March 16, 2018 Long-term Residents of East Austin Report ... · 2018-03-16 · speech last...
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INSIDE March 16, 2018 This paper can be recycled RAPPIN’ Tommy Wyatt TPA TEXAS PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Presorted Standard U.S. Postage Paid Austin, Texas Permit No. 01949 www.TheAustinVillager.com Vol. 45 No. 43 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: [email protected] Long-term Residents of East Austin Report Loss of Community Amid Gentrification, UT Study Rhapsody, a 50-foot-long mosaic mural designed by John Yancey in conjunction with master artisan Luis G. Alicea and artist Stephen B. Jones, was installed in Dr. Charles E. Urdy Plaza in October 2004. The 50-foot long mosaic mural pays homage to the longstanding African American institutions and community buildings of East 11th Street, which once upon a time was Austin's jazz and blues mecca. Photo by Wally Gobetz AUSTIN, TX - Those who have withstood the test of gentrification to East Austin’s historically black neigh- borhoods hold overall negative views of the changes they believe disrupted the area’s sense of community, according to urban policy researchers at The Univer- sity of Texas at Austin. As previously reported by the Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis (IUPRA), Austin was the only fast-growing major city in the United States to show a decline in African Americans between 2000 and Courtesy University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts 2010. The reason: Rapid gentrification to Austin’s former “Negro District” — established through Jim Crow in 1928 — priced out long-term residents, uprooting and displacing them to the surrounding, more afford- able suburbs. Within the decade, East Austin’s white population increased by 442 percent, the black population de- creased by 66 percent and the Latino population de- creased by 33 percent. See RESPONSIBILITY , page 2 Austin, SXSW greets Congresswoman Terri Sewell of Selma, Alabama U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett and State Rep. Celia Israel at the home of Mayor Steve Adler hosted a welcome for Selma, Alabama U.S. Congresswoman Terri Sewell. Elected officials participating included County Commissioner Jeff Travillion, Judges Lora Livingston, Yvonne Williams, Clifford Brown, and Aurora Martinez Jones, District Clerk Velva Price, and Travis County Chair Vincent Harding. Sewell spoke on the important recent Senate success in Alabama and Republican obstruction of voting rights. Photo courtesy U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett Miami Dolphins Owner May Have Accidentally Helped Kaepernick Prove His Collusion Suit Against the NFL Stephen M. Ross AFRO SPORTS - Mi- ami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross may have shared some comments publicly that could end up helping Colin Kaepernick grievance suit that claimed the NFL’s owners colluded to keep him from by: Perry Green AFRO Sports Editor being signed to a team af- ter taking a knee during the National Anthem in protest against police bru- tality. According to the NY Daily News, Ross recently admitted that President Donald Trump’s public criticism of NFL players choosing to kneel had an influence on his decision- making involving how he would handle his own team’s players protesting. “All of our players will be standing [during the 2018 season]”, Ross told the Daily before explaining how he initially supported players choosing to kneel in protest of social injus- tice. He said he had a change of heart on how he felt about kneeling after Trump’s scathing tweets changed the narrative on how the public viewed kneeling. “When that message changed, and everybody was interpreting it as that was the reason, then I was against kneeling,” Ross told the Daily. “I like Donald (Trump). I don’t support everything that he says. Overall, I think he was trying to make a point, and his message became what kneeling was all about. From that stand- point, that is the way the public is interpreting it. So I think that’s really incum- bent upon us to adopt that. That’s how, I think, the country now is inter- preting the kneeling is- sue.” Trump said during a speech last September, near the start of the NFL’s 2017 season, that players See DEPOSED, page 3 Hollywood power broker launches international platform. See WOMEN Page 2 Democratic nominees skyrocket during 2018 Primaries. See TEXAS Page 6 EPI report found no progress for African Americans. See YEARS Page 5 Likely Connected Bombs Attack Minorities Across East Austin by: The Associated Press AUSTIN, TX - Three package bombs left on doorsteps in East Austin have exploded in less than two weeks, killing two people, wounding two others and leaving investi- gators vowing to look at any possible explanation for a motive. Police said the bomb- ings are likely linked. All the victims were minori- ties, and investigators are looking into whether race was a factor. However, they backed off initial sug- gestions that hate crimes could be a core cause. The attacks unfolded as tens of thousands of visi- tors arrived for the busiest days of the South By South- west (SXSW) music festival. The gathering didn’t appear related, but police urged tourists to be vigilant while warning residents to call au- thorities immediately if they receive unexpected parcel deliveries. The first of Monday’s blasts occurred early in the morning when a package was carried into the kitchen and exploded upon being opened, killing 17-year-old Draylen Ma- son and wounding his 40- See MANLEY, page 5 We must save Morris Williams! Have you heard about the plan to build walking trails through the Morris Williams Golf Course located in far East Austin? That’s right, a walking trail through the golf course where people would be walking through the course while golfers are hitting balls traveling like bullets through the air. That proposal is advanced by a group that calls itself East MLK Combined Neighborhood. They also object to the fence that is there to prevent people from walking through the course. Morris Williams was built in 1964 at a time when Austin was moving into an intergrated community. During that time we were slowly removing racial barriers in our city. This course was the first one built East of IH-35. It quickly became the course where Black golfers played and held their tournaments and had a sense of ownership. The course was on property that was considered an extension of the Robert Mueller Airport. So, the golfers would some times have to wait for the planes to fly over before they could continue play. But, it was ours and we loved it. However, as public golf courses were being built in other areas, Morris Williams was neglected by the Parks and Recreation Department. A group formed and called itself The Friends of Morris Williams worked on bringing the course up to standards. And when we went to the Parks Department to ask for these improvements, we were told that this course was no longer in their budget. So, the group had to appeal to the city council for help. The council said that the issue would have to be put on the next Bond Program that the city issued. The course was saved by the support of the Mueller Developers who said that they would help us if we could help them by getting the golfers to support having an electrical generation station placed on the course. The council approved the agreement and as a result, the course was closed in the early 2000s, renovated in 2012, and reopened in 2013. This course is used by golfers from all over the city and it is not suitable for a walking and bike trail. It is going to take all of us to stop this train. So, golfers, call your council members and let them know that The Friends of Morris Williams support keeping Morris Williams as a Golf Course.
Transcript of March 16, 2018 Long-term Residents of East Austin Report ... · 2018-03-16 · speech last...
INSIDEMarch 16, 2018
This paper canbe recycled
RAPPIN’Tommy Wyatt
TPATEXASPUBLISHERSASSOCIATION
Presorted StandardU.S. Postage Paid
Austin, TexasPermit No. 01949
www.TheAustinVillager.com
Vol. 45 No. 43 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: [email protected]
Long-term Residents of East Austin Report Lossof Community Amid Gentrification, UT Study
Rhapsody, a 50-foot-long mosaic mural designed by John Yancey in conjunction with master artisanLuis G. Alicea and artist Stephen B. Jones, was installed in Dr. Charles E. Urdy Plaza in October2004. The 50-foot long mosaic mural pays homage to the longstanding African American institutionsand community buildings of East 11th Street, which once upon a time was Austin's jazz and bluesmecca. Photo by Wally Gobetz
AUSTIN, TX - Those who have withstood the testof gentrification to East Austin’s historically black neigh-borhoods hold overall negative views of the changesthey believe disrupted the area’s sense of community,according to urban policy researchers at The Univer-sity of Texas at Austin.
As previously reported by the Institute for UrbanPolicy Research and Analysis (IUPRA), Austin was theonly fast-growing major city in the United States toshow a decline in African Americans between 2000 and
Courtesy University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts
2010. The reason: Rapid gentrification to Austin’sformer “Negro District” — established through Jim Crowin 1928 — priced out long-term residents, uprootingand displacing them to the surrounding, more afford-able suburbs.
Within the decade, East Austin’s white populationincreased by 442 percent, the black population de-creased by 66 percent and the Latino population de-creased by 33 percent.
See RESPONSIBILITY, page 2
Austin, SXSW greets CongresswomanTerri Sewell of Selma, Alabama
U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett and State Rep. Celia Israel at the home ofMayor Steve Adler hosted a welcome for Selma, Alabama U.S. CongresswomanTerri Sewell. Elected officials participating included County CommissionerJeff Travillion, Judges Lora Livingston, Yvonne Williams, Clifford Brown, andAurora Martinez Jones, District Clerk Velva Price, and Travis County ChairVincent Harding. Sewell spoke on the important recent Senate success inAlabama and Republican obstruction of voting rights. Photo courtesy U.S.Congressman Lloyd Doggett
Miami Dolphins Owner May Have Accidentally HelpedKaepernick Prove His Collusion Suit Against the NFL
Stephen M. Ross
AFRO SPORTS - Mi-ami Dolphins ownerStephen Ross may haveshared some commentspublicly that could end uphelping Colin Kaepernickgrievance suit thatclaimed the NFL’s ownerscolluded to keep him from
by: Perry GreenAFRO Sports Editor
being signed to a team af-ter taking a knee duringthe National Anthem inprotest against police bru-tality.
