Killing Our Kids Houston’s Youth Gun Crisis Escalates
EXCLUSIVE
PROFILE
CHRISTIAN N MENEFEE
DEONTE SCOTT
In a Defender ONE-on-ON NE interview the 18th Districtt Congressman reflects on his first 250 days in office.
Turning pain into art is what this Houston poet is all about.
Volume 95, issue 51 October 8, 2026
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DN To the POINT Check out this discussion on civil rights accountability, strategies to counter misinformation targeting Black voters, and highlighting active involvement among Black fathers.Credit: Botham Jean/FB and Texas Department of Corrections.
Message from the Associate Editor do we, Black media outlets. On Sept 6, 2018, Botham The Defender staff has only Jean was fatally shot (killed) seen one installment of Talain his Dallas, Texas apartrico advertising in the Black ment by off-duty Dallas press. And this week, his team police officer Amber Guycanceled their scheduled ger, who mistakenly entered Defender ad. What’s up with his unit believing it was her that? We need Talarico’s voice own. For this murder, Guyand fight in the U.S. Senate ger received a mere 10-year to push back against Trump’s sentence. After serving only unchecked anti-Black madAswad Walker seven of those years, she’s now ness. But Talarico needs us to free, out on parole. Civil Rights Attorney Lee get there. C’mon playa. Blackfolk don’t need Merritt offered his thoughts on that parole, another “James”making us all scream, “Damn, stating: “We are deeply disappointed by the damn, damn!” decision to grant parole to Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer convicted of Defeating the misinformation murdering Botham Jean. Botham Jean was monster in his own home, eating ice cream, when his According to Michael Bland, execulife was taken. He did nothing wrong. He was tive director of Black Men Vote, Black men a son, a brother, a friend, and a man of faith between the ages of 18 and 45 are the biggest who served his church and his community. consumers of misinformation. That means, He should still be here. Botham’s family and every place where the bruhs gather becomes the community strongly opposed this parole. a potential breeding ground for actions that They stood up again and again to ask that the block our people from using our voting power full sentence be served. A 10-year sentence was to its fullest extent, either not voting or votalready a fraction of what was lost. Releasing ing for anti-Black candidates based on some Ms. Guyger after seven years makes that loss dumb “stuff.” Solution one: Listen to Black feel even smaller in the eyes of the system. It women. Their track record of seeing through is not smaller.” Black lives still matter, even the nonsense and getting to the heart of the as this nation and its institutions move as if matter is unmatched. Had America and the they don’t. world listened to Black women, we wouldn’t be on the brink of global collapse right now. Did Talarico lie or misstep? Solution two: Brothers must confront misinFolks, we’re in the final quarter of the 2026 formation with facts. That’s easier said than midterm election. And everybody understands done when misinformation is the main curthat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico needs rency anti-Black billionaires deal in when they the Black vote to win. The question some are set their social media platforms, cable news asking is, when will his words of investment networks, etc., to feed us poison. So, brothers in the Black community become actions? As with credible info have to make it a point to the theory goes, “You support us, we support speak up and speak out more often; hell, all you.” This summer, long before Talarico was the time, non-stop. Because misinformation known by most Black Texans, the Black press is non-stop. Solution three: Don’t share BS on helped him establish his brand. He then com- your social media feed. Take two minutes to mitted to direct $25 million to increase Black verify info before posting and swearing it’s the voter outreach. And that only makes sense. gospel truth. Black women and Black men are the top two Democratic voting blocs. But, with less than On the Web 30 days until the election, the question is, will ” Prairie View A&M launches master’s proTalarico come through? Or will this be another gram in data science. failed Democratic promise? We all see Talarico ” Black freedom faces new era of state ads flooding the airwaves. You can’t log into surveillance. YouTube without seeing Talarico asking for ” Houston’s mature singles are tired of datdonations. And he needs every penny. But so ing apps. Black lives still matter
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DN News EXCLUSIVE
U.S. Rep. Menefee reviews first 250 days y in office completely disregarded that.” The second affordability objective Menefee mentioned was Trump’s tariffs, which he said caused billions in damages to corporations and individuals. “The president’s setting of tariffs unilaterally on other countries is setting tariffs on us,” he said. ”And that is increasing the cost of everything from groceries to utility bills.”
By Tannistha Sinha
In his first 250 days, U.S. Representative Christian Menefee says he has addressed constituent case backlog, filed legislation, and focused on affordability and funding for the 18th Congressional District. It has been eight months since Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, asked Menefee to raise his right hand and swear in. Prior to the ceremony, the 18th Congressional District went unrepresented for almost a year. “We dove right in,” said the former Harris County Attorney, touting the closure of more than 500 constituent cases since he took office. Those cases went unaddressed because Governor Greg Abbott delayed calling a special election, leaving the district unrepresented for 300+ days. “To make a district go that long without representation, it meant that when the One Big Beautiful Bill [Act] came up for consideration, we had no debate, we had no vote from Texas-18,” Menefee said. “I felt a fire behind me pushing me to immediate action because of how long that vacancy had been.” The law changed Medicaid policy, SNAP eligibility, and work requirements. Texas 18 had no sitting representative at the time of its passage. According to Menefee, one of the keys to his success was hiring quality staff members, including district director Yuroba Harris, chief of staff Peter Hunter, press assistant Tatiana Battle, and communications director Claire Berry. “We built out the Houston office with caseworkers who were in and of the community, including Spanish-speaking folks, so that we could really be in the best position to handle the constituent cases as soon as possible,” Menefee said. Legislative actions
The Special Elections Timeliness Act, or the “SET Act,” filed in April, was one of Menefee’s first legislative moves and set a 180-day deadline
Limitations of the office
U.S. Rep. Menefee talks about colleague Congressman Al Green, minority party challenges and more.
