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TPATPATPATPATPATEXASPUBLISHERSASSOCIATION
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Austin, TexasPermit No. 01949
INSIDEVol. 43 No. 43 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: [email protected] March 11, 2016
RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’Tommy WyattTommy WyattTommy WyattTommy WyattTommy Wyatt
www.TheAustinVillager.com
This paper canbe recycled
Former First Lady NancyReagan Dies at 94 in
Californiaby: The Associated Press
In this June 3, 2009, file photo, former firstlady Nancy Reagan speaks in the Capitol Ro-tunda in Washington, during a ceremony to un-veil a statue of President Ronald Reagan. Theformer first lady has died at 94, The AssociatedPress confirmed Sunday, March 6, 2016. (APPhoto/Alex Brandon, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former first lady NancyReagan has died at 94 in Bel-Air, California.
Assistant Allison Borio says Mrs. Reagan died Sun-day at her home of congestive heart failure.
Her marriage to Ronald Reagan lasted 52 yearsuntil his death in 2004.
A former actress, she was Reagan’s closest adviserand fierce protector on his journey from actor to gov-ernor of California to president of the United States.
She rushed to his side after he was shot in 1981by a would-be assassin, and later endured his nearlydecade-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. In recentyears she broke with fellow Republicans in backing stemcell research as a way to possibly find a cure forAlzheimer’s.
SXSW Celebrates 30Year Anniversary with
President and Mrs.Obama Plus Much More!
by Naomi Richard | The Austin Villager Newspaper
SXSW is honored to announce President BarackObama will appear as part of a Keynote Conversationat SXSW Interactive on Friday, March 11 and First LadyMichelle Obama will be the opening Keynote at SXSWMusic on Wednesday, March 16. This marks the firsttime in the 30-year history of SXSW that a sitting Presi-dent and the First Lady have participated in the event.
On Friday, March 11, President Obama will sit downfor a conversation about civic engagement in the 21stCentury before an audience of creators, early adoptersand entrepreneurs who are defining the future of our con-nected lives. The President will call on the audience toapply their ideas and talents to make technology work forus. President Obama’s appearance is open to all SXSW In-teractive, Gold, and Platinum registrants.
See SXSW MUSIC FESTIVAL, page 2
Manor East Rural Community CenterCelebrates Black History Month
MANOR, TX - Manor East Rural Community Cen-ter Celebrated Black History Month on Friday, Febru-ary 26, 2016 from 9:45am - 12:45pm, located in theEastern part of Travis County at 600 West Carrie-ManorStreet in Manor, Texas.
As part of the Black History Program the groupHonored Mrs. Carrie Manor a long time resident ofManor, Texas. Mrs. Carrie Manor past in 2005.
Including in celebration was Food, Singing, Enter-tainment, Praise Dancers and remarks by Ruth Biscoethe Organizer of the event, Arthur Sampson a Candi-date for Travis County Commissioner for Precinct One,Mayor Rita Jonse, Chief of Police Ryan Phipps and otherspeakers.
The Manor Police Department helped served thefood to guest at the Community Center. Communitypolicing and involvement is every healthy for the com-munity. The Black History Celebration was well at-tended.
Early voting starts in the Primary Election Run-Offon Monday, May 16th thru Friday, May 20th. ElectionDay voting is Tuesday, May 24th 2016.
ABOVE, citizens pack the community cen-ter to celebrate Black History month. ArthurSampson (RIGHT TOP) and Ruth Biscoe (RIGHTBOTTOM) address the community in attendance.
Harvard Seeks &Witnesses Spike inAfrican-American
Applicantsby: Zenitha Prince | Senior AFRO Correspondent
A senior fills out a college enrollment application.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Harvard College isreporting a record num-ber of applicants for itsClass of 2020, and AfricanAmericans constituteone-tenth of the highereducation hopefuls.
Applications for ad-mission numbered at39,044 this year, the IvyLeague institution re-ported. That is a 4.6 per-cent increase from lastyear and a 246 percentincrease from 40 yearsago, when Harvard firstaccepted co-ed applica-
tions.“We have come a
long way since 1976, thefirst year a single admis-sions committee reviewedapplications from bothmen and women,” WilliamR. Fitzsimmons, HarvardCollege dean of admis-sions and financial aid,said in a statement. Therecord number of appli-cants, he added, “reflectsthe effectiveness ofSeeHARVARD’S ATTEMPT,page 2
VISION OF HOPE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHCELEBRATES BLACK HERITAGE
Community Courage Award: Helen MillerEntrepreneur Award: Kelvin KingEducation Award: Dr. Colette Pierce BurnetteCommunication Award: Tommy WyattCommunication Award: Akwasi EvansSocial Justice Award: Nelson Linder
See Page 3For CompleteDetails On All
Honorees
Internationaltrailblazers mentor
young women.See VIRGIN
Page 6
Director Jimmy Earlreceives prestigious
IAVW award.See ERWIN
Page 5
DiscriminationComplaintsincreasing in
Austin. It appears that discrimi-nation in public accom-modations is rearing its uglyhead again in Austin. We arereceiving calls almost dailyabout African Americansbeing refused service forvaried reasons. In the 1980s these com-plaints were very common.It was a regular occurrencein the downtown E. 6th Streetarea, which was the mainentertainment area at thetime. One of the practiceswas to have patrons line upwhen the club was full andcould only enter when giventhe okay by the doorman.That was fine, until thedoorman started to refuseentry to African Americanswho had moved to the frontof the line. At that time, thedoorman would let those inline behind us go in. Because of those practices,the City of Austin establishedthe Human RightsCommission to investigatethose kinds of complaints. Totest the system, thenCouncilman Jimmy Snell hadhis assistant to go stand in theline. After being passed overseveral times, she reported herfindings to the councilman.That club was given a heavyfine for violating the city’s anti-discrimination Ordinance. If the current number ofcomplaints is any indicationas to what is going on in thecity, it may be necessary toreactivate that agency. But,before that can happen, thereneeds to be documentationof the problem. One of the latest complaintsthat we have received is thatBlack men are being deniedadmission to restaurants inAustin if they are wearing goldchains. In other instances,female customers were deniedadmission, because they werebehind Black men wearinggold chains, although they hadno connection to the men.These kinds of actions cannotbe permitted to grow in ourcity. In order to document theseabuses, we will keep a recordof such abuses. So feel freeto call, if you feel that youhave been discriminatedagainst. We need to know ifthis is a growing concern orjust select cases. You cansend your information to ouremail or call (512) 476-0082.
RNC Files Lawsuitunder FOIA
See RECORDSPage 7
Page 2 ~ THE VILLAGER/March 11, 2016 THE COMMUNIQUÉ www.theaustinvillager.com
On Wednesday, March 16, First Lady MichelleObama comes to SXSW Music to discuss the Let GirlsLearn initiative, which aims to break barriers for the 62million girls around the world who are not in schooltoday, more than half of whom are adolescent.
