INSIDE

RAPPIN’Tommy Wyatt

TPATPATPATPATPATEXASPUBLISHERSASSOCIATION

www.TheAustinVillager.com This paper canbe recycled

Vol. 46 No. 28 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: vil3202@aol.com November 23, 2018

Rep. Cole facestough decisions inthe Texas House.

See WINPage 6

Huston-Tillotson (HT)

Universitycontinues

growth trends. As a graduate of aHistorically BlackCollege or University(HBCU) I have beenvery impressed with theactivity that is going onat HT. While many ofour HBCUs are fightingto stay alive, others aretrying to develop waysand programs that wouldattract more of theirgraduates to be donorsand supporters of theirinstitutions, others aredeveloping programsthat are attracting morestudents. Locally, HT is doingboth. While they arereaching out to theformer students, they arealso trying to developprograms that will attractmore students to thecampus. They have alsoopened up the campus tothe community to havemore of their programson the campus. Eachyear many of us lookforward to spending timeon the campus after theMLK March. HT recentlyannounced the devel-opment of a newprogram that will belocated away from themain campus on ChiconStreet. The Center forEntrepreneurship andInnovation (CEI) is thefirst program in thehistory of the College/University that hasexisted away from themain campus. HT invites the Austincommunity to the GrandOpening of the CEI. Thecampus is located at1023 Springdale Road,Bldg 12, Austin, TX. Theevent will be heldThursday, December 6,2018, 11:30 am – 1:00p.m. You must RSVP byDecember 1, 2018. Youcan send your RSVP tohtnewsteam@htu.edu.You do not want to missthis event. HT is the oldestinstitution of highereducation in Austin andcontinues to provide anoutstanding service.

Warning to Parentswith Teens on

Social Media from aDevastated Family

By Defender News Service

The family of a murdered teen is sending awarning to others after learning of a personathe teen had on social media that portrayedhim as a gangster.

(Houston, TX) -De’Lindsey DwayneMack, 18, was shot mul-tiple times on Nov. 16 ashe walked near LamarHigh School. HoustonPolice Executive Assis-tant Chief Troy Finnersaid it appears theshooter was sending amessage.

“Once the suspectfired upon the male andfemale, the male wentdown. The suspect stoodover De’Lindsey andfired more shots,” Finnersaid.

The family held anews conference towarn of what can hap-pen if parents don’t keepan eye on children’s ac-counts. One familyfriend commented thatMack was a “bedroomgangster” – a teen witha secret hidden within

his smart phone.“If you don’t get

into your kids’ socialmedia pages, you’ll bewhere I am,” said theteen’s father, Dwight D.Mack. “It ’s sad thatsomeone can create apersona on social mediato make someone hatethem that bad.”

Mack was ap-proached by threeyoung men near thecampus, police said, andthe gunman shot at himon the sidewalk. Finnersaid gang activity mighthave been involved.

Dr. D. Z. Cofield,pastor of Good HopeMissionary BaptistChurch and familyspokesman, didn’t denythat gang activity mighthave been a factor in the

See PARENTS, page 2

Pelosi AnnouncesPush for Staff

Diversity for NewU.S. House

By Lauren Victoria Burke |NNPA Newswire Contributor

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

(Wash. D.C.) - Withthe largest Congres-sional Black Caucus inhistory along with a his-toric number of womenentering the U.S. Housein 2019, House Demo-cratic Leader NancyPelosi (D-CA) has an-nounced plans for a newemphasis on staff diver-sity in the U.S. House.

The effort will callattention to the ongoingdiversity problem onCapitol Hill. Very few se-nior staff positions onthe Senate side are heldby Blacks or Latinos. Onthe House side of Capi-tol Hill most staff toppositions are employedby member of the CBC.

“We know that thediversity in our ranks isa strength and a reflec-tion of the Americanpeople,” Pelosi wrote tocolleagues last week.She is expected to runfor Speaker and leadDemocrats once againwhen the new Congressconvenes in January.

A new House Diver-sity Initiative would cre-ate a permanent officein the House with suffi-cient staff to help recruitand retain diverse em-ployees according to

staff. Much of the pres-sure over the last fewyears regarding the di-versity issue on CapitolHill has come as a resultof study and effort bythe Joint Center for Po-litical and EconomicStudies headed by Spen-cer Overton.

The Joint Centerapplauded Pelosi’s letterto her DemocraticHouse colleagues em-phasizing the impor-tance of staff diversity.The letter featured sev-eral Joint Center recom-mendations.

“Leader Pelosi de-serves credit for layingdown an early marker onthe need to take actionto increase top staff di-versity in Congress,” saidJoint Center PresidentSpencer Overton. “ThisSee ROONEY RULE,

page 5

Op-ED: Criminal Justice ReformLong Overdue for Black America

Dr. Benjamin F.Chavis, Jr.

NNPA CEO

(NNPA) - As a mem-ber of the infamousWilmington Ten case inNorth Carolina from1972 to 2012, I wit-nessed firsthand whythe criminal justice sys-tem in the United Statesneeded to be thoroughlyreformed. We had beenunjustly sentenced in1972 to a combined to-tal of 282 years in prisonfor standing up for equalquality education forBlack students in thepublic-school system inWilmington, NC in 1971.

For 40 long years,

until North Carolina Gov-ernor Beverly Perduesigned “Pardons of Inno-cence” documents foreach member of theWilmington Ten, the is-sues of unjust and dis-proportionate mass in-carceration, bail reform,racism in the judiciary,prosecutorial miscon-duct, and reentry chal-lenges were not mattersof partisanship, butwere matters of funda-mental civil and humanrights.

Thanks to the Na-tional Newspaper Pub-lishers Association(NNPA), National Asso-ciation for the Advance-ment of Colored People(NAACP), the UnitedChurch of Christ (UCC),the National AllianceAgainst Racist and Politi-cal Repression (NAARP),Amnesty Internationaland millions of people

across the U.S. andthroughout the world,we finally received amodicum of justice withthe Pardons of Inno-cence being issued onDecember 31, 2012.

In the wake of therecent 2018 MidtermElections, there now ap-pears to be a more bipar-tisan interest and com-mitment in the achieve-ment of significant crimi-nal justice reform inAmerica. Earlier thisyear, the House of Rep-resentatives finallypassed the First Step Actwith bipartisan support.The legislation estab-lishes the initial steps forcriminal justice reformat the federal level. Justlast week, even Presi-dent Trump announcedhis support of the FirstStep Act. However, whatthe U.S. Senate will do isstill an open question.

The U.S. Congressshould expedite passingthe First Step Act as wellas other criminal justicereform legislation. ForBlack America in particu-lar, this remains an ur-gent and crucial publicpolicy objective.

Of the current 2.2million people incarcer-ated in the nation’s pris-ons and jails, a dispro-portionate number areAfrican Americans andother people of color.According to a 2018 PewResearch Study, in 2016African Americans rep-resented 12 percent ofthe U.S. adult populationbut 33 percent of thesentenced prison popu-lation. The ACLU reportsthat African Americanmen are six times morelikely to be incarceratedas White men in the U.S.

