class educationto prepare them fortomorrow’s jobs.

The Obama Ad-ministration has madestrides in restoring op-portunity for all Ameri-cans, and throughoutthe month of Februarywe will highlighthealthcare, economicmobility, young men ofcolor and the impact ofSTEM as creating path-ways of success and se-curity for AfricanAmericans.

This week our fo-cus is on the AffordableCare Act. While statis-tics show that 1 in 5 Af-rican Americans are un-insured, the AffordableCare Act provides an

opportunity for everyAmerican to access af-fordable healthcare. Or-ganizations like theNAACP and NationalUrban League alongwith African Americanchurches have beenhosting enrollment ses-sions from Richmond toDallas to Los Angeles.Secretary Sebelius willmeet with AfricanAmerican leaders onbenefits of the Afford-able Care Act this week,and to discuss efforts toenroll Americans in cov-erage before the March31 enrollment deadline.The week concludeswith Black HIV/AIDSAwareness Day, wherewe will work to raiseawareness about sur-vival stories and high-light the work beingdone in government,academia, public healthmedicine, and commu-nity outreach to tacklethe HIV/AIDS epi-demic.

(BLACK PR WIRE) – DALLAS, TX – Febru-ary is a month for matters of the heart acrossAmerica, and it’s even a greater matter for Afri-can-American women, who are at greatest risk. TheAmerican Heart Association is impacting the healthof women by saving 330 lives a day. Every Febru-ary, American Heart Month, millions of womenparticipate in the American Heart Association’s GoRed For Women movement to increase awarenessand inspire action in support of the estimated 43million women affected by their No. 1 killer, heartdisease.

African-American women are the most af-fected by the disease. Research shows that theleading cause of death triples among blackwomen, killing nearly 50,000 every year. Given theshocking statistics, Go Red takes pride in com-memorating its 10th anniversary of targeted pro-grams, which includes efforts to close the gapamong diverse women and decrease heart diseasedeaths by 34 percent in all women. For more in-formation, visit www.GoRedForWomen.org.

Women “Go Red” with theAmerican Heart AssociationWomen “Go Red” with the

American Heart Association

Celebrate Black HistoryMonth Every Month

YOUTH BRIGADEYouth of Today

Hope of Tomorrow

Page 4 ~ February 14, 2014/THE VILLAGER www.theaustinvillager.com

Erika LipscombManor Elementary

Already this Friday is

February 14, 2014,Valentines's Day. We arecelebrating this day by bring-ing snacks and exchangingvalentine cards. I haveasked my Mom to bringsugar cookies with the icingand sprinkles. They are re-ally tasty.

I am looking forward toValentine's Day. There will belots of Valentines and foodfor everyone. HappyValentine's Day.

Valentine’s Day

Alon RodgersHendrickson H.S.

The Hawk Foundation isan organization for all thebooster clubs at HHS. Theydistribute scholarships atthe end of the year. Thefoundation also provides aforum to advise campus ad-ministration and to continueimproving student achieve-ment and the overall cam-pus culture and image. Inthat vein, the Foundationhas undertaken a campaignto raise funds for scholar-ships for students attendingfour-year col leges, two-year colleges and voca-tional schools. Fifty-two per-cent of the graduating se-niors at the school are thefirst in their family to attendcollege and the foundationwould like to offer assis-tance to as many students asthey are able to fund.

Giving is a tradition atHHS. The Senior Class of2013 donated $7,644 to theschool to be used to offsetthe cost of Advanced Place-ment Testing for students inneed.

The Silver Dancers heldtheir competition showoffTuesday in the Big Gym.They had guest perfor-mances from Musical The-ater, Band, Colorguard, andChoir. The profits raised fromthis fundraiser will go to helpthe Silver Dancer assistantdirector ’s family. Mrs.Solomon’s husband was in aterrible car accident beforeChristmas break and thefunds that are raised will helpoffset medical bills for thefamily.

The last day for seniorsto order cap and gowns fromHerff Jones on campus isThursday Feb. 13 in the caf-eteria.

Don't forget the SlangBee in the Performing ArtsCenter 6 pm Thursday. PALPeer Assistance & Leader-ship HS Conference is 6:30pm Friday Feb. 14. TheHendrickson Fashion Showis next Wednesday, 7 pmFeb. 19 at in the PAC.

Silver Dancers

Montrae NelsonRiverplace Elementary

A Relaxing Week

Have you ever beenout of school because it wascold and icy? Well I was lastweek and I enjoyed it! Thefirst three days of the weekwere teacher workdays sowe did not have to go toschool. Then on Thursday

because of the weather wehad a two hour delay so thatday was short and wewatched a movie in class.That Thursday night thephone rang and it was myschool, a recorded mes-sage said because of theweather school would becanceled on Friday.

