February 28, 2021
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
Vol. 26, Issue 07
“Addressing Current & Historical Realties Affecting Our Community”
DEATHBED CONFESSION
By: N.L. Preston
PREJUDICE VS. RACISM By: Roy Douglas Malonson
Prejudice vs Racism. Is there any difference? Not to me. It’s the same thing housed under different words, intended to make Blacks feel as low as they can go. But if you check the dictionaries, they will tell you there’s a difference, so for the sake of not mixing words, we want to explore the “ugly truths” of both. Prejudice is defined as a preconceived judgment or opinion, or an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics. In simpler terms, it is judging someone without really knowing them. It can be likened to automatically judging your father’s new, young girlfriend before you ever have a chance to meet her. You may not like her just because she’s “younger” and you feel she is up to no good. As
with the definition – her youth is just one of her characteristics. We know how much that happens. But in terms of this piece, when breaking down “prejudice,” it can be equated to thinking that “all Blacks are this” or “all Blacks are that,” and the “this or that” is NEGATIVE -- without even knowing a person. It’s like a White woman clutching her purse tighter while walking on the sidewalk with a Black man – thinking he wants to steal from her. When, in all fairness, the Black man could possibly have more money on his wrist than the White woman has in her empty handbag. Still, she thinks he is a danger – not even knowing his name or his background. We all know how much this happens as well. Simple prejudices and fears of the unknown lead to the bigger monster of racism. Prejudice cont’d Racism is defined as prejudice,
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Malcolm X’s family is asking for the reopening of his murder investigation after the deathbed confession of a former New York police officer who claims he, the NYPD and the FBI were involved in the assassination. The letter was released to the public on the anniversary of Malcolm X’s death. The letter, which was written in 2011 by Ray Wood, explains that Wood helped to convince members of Malcolm X’s security team to get involved with a Statue of Liberty plot, getting arrested days before the planned assassination, leaving the civil rights leader with less protection on the day of the planned murder. Wood’s letter stated, “The Statue of Liberty bombing idea was created by my supervisor handler. Using surveillance, the agency learned that Bowe and Sayyed were key players in Malcolm X’s crowd control security detail. It was my assignment to draw the two men into felonious federal crime, so that they could be arrested by the FBI and kept away from managing Malcolm X’s Audubon Ballroom door security on February 21, 1965. On February 16, 1965, the Statue of Liberty plot was carried out and the men were arrested just days before the assassination of Malcolm.” He said he was urged by his supervisor to be at the Audubon Ballroom, but to DO NOTHING, no matter what happened. Wood shared that he wrote the confession in hopes of clearing Thomas Johnson of the murder of Malcolm X. “I am aging with Deathbed cont’d page 3
WASH YOUR HANDS FREQUENTLY • AVOID PUBLIC SPACES OR EVENTS WITH MORE THAN 10 PATRONS • SANITIZE AND STOCK UP • AVOID TOUCHING YOUR EYES, NOSE AND MOUTH • PRACTICE GOOD HYGIENE
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February 28, 2021
EDITORIAL
President/Chief Editor
Tristar
Griselda Ramirez: Production
A Revival of God
Consciousness Bobby E. Mills, PhD Office: (713) 692-1892 Wednesday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
You Can Run but You Cannot Hide There is an old proverb: “You can run but you can’t hide.” This spiritual quote is synonymous with Trump’s leadership behavior. Biden’s Presidential election brought Trump his day in court and legal accountability is finally in the developmental stages of the Grand Jury. Thank God from whom all blessings flow. Trump has been a lifelong criminal and evil doer, and he has many GOP cohorts. Trump has been ducking and dodging justice, and finally Lady Justice has caught-up with him; even though she maybe blind, but the scales of justice grind ever so fine. Christian Right Evangelicals and GOP Loyalists think and pray before you: “Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sin: keep thyself pure.” Moreover, you should never: “Answer not a fool according to his fol-