See SOLUTIONS, pg 5

What’s NextFor Stacey

Abrams AndAndrewGillum?

By Defender News Service

Andrew Gillum‘sconcession this week-end in the Florida guber-natorial election fol-lowed Stacey Abrams‘one day earlier in Geor-gia, leaving their politicalambitions unfulfilled …for now, that is.

While their mid-term election losses bythe narrowest of mar-gins were a major let-down for their cam-paigns and supporters,both races also showedhow perhaps with moresupport from the Demo-cratic establishment andless voter suppression —a major factor in eachelection — they could,or, at least, shouldemerge victorious withanother run.

The question is, dothey have any morecampaign runs left inthem?

For Abrams, theanswer was clear: A re-sounding yes.

“I’m going to spendthe next year as a privatecitizen, but I do indeedintend to run for officeagain,” Abrams told saidSee DIRTY TRICKS,

page 5

Dr. O’Neal slainin Chicago

shooting rampage.See MERCY

Page 5

National CatholicOrg. launch socialjustice initiatives.See KNIGHTS

Page 8

Page 2 ~ THE VILLAGER/November 23, 2018 THE COMMUNIQUÉ www.theaustinvillager.com

November 26 AISD Board Meeting andNovember 28 East Austin Coalition Meeting

(AUSTIN, TX) - Monday, November 26 will be the last meet-ing for District 1 Trustee Dr. Ted Gordon.

We are hoping to get a large group to be there to thank Dr.Gordon for his (often thankless, but much appreciated) service onthe board, as the lone voice for equity and diversity in AISD.

If you wish to speak during Public Comment, you may sign upby phone or in person. You may sign up from 1–4:45 p. m. the Fri-day before a Regular Board meeting (tomorrow, November 16,because of the Thanksgiving holiday) and from 7:45 a.m.–7 p.m.on the day of the Regular Board Meeting. For phone registrationsign up, call 512-414-4411. On the day of the board meeting, youcan sign up by phone or in the Superintendent’s Office (Room A250)during regular business hours of 7:45 a.m.–4:45 p.m. or in the BoardAuditorium (Building B Room 100) from 4:45–7 p.m.

Even if you do not want to speak, please turn out in a publicshow of support for Dr. Gordon, as well as provide a visual that theissues Dr. Gordon championed are still a high priority for manypeople in Austin.

Also, the next East Austin Coalition of Quality Education meet-ing will be: 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 28,Fannie Mae StewartCommunity Conservatory, 1902 East 22nd Street, Austin , TX 78722

shooting, but said Mack only portrayed him-self as a gang member.

One of Mack’s posts on his Instagram pageshowed a photo of the teen holding cash and a gun,for example, Cofield said.

By all other accounts, Mack was a “big talker,”but not a gangster, according to the pastor.

“When we heard about the kind of shooting itwas, clearly a shooting that was intended to endhis life, and anger and vengeance behind it, we weredumbfounded,” Cofield said.

“We want to remind parents that in this age oftechnology, that we have to parent in a differentway,” a statement from the family said.

“You have to parent with the reality that nowit is not just about watching them physically andmentally; now you have to watch any image thatyour child puts out through social media, especiallywhen it doesn’t reflect them accurately. Oftentimeschildren project an image that they glorify and nottheir reality. Just a few wrong strokes on a com-puter can cost a child his life.”

De’LindseyDwayne Mack

Technology brings new challengesto parents continued from page 1

4509 Springdale Road Austin, Tx 78723Office 512- 926-1686 Fax 512-929-7281

Christian Web Site-stpetersaustintx.ning.com

stpetersaustintx@att.netTHE PLACE WHERE WE STEP OUT ON FAITH.

COME AND STEP OUT ON FAITH WITH USSunday 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)

www.theaustinvillager.com THE BULLETIN THE VILLAGER/November 23, 2018 ~ Page 3

Felix Bamirin, PastorGRACEWAY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Experience Grace For LifeCall: 682.472.9073 l Email: gracewayaustin@aol.com l

Visit: 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.

New Lincoln Missionary Baptist Church2215 E. 8th St.,

Austin, TX 78702Going to Higher Heights,

Trusting God along the way.Sunday School 9:00am

BTU: 10:00amMorning Worship - 11:00 amChurch Phone (512) 477-2714

Cell Phont (512) 585-0744Email: newlincolnmbc@att.net

www.newlincolnmbc.orgRev. Darron E. Patterson

Pastor

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

Rev. Jack C. Gause Pastor

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

with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

“This life, therefore, is notrighteousness, but growth in righteousness;not health, but healing; not being, butbecoming; not rest, but exercise. We are notyet what we shall be, but we are growingtoward it. The process is not yet finished,but it is going on. This is not the end, but itis the road. All does not yet gleam in glory,but all is being purified.” --- Martin Luther

GO YE EVANGELISTIC GOSPEL MISSION(Arena of Refuge and Liberty)

Venu: Super 8, 8128 N. Interstate 35Austin, Texas 78753

CHURCH WEEKLY ACTIVITIESSundays: Sunday Celebration 9am - 12 noon

Wednesdays: Systematic Bible Study 6pm-7:30 pmFri: “I Believe in Miracle” Prayer Meetings 6-7:30

Join Operation PUSH Prayerline Team EveryFriday @ 6:pm

REV. SAMUEL EHIMEN, Minister in-chargeTel: 512-506-1645

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

Sunday MorningWorship @ 11: am

Kenneth Hill,Pastor

St. Peter’s United Methodist Church

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 loveHe exhibited 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.comRev. H. Ed Calahan

Pastor

Globalizing the Gospel

A Ministry That Ministers

Edward M. Fleming,Sr. Pastor

OLIVET BAPTISTCHURCH

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

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

Phone: (512) 478-1875Fax: (512) 478-1892

Bus Ministry: (512) 478-1875

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

Sunday Services

DOUBLE

GROCERY450l East Martin Luther King Blvd.

*We cash ALL Tax Refund*Checks *Check Out

DAVID CHAPEL Missionary Baptist ChurchSUNDAY

Christian Education 9:15a.m. | Worship 10:30 a.m.Nursery Available

WEDNESDAY |Worship 1st Wed. monthly 7:00p.m. | Bible Study 7:30p.m.

Dr. Joseph C.Parker, Jr.

Senior Pastor

2211 East Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd.Austin, TX 78702

Office: 512-472-9748 Fax: 512-472-5399Website: www.davidchapel.orgEmail: info@davidchapel.org“A Church with a Heart

for The Community”

Pastor J. R. Roberson& First lady

Lillian Robertson

BETHEL-ST. PAUL UNITED BAPTIST CHURCH877 W. Hempstead, Giddings, Texas 78942

Weekly ScheduleSunday School 9:00 a.m.

Sunday Worship 10:45 a.m.Wednesday Night Bible

Study 6:00p.m.

