INTERVIEW

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Volume 79 Number 29 May 16 – 22, 2010 | FREE

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Julianne MalveauxA Word for Graduates

By Kam WilliamsCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Dana Elaine Owens was born in Newark, NewJersey on March 18, 1970, the second child of Lanceand Rita Owens, a police officer and a schoolteacher,respectively. The versatile entertainer first foundfame in the world of hip-hop upon the release of herdebut album “All Hail the Queen,” while still in herteens. As Queen Latifah, she has since enjoyed anenviable recording and concert career, featuringseven solo CDs plus countless collaborations withcolleagues across a spectrum of musical genres.

“La” added acting to her repertoire in 1991, whenSpike Lee cast her in “Jungle Fever.” Next, shemade “House Party 2,” following that up with criti-cally-acclaimed appearances in “The BoneCollector” and “Brown Sugar.” But it was for her

breakout role as Matron Mama Morton in “Chicago”that she became the first rapper to land an Oscarnomination.

Latifah has been a bona fide box-office attractionever since, starring in such hit movies as “BringingDown the House,” “Hairspray,” “The Secret Life ofBees,” “Mad Money,” “The Perfect Holiday,”“Barbershop 2” and “Beauty Shop,” to name a few.Meanwhile, among her impressive TV credits arestints on such sitcoms as “Living Single,” “TheFresh Prince,” and “Spin City.”

Here, she talks about her new movie, “JustWright,” where she gets to play the title character forthe first time ever opposite Common as her loveinterest. Directed by Sanaa Hamri (“SomethingNew”), the romantic comedy’s talented supportingcast includes Paula Patton, Pam Grier and Phylicia

Queen ‘Just Wright’ for new role

CBC pushesfor YouthJobs Bill

By Dorothy RowleySPECIAL TO THE NNPA FROM THE

AFRO-AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Citingthe lingering, widespread joblessnessamong Black youth, members of theCongressional Black Caucus havegathered on Capitol Hill to urge theSenate to pass a bill aimed at puttingmore of those youth to work thissummer.

The 42-member caucus had beenin line to receive$1.5 billion for thecreation of500,000 summerjobs, as outlined inthe Youth Jobs Actof 2010. But afternearly six months,that measure hasstalled and current-ly sits in the Senatealong with more than 300 other billsthat passed the House.

Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) blamedSenate procedures for the delay, pro-cedures he said make it difficult tocome up with new programs aimed atyouth unemployment and other

★HORNE, Page 8

★QUEEN, Page 4

Roland Burris

LegendaryLena HorneDead at 92

By Pharoh MartinNNPA NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

(NNPA) - Legendary singer, actressand dancer Lena Horne died on Sunday,May 9 night at the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell MedicalCenter at the age of 92. The Brooklyn-born entertainer was the first Black per-former to be signed to a long-term con-tract by a major Hollywood studio andwho went on to achieve internationalfame as a singer. The cause of her deathhas not been reported.

Horne was a mantle of African-

★CBC, Page 7

Photo by: David Lee

By ReShonda Tate BillingsleyDEFENDER

To many, it seemed like an open and shutcase. A Black unarmed Bellaire resident,shot in his driveway in a case of mistakenidentity. Many believed the jury would findthe white officer accused of shooting him –Sgt. Jeffrey Cotton – guilty of aggravatedassault of a peace officer. But on May 11,2010, a Harris County jury of twelve foundCotton not guilty of wrongdoing.

But the fight is far from over for 24-year-old Robert Tolan. As community activistsprotest and call for an end to racial profil-ing, Tolan’s family is moving forward witha civil suit.

New Year’s Eve shootingIt was around 2 a.m. on December 31,

2008, when another Bellaire police officerpulled Robert Tolan and his cousin over onsuspicion of car theft. According to testimo-ny, the officer mistakenly entered the wronglicense plate number into his dashboardcomputer as the pair pulled into Tolan’sdriveway. The number was matched to theplate of another vehicle that had beenreported stolen.

The son of former major league playerBobby Tolan, Robert Tolan played baseballfor Bellaire High School and was pursuinga professional baseball career at the time ofthe shooting. After the shooting, he spentthree weeks in the hospital. The bullet,which entered his chest, remains in his

liver.During the trial, defense attorneys tried to

convince the jury that the shooting was jus-tified and that Sergeant Cotton shot Tolan inself-defense because he believed Tolan wasan auto theft suspect who was about toshoot him. They argued that Cotton reliedon police procedures and his training tohandle the already tense situation outsidethe Tolan’s Bellaire home. .

Tolan was shot seconds after Cottonarrived at the scene. Both Cotton and Tolantestified that he was shot as he rose toprotest Cotton’s handling of Tolan’s mother,Marian Tolan. Cotton has denied RobertTolan’s race affected his actions.

NOT GUILTY VERDICTWhat’s next for Bellaire shooting victim?

By Aswad WalkerDEFENDER

The State Board of Education’s proposedchanges to the Texas public school curricu-lum, and hence textbooks, has been labeled

by many politicians, educators and media punditsas the “Texas Textbook Massacre” because of thechanges’ likely negative effects. On May 21 theBoard will conduct its final and potentially ratify-ing vote on changes in the curriculum that willradically alter public school textbooks with adecidedly conservative spin resulting in a white-washing of Texas and American history by down-playing and even ignoring historical contributionsmade by African Americans, Latinos and women.

Though the NAACP, LULAC, CongressionalBlack Caucus and others are seeking to rally thepublic to take actions aimed at swaying theBoard’s ratifying vote away from its currentcourse of action, the seven-member conservativebloc within the 15 member Board are said to be as

★TEXTBOOK, Page 9

PROPOSED CHANGES TO TEXASCURRICULUM & TEXTBOOKS■ Gains in Civil Rights civil rights granted

by majorities

■ Denigrating the impact of the civil rightsmovement

■ The US govt. will be called "constitu-tional republic” instead of “democratic”

■ Removed the need for students toexplain how institutional racism is evi-dent in American Society

TEXAS TEXTBOOK MASSACRE II:

★NOT GUILTY, Page 2

History bookchangesimpact futureTexans asked totake action now

Photo by: Vicky Pink

Participant holds sign at rally on Bellaire PoliceDept. steps.

★@ defendernetwork.com

To view the full list of proposed changes to the Texas curriculum & textbooks log on to defendernetwork.com to find out more.

2 MAY 16 – 22, 2010 | DEFENDER

Prosecutors claimed Cotton and the officerwho initially stopped Tolan and his cousin inthe SUV, were under pressure by the BellairePolice Department and Bellaire city officialsto “catch crooks” after a recent rash of car bur-glaries in Bellaire. Prosecutors also argued thatCotton panicked and struggled to get his storystraight. They claim Cotton came up with threedifferent versions of what happened

Had he been convicted of the charge ofaggravated assault by a public servant, Cottoncould have spent anywhere from five years tolife in prison.

Tolan’s attorney said he was surprised by theverdict and thinks it sets a dangerous prece-dent.

“While certainly we respect the jury, we alsorespectfully disagree. This is in my view a ter-rible message to send to the county, the stateand the nation that one of the most dangerousthings you can do in Bellaire is be a Blackman,” said attorney Geoffrey Berg. Racial profiling?

The shooting prompted complaints by theTolan family, community leaders and activiststhat Bellaire police have a history of racialprofiling.

“If Officer Edwards, the first one to show upon the scene, were really about resolution, hewould’ve asked Robbie for his registration,”said Pastor KirbyJon Caldwell, a close advisorof the Tolan family. “All he had to do was ask,‘May I see proof of the fact that this is yourcar?’ But he didn’t do that. He proceeded totreat the two young African-American malesas convicts and then when his colleague,Officer Cotton shows up, he’s there for 32 sec-onds before he shoots Robbie Tolan. Forgetabout the fact that he put the license plate inthere wrong. If you think it’s a stolen car, askhim for his driver’s license and registration.He didn’t do it so everything escalated fromthere.”

Rev. Caldwell says racial profiling is theonly way to sum up what the officers did.

“There was racial profiling and its substanti-ated by the fact that if those two youngAfrican-Americans were not racially profiled,why didn’t the first officer, the second officer,or any officer, ask to see his proof of auto reg-istration? That’s all he had to do. But theyweren’t there to confirm the fact, they were

there to profile and harass.”The Tolan family is suing Cotton, the police

department and the city of Bellaire, but thelawsuit has been on hold pending the outcomeof Cotton’s criminal trial.

Now, the Tolan family said they are movingforward in their fight against the BellairePolice Department.

