I said a prayer for Texas because Texas has lost its way.  In the prayer I thanked my creator for sending champions that are fighting day in and out to prevent regressive public policies from driving our state into more of a hole. I prayed the majority of Texans in this state will understand that elections have consequences and unfortunately we will feel the effects of these for years to come.

It all began in 1960, when Black college students in Greensboro, North Carolina, walked into a Woolworth’s store and sat down at the lunch counter. No doubt this sparked a campaign that spread like wildfire and successfully desegregated many businesses in big cities and little towns across the South.

No longer can they wrap themselves in the flag and strut around in their ineffectual, faux patriotism while they accuse the President of the United States of “palling around with terrorists.” The quiet and effective way in which you’ve gone about carrying out America’s business clearly distinguishes who’s the adult in the room, and who’s the true American.

In Democrat-leaning California, this is not insignificant. Orange County is one of the reddest counties in Southern California, and a traditional bastion of GOP conservatism. The Orange County Republican Party can still muster tens of thousands of votes for local, state, congressional and presidential candidates. Republican presidential candidates have beat a steady path to the county for decades to secure votes and money.

For as long as African-Americans have been in America, it has always been criminal for us. Wrong is undoubtably wrong no matter who you are or what position you are in. We must learn we cannot do what they do and get away with it. There is no way possible.

Former Olympic Gold Medalist Carl Lewis

Former nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis is gearing up for one more race.  The 49-year-old is running for Senate in the state of New Jersey as a Democrat in the 8th legislative district.

Now the only word suitable to reflect the way I feel is embarrassed. I’m embarrassed that while Americans are under one of the greatest threats from a domestic enemy in our history, the most persistent word coming from the mouth of the nation’s first Black President’s is “compromise.”

“Blacks are influenced by five major myths in their voting patterns. When Black conservatives attempt to introduce fact and research into a political discussion with a Black Democrat or liberal, we soon realize that getting our opponent to acknowledge these myths is like asking someone to give up their favorite sports team and root for the rival team. Simply put, an overwhelming majority of Blacks continue to vote Democrat.”

The beating of Chad Holley by HPD officers has ignited a
nationwide firestorm of protests and debate.
                                                      Photo: Isiah Carey

HOUSTON- “I’m appalled and deeply disturbed by the actions of the officers shown in the video. The kicking and stomping of a 15-year-old boy by these officers was brutal, unwarranted and shameful. It is especially disturbing when those charged with keeping us safe so blatantly abuse their power and violate our trust. These individuals are not above the law and must be appropriately dealt with,” said Representative Garnet F. Coleman (D-Houston) who was one of the first, but certainly not the last to  comment on the video of HPD officers beating 15-year old Chad Holley into unconsciousness.

AUSTIN- Recently, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 14, the most restrictive Voter ID legislation in the nation.  Under the plan, Texans will be required to show photographic ID before they vote.  If this bill becomes law, it will make it significantly more difficult for hundreds of thousands of legally-registered, eligible Texans to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

DALLAS- In recent days we’ve seen the U.S. House of Representatives follow through on some  members’ campaign promises by passing a symbolic bill that would repeal the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. And while Texas has joined 20 other states in suing the federal government, claiming the unconstitutionality of the healthcare reform bill passed by Congress last spring, polls now show that more and more Americans are starting to realize that the much-maligned healthcare law may not be so bad after all.

As a nation comes to grips with yet another senseless mass killing, leading lights on the left and right are making accusations and counter-accusations. Did Tea Party rhetoric encourage Jared Loughner to open fire on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and a long list of innocent bystanders? Was Loughner indirectly influenced by a poisonous political environment? Or, as Sarah Palin suggests, is Loughner solely responsible for his actions?

Although the Republican Party today is often associated
with conservative Whites thought to be hostile to Blacks,
it was originally established by abolitionists. In fact, the
first Texas Republican Party was all Black. Today, both
parties blame the other for throwing down the race card
and inciting violence.

As they assembled at the US Capitol for the 112th Congressional session a record number 44 African-Americans were sworn in as Members of the House of Representatives. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) gained national recognition when its Members met with President Richard Nixon in March of 1971 and presented him a list of 60 recommendations for governmental action on domestic and foreign issues. Today, the CBC, whose membership is exclusive to Blacks, represents the political aspirations of 13 percent of the American population and comprises 9.6 percent of the Congress.

The number is in the hundreds, I’d say, if asked how many people have contacted my office or spoken to me personally saying, ‘I was told that if I completed deferred, I wouldn’t have a criminal record.’ Their problem is twofold. Texas law allows public access to criminal history records. Secondly, technology and an entire industry are now in place that didn’t exist when deferred adjudication was created 35 years ago.  

