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INSIDEVol. 45 No. 6 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: [email protected] June 30, 2017
This paper canbe recycled
RAPPIN’Tommy Wyatt
TPATEXASPUBLISHERSASSOCIATION
Presorted StandardU.S. Postage Paid
Austin, TexasPermit No. 01949
www.TheAustinVillager.com
BEYONCÉ, BRUNO MARS, CHANCE THE RAPPERAND MIGOS WIN BIG AT “BET AWARDS 17”
Bruno performs and wins Best Male R&B/Pop Artist Award.Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images/BET Network
LOS ANGELES, CA (June 26, 2017) – The “BETAwards 17” brought some of the hottest and most pro-lific talent assembled to watch today’s top musicians,actors and industry icons take the stage at the 17thAnnual BET Awards. The ceremony led by first-time hostand comedy all-star, Leslie Jones, aired live from theMicrosoft Theatre at L.A. LIVE on Sunday, June 25, 2017.
This year’s broadcast marks 17 years of unex-pected performances, trailblazing moments, superdope talent, and entertainment’s most provocativeplayers. The iconic show continues to be a cultural rulebreaker steeped in reinvention with some of the most
memorable moments in Award show history. The “BETAwards” has set the standard for one of the most in-tently unconventional, news-provoking broadcasts.
“BET AWARDS 17” show highlights include:BRUNO MARS opened the show with a funky, en-
ergetic performance of his hit “Perm” while rocking hissignature 24 Karat hat and custom “Hooligans” base-ball jersey. He then returned to the stage moments laterto take home his first-ever BET Awards win for Best MaleR&B/Pop Artist.
See MARY J. BLIGE & CHANCE, on back page
By Naomi Richard | The VILLAGER
Serena’s Latest Shot: Pregnantand Nude on Magazine Cover
This image made by Annie Leibovitz ex-clusively for Vanity Fair shows the cover ofthe August edition of the magazine, unveiledTuesday, June 27, 2017, featuring Serena Wil-liams. Serena announced her pregnancy withReddit co-founder Alexis Olhanian in April.The magazine reports the couple will be mar-ried in the fall after the baby is born. (AnnieLeibovitz/Vanity Fair via AP)
by: The APNEW YORK (AP)
— Serena Williams isshowing off her preg-nancy with a nudephoto on the cover ofthe August issue ofVanity Fair.
The tennis super-star is seen in profilewith her right armcovering her breastsand her pregnantstomach prominentlyon display. The maga-zine unveiled thecover Tuesday.
Serena an-nounced her preg-nancy with Reddit co-founder AlexisOlhanian in April. Themagazine reports thecouple will be marriedin the fall after thebaby is born. Williamstells the magazine she“did a double take”and her heart“dropped” when shesaw a positive test be-cause it came just be-fore the AustralianOpen, which she
ended up winning.Also Tuesday,
former tennis star JohnMcEnroe refused toapologize for his re-
RussellWestbrookWins NBA
MVPby: Brian Mahoney
AP Basketball Writer
(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Russell Westbrook
NEW YORK (AP) —Russell Westbrook movedpast Oscar Robertson andkept right on going to thetop of the NBA.
Westbrook was votedMVP on Monday night af-ter setting a record with 42triple-doubles during hishistoric season. He led theleague with 31.6 points andadded 10.7 rebounds and10.4 assists per game, join-ing Robertson as the onlyplayers to average a triple-double for the season andbreaking Robertson’ssingle-season record of 41triple-doubles in 1961-62.
Westbrook said, “Butnow to be standing herewith this trophy next to meis a true blessing, man, andit’s an unbelievable feeling,something that I can neverimagine.”
AUSTIN, TX - RachelNaugle, Austin Indepen-dent School District(AISD) Administrative Su-pervisor, invites parents,guardians, youth non-profit organizations,youth advocates, faithcommunities, neighbor-hood associations, hu-man services, social ser-vices, public safety, lawenforcement, constables,justices of the peace,early childhood educa-tion and youth programsand all others who are in-terested to attend.
Date: July 1, 2017Time: 1:30 to 3:00pmMillennium Youth
EntertainmentComplex
1156 Hargrave St.Austin, TX 78702
(512) 472-6932
AISD BuildingBridges First
Saturday
Rachel Naugle
marks in which he saidWilliams wouldn’t rankamong the top 700players if she were onthe men’s tour.
Williamson countyturns into a political
battleground.see DEMOCRATS
Page 6
Civil Rights veteranelected as NNPA
chairman.See LEAVELL
Page 3
GOP senators opposea pivotal vote onhealthcare bill.See MILLION
Page 5
Should 22Million
Americans loseHealth Care?
When the new Health Careplan was finally released, justdays before congress wasexpected to vote on it, itrevealed some very bad flaws.One of the biggest and mostglaring one is that it isestimated that more than 22million Americans will losetheir health care. And thereare no provisions in the billthat would assist them ingetting other coverage. President Trump isblaming the Democrats in theSenate for holding up thebill’s passage. But, he doesnot need their support,because he has enoughRepublicans in the Senate topass the bill without even oneDemocrat voting for itspassage. However, theRepublicans are divided overmany aspects of the bill. As aresult, it appears that no actionwill be taken until after the 4th
of July break. President Trump’s reactionto the delay is to “let ObamaCare crash and burn.” No onereally knows when that isexpected to happen, but thatseems to be a shortsightedway to look at the issue.Almost everyone believes thatthere are elements in thepresent Health Carelegislation that could beimproved upon. But, repeal-ing the whole program isunacceptable. It is interesting to seeTrump placing all of theblame on the Democrats fornot being able to get this billpassed. He does not seem toremember that eight yearsago, the Democrats had topass the present bill withoutany Republican help. It is timeto take the repeal of ObamaCare off the table and puttogether a bipartisan com-mittee to make the necessarychanges to the presentlegislation that would be bestfor all Americans. While we are fighting overthe health question, it appearsthat the President is on theverge of getting us involvedin military engagements inseveral areas around theworld. If that happens, HealthCare will be the least of ourworries. We will have theopportunity to let ourrepresentatives know how wefeel on the Health Care issuewhile they are home for the4th of July celebrations. Weshould take every opportunityto do so.
Page 2 ~ THE VILLAGER/June 30, 2017 THE COMMUNIQUÉ www.theaustinvillager.com
Barbara's
Book BagBarbara Williams
AUSTIN, TX - Ku-dos to those responsiblefor the well organized11th Annual AfricanAmerican Book Festival,held June 22-24, at theGeorge WashingtonCarver Museum and Cul-ture Center and theGeorge WashingtonCarver Library in Austin,Texas.
