INSIDE

RAPPIN’Tommy Wyatt

TPATPATPATPATPATEXASPUBLISHERS

This paper canbe recycled

Vol. 46 No. 45 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: vil3202@aol.com May 17, 2019

TH

A N N IV E R S A R Y

www.TheAustinVillager.com

ASSOCIATION

Round RockCouncilwoman

secures 2nd term.See WINPage 6

NUL breaks Votersuppression barrier

for 2020.See MINORITY

Page 5

Can G-Money leadthe Bucks all theway to the title?

See NEWPage 2

How ManyWays can we

say ThankYou?

This week’s edition willbe our 46th Anniversaryissue. We have to thankthe Austin community foryour support for all ofthese years. You havemade it possible for us toput our vision into action.That vision was to recordan historical record of thecontributions that theBlack community hadmade, and was making,towards the advancementof the community. We became a memberof the National News-paper PublishersAssociation (NNPA) andjoined with other BlackOwned newspapersaround the country toprovide that service inevery state andcommunity in the country. This could only be doneby having the support ofour communities to assistus in observing thoseoutstanding contributions.This community hasmade many greatcontributions to the city,state and nation. And theserecords are more importnow than ever. With thegentrification of thecommunity, we are allworking very hard topreserve that history forthe benefit of our children;so that they may have rolemodels to use as a guidewhen they begin enteringtheir careers. We look forward toplaying a continued role inthis effort. And we willneed the continuedsupport of the community,both old and youngmembers, to keep thedreams alive. We also must give aspecial thanks to ouradvertisers, both large andsmall, which have made itpossible for us to dis-tribute your message toour community withoutyou having to pay for thepaper. These companiesneed your continued sup-port in appreciation forthem making our com-munity a very import partof their customer base. We are looking forwardto many more years ofservice to this community.

Fox Address Concernsof Diversity Following

Show CancellationsBy Defender News Service

“Rel” starring Lil Rel Howery (right)and”Empire” with Taraji P. Henson (left)were canceled. (Photos: Dia Dipasupil /Getty Images Entertainment via Getty

Images, Theo Wargo / Getty ImagesEntertainment via Getty Images)

(DEFENDER) - “Rel,” starring Lil Rel Howery,“The Cool Kids” led by David Alan Grier and LeeDaniels‘ “Star” are just a few of the shows that havebeen recently canceled by Fox. And considering allof them have Black leads, one of the top execu-tives talked about diversity at the network goingforward.

During a press call published by Deadline, Fox’sChief Executive of Entertainment Charlie Collier saidincreasing diversity at the network was never aonetime experiment but a continued effortwhether a show is cancelled or not.

“The diversity of Fox is an issue that is so im-portant and an ongoing effort for us to make surewe’re best in class,” said Collier, who just landed atFox from the AMC Networks in November.

“As I was looking at Fox and joining, what’sremarkable is that the history of this company andwhat it’s done in terms of diversity … If you lookacross our slate in terms of scripted and unscriptedand sports, we really are doing a good job, but thejob never stops,” Collier said. “The effort contin-ues, it never stops.”

Other shows with Black leads that Fox pulledthe plug on include “Lethal Weapon,” starringDamon Wayans, and “Proven Innocent,” fronted byRussell Hornsby. Additionally, it was just announcedthat “Empire” will end after its upcoming sixth sea-son.

On top of that, “Rosewood,” which starredMorris Chestnut, was canceled after two seasonsin 2017, and at the time he spoke about diversityat Fox and gave the network credit.

On that show Chestnut portrayed the charac-ter of Dr. Beaumont Rosewood Jr., a pathologistwho works closely with the police, and his co-starwas played by Jaina Lee Ortiz, a Latina from theBronx, New York.

“FOX provided a platform for a show thatmade strides in diversity and the positive images itprojected as all-inclusive,” wrote Chestnut.

Tiffany HaddishTo Host ABC’s‘Kids Say The

Darndest Things’By Defender News Service

Tiffany Haddish

(DEFENDER) - ABC’s fall schedule will includea reboot of the TV variety series “Kids Say theDarndest Things,” hosted by Tiffany Haddish.

ABC said Tuesday the comedian-actress willproduce the series, set to air on Sundays.

Haddish will encourage children to share theiradvice on topics including dating and sportsman-ship, the network said.

ABC also will launch another spinoff of its com-edy “black-ish” this fall (see more on page 4).

Titled “mixed-ish,” the spinoff will focus on thepreteen version of the mom that Tracee Ellis Rossplays on “black-ish.”

The young Rainbow, nicknamed Bow, faces thechallenges of growing up in the 1980s as part of amixed-ethnicity family, ABC said.

Two other new shows on ABC’s fall schedule:“Stumptown,” based on the graphic novels, and“Emergence,” described as a character-driventhriller.

Herman Cain saysBlack folks are“brainwashed”against Trump

By Defender News Service

Former Republican presidential candidateHerman Cain made a blanket statement about Afri-can Americans telling TMZ he believes Black peopleare “brainwashed” to hold President Trump withdisdain.

Cain was asked why he has so few supportersin the Black community.

“They’re getting brainwashed according to thenews they watch,” Cain replied. “And it’s been sta-tistically shown that certain news outlets are nottelling the entire truth and in some cases peopleare being brainwashed.”

Cain believes Trump has done lots to help theBlack community including supporting criminal jus-tice reform and lowering the unemployment rate,which he has claimed through much of his term. Inactuality, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released fig-ures recently that shows a low overall unemploy-ment rate, at 3.67 percent but a stagnating rate forBlacks at 6.7 percent, about 86 percent higher thanthe national average.

Cain

Black WomenDominate MissUSA Pageant

(NNPA) - The re-cently crowned MissUSA, Cheslie Kryst saidshe’ll never forget thetime a judge at a lawconference told her towear a skirt instead ofpants because judgesprefer skirts.

The 27-year-oldblack lawyer, whoearned a law degree andan MBA at Wake ForestUniversity, had a mes-sage for that judge aftershe won the competi-tion where the three fi-nalists were all womenof color.

“Glass ceilings canbe broken wearing ei-ther a skirt or pants,”Kryst said.

Alejandra Gonzalezof New Mexico was thefirst-runner up, andOklahoma’s TrianaBrowne the second-run-ner up during the com-petition in Reno, Ne-vada.

By Stacy M. Brown,NNPA Newswire

Correspondent

Cheslie KrystMISS USA

Page 2 ~ THE VILLAGER/May 17, 2019 THE COMMUNIQUÉ www.theaustinvillager.com

Giannis! The “New Age” Dr. JBy John Harris Jr. | VILLAGER Sports Columnist

Giannis Antetokounmpo Julius “Dr. J” Erving

(VILLAGER) - If starsare indeed born duringthe NBA Playoffs, Mil-waukee Bucks forwardGiannis Antetokounmponeeds no introduction.

