Visit us online at NAACP, Black ...

By Stacy M. BrownNNPA Newswire SeniorNational Correspondent

With voter suppression laws tak-ing shape in Texas, Georgia, Arizo-na, and just about every GOP-led state in the nation, NAACP Presi-dent Derrick Johnson is pleading for Democrats and the White House to show a sense of urgency.

In a scathing op-ed, Johnson said, “we cannot out-organize voter suppression.”

“We organized in November to put people in office to address the issue of voter suppression. We did not organize in November to let elected officials off the hook to or-ganize again and overcome a new hurdle. Voters did their job as citi-zens, and now they’re simply ask-ing elected officials to do their job to protect our right to vote,” John-son remarked.

Nearly six decades after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights activists led the 1963 March On Washington for Jobs and Free-dom, that helped establish voting rights for millions of Black Ameri-cans, African American leaders will again descend on the nation’s capital to demand Congress protect the rights.

Martin Luther King III, Yolanda King, Andrea Waters King, and others plan to march with more

than 140 organizations and thou-sands of Americans on Saturday, August 28, to advocate for elimi-nating the Jim Crow filibuster and passing three critical voting rights bills – the For the People Act, John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and the Washington D.C. Ad-mission Act.

The mobilization comes just months after Black voters over-came significant barriers to the vote and organized their commu-nities to change the course of the country — “and now ask that the White House and Congress do their part to protect our democracy and stand on the right side of history,” the leaders said in a news release.

Martin Luther King III plans to

appear this week on the National Newspaper Publishers Association live morning news program, “Let It Be Known,” to discuss the march and voting rights.

In his op-ed, Johnson declared that “voting rights shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Yet the contentious dispute on whether to defend every American’s right to vote has taken center stage in Congress, and for an unnecessary amount of precious time.”

He continued:“With time not on our side, there

is no reason we should still be de-bating whether to pass a civil rights bill that will indubitably strengthen

NAACP, Black leaders demand congress act on voting rights

The NAACP is weighing in on the conflict in Washington, DC over legislation which could determine the future of voting rights. (Photo: Arnaud Jaegers / Unsplash)

I

Sherleen Hayes Cooper Jasmine Willois

NEA makes $10k grant to Irving library

- See Page 7

Bobby Newt is back with a new slate of psalms

- See Page 9

Cowboys now at 0-3 mark in

preseason action

- See Page 9

Numbers rise on HBCUcampuses

- See Page 6

New online course to help

addiction

- See Page 4

56 years after the March on Washington

- See Page 3

Dro GuapoProject

quenches thirst

- See Page 5

Sister Tarpley:Three ripe tomatoes

- See 5

Volume XXXI, Number XXVI August 26 - September 1, 2021

Visit us online at www.northdallasgazette.com

Inside... See Page 2 People In The News ... People in the News ........................................ 2Op/Ed ............................................................ 3Health ............................................................ 4Community .................................................... 5Education ...................................................... 6Irving / Carrollton / Plano ............................. 7Entertainment .......................................... 9-10Marketplace .......................................... 11-12Career / Notices .......................................... 13Religion .................................................. 14-15NDG Book Review ........................................ 10

NDG Quote of the Week: ”Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or jus-tice or anything. If you’re a man, you take it.” — Malcolm X

See VOTING , Page 7

Rep. Karen Bass

By Stacy M. BrownNNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

While the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom has topped headlines in California pol-itics, flying just under the radar is the effort to draft Congresswoman Karen Bass for Los Angeles may-or.

“As we struggle just in the city of L.A. and just in our own communities to do that, I think she would re-ally be a very key person to bring together the city on our issues,” said Rachel

Brashier, who organized the #KarenBassforMayor online campaign by the California Black Women’s Democratic Club.

The Daily News of Los Angeles reported that Bass,

a former chair of the Con-gressional Black Caucus, has seen her name come up in behind-the-scenes dis-cussions around the city’s mayoral race.

The congresswoman’s office declined to comment.

California residents have started to vote in the recall election of Newsom.

Officials have set Sep-tember 14 as the date for the recall election. If re-moved, Newsom would join Gray Davis as recent Democratic California gov-ernors recalled.

Residents voted to recall Davis in 2003.

But while most of the

attention in the Golden State’s has focused on Newsom’s fate, a grass-roots effort picks up to put Congresswoman Bass in the mayor’s office.

“The online campaign is meant to further a conver-sation that had begun per-colating behind the scenes about how politically savvy Angelenos could get in-volved in the local races,” Elizabeth Chou wrote for the Daily News.

That conversation began coalescing around Bass in late July, according to Mol-ly Watson, another execu-tive board member of the Democratic club.

Watson told Chou that the Democratic club and others involved in local politics had been looking at the mayoral race and gaug-ing if they were interested in becoming more engaged.

“But for some time, those conversations did not gather much momentum. Different names came up, but none seemed to pique serious interest,” Chou re-ported.

Around the end of [July], Bass’ name bubbled up among local Democratic clubs and progressive cir-cles.

At the same time, Watson told Chou that she heard

the congresswoman’s name brought up in donor con-versations.

Initially, there was con-cern about Bass giving up an important seat in Con-gress, but Watson said she has always understood Bass as someone who mentored others and paid attention to a succession plan.

“She’s not someone who will outstay a seat,” Watson told the Daily News.

“She knows it’s impor-tant that we have people who know how to retire from different positions, and so that all started to

(PR.com) -- Former Wall Street Trader Jasmine Wil-lois is the founder and Managing Director of The Note Assistance Program. A platform providing a proven proprietary system to empower individual in-vestors and family offices to optimize their time and finances through mortgage note investments.

Jasmine Willois’ proprie-tary system is predicated on her more than two decades of working in finance from coast to coast. In addition to her MBA, Ms. Willois has obtained and held at least 25 different trading, securities and other profes-sional licenses.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, she worked with some of the most no-table firms including Mor-gan Stanley, Dean Witter, MetLife and GMAC Home-comings. She has been named as one of the Wom-en to Watch, is a Certified

(PR.com) -- Sherleen Hayes Cooper, NRCPT-NPCE of McKinney, Tex-as has been honored as a VIP Member for 2021 by P.O.W.E.R. (Professional Organization of Women of Excellence Recognized) for her outstanding contribu-tions and achievements in the fields of education and healthcare. These important women exemplify tenacity. They realize that in order to reach their goals, they must never give up and continue to strive to become influen-tial in their profession.

Sherleen Hayes Coo-per is owner and founder

of Exclusive Sticks.Pro LLC, a school that provides phlebotomy education and training in McKinney, Tex-as. Ms. Hayes Cooper has been teaching phlebotomy for eight years. Her experi-ence includes phlebotomy

and training, overseeing daily operations, and vis-iting people’s homes and hospitals to draw blood. She will also be performing COVID -19 testing in the near future.

Sherleen states that the reason why she is so pas-sionate about her dream is that phlebotomists are the beginning and the end of life. They test the mother before the child comes into this world and before the

doctor greets and meets the patient. They start a natural bond with their clients and patients and provide them with the feeling of safety and professionalism. CO-VID has opened people’s eyes and help them realize that phlebotomy is very much needed.

Born January 9, 1993, Sherleen is a licensed phle-botomist, a phlebotomy instructor, lab assistant, certified in CPR, and is a

licensed medical examiner. Previously she served as a medical assistant, lab as-sistant, and phlebotomist in the medical industry.

Ms. Hayes Cooper is af-filiated with the NRCPT and the NPCT. She was rec-ognized by the National As-sociation for Health Profes-sionals, LLC. In her spare time, she is enjoys com-munity outreach, family activities, cooking, singing, dancing, painting, draw-

ing, poetry, music, travel, plants, pets, and spending times with her students and friends.

Sherleen Hayes Cooper has many goals. She plans to turn her small business into something bigger with training centers around the world. She also wants to help other countries by edu-cating them on the proper practices of blood collec-

People in the News www.NorthDallasGazette.com

2 | August 26 - September 1, 2021 | North Dallas Gazette For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com

See BASS, Page 5

See WILLOIS Page 9

Rep. Karen Bass

Jasmine Willois

Sherleen Hayes Cooper

See COOPER Page 8

www.NorthDallasGazette.com Op-Ed

For the 411 in the community, go to www.northdallasgazette.com August 26 - September 1, 2021 | North Dallas Gazette | 3

The North Dallas Gazette, formerly Minority Opportunity News, was founded in July 1991, by Mr. Jim Bochum and Mr. Thurman R. Jones. North Dallas Gazette is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Minority Opportunity News, Inc.

North Dallas Gazette assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material and reserves the right to

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The March on Washington, D.C. 56 years laterBy Dr. John E. WarrenPublisher, The Voice and Viewpoint Newspaper

This week it will be 56 years since the late Dr. Mar-tin Luther King, Jr. marched on Washington, D. C. with more than 250,000 people, mostly Black. Some came by bus, train, and car. Some walked. On that hot August Day, this publisher was a young teenager who worked on Capitol Hill for the late Congressman Adam Clay-ton Powell, Jr.. I climbed a tree near the Lincoln Me-

morial, above the sea of humanity dressed in their “Sunday Go to Meeting Clothes” in spite of the heat and carrying their signs.

Today, 56 years later, rac-ism continues to raise its head just as it did on the day of that first march and many since then. What is different today is the openness of the continued effort to silence the vote that they were un-able to steal in November 2020. What is also present today is that this year we will not only be marching in Washington, D.C. on

August 28th but in cities throughout America. This time, while we are demand-ing passage of the John Lewis Voting rights Act H.R.4 which will stop the voter suppression, we are also registering people to vote throughout this country so that we can overwhelm-ingly defeat these restric-tive laws at the ballot box, if necessary.

The fact that we have had a Black president for two terms, Black and Jewish members of the Senate from the State of Georgia, with

more women and people of color in Congress, has frightened White conser-vative voters to the point that they are no longer con-cerned about open and fair voting where they clearly can not win, but must now go to “by any means neces-sary” to retain power. Each of us can make a differ-ence. Let’s celebrate these 56 years of struggle with renewed participation that honors those who came be-fore us. And the few of us who were there and are still here will be there with you.

By Royce WestTexas Senate

The weekend has given me time to reflect on Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s attempts to fault Demo-crats for African Ameri-cans who are unvaccinated during a FOX News inter-view (Thursday - 8/19/21). Those assertions, by my ac-count and most, were inac-curate, hurtful, misguided and insensitive. Instead of trying to cast blame where it does not belong, the Lt. Governor and all state lead-ers should be doing more to help ensure that African Americans in Texas are able to trust the COVID-19 Vaccine.