There were nation-ally known, NewYork Times Best Selling,
authors featured at theBook Festival, as well asmany local authors.Each of the four sessionsI attended was filled tocapacity with a diverseaudience. Both youngand mature males and fe-males participated ac-tively in discussionswith the authors.
1. Angie Thomas, au-thor of The New YorkTimes Best Seller, “TheHate U Give” opened the
Festival on Thursday, June22. The young and vibrantauthor read passages fromher book; and shared infor-mation on how she gotstarted as a writer. Therewas a tremendous amountof interaction between theauthor and the capacityfilled crowd. (This bookwas reviewed in this col-umn and was given 4 stars,May 28). A movie is beingmade of this book. She iswriting her next book. Sheis someone to remember.Talented.
2. April Sinclair re-viewed her debut novel,“Coffee Will Make YouBlack.” She read twochapters of her 10 yearold book. Parents oncetold their children coffeewould make you black tokeep them from drinkingit. By the time she fin-
ished reading much ofher humorous writing,the audience was laugh-ing and sharing some oftheir favorite parts andcharacters of the Book.This autobiography wasnamed Book of the Year(Young Adult Fiction) for1994 by the American Li-brary Association. It isout of print but availableelectronically. Her newnovel is “I Left My BackDoor Open.”
3. D. Watkins, au-thor of the gritty, fastpaced New York TimesBestseller, “The CookUp, A Crack Rock Mem-oir.” Watkins engagedhis audience from themoment he opened hismouth. He told of his es-cape from the life ofdrugs and violence thatsurrounded him since
birth. This is a powerfulbook, totally engrossing.Watkins is a great storyteller. Wow!!! Now a pro-fessor at the University ofBaltimore, an editor atlarge for Salon andfounder of the BMOREWriters Project, was bornand continues to live inEast Baltimore.
4. Dr. Peniel Joseph,Festival keynote speakeris the author of Stokely:A Life. He is founding di-rector of the LBJ School’sCenter for the Study ofRace and Democracy atthe University of Texas atAustin. He is a professorand a renowned histo-rian. He delivered animpressive address en-titled “Black History, Lit-erature and Power in theAge of Black Lives Mat-ter.” Dr. Joseph shared an
incredible amount ofknowledge and informa-tion with a packed audi-torium of attentive listen-ers. He emphasized theimportance of educatingone’s self in AmericanHistory and Black His-tory. Organization is im-portant for successIn all efforts he said. Bo-nus he gave was recom-mendation of “There is aRiver: The Black Strugglefor Freedom in America”by Vincent Harding.
Congratulations tothe Festival Committeemembers, RosalindOliphant Jones, AnnBoyd, Peggy Terry, CarolWright and all of the Fes-tival Volunteers for agreat 2017 African Ameri-can Book Festival.Festival Rating: 5 Stars*****.
Black Pflugerville and Youth 4 Success Presents:PFLUGERVILLE, TX -
The first annual Back toSchool Bash 3 on 3 Basket-ball Tournament.Boys,Girls, AAU and Adultleague teams are wel-come to participate. Youthteams are from the ages
of 12-20 and Adult teamsare 21 and up. The missionof this event is to cel-ebrate education and thereturn to school and to usethe proceeds and dona-tions of school supplies togive to those who need
them. Registration Dead-line is Aug. 7th. SchoolSupplies drop off dona-tions can be made atBahadi’s Chicken & Loungeat 907 FM 685 Pflugerville,TX. 78660 from July 7th-Aug.7th. The Tournament
will be held at PflugervilleRec Center (400 ImmanuelRd.) August 14th 5pm-8pm. Workshops will In-clude: Face Painting, Fi-nancial Literacy, Arts andCrafts, and Girl Talk Ses-sions
H-E-B AustinSymphony
July 4thConcert &Fireworks
July 4, 2017 8:30 PMVic Mathias Shores
CONDUCTOR:Peter Bay
Spend this Independence Day with 100,000 of yourclosest friends at the H-E-B Austin Symphony 41st An-nual July 4th celebration! Central Texans will hurry toclaim their grassy spot with the Austin Symphony Or-chestra this July 4th for the largest Independence DayCelebration in the state. The ASO will perform at 8:30p.m., followed by “mile-high” fireworks at approxi-mately 9:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the pub-lic. Tell your family and friends to mark their calendarsnow. This is the one outdoor event this year you do notwant to miss! Grab a picnic basket, a blanket, and joinus at Vic Mathias Shores to declare your Independence!
St. Peter’s United Methodist Church 4509 Springdale Road Austin, Tx 78723Office 512- 926-1686 Fax 512-929-7281
Christian Web Site-stpetersaustintx.ning.com
[email protected] 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)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.comRev. 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
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 ImageThe 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
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
Felix Bamirin, PastorGRACEWAY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Experience Grace For Life
(By Parmer Lane Baptist Church building, behind Wells Fargo)
Call: 682.472.9073 l Email: [email protected] 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
Ebenezer Baptist Church1010 East 10th Street 512-478-1875 Fax 512-478-1892
WednesdayMidweek Prayer Service 7:00 P.M.Child Development CenterAges 0-5 years (Daily) 512-478-6709
Bus Ministry Call 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.
Dr. Ricky Freeman,Pastor
Sunday Services
Do you have church news? Would you like topurchase a monthly ad for your church?
Inquire TODAY!Send your information to [email protected]
or call 512-476-0082
Villager Youth Brigade will be taking sponsorshipsstarting summer of 2015.Your support has beenmuch appreciated over the years. Please continueto invest in Austin’s youth. We look forward toanother successful year with some promisingstudents. FMI Call 512-476-0082
DOUBLE
GROCERY“R”
450l East Martin Luther King Blvd.*We cash ALL Tax Refund*Checks *Check Out
Country Boyz Fixin’s4140 E. 12th Street, Austin, TX 78721
Featuring Fish, Poboys, Hot Wings, Pork Chops,Homemade Gumbo, Shrimp and Alligator
DINE IN OR ORDER TO GOMon - Friday 11 am - 8 p.m.Saturday - 12 noon - 8 p.m.
Closed SundayCall (512) 928-5555
*Mention this ad and get a FREE 20 oz. Drink*
www.theaustinvillager.com THE BULLETIN THE VILLAGER/June 30, 2017 ~ Page 3
We Want YOU!Advertise With
TheVILLAGER
New Lincoln Missionary Baptist Church2215 E. 8th St., Austin, TX 78702
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.org Email: [email protected]
“A Church with a Heart for The Community”
Going to Higher Heights,Trusting God along the way.
