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INSIDEVol. 43 No. 38 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: vil3202@aol.com February 5, 2016

RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’Tommy WyattTommy WyattTommy WyattTommy WyattTommy Wyatt

www.TheAustinVillager.com

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Delta Beta Recognizes CommunityLeaders with Hearts of Gold

Pastor DeChardFreeman

Excellence in Religion

Dr. Shalonda HortonExcellence in Medicine

Ms. Mattie RobinsonExcellence in fine Arts

Mrs. Vanessa SilasExcellence in

Community Service

Dr. Jeanne M. SpencerExcellence in Education

AUSTIN, TX - Can-vassing the Greater Austincommunity for visionarieswith hearts of gold andwilling, working hands,the members of DeltaBeta Chapter, NationalSorority of Phi DeltaKappa, Inc. announce the2016 Honorees: ReverendDeChard Freeman- Reli-gion; Dr. Shalonda Horton–Medicine; Ms. MattieRobinson – Fine Arts; Mrs.Vanessa Silas- CommunityService and Dr. JeanneSpencer- Education.These five outstandingcitizens, who have con-tributed greatly to ourcommunity, will be recog-nized at the 16th BiennialBanquet, to be held onSaturday, February 13,2016 at the Holiday InnAustin -Midtown, 6000

Middle Fiskville Rd. Austin,TX.

The National Sororityof Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., anorganization of exemplaryeducators, is paying trib-ute to honorees who haveserved as role models forour young people, ex-tended a helping hand totheir fellow man and liftedSee LEADERS, page 3

by Naomi Richard | The Austin Villager Newspaper

Unlike the Oscars®, Diversity Not an Issueat the 2016 Screen Actor Guild Awards®

Idris Elba backstage at the SAG Awards afterreceiving two Actors. Photo by Richard Nichols.

The 22nd AnnualScreen Actor GuildAwards® held January 30at the Los Angeles ShrineExposition Center, wasfilled with nominees, win-ners and program partici-pants reflecting the richcomposition of our com-munities. Diversity wasnot an issue!

Idris Elba won Out-standing Performance bya Male Actor in a Support-ing Role for “BEASTS OFNO NATION” and Out-standing Performance bya Male Actor in a Televi-sion Movie or Miniseriesfor “LUTHER.” Addition-ally, Elba made history bybecoming the first actorto win in 2 categories forindividual performancesin the same year.

Queen Latifah wonOutstanding Performanceby a Female Actor in aTelevision Movie orMiniseries for “BESSIE.”

Viola Davis tookhome Outstanding Perfor-mance by a Female Actor

Pictured left is "How to Get Away with Murder" actress ViolaDavis appears in a Zac Posen design at the 22nd Annual ScreenActor Guild Awards® on January 30. Photo by Naomi Richard. Atright, Queen Latifah steps on the red carpet wearing a very attrac-tive gown by Michael Costello at the 22nd Annual Screen ActorGuild Awards® on January 30. Photo by Naomi Richard.

in a Drama Series for“HOW TO GET AWAY WITHMURDER.”

“ORANGE IS THENEW BLACK” cast memberUzo Aduba won Outstand-ing Performance by a Fe-male Actor in a ComedySeries.

I had the honor of in-terviewing the SAGAwards® Executive Pro-ducer, Kathy Connell.

When asked about her ap-proach to the 2016 AwardShow, she had this to say,“Our job is to stay out ofthe way. It’s all about theactors and we don’t evenhave a host. I am here tosupport the actors. Theseawards come from theirpeers, people who under-stand their craft. My job isto create the best partywhere everyone can havefun.”

In the midst of all theracial tension surrounding

the 2016 AcademyAwards, I praised the SAGAwards® for their diversityand for the inclusion ofparticipants who reflectour society. Connell smiledand shared, “We repre-sent the America scene.It’s who we are. We have116,741 members in theUS and Canada from allareas of life!”

As a fully creden-tialed member of the me-dia team covering theScreen Actor Guild

Awards®, The Austin Vil-lager observed diversitynot only with the televisedprogram participants, butwe also found representa-tion from diverse groupsamong the SAG-AFTRAstaff, contractors, spon-sors and media outlets al-lowed to cover the presti-gious affair.

We applaud the SAGAwards® for their long-standing commitment toinclusion from all areas ofour “America scene.”

Carol Burnettbackstage at the SAG

Awards after receivingthe Lifetime

Achievement Award.Photo by Richard Nichols.

HT garners nationalattention with

excelling pilot study.See HIPHOP

Page 2

Public educationadvocate takes

Austin by storm.See RACE

Page 5

Rep. Wassermanhonors champions

of justice.See HISTORY

Page 7

What is thePoliticalCaucus?

As the Presidentialcandidates spent a lot of timein Iowa, we heard a lot of talkabout voters attending thecaucus in their precinct.Many were wondering whythere was so much interest inthis part of the electoralprocess. That is a very goodquestion. While many candidates tryto encourage everyone to vote,you hear very little talk aboutthe caucus. The reason for theinterest in the caucus is that itis where all of the delegates tothe county, state, and nationalconvention are chosen. Thosedelegates do this process inorder to become a votingdelegate at the nationalconvention of each party, wherethe candidates for each partyare finally selected. Thedelegates at the nationalconvention decide who will bethe candidate for Presidentfrom that party. The caucus is held onElection Day immediately afterthe polls close. You must votein the election in order to beeligible to become a delegateto the county convention. Eachvoter will sign in under thename of the person that theysupport for president. And eachgroup meets to decide thepersons that they will sendforward to the countyconvention. The process is thesame for the State caucus wherethe delegates will be elected togo and vote at the NationalConvention. So, on electionday, your job is more involvedthan just casting your ballot. Ifyou want to have a greater rollin the political process, thendecide that you want to becomea delegate to the upcomingconvention. If you do not makedelegate, you could become analternate. You are then eligibleto step-in should one of thedelegates become unable toperform that duty. The votescast on election day is for thepurpose of telling yourdelegates your choice forpresident. You will cast yourvote for that person at eachlevel. There is still time to geteducated on the whole process.The time to get started is now.Vote and the choice is

yours!Don’t vote and the

choice is theirs!