for states to hold special elections and fill vacant House seats. “It’s a nonpartisan proposition,” Menefee says. “I’ve heard folks complain about other states that have Democratic governors that have tried to play games with election timelines and delayed a special election. “I don’t care if you’re Republican, Independent, Democratic…,” added Menefee. “If people in our communities are paying taxes, they should have a member of Congress to be their voice in Washington, D.C., to cast votes on their behalf, to help them get connected with government services.” With Democrats in the minority, Menefee admits it would require Republican support to pass his legislation. He says he is slowly getting accustomed to the “frustrating”
job of turning the authority of his congressional office into results, acknowledging that Congress demands more patience and compromise than his previous job as Harris County Attorney. Simultaneously, he says he is counting on Democrats winning seats in November to flip the House, thereby allowing Menefee to secure the votes necessary to pass the bill. When asked about any unusual bills he has voted on, Menefee mentioned the Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act (sponsored by a Republican Senator, James C. Justice), which expanded the list of eligible items for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) to include rotisserie chickens. “If families in the 18th who were beneficiaries of SNAP who
can now have the opportunity to get a rotisserie chicken, if that’s something that we can make law, I don’t care who drafted the bill,” Menefee said. “If a Republican or Democrat doesn’t matter to me, I’m voting yes on that.” What’s next?
Focusing on the days ahead, Menefee wants to lower Houston families’ living costs by ending the war in Iran and addressing Trump’s tariffs. “Gas prices have risen 40% since the war in Iran began. Not to mention that at one point, we were spending a billion dollars a day on this war…All of that is taxpayer money.” Menefee added, “Only Congress has the power to declare war on another country. But Trump has
The transition from county attorney to being a member of Congress is vastly different for Menefee. Describing his former office as having approximately 300 employees and a budget in the “tens of millions of dollars”, Menfee contrasted that with a congressional team of about 15 and a budget of “a few million”. Menefee noted that when it came to decision-making power as county attorney, he could move quickly, but in Congress, progress depends on other members and leadership. “Congress moves very slowly,” Menefee said. “It’s something that I’m getting used to, but I’m learning the importance of making friends before you need a friend, so that when the time comes where you can push stuff forward, you do that.” Holding Menefee accountable
Asked what he should have accomplished if interviewed again next year, Menefee offered three standards, including community project funding, multiple town halls in the new district, and a meaningful role in holding the administration accountable. “I should by that time have brought back several millions of dollars to the community,” said Menefee, identifying community project funding as the mechanism. As the interview came to a close, Menefee stressed the importance of voting in the November midterms.
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DN News
Third Ward residents demand Columbia Tap investigation By Aswad Walker
Third Ward community members are once again demanding action at one of the Columbia Tap Trail’s most troubled locations: the intersection at the 3100 block of Anita Street. Escalating safety concerns
Their concerns intensified following the Sept. 6 fatal shooting of 35-year-old Jaleel Rahman at 3119 Anita Street. Houston police confirmed they are investigating the ongoing case and detained two people for questioning. Although Rahman’s death did not occur directly on the Columbia Tap Trail, it has renewed serious safety concerns in and around the corridor for residents and trail advocates. Ed Pettitt, president of Friends of Columbia Tap, recently reached out to Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz, Mayor John Whitmire, and several Houston City Council members, requesting thorough investigations and preventive measures. Pettitt highlighted a history of violence around the intersection, including a 2023 wave of attacks on five cyclists that prompted increased HPD patrols, undercover operations, and two teenage arrests. He also cited a history of fatal incidents in the area, including killings involving Alfred Earl James in 2017, Abraham Osayande in 2020, Damien Horton in 2021, Josue E.
Hernandez in 2022, and Rahman in 2026. “A trail is only as safe as its most dangerous section,” said Pettitt. “For years, the most dangerous section of the Columbia Tap Trail has been the intersection at Anita Street.” However, Council Member Dr. Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, whose District D includes Third Ward, cautioned against linking separate crimes. She noted that while Rahman’s death occurred on Anita Street, it was not on the trail itself, and HPD has not established a connection between the shooting, the 2023 cyclist robberies, or other area incidents. Focus on nuisance properties
Pettitt recalled progress made after a 2023 press conference with Evans-Shabazz and police leadership, noting that former South Central Commander Johnson worked closely with residents to target nuisance properties driving local violence. However, he contends that momentum stalled following a leadership change. In his latest communication, Pettitt pointed to Hollins Group Properties Inc.—operated by Kevin Hollins—which controls several properties on the block, including 3114, 3116, 3117, 3118, 3119, and 3121 Anita Street. He
In 2023, then-HPD Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite (left) and Houston City Council member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz spoke at a press conference about crimes that had taken place along the Columbia Tap Trail. Credit: Adam Zuvanich/Houston Public Media.
is urging city officials to evaluate these locations parcel-by-parcel for service calls, code violations, and criminal activity, asking when the city will stop treating repeated violence as isolated incidents and address the properties themselves. A representative for Hollins Group Properties Inc. did not respond to requests for comment. Specifically, Pettitt highlighted Chapter 125 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code and Houston Code of Ordinances Section 2-268. Both offer legal frameworks to remediate multiunit residential properties where criminal activity is knowingly tolerated. Pettitt asked why the city has not yet used these mechanisms. City response and infrastructure investments
After years of reported violence, Third Ward advocates want officials to examine properties, enforcement efforts and safety conditions surrounding Anita Street. Artwork created by Aswad Walker, map/Credit: Houston Southeast.