While Governor Patrick stated without substan-

tiation that “the biggest groups in most states is African Americans who are not vaccinated,” I remind that African Americans represent about 12 - 13 per-cent of the population here in Texas and nationally, which makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Blacks to comprise the largest group of any com-parison.

Neither do African Amer-icans make up the largest number of COVID-19 cas-es or fatalities. According to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), here in Texas, Whites in-fected with the virus com-prise 32.1 percent of all confirmed cases. Blacks represent 14.8 percent of known cases. Similarly,

41.2 percent of COVID fa-talities in Texas have been suffered by Whites, com-pared to 10.2 percent of victims who were Black.

DSHS figures also re-port that of vaccine-eligible White Texans, approxi-mately 4.94 million are unvaccinated, about 47 percent. Some 1.6 million Texas African Americans remain unvaccinated, about 55 percent.

Lt. Governor Patrick ap-pears to have disregarded the full context and com-plete history on why vac-cination rates are low na-tionwide among African Americans. We know that African Americans were used as human subjects for various medical experi-ments by the United States

government without their consent or through manipu-lation.

The Tuskegee trials, a 40-year long, syphilis ex-periment conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the most well-known ex-ample.

At a time when Demo-crats, Republicans and Independents, Christians, Muslims and agnostics should all come together to fight a deadly disease that has killed more than 616,000 Americans, our Lt. Governor has chosen to wrongfully place blame on African Americans; stig-matize and think the worst of citizens he also repre-sents.

Lt. Gov. Patrick throws blame the wrong way

Texas For All congratulates Texas Dems on passage of H.R. 4 in U.S. House

By Sissi YadoTexas For All Director

The original Voting Rights Act helped to bring an end to the Jim Crow era in the American South. It’s only fitting that amid the worst assault on voting rights since the 1960s, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act—named for a man who dedicated his life to the fight for civil rights—could once again restore the promise

of democracy in Texas and across the southern United States.

Today’s passage of H.R. 4 in the U.S. House of Representatives is a direct result of the work Texas ad-vocates did on the ground and the support from Texas Democrats who listened and took the energy to work in Washington this sum-mer. As Gov. Abbott led an assault on democracy in Texas, Democratic state

lawmakers broke quorum to advance federal legisla-tion that would stop that as-sault cold by restoring the preclearance requirement for all election-related leg-islation in our state.

Together, advocates and Texas Democrats deserve tremendous credit for their work to advance federal voting rights legislation in Congress. Their work may just restore the promise of democracy—not just here

in Texas, either. Their work may just make the differ-ence for the eight other states where the removal of VRA preclearance require-ments led to dangerous anti-voter legislation.

Now more than ever, Texas Democrats must stand by that conviction and take every possible step to block Gov. Abbott’s draconian assault on Tex-ans’ voting rights here in Austin.”

Health www.NorthDallasGazette.com


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CENTER CITY, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New online education courses offered by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation aim to help people who are questioning or confused about their substance use, or beginning to experience negative consequences such as understand how marijua-na, alcohol and other sub-stance use can contribute to a myriad of life problems and how to make changes to prevent future conse-quences and reduce ongo-ing risks.

“We want to help people recognize and address sub-stance use issues as early as possible by providing them with an accessible, low-

threshold opportunity to—first and foremost—learn and understand more about substance use disorders and how to prevent, mitigate and overcome them,” said Heidi Martell, an experi-enced addiction and men-tal health counselor who supervises Hazelden Betty

Ford’s Risk Reduction Edu-cation Program. “Addiction is an all-too common health condition but it’s one that often develops over time and is harder to recognize in oneself than other illness-es—especially early in its progression—which is why information, education and

motivation are so important to taking those first steps to-ward any kind of change.”

Led by a certified instruc-tor, the new courses are offered online in variable durations, ranging from eight to 24 hours, including a 12-hour cannabis-specific course. They are available nationwide and to people around the globe, utilizing Prime for Life®, an evi-dence-based motivational prevention, intervention and pretreatment program specifically designed for adults who make high-risk choices. With a self-di-rected version on the way, these courses will become the newest offerings in Ha-zelden Betty Ford’s grow-

ing catalog RecoveryGo® telehealth solutions.

“Historically, most sub-stance use services have been designed to help those in late-stage addiction who have hit some sort of ‘rock bottom,’ which is like wait-ing until people have a heart attack to help them with their heart disease. Our new Risk Reduction Education Courses are one way we’re reaching more people and expanding earlier-stage op-tions within our continuum of services—providing helpful, expert information and inviting compassion-ate, dignified conversations that can be a catalyst for change,” said Joseph Lee, MD, president and CEO of

Hazelden Betty Ford, the nation’s largest nonprofit system of addiction treat-ment, mental health care, recovery resources and re-lated prevention and educa-tion services.

Other RecoveryGo® re-sources and services now available include insurance-eligible virtual Intensive Outpatient addiction treat-ment; mental health care; a free one-day virtual Family Program, available in Eng-lish and Spanish; a virtual Children’s Program; and numerous digital recovery support tools, such as mo-bile apps, podcasts and an online peer community.

See RecoveryGo.org for more details and resources.

New online courses from Hazelden Betty Ford help people see how marijuana, alcohol and other substance use may be affecting their lives

By Mike GiffordPresident and CEOVivent Health

A recently released CDC preliminary report con-firmed that the nation’s overdose crisis has only worsened since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 93,000 individuals died of a drug-related over-dose last year, the most ever recorded and nearly 30% higher than in 2019. The rise in overdoses has been fueled by both the increase in fentanyl across the coun-try, poly-substance use, and increased isolation because of the pandemic. Due to the legacy of racist “War on Drugs” policies, overdose deaths disparately impact Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other communities of color. For example, the rate of overdose deaths was more than 2 times greater among Black individuals than white individuals in Wisconsin in 2019, and in Missouri, it was over 2.6 times that of white indi-

viduals.Thankfully, we know

that harm reduction-based approaches are safe, effec-tive, and lifesaving. The Vivent Health Lifepoint program operates through-out Wisconsin, in Denver, CO, and in Austin, TX. The Lifepoint program pro-vides sterile syringes and safer injection supplies to people who inject drugs, as well as safe disposal of used syringes, free of charge. Our Lifepoint team also distributes naloxone, a medication that can reverse opioid-related overdoses,

and frequently refers par-ticipants to medical, mental health, and other support-ive services. Syringe access programs (SAPs), like Life-point, not only prevent HIV and hepatitis transmission that can occur from shar-ing used syringes, but also reduce overdose deaths and provide judgment-free care to people who use drugs.

Yet even as we face a historic overdose epidemic, there continue to be state and local officials who oppose SAPs and other lifesaving harm reduction measures. Lawmakers in

West Virginia, New Jersey, and Indiana have all re-cently taken steps to shut-ter their local programs. We know from past examples, that denying people who use drugs access to these vital services does nothing but increase the likelihood that they will die. We call on state and local elected officials to follow the sci-ence and legalize syringe access programs in their ju-risdictions. These programs are needed now more than ever, and we can’t afford to lose any more lives as a result of stigma and failed punishment-based ap-proaches.

We also encourage ev-eryone to carry and learn how to use naloxone, as it could make the difference between life or death for someone experiencing an overdose. If you use drugs, please know you can re-duce your risk of an over-dose by not using drugs alone and ensuring there is somebody present who can respond to you if you

overdose. We recommend using fentanyl test strips to see if there’s fentanyl in the drugs you plan to use. We strongly recommend that if you use drugs that you ac-cess naloxone (narcan) and have it with you should it be needed. Our Lifepoint team provides these sup-plies.

The tragic reality of the

overdose crisis and its dev-astating impact, particular-ly among people of color, must be acknowledged and addressed. Policymakers and communities need to be proactive in adopting common sense solutions to this deadly problem. The wellbeing and the very lives of our loved ones de-pend upon it.

Healthcare executive responds to the overdose crisisVo

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BASS, from Page 2

Face

book

See HOUSE, Page 16

make sense for me.”Poll researcher Paul

Maslin told the Daily News that Bass led a recent sur-vey among 800 voters.

A political science pro-fessor at Claremont McK-enna College, Jack Pitney added that given Bass’ po-litical chops, she would be a “very formidable candi-date” if she were to run.

Bass proved her political skills in the state Assembly and is “very well respected across the political spec-trum,” he told the newspa-per.

“Right now, she is a re-

spected member of the ma-jority and has considerable influence (but) if the Dem-ocrats are in the minority (should mid-term elections go poorly for the party), she will be largely a spectator,” Pitney said. “That’s not a lot of fun.”

“The basic calculation for her is: stay in the House and face the possibility of minority status, or run for mayor, and take on all the slings and arrows that come with the job,” he said.

“It’s not really an easy choice.”

The L.A. mayor’s job is a

“tough” one, and it doesn’t come with as much author-ity as “a mayor would like,” Pitney noted.

“Anybody who runs for mayor has to grapple with a lot of inherited problems — homelessness, being per-haps the most visible, (and) violent crime,” he said.

“Basically, quality of life issues. And that’s difficult. That’s not a fun job.”

But he said that Bass seems like someone who is “very tough-minded. She has never been afraid of a challenge, which may be why she will decide to do it, but it would be very un-derstandable if she didn’t.”

The Dro Guapo Project ‘Hydrates the Hood’ and educates on gun violenceThe First Saturday in Au-

gust brought the Hydrate the Hood event to Meadow Creek Park in the Dallas area. This family, fun event is led by Katrina Chaney of The Dro Guapo Project and is designed to connect with the community and raise awareness of the impact of gun violence on communi-ties.

During the event, mem-bers of The Dro Guapo Project distributed cases of water and juice to the com-munity and also invited them to sit and listen to mu-sic, enjoy lite refreshments and engage in conversation.

“We want to hydrate the community not only with

water and juice but also with knowledge of the im-pacts of gun violence, ”

said Chaney as she sits at a table covered with pictures and artifacts of her son, Ra-

jai Robinson as known as Dro Guapo. “People need to understand what happens when a bullet leaves a gun. You can not put the bullet back in a gun once it is out. It has to go somewhere. It comes down somewhere.”

Chaney founded non-profit The Dro Guapo Proj-ect after the passing of her son last year due to gun violence at age 27.

In addition to community awareness events like Hy-drate the Hood, this organi-zation aims to obtain a fa-cility to offer youth access to positive programming to develop other interests like poetry, art, dance and music. Currently, Chaney

and her team also provides meals to a community of senior citizens in South Dallas.

Champ Davis of Big Ball Entertainment who knew Dro Guapo, the non-profit namesake, performed an original song Hit Me Up that spoke to his experi-ence. Davis spoke to this success and down the earth character.