CelebrateBlack

HistoryMonth

Celebrate Black History Month

Page 2 ~ THE VILLAGER/February 5, 2016 THE COMMUNIQUÉ www.theaustinvillager.com

Huston-Tillotson University Faculty Awarded aGrant that Connects Composition and Hip Hop

AUSTIN, TEXAS -Huston-Tillotson Univer-sity Professor ShawandaStewart and Dr. BrianStone have been awardeda highly competitive re-search grant ($5,600) bythe Research Initiative ofthe National Council ofTeachers of English/Col-lege Conference on Com-position and Communica-tion (NCTE/CCCC) for theirproject, “Critical Hip-HopRhetoric Pedagogy andFreshman Composition atan Historically Black Uni-versity: A Pilot Study.”Since 1949, the Confer-ence on College Composi-tion and Communication

Shawanda Stewart Brian Stone

(CCCC) has been theworld’s largest profes-sional organization for re-searching and teachingcomposition, from writingto new media. Professors

Stewart and Stone will gar-ner national attentionwhen they present theirresearch at the upcomingApril NCTE/CCCC meetingin Houston.

HowMany

FebruarysWill It

Take forAmericato Believe

BlackChildrenAre theFuture,

Too?By

Ikhlas Saleem

Ikhlas SaleemIkhlas Saleem

In 1986 WhitneyHouston covered theGeorge Benson hit, TheGreatest Love of All, whichhe originally recorded for afilm biography ofMuhammad Ali. StephenHolden of The New YorkTimes wrote that Houston’scover gave the “message ofself-worth an astoundingresonance andconviction…a compellingassertion of black pride,family loyalty and spiritualdevotion, all at once.”

My grade-school

friend, YasmineMuhammad, who wasblessed with the talent—and in this case burden—ofa great singing voice, wasrequested to sing this songat every awards ceremony,academic gathering andsometimes basketballgames because, why not.

I didn’t know it thenbut what an incrediblemessage to continuouslyimpart upon children—par-ticularly children that wereand are descendants ofslaves, carrying almost

400 years of baggage of adignity lost and a futurealmost impossible todream.

So now in 2016, I canreflect and celebrate myancestors that carried theburden of a back breakin’,cotton-pickin’ South, whilespending their nights inhope of freedom trying tomake sense of a languagethat was not their own,while being reminded thattheir futures lie in nothingbut death or labor of theAmerican South.

Nate Bowling hassaid it before and I’ll sayit again, while the fate ofblack children lies outsideof plantation fields,America isn’t quite readyto believe or concede thatblack children are the fu-ture. Instead there’s the

exception. There’s the,“Jahmal, despite his cir-cumstances, who hasmanaged to exceed ex-pectations.” There’s also,“Keisha who displays in-credible potential.” And ofcourse there a couple ofkids from 90220 and10027 that “made it.”

You see, it’s mucheasier to find exceptionsrather than tending to thewhole lot.

The fact is we’re notteaching children well andblack children are amongthe groups that suffer most.

We’re not making iteasy when we lower stan-dards for students andteachers. We’re not mak-ing it easier when welessen measures of ac-countability for our low-est-performing schools.

And we’re not making iteasier when we restrictschool enrollment to ablock-radius.

What we are doing islimiting students’ ability toshow us all the beautythey possess inside.

Pride is lost when ahigh school student can bethrown from her desk andarrested in front of herclassmates. Pride is lostwhen disciplinary action ismet with a school-to-prisonpipeline. Pride is lost whenyou graduate high schoolonly to take remedialcourses at your local com-munity college becauseyour diploma is worthless.

I believe children arethe future, but America hasto believe that black chil-dren are part of that future,too.

St. Peter’s United Methodist Church 4509 Springdale Road Austin, Tx 78723Office 512- 926-1686 Fax 512-929-7281

Christian Web Site-stpetersaustintx.ning.com

stpetersaustintx@att.netTHE PLACE WHERE WE STEP OUT ON FAITH.

COME AND STEP OUT ON FAITH WITH USSunday School 8:45 a.m.

Praise and Worship 10:15 a.m.Wednesday Bible Study 12:00 p.m.

and Praise /Bible Study 6:30 p.m.(to include Children’s Choir Rehersaland

Bible Study with age appropiate Activities)Rev. Jack C. Gause Pastor

Agape Baptist ChurchIn “The Centre” Bldg. F-15 7801 N. Lamar Blvd. (SE Corner of N Lamar and 183)

AGAPE is a chuch for all people. “Where Jesus Christ is Magnified and the love Heexhibited is Exemplified.” Come, receive God’s unconditional lovefor you.

For there is no greater love!

Church ServicesSunday School 9:30 AMSunday Worship 11:00 AM

Mid-Week Service Thursday: Praise,Prayer and Bible Study 7:00 PMCall 454-1547 for Transporation

Website www.agapebcaustintx.comRev. H. Ed Calahan

Pastor

Imani Community ChurchDavis Elementray Auditorium 5214 West Duval Road

Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Worship Service 10:00 A.M.•Power Hour Bible Life Group 6:00 P.M.

Imani Complex & Office,11800 Mustang at Duval Austin, Texas 78727

Visit:imanichurch.comOffice: 512-343-9300Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Donald-Mims

7801 N. Lamar Blvd,Suite D 102,

Austin, Texas 78752

Worship: Sunday--10:00 am - 12:30 pm

Tuesday Bible Studies--7:30pm - 9:00 pmFriday Prayers--7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

The Church of Pentecost, USA Inc,Austin offers a wide variety of opportuni-ties for children, youth, adults, and olderadults to be involved in worship, spiritualgrowth, education, community outreach,and making a tangible difference to thosein need in our community. You too, canmake a positive difference in our commu-nity through your prayers, your presence,your gifts, your service, and your witness.Tel: 512 302-1270

Leading People to Experience God’s Love, Know Jesus Christ & Grow in His ImageThe Church of Pentecost

Olive Branch Fellowship of Austin / All Faith Chapel4110 Guadalupe St Bldg #639 Austin, TX 78751

Sunday MorningWorship @ 11: am

Romans 5:1 Therefore,having beenjustified by faith, we have peace

with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

This life, therefore, is not righteous-ness, but growth in righteousness; not health,but healing; not being, but becoming; not rest,but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be,but we are growing toward it. The process isnot yet finished, but it is going on. This is notthe end, but it is the road. All does not yetgleam in glory, but all is being purified.

--- Martin Luther

Kenneth Hill, Pastor

1179 San Bernard Street,Austin, TX 78702, 512-478-7023

Sunday Morning Bible Study, 9:00 A.M.Sunday Morning Worship, 10:15 A.M.Visit our website @ www.obcaus.org

Globalizing the Gospel

A Ministry That Ministers

Edward M. Fleming,Sr. Pastor

OLIVET BAPTISTCHURCH

Felix Bamirin, PastorGRACEWAY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Experience Grace For Life

(By Parmer Lane Baptist Church building, behind Wells Fargo)

Call: 682.472.9073 l Email: gracewayaustin@aol.com lVisit: www.gracewaycca.org

JOIN US This SUNDAY / THURSDAY@ 12424 Scofield Farms Drive, Austin, TX 78758

SUNDAYS 10:30 A.M., THURSDAYS 7:30 P.M.

Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church 5900 Cameron Road Austin, Texas 78723-1843

(512) 451-0808 (512) 302-4575 Fax Web Site - www.themount.net

WORSHIP SERVICESSunday Worship - 7:45 a.m. & 11 a.m.Church School - 9:45 a.m.Bible Studies - Mon, 6:30 p.m. & Wed., 12 noonWednesday Night Worship - 7 p.m.

“Ministries For Mankind” Luke 4:18 A.W.. Anthony Mays, Senior Pastor

Ebenezer Baptist Church1010 East 10th Street 512-478-1875 Fax 512-478-1892

WednesdayMidweek Prayer Service 7:00 P.M.Child Development CenterAges 0-5 years (Daily) 512-478-6709

Bus Ministry Call 512-478-1875

Worship Service 8:00 A.M.Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Discipleship Training 10:00 A.M.Worship Service 11:00 A.M.

Dr. Ricky Freeman,Pastor

Sunday Services

Do you have church news? Would you like topurchase a monthly ad for your church?

Inquire TODAY!Send your information to vil3202@aol.com

or call 512-476-0082

ProphetessStephanie N’ChoAssociate Pastor

469-226-4679 | www.vainqueurs.org805 S. Sherman St. Richardson, TX 75081

La Génération des VainqueursMinistry Church

Tuesday - Friday: 3pm -10pmWalking and Appointment

Wednesday Bible Study | 7:45pmFriday Prayer |7:45pm

Sunday Service | 10:00am

Villager Youth Brigade will be taking sponsorshipsstarting summer of 2015.Your support has beenmuch appreciated over the years. Please continueto invest in Austin’s youth. We look forward toanother successful year with some promisingstudents. FMI Call 512-476-0082

DAVID CHAPEL Missionary Baptist ChurchSUNDAY | Christian Education 9:15a.m.Worship 10:30 a.m. (MLK)Nursery AvailableTUESDAY | TNT Bible Study(Pflugerville) 6:45p.m.WEDNESDAY | Prayer & Praise 7:00p.m.Bible Study 7:30p.m.

Dr. Joseph C. Parker, Jr.Senior Pastor

512-472-9748 www.davidchapel.org2211 E.MLK @ Chestnut St. Austin, TX 78702

DOUBLE

GROCERY“R”

450l East Martin Luther King Blvd.*We cash ALL Tax Refund*Checks *Check Out

Country Boyz Fixin’s4140 E. 12th Street, Austin, TX 78721

Featuring Fish, Poboys, Hot Wings, Pork Chops,Homemade Gumbo, Shrimp and Alligator

DINE IN OR ORDER TO GOMon - Friday 11 am - 8 p.m.Saturday - 12 noon - 8 p.m.

Closed SundayCall (512) 928-5555

*Mention this ad and get a FREE 20 oz. Drink*

www.theaustinvillager.com THE BULLETIN THE VILLAGER/February 5, 2016 ~ Page 3

We Want YOU!Advertise With

TheVILLAGER

In Loving MemoryHappy 55th Birthday

Gomillion Franklin ByarsSunrise 2-7-1961 ~ Sunset 2-24-2002

Don’t look for me at the Cemetery Gates, for I havepassed through Heaven’s Gates, the hand of the Lordhas guided me through. As it will now lovingly guideyou, I made my way home peacefully, so be happy forme. I no longer know the pain of living, in passing I wasall forgiving, I am at peace and gentle rest. To move intime, do your best, I watch over you now, I always didsomehow. Love me now as you did then and worry notabout being forgiven. When you need me, I will be thereto take care of one another, to love each other. I will belooking after you, keep well my memory, live on and behappy. I go in grace to God’s embrace.

I felt your presence when you came through thecemetery gates. I will always love you and watch overyou. Our friendship will always be there. Laura Brown

Love always, your family, friends.

Gomillion Franklin Byars with his sister,Patra Ethel Cokley

St. Peter’s UMCSponsors Benefit Musical

The public is invitedto support the St. Peter’sUnited Methodist ChurchFamily in their “Caring andSharing God’s Love for JackCummings Benefit Musi-cal” scheduled for Satur-day, February 13, 2016 at6:30 p.m. Jack Cummingswas diagnosed with stage4 lung cancer in January2015 and in spite of thelong battle, he and hisfamily remained strong intheir faith, knowing Godwas still the ultimatemiracle worker.

Jack served as the

Jack Cummings

drummer/bass guitarist atSt. Peter’s UMC for overthirty years and had alsobeen instrumental in Bibleand inspirational/motiva-tional presentations. Hewas also a thirty-plusmember of the FaithfulGospel Singers and sharedhis gift of music whereverand whenever he could.

We honor our friendand brother-in-Christ, JackCummings, who passedaway Sunday morning,January 31, 2016 and wesurround his wife, Char-lotte, and family with ourlove and support duringthis challenging season oftheir lives. A gofund.me/jackcummings link hasbeen set up for the conve-nience of all desiring toreach out and lend a help-ing hand during this chal-lenging time for the fam-ily.

St. Peter ’s UnitedMethodist Church is lo-cated at 4509 SpringdaleRoad, Austin, Texas 78723.(512 – 926-1686). CherylMcWilliams and Edna C.Hunter are the programcoordinators and Rev. Dr.Jack C. Gause is the pastor.

the spirits of many.Dr. Shalonda Estelle

Brazzell- Horton will behonored in the field ofmedicine. Holding a Doc-torate in Nursing from theUniversity of Texas at Aus-tin, she is currently an As-sistant Professor in ClinicalNursing at the Universityof Texas at Austin. She is amentor of African Ameri-can nursing students andother youth.