According to the NYDaily News, Ross recentlyadmitted that PresidentDonald Trump’s publiccriticism of NFL playerschoosing to kneel had aninfluence on his decision-
making involving how hewould handle his ownteam’s players protesting.
“All of our players willbe standing [during the2018 season]”, Ross toldthe Daily before explaininghow he initially supportedplayers choosing to kneelin protest of social injus-tice. He said he had achange of heart on how hefelt about kneeling afterTrump’s scathing tweetschanged the narrative onhow the public viewedkneeling.
“When that messagechanged, and everybodywas interpreting it as thatwas the reason, then I wasagainst kneeling,” Rosstold the Daily. “I likeDonald (Trump). I don’tsupport everything that hesays. Overall, I think hewas trying to make a point,and his message becamewhat kneeling was allabout. From that stand-point, that is the way thepublic is interpreting it. SoI think that’s really incum-bent upon us to adoptthat. That’s how, I think,the country now is inter-preting the kneeling is-sue.”
Trump said during aspeech last September,near the start of the NFL’s2017 season, that playersSee DEPOSED, page 3
Hollywood powerbroker launches
international platform.See WOMEN
Page 2
Democratic nomineesskyrocket during2018 Primaries.See TEXAS
Page 6
EPI report foundno progress for
African Americans.See YEARS
Page 5
LikelyConnected
Bombs AttackMinorities
Across East Austin
by: The Associated Press
AUSTIN, TX - Threepackage bombs left ondoorsteps in East Austinhave exploded in less thantwo weeks, killing twopeople, wounding twoothers and leaving investi-gators vowing to look atany possible explanationfor a motive.
Police said the bomb-ings are likely linked. Allthe victims were minori-ties, and investigators arelooking into whether racewas a factor. However,they backed off initial sug-gestions that hate crimescould be a core cause.
The attacks unfoldedas tens of thousands of visi-tors arrived for the busiestdays of the South By South-west (SXSW) music festival.The gathering didn’t appearrelated, but police urgedtourists to be vigilant whilewarning residents to call au-thorities immediately if theyreceive unexpected parceldeliveries.
The first of Monday’sblasts occurred early in themorning when a packagewas carried into thekitchen and explodedupon being opened, killing17-year-old Draylen Ma-son and wounding his 40-See MANLEY, page 5
We must saveMorris Williams!
Have you heard about theplan to build walking trailsthrough the Morris WilliamsGolf Course located in farEast Austin? That’s right, awalking trail through the golfcourse where people wouldbe walking through the coursewhile golfers are hitting ballstraveling like bullets throughthe air. That proposal isadvanced by a group that callsitself East MLK CombinedNeighborhood. They alsoobject to the fence that is thereto prevent people fromwalking through the course. Morris Williams was builtin 1964 at a time when Austinwas moving into anintergrated community.During that time we wereslowly removing racialbarriers in our city. Thiscourse was the first one builtEast of IH-35. It quicklybecame the course whereBlack golfers played and heldtheir tournaments and had asense of ownership. The course was on propertythat was considered anextension of the RobertMueller Airport. So, thegolfers would some timeshave to wait for the planes tofly over before they couldcontinue play. But, it wasours and we loved it. However, as public golfcourses were being built inother areas, Morris Williamswas neglected by the Parksand Recreation Department.A group formed and calleditself The Friends of MorrisWilliams worked on bringingthe course up to standards.And when we went to theParks Department to ask forthese improvements, we weretold that this course was nolonger in their budget. So, thegroup had to appeal to the citycouncil for help. The councilsaid that the issue would haveto be put on the next BondProgram that the city issued. The course was saved bythe support of the MuellerDevelopers who said that theywould help us if we couldhelp them by getting thegolfers to support having anelectrical generation stationplaced on the course. Thecouncil approved theagreement and as a result, thecourse was closed in the early2000s, renovated in 2012, andreopened in 2013. This course is used bygolfers from all over the cityand it is not suitable for awalking and bike trail. It isgoing to take all of us to stopthis train. So, golfers, callyour council members and letthem know that The Friendsof Morris Williams supportkeeping Morris Williams as aGolf Course.
Page 2 ~ THE VILLAGER/March 16, 2018 THE COMMUNIQUÉ www.theaustinvillager.com
“African Americans who were previously so sin-gularly confined to East Austin became singularly dis-placed by gentrification,” said IUPRA researcher EricTang, UT Austin associate professor of African andAfrican diaspora studies. “Few people have beenable to hang on, and they aren’t hanging on becausethe changes are beneficial. Rather, they’re hangingon because they feel a responsibility to black andbrown East Austin — a right to the city.”
Tang and Bisola Falola, an East Avenue re-searcher and UT Austin geography and the environ-ment alumna, interviewed long-term East Austin resi-dents who chose to stay, finding that 74 percent heldnegative views of the rapid change taking placearound them. While nearly all (93 percent) voicedconcerns about raising property taxes, respondentsfelt change had delivered its deepest blow to theirsense of community.
Perhaps most telling of that was the decline inthe number of children, a group that once accountedfor 30 percent of the neighborhoods’ population and
The few who remain, feel a “responsibility” to black & brown East Austin
EAST AUSTIN PRIDE - [left] The inspiring artwork of John Yancey with master arisan, Luis G. Alicea and Steven B. Jones lines a portion of EastAustin’s famed 11th Street; home of Austin's jazz and blues mecca in its heyday. In the distance to the right, you can see the renowed soul patrol muraladoring the Victory Grill; a prominent stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit that hosted Blues, Jazz and R&B legends like Billie Holiday, B.B. King and JamesBrown. [right] Buffalo Soldier portrayers preparing for the annual Juneteenth parade that treks thru East Austin commemorating the ending of slaveryin the United States. Juneteenth parades and celebrations are but an integral part of East Austin’s heritage. Photos by Thomas Wyatt
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
now makes up less than 12 percent. As gentrificationbegan, families were the first to leave, seeking eco-nomic relief and better schools, researchers said. Intheir place, passers-by walk their dogs where chil-dren once played, engaging with their pets more thanwith their neighbors, as some respondents pointedout.
“A true metric of gentrification is the loss of chil-dren,” said Tang. “Children are the glue or the commonthread that hold a community together, bringing vibrancyand visibility to the neighborhood. The loss of childrentook away a sense of community that was once at theheart of black East Austin.”
Respondents reported feeling left alone and leftout of decisions to “improve” their neighborhood, with93 percent indicating they did not patronize new res-taurants in the area because they were either uninter-ested or felt unwelcomed.
“Changes are happening to them, not with them,”Tang said, adding that some residents reported feelingas if their new neighbors would rather they just disap-
pear. In fact, more than 70 percent of respondents saidthey had been routinely asked to sell their homes byprospective buyers — citing the offers as aggressiveand insultingly low compared with market value.
“East Austin has been resilient through segre-gation, civil rights, desegregation, urban renewal, thedrug epidemics of the ’80’s and ’90’s, and the re-zoning and re-development of downtown,” Tang said.“The people who stayed reflect that very sense ofresilience that once encompassed all of black EastAustin. As a city, we should be doing more to ad-dress these issues of race and culture that profoundlyand disproportionately impact our whole community.”
This is the latest in a series of three IUPRA re-ports on the impact of gentrification in Austin: “Out-lier: The Case of Austin’s Declining African-Ameri-can Population,” published in 2014; “Those Who Left:Austin’s Declining African American Population,” pub-lished in 2016; and finally, “Those Who Stayed: TheImpact of Gentrification on Longstanding Residentsof East Austin,” published March 2018.
Los Angeles, CA – Media Maven Koshie Mills isbest known as a power broker in Hollywood. Beforefounding her boutique consulting and public relationsfirm K3PR, her experience in the entertainment indus-try came from over a decade of managing the careersof her three successful sons who are actors,tastemakers and young moguls within the television andfilm industries; Kwame Boateng (The Plug), Kofi Siriboe(Girls Trip, Queen Sugar) Kwesi Boakye (Colony, Claws).