Sunday School 9:00amBTU: 10:00am
Morning Worship - 11:00 amChurch Phone (512) 477-2714
Cell Phont (512) 585-0744Email:
[email protected] Rev. Darron E. Patterson
Pastor
By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor)Leavell Elected Chair of NNPA
Newly-elected NNPA Chairman Dorothy Leavell gives remarks during the 2017NNPA Legacy Awards Gala as outgoing chair, Washington Informer publisher
Denise Rolark Barnes looks on. (Roy Lewis/NNPA)OXON HILL, MD -
Shortly, before the NationalNewspaper PublishersAssociation’s (NNPA) annualLegacy Awards Gala, NNPAmembers elected veteranChicago Crusader publisherDorothy Leavell to serve aschairman of the group forthe next two years (2017-2019).
Leavell succeedsWashington Informer pub-lisher Denise RolarkBarnes, who served in therole for the past two years.
“We have somestrange times and we’vebeen dealing with someinsurmountable problemsand our publishers arehurting so bad,” saidLeavell, who previouslyserved as president of theNNPA from 1997 to 1999.“We are suffering and witha new administration inthe White House, it willtake someone who isn’tafraid, someone who will
raise a lot of hell.”Leavell praised Rolark
Barnes for her work overthe past two years, notingthat the campaign for thechairman’s seat was neverpersonal.
“I like Denise and Ithink she’s done a heck ofa job,” Leavell said. “But,I’m ready to get down inthe mud for this organiza-tion.”
Leavell’s experienceshould bode well for theNNPA going forward, saidHouston Forward Timespublisher Karen CarterRichards.
“Dorothy has a lot ofexperience in the organi-zation and I think she willcontinue to move it for-ward,” said Richards, whowas re-elected as first vicechair of the organization.
Bernal Smith, pub-lisher of the New Tri-StateDefender, was elected sec-ond vice chair of the NNPA
and Shannon Williams,the president of the India-napolis Recorder, will con-tinue in her role as secre-tary.
Leavell has not onlybeen a great soldier forthe NNPA, but she’s also aveteran of the Civil RightsMovement, said NNPAPresident and CEO Dr. Ben-jamin F. Chavis, Jr.
“I see her as some-one to lead the fightfiercely for freedom, jus-tice and equality,” he said.
During her two-yearstint as president of theorganization, Leavellhelped increase the visibil-ity and international stat-ure of the Black Press. Shewas elected chairman ofthe NNPA Foundation and,as a member of the NNPAfor more than half a cen-tury, Leavell has served invarious roles and she’s of-ten been honored for herphilanthropic and civic
contributions.Leavell was honored
as Publisher of the Year in1989 and earned theWinnie Mandela Endur-ance with Dignity Award.
“My father used tobring me to the NNPA.When he passed, the per-son who invited me hereafter that was DorothyLeavell,” said RolarkBarnes. “So, it’s up to all ofus to make the NNPA greatand we can’t sit back andwatch her do the work, wehave to help.”
Ever outspoken andnever one to mince words,Leavell said she would im-mediately go after compa-nies like General Motorsand Ford to bring in adver-tising dollars to membernewspapers.
“Denise is too beau-tiful to be out there in thetrenches,” Leavell said,then laughed. “Now, I’mcoming.”
Youth-focusedstudio opens atthe Doris Miller
Auditorium
AUSTIN, TEXAS -The Austin Parks andRecreation Departmentin collaboration withthe non-profit Notes-for-Notes (N4N™), cel-ebrated the ribbon cut-ting and grand openingof Notes-for-Notes’youth-focused record-ing and music studio atthe Doris Miller Audi-torium in RosewoodPark on Friday, June 2,2017.
GREATER HIGHWAY BOOTCAMP
Join Pastor Clarkalong with other newmembers for a time offellowship and learningduring the QuarterlyGreater HighwayBootcamp on Saturday,July 8th from 9am-1:15pm.
During this one-
day session, you will beintroduced to the mis-sion, vision, and valuesof Greater as well as be-come equipped with theessential tools to takethe NEXT step in yourwalk with Christ.
Email Pastor of As-similation, Vecente'Coatney with any ques-tions at [email protected]
Page 4 ~ THE VILLAGER/June 30, 2017 DIASPORA www.theaustinvillager.com
How the Michael Brown $1.5 Million Settlement Compareswith Other Wrongful Death-by-Cop Lawsuits
by: Jim Salter|Associated Press
LOUIS (AP) — The$1.5 million awarded thisweek to the parents ofMichael Brown is the lat-est of several large settle-ments involving killingsof Black people by police,but it’s far from the larg-est.
A federal judge in St.Louis on Tuesday ap-proved the settlement ina wrongful death lawsuitfiled by Michael BrownSr. and LezleyMcSpadden. Their 18-year-old son was unarmedon Aug. 9, 2014, when hewas fatally shot by Whiteofficer Darren Wilson dur-ing a street confrontationin Ferguson, Missouri.
The shootinglaunched months of pro-tests and led to a U.S. De-partment of Justice in-vestigation that found ra-cial bias in Ferguson’spolice and court system.But a St. Louis Countygrand jury and the JusticeDepartment declined toprosecute Wilson, whoresigned in November2014.
Brown’s parentssued the city, former Po-lice Chief Tom Jacksonand Wilson in 2015, cit-
FILE – In this Sept. 27, 2014, file photo, theparents of Michael Brown, Lezley McSpadden,left, and Michael Brown Sr., sit for an interviewwith The Associated Press in Washington. The cityattorney in Ferguson, Missouri, said Friday, June23, 2017, that the city’s insurance company paid$1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the familyof Michael Brown. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
ing a police culture hos-tile to black residents andclaiming Wilson used ex-cessive force. Ferguson,Jackson and Wilson de-nied the allegations.
The case is amongmany in which settle-ments have beenreached out of court, in-cluding many in whichofficers, l ike W ilson,were cleared of criminalwrongdoing.
U.S. District Judge E.Richard Webber did notrelease the amount ofthe settlement, citing un-specified safety con-cerns. But Ferguson CityAttorney Apollo Careysaid in an email Friday inresponse to an openrecords request from TheAssociated Press that thecity’s insurance companypaid out $1.5 million.
While settlementsare expensive, cities fac-ing lawsuits in wrongfuldeath cases are aware ofthe danger of going totrial, said James Cohen, aprofessor at FordhamUniversity School of Law.He said the settlementamount could bedwarfed by an awardgranted by a jury sympa-
thetic to the family.“The city is afraid
that someone on thatjury is a member of BlackLives Matter, even if thejuror is Caucasian,”Cohen said.