The Tolan family released a statement say-ing, “We are obviously disappointed that thejury did not convict Jeffrey Cotton. Cotton’scriminal trial was only the first step in seeingthat some measure of justice is done inBellaire. The city has not changed its policy ofracial profiling. We remain hopeful that ourfamily may still find justice.”

“The city — from Mayor Cindy Siegel ondown — has dug in its heels in defense of theunconstitutional practices which very nearlyled to Robbie’s death at the hands of JeffreyCotton,” added the lawyer handling the civilcase.

Attorney Craig Washington, who has han-dled many civil and criminal cases says thefamily should have a better chance at justicewith a civil trial.

“The burden is not as high to prove beyonda reasonable doubt Sgt. Cotton violated thatyoung man’s civil rights than it would be toprove beyond a reasonable doubt that he com-mitted assault. It’s kind of hard for me to imag-ine a set of facts where a jury could wrap theirhands around a unanimous verdict that the

officer didn’t intend to assault the young man.I guess the question is whether he did it in selfdefense.”

A consultant hired by the city of Bellaire toprepare a report to the state concluded therewas not enough information to indicatewhether Bellaire officers conducted racial pro-filing. The Houston NAACP blasted the reportwhen it was released, as well as the not guiltyverdict.

“I’m shocked. The NAACP is shocked. It’struly a travesty,” said Yolanda Smith, execu-tive director of the Houston branch of theNAACP. “I believe the evidence the prosecu-tion presented was more than enough to con-vict.”

Community activist Quanell X organized aprotest in front of Bellaire City Hall and saysthey will continue to be vocal about the“unjust verdict.”

“When you see a brother who was not com-mitting a crime, who broke no laws and in hisown vehicle in front of his own home and shotdown like a dog, and a jury will allow that copto escape. I am angry,” he said

Cotton has been on administrative duty withpay since the shooting. His attorney, PaulAman says his client was devastated when hefound out Tolan, then 23, was unarmed. The10-year veteran officer had testified that hefired in self-defense after seeing Tolan diggingin his waistband as he got up off the groundand turned to him during a chaotic scene in the

early morning hours in the Tolan family’sdriveway.

“Is he happy (Tolan) was shot? Of coursenot. He feels terrible about it,” Aman said.The jury’s decision

It took the jury of nine women and threemen, four and a half hours to return the verdict.Two of the female jurors were Black. Theremaining jurors were white. Still, one jurortold a local television station that race playedno role in their decision.

“I was really very disappointed that I see alot of commentators on both sides saying racewas a factor, that it was mentioned in the trial,”said Ellen Law. “It wasn’t. All the verdictmeans is that we found Sgt. Cotton was notguilty of the charges that were presented, noth-ing more. That’s all it can be.”

Laws is an attorney by profession and thedaughter of a retired police officer. She saysmembers of the jury took the deliberationprocess seriously.

Craig Washington disagrees. “Unfortunately we still live in a time when

people are still willing to give the benefit ofthe doubt in situations, where if it had beenreversed, they wouldn’t give it to a citizen,”Washington said. “The difference is we have amore representative police department in thecity of Houston. You have a lot of these small-er communities that aren’t as open-minded.The easiest example would be to pose a ques-tion, if that had been a Black officer who shota white youngster, would that same jury havefound that Black officer not guilty? My senseof history teaches me that it would not haveand if that’s true, there’s a real problem.”

Washington says the verdict also sends thewrong message.

“We ought not send a signal that’s its openseason on young Black males in Harris Countyand that’s what that verdict does in my opin-ion. It would embolden other police officers toact like this guy and that’s wrong. Somebody’schild was shot by this guy for no good reason.That’s not the message we ought to be sendingin our community in 2010. We thought that wewere past those days,” Washington said. Bellaire responds

William Helfand, an attorney representingthe city in the case, said that the “jury’s verdictdemonstrates that there was no excessive forcehere.” Addressing concerns about communitybacklash over the verdict, Helfand said,

Not Guiltycontinued from page 1

Photo: Tony Morris

Robert Tolan and his family plans to move forward with their civil suit.

★NOT GUILTY, Page 3

MAY 16 – 22, 2010 | DEFENDER 3

The Houston Defender Newspaper publishedby The Houston Defender Inc. Company (713) 663-6996. The Defender audited by

Certified Audited Circulation. (CAC). For sub-scriptions, send $60.00 — 1 year, to:

Defender, P.O. Box 8005, Houston, TX 77288.Payment must accompany subscriptionrequest. All materials covered by 2009copyright... (No material herein may be

reproduced without the written permissionof the publisher).

VOLUME 79 • NUMBER 29 MARCH 19 – 22, 2010

PublisherSonceria Messiah-Jiles

EditorVon Jiles

Associate EditorReShonda Billingsley

Art DirectorCale Carter

Columnist Yvette Chargois

Sports EditorsMax EdisonDarrell K. Ardison

ContributingWritersAswad Walker

WebmasterCorneleon Block

American beauty, who as a versatile and iconic per-former made her name from a variety of entertain-ment platforms including the big screen, where shewas the first African-American actor to sign to along-term contract by a major Hollywood studio; inmusic, where she won four Grammy awards, and innight clubs, where she extensively toured despitethe racism that plagued her era.

As an entertainer, Horne’s light skin completionallowed her to traverse through doors that manyother Black entertainers had a hard time walkingthrough. Still, she was loved and highly respectedbecause she refused to let herself become “an imita-tion of a White woman”, as she would later say.

Horne got her start in entertainment as a 16-year-old dancer at Harlem’s famed Cotton Club andworked the jazz club circuit before jumping intomovies with her major studio debut in 1942 withPanama Hattie. Horne’s success in movies helpedpave the way for actresses such as Halle Berry andDorothy Dandridge to become silver screen starletsand for crossover entertainers such as DiahannCarroll and Diana Ross to exist. But, more impor-tantly, her pioneering roles helped open doors forAfrican-American actors to rise above subservientroles in Hollywood.

Although born in a Black upper middle-classfamily, Horne spent her life cutting through the redtape of racism. Although she has 22 film credits toher name, her outspoken criticism of the unequaltreatment of Black soldiers during World War II and

her left-leaning political views and associations gother blacklisted from Hollywood for much of the1950s.

Despite her absence away from the big screen,Horne went on to become one of the most reverednight club performers in the post-war period.During the movement for civil rights, Horne was anactive participator in marches and protests, includ-ing the 1963 March on Washington where she spokeand performed.

Horne spent the last years of her life focused onher musical career. She released her last studioalbum, “Being Myself”, in 1998 on Blue Noterecords. She was 81 at that time. She received aTony Award in 1981 for her one-woman Broadwayshow, “Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music”.

She is being mourned in both the entertainmentand social justice worlds.

“Ms. Horne was a pivotal figure in the entertain-ment world. She was a consummate entertainerwhose dignified stage presence destroyed many ofthe stereotypes in which other Black entertainers ofher era were cast. She was a cross-over successbefore the term was widely used. Although manyhave failed to fully acknowledge her civil rightsefforts, Ms. Horne used the power of her celebrity tochange the shape of racial discrimination in theUnited States,” said Dr. E. Faye Williams, nationalchair of the National Congress of Black Women ina statement. “Her life was genuinely iconic. Thebeauty and enjoyment that she brought to the mass-es with her entertainment will last far longer thanmany of the entertainers who followed her. She wasa unique personality who will truly be missed.”

Hornecontinued from page 1

Lena Horne has often been celebrated for hertimeless beauty.

“Hopefully, people will havean understanding that opin-ions have to be formed basedon the facts.”

Helfand also said the ver-dict should put to rest anyclaims of racial profiling inthe Bellaire PoliceDepartment. He says he antic-ipates evidence of racial pro-filing as alleged by somegroups.

“There are allegations, butultimately when you look atthe statistics compiled by thepolice department... you findthat there are not a significantnumber of complaints andthere are not really any sus-tained complaints whichdemonstrate any relationshipbetween race and the way thepolice department operates.This is a professional, well-trained police department, andwhile that may serve some-body’s lawsuit, it just isn’t afact.”

Cotton’s department haslong stood up for him, as havethe city leaders.

“The city of Bellaireappreciates the hard work ofthe jury of the 232nd CriminalDistrict Court which carefullyconsidered all of the evidencein testimony and found thatSgt. Cotton did not break anylaws, and that he acted reason-ably and professionally on thecircumstances he was forcedto confront in the early morn-ing hours of Dec. 31, 2008,”Helfand added. “Indeed, racewas never mentioned as a fac-tor in the trial or in the out-come of the criminal case,”added Helfand.