ly, lest thou also be like unto him, because “answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own conceit.” Hopefully, you learned a valuable spiritual lesson, and you and your children will know that when a Trump-TypePersonality: “speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.” America, the chickens have come home to roost: pay day has come, and you can pay as you enter. Pay as you leave. Or fly now and pay later but pay you must. On the other hand, Trump and the GOP told Americans that COVID-19 was a HOAX, and that Americans ought not to be concerned for themselves or their love-ones. Of course, the Americans who believed Trump’s lie should cease running to the front of the vaccination line. Today, America has over 28,000,000 COVID-19 cases, and over 502,000 deaths. It could be a hoax, but it has become a horrific reality for most spiritually saneminded-Americans. Thankfully, Democratic voters saved America from itself. The politics of public grievance and White Privilege disconnected 73 million American
voters from the reality of constitutional democracy. Consequently, they voted for an ungodly person with no God conscience, and a racist dictator. America, we all know: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3: 3). And, that’s the long and short of the whole matter. Government is not the problem, lack of God-conscience and greed is the problem. Trump successfully resurrected a Sodom and Gomorrah mentality: sin and death. In fact, the KKK mentality went to The White House; without the hoods and white robes, but in a dark suit, white shirt, and a red necktie instituting a White Privilege Mentality just the same. Question: Christian Right Evangelicals, GOP and Trump Loyalist have you substituted Trump for the concepts of God, family, and country? Remember there is a place and time for everything: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die: a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.” Selah. - AANI
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
Partin’ the Waters By Omowale Luthuli-Allen
It’s time to change our approach to Black History Our heroic approach has been to primarily concentrate on the heroes and heroines that have carried the torch. Truly, Martin, Malcom and Ms. Rosa Parks are towering figures, but there are tens of thousands of unknown and unsung titans that have changed the course of history. You will not find alphabets in front or behind of their names, but when the call was given, they showed up and showed out for Black people and the American nation. We know from Taylor Branch’s tour de force that prior to Rosa Park’s history changing act of defiance against race supremacy, Claudette Colvin and four other black women had been arrested for refusing to give up their seats on Montgomery Alabama buses.
How can we forget that heroic White mother of five from Motown city, USA, Ms. Viola Liuzzo? Dr. Martin Luther King gave the call and Ms. Liuzzo came to Selma, Alabama on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement and the extremists murdered her on her way back to her family. Her sacrifice is a part of Black History. Let it be known that ordinary people had been doing extraordinary acts of courage since the transatlantic slave trade began in the 15th century. Most of our people were never slaves, only enslaved people. As a student at the University of Houston, in 1969, my friend and I were charged with “inciting to riot” and we faced serious jail or prison time. An ordinary maid and mother who worked in River Oaks and a Black preacher from Fifth Ward set us free by refusing to buy the official hype about our guilt. Conviction had to be unanimous, and these two stalwarts refused to be moved. After our trial, we visited the domestic worker juror in a shot
Change cont’d page 11
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
February 28, 2021
EDUCATION
AFRAMNEWS.COM 3
TSU RECEIVES $8.63 MILLION GRANT FOR MINORITY HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER Texas Southern University (TSU), one of the nation’s largest HBCUs, is on a mission to address racial health inequities and recently received a 5-year, $8.63 million grant to establish the Center for Biomedical and Minority Health Research (CBMHR). This novel initiative will be a first-of-its-kind resource for the university and the Texas Medical Center by supporting basic biomedical research for diseases, such as cancer and infectious diseases, that disproportionately impact underrepresented minority groups. Two of the focus areas of the research center are cancer and infectious diseases, which disproportionately impact people of color and are leading causes of death in Houston, the state of Texas and the nation. Additionally, the CBMHR comes on the heels of a pivotal and historic pandemic that’s demonstrated the drastic health disparities in the U.S. Black, Indigenous and Latino populations are more likely than white Americans to contract and die of COVID-19 at alarming rates, according to the CDC.