“We want to make a posi-tive out of a negative situa-tion and bring the attention to stopping gun violence. We have to start some-where and it has to be with our community and then spread out like this COV-ID-19,” said Davis. “It has

to stop people are taking loved ones. It is nonsense.”

In the year of 2020, 43,578 people in the Unit-ed States died from gun violence with 19,422 be-ing homicides. From Janu-ary 2021 to August 2021, 28,047 deaths have been recorded .

The group seeks to pro-vide distributed cases of water, barbeque, and juice to youth and families dur-ing the hot summer months and also shares information about the impact of gun vi-olence in communities.

For more information about the Dro Guapo Proj-ect, visit the facebook page..

Updated voting rights bill set for late August House floor vote By Charlene Crowell

As hundreds of civil rights advocates com-plete plans for a series of events across the country to heighten the need for new and stronger voting rights laws, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to hold a late August floor vote on an updated bill hon-oring the legacy of the late civil rights champion and long-term Georgia Con-gressman, John Lewis.

Sponsored by Selma, AL native and U.S. Rep. Terry Sewell, the new version re-places one passed last year in the House but was sty-mied in the Senate.

Commenting on the up-

dated bill Rep. Sewell said, “By preventing states with a recent history of voter dis-crimination from restricting the right to vote, this bill restores the full promise of our democracy and advanc-es the legacy of those brave Foot Soldiers like John Lewis who dedicated their lives for the sacred right to vote…Our democracy is at stake.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi added, “Congress has not only an ironclad Constitu-tional mandate, but a moral responsibility to enact H.R. 4 to combat destructive and discriminatory voter sup-pression.”

After months of field hearings that began in

April, a report was released in early August by North Carolina Congressman G.K. Butterfield, a House Judiciary Subcommittee chairman. The voluminous report documented six vot-ing and election administra-tion practices as significant evidence of discriminatory impact:

• Voter list maintenance and discriminatory voter purges;

• Voter identification (“voter ID”) and documen-tary proof of citizenship re-quirements;

• Lack of access to multi-lingual voting materials and language assistance;

• Polling place closures, consolidations, reductions,

and long wait times; • Restrictions on addi-

tional opportunities to vote; and

• Changes to methods of election, jurisdictional boundaries, and redistrict-ing practices.

Even the U.S. Census Bureau is conceding that race remains an issue in virtually every sector of American life.

In its August 15 release of decennial 2020 census data, a Bureau brief con-ceded, “Understanding the role of race is complicated because even before the pandemic, the Black popu-lation was more likely to

be poor, less likely to have health insurance and more likely to work in the front-line jobs that put them at risk of both infection and unemployment during the pandemic.”

The irony is that as the nation becomes more di-verse, as documented by the Bureau, racial discrimi-nation is surging – particu-larly when it comes to vot-ing rights. With only a few months before redistricting and reapportionment begin ahead of the 2022 elections, time is tight to take correc-tive actions to ensure that everyone’s vote is counted and is counted equally.

At 46.9 million people, Black America remains the second largest race alone or in combination with anoth-er race, comprising 14.2% of the nation. People self-identifying as Black alone grew 5.6% over the past 10 years. But those identi-fying as Black and another race grew 230% to 722,383 people.

As many demographers anticipated, the Hispanic or Latino population is now the largest ethnicity, having grown 23% since the last census. By contrast, whites neither Hispanic nor La-

Education www.NorthDallasGazette.com


See DISD, Page 11

Enrollment increases for HBCUs despite pandemicBy Stacy M. BrownNNPA Newswire SeniorNational Correspondent

Howard University en-joyed a more than 15 per-cent enrollment increase during the pandemic, and officials at the historically Black college expect those numbers to increase this fall.

“This has the potential to be our largest freshman class ever,” Anthony Wu-toh, Howard’s Provost and chief academic officer, told reporters.

Up north from D.C., Bowie State reportedly ex-pects an 8 percent increase in overall enrollment this fall.

The increase in enroll-ment at Howard and Bowie State reflects what’s hap-pening at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) around the coun-try.

Some observers believe the calls for racial justice after the murder of George

Floyd and the global aware-ness of the Black Lives Matter movement have con-tributed mightily to the rise in enrollment at HBCUs.

“We are attracting stu-dents who have a significant interest in social justice and an interest in addressing what they see as the ills of

society,” Wutoh told NBC News.

At Morgan State Univer-sity in Baltimore, two gifts from philanthropists MacK-enzie Scott and Calvin and Tina Tyler totaling $60 mil-lion have assisted.

The Biden-Harris admin-istration eliminated millions of dollars in debt through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.

In May, university of-ficials noted they had received 14,600 under-graduate applications for 2021-22, shattering 2019 totals by more than 58 per-cent, reported university-business.com.

Morgan State also pulled in 1,200 housing applica-

tions, up more than 50 per-cent from 2019.

“We have faced challeng-es during the pandemic and have seen some of our natu-ral growth stifled as a result. However, what these record numbers of applications are revealing is that educational attainment is still very im-portant to a great number of people and that there is a tremendous appetite to re-ceive that education at Mor-gan,” university President David Wilson told universi-tybusiness.com.

“What we’ve put in place here at the university, in terms of programs and op-portunities, is unique and attractive to both traditional and nontraditional students. We look forward to capital-

izing on this monumental interest and building for the future.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, actors Samuel L. Jackson and the late Chad-wick Boseman, are among the many famous individu-als who graduated from an HBCU.

According to the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions, approximately one-third of HBCUs have experienced record in-creases in applications and enrollment.

“Our enrollment contin-ues to rise and increase year over year,” Bowie State President Aminta Breaux said. “I don’t think there’s just one spark. I do think it’s a culmination.”

Some observers believe the calls for racial justice after the murder of George Floyd and the global awareness of the Black Lives Matter

movement have contributed mightily to the rise in enrollment at HBCUs. (Photo via NNPA)

Dallas ISD is embracing multiple strategies to help address unfinished learning caused by the pandemic

(Dallas ISD / The Hub) With a focus on supporting the schools and students who need it the most, Dal-las ISD leaders updated trustees during the Aug. 12 board briefing on how the district is addressing un-finished learning caused by the pandemic.

As expected, STAAR data shows the pandemic negatively impacted stu-dent learning both across the state and in Dallas ISD.

Deputy Superintendent Su-sana Cordova said the dis-trict is embracing multiple strategies to help catch stu-dents up.

TutoringMore than 55,000 Dal-

las ISD students could re-ceive 30 hours of tutoring this school year. House Bill 4545, which the Texas legislature passed this year, requires schools to provide 30 hours of tutoring for ev-ery failed STAAR test sub-

ject.The district is looking

to match up to 32 awarded tutoring providers with schools, while also hiring in-district tutors to sup-port students. From high school students who can make $12.50 an hour tutor-ing other students to retired teachers who can make $22.50 tutoring, the district invites potential tutors to view this job listing and ap-ply.

Theory of ActionDallas ISD launched the

Theory of Action to sup-port the board’s goal of dramatically improving student achievement and outcomes for all students and realizing its vision of becoming the premier ur-

ban school district. In addi-tion to granting certain au-tonomies to top performing schools, Theory of Action is focusing on racial equity and supporting the campus-es with the most needs.

Schools identified as High-Priority Campuses,

schools rated Developing or Focus in the current Lo-cal Accountability System, or schools determined by other equity factors will have access to more than 40 additional supports.

our fractured democracy by achieving the one goal our nation’s essence depends on – lending a voice to the people.”

Johnson contradicted Republican Congressman Mike Johnson of Louisi-ana, who infamously and erroneously stated that “it is easier for eligible Ameri-cans to vote than ever be-fore in American history.”

“State legislators around the country have introduced more than 400 bills that will make it more difficult for Americans to exercise their constitutional voting rights, and at least 18 states have passed such legisla-tion,” Johnson wrote.

“Ingrained in these at-tacks on voting rights are generations-long patterns of discrimination target-ing communities of color, particularly Black commu-nities. The overwhelming evidence of voter suppres-sion speaks to this truth: It is easier for privileged, eligible Americans to vote than ever before in Ameri-

can history.”Any decision not in favor

of significant voting legisla-tion under consideration by Congress will cost the lives of millions of Americans whose very voices are jeop-ardized, Johnson insisted.

“For instance, in May, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation to ban curbside voting, conse-quentially forbidding poll workers to set up curbside voting centers and prevent-ing voting machines from being stationed outside a polling place,” Johnson noted.

“While many proponents argue that this restriction is rightfully erected to honor the integrity of our elec-tions, this rationalization completely disregards the

lack of accommodating resources for the elderly and people with disabili-ties – and the overall safety and wellness of voters who reside in a state where CO-VID-19 vaccinations are abysmal and infection rates are rising.”

When signing the 1965 voting rights legislation, President Lyndon B. John-son understood that the right to vote is an issue of human dignity, Johnson continued.

“He once said, ‘It is wrong, deadly wrong, to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country. There is no issue of states’ rights or national rights. There is only the struggle for human rights.”

“Elected officials hold the invaluable key to en-

suring that our future elec-tions are fair and accessible. Those in power who have given an oath to serve their

district, their state, and in-herently their country have a responsibility to commit to their purpose of guaran-

teeing that the people they represent and champion will be heard and not be si-lenced.”


www.NorthDallasGazette.com Irving / Carrollton / Plano

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VOTING, from Page 1

Irving library gets $10k grant from National Endowment for the ArtsIrving Public Library

has been approved for a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support the 8th Annual North Texas Teen Book Festival (NTT-BF) to be held March 2022. Irving Public Library’s NTTBF project is among 1,100 projects across America totaling nearly $27 million that was select-ed during the second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2021 funding.

“As the country and the arts sector begin to imag-ine returning to a post-pan-demic world, the National Endowment for the Arts is

proud to announce funding that will help arts organiza-tions such as Irving Public Library reengage fully with partners and audiences,” said NEA Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “Although the

arts have sustained many during the pandemic, the chance to gather with one another and share arts ex-periences is its own neces-sity and pleasure.”

“We could not be more

pleased to receive this award from the National Endowment for the Arts,” said Irving Public Library Director Cary Siegfried. “This grant highlights the artistic and literary merit of the North Texas Teen Book Festival, which has grown to become one of the pre-mier teen book festivals in the United States.”

NTTBF is a free, two-day event celebrating Young Adult and Middle Grade literature. NTTBF Educa-tor Day will provide Texas teachers and librarians with professional development through education and lit-

eracy focused panels with guest authors. NTTBF Fes-tival Day will target area tweens and teens with doz-ens of author panels, key-note addresses, book sign-ings, Speed Dating with a Book, and publisher events.