The SXSW Film Festival celebrates raw innova-tion and emerging talent both behind and in front ofthe camera. The 2016 Film Festival will host nine daysof screenings from March 11 – 19, 2016. Here are afew highlights to expect. The life and legacy of Inter-nationally renowned music icon Miles Davis will be cel-ebrated at SXSW in honor of his 90th anniversary. SXSWwill premiere two screenings of the long-awaited, criti-cally acclaimed feature film MILES AHEAD, co-writtenby Don Cheadle, who also stars as Miles Davis andmakes his directorial debut.
I AM THE BLUES takes the audience on a musicaljourney through the swamps of the Louisiana Bayou,the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta and Moonshinesoaked BBQs in the North Mississippi Hill Country. Vis-
The SXSW Film Festival Celebrates Raw Innovation andEmerging Talent both Behind and in Front of the Camera
iting the last original blues devils, many in their 80’s,still living in the deep south, working without manage-ment and touring the Chitlin’ Circuit. They will awakenthe blues in all of us.
Nicolas Cage brings THE TRUST to SXSW. A dra-matic comedy about Waters and Stone, two nobodypolice officers who work in the evidence room of theLas Vegas Police Department. When Stone discoversan unusually high bail receipt in connection to a drugbust, the two friends set in motion a plan to find thesource of the money.
The SXSW Music Festival is one of the largest andmost influential global music events of the year, takingplace every March in Austin, Texas - the Live MusicCapital of the World. A few acts include Jay Prince, BJThe Chicago Kid, Loretta Lynn, Ronnie Heart, Jones ofLondon and Joan of Arc to name a few.
These are just a few highlights to expect duringthe upcoming SXSW festivities. Check www.sxsw.comfor complete events, times, dates and ticket informa-tion.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Jones of London
BJ The Chicago Kid
Don Cheadle
Harvard’s outreach to outstanding students every-where.”
The increase in applications may also reflect thecollege’s attempt to ease the financial burden on thosepotential students. Recent statistics show that a col-lege education is becoming increasingly expensive,which may discourage many from pursuing higher edu-cation. From 2007 to 2015, for example, college loandebt exploded from $516 billion to $1.2 trillion, accord-ing to the U.S. Department of Education. Approximately25 percent of students who take out loans for collegeare 90 days delinquent, according to the Federal Re-serve Bank of New York.
Harvard waived the application fees of nearly 25percent of this year’s applicants due to financial hard-ship. If those students are accepted, they will likely beeligible for the school’s financial aid program.
Twenty percent of Harvard’s current undergradu-ates are from families with incomes of less than $65,000a year. The college pays all tuition for those students,including room and board. More than half of Harvard’sundergraduates receive some sort of financial aid.
The availability of resources has helped removebarriers to an education at Harvard and has made itpossible for people of different backgrounds to applyto the college, officials said.
“Harvard’s Financial Aid Initiative (HFAI) has reso-nated strongly with students who never thought Harvardwas a possibility,” said Sally C. Donahue, the Griffindirector of financial aid at Harvard. “Only about 20,000students applied before HFAI began over a decade ago.With nearly 40,000 applicants today, Harvard studentsnow come from a much broader array of economic, eth-nic, and cultural backgrounds than at any time inHarvard’s history.”
African-Americans comprise 10.6 percent of 2016applicants to Harvard. In 2015, 241 Black students wereadmitted to the college and 75 percent of them decidedto enroll, according to the Journal of Blacks in HigherEducation. African-American students account for 11.6percent of the Class of 2019.
Increase in applications mayreflect Harvard’s attempt to
ease financial burden onpotential students
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
BLACKHISTORY
ROLLCALL
An ExhilaratingTheater
Performance!By NCNW - Austin
Section President Dr.Shirley Sprinkles
AUSTIN, TX - Re-counting the works andskills of many of America’sbest African American art-ists, writers, and perform-ers, was the objective ofSaturday night’s stageplay, Black History RollCall; An African Renais-sance Journey on Satur-day, February 20, 2016 atthe Carver Museum andCultural Center – BoydVance Theater. Theintergenerational castconsisted of performersfrom the Texas Prepara-tory School’s Sixth Gradeclass of Austin, Texas.This was their first experi-ence delivering oral biog-
raphies before an audi-ence of more than 100 pa-trons and creatively actingout an African folktalethrough movement. Itwas, arguably, the mostdifficult and intimidatingactivity of their younglives!
The play was thebrainchild of Dr. BillyHarden, CEO of SPEC-TRUM Theater Company,Inc. Cast members ofSPECTRUM blended withthe youth of TPS and BAL-LET AFRIQUE to produce arousing, musically- richshow. Famous Broadwayactors and popular artistsof a by-gone era were fea-tured in song and dance bytalented, professionals—to the delight of all in at-tendance.
This was the secondin what is to become a se-ries of annual stage playsto be sponsored by theNational Council of Ne-gro Women that will de-pict the lives, work andplay of noteworthy Black
Americans. Under theleadership of The AustinSection’s president, Dr.Shirley Sprinkles, NCNWseeks innovative plat-forms for fund-raising tosupport their scholarshipprogram. This model hascaptured the hearts ofmany donors. It brings to-gether the youth of ourcommunity with the expe-rience and knowledge ofmature artisans and con-sultants to keep alive thehistory of African Ameri-
cans. It is a transforma-tional model that is ex-pected to expand overtime if it is true to its goal.
It is safe to say thatthe performance on Satur-day night, February 20, willlong be remembered asone that was entertaining,uplifting, and informative.For certain, NCNW waspleased with the supportand turn out of a good-sized audience. They arealready starting to plan fornext year’s show!
Save the Date:Downtown Street Fair Starts Friday, April 1
Join the Downtown Austin Alliance every Fridaystarting April 1 through June 3 for a festival including foodvendors, retailers, entertainers, artists and more! The fes-tival will take place during the lunch hour, 11:30am-1:30pm,at 9th and Congress and is free and open to the public.
The Downtown Street Fair is an opportunity for youto grab a quick bite on your lunch break, enjoy the work oflocal artists and entertainers, and re-discover a hiddengem of downtown Austin.
Each week will feature a variety of vendors, givingyou the opportunity to experience a different and excit-ing element of Austin every Friday. Other downtown busi-nesses on the block will also be participating by providingfood and retail options tailored to the event.
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
ProphetessStephanie N’ChoAssociate Pastor
469-226-4679 | www.vainqueurs.org805 S. Sherman St. Richardson, TX 75081
La Génération des VainqueursMinistry Church
Tuesday - Friday: 3pm -10pmWalking and Appointment
Wednesday Bible Study | 7:45pmFriday Prayer |7:45pm
Sunday Service | 10:00am
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
DAVID CHAPEL Missionary Baptist ChurchSUNDAY | Christian Education 9:15a.m.Worship 10:30 a.m. (MLK)Nursery AvailableTUESDAY | TNT Bible Study(Pflugerville) 6:45p.m.WEDNESDAY | Prayer & Praise 7:00p.m.Bible Study 7:30p.m.
Dr. Joseph C. Parker, Jr.Senior Pastor
512-472-9748 www.davidchapel.org2211 E.MLK @ Chestnut St. Austin, TX 78702
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/March 11, 2016 ~ Page 3
We Want YOU!Advertise With
TheVILLAGER
VISION OF HOPE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPALCHURCH CELEBRATES BLACK HERITAGE
On February 28, 2016, Vision of HopeAfrican Methodist Episcopal (AME)Church celebrated its annual Black His-tory and Heritage Program. The Rev.