“This novel coronavirus has amplified existing health inequities in our city and country, but these disparities have long been plaguing minority and vulnerable populations in our communities,” Omonike Olaleye, Ph.D., MPH. Interim Associate Provost / Associate Vice President for Research & Professor of Pharmacology said. “TSU stands proud to be an academic leader and change agent to foster a more equitable and healthy future for those who need it most,” Provost Kendall Harris said. “Moreover, the CBMHR builds on the university’s commitment to health equity and we are honored to partner with the National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities,” President Ken Huewitt said. Through this award, TSU will continue to play a key role in using a multi-prong approach in addressing diseases that disproportionately impact racial/ethnic minorities and other health disparity populations. One of TSU’s long-term goals is to become a leader in academic pre-
clinical drug development in the TMC, developing new interventions that protect the status of the vulnerable population it serves, and to subsequently serve as a point of access for healthcare education and communication of healthcare advances for the URM populations. The new CBMHR is led by Omonike Olaleye, Ph.D., MPH., Interim Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Research (contact Principal Investigator), Huan Xie, Ph.D. (Principal Investigator), and Dong Liang, Ph.D., Interim Associate Dean of research (Program Director) from COPHS. The CBMHR consists of five major components involving multidisciplinary TSU faculty: Research Infrastructure Core (led by Song Gao, Ph.D.); Community Engagement Core (led by Veronica Ajewole, Pharm.D., BCOP, and assisted by Associate Directors Uche Anadu Ndefo, Pharm.D., BCPS., and Grace
failing health; recently I have learned of the death of Mr. Thomas Johnson and are deeply concerned that with my death his family will not be able to exonerate him after being wrongly convicted in the killing of Malcolm X,” Wood wrote. He also revealed that witnesses identified him leaving the Audubon Ballroom that day, but he does not directly say that he killed Malcolm X. He does say, however, that Thompson was arrested to cover up his involvement. “On February 21, 1965 I was ordered to be at the Audubon Ballroom, where I was identified by
witness while leaving the scene. Thomas Johnson was later arrested and wrongfully convicted to protect my cover and the secret of the FBI and NYPD,” the letter states. Many of Wood’s statements leaves people to speculate that he’s fingering someone else -- possibly himself -- as one of the triggermen. The family has hired civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is demanding that the District Attorney offer “restorative justice.” It is not known at this time why the letter was not released sooner. More about Malcolm X: Malcolm X - born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 – was an African American Muslim minister
and human rights activist who was a popular figure during the civil rights movement. He is best known for his time spent as a vocal spokesman for the Nation of Islam. He adopted the name “Malcolm X” while serving time in prison. After his release and under the guidance of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, “Brother Malcolm” became one of the most powerful Black men in the nation for his pursuit of racial justice “by any means necessary.” On February 21, 1965, he was assassinated in New York City. Three Nation members were charged with the murder and given indeterminate life sentences. Speculation about the assassination and whether it was
Deathbed cont’d
Loudd, Ph.D. (from COLABS), with Outreach Coordinator, Ms. Lena Bean) and Comunications Team (Dr. Toniesha Taylor and Dr. Morgan Kirby from SOC); and Investigator Development Core (led by Ivy Poon, Pharm.D., with Mario Hollomon, Ph.D. (from COSET); and a R01 equivalent Research Project on prostate cancer (led by Huan Xie, Ph.D.). Dr. China Jenkins, Ph.D. APTD, CFD, Executive Director of COPHS Team Center will work with the CBMHR IDC to coordinate the faculty-mentoring project. Additional Faculty Experts for the CBMHR include: Drs. Yun Zhang and Rodney Hunter (COPHS); Drs. Alamelu Sundaresan, Professor of Biology; and Daniel Vrinceanu, Professor of Physics (COSET).
conceived or aided by leading or additional members of the Nation, or with law enforcement agencies, have persisted for decades after the shooting. He was posthumously honored with Malcolm X Day, on which he is commemorated in various cities across the United States. Hundreds of streets and schools in the U.S. have been renamed in his honor, while the Audubon Ballroom, the site of his assassination, was partly redeveloped in 2005 to accommodate the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. -- AANI
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February 28, 2021
The newly redesigned 2021 Hyundai SANTA FE. A bold reimagining with family fun in mind.
In sunshine, snow, and rain, the redesigned SANTA FE puts all other SUVs in its class to shame. Comfort and safety aside, this tech-forward SUV offers a bold design with a premium and sophisticated interior and exterior that showcases a stylish, rugged elegance. With available features like in-dash Blind-Spot View Monitor, Safe Exit Assist, Ultrasonic Rear Occupant Alert, HTRAC All Wheel Drive and a 10.25-inch full-touch infotainment screen, you can relax, knowing your family is covered and so is your style game, in or out of the city. It’s so much better, together. Preproduction model with optional features shown. Hyundai is a registered trademark of Hyundai Motor Company. All rights reserved. ©2021 Hyundai Motor America.
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
Prejudice cont’d discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people based on their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized. It is the belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another... this clearly underscores the concept of WHITE SUPREMACY and how racism contributes to SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION.