My brother and I wereso happy! So we stayed upand watched a movie withmy mom. I had a really funweek playing with mybrothers and going placeswith my mom. It was so re-laxing. Well I have to goback on Monday and that'sokay but weather herechanges a lot so we mightbe out another day! Younever know!

Zyon HillReagan High School

Where Do We Stand?

My article is about theReagan Raider freshmanbasketball team and thechance we have at getting

into the playoffs. Maybesome of you already knowthat Reagan is sitting at thirdplace in our district beneathTravis and L.B.J. highschools.

With a district recordof 4 wins and 3 loses we arelooking at a chance to bein second place if we candefeat McCallum and L.B.J.high schools. Given thenumber of days the schoolhas been closed due toweather I don’t know if wewil l get to make up anygames.

Lanette DempsDel Valle High School

De’Ja HillLamar Middle School

Getting Into Shape

This week my article isabout getting into shape; ifyou are in shape stay fit.Last month my mom startedtalking about how shethought it would be a goodidea for our family to getinto shape by working outmore. I know this is be-cause of the health prob-

lems that she has. Well thismonth she got a magazinein the mail and started look-ing through it. She saw aweight bench set and atreadmill machine that shesaid she was thinking aboutbuying.

I know my dad and mybrother would definitely usethe weights, but I told mymom if she did buy the ex-ercise equipment that Iwould workout with her. Be-cause I am taking dance atschool any way I think work-ing out can only help. So Iguess we will all be gettingin shape because she isgoing to buy the equip-ment.

Until next time don’tforget to smile, De’ja’

Mock STARR

Last week Del ValleHigh School had their MockSTARR Testing. To me itwas so easy so I hope Ipassed but to me myschool was not preparedbecause we had to get awhole new test . We had toget a new test because

each of our stories weremissing at least 7-8 ques-tions but other than that ev-erything went well. I look for-ward to all my STARR testexcept algebra . I don't lookforward to algebra becausethat is one of the subjectsthat I struggle in . I will studyand hope that I pass my al-gebra test because that'sone of the test that I have topass.

Another class that Istruggle in us Spanish butI'm not worried about thatclass as much as I am inalgebra because I think thatmy teacher should under-stand that I don't know Span-ish and its gonna take morethan some video,vocabularyand test to pass that class.

Getting Closer

With every new day thatpasses this year, the excite-ment for graduation steadilyincreases. I'm sure that mostof, if not all of, us seniors areready to get our orders in forcaps and gowns and walkacross the stage, never look-ing back. But, as much as Ihate to say it, nearly fourmonths remain before theactual date of graduation,

Jaquarry WilsonLBJ High School

which takes place in earlyJune. So that means that notonly must we put in the extraeffort to maintain good gradesin our classes, we have tomake sure that we miss noclasses when it isn't abso-lutely necessary to do so.Final exams aren't that faraway and while taking andpassing the STAAR test, for-merly known as the TAKS orTAAS , isn't something that'sfocused on in most seniorclasses.

However, there will beplenty of information, bothnew and old, discussed inclasses. We must make surethat we do our best on theexams. I can't wait for June,but until then we have tokeep our grades up and stayfocused.

Black History Moment

This past Sunday atchurch we celebrated withHeritage Sunday. I was cho-

SaNaya WhiteCedars Academy

sen to present the black his-tory moment. I chose to talkabout Malcolm X. I really en-joyed presenting him be-cause to me it was a greatfeeling. Talking about a goodperson from my heritage wasnice. Malcolm X was a manthat wanted black & whitepeople to live in peace to-gether. He used violence atfirst but after his trip to Mecca,Malcolm realized that wasn'tthe best way to go. He waskilled at a meeting in NewYork City but he still remainsa important African Americanleader today.

George WashingtonCarver was born in January1843and dead on January 5,1943. he was a scientist,botanist, educator and an in-ventor. The exact date ofCarvers birthday is unknown.

He is believed to have beenborn into slavery in Missouri.Carvers reputation is basedon his research into and pro-motion of alternative cropssuch as cotton, the peanut,soybeans and sweet pota-toes, which also aided nutri-ents for farm families. Carvermade recipes 105 food reci-pes using peanuts. He alsodeveloped and promotedabout 100 products madefrom peanuts that were use-ful for the hose and farm, in-cluding cosmetics, dyes,paints, plastic, gasoline, andnitroglycerin. He receivednumerous honors for hiswork, including the SpringarnMedal of the NAACP.

George W. Carver

Zachariah WashingtonCedars Academy

www.TheAustinVillager.com

@TheVillagerATX

TheVillagerAndBlackRegistryCompany

Celebrate Black HistoryMonth Every Month

Every week since wehave been back for the yearit's like we been going toschool for 4 days a weekwhich is good now but whenthe end of the year comeswe are going to be inschool for a long time. ButI'll deal with that when it getshere. I hope this weekgoes by good and fast.