Reverend DeChardI.H.M. Freeman will behonored for his work inthe field of religion. He isthe Founder and SeniorPastor of Abundant LifeCommunity BaptistChurch. Equipped with aMasters of Divinity Degreefrom Austin PresbyterianTheological Seminary andthe anointing of God, he isan accomplished evange-list. Affectionately knownas “Pastor Free,” he is alsoa recording artist andscreen writer for “Love-

GOLDEN LEADERS OF THEAUSTIN COMMUNITYCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

less,” the Ministry movie.Ms. Mattie Reese

Boykin- Robinson, pianistextraordinaire, will be hon-ored for her stellar work inthe field of fine arts. Raisedand rooted in the Word ofGod by her adopted par-ents, Ms. Robinson wasmentored by Mrs. VirgieCarrington DeWitty inchurch music. Perfectingher skills at Baylor Univer-sity School of Music, Ms.Robinson now serves asMinister of Music at GrantAME Worship Center andMusic Director of SpectrumTheatre Company

Mrs. Vanessa KoferSilas will be honored forher outstanding work incommunity service. Usingher Business Managementeducation from St.Edwards University, Mrs.Silas has served as GeneralManager of the Millen-nium Youth EntertainmentComplex for the past 17years. She is a George

Washington Carver Mu-seum Ambassador and theBoard Chair of AthletesServices NetworkAmerica.

Dr. Jeanne Mont-gomery Spencer will behonored for her dedi-cated, exemplary work inthe field of education.Holding a Doctorate ofEducation degree fromAuburn University, Au-burn, Alabama, her careerincludes Adjunct Professorat Concordia Universityand Texas State Universityand Associate Professor atHuston-Tillotson Univer-sity. Within Austin ISD, Dr.Spencer has served as Ad-ministrative Supervisor ofMiddle Schools, Adminis-trative Supervisor of theDepartment of SpecialEducation and Principal ofJames E. Pearce MiddleSchool.

The National Sororityof Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. isa professional non-profit

organization comprised offemale educators dedi-cated to the task of edu-cating the youth ofAmerica. Founded in1923, in a very segregatedsociety, this group of eightcourageous African Ameri-can teachers has ex-panded to more than 120chapters and 3000 mem-bers in 29 states. The lo-cal award winning chapter,Delta Beta, is led by Presi-dent Crystal Jones. Mem-bership includes both ac-tive and retired educatorswho work tirelessly withthe two youth groups fos-tering excellence in aca-demics and excellence in alife of service. The “Edu-cation: Heart of the Fu-ture” Banquet will be anevening of fine dining, fel-lowship and fancy foot-work on the dance floor.Please contact CarolynWilson at (512) 928-0798for additional informationand tickets.

Page 4 ~ THE VILLAGER/February 5, 2016 YOUTH BRIGADE www.theaustinvillager.com

Youth of TodayHope of Tomorrow

Sarah RobertsonAthlos Leadership Acad.

Martin Luther King Day

Monday January18th, was Martin LutherKing Jr day. At time wecelebrate Martin LutherKing Jr. because he is oneof the great leaders in theAfrican American civilrights movement. MartinLuther King Jr. was a greatman who accomplishedmany things in life like: the

Montgomery bus boycottand helped founded theSouthern Christian Leader-ship Conference (SCLC).

There are manythings that Martin LutherKing did but he is most fa-mous for leading theMarch from Selma toMontgomery and the “IHave a Dream” speech. Healso won many awards likethe Noble Peace Prize,Presidential Medal ofFreedom, and the Con-gressional Gold Medal.Martin Luther King daywas established as a holi-day in many cities andstates in 1971 as a federalholiday. We take MLK dayto celebrate and remem-ber the Legacy of Dr. Kingand all the many things hedone for the AfricanAmericans community butfor America as a whole.

At O Henry MiddleSchool we are starting aRead-A-Thon. The Read-A-Thon is supported byBookSpring, an organiza-tion which helps children

Averill ToppsO. Henry Middle School

get books that will lastthem a lifetime. Almost allof the money goes tobooks for children inAmerican who need them.

So far I have read over2,000 pages and about 9hours read in total. Theway the process works isyou pledge a certainamount of money for eachpage or minute I read -however much youpledged is how much youdonate.

That's all for todayyou guys, see you nexttime. Go O Henry Mus-tangs

Interviewing Sanya Richards

Mrs. Sanya Richards-Ross is Jamaican - Ameri-can track and field athlete.She won the gold in the2012 Olympics and a goldin 2008 Olympics! Her andher husband, Aaron, willbe hosting the 2016 BlackExcellence Tribute Febru-ary 5th. I had theoppurtunity to interviewher. My questions were:

What sport wouldyou shine in if you weren'tdoing track? “Basketballbecause I’m fast and canjump high.”

Have you ever expe-rienced bullying, whenand how did you handle it?

SaNaya WhiteAnn Richards

“Yes, I was bullied as achild, mostly because Iwas really tall and reallyskinny. Now I look back onthose days and realizethat those bullies made mestronger and made mepush myself harder to domy best.”

What is your favoritefood? “I love Curry chickenbut If I wasn't such an ath-lete and didn't care somuch about my health itwould be pizza.”, “Istrongly agree!” I said.

What advice wouldyou go back and give your11 year old self? “To staystrong, positive, and justbe the best you that youcan be. Always try to workyour hardest and nevergive up on yourself.”

What is the next BIGthing we can expect fromyou? “I am training to par-ticipate in the upcomingolympics!”

Thank you Mrs.Richards-Ross for allowingme to interview you and Iwould be happy to inter-view you anytime! Youtruly prove "black girlsrock!".

Read-A-Thon

Genesis StiggersElgin Middle School

A Great Season

Well, Monday, Febru-ary 1st, 2016. It might justbe an ordinary Monday forall you readers out, therebut for me, it was differ-ent. Monday wais my lastday of my basketball sea-son and I am ready. Weare so far the districtchamps because we havenot lost a game yet. (Well,we technically we lostonce in a tournamentwhen Farley beat us, butluckily that tournamentdoesn’t count. Plus, webeat them at a later periodin the season.) I believethat that our team is hon-estly the best in the dis-

trict and our game againstTaylor will be our bestgame of the season.

The basketball sea-son was honestly reallylong to me. But I don’tmind because I spent ev-ery second of it gettingbetter and becoming a realbasketball player. I mean,although I hate doing sui-cides and workout sta-tions, it was worth it be-cause I knew that I wouldbe faster and strongerthrough out basketballseason and the rest of theschool. I am so happy withmy work and effort thisyear that I can’t wait todo it again next year.

I am excited for mygame today mostly be-cause it is our final proofof the work we did thisyear. I am going to try ourbest and when we win Iwill know that it’s becauseof the work and dedicationof all our team membersthis year. Although hon-estly, I’m pretty pumpedfor tennis season. So goodday and have a great newmonth.

Wesley DickersonCedar Ridge H. S.

During the schoolyear students like myselfare asked to read quite abit. Reading for school in-cludes history book chap-ters once or twice a week,entire novels for Englishclasses, and other readingassignments given to stu-dents through textbooks.Reading is a good activityfor the brain and should bedone often, but when stu-dents are literally beingforced to read over 50pages of multiple texts perweek in some cases, hav-ing a positive connotationwith reading can be diffi-cult.