Settlements in someother recent high-profilecases have been muchhigher than the amountawarded to Brown’s par-ents.
In 2015, the city ofNorth Charleston, SouthCarolina, paid $6.5 mil-l ion to the family of
Walter Scott, an un-armed Black man whowas killed by a White po-lice officer while runningfrom a traffic stop. Theofficer, Michael T. Slager,pleaded guilty in May toa civil rights violation.
A month earlier, Bal-timore paid $6.4 millionto the family of FreddieGray, who suffered a fa-tal spinal injury in policecustody. No officers wereconvicted.
New York Cityreached a $5.9 million
settlement in July 2015with the family of EricGarner, an unarmedBlack man who died afterbeing put in a chokeholdby a White police officer.The officer was clearedby a grand jury.
Cleveland agreed topay $6 million last year tothe family of Tamir Rice.The 12-year-old had anairsoft gun that shootsnonlethal plastic pelletswhen a White officershot him in 2014. A grandjury did not charge theofficer.
Also last year,Pleasantville, New York,paid $6 million to thefamily of Danroy HenryJr., a 20-year-old Blackcollege student shot todeath by a white officerin 2010. No charges werefiled against the officer.
Some awardamounts this year havebeen lower. Madison,Wisconsin, agreed to pay$3.35 million to relativesof 19-year-old TonyRobinson Jr., who was un-armed when he was fa-tally shot. Milwaukeereached a $2.3 milliontentative settlement withthe family of DontreHamilton, a man with
schizophrenia who wasshot by police. Arlington,Texas, reached an$850,000 settlement withthe family of 19-year-oldChristian Taylor, who wasshot by an officer whileallegedly vandalizing carsat a dealership. Policewere not charged in any ofthose cases.
Peter Joy, a professorat Washington UniversitySchool of Law in St. Louis,said the evidence of a caseis a big factor in determin-ing the settlementamount. While some ofthe other cases had videoevidence, there was novideo of the confrontationbetween Brown and Wil-son in Ferguson — a po-tential factor in the lowerpayment.
Cohen said the alle-gations against Brown mayhave reduced leverage forhis attorneys. Brown wasaccused of stealing from astore on the same day hedied, and he was accusedof reaching into Wilson’spolice vehicle and attack-ing him, leading up to theshooting.
“You can see thestory the defense attorneywould tell at trial,” Cohensaid.
PhilandoCastile’sFamilyReaches
$3MSettlementin Death
by: Amy ForlitiAssociated Press
Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile, spoke with pas-sion about her reaction to a not guity verdict for Officer JeronimoYanez at the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn., onFriday June 16, 2017. (Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via AP)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)— The mother of PhilandoCastile, a Black motoristkilled by a Minnesota po-lice officer last July, hasreached a nearly $3 mil-lion settlement with thecity that employed the of-ficer, avoiding a federalwrongful death lawsuitthat attorneys said couldhave taken years to re-solve.
The settlement to bepaid to Valerie Castile,who is the family’s trustee,was announced Mondayand comes less than twoweeks after officerJeronimo Yanez was ac-quitted of manslaughterand other charges con-nected to her son’s death.
Castile, a 32-year-oldelementary school cafete-ria worker, was shot fivetimes by Yanez during atraffic stop after Castileinformed the officer hewas armed. Castile had apermit for his gun. Theshooting gained wide-spread attention afterCastile’s girlfriend, whowas in the car with her
then-4-year-old daughter,livestreamed its gruesomeaftermath on Facebook.
The acquittal ofYanez, who is Latino,prompted days of pro-tests, including one in St.Paul that shut down Inter-state 94 for hours andended with 18 arrests.
The $2.995 millionsettlement for ValerieCastile will be paid by theLeague of Minnesota Cit-ies Insurance Trust, whichholds the insurance policyfor the city of St. Anthony.The plan for distribution offunds requires approval bya state court, which couldtake several weeks.
Robert Bennett, whoalong with attorneyGlenda Hatchett is repre-senting Valerie Castile,said a decision was madeto move expeditiouslyrather than have the casedrawn out in federal court,a process that would “ex-acerbate and reopen ter-rible wounds.” The settle-ment will also allow thefamily, the city and com-munity to work towardhealing, Bennett said.
“No amount ofmoney could ever replacePhilando,” a joint state-ment from the attorneysand city of St. Anthonysaid. “With resolution ofthe claims the family willcontinue to deal with theirloss through the impor-tant work of the PhilandoCastile Relief Foundation.”
Bennett said thefoundation’s mission is toprovide financial support,grief counseling, scholar-ships and other help to in-dividuals and families af-fected by gun violence andpolice violence.
Bennett said Castile’sgirlfriend, DiamondReynolds, is not part of the
settlement. Reynolds hasalso hired an attorney, butit’s not clear if she is stillplanning a lawsuit or hasany standing for a federalclaim. Reynolds’ attorneydid not return messagesMonday.
Darin Richardson,claims manager with theLeague of Minnesota Cit-ies, said St. Anthony’s in-surance coverage is $3 mil-lion per occurrence. IfReynolds were to file andwin a claim, the city’s re-maining $5,000 in cover-age would be paid to her,and St. Anthony wouldhave to cover any addi-tional money awarded.
The settlement hap-pened faster than othersstemming from the killingsof Black men by police of-ficers elsewhere. Lastweek, a $1.5 million settle-ment was reached in thecase of Michael Brown, anunarmed 18-year-old whowas killed by a White of-ficer in Ferguson, Mis-souri. That settlementcame nearly three yearsafter the death of Brown,whose parents sued thecity.
Bennett said his de-cades-long relationshipwith Joe Flynn, the attor-ney who represented St.Anthony in Castile’s case,helped bring a quick reso-lution. He also said the cityof St. Anthony has a com-mitment to make positivechanges to their policedepartment.
The city is undergo-ing a voluntary review bythe Department ofJustice’s Office of Com-munity Oriented PolicingServices, with the goal ofimproving trust betweenthe police departmentand the communities itserves.
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Specialty “vintage horizontal shuffle” project shows artistic side of fencing Courtesy WORLD FENCE NEWS
Industrial size backup electric generators arefunctional, not pretty. That’s a given. And whilecritically necessary to the operation of a modernsurgery center, they sure don’t enhance the exte-rior.