Mills created and executive produced “TheDiaspora Dialogues” movement and television seriesin 2018 to bridge the gap between Africa and itsDiaspora. The new platform helped start conversationswithin the diaspora to foster healing and cultural ex-change, which led her to curate the first-ever Interna-tional Women of Power Luncheon event in celebra-tion of International Women’s Month.
Naomi Richard, Entertainment Reporter for TheAustin Villager Newspaper, was on hand for the presti-gious Pre-Oscar inaugural event.
“The creation of International Women of Power
Luncheon is to give a platform to celebrate the womenin our community who are contributing their talentsgreatly to the world. This is an opportunity for everyonelooking at Africa and its Diaspora to see how Africanwomen are beautiful, regal, intelligent, powerful, re-sourceful and resilient. When we come togetherunapologetically to exhibit pride in our heritage, unify
KOSHIE MILLS LAUNCHESTHE INTERNATIONAL
WOMEN OF POWER EVENTby Naomi Richard | VILLAGER Columnist
Event founder Koshie Mills and singer Estelle.Photo by Earl Gibson.
and celebrate one another, we are unmatched and un-stoppable,” says Mills.
The International Women of Power Luncheonwas hosted by Grammy Award winning artist and ac-tress Michelle Williams at the Marriott, Marina Del Reyin Los Angeles, California.
Five women were honored for their contributionsin entertainment. Legendary Actress Sheryl Lee Ralphreceived the coveted ROAR “Sankofa” Award. UberC.B.O Bozoma Saint John was the Business Excellence“Akofena” Award recipient. Australian Somali ModelDuckie Thot was honored with the Goddess Beauty“Duafe” Award. Grammy Award winning artist Estellewas the Music Icon “Nyansapo” honoree and StyleInnovator Claire Sulmers received the Fashion Impact“Nsaa” Award.
The exclusive event also featured a special liveperformance by singer, songwriter and actress Estelle.
Kwame Boateng & Kwesi Boakye, Actress NicoleAri Parker, Actress Monique Coleman, ActressWendy Raquel Robinson, Model Ebonee Davis andMame Adjei were presenters.
The event culminated with Republic Of Ghana Tour-ism representative Dentaa Amoateng, who presentedcertificates of Ambassadorships for Ghana’s tourism,arts and culture to Koshie Mills, Kwame Boateng, KofiSiriboe and Kwesi Boakye.
AUSTIN PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY100 E. 27TH STREET, AUSTIN, TX
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
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.
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www.theaustinvillager.com THE BULLETIN THE VILLAGER/March 16, 2018 ~ Page 3
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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
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BETHEL-ST. PAUL UNITED BAPTIST CHURCH877 W. Hempstead, Giddings, Texas 78942
Weekly ScheduleSunday School 9:00 a.m.
Sunday Worship 10:45 a.m.Wednesday Night Bible
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Austin, Texas 78721512.452.1841 • www.austinquakers.org
Friends Meeting of Austin (Quakers)
Dr. Ricky Freeman,Pastor
who protested duringthe anthem were disre-specting the U.S. flag andmilitary, and should befired. He admitted monthsearlier in March 2017 howhe was aware of his poten-tial influence over NFLownership.
“There was an articletoday that was reported,that NFL owners don’twant to pick [Kaepernick]up because they don’twant to get a nasty tweetfrom Donald Trump. Doyou believe that? I just sawthat,” Trump said during aspeech in Kentucky.
According to reports,Ross was quickly added tothe list of owners to bedeposed by Kaepernick’sattorney following hiscomments about Trump.He’s since backpedaled onhis stance that all his play-ers will be standing nextseason.
“I have no intentionof forcing our players tostand during the anthemand I regret that my com-ments have been miscon-strued,” Ross said in astatement released to themedia. “I’ve shared myopinion with all our play-ers: I’m passionate aboutthe cause of social justiceand I feel that kneeling isan ineffective tactic thatalienates more peoplethan it enlists.”
In this Sept. 20, 2015, file photo, Miami Dolphinsowner Stephen M. Ross, second from left,, standson the sideline during the national anthem beforean NFL football game against the JacksonvilleJaguars in Jacksonville, Fla. Ross said, in astatement released by the Dolphins on Tuesday,March 6, 2018, that he won’t force his players tostand for the national anthem, even though hebelieves kneeling is an ineffective way topromote social justice. (AP Photo/Phelan M.Ebenhack, File)
Colin Kaepernick
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Kaepernick’s Attorney adds Rossto list of owners deposed
followinng Trump comments
AUSTIN, TX - David Chapel Missionary BaptistChurch invites you to celebrate our Welcome Ministryon Palm Sunday, March 25, 2018 during the 10:30 a.m.worship service. The theme for this year, “Faithful Ser-vants Led and Taught By God, Confident that He WillComplete the Work in Them” is taken from Philippians1:6 and Matthew 20:26-28. Rev. Roy F. Jones, II, Pastorof the New Hope Baptist Church in Austin is the guestminister. He is an extraordinary man of God who pos-sesses a unique style of preaching and teaching theword of God with humility, power, and relevance. TheDavid Chapel Welcome Ministry includes the Ushers andGreeters.
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!
David Chapel Missionary BaptistChurch Celebrates its
Welcome Ministry
AUSTIN, TX -Wednesday’s decision bythe Travis CountyCommissioner’s Court toinvestigate alternatives toa new Women’s Prisonwere directly related tothe advocacy efforts of lo-cal organizations, includ-ing Grassroots LeadershipAustin, the Austin Chap-ter of the NAACP, CounterBalance: ATX, the TexasCriminal Justice Coalitionand Decarcerate ATX.
Danielle Tholen,MEASURE Advocacy TeamMember, says, “Beforespending millions on anew facility, MEASURE en-courages Travis County toinvest in policies that willreduce the rate of incar-ceration of underservedgroups, including minori-ties and those with men-tal health needs. This is inline with MEASURE’s on-going mission to identifycommunity needs and im-prove local agency func-tionality so that all indi-viduals will be equitablyserved by our governmen-tal institutions.”
The new report re-leased this week by the
Texas Criminal Justice Coa-lition outlines solutionsthat would more effec-tively and efficiently rem-edy overcrowding andpoor jail conditions inTravis County than theproposed $97 million con-struction of a newwomen’s jail. The reportexplains how the criminaljustice system exacerbatesthe problem of drug use inTravis County and recom-mends investing in the ser-vices that divert peoplefrom the typical criminaljustice process, as recom-mended by communitystakeholders.
The Decarcerate ATXcoalition had previouslyrecommended threepolicy changes to reducethe jail population. Advo-cates argue that the jailpopulation could be sig-nificantly reduced by: de-criminalizing all offensesthat are eligible for cite-and-release; reevaluatingthe prosecution of statejail felonies; and investingin community alternativesto arrest for mental healthand substance use disor-ders.
ALTERNATIVES TO NEW JAILCOULD SAVE MILLIONS
COUNTY VOTE SIDES WITHCOMMUNITY ACTIVISTS
OPINION: Civility on SocialMedia Is #Dead
By Bill Fletcher, Jr. | NNPA Newswire Columnist
NNPA - I have found myself increasingly wonder-ing whether social media, particularly Twitter andFacebook, constitutes a vehicle for civil dialogue. Thenumber of attacks that I have either witnessed or ex-perienced has been astounding. It has gotten to thepoint that I rarely respond to comments on either Twit-ter or Facebook, unless I have concluded that the origi-nal writer/author was interested in a response.
The situation has gotten way out of control. Theinsults that are thrown around; the demeaning lan-guage; the condescension; I could go on and on. About
See #OBNOXIOUS, page 7
Youth of TodayHope of Tomorrow
Kappa Alpha PsiFraternity, Inc
Page 4 ~ THE VILLAGER/March 16, 2018 YOUTH BRIGADE www.theaustinvillager.com
Montrae NelsonFour Points M. S.
My New Dog
Hello, Do you have adog? Ive always wantedone after seeing all thedogs in our apartmentcomplex made me jealousand curious about how itwould be to own a dog.Mom and Dad said that itwould probably be a yearor two before we actuallygot one.
About a couple of
First Out of State Acceptance
weeks ago Mom and Dadtold my brothers and i thatthey have a surprise for us,and we had no idea whatit was but we sure wasexcited to see it! They saidwe would get it on Fridayafter school, so whenfriday came i was in classand got a text from mymom and when i got tolunch i checked my phoneand it was a pic of a newdog!