Imani DempsDel Valle High School

I’m So Happy

Black RegistryBlack RegistryBlack RegistryBlack RegistryBlack Registry

www.theaustinvillager.com THE VILLAGER/February 14, 2014 ~ Page 5

YOUTH BRIGADE

Black History Month

Hello this month isBlack history month, Blackhistory month is the annualobservance in the UnitedStates, Canada, and theUnited Kingdom for the re-membrance of importantpeople and events. Someblack inventions are an Oil-Dripping cup for trains in-vented by Elijah McCoy,Others inventers tried tocopy McCoy’s oil drippingcup. But nobody’s cupworked as well as McCoy.Another invention is hairgrowing lotion invented byMadam C.J Walker, Walker

Aubri Allen-BrentDel Valle High School

grew up poor but she wasthe f i rst female Afr icanAmerican Millionaire. An-other important invention Ithought I should share Ispeanut butter, invented byGeorge WashingtonCarver.

A civil rights leadereveryone knows about isRosa Parks. She finally hadenough of being treated asa second class ci t izen.Parks was sitting on the busone day when the drivershouts “MOVE TO AN-OTHER SEAT NOW” Parksdecides that she does notwant to take it any more soshe just continues to sitthere and says no. the an-gry bus driver then slamson the breaks and de-mands Rosa to move to theback of the bus now, whenRosa does not move thebus driver gets the police.Rosa is promptly arrestedfor violating segregationrules. That’s all the fast factsI have for you now, until nexttime GOOOO CARDS !!!

The Man Behind The MillionsNathan James Robertson Sr

This week has beentough for my family. My dad’sfather died on Sunday morn-ing. My mom told me to writedown something about mypapa because writing istherapeutic. I asked her whatdid that mean? She told meit will help you heal when youare sad.

My father is named af-ter his father Nathan JamesRobertson Sr my dad isNathan James Robertson Jr.This week at my Grandpar-ents’ house family andfriends came over andbrought lots of food, sataround and listen to storiesabout my grandfather. It feltlike a party some nightsbecause there was laugh-ter in the room.

My grandfather NathanJ. Robertson Sr. work forthe same company for 42years Loomis-Fargo. Sincethis is Black History monththere is a little history aboutmy grandpa. My grandpawas call the Million dollar Manbecause he was the 1st Afri-can American to work for theArmor Truck industry in Aus-

Sarah RobertsonPioneer Crossing Elem. tin, starting in the late 1960’s

He would pick up millions ofdollars in a day.

He drove a big Amourtrucks and pick up moneyfrom banks, business,school, and even somechurches. He carried a li-cense gun in case someonewanted to rob his truck to getthe money. Right before I wasborn some man tried to robmy grandpa’s truck while hewas picking up money froma bank. The robber sprayedpepper spray in his eyes, butmy Grandpa pulled his gunand shot him. This was thefirst time my grandpa had toshoot someone in all theyears he worked for them.The man was wounded butdid not die. I am so proud ofmy Grandpa because hewas great man he alwaysgave me candy and soda(when my parents wasn’tlooking). One of my favor-ite things to do with my Papawas go to the place wherehe grew up, Dale Texasand he would walk aroundthe old house and tell usabout his childhood. Thenwe would go to eat barbequeat Smitty’s in Lockhart Texas.

I will miss him a lotand my dad is very sad buthe knows he is in a betterplace.

Sarah Robertson and Nathan James Robertson Sr

Kiara MyersVista Ridge High School

Scholarship Preparation

On Saturday, mymother and I attended ascholarship information ses-

sion at the Microsoft store inthe Domain. Step-N- MotionInc. sponsored it and thepurpose of the meeting wasto spread information aboutscholarships to local juniorsand seniors. The seminarcalled “How to Apply for Col-lege Grants and Scholar-ships” focused on how toprepare financially for col-lege expenses. Obviouslyunlike high school, collegecosts are quite expensive.Fortunately, there are variousways to save and gainmoney to make the process

Science Fair Projects

Averill ToppsPease Elementary

At Pease Elementarywe had a really fun sciencefair. It was fun because therewere cool looking science

projects. One of the scienceprojects had to do with greenmold.

My science fair projecthad to do with gravity pullinga car down a ramp.We hadto measure the speed ofthe car. It might seem easybut it was actually prettyhard. We had to learn about?t2 (which means Delta timesquared) and thePythagorean theorem.That's all I have for you to-day so until next time…

Go Pease Bobcats

Dream College

Jarian GallowayHarmony Academy

Let me set the scene foryou. It was the middle of firstsemester and a teacher justhappens to be talking to her stu-dents about the requirements tograduate from HSANA. Every-one thought they knew whatthey all were: 100 volunteerhours and passing all classes.But there was one thing theteacher said that caughteveryone’s attention, “You alsohave to be accepted into at leastone college.”