Irving Public Library expects to reach over 15,000 readers and educa-tors through this program. NTTBF has hosted win-ners of the prestigious Na-tional Book Award, New-bery Medal, Printz Award, Coretta Scott King Award, and Stonewall Book Awards, and each year the festival’s roster includes

many bestselling authors as well as up-and-coming de-but authors.

The mission of NTTBF is to strive to connect our reading community, adding dimension to the reading experience through diverse author panels and dynamic discussions in a safe and fun environment. Visit northtexasteenbookfesti-val.com for more informa-tion about NTTBF.

For more information on the projects included in the Arts Endowment grant an-nouncement, visit arts.gov/news.

There are two significant improvement projects un-derway in Plano with re-gard to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

These projects total $4.5 million and are funded through three community investment programs.

City Council approved

$1.5 million for improve-ments to 15th Street side-walks. The project replaces concrete sidewalks and curb ramps to provide com-plete and continuous pedes-trian access. Concrete shel-ter pads will be installed for future DART bus stops. A masonry screening wall

will go in place of shrubs and living screening. These changes reduce the cost of future maintenance of the living screening wall. Funding for this project comes from the 2020-21 Street Improvement Com-munity Investment Pro-gram (CIP).

Almost $3 million will be used to completely re-construct Commerce Drive while replacing aging cast iron water lines. The proj-ect includes 2,400 linear feet of 37-foot-wide street and curb pavement, side-walks, driveways, barrier-

free ramps and 2,70o linear feet of new 12-inch PVC water line. Storm sewer improvements will increase the capacity of drainage to reduce localized flood-ing concerns. Without this work, the street and anti-quated water lines continue

to deteriorate and increase maintenance costs. This project improves quality of life for businesses and motorists. Funding for this work comes from the 2020-21 and 2021-22 Street Im-provements CIP and Water CIP.

Plano touching up 15th Street walkways, Commerce Drive

tion.About P.O.W.E.R. Maga-

zine (Professional Orga-nization of Women of Ex-cellence Recognized) and Powerwoe.com

P.O.W.E.R.-Professional Organization of Women of Excellence Recog-nized is an organization

and an online community. P.O.W.E.R. Magazine is a digital and exclusive print magazine featuring celebrities and everyday hardworking professional women. Our mission is to provide a powerful network of women who will mentor, inspire, and empower each

other to be the best they can be.

Through our valuable services and collaborating with like-minded profes-sionals, our members can potentially gain the recog-nition and exposure they deserve, as well as obtain knowledge from those who have already achieved suc-cess.


Feature www.northdallasgazette.com

COOPER, from Page 2

See HAITI, Page 12

Desperation and despair in Haiti as relief efforts stall

Multi-story buildings immediately collapsed while rescuers pulled many survivors from under heaps of rubble in the country’s southern peninsula. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)

Stacy M. BrownNNPA Senior NationalCorrespondent

Desperation has accom-panied despair in Haiti following the deadly earth-quake that claimed more than 2,100 lives and a tropi-cal storm that further deci-mated the island nation.

Relief remains scarce, and residents reportedly have grown so impatient that they attacked supply vans and a caravan carry-ing former president Mi-chel Martelly, who visited a hospital in Les Cayes offer-ing supplies.

The United Nations es-timated that 40 percent of Haiti’s 12 million residents need emergency aid, but flash flooding and land-slides have many relief workers fearing illness and disease.

Wes Comfort, a recovery and response lead at Heart to Heart International, told Time Magazine that his medical team chose to sleep on their car hoods to protect themselves.

“Everyone is very wary of sleeping indoors,” Com-fort declared. “We camped out and listened to the after-shock rattle the tin roof of the mayor’s office.”

Weather officials said large parts of Haiti experi-enced as much as 15 inches of rain, leading to flooding and deadly mudslides.

Multi-story buildings im-mediately collapsed while rescuers pulled many sur-vivors from under heaps of rubble in the country’s southern peninsula.

“In what is already a challenging time for the people of Haiti, I am sad-dened by the devastating earthquake that occurred in Saint-Louis du Sud, Haiti,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.

“We send our deepest condolences to all those who lost a loved one or saw their homes and busi-nesses destroyed. I have authorized an immediate U.S. response and named USAID Administrator Sa-mantha Power as the senior U.S. official to coordinate

this effort.”Through USAID, Presi-

dent Biden said America supports efforts to assess the damage and assist ef-forts to recover those in-jured and those who must now rebuild.

Haiti has suffered near-unprecedented damage from previous earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natu-ral disasters in recent years.

Earlier this summer, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his home.

The president’s murder touched off a wild manhunt for his assassins and threw the country into political chaos.

Many in the nation suffer from poverty, and report-edly gang violence is ram-pant.

The earthquake struck near the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, which isn’t far from the nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

The cities of Les Cayes and Jeremie bore the brunt

Delegate Spokeswoman for the NAWRB, frequent guest contributor to major industry news publications, and is involved in the Ulti-mate Women’s Expo.

In addition to her non-profit supporting Invest-

Profit-Give initiative through the Note Assis-tance Program, Jasmine is also the host of the Naked Notes Podcast which pro-vides a flexible, transpar-ent and simple way to start learning about investing in

first lien mortgage notes for profit.

For more information and to learn how to play the hand you’ve been dealt even better, check out the online resources available at www.NoteAssistan-ceProgram.com.


www.NorthDallasGazette.com Dallas Cowboys

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By Dwain PriceNDG Sports

No, quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t play in the Dallas Cowboys’ 20-14 preseason loss to the Hous-ton Texans this past Satur-day at AT&T Stadium.

And he certainly won’t play in Sunday’s 12 noon home preseason finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

However, Prescott was able to complete an as-tounding 51 of 52 passes during warmups prior to the loss to the Texans. And for now, that’s all Cowboy fol-lowers are going to get out of their prized quarterback prior to the Sept. 9 regular season opener at Tampa Bay against the defending Super Bowl champions.

“He hit the target with a number of throws,” Cow-boys head coach Mike Mc-Carthy said of Prescott. “I had a chance to watch it.

“I thought he looked good, and the most impor-tant thing is how he feels afterward. I thought he had another good day and the opportunity to go back-to-back is important. So, still continue to build up on the level of throws.”

Prescott strained his right latissimus shoulder muscle last month while the Cow-boys were training in Ox-nard, CA. He also is com-ing off the dislocated and compound fracture of his right ankle that he suffered on Oct. 11.

The Cowboys have re-peated said if this was opening day against Tampa Bay, Prescott would be in the starting lineup. But it’s preseason, and the Cow-boys are not in the mood to take any chances with the face of their franchise.

While Prescott and the Cowboys continue to be patient with his return, the heated race for the backup slot behind Prescott con-tinues. Against the Texans, Cooper Rush gained the up-per hand over Ben DiNucci and Garrett Gilbert.

Rush completed 10-of-12 passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns, while Di-Nucci was 14-of-19 for 120 yards and a whopping three interceptions, and Gilbert was 3-of-5 for 30 yards.

“It’s always a competi-tion,” Rush said. “Every day you’re going out there to compete. That’s kind of what training camp and preseason is about – especially at this position.

“So, us having four (pre-season games) this year in-stead of three, with us play-ing four games, I’m looking forward to next week, too.”

Rush was certainly over-ly pleased with his produc-tion against the Texans.

“I was able to get in a rhythm,” he said. “I got one long drive in there where we kind of grinded them out. It felt good to get in a rhythm overall.”

In the meantime, wide receiver Amari Cooper said he felt good just to get in a game for the first time since last season. Cooper de-scribed his day against the Texans as successful.

“I wouldn’t say I’m rusty,” Cooper said. “I would say I haven’t played in a long time. I haven’t ran routes against somebody in a long time.

“This was my third time to have the pads on since January. Not rust. I needed to get that feel of competing before it actually matters.”

McCarthy was delighted that Cooper was even able to get in the game against the Texans and get some snaps.

“Amari’s had a great week of practice,” McCar-thy said. “Just to really get him back in there was the point.

“Frankly, we just played Amari, Michael (Gallup), and CeeDee (Lamb) the first two series. Just wanted to get them approximately 10 to 12 snaps.”

Cooper was not per-turbed by the fact that he didn’t have any receptions against the Texans, and wasn’t even targeted not one time.

“I had practiced only twice before today,” Coo-per said. “It felt kind of foreign for me to be prac-ticing.

“I haven’t done anything in seven months. Without playing in the fourth pre-season game, I’ll get the opportunity to practice for three weeks.”

The same could be said for Prescott, who is more than anxious to get back in a game for the first time since Oct. 11.

Dallas suffers third preseason loss at the hands of the Texans

Undermain Theatre and the Danielle Georgiou Dance group are proud to present Stronger Than Arms, a new adaptation of Aeschylus’s Seven Against Thebes done in the inimi-table style of DGDG.

Writer/director/choreog-rapher Danielle Georgiou and writer Justin Locklear will dive into the spiritual and political burdens placed on the chorus of Theban citizens. As the generation-al conflicts of territory and birthright ravage the cities around them, the chorus is divided, revealing their in-dividual conflicts and moti-vations.

The title stems from the line, “Fear is stronger than arms,” while the sto-

ry points to the power of humanity’s worst enemy, unconquerable fear, and reveals that there could be something stronger—the willingness to change. Told through poetic verse,

dance, and multi-media, Stronger Than Arms exam-ines the universal themes of myth, status, aggression, and fate. Expect the unex-

By Stacy M. BrownNNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Leave it up to Beyoncé and Jay-Z to captivate so-cial media and much of the world with more historic firsts.

The power couple stars in Tiffany’s latest advertis-ing campaign, and the com-pany calls it a celebration of modern love.

“Synonymous with the world’s greatest love sto-ries since 1837, Tiffany’s debut of ‘About Love’ marks the latest evolution of the luxury jeweler’s new creative direction,” compa-ny officials stated in a news release.

“The campaign is the result of a close collabora-tion and a shared vision be-

tween both the Carters and Tiffany.”

Beyoncé wears the iconic 128-carat Tiffany Diamond in photos released this week, which the company purchased in 1878.

The pop queen becomes the first African Ameri-can woman to wear the diamond, which had previ-ously adorned Audrey Hep-burn in publicity photos for the 1961 blockbuster film, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

Singer Lady Gaga wore the diamonds to the 2019 Academy Awards.

But, as with most things they do, the Carters one-upped everyone.

They pose for photos in front of Jean-Michel Bas-quiat’s “Equals Pi” paint-ing, a 40-year-old work from a private collection

never previously displayed in public.

Unearthed in 1877 in the Kimberley Mines of South Africa, founder Charles Lewis Tiffany purchased the rough diamond in 1878, Tiffany’s said in the news release.