If you are or know astudent like me who is pre-pared to dislike anythingthat they are forced to readin school then I wouldhighly recommend theRobert MuchamoreCherub series. This is acollection of books by aBritish author about teenspies. The books take

place in the early 2000s,which makes the seriesvery relatable to peoplemy age. The main charac-ter in all of the books isJames, he is a teenageboy who grew up in En-gland and was recruitedinto CHERUB to become ateen spy. The idea behindthe organization of teenspies is that criminalswould never suspect teen-agers to be secretly inves-tigating them, but as read-ers of the series wouldknow, these aren’t just or-dinary teens. The booksfollow James’ life as aCHERUB agent throughmissions and his day-to-day life of being a teen-ager with his fellowagents.

I enjoy this series be-cause I am able to relateto the issues the charac-ters have and what they gothrough as teenagers.What I am entertained byis the action that seems tobe on every page of everybook.

What students oftenforget is that reading wasmeant to be entertaining,and it still can be. I recom-mend to all young readersout there the CHERUB se-ries by Robert Muchamore.It is a series of fun and en-ticing books that will giveespionage fans a pleasantbreak from any forced read-ing assignment.

Book Recommendation

Latrice LipscombManor High School

College Season

Senior year is themost hectic and stressfulyear of high school be-cause it is the big collegeapplication year! Duringyour senior year there is somuch to do at once and on

top of your responsibili-ties, you have to prepareyourself for your next stepin life. I have jumped ontop of things and becauseof that, I have already beenaccepted into colleges. Iam very excited to decideon which college I will beattending and based onwhat they have to offer Ican not wait to see whatthe future in attending theschool will hold. To all ofthe seniors, don't give up!Keep pushing because it'salmost over and beforeyou know it the next stepin life will be looking youin the face!

Today in World Geogra-phy we learned about theGenocide in a country thatwas once called Yugoslavia.Yugoslavia was a massivecountry in astern Europe untilthe Yugoslavian Civil War. Thiswar broke up the country into6 new countries that are nowknown as Bosnia, Slovenia,Macedonia Serbia, Croatia

Zachariah WashingtonCrockett High School

1990s Bosnian Warand Montenegro.

The cause of this warwas because the Serbs(People from Serbia) wantedto create a greater Serbia. Thekey groups in this were theBosnians they were mostlyMuslim. The Serbians weremostly Orthodox and theCroats were mostly Catholic.The serbs wanted to have acountry with only Serbians,No Bosnians or Croats. Thisis a example of genocide.Genocide is when Onegroup of people wants to getrid of another race or reli-gion because of the prin-ciples that race or religion be-lieves in. Some examples ofGenocide is Nazi Germany inthe 1940s when Adolf Hitlerwanted to get rid of all of theraces religions and peoplethat he did not like.

Pflugerville A+ UIL

Ava RobertsSpring Hill Elementary

The Pflugerville ISDheld its A+ UIL(UniversityInterscholastic League)meet on January 30. Theacademic meet was forgrades 2nd - 5th. The UILmeet gave the students a

chance to use what theylearned in class at afriendly, academic compe-tition. Students tried outat their schools and prac-ticed until the competitiondate.

The events werenumber sense, spelling,oral reading, creative writ-ing, storytelling, readywriting, social studies, andchess puzzle. The top 10individuals in each eventreceived medals or rib-bons. The schools thathad the most winnerswere awarded sweep-stakes trophies.

Volleyball Team

Today I started thevolleyball team at

Malakhi WashingtonCunningham Elementary

Cunningham Elementary. Ihad some decisions tomake because I was al-ready a part of the Bookclub on the same day thatvolleyball practice wouldbe. I chose volleyball thistime. I’ve done book clubbefore. It was lots of funtoday. The name of myteam is The Vipers. I’mlooking forward to playingon a great team. We aregoing to play other el-ementary teams at Univer-sity of Texas. It’s going tobe great!

www.theaustinvillager.com THE COURIER THE VILLAGER/February 5, 2016 ~ Page 5

THE AFRO-AMERI-CAN PLAYERS, INC. wasfounded during the dawnof the Civil Rights Era by sixundergraduate students atthe University of Texas atAustin in 1973. It started inthe class of ProfessorGeneva Gay.

The Company is cel-ebrated as the oldest exist-ing Black Theatre Com-pany in the Southwest andhas toured all over theworld. The Company isoperated by Founding Di-rectors Glo Dean Baker -Gardner and Fred Gardner.This outstanding Companyconducts several excep-tional programs.

Their mission stateis “ART has the power tochange the world.” Ac-cording to thefounders,”The mission ofAfro-American Players,Inc. (AAP) is to eradicateartistic illiteracy and pro-mote multi-cultural under-standing in the humancommunity. Through edu-cation and entertainmentwe will address the socialand cultural inadequaciesexisting within our com-munity. We will provide aculturally diverse environ-ment where all forms ofart can flourish.”

The Afro- AmericanPlayers, Inc., is the oldestexisting Black theatrecompany in the SouthwestRegion of the United

THE AFRO-AMERICAN PLAYERS, INC., AN AUSTIN ORIGINAL

States. They have per-formed all over the worldand conducted manyaward-winning culturalarts programs. The mis-sion of the Players is toprovide professional the-atre, to promote cross-cul-tural sensitivity and to pro-vide an understanding ofthe history and traditionsof Africans in the Ameri-cas. Accolades include:

· Opening the CivilRights Papers to the worldat the LBJ Library withPresident Lyndon Baines

Johnson in Austin, Texas· Project CREATE to

aid the desegregation pro-cess with the Austin ISD

· N e i g h b o r h o o dTouring Grants and Girls,Inc. Arts Program with theNational Endowment forthe Arts

· Rights of PassageGang Program with His-panic and Afro-Americanyouth with the Dept. ofHousing and Urban Devel-opment and Parks andRecreation

· The Masala Pro-

ject for at-risk youth infour Dallas Public Schools

Fred Gardner is anaward winning visual art-ist and Glo Dean Baker isan acclaimed writer, direc-tor andproducer.Currently, theyproduce the Children’sMask Theatre Program in120 schools and child careagencies in the Dallas-FortWorth area. They also tourmajor productions in the-atres and college cam-puses across the U.S. Theywill be holding profes-sional auditions for theirU.S. Tour of “Rap OnAmerica”. They openedEMAC, an exceptionalmulti-cultural arts con-sortium, which will even-tually house a theatre, artgallery, studios, restaurantand a poetry grotto.