Melvin Manor from St. Paul MissionaryBaptist Church in Austin was the speaker.The following community leaders wererecognized for their service.
Community Courage Award: Helen Miller
Entrepreneur Award: Kelvin King
Education Award: Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette
Communication Award: Tommy Wyatt
Communication Award: Akwasi Evans
Social Justice Award: Nelson Linder
Helen Miller is acommunity activist thatwas born and raised inAustin. She is veryproud of Austin and be-lieves in being involved.A few of Ms. Miller’scurrent endeavors in-clude: Vice President ofthe Colony Park/Lakeside Associationand Co-chair of the Aus-tin Independent School
District Campus Advi-sory Council at GusGarcia’s Young Men’sLeadership Academy.
Kelvin King is theFounder and CEO ofStrategyAxis, an Austinbased software startupthat helps individualsand teams transform vi-sion into reality. Prior tofounding StrategyAxis,Kelvin led the globalservices strategy forLombardi Softwarewhere he developedLombardi’s software
adoption strategy whichhelped Lombardi getacquired by IBM Corpo-ration.
Dr. Colette PierceBurnette was named asH u t s o n - T i l l o t s o nUniversity’s sixth Presi-dent and Chief Execu-tive Officer in July 2015.Pierce Burnette is thefirst female president ofthe merged Huston-Tillotson University andonly the second femalepresident in theinstitution’s 140-yearhistory. Prior to servingat HTU, she was the
Vice President of Admin-istration and the Chief Fi-nancial Officer at CentralState University inWilberforce, Ohio.
Tommy Wyatt is amember of various pro-fessional, political andcivic organizations in-cluding membership inthe National Newspa-per Publishers Associa-tion and FoundingMember to the TexasPublishers Association.In 1973, he became thefounder and owner ofThe Villager newspa-per, one of two Austin
black Newspapers. Hespecifically reports onissues related to AfricanAmericans in Austin.
Akwasi Evans hasbeen involved in thecivil rights movementfor most of his life. Hemarched with Dr. Mar-tin Luther King, Jr., andbecame an organizer incollege. He runsAustin’s progressivenewspaper, NOKOA,The Observer, whichhe founded in July of1987.
Nelson Linder waselected as the Presidentof the Austin, TexasBranch of the NAACP in2000. He has been inter-viewed on CNN, BET,The Washington Post,and has appeared on lo-cal television advocat-ing on issues rangingfrom police brutality tohousing discrimination.He has also worked ex-
tensively on educationalequity and economicempowerment..
David Chapel MissionaryBaptist ChurchCelebrates Its
Welcome MinistryAUSTIN, TX, David Chapel Missionary Baptist
Church invites you to celebrate our Welcome Ministryon Sunday, March 20, 2016 during the 10:30 a.m. wor-ship service. The theme for this year, “Totally Commit-ted to Serving” is taken from 1 Corinthians 9:19. Dr.Mark Washington, Pastor of Vision of Hope A.M.E.Church in Austin is the guest minister. The David ChapelWelcome Ministry includes the Usher’s, Greeters andNurses.
David Chapel is located at 2211 E. Martin LutherKing, Jr. Blvd. in Austin and is pastored by Rev. JosephC. Parker, Jr. Please come out and join us as we praise,worship and thank God on this blessed occasion!
There are a lot of conversations going on right nowabout the future of mobility in Austin - from CapitalMetro's Connections 2025 service plan, to Google's self-driving test cars, to the City of Austin's work with RockyMountain Institute towards "on demand" transporta-tion.
With all this going on, Movability Austin wants tomake sure that the right questions are being asked, es-pecially for downtown companies and employees. Mov-ability is conducting a short online survey of Austin com-muters' attitudes and preferences, and needs your help!
Go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TransitFuture to take the survey (available in Englishand Spanish).
Movability Austin Needs Your Feedback
Page 4 ~ THE VILLAGER/March 11, 2016 YOUTH BRIGADE www.theaustinvillager.com
Youth of TodayHope of Tomorrow
Genesis StiggersElgin Middle School
Ira “T.J.” WilliamsCedar Ridge H. S.
Track Season
It is track and fieldseason folks, and a timefor me to get my legs pump-ing and my arms moving.Although I’m in track andfield, my only criteria is inthe field sector. I am indiscus(Where I have tothrow a Frisbee lookingweight as far as possible.)and shot put(Where I throwa heavy metal ball as far aspossible.). Both seem easy,but it requires a lot skill topush the ball as far as youwant it to go. That’s why it’sfun to be in track & field,although I have to do the rig-orous workout sessionswith track people duringschool.
I have been in track& field for about 2 weeksnow, and have also beento two track meets. Thediscus practices are twoday a week, but the shot-put practices are only oncea week. That means thatalthough it doesn’t take up
much of your time, you haveto be focused and deter-mined the whole time. Intrack, you get a medal for1st through 6th place. Ifyour a relay girl, you andyour relay team all get thesame medal. The meets arefun, even though they’relong and go through the coldnight. It’s a great sport andI’m excited to do it nextyear too.
For my past two trackmeets I got first in shot putand fourth discus. I wassad that I got fourth in dis-cus but happy it was twoof my Elgin teammatesand one nice Taylor girl.On my second meet I feltlike it was kind of worstand better at the sametime. I got fourth in shotput and second in discus.I was disappointed aboutmaking fourth, althoughonce again it was two girlson my team and a girl fromDel Valley that beat me, soI was pretty proud of Elgin.As for discus, I was happyabout my improvementand the girl in first was myElgin teammate, so I wasreally happy. Track is asport and there’s no timefor jealousy or moping,because it’ll take awayfrom getting better, and Ican’t wait to see what hap-pens this week. Thanks forreading and have a greatday.
Warriors Fall To The Lakers
On Sunday, March6th, 2016, Stephen Curryand the Golden State War-riors faced off againstKobe Bryant and the LosAngeles Lakers. The War-riors currently hold thebest winning record in theNational Basketball Asso-ciation (NBA) with 55 wins.Their goal by the end ofthe season is to break the95’-96’ Chicago Bullsrecord of 72 wins in a sea-son. The Lakers, however,
have one of the worst win-ning records in the NBAwith only 13 wins.
The first quarter ofthe game started out roughfor the Warriors. StephenCurry only made one 3-pointer and the Warriorswere trailing by one pointat the end of the first quar-ter. By the end of the sec-ond half, Golden State had13 turnovers and were los-ing by 10 points.
The rest of the gameremained in the same pat-tern that it started. Thegame ended with Lakerswinning 112 to 95 over theWarriors. Lakers rookie,D’Angelo Russell endedwith 21 points and KobeBryant ended with 12points. This was the War-riors 6th loss of the sea-son and the Lakers biggestwin of the season. GoldenState plays the OrlandoMagic on Monday, March7th and Los Angeles playsthe Magic on Tuesday,March 8th.
SaNaya WhiteAnn Richards
3...2...1...Blastoff
In my school STEMclass, our recent projectwas to build a rocket andthen launch it. If you dontknow what STEM means, itmeans Science, Technology,Engineering and Math.