Dr. Ricky Freeman,Pastor

(979) 542-2784 Church(979) 540-6352 Home

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

Ebenezer Baptist Church1010 East 10th Street, Austin, TX 78702

THANKSGIVING DINNERSFRIED OR SMOKED TURKEYS

SMOKED HAMSCHITTERLINGS

SIDESCORNBREAD DRESSING, GREENS,

GREEN BEANS,BLACK EYE PEAS

Call 512-928-5555 FOR MORE INFOAND PRICING

Country Boyz Fixin’s4140 E. 12th Street, Austin, TX 78721

“R”

PUBLIC OPEN HOUSEThe Parks and Recreation Department has developed a ParkMaster Plan for Givens District Park and wants to share itwith you! Join us for our fourth meeting where the Parksand Recreation Department will share the proposed planshaped from technical studies and community feedback. Themeeting will be an open house format.

Join us to learn more about the proposed Master Plan andshare your input.

Tuesday, December 4, 2018 6 – 8 p.m.

Givens District Park Recreation Center3811 E. 12th StreetAustin, TX 78721

Can You Measure?Can you measure a lifetime? The duration of

a living being. You would have to measure all thememories, the laughs, the sorrows, the triumphs,the setbacks, the experiences whether good or bad.You would end up with an amount of accumulated“Love”. You see Love is what the intertwines thefabric of our lives. Can you measure a lifetime oflove between two living souls? If you just startedto measure the lifetime of these two individuals,you would be 73 years behind. Their lives havespanned beyond many generations—yours andours. Their Love is the true essence of one flesh,one love, one life. Let’s aspire to measure our life-time by their example.

~HAPPY 73RD ANNIVERSARY~

Marvin & Morene DouglasDecember 3, 2018

Listen Live )))

Every Friday8 AM - 9 AM

Tommy Wyatt,Akwasi Evans &Damita Shanklin

TheBreakfast

Club

www.KAZIFM.org

(AUSTIN) - The ACCBuilding Bridges TownHall and Resource Fairwill be held on:

Saturday,December 1, 2018from 1:30-3p.m.at the Millennium

Youth EntertainmentComplex, 1156 HargraveSt. Austin, TX 78702.Please join us to learnmore about resourcesfor those impacted bythe criminal justice sys-tem. We will have an Un-derground Scholars filmscreening of the docu-mentary From Incar-ceration to Education, astudent-led re-entrypanel discussion, andresource fair.

Barbara’s Book Bagby Barbara Williams | VILLAGER Contributor

JeniferLewis“The Mother of

Black Hollywood”

(VILLAGER) - Thisbook is a very candidand raw story of the lifeof Jennifer Lewis. Shedoesn’t hold back any-thing about herself, hermother, her family, orthe many other peopleshe cites in her Memoir.

Jennifer is largerthan life in the book. Sheis loud, brash promiscu-ous and profane. She isalso a talented per-former. She began sing-ing and performing atthe age of 5 and contin-ues to this day.

Jennifer had a lotof negative things hap-pen to her. She recallsher sexual assault by herPastor when she was achild and how she con-fronted him about itwhen she became anadult. She carried thehurt of her mother nottaking care of it whenshe told her about it.She confronted hermother about this andmany other things. Shesurvived a rape from astranger who broke intoher apartment by talk-ing him out of it. She lostmany close friends fromthe AIDS Epidemic. All ofthis had a devastatingeffect upon her through-out her life.

She is a talentedactress and singer whois seldom out of work.When there was nowork, she would write aOne Woman Play, sing in

small clubs or go abroadand perform. She is asurvivor.

She has been inmany movies, Broadwayshows and television se-ries. She has played therole of mother to manycelebrities, such asWhitney Houston, TinaTurner, Tupac Shakur,Tarahi P. Henson andothers, cementing herstatus as Mother ofBlack Hollywood. Shecurrently plays RubyJohnson, the mother ofDre Johnson on the TVseries Blackish.

Jennifer doesn’treveal that she suffersfrom the mental illnessof being Bi-polar untilhalfway into the book.Perhaps if she had re-vealed this earlier inthe book and that hermany sexual escapadeswas her way of dealingwith the il lness, itwould have helped thereader understand herbehavior. Nevertheless,she did put mental ill-ness on the table. Shealerted the reader to beaware of it, own it, seektreatment and not beashamed. It is a treat-able illness. Jennifercontinues to be intherapy for her Bi Polarillness. I rate the book 3stars.

Jenifer Lewis(photo credit: David Livingston)

2018 52ndAnnual ZilkerHoliday TreeNovember 25, 2018,

@6:00pm Tree Lighting

Ceremony.

Nov. 26 - Jan. 1,6 pm - 12

midnight, tree ondisplay nightly.

Page 4 ~ THE VILLAGER/November 23, 2018 YOUTH BRIGADE www.theaustinvillager.com

Youth of TodayHope of Tomorrow

National Thanksgiving Day

Hello, Have youever wondered whatThanksgiving is aboutand how it came to be?President Abraham Lin-coln was prompted by aseries of editorials thatSarah Hale had written.Sarah Hale was aamerican writer whosewas nest known for thenursery rhyme "Maryhad a little lamb.”

In the middle of theAmerican civil war Presi-dent Lincoln got SarahHale to proclaim a na-tional thanksgiving dayand it would be cel-ebrated on the 26th, thefinal Thursday ofnovember 1865.

Lastly, nowthanksgiving is cur-rently on the fourthThursday in Novemberby federal legislation in1941. This is a annualtradition in the U.S. bypresidential proclama-tion in 1863. Legislationsaid that in 1621plymouth colonists andthe native americansshared a autumn harvestand is acknowledged asthe the first thanksgivingcelebration.

Math Competitions

Last week a selectgroup of our studentsgot to go to the Univer-sity of Texas campus. Itwas for the middleschool math competi-tions.

I got a chance toattend. I must say I

Softball Season Endsknow I did not do thatgood. We had not stud-ied the math that was onthat test. We had a briefsummary before we leftto go there. This week isour holiday break. It'sThanksgiving. We get togo and help feed the lessfortunate with the YouthBrigade. I always lookforward to doing that.Every year my grandfa-ther remind me that theNative American stilldon't think this is a joy-ful occasion. The firstthanksgiving in the colo-nies he stated was not agood day for them. Healways say just google it.He says he is thankfulnow days just to be aliveand still standing.

I didn’t think thatthe softball seasonwould end so quickly! Ilove softball so much,and the time that I havea break from it, I’m justgoing to keep practicingeven more. My teamslast two games wasagainst Hot Shots and

Tyler AllenGus Garcia YMLARuby George

Cele Middle School

Montrae NelsonFour Points M. S.

Explosion. We won thefirst game 11 to 1. Wegot so many runs, andthe Hot Shots practicethree times a week! Thesecond game was theone we lost, but winningone game is better thanwinning none! I neverrealized how much Iliked softball.