In response, city officials emphasized ongoing public safety investments along the four-mile trail corridor. Mayor John Whitmire stated that Third Ward safety remains an HPD priority, noting increased patrols, additional security cameras, and an upgraded lighting system. Evans-Shabazz highlighted
a $7.5 million safety and infrastructure investment in the trail, featuring pedestrian-scale solar lighting, intersection upgrades, emergency call boxes, and signage with emergency location technology to ensure rapid first-responder dispatch. She reiterated that while homicide detectives investigate individual crimes, patrol officers focus on neighborhood visibility
and crime prevention. For Pettitt, the recent loss of life underscores the urgent need for long-term solutions. “Three years ago, you stood on Anita Street and told this community that the violence was unacceptable,” Pettitt said. “Three years later, we are standing over another body... It is past time for the City to keep its promise.”
VOLUME 95, NUMBER 51 - OCTOBER 8, 2026 Publisher | CEO Sonceria Messiah-Jiles Strategic Alllance Clyde Jiles Managing Editor ReShonda Tate Associate Editor Aswad Walker Content Manager Terrance Harris
Culture/Lifestyle Reporter Laura Onyeneho Special Assignments Reporter Tannistha Sinha Sports Terrance Harris Jimmie Aggison Video Editor Bryan Erdy
The Defender newspaper is published by the Houston Defender Newspaper Inc. and audited by Alliance for Audited Media (AAM). Only digital subscriptions are available at: www.defendernetwork.com/subscribe No paper subscriptions available. All materials covered by 2026 copyright. No materials herein may be reproduced without the written permission of the Publisher. 713-663-6996 | P.O. Box 8005, Houston, TX 77288
October 8, 2026 |
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DN ON SOCIAL THE WEB VOTE 2026 Nearly 1 in 4 Third Ward voters in
‘SUSPENSE’ You can still vote; here’s how
By ReShonda Tate
The word “suspense” can sound alarming, especially now that the Oct. 5 registration deadline has passed. But if you’re one of the more than 300,000 Harris County voters on the suspense list, you can still vote. In fact, election officials are urging voters on the list to show up and cast their ballots. “It means that they have to engage in an extra step when it comes to participation,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. “There’s a risk that this could either make people think they’re not able to vote, which means they won’t vote. Or it could mean that the extra burden of facilitating the vote is too much for them, and the cost is too high, so they choose not to vote.” That’s especially important in Third Ward, where a Defender analysis of voter registration data found nearly one in four registered voters are on the suspense list, more than twice the rate countywide. In ZIP code 77004, which includes much of Third Ward and is home to Texas Southern University and the University of Houston, 23% of registered voters are in suspense. Countywide, the rate is about 11%.
Top Six Houston Area Zip Codes in Suspense
Share of registered voters listed in suspense in five Houston-area ZIP codes with the largest numbers of suspense voters
Source: Defender analysis of Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector & Voter Registrar data as of Oct. 5, 2026.
where students often register at a campus address and then move the following year. Across Harris County, suspense voters also tend to cluster in apartment complexes, where renters move more often. That’s true in wealthy neighborhoods as well as working-class ones. How Third Ward That means many of the voters compares on the list are young people who The Defender looked at are still living in Houston and still Brandon the five Houston-area ZIP eligible to vote. They may not know Rottinghaus. codes with the most voters Credit: University their registration has been flagged. on the suspense list, a mix “People can still participate, but of Houston. of neighborhoods across the it’s just a question of whether or not city and suburbs. they feel like they can,” Rottinghaus said. In four of them, the share of voters in suspense was about 1 in 7 or lower: What the county says • Washington Avenue/ Harris County Voter Registrar Annette Rice Military (77007) Ramirez said her office is asking voters on • Westchase/Energy Corridor (77077) the suspense list to confirm or update their • Willowbrook (77070) address. • West Harris County (77084), the “But if for some reason you were unable lowest of the group, at about 1 in 9 to update that registration before October The Third Ward was the outlier, at nearly 5, then you can still show up at the polls to 1 in 4. vote. But when you do that, when the poll Voters usually land on the suspense list worker goes to check you in, they’re going when mail from the county comes back to ask you to complete a statement of resundeliverable, or when they don’t respond idence (SOR), to confirm where you live, to a notice asking them to confirm their and then they’re going to go on to let you address. Most often, that happens because vote,” Ramirez said. people move. The county does eventually cancel regisThe Defender’s analysis found concen- trations that stay on the suspense list for years trations in Third Ward near Texas Southern without being updated, so it’s worth taking University and the University of Houston, care of now, even if you vote this year.