Sgt. Cotton will be eligibleto return to the Bellaire policeforce although no date hasbeen set when or if he wouldreturn.

Rev. Caldwell says peopleneed to realize this problem isbigger than just one youngman from Bellaire.

“I don’t want non-AfricanAmericans thinking this is nota community problem,”Caldwell said. “This is not aBlack problem, a white prob-lem, a brown, yellow, or polkadot problem. It is a communi-ty problem. And until thecommunity understands thatand demands change, all of uswill suffer. We’re willing towork with the police depart-ment to help them educate andsensitive the police depart-ment on a team that obviouslyneeds some help.”

Not Guiltycontinued from page 2

Rashad. Kam Williams: Hey, Queen Latifah, I’m hon-

ored to have this opportunity to speak withyou.

Queen Latifah: Please, just call me, La. KW: Okay, La, what interested you in “Just

Wright?”QL: Actually, it was kinda something we

just created from scratch. What we wanted todo was make a romantic comedy that wasboth sexy and romantic and had some emo-tion, but at the same time wasn’t just a chickflick. And that had some action, some energy.And that’s where the whole NBA componentcame in with Leslie Wright, my character,being a big basketball fan, and a daddy’s girl.One of the ways that she and her daddy bond-ed was by his taking her to the gamesbecause he didn’t have a son. That made areally big fan out of her. So, the overall goalwas to make a movie that was family friend-ly, but that at the same time had some action,some edge and some sexiness to it.

KW: What was it like being directed bySanaa Hamri and working with Common andthe rest of the cast?

QL: Oh, man, it was amazing! Honestly, Icouldn’t have asked for a better group of peo-ple to work with. It was a true team effort.There’s no way we could have done this inde-pendently of one another. Sanaa was the per-fect choice because she had a great vision forthe film from the moment she first read thescript. We interviewed a lot of different direc-tors, but her take on it was something that weappreciated because she assured us that sheplanned to bring a certain style and taste tothe production, that it would be elevated andclassy, and have cool shots that would makeeveryone look really good onscreen. I thinkthat she managed to pull it all off, and I’mreally proud of her.

KW: You used to play a mean game of bas-

ketball back in the day. [La played power for-ward on a high school team that won the NJState Championship twice.] Do you still findtime in your busy schedule to shoot around atall?

QL: I do. Whenever a ball is around, youcan’t help but pick that thing up and shoot it.You know what I mean?

KW: Yep. QL: I was never the best player on the team,

but I do love basketball and I have no prob-lem shooting the rock. My body is not exactlyas limber as it used to be in high school,obviously, but I still enjoy a good game ofbasketball.

KW: Do you think “Just Wright” will helprevive the Black romantic film?

QL: I think you definitely see true blacklove in this film. And I hope that it helps torevive the genre, but I can’t say whether itwill be a catalyst for that. But “Just Wright”isn’t a romantic comedy just for Black folks.

I think anybody who watches this movie isgoing to fall in love with the idea of loveagain. You get to see a strong male inCommon’s character, Scott, and two com-pletely different female leads in my character,Leslie, and Paula Patton’s, Morgan. And wealso get to see them sort of be family and gothrough the types of things many families gothrough, yet still find love in the end. That’sthe realistic image that we wanted to portray,not broad stereotypes with one swipe of the

brush. We’re painting our pictures as vividlyas possible.

KW: What about acting do you find mostchallenging, and do you think the range rolesfor Black women in Hollywood are improving?

QL: I approach the film business the way Ifeel about self-esteem. It’s something that hasto be maintained. That’s kind of how I feelabout positive roles in Hollywood. They haveto be maintained. You have to purposefully,intentionally try to make the right type offilms. And the more people that do that, themore things will continue to improve.Absolutely!

KW: Since you seem so together, is thereanything you’re insecure about?

QL: I’m not always so together. Like I said,it’s not just a given, but something that has tobe maintained. I’m as flawed as anybodyelse. I have my ups and downs, and peoplearound me to help me fight through it.

KW: What is your favorite way to expressyourself spiritually?

QL: To go to church. KW: What cause are you most passionate

about?QL: I’m passionate about children, particu-

larly, whether it’s education, HIV prevention,treating HIV and AIDS, or protecting younggirls from being molested.

KW: Well, thanks again for the interview,La, and best of luck with “Just Wright” andyour other upcoming projects.

QL: Thank you, Kam.

4 MAY 16 – 22, 2010 | DEFENDER

Queencontinued from page 1

Photo by: David Lee

L to R: Paula Patton, Queen Latifah and Common in ‘JUST WRIGHT’.

Former Lee High Schooland University of Texas stand-out quarterback Peter Garderewas one of nine recentinductees into the Texas HighSchool Football Hall of Fame.

The inductees were honoredlast weekend at a ceremony inWaco.

Gardere threw for 5,754yards at Lee and was namedan all-state punter. He wasalso an all-district catcher forthe Generals and was draftedby the Chicago Cubs. Instead,he attended UT and remainsthe only Longhorns’ quarter-back to record four victoriesover Oklahoma in the RedRiver rivalry.

Other inductees includedNFL Hall of Fame quarterbackSammy Baugh, Dr. MarkBing, Joe Clements, KoyDetmer, Bert and Bill Gravitt,Thomas Lott and Theo C.“Cotton” Miles.Wade To Leave Hisd

Houston IndependentSchool District athletic direc-tor Daryl W. Wade will leavehis post in July to run theHouston Astros’ Major LeagueBaseball Urban YouthAcademy.

The facility is located in theAcres Homes community atSylvester Turner Park. It’s thesecond operation of its kind inthe country. The first wasopened four years ago inCompton, Calif.

After opening in April, theacademy will provide year-round free baseball and soft-ball instruction to youths

Norris Sponsors Spending Spree

Lots of professional ath-letes have foundations andgive back to the communitiesthey grew up in or currentlywork. Of course, I’m a bigproponent of this. I’ve alwayssubscribed to the scripture “towhom much is given, muchis required”.

Last summer we intro-duced you to former Madisonstandout and current SanFrancisco fullback MoranNorris and his foundation foryouth in the Houston area.Norris’s motto for his foun-dation is quite simple andparallels his role as a full-back, “follow me”.

“On the football field, myjob is to lead the way, make apath, and block any oppo-nents that get in front of me.This strategy allows myteammates to FOLLOW MEand score one for the team,”Norris shared. “This is myjob off the field and yours too– to be a leader at school, setgoals for the future, andavoid any pitfalls that maytry to prevent you fromreaching your goals.”

The Moran NorrisFoundation recently took 100under privileged students inthe Houston area from middleschools throughout HISD ona shopping spree for demon-strating good character. The100 students were selectedthrough a nomination processby their teachers and willeach receive $100 ($10,000total) to purchase a variety ofitems throughout SuperTarget, including Mother’sDay items, school suppliesand food.

“We thought it was impor-tant this year to coordinatethe shopping spree with

★ARDISON, Page 6

★EDISON, Page 6

MAY 16 – 22, 2010 | DEFENDER 5SPORTS

Max Edisonon

Sports

Darrell Ardison

on H.S.Sports

By Max EdisonDEFENDER

He has been the face of the Texans organiza-tion since their inception, although that facehas been firmly placed in the background.

He’s Tony Wyllie, Vice President ofCommunications for the Texans. Whenever therehas been an event of significance, either on or off thefield, Wyllie has been there. Wyllie is one of thehottest young executives in professional sports andrecently he accepted a position as Sr. Vice Presidentof Communications for the Washington Redskins.

For those unfamiliar with Wyllie and his role; heserves as the liaison between the local and nationalmedia and the Texans’ front office, coaches andplayers. He oversees publicity for the club whileserving as the team spokesman. He also oversees theTexans’ public relations, community relations, theHouston Texans Foundation and the content forHoustonTexans.com, the team’s official website.

A Texas Southern University alum, Wyllie and thework of his communications staff has been recog-nized as the gold standard in the business of profes-sional sports. A veteran of 17 years in the NFL, withstints with the Dallas Cowboys, LA/St. Louis Ramsand Tennessee Titans, Wyllie’s success is well docu-mented. He and his staff have earned the prestigiousPete Rozelle award, which is presented annually byPro Football Writers of America to the best NFLpublic relations staff, two times with the Texans(2004 and 2007) and four times overall. The Rams’PR department won the award in 1997 and theTitans’ in 2000.

For Tony Wyllie, the decision to leave his home-town team and head east to DC was a difficult, yetnecessary process in his career evolution.