Lastly, I was so ex-cited i told all of myfriends and couldn't waitto get home, when i gothome she was so smalland cute. Her name is Rayeand she is part chihuahua,part terrier, and she's veryenergetic, alert and play-ful. Im so happy to haveher as a pet. Thanks forreading
While at work thispast Saturday, I receivedan email from MacalesterCollege informing meabout my admission to thecollege. While it's not myfirst choice, it's very sat-isfying to know that I willnot have to stay in Texasfor college. Additionally, itwas reassuring to discover
that attending an out ofstate college isn't as ex-pensive as generally con-ceived.
Macalester offeredme financial aid in theform of grants that totaledto approximately 54,000as well as the CatharineLealtad scholarship for$16,000 a year whichpractically covers my en-tire tuition and room &board. Essentially, goingout of state will becheaper than attendingUT, but this information isunknown to most peopleacross the country. Eliteprivate colleges and uni-versities offer financial aidpackages and scholar-ships that make themmore affordable options,despite the sticker pricebeing ridiculously high.
Jalen MooreKIPP Austin Collegiate
Jada StoneKealing M. S.
Would You Pull The Trigger
At Kealing middleschool there had been awalkout to show re-spect to those who diedin the florida shootingat Stoneman DouglasHigh School . Studentsand teachers walkedoutside of school cam-pus and gathered on thetrack. they had done 14minutes of silence forthe people who had losttheir l ives that day. Ihad liked the thought ofthe students showingrespect but it was veryunorganized and disrup-tive in my opinion. Mostof the students didn’teven know why theywere walking out, theyjust wanted a free passto get out of school.
After that, I had achance to ask teachersabout how they felt aboutcarrying guns or not onschool property. My sci-ence teacher said “Iwould not carry a gun atKealing Middle School
because we have two of-ficers on school campus1 with an actual gun.”She had also said “han-dling a gun is a big re-sponsibility. Holding agun is l ike holdingsomeone's life in yourhands and personally iwould not want that re-sponsibility”.
Then I had asked herif you were in a situationwhere u had to use yourgun would you pull thetrigger. She had collectedher thoughts and replied“ I have been in a situa-tion were i had been as-saulted in my own home.I would have no problemdefending my students”.
In my opinion I amundecided. The reasonwhy I am undecided isbecause there are tomany hypothetical sce-narios. For example Idon't want a teacher tobe defenceless but IF ashooter comes into aclassroom the only thingshe has is a stapler andpenci l . Then, again iwouldn't feel comfort-able i f i knew myteacher had glock 9 or(gun) on her hip. Whatif a teacher becomesthe shooter because shesnapped one day. Seethere are to many whatif ’s. In my opinion youcan't go through everyscenario because every-one acts differently un-der pressure.
School: Individuality vs. Conformity
Ira “T.J.” WilliamsCedar Ridge H. S.
Jaelyn StoneKealing M. S.
In today’s publicschool system, the admin-istrators emphasize theirmission to make their stu-dents into good citizenswhile also encouraging in-dividual growth. However,stating that a student cangain personal growth in asystem that is structuredfor conformity is not pos-sible. An issue that is quiterelevant today is the prac-tice of requiring studentsto take mandatory classesin order to graduate. Hav-ing kids take classes thatthey have no interest in ordo not apply to what theywant to study in college iscounterproductive. Ifschools really sought per-sonal fulfillment for theirstudents, then theywouldn’t force them totake classes that theydon’t necessarily need.
Students being told tofollow various rules thatrestrict their own thinkingin a learning environmentis a waste of time. Indi-viduality is one of the cru-cial qualities that humanbeings possess. It’s whatmakes everyone unique.However, if one were toforce another person tofollow their rules based onwhat they think is orderly,they are stripping away theother person’s ability tothink for themselves. Bymaking students follow a
schedule, list of expecta-tions and take certainclasses in order to gradu-ate, school systems aredoing what they think isright for the kids. Studentsmust be granted some free-dom in order to achieve thegoals that they set for them-selves. Enforcing programsthat prevent personal deci-sion-making is irresponsibleand fruitless.
In most public schoolsystems in the UnitedStates, students are re-quired to complete certaincourses in order to gradu-ate in the typical fouryears. They are beingforced to attend classes insubjects that may have nouse to them beyond highschool such as fine artsclasses. The time they areputting in to these classescould be used towards fo-cusing on subjects that canbenefit their futures suchas business or law classes.Aside from core classeslike math or science, stu-dents should be allowed totake whatever coursesthey feel they will be suc-cessful in. Demandingthat students take manda-tory classes is pointless ifthey are not learning skillsthat will help them in thereal world or make them“good citizens.”
While many schoolssay that they encourage in-dividuality among theirstudents, they often dem-onstrate a very rigid wayof configuring their cur-riculum that takes away alot of student’s personalfreedoms. If schools wanttheir kids to have the bestlearning opportunities andpersonal growth, theymust allow them to selectsome courses that theydesire and start treatingthem more like adultsrather than small children.
Math Class
Joshua MooreManor New Tech M.S.
Last week in mathclass we did a project. Forthe project we had to cre-
ate a house on an appcalled Planner 5D. Wealso needed to find thearea, dimensions, and pe-rimeter of the shapes thatwe had to have. Theshapes that we had tohave were triangles, rect-angle, and aparalelogram.
My favorite partabout this project wasbuilding the house. I alsoliked the part where wehad to find the area of thecertain part of the house.The hardest part of thiswas building the house.
Why Do People get Brain Freezes
We have all experi-enced the pain that comeswith downing frozentreats, like an ICEE or icecream too fast. Brain freezeis also known as ice creamheadache, cold stimulusheadache and sphenopa-latine ganglioneuralgia. It isa short-term headachetypically linked to the rapidconsumption of ice cream,ice pops, or very colddrinks. People who sufferfrom migraines are morelikely to get brainfreeze,the two may be re-lated and have a common
cause.Brain freeze occurs
when something ex-tremely cold touches theupper palate (roof of themouth). It typically hap-pens when the weather isvery hot. The sensation ofbrain freeze appears to becaused by a dramatic andsudden increase in bloodflow through the brain'sartery.
As soon as the arteryis ata normal temperaturethe brain freeze will goaway.The brain is a sensi-tive organ that wants tostay at a constant tem-perature. When nerves inyour palette detect coldtemperature, warm bloodrushes to your head toavoid a temperaturechange in the brain. Mi-graines may work in asimilar way, blood mayrush to the brain andcause pain.Once youwarm the brain up, it picksright up from where it leftoff. So whether your brainis frozen or not, if you canhandle a little pain, slurpaway.
New Nonprofit, Earth Curious,Launches Curious the Bus 2018
Tour to Spread Eco-Learningto Austin Youth
Austin, TX –Growing up among agood ole boy crowd ofhunters doesn’t seemlike the ideal circum-stances to mold theyoung mind of an envi-ronmentalist, but forAustin-native AubrieUntermeyer, it’s exactlywhat she needed. “I wasalways concerned forthe animals and felt re-sponsible to take care ofthem…to bring bal-ance,” she shared. Bornon Earth Day and fu-eled by Captain Planetepisodes, her scopewidened to herbalismand conservation untilshe blossomed into afull environmental ac-tivist. Now, she’s thefounder of Earth Curi-
ous, the area’s new non-profit organization thatbuilds connection andcommunity throughstewardship of the envi-ronment by strengthen-ing personal responsi-bility to each other andthe earth.
Earth Curious wasborn of a perfect stormof events in Aubrie’slife: her eight year olddaughter, Ari’s, educa-tional experience wasfailing them, her work-life was far from bal-anced, and she was start-ing to lose sight of herpersonal dreams thatwere once so rooted inenvironmental advocacy.That was until August2017, when she shed thesocietal norms that con-
stricted them and real-ized, as she states, “wecould do it our ownway.” They packed theirlives into two dufflebags, sold the rest, andplunged into a newlifestyle that aspires tochange the world for theworld.
The bus is sched-
uled to be fully con-verted by the end ofMay 2018 and ready fortheir official 2018 Curi-ous the Bus Tour thatwill launch on June 1. Ifyou are interested inscheduling a visit toyour location, pleasecontact Aubrie at [email protected]
www.theaustinvillager.com THE COURIER THE VILLAGER/March 16, 2018~ Page 5
MOM FINDS PATH TOSUCCESS THROUGH HACA
AND JOBS PLUS ATX
Austin, Texas (HACA) - When Booker T. Washing-ton Terraces (BTW) resident Gabriela Escobedo startedJobs Plus ATX in 2016, she wanted to become a Certi-fied Nursing Assistant (CNA).
However, Gabriela’s education took a back seat soher kids could go to school.
