Fighting Black
Voter Fatigue NEWS
FEATURE
AL GREEN
ED JONES
The Congressman is vowing not to be intimidated after suspicious powdered letter sent to his office.
Trinity United Methodist Church’s pastor celebrates his church’s place in Houston Black history.
Volume 96, issue 1 October 22, 2026
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DN To the POINT The NFL reminds us that Black people’s lives are expendable regardless of their occupation. Credit: Emilee Chinn/ Getty Images.
Message from the Associate Editor exit escort, dumbfounded. She then shared with her MAGA The disturbing reports followers, “Someone just came surrounding Philadelphia up to me and said Ken Paxton’s Eagles quarterback, Houscampaign manager wanted me ton-born Jalen Hurts, raise to leave… I drove two hours a troubling question: How to get here, and I have done much is a Black athlete’s life nothing but support everyone worth when winning is on the on the Republican side. And line? According to reports, this is how I get treated? I canthe Eagles knew Hurts had a not believe the disrespect that Aswad Walker blood clot after he was hosI was just given.” And I believe pitalized until 4 a.m. before the team’s Week 5 her. Because if she’s been willing to play blind game against Jacksonville in London. Never- and support one of the most anti-Black regimes theless, he played the entire game and endured in history, and organize for a party that has international flights before doctors discovered gone out of its way to disrespect every ounce of the clot had progressed to deep vein throm- Black existence, then I can understand why she bosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli. He was couldn’t see their disrespect of her Blackness. placed on blood thinners and injured reserve And sadly, she’ll probably still vote for Paxton (out for the season). Sports medicine physician and crew anyway. Jesse Morse warned that migrating clots could cause a fatal pulmonary blockage, heart attack, Mecklenburg racist police or stroke. Pulmonologist Matthew Gordon competitions acknowledged that blood clots can be cataIt’s old news by now that several Charstrophic or fatal. Beyond the medical questions, lotte-Mecklenburg cops sent text messages this episode reflects a disturbing American to each other, degrading Black people with tradition: Treating Black bodies as expendable the N-word and racist jokes, celebrating their commodities. From slavery to exploitative labor open competition to see which racist-ass officer practices and generations of dangerous sports, could pull over, harass, and even inflict the most Black people have repeatedly been expected to bodily harm on Black motorists. Their Klan-ish sacrifice their well-being for others’ profits. The fun and games had zero to do with Black people NFL’s predominantly Black workforce is liter- breaking the law. It was just white cops making ally “fieldhands” making their wealthy “own- a sport out of terrorizing Black people, using ers” wealthier, giving serious plantation vibes. the authority of the state and their literal license What’s crazy is, Hurts could have died. And to kill to torture Black people emotionally and if he had, the Eagles would have simply put physically. And they used Flock cameras to help another Black body to work and kept it moving. them with their fun and games. But what’s older news is the fact that these are the very actions Blind by choice Blackfolk have been pointing out from cops Recently, a Black woman conservative social for centuries. These six cops got caught via text media influencer was physically removed from messages. But scores of police in every city and a Ken Paxton voter event. And as she fought state routinely take this same approach to law back tears, after being “dog-walked” out of enforcement. the building, she kept asking, “Why?” Before she got to the event, she went live on social ON THE WEB media, bubbling with excitement about sup• Fifth Ward landmark reimagined as comporting Paxton, which is crazy, because no one munity healing space. is excited about supporting Paxton. But her • School closures intentionally undermine MAGA-fest was abruptly ended as her liveBlack communities. stream followers saw her suddenly teary-eyed, • Terrance’s take: C.J. Stroud quietly putting being led out of the event space. She asked her on a quarterback clinic. The Jalen Hurts saga hurts
October 22, 2026 |
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DN News Al Green defiant after suspicious powder sent to Houston office By ReShonda Tate
U.S. Rep. Al Green is sending a defiant message after his Houston congressional office received a suspicious letter containing an unidentified powder: He will not be intimidated. The longtime Democratic congressman spoke out after learning that the letter, which reportedly arrived Friday, had been addressed to him. Green displayed an image of the envelope during a news conference and condemned what he described as an unacceptable attempt to frighten public officials and their staff. “This is intolerable. We won’t tolerate it and we also won’t be intimidated,” Green said. The envelope bore a San Antonio postmark dated Oct. 13. Authorities have not publicly identified the substance or announced who sent it. The FBI, Houston Police Department, Houston Fire Department, and U.S. Capitol Police responded to the incident and are investigating. Green said the incident was particularly troubling because of the potential danger to