That Wednesday in Advi-sory class, teachers told stu-dents to get on a website whereany student can “plan” their fu-ture, from SAT/ACT practice tocollege majors. Even though weall made an account, everyone,even teachers, knew that wemost likely wouldn't use them.About two weeks ago, I got thesudden urge to check my email.That’s when I saw seven emails

from different colleges/insti-tutes. I read the first one, fromDrexel University. They wantedme to take a survey about whatmajor would fit me best. Then Iread the others, from CO Schoolof Mines to University of Miami.They all said the same, for meto take a survey and to contactthem to set up a tour date. Myfirst thought was, “CO Schoolof Mines?” and then I thought,“They want me to visit? That’sserious.” I think that’s when it setin. I’m pretty sure I screamedafter that and started jumpingup and down.

The next week I receivedemail from CollegeXpress, ask-ing me which of the collegeson their list I’d like to get moreinformation about. Clicking justone of those options sent me toa page of almost all the col-leges in the U.S. Two days later,I received an email fromVanderbilt, Notre Dame, NewYork University and ColumbiaUniversity. I probably would havebroken a couple glasses if I hadscreamed. I just stood theremotionless.

So in the end, I’m gladthat I signed up for that account.Hopefully, those colleges andmore continue to contact meand accept me into their col-leges. That would just be theicing on my Future-flavoredcake.

less stressful. The most sur-prising part of the seminarwas figuring out the amountof private scholarships thatare not awarded every yearand how much money is leftuntouched.

Fortunately, I have all ofSpring Break to find and or-ganize the scholarships Iwant to apply to. The onlything that’s stopping me ismy lack of motivation;maybe all of the downtimewill inspire me to get up andstart working on those appli-cations.

Genesis StiggersElgin Elementary

The weather around theU.S. has been seriously coldsome states dropping to sub-

Weather Troublezero degrees. In Texas, manyschools are having to add extraschool days to make-up the icedays away from school. On Fri-day, February 7, 2014 in Elgin,the schools were closed andkids had the whole day off. Eventhough there was a two hourdelay the day before.

Those two days weregreat for the kids but not so greatfor you adults. Anyway, I’m Gen-esis hoping you haven’t had anyweather trouble. Have a greatday!

Page 6 ~ February 14, 2014/THE VILLAGER www.theaustinvillager.com

CITY ~ STATE ~ NATIONAL ~ WORLDStephen Brown for

Texas RailroadCommissioner

by Tsoke (Chuch) AdjavonOver the past month, there has been a focus

on the candidates running on the top ballot for theDemocratic Party. However, there are other can-didates, such as, Steve Brown running down theballot. Steve Brown is running as a Democrat forthe office of Texas Railroad Commissioner. It hasbeen over 20 years since a Democrat has held theposition of Railroad Commissioner.

Stephen Brown was the former Fort BendDemocratic Party chair. Prior to that, StephenBrown worked for several prominent Democrats.Stephen started his career as a campus organizerfor the North Carolina Democratic US Senate can-didate Harvey Gantt who was challenging an in-cumbent Republican. After that he helped founda chapter of the College Democrat at North Caro-lina A&T State University.

The Texas Railroad Commission was estab-lished in 1891 under a constitutional and legisla-tive mandate to prevent discrimination in railcharges and to establish reasonable tariffs. Sincethen, the Texas Railroad Commission has changedto include the production of oil and gas. For in-stance, they oversee the drilling aspect of oil andgas.

Sickle Association of Austin

As we celebrateBlack History month,one cannot forgetSickle Cell which is dis-ease that plagues somany people of Africandescent. According toLinda Wade, one outevery twelve AfricanAmericans living in Cen-tral Texas has sickle cellin their blood system.Moreover, sickle cellalso affects one out ev-ery thirty-six HispanicAmericans living in Cen-tral Texas are affectedby sickle cell. As a re-sult, it is a disease that

Linda Wade, President of the Sickle Cell Association of Austin -Marc Thomas foundation. Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

affects Central Texans.Sickle cell disease

is a disorder, in which,the body makes "sickle-shaped red blood cells.In other words, thesickle shape resemblesa crescent. The sickleshape blocks the flow tolimb and other vital organparts. On the other hand,the normal red bloodcells are shaped like do-nuts and they carry thevital iron and oxygenneeded for the body.

Over 100 years ago,doctors have discoveredthe disease of sickle cell.

Doctors can treat thesymptoms of Sickle cellanemia; however, thereare still no remedies totreat the disease itself.

Here in AustinTexas, the Sickle CellAssociation of Austin-Marc Thomas Founda-tion has been workinghard to educate andteach the communityabout sickle cell. In ad-dition, they also serveas an advocacy groupthat deals with sicklecell. One can reachthem at 314 E HighlandMall Blvd suite 108.

by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

Stephen Brown, Candidate for TexasRailroad Commissioner.