I also have the op-portunity to play in thespring. My mom mightsign me up for pitchingclasses, because I wantto know how to pitchbecause I am bad at it. Idefinitely recommendsoftball for girls whowant to try sports. I rec-ommend it because it isa good way to show girlshow to work hard andlearn how to have teameffort. Urban Roots

Urban Roots ac-quires leadership skillsthrough farming andfood to make a differ-ence in the lives ofyoung people. It pro-vides young high schoolstudents paid opportu-nities to farm, develophelpful skills, and be achange in their commu-nities. Urban Roots vol-unteers can expect toget a little dirty doingtheir work. They will gethands on experiencewhile volunteering andare led by the UrbanRoots interns. The rea-son it is led by the in-terns is so that they willbe able to grow theirabilities in public speak-ing, and project man-agement. Urban Rootsgrows over twenty fivethousand pounds offresh foods, in which

forty percent of it is do-nated to twelve hungerrelief agencies acrossAustin.

The reason I amsharing this with you allis because Saturday, No-vember 18, I was fortu-nate enough to have theopportunity to take atour of Urban Roots. Itook the tour along withthose from my fellowgroup, Delta GEMS.There wasn’t many of usbut we still had a greattime. First we had anamazing tour guide. Shewas excited about thework she did and it wasobvious that she lovedbeing there. We wereshown the differentthings planted aroundthe farm, and we talkedabout how everythingwork and collaborate to-gether. It was a beauti-ful site in general to ad-mire and learn about.Everything on the farmwas edible, so we got totaste a lot of differentvegetables.

I learned a lot fromvisiting Urban Roots andI’m so glad I got to visit. Iadvise everyone to lookin to it.

SaNaya WhiteAnn Richards

Kennedy GeorgeWeiss High School

Thanksgiving Break

Our Thanksgivingbreak is upon us. Timefor turkeys and family. Iwon’t really be doing

anything cool out oftown, so I am just stay-ing home.

My favorite food toeat on Thanksgiving isham, green beans,mashed potatoes, rolls,mac and cheese, dress-ing and cabbage. I nor-mally really don't eatmuch, because we willdefinitely have leftoversfor a few days.

I am happy we arehaving this break. Schoolhas been really stressfulfor me so I’m glad I’ll beaway for a week. Thisweek I can get caught upand organize.

Why does time seem to go faster?

As we get older, wemay notice that timegoes by quicker. Thereare a lot of explanationsas to why this happens,and I have not found ascientific conclusion yet.So I will dive deeper intothis theory.

A 2005 study doneby Marc Wittmann andSandra Lenhoff at theLudwig Maximilian Uni-versity of Munich con-ducted a survey on 499

people from ages 14 to94. Younger people usu-ally said "time is movingslower”, while olderpeople said “time ismoving faster". Olderpeople felt as if the timewas moving faster. Per-sonally, I feel time hasbeen going faster as I’mgetting older.

In the survey,people older than 40were asked to reflect ontheir childhood, andthey perceived time asactually moving slowerthan it did when theywere younger. Olderpeople tend to thinktime is moving faster asthey get older becausetheir brains do not reg-ister new experiences inthe same way asyounger brains do. Sotime does actually doesseem to move faster aswe get older.

Joshua MooreManor New Tech M.S.

Cecil GreenDobie Middle School

National Hunger and Homeless Awareness

National Hungerand Homeless Aware-ness Week (NHHAW) isNovember 12-16, 2018.To help bring awarenessto hunger andhomelessnes, scholarsare allowed to wear crazy,

eye-catching socks toschool. We can also takepictures of the socks andshare them on socialmedia using#sockitweek2018.

In order to make adifference in hunger andhomelessness, ManorIndependent School Dis-trict (MISD) is acceptingnon-perishable fooditems and new socks atthe front office of anyMISD school. This is atime for us to show loveto those who are home-less. I'm glad MISD ismaking a difference inour community.

Rice University

Quinn LangfordCedar Ridge H. S.

On Monday, No-vember 19th, I did thePreview Rice tour atRice University in Hous-ton, Texas. First, therewas a general admis-sions session. SeveralRice representativescame up and braggedabout the noteworthyqualities of the school,such as its small size.Many top universitieshave a small under-graduate population,but they often have agraduate student popu-lation that is muchlarger. Rice actually hasfewer graduates thanundergraduates. Theschool truly is a placethat is small enough for

students to build com-munity and make ittheir home. This isprobably why studentsat Rice are among thehappiest out of all col-leges in the nation,which is another factwe learned in the ses-sion.

Next, I had achoice to go on one ofsix different tours. Fiveof them focused onspecific buildings or ar-eas of study, and onewas a general campustour. Since I had neverbeen to Rice before, Iopted for the campustour so I could see anoverview of the entireschool. The campus wasbeautiful. It remindedme of Stanford, which Ivisited last Spring. Lastly,I got to pick from dozensof classes to sit in on. Ichose to split my timebetween Single VariableCalculus I and Biology ofInfectious Diseases. Thecalculus teacher was re-ally funny, which was agood sign; if Rice canmake calculus fun, thenevery other class mustbe a blast.

November 5 – 8,my school had basket-ball tryouts. On the lastday, we received lettersthat contained the infor-mation on whether wemade the basketballteam. Fortunately forme, I did!

During the days be-tween the first practiceand the day of the game,we had early morningpractice. During prac-

tice, we learned how todo lay-ups, jump balls,catch rebounds, anddribble. At game day’spractice, the A and Bteam scrimmagedagainst each other. At5:30 p.m. on November15, the first gamestarted. By game time,we were all hyped upbut nervous at the sametime. To be honest, I felta fluster of emotions.

Both the A & Bteam lost. But none of uswere sad. But we wereproud of ourselves be-cause we had workedhard the entire week!For many of us, this wasour first real basketballgame! I will continue topractice during myThanksgiving break andlook forward to playingthe next game.

Lady Panther’sGame Day

Ava RobertsPflugerville M. S.

www.theaustinvillager.com THE REVEALER THE VILLAGER/November 23, 2018 ~ Page 5

is a good start, and we look forward to con-tinuing to work with Leader Pelosi to diversify con-gressional top staff.”

Pelosi’s letter encouraged members of Con-gress to hire diverse staff. She also announced herhope that the Democratic Caucus would formallyadopt the Rooney Rule, which requires interview-ing at least one person of color for every top staffposition. The top positions, or “senior staff” posi-tions in each congressional office are: chief of staff,legislative director, communications director.

“The incoming majority of the U.S. House ofRepresentatives will be the most diverse in ournation’s history,” said Don Bell, Director of the BlackTalent Initiative at the Joint Center. “Leader Pelosi’sletter is a good beginning toward the work aheadto ensure that the senior and mid-level staff of theU.S. House reflect the diversity of America.”

The Joint Center published a report in Septem-ber 2018 that found that although people of coloraccount for 38 percent of the U.S. population, theyaccount for only 13.7 percent of the top staffers ofthe U.S. House of Representatives (161 out of 1174top staffers).

Nine new members of the Black Caucus willlikely include Lucy McBath (GA-06), Ayanna Pressley(MA-07), Lauren Underwood (IL14), Steven Horsford(NV-04), Antonio Delgado (NY-19), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Colin Allred (TX-32), Illhan Omar (MN-08) andJahanna Hayes (CT-02).