The AAP has anelaborate history of in-volvement in youth pro-grams. For six years it op-erated Project CREATE inconjunction with the HEW- Office of Education.Through the use of theat-rical techniques, the com-pany developed positiveself-concepts and self-es-teem among African-American and Hispanicstudents and encouragedcross-cultural sensitivity.As a part of the Gang Pre-vention, the MasalaProject was integratedwith DISD Schools and the

GLO DEAN BAKER and FRED GARDNER,founding directors of Afro-American Players

Street theatre performance was done on 11th and12th Streets in Austin, Texas. “If the people can’tcome to the theatre, then theatre must come to thepeople.” Center facing to right: Fred Gardner, DougSivad. an Austin Native, is far left. with Glo DeanBaker, Sherry Stowers, and Leland Whiterspoon .

Gang Prevention Unit inthe City of Dallas with800 at-risk students.This program wasfunded by HUD. Stu-dents worked with artsand humanities pro-fessionals. Studentswrote, performed andconducted theatricalproductions.

Currently Fredand Glo presents theChildren’s Mask Theatrein 120 schools and childcare facilities in theDFW Metroplex. Thepurpose of the MaskTheatre is to promoteunderstanding of vari-ous cultures and

people. Fred is also an ac-complished visual artist. Inaddition to these activities,the couple produces majorplays on tour for educa-tional, social, military andhumanities groups.

When AAP left town,they left behind one oftheir members who carriedon that tradition. He wasthe late Boyd Vance whocontinued to act and pro-mote theater in the Austincommunity through hiscompany Pro Arts Collec-tive. The Boyd Vance The-ater in the George Wash-ington Carver Museum andCultural Center is named inhis honor.

I had a lot of fun thisweekend. On Friday, I sataround my house relax-ing and waiting on ourgame that we had on Sat-urday. After a long nightit was finally Saturday. Iwas at the game warmingup when my knees werehurting, but then as Ikept running it got better.We had a good game I

Kevin ParishPark Crest M.S.

had 10 or 11 points and5 rebounds. We also wonby 20 points.

After the game mymom, dad and I went toDave & Busters to eat butwe did not play anygames. After that, mydad and I went to Manorto see some of ourfriends that were ridinghorses and barbecuing.On Sunday, at our churchwe had a basket bingo;there were a lot of prizes.Even though I did not winanything I am happy forthe ones that did. Rightwhen we pulled in mydrive way from church,my friend asked if I can gooutside and I did. I had agreat time this weekend,I hope you did to. GOPUMAS.

Saturday Fun 2nd Annual Black Excellence Tribute:A Tribute to Education & Mentorship

“Young, Gifted and Black”AUSTIN, TexasThe 2nd Annual Black Excellence

Tribute to Education & Mentorship will be held on Fri-day, February 5, 2016 at 6:00 p.m., at the Texas Federa-tion of Women ‘s Club (a.k.a. The Mansion) located at2312 San Gabriel St. Austin, TX 78705.

Curated and Hosted by Olympic Gold Medalist,Sanya RichardsRoss and Super Bowl Champion, AaronRoss, the

event will feature the finest talent in the Blackcommunity, showcasing Black excellence through song,spoken word, and dance. Some of the featured artistsinclude; poets Prentice Powell, Jasmine Mans and AJMcQueen and musicians TreeG and Dee1.

This year’s keynote speaker will be Dr. UmarJohnson, a Doctor of Clinical Psychology and Certified

School Psychologist, who seeks to raise social con-sciousness regarding the state of education andmiseducation of children in the black community.

Ms. Olyvia Green, will be presented The BlackExcellence Tribute: Lifetime of Educational

Excellence Award for her contribution to thecommunity as the first AfricanAmerican teacher atPease Elementary School. The Black Excellence Trib-ute: Generational Change Award will be awarded to9-year-old nationally known social activist, King Nahh.

A portion of net proceeds raised through TheBlack Excellence Tribute will be presented to The Af-rican American Youth Harvest Foundation.

For more information and to purchase ticketsvisit: www.blackexcellencetribute.com.

TravisCountyPrecinct1 Race

Heats Upby Tsoke

(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist

As Ron Davis preparesto retire as the County Com-missioner of the TravisCounty Precinct 1, there are

numerous candidates vyingto take replace him. TravisCounty Precinct 1 is consid-ered to be the “Black or Af-rican American” seat inTravis County politics. In theTravis County Commis-sioner Court Precinct 1,there are four candidatesrunning to replace him. Allof these four candidatesbring a different vision andperspective to the TravisCounty Precinct 1 race. Oneof the candidates runningfor Travis County Precinct 1is Jeff Travillon.

Jeff Travillon is a com-munity leader in CentralTexas. Jeff Travillon has been

the past president of theAustin Black Democratwhich is one of the “pow-erful groups” in TravisCounty politics. In addi-tion, he has served as thepresident of the NationalAdvancement of ColoredPeople (NAACP). He hassat on “numerous com-munity board” such as:KLRU and Child Inc. Asone can see Mr. Travillonhas been active in thecommunity.

Travis County Pre-cinct 1 covers the “East-ern Travis County.” Itstarts from East Austin toencompass the NorthEastern part of TravisCounty. Some of the cit-ies and jurisdiction thatare in Precinct 1 includeparts of Austin such asDel Valle, Manor,County Commissioner Court Candidate, Jeff Travillion

Pflugerville and Austin Colony.It is part of the Travis Countythat has a large African Ameri-can and African Diasporapopulation. According toDiaspora Vote, “AfricanDiaspora will play a role inelecting the next Travis CountyPrecinct 1 Commissioner.”

Putting People First“Precinct 1 is where my

wife Perri and I raised ourthree children as part of a vi-brant community, from youthsports boards, to church youthgroups, and as advocates forpublic education, our life hasbeen centered in Precinct 1. Asa former President of the Aus-tin NAACP, I fought for thecommunity to make sure noone was left out - as a mem-ber of the County Commis-sioners Court I will do thesame.”

Early VoteFEB 16 - 26Election Day

MAR 1

Monday, February 1, 2016 is the last day to register to vote in the March 1, 2016 Joint Primary Election.Eligibility - You are eligible to register and vote if: You are a United States citizen; You are a resident of Travis County; Youare at least 18 years old on Election Day; You are not a convicted felon, or, if convicted you have been pardoned or fullydischarged your sentence, including any term of incarceration, parole, supervision, or probation; and You have not beendeclared by a court to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.