By Scott Ehlers

Cornelius Dupree served 30 years in prison before his conviction was overturned Jan. 4 in a Dallas courtroom based on recent DNA testing. Dupree was convicted of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 75 years in prison in 1980. He was paroled in July 2010.

Dupree served more time in prison than any other Texas exoneree, surpassing James Woodard, who spent 27 years in prison before being cleared in 2008. Dupree is the 44th DNA exoneration in Texas, and like 86 percent of Texas’ wrongful convictions, his was based on mistaken eyewitness identification.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) may not be perceived as a threat to most; it’s a misfortune that happens to other people. The disease first became known to the world in the 1980s as Gay Related Immune Deficiency (GRID), but by the time America paid attention it was too late.  The disease was already an epidemic that had spread to every corner of North America.  The wave of death from this disease today has slowed, but has not been stopped; barriers of stigma, access to testing, and lack of knowledge stand in the way of eradicating this disease.  It may be hard to believe, but HIV/AIDS is in most neighborhoods and the CDC estimates that 20 percent of those infected are unaware and account for 54 percent of new HIV transmissions.

By DANNY J. BAKEWELL, SR.
Guest Writer

President Barack Obama holds a meeting on the economy with his advisors in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Nov. 15. If he is to win the White House again in 2012, some Blacks are warning that his strategy of “too little, too late” is not a viable and winning strategy.                                                                    (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

At the funeral of former Democratic National Committee Chairman Ronald Brown, President Bill Clinton made an announcement stunning to some but obvious to us. Had it not been for the Black vote, he would not have been elected president in l992 and re-elected in l996.

Now that the Republicans are set to be in charge of the U.S. House of Representatives what are Black Americans to do?  For the majority of Blacks, Barack Obama fulfilled “the impossible dream” just by taking office. 

Obama’s election was an aberration.  Nobody had ever motivated Blacks to vote in such high numbers.

With Obama in office, African-Americans willingly believed in a government that hadn’t always treated them fairly.  Blacks went along with Obama’s alignment and defense of the status quo saying: “be patient with him.”

Representative-elect Tim Scott of South Carolina
is the first Black Republican elected to U.S. Congress since 2003.

After a historical loss of 61 seats in the U.S. House
of Representatives, Rep. Nancy Pelosi is forced to
relinquish her position as the first female Speaker
of the House. Many wonder will America’s first Black
president be the next to feel the agony of defeat.

Nov. 2 election results revealed Republicans scoring major wins both nationally and locally. With the election over, and Democrats receiving a sound thrasing throughout the nation, the question remains, do Blacks still believe in the man who promised to bring change? And have they lost faith in the Democrat Party?

Pres. Barack Obama’s campaign was fueled by Blacks and White, blue-collar liberals who had had enough of what was becoming America’s caste system, under the Republican regime. They wanted change, and that’s what he promised…change they could believe in.

Despite the insistence of Black congressional leaders that he wait his turn and let the lady go first, Barack Obama took his bid to the people.  Perhaps he knew that the American economy could not afford the high price of political diplomacy. It was a nation on the collision course of a major global economic crisis. The time for change was “now,” not later.

The campaign season is winding down, so now it’s time to do your part.  It’s time to vote!  If you haven’t already voted absentee or early, it’s imperative that you go vote on Election Day—Tuesday, November 2^nd!

The pollsters and prognosticators are predicting a big win for the anti-Obama Tea Party Republicans, and it’s up to you to prove them wrong.  And rest assured, you have more than enough reason to make your voice heard by voting on November 2^nd.

Prop 1 is a drainage fee tax, plain and simple—one that will last 20 to 40 years.  And you will pay it unless voters reject it.  Council Members Adams, Bradford, Johnson and I have previously laid out, in detail, why Prop 1 is a BAD idea.  All you need to know now is that there are too many unanswered questions and that Prop 1 will raise your monthly bills during this time of economic hardship and for decades to come.  Now it’s time to have your say—vote AGAINST Prop 1!

Black Houstonians have a reason to be motivated to vote in
upcoming Nov. 2, 2010 election (Early voting: October 18–29).

Ann Harris Bennett

Billy Briscoe

HOUSTON- The election of our first Black U.S. president, Barack Obama, was a crowning achievement for the Black community.  But, Blacks cannot allow the momentum to die.  Now, more than ever, Democratic candidates need your support. 