Are you on the suspense list?
You are still an eligible voter. Being on the suspense list does not stop you from voting. It just means your address needs to be confirmed. Check your status
• Texas Secretary of State: “Am I Registered?” at VoteTexas.gov • Harris County Tax Office: hctax.net 713-274-8200. • Statewide voter hotline: 1-800-252VOTE (8683)
Voting this November?
• If you moved within Harris County: Vote as usual. When you check in, you’ll fill out a short Statement of Residence, then you can cast your ballot. • If you moved to Harris County from another Texas county: You may be able to cast a limited ballot, but only during early voting, at the county’s main early-voting location. Don’t wait until Election Day.
Fix it for future elections
You can update your voter registration online, by mail or in person. Online updates are available on the Texas Secretary of State website at Texas.gov. Changes made now apply to future elections. For Nov. 3, use the Statement of Residence at the polls. Tannistha Sinha contributed to this report.
KEY DATES
Oct. 19–30 Early voting
Oct. 23
Last day for the county to receive a mail-ballot application
Nov. 3
Election Day, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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DN InFocus
WATCH
VIDEO
KILLING OUR KIDS Houston’s Youth Gun Crisis Escalates
L
By ReShonda Tate
ePaul Warren should have been playing in his homecoming football game. Instead, his family was planning his homegoing. The 17-year-old Westbury High School student-athlete was shot and killed Sept. 25 before school along Dryad Street near the campus. Just three days earlier, 15-year-old Royce Witchet, a Westfield High School student, was shot near his school in north Harris County. Two teenagers. Two school communities. Two families planning funerals in the same week. The deaths have renewed a familiar but increasingly urgent question across Houston: What will it take to keep young people from becoming victims and perpetrators of gun violence? Friends, family, and strangers mourn Westbury teen LePaul Warren after his “Houston has now lost two children in one tragic shooting. Credit: Jimmie Aggison. week to senseless gun violence in school-adjacent shootings, and no family should ever Two students killed, two teens Houston’s own firearm injury data offer have to endure this pain,” Warren’s family said accused another warning. The city launched SAFEin a statement. The ages of those accused in the two killings Watch Houston with $300,000 to combine Houston has poured millions of dollars into are almost as striking as the ages of the victims. information from trauma centers, police, policing, violence prevention, youth programs, A 17-year-old, Travoris Jarrell Hines, has EMS, emergency rooms and medical examiner and community intervention in recent years. been charged with murder in Warren’s death. records. City officials reported more than 200 The city has expanded after-school opportu- Authorities said Hines was not enrolled in an trauma center visits involving unintentional nities, invested in vioHISD school at the time of the firearm injuries in 2024 alone. About half of lence interrupters and shooting. Investigators have the patients were children. mentors, and created a said Warren and Hines may The Houston Health Department says the firearm injury database have known of each other data can help identify demographic trends designed to give offior communicated before the and geographic hot spots, allowing prevencials a clearer picture shooting, but authorities have tion resources to be directed where they are of who is being hurt, not announced a motive. needed most. where, and how. In Witchet’s death, authorStill, families and ities arrested a 14-year-old Programs exist. Are they reaching community leaders who is also believed to be a the right kids? say preventing the next Spring ISD student. The HarHouston’s response has increasingly extended shooting will require Royce Witchet ris County Sheriff ’s Office beyond traditional policing. reaching young people said the two teens had some Through One Safe Houston and other city long before police tape goes up. type of altercation before Witchet was shot near efforts, Houston has invested in violence inter“We need more mentors out here, more the sidewalk between Westfield High School ruption, mentoring and “credible messenger” youth groups where the kids can be able to and Spring ISD’s administration building. programs that pair young people considered at open up, express whatever it is that they’re The figures do not mean every referred high risk with adults who often have firsthand going through,” said Jasmine Prater, Warren’s youth was ultimately found responsible for experience with violence, the criminal justice mother. “They need a safe place so they can a crime, but they underscore how frequently system or similar challenges. feel comfortable to get help with whatever it is guns are surfacing in serious cases involving The city also supports youth violence preventhat they’re going through.” young people. tion, after-school enrichment, teen mentoring,
LePaul Warren
academic assistance, sports and gang prevention and intervention programs through several departments and community centers. But the existence of programs does not necessarily mean the young people who need them most are being reached. City Council Member Edward Pollard said preventing youth violence requires greater investment in the circumstances that contribute to it before a shooting occurs. “We have to put more money into the root causes, more money into programming, more money into guidance and mentorship, discipline, education, training so that people have necessary tools to be able to handle whatever circumstances they’re going through within their lives,” Pollard said. Pollard said he plans to raise the issue at City Council, with particular attention to violence involving young people and communities of color. “It can’t stop today with the balloon release. Can’t stop today with the walk,” he said. “This should be, hopefully, a commitment to us all that we have to find ways so that this doesn’t happen to other families.”