Page 6 ~ THE VILLAGER/February 5, 2016 HEADLINES www.theaustinvillager.com

Pflugerville Celebrates Black History Month

Pictured left to right is Karen Michelle Drake, Ms Evans, Constable Danny Thomas,Daro Freedmen, Rhea Brown and Jeff Travallion. Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

In Pflugerville, therewas a “Black History”event meant to celebratethe great history and con-tributions of Black Ameri-cans to the United States.It was a focus on the “past,present and future” ofBlack America in CentralTexas. It was an opportu-nity for the attendees tonetwork with each other.During this event, the or-ganizers brought boththe African American andthe African Diaspora to-gether in order to uniteboth communities. It wasa day marked byspeeches, along withshowcases of Art and ofliterature.

At this event, the at-tendees had the oppor-tunity to hear what othercommunity leaders aredoing and to hear sometalented African Ameri-

by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist

can writers and artists.For instance Rhea Brownwho is a painter and art-ist talked about how her“black identity” has influ-

enced the pieces ofpaintings and art works.Furthermore, there weretwo presentations fromtwo authors at the event.

First of all, Mr. DaroFreedmen who is the au-thor of the Superior Powerin Black America. It was anopportunity for Mr. Freed-

men to talk about his bookand ideas of creating Blackwealth within the commu-nity. On the other hand,Karen Michelle Drake

spoke about her bookcalled “Virgin.” It is a reallife story that seeks to en-courage young Blackwoman to have self-value.

In addition, othercommunity leaders cameand focused on “creatingunity” within the AfricanAmerican (Black) commu-nity in Central Texas. Forinstance, Ms. Evans spokeabout the need for us as apeople to “look out forone another.” Further-more, numerous candi-dates and elected officialscame to the event. For in-stance, James Nortey, JeffTravallion, Richard Franklinwho running for TravisCounty Precinct 1 Commis-sioner Court came to theevent and spoke about fos-tering a better community.In addition, both Con-stable Danny Thomas whois running for re-electionand Rick Schumacher isrunning for Travis CountyConstable Precinct 1 alsocame to the event.

by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist

TejasVakil forCongress

Central Texas isknown for its strong “lib-eral and DemocraticParty values”; but due to

political gerrymanderingthere are at least threeRepublicans who repre-sent Austin and the USCongress. For instance,Congressional District 21starts from “downtownAustin” passing throughSouth Austin all the wayto San Antonio is repre-sented by a Republican.Although, District 21 is agreat opportunity forDemocrats, they havenot been able to win.

Consequently, Tejas Va-kil, a Democrat plans to“flip” District 21 by chal-lenging the Republicans.

Tejas Vakil is runningfor the US Congress Dis-trict 21 due to the factthat Central Texas needssomeone in there whorepresents their valuesand ideas; rather, thansomeone who will take a“bi-partisan” approach tothe issues and realitiesthat Central Texans face.

According to Tejas Vakil,“I believe that Americais the one indispensablenation in the world to-day. But to remain indis-pensable we need a gov-ernment that is not tieddown by ideologicalgridlock. We cannot leadthe world and alleviateits problems if we cannotsolve our own.”

Moreover. Tejas Va-kil is running on numer-ous issues that will helpCentral Texas and the USbecome a better regionand area. If elected, Mr.Vakil wants to “tackle thenational debt. We needto have the future abilityto fund economicgrowth, national security,and infrastructure invest-ment. “ According toMr. Vakil, “I believe thatAmerica is the one indis-pensable nation in theworld today. But to re-main indispensable, weneed a government thatis not tied down by ideo-logical gridlock. We can-not lead the world and al-leviate its problems if, wecannot solve our own.” Inaddition, Mr. Vakil is astrong proponent ofwomen issues. Accord-ing to Mr. Vakil, “I sup-port equal pay for equalwork.”

Tejas Vakil

VOTE FOR

BRAD URRUTIA

City of AustinPurchasing Office

The City of Austin Purchasing Office invitesyou to view current bid solicitations at https://www.c i . au s t i n . t x . u s / f i nanceon l ine /vendor_connection/solicitation/solicitations.cfm.Vendors are encouraged to register on-line in theCity’s Vendor Self Service System. Once yourcompany is registered, you will receive notifica-tions about new bid opportunities. For additionalinformation regarding current bid opportunitiesor Vendor Registration, please call the Purchas-ing Office at 512-974-2500.

For information on the City of Austin’s Mi-nority Owned and Women-Owned ProcurementProgram and the certification process, pleasecontact the Small & Minority Business ResourcesDepartment at 512-974-7600 or visit their websiteat http://www.austintexas.gov/smbr.

City of Austin Featured JobOpportunities

Apply at HRMiddle Fiskville Rd.

6th Floor, Austin, TX 78752Job Line (512 223-5621hhtp://www./austincc.ed

EEOC/AA/M/F/D/V

The City of Austin is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Please visit the City of Austin employmentwebsite at www.austincityjobs.org to view

requirements and apply for these and other jobopportunities. We encourage you to check the

employment website often as new jobopportunities are posted daily.

If you have any questions or need assistance,please call 512-974-3210 or email us atemployment.services@austintexas.gov.

 

EMPLOYMENT | PROPOSALS | PUBLIC INFORMATIONFOR SALE | FOR RENT | BIDS | MISCELLANEOUS

www.theaustinvillager.com CLASSIFIEDS THE VILLAGER/February 5, 2016 ~ Page 7

The City of Austin is currently acceptingapplications for the following positions:

• Public Event Worker, (15 TemporaryPositions)

• Community Recreation ActivitySpecialist

• Lifeguard (100 Temporary/SeasonalOpenings)

• Facility Service Coordinator

• IT Application Developer Senior and ITApplication Developer (2 Openings)

• Street & Bridge Operations Crew Lead

• Power System Engineer Senior

New Jobs for theWeek of 01/31/2016Coordinator II, StudentAccessibility Services

Cypress CreekJob# 1601025

Specialist, Advising (StudentServices)

Hays CampusJob# 1601017

Officer, AccreditationHighland Business Center

Job# 1601015Supervisor, Assessment/Testing

Hays CampusJob# 1601003

Are We Really 250 Years Away From Closing the Achievement Gap?

This “wait” has almostalways meant “never.”