Veteran fencer Donnie Richardson, owner ofArk-La-Tex Fencing, Inc. of Austin, Tex., recentlycompleted a project in which he built a 12-foot-high louvered Western Red Cedar structure to en-close a massive electric generator and air condi-tioning unit at a new medical surgery center in BeeCave, Tex., a suburb of Austin. Due to its louveredconstruction, the structure allows adequate venti-lation for the huge generator, and at the same timeshields it from view with an attractive non-indus-trial look that blends with the Hill Country lime-stone exterior of the building complex.
Working from blueprints, Richardson constructedthe enclosure – which he describes as “vintage hori-zontal shuffle” – using 1 x 6 x 8 pickets and 2 x 2wooden blocks, supported by steel uprights.
He noted that the plans originally called for 2x 2 posts and 6 x 6 mounting plates, but he feltthat 8 x 8 plates and 3 x 3 posts would provide stron-ger support, and that is what was used.
The wooden pickets are attached to the blocksusing self-tapping screws, which are also used tomount the blocks to the steel posts. Matching gatesare cut into the fenceline at strategic points.
Including a few change orders, the job took10 days to complete.
Richardson does a variety of residential andcommercial fencing, with a substantial part of hisbusiness being erection and repair of chain link
Donnie Richardson(left) constructed the
louvered enclosure seenbelow. Richardson
equates the “shuffled”of wooden pickets to a
deck of cards and awork of art.
fences and gates at cell tower sites in a three-statearea. And while that definitely pays the bills, hesaid that the more artistic projects like the Bee Cavejob are the most enjoyable.
“Fencing is like art to me; I love creating some-
(Ark-La-Tex Fencing photos)
thing from nothing,” he said. “I love fencing somuch I would do it for free, but people pay me. Ifeel like I have won the lottery.”
Richardson was born in Atlanta, Tex. and raisedin Arkansas. He started school in Arkansas andgraduated from North Caddo High School in Vivian,La. His original interest was in welding, which indi-rectly led to his start in the fence business.
“A few years after I graduated, I was out ofwork and happened to pass by a fence company,”he said. “I noticed that there was welding beingdone, and inquired about a job. The company hiredme on the spot.
“The company was Butler Fence, located inTexarkana, Ark. The company had just receivedafencing contract for a cell tower job, and was hir-ing individuals for a fencing crew. After being onthe job for only one day, I was given the leadershiprole over two new hires,” he said.
After working for Butler Fencing for threeyears, Richardson decided to go into business forhimself, and founded Ark-La-Tex Fence Company.
“Being that I was a new business, obtainingjobs was sometimes slow,” he said. “One weekendI went to Dallas, and happened to pick up a news-paper and saw that Viking Fence Company was hir-ing. After calling and answering some job-relatedquestions, I was hired over the phone.
“After subcontracting for Viking for eight years,I left there in good standing and restarted Ark-La-Tex Fencing in 1997,” he said.
He relocated Ark-La-Tex Fencing to Austin,where he has been for the past 25 years. He maybe reached at: 512-775-5249.
Budget Office: Senate Health Bill Adds 22 Million Uninsuredby: Alan Fram
Associated Press
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., looks outafter boarding an elevator Capitol Hill in Washington, Mon-day, June 26, 2017. Senate Republicans unveil a revised healthcare bill in hopes of securing support from wavering GOP law-makers, including one who calls the drive to whip his party’sbill through the Senate this week “a little offensive.” (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
WASHINGTON (AP)— The Senate Republicanhealth care bill wouldleave 22 million moreAmericans uninsured in2026 than under PresidentBarack Obama’s healthcare law, the Congres-sional Budget Office esti-mated Monday, complicat-ing GOP leaders’ hopes ofpushing the plan throughthe chamber this week.
Minutes after thereport’s release, threeGOP senators threatenedto oppose a pivotal voteon the proposal thisweek*, enough to sink itunless Senate MajorityLeader Mitch McConnell,R-Ky., can win over someof them or other GOP crit-ics. The bill will fail if justthree of the 52 Republicansenators oppose it, anevent that would deal ahumiliating blow to Presi-dent Donald Trump andSenate leaders.
The 22 million addi-tional people without cov-erage is just a hair betterthan the 23 million who’dbe left without insuranceunder the measure theHouse approved lastmonth, the budget officehas estimated. Trump hascalled the House versionapproved last month“mean” and told SenateRepublicans to approvelegislation with more“heart.”
In good news for theGOP, the budget office saidthe Senate bill would cutthe deficit by $202 billionmore over the coming de-cade than the House ver-sion. Senate leaders coulduse some of those savingsto attract moderate sup-
port by making Medicaidand other provisions intheir measure more gen-erous, though conserva-tives would prefer usingthat money to reduce fed-eral deficits.
The White Houselambasted the nonparti-san budget office in astatement, saying it has a“history of inaccuracy”projecting coverage.Democrats said the reportconfirmed their ownanalysis of the GOP mea-sure.
“This bill is every bitas mean as the House bill,”said Senate MinorityLeader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Of the 22 millionwithout coverage by 2026under the Senate plan, 15million would be withoutit next year, the budgetoffice said. That could be
a particular concern tomoderate Sen. DeanHeller, R-Nev., who facesperhaps the toughest2018 re-election race ofany Senate Republicanand has said he can’t sup-port the measure if hugenumbers of people losecoverage.
The budget office re-port said coverage losseswould especially affectpeople between ages 50and 64, before they qualifyfor Medicare, and with in-comes below 200 percentof poverty level, or around$30,300 for an individual.
In one example, thereport says that in 2026under Obama’s law, a 64-year-old earning $26,500would pay premiumsamounting to $1,700 ayear, after subsidies. Un-der the Senate bill, thatperson would pay $6,500,
partly because insurerswould be able to chargeolder adults more.
Moderate Sen. SusanCollins, R-Maine, said shewould vote against a GOPprocedural motion, ex-pected Wednesday, to be-gin formally debating thelegislation. She tweetedthat she favors a bipartisaneffort to fix Obama’s 2010statute but added, “CBOanalysis shows Senate billwon’t do it.”
In addition, conserva-tive Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.,said he would oppose thatmotion unless the bill waschanged. And fellow con-servative Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he had “a hardtime believing” he’d haveenough information toback that motion thisweek.
Those two — plus fel-low conservatives Mike
Lee of Utah and Ted Cruzof Texas — have said thecurrent measure doesn’tdo enough to eraseObama’s law and reducepremiums. All four saidlast week they’d opposethe bill without changes,as did Heller.
Most of the dis-gruntled senators haveleft the door open tobacking the measure ifit’s changed.
“It’s going to be veryclose, but we’re workingwith each one of them intrying to accommodatetheir concerns withoutlosing other support,”said No. 2 Senate GOPleader John Cornyn ofTexas.