First things first.Giannis, like most super-stars, is known by hisfirst name. Since his lastname, as well as his firstname (sounds likeYonnis) is difficult to pro-nounce, let’s call him G-Money for short.

As a sports journal-ist, I don’t normally rootfor teams or individualathletes. However, I’mmaking an exception inthe case of G-Money. Iwant to see Milwaukeedefeat the Toronto Rap-tors in the Eastern Con-ference finals and ad-vance to face the two-time defending cham-pion Golden State War-riors in the NBA Finals.

With all due re-spect to Kawhi Leonardin Toronto and Damian

Lillard in Portland, truebasketball fans want tosee if G-Money can beatGolden State in the finalsall by himself.

Which brings me tothe main point of thiscolumn. People need tosee G-Money up close torealize how talented heis and how much he re-sembles the legendaryJulius Erving, better

known as Dr. J.There’s been a lot

of comparisons thrownaround about who’s thebest NBA player of alltime. I’m not saying Dr. Jis better than MichaelJordan, LeBron James,Kobe Bryant, KevinDurant, Magic Johnson,Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,Wilt Chamberlain, OscarRobertson, or G-Money,

for that matter, but hebelongs somewhere inthe conversation.

If you never saw Dr.J play in person, I feelsorry for you. At 6-foot-7, Erving possessed hugehands that could grip abasketball like a grape-fruit. He jumped so highthat not even NASAcould chart his verticalleap. Check him out on

YouTube if you don’t be-lieve me.

Erving’s career be-gan in the ABA, wherehe played and won a pairof championships in vir-tual obscurity. But hislegend grew to mythicalproportions when hejoined the Philadelphia76ers and led the Sixerspast the Los Angeles Lak-ers to win an NBA title.

I grew up in Phila-delphia and saw Dr. Jplay in person at theSpectrum many times.When I watch G-Moneyperform four decadeslater, it’s uncanny howmuch he resemblesErving on the court.

Neither player isknown for having a lethaljump shot, so they do a lotof their damage aroundthe basket. To see the 7-foot G-Money ascend inthe lane, twist his bodylike a pretzel and dunkover and around defend-ers is like recalling a Dr. Jhouse call.

Like Erving, G-Money, bears a heavyburden of carrying histeam in the playoffs. Mil-waukee is good, postingthe best record in theleague this year, but theBucks have one legiti-mate star - G-Money.

Can G-Money leadthe Bucks all the way tothe title? It’s going to befun watching him try!

Dave Koz and Friends Summer Horns Featuring KennyLattimore, Gerald Albright, Rick Braun, Aubrey Logan

By Naomi Richard | VILLAGER Entertainmant Editor

(VILLAGER) - OnJuly 27, 2019, musicalgenius will descend onthe Live Music Capital ofthe World in the form ofDave Koz and FriendsSummer Horns Featur-ing Kenny Lattimore,Gerald Albright, RickBraun and Aubrey Lo-gan. Tickets are on salefor this night of jazz to beheld at One World The-ater, located at 7701 BeeCaves Road in Austin,Texas.

In a career thatspans more than threedecades, saxophonistDave Koz has racked upan astoundingly impres-sive array of honors andachievements: nineGrammyÒ nominations,nine number one al-bums on Billboard’s Cur-rent Contemporary JazzAlbums chart, numerousworld tours, playing formultiple presidents, aStar on the HollywoodWalk of Fame and more.A platinum selling artist,Koz is also known as ahumanitarian, entrepre-

neur, radio host and in-strumental music advo-cate.

Now, he has re-leased one of the mostexciting recordings of hislong career. Five yearsafter recording their ini-tial tribute to the greathorn sections of soul,jazz and pop, Dave Kozand Friends’ SummerHorns II From A To Z re-prises the all-star,crowd-pleasing formatof that smash hit outing.The album features Koz,Gerald Albright, RichardElliot, Rick Braun andAubrey Logan, plus guestvocalists Jonathan But-ler, Kenny Lattimore andmore.

Today we turn thespotlight on KennyLattimore, a dynamicpart of this musical em-pire. Having just beenfeatured on TV One’saward-winning docu-mentary series UN-SUNG, this GrammyÒnominated powerhouse,seems back and with avengeance.

Kenny LattimoreLattimore came

straight out of Washing-ton, D.C. in the mid ’90swith a smooth R&Bsound and look tomatch. Raised on gospeland the soulful music ofpopular icons Marvin

Gaye and DonnyHathaway, Lattimoremade his mark in 1997with the breakout singleFor You. The song wouldeventually become anenduring wedding clas-sic. When he married

R&B Diva Chanté Mooreand recorded two highlyregarded duet albums,his romantic life ap-peared to mirror his lovesongs. An unfortunatesplit from his record la-bel coupled with his dra-matic breakup withMoore, however, led topublic speculationsabout his private life thatovershadowed his ca-reer.

The singer has gar-nered GrammyÒ, SoulTrain and Stellar Awardsnominations as well asthe NAACP Image Awardfor Best New Artist. Hisunique vocals havegraced projects by a di-verse array of artistsfrom Musiq Soulchildand Rachelle Ferrell toNancy Wilson, BrianCulbertson and Kanye

West.Dave Koz has cre-

ated a magical group ofA-List artists, includingLattimore, that blendsthe sounds we love tohear and Koz had this tosay, “I want to authenti-cally perform music thatcovers all the genres andemotions that I havelived and loved through-out the years. Frombreakup and makeupsongs, to the highs andlows, from gospel to jazzto R&B — I want to makesure each album revealsmore about me.”

Don’t miss thiscombination of great-ness at One World The-atre on July 27, 2019 fortwo shows, 7:00pm and9:30pm. For tickets visith t t p s : / /oneworldtheatre.org/.

We Want YOU!Advertise With

TheVILLAGER

www.theaustinvillager.com THE BULLETIN THE VILLAGER/May 17, 2019 ~ Page 3

Felix Bamirin, PastorGRACEWAY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Experience Grace For LifeCall: 682.472.9073 l Email: gracewayaustin@aol.com l

Visit: 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.