“It’s all about professional growth,” Wyllieexplained. “Washington is the nation’s capital, with

By Darrell K. ArdisonDEFENDER

Bellaire head baseball coachRocky Manuel says the best thingabout advancing past the first roundof the state high school baseballplayoffs is that half the field vyingfor a spot in the state tournament inAustin next month has been senthome.

Ranked No. 10 in the latestBaseball America High School Top25 Poll, Bellaire rolled out the bigbats in sweeping Eisenhower 2-0 ina best-of-three first-round playoffseries.

The 29-3 Cardinals will faceSeven Lakes in the area round ofthe state baseball playoffs. SevenLakes, 21-11, swept Strake Jesuit 2-0 in its first-round series.

“We were hitting the ball welland that was good because wemade a few defensive mistakes thatwe don’t normally make,” saidManuel, who has guided theCardinals to three state tournamentberths and two state championships(1994 and 1999). “We pride our-selves on playing good defense andwe don’t want to develop badhabits.”

Junior lefthander TollerBoardman was the beneficiary ofdouble-digit offensive support ingame one at Ray Knoblauch Field(Butler Stadium) as the Cardinalshammered out a 16-2 mercy rule-shortened victory.

Bellaire senior right-hander KyleChaskin took the mound in gametwo at Lansford Field and with sen-

ior centerfielder Sean Washingtonleading the offensive charge (3-for-4 with a solo home run), theCardinals closed out the series witha 17-5 verdict.

“When you can score 33 runs intwo games, it means that you cancover up areas where you didn’tplay as well,” Manuel said. “We’llwant to play a best-of-three seriesin the next round, but if we have toplay one game, we’d better be play-

ing well in all phases of the game.”Bellaire is in quest of its eighth

state baseball title. The last time theCardinals qualified for the statetournament was in 2008.

The greater Houston area is guar-anteed at least one representative atthe state baseball tournament(Region III-5A). With a number ofgood Houston-area schools com-peting in the Region II-5A bracketsuch as Klein (No. 11 in Baseball

America High School top 25 Poll),Tomball, Spring and Klein Collins,there’s a good chance two 5Aschools from the Houston areacould advance to Austin.

That would enhance the chancesof the Houston area not coming upempty for a third consecutive year.The last 5A champion from the areawas Cy-Fair in 2007.

The last time the Houston areawent three straight years without abaseball champion in theUniversity Interscholastic League’shighest classification was 1972-1975 when Lubbock Monterey,Midland and Duncanville com-bined for five Class 4A titles. TheHouston area produced the nextfour 4A champions.

Since the advent of Class 5Abaseball in 1981, Houston areaschools have won 16 of 29 statechampionships. From 1998-2007,Houston schools won eight of 10state 5A titles.

While Bellaire and Klein arenationally ranked, the top-ranked5A school in the Houston area isKingwood. The Mustangs earnedstate tournament berths in 2004 and2005, including a state champi-onship in 05.

Kingwood averted a first-roundupset at the hands of Milby for thesecond year in a row by sweepingtwo close games this year.

In game one, Kingwood headcoach Kelly Mead received a stellarpitching performance from seniorright-hander Blake Whitter and

★HIGH SCHOOL, Page 6

Bellaire centerfielder Sean Washington had three hits, includinga solo home run, in the series-clinching victory over Eisenhower.

★SPORTS, Page 6

High school baseballplayoffs in full swing

Tony WyllieNFL executive on the move

Photo: Yvette Chargois

The executive fast track has led Wyllie to the Washington Redskins

6 MAY 16 –22, 2010 | DEFENDERSPORTS

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between the ages of sevenand 17.

Wade, 51, took over as ADin HISD in January 2007 afterspending 23 years in AldineISD. He was athletic directorin Aldine from 2003-2006.The Houston native is a grad-

uate of Waltrip High Schooland Paul Quinn College.North Shore, Hightower ReignSupreme

The North Shore boys andHightower girls won teamtitles at the 2010 Region III-5A track and field meet atTurner Stadium.

North Shore won the 400,800 and 1,600 relays to pace

a 112-point performance.DeAndrew White won thelong jump and was a memberof the mile-relay foursome.

Hightower took the girlsteam championship with 79points to edge district rivalFort Bend Marshall by fivepoints. Cousins ChelseaStephen and Kayla Savoieplaced 1-2 in the 100-meter

hurdles to jump-start theHurricanes.

Dulles sprinter SheroidEvans won gold medals in the100- and 200-meter dashes.

The Angleton boys andWestbury girls won teamtitles in the Region III-4Ameet held in Huntsville.

Ardisoncontinued from page 5

Mother’s Day,” Norris shared. “This gives the students achance to get something for their Mom’s and show theirappreciation”.

Moran continues on why he and his family have commit-ted themselves to these types of projects.

“When I look at the news and I see what is happeningwith the dropout rate in Houston and the problem with bully-ing across the country, I wanted to step up and do my part inthe development of youth in my hometown,” said MoranNorris. “My wife Tamara and I are both products of HISD,

and we want to be positive role models in our communityand show students the right way to achieve their goals.”

This summer, Norris will sponsor his 4th annual footballcamp June 25th and 26th at Delmar Stadium for boys age 7-17. Many of Norris’ 49er teammates such as Frank Gore,Patrick Willis, Tarell Brown, Michael Crabtree, VernonDavis and Takeo Spikes are all expected to attend.

In addition, the foundation sponsors their 4th AnnualFollow Me to the Stars Dinner, Sunday, June 27th at theOceanaire Seafood Room. For more information on how youcan participate in any of these worthy activities call 281-773-7844 or visit the website,www.morannorrisfoundation.org

Edisoncontinued from page 5

a tradition of winning. They have anowner (Daniel Snyder) that’s really pas-sionate about winning and a head coach(Mike Shanahan) with two Super Bowltitles under his belt. As far as my career,this was just a big opportunity.”

As simple as that sounds, the decisionto leave Houston was a tad more compli-cated.

“It was a real difficult process. I prayedon it. I left Houston before; the only dif-ference now is I have three other peopleto think about with my wife and two kids.My wife is supportive and my parents areretired so they can travel anytime theywant to see the grandkids. This opportuni-ty was just such a good one that you haveto take advantage of it.”

John Wooten, chairman of the FritzPollard Alliance that coordinates diversityhiring practices within the NFL, haswatched Wyllie’s career progression andis happy with his move to the Redskins.

“I’m ecstatic for Tony. He’s done atremendous job with the Texan’s organi-zation,” Wooten acknowledged. “He hasshown his commitment to football and theNFL for a number of years and hasalways done an outstanding job in all hiswork. I mentioned to the Commissionerat our league meetings in December thatwe now need to look at where we canexpand our program beyond just therealm of football operations, (head coach-es, general managers, etc.) but into theentire workings of an organization.Tony’s hiring as Sr. VP ofCommunications for a historic franchiselike the Washington Redskins symbolizesthat.”

For Tony Wyllie the foundation thatpropelled him to professional success wasforged under the watchful eye of his men-tors at his alma mater, Texas SouthernUniversity.

“While attending TSU, athletic directorCurtis Williams gave me an opportunity

to work in sports information,” Tonyrecalled. “I got a chance to travel withCoach Highsmith (Walter) and the foot-ball team and Coach Moreland (Robert)and the basketball team. I was doing basi-cally what I do today at Texas Southern. Itwas my advantage to be at a school in amajor metropolitan city that had all of theprofessional sports. That ultimately ledme to an internship with the HoustonOilers. The folks at TSU were alwayssupportive of my ambitions. They knewthey were big. I always tell the story of anopportunity I had to intern with the SanDiego Chargers, but I didn’t have themoney for a plane ticket to go there forthe interview. Somehow Dr. James Ward,the Dean of the Communications depart-ment, found out and gave me a plane tick-et. He basically said you worked too hardto get to this point, go out there and do it.To this day I don’t know how he foundout! I finished with a degree in journalismfrom TSU in 1993.”

Professionally, Tony’s career has beenon the fast track since leaving TSU. Hisfirst job was with the Dallas Cowboys in1993. Wyllie collected a Super Bowl ringwith the season of work there andreceived a “master’s” degree in P.R. in theprocess.

“No team was covered more than theCowboys at that time,” Wyllie shared.“That was the year Emmitt Smith held outand missed the first two regular seasongames. Anything and everything you canimagine happened that year. It was like

grad school for crisis management P.R.” From the Cowboys, Wyllie’s career led

him to Los Angeles and later to St. Louiswhen that franchise relocated. He servedas their assistant director of P.R. from1994 to 1998. In 1998 he moved toNashville to work for the Titans and tobecome the youngest Director ofCommunications in the NFL. He returnedhome to Houston and took the title ofVice President of Communications for theexpansion Houston Texans in 2000.