Vice President MikePence invited four GOPsenators to dinner Tues-day to discuss the bill, hisoffice said: Lee and Sens.James Lankford of Okla-homa, Tom Cotton of Ar-kansas and Ben Sasse ofNebraska.
The Senate plan,aimed at rolling backmuch of Obama’s 2010statute, would end thetax penalty that law im-poses on people whodon’t buy insurance, ineffect erasing Obama’sso-called individual man-date. It would let statesease Obama’s require-ments that insurers covercertain specified serviceslike substance abusetreatments, and elimi-nate taxes on wealthierpeople and medical com-panies that Obama’s lawused to expand coverage.
It would also phaseout extra federal moneythat law is providing to 31states to expand Medic-aid to additional low-in-
come earners. And it wouldput annual caps on overallMedicaid money the gov-ernment until now has au-tomatically paid states,whatever the costs.
CBO said that underthe bill, most insurancemarkets around the countrywould be stable before2020. It said that similar tothe House bill, average pre-miums around the countrywould be higher over thenext two years — includingabout 20 percent higher in2018 than under Obama’sstatute — but lower begin-ning in 2020.
But the office said thatoverall, the Senate legisla-tion would increase out ofpocket costs for deductiblesand copayments. That’s be-cause standard policieswould be skimpier than cur-rently offered underObama’s law, covering asmaller share of expectedmedical costs.
In another trouble-some finding for the legis-lation, the budget officewarned that in some ruralareas, either no insurerwould be willing participatein the individual market orthe policies offered wouldbe prohibitively expensive.Rural America was a strong-hold for Trump in the presi-dential election.
The American MedicalAssociation, the nation’slargest doctors’ group, saidit opposed the Senate billbecause some peoplewould lose coverage andothers would find it toocostly. They wrote that themeasure violates the physi-cians’ dictum, “First, do noharm.”
[ *The vote has nowbeen postphoned untilnext week. ]
Page 6 ~ THE VILLAGER/June 30, 2017 THE DISPATCH www.theaustinvillager.com
Man In Me Cookout
June 24, 2017, the group Man In Me held a cook out in Manor,Texas. According to the organizers, there were about 190 people whoattended the Cook Out. This Cook Out was noted to be a very familyfriendly event. There were activities for children and also activities forthe adults. Moreover, the Man In Me has a youth program and alsowoman’s program.
The Man In Me is a program that is designed to help discover whatis inside of the man. The organization seeks to encourage men to leadlives of integrity, and to renew their personal mission in the world. Inaddition, the Man In Me seeks to empower, educate and inform men tocreate unity in their families. Furthermore, the Man In Me seeks to pro-vide resources to build stronger men in our society.
The Man In Me holds both men and women groups. For instance,there is a “Men’s Talk Workshop” which has a “point of view” about whatit is being a man in this world. According to the group they are, “Men whowant to share their experiences and knowledge with a desire to grow.”Moreover, the group meets every 3rd Friday. In addition, the Women InMe group that meets bi-monthly on the 4th Friday.
by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist
by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon | Villager Columnist
Pictured left to right: Isaac Rowe and Earl. Photos by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon
Dale Mantey Announces Candidacyfor 17th Congressional Seat
During the week,Dale Mantey announcedhis intention to run for the17th United State Congres-sional District. He plans tochallenge the incumbentRepublican Bill Flores forthis seat. Moreover, the17th Congressional Districtis located in Central Texas.It covers certain cities suchas Pflugerville, Austin,Waco, Hearne, Waco, Col-lege Station and other cit-ies in the Central Texasarea.
Dale is a “Fourth gen-eration Texan, born andraised in Milam County.”Dale is proud of the factthat he comes from a lin-eage of blue collar work-ers. According to Dale,“Families are hurting inthe small towns and thebig cities across centralTexas. But no one in Wash-ington DC seems to be pay-ing attention, includingour current Representa-tive Bill Flores.” Over the
years, Dale has seen somegood paying blue collarsleaves Milam County andsome parts of the district.As a result, he decided torun for office which wouldallow him to be a part ofthe solution.
He comes from a longline of Central Texas bluecollar workers. Unfortu-nately, the good paying,hardworking jobs all de-pend on what we have left
in our district. Families arehurting in the small townsand the big cities acrosscentral Texas. But, no onein Washington DC seemsto be paying attention –including our current rep-resentative Bill Flores.That is why Dale has de-cided to run for congressand to serve the people ofDistrict 17, rather thanspecial interest groups andbig money donors.
Dale Mantey
As the Demo-graphic shift occurs inWilliamson County, sodoes the voting pattern.Over the years, the hightech industries have at-tracted people from allover the world. Conse-quently, there are largeAsian American and Af-rican immigrant com-munities in the RoundRock and throughoutWilliamson County. Asthe population changesso does the voting pat-tern. However, theDemocratic Party must
do more to increase im-migrant involvement.
Just recently, theWilliamson CountyDemocrats managed toelect Tammy Young tothe Round Rock CityCouncil. Moreover, thisgives the Round RockDemocrats a voice onthe City Council level. Al-though Hilda Montgom-ery, who is the Demo-cratic Party candidate,failed to win, she is stillengaged and involved inthe local politics ofRound Rock, Texas. Inthe rest of WilliamsonCounty, Rachael Gruel-ing Jonrowe was re-elected to the
Georgetown City Coun-cil.
Finally, the RoundRock Democrats haveturned the corner ofhaving “unknown candi-dates” to candidateswho have an opportu-nity to win. According toDiaspora Votes, the de-mographic shift of immi-grants and of Austinitesmoving to Round Rockhas helped the Demo-cratic Party more thanthe Republican Party.”Consequently, one cansay that Round Rock andWilliamson County areslowly turning into a“purple” or battle-ground county.
by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist
Pictured left to right: Hilda Montgomery and Tammy Young attend localRound Rock Democratic meeting. Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon
Democrats Struggle DespiteDemographic Shift
By Alexis M. Scottwas written to enlighten,inspire, educate, influ-ence, equip, and en-courage young womento pursue careers inSTEM (Science, Tech-nology, Engineering,Mathematics). We areproud to announce thatour daughter QuinnLangford is one of thecontributing authors!!!EMBRACING STEMSMARTS is available forpurchase on Amazonbeginning June 21st.