When Science, Technology,Engineering and Math areused we put them into theirown group called STEM. Inthis class we created paperrockets in groups of two. Af-terwards we created alauncher using PVC pipes. Atthe very end we put therocket on the PVC pipelauncher and took it out-side.
One by one peoplelaunched their rockets as wecounted them off.3...2...1...some rocketslaunched and some rocketsfailed. My group's rocketflew behind us instead of upand in front of us. I had funwith this project and can'twait till the next.
Ava RobertsSpring Hill Elementary
Imagination & Innovation
Destination Imagina-tion (DI) is an educational,creative, problem solvingorganization. It helps stu-dents in grades K-12 de-velop skills for problemsolving, critical thinking,creativity, and collabora-tion. Each year DI offersseven challenge catego-ries: technical, scientific,fine arts, improvisational,structure, service learning,and rising stars. Student
teams solve challengesthrough the use of science,technology, engineering,mathematics and fine arts.A challenge can havemany solutions and theteams compete at a com-petition.
This year's regionaltournament was held onSaturday, March 6 at VistaRidge High School. Therewere 423 schools compet-ing. My team from SpringHill Elementary competedin the 'In Plain Sight' chal-lenge. We spent time af-ter-school to get readyworking on our solution forthe competition. We didnot place but had plentyfun learning about and cre-ating our solution to thechallenge. We are alreadythinking about participat-ing in next year's compe-tition!
My Volleyball Game
Malakhi WashingtonCunningham Elementary
Last Saturday I had myfirst volleyball game withmy school, my team namewas the CunninghamStrivers. The day was calledThe Volleyball Play Day withthe University of Texas. Our
coach name is CoachOrocho, she is also my P.Eteacher. I really enjoyed it. Iwas soo ready to play. Wehad to play three gamesduring the day. First, westarted with a clinic withsome of UT players, so thatwe could learn more aboutthe game.
After the clinic we hadpractice for it seems like along time and then thegames started. We won allthree games! I really likevolleyball and I found it tobe pretty easy. I was reallysurprised that we won allthree games! In the future Iwould really love to playmore volleyball, overall thiswas a great experience!
Damon Luckett IIHays High School
I had a chance to learnskills in my craft from a mannamed Dr. Elliot Gann, fromCalifornia. He has been run-ning Today's Future Soundsfull-time for the past coupleof years. His programmingprimarily is focused in low-SES neighborhoods andschools in Oakland and theBay Area. He teaches el-ementary, middle and highschool (mainly elementaryand middle school) elec-tronic music production/HipHop music production andDJ'ing. This includes learn-ing basic music theory, thehistory of Hip Hop, Science,Math, and Technologicalaspects of these activities.He helps kids to create theirown instrumental albums aswell as perform their com-positions live in the commu-
Today's Future Heroesnity.
I also met another mannamed Dr. Raphael Travis Jr.who is an associate profes-sor in the School of SocialWork at Texas State. Socialworkers are people whowork with children, families,communities, etc. to helpthem get back on their feetduring hard times. Trying tomake better people out ofthem he works with organi-zations to promote positiv-ity in youth lives, especiallythrough music. He also re-searches on how musicplays a role in people's lifeas a platform for growth inat-risk youth.
I talked to both ofthese men and they told metheir objectives and I havefaith in them. They said thatmy generation is the future,but they create a future forchildren like me. I've onlyknown them for a day andjust in a day, you could tellthat they were phenomenalpeople. People like thesemen that I've explained arethe people we need in thecommunities to help at riskchildren. If we could get atleast ten men like them inevery neighborhood work-ing with at risk youth, wecould change the world.
My school had adance during school in cel-ebration of the entire stu-dent body getting throughthe big test. Based off of thegrade level you were in iswhere you would be placedfor the school activities.Sixth graders were in the
small gym and eighth grad-ers were in the big gym.However, since the seventhgraders scored so well ontheir test, they got to havepony rides outside with ac-cess to the cafeteria, thebig gym and the library! Iwas a little disappointed inour dance because I had towait in line for the snacksand by the time I got upthere, they had ran com-pletely out.
The dance was prettyfun for the most part. Themusic was loud and every-one enjoyed themselves!That's all guys, talk to younext time!
School Dance
Erika LipscombManor Middle School
At Cedar Ridge wehave a multitude of eventsfor students to attend thatserve both entertainmentand fund raising purposes.An example of one of theseevents is the bubble soccertournament. This is a tour-nament in which studentsput together teams to com-pete in a soccer tourna-ment, but there is a twist.Bubble soccer is when theplayers put on large inflat-able shells that mostclosely resemble bubbles,and while you are supposedto try to score the ball, thereis a heavy focus on bounc-ing around and bumpinginto other players in yourbubble.
Another interestingfundraiser that I attendedthis past weekend is called
Dancing with the Teachers.This event is hosted to raisemoney for our school’sprom. Dancing with theTeachers is an even wherestudents can get o stageand compete in a dancecompetition that is sup-posed to resemble Dancingwith the Stars. It is very funand interesting to see thestudents and teachers yousee everyday in a new light.Watching the choreo-graphed dance numbersalong with hearing com-ments from the judges, whoare administrators at theschool, and seeing studentsyou know show off someimpressive dance moves isvery entertaining.
Dancing with theTeachers is a very fun ex-perience and just one ofmany entertainment eventsthat my school hosts toraise money for prom. Hav-ing events like this at myschool makes it easy to sup-port the many groups wehave at my school. Dancingwith the teachers in particu-lar is a great way to bringthe student body and facultytogether for a good causeand can be enjoyable for allwho attend.
Wesley DickersonCedar Ridge H. S.
Dancing With The Teachers
www.theaustinvillager.com THE COURIER THE VILLAGER/March 11, 2016 ~ Page 5
Frank Erwin Center’s Jimmy EarlReceives International Award
Austin, Texas – Senior Associate Director of theFrank Erwin Center, Jimmy Earl, Certified Facilities Ex-ecutive (CFE) was named the 2016 recipient of theCharles A. McElravy Award from the International As-sociation of Venue Managers (IAVM).
The award is named in honor of one of the found-ing organizers of IAVM for his extraordinary contribu-tions to the Association and the profession of publicassembly facility management over a number of years.This meritorious service award is granted annuallyto a Professional, Honorary, or Retired member ofIAVM who, in the opinion of the Board of Directors,has made the greatest lifetime achievement to thewelfare of the Association or profession.
“Receiving this award is very special to me,” saidEarl upon receiving news of this accolade. “To be rec-ognized by peers is the highest honor one can achieve,however, it takes an incredible amount of support frommany to accomplish this. I wish to acknowledge all whohave helped along the way; family, mentors, staff, col-leagues, friends and countless others that have been
so generous with their time, wisdom and knowledge. Iam humbled and grateful beyond measure to receivethis award.”
“The recipients of the Charles A. McElravyAward are true icons in the industry and I have beenfortunate enough to work with two former winners,Tom Parkinson, former director of Assembly Hall atThe University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (nowState Farm Center) and Dean Justice, former direc-tor of the Erwin Center,” said Executive Senior Asso-ciate Athletics Director of the Frank Erwin Center,John Graham. “Jimmy has worked very hard for IAVMfor many years and he is extremely deserving of thisrecognition. I am thrilled that he has become partof this prestigious group.”