Kirbyjon Caldwell, Texan limited part-ner and Wyllie’s pastor took a reflectiveview of Tony’s contribution to the Texanorganization.

“Tony Wyllie has worked extremelyhard and always remained focused ondelivering value to the enterprise,”Caldwell stated. “Tony made a tough joblook very easy. We might not know exact-ly everything he’s done in terms of layingthe foundation and establishing the infra-structure until he’s gone. Whoever comesin after Tony, I hope they bring their ownshoes, otherwise they have some bigshoes to fill!”

The highlight of Wyllie’s10 year tenurewith the Texans has been his relationshipwith team owner Bob McNair.

“It was a blessing to have him comeinto my life. Just getting to know himprior to the expansion draft and having arelationship with him has been invalu-able. He exposed me to things, like theKentucky Derby that I had never beenexposed to. He sent me to business school(Rice, MBA). Bob McNair has done a lotfor me and my family and I’ll forever beindebted to him.”

Tony Wyllie has been on the career fasttrack rocketing through the front officeranks in the NFL and ultimately, even hedoesn’t know what’s next.

“If you would have told me twentyyears ago I’d be in this position I wouldhave laughed at you,” Tony confessed. “Ijust work hard. I really love what I do. Sowhatever God has planned for me, we’lljust wait an see.”

Wylliecontinued from page 5

some late offensive heroics to hold off theBuffs 5-3.

“Last year was miserable,” saidWhitter, who allowed four hits, two walksand nine strikeouts in five-and-1/3shutout innings. “We’re not going to letthat happen this year.”

Whitter proved to be prophetic whenthe Mustangs emerged victorious 9-8 ingame two at Andy Wells Field inKingwood.

“We play and practice for the ultimategoal of getting to Dell Diamond in RoundRock for the state baseball tournament,”

Mead said. “But you have to believe thatyou can do it.”

Kingwood, 26-4, will face Stratford inthe area round of the playoffs. TheSpartans swept past Morton Ranch 6-2and 19-12.

While College Park succumbed toSpring 2-1 in a best-of-three first-roundRegion II-5A playoff series, Tomball ral-lied from a five-run deficit in game threeto defeat The Woodlands.

The Cougars (24-9) will face Leanderin the area round.

Trailing 6-1 in the third inning,Tomball sent 12 batters to the plate andbenefited from two Highlanders’ miscuesto score seven runs on four hits and twowalks and take an 8-6 advantage. The

Cougars added three more runs in thefifth inning to secure an 11-8 home victo-ry.

Tomball survived a two-runHighlanders’ uprising in the seventhinning for the final margin of victory.

Klein is still alive after defeating OakRidge 4-3 in a one-game first-round play-off.

Other Houston 5A schools to advanceto the second round of the state baseballplayoffs include Cy-Fair, Klein Collins,Atascocita, South Houston, Memorial,Brazoswood, Kempner, Pearland, Lamar,Katy Taylor, La Porte, Fort Bend Austinand Baytown Lee.

High Schoolcontinued from page 5

CLASSIFIED

NOTICESpawGlass Construction Corp., General Contractor, issoliciting for subcontractor and vendor bids from qualifiedcompanies including Small Business, Minority and/orWomen Business Enterprises, MBE, and SBE, for the IAHTerminal “A” North Gate A3 Expansion in Houston. Bidswill be received until 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 20,2010. The project consists of an addition to and interior ren-ovation of the existing Terminal “A” at George BushIntercontinental Airport.

Please direct all inquiries to Dale Seyler at 281-970-5300[office], 281-728-6268 [cell] or fax 281-517-8282. Plans, spec-ifications,bonding and insurance requirements are availablefor review at the SpawGlass plan room at 13800 West Road,Houston, Texas. Plans have been uploaded into iSqFt andare also available at both the ABC and AGC plan rooms,Builders Exchange of Houston, F.W. Dodge Corporation,Hispanic Contractors Association of Houston, Sub-Hub andNAMC Greater Houston.

SPAWGLASS IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

MENTAL HEALTH MENTAL RETARDATION AUTHORITY OFHARRIS COUNTY will be accepting Request for Qualification

for the following:

TELEPHONE HARDWARE REPLACEMENTSSpecifications may be secured from MHMRA, Harris County, Purchasing Department located at 7011Southwest Freeway,Suite 100 in Houston,Texas 77074,telephone number (713) 970-7300,and/or viaMHMRA website www.mhmraharris.org beginning Monday, May 17, 2010. The Request forProposals (RFP) must be submitted to Purchasing Department, Suite 100, 7011 Southwest Freeway,Houston,Texas 77074 by Wednesday, June 09, 2010, 10:00 a.m. in a sealed envelope marked "RFP- DO NOT OPEN UNTIL – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 09, 2010, 10 A.M – “TELEPHONE HARDWAREREPLACEMENTS”. Any questions pertaining to this RFP should be addressed in writing to JoycieSheba, Buyer II / Sharon Brauner, Buyer III via fax (713) 970-7682 or email questions tojoycie.sheba@mhmraharris.org, cc: sharon.brauner@mhmraharris.org. MHMRA reserves the rights toreject any and/or all offers it deems to be in its best interests, to waive formalities and reasonableirregularities in submitted documents and is not obligated to accept the lowest proposal.

MENTAL HEALTH MENTAL RETARDATION AUTHORITYOF HARRIS COUNTY will be accepting proposals

for the following:

PHARMACY DRUG DISPENSING SERVICESSpecifications may be secured from MHMRA, Harris County, Purchasing Department locatedat 7011 Southwest Freeway, Suite 100 in Houston, Texas 77074, telephone (713) 970-7300and/or via MHMRA website www.mhmraharris.org beginning Monday, May 17, 2010.Deadline for prospective vendors to submit questions to this RFP is Tuesday, June 1, 2010.Proposals must be submitted to Purchasing Services, 7011 SW Freeway, Houston, Texas 77074by 10:00 a.m., Thursday, June 10, 2010 in a sealed enveloped marked "PROPOSAL - DONOT OPEN UNTIL - THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2010, PHARMACY DRUG DISPENSING SER-VICES". Any questions pertaining to this solicitation should be addressed in writing to SharonBrauner, Buyer III, Senior Purchasing Coordinator via fax at (713) 970-7682 or E-mail questionsto sharon.brauner@mhmraharris.org cc: nina.cook@mhmraharris.org. MHMRA reserves allrights to reject any and/or all proposals, to waive formalities and reasonable irregularities insubmitted documents as it deems to be in its best interests, and is not obligated to accept thelowest proposal.

MENTAL HEALTH MENTAL RETARDATION AUTHORITY OFHARRIS COUNTY will be accepting Request for Qualification

for the following:

CONSUMER RELATED SERVICES FOR MHMRA ECIEARLY CHILDHOOD INTERVENTION PROGRAM

Specifications may be secured from MHMRA, Harris County, Purchasing Department located at7011 Southwest Freeway, Suite 100 in Houston,Texas 77074, telephone (713) 970-7300 and/or viaMHMRA website www.mhmraharris.org beginning Tuesday, May 18, 2010. A Pre-ProposalConference is scheduled for, Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 11:00 a.m.., 7011 S.W. Freeway. Deadline forprospective vendors to submit questions to this RFP is Thursday, June 3, 2010. Proposals must besubmitted to Purchasing Services, 7011 SW Freeway, Houston, Texas 77074 by 10:00 a.m.,Tuesday, June 15, 2010 in a sealed enveloped marked "PROPOSAL - DO NOT OPEN UNTIL –TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 2010, CONSUMER RELATED SERVICES FOR MHMRA ECI EARLY CHILD-HOOD INTERVENTION PROGRAMS ". Any questions pertaining to this solicitation should beaddressed in writing to Marguarette C. Washington, Senior Buyer, via fax at (713) 970-7682 or E-mail questions to Marguarette.washington@mhmraharris.org cc:Sharon.brauner@mhmraharris.org. MHMRA reserves all rights to reject any and/or all proposals, towaive formalities and reasonable irregularities in submitted documents as it deems to be in itsbest interests, and is not obligated to accept the lowest proposal.

HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOLDISTRICT NOTICE TO PROPOSERS

The Houston Independent School District located in the Hattie Mae White EducationalSupport Center at 4400 West 18th Street Houston,Texas 77092 will accept proposals, until thestated date and time deadlines, in the Board Services Office, Level C1 ‘

• Project 10-04-04 – LED MARQUEE SIGNS – with a deadline of 10 A.M.; May 26, 2010. The pre-proposal conference for this project will be held in room 2C06 on May 19, 2010 at 10 A.M

• Project 10-05-12 – RFP – Food Services – Temporary Personnel Services with a deadline of10A.M. June 2, 2010. The pre-proposal conference for this project will be in Room 2NE51 atthe above stated address on May 17, 2010 at 10 A.M

• Project 10-06-02 RFP / Boiler and Machinery Insurance with a deadline of 2 P.M. June 9,2010. The pre-proposal conference will be held on May 18, 2010 at 3:30 P. M. in Room 3C04at the above stated address.

Proposals are available on the HISD web-site at www.houstonisd.org.The District reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, or, to accept the proposal that is

most advantageous to the District.Scwyana Smith

NOTICE OF SALE OF PROPERTYThe Houston Independent School District is offering to the general public an opportunity tosubmit sealed bids for purchase of certain real estate district property listed below. A sealed bidproposal for this property addressed to the Houston Independent School District, Real Estate,will be received at the Board Services Office located on Level 1 of the Hattie Mae WhiteEducational Support Center, 4400 W. 18th Street, Houston,Texas 77092-8501. The bid deadline is2:00 p.m. on June 15, 2010. Real estate brokers will be entitled to receive a commission not toexceed one percent (1%) from the sales proceeds if such broker and commission amount isspecifically named and included as part of the successful purchaser’s bid in accordance withHISD bid procedures. The minimum bid that will be accepted for this property will be$335,000.00. Bid proposals must be accompanied by a Bid Security Deposit consisting of aCertified or Cashier’s Check in the amount of $25,000.00. The Bid Security Deposit shall bemade payable to the Houston Independent School District. Bid proposals will be subject toautomatic rejection if not accompanied by the prescribed form and amount of the Bid SecurityDeposit. Potential bidders who wish to discuss details of the proposed bid procedures andobtain individual bid packages or general information, or to schedule a tour or a meeting arerequested to contact Gary Hansel at ghansel@houstonisd.org, or by telephone at 713-556-6670.This sale is subject to terms contained in the bid package and subject to approval by the HISDBoard of Education, and HISD retains the right to accept any bid proposal or reject any or all bidsregardless of the bid price, and to withdraw the property from sale at any time. HISD reservesthe right to waive informalities in any bid proposal as deemed appropriate by HISD. It is theintent of the Houston Independent School District that the qualified bid proposal which resultsin the highest net proceeds and/or the greatest net benefit to the school district shall prevail.

The following property will be available for bids to purchase:

Telephone Road Property: 1.0215-Acre HISD site located at1409 and 1417 Telephone Road - Houston, Texas

BID ENVELOPES SHALL BE PLAINLY MARKED:Sealed bid for: Sale of Property1409 and 1417 Telephone Road (1.0215 acres)Do Not Open Until 2:00 p.m. on June 15, 2010

Any bid received later than the specified time, whether delivered in person or mailed, is subjectto rejection.

Madison-ex, 49er fullback Moran Norris gives instructions prior to shopping spree.

Photo: Houston Texan

Texan owner Bob McNair and TonyWyllie share a moment in ReliantStadium.

MAY 16 – 22, 2010 | DEFENDER 7

By Pharoh MartinNNPA NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - FEMA’s botchedresponse to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 reduced theFederal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)to a different four-letter word in the eyes of many,especially African-American New Orleans resi-dents, who were disparately victimized and dis-

placed by the storm and thefloods that killed more than1,800 people.

In an effort to reduce futuredisastrous responses fromFEMA in heavily Black popu-lated Gary Flowers, chiefexecutive officer of the BlackLeadership Forum, hosted theorganization’s first annualFEMA Black LeadershipSummit at a Washington, D.C.

hotel last week. The conference allowed FEMAexecutives to engage and form critical relation-ships with Black local government officials andrepresentatives from key Black non-governmentalorganizations across the nation.

“Hurricane Katrina in 2005 led us in the Blackcommunity to understand one basic fact - The fed-eral government, by way of FEMA, did not knowus. And we, by way of the Black LeadershipForum, did not know them,”

Flowers said, “We were not convinced in themonths that followed that FEMA knew the links ofthe Black organizations or knew the Black mayorsand local elected officials.”

Like FEMA, the Black Leadership Forum iswide and expansive. Made up of 51 national Blackorganizations, which has almost 7,000 chaptersand affiliates between them and a combined mem-bership base of almost 12 million people, the BlackLeadership Forum is the largest organization of itskind. When the Obama administration came in, hepromised to close the gaps through FEMA’s cur-rently appointed administrator Craig Fugate,Flowers said.

“I want to be in the initial meetings,” Flowerssaid. “I want to receive one of the first calls oremails so I can more quickly distribute the infor-mation to our nearly 7000 chapters and affiliates

across the country who are all on the ground.”Flowers hopes to take away a new construct

between the federal government and states so thatthe resource deployment is more equitable to com-munities of color. As of now, the constitutionalconstruct limits

FEMA’s authority to only respond at the behestof a state’s governor but that doesn’t mean thatFEMA isn’t allowed to work with and build betterrelationships with community partners.

“We would like stronger communication chan-nels between the federal government and the BlackLeadership Forum,” Flowers said. “Also, wewould like to serve as third party responders on theground so grants and contracts can go to Blackorganizations to train their people on

the ground.”Building strong community partnerships are crit-

ical for FEMA’s mission, said Tim Manning,deputy administrator of FEMA’s Protection andNational Preparedness Bureau.

“Historically, FEMA would respond to disastersand would work with anybody that we would comeacross as far as elected leadership at the gubernato-rial and mayoral levels,” Manning said. “In work-ing with the Black Leadership Forum we have anopportunity to strengthen relationships across thecountry and across service and leadership organi-zations and all levels of government. We can actu-ally plan for our communities and work with themand not just with those that we

traditionally work with.”He added, “The best thing that we can take away

from this forum is how we can do our jobs better.”FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, flying in

from a severely-flooded Nashville, served as thesummit’s keynote speaker. His remarks surroundedhow his background as a paramedic, fire fighter, adirector

of Florida’s disaster response agency in a hurri-cane heavy state helped him “get it”, as one

attendee described him.“[One] thing we cannot do is continue this

process where we say that it’s going to be govern-ment-centric, that the government has theanswers,” Fugate said in a down-to-earth key noteaddress that seemed to connect with the conferenceattendees very well. “The government

doesn’t have all of the answers.”He said that his agency needs “more voices” and

“more connections.”“The message that came from Administrator

Fugate was especially powerful for me,” saidLaura Hall, a state representative for Huntsville,Ala. She said that Fugate didn’t speak what shecalls

“bureaucrat language” and that he has a goodunderstanding of how things should go.

“I think that they are actually trying to reach outis the most important thing,” said StateRepresentative Charmaine Marchand Stiaes, whorepresents New Orleans 9th ward, the heavilyAfrican-American

district of the city that sustained the most dam-age.

“Those coming into the community to assist usdidn’t look like the community,” Marchand Stiaessaid. “It made you feel like there was a disconnectof community efforts or getting that message thatthose

that are trying to help you look just like you.”Stiaes said that she found out that during disas-

ter response, recovery and rebuilding periods likethe one that’s been gripping her city for the pastfive years, she will be able to better navigate the

emergency process.“I found out about how things trickle down,”

Stiaes said. “At first, we were told that the monieswere not going down to our mayor only becausewe heard that they didn’t trust our mayor [RayNagin]. On May 3, Mitch Landrieu succeeded RayNagin as mayor of New Orleans.

Stiaes resolves, “So hopefully that we have anew mayor, the dollars will flow down to NewOrleans with regard to recovery efforts and gettingour buildings and roads back online.”

FEMA

Gary Flowers

pressing issues.“This is an emergency,”

Burris said during a May 6press conference. “I will beworking very hard with mycolleagues on both sides of theaisle of the United StatesSenate to say that it is crucial[that the bill be passed].”

According to the Bureau ofLabor Statistics, joblessness

a m o n gyoung Blackmales con-stitutes thef a s t e s tc l i m b i n gdemograph-ic, withmore thanhalf ofBlack malesages 16 to19 unem-ployed. Inthe nation’sc a p i t a l ,overall job-l e s s n e s shovers atabout 10percent.

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.)called for advocacy groupssuch as the NAACP to stepforward and demand action onthe bill. CongresswomanCarolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) said failure to quicklyaddress the matter could causeserious societal problems.