House icons including designs from Jean Schlum-

berger and the Tiffany T collection are also featured throughout.

Notably, Jay-Z wears Jean Schlumberger’s leg-endary Bird on a Rock brooch, reconstructed as a pair of one-of-a-kind cuff links.

Schlumberger was best known for dressing high society’s elite in the 1960s and ‘70s, so it is appropri-ate that his unmistakable designs live out his legacy on one of today’s greatest creative forces.

A film by acclaimed di-rector Emmanuel Adjei has also been created and features a musical perfor-mance of the classic song “Moon River.”

Made famous in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the iconic tune is reimag-ined with vocals by Beyon-cé, captured by Jay-Z on a Super 8 camera.

According to Tiffany’s, the couple selected the Orum House in Los An-geles to serve as the set-

ting for the film, in which nostalgic flashbacks are interwoven with cinematic, dreamlike visuals.

Basquiat’s “Equals Pi” appears once again as a common Tiffany Blue thread throughout the nar-rative.

“Beyoncé and JAY-Z are the epitome of the modern love story. As a brand that has always stood for love, strength, and self-expres-sion, we could not think of a more iconic couple that better represents Tiffany’s values,” stated Alexandre Arnault, Executive Vice President of Product & Communications.

“We are honored to have the Carters as a part of the Tiffany family.”


Entertainment www.NorthDallasGazette.com

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LOS ANGELES -- Bob-by Newt former member of the 90’s R&B group The Newtron’s, has returned releasing two inspirational songs “Where Would I Be” a gospel sensation with a powerful message and “Fi-esta Sagrada” which has a Latin twist that creates a sacred party. Both sounds appeal to all demographics.

Bobby Newt having an amazing testimony and blessing his listeners with meaningful music is the rea-son why his song “Where Would I Be” went #1 on R&B College Radio. Newt started singing at the age of 7 and by the age of 15 he signed a deal with MCA Re-cords, along with his broth-ers The Newtron’s. Bobby

and his brothers were groomed by The Jackson’s which led him to an exten-sive musical career.

Bobby Newt, is a Three-Time Grammy Nominated Songwriter who has worked with the best of the best, such as Michael Jackson, Babyface and Chris Brown to name a few. Newt is also The Executive Producer of

R&B Artist Tank’s “Now or Never“ album.

Bobby is very transparent and shares his story of how fame can become addictive. He also discusses the dif-ficulties of navigating his success while overcoming lust and fame.

To listen to “Where Would I Be“ or “Fiesta Sa-grada“ on Youtube.

Bobby Newt is back with new psalms

Beyoncé and Jay-Z making more history in new campaign

Beyoncé and JAY-Z for the Tiffany & Co. fall 2021 ABOUT LOVE campaign, shot by Mason Poole. (Photo via NNPA)

Undermain Theatre set to produce ‘Stronger Than Arms’ next month

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pected!“Live performances to

be determined based on the status of Covid-19,” the company noted. “The health and safety of our audience, cast, crew and staff is our top priority. We’ve made upgrades to our HVAC systems and environment to provide the healthiest atmosphere possible and are taking every precaution to com-ply with CDC guidelines in keeping everyone safe at our theater during live performances.”

Subscriptions go on sale August 30, 2021. Tickets go on sale Sep-tember 14, 2021 at www.undermain.org.

Contact Marketing at 972-432-5219 for Career Opportunity Advertising Marketplace


DISD, from Page 6

August 1, 2021Ed Bell Construction is a Dallas based heavy highway contractor doing business in the North Texas market since 1963. With clients such as TxDOT, Dallas County Public Works, and the Cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, Richardson and Mansfield (plus many others), we have a strong backlog of work in the highway market locally.We are currently hiring for the following positions:• Pipe layer (Underground)• Concrete Finisher (Paving)• Loader Operator (Earthwork)• Form Setter (Structures, Paving)• Laborer (Earthwork, Underground)• Motorgrader Operator (Earthwork)• Boom Mobile Crane Operator (CDL)• CDL Drivers (End Dump, Haul Truck, Water Truck)• Work Zone Barricade Servicer-must have DL and be bilingual with clear EnglishAvailable: multiple openingsRate: NegotiableMust have own transportationYears of Experience required will vary, from 6 months to 2 years (depending on position) Physical and Drug Screen RequiredMust have a Clear BackgroundMust be at least 18 years old (CDL Driver, 21 yrs)

These supports include priority job fairs and IT service, resident teacher placements, and after-school programming (will link to the full list of sup-ports).

“We are excited to pro-vide these additional sup-ports and do everything we can to help our schools suc-ceed,” Chief of Strategic Initiatives Brian Lusk said.

Summer learninga success

More than 7,000 Pre-K–8th grade Dallas ISD sum-mer campers experienced fun, hands-on learning and extracurricular activities during the Summer Breeze camp.

In addition to academics, Summer Breeze focused on helping build students’ social and emotional skills to get them ready for the upcoming school year.

Meanwhile, 1,700 of the rising ninth-grade students attending a P-TECH or Early College High School attended classes daily as part of the Summer Bridge program, and high school students recovered 1,414 credits to date.

Extended schoolyear calendar

Forty-six schools chose an extended school year

calendar, providing more time to learn for students to catch up.

The five schools with the Redesign calendar started Aug. 2, and the 41 schools with an Intersession calen-dar stated Aug. 9 Chief of Academics Shannon Trejo said learning is already un-derway at these schools.

“It’s been amazing to walk into these classrooms and see high-quality learn-ing already underway,” Chief of Academics Shan-

non Trejo said. “We are thankful to these school leaders, teachers and fami-lies who have embraced an extended year calendar.”

In-person learning and social and emotional skills

In addressing trustees on Thursday, Cordova said the research is clear: hav-ing a student learn from a great teacher inside the classroom has the biggest positive impact on student performance. The district is using as much funding as possible to develop and re-tain great teachers and of-

fer small class sizes to help those who need it the most.

Chief of School Leader-ship Tiffany Huitt added that social and emotional learning practices are built

into every school day.“We anticipate when our

students come back, and we support their social and emotional needs, that will show up in their outcomes,’

she said.The district is also en-

couraging as many stu-dents as possible to engage in cocurricular and extra-curricular activities.

THEATRE,from Page 10

Honeycomb Credit and CrowdMax partner to support small businesses in crowdfunding

PITTSBURGH, PA - Honeycomb Credit is part-nering with Crowd-Max to better serve businesses interested in crowdfunding their capital projects. Hon-eycomb is a regulated debt crowdfunding platform that raises loans for small busi-nesses using capital invest-ed by a business’s network of supporters. Crowd-Max is a crowdfunding consult-ing site that offers resources to help entrepreneurs suc-ceed in their crowdfunding campaigns through crowd-building and incubator pro-grams such as Crowd-Fit.

Small business owners that are not ready to crowd-fund — meaning, they don’t have a large enough follow-

ing, don’t have a marketing plan, or are simply novices at crowdfunding — can uti-lize Crowd-Max’s online courses or incubator pro-grams.

“In a national survey conducted by the Ameri-can Dream Marketplace the number one issue negative-ly impacting Black-owned business was a lack of ac-cess to capital. I knew that if there was not a cultur-ally specific crowdfunding program for Black-owned businesses my community would be marginalized from crowdfunding, so I created the ‘Crowd Fit’ program” says Bill Huston, founder and president of Crowd-max.

This partnership will especially benefit Black-owned businesses looking for capital. Black-owned small businesses receive a tiny portion of SBA loans, receiving only 3 percent of all loans approved in 2019. In recent events, Black-owned businesses have re-ceived proportionally less of necessary coronavirus re-lief funding through the PPP loan program.

11 percent of Honeycomb campaigns are run by Black-owned businesses, and they see a 50 percent success rate (compared to the indus-try average of 23 percent). With Crowd-Max’s help in crowdbuilding and pre-paring campaigns for suc-

cess, that success rate can improve and better support Black entrepreneurs seek-ing capital through crowd-funding.

“It’s no secret that Black-owned businesses are being shut out from traditional lending sources,” says George Cook, CEO of Hon-eycomb Credit. “Debt and equity crowdfunding have already proven that they can be a force for leveling the playing field and open-ing up access to capital for underserved entrepreneurs, but it is imperative that tools and training are avail-able for business owners to understand how to be ready to crowdfund. The Honey-comb Credit team is excited

to partner with Bill and his team to help bridge that gap.”

Honeycomb Credit is a loan crowdfunding web-site that unlocks capital for small businesses from an unconventional and inno-vative source—their fans, friends, and community. Learn more about Honey-comb Credit at www.hon-eycombcredit.com/grow

Crowd-Max is a crowd-funding consultancy and publishing platform focused on providing culturally spe-cific information and solu-tions to help Black-owned businesses access capital directly from the crowd. Learn more at Crowd-Max.com.


Marketplace www.NorthDallasGazette.com

HAITI, from Page 8

Policy of Non-DiscriminationTempest Haven MinistriesInternational Incorporated

Tempest Haven Ministries Inter-national Incorporated of Eustace, Texas places emphasis on the dig-nity and worth of all people while the congregation values everyone. Employment, membership, and participation in any church activ-ity is open to all without regard to ethnicity, race, skin color, national origin, gender, age, disability or re-ligion.

of the quake’s fury.Scientists reportedly not-

ed that the quake possessed a seven-mile depth and residents 200 miles away in Jamaica felt the trembles.

The 7.2 magnitude topped the devastating 2010 quake in Haiti that measured 7.0.

Getting aid to Haiti is paramount.

World Central Kitchen in Northwest, D.C., plans to distribute 30,000 meals per day in the earthquake and storm-ravaged nation.

“With an increasing number of climate disas-

ters, we’re going to con-tinue to work hard and do everything that we can to support,” said Nate Mook, the CEO of World Central Kitchen.

Mook noted that JetBlue had provided an airplane to the nonprofit for the mis-sion.

World Central Kitchen uses locally sourced ingre-dients to make traditional Haitian dishes like chicken and vegetable stew over rice and beans in Haiti.

The organization plans to deliver meals to hospi-tals, emergency crews, and

families, Mook noted.The Red Cross also re-

sponded.The international organi-

zation has provided first aid and shelter and assistance with search and rescue op-erations.

“Preventing and con-trolling the transmission of COVID-19 and guar-anteeing access to water, hygiene and sanitation are essential for volunteers on the ground,” Red Cross of-ficials said in a statement.

The International Feder-ation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) sent 15 tons of essential goods to Haiti and more

than 37 tons of aid, includ-ing shelter tool kits, tarps, buckets, jerrycans, kitchen sets, blankets, personal protection equipment, and mosquito nets.

Officials activated a hu-manitarian corridor in the Dominican Republic and collected prepositioned non-food items (NFIs) for at least 4,500 people, the Red Cross stated.