Earl, who has held the position of Senior Asso-ciate Director of the Frank Erwin Center since 1990,has been an active member of IAVM since 1987. Dur-ing his membership, he has served on various com-mittees as well as the Board of Directors, serving asPresident in 2004-2005.
Senior Associate Director of theFrank Erwin Center, Jimmy Earl
Black College Students Burdenedwith Larger Share of College Debt
by: Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent
Between 2007 and 2015, college loandebt ballooned from $516 billion to$1.2 trillion, according to the U.S. De-partment of Education. Between 2014and 2015 alone, student debt spiked by$75 billion according to the Federal Re-serve Bank of New York.
The student debtcrisis in the UnitedStates is escalating andBlack college studentsbear a disproportion-ate share of that bur-den, according to a re-cent analysis
Additionally, ac-cording to the FederalReserve, the 90-daydelinquency rateamong students (11.6percent) is also higherthan all other catego-ries of household debt,including mortgages(2.3 percent) andcredit cards (8.2 per-cent). According to theReserve, delinquencyrates for student loansmay actually be abouttwice as high than
stated because at leasthalf of those loans maycurrently be in defer-ment, in grace periodsor in forbearance.
The student debtcrisis is particular se-vere among African-American college stu-dents, according to anew report byNerdWallet, a con-sumer educationwebsite. Both the per-centage of Black stu-dents who accumulatedebt and their averageloan amounts areclimbing more quicklythan for other stu-dents, the report con-cluded.
Researchers ana-lyzed data on the stu-
dent debt load forfourth-year under-graduate studentsfrom the National Cen-ter for Education Sta-
tistics. They found thatBlack students have al-ways been more likelyto borrow to pay forcollege than their
peers. In 1990, for ex-ample, 69 percent ofBlack undergraduateshad at least one fed-eral or private studentloan, compared withapproximately 50 per-cent of White, 54 per-cent of Hispanic and41 percent of Asianstudents. Twelve yearslater, 90 percent of Af-rican-American stu-dents had accumu-lated college loans.
In 1990, the aver-age debt load for Afri-can-American stu-dents was $11,900,lower than the aver-age carried by all typesof students, $14,900.But since then, Afri-can-American studentdebt has exploded at afaster rate than otherstudents. By 2012, the
average debt load ofBlack students spikedby 155 percent to$30,400, compared toan average increaseamong all students of74 percent.
The NerdWalletreport, “Student LoanBorrowing Is Skyrock-eting for Black Stu-dents — Here’s Whyand What to Do AboutIt,” concluded that theracial wealth gap andoverrepresentation ofBlack students at for-profit colleges—whichhave higher tuitioncosts and are associ-ated with lowergraduation rates andhigher loan defaultrates—are among thereasons for the dis-parities in studentloan debt.
Clinton, Trump Win Big on Super Tuesday, But Voting Problems Undermine Process
PHOTO: HillaryClinton.com PHOTO: DonaldJTrump.com
TriceEdneyWire.com– As much as the statewins are stressed, it’s ac-tually the numbers of del-egates that each state car-ries that actually count.Democrats need 2,383delegates to win the nomi-nation. Clinton currentlyhas 1,055 and Sanders has418. Republicans need1,237 to win the nomina-tion. Trump currently has315, Cruz has 205 and Rubiohas 106. Other primariesand caucuses will take placethrough Tuesday, June 14.
Streams of voters
turned out on Super Tues-day, the largest group pri-mary and caucus day ofthe presidential electionyear. But, according to pollwatchers, it may not havebeen all fair game. Thenational, nonpartisanElection Protection voterhotline reportedly re-ceived more than 2,000phone calls from voterswho encountered issueswhile voting.
“We received hun-dreds of calls across thecountry on our 866-OUR-VOTE hotline from voters
who want to participate inour democracy,” saidKristen Clarke, presidentand executive director ofthe Lawyers’ Committeefor Civil Rights Under Law,in a statement issued tothe media. “I spoke withone voter for over 20 min-utes in Cobb County, Geor-gia who was not given no-tice that his polling placewas temporarily movedand when he got to thenew site, he and manyother voters found a dark,unmarked building withno signs of any activity.”
The majority of callsreportedly came fromTexas and Georgia, thestatement said. “Thehotline received a steadystream of calls throughoutthe day with voters seek-ing information as well asassistance on a range ofissues resulting from pollworker misinformation,voter ID problems, over-crowded polls, long linesand ballot shortages.”
The nominees will beselected during the Demo-cratic Convention in Phila-delphia July 25-28 and dur-
By Hazel Trice Edney
ing the Republican Conven-tion in Cleveland July 18-21.But, as voters prepare tohead for the polls Nov. 8, theapparent voter violationsreported on Super Tuesdayunderscored the need forclose oversight.
“Today, hundreds ofthousands of voters fromVirginia to Alabama to Texasheaded to the polls andmany called 866-OUR-VOTEto receive information andreport problems,” saidMarcia Johnson Blanco, co-director of the Voting RightsProject. “As in years past,
this election showed thecontinuing need for ElectionProtection to provide ser-vices year-round to helpvoters as they prepare tocast ballot.”
The Election Protec-tion program will continueproviding support to votersduring the 2016 presiden-tial primary season andthrough the Nov. 8 election.
Clarke concluded,“Our experience on SuperTuesday shows that muchwork remains to be done tostrengthen our voting pro-cess across the country.”
Page 6 ~ THE VILLAGER/March 11, 2016 HEADLINES www.theaustinvillager.com
Tamara Needles
Tamara Needles,Soundly DefeatsJudge Coronado
On Election Day, one of the biggest surprises wasthat the challenger Tamara Needles soundly defeatedan incumbent and “sitting Judge” Travis County JudgeCoronado. Usually, in Travis County it is hard to chal-lenge an incumbent and yet alone win. However,Tamara Needles managed to do just that. In additionshe defeated the incumbent by more than 10 pointswhich is very significant.
Now that Ms. Needles won, she is most likely towin the general elections. Moreover, she will not befacing a Republican challenger in the general elections.So on November 2, 2016 she will become the next judgeof the 427th District Court. In addition, the 427th Dis-trict Court is a county wide criminal court. As a criminalcourt, it oversees felony cases.
During the primaries, Ms. Needles didn’t receiveas much endorsement as her opponent did. In otherwords, Judge Coronado received the majority of theendorsements of various Democratic Party Clubs.
For instance, Judge Coronado was endorsed bythese Democratic Party Clubs like the Austin TejanoDemocrats, Black Austin Democrats, South AustinDemocrats, Central Austin Democrats and at least 8other clubs. Despite having these endorsements, Ms.Needle managed to win.
by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon | Villager Columnist
Bad Night for Black Central Texas Democrats
Garry Cobb and Mr. Hancock.Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon
by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist
Just last week, Cen-tral Texans went to thepolls in order to vote forcertain candidates. Afterthe results, numerous in-fluential African Ameri-cans candidates lost. De-spite having major en-dorsements and backingfrom the key leaders,they fell to get the major-ity of the votes. As thesecandidates fell to win, sodoes the representationof African Americans de-creases in Travis County.