“If we don’t, we’ll suffer theconsequences,” Kilpatricksaid. “We can’t afford anothercatastrophic situation in thiscountry…and putting [youth]as well as their parents back towork ought to be at the top ofthe list.”

CBCcontinued from page 1

CarolynKilpatrick

Bobby Rush

Black Officials work towardpartnerships after Katrina

It possesses the “WOW” factor.The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro 2LT RS Coupe with matching

exterior “inferno orange” paint and interior trim turned heads asif they were on a swivel.

They tell me the yellow and black painted version is called the“Bumble Bee.” There was plenty enough buzz caused by the“jack-o-lantern” Camaro.

It seemed that everybody around the schoolhouse wanted tobe seen in this “hot” sports car that rivals such competitors asthe Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger, Nissan 370Z, HyundaiGenesis Coupe and BMW 3 Series.

Teachers, cheerleaders and athletes all had something positiveto say about the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe. Most of theconversation centered around taking it out for a test drive.

Of course, the mere mentioning of the six-speed manual trans-mission quickly separated the contenders from the pretenders.The rules of this job states that I may take as many people as Iwant for a ride, yet I’m to be the one and only driver.

That’s a rule that I take seriously, so I gathered up a few luckysouls and off we went.

They loved the quick acceleration generated by the 3.6-literdirect injection V6 engine matched with the aforementioned six-speed manual transmission. You can hurt yourself in this vehicle,so you have to be careful.

I loved the fact that the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro earned a five-star rating in the rollover category by the National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Peace of mind means alot when you’re behind the wheel of a true “muscle car.”

The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro RS also received a five-star safe-ty rating in the side front seat category along with four-star rank-ings in the frontal driver and crash passenger divisions.

Safety and security features include dual stage frontal air bagswith front and rear head curtain side air bags, turn-by-turn navi-gation, automatic crash response, stabilitrak with traction controland theft deterrent system.

In a sports coupe (compact), you don’t expect much leg roomfor rear-seat passengers and the 2010 Camaro RS remains true tothat trend. With small rear side windows, there are blind spots,so you’d better closely monitor the exterior side mirrors.

If the front seat belts aren’t mounted on the seats themselves,it can be uncomfortable trying to turn around and reach the safe-ty devices. Fortunately, the seat belts are mounted through aleather strap on the top door-side of each front seat.

The AM/FM/CD stereo system with auxiliary input jack andUSB port in the center console and Boston acoustics premiumnine-speaker system provides exquisite sound. Did I mentionXM satellite radio?

There’s Bluetooth for your phone, driver information center,ultrasonic rear park assist system, full folding rear seat withtrunk pass through and leather-wrapped steering wheel withcruise- and stereo-mounted controls.

A memorable sports car ride is enhanced by a sport suspen-sion, power-variable ratio steering and 19-inch aluminum alloywheels.

The RS option package includes 20-inch wheels with mid-night silver finish, rear spoiler, RS unique tail lamps, interioraccent trim package, accent stitching on steering wheel, shiftknob, door armrest, center console and seats along with a stripepackage.

Standard equipment includes battery rundown protection,automatic headlamps, intermittent windshield wipers, dualexhaust with polished stainless steel tips, heated front seats, dualcup holders, front reading lamps, four-pack auxiliary gauges andan easy-to-read front dashboard.

The 2010 Chevrolet Equinox all-wheel-driveLTZ sports utility vehicle is a General Motorsproduct that reminds you of something foreign.

With a navigation and OnStar system withinclose proximity in the center of the dashboard,you can talk to an OnStar advisor and find outwhere you need to go and turn-by-turn direc-tions will be downloaded to your vehicle.

Listen to the voice-guided directions after theadvisor disconnects from the vehicle and arriveat your destination.

You actually have e-mail from your vehicleand that is part of OnStar vehicle diagnostics.

Every month, you’ll receive a personalized e-mail with your diagnostics results. Color-codedicons let you check results at a glance.

Click on the account profile to make sureOnStar has the most up-to-date contact infor-mation.

Enough with the latest technology.The latest Chevrolet Equinox midsize SUV is

aesthetically-appealing, functional and fuel-effi-cient.

We took the Equinox on the road for the2010 girls basketball tournament in Austin. A167-mile trek with a smooth highway and hillsin between.

The Equinox was up for the challenge.Armed with an optional 3.0-liter, six-cylinder

engine matched with a six-speed automatictransmission, the Equinox felt at ease motoringdown the highway and we had to monitor ourspeed because it felt like we were going 55miles per hour when the speedometer was reg-istering 80.

We really didn’t have funds to give the Texas

Highway Department.There was plenty of interior room with

leather-appointed seats, heated front seats and adriver’s bucket seat with eight-way power lum-bar with memory seat and mirrors.

The rear seat had a multi-flex sliding featurewith 60/40 split and three-position reclinesetup.

Along with automatic climate control, thenew Equinox had a cargo net, rear tonneaucover and cross rails.

Throw in cruise control, AM/FM stereo sys-tem with CD player and satellite radio, the

Equinox has eight Pioneer speakers com-bined with an amplifier and equalization.

Exterior features were just as impressive.There’s a power programmable liftgate,power heated outside mirrors and fog lamps.

Safety/security features include a tire pres-sure monitoring system, side impact air bags,head curtain side air bags with rollover pro-tection and remote keyless entry.

GM vehicles now offer the peace of mindthat consumers previously thought was onlyavailable in foreign vehicles.

You might ought to test drive one today.

2010 Chevrolet Camaro

By Darrell K. Ardison

2010 Chevrolet Equinox

EQUINOX: HIGHLIGHTS

MSRP base price$29,795 (as tested -$36,380)

Engine3.0-liter V6

TransmissionSix-speed automatic

Fuel economy17 miles per gallon (city), 24 mpg (highway)

Estimated annual fuel cost$1,950

CAMARO: HIGHLIGHTSMSRP base price

$26,875 (as tested- $30,470)

Engine3.6-liter V6

TransmissionSix-speed manual

Fuel economy17 miles per gallon (city), 29 mpg (highway)

Estimated annual fuel cost$1,856 (based on $2.60 per gallon)

AUTO NEWS8 MAY 16 – 22, 2010 | DEFENDER

determined to garner the eight total votes need-ed to enact the changes.

Nicole Nieto de Sada, senior vice presidentof the National Hispanic Institute, views theproposed changes a having injurious social,political and educational ramifications.

“The danger of removing Latino and AfricanAmerican historical figures and contributionsfrom our school’s textbooks is that there will beno role modeling for these students—noimages of people who look like them in thepages of their history books,” said Nieto deSada.

Nieto de Sada believes that ignoring the his-torical contributions of Latinos, AfricanAmericans and women will leave such studentsfeeling like they are not a part of the Americanexperience.

“They will be left to feel like trespassers orguests rather than owners. And such feelingscould lead them to contributing less to the well-being of society. Because when you feel like anowner, you act out in ways than reflect yourownership in society. However, when you feelisolated, like an outsider, you can behave thatout as well, in ways that show a lack of invest-ment in the past, present or future of this coun-try,” shared Nieto de Sada, who believes we arealready seeing precursors of such ill-effects.

“Those who drop out and disconnect fromthe public school system do so often becausethey feel as if they have no stake, no claim, noconnection to what is being taught. The pro-posed changes by the Board would only exac-erbate an already negative situation,” addedNieto de Sada.

Board proposed omissions from the curricu-lum include the work and contributions ofadvocacy groups like the NAACP andLULAC.

“The NAACP, the nation’s oldest and largestCivil Rights group, as well as LULAC, havehad a great impact on our state and nation, andhave earned a place in the public school con-versation on U.S. history,” said Gary Bledsoe,president of the Texas NAACP.

Both Bledsoe and Nieto de Sada believe theBoard’s proposed changes do not bode well forpreparing Texas public school students forpresent and future global realities.

“As a nation we are facing numerous global

crises—environmental, energy and econom-ic—and we need ideas and innovations from allof our people. However, if you feel disconnect-ed and outside the realm of a ‘real and trueAmerican’ how likely are you to be willing andable to contribute? We’re all in the same boat,people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and edu-cational levels. We are all in danger if we donot inspire all our children to become the bestand brightest they can be,” said Nieto de Sada.

“Not only would the Board’s proposedchanges be an insult to those Americans whosacrificed so much for the cause of civil rights,doing so would also place Texas students of allraces and ethnicities at a horrible disadvantagewhen competing on national exams for admis-sion to college and scholarships against stu-dents from other states,” said Bledsoe.