New Lincoln Missionary Baptist Church2215 E. 8th St.,

Austin, TX 78702Going to Higher Heights,

Trusting God along the way.Sunday School 9:00am

BTU: 10:00amMorning Worship - 11:00 amChurch Phone (512) 477-2714

Cell Phont (512) 585-0744Email: newlincolnmbc@att.net

www.newlincolnmbc.orgRev. Darron E. Patterson

Pastor

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

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

with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

“This life, therefore, is notrighteousness, but growth in righteousness;not health, but healing; not being, butbecoming; not rest, but exercise. We are notyet what we shall be, but we are growingtoward it. The process is not yet finished,but it is going on. This is not the end, but itis the road. All does not yet gleam in glory,but all is being purified.” --- Martin Luther

GO YE EVANGELISTIC GOSPEL MISSION(Arena of Refuge and Liberty)

Venu: Super 8, 8128 N. Interstate 35Austin, Texas 78753

CHURCH WEEKLY ACTIVITIESSundays: Sunday Celebration 9am - 12 noon

Wednesdays: Systematic Bible Study 6pm-7:30 pmFri: “I Believe in Miracle” Prayer Meetings 6-7:30

Join Operation PUSH Prayerline Team EveryFriday @ 6:pm

REV. SAMUEL EHIMEN, Minister in-chargeTel: 512-506-1645

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

Sunday MorningWorship @ 11: am

Kenneth Hill,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 loveHe exhibited 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: 512-343-9300

Rev. Dr. JacquelynDonald-Mims

Globalizing the Gospel

A Ministry That Ministers

Edward M. Fleming,Sr. Pastor

OLIVET BAPTISTCHURCH

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

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

Phone: (512) 478-1875Fax: (512) 478-1892

Bus Ministry: (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.

Sunday Services

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 ORORDER TO GO

Mon - Fri: 11 am - 8 p.m.Saturday: 12 noon - 5 p.m.

Closed SundayCall (512) 928-5555

DAVID CHAPEL Missionary Baptist ChurchSUNDAY

Christian Education 9:15a.m. | Worship 10:30 a.m.Nursery Available

WEDNESDAY |Worship 1st Wed. monthly 7:00p.m. | Bible Study 7:30p.m.

Dr. Joseph C.Parker, Jr.

Senior Pastor

2211 East Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd.Austin, TX 78702

Office: 512-472-9748 Fax: 512-472-5399Website: www.davidchapel.orgEmail: info@davidchapel.org“A Church with a Heart

for The Community”

Pastor J. R. Roberson& First lady

Lillian Robertson

BETHEL-ST. PAUL UNITED BAPTIST CHURCH877 W. Hempstead, Giddings, Texas 78942

Weekly ScheduleSunday School 9:00 a.m.

Sunday Worship 10:45 a.m.Wednesday Night Bible

Study 6:00p.m.

Dr. Ricky Freeman,Pastor

(979) 542-2784 Church(979) 540-6352 Home

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

Ebenezer Baptist Church1010 East 10th Street, Austin, TX 78702

Do you have church news?Would you like to purchase

a monthly ad for yourchurch?

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

or call 512-476-0082

Hopewell Primitive Baptist Church690 TX-21 West, Cedar Creek, TX 78612

Sunday School9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship10:30 a.m.

Elder Carl E SheltonPastor Ph: (512) 626-3660

Hope thou in God -Psalm 42:11

Ebenezer to host 75th DiamondJubilee Women’s Day Service

(VILLAGER) - Ebenezer (Third) BaptistChurch women will celebrate a special occa-sion, the 75th Diamond Jubilee Women’s DayService, Sunday, May 26, 2019 at 11:00 a.m.inthe church sanctuary. The theme is, “WomenPreparing for Such a Time as This,” adaptedfrom Esther 4:14. The guest speaker for thisservice will be noted educator and author, Dr.Adena Williams Loston, President of St.Philip’s College, San Antonio, Texas. Also rec-ognized during this service will be the “Phe-nomenal Woman of the Year,” Sister PollyStreet, a long-time member and the Women’sChoir. The day’s events will begin at 8:30 a.m.with the Ecumenical Candlelight Service in thechurch sanctuary with a variety of women rep-resenting churches from the Austin-TravisCounty area, followed by the Women on Wor-ship (WOW Hour), when women who havebeen members of Ebenezer for 75 or moreyears, will be recognized.

Upcoming events include: Women inDaily Prayer, from May 20 through May 24, at7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., using a dedicated call-in number which is: (605) 313-5695, Access code557420#, and Women’s Prayer Service, May 22,7:00 p.m., Fellowship Hall. All women andgirls are asked to wear white, and the commu-nity is invited to participate in all of the activi-

Dr. Adena Williams Lostonties. Program leaders are: Sister Gloria Davis,General Chair and Sister Dale Potter, Co-Chair;Dr. Ricky Freeman is Pastor.

For additional information: Website:www.ebc3austin.org or e-mail:ebcoffice@sbcglobal.net.

Barbara Jordan Elementaryto host 2nd Annual Art Show

(VILLAGER) - We welcome the Austincommunity to attend the Second Annual ArtShow showcasing student artwork from Bar-bara Jordan Elementary School. The event willtake place on Thursday, May 23rd from 5:30-7:30pm on the Barbara Jordan Elementary cam-pus. Student artwork ranging from kindergar-ten through fifth grade will proudly be on dis-play, as well as free catered food, family-friendly art activities, $1 raffle with tons of greatprizes, and booths hosted by local arts organi-zations with information about summer pro-gramming. Highlights include abstract paint-ings created by third graders created in part-nership with The Contemporary Austin andlocal artist Arielle Austin, recently featured inAustin Woman Magazine (https://atxwoman.com/arielle-austin-finds-salvation-in-art/). This event is free and all are welcome!

Flower DayComing in June

(VILLAGER) - Perennial flowers, plantsthat return year-after-year, are both economi-cal and low-maintenance. In selecting peren-nials for Central Texas, it is always best tochoose plants that will tolerate our summerheat, native soils, and infrequent rains.

Join life-long plant enthusiast and TravisCounty Master Gardener, Reeve Hobbie, as heshares dozens of his favorite tried and true pe-rennials that thrive here with minimal care inour climate and soils. The seminar, sponsoredby Travis County Master Gardener Association,will be held on June 8, 2019, from 10 AM to 12PM at the Austin Area Garden Center inZilker Botanical Garden.

Reeve’s collection of beautiful slides andplant descriptions will also highlight how pe-rennials add color and texture to your land-scape. You are bound to go home with somenew plant ideas to try out.

No registration is required. Attendance tothe seminars is free and open to the public. Apark entrance fee is required.

The Austin Area Garden Center in ZilkerBotanical Garden is located at 2220 BartonSprings Rd., Austin 78746.

For more information, call Travis CountyMaster Gardener Association at (512) 854-9600.

Page 4 ~ THE VILLAGER/May 17, 2019 YOUTH BRIGADE www.theaustinvillager.com

Youth of TodayHope of Tomorrow

Ava RobertsPflugerville M. S. Averill Topps

Stephen F. Austin H.S.