Although, Austin hasa “declining ” AfricanAmerican population, itis not the case for TravisCounty. In Travis County,
there are cities with bus-tling African Americancommunities such asPflugerville, Manor, and
Del Valle. So, the num-bers are there for the vot-ers to choose good can-didates who happen to
be African Americans.However, it is the incum-bent for each of the can-didates and their cam-paign managers to haveinnovative ideas to reachout to the voters.
Often times, thecampaigns are very busyat “reaching ” to thesame “downtown liberalvoters” while leaving outa more diverse pool ofvoters. For instance,Garry Cobb is one of thecandidates who lost andbarely reached out to thevoters of Pflugerville. Of-ten time, these candi-dates wait to the lastminute to reach out tothe voters. Another can-didate, Danny Thomascame in second place.
“Virgin”The
Real LifeStory ofKarenDrake
Karen Drake
As we enter March,which has been declaredthe International Women’sMonth by the United Na-tions. During this month, itis time to focus on “issuesof women” and to celebratethe achievement of variouswomen. As we celebratethis month, it is importantto note some of the women
by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist
trailblazers. For instance,Karen Michelle Drake is oneof the trail-blazers seekingto guide young womenthrough her book called“Virgin.”
This book, “Virgin”is a real life story of Ms.Drake in which the maincharacters are fictional.In “Virgin” the main char-acter, Mariah Miles grewup in a single parenthome for most of her life.
During her teenage yearsshe became bitter withher mother and very re-bellious. Becoming ayoung lady wasn’t as easyas she thought. Sheblamed her mother be-cause her father wasn’tthere. Circumstances inher life took a turn for theworse because of thechoices she made.” Thewrong choices that themain character makes
cause the death of one ofthe characters.
Although the book istragic, the author changesthe “negatives to positive”so that other youngwoman will not make thesame course as she did.According to the author,the absence of a father fig-ure caused her to look forself-worth in the otherplaces. For instance, shedidn’t have a “dad or fa-ther figure to cheer herup or to say encouragingwords” that would buildher as a woman. In thisbook, she focus of theneed of young woman to“love themselves first”rather than seeking loveand self-worth in otherplaces that may causetragic situations. Further-more, the author wantsto use the book as a plat-form to build confidencein young womanthroughout the world.
Carl Matthews’ Civil Rights Legacy Set
Carl Matthews, center, with other sit-inparticipants at the state historic marker for the
sit-in. Matthew’s led the local lunch counterprotest in 1960 that became North Carolina’s
first victory for the sit-in movement.(FILE PHOTO/WSC)
SPRINGBLACKARTS &
BUSINESSMIXER
This is it Austin! The event the whole community has been waiting on. This is a opportUNITY for all business ownersand artists of color from every avenue to unify and come together in this city. Whats even better is that it is during SXSWand there will be people here from all over the world. You don't want to miss out on this event!!!
IF YOU'RE AN ARTIST, BUSINESS OWNER, OR JUST LOVE BEING AROUND LIKEMINDED INDIVIDUALS COME NET-WORK WITH YOUR FAMILY!! We'll be at Kenny Dorham's Backyard showcasing Austin's amazing entrepreneurs of colorand local artists of all genres. This is a all ages event featuring live music, art, demonstrations, spoken word, clothing/jewelry vendors, and much more! James DjJb Nelson in the mix all afternoon!
WINSTON-SALEM,N.C. — Carl WesleyMatthews, the leader of thelocal lunch counter protestin 1960 that became thestate’s first victory for thesit-in movement, passedaway on Friday, Feb. 26.
A service forMatthews was held Thurs-day, March 3 at noon atRussell Funeral Home, 822Carl Russell Ave.
Matthews, 84, startedthe sit-in at the downtownKress store that led to thedesegregation of lunchcounters in Winston-Salem.The graduate of Winston-Salem Teachers College(now Winston-Salem StateUniversity) started his sit-inon Feb.8, just one week af-ter the four students fromNC A&T University startedtheir sit-in at the Greens-boro Woolworth.
During the same in-terview, he said he dis-cussed doing a sit-in withfive of his co-workers at alocal trucking company,but by the time he startedthe sit-in, it was just him.
Though alone withWhite patrons threateninghim, he later said he wasnot afraid, saying he feltthe presence of a higherpower and kept repeatingthe 23rd and 27th Psalm.But he was not alone forlong, as he was joined bystudents from Winston-Salem Teachers Collegethe next day and for therest of the 107-day pro-test.
Students from AtkinsHigh School also partici-pated in the sit-in, as didWhite students from WakeForest College (now WakeForest University). On Feb23, 1960, eleven Black stu-dents and 10 White stu-dents were arrested fortrespassing during a sit-inat the local Woolworth’slunch counter. Mayor
Marshall Kurfees ap-pointed a “Goodwill Com-mittee” of 10 Black and 10White citizens to devise away to end the protests,which resulted in a deseg-regation agreement forlunch counters in Win-ston-Salem.
On May 25, 1960Matthews returned to theKress lunch counter andwas the first African-Ameri-can served there. He saidafter he was finished, thewaitress threw the glass hedrank out of into atrashcan.
Former N.C. Rep.Larry Womble was alsoamong the Winston-Sa-lem Teachers College stu-dents in the sit-in.Womble, who was the Stu-dent Government Associa-tion president at the time,also knew Matthews fromthe neighborhood and gotto know him more duringthe sit-ins. He said he con-siders him a local civilrights hero.
Matthews, a 2003
Chronicle Lifetime Achieve-ment Award recipient, alsoled efforts to desegregateGreyhound buses and thecity’s courthouses. He wasalso active politically, regis-tering a record number ofBlack voters in the 1960sand leading the local cam-paign for Shirley Chisholm,the first African-Americanto run for president.
AAP Host Karim AllahSharif, who interviewedMatthews on his show foreight weeks in 1996, saidthat the historic sit-in vic-tory became a “scalemodel” for the national civilrights movement. Despitethat, he said Matthews gotlittle recognition for it in thedecades following the sit-in.Sharif said he was amongthose who successfully ad-vocated for a state historicmarker for the sit-in. OnFeb. 23, 2000, Matthews at-tended a dedication of thestate historic marker andother events held for the40th anniversary of the sit-ins.
by Todd LuckSpecial to the NNPA
News Wire fromThe Winston-Salem
Chronicle
City of AustinPurchasing Office
The City of Austin Purchasing Office invitesyou to view current bid solicitations at https://www.c i . au s t i n . t x . u s / f i nanceon l ine /vendor_connection/solicitation/solicitations.cfm.Vendors are encouraged to register on-line in theCity’s Vendor Self Service System. Once yourcompany is registered, you will receive notifica-tions about new bid opportunities. For additionalinformation regarding current bid opportunitiesor Vendor Registration, please call the Purchas-ing Office at 512-974-2500.
For information on the City of Austin’s Mi-nority Owned and Women-Owned ProcurementProgram and the certification process, pleasecontact the Small & Minority Business ResourcesDepartment at 512-974-7600 or visit their websiteat http://www.austintexas.gov/smbr.