While waiting for the right time to follow herdreams, Gabriela completed Kitchen Divas with chefAngela Shelf Medearis, where she received her FoodHandler’s License. She also participated in Austin AreaUrban League’s Pathway To Careers program, where shewas offered weekend CNA classes. The opportunity al-lowed her to take her kids to school during the week,and study at night and on the weekends.
“I can provide a better future for my beautiful fam-ily and myself,” Gabriela said. “I hope that I’ll be able tosupport and encourage others as HACA has supportedand encouraged me.” Gabriela earned her CNA certifi-cate, and she plans to continue her studies with theGoodwill Career and Technical Academy to get certi-fied in phlebotomy and acute care.
“Thank you HACA, Jobs Plus, and all the partnersfor opening my eyes to new stages of opportunity andstrength,” Gabriela said.
Jobs Plus ATX is a workforce development programopen to BTW and Chalmers Courts residents. The JobsPlus Earned Income Disregard incentive guarantees JobsPlus members’ rents will not increase because of anincrease in earned income.
The current employment rate of work-able adultsat BTW and Chalmers courts is more than 58 percent.The average yearly earnings of work-able adults at thesetwo properties has increased from about $10,000 tomore than $16,000 since Jobs Plus ATX was establishedin July 2016.
NEW EPI STUDY SHOWS NO BLACKPROGRESS IN 50 YEARS
By LaurenVictoria Burke (NNPANewswire Contributor)
Late last year, “TheWashington Post” wrotethat African Americanswere the only group thatshowed no economic im-provement since 2000.They based their conclu-sions on Census data. Thisyear, there was even moresobering news in a reportby the Economic Policy In-stitute (EPI). The newstudy issued found “noprogress” for AfricanAmericans onhomeownership, unem-ployment and incarcera-tion in 50 years.
Much of what wasincluded in the EPI studywas stunning data on Afri-can American economicprogress. Fifty years afterthe famous and controver-sial Kerner CommissionReport that identified“white racism” as thedriver of “pervasive dis-crimination in employ-ment and education” forAfrican Americans, EPIconcluded that not muchhas changed.
The EPI study statedthe obvious and pointed toglaring statistics.
Regarding the justicesystem, the share of incar-cerated African Americanshas close to tripled be-tween 1968 and 2016, as
Blacks are 6.4 times morelikely than Whites to bejailed or imprisoned.Homeownership rateshave remained unchangedfor African Americans,over the last 50 years.Black homeownership isabout 40 percent, which is30 percent behind the ratefor Whites.
Regarding income,perhaps the most impor-tant economic metric, theaverage income for an Af-rican American householdwas $39,490 in 2017, adecrease from $41,363 in2000.
A press release aboutthe report said that, “Blackworkers still make only82.5 cents on every dollarearned by white workers,African Americans are 2.5times more likely to be in
poverty than Whites, andthe median White familyhas almost ten times asmuch wealth as the me-dian Black family.”
In 2017, the Black un-employment rate was 7.5percent, up from 6.7 per-cent in 1968, and stillroughly twice the Whiteunemployment rate. In2015, the Blackhomeownership rate wasjust over 40 percent, virtu-ally unchanged since 1968and trailing a full 30 pointsbehind the Whitehomeownership rate,which saw modest gainsover the same period.
President Trump hasbragged about the Blackunemployment rate hasreached record lows andhomeownership hasreached record highs un-
der his presidency. WhatTrump leaves out is theoverall statistical data overmany years.
Much of what thedata shows is connectedto systemic policy prob-lems that have been per-sistent for decades.
In the press releaseabout the EPI report, EPIeconomic analyst JanelleJones said that it’s clearthat structural racism isthe root cause of the eco-nomic inequality betweenBlacks and Whites.
“Solutions must bebold and to scale, whichmeans we need structuralchange that eliminates thebarriers that have stymiedeconomic progress forgenerations of AfricanAmerican workers,” saidJones.
Sat March 17th through Sun March 18th @ 12:00Kenny Dorham’s Backyard 1106 E 11th St
The very first ever all day Melanated Market Placewhere you can catch over 30 vendors in one day. Wewill be having a vending shift switch at 5pm. So for thosethat will be seeing their favorite day time bands comecheck us out in the evening. For those that are going tocheck out their favorite night bands come check usduring the day!
BYOB, Come ready to see and meet your local en-trepreneurs, eat and chill!
19th Western Region Conference HonorsAustin Icons, King and Akins
AUSTIN, TX - TheWestern Region ofSigma Pi Phi Fraternityrecently held its 19thWestern Region Con-ference at the HiltonHotel Downtown Austin,hosted by Austin’sGamma GammaBoule’.
The 19th BiennialWestern RegionalBoule’ had 465 regis-tered attendees fromacross Oklahoma,Kansas, Colorado, Ar-kansas and Missouri.
One of the featureactivities was theGamma Gammaboule” FoundationLuncheon which in-cluded over 445guests from the Frater-nity and the local Com-munity. The keynotespeaker for this lun-cheon was LindaJohnson-Rice ofEbony Magazine,along with the winnerof the 2017 MLK Ora-tory contest DanielleTodd-Harris.
The Board of Di-
rectors announced theestablishment of twonew Scholarships toHonor two of theFraternity’s most dedi-cated Educators.
Founding Sire Ar-chon John Q. T. King,an Educator, Presidentof Huston-TillotsonUniv.; a Military manretiring as a Generalfrom the U.S. Army; Aminister, communityleader and a success-ful businessman.
Archon CharlesAkins an Educator,former High SchoolPrincipal, AssistantAISD Supt., an AustinIcon, Akins HighSchool is named afterhim, a super master ofCeremonies and Com-munity leader.
The individuals se-lected in 2018 andthereafter will reflectthe values of these twoarchons as one criteriato awarded scholar-ships bearing theseArchon’s names.
The Gamma
Gamma Boule’ Foun-dation has awardedover $70,000 in schol-arships primarily to Af-rican-American males.Currently twelve (12)are receiving assis-tance of $1,000 eachfor the college year2017-18. All are re-newable for each yearuntil graduation.
The GammaGamma Boule’ Foun-dation is a 501 (3C) or-ganization. All contri-butions are Tax De-ductible under currentIRS Law. Contribu-tions to support thesetwo scholarships and/or our Scholarship Pro-gram can be sent to:Gamma GammaBoule’ Foundation,P.O. 26099, 3575 FarWest Blvd., Austin, TX.78731.
More informationon the Foundation isavailable by visiting ourWeb site at www.gamma gammab o u l e f o u n d a t i o n.org.
Dr. Charles Akins
Gen. John Q. T. King
year-old mother, bothof them black.
Hours later, authori-ties were called to thescene of another explosionalso triggered by the open-ing of a package. That blastwounded an unidentified75-year-old Hispanicwoman, who was taken toa hospital with potentiallylife-threatening injuries.
Both of those explo-sions are thought to belinked to another earlymorning blast, this one onMarch 2, which killed 39-year-old Anthony StephanHouse, another black male.
“This is the third inwhat we believe to be re-lated incidents over thepast 10 days,” Austin policeChief Brian Manley saidduring the second of twonews conferences he heldnear each of Monday’s ex-plosion sites.
When asked if racewas a possible motive, “Weare not ruling anything outat this point,” Manley said.
There is a $65,000 re-ward for information lead-ing to an arrest for thedeadly bombings.
MANLEY: “Weare not ruling
anything out atthis point”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Page 6 ~ THE VILLAGER/March 16, 2018 DIASPORA www.theaustinvillager.com
Pictured above is: Tammy Johnson with RickKennedy. Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon
Texas Primaries Contested Race Includes Texas HouseDistrict 46 and 459th District Court Race
Pictured left to right are: Ana Cortez, Chito Vela, Mark, Sheryl Cole andPhilip Emiabat. Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon
On March 6, 2018,both Texas House District46 and the 459th DistrictCourt races, had no clearwinners. There were noclear winners due to thefact all of the candidatesfailed to reach the 50%threshold. Consequently,both Texas House District46 and 459th DistrictCourt Race went into arunoff which will be heldon May 22, 2018. In theTexas House District Race,Chito Vela will face offagainst Sheryl Cole; whileAurora Martinez Jones willface off against MayaGuerrero Gambles.
In Texas House Dis-trict 46 race, Sheryl Colewill face off against ChitoVela. Sheryl Cole was aformer Austin City Councilmember and a formerMayor Pro term. More-
by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist
over, she was one of the1st African Americanwomen elected to theAustin City Council. On theother hand, Chito Vela is alawyer who has been a “la-bor activist.” He is wellknown among the Austin“labor rights community.”Now these two will befighting to replace Texas
State RepresentativeDukes who failed to makeit into the runoff election.