The Day for the Incredible Women

A mother’s love isunique, special, uncon-ditional, something thatshouldn’t be taken forgranted. May 12,marked a day in whichmother’s all around theworld were celebratedfor their motherhood.Their contributions andsupport were recog-nized on this day, eventhough they should berecognized every day. I’dlike to take time andthank each mother atthis moment, and morespecifically, my mother.To a woman who is pow-erful, strong willed, de-termined, passionate,supportive, encourag-ing, and loving, thankyou. Thank you for bring-ing me life and raisingme to have the best oneI possibly can. Thank youfor continuing to loveand care for me evenwhen we go through thetoughest of times. You

are such an inspirationto me, you work yourhardest and strive to bethe best. I love every-thing about you, I lovehow you take yourstruggles and challengesthem turn them into ac-complishments. Youhelp others and you arealways looking for a wayto give back to the com-munity. Thank you forteaching me all that youknow, and providing mewith the knowledge thatI need to be successful inthis world. I don’t knowwhat I would do withoutyou. I love you morethan you could everimagine. I hope youknow that I do not onlyfeel this way onMother’s Day, but ratherevery day. Thank you foreverything Mama. Tothe families who did notcelebrate a mother onMother’s Day, know thatyou will always havesomeone looking out foryou and I hope you wereable to recognize them.Even if that person wasa friend, or teacher, lookfor that person who hasalways been there byyour side. I was blessedto have the most incred-ible woman stand bymine. I hope everyonehad an amazingMother's Day.

SaNaya WhiteAnn Richards

My Busy Saturday

On Saturday May11, I attended twoevents. During most ofthe day, I attended thePowHERful EnrichmentConference held at IBMin Austin from 8:00 a.m.– 4:00 p.m. SoledadO’Brien and IBMpartnered to host theevent. Soledad was un-able to attend this year’sevent in person, but shesent us a video message.Sheba Turk, a news an-chor from New Orleans,

hosted the event. Ilearned about ArtificialIntelligence, Body Lan-guage, Health, and Cre-ative Business.

During the lasthour of the conference,I headed to my secondevent. It was the GilScouts of Central Texas1000+ Seller Ceremonyheld at AISD PerformingArts Center from 3:30p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thiswas my first time attend-ing. I was very excited tobe a part of a very smallgroup of scouts beingrecognized.

I am happy to that Iwent to both events. Iwas tired by the end ofthe day but being a partof two great events wasworth it. I would like tothank all who volunteerand support Girls learn-ing and growth. Lastly, Iwant to give a specialshout out to all who buyGirl Scout Cookies!

@TheVillagerATX

TheVillagerAndBlackRegistryCompany

AP Testing

Hello everybody,today I would like to talkabout the hardest weekof testing juniors have.

In the past twoweeks, all juniors takeend of year AP tests thatdetermine if they getend of year credit.thismeans they won’t have

to take the class again incollege which savesmoney. Only 50 percentof students pass the testso many students spenddays studying.

One teachers firsttold us to start preparinga month before we tookthe test. This made usunderstand that the testwas especially serious ifthey reminded us andgave us time to work onit in class. While al-though we got almost amonth to prep, most stu-dents just cram studied,which means studentstayed up all night study-ing.

That’s all for thisweek. Until Next Time.Go Austin High Ma-roons!

Celebrate KilleenStep Show 2019

The 7th AnnualCelebrate Killeen StepShow is here! Saturday,May 18th, 2019 4pmKilleen Special EventsCenter (NEXT to theCivic and Conference

Center) Elementary andHigh School Studentsfrom all over CentralTexas are ready to hitthe stage and competefor prizes and braggingrights!

You don’t want tomiss out on this family-friendly fun, hosted bythis year’s MC, ToniRinggold! And to top itall off, it’s 100% FREEFree family-friendly fun!

Spinoff of ABC’s ‘black-ish’ toFocus on Mixed-Race Issues

By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A spinoff of the ABC sitcom “black-ish” will focuson a young Rainbow Johnson and her challenges growing up in the 1980s.

ABC said Thursday that the new series, titled “mixed-ish,” will be nar-rated by Tracee Ellis Ross. She stars in “black-ish” as the adult character withthe nickname of Bow.

In the spinoff, preteen Bow and her mixed-ethnicity family face the di-lemma of assimilation or staying “true to themselves,” according to ABC.

Bow and her siblings also must adapt to suburbia and a mainstream schoolafter their parents move from a commune.

Arica Himmel stars as Bow, with Tika Sumpter and Christina Anthonyamong the other cast members in “mixed-ish.” An airdate for the spinoff wasn’tannounced.

ABC also said it renewed “black-ish” for next season, its sixth.

This image released by ABC shows, from left, Miles Brown,Marsai Martin, Tracee Ellis Ross, Marcus Scribner, Anthony Anderson

and Jenifer Lewis in a scene from “black-ish.” ABC announced it ispicking up the acclaimed comedy for a sixth season. The network is

also giving an early series order to “mixed-ish,” a spinoff about showcreator Rainbow Johnson’s experience growing up in a mixed-race

family in the ‘80s. (Ron Tom/ABC via AP)

www.theaustinvillager.com THE REVEALER THE VILLAGER/May 17, 2019 ~ Page 5

Ex-Texas A&M Football PlayerFound Guilty of Murder

By Dallas Post Tribune

DALLAS, TX — Aformer Texas A&M foot-ball player accused ofhacking a Dallas joggerto death with a machetein 2015 has been con-victed of murder.

A Dallas Countyjury swiftly returned aguilty verdict Tuesday inThomas Johnson’s trialin the killing of DavidStevens after the formerwide receiver’s legal de-

fense declined to call asingle witness.

Johnson was ac-cused of waiting on atrail in East Dallas fouryears ago and attackingthe 53-year-old mechani-cal engineer as he ran by.Prosecutors have said the25-year-old Johnson con-fessed to the seeminglyrandom killing and thatDNA evidence alsopointed to his guilt.

In this Nov. 10, 2012, file photo, Texas A&Mwide receiver Thomas Johnson (8) after a

reception against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.(AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

NAACP: Search for Coppin StatePresident Lacks Transparency

By The AssociatedPress

BALTIMORE (AP)— The president of theBaltimore branch of theNAACP says the chair ofthe search committee fora new Coppin State Uni-versity president hasagreed to meet with himafter he complainedabout the search process.

The Baltimore Sunreports that NAACPbranch President KobiLittle said the chair

agreed to meet with himduring the searchcommittee’s first publicmeeting on Thursday.The Sun previously iden-tified the committeechair as Katrina Dennis,a regent.

Little charges thatthe University System ofMaryland Board of Re-gents hasn’t been trans-parent in its search.