The Westbury community rallies around LePaul Warren’s family as residents call for solutions to prevent more young people from becoming victims of gun violence. Credit: Jimmie Aggison. Turning grief into action
Nearly 300 people gathered in the Westbury community recently to remember Warren, including relatives, classmates, alumni, elected officials, and residents who never knew him. The gathering was part memorial, part demand for something to change. Rodney Jones was among those who did not know Warren personally. He came because he is from the area and has children around Warren’s age. “When I heard about this tragedy, I didn’t know this young man. I didn’t know his family, but it hit so close to home,” Jones said. For some families, one shooting can make every subsequent shooting feel personal. A community activist known as Texas T attended after losing his own son to gun violence. He described the lasting impact of that loss simply: “Every day is Nov. 5,” referring to the date his son died. He said adults must make young people understand that their lives have value. “We just need to let our babies know that
The killings come amid a troubling increase in serious juvenile cases involving guns. Texas Juvenile Justice Department data show increases over five years:
45%
firearm-related referrals
65%
juvenile homicide referrals
they’re valuable and we love y’all,” he said. “Everything y’all going through, we see that. We do not discount it.” That message mirrors what Prater believes could make a difference. She wants more adults, particularly men,
willing to mentor young people who may not have strong support systems at home or who may be reluctant to tell their parents what they are experiencing. “Some people don’t have what my son had at home,” Prater said. Warren’s family is also looking beyond its own grief. In its statement, the family said it hopes to work with organizations committed to ending gun violence in Houston. What happens after the headlines fade?
While much of the attention has focused on what happened outside Westbury High School, Warren’s family is also concerned about what happens next inside the school. Westbury’s homecoming football game and dance were canceled following Warren’s killing. His family has urged HISD and school administrators to reschedule the activities, saying students throughout the school are grieving and need an opportunity to regain some normalcy.
“This tragedy has affected not only our family, but the entire community,” the family said. Warren was a football and basketball player, but his mother wants people to know the teenager behind the uniform and beyond the circumstances of his death. At home, he ran through the house, joked around when it was time to clean, and made TikTok videos with his sister. “He was just one of them kids, like it’s rare that you’ll find him sad or down,” Prater said. “He loved his family. Everybody wanted to be around La,” Prater said. “He was just a good kid.” Witchet’s family has been left asking many of the same questions. At a memorial for the 15-year-old, his grandfather, Edward Payton, said the question after these shootings is often why they happened. He believes Houston should be asking something else. “The question that needs to be asked is, when are we going to do something about it,” he said.
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DEFENDER NETWORK
DN Feature
Black press archives at risk By Laura Onyeneho
Dr. Frances Toni Draper is the CEO and Publisher of The AFRO-American Newspapers. The publication’s extensive history is managed and preserved via Afro Charities. Credit: Dr. Frances Toni Draper/LinkedIn.
When BET quietly wiped every written article from its website in late August, erasing years of Black cultural journalism overnight, journalists from the Black press shared the moment that confirmed a concern many have carried for decades. Their history is only one corporate decision away from disappearing. BET Digital removed its written news archive from BET.com as part of a shift toward video-first content, according to several news reports. The change came without warning to the journalists who produced the work, and some were unable to save copies before it vanished. The Internet Archive later released a pilot project preserving roughly 199,000 of the removed articles through its Wayback Machine, offering partial relief but underscoring how easily decades of reporting can vanish when a platform’s business model shifts. For historic Black newspapers that have spent generations building their own archives with far fewer resources than a media conglomerate like Paramount, BET’s parent company, the incident renewed urgent questions about what protections, if any, exist for their own record. What is at risk?
Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of the Washington Informer and a past chair of the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Credit: Washington Informer.
Joseph Williams is the head of content for Word In Black, a digital media platform and national newsroom that unites leading Black-owned newspapers to report on racial equity, education, health, and justice. Credit: Joseph Williams/ LinkedIn.
Dr. Frances Toni Draper, publisher of the AFRO-American Newspapers, said her family-owned outlet, founded in 1892, has spent nearly a decade building infrastructure most Black media companies lack. The AFRO’s nonprofit sister organization, AFRO Charities, employs a team of 10 to 12 people whose full-time job is processing the paper’s archive. Roughly 3 million photographs, bound volumes dating to 1890, letters from Booker T. Washington and historian Carter G. Woodson, and audio recordings that include a conversation between civil rights icon Thurgood Marshall and Draper’s grandfather, longtime AFRO editor Carl Murphy. The organization has raised $17 million to renovate a historic Baltimore building that will house the collection and open to the public in March 2027, an effort Draper described as an eight-year journey that began with boxes of uncataloged material sitting on shelves and floors. “If all funding dries up, what’s at risk is our collective memory,” Draper said. “You can’t figure out where you’re going without knowing where you’ve been.” Draper said she felt some relief learning the Internet Archive had preserved part of BET’s removed content, but called the initial removal jolting, especially given that BET
How to protect the archives
had published interviews and reporting not easily found elsewhere in mainstream media. She cautioned that family ownership, often seen as a safeguard against corporate erasure, is no guarantee. “Different ownership could come in and not have the same regard for the value of an archive,: Draper said. “The deeper responsibility to preserve Black history belongs to the community, not any single ownership structure.” A thinning safety net
Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of the Washington Informer since 1994 and a past chair of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, described a thinner safety net for outlets without dedicated archival staff. Founded in 1964 by her father, Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, the Informer has relied largely on outside institutions to preserve its history. Print editions are sent to Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center and the DC Public Library’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library for digitization. A grant from the DC Office on Humanities helped digitize part of the paper’s own
archive several years ago. “To be honest, that’s the limit,” Rolark Barnes said. “Everything primarily is in storage. We need resources, financial as well as professional, to get the newspapers, the photographs, and now video, into an archival state where it can be useful to the public.” She said BET’s case differs somewhat from the print-to-digital shift most Black newspapers face, since BET began as a broadcast operation, making its own calculated choice about what to keep. But she pointed to local television stations that have discarded undigitized archival tape as evidence that the vulnerability runs across the media industry, not just one company. Solutions on the table
Joseph Williams, head of content for Word In Black, a consortium of 10 legacy Black newspapers that includes the AFRO, the Informer, and the Houston Defender Network, said he was stunned to learn that BET had erased its archive. “To get rid of that archive and to wipe it away completely is to deny access to historical articles ... to untold numbers of people,” Williams said. “History is lost.”