“The Board’s changes threaten to weakenour position in the world because we wouldhave players who were not playing—those whofeel left out. And when we don’t have the entirecitizenry contributing to society we can’t max-imize our full potential outputs. The Boardshould be using these textbooks as an opportu-nity to include and celebrate all people so thatwe all feel a part and want to contribute,” saidNieto de Sada.

Nieto de Sada believes the issue at hand withthe proposed textbook and curriculum changesis psychological and social in nature.

“If students don’t see and feel their ancestorshad a stake in the history of this state and coun-try they will relish in a state of ‘outsiderness.’They will not feel like full citizens. And whenthat happens, the best you can hope for is to beadopted by someone who is. But with adoption,there are serious drawbacks. You can be adopt-ed or not, or forever feel outside. It’s just a veryschizophrenic way to live,” added Nieto de

Sada.Nieto de Sada believes the potential ill-

effects of the Board’s curriculum changes willmake it more difficult for students to learnbecause they feel left out, and more difficult forteachers to teach because they are dealing witha non-receptive audience.

“And students who don’t feel acceptancewill go looking for acceptance elsewhere, andoften in negative place,” said Nieto de Sada.

Nieto de Sada also sees the Board’s proposedcurriculum changes adversely affecting ourcountry’s bottom line, more specifically the taxbase which depends upon employed peoplewho make contributions to society.

“There are second, third and fourth genera-tion students who potentially will support thattax base; but if socially isolated due to theBoard’s textbook changes, they will be unem-

ployable and not participating in the systems ascontributors. And with the groundswell ofundocumented workers we’re witnessing wewill have more and more people and less con-tributors, creating in this country a reality muchlike many Latin American countries,” SaidNieto de Sada. “It seems like you would wantto make people feel more included and notexcluded. But by deleting Latino and AfricanAmerican contributions from history you’recreating a bigger problem.”

As a precursor to the Board’s upcoming voteon May 21, Bledsoe and others are asking thatconcerned citizens take action by writing andfaxing the Board of their disapproval of theproposed curriculum changes, participating in arally and forum scheduled for May 19 inAustin, or by attending the public hearings.

Nieto de Sada suggests concerned citizenstake actions more close to home.

“Besides pushing for change through the sys-tem you must also do your own research yourhistory. You can start with heroes in your ownfamily, and discuss them with your childrenover dinner. The issue is expectations; our chil-dren realizing ‘I come from a long line ofheavy-hitters, so I have to step up my game.’You can’t just wait for change to happen.You’ve got children in your household whocan’t wait; children who need to be educatedabout heroes who reflect their culture immedi-ately,” added Nieto de Sada.

MAY 16 – 22, 2010 | DEFENDER 9

Textbookcontinued from page 1 WHAT YOU CAN DO TO STOP THE TEXAS TEXTBOOK MASSACRE

■ Fax letters complaining about this to the State Board of Education at 512-463-9838

and to the Texas NAACP Office, attention Yannis Banks at 512-322-0757

■ Participate in the May 19 rally and forum in Austin with the NAACP, LULAC and the

Congressional Black Caucus

■ Attend the Board’s public hearing (May 19-21). If you want to speak at the public

hearing call the Board 48 hours in advance of May 19 at 512-463-9734

Artie Jackson and Judges Maria Jackson, Josefina Rendonand Gladys Bransford

Diedra Fontaine, Marsha Penn, Jacquelyn Altonand Winell Herron

John Merritte and Marianne Walker Katishia Cosley, Johanna Thomas-Smith, Melanie Lawson and Sharron Melton

Mildred Tate, Ave Grayer, Chiquita Easely and Phyllis Murray

Ernest McGowan Jr. and Rebbie McGowan

LIFE IS A CARARET…….That’s the themechosen for the 2010 Houston Chapter ofLinks, Inc. Cabaret Scholarship Gala benefit-ing The Educational Fund. Over the years,this chapter has provided nearly $1 milliondollars in scholarships and other educationalopportunities for Houston area youth to helpthem achieve their dreams. Chapter PresidentJacquelyn Alton and gala chairs, DiedraFontaine, Marsha Penn and Winell Herroncan keep those smiles on their faces becausethe event was a hit. This festive evening wasfull of elegance and cabaret entertainment,featuring Yvonne Washington and the Mix.About 600 cabaret-chic dressed ladies attend-ed, including Katishia Cosley, MelanieLawson Dr. Johanna Thomas-Smith,Sharron Melton, Algenita Segars,Madeleine Wright, Beatrice Sowell, ArtieJackson Judges Maria Jackson, JosefinaRendon and Gladys Bransford andMarianne Walker and John Merritte.Continued Success!.......YOUTHS EXPLOR-ING THE ARTS……..The NortheastCultural Arts Council sponsors a five-weeksummer arts enrichment program for urbanyouth that would normally not have theopportunity to be exposed to the arts, music,dance or creative writing. Recently the Boardof Directors and the American HeartAssociation “Power of Legacy Soiree” hosteda 25th Anniversary Dinner at The PowerCenter and presented several awards.Receiving the Louis J. Bailey Alumni Awardwas Valerie Murray-Singleton and AnthonyPruitt, the Community Partnership Awardwas presented to Cynthia Wilson and theBoard of Directors Award was presented toMaria McNeal Sheppard, Phyllis Murrayand Anthony Williams. During the program,a historical reflection and new directionsbeyond 2010 was given by Jewell McGowen,Founder and Board Chair and ErnestMcGowen, Sr., Chairman Emeritus. CityController Ronald Green and his wife, JudgeHilary Green served as their Honorary Co-Chairs. In the mix was Rebbie and ErnestMcGowan, Jr., Mildred Tate, Ave Grayer,Chiquita Easley and Geneva and TamadgeSharp, to name a few. We salute dinnerchair, Phyllis Murray and her committee fora successful dinner.Congratulations!.......WALK ON THE WILDSIDE…….For more than a decade, Macy’shas produced Brentwood’s CommunityFoundation Scholarship Luncheon andFashion Show. As usual, the models took tothe catwalk and showed off some fabulousfashions. Beaming with pride over theevent’s success included Dr. Joe SamuelRatliff, his wife Doris, Glenda Hopkins,Foundation’s Executive Director and BetsyZeino, Macy’s Regional Director of Stores.To date, over $1 million dollars in scholar-ships have been awarded to students seekinghigher education and in memory of a chartermember and faithful and dedicated servant,the scholarship committee announced the cre-ation of the 2010 Norma Mims Watson-Bediaho Scholarship to be awarded to a highschool graduate or post-graduate student inpursuit of a Criminal Justice discipline.Spotted at the fashionable event includedluncheon chair, Carolyn Grant, Tony Glover,Vickie Byrd, Myrtle Morrow, MarshenellSells, Sheila Wheatley-Clark, Dr. AlexanderBrown, LaRence Snowden, AprilArmwood, Taylor Sutton, Monica Suttonand Paul Jefferson. ContinuedSuccess!.........NEWS FLASH…….Houston’sown, Marcus Davis and The Breakfast Klubis one of the four finalists in the GoodMorning America’s “Best BreakfastChallenge.” The segment will air onSaturday morning, May 15th, so be sure towatch. Good Luck!........ UPCOMINGEVENT……..Solutions for Better Living-Houston (SBL) will present “The Power ofOne: A Documentary” about ordinary peopleliving extraordinary lives at The CarolineCollective, 4820 Caroline Street beginning at6:30pm. You’ll not only want to see thisshort documentary about moving stories ofseveral SBL program participants, but alsolearn how they can assist you by serving as acatalyst to promote innovation and socialentrepreneurship among non-profits and grass-roots programs. Oh, they also will provideseed funds to get you started and help youdevelop your ideas. The event is free, butyou can make a tax-deductible donation. Formore info contact Valarie Jackson at 281-236-3989……..Have a great week andremember to watch CROSSROADS onChannel 13 Sunday morning with MelanieLawson for your event covered by Ms. Chag.Also check out our website at defendernet-work.com to view the “Event of theWeek.”…..From Chag’s Place to your place,Ciao Darling!

10 MAY 16 – 22, 2010 | DEFENDER

Algenita Segars, Madelaine Wright and Beatrice Sowels

Betsy Zeino and Glenda Hopkins

Jewell and Ernest B. McGowan, Sr.

Tamadge and Geneva Sharp

Dr. Joe and Doris Ratliff and Paul Jefferson

Dr. Alexander Brownand LaRence Snowden

Vickie Byrd, Myrtle Morrow, Marshenell Sellsand Sheila Wheatley-Clark

April Armwood, Taylor Sutton and Monica Sutton Carolyn Grant, Tony Glover and Vickie Byrd