April 5, 2020
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
Vol. 25, Issue 11 LIVING LEGEND
JudgE ElainE marsHall
By: N.L. Preston
HOUSTON - “Never let anyone steal your peace, and never let anyone take your peace and turn it into pieces,” is the advice Judge Elaine Marshall’s aunt once gave her. Today, with the city of Houston filled with panicked residents - some cautiously locked away in their homes while others disregard health warnings - those words of wisdom seem to be a message that needs sharing. “I think that is what is happening now. We are getting away from knowing who really sustains us, and so all of this is taking our inner peace and turning us into pieces,” she said. Marshall may be on to something. The COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic has many of us on edge. But ultimately, it begins with each individual and their mindset and, more so, how they stand in the face of adversity; something Marshall will not let slow her down. She spoke candidly with African-American News&Issues about her upbringing, her career and life’s highlights, opening up first about the fear she felt as a young adult preparing to head off to the University of Notre Dame, where there weren’t many who looked like her, in addition to it being her first time away from her family. “My grandmother looked me in the face and said ‘What
“Weareallinthistogether.” you are is God’s gift to you and what you make of yourself is your gift to God, and so when you go up there, you learn everything you can so you can give God his greatest gift,’” Marshall recalled. That loving statement carried her through, and Marshall went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts degree from Notre
Dame in Psychology, followed by a Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas. She moved to Houston in the 1980’s, where she and her husband, Stephen Augustine, raised three children, Janikka, Takia and Steven. Marshall’s career is something many would marvel at. The ‘military baby’ who grew up in San Antonio has served the City of Houston since 1987, first as a full-time judge, then as an administrative judge, and next as an associate presiding judge. A career highlight for Marshall is her revision of the Teen Court Program, which when started had only 15 members, but over time grew to nearly 100 participating students. Marshall was also an assistant district attorney for Harris County for eight years and assisted in developing the office’s child abuse section. On December 7, 2016, Marshall was appointed to serve as director and presiding judge for the Municipal Courts Department by Mayor Sylvester Turner. As a judge, two things have brought her extra joy. One in particular was seeing the recent historic appointment of social media’s “Black Girl Magic” judges, also known as the “Houston 19.” “I am all for us being visible as women and was excited to see everybody get out and vote,” she said, adding this advice. “Now that you’re on the bench, you need to show them what you can do. For us, as black women, we have to take that step a little bit further because everybody is going to question what we know, so we have to stay on top of our game.” Marshall was also an adjunct professor for seven years at Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law. “That was remarkable. For me, teaching was my way of giving back,” she said. Now for the top of her list, her greatest joy professionally Cont’d on page 2
tHE HonoraBlE craig a. WasHington
HOUSTON - Craig A. Washington was born on October 12, 1941, in Longview, Texas. He attended Brock Elementary School in Houston, Fidelity Junior High School, then Fidelity Manor Senior High School in Galena Park from which he graduated in 1958. Some of his high school activities included membership in the Student Council, and participation on the track, football, basketball, tennis and band teams. Washington attended Prairie View A&M University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in biology in 1966. He went on to attend Texas Southern University Law School from 1966 to 1969, graduating number one in his class, with honors. While in law school, he was Captain of the Moot Court Team (1967-69), President of the Student Bar Association (1968-69), and Research Assistant to the Dean of the Law School (1968-69). Washington received several awards and was consistently on the Dean’s List. Washington also served Texas Southern University Law School as Assistant Dean and Assistant Professor of Law, teaching a course in legislation. In 1970, he left the University to enter private law practice. He was the founding partner of Washington & Randle (later Washington, Lampley, Evans & Braquet), in Houston. He was elected to the 63rd Legislature in 1972 to represent the 86th District of Harris County. Texas Monthly selected him one of the Ten Best Legislators three times: in 1973, 1979 and 1981. The August 1979 issue of Texas Business cited him as “being proficient in passing or defeating legislation,” the May 1980 issue of Texas Business referred to him as smart, well liked, and respected. Houston City called him Houston’s best legislator in its July 1981 issue and praised him in a feature story in the December 1981 issue. In November 1982, Washington was elected to State Senate District 13 for the 68th Legislature. He was the second Black to have served in the Texas State Senate since Reconstruction. His senate district included parts of the Fifth Ward, the Heights, Montrose, Fourth Ward, Third Ward, the Hermann Park area, the Texas Medical Center area, Meyerland, Sunnyside, South Park, Westbury, the far south side of Harris County, and the northern edge of Fort Bend County. In 1985, the State Bar of Texas honored Washington as Outstanding Criminal Defense Lawyer of The Year. Washington was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent the 18th Congressional District following the tragic death of his friend, Congressman George Thomas “Mickey” Leland. He was first sworn in as a member of the United States House of Representatives when the 101st Congress reconvened on January 12, 1990. He was re-elected in November 1990 and November 1992. He eventually was defeated by Sheila Jackson Lee and departed Congress. He moved on to maintain law offices in Houston and Bastrop, also serving as counsel to law offices in Fort Worth, Lufkin, McAllen, and Odessa, Texas. Washington was well known for his consistent support of civil rights and civil liberties and for his efforts to increase the participation of women and minorities in the political process. Highlights of his legislative career include passage of bills creating the Texas Department of Aging, increasing monthly payments to recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), limiting state investments in businesses involved with South Africa, addressing the needs of people with disabilities, and coordinating Texas’ fight against AIDS. Washington is a father of five, and is also a proud grandfather. - AANI
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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Partin’ the Waters By Omawale Luthuli-Allen