The Board of Re-gents is the state govern-ing body of the univer-sity system. The currentpresident of CoppinState leaves June 30.

System spokesmanMike Lurie says the sys-tem appreciates Luriefor encouraging commu-nity involvement in thesearch.

NationalUrbanLeague

Focusingon

MinorityVoting

for 2020By JESSE J.HOLLAND

Associated Press

W A S H I N G T O N(AP) — Voter suppres-sion and Russian inter-ference are some of thegreatest barriers to mi-nority voting in 2020,the National UrbanLeague said Monday.

This year’s State ofBlack America report fo-cuses on voting rights,and National UrbanLeague President andCEO Marc H. Morial iscalling attention to votersuppression and socialmedia interference fromforeign government

“These attacks, fromwithin our nation andfrom without, are a des-ecration to the memoryof the martyrs who bledand died in defense ofour rights,” Morial said.

According to theNational Urban League,14 states have more re-strictive voter ID laws inplace, 12 have laws mak-ing it harder for citizensto register, seven cutback on early voting op-portunities, and threemade it harder to re-store voting rights forpeople with past crimi-nal convictions.

The organization

wants to eliminate dis-criminatory voter I.D. re-quirements, expandvoter registration, andrestore felon votingrights.

“It ’s no accidentthat these efforts to sup-press the Black votehave coincided with asurge in the diversifica-tion of the electorate,”Morial said, noting thatthe projected 2020 elec-torate is 66.7 percentWhite, down from 76.4percent in 2000.

The group calledfor creation of a nationalcommission and a spe-cial prosecutor to elimi-

nate foreign interfer-ence.

Russians at-tempted to interferewith African Americansvoting by creating fakeidentities, including oneLuisa Haynes at@wokeluisa, who hadmore than 50,000 follow-ers. It was fake, created byRussians to manipulateAfrican Americans.

“We can acceptnothing less than a clear-eyed accounting of whatreally happened — andis continuing to happen— and an aggressive,comprehensive plan tocombat it,” Morial said.

Voter suppression is one of the greatest barriers to minority voting in2020, the National Urban League said Monday. (May 6)

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) —CNN Films is developinga documentary on civilrights icon and Georgiacongressman John Rob-ert Lewis.

The network an-nounced Wednesdaythat “Gideon’s Army”director Dawn Porter ishelming the project.She began shooting the79-year-old Lewis lastyear ahead of the mid-term elections.

The film will be pri-marily a cinema veritedocumentary followingLewis from the electionthrough the congres-sional battles of 2019.

In a statement,Porter said the need hasnever been greater for“the type of moral andcompassionate leader-ship that he embodies.”

Recent CNN Filmsreleases include “RBG,””Three Identical Strang-ers” and “Apollo 11,” all

This Feb. 24, 2019 file photo shows Rep. JohnLewis, D-Ga at the Oscars in Los Angeles.

(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

of which received a the-atrical release before

CNN to Make Documentary onCivil Rights Icon John Lewis

appearing on the net-work.

TheroneShellman

Book Signingat Half Price

Books;N. Lamar

Austin, Texas -Therone Shellmanbook signing. Booksrange from $10-$15Learn more abouttitles online. HalfPrice Books; 5555 N.Lamar; Austin, TX

Page 6 ~ THE VILLAGER/May 17, 2019 DIASPORA www.theaustinvillager.com

Confederate Statues are a Monument to What?

By Sen. Royce West(D-Dallas)

DALLAS, TEXAS -Among the many discus-sions that are takingplace in Aus-tin duringthis legislative session, itappears that a historylesson is still necessaryfor many, as a bill hasbeen presented thatwould create more strin-gent guidelines for re-moving certain land-marks and historicalmarkers.

A bill authored byTexas State Sen. BrandonCreighton (R-Conroe)would, if approved,make it more difficult toremove Confederatemonuments and mark-ers from state-owned orleased property and alsowork to limit such deci-sions from being madeat the local governmentlevel.

According to Sen-ate Bill 1663, two-thirdsof members are neededfrom both legislativechambers to approvethe removal, relocation

Incumbent WinsRe-Election

(VILLAGER NEWS) -Sunday, May 5, 2019,Hilda Montgomery wasre-elected to the RoundRock, Texas City Council.Four years ago, Mont-gomery was the first Af-rican-American womanto serve on the RoundRock Council. Since be-ing re-appointed, shewill continue to deliveron the various issues, inwhich, she campaignedon.

Hilda has a servantleadership attitudewhen it comes to poli-tics. According to Hilda,"I strongly believe inmaking a difference inpeoples' lives and that

we need to get back togoverning for thepeople. My sense of du-ties stem from her fa-ther, who taught mehonesty and integritycome first, and what fol-lows is always what’sright." In addition, Hildabelieves inclusion andensuring that the resi-dents of Round Rock areinvolved with their citygovernment as para-mount.

Finally, Hilda Mont-gomery ran for office,because she believesshe can bring forthchanges to the city ofRound Rock.Montgomery's core con-cerns include; improvingtraffic, pedestrian, andcyclist safety, as well asprotecting the environ-ment and water.

by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |

VILLAGERColumnist

Texas House Representative James Talarico andRound Rock City Council Hilda Montgomery.

Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

or alteration of monu-ments or memorials thathave been on state prop-erty for more than 25years, while city orcounty monuments thathave been up for at least25 years could only beremoved, relocated oraltered if approved by asupermajority of thegoverning board.

Also, monumentsand memorials that havebeen around for lessthan 25 years can not bealtered without approvalfrom a state agency,state official or local gov-ernment body, depend-ing on who erected it.

While Sen.Creighton seemed sin-cere in his expressions, Idisagree that the re-moval or destroying ofcontroversial monu-ments is a "careless act"that would cause Texansto look back with regretbecause we are deletinghistory, rather thanlearning from it.

I submit to you thatwhen you consider the

current times and eventslike what happened atCharlottesville, NorthCarolina, the Charleston,South Carolina churchshooting and the manyatrocities that continueto occur, some have notdone a good job of learn-ing from history and theheinous acts that weresupported, condonedand perpetrated bymany who now havemonuments erected intheir honor. Those whohave brought harm tomany under the bannerof the Confederacy werenot just fondly whistlingDixie.

I stood proudlywith the members of theTexas House's LegislativeBlack Caucus, againstSenate Bill 1663. Iwanted a good faith ef-fort made to involve ev-eryone in the processand I shared those sen-timents with Sen.Creighton, because ourconstituents need to beheard from. I also at-tempted to add an

amendment that wouldhave excluded Confeder-ate monuments fromSen. Creighton's strin-gent bill.

I'm not alone in ad-vocating for removingConfederate and otheroffensive symbols. Citiesacross the state andaround the country arealso grappling with thisconsistently polarizingissue.