The other side is as motivated as they have been in years, and unless Democrats turn out to vote on Election Day, the Republicans will win.  This is urgent.  Early voting starts Oct. 18 and lasts through Oct. 29 and Election Day is Nov. 2. 

(For the record, I will be voting for candidates of all races and ethnicities.  For now, I will speak to the historic nature of the diverse Democratic ticket and large slate of well-qualified Black nominees.)

In addition to the two outstanding Black Members of Congress, Black state legislators and local officials, the Black community has a chance to elect 21 new Black candidates in Harris County.  This historic opportunity could alter the lives of many in the community for generations to come.  Finally, elected officials can begin to look as diverse as Houston really is.

Ann Harris Bennett is running for Harris County Clerk.  In addition to keeping the records of county courts, the County Clerk is responsible for overseeing all countywide elections.  Ann worked in the Harris County District Courts for 14 ½ years as the Court Coordinator of the 55th and 152nd District Courts until 2006.

Billy Briscoe is running for Harris County Treasurer.  The County Treasurer is responsible for overseeing and collecting all County monies. As an experienced and proven professional on business and public law matters, Billy has enjoyed a distinguished career representing Fortune 1000 companies and governmental entities on various issues.

Council Members Jarvis Johnson, Wanda Adams, Jolanda “Jo” Jones  and
C.O. “Brad” Bradford announce their stance on Proposition 1.

Photo by Tuala Williams

HOUSTON- In a historic move, the four Black City Council Members, Wanda Adams, C.O. “Brad” Bradford, Jarvis Johnson and Jolanda “Jo” Jones, stood together at a joint press conference last week, announcing their solidarity, requesting that the Annise Parker administration implement an ordinance which addresses issues affecting the Black community.  The ordinance would govern Proposition 1 if it passes.
 
Adams, Bradford, Johnson and Jones, stated in agreement, “Houston has a problem with flooding and drainage and that we must develop a plan to repair it; however, we have critical concerns which must be addressed in an implementation ordinance prior to our support of Proposition 1.” In a relesased statement, they said, “Proposition 1 will generate $10-12 billion dollars in revenue over 20 years.  If taxpayers are to obligate themselves for the next 20 years, with another 20 year option, they are absolutely entitled to know what they are buying: the rules by which it will be spent; and how much they have to pay.” 

Proposition 1 was initiated by a group of White engineers approximately three years ago.  It has been promoted as “Good Streets.  Good Drainage.  A Better Houston.” 

Charles Barron is the founder of the
New York Democratic Freedom Party.

In the many months since the 2008 presidential election, an increasing number of those within the African-American community have begun to question whether the electing of the United States first African-American President, Barack Obama, has functioned to yield any significant results in regard to remedying the abject condition of many of the group’s members. Expressions of discontent have emerged from prominent members of the African-American family, as long time Civil Rights activist Dorothy Wright Tillman, and Glen Ford, editor of Black Agenda Report, have openly charged that the Obama Administration has been neglectful in substantively addressing the dire economic state of Black America.

“No reasonable,” cause often cited in race-based discrimination charges brought before organization created by the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964   

When Jacqueline A. Berrien, the former Associate Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), was sworn in last April as the Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)  by Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru, she entered the history books as number 14 for the organization, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last month.

(Above) EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien, her husband Peter M. Williams,
and Commissioner Stuart J. Ishimaru at her swearing in, last April. 
As the 14th Chair, she is charged with continuing the organization’s
mission of  eliminating discrimination from America’s workplaces.

The Tea Party blames photos like this one of
President Obama on outsiders, denying racist
elements exist within the party. However, it
was recently forced to kick out Mark Williams,
who had been part of the group’s public face,
for writing an offensive letter.

On the night the healthcare reform bill passed, a man posted this statement on Craigslist.com, “People, the time has come for revolution. … It is time for Obama to die. I am dedicating my life to the death of Obama and every employee of the federal government. As I promised in a previous post, if the health care reform bill passed I would become a terrorist. Today, I became a terrorist.”

DALLAS- Twenty North Texas mayors have accepted the invitation extended by DFW International Community Alliance to attend a gathering on Aug. 26 that celebrates the contributions of New Americans to the DFW area.

AUSTIN- Congressman Al Green (TX-09) voted to support the Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act of 2010 (H.R. 5114), which passed the House by a vote of 329-90. Congressman Green is a co-sponsor of the bill, which amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and reauthorizes the National Flood Insurance Program through 2015.

This is a seminal moment in American history. The Republican Party has revealed themselves to be the American Taliban.
They’re inciting insurrection, protecting corporate corruption, denying unemployed Americans subsistence, and they threaten to cripple the nation as a whole with their irresponsible use of the filibuster.