“The United States re-mains a close and endur-ing friend to the people of Haiti, and we will be there in the aftermath of this tragedy,” President Biden declared.

Raising Cane’s celebrates 25-year milestone withhistoric $25 million in community support

BATON ROUGE, La. – It’s been 25 years since Todd Graves opened his very first Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. Since 1996, Cane’s has grown to nearly 600 Restaurants, served 2.5 billion Box Combos and provided $100 million in Community sup-port, and now, Graves is committed to giving back more than ever.

On Wednesday, Aug. 25, Graves formally announced that Raising Cane’s will support nonprofits, organi-zations, schools and more,

committing $25 million in Communities it serves from coast-to-coast over the next 12 months of Cane’s birth-day year. The pledge is part of the brand’s 25th birth-day celebration to show the company’s appreciation for “Caniacs” across the coun-try.

“From the early days of Cane’s, I’ve been grateful for our hardworking Crew, our loyal Customers and Communities that have sup-ported my dream,” Graves said. “Getting involved at the local level, especially

here in our home state, has been a huge part of who we are. What better way to cel-ebrate 25 years of business than to give back $25 mil-lion to the Communities we serve.”

Since 1996, Graves has grown Raising Cane’s from “The Mothership” – an old building he renovated in Baton Rouge – to a brand with nearly 600 restaurants and countless “Caniacs” from Los Angeles to Boston (and soon to be New York City). Along the way, Rais-ing Cane’s and its 38,000

Crewmembers have never lost sight of one of Graves’ primary pillars – to be ac-tively involved in the Com-munity.

Over its first 25 years, Raising Cane’s has donated more than $100 million to various organizations that support the brand’s “6 Ar-eas of Focus:” Education, Feeding the Hungry, Pet Welfare, Active Lifestyles, Business Development & Entrepreneurship and Ev-erything Else! For exam-ple, among countless other initiatives, Raising Cane’s

annual holiday fundraiser has sold more than 300,000 Plush Puppies – modeled after Cane’s’ faithful canine mascot – generating nearly $1 million in donations to local pet welfare organiza-tions. Community organiza-tions can submit a request at www.CanesAndCommu-nity.com.

Raising Cane’s is the #1 Fastest Growing Chicken Chain, according to Nation’s Restaurant News, and Mar-ket Force has ranked Cane’s top in the chicken category for six years. Glassdoor has

named Raising Cane’s to its “Top 100 Employers” and Graves to its “Top 100 CEOs” in the U.S. lists. In addition, Sandelman named Raising Cane’s as one of the Top Restaurant Brands in the U.S. for Overall Cus-tomer Satisfaction for 14 years in a row. Cane’s was voted by its Customers as the top fast-casual Restau-rant for Customer Safety during the pandemic and was most recently named as a Top Employer for Diversi-ty, Women and New Grads by Forbes.

Dallas company wins Golden Trowel Awards for Hall of State restoration and Old Parkland project

Dee Brown, Inc. (DBI) was recently awarded two Golden Trowel Awards by the Texas Masonry Council for stone projects completed in the Dallas area.

“It’s an honor to be recog-nized by our peers for these two projects,” said Rob Barnes III, DBI president & CEO. “We faced many dif-ficulties during the past 18 months, but DBI was able to safely complete outstanding work throughout the pan-demic.”

The Texas Masonry Council awarded DBI the 2021 Golden Trowel Award - Industrial & Commercial Projects for Freedom Place

at Old Parkland in Dallas. At 210 feet tall, the seven-story Freedom Place Building is full of thoughtful detailing, complexity, and symbolism, utilizing only the highest quality materials. Approxi-mately 330,000 wood-mold bricks were laid, along with 8,500 pieces of variegated Indiana limestone, which were fabricated using pieces ranging from 75 pounds to over 13,000 pounds. The project consisted of 60,000 cubic feet of finished lime-stone material, with 180 hand-carved stones.

In addition to the building facade, the project included several significant sitework

structures comprised of brick, granite, marble, and limestone. The custom ma-sonry products used were sourced from 12 states and three foreign countries.

DBI also received the 2021 Golden Trowel - Res-toration for the Texas Hall of State at Fair Park. Com-pleted in 1936 for the Texas Centennial, the Hall of State was showing its age. The white exterior of Texas Cor-dova Cream Limestone had become dingy and stained by years of exposure to pol-lution and mold. Parts of the exterior were cracked with some crumbling stone. DBI washed, restored and

patched the exterior as well as created new elements at their Garland fabrication plant to match the original stonework. The restoration took nearly a year to com-plete.

“Our expertise aligned perfectly with both of these projects,” said Barnes. “We have an experienced team who take great pride in building and restoring iconic buildings so future genera-tions can enjoy them. We recently completed work on several major projects and have several new projects we’re starting on. In fact, we’re looking to hire and train the next generation of

laborers and masons, and we’re always looking for experienced bricklayers and stone masons.”

Rob Barnes is a third-gen-eration leader in the family-owned business. He began his career in 1986, working on the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, as a non-skilled laborer. He received a Bachelor’s in Business Management from John Brown University in 1992, and his MBA from South-ern Methodist University in 2007.

Dee Brown was found-

ed in Dallas by C. Dewitt Brown, Jr. in 1955 and is a leader in the stone and ma-sonry industry, building and restoring iconic projects, including the American Air-lines Center; Nasher Sculp-ture Center; George W. Bush Presidential Center; Old Red Courthouse; The Getty Cen-ter in Los Angeles; Houston Museum of Natural Science; Dallas Country Club; Hunt Oil Headquarters; Tram-mel Crow Center; AT&T Stadium and many others. More info is available at deebrowncompanies.com


www.NorthDallasGazette.com Career Opportunity

See DOTTID, Page 15

On-goingU.S. Army

OpportunityThe United States Army

is hiring for over 150 differ-ent career fields.

PART TIME OPPOR-TUNITIES - 1 weekend a month, 2 weeks in the early summer. Stay local, Money for school, healthcare, paid drills and skill training, and up to $20,000 enlistment bonus.

FULL TIME OPPORTU-NITIES - Full time hours with off time and week-ends just like regular jobs. 30 days paid vacation per year. Money for school, free healthcare, paid skill training, and up to $40,000 enlistment bonus.

Jobs in science, intel-ligence, combat, aviation, engineering, law and more. Contact 214-406 - 3737

Prerequisites:• GED/High School Di-

ploma• Between the ages of 17-

34• No felonies• No major medical is-

sues• U.S. Citizen or perma-

nent resident

OngoingCensus Bureau

The Census Bureau con-ducts continuous surveys to supply the nation with im-portant statistics on people, places and our economy. Local field workers know their communities best, and are instrumental in conduct-ing surveys with residents on a variety of topics. Visit census.gov to apply.

OngoingCity of Dallas

The City of Dallas’ HR Dept is currently accept-ing apps for the Budget and Contract Administrator po-sition.

Bachelor’s degree in a business/public administra-tion, human resources or healthcare administration field, plus 7 yrs exp.

For more info and to apply, visit: http://bit.ly/2NcCfVP.

OngoingHouse of Blues

Want a cool job in live music? House of Blues Dallas is hiring! Spruce up your resume and join us on Monday, August 26th for a Job Fair in our Cambridge Room from 1-5PM. All de-partments are hiring. View job openings at http://liv-enationentertainment.com/careers.

On-goingFirst Fridays

Virtual Job FairEvery month computer

professionals can partici-pate in the monthly job fair in the comfort of your PJs. Job Seekers must complete profile on https://tao.ai/p/fff/_/dfw

#FirstFridayFair (#FFF) is estimated to be largest attended career fair with around 8,000 professionals and 500 recruiting com-panies. The data science and software development focussed career fair is de-livered right at your desk-top. No need to travel any-where, just signup and wait for TAO.ai to organize your interactions.

On-GoingCustomer Rep

job fairsPro Staff in Arlington

will be hosting an in office Customer Service Repre-sentative Job Fair for a call center located downtown Dallas every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 700 Highlander Blvd. Suite 110. The posi-tions pay between $12 - $13.50 per hour hour plus up to $1.50 an hour in per-formance pay. The work-days will vary, must be available 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with overtime as needed. Must have at least one year of customer service experi-ence.

NAN Chapter PresidentThe National Action Network is looking for a President for its upcoming Dallas chapter. This is a volunteer posi-tion that requires an activist heart and an interest in civil rights.The President:a. Presides at meetings and acts as Chairman/Chair-woman of the Executive Committee.b. Appoints all committees not directly elected by the Chapter.c. Between meetings of the Executive Committee and subject to the approval thereof, exercises executive au-thority on behalf of the Chapter.d. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.e. Shall work with other members of the Executive Com-mittee to develop a program agenda for a defined fiscal year.f. Acknowledges he/she is the primary force within the Chapter in establishing a working relationship and com-munication with the National and Regional Office(s); ensures that these offices receive all reports, including quarterly reports, and reports of elections.g. Is familiar with pertinent governing documents includ-ing: The NAN by-laws and Chapter rules.

Interested parties should contact Robert D. Bush, president of the Las Vegas Chapter, at (702) 626-0158.

Dallas-based Dottid unveils new office, retail, industrial leasing and asset management platform

Dottid, the commercial real estate (CRE) SaaS tech-nology platform for asset management and leasing transactions, announced today it has successfully launched a new User Inter-face and User Experience (UI/UX) offering stream-lined access to Dottid’s ser-vices, allowing office, re-tail and industrial property owners, brokers and tenants the ability to gain real time insights into occupancy, deal activity, upcoming lease expirations and vacant suites. Dottid’s platform – the most collaborative and

data rich environment – fa-cilitates both leasing and as-set management.

The company’s new UI/UX enables and promotes collaboration between users and third-party consumers, allowing privacy and per-missions customization, de-pending on the users’ role. Dottid’s collaborative tools promote teamwork and pro-vide the ability to generate joint-effort opportunities, tag users in comments, as-sign tasks and requests in real time. Dottid is the first and only platform in the field to provide this type of

user experience, with spe-cific tools and windows for industrial, retail and office properties and portfolios.

The new and enhanced UI/UX pays attention to the

BETHEL BIBLEFELLOWSHIP, CARROLLTON

(A NEW PLACE TO BELONG)

NOTICE: New You, Pas-tor Woodson serves the community by providing “Professional Therapy and Counseling Servic-es” on a “Sliding Fee” scale. To schedule an ap-pointment call the Pasto-ral Counseling Center at 972-526-4525 or email the church at www.bethelbi-blefellowship.org

Note: Until further no-tice, all services at Bethel church will be via Video-Conferencing and perhaps other churches as well; log on individual churches websites for details. See Bethel’s website www.bethelbiblefellowship.org-for their details because of the Coronavirus.