The debate also ex-tends to the names ofschools. Unfortunately,as is the case in Dallas,many of the schoolsnamed after membersof the Confederacy havestudent bodies, the ma-jority of which are thedescendants of enslavedAfricans.

Something iswrong with this picture.Why this bill? Why now?What is the intendedmessage? Even ouryouth speak out aboutthe monuments and themessages that shared bythose supporting theirpresence.

While true thatthey are a painful chap-ter of our history, thosefeatured on many of themonuments or land-marks should not be im-mortalized or cel-ebrated.

Yes, we are mindfulof the past, but pray thatit shall never be re-peated.

Rise of WomenIn Business

Pictured left to right are: Juana and Mrs.Nwachukwu. Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |

VILLAGERColumnist

(VILLAGER NEWS) -African Americanwomen entrepreneursare on the rise. Accord-ing to the number of Af-rican American smallbusiness owners in theUnited States, they haveincreased by a stagger-ing 400% in just oneyear. In 2018, 45% ofsmall business ownerswere minority ethnicgroups. This was alreadya dramatic increase from2015 when the numberof owners was 15%.

Nearly ten yearsago, business owner, Ms.Juana started her com-pany, Esparanza Expres-sion. According to Juana,"I opened up my busi-ness to inspire and em-power womanhood."She wants to cater andserve as a role model toother women aroundher. She makes varioustypes of products fromavocado oil like Heav-enly Hope Body Buttersand Brown Suga Scrubs.

Currently, Juanadoesn't have a brick andmortar location but canbe found online,w w w . e s p a r a n z a sexpressions.com. Juana

recently relocated backto Texas, calling it homeand a very good business

place for her. In 2019,she plans to grow hermarket.

Pan African Conference in Central Texas

(VILLAGER NEWS) -This past May 9-12, 2019,Pan African held its fifthannual Conference in theheart of Central Texas.Bringing both AfricanAmericans and the Afri-can Diaspora together,for an opportunity tonetwork, share, pro-mote, trade, and informeach other of the bestbusiness practice andglobalization. One of thespeakers at this eventwas Erick Niamba.

The event experi-enced numerous breakout sessions, which haddiverse themes, ranging

Speaker, Eric Niamba.Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |

VILLAGERColumnist

from financial servicesto web security. Mr.Niamba, owner of WEB365 Experts, spoke onthe need of having aninternet business andsecuring one's internetwebsite. Since he was

speaking from experi-ence, he called on busi-ness owners and futureentrepreneurs to notonly use the internet fore-commerce, but as amethod of marketingtheir enterprise. As an

expert, Niamba men-tioned, "business own-ers should seek to findways to increase thetraffic to their business,which, helps with sales."Finally, he discussed theneed for securing one'swebsite from attacks.

Moreover, the PanAfrican Conferencebrought people togetherfrom Overseas and theUS. Countries repre-sented included:Cameroon, Togo, andBenin. Furthermore, Par-ticipant, Mr. Oudragestated, "Austin is a city thatembraces computers;therefore, having web se-curity business might bea good reason for me torelocate from Illinois tothe Central Texas area."

Austin Home Buyer Fair

AUSTIN, TEXAS - BCL of Texas is offer-ing a free Home Buyer Fair at the Gus GarciaRecreation Center on Saturday, June 1st from 9am to 1 pm This free fair will feature work-shops, exhibitors, free food, and family-friendlyactivities to help participants become preparedand confident in their journey to becomehomeowners. Workshops will cover topics suchas down payment assistance options, savingsand credit, qualifying for a mortgage loan, andshopping for a home. This event includes lunchand giveaways!

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

www.theaustinvillager.com CLASSIFIEDS THE VILLAGER/May 17, 2019 ~ Page 7

Apply at HRMiddle Fiskville Rd.

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

EEOC/AA/M/F/D/V

Are you interested in doingbusiness with the City of Austin?

We are here for you!City of Austin

Purchasing OfficeVendor Registration

512-974-2018VendorReg@austintexas.gov

www.austintexas.gov/department/purchasingFor information on the City of Austin’s Minority/

Women-Owned Procurement Program please contact theSmall & Minority Business Resources at 512-974-7600or visit www.austintexas.gov/smbr.

5 Reasons to Work for the City ofAustin

1. Learn How Government Works

2. Invest in Your Community

3. Have Access to Great Benefits and Wellness

Programs

4. Learn to Navigate Obstacles through Innovation

5. Be a Part of a Great Team

Visit www.austincityjobs.org to search and apply for City of

Austin jobs.

Visit one of our five Employment Assistance locations to get

help with:

• Applications and Resumes

• Interview Coaching

• Other Community Resources

For more information on City jobs or Employment Assistance

locations:

Call: 512-974-3210 or TDD 1-800-526-9159

Email: employment.services@austintexas.gov

Visit: austintexas.gov/employmentassistance

Follow us on:

Discover-Austin-Jobs

AustinCityJobsThe City of Austin is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Integral Care is currentlysoliciting proposals through aRequest for Proposals (RFP)process for LandscapingServices. RFPs may be sentelectronically, by contactingBrody Ballard atbrody.ballard@integralcare.orgbeginning May 3, 2019. Thedeadline to submit a proposalunder the RFP is 4 p.m. CST onMay 31, 2019. HistoricallyUnderutilized Businesses,including Minority-OwnedBusinesses and Women-OwnedBusinesses, are encouraged toapply.

New Jobs for the Week of 05/12/2019Coordinator, Equity and

InclusionHighland Business Center

Job# 1810042Assistant I, Executive

Highland Business CenterJob# 1904004

Assistant, Senior LibraryNorthridge Campus

Job# 1905007Assistant, Health Sciences

Eastview CampusJob# 1905003

“The PflugervilleIndependent School

Districtwill

open Proposals for:Football Equipment and

Supplieson Thursday, June 4, 2019

@ 2:00 p.m.All proposals may besubmitted (by mail or handcarry) to: Pflugerville ISD 1401 West Pecan Pflugerville,TX 78660 Attn:Tama Berding

“The PflugervilleIndependent School

Districtwill open

Proposals for:Marching Band Trailer

on Tuesday, May 28, 2019@ 2:00 p.m.

All proposals may besubmitted (by mail or hand

carry) to: PflugervilleISD

1401 West Pecan Pflugerville, TX78660

Attn: Janie Ornelas

Texas Officer Shoots and Kills Woman after Stun-gun StruggleBy

Associated Press

Pamela Turner

(BAYTOWN, TX) - Apolice officer shot andkilled a woman at aHouston-area apart-ment complex after shehit him with his Taserduring a struggle, shock-ing him, police said.