There will also likely be five new African Ameri-can full committee Chairmen and Chairwomenwhen the new Congress convenes in January.

Pelosi wants toadopt NFL’sRooney RuleCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Nancy Pelosi

According to theNAACP’s Criminal JusticeFact Sheet, AfricanAmerican women areimprisoned at twice therate of White women.The Federal Bureau ofPrisons reported in 2018that 38 percent of prisoninmates are AfricanAmerican.

But we need to domore than merely stat-ing the statistics of crimi-nal justice that bear wit-ness to the racial, social,and economic inequitiesand injustices. We needsolutions. We needmore research about thesuccessful programs andprojects that can pre-vent mass incarcerationwhile we emphasize theurgency for criminal jus-tice reform legislation atboth the federal andstate levels. We alsoneed more effective pro-grams for the hundredsof thousands of incarcer-ated people preparing toreenter society withoutthe counterproductivityof recidivism.

I have served onpanel discussions amica-bly with Mark Holden,general counsel of KochIndustries, who also sup-ports the First Step Act,a bill grounded in evi-dence-based and data-driven practices that weknow keep communities

WE NEED SOLUTIONSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

GOP senators battle McConnell for vote on criminal justice reform.Pictured (l to r) Sens. Chuck Grassley, Mike Lee and Mitch McConnell.Photos: Getty Images

safe and provide peoplewith the second chancesthey need to lead pro-ductive lives. The billspecifically provides pro-grams to help reduce therisk that prisoners willrecidivate upon releasefrom prison. Mark and Iare on the same page onthe issues of reentry andthe need to reduce sys-temic reincarceration.

In fact, Koch Indus-tries has been fundingcriminal justice reform ef-forts for more than a de-cade and was one of thefirst major corporations inthe U.S. to “ban the box”by removing questionsabout criminal history onits employment applica-tions. Other corporateleaders should also “banthe box.”

Earlier this year at

the NNPA’s Mid-WinterConference, we werepleased to welcomeBrother Lamont Carey, aformer prison inmate,noted author andfounder of Contact Vis-its, a nonprofit 501(c) 3organization that he es-tablished to assistpeople preparing to re-enter society fromprison. It was reassuringto see how Lamont wasable to break free of thestigma of incarcerationand make a positive andproductive contributionto help others transformtheir lives, families andcommunities.

Lastly, on the re-lated issue of bail re-form: There are nearly ahalf million people, mostof whom are people ofcolor, who are sitting in

jail today only becausethey cannot afford topost a monetary bail.Google and Koch havealso teamed up to raiseawareness about thenecessity for bail reformin America. They believethat individuals accusedof a crime should not berequired to provide bailunless deemed a threat topublic safety or a flightrisk, because freedomshould not hinge on aperson’s financial worth.

The time is now foraction, not more parti-san debate. No morepostponements. Nomore excuses. The U.S.Congress should passthe First Step Act. Wewant equal justice.

Criminal justice re-form for Black America islong overdue.

Chicago CrusaderStaff Report - Chicagoand Denver on Monday,November 19, joinedmany cities in Americathat have been plaguedby mass shootings.

A Black doctor wasamong four people whodied in a mass shootingat Mercy Hospital inChicago’s predomi-nately Black Bronzevilleneighborhood. She wasidentified as Tamara E.O’Neal.

O’Neal died aftershe was allegedlygunned down in theparking lot by herformer fiancée. The in-cident was the begin-ning of a deadly shoot-ing rampage that killedChicago Police OfficerSamuel Jimenez, 28. Butas the city prepares togive him a ceremonialsendoff, gun violencethat has claimed somany Black lives re-mains a persistent prob-lem that once again hasplaced Chicago in thenational spotlight.

While many Blackvictims are portrayed inChicago media as un-derachieving individualswith criminal back-grounds, O’Neal was awell-educated and ac-complished profes-sional who attendedchurch frequently. How-ever, most of the atten-

tion in Chicago’s mediahas been on Jimenez’sdeath.

In addition to theO’Neal and Jimenez, ahospital pharmaceuti-cal assistant was fatallyshot after exiting an el-evator. The victim’sname is being withhelduntil the family hasbeen contacted.

Another productof Cabrini Green is KimFoxx, a Black CookCounty State’s Attorney,who’s under pressure toclean up the city’s jus-tice system that for solong has been infestedwith crooked cops whohave tortured, harassedand locked up many in-nocent Blacks. Some sayFoxx has not doneenough to reform thejustice system despite

her pledge to do so af-ter voters ousted herpredecessor, AnitaAlvarez in 2016, follow-ing the LaquanMcDonald scandal.

For the Black com-munity, the fatal shoot-ing of Jimenez is bitter-sweet as the police mis-conduct trial of three of-ficers accused of cover-ing up the shooting ofthe McDonald shootingstarts next Monday, No-vember 26th after thelong Thanksgiving holi-day.

Jimenez leaves be-hind a wife and fourchildren. Jimenez washired on the force inFebruary 2017. He hadrecently completed hisprobationary period.

The mass shootingoccurred as Chicago

was preparing for thelong Thanksgiving holi-day weekend. Theshooting rekindledpainful memories of Po-lice Commander PaulBauer who died earlierthis year while trying toapprehend a shooter atthe James R. ThompsonCenter in the WestLoop. Officer Jimenez isnow the second Chi-cago Police officer to bekilled in the line of dutyin 2018.

During the pressconference, Johnsondescribed how theshooting unfoldedaround three in the af-ternoon. He said therewas a domestic disputein the parking lot atMercy Hospital. A friendtried to intervene be-fore the gunman shot afemale doctor whom hewas once engaged tomarry.

Johnson said atsome point, the “malelifted up his shirt anddisplayed a handgun,”Johnson said shots werethen fired and the fe-male doctor was leftwounded on theground.

Police came to thescene after a 911 callthat alerted them of theshooting. The gunmanstarted firing at themwhile the police werestill in their squad cars,police said. The man raninto the hospital as hewas chased by police.

A Black Doctor Among Four deadin Shooting at Mercy Hospital

by NNPANewswire

Tamara E. O’Neal(Photo: Screen Capture / abc7chicago.com)

during an interview on CNN Sunday morning.“I’m not sure for what, and I am not exactly certainwhen. I need to take a nap. But once I do, I’m plan-ning to get back into the ring.”

Abrams fought the good fight in the face ofclear racial voter suppression by an opponent whowas also the sitting secretary of state who seemedto orchestrate a series of “dirty tricks” on ElectionDay, including not supplying power cords for votingmachines in polling places with mostly Black resi-dents. Considering how much effort Republicans putinto stopping Democratic and Black voters, somemight consider her loss by fewer than 55,000 votesa victory. It certainly shouldn’t take any wind out ofher sail even if the Blue Wave didn’t prevail inGeorgia’s governor race.

Gillum’s future was a different story, though.The person who was trying to become Florida’s firstBlack governor remained the mayor of Tallahasseeafter he conceded on Saturday night. He was ex-pected to remain in office in the state capitalthrough the end of his term next year. But after that,it was anybody’s guess.