Over the pastweeks, the new indepen-dent nation of SouthSudan faced a civil war.In past weeks, a group ofsoldiers led by certainpoliticians like Macharhave openly challengedthe Democrat electedgovernment of PresidentKirr. Moreover, Macharwho is the head of therebel groups mentionedthat they have taken armsagainst the legitimategovernment of SouthSudan due to certaingrievance the govern-ment has failed to ad-dress. According to therebel led by Machar, "thegovernment of SouthSudan has been purgingpolitical rivals and there-fore acting un-democrati-cally."

In addition, Macharclaims, that the currentgovernment has beenshowing "favoritism tothe Dinka ethnic groupand therefore neglectingthe other ethnic group,such as, the Nuer ethnicgroup." Although Macharhas some grievanceagainst the current gov-ernment, he has alsobeen accused of orderingthe killings of civilians.

In recent days, thegovernment of SouthSudan and the rebelgroup have been able tosign a peace accord.The peace accord calledfor the release of 11 proMachar supporters andalso called for more talks.Moreover, there has alsobeen breaches in thecease fire from bothsides. As a result, itshows that both sides(the government andrebel) still have mistrust,which is making it harderfor them to hold new setsof peace accords.

In Central Texas,there has been a growingconcern from SouthSudan diaspora commu-nities and other Africandiaspora communities re-garding the flaring of up ofthe violence in SouthSudan. For instance,there was a prayer vigilorganized for the peace inSouth Sudan. Accordingto Rah, a SouthSudanese origins living inCentral Texas, "tribalismis the reason why weare killing ourselves inmy nation of SouthSudan and to be honestit's the reason behindother civil wars in manyother African countries.Today, I stand and say Iam not a tribe to send amessage home and be-yond."

SouthSudan

Takes AStep

TowardPeaceby Tsoke

(Chuch) Adjavon

www.theaustinvillager.com THE VILLAGER/February 14, 2014 ~ Page 7

CLASSIFIEDS ~ PUBLIC INFORMATION

City of AustinPurchasing Office

EMPLOYMENTPROPOSALS

PUBLIC INFORMATIONFOR SALEFOR RENT

BIDSMISCELLANEOUS

The City of Austin Purchasing Office invitesyou to view current bid solicitations at https://www.c i . au s t i n . t x . u s / f i nanceon l ine /vendor_connection/solicitation/solicitations.cfm.Vendors are encouraged to register on-line in theCity’s Vendor Self Service System. Once yourcompany is registered, you will receive notifica-tions about new bid opportunities. For addi-tional information regarding current bid opportu-nities or Vendor Registration, please call the Pur-chasing Office at 512-974-2500.

For information on the City of Austin’s Mi-nority Owned and Women-Owned ProcurementProgram and the certification process, pleasecontact the Small & Minority Business ResourcesDepartment at 512-974-7600 or visit their websiteat http://www.austintexas.gov/smbr.

NOTICE TO CLAIMANTSNotice is hereby given that original Letters

Testamentary for the Estate of Ronald Ellis Stone Sr,Deceased were issued on December 19, 2013 underCause No. C-1-PB-13-001919, pending in ProbateCourt No. 1 of Travis County, Texas to Mary Ann Stone.

Claims may be presented to the executor’sattorney, addressed as follows:

Estate of Ronald E. Stone Src/o Anderson Law Firm

310 W. Main St., Suite 201Round Rock, TX 78664

All persons having claims against this estate, whichis currently being administered, are required to presentthem within the time and in the manner prescribed by law./s/ Joseph B. AndersonSBN: 24054578

School. She was one of thefew black students in theprogram. Jordan returned toTexas after earning herdegree and set up her lawpractice. At first, she workedout of her parents’ home.Before long, Jordan becameactive in politics bycampaigning for theDemocratic presidentialticket of John F. Kennedyand fellow Texan Lyndon B.Johnson. In 1962, Jordanlaunched her first bid forpublic office, seeking a spotin the Texas legislature. Ittook two more tries for herto make history.Political Career In 1966,Jordan finally won a seat inthe Texas legislature,becoming the first blackwoman to do so. She did notreceive a warm welcomefrom her new colleaguesinitially, but she eventuallywon some of them over.Jordan sought to improve thelives of her constituents byhelping usher through thestate’s first law on minimumwage. She also worked tocreate the Texas FairEmployment PracticesCommission. In 1972, herfellow lawmakers voted herin as president pro temporeof the state senate. Jordanbecame the first AfricanAmerican woman to holdthis post. Advancing in her career,Jordan won election to the

HEROES & LEGACIES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

U.S. House ofRepresentatives in 1972. Asa member of the HouseJudiciary Committee, shewas thrust into the nationalspotlight during theWatergate scandal. Jordanstood as a moral compassduring this time of crisis,calling for the impeachmentof President Richard M.Nixon for his involvement inthis illegal political enterprise.“I am not going to sit hereand be an idle spectator tothe diminution, thesubversion, the destructionof the Constitution,” she saidin a nationally televisedspeech during the