In a video recordedby a witness and postedon social media, the of-ficer can be seen stand-ing over Pamela Turnerand reaching down totry to grab her arms.Turner, who is lying on theground outside the apart-ments in Baytown, yells“I’m pregnant.” Momentslater, something flashesas she reaches her armout toward the officer.Suddenly, the officer pullsaway from Turner, stepsback and fires five gun-shots.

Police Lt. SteveDorris said Tuesday thatthe officer shot at Turnerafter she hit him in thegroin with the Taser.Turner did not fire thestun gun but it shockedthe officer when it struckhim, Dorris said.

The lieutenant saidpolice have sincelearned from the medi-cal examiner’s office inHarris County thatTurner, who was 44 andblack, was not pregnant.She was pronounced

dead at the scene, hesaid. A spokeswomanwith the medicalexaminer’s office de-clined to comment.

The officer, whopolice have not identi-fied by name, has beenplaced on paid adminis-trative leave, Dorris said.The department is re-viewing whether theshooting was in line withits policy on the use ofdeadly force, he said.

Before the shoot-ing, the officer, who isHispanic and an 11-yearveteran of the policeforce, was patrolling theapartment complex andtried to arrest Turnerbecause he knew shehad outstanding war-

rants, Dorris said. Thetwo had previous deal-ings, but Dorris did notprovide further detailsabout the interactions orTurner’s warrants.

Turner had threeoutstanding misde-meanor warrants fortwo separate incidents,according to HarrisCounty court records.She was accused ofcriminal mischief andassault on April 25 aftera manager at her apart-ment complex told po-lice that Turnerscratched her face andbroke her glasses duringa confrontation over aneviction notice.

On May 2, courtrecords show, Turner

was again accused ofcriminal mischief fordamaging the back win-dow of a woman’s car.

Following her May2 arrest, Turner was or-dered to undergo a men-tal health evaluation, ac-cording to court records.

The video of whathappened Monday nightshows the officer andTurner engaged in astruggle after he tried toarrest her. In the video,Turner is heard saying“You’re actually harass-ing me” and “I’m actuallywalking to my house”before falling to theground. While on herback, she appears toscuffle with the officer,saying “Why? Why?”and then “I’m pregnant.”

Investigators aretrying to contact who-ever recorded the video,because the person wasa witness to the shoot-ing, the lieutenant said.

“It’s a tragic eventfor everybody involved,”Dorris said. “Of course,our hearts go out to thefamily of the deceased aswell as our officer.”

On Tuesday after-noon, Turner’s neigh-bors gathered not farfrom an orange ringpainted on the apart-ment complex parkinglot to mark where shewas shot. Standingamid the modest brickand aluminum homes,one of Turner’s neigh-bors said the incidentfrightened her.

“It’s just sad — verysad — when you seesomebody for the pastsix months walkingaround,” Jennifer Simssaid. “Even though youdon’t talk to them, youkeep an eye on them,you know. And then youwake up and realize, ‘Oh,my God. She was shot soclose to home.’ That’sscary, and very sad.”

Baytown, a city ofmore than 75,000people, is about 25miles (40 kilometers)east of Houston. Itspopulation is 35 per-cent white, 46 percentHispanic and 16 percentblack, according to theU.S. Census Bureau.

Outside the city’spolice station Tuesday,

about a dozen protestersgathered carrying signswith “No Justice. NoPeace” and “Black LivesMatter” written onthem.

“This is anotherblack woman who haslost her life,” said AshtonP. Woods, an activist withBlack Lives Matter Hous-ton. “Another black per-son who has lost theirlife, for senseless vio-lence. Five shots. Un-armed.”

Kevin Davis, a policedetective and the authorof a book on investigat-ing police use of force,said it is impossible tomake a proper assess-ment of Turner’s shoot-ing based only on thevideo and facts releasedso far.

Davis, who is notconnected to the case,said the smartphone vid-eos that have becomecommon in policeshootings can leadpeople to rush to judg-ment. “We owe it to ev-eryone involved, includ-ing the decedent, to do aprofessional investiga-tion,” he said.

www.KAZIFM.org

Every Friday8 AM - 9 AM

The Breakfast Club

Listen Live )))

KAZI 88.7 FM

WithT. L. Wyatt and Damita Shanklin

We Want YOU!Advertise With

The VILLAGER

Page 8 ~ THE VILLAGER/May 17, 2019 THE DISPATCH www.theaustinvillager.com

NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN ONPROPERTY TAX, EDUCATION

REFORM MEASURESby Richard Lee | Op-Ed Special to the VILLAGER

(AUSTIN, TX) - Law-makers have a littlemore than two weeks toresolve differences be-tween the House andSenate proposals to ad-dress the session’s toppriorities laid out bystate leadership in Janu-ary. After months ofhearings, amendments,drafting and debates,both chambers havepassed versions of HB 3,the education financereform bill, and SB 2, theproperty tax reform bill.The latter passed theHouse last week and theeducation bill passed theSenate on Monday. Mir-roring a provision addedto SB 2 in the House, theSenate made passage ofeducation reform intolaw contingent on pas-sage for property tax re-form, inextricably linkingthe two measures intowhat is effectively asingle proposal.

Here’s what thatproposal looks like onthe Senate side: in-creased funding for allstudents, with more go-ing towards economi-cally disadvantaged stu-dents. Even more wouldgo to early education ini-tiatives for studentsfrom low-income back-grounds and moremoney for post-highschool readiness pro-grams. Funds for the lasttwo are partly outcomebased; while districtswill get more money toimprove 3rd grade read-ing achievement for low-income students andsend more preparedgraduates into college,the military or theworkforce, they’d alsoget bonus money for ev-ery student that meetsstate standards. It in-cludes a $5,000 pay raisefor all public-schoolteachers and librarians,

and would give districtsthe option of imple-menting an effective-ness-based pay scale,where the best teacherscan be identified andpaid higher salaries.

For propertytaxes, the bill wouldlower local school ratesby ten cents per $100valuation and wouldimplement a 2.5 percentrollback rate for annualtax increases. Any morethan that and voters inthe district would haveto sign off. To pay for it,the Senate approved adiversion of oil and gastaxes, an estimated $2.3billion, that would other-wise go into the rainy-day fund into a new fundcreated for the purposeof property tax reduc-tion. Combined with$2.7 in the budget al-ready set aside for prop-erty tax relief, a changein the way the onlinesales taxes are collectedand other funds, the billcontains a total of about$5.6 billion in propertytax relief. A House pro-posal to lower propertytaxes even further by in-creasing the state salestax rate one cent anddedicating that revenueto property tax reduc-tion failed to garnerenough support, mostlikely ruling that optionout for this session.

