T E X A S
MetroNews DELIVERING NEWS YOU NEED
• Vol. 10 • Nov. 17 - Nov. 23, 2022
MY TRUTH By Cheryl Smith PUBLISHER
Compassion As I rode through Dallas last week, I was disgusted. I actually felt sick to my stomach. On street after street, I saw people sleeping on the sidewalks of the best city to live in the state of Texas, according to blogger Ryan Fitzgerald, writing for UpHomes.com. All I knew was that it was hot and no one needed to be sleeping on the streets in a country where people pick up stray animals and take them home, without reservation. And there I sat in the comfort of my vehicle with the air conditioning blasting. This week, I had the same upset stomach because once again, I was riding through downtown and saw so many homeless folks making their beds on concrete. This time, it was not hot. It was freezing and this time I had the heat blasting. Just reliving both rides caused me pain. No matter my situation, the thought that I would be exiting my car to go into the warmth of my home was enough to make me cringe! People need help and not just during “Giving Day” or holiday seasons. Everyday something needs to be done to eradicate the homelessness issue. I just can’t see how anyone of consciousness and conscience can not feel something about our homeless situation. Sure we have organizations that are helping. Sadly, we have some that say they are helping but is the help really going to those really in need? For example, I recently heard from someone who said See MY TRUTH, page 8
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Johnny Graham? – Greatness!
Historical Marker Planted in Honor of Businessman By Vincent L. Hall Johnny Graham was never famous, but he was undoubtedly a great man. His service is legendary in Sunny South Dallas. Thanks to a newly-minted marker planted at the corner of Robert B. Cullum and Albert Louis Lipscomb, the Graham name will be famous in the City of Dallas. Johnny Crawford and his daughter, Sherri, made the November 14 dedication a raving success! And despite thunderous downpours throughout the day on Monday; alumni, customers, community members and elected officials showed up to pay homage to the man who educated and served several communities. And rightly so. In 1948, Mr. Graham moved from Florida to Texas and in
Not everybody can be famous, but everybody can be great because greatness is determined by service." - Martin Luther King Jr.
Johnny Crawford
Johnny Graham
1951 opened his first shop at 2804 Southland. That one shop grew to two, then five, and eventually, it spawned a barber college. Johnny and his wife, La
France, a beautician, were on their way to success. Soon after, they purchased a small strip shopping center and, in their heyday, owned eight barber shops and had
140 employees on their roster. But, long before the chain barber shops, they were offering health insurance and other benefits. See JOHNNY GRAHAM, Page 11
CIA Director and Russian Counterpart Discuss Brittney Griner, Paul Whelan By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Senior Correspondent
CIA director Bill Burns and Russia’s spy agency boss Sergey Naryshkin planned to meet this week to discuss potential consequences if nuclear weapons are used in the war against Ukraine. But U.S. officials said Burns and Naryshkin, scheduled to meet on Monday, Nov. 14, also were expected to discuss the potential release of WNBA Star Brittney Griner and former U.S. military veteran Paul Whelan, both deemed by America as unlawfully detained citizens. The Biden administration has maintained its determination to bring home Griner and Whelan. Russian authorities recently transferred Griner to the country’s dreaded penal colony, where many prisoners have detailed abuse along with a multi-
Brittney Griner
tude of other human rights violations. Russian officials jailed Griner in February when authorities arrested her at a Moscow airport after finding a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage. A court convicted Griner in August of trying to smuggle narcotics. She received a nine-year
sentence, which an appeals court upheld last month. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said last week that President Biden had directed all in the administration to prevail on her “Russian captors” to improve Griner’s treatment and the conditions many must endure in the country’s penal colony. Individuals who’ve spent time at one of Russia’s infamous penal colonies reported that prisoners aren’t allowed outside contact for weeks. The colonies are notorious for corrections officers’ repeated abuse of prisoners, violence among inmates, lack of food, and inadequate sanitation. Confirmed reports said the United States government had offered to swap the so-called “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout for Griner and another im-
prisoned American, Paul Whelan. Bout, who’s serving a 25-year federal prison sentence and notorious for his desire to kill Americans, reportedly has been at the top of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s wish list.
Biden administration has maintained its commitment to bringing home Griner, Whelan “We communicated a substantial offer that we believe could be successful based on a history of conversations with the Russians,” a senior administration official said earlier this year. “We communicated that many weeks ago, in June.” The families of Whelan, who Russia has held for alleged espionage since 2018, and WNBA See BRITTNEY GRINER, Page 11