During the 2016-2017 school year, ourQuinn became quite theSTEM advocate! As aYouth Brigade writer forThe Villager, she wrote
several articles through-out the year about herexperiences in STEM.Quinn also served asthe Director of Outreachfor her FIRST RoboticsCompetition Team
#2881, the Lady Cans,and with her team be-came a founding mem-ber of the STEM Advo-cacy Conference ofTexas, a high school-based program thatbrings together like-minded studentsthroughout Texas to ad-vocate for increasedgovernment funding andsupport for STEM-aligned educational ac-tivities.
We look forward toseeing what Quinn willdo next. Thank you all somuch for your support,e n c o u r a g e m e n t ,prayers, and well wishesas she continues alongher high school journey.
Quinn LangfordCedar Ridge H. S.
New Report Outlines Action Agenda forInterlocking Issues of Reproductive,
Racial, Criminal JusticeReport briefing putshuman face to Blackwomen’s reproductive
justice challengesWASHINGTON —
Today, In Our Own Voice:National Black Women’sReproductive JusticeAgenda launched itsgroundbreaking new re-port on the state ofBlack women and repro-ductive justice. The re-port offers firsthand ac-counts of the lived expe-riences of Black women,giving voice to issues in-cluding abortion access,the Affordable Care Act,maternal health andequal access to contra-ception.
The report, “OurBodies, Our Lives, OurVoices: The State of BlackWomen and Reproduc-tive Justice,” exposes howboth political parties giveshort shrift to the needsof Black women. Oneparty consistently fails to
address police violenceagainst Black people evenas we witness yet anotherBlack woman —Charleena Lyles — beingmurdered in front of herown children.
And the other partyignores our needs in itsfrantic push to attractmore white male votersinto its ranks. “But let usbe clear, a vision of eco-nomic equality that doesnot also address the mul-tiple facets of racial andgender inequality is notprogress — it’s Jim Crow,”Howell said.
After introducingthe report, Howell turnedthe program over to apanel, which delved moredeeply into the issues ofBlack women and thecriminal justice system,abortion access, and HIV/AIDS among Blackwomen. The panelistswere Deon Haywood (ex-ecutive director, Womenwith a Vision), Marsha
Jones (executive director,The Afiya Center) andMasonia Traylor (founderand CEO, Lady BurgAndy).Heidi Williamson (CEO ofIdieh Consultant Group)moderated the panel.
At the end of thebriefing, Howell outlinedan agenda for actionstemming from the re-port. The action agendaincludes prioritizing voterengagement and GOTVefforts; collaboratingwith local advocates todevelop and supportpolicy change that pro-motes reproductive jus-tice; investing in Blackwomen leaders, finan-cially and otherwise;building coordinated re-sponses to injusticeacross movements, or-ganizations, communi-ties and systems; andabove all, calling forBlack women to tell thestories of their lived ex-periences and leader-ship.
EMBRACING STEM SMARTS
By Raynard Jackson (NNPA Newswire Columnist)
Apply at HRMiddle Fiskville Rd.
6th Floor, Austin, TX 78752Job Line (512 223-5621hhtp://www./austincc.ed
EEOC/AA/M/F/D/V
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Are you interested in doing businesswith the City of Austin?
We are here for you!City of Austin
Purchasing OfficeVendor Registration
www.austintexas.gov/department/purchasing
For information on the City of Austin’s Minority/Women-Owned Procurement Program please contact theSmall & Minority Business Resources at 512-974-7600 orvisit www.austintexas.gov/smbr.
"IMMEDIATE HIRE:Administrative Assistantsposition. Resumes ONLY,no phone calls. E-mailresumes to [email protected]."
Integral Care is currently solicitingproposals through a Request forQualifications (RFQ) process for aFacilities Master Plan. RFQs maybe sent electronically, by contactingBrody Ballard at brody [email protected] beginning June21, 2017. The deadline to submit aproposal under the RFP is 4 p.m.CST on July 31, 2017. HistoricallyUnderutilized Businesses, includingMinority-Owned Businesses andWomen-Owned Businesses, are encouraged to apply.
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New Jobs for theWeek of 06/25/2017Coordinator, Instructional
InitiativesHighland Campus
Job# 1706026Assistant, Senior Library
Hays CampusJob# 1706024
Faculty, EnglishSouth Austin Campus
Job# 1706023Technician, Filter
Location as assignedJob# 1706022
Assistant, LibraryHighland Campus
Job# 1706021Specialist, Student Support
Highland CampusJob#1706019
District Police, DispatcherService CenterJob# 1706016
Technician, IT (ComputerSupport)
Multiple locationsJob# 1706013
Dean, Student ServicesHays CampusJob# 1705046
Austin Community CollegeDistrict (ACC) is solicitingproposals from qualified firms toprovide Depository BankingServices.
Request for Proposal (RFP) No. 946-17025VJ
All proposals must be submitted toACC Purchasing by no later thanThursday, August 3, 2017 at 2:00p.m., CST. Solicitation packages areavailable on the ACC Purchasingwebsite at http://www.austincc.edu/offices/purchasing/advertised-solicitations or in the ACC Purch-asing Office with advance notice(512) 223-1044 between the hoursof 9am and 4pm CST, Mondaythrough Friday. All proposals mustbe sealed and returned to the ACCPurchasing Office, ACC ServiceCenter, 9101 Tuscany Way, Austin,Texas 78754, by the date and timeindicated above.Electronically transmitted bids willNOT be accepted unless otherwisestated in the documents.Pre-Proposal meeting is scheduledfor Wednesday, July 12, 2017at 9:00am at the ACC Highland Campus,Rm 301.0.
Democrats Play Dog Whistle Politics, Too. Just Ask Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby arrives to the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., alongside hiswife, Camille on June 13, 2017.Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’Neill declared a mistrial inthe Bill Cosby sexual assault case.(POOL PHOTO)
Andrea Constandarriving at court on
Tuesday, June 6, 2017.Photo: MATT ROURKE/
AFP/Getty Images
Montgomery County JudgeSteven T. O’Neill
Montgomery County DistrictAttorney Kevin Steele
NATIONAL (NNPA) -Two weeks ago, enter-tainer extraordinaire BillCosby was handed a hungjury in his sexual assaulttrial in Norristown, Pa., asuburb of Philadelphia.
Regardless of whatyou think of Cosby and theallegations made againsthim, a jury of his peersspoke and they concludedthat they couldn’t reachunanimous agreement onany of the three charges,thus a hung jury.
That should havebeen the end of the caseand the end of the story.It should have been timefor everyone to move onwith their lives; it shouldhave been a time forCosby to get back on stageand do what he doesbest—to entertain andchallenge America; espe-cially Black America.