Start caring, start loving: Cut the BS! “In a real sense, all life is interrelated. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be... This is the interrelated structure of reality.” So here we are. Can you fathom a projection of 150,000 to 250,000 Americans dying from the virus? Polarization, grid lock at a time that requires concerted action. National CEO is calling the Governor of Maine a snake and distancing himself from the governor of Michigan. For weeks during the PANDEMIC it has been every state for itself and God for us all. America is broken, but we have a job to do in order to SAVE LIVES. We must park our EGOS and adopt the mantra - we can do an unlimited amount of good if we don’t care who gets the credit. Explain to me why you are imparting medical information when you have a renown neurosurgeon MD on your cabinet, Dr. Ben Carson? Additionally, you have access to the surgeon general of the US and Dr. Anthony Fauci. The virus travels by rails, by airplane, cruise ships and cars from Wuhan, China. From Rome, Italy to Mardi Gras New Orleans. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hid, your wealth nor political party can protect us. It is unacceptable and crazy that nurses in NYC are wearing the same masks for seven consecutive days. It is crazy that we have not been able to do an inventory of the number of respirators and ventilators in the country. It is unacceptable and crazy that your patchwork policy positions states to compete against each other to obtain respira-
April 5, 2020 tors. It is unacceptable that the mighty USA is unable to ramp up production of ventilators. It is unacceptable that private merchants who are ruled by the profit motive elevate dollars above human life. How can you raise the price of a mask from $4.95 to $7 just because the demand has gone sky high? Judge Lina Hidalgo is to be applauded for using police force to confiscate personal protective equipment (PPE) that is owned by the greedy. First responders get priority. We are at an extraordinary point in American life as the result of the devastation caused by the CORONAVIRUS. The time has come to recontextualize our understanding of what life demands of us. While we are keeping our distance from each other, we must close the psychological and spiritual distance between us. We were potty trained with childhood friends that are now dying in Intensive Care Units. We are unable to visit a relative or loved ones as they prepare to make their transition. No money blues. No job blues. Uncertainty blues. No Communion blues. SUDDENLY, we slept in one world and woke up in another. Disney has no more magic and Paris is no longer romantic. SUDDENLY, in New York everyone sleeps. And the Great Wall of China is no longer a fortress. SUDDENLY, hugs and kisses become weapons. Holding hands and walking the parks become outlawed. SUDDENLY, not visiting aging parents and grandparents becomes an “act of love.” SUDDENLY, our bombs and machine guns, our tanks and artilleries begin to gather dust. SUDDENLY, we realized that power is with God alone. And that money has no value when it can’t even buy you toilet paper. SUDDENLY, we have been put back in our place by the hands of the universe. And we’ve been made aware how vulnerably “human” we truly are, when faced with a microbe so powerfully inhumane. Anonymous In the face of this MICROBE that is taking Names and Kicking Ass, STOP LIVING PUNY LIVES!
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
COMMUNITY
H-E-B president to the community: ‘We are not going to run out, don’t hoard’
HOUSTON - With the panic of food shortages and the still questionable race to stock up on toilet paper sweeping the nation, H-E-B’s Scott McClelland wants to reassure Texans that there are enough supplies to help us get through our shelter-in-place and social distancing initiatives as we all safely strive to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. African-American News&Issues went straight to the top, speaking with the H-E-B president this week, to help calm the fears of the community. “I can assure people that we are not going to run out of food. Every day we are shipping out about 1,600 trailers to our stores across Texas and prior to the issues dealing with Coronavirus, we were averaging about 900 trailers per day. We have really been able to increase our capacity significantly,” McClelland said. “As restaurants have closed down, the people of Texas are now relying on supermarkets more than ever. Now you may not find the exact item you want. For instance, you may have to buy chicken thighs today and come back for chicken wings tomorrow, but you still will have chicken, pasta
and any other item you are looking for.” McClelland admits the biggest challenge all retailers are having right now is toilet paper. He explained that toilet paper manufacturers are going above and beyond to keep up with the distribution needs, but cautioned consumers to think of others while out shopping. “We’ve seen people coming in to buy more than what they need, so what we have been saying to customers is ‘just buy what you need and leave some for your neighbors. Be kind,’” McClelland said. “There is going to be enough for everybody, providing that the people don’t hoard.” H-E-B is also taking preventative measures to protect both its employees and the customers. “We have put up an acrylic shield between our checkers and customers, which is designed to protect everyone,” McClelland explained. “We’ve added new COVID managers to the stores who help to enforce social distancing and sanitization. Our employees sanitize the stores throughout the
Judge, cont’d
had a personal touch. It was the day she hooded and swore in her daughter. Janikka Bratton is currently a senior associate attorney at Kubosh Law. Marshall said she hopes the values that have been lovingly poured into her, she adequately passes along to others. “I want to instill them in
day, and since we know these are stressful times for everyone, we’ve enacted a $2 per hour bonus for everyone who is working for us.” McClelland says H-E-B is aware that many of its employees have incurred additional costs with daily expenses and childcare, with schools now being closed, and the company wants to help wherever it can. To further help the community, H-E-B made a $3 million donation to food banks and Meals on Wheels. “We knew that with the devasting impact this would have on the economy, in particular on the food service and hospitality workers, a lot of people would be now be unemployed,” McClelland said. “And for the elderly who must stay at home, we definitely want to take care of them as well.” McClelland said in an effort to boost the local economy, the company also recently ordered food from local restaurants to feed employees at H-EB’s 90 Houston locations. These days, every little bit counts, and when you have more, you do more. - AANI
my children, my students and I hope I instill them in my staff and employees because I’m walking right beside them,” she said. “Every day I want them to know that, He [God] may have opened a different door for me than for others, but it still doesn’t make me any better. We are all in this together.” - AANI
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