Angela Y. Davis said “One of the many ruses racism achieves is the virtual erasure of historical contributions by people of color. You ever heard the slang phrase, “they don’t never want to give us credit for nothing?” That is what Davis is talking about. Dating back to the days of slavery, Whites have historically taken credit for the hard work that Negroes have been doing. We are not lying when we say we built this nation, even responsible for the basic infrastructure that many people take for granted today. Every time you’re on a paved
February 28, 2021 road or waiting for a train to pass, you may want to think about the sweat of your Black ancestors who created those paths for you. But of course, we’ve done more than that, which is why Black History Month is so important because it specifically shines a light on the “did you know” achievements of African Americans throughout the generations; things they don’t teach our children in schools, things that should be taught every day, but that is not the world that we live in. Remember, we are in a land filled with racism.
Discriminatory housing practices, redlining neighborhoods, underfunded education, lack of access to healthcare, racial profiling, police brutality and mass incarceration are just a few examples that contribute to structural racism. Racism even contributes to the health hazards we face in our communities and neighborhoods. People of color, low-income people, and Indigenous people have been made especially vulnerable through decades of environmental racism: policies that intentionally concentrate pollution and toxic hazards in
AFRAMNEWS.COM 5 our communities. Remember the cancer clusters popping up in our Historic Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens districts? Remember the hazard plant we just had to fight out of Acres Home? White political leaders would never allow harmful businesses to be set up in predominantly White or high scale neighborhoods, but they will turn a blind eye to one being erected in a Black or Hispanic neighborhood and let the business operate its toxic practices routinely until someone exposes them, then launch a potentially years long fight. Why do
Hyundai recognizes the value of community. Learn more at HyundaiDiversity.com.
Hyundai Celebrates Black Excellence The journey and societal contributions of African Americans is an epic tale worthy of retelling time and again. Their traditions and rich heritage combine for a legacy to remember. Hyundai is proud to join in on the celebration of Black History, this month and all year long. We salute contemporary Black artists like Ronnie Phillips, who firmly believes that children are the future, stating, “I like the idea of connecting images of present-day Black children to their past as a way of honoring the continuity in our culture.” Hyundai and Ronnie Phillips, building upon the past together while constructing a better future for all. Hyundai is a registered trademark of Hyundai Motor Company. All rights reserved. ©2021 Hyundai Motor America.
you even put minorities through that? As we explained -- pure and simple RACISM -- no regard for the health and safety of the people they deem “inferior.” So, do you understand the difference? The textbook term vs. the overall experience? I still say, they both are the same damn thing. No matter how you fluff it up, both racism and prejudice are just the White man’s way to keep a Black man down – out of fear of the unknown, or more so, jealousy of the greatness that is pure, unapologetic BLACKNESS! Think about it. -- AANI
Art by Ronnie Phillips. RonPhillipsArt.com.
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February 28, 2021
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February 28, 2021
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
BLACK HISTORY
KNOW YOUR HISTORY: BLACK COOK’S EAVESDROPPING LEADS TO BECOMING MILLIONAIRE
We’ve all heard of Madame CJ Walker, who is famously thought to be the first Black female millionaire, but have you ever heard of Mary Ellen Pleasant? Her story is quite extraordinary and illustrates how a savvy Black cook, who was deemed “invisible” by whites, used financial tips she picked up while eavesdropping on wealthy White businessmen she served, leading her to become a multimillionaire. Born sometime between 1814 and 1817, the exact date is unknown, and dying in January 1904, Pleasant was a 19th-century American entrepreneur, financier, real estate magnate and abolitionist. She identified herself as “a capitalist by profession” in the 1890 United States Census. She worked on the Underground Railroad and helped bring it to California during the Gold Rush era. She was a lover, friend and financial supporter of John Brown and well known in abolitionist circles. After the Civil War, she won several civil rights victories, one of which was cited and upheld in the 1980s and resulted in her being called “The Mother of Human Rights in California,” though other legal battles had mixed results. In Creole terms, Pleasant could have been referred