August 29, 9:45 am Please join us in our quiet time, “Prayer and Medita-

tion” followed by Morn-ing Worship. You will be blessed and inspired as we celebrate service to God, our community and all mankind.

You are invited to join us via video-conferencing for Prayer and Bible Study from 7 to 8:45 pm as we pray for the world’s Coro-navirus. In Wednesday’s Bible we are studying Cel-ebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster, Chapter 10. Dial in Phone # 346 248 7799, Meeting I.D. 256 518 4741.

Dr. Terrance Woodson, Senior Pastor 1944 E. Hebron Parkway Carrollton, TX 75007 972-492-4300 www.bethelbiblefellow-ship.org ______________________

FELLOWSHIPCHRISTIAN

CENTER CHURCHIN ALLEN

“THE SHIP” We are

Saving You a Seat!

Check “The Ship’s” web-site for details of their ser-vices until further notice because of the Coronavirus.

August 29,You are invited to join us in our Sunday Morning Services as we praise and worship God in the Joycie Turner Fellowship Hall, followed by our Worship Services; and bring some-one with you, you will be blessed. It’s for God’s glo-ry and honor.

September 1, 7 pm Join us in our Wednesday’s 12 Noon-Day Live, Prayer and Bible Study class and/or our Wednesday Night Live, Prayer and Bible Study at 7 p.m. to learn more about God’s Word. Be encouraged by God’s plan for your maturity and His glory; and most of all; be prepared to grow.

Dr. W. L. Stafford, Sr., Ed. D.Senior Pastor

2450 K Avenue #300 Plano, TX 75074 972-379-3287 www.theship3c.orgwww.visitF3c.org ______________________

INSPIRING BODY OF CHRIST CHURCH,

Let’s Go Fishing! MATTHEW 4:19

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there will not be room to receive.” - Malachi 3:8-10

Check “IBOC’s” website for details of their services until further notice because of the Coronavirus.

August 27, 7 pm All men are invited to Men’s Ministry meeting each Friday night at 8 pm, (IBOC promotes proactive male leadership.)

August 29, 10 a.m. Join us for our Morning Service; and don’t forget to invite family and friends to join us as we celebrate our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

August 30, 7 pm You are invited to Monday School to see what God has to say to us in His Holy Word.

Pastor Rickie Rush 7701 S Westmoreland Road Dallas, TX 75237 972-372-4262 www.Ibocchurch.org ______________________

SHILOH MBC IN PLANO

(WHERE COMMUNITY BECOMES FAMILY)

Connect to God through Shiloh, Grow in Christ through the study of the Word of God, Serve God through service to each other and the world.

Check “SMBC’s” website

for details of their services until further notice because of the coronavirus.

August 29, 8 and 11 am You are invited to our Wor-ship Services as we honor God for His goodness and faithfulness.

August 30, 7 to 8 pm Every Monday Night

Sister II Sister (Women’s Mission) in the Main Fel-lowship Hall and the Men II Men Bible Study in the Youth Church Sanctuary (Chapel).

September 1, 7 pm You’re invited to our Wednesday’s Bible Study class; you will learn what God has to say to us. Come and be encouraged by God’s plan for your spiri-tual growth and His glory.

Dr. Isaiah Joshua, Jr. Senior Pastor 920 E. 14th Street Plano, TX 75074 972-423-6695 www.smbcplano.org


Church Happenings www.NorthDallasGazette.com

And then there were fourDr. James L. Snyder

Over a year ago, I got out of bed, went to the kitchen for my morning cup of cof-fee and then I went to the back porch to see if I had any visitors.

I have foxes, possums, cats, and raccoons (who are politically correct and wear masks when they come). I put food out for them, and they help themselves. Ev-ery morning the food dish-es are empty and waiting to be filled.

It’s great at night to look out and see some of these critters coming in for their evening snack.

This morning, as I looked out, I saw a little kitty on the porch. I had no idea where this little kitty came from or how it got to our back porch.

I opened the door, stepped out, and the lit-tle kitty ran and hid. She thought she was hiding, but I could see exactly where she was So I left her alone and went and got some food

for her. I put it in the dish and stood there waiting for her to come over, instead, she sat there, looked at me, then looked at the dish and then looked back at me.

I knew what she was do-ing, and so I had to get out of the way so she could come and eat her breakfast.

I tried keeping this in-formation from my wife because she does not like animal pets. At least that’s what she says. According to her, all of these animals have fleas, and she hates fleas.

Trying to keep some-thing secret from her is way above my pay scale. She knows exactly what I’m thinking three days before actually thinking it. If I was smart, and I ain’t, I would have her pick the winning horse in the next horserace.

In time she became aware of my porch friend, and in no uncertain terms, she wanted it gone.

Contrary to her expec-tations, I kept feeding the little kitty, and like all lit-

tle kitties, it grew into an adult, and I noticed that the older she got, the more she attracted other cats. But, of course, at the time, I thought nothing of it and just kept feeding her and her friends as they came.

“We must,” my wife said most emphatically, “get rid of that little kitty because it can’t stay here.”

“Well,” I said as patiently as possible, “I’ll get rid of it when it’s old enough to leave.”

“When will that be?”I couldn’t tell her be-

cause I didn’t have an exit plan for the kitty.

A few months past and I noticed the little kitty was growing, and her belly seemed to be expanding. I just thought she was well fed.

It was my wife who no-ticed what was happening at the time.

“That kitty better not be pregnant,” my wife stated most alarmingly.

She looked at me and said, “Stop that smiling. I

can see it.”It was a very exciting day

for me to realize that my little kitty would have an-other little kitty. This meant we could not get rid of the little kitty until she had her little kitties.

In due time Miss Kitty had her little kittens. She had for, only one survived. That one was white and very cute.

“If you are going to keep it, it will have to be neu-tered. I will make the ar-rangements.”

When my wife makes arrangements, you can be sure those arrangements are made.

We had to wait until this little kitty had grown to the place where she could eat for itself. Then, finally, we found someone who want-ed the kitty and so we gave it to them.

The appointment for the neutering had been made.

I went along with it, after all, what else could I do.

Several days before the appointment, I looked at

Miss Kitty and noticed that her belly was expand-ing like before. Of course, I kept this as quiet as pos-sible, but you know how that works.

Looking out onto the porch, my wife said, “Oh, no, it can’t be so.”

Not knowing what she was talking about, I in-quired, and was informed she thought Miss Kitty was pregnant again.

After a few days of ob-servation, she concluded that she was pregnant. Then she had to call the neutering service and cancel the ap-pointment. You can’t neuter a pregnant kitty.

She looked at me with a sour grimace and said, “You better not be laugh-ing.”

I often laugh on the in-side and try to keep it from the outside. So I was, and I wasn’t going to tell her, very happy that we will have some more little kit-ties.

In due time she did have her kitties, and this time she

had four kitties, and all of them lived. It must be the same father because one of them was all white.

What we’re going to do with all those little kitties, I’m not quite sure. But I’m going to enjoy them while we have them.

As I was watching Miss Kitty nurse her little kitties, I thought of a Bible verse. “When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7).

Watching Miss Kitty and her little ones brought peace to me. I can forget what’s going on out in the world and concentrate on the peace right here with Miss Kitty and her little ones.

Dr. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, Ocala, FL 34472, where he lives with his wife. Call him at 352-216-3025 or e-mail [email protected]. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.

(This column was origi-nally published on Sept. 10, 2015.)

John paced up and down outside his cabin and asked, “Why did the Lord allow my wife to suffer so, to ap-proach death with no hope of a doctor’s help?

Perhaps they should nev-er have come to this lone-some jungle—with not a government outpost near.

Why did they come to Africa? But no! That was doubting God. He had sent them here, and He had blessed their work; souls had been saved, a church established. God wanted them here.

But why was God allow-

ing his wife to die? She couldn’t last the week out until the messenger would bring the doctor from the coast.

And, that strange request of hers, three ripe tomatoes. She thought they would help her, give her nourish-ment to sustain her until the doctor arrived.

As far as John knew, there weren’t three ripe tomatoes in all of Belgian Congo. There might be some canned tomatoes at their distant outpost, but ripe ones? They just did not grow tomatoes in this part of Africa.

John thought of praying for tomatoes, but consid-ered it unreasonable to ask God for the impossible.

Tomatoes couldn’t grow like the beanstalk in the old fairy tale even if he did have seeds, and he didn’t.

Steadily the tropical fe-ver was burning the very life from John’s wife. By

nightfall she was so weak she could not talk; lack of food had sapped her strength until she could only moan and whisper oc-casionally to her husband.

Only the prayers of the entire mission compound kept her alive through that night, alive to face another day of suffering—physical for her, mental for John.

As he leaned over her

bed in the morning, again he heard her whisper, “If-only-I-had-three rip toma-toes.”

In agony John heard that dying request—three ripe tomatoes. If only it were humanly possible to get them.

He would go to any ex-treme. He picked up his wife’s hot hand and gripped it compassionately in his.

As he stood looking down at his wife, a native servant appeared at the door and said there was a near-by tribeswoman out in front who wanted to see him.

Reluctantly John left his wife and stepped outside. He had never seen this woman before, yet her trib-al dress was familiar.

Questioning her, he found that his guess had been correct—a bush-woman from the tribe he had visited last month. But what was she doing here at this season of the year?

His question was an-swered. She had been sent to him for advice. Food was scarce this season, but she was afraid to eat this queer fruit she had grown from seeds left her by a white man. Were they all right to eat?

As John peered into the basket she carried, he al-

most cried for joy, these tomatoes came now in an-swer to his wife prayers and in rebuke to his doubts.

And not only that, but the bewildered Black woman said that she had more! She scurried to get them at the missionary’s plea.

John’s wife ate the to-matoes and lived until the doctor arrived with healing medicine, she lived for a successful ministry through the amazing appearance of three ripe tomatoes, that were planted, raised and ripened at the appropriate time by the hand of the all-wise God.

The seeds were sown long before—because someone prayed. The Black woman brought the tomatoes to the mission-ary—because someone prayed. --From Miracles and Melodies. Only God Can Do The Miraculous!


www.NorthDallasGazette.com Church Directory

Three ripe tomatoesSister

TarpleyNDG

ReligionEditor

DOTTID, from Page 13importance of data. Dot-tid’s platform provides us-ers with the ability to cap-ture and harness a range of information, making it not only visible and easy to ac-cess but actionable. While competitors focus on vis-ibility, Dottid is about go-ing further; taking data and focusing on what to do with it, weaving information and opportunity seamlessly into the platform. Dottid has now been implemented in tens of millions of square feet of office and industrial properties nationwide.