City of Austin Featured JobOpportunities
The City of Austin is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Please visit the City of Austin employmentwebsite at www.austincityjobs.org to view
requirements and apply for these and other jobopportunities. We encourage you to check the
employment website often as new jobopportunities are posted daily.
If you have any questions or need assistance,please call 512-974-3210 or email us [email protected].
EMPLOYMENT | PROPOSALS | PUBLIC INFORMATIONFOR SALE | FOR RENT | BIDS | MISCELLANEOUS
www.theaustinvillager.com CLASSIFIEDS THE VILLAGER/March 11, 2016 ~ Page 7
The City of Austin is currently acceptingapplications for the following positions:
• Public Event Worker, (15 TemporaryPositions)
• Community Recreation ActivitySpecialist
• Lifeguard (100 Temporary/SeasonalOpenings)
• Facility Service Coordinator
• IT Application Developer Senior and ITApplication Developer (2 Openings)
• Street & Bridge Operations Crew Lead
• Power System Engineer Senior
Microsoft Corporation currentlyhas the following openings inAustin, TX (job opportunitiesavailable at all levels, e.g.,Principal, Senior and Lead levels):Premier Field Engineer: Providetechnical support to enterprisecustomers, partners, internal staff orothers on mission critical issuesexperienced w/ Microsofttechnologies. Requires dom. travelup to 25%. https://jobs-microsoft.icims.com/jobs/4823/jobMultiple job openings areavailable for each of thesecategories. To view detailed jobdescriptions and minimumrequirements, and to apply, visit thewebsite address listed. EOE.
Austin Travis County IntegralCare is currently solicitingproposals through a Request forProposals (RFP) process for BankDepository Services. RFPs may besent electronically, by contactingBrody Ballard at [email protected] or (512) 440-4022beginning March 7, 2016. Thedeadline to submit a proposal underthe RFP is 4 p.m. CST on April 11,2016. Historically UnderutilizedBusinesses, including Minority-Owned Businesses and Women-Owned Businesses, are encouragedto apply.
RNC FilesLawsuits For
HillaryClinton’s State
DepartmentRecords
WASHINGTON – TheRepublican National Com-mittee (RNC) today filedtwo lawsuits in U.S. DistrictCourt for the District ofColumbia under the Free-dom of Information Act(FOIA) to compel the StateDepartment to producerecords related to HillaryClinton’s tenure as Secre-tary of State. The recordswere previously requestedfrom the State Departmentunder FOIA in October andDecember of last year. Nodocuments or informationhave been provided.
“The Obama Admin-istration has failed to com-ply with records requestsin a timely manner as re-quired by law,” said Chair-man Reince Priebus. “For
too long the State Depart-ment has undermined thepublic and the media’s le-gitimate right to recordsunder the Freedom of In-formation Act, and it’stime it complies with thelaw. If this administrationclaims to be the ‘mosttransparent in history,’ andClinton the ‘most transpar-ent person in public life,’then they should prove it,release these records, andallow the Americanpeople to hold her ac-countable.”
The first lawsuitseeks electronic commu-nications sent to and fromthen-Secretary Clinton viatext or BlackBerry Mes-senger, as well as emailssent to and from severalkey senior aides: formerChief of Staff Cheryl Mills,former Director of PolicyPlanning Jake Sullivan,Undersecretary for Man-agement Patrick Kennedy,and former IT StafferBryan Pagliano, whom TheWashington Post reportedlast week was granted im-
munity for his cooperationwith the FBI’s investigationinto Clinton’s server. Thislawsuit focuses on thosecommunications sent andreceived during Clinton’stenure as Secretary ofState.
The second lawsuitseeks communications be-tween senior officials atthe State Department andthe Clinton campaign andother allied entities. Thislawsuit focuses principallyon communications thatwere sent or received af-ter Clinton’s tenure as Sec-retary of State.
FOIA was intended toinform and educate citi-zens about their govern-ment and elected officials.Disclosure of the recordsrequested in these law-suits would carry out thatpurpose. The RNC seeksrecords that will ensurethat the public has infor-mation to considerwhether former SecretaryClinton is fit to serve as thenext President of theUnited States.
75 Convicted or ConfessedAfrican-Americans Exonerated in
2015 for Crimes They Didn't CommitA record 149 individuals exonerated;
the majority were BlackBy Frederick H. Lowe | Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com
(TriceEdneyWire.com)- The National Registry ofExonerations at the Uni-versity of Michigan LawSchool reported that 71black men and four blackwomen were exoneratedin 2015 for crimes theydidn’t commit.
Last year, a record149 individuals from 29states, the District of Co-lumbia, the federal courtand Guam were exoner-ated, reported the whitepaper “The National Reg-istry of Exonerations: Ex-onerations in 2015.”
Since 1989, 1,733 in-dividuals have been exon-erated as of January 27,2016. The paper reportedthat 58 defendants wereexonerated for homicidecases in 2015. Theexonerees came from 25states and the District ofColumbia. More than two-thirds of the homicideexonerees were minori-ties, including half whowere African-American.
The study reported47 defendants were exon-erated in 2015 for drugpossession. A record 42 ofthose exonerated had pledguilty in Harris County,which includes Houston.Twenty-seven exonera-tions last year were forconvictions based on falseconfessions, also a record.More than 80 percent ofthese false confessionswere in homicide cases,mostly by defendants whowere under 18 or develop-mentally disabled or both.
Official misconductplayed a role in 65 exon-erations, another recordnumber. Three-quarters ofhomicide exonerations in2015 included known offi-cial misconduct. Some ofthe officers who commitofficial misconduct are Af-rican American, accordingto Samuel R. Gross, editorof the National Registry ofExonerations.
The story reportedthat 65 exonerationswere convictions basedon guilty pleas. The ma-jority were for drug casesand eight were homicideconvictions based onguilty pleas that turnedout to be false convic-
tions.Finally, a record 75 ex-
onerations in 2015 werebased on confessions inwhich no crime had beencommitted. Gross notedthe nation averages threeexonerations per week, butmost get little attention.
During This Election Season, BlackPolitical Power Still Not Fully Realized
(TriceEdneyWire.com)- Some will reflect on 2015as a year of renewed civilrights mobilization.Whether catalyzed by theloss of Black lives, restric-tive state voting laws chal-lenged in court by blackvoters and their advo-cates, or the golden anni-versaries of Bloody Sundayand the Voting Rights Actof 1965, many of thisnation’s Black communi-ties demonstrated deepdissatisfaction with howpoorly institutions andelected leaders are repre-senting their interests.
This is not new. BlackAmericans share a historyof organizing to advocatefor their rights. Yet morethan 50 years have passedsince Dr. Martin LutherKing, Jr. famously declaredthat “we can never be sat-isfied as long as a Negro inMississippi cannot voteand a Negro in New Yorkbelieves he has nothing forwhich to vote,” and toomany African-Americanscontinue to questionwhether or not theyshould vote.
Here is the blunttruth: a voter who sits onthe sideline of any elec-tion—whether a localschool board race or amajor presidential race—forfeits their single bestopportunity to put a can-didate who representstheir interests in a positionto make key decisions.