But that is not whathappened on June 17th.Within minutes of JudgeSteven T. O’Neill’s declara-tion of a mistrial, Mont-gomery County DistrictAttorney Kevin Steele ve-hemently asserted that hewould retry Cosby as soonas possible. By law, theyhave up to four months tomake a final decision toretry.
Steele said, “We willreevaluate and review ourcase and will retry it andmove as soon as possible.”
He went on to de-clare: “[Cosby’s accuserAndrea Constand] is en-titled to a verdict in thiscase.”
Please allow me tointerpret this for you.Steele means she is en-titled to a verdict that “he”agrees with.
Constand was notentitled to a verdict; Cosbywas entitled to a trial by ajury of her “peers,” noth-ing more, nothing less.
Those who follow mywritings know that I rarely,if ever, invoke race into myarguments, but I would beremiss not to point out theissue of race in this par-ticular case.
In 2015, Steele de-feated former RepublicanMontgomery County Dis-trict Attorney Bruce Castorin a very heated race.Steele made the veiledpromise of a conviction oflegendary entertainer BillCosby, the central issue inthe election. In 2005,when Castor was the dis-trict attorney, he declinedto prosecute Cosby in therape allegation broughtforward by Constand, be-cause “there was insuffi-cient evidence.”
So, Steele comesalong in 2015 and says ifyou elect me, I will re-open the case againstCosby that was droppednearly ten years ago.
According to the2010 census, the county is79 percent White non-His-
panic, 8.7 percent Black orAfrican American, 6.4 per-cent Asian, and 4.3 per-cent Hispanic or Latino.
Republicans have awell-earned reputation forusing race to scare Whitefolks into voting for themand are rightfully calledout on this practice, but Ifind it amazing whenWhite, liberal Democratsuse the same tactic, liber-
als, especially Black ones,get laryngitis.
So, Steele used a cari-cature of the world fa-mous Black comedian toconvince White voters inMontgomery County thathe would save them fromthuggish predators likeCosby, a blind philanthro-pist, who was once called“America’s Dad.”
Aren’t these thesame dog whistles thatDemocrats accuse Repub-licans of using?
Look at the 2015campaign TV commercialSteele ran against Castorusing the allegationsagainst Cosby. When I sawthis ad two years ago, I wasimmediately transportedback to 1990 when segre-gationist Republican Sena-tor Jesse Helms ran his in-famous “hands ad.”
In 1990, HarveyGantt, mayor of Charlotte,N.C. was leading Helms inhis reelection bid for theU.S. Senate. Gantt wouldhave become the firstBlack senator in NorthCarolina’s history. As soonas Helms aired the handsad, the race was, for allpractical purposes, over.
There is absolutelyno doubt that Helms’ adwas racist and meant toscare White folks to turn-out for his reelection. Like-wise, Steele did the samething, but since he is a lib-eral, White Democrat,there was no public out-cry.
Some political insid-ers have suggested thatSteele’s ultimate goal is torun for governor of Penn-sylvania; a conviction inthe Cosby trial was criticalstepping-stone to thegovernor’s mansion.
It’s all or nothing forSteele. Cosby, and by ex-tension Blacks in Pennsyl-
vania, are simply pawns inthe game that the districtattorney is playing to getwhat he wants politically.
The CongressionalBlack Caucus raised holyhell in 1990 denouncingthe Helms’ TV ad; JesseJackson and Al Sharptonwere both all over TVscreaming racism; theNAACP and Urban Leaguewere sending out massiveamounts of mail comingout against Helms and Re-publicans.
These folks andgroups all “claim” to be forjustice and equality for all,but I guess you have toadd, “if” they agree withyour politics. It is publicknowledge that Cosby hasopened his wallet to many
civil rights groups lendinghis celebrity to various so-cial causes for decades.
So, to all the Blackswho are running awayfrom Cosby, like theplague, and have suddenlycome down with a severecase of laryngitis, I say thattoday Bill Cosby has beentried and convicted in theWhite liberal court of pub-lic opinion, but ask your-self, who will stand up foryou when it’s your turn?
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MARY J. BLIGE looked stunning while giving a re-markably powerful performance of her song “Set MeFree”, before being joined by A$AP ROCKY for a duetof their collaboration “Love Yourself.”
XSCAPE took to the stage, reuniting for the firsttime in eighteen years for an audience-raising perfor-mance of their greatest hits, including “Understanding”,“Who Can I Run To” and “Just Kickin’ It.”
YARA SHAHIDI voiced the importance of support-ing blackness and thanked BET for celebrating black cul-ture so beautifully when she graciously accepted theYoungStars Award.
MICHELLE OBAMA and BET Chairman & CEODEBRA LEE introduced CHANCE THE RAPPER who gavean impassioned acceptance speech after receiving theevening’s Humanitarian Award for supporting educa-tional and social initiatives within his community andthroughout the U.S. As the youngest BET Awards Hu-
manitarian Honoree to date, Chance talked about theimportance of working on ourselves before we workon the world.
Celebrating one of the most successful and influ-ential adult R&B acts in music history, NEW EDITIONwas honored with the iconic Lifetime AchievementAward - but not before the cast of ‘The New EditionStory’ performed a four song medley of their greatesthits including “Candy Girl”, “Sensitivity”, “My Preroga-tive” and “Can You Stand The Rain.” With a full stand-ing ovation, New Edition then took to the stage andhad the crowds dancing in the aisles on “Mr. TelephoneMan” and “Can You Stand The Rain.”
Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment,serves as Executive Producer. Connie Orlando, BET’s In-terim Head of Programming, serves as Executive Pro-ducer for BET Networks. To see a complete list of allthe BET Award Winners go to www.bet.com.
Mary J. Blige Performs, Chance The RapperReceives Humanitarian Award continued from front page
Mary J. Blige and A$AP Rocky perform during the 2017 BET Awards.Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images/BET Network.
Chance the Rapper wins the Humanitarian andthe Best New Artist Award. Photo by Frederick
M. Brown/Getty Images/BET Network.
Actress and model Amber Rose on red carpetarrivals. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
Images/BET Networks.
Beyonce performs during the 2016 BET Awardsand wins the 2017 Video of the Year for Sorry.
Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images/BET Network.
Walk forSickle Cell
The 2017, 6th annual3K Walk for Sickle Cell, hap-pening July 1st, 9:00 AM atRosewood Park-Doris MillerAuditorium, 2300 Rose-wood Ave. Austin, TX78702. Sickle cell trait test-ing, live music from TheBlues Specialist featuringMel Davis, participationfrom community leaders.Indoor and outdoor exposi-tion will be featured, break-fast items, vendor commu-nication, a in memoriampresentation, and tons offamily-friendly activities!