to as a “passe blanc,” which is someone whose appearance could pass for White. She wrote that her mother was a “full-blooded Negress from Louisiana” and her father was Hawaiian. Pleasant married James Smith, a wealthy flour contractor and plantation owner who had freed his slaves and was also able to pass as white. She worked with Smith as a “slave conductor” on the Underground Railroad until his death about four years later. They transported slaves to northern states such as Ohio and even as far as Canada. Smith left instructions and money for her to continue the work after his death. Pleasant is looked at by many historians as “The Harriet Tubman of California.” When Pleasant arrived in San Francisco, she passed as white, using her first husband’s name among the Whites, and took jobs running exclusive men’s eating establishments. She met most of the founders of the city as she catered lavish meals, and she benefited from the tidbits of financial gossip and deals usually tossed around at the tables. She engaged a young clerk, Thomas Bell, at the Bank of California and they began to make money based on her tips and guidance. Thomas made money of his own, especially in quicksil-
ver, and by 1875 they had together amassed a 30-million-dollar fortune. The partnership was seen by many as illicit; the mansion she built in San Francisco for herself and Bell and his family was thought to be a brothel. Pleasant did not conceal her race from other Blacks and was adept at finding jobs for those brought in by Underground Railroad activities. Some of the people she sponsored became important Black leaders in the city. She left San Francisco from 1857 to 1859 to help John Brown. She was said to have actively supported his cause with money and work. There was a note from her in his pocket when he was arrested after the Harpers Ferry Armory incident, but as it was only signed with the initials “MEP” (which were misread as “WEP”) she was not caught. She returned to San Francisco to continue her work there, where she was known as the “Black City Hall.”
Mary Ellen Pleasant and John Brown After the Civil War, Pleasant publicly changed her racial designation in the City Directory from “White” to “Black,” causing a stir among some Whites. She began a series of court battles to fight laws prohibiting Blacks from riding trolleys and other such abuses. Pleasant was regularly called the derogatory slur “Mammy Pleasant” by local Whites. The press also called her “Mammy” Pleasant, but she did not approve. “I don’t like to be called
‘Mammy’ by everybody. Put. that. down. I am not ‘Mammy’ to everybody in California. I received a letter from a pastor in Sacramento. It was addressed to Mammy Pleasant. I wrote back to him on his own paper that my name was ‘Mrs. Mary E. Pleasant.’ I wouldn’t waste any of my paper on him,” she said. If you didn’t know-- now you know! -- AANI
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February 28, 2021
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This shouldn’t be how we say hello...or goodbye.
It’s our reality right now. But it won’t be if we do what it takes to beat COVID-19. Vaccines are coming, but until enough of us are vaccinated, we all still need to wear our masks, stay at least six feet from others, and avoid indoor social gatherings. The more we slow the spread, the faster we’ll return to normal hellos … and fewer goodbyes. Learn more about vaccines and slowing the spread at cdc.gov/coronavirus Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Change cont’d gun house that was furnished like Spartacus’ cell. She said that when she looked at us, she was reminded of her two boys that were incarcerated in the Texas Department of Corrections penal system. No evidence would be convincing enough to convince her that we were guilty. Laborers, clerks, field hands, maids, teachers, blacksmiths, and entrepreneurs are underrepresented in our story of swimming against the tide to get to safety amidst a hostile and often a bloody tide. The argument is for championing and enshrining the memory of those who cleaned toilets and emptied pots, those who pampered the masters’ children while their children went sometimes unattended. The argument is for the UH African American Studies leader, Dr. James Conyers who added his sisters’ children to his family when she died of a dreadful cancer. The argument is for recognizing that women hold up more than half of the world. Grandmothers and grandfathers knitted families together by providing safe harbor for children when parents are locked down
or drug addicted. Are not they heroes? The great advances made in the 1960’s ensued from the struggles in the streets of Birmingham, Watts-Los Angeles, Selma, Alabama and Weingarten’s grocery stores by the Houston version of the Freedom Riders. These pioneers and segregation busters were from Texas Southern University. None of us remembered the Fort Logan Black soldiers that were court-martialed and hung in Houston in 1927. Nineteen of our ancestors were sent to the gallows near downtown Houston. Their names must be memorialized. Those who were slaughtered in Elaine, Arkansas and chased out of Beaumont, Texas by White mobs deserve our attention as they moved west to establish new lives. Let’s keep the emphasis on the great performances by great souls but let us not forget that there are countless stellar contributions by countless liberators that never made the front page or gave a soundbite to the local tools. These soldiers stayed on the road, voted their consciences, and changed America by standing on the right side of history in times of controversy. --AANI
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