congressional employees and constituents who visit his office seeking assistance. “The safety and well-being of our staff and the constituents we serve remain our highest priority,” Green said in a statement. “No one working in a congressional office or any other public office should have to fear for their safety while carrying out the responsibilities entrusted to them by the people.” He added that political threats and intimidation have no place in American democracy, declaring that he remains “unbought, unbossed, and unintimidated.” Green also called for those responsible to be prosecuted, saying even a prank involving suspicious powder can have serious consequences. “If a person is doing this as a joke, it’s not funny,” Green said. He expressed frustration over the public resources required to respond to such incidents, including emergency personnel, investigators, and specialized equipment used to screen suspicious mail. Green said the person
responsible should be held accountable for the disruption and the potential danger posed to others. More than three dozen members of Congress have reportedly been targeted, including lawmakers from both political parties. Federal investigators are working to determine who is responsible and whether the incidents are connected. According to a congressional security advisory, none of the letters received by congressional offices had been determined to contain hazardous substances at that time. For Green, the timing is especially concerning. The discovery coincided with the first day of early voting in Texas, just two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Green said he could not rule out a political motive and expressed concern that such incidents could discourage Americans from participating in the democratic process. He urged anyone with information about the letter’s origin to contact law enforcement. Despite the investigation and uncertainty
U.S. Rep. Al Green speaks out after his Houston congressional office received a suspicious letter containing an unidentified substance. Federal and local authorities are investigating. Credit: Al Green Facebook.
surrounding the substance, Green made clear that the incident would not deter him from representing his constituents. His message to whoever sent the letter was unmistakable: He intends to continue doing his job, and intimidation will not change that.
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Beyoncé (Center) and shares a heartfelt message to an audience during the ribbon cutting of the Knowles-Rowland House in Midtown. Credit: Aswad Walker.
Knowles-Rowland House
Provides more than shelter for Houston’s unhoused By Laura Onyeneho
For more than three decades, Bread of Life Inc. fed and sheltered Houston’s most vulnerable residents from its Midtown campus. It s n e we s t pr oj e c t , t h e Knowles-Rowland House, gives 31 people who have experienced chronic homelessness a permanent home and the support to keep it. The three-story building at 2019 Crawford St., once a youth center, uses a model called permanent supportive housing, pairing an apartment with on-site services. The $13.96 million project holds 31 single-room apartments, 16 designed for residents with mobility and sensory needs, near the METRO light rail. Pastor Rudy Rasmus, Bread of Life’s now former executive directorv, told the Defender that the work starts with the basics. Resources and services that help
them take a step forward in life “The first thing that we do is try to help stabilize that person,” Rasmus said. “Clothing, food, the things that they’ve been missing in the streets.” Three decades in Midtown
Rasmus and his wife, Pastor Juanita Rasmus, started Bread of Life in December 1992 by serving hot meals to people living on the streets of downtown. The nonprofit has since added benefits assistance, community health workers, mental health support, and job training. It served 52,491 people in 2025 and reached more than 4,300 households each month through food distributions on the first and third Wednesday, and Saturday. The Knowles-Rowland building first opened as a youth center with support from the Knowles family and Kelly Rowland, who have long ties to St. John’s
Downtown, the church the Rasmuses also founded in 1992. Hurricane Harvey damaged it in 2017, and a fire followed in 2021. Temenos Community Development Corp. provides on-site case management, counseling, substance use treatment, and life skills training. Residents are referred through the Coalition for the Homeless. “Mental health is a big factor in what either allows a person to be in housing or what takes a person out,” Rasmus said. “More resources toward mental and behavioral health could impact, in a positive way, the homeless condition in Houston.” Who becomes homeless
Claudia Dixon, Bread of Life’s chief financial officer, was named the organization’s next CEO this month. She said the public often misjudges who needs help. Cars of all kinds, including luxury
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models, roll through the food distribution sites. “Sometimes people are homeless because they cannot afford their rent, and they don’t know who to go to,” Dixon said. “I don’t want people to think that it’s just someone who’s shiftless or someone who’s lazy or doesn’t want to work.” The region has cut homelessness by more than half since 2011, according to the Coalition for the Homeless, though its 2025 count still found 3,325 people experiencing homelessness. Dixon said “permanent” does not always mean it will be forever. She pointed to one program graduate who lived at the Knowles Temenos Apartments and now has her own home and a steady job. “Sometimes when people hear of permanent supportive housing, they think that they will literally be there permanently,” Dixon said.