“We are incredibly ex-cited to roll out the en-hanced version of Dottid’s new UI/UX design,” said Dottid CEO and Founder Kyle Waldrep. “Dottid is putting clients’ needs front and center and offering them a smoother, easier way to manage their assets. The new design provides a unique space to come to-gether in an easy-to-manage environment, rich with visu-al tools to track every square foot and transaction from

vacancy to offering, tour to deal signing, and build-out to move-in. This is just the beginning as we continue to expand product offerings, the Dottid way – simple, smart, and effective.”

Dottid was introduced in January of 2020, with a unique, custom platform that was developed based on four years of input from CRE leasing and asset management profession-als to offer an exceptional user experience and design simplicity. It is the first and only platform to track every moment of a leasing trans-action – from managing inventory of space through offering, negotiation, ten-ant improvements, and oc-cupancy. Dottid Industrial, a custom extension of the original Dottid offering, was introduced in 2021 and designed with new feature sets to bring all parties to-gether and drive business value for a high performing and often tech underserved asset class.

“My experience with

Dottid has been phenom-enal, with nothing but posi-tive feedback from outside brokers as well,” said Mark De La Torre, vice president of Holt Lunsford Commer-cial Investments (HLCI), a Dallas-based commercial real estate company that acquires and develops in-dustrial and office build-ings. “Deal flow efficiency and collaboration are key in commercial real estate transactions. Dottid pro-vides a platform where I can access all of my leasing info and related documents in one location, increasing productivity, and creating a place where different teams can come together and col-laborate to move deals for-ward.”

“It’s exciting to see cus-tomers interacting with a technology that confirms the immediate benefits of a platform built specifically to facilitate deal-making, track all details both pre-lease and post-lease, and provide needed transparency and vertical integration for real estate teams,” added Dot-tid Chief Product Officer

Alex Hibbard. “Our team has brought tremendous attention to detail, offer-ing a visual experience that stands out, prioritizing ease of use and efficiency. Dottid simply can solve everyday problems for owners, asset managers, brokers, and all parties pertinent to a trans-action.”


NDG Bookshelf www.NorthDallasGazette.com

Terr

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HOUSE, from Page 5

NDG Book Review: Essays by Black Authors by various writersBy Terri Schlichenmeyer

Whaddaya think?Surely, you’ve got opin-

ions; everyone does these days. You have ideas about this and that, you’ve given things a lot of consideration, and you know how you feel. It’s nice to have your mind made up. Now you can move on and maybe, with these great books, you can see what others think, too...

If it seems that pop cul-ture dominates our lives these days, well, you’re right. Author Nichole Per-kins agrees, and in her book “Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be”

(Grand Central Publishing, $17.99), she writes about how the internet, wealth, TV, racism, misogyny, health issues, and beauty standards for Black women have affected her in the new millennium. That might sound like a serious rant,

but it’s not... not entirely; Perkins shares her thoughts on a few somber topics but even on those pages, she’s sharp, relatable, and witty, giving readers plenty to dis-cuss and plenty of reasons to nod their heads in agree-ment.

No doubt, you’ve got lots to say about racial issues in 2021, so how about another point of view? Read “Don’t Let It Get You Down: Es-says on Race, Gender, and the Body” by Savala No-lan (Simon & Schuster, $26.00).

As the child of a Black and Mexican father and a white mother, Nolan knows

what it’s like to live a life that’s not: not Black and not White, not wealthy and not exactly poor. She knows what it’s like to grapple with body image issues, financial insecurity, and with racial myths. She’s well aware of what society – both Black and white – expects from Black women in their feel-ings and their appearances. She writes of motherhood and how racism affects it from the moment a child is born. And she writes about her own history, and her white ancestors who en-slaved the Black ancestors in her family. Savor these essays. Discuss.

And finally, you can learn a lot about what someone’s thinking from the stories they tell. Remember that as you’re reading “Give My Love to the Savages: Sto-ries” by Chris Stuck (Amis-tad, $24.99).

Life as a Black man in America is really some-thing: you might be called by a racial slur one minute, and find yourself on the creepy end of too much at-tention from a white woman in another. You try to live your life, not bothering any-body, but somebody’s inev-itably bothered. You stay in your own lane until some-one (or something) hits you

head-on. You wonder why white people do the things they do – but one day, you might find yourself doing them, too.

Family, masculinity, love, and getting by in American society, those are just some of the plots in these tales. They’ll give you some-thing to think about, and to chuckle about.

If these essays don’t quite fit what your head and heart want, be sure to reach out to your favorite librarian or bookseller. They have plen-ty of other books available, and they’ll help you find the essays and stories you need to know whaddaya think?

tino origin grew 4.3% since 2010.

Even with this important data, it is important to note that attacks on the veracity of the 2020 census was also assaulted. The previous ad-ministration injected blatant partisan goals, according to a recent New York Times news analysis. Four politi-cal appointees were added to the Bureau’s senior ranks to ensure that a requested immigrant-only count would be completed sepa-rately and then forwarded to the former president.

Speaking to the poten-tial lasting effects of these and other partisan assaults on the census process John Abowd, the Census Bureau’s Chief Scientist warned in the news analy-sis, “the highest priority now is restoring the cred-ibility of the 2020 census and the Census Bureau.”

While the Census Bu-reau, Justice Department, and other federal agencies strive to return to their re-spective missions, these census results will also af-fect how elected officials are chosen in Congress and in state legislatures across the country.

Census data is the factual basis for redistricting that adjusts boundaries for pop-ulation shifts that occurred over the past 10 years. How many seats each state has in the U.S. House of Repre-sentatives is reapportioned to ensure equal representa-

tion. Today, each of the 435 House districts represents about 700,000 people. By contrast, each state is re-sponsible for using accurate population counts – again relying on the decennial census – to achieve elec-toral equity.

But if the counts are rigged by brazen partisan schemes, the goal of equal representation is lost. When voter suppression efforts take hold as well, the votes of marginalized communi-ties are even farther from the long-standing legal standard of ‘one person, one vote’.

“Perhaps more than in any other year in recent his-tory, elected officials and political operatives were direct about their intentions to shrink the electorate in 2020, at times with explicit or thinly-veiled references to race,” testified Wendy Weiser, the Brennan Center for Justice’s Vice President for Democracy, on August 16 before the House Ju-diciary Committee’s Sub-committee on the Constitu-tion, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

“While to date no state has adopted an adult citi-zen redistricting base, these findings are relevant to Congress’s inquiry because there is an ongoing effort to adopt such a change, including in states that were previously subject to preclearance and would likely be covered under the

VRAA [Voting Rights Ad-vancement Act],” Weiser continued. “This change is being pursued with the express knowledge that its principal impact would be to disadvantage communi-ties and voters of color.”

Recent research by the Brennan Center found that this year, 49 states intro-duced bills to restrict vot-ing access from January 1 to July 14. Additionally, 18 states have now enacted 30 laws to restrict voting ac-cess.

Samuel Spital, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF)’s Director of Litigation, also testified at the August hearing and spoke to the ills encoun-tered in the 2020 election, as well as what many of these practices will bode for 2022 and beyond.

“The 2020 election did not, as numerous news reports suggested, “go smoothly,” testified Spital. “The celebrated turnout and registration rates among Black voters in Novem-ber 2020 occurred despite a litany of obstacles, and only because of the Hercu-lean efforts by civil-rights groups, organizers, and ac-tivists—and because of the sheer determination and re-silience of Black voters.

Continuing, Spital added, “This model is not sustain-able. Nor is it lawful. Black voters’ ability to overcome unequal burdens does not diminish the fact that those burdens exist. Nor does our Constitution countenance

two systems of voting in this country—one in which Black and other marginal-ized voters require an inde-pendent, non-governmental apparatus to exercise the fundamental right to vote while white voters do not…. A number of States witnessed unprecedented attempts to discount bal-lots cast in areas with large numbers of Black voters.”

“The 2020 election—and the wave of racially targeted voter suppression measures enacted and proposed by states since then—highlight the need for new federal legislation to prevent voter suppression at all stages of the electoral process: from registration, to turnout, to the counting and canvass-ing of ballots,” testified Spital.

The urgency for new vot-ing rights legislation was also the focus of an August 15 Washington Post guest op-ed co-authored by two long-standing progres-sive leaders: John Podesta, founder and chair of the board of directors for the Center for American Prog-ress, and Wade Henderson, interim president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Henderson, who also testified before the House subcommittee, is a long-time board member of the Center for Responsible Lending. Together the two leaders articulated the real-life consequences of voter suppression and the archaic Senate filibuster rule.

“Try explaining to a Black grandmother raised under Jim Crow why it takes only 50 votes in the Senate to stack the Supreme Court with justices who are undermining her voting rights, but 60 votes to pass a bill protecting them,” wrote Podesta and Hender-son. “Or better yet, ask her to tell you about her life 60 years ago, and how the law was used to keep her from accessing education, jobs and the ballot box.”

“Some measures have sought to criminalize giv-ing water to people wait-ing in long voting lines, disproportionately found in Black communities; oth-ers have attempted to bar early voting on Sundays, a transparent effort to stop Black voters from going to the polls after church, ” the advocates continued.

“[E]ven as the filibuster’s use has expanded, its ap-plication has been arbitrary, applying to some matters but not others and undergo-ing multiple changes over the past century,” the lead-ers continued.” It should not go unnoticed that many of the biggest priorities of the right — such as tax cuts for the wealthy and stack-ing the Supreme Court with conservative justices — were achieved by carving out exceptions to the fili-buster.”

As the late Black play-wright August Wilson wrote in his Pulitzer Prize win-ning drama, Fences, some are erected to keep things

out, while others are intend-ed to protect things within. There can be no doubt that America’s tsunami of voter suppression laws is intend-ed to keep Black America and other communities of color out of voting.

At the same time, it is equally clear that the lega-cies of those who fought, bled, and died for the right to vote will not be betrayed.

“It was the result of the tremendous sacrifice of those beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, including the late Congressman John Lewis, the martyrdom of Medgar Evers, Jimmie Lee Jackson, Viola Gregg Li-uzzo, Andrew Goodman, James Cheney, Michael Schwerner, and so many others, which proved cru-cial in ensuring the federal government take seriously its duty to enforce the right to the franchise,” testified LDF’s Spital.

“It is that same heroism of the average American to speak out, protest and de-mand change when faced with injustice, that we see again today in the calls for federal legislation to protect the right to vote.” He added. “It is the obligation of this generation of lawmakers to respond to these calls and ensure that the hard-won gains of the past are not lost.”

Let the Church say, “Amen”!

Charlene Crowell can be reached at [email protected].

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