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MetroNews DELIVERING NEWS YOU NEED
• Vol. 10 • April 20 - April 26, 2023
MY TRUTH By Cheryl Smith PUBLISHER
Let's ACT responsibly! If I was thinking about going back to college, I would want to choose an institution like the one where Dr. Elayne Anthony is the Acting President. You see, I need and have grown to expect to have a president who is not only smart, visionary, great at raising funds, and able to navigate through the bureaucratic posturing of legis-
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By Earnestine Cole
Special to I Messenger Media
Nashville, TN— When the doors open on the Roland Parrish Career Planning & Development Center Saturday, April 22, 2023, it will be a historic moment on the Fisk University campus. The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Grand Opening of the first new building built on the University’s campus since 1974
lators, and alumni; but also proficient at displaying tough and unconditional love and a firm, stern, no-nonsense demeanor when necessary. I need a president who loves the school and makes everyone feel valuable, realizing that people give more when they feel valued. Or when their leadership style chooses competence and what is good for the school and students over what is good for their personal friendships or pockets. I need a president who is not a model playing a role, while changing quicker than the weather and letting their ego stifle the growth of the institution— I am talking about a real role model. I need a president who is a source of inspiration and guidSee MY TRUTH, page 3
pages 8, 9, 11
is recycling really sustainable?
is due to the philanthropy of the building’s namesake, Roland G. Parrish, a Dallas businessman who donated a historic $3 million gift to fund the construction; making it one of the largest gifts in the university’s history. The ceremonial groundbreaking for the Center was in 2018. Catalyst Builders Inc. in Nashville, provided the civil engineerSee ROLAND PARRISH CAREER, page 13
By Ayesha Hana Shaji Texas Metro News Team
Roland Parrish
Photo: PRL
Duncanville fires City Manager While out of town, council members cast vote Texas Metro News Correspondent
Photo: JSU
Trailblazer Award Honorees
Earth Day CAREER SUCCESS Roland Parrish Career Planning What do companies & Development Center at Fisk do with scraps and
By Sylvia Dunnavant Hines
Dr. Elayne Anthony Acting JSU President
Congrats to 2023 V. Alyce Foster
Allegations of mistrust, references of racial tension and a concern about prior city bookkeeping thrust former Duncanville City Manager, Aretha R. Ferrell-Benavides, into a line of fire, which led to her termination. On March 31, the Duncanville City Council voted 4 to 3 in favor of firing Ferrell-Benavides, during an emergency call meeting to review her performance.
“As a former three-term Duncanville City Council member who was on the council when former City Manager Aretha Ferrell Benavides was hired, I am appalled at the manner in which she was terminated,” said Mark D. Cooks. “When the agenda item was posted for her performance review, based upon the wording, I knew that it was not a traditional performance review, but more so a termination.” Aretha Ferrell Benavides is still trying See DUNCANVILLE FIRES, page 13
Texas Metro News Team
Lauryn Whitney
Photo: Ayesha Hana Shaji
When Lauryn Whitney found out she was pregnant, on her first ultrasound, the doctor told her that she thought it was going to be a baby girl. Whitney was ecstatic. Fast forward to her 20-week ultrasound, the doctors confirmed it was going to be a baby boy. Whitney could not stop crying. “I remember walking out of the room as we were heading
Louis Okon President, Okon Metals Recycling Photo: Okon Metals
home and my husband stopped me in the hallway and asked, ‘So why are you crying? We're having a healthy baby boy,’” she said. “And my only response was, ‘Yes, I know but I don't know how I'm going to protect him.’” The mama bear instincts had kicked in. In a day and age where Black men are so blatantly targeted, Whitney said, she knew she was going to have to fight.
Recycling has become an increasingly important aspect of our lives, as we strive to protect the environment and reduce our carbon footprint. Okon Metals is a family-owned recycling company established in 1909. They’ve one of the largest public recycling facilities in the southwest with 20 acres of land, said Louis Okon, president of Okon Metals. “We keep about 15,000 tons, which is about 30 million pounds, out of the landfill each month,” he said. Okon Metals recycles cardboard, non-ferrous metals like copper and aluminum, ferrous metals which are different grades of steel, magnets and they
See REDEMPTION SCHOLARS, page 10
See WHAT DO COMPANIES, page 10
to wrap her mind around the actions of the Duncanville City Council.
Redemption Scholars: Documentary on incarcerated individuals By Ayesha Hana Shaji
As conversations about sustainability and environmental conservation continue to gain momentum, especially during the month of April leading up to Earth Day on the 22nd, recycling is once again a star strategy to reduce waste and prevent landfills from overflowing.