… “Justice too long delayedis justice denied.”—MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.,

LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL

By Marilyn Anderson Rhames

This  Black  HistoryMonth,  in  honor  of  Dr.King’s  legacy,  a mentor-friend  of  mine,  PeterMeyer,  sent  me  anEducationNext report thatshows  that  the  achieve-ment gap between blacksand  whites  first  docu-mented  in  the 1966 gov-e r nmen t - s p on s o r edColeman  Report  hashardly  budged  some  50years  later  when  com-pared to the most recentstudent achievement datafrom the National Assess-ment  of  EducationalProgress (NAEP):

In both math andreading, the national test-score gap in 1965 was 1.1standard deviations, im-plying that the averageblack 12th grader placedat the 13th percentile ofthe score distribution forwhite students. In otherwords, 87 percent of white12th graders scored aheadof the average black 12thgrader.

What does it look like50 years later?

In math, the size ofthe gap has fallen nation-ally by 0.2 standard devia-tions, but that still leavesthe average black 12th-grade student at only the19th percentile of the

white distribution. In read-ing, the achievement gaphas improved slightlymore than in math (0.3standard deviations), butafter a half century, the av-erage black student scoresat just the 22nd percentileof the white distribution.

According  to  re-search by Eric A. Hanushekand Paul E. Peterson, thenationwide achievementgap is narrowing at a rateso slow that it would take250 years to equalize themath  learning outcomes(and  a  few  years  less  inreading)  of  black  andwhite children in America.

I think Dr. King wouldagree that such a long de-lay is justice denied.

THE COLEMAN RE-PORT

I  once  read  that Dr.King was worried that thegroundbreaking Brown v.Board of Education schoolintegration  decision  in1954 would  harm  blackchildren because it wouldremove  them  from  sup-portive black teachers andplace them in classroomswith white  teachers whomight  think  low of  themand  hold  low  expecta-tions.

However, Coleman, adie-hard racial integration-ist, asserted that the fam-ily  backgrounds  of  stu-dents (i.e., education level,size, structure, amount ofreading material),  had  agreater impact on studentachievement  than  teach-

ers and schools.He  wrote  that  “a

pupil’s  achievement  isstrongly  related  to  theeducational backgroundsand  aspirations  of  otherstudents  in  the  school.”Therefore  he  sought  tofurther the call for deseg-regation—in  particular,court-ordered  busing  ofblack students to diversify

white urban schools.By  1975,  however,

Coleman  realized  thatpushing  for urban  schooldesegregation had incitedwhite  flight,  creating  anew  residential  segrega-tion between the city andthe  suburbs. Meanwhile,any  integration  that wasleft in the city was amongpoor  blacks  and  poorwhites, not the diversity ofeducational backgroundsColeman hoped for.

Today, the educationdebate  still  rages  as  towhether forces outside ofschool  influence  studentachievement more  thanschools themselves. WhileColeman  attempted  tomeasure  the  impact  offamily  backgrounds  onstudent  achievement,today’s debate has twistedhis argument  into pitting“poverty” against a child’s

ability  to  academicallya ch i e ve—someth ingColeman never did. In fact,Coleman never  factoredfamilies’  income  into hisresearch  and  only men-tioned the word “poverty”once  in his  737-page  re-port.

EDUCATING DESPITEPOVERTY

Were  Dr.  King  still

alive would he have  toldMississippi sharecroppingparents  that  letting  theirkids walk three miles bare-foot to a one-room school-house was futile becausethe parents’ poverty andilliteracy would  impedetheir children’s learning?

No,  he  championedthe  need  for  people  ofcolor to have equal educa-tional resources as whites,to  help  sharecroppers’children  lift  themselvesout of poverty.

Dr.  King  also  foughtfor  fair  wages,  employ-ment  and  housing  forblacks in the South to curbpoverty, but he never as-serted  that  high-qualityschools would be ineffec-tive without  those thingsbeing in place.

No one can do it all,so my  strategy as a  free-dom-fighting educator  is

to  focus  on  makingschooling  a  rich  andworthwhile endeavor forpoor  children  of  color,through  equal  funding,rigorous curriculum, highexpectations and spiritu-ally healthy teachers.

My fight is based onmy being a Chicago Pub-lic  Schools  student whowas born  into poverty.  Icringe when I hear state-ments that lump all low-income  black  familiesinto one bucket, usuallystereotyping  them  asplacing too little value oneducation when the realproblem is the lack of op-portunity.

Numerous researchstudies  today  haveproved Coleman wrongon one  point—the big-gest  impact  on  studentlearning in schools is thequality  of  the  teacher.Helping schools get bet-ter—not  trying  to  endpoverty—is where edu-cators will see the imme-

diate returns for their activ-ism. Let the freedom-fight-ers who work  in  housingand  economics  focus  onmaking their industries lesspoverty-prone.

I was born six years af-ter  Dr.  King’s  death  andeight  years  after  theColeman Report,  and  theeducational  outcomes  forblack children as comparedto  those  white  childrenhave  virtually  gone  un-changed.

So I ask, “How long?”It  took  nearly  250

years and a bloody Civil Warfor  slavery  in  America  toend, and if we don’t makeeducation  equity  our  topnational priority it will takeanother 250 years (and per-haps bloody riots and streetwars)  to  bring  socioeco-nomic liberty and justice toAfrican-American  commu-nities.

Waiting  another  250years  to  achieve  educa-tional equity might as wellbe an eternity.

DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz’sStatement on Black History Month

Washington, DC –DNC  Chair  Rep.  DebbieWasserman  Schultz  re-leased the following state-ment  in  recognition  ofBlack History Month:

“This February, as weobserve  Black  HistoryMonth, it’s an opportunityto celebrate the invaluablecontributions that AfricanAmericans have made  toour nation, while recogniz-ing  that  our work  is  farfrom finished  in the fightagainst discrimination andracial inequality.

        “We  celebratehistory’s champions of jus-tice – extraordinary  lead-ers  like Harriet  Tubman,Martin  Luther  King  Jr.,Rosa Parks  and  so manymore – as well as our mod-ern-day  history makerssuch as President BarackObama who  representsthe great progress we’vemade. These are men and

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

women who have pavedthe way for the countlessother great thinkers, inno-vators, inventors, athletes,artists and entrepreneurs

who will continue to shapeour shared future.

“But  most  impor-tantly,  Black  HistoryMonth is a time to remem-

ber  all  the  ordinary,humble and hopeful menand women those tower-ing figures represent. Weremember Sandra Bland,Freddie Gray and TrayvonMartin, and we honor allthe nameless, faceless citi-zens whose personal sto-ries would remind us thatthe struggle for economicand  racial  justice  contin-ues.

“That is a legacy wellworth  celebrating,  andtheirs  are  the  stories welook  to  every day  in  theDemocratic  Party  as wefight for equality and op-portunity  for  future gen-erations.”

Page 8 ~ THE VILLAGER/February 5, 2016 HEB www.theaustinvillager.com