Barbara Jordan

proceedings. At the 1976 DemocraticNational Convention, Jordanonce again captured thepublic’s attention with herkeynote address. She toldthe crowd, “My presencehere . . . is one additional bitof evidence that theAmerican dream need notforever be deferred.” Jordan

had reportedly hoped tosecure the position of U.S.attorney general within JimmyCarter’s administration afterhe won the election, butCarter gave the post tosomeone else.Announcing that shewouldn’t seek reelection,Jordan finished up her finalterm in 1979. Some thoughtthat she might have gonefarther in her political career,but it was later revealed thatJordan had been diagnosedwith multiple sclerosis aroundthis time. She took some timeto reflect on her life andpolitical career, penningBarbara Jordan: A Self-Portrait (1979).Jordan soon turned herattention toward educatingfuture generations ofpoliticians and publicofficials, accepting aprofessorship at theUniversity of Texas at Austin.She became the Lyndon B.Johnson Centennial Chair ofPublic Policy in 1982. While her educationalwork was the focus of herlater years, Jordan neverfully stepped away frompublic life. She served as aspecial counsel on ethics forTexas Governor AnnRichards in 1991. Thefollowing year, Jordan onceagain took the national stageto deliver a speech at theDemocratic NationalConvention. Her health had

declined by this point, andshe had to give her addressfrom her wheelchair. Still,Jordan spoke to rally herparty with the same powerfuland thoughtful style she haddisplayed 16 years earlier.In 1994, President BillClinton appointed Jordan tohead up the Commission onImmigration Reform. Healso honored her with the

Presidential Medal ofFreedom that same year.She passed away two yearslater, on January 17, 1996,in Austin, Texas. Jordan diedof pneumonia, acomplication of her battlewith leukemia. The nation mourned theloss of a great pioneer whoshaped the political landscapewith her dedication to the

Constitution, her commitmentto ethics and her impressiveoratory skills. “There wassimply something about herthat made you proud to be apart of the country thatproduced her,” said formerTexas governor Ann Richardsin remembrance of hercolleague. President Clintonsaid, “Barbara always stirredour national conscience.”

Dr. Charles Akins

Austin’s Strong Black History Roots Series

Willie Ray Davis(1924-2006) was one ofthe first three AfricanAmericans hired by theAustin Fire Departmentin 1952. Davis was as-signed to Station 5 at1005 Lydia Street. Hissuccess inspired othersso much that by 1954African Americanswere employed asfirefighters in Houston,San Antonio, Dallas,and other Texas cities. In1966, Ray was pro-moted to lieutenant, be-coming the first AfricanAmerican fire officer inTexas. In 1969, he wasnamed AustinFirefighter of the Year—an honor bestowed onhim by the B’nai B’rithHill City Lodge No. 241.

In 1973, Davissuccessfully conqueredthe civil service examand was promoted tocaptain. Recognized forhis exceptional techni-cal knowledge in thefield of fire preventionand containment, Daviswas assigned to thedepartment’s publiceducation division. Heretired with honors in1983. He received theDistinguished ServiceAward, given by MayorCarole KeetonMcClellan and the Aus-tin City Council.

Stay tuned formore on our Austin’sStrong Black HistoryRoots series next week.

An academic ad-ministrator and educa-tor during the CivilRights era, Dr. W.Charles Akins (b. 1932)was born in Austin. Heattended segregatedBlackshear ElementarySchool and Kealing Jun-ior High School. At L. C.Anderson High Schoolhe met W. B. Campbell,who inspired him to be-come a school principal.After graduating fromAnderson in 1950, Akinsearned a bachelor’s de-gree in history fromHuston-Tillotson Col-lege, a master’s degreefrom Prairie View A&MCollege, and adminis-trative certification fromSouthwest Texas StateUniversity. In addition,in 1982 Huston-Tillotson presentedAkins with the honorarydoctorate of humane let-ters. But where Akinstruly distinguishes him-self is in his contribu-tions to one of 20th-cen-tury.