Diversity amongstate-level officials—notjust diversity of race, butof experience, back-ground, interests, and pri-orities—is critically impor-tant. A more diverse bodyof elected officials is likelyto expand the pool of per-spectives influencingstate-level decisions, even
if it does not guaranteeimmediate societalchanges.
Local elected officialsdirectly impact the every-day lives of those in theBlack communities theyserve, yet minorities areunderrepresented instate-level offices. For ex-ample, the majority ofstates have an attorneygeneral who influenceslaw enforcement prioritiesand a secretary of statewho is the primary officialin charge of elections.Data from the Joint Centerfor Political and EconomicStudies show there wereonly three Black attorneysgeneral and three Blacksecretaries of state electedbetween 1995 and 2013.In states where theelected governor appointsthose officials, there werenone.
However, the loneBlack governor electedduring the same eight-year period—Massachu-setts’ Deval Patrick—ap-pointed more than 200Black officials to variousstate-level positions,bringing unprecedenteddiversity to the Massachu-setts government, in astate where just 7.8 per-cent of the population isBlack according to the2010 U.S. Census.
Meanwhile, inFlorida, a state where 17percent of the populationis Black, more than 20 per-cent of the Black voting-age population disenfran-chised because of policychanges supported by At-torney General Pam Bondithat make it harder for Flo-ridians with previousfelony convictions to re-store their voting rights.Ohio Secretary of State JonHusted cut the state’s
early voting schedule in2014, even after censusdata showed Black votersin Ohio voted early at sig-nificantly higher rates thanWhite voters during thepast two presidential elec-tions.
Still Blacks overall donot vote at the same rateas the White majority.Many factors contribute tothis disparity: strict photoidentification laws, cuts toearly voting, and felonyd i s e n f ra n c h i s e m e nt ,among others. These bar-riers undoubtedly make itharder to vote, but theyonly tell part of the story.
Census data analyzedby Dr. Megan A. Gall of theLawyers’ Committeefound that in the 2014election, only 21 percentof the Black populationreported voting. Of thosewho did not vote, morethan 20 percent said thattheir vote would not makea difference, and another37 percent said they weretoo busy to vote.
To honor the legacyand sacrifices of Dr. King,and of so many other he-roes who gave their livesto secure the franchise forAfrican-Americans, voterstoday should take everyopportunity to exercisetheir fundamental right tothe ballot. Just imaginethe impact if voters mobi-lized for every election theway they did in 2008 and2012, when Black voterselected and re-electedtheir overwhelming candi-date of choice to thenation’s highest office.Through increased turn-out, Black voters specifi-cally can prove that one’svote, from a small mu-nicipal election to a ma-jor presidential race,matters.
By Jennifer L. Patin
Page 8 ~ THE VILLAGER/March 11, 2016 THE DISPATCH www.theaustinvillager.com
How Many More Flints?
BYDr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
(TriceEdneyWire.com)— As it should be, Flint,Michigan, has been in thenews for the last severalweeks. I wonder howmany more Flints thereare for us to share greatconcern.
A few days ago, inmeeting with EPA Admin-istrator, Gina McCarthy,these concerns were ex-pressed. Representativesfrom many organizationswere present, includingthe National Congress ofBlack Women, NAACP, HipHop Caucus, and UrbanLeague. The EPA not onlyshared a thorough reportwith us, but asked for ourfeedback. We learned, indetail, what is happeningto resolve the problem ofFlint’s poisoned water. Asa note, the job the EPA andother agencies are doing isimpressive.
One of the overridingconcerns was how theFlint situation went so farout of hand before actionwas taken. We also ques-tioned how it was possible
that citizens could bebilled for water that, byofficial admission, was poi-sonous. Considering thefact that that Flint is a cityof 55% African Americans,the issue of environmen-tal racism was called intoquestion.
With at least 9,000children under age of 6that have been exposed tolead and other toxins,long-term health implica-tions for those disabled bytheir exposure seem omi-nous. Where there are atleast 40% of the house-holds living below the pov-erty level and another 40%not doing much better, thelikelihood of overcomingliabilities associated withhindered cognitive devel-opment seems remote!Reason has gone out ofthe window as the Michi-gan governor insists thathis Emergency FinancialManager Law can managecitizen affairs better thanlocal officials elected bythe people.
The Flint crisis is farfrom being resolved.Michigan has shown itself
unable or unwilling to af-firmatively attack thisproblem of its’ own mak-ing. How much capital willimpacted businesses re-ceive for purposes of re-building? What type oftherapeutic and jobs pro-grams will be made avail-able for citizens and fami-lies impacted by this envi-ronmental travesty? Thisproblem is larger thanMichigan. It is incumbentupon us to acknowledgethe necessity of long-termnational support for thepeople of Flint.
Sadly, this tragedy
has left many wondering ifthe same situation couldoccur elsewhere. Somelabel Flint as an anomaly,but reality suggests other-wise. In Louisiana, wehave observed Cancer Al-ley extending from BatonRouge to New Orleans.The BP Oil Spill worsenedthis situation throughoutthe Gulf Coast region —and forget what you hearin the news, the poorestpeople have not yet beencompensated.
We have learnedabout the toxic situationaround Port Arthur and
Beaumont, Texas. Lately,we have heard about Crys-tal, Texas. Reports surfaceabout unsafe drinking wa-ter in Eastern Tennessee,in Kentucky, in Charleston,West Virginia, in NorthCarolina, in Jackson, MSand other places. Living inWashington, DC, near anarea called Buzzard Point,we are threatened by theprospect that digging as-sociated with area rede-velopment will result intoxins being brought tothe surface.
The callous disregardfor public health in Flint
and other areas gives us allcause for greater concernabout exposure to envi-ronmental hazards. Ourrisks increase as infrastruc-ture ages and research dis-covers errors in the manu-facture and use of chemi-cals and/or man-madematerials.
For us and the sake ofour children, we must de-mand greater accountablyfrom those responsible forour food and water supply.Public health officials mustassure our safety with ap-propriate and on-goingtesting for life-threateningsubstances in our environ-ment.
More importantly,we must become engagedand do more than paytaxes and expect the bestoutcomes. We must at-tend city/county councilmeetings. We must ques-tion our legislatures andpolitical executives and in-sist upon answers to ourconcerns. We must getbusy or Flint-type criseswill become the rulerather than the exceptionexception.
Detroit LionsStar Calvin
Johnson Retiresafter 9 Seasons
In this Nov. 9, 2014,file photo, Calvin Johnsonwaves to fans after defeat-ing the Miami Dolphins20-16 in a NFL footballgame in Detroit. (APPhoto/Paul Sancya, File)
by: Larry LageAP Sports Writer
DETROIT (AP) —Calvin Johnson, one themost spectacular receiversin NFL history, retired fromthe Detroit Lions on Tues-day and rekindled memo-ries of the way superstarrunning back Barry Sand-ers quietly stepped awayfrom football.
The 30-year-oldJohnson called it a careerafter nine seasons filledwith highlight-reelcatches, dozens of touch-downs and nearly 12,000yards receiving. The 6-foot-5 receiver was knownas Megatron, a sign of re-spect for his imposingskills and unusual mixtureof speed, power andgracefulness.