In the 459th DistrictRace, Aurora MartinezJones received 45% of thevote, but failed to reach50%. Consequently, shewill be facing MayaGuerero Gambles. More-over, the 459th District
Court, is a countywidecourt which focuses oncivil case litigation. It alsoincludes a family court. Inthis race, Aurora Martinezalready serves as an Asso-ciate Judge who overseesCPS and family Drug Court.On the other hand, Mrs.Gamble is a longtime at-torney in Central Texas.
by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon | Villager Columnist
Tuesday, March 6, 2018, the long awaitedTexas Primaries were held throughout the state ofTexas. After the primaries, Rick Kennedy becamethe official Democratic nominee for the UnitedStates Congressional District 17. Over the years,Democrats have become more vocal due to theTrump factor. In other words, the Trump’s elec-tion has galvanized even Texas Democrats whotend not to contest certain races. However, for the2018 Congressional midterm elections, Democratshave decided to run for several Congressional seatsincluding District 17.
Moreover, Rick Kennedy is one of two Demo-crats running for Congressional District 17. Con-gressional District 17 covers parts of Travis County,Bell County, Freestone County; Limestone County,Roberston County, Milan County; CaldwellCounty and McLennan County. In Travis County,Congressional District 17th covers part ofPflugerville and North Austin. Consequently,Pflugerville may play a key part of “flipping” Con-gressional District 17th.
Finally, Rick Kennedy is running for Congres-sional District 17th because he believes that he canbe a part of the solution. If elected, then he plansto champion certain issues such as healthcare, im-migration, and transportation. On the health careissues, he believes that it is a “right but not privi-lege.” In addition, he supports universal healthcarefor all Americans.
The African Diaspora Summit Comes to an End
by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist
March 8th to March11th, 2018, the 4th AnnualUS-Africa Summit washeld at the Crowne Plaza.According to the organiz-ers, “The 4th Annual U.S. -
Africa Cultural Expo, Busi-ness Matchmaking &Awards Conference is forAfrica and U.S businessesthat wish to explore andpursue international tradein new markets. It isuniquely designed to tar-get business owners, en-trepreneurs and govern-
ment entities with strate-gic objectives to establishpersonal & reliable busi-ness relationships in theU.S. and Africa.”
According to the or-ganizers, this event was a3 day event which “dove”into all kinds of topics toaddress how Africans of
the Diaspora can investinto the African continent.Not only it sought to ad-dress the issues of invest-ment on the African con-tinent, but also the toolsneeded to invest in theirexperiences here in theAmerica. According to theorganizers, the conferenceseeks to “bring US and Af-rican business owners todiscuss and explore newopportunities for theirgoods and services in bothmarkets.”
During these threedays, the participants “willbe exposed companies totrade and business oppor-tunities, meeting directlywith potential clients instrategic markets seg-ments, attending businessopportunity briefings, vis-iting sales channels, andmeeting face to face withqualified potential busi-ness partners, buyers,agents, distributors, andpotential business inves-tors.”
US African Diaspora Summitt attendees. Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon
SB4 Ruling HeightensUrgency for Local Elected
Officials to ActAdvocates call on Austin and Travis County
officials to enact policies that reduce thearrest-to-deportation pipeline in face of
latest ruling on racial profiling law
AUSTIN — A panel ofjudges at the 5th CircuitCourt of Appeals ruledthat much of SB4, thestate’s extreme anti-immi-grant enforcement billsigned into law last May byGovernor Greg Abbott de-spite widespread opposi-tion, can stay in effectwhile the case continuesto wind its way throughthe courts.
SB4 allows police tocheck immigration statusat the point of a traffic stopand mandates that offi-cials honor voluntary andconstitutionally dubious
immigration detainers,amongst other anti-immi-grant measures that raisedire concerns about racialprofiling and police ac-countability..
“Local officials needto act swiftly to stop thearrest-to-deportationpipeline that will be accel-erated by SB4,” said BobLibal, executive directorGrassroots Leadership.“They can start by enact-ing policies that end dis-cretionary arrests whileensuring that scarce pub-lic resources are notwasted on unnecessaryimmigration enforcementactions that terrorize theimmigrant community.”
DIASPORA LECTURE SERIESChoreographic Casualties:
West African Dance and theTexture of Loss
Monday, March 19th 3:00 pm - 4:30 pmGordon White Building (GWB)
Room 2.206, 210 West 24th Street
Jasmine Elizabeth Johnson is an AssistantProfessor of Theater Arts and Performance Stud-ies at Brown University. A Ford Foundation Diver-sity Fellow, she earned her Ph.D. in AfricanDiaspora Studies at UC Berkeley. She has servedas a Newhouse Center for the Humanities Fellowat Wellesley College (2016) and a PostdoctoralFellow in African American Studies at Northwest-ern University (2012). In 2016, Johnson wasawarded the Michael L. Walzer ’56 Award fromBrandeis University for combining “superlativescholarship with inspired teaching.”
Johnson’s work examines the politics of blackmovement including dance, diasporic travel, andgentrification. Interdisciplinary in nature, herwork is situated at the intersection of diasporatheory, dance and performance studies, ethnog-raphy, and black feminism. Her first book manu-script, Rhythm Nation: West African Dance andthe Politics of Diaspora, is under contract withOxford University Press.
Johnson serves on the board of The Col-legium for African Diaspora Dance, the Societyof Dance History Scholars, and the Editorial Boardof Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Soci-ety. She is also a dancer, and performs interna-tionally.
ZILKERBOTANICAL
GARDENSTARTS
PHASE I OFITS MASTERPLANNINGPROCESS
The City of AustinParks and Recreation De-partment (PARD) recentlylaunched Phase 1 of theZilker Botanical GardenMaster Plan.
The Parks and Rec-reation Department is in-viting the public to join us
to help plan the future ofthe Zilker Botanical Gar-den. There will be three(3) public meetings togather input from resi-dents as we assess thegarden’s historical devel-opment and existing sitefeatures, with an eye to-wards current and futureneeds, programming op-portunities and improvedaccess.
Workshop #1: EastMonday, March 19,
2018: Fiesta Gardens,2101 Jesse E. SegoviaStreet 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Workshop #2:North
Wednesday, March21, 2018: Northwest Rec-reation Center, 2913Northland Drive 6:00 pm– 8:00 pm
Workshop #3: Cen-tral Saturday, March 24,,2018: Zilker BotanicalGarden, 2220 BartonSprings Road 10:00 am –12:00 noon
Apply at HRMiddle Fiskville Rd.
6th Floor, Austin, TX 78752Job Line (512 223-5621hhtp://www./austincc.ed
EEOC/AA/M/F/D/V
EMPLOYMENT | PROPOSALS | PUBLIC INFORMATIONFOR SALE | FOR RENT | BIDS | MISCELLANEOUS
www.theaustinvillager.com CLASSIFIEDS THE VILLAGER/March 16, 2018 ~ Page 7
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.
Austin Commercial, Construction Manager-At-Risk, willbe soliciting proposals from subcontractors and materialsuppliers for the construction of ABIA Parking Garage andAdministrative Offices, Austin Bergstrom International Airport(ABIA), Solicitation Number CLMA018 / CIPID#6001.114.Proposal Package 3A consists of: Doors, Frames andHardware, Signage, and Solar Panels. The ProposalPackage will be available March 12, 2018 at https://austinindustries.sharefile.com/d-sc6f94f0ef2041f78. AustinCommercial will accept proposals for this packageWednesday, April 4, 2018 at 2:00 PM at our office, Attn:ABIA Garage and Admin Bids, 1301 South MoPacExpressway, Suite 310 Austin, Texas 78746. All proposalsmust be delivered as sealed hard copies. Proposal Selectionwill be on a best value basis. ALL CITY OF AUSTINMINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES (MBE/WBEs) ARE ENCOURAGED TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS.The Project’s Goals are: African American 1.15%, Hispanic2.56%, Asian/Native American 0.61%, WBE 1.97%. Weencourage and actively solicit proposals from MBE/WBEs.Austin Commercial is available at (512) 306-9880 or Fax(512) 306-1180
New Jobs for theWeek of 03/04/2018
Faculty, Arabic-Part-Time (50%)Highland Campus
Job# 1802055Coordinator, Sustainability
Service CenterJob# 1803003
Assistant, AdmissionsRound Rock Campus
Job# 1803004
Austin Community College(ACC) District is solicitingRequest for Proposals (RFPs) frominterested firms to provide DistrictWide Plumbing ServicesRequest for Proposals (RFP): 670-
18-0008-00-S-CR-RFPAll proposals must be submitted tothe ACC Purchasing Department byno later than Monday, April 9, 2018at 2:00 P.M., Central Standard Time(CST).Solicitation packages will beavailable on the ACC Purchasingwebsite at http://www.austincc. edu/offices/purchasing/advertised-solicitations or in the ACC Pur-chasing Office with advance noticeat (512) 223-1044 between thehours of 9:00 A.M.,and 4:00 P.M.,CST, Monday through Friday.All responses must be sealed andreturned to the ACC PurchasingDepartment located at ACC ServiceCenter, 9101 Tuscany Way, Austin,Texas 78754, by the date and timeindicated above. Electronicallytransmitted responses will NOT beaccepted unless otherwise stated inthe documents.Pre-Proposal Meeting isscheduled for Thursday, March22, 2018 at 11:00 A.M.,ACCService Center, 9101 TuscanyWay, Austin, TX, 78754, Room133.Notice: ACC Business Offices andcampus locations will be closed forthe college springbreak from March 12-16, 2018.
