The BPCCA works to keep alive the legacy of Black cowboys by honoring legends and pioneers such as Mollie Stevenson, Jr. (standing) and Mollie Stevenson, Sr.  of the Taylor-Stevenson Ranch. Mollie Sr., was honored as a 2001 Trail Blazer. HOUSTO...

Kofi Taharka, (center) is president of the National Black United Front, and a long-time leader of the Houston Chapter. NBUF is a 25-year-old organization. Among NBUF’S goals are to unify Black people from various social/political persuasions, and to build a politically conscious, unified, committed and effective Black mass movement.

TSU race-relations poll say most African-Americans in the city are wary of Tea Party Movement

HOUSTON-  Last year, a Rasmussen poll reported that fewer Americans believe race relations are improving. Almost 33 percent of poll participants believe relations between Blacks and Whites are declining. And when you throw in the  Hispanic factor, the same anxiety is shown among the three groups.

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.

Evil flourishes when Black newspapers fail to report news without fear or favor in order to gain advertisers

Black newspapers should not only be obligated to freely tell the news from a Black perspective, but should be able to forge strong partnerships with Black Institutions like the ones Roy Douglas Malonson, (right) publisher of African-American News&Issues, recently forged with Dr. John Rudley (left) and Dr. George Wright, (center) of Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University, respectively.

HOUSTON— Roy Douglas Malonson, publisher of the African-American News&Issues, is not surprised that a fellow publisher,  James Tucker, of the African-American Voice, has asked the federal government to intercede on his behalf to stop a local school district from pushing a boycott of his publication. Malonson who founded his paper 16 years ago this week, said being a “watchman on the wall,” as the late Bud Johnson would put it, “gives the opposition the opportunity to take their best shots at you at any given moment.”

For the last two years, right-wing rhetoric, like the sign held by a Tea Party member (right) has lead this country on the path  to a boiling point. Yet, no one affiliated with the organization, radio-talk show hosts or even White Supremacy groups which sanction such hate talk, wants to take responsibility when their message is taken to heart.

When liquid is heated, if never cooled, it will, in time, reach a temperature where pressure will form bubbles. This temperature, normally 100 degrees, is called the boiling point. For at least the last two years, America the Beautiful, has been scarred by the use of insensitive and dangerous language by its right wing, which has not only divided, but served to spur this country towards an inevitable boiling point. And in spite of the finger-pointing and mudslinging in wake of the recent tragedy in Arizona, which left several Republicans resigning their posts, many citizens believe the worst is yet to come.

In a speech given to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, on Aug. 16, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said “Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them.”

Although spoken over four decades ago, there is ample evidence to suggest that discrimination is alive and well in America, despite the election of, and some say because of the election of, this country’s first Black president.  

President Lyndon Baines Johnson and
the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. worked
together through telephone calls and
emissaries on a shared goal: Equal rights
for Black Americans.

Texas Southern University’s Southwestern Athletic Conference
Championship a long time coming for Coach Cole

HOUSTON- When “Johnnie Comes Marching Home,” was sung by both sides of the Civil War  as a tool of motivation to help soldiers visualize what they could expect at the war’s end. Perhaps there weren’t any “church bells pealing” when the battered and bruised warriors that made up the 2010 squadron of the Texas Southern University Tigers made their way back to the home lines on Dec. 12. Yet, throngs of long time fans greeted the new Southwestern Athletic Conference champions after doing battle with Alabama State.

Although the shouts of “Hurrah” were  replaced with modern-day jargon and “shout-outs,” Johnnie Cole was nevertheless hailed a hero as the first coach to bring home a championship since 1968.

Kristi L. Jackson, founder of the Women CEO
Project says her organization was created to
provide women entrepreneurs and business
owners, not only motivation, but the essential
strategic support necessary for appreciable
business and professional growth.

Although Oprah’s decision to end her show means a heavy loss in revenue for television, publishing and small businesses as well, women in general, and Black women in particular, might have more of the answer to this country’s economic woes than most people think. The Small Business Administration has reported in recent years that women-owned businesses are far outpacing all other businesses in terms of growth. 

Young artists are taking over the game, but they aren’t who you think they are, nor or they
rapping about the usual  street life

Darrel McDaniel, the “D” in hip-hop’s legendary group Run DMC, said in an interview last year with NPR Music that  he’s proud of how far hip-hop culture has come, however, he states that the message of the music seems to have been lost.

In an article, “RUN DMC on the birth of Rap,” by Ashley Kahn, he stated, “When you look at hip-hop today, it’s like, ‘Do you see what this guy is driving? Wow, he’s got a lot of money. Wow, he’s dating a movie star.’ Jay [Jason “Jam-Master Jay” Mizell], used to say that the thing about hip-hop, about rap, DJing and MCing — about break dancing, the way we dress, the way we communicated — he said it was all-inclusive. It wasn’t about having to be rich. You ain’t have to be a thug, you ain’t have to be Black only, you ain’t have to break dance. Hip-hop was, ‘Come as you are, because here we are for you.’”

Grand Court Order of Calanthe, Katie Holmes Court #465, hosts Dress for Success drive to help women entering or re-entering the marketplace

Recent findings in the report, “Lower-Income Women Face the Job Market,”  by the Women Employed Institute, suggest “Lack of career planning information and skills is a fundamental barrier to envisioning a meaningful series of steps to move from low-paying jobs to something better. Public policies perpetuate this inadequate preparation by requiring poor women seeking government assistance to get any job, regardless of their interests or skills.”