The bills arefairly close generally butthere are some key dif-ferences between thetwo chambers. TheHouse bill includes asmaller, formula-basedpay raise but would ap-ply it to all full-time pub-lic-school employeesand provides for futureraises when the state in-creases education fund-ing. It would compresslocal school tax rates byfour cents, but adds two

cents to recapture-ex-empt local enrichmentin formula funding.There’s also a differencein the basic allotment,the principal variable incalculating per-studentfunding, with the Houseat $6,030 compared tothe Senate’s $5,880.Both are well above thecurrent basic allotmentof $5,140.

As far as prop-erty tax reform, thechambers are in thesame place on a numberof transparency and tax-payer-friendly reformsas well as a municipalrollback rate of 3.5 per-cent. The Senate wouldapply that to cities,counties, and all otherlocal taxing entitieswhile the House versionexempts hospital andcommunity college dis-tricts. The Senate ver-sion would leave smallertaxing entities, thosewith less than $15 mil-lion in annual collec-tions, at the current 8percent rollback rate,but would give voters liv-ing in those districts thechance to opt in to thebill’s provisions nextMay. The House versionincludes a rate-bankingprovision, allowing dis-tricts that don’t raisetaxes as much as a roll-back rate to apply thatdifference to future rateincreases above 3.5 per-cent for up to five years.

If lawmakers cansort out these differ-ences, a simple majorityin each chamber cansend the final, unifiedproposal on to the gov-ernor for his signature.Should that happen, itwill be the first time indecades that the Legisla-ture has passed sweep-ing education financereform absent a courtorder.

HEI

DI

GO

LLU

B S

EPTE

MB

ER 1

8,

20

13

_Fr

ee F

un

in A

ust

in

A Call to Action!By: Publishers for Economic Parity

(NNPA) - A recentlyannounced merger be-tween BB&T andSunTrust, if approved,will reshuffle the U.S.banking industryrankings. The deal is re-portedly valued at $66billion and will result inthe sixth largest bank inthe United States ac-cording to a USA Todayreport.

BB&T is based inWinston-Salem, NorthCarolina, founded in1872, today their esti-mated value is morethan $220 billion in as-sets. Their 2,200 retailbanking locations areprimarily located inSoutheastern statessuch as Florida, Georgiaand North Carolina.However, recently theyhave added numerouslocations throughoutTexas.

SunTrust, foundedin 1891, is based in At-lanta, Georgia and con-trol more than $200 bil-lion in assets, as well as,offer services via their1,249 retail banking lo-cations. They are prima-rily located in Southeast-ern and Mid-Atlanticstates.

Despite their suc-cesses, the merger be-tween these two financialinstitutions could lead tomore harm than good.The practice of banks dis-criminating against mi-norities is well docu-mented and has been re-ported in the majority ofU.S. banks. BB&T andSunTrust are among themost notorious.

One of the mostnotable cases took placein 2012. After reviewing850,000 residentialmortgage loans, the U.S.Justice Department de-termined SunTrust exer-cised bias against minor-ity applicants accordingto a statement from theJustice Department. As aresult, SunTrust endedup settling the case tothe tune of $21 million.

Also, in 2008,BB&T’s Community Re-investment Act ratingwas lowered from “out-standing” to “satisfac-tory.” This occurred as aresult of an abundanceof violations regarding

the Fair Housing Act andthe Equal Credit Oppor-tunity Act, as reportedby the South FloridaBusiness Journal.

Data pulled fromthe Federal Financial In-stitutions ExaminationCouncil’s (FFIEC) HomeMortgage Disclosure Act(HMDA) website furtherdemonstrates this dis-crimination. In 2016, 82Black or African Americanapplicants and 537 Whiteapplicants applied forconventional home pur-chase loans with BB&T inthe Atlanta, GA area. Of allthe White applicants,roughly 73 percent wereapproved for loans.Meanwhile, of all theBlack or African Americanapplicants, only about 51percent were approvedfor loans.

Similar data wascollected in the Char-lotte, North Carolinaarea. Data showed whenthe White applicantssought conventionalhome purchase loans in2017, 75 percent wereapproved while only 57percent of African-American applicantswere approved.

It is worth notingtwo letters were sent toSunTrust by the Publish-ers for Economic Parity(PEP) lawyer, MichaelEagan, requesting infor-mation regarding theirloan statistics.

“We have reachedout to SunTrust Bank toobtain their CommunityReinvestment Act re-sults, but as of April 3,2019, they have failed tofollow the law and pro-vide us with that infor-mation within the thirty(30) day deadline. I won-der if this failure to com-ply with the law is rep-resentative of their lackof concern for what mi-norities think about theirbank?” Michael Eagan,Attorney for Publishersfor Economic Parity.

From news storiesto HMDA data, it is evi-dent something is notright. For too long, thesebanks have been gettingaway with treating mi-norities as if they are“lesser than.” This is acall to action to fight theunjust treatment these

communities have beenmet with when applyingfor loans.

In the comingweeks, public meetingsregarding the mergerwill be held in Charlotte,North Carolina, and At-lanta, Georgia at the fol-lowing dates, times andlocations:

· Thursday, April25 at 8:30 a.m., EDT,Charlotte Branch of theFederal Reserve Bank ofRichmond, 530 EastTrade Street, Charlotte,North Carolina; and

· Friday, May 3 at8:30 a.m., EDT, FederalReserve Bank of Atlanta,1000 Peachtree StreetN.E., Atlanta, Georgia.

If you are unable toattend the meetings inperson, we urge you tofile a formal complaintwith the banks regardingtheir past wrongdoingsand post a copy of thiscomplaint on the PEPFacebook page.

Once the merger iscomplete, BB&T willroughly double in size.This merger marks theformation of a financialsuperpower that is notto be taken lightly.

Homeownershipcomprises the majorityof a family’s net worth.With these institutionsconsistently denyingloan applications sub-mitted by minorities, wewill continue to be de-nied the same opportu-nities to accumulatewealth as our non-mi-nority counterparts.

Requests to speakat the Charlotte and At-lanta meetings must besubmitted by 5 p.m. EDTon Monday, April 15 forthe Charlotte meetingand by 5 p.m. EDT onTuesday, April 23 for theAtlanta meeting.

Written commentscan be submitted to theFederal Reserve Bank ofRichmond, P.O. Box27622, Richmond, VA23261 as well as theFDIC’s Atlanta RegionalOffice, 10 10th Street,NW, Suite 800, Atlanta,GA 30309-3849.

These institutionsmust be held account-able for their actions.Together, we can makeour voices heard.

Example of early redlining in Austin. (Busch 2015)

Austin HomeOwners’ LoanCorporation

(HOLC) Map,1934