Austin Community College(ACC) District is solicitingrequests for qualifications (RFQs)from firms for the purpose ofselecting a highly qualified firm forproviding a CommercialVehicleOperator Training Program.Request for Qualifications (RFQ):
924-18-0004-00-S-DG-RFQAll qualification responses must besubmitted to the ACC PurchasingDepartment by no later thanThursday April 5, 2016 at 2:00 P.M.,Central Standard Time (CST).Solicitation packages will beavailable on the ACC Purchasingwebsite at http://www.austincc.edu/offices/purchasing/advertised-solicitations or in the ACCPurchasing Office with advancenotice at (512) 223-1044 betweenthe hours of 9:00 A.M., and 4:00P.M., CST, Monday through Friday.All responses must be sealed andreturned to the ACC PurchasingDepartment located at ACC ServiceCenter, 9101 Tuscany Way, Austin,Texas 78754, by the date and timeindicated above. Electronicallytransmitted responses will not beaccepted unless otherwise stated inthe documents.A Pre-Proposal meeting isscheduled for March 22, 2018;9:30 A.M., at ACC HighlandBusiness Center, Room 406.0.Notice: ACC Business Offices andCampus locations will be closedMarch 12-16, 2018 for SpringBreak.
Austin Community CollegeDistrict is soliciting requests forqualifications (RFQs) from firmsfor the purpose of selecting multiplecontractors for Architectural andEngineering Design firms,indefinite delivery-indefinitequantity (IDIQ) for ACC districtwide.Request for Qualification (RFQ):
906-18-0002-00-M-DG-RFQAll qualification responses must besubmitted to the ACC PurchasingDepartment by no later thanThursday April 12, 2016 at 2:00P.M., Central Standard Time (CST).Solicitation packages will beavailable on the ACC Purchasingwebsite at http://www.austincc.edu/offices/purchasing/advertised-solicitations or in the ACCPurchasing Office with advancenotice at (512) 223-1044 betweenthe hours of 9:00 A.M., and 4:00P.M., CST, Monday throughFriday.All responses must be sealed andreturned to the ACC PurchasingDepartment located at ACC ServiceCenter, 9101 Tuscany Way, Austin,Texas 78754, by the date and timeindicated above. Electronicallytransmitted responses will NOT beaccepted unless otherwise stated inthe documents.A Pre-Proposal Meeting isscheduled for March 21, 2018,9:30 A.M; at ACC HighlandBusiness Center, Room 406.0.The ACC Board of Trusteesreserves the right to reject any and/or all responses and waive allformalities in the solicitationprocess.Notice: ACC Business Offices andCampus locations will be closedMarch 12-16, 2018 forSpring Break.
Austin Community CollegeDistrict is soliciting requests forqualifications (RFQs) from firmsfor the purpose of selecting a highlyqualified firm for constructionmanager at risk services for theHighland Campus Dillard’sRenovation.Request for Qualifications (RFQ):
909-18-0005-00-S-DG-RFQAll qualification responses must besubmitted to the ACC PurchasingDepartment by no later thanTuesday April 3, 2016 at 2:00 P.M.,Central Standard Time (CST).Solicitation packages will beavailable on the ACC Purchasingwebsite at http://www.austincc.edu/offices/purchasing/advertised-solicitations or in the ACCPurchasing Office with advancenotice at (512) 223-1044 betweenthe hours of 9:00 A.M., and 4:00P.M., CST, Monday through Friday.All responses must be sealed andreturned to the ACC PurchasingDepartment located at ACC ServiceCenter, 9101 Tuscany Way, Austin,Texas 78754, by the date and timeindicated above. Electronicallytransmitted responses will not beaccepted unless otherwise stated inthe documents.There will be a mandatory Pre-Proposal Meeting at 9:00 A.M. onTuesday, March 20,2018,conducted at ACC HighlandBusiness Center, 5930 MiddleFiskville Road, Austin, Texas78753; RM 410.0. ATTEN-DANCE AT THE PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCESIS MANDATORY AND REQ-UIRED BY ANY FIRM THATRESPONDS TO THE RFQ.Notice: ACC Business Offices andCampus locations will be closedMarch 12-16, 2018 for SpringBreak.
Cash Construction Co.,Inc. is soliciting WBE/
MBE partici- pation for thefollowing project:
COA- Bull Creek Tract 24-InchOffsite Water Line
IFB Number: CLMC650CIP Number: 3353.109
BID DATE AND TIME: 04/05/18 @ 9:30AM
QUOTES ARE DUE NOLATER THAN 10:00AM on
04/04/18Please contact Cris at
512-251-7872 [email protected]
for more detailInvitation To BidReno of Will Hampton
Library at Oak HillBid Due: Wednesday, 21March 2018 @ 3:00 PM
Send Bids to:[email protected]
Call with questions:512-688-5123
a year ago, I awak-ened to a Twitter storm at-tacking me for my supportof the Palestinian people.It was not just one tweet;it was one tweet after an-other, accusing me of be-ing everything, but a childof God. There seemed tobe no way to stop it.
Just recently, a goodfriend of mine came undera vicious Twitter attack bysomeone whose sanity Ihave been forced to ques-tion. My friend could notfigure out a way to stop it,so it continued until theattacker ran out of steam.
Social media makes it
Social Media Makes It Easy To Be#Obnoxious
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3easy to be obnoxious.Among other things, thereare few, if any, penalties.In the old days, if you readsomething with which youwere in disagreement inthe paper; magazine; oreven saw something ontelevision, you wouldwrite a letter to the editor.To write such a letter youhad to do some thinkingprior to composing it. Youthen had to mail the letter.This entire process gaveyou at least a moment tocontemplate your reactionand whether it was worthresponding to somethingand, if so, how to respond.
In today’s social me-dia world, filters seemedto be reserved for photosand videos. When it comesto dialogue, people readsomething online and re-act! You can react imme-diately by sending anemail, tweeting, postingon Facebook, orInstagram, etc. You don’thave to really stop andthink. You just hit “Send.”
And if you are reallyangry and want to benasty, there are no penal-ties! You can, in effect,
curse someone out, be-cause what are they goingto do? You can literally saywhatever you want to any-one and the worst thatthey can do is “block” youfrom future exchanges.But that need not stopyou, because you can postaround them or even cre-ate another account andcontinue the verbal on-slaught.
The result is that,rather than a medium forrational exchanges anddebates, social media ismore about “trolling” ormaking assertions. In aFacebook, exchange I hadwith someone a fewmonths ago, after I refutedtheir argument they sim-ply dismissed me by say-ing: Well, that’s what I be-lieve and I have a right tobelieve what I believe.
Really? So, when itcomes to social media,should we really just say tohell with the facts?
Each day, when I turnto social media I feel that Imust dress in psychologi-cal battle armor, preparingfor yet one more poisondart to come flying.
UTC callson Council
to fundeast side
urban trailsby Caleb Pritchard
Propositions
AUSTIN, TX - The Ur-ban Transportation Com-mission on Wednesdaynight called on City Councilto put potentially millions ofdollars’ worth of of east sideurban trail projects on theNovember ballot.
The four projectswould fill in gaps in the ex-isting and proposed bicycle
network and connect neigh-borhoods to parks, trailsand other destinations thatare currently blocked off.Controversially, one seg-ment would bisect MorrisWilliams Golf Course, a no-tion that has raised con-cerns about protecting trailusers from flying balls.