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DEFENDER NETWORK
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DN Profile
WATCH
VIDEO
Saran Alderson Gives new meaning to
body-positive art By Aswad Walker
“I bow down to the beauty of the fat roll and the curl of body hair.” That’s how Saran Alderson, “Painter, Printmaker, and Conjuror of Awesome,” introduces herself to the world on her website. That tone captures the energy and flow of Alderson, a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and current artist-in-residence at Project Row Houses (PRH). Born in New Jersey, seasoned in California, and now based in Houston, Alderson explores beauty and abstraction through the human figure. Before exposing the human
body through her art, she spent over 15 years covering it up as a fashion designer trained in New York City and Nottingham, England. Alderson later moved to the Bayou City to attend the University of Houston, earning her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in painting and printmaking. Today, she blends her creative practice with education, dedicating half of her PRH studio space to offering printmaking classes for the community. Mapping shapes of intimacy
At its core, Alderson’s work examines how our bodies occupy space in the world. “I’m a painter at my heart. I’m also a printmaker,” Alderson said. “Most of my work is
Artwork by Saran Alderson. Courtesy Saran Alderson.
centered around the body... as in like how we present ourselves to the world; how people maybe see us or even misread us.” Rather than just focusing on literal anatomy, Alderson translates human connection into visual forms. “I’m really interested in moments of intimacy,” she explained. “I think about intimacy almost like a triangle where you’re leaning on each other at so many different points to kind of create a shape. So, I’m looking for these shapes of intimacy.” Flipping juvenile tropes into cultural symbols
Alderson’s creative process often involves reinterpreting everyday objects into deeply relatable, bodily forms. She draws inspiration
from a personal childhood longing: Her ears would never pierce properly due to keloids, leaving her unable to wear the door-knocker earrings she admired on other girls. “It is my dream one day to be able to find some clip-on door-knocker earrings so that I could participate in this ultimate symbol of brownness,” Alderson shared. Instead, she channels that symbol into her studio practice. “For instance, I have this piece... where I turn the door-knockers into saggy breasts... And I think about the terms that people use to talk about women’s breasts, ‘knockers.’ It’s sort of making fun of these juvenile instincts... That’s the moment of connection and intimacy where we all sort of recognize that internal joke.”
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10 | October 8, 2026 |
DEFENDER NETWORK
DN Sports VETERAN POINT GUARD
FRED VANVLEET Returns to unlock Rockets’ young core
By David Hill
If you were to search Rockets guard Fred VanVleet’s account on X, the first thing you’ll likely notice is a pinned post from June 2016 with the caption, “Bet on yourself.” It’s a phrase that fits the career trajectory of VanVleet, who overcame the challenges of being an undrafted rookie to become a legitimate starting point guard entering his 10th season. Last season, he had to conquer more adversity, dealing with a torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee that he suffered last September and that kept him sidelined for the entire 2025-26 season. While his impact on the team was still felt on the bench, his presence on the court was irreplaceable, as the offensive highs and lows told the tale of the Rockets’ season. Now, a year removed from not being able to walk on his own, VanVleet walked to the podium with a smile and excitement about his return. The road back to health came with no easy task, as this was the first season-ending surgery for the veteran guard in his career. “The injury from start to finish, the surgery, and the season was not really fun for any of us. And not being able to be out there with the guys to at least suffer with them, just kind of watching as a spectator was tough for me individually.” VanVleet said during Rockets media day. VanVleet began ramping up his on-court workouts this summer and was eventually cleared to participate in five-on-five scrimmages with teammates. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone and head coach Ime Udoka announced at Rockets media day that he will not play on the second night of backto-backs to start the season. Even in workouts, VanVleet acknowledges the differences in his movements from before his knee surgery to now, and the gradual process it’ll take to regain his regular form. “There’s obviously a difference in now and pre-injury, but I feel really strong and confident out there on the court, and it’s just a matter of getting those reps underneath me and tying the mind-body connection back together and all those things,” VanVleet said. “It will be a process for me individually, but I’m confident that I’ll be alright out there.” Reed Sheppard, who leaned heavily on VanVleet’s mentorship during his role increase last season, was one of the
Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet speaks with the media during the Houston Rockets Media Day at Hilton Americas-Houston. Credit: Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images.