An influentialAustin civil-rights ad-vocate, Ada Anderson(b. 1921) was born inTarrant County, Texas.Anderson graduatedfrom Anderson HighSchool in 1937. Ander-son was the first AfricanAmerican to enroll in theUniversity of TexasMaster of Library Sci-ence program, butswitched to the Collegeof Education, earningher master’s degree ineducational psychol-ogy. In 1953, Andersonhelped found the Aus-tin chapter of Jack andJill of America, and laterformed the Austin Hu-man Relations Commis-sion, which worked tochange city regulationsand open Austin hotels,schools, and businessesto all people. Andersonhas worked as a teacherand psychometric, as-sisting Austin Commu-nity College and UT,and served on the boardof the Laguna Gloria ArtMuseum. A foundingmember of the AustinLyric Opera, in 1989Anderson initiated theLeadership EnrichmentArts Program, which of-fers the experience ofperforming and visualarts to low income andminority youth. Ander-son received recogni-tion in the Texas BlackWomen’s Hall of Fameand the African Ameri-can Women’s Hall ofFame in 1986, and

Berl Handcox (b.1932) grew up inDenton, Texas, andWichita, Kansas. In1951, he enlisted in theNavy and shortly afterwas assigned to the air-craft carrier U.S.S. Val-ley Forge. Handcox at-tended Prairie ViewA&M College, where hemet his wife, Ruby. In1967, he moved to Aus-tin and took a job at IBMin the education depart-ment. A short time later,he was named equalemployment opportu-nity coordinator forIBM. Handcox and hisfamily challenged theunwritten rule thatforced African Ameri-cans to live almost ex-clusively in east Austin.He became known

Ada Anderson

Berl Handcox

Capt. Willie Ray Davis

within the black com-munity as president ofa group called theYoung Men’s Progres-sive Club, and this ex-posure inspired someof his associates to sug-gest that he run for aseat on the Austin CityCouncil. In 1971,Handcox became thefirst African Americansince Reconstruction toserve on the Austin CityCouncil. He was re-elected in 1973, but re-signed in 1975 to headthe Office of Equal Em-ployment Opportunityfor the State of Texas.Since his tenure, Place 6on the Austin CityCouncil has tradition-ally been filled by anAfrican American.

among her honors are aUT DistinguishedAlumnus Award and aleadership award fromthe Austin Chamber ofCommerce BusinessCommittee on the Arts.

BLACK AUSTINDEMOCRATSANNOUNCE

ENDORSEMENTSThe members of

Black Austin Democrats(BAD) have voted to en-dorse the following can-didates in the March 4primary election:

Travis County JudgeAndy Brown

Travis CountyCommissionerPrecinct Two

Brigid Shea

Travis CountyCommissionerPrecinct Four

Margaret Gomez

Travis CountyTreasurerRamey Ko

Judge for TravisCounty Court at Law

Number ThreeJohn Lipscombe

Travis County Justiceof the Peace,Precinct Five

Herb Evans

Texas RailroadCommissioner

Steve Brown

“Although all elec-tions are important, “saidBAD President JeffTravillion, “this election isto fill some key leadershippositions in TravisCounty. We encourage allBAD members and allvoters to cast their ballotson Election Day. “

Early voting for theMarch 4 election beginson February 18 and endson February 28.

iPad for Business(2/19/2014)iPad For Business: In-

crease Sales, Lower Costs, andImprove Productivity.

Time:9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Location:Entrepreneur Center ofAustin, 4029 S Capital of

TX Hwy #110,Austin, TX 78704

Fee: $35includes light breakfast

For RegistrationInformation:

512-974-7800

BLACK AUSTINDEMOCRATSANNOUNCE

ENDORSEMENTS

Page 8 ~ February 14, 2014/THE VILLAGER www.theaustinvillager.com

PROGRAMS ~ AWARENESSAAFCA Awards Earns Kudos for its 5th Annual Awards

By Naomi Richard

STELLER - 5th 2014 AAFCA AWARDSEmayatzy Corinealdi with Forest Whitaker. Photocourtesy Naomi Richard

An impressive cadre of A-list celebrities andpowerhouse executives came together in the cen-ter of Hollywood for the AAFCA Awards - anawards gala that adds a distinctive brand of exu-berance to awards season. Produced by the Afri-can American Film Critics Association the 5th yearinstallment brought out Oscar-winners ForestWhitaker and Louis Gossett, Jr., who mingled withAMPAS President, Cheryl Boone Isaacs; DGAPresident Paris Barclay; TV mogul ShondraRhimes; Fox Searchlight executive Zola Mashariki;Oscar nominated producer Reggie Hudlin;Sundance Award winning director, Ava DuVernayand top entertainment attorney Nina Shaw, amongother top industry luminaries.

Hosted by actors Orlando Jones (“Sleepy Hol-low”) and actress Salli Richardson-Whitfield, theevent in addition to bestowing awards to winners in12 traditional categories, also highlighted the greatstrides made by the industry towards diversity andinclusion with awards given out to Boone Isaacs,

Barclay, Bob and Harvey Weinstein and journalistJustin Chang, who received the organization’s inau-gural Roger Ebert Award. Mashariki was also rec-ognized by the organization with the Ashley BooneAward, which is named after one of the first AfricanAmerican studio executives.