A tweet Saturday may have provided a glimpseinto what’s next for him, but it was certainly opento interpretation.

“We are going to keep fighting. We will keepworking,” he said in a post to Twitter that was ac-companied by a photo with his wife, both of themclad in orange, the school colors of their alma materFlorida A&M University. “And in the end, I believethat we will win.”

Despite candidateKemp’s perceived

“Dirty Tricks”,Abrams almost pulls

off stunning upsetCONTINUED FROM 1

Page 6 ~ THE VILLAGER/November 23, 2018 DIASPORA www.theaustinvillager.com

Sheryl Cole Wins The Legislature

After a long andcontested primary,Sheryl Cole won the gen-eral election against herRepublican challengerGabriel Nila. Cole will bethe will be only AfricanAmerican representingTravis County at the Leg-islature. This will be anopportunity for minori-ties and Democrats tohave a voice in the TexasLegislature. Now thatshe will be at the Legis-lature, tough decisionswill be in her hands. Forinstance, one criticalchoice will be voting ona Speaker at the Legisla-ture.

Unlike the Senate,members of the TexasHouse of Representa-tives have to vote for a

Speaker. The Speaker isdetermined based onthe popular vote frommembers. Recently,Sheryl Cole had to makea controversial decisionto support a Republicanfor the Speaker post.Since Democrats at theTexas Legislature don'thave enough vote to winthe Speakers race, theyhave to choose the bestRepublican for this job.

Finally, Cole was apart of the wave elec-tion that occurred inTexas. Although BetoO'Rourke narrowly lostthe Senate race, nu-merous Dems won.Democrats gainedtwelve additional seatsin the Texas House ofRepresentatives. More-over, Dems will havemore leverage in theLegislature.

by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist

Pictured left to right are: Wendy Davis andTexas State Rep. Sheryl Cole.

Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

GVMC ChurchDonates Turkeys toCaritas of Austin

by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon | Villager Columnist

Prior to the arrival of Thanksgiving, LaGénération des Vainqueurs Ministry Church ofAustin (GVMC) donated turkeys to Caritas ofAustin. The non-profit Caritas works with re-cent immigrants to the United States. Just likethe pilgrim who came to the U.S. for a betteropportunity, these newcomers are doing thesame. According to a local settler Jean Michel,"it was an opportunity for the church to reachout to the community and help our neighborsin Central Texas."

GVMC recently moved to Austin to ex-pand its Outreach Ministry. Over the years,Central Texas has seen a dramatic populationincrease. As the African Diaspora society rises,so will their cultural and social aspects. Migrat-ing to Austin was a strategic move that has paidoff, due to the fact that they have seen a greatresponse from residents.

Over a period of time, the church began toexpand at a faster rate and therefore decidedto move into a larger building. Now, GVMC islocated at 7801 N. Lamar BLVD Suite 125 inAustin, Texas. GVMC holds Worship Serviceon Sundays from 10:00 am-12:00 pm.

Pictured left to right are:Mr. and Mrs. Goba and Jean Michel.

Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

Black Women In Business Extravaganzaby Tsoke

(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist

Black Women inBusiness (BWB) heldtheir fifth annual mar-keting spectacle, No-vember 16th throughthe 18th. The BlackWomen in Business Ex-travaganza is a promi-nent event among Afri-can American WomenEntrepreneurs. Accord-ing to organizers, therewere around 1,000 at-tendees and an array ofactivities to take part in

Black Women In Business: (Left to Right) Jeyle, Joy, Mrs. Tra,Binta, Angela and Unyme. Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

over the 3-day affair. Or-ganizers stated, "on Fri-day from 7:00pm-10:00pm, the event kicked-offwith a Fashion Show;spotlighting some of thebest local designers,models, makeup artists,stylists, and barbers inthe area. There was mu-sic, refreshments, amaz-ing door prizes, andcomplimentary vendoropportunities by thosebeing featured in thefashion show."

Finally Saturday,guests had the opportu-nity to attend the

Vendor's Exhibit. "Wehosted our Extraordi-nary Vendor Exhibit withGuest Speaker LisaNichols, CEO of Motivat-ing The Masses. The pre-sentation took placefrom 9:00 am-3:00 pm,and showcased 70 ven-dors. A Grand Prize Give-away and Swag Bagswere given out. This wasa powerful day of net-working and empower-ment that will birth con-versation for months tocome," Stated BWB or-ganizers.

Black Women in

Business was founded in2014. The mission ofBlack Women In Busi-ness is to, "unite, edu-cate and inspire businesswomen to excel in lead-ership and entrepre-neurship." BWIB is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organi-zation, that is "commit-ted to enriching lives,families, and communi-ties by providing toolsfor personal growth,productivity, and profit."BWIB is a movementdedicated to a journey ofself-confidence and suc-cess."

Happy Thanksgiving!

“Never be limited byother people’s limited

imaginations.”-Dr. Mae Jemison,first African-American female astronaut

EMPLOYMENT | PROPOSALS | PUBLIC INFORMATIONFOR SALE | FOR RENT | BIDS | MISCELLANEOUS

www.theaustinvillager.com CLASSIFIEDS THE VILLAGER/November 23, 2018 ~ Page 7

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New Jobs for theWeek of 11/18/2018Specialist, Compliance

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DPR Construction is re-questing pricing proposals forconstruction of the WaterlooParkland - Sector 9 in Austin,Texas. Sector 9 captures the lim-its of work along the easternboundary of the overall WaterlooParkland and Performance Venueproject site and is immediatelyadjacent to and integral withWaller Creek. Trade work in-cludes demolition, grading, siteutilities, soil nail walls, soil place-ment, landscape abutment walls,hardscapes, and planting & irri-gation. Subcontractor and Sup-plier proposals are due to DanSeiler, danse@dpr.com no laterthan 2:00 PM on Tuesday, De-cember 11, 2018 CST. For a copyof the project documents pleasecontact Dan Seiler atdanse@dpr.com or (512) 470-3776. Please do not contact De-signers or Owner team members.

Kim Porter, Sean “Diddy” Combs’Longtime Girlfriend, Found Dead at 47

(VILLAGER) - Model,singer and actress KimPorter, the former long-time girlfriend of Sean“Diddy” Combs and themother of three of hischildren, was found non-responsive on November15 in her Toluca Lake, Cali-fornia home. The cause ofdeath is under investiga-tion.

“Sadly, I can con-firm the passing of KimPorter. I ask that yougive the families privacyat this time,” Combs’publicist Cyndi Bergersaid in a statement.

Combs 49, the mul-tiple Grammy Awardâwinning artist and pro-ducer, and Porter, amember of the groups 3Brown Girls and Girl 6,were a couple on and offfrom 1994 until 2007.When they called thingsoff for good, the coupleremained on friendlyterms. Porter was themother of their sonChristian, 20, and 11-year-old twin girls D’LilaStar and Jessie James.The couple also raisedPorter’s 27-year-old sonQuincy from her rela-tionship with the singerAlbert Brown, the newjack swing singer andproducer better known

Kim Porter (www.instagram.com/diddy)

as Al B. Sure.The last time Porter

and Diddy were seen to-gether was less than amonth ago at The Holi-day Calendar screeningwith Kim’s son Quincy,and their three children.