It will be a process for me individually, but I’m confident that I’ll be alright out there.” FRED VANVLEET
teammates around VanVleet this summer and attests to his improvement on the court during this buildup. “Fred looks great,” Sheppard said. “He does things every day that’s like, ‘All right,
he’s getting back, he’s looking really good.’ He had a move yesterday, and I went up and grabbed him and was like, ‘Man, Freddy, that looks good. Haven’t seen that one since my rookie year.’” VanVleet’s injury caused a domino effect of players stepping into unfamiliar roles, including one as the team’s primary distributor, who can create easy points for Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, and Jabari Smith Jr., while also providing the calming presence of a veteran on the floor who can restore order when games become chaotic. “I think that we could do a better job of putting each other in positions to be successful,” VanVleet said. “This team was constructed to have me and Steven (Adams) on the floor and not on the bench in street clothes. “So I think there’s a lot of areas where things will just naturally slide back into the way they’re supposed to be and the way this team was designed.” Though getting back into the rotation doesn’t fix the offense itself, VanVleet believes it will eventually improve.
“It’s not that simple, quite frankly. I do think that we will look like a different group.” “My identity is not tied to the result, but I’m confident that it’ll look better. And I’m confident in the guys who went through the fire on the court last year are going to come out of that better this year, which we’ve already seen this summer,” VanVleet said. One thing is clear: Everyone is excited to see No. 5 back, including new teammate and sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanović, who said VanVleet is the player he’s most looking forward to playing alongside on this roster. “ I think he’s one of the old-school point guards…I’m really excited about him. I’ve been following his growth since (his) Toronto days and his story and career.” Bogdanović said. Marcus Smart, a former foe from the days when both guards played in the Eastern Conference, is now teaming up with VanVleet in Houston. “If you know Fred as a person and know Fred as a competitor, you know that Fred has a chip on his shoulder coming back.” Marcus Smart said.
October 8, 2026 |
DEFENDER NETWORK
| 11
DN Sports WESTBURY H.S.
Elijah Eche
Fuels growth in title chase By Jimmie Aggison
Elijah Eche’s breakout junior season established him as one of Westbury’s defensive leaders. Now, after earning Defensive MVP honors in 5A-1 Region III, District 10, and spending the offseason refining his game with one of Houston’s top linebacker trainers, former Texas A&M and Dallas Cowboys linebacker Donnie Baggs, Eche enters his senior season looking to turn his individual development into a district championship for the Huskies. The 6-foot, 220-pound senior, a three-year varsity player, began his varsity career as an edge rusher as a sophomore and moved to middle linebacker as a junior. “The biggest adjustment I had to make after switching from edge to linebacker was analyzing the whole field,” said Eche. “At the edge position, I had to read what was just in front of me, but at the linebacker position, I have to read the play from pre-snap until the ball is in play.” Watching film helped Eche learn the linebacker position quickly. One of the players he enjoyed studying was former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly. “Film is one of the biggest things that has helped me improve my game,” said Eche. “I remember Luke Kuechly saying to play the game in your mind while watching, so that when it’s game time, you know what is going to come.” The transition quickly paid off, as Eche developed into one of the district’s most productive defenders, recording 126 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, six hurries, and six sacks while earning Defensive MVP honors. “I’m most proud of the overall outcome of playing a different position and dominating it,” said Eche. “Earning Defensive MVP meant a lot, knowing where my skills were at the time.” Westbury head football coach Jarvis Kelley believes Eche’s ability to make an impact in multiple ways sets him apart from other defenders in the district. “Elijah Eche works extremely hard during the off-season,” said Kelley. “What separates Elijah is his versatility. He is an elite blitzer and has the ability to play off the edge.” Even after an award-winning season, Eche knew there were still areas of his game that needed improvement. That led him to Baggs, who helped him further develop his skills during the offseason. “I decided to work with coach Baggs because I heard a lot of great things,” said Eche. “He was highly recommended. He
What separates Elijah is his versatility. He is an elite blitzer and has the ability to play off the edge.” JARVIS KELLEY WESTBURY HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
works with linebackers at all levels of the game, which shows he’s very credible.” The offseason work with Baggs focused on footwork, eye discipline, block destruction, and getting downhill. “Coach Baggs described me as a bull in a china shop, just running and trying to run over linemen coming after me,” said Eche. “But after working with him, I learned to use my hands, get separation, and replace after.” Baggs also emphasized the importance of using his hands to help Eche develop into a more complete linebacker. “Watching his tape, I noticed his physicality,” said Baggs. “He has an old-school style of play that’s always needed at the LB position. He’s a physical, downhill player with a mean streak.” Baggs saw the tools Eche already had and helped him refine them into a more complete skill set. “Working with Coach Baggs changed how I get to the ball, making it easier, taking better angles, being more disruptive, and taking better care of my body,” said Eche. While Baggs helped Eche become a more effective and disciplined linebacker, there were still areas of his game that required improvement. “Eche’s biggest areas for improvement were his lateral movement and change of direction,” said Baggs. “Those skills are huge in today’s style of play. Linebackers have to do more than stop the run; they have to be players in the pass game as well.” The offseason work wasn’t simply about making Eche a better player. It also helped prepare him to become a bigger presence on Westbury’s defense. “Freshman year, Elijah was 5-foot-8, 168 pounds. Now he is 6-foot, 220 pounds,” said Kelley. “Elijah lives in the weight room, studies film daily, and calls the defense from the
middle of the field. He understands his opponents’ weaknesses and has mastered our defensive scheme.” His development has also made him a more vocal presence in Westbury’s defense. “Being a leader on this defense, to me, means I need to do my job to get us going,” said Eche. “From making plays to keeping my teammates focused and reminding them that the game is never over until the clock hits zero.” Eche’s individual goals ultimately lead back to one larger objective: Winning 5A-1 Region III District 10 and making a deeper run toward a state championship. “For Westbury to win the district championship this season, we need to be a well-disciplined team that doesn’t let up after a mistake, but instead capitalizes, learns from it, and does something great on the next play,” said Eche. For Kelley, having Eche at the center of Westbury’s defense gives the Huskies the leadership and experience needed to turn those goals into a successful season. “Having Elijah as the leader of our defense gives us a great chance to win each week and to have a special season this year,” said Kelley. “After a history-making regular season last year, he and his teammates are poised to take the next step and win in the postseason. We carry a (1-0) mentality each week and are excited for the rest of this season.”