The UTC originally en-
dorsed the idea last July af-ter a presentation from EastMLK Combined Neighbor-hood Plan Contact TeamChair Pinaki Ghosh. The rec-ommendation the commis-sion pushed out thenmerely encouraged Councilto “expedite,” “explore,”and “increase the priority”of the plan’s components.
The draft: language ofWednesday night’s recom-mendation included a pricetag of $5.5 million, but thecommissioners struck thatbefore approval after con-cerns were raised about theprice tag’s accuracy.
“It provides lots of op-portunities for alternativetransportation whichshould always be, in mymind, one of our goals. Tome, it really just has a prob-lem with these dollaramounts, but we could letCouncil and staff resolvethat,” Commissioner MarioChampion said before thevote.
Of the four projects,one would provide a con-nection to Springdale Parkfor residents on the eastside of that facility. Another,known as the La Loma Trail,would cross rail tracksowned by the Capital Met-ropolitan TransportationAuthority and give residentsnorth of Govalle Park ac-cess to the Walnut CreekTrail. A third proposed trailwould run across Little Wal-nut Creek District Park nearEast 51st Street and U.S.
Highway 183. The fourthand possibly most conten-tious of Ghosh’s proposalswould link Martin LutherKing Jr. Boulevard andSpringdale Road withManor Road through theheart of Morris WilliamsGolf Course.
Ghosh told the com-missioners that he hasoverwhelming supportfrom residents in the areaalong with 800 signatureson a Change.org petition.
He said the golfcourse trail, in particular, issomething he takes per-sonally. He explained that18-hole course stands be-tween the Mueller devel-opment and its shops andstores to the north and theolder east side neighbor-hoods to the south. Fur-thermore, the course is ac-cessible via the north side,while a fence lines thesouth side along MLK andSpringdale.
“We all talk about inthis city about DonaldTrump’s fence. What aboutthis fence?” Ghosh asked.“It is personal to me be-cause this is a deep ineq-uity. You cannot put afence around a public landand say that you cannotpass through it. That is un-acceptable.”
Ghosh showed a pairof images depicting thecontrasting the two sides -one with a fence and theother without - to drive hispoint home.
“When you look at it,if you had found it in SouthAfrica where the blacks liveon one side and the whiteslive on the other side...that’s apartheid. Idon’tlive in an apartheid city. Orat least I hope so,” he said.
Kevin Gomillion, themanager of the city’s Golf
Division, explained to thecommission that the Parksand Recreation Departmenthas many sites that requirefences in order to regulateaccess to fee-based activities,including pools, tennis courtsand other golf courses.
However, he conceded,“There’s no question that weneed to update a fence thatwas installed back in the1960s when it was still re-stricted access for the air-port.”
While the idea of a cut-through trail raises questionsabout injuries and liabilities,Gomillion said the Parks andRecreation Department isamenable to a pair of trailsthat would route around thecourse’s outer edge.
UTC Chair D’AnnJohnson asked Gomillionabout Hancock Golf Course,a nine-hole course in CentralAustin with no fencing and anouter-ring trail.
“How many peoplehave been hit by golf balls inHancock?” she inquired.
“Oh, Icould not even -lots. Cars. People,” Gomillionreplied, adding that he’d haveto check with the city’s legaldepartment to find out theexact number.
In the end, the UTCvoted unanimously to urgeCouncil to fund Ghosh’s pro-posals.
Bill Fletchersays that socialmedia makes it
easy to beobnoxious,
because thereare few, if any,
penalties.
Bill Fletcher
Page 8 ~ THE VILLAGER/March 16, 2018 THE DISPATCH www.theaustinvillager.com
Rapper Craig Mack Diesby: The Associated Press
Former Bad Boy Entertainment Rapper Crack Mack, best known for his1994 platinum hit, “Flava in Ya Ear”, died Monday night. (Courtesy Photo)
WALTERBORO, S.C.(AP) — Former rapperCraig Mack, best knownfor the platinum 1994 hit“Flava in Ya Ear” has diedin South Carolina.
Colleton County Cor-ner Richard Harvey saysthe 46-year-old Mack diedat his home in Walterboroaround 9 p.m. Monday.Harvey said it appeared
Mack died of naturalcauses.
The Long Island, NewYork, native at one timewas part of Diddy’s BadBoy Entertainment, whichreleased his first album,“Project: Funk da World,”anchored by “Flava in YaEar,” which was nomi-nated for a Grammy. Hisfollow-up single, “Get
Down” went gold.After Mack left Diddy,
he released a second al-bum, “Operation: GetDown” in 1997 but left themusic industry and de-voted his life to religion.
DJ Scratch said onInstagram that Mack for-merly handled his turn-table setups and break-downs.
Vintage photo of Hip-Hop artist for the remix of “Flava In Ya Ear” (l-to-r)Busta Rhymes, The Notorious B.I.G., Craig Mack, Rampage, and L. L. Cool J
Is the NBA CopyingLaVar Ball?by: Perry Green | AFRO Sports Editor
The NBA is embracing LaVar Ball’s idea of starting a league for playerswho don’t want to go to college. (AP Photo/John Locher)
AFRO SPORTS - Re-member when LaVar Ballcame up with that crazyidea of starting a Big BallerBrand Junior BasketballAssociation to rival theNCAA? Ball told everyoneback in December that hewas going to build a leaguefor ballers fresh out of highschool who don’t want togo to college, but can’t gostraight to the pros be-cause of the NBA’s 19-or-older age restriction.
Well, it looks like theNBA may beat LaVar to itas ESPN’s Brian Windhorstrecently reported thatNBA commissioner AdamSilver is not only consider-ing eliminating the “one-and-done” rule, but alsowants the league to startdeveloping relations withpremiere players whilethey’re still in high school.
“We’ve talked a lotabout youth developmentin terms of whether weshould be getting involvedin some of these youngplayers even earlier thanwhen they come into col-lege,” Silver told ESPN.“And from a league stand-point, on one hand, wethink we have a betterdraft when we’ve had anopportunity to see these
young players play at anelite level before theycome into the NBA. On theother hand, I think thequestion for the league is,in terms of their ultimatesuccess, are we better offintersecting with them alittle bit younger?”
According toWindhorst, Silver has al-ready met with the NBAPlayers Association to puttogether a plan where theNBA will essentially offeran alternate route for play-ers who want to go to proat 18 instead of going tocollege – the plan will al-low the super elite pros-pects (like LeBron James,who was drafted straightout of high school) tocome straight to the NBA,while lesser-ready pros-pects would play in an im-proved and expanded ver-sion of the NBA’s G-League, where they’ll getpaid to play, bringing life toBall’s JBA idea.
The G-League alreadyallows 18-year-olds toplay, but according to re-ports, its players onlymake a maximum of$26,000 per season.Windhorst reported thatthe NBA may end upboosting salaries to match
competing leagues, suchas the Australian NationalBasketball League, whichreportedly announced itsplans to start a “NextStars” program that willpay American playersnearly $80,000 in salary toskip the one year at col-lege and start their probasketball careers in Aus-tralia instead.
But even the Austra-lian National BasketballLeague sounds like it tookLaVar Ball’s idea and ranwith it. Ball said monthsago his Junior BasketballAssociation would pay itsplayers upwards of$10,000 a month per sea-son. An NBA season—in-cluding training camp, pre-season and the playoffs,can last anywhere from 8-10 months. If a JBA sched-ule mirrored a typical NBAschedule, a JBA playercould’ve potentially made$80-100k for one season.
Now, it looks thosesame high school playerswill be wearing NBA jer-seys, instead of Big BallerBrand, which is what theyultimately wanted allalong. Just don’t forget tothank LaVar for being boldenough to set the blue-print.
Beyonceand Jay-ZAnnounce
On the RunII Stadium
Tourby: Micha Green
The AFRO Washington,D.C. editor
On the morning of Monday, March 12, theInternet began buzzing with “Beys”, as music’sroyal couple, Jay-Z and Beyonce announced datesfor their “On the Run II” stadium tour, via socialmedia.
The international tour will begin June 6, inCardiff, and stop in 15 cities, before kicking off the21-date North American shows in Cleveland onJuly 25.
Fans of the Carters have a week to get theirfunds ready for the concert as tickets will officiallygo on sale to the general public at LiveNation.comand all usual outlets on Monday, March 19. Superfans, such as official members of the “Beyhive” andTidal subscribers, can sign up for pre-sale tickets,which will become available on March 14, at 9 a.m.in North America and 10 a.m. in the UK.