After a few days ofsilence, Combs releasedthis statement onInstagram, “For the lastthree days I’ve been try-ing to wake up out of thisnightmare. But I haven’t.I don’t know what I’mgoing to do without youbaby. I miss you somuch. Today I’m going topay tribute to you, I’mgoing to try and find thewords to explain our un-explainable relation-ship,” he wrote. “Wewere more than bestfriends, we were morethan soulmates…And Imiss you so much. SuperBlack Love.”

Friends also ex-pressed their sympathysuch as singer JanelleMonae, “Kim meant somuch to so many, but tome and @Wondaland[Monae’s Atlanta-basedlabel] she was thewoman who singlehandedly changed ourlives. When I moved toATL, I was passionateabout being an artist but

had not gained muchexposure. If it had notbeen for you and theThree Brown Girls’ beliefin me and inviting meout to do your open micnight….my career wouldhave been on anotherpath. You lovingly con-nected me with two keyplayers that helpedmove my career for-ward.”

Drake sending sym-pathy wrote, “Sendingpeace and prayers to mybrothers and to the bighomie Puff. Love ya’lland I am so sorry.”

Rihanna posted,“This is heavy. Heartbro-ken about this man. Welost a real one today,beautiful inside and out.So many will be affectedby this, some won’t evenknow why…but thewhole world was gracedby the vibrancy in yourspirit. My deepest con-dolences to the onesthat were blessedenough to know, meetand love her.”

The list goes on andon of celebrities payingtribute to Porter. Herimpact was far reaching,and the level of respectheld by those who knewher is shown throughtheir outpouring of love.

Digital Boom and Tech AccessFuel Black Entrepreneurship

Nielsen ReportUnderscores

GrowingCompetitive

Marketplace withNew Content

Creators, ProductDevelopers and

Business Ownersby Black PR Wire

(Black PR Wire)NEW YORK – No differ-ent than the impact in-dustry had on America’sbusiness model of theearly 20th century, newtechnological innova-tions have significantlychanged all aspects ofbusiness, from the waypeople consume to howbrands engage consum-ers.

“We are on thethreshold of a new busi-ness paradigm,” saidCheryl Grace, SeniorVice President, U.S. Stra-tegic Community Alli-ances and ConsumerEngagement at Nielsen.“The digital age is trans-forming not only com-merce and the relation-ship consumers havewith companies, butdigital know-how amongconsumers – particularlyAfrican Americans – isfostering new levels ofindependence and fi-nancial freedom.”

For African Ameri-cans, these milestonesof innovation haveplayed integral roles inhow Black householdshave navigated socio-economic status whilekeeping pace with anever-changing Americanbusiness landscape. In-novation breeds newopportunities, fostersentrepreneurship andspurs educational ad-vancement to meet thedemand for professionalspecialization.

Nielsen’s latest re-

port, “From Consumersto Creators: The DigitalLives of Black Consum-ers,” makes the case thata legitimate renaissanceis taking shape withinthe African Americancommunity. In fact,more than half (54%) ofall African Americanshave lived their entirelife in the digital age.Echoes of digital desertsand tech disparities havegiven way to unfetteredaccess to WiFi, the“cloud” and 4G LTE.Black consumers havedismantled old para-digms and bridged di-vides in access, deviceownership and usage.

“Undisputedly thevanguards and earlyadopters of popularAmerican culturaltrends, African Ameri-cans have fully em-braced today’s digitallyconnected market-place,” said AndrewMcCaskill, SVP GlobalCommunications andMulticultural Marketingat Nielsen. “Black con-sumers are engaged andplugged in to a digital,multi-platform universein ways that are redefin-ing the African Americanexperience with an un-precedented sense ofcommunity, economicconsciousness and digi-tal-native know-how.”

The digital age andits technologies are out-pacing 20th centurybusiness practices byleaps and bounds. Thebyproduct? Rapidchanges in the economy

and society are unearth-ing opportunities for en-trepreneurs and busi-nesses – black-ownedbusinesses. The digitalboom and access to techhave created a democra-tization of digital plat-forms in which AfricanAmericans are not justembracing but thriving.

More importantly,the most enterprisingBlack consumers aretransforming from Con-sumers to Creators andultimately becoming theCompetition to thebrands or industries thathave been more exclu-sive than inclusive.

For more detailsand insights, downloadFrom Consumers To Cre-ators: The Digital LivesOf Black Consumers atw w w. n i e l s e n . c o m /africanamericans. Jointhe conversation onFacebook (Nielsen Com-munity) and Twitter(@NielsenKnows).

Page 8 ~ THE VILLAGER/November 23, 2018 THE DISPATCH www.theaustinvillager.com

Knights of Peter Claverand Ladies Auxiliary

(AUSTIN, TX) - TheKnights of Peter Claverand Ladies Auxiliary ofHoly Cross CatholicChurch held its SecondAnnual Blue and WhiteScholarship Dance at theMillennium Youth Enter-tainment Complex onOctober 13, 2018 andwas successful in raisingmuch needed scholar-ship funds for the youthwithin the Organization.

The Knights of Pe-ter Claver and LadiesAuxiliary is a NationalCatholic fraternal andcharitable organizationand is the largest pre-dominantly AfricanAmerican Catholic layorganization in theUnited States. The orga-nization was founded inMobile, Alabama in1909 to create a spacefor African Americans toserve the Church andtheir communities withdignity and pride. Sincethen, the organizationhas grown into an inter-national Catholic service

2018 KPC Blue and White Scholarship Dance Committee: from left to right:Dean Dorsey, Linda Ridley, Pat Roberts, Leon Roberts, BernadetteCay, Camille Canady, Johnnie Dorsey, Fr. Basil Aguzie, MSP, TinaFrank, Tony Frank, Shauntè Collins, Karin Gay.

organization fighting fora fair and just society forall. The Organization iscurrently active in 36states and SouthAmerica with over17,000 members com-prised of Knights, Ladies,Junior Knights and JuniorDaughters.

This year at the 2018National Convention inAnaheim, California wereaffirmed our commit-ment to social justice bylaunching new initiativesin domestic violence, rac-ism, human trafficking,Black Lives Matter, andcriminal justice. Movingforward, our goal is toeducate and create moreprograms that support ef-forts within the social jus-tice arena. We willachieve our goals fasterby partnering with otherorganizations and activat-ing our membership toanswer the worldwideneeds of social justice.