The Republican agenda is to keep America ignorant and miserable at any cost.
The Republican Party is a coalition of three separate constituencies with confluent interests. The first group is made up of traditional conservatives.

Just because nowadays people can’t call you the N-word straight to your face doesn’t mean that covert, institutionalized and perpetual racism doesn’t exist in 2010.  African-Americans spending time discussing whether comments by General Stanley McChrystal—quoted in Rolling Stone—were disrespectful of President Obama are missing a bigger picture.  No matter how Blacks try to rationalize his actions, truth is Barack Obama’s presidency is in a system of imperialism and institutionalized racism.  No matter what names he’s called, Obama dances to the tune of an entrenched establishment order.

President Obama sacked General Stanley McChrystal (right) for being
disrespectful, but his replacement, General David Petraeus, might cause
the war in Afgjanistan to be extended past Obama’s July, 2011 pullout deadline.                 
Photo by Pete Souza

FT. WORTH- Council member Frank Moss was elected to the District 5 seat in May 2007. The post is nothing new to Moss, as he also previously served the citizens of District 5 on the Fort Worth City Council from August 1998 to May 2004.

WASHINGTON- Last week, the House of Representatives passed H. Con. Res. 242, Congressman Al Green’s (TX-09) resolution honoring the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on the occasion of its 101st anniversary, by a vote of 421-0.

Over the past year, if nothing else, the Tea Party movement has expressed their vehement opposition to the encroaching monster they term, “big government.”  Voices from the extreme political right have been heard loud and clear by all Americans. Anger is not a rational answer.  It is time for all those who are involved in the Tea Party movement to move ahead and revise the rhetoric by coming up with solutions for decreasing the national deficit and government.

The Obama Administration’s Financial Reform Plan will promote financial stability and protect African-American families from the unfair practices that contributed to this crisis.
The plan will establish a new consumer financial protection agency, which will have the power to set clear rules of the road and ensure that financial firms are held to high standards. Fair markets for African-Americans: One pillar of the new consumer financial protection agency’s mission will be to ensure that markets for consumer financial products and services operate transparently and efficiently to facilitate access for all families, including African American families. The agency will enforce fair lending laws that protect African-Americans from discriminatory lending practices.
The agency will also be empowered to focus on improving disclosures and cracking down on abusive practices to make it easier for families to identify and avoid high cost, high risk products that don’t meet their needs.

In the past few weeks we have seen extreme Republican political leaders daring to revise history.  Debating political issues is an acceptable democratic process. It is unacceptable to alter American political history. Its aim is to appeal to the un-American thinking that is rising among a counterculture existing among some members of the tea party.  

Though post racial attitudes and political ridicule pushed him to the sidelines of American mainstream media messages, Rev. Jesse Jackson has a track record that cannot been be ignored.  Called everything from “charlatan” to “race hustler,” Jackson has helped many Blacks gain middle-class status, now in its second-generation.  
Jackson and Operation PUSH, or the National Rainbow Coalition have been at the forefront of racial economic reciprocity issues for 40 years.  But even among Blacks, instead of commendations Jackson has been ostracized and shunned.  

     President Barack Obama has achieved a milestone victory by the passage of Health Care Reform which gives 32  million uninsured Americans health care and implements continued medical coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions.  There is more. 

    President Barack Obama and the Democratic party have become a part of history which left the “Party of No” picking up the pieces of defeat.   Books are being  written as New York Times' best sellers on this historical  legislation to be  remembered by future generations   The landmark legislation was a change promised by President Barack Obama.  This law created a trajectory of American politics   which will be forever altered.  Like other previous legislations, Civil Rights, Social Security, and Medicare, Health Care Reform spoke of  a moral right for every American citizen and at the same time it annulled the right of a privilege class.

     The vision with forty years of laborious efforts by the late Senator Ted Kennedy not discounting former presidents beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt was vindicated.  It was a victory for President Barack Obama whose pertinacious demeanor helped him reach the goal line. 

The Public Safety Commission published a new administrative rule, concerning the Driver Responsibility Program (DRP), T.A.C. Title 37, Part 1, Chapter 15, Subchapter J, §15.163.  As indicated in a press release distributed on behalf of the Commission, this new rule would address the adverse financial impact the program has had on low-income individuals who live at or below poverty level.  

It appears that since the 2003, enactment of state legislation allowing the assessment of surcharges based on certain traffic offenses occurring on or after September 1, 2003, some unintended consequences of that legislation made it necessary for the 81st Texas Legislature to amend the law and require a reduction in the surcharges in regard to indigent individuals.