Highlights of the evening included the afore-mentioned honor to Mashariki, who was presentedthe award by film director Robert Townsend anddirecting juggernaut Shonda Rhimes, who sharedfond memories of her friendship with the honoreethat began in college. Other notable moments in-cluded the acceptance speeches by Fruitvale Sta-tion director Ryan Coogler who was joined onstage by two of the film’s producers (ForestWhitaker and (Nina Yang Bongiovi) ; Variety FilmEditor Justin Chang who was presented the RogerEbert Award by the late film critic’s step-daughterSonia Evans, and from Boone-Isaacs and Barclaywho along with the Weinstein’s were recipients ofAAFCA’s Special Achievement honors.

45th NAACP ImageAwards Announces

Host, FirstPresenters

By Naomi Richard

Anthony Anderson

LOS ANGELES —The NAACP and TVOne announced todaythat Anthony Andersonwill serve as host for the45th NAACP ImageAwards and the firstgroup of presenters con-firmed include LupitaNyong’o, Tyler Perry,Michael Ealy, TonyGoldwyn, Arsenio Hall,

Gabrielle Union, ReginaHall, Octavia Spencer,Archie Panjabi, DennisHaysbert, RickeySmiley, Nicole Beharie,and Lou Gossett Jr. The45th NAACP ImageAwards will broadcastLIVE from the PasadenaCivic Auditorium onSaturday, February 22,9:00 p.m. ET/PT tape-

delayed as a two-hourstar-studded special onTV One. The telecastwill also include a one-hour pre-show airinglive from the red carpet(8:00 p.m. ET/PT tape-delayed).

Dennis Haysbertwill also be the in-showannouncer. In addition,the NAACP “Enter-tainer of the Year” willbe revealed. This spe-cial honor is bestowedupon an individualwithin the entertain-ment industry who hasachieved notable suc-cess in multiple projectsand mediums. Thisyear, individuals (in-cluding non-NAACP

members) can cast theirvote online via the Im-age Awards mainwebsite to help decidewho among the follow-ing contenders will berecognized: Beyoncé,Dwayne Johnson, IdrisElba, Kevin Hart,Nicole Beharie, andOprah Winfrey. Fanscan cast their vote oncea day until the February14 deadline.

As previously an-nounced, AcademyAward-winning actor,producer, director and2014 Image Awardnominee ForestWhitaker will receivethe NAACP Chairman’sAward. Paris Barclayand Cheryl BooneIsaacs, the first African-American Presidents ofthe Directors Guild ofAmerica and the Acad-emy of Motion PictureArts & Sciences, respec-tively, will be inductedinto the Image AwardsHall of Fame.

CongresswomanWaters Recognizes

Black History Month

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman MaxineWaters (CA-43) released the following statementtoday in recognition of Black History Month, a com-memoration that has taken place since 1976.

“As we celebrate Black History Month, it isimportant that we take this time to honor the sig-nificant contributions African-Americans havemade as a part of our nation’s diverse tapestry.The theme for this year’s Black History Month is“Civil Rights in America,” focusing on the 50th an-niversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, whichoutlawed discrimination based on race, color, re-ligion, sex or national origin.

“Throughout the Civil Rights Movement, na-tional leaders like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr., Rosa Parks, Dr. Joseph Lowery, Rev. Jesse Jack-son, Sr., Andrew Young, and my colleague, Con-gressman John Lewis worked diligently to ensurecivil rights for all Americans. Armed with thepower of nonviolence, civil rights leaders and ad-vocates alike succeeded in organizing and unit-ing our nation on matters of racial equality. Dur-ing this year’s Black History month, it is impor-tant that we celebrate those responsible for shift-ing our nation’s consciousness towards racialequality allowing us to enjoy the freedoms andopportunities available today.

“The Civil Rights Act was passed during atime when African-Americans faced unfair condi-tions and treatment in almost every aspect of theirdaily lives. Even though we recognize how farwe have come as a nation, there is still tremendousprogress to be made. Significant disparities stillpersist in the health, education and incarcerationrates of African-Americans across the country. Aninexcusable wage gap still persists betweenhardworking female and male workers. And now,as our nation encourages democracy abroad, ourown voting rights at home are under siege.

“Now is the time for us recommit to fortifyingthe progress that has been made and address the sig-nificant issues that affect us all, regardless of race orethnicity. Investing in good jobs and effective jobtraining, raising the minimum wage, and protectingthe right to vote remain important concerns for us alltoday. Let’s commit to ensuring the ladders of op-portunity are available to all Americans and makethese things a national priority.”

Sounds ofBlackness:

Black HistoryCelebration

This production fea-tures the National Award Win-ning FLAVA Dance Companyand local performers fromAustin, Manor, Round Rock,Pflugerville, Cedar Park andother surrounding areas.

This year we will featurethe soulful sounds of the God-father himself, Mr. JamesBrown! The journey starts withgospel roots and travels totodays current hits.

Saturday, February 15from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

F M I :www.eventbrite.com (soundsof blackness a celebration ofblack history)