The Organization’slocal unit is located atHoly Cross Catholic

Church, 1610 East 11th

Street, Austin, TX 78702.Locally, the unit supportsa myriad of communityorganizations and activi-ties that include deliver-ing meals throughMeals-On-Wheels, vol-unteering at the CentralTexas Food Bank, sup-porting the Sickle CellAssociation of Austin,providing school sup-plies for Blackshear El-ementary School, host-ing Thanksgiving andSpring food drives forBlackland Neighbor-hood Center, hosting anannual fan drive, provid-ing assistance at the HEBFeast of Sharing, donat-ing African AmericanBibles for youth of theirparish, and recognizingHoly Cross Veterans.

For additional infor-mation on the local HolyCross Catholic Churchunits, contact GrandKnight Leon Roberts at512-350-7543 or GrandLady Shaunté Collins at512-964-8160.

St. John Mission II Celebrates YoungMen Who are Yoke Bearing Brethren

By Carolyn Jones | Special to the VILLAGER

(AUSTIN, TX) -The St. John B.L.H.

Bradshaw Mission IIWomen’s Convention ofthe St. John Regular Mis-sionary Baptist DistrictAssociation honored theabove young men whohave shown by examplethat they are followingthe Lord by faithful ser-vice in their respectivechurches.

These young menwere honored at thegroup’s Annual Pre-Holi-day Banquet held at theCrowne Plaza Hotel in

Austin on Saturday, No-vember 17, 2018. In hiskeynote speech, PastorLouis Harrison, Jr. said,“Our world often deval-ues and discouragesyoung men. When theygo and do God’s will, no-body pays any attention.The world wants you tothink they are a threat tosociety, but let me tellyou they are made inGod’s image.” PastorHarrison also called onall young men to, “de-velop some Godly habitswhile you are young.”

The banquet wasdedicated to the legacyof the late Mae E.Collins, former presidentof B.L.H. Bradshaw Mis-sion II. A portion of theproceeds from the saleof tickets will benefit theB.L.H. Bradshaw Me-morial Scholarship hon-oring former presidentsRuby M. Collins andMae E. Collins. Anygraduating senior whois a member of a St.John affiliated church iseligible to apply for thescholarship.

Young men of God who were honored at the St. John B.L.H. Bradshaw Mission IIAnnual Pre-Holiday Banquet held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Saturday,November 17, 2018. Seated (from left to right) Rev. Jason Jurrells of St. PaulBaptist Church-Austin; Jermaun Defreeze of Winn’s Memorial Baptist Church-Elgin; Dontae Woodard of Pleasant Bethany Baptist Church-Elgin; John L.Bracken, Jr. of New Light Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church-Austin; Laron E.White of Ebenezer Baptist Church-Austin; Rev. Gabriel Cleveland-Union LeeMissionary Baptist Church-Manor, Anthony Cleveland of Union Lee MissionaryBaptist Church-Manor; and Robert Sheppard, III-Mt. Zion Baptist Church-Austin.Standing-first row: Jeremiah Wiley, Sr. of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church; DeMarcoMcSwain of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church-Austin; Hakeen Felix-Winn’s Memorial BaptistChurch-Elgin; Joseph McTear, III of Union Lee Missionary Baptist Church-Manor;Tyrus Smith of Mt. Olive Baptist Church-Austin; Rosevelt M. Matthews, III of Mt.Olive Baptist Church-Austin; Korri A. Bellinger of East Nineteenth StreetMissionary Baptist Church-Austin; Rev. Nashid Rashid of St. John RegularMissionary Baptist Church-Dale; Standing-second row: Johnnie Lee Adkins ofLittle Zion Baptist Church-Manor; Cecil Quinn of Little Zion Baptist Church-Manor;Daryl L. Reed of St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church-Austin; and Ryan Green ofSt. John College Heights Baptist Church-Austin. Not pictured: Thomas Clark,Willie Moncado and Bryce Kelley of New Lincoln Baptist Church-Austin; Rev.Allen Roberts, Chad Washington, Darreyl Sippio, and Eric Davis of Mount ZionBaptist Church-Austin; Dexter Bedgood of Union Lee Baptist-Manor; DejonCampbell of Greater Mount Zion Baptist Church- Austin; Tate Christian of EastNineteenth Baptist Church-Austin; Derrick Dillard of Saint Paul Baptist Church-Austin; and Andrew Jones of Winn’s Memorial Baptist Church-Elgin.

Bodies of nearly 100 slaves to stayat FBISD construction site for now

By Defender News Service | Special to the VILLAGER

A historic cemetery was discovered on the construction site of a newschool outside Houston. Archaeologists have found the remains ofabout 95 people who they believe were African-Americans forced towork as laborers after slavery ended.CreditCreditFort BendIndependent School District

(Fort Bend County)- Nearly 100 remains be-lieved to be those ofslaves will stay wherethey are for now.

The bones, alongwith other artifacts,were found back in Aprilduring construction onland off Highway 90 thatbelongs to Fort BendISD.

A Fort Bend districtjudge ruled Monday thedistrict is not allowed to

move forward with con-struction of its new tech-nical school. Instead,both parties are beingasked to work toward anagreement that wouldwork for everyone.

A r c h a e o l o g i s t sfound 95 bodies, eachburied in its ownwooden casket. Re-searchers believe thebodies are those of freedslaves forced to work inconvict labor camps.

“It’s huge. It’s un-precedented,” saidReign Clark, the site’s ar-chaeological projectmanager, at the time ofthe discovery. “This willchange our understand-ing of the convict laborsystem that was used allover the state.”

For now, construc-tion in the area wherethe remains were foundwill remain on hold untilmore options are pre-

sented to the judge.Some in the com-

munity feel where thebodies were found is asacred site and the re-mains should not bemoved, but memorial-ized.

Advocates for whatare being called theSugarLand95 are askingfor DNA analysis of theremains to try to identifythem and locate descen-dants.

Others, includingFort Bend ISD, feel theremains are bettersuited at a different lo-cation, where they canbe properly cared for.The district says it won’t

be able to do that if theremains stay where theyare.

Attorneys for thedistrict petitioned forthe removal of the re-mains to a nearby his-torical site, Old ImperialFarm Cemetery. How-ever, the judge did notagree to it.

More than 100years after they wereburied, experts can stillfind signs of malnutri-tion and stress.

“When you do ac-tivity over and over andover again, and you’redoing heavy labor, it willactually stress the at-tachments where the

muscles are attached tothe bone. It will actuallyleave marks and actuallychange the shape of thebone,” explainedbioarchaeologist KatrinaBanks-Whitley. “We’reseeing a lot of (evidence)that shows they weredoing very heavy laborfrom probably a veryyoung age.”

Convict labor campswere widespread afterthe Civil War.

Freed slaves werearrested, then taken fromstate prisons and forcedto work manual labor inplaces like Sugar Land,where sugar productiondrove the local economy.

(AUSTIN, TX) - Wednesday, Decem-ber 5, 2018 - 6:30pm to 8:00pm. The Art-ist Resource Center at the Dougherty ArtsCenter is pleased to offer FREE Profes-sional Development Workshops for Art-ists! Artists and taxes generally don't mix,but they are a necessary part of makinga living as an artist. Learn how to trackincome and inventory, what qualifies asa deduction, and how to properly reportyour business as an artist.

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