Westbury senior Elijah Eche (44) leads the Huskies in tackles per game and looks to lead them to a district title. Credit: Jimmie Aggison/ Defender.
12 | October 8, 2026 |
DEFENDER NETWORK
DN Profile
WATCH
VIDEO
Deonte Scott HOUSTON POET
Turns pain into immersive art show
By Laura Onyeneho
Deonte Scott is turning nearly two decades of his own poetry into a visual experience. With an upcoming show, “Verses & Vibrations,” on Nov. 14 at Sanman Studios, Scott set a precedent with his show “The Wall Speaks,” an immersive spoken-word, music, and visual art experience. His poetry was paired with physical installations that guests could see, touch, and hear read aloud in his own voice. Much of the show’s imagery draws from Scott’s own path, from the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago, where he grew up, to the Houston stages where he has spent nearly two decades building an audience. He didn’t discover poetry until he left home for college, transferring from the University of Iowa to a junior college, where he came across “Def Poetry Jam” and started experimenting with his own voice. What began as poems about love and heartbreak eventually gave way to something rawer when he grew tired of writing about the same subject and pushed himself toward different material. “I haven’t seen a poet or a spoken word artist do an art gallery that has physical installations of their poems,” Scott said. “Every piece in the gallery works the same way, paired with a QR code that lets visitors scan and hear me read the poem aloud myself.” “A Struggle Is Real” is a poem Scott wrote about unemployment. Its opening line describes eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In the gallery, that poem becomes an old coffee table stacked with past-due bills, open jars of peanut butter and jelly, and a half-eaten sandwich, beside a sketched portrait of the man in it. The idea comes from behaviors that people naturally exhibit. “A lot of our darkest moments are when we’re alone in a room,” Scott said. “And that wall sees everything. It hears everything. It hears your cries, it hears your joy.” He built his name the way most creatives do, one room at a time. Open mics, church programs, coffee shops, and even a funeral. It didn’t matter. He would perform anywhere. That grind eventually earned him his first TV credit, a slot on Season 4 of TV One’s “Lexus Verses & Flow,” alongside musical guests Leela James and Anthony Hamilton. He went on to produce his own shows,
including 2017’s “Damage Control,” staged in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Then he got married, had a child, and stepped back from the stage he had spent a decade building. “The Wall Speaks” marks his return after nearly six years away. Holly Charles-Pearson has watched that arc unfold. The Houston author and NAACP Image Award-nominated filmmaker met Scott around 2012, when the two were still finding their footing as young Black artists in the city, trading ideas about how to push past imposter syndrome and get their work in front of an audience. More than a decade later, she still considers him one of the most honest performers she’s watched. “Even though he’s a performer, his work is not performative,” Charles-Pearson said. “He’s such an open book. When you watch him perform, it’s almost like he’s giving you access to a personal diary.” That openness, she said, is rarer than people realize, especially from a Black man willing to talk publicly about pain. “In our community, particularly when it comes to men, there is a shying away from admitting you need help, admitting you’re vulnerable,” Charles-Pearson said. “Deonte does the work for the audience by putting himself out there. While it’s so widely needed, it shouldn’t be a big deal, but it is, because no one else is brave enough to do it.” Scott carries that same instinct into the rest of his life. Alongside his art, he runs the nonprofit Run for Autism, which he started five years ago after his nephew was diagnosed. He used to raise money each year through a 10K near Daikin Park, donating the proceeds to another nonprofit, before deciding it was time to build something of his own. He has also released a memoir-poetry collection, “The Beauty in the Burden,” and two poetry EPs, “The Struggle” and “Damage Control”. Each one pulled from something he actually lived. The gallery at MATCH ends the same way Scott hopes his story does, with release. Three large boards make up what he calls the healing wall, where guests are invited to write down whatever they came in carrying and are ready to leave behind. “I want people to see and learn from my journey because I’ve had a lot of struggles,” Scott said. “It built a lot of character. I wouldn’t change it. It’s made me who I am.”
Deonte Scott uses awardwinning storytelling to spark global connection and healing. Courtesy: Deonte Scott.
Houston poet Deonte Scott brought his immersive show “The Wall Speaks” to MATCH in August, featuring Grammy-nominated singer Anthony David. Courtesy: Deonte Scott.