Publisher | CEO Sonceria Messiah-Jiles
Associate Editor Aswad Walker
Strategic Alllance Clyde Jiles
Content Manager Terrance Harris
Managing Editor ReShonda Tate
Culture/Lifestyle Reporter Laura Onyeneho
“But when we have success stories like this, people understand this is someone who is utilizing the resources to stand on their own two feet.” Beyond housing, food is the heart of Bread of Life’s work. Knowles-Rowland residents receive food boxes four times a month, and many families at its distributions wait outdoors in the heat. Dixon’s answer is Road to 35, a campaign named for the nonprofit’s 35th year in 2027. It seeks $3.5 million and 3,500 new monthly donors by August 2027 to build the Rudy and Juanita Rasmus Food Distribution Center. Opening in winter 2028, it will be the first Bread of Life-owned facility to put its pantry, kitchen, and distributions under one roof. “For me right now, it is definitely about sustainability,” Dixon said. “I want to honor the legacy of Pastor Rudy and Pastor Juanita.”
Special Assignments Reporter Tannistha Sinha Sports Terrance Harris Jimmie Aggison Video Editor Bryan Erdy
October 22, 2026 |
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DN Feature Harris County fights deadly domestic violence racial gap By Aswad Walker
Harris County is taking a harder look at domestic violence—not simply as a criminal justice problem, but as a community safety issue shaped by race, neighborhood, poverty, and access to trusted support. That focus is part of Advancing Safer Communities in Harris County, a new report from Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Georgetown Law’s Center for Innovations in Community Safety. The report recommends an additional $4.5 million for three community safety initiatives launched in 2022: Violence prevention, community response teams, and domestic violence interventions. That would bring the proposed total investment to $15.3 million. The need is particularly urgent for Black residents. A University of Houston study examining Harris County domestic violence homicides from 2019-2022 found that Black women accounted for 52% of female intimate-partner homicide victims while making up about 20% of women in the county. The study also found female victims outnumbered male victims by 129%. A separate analysis of Harris County homicides from 2016-2020 identified 448 domestic-violence homicides, including 189 intimate-partner homicides. More than 40% of domestic-violence homicide victims in that study were Black. Those numbers put a sharper point on what prevention must accomplish: Reach people before violence becomes lethal. When the trend goes wrong Domestic violence homicides have been declining statewide, and overall homicides in Harris County have also declined. But
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCES Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (HCDVCC): hcdvcc. org — Coordinates domestic violence services throughout Greater Houston and provides survivor resources. Houston Area Women’s Center (HAWC): hawc.org — 24/7 domestic violence hotline: 713-528-2121. The Bridge Over Troubled Waters: tbotw.org — 24/7 domestic and sexual violence hotline: 713-473-2801.
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intimate-partner killings have moved in the opposite direction. Harris County reported a 34% increase in domestic violence homicides between 2023 and 2024. The county also has acknowledged that domestic violence is frequently underreported, making homicide data only one part of the larger picture. That’s why officials and advocates say prevention cannot depend exclusively on someone filing a police report. “The premise is that a survivor who will never file a police report will still talk to someone from her own block,” the report explained. “That’s a different theory of public safety than the county has historically run on.”
New investments by Commissioner Rodney Ellis (center) and other entities aim to reach survivors earlier, strengthen trusted neighborhood interventions, and reduce disproportionate domestic violence fatalities among Black women. Credit: Office of Commissioner Rodney Ellis.
The approach is especially significant in communities where residents may distrust institutions, fear retaliation, or face economic and family pressures that make leaving an abusive relationship extraordinarily difficult. Taking prevention to people One of the county’s strategies is RISE (Relentless Interrupters Serving Everyone), which uses “credible messengers”: outreach workers from the neighborhoods they serve rather than government workers parachuting into communities. RISE workers meet people in crisis, including at hospital bedsides following shootings. In neighborhoods where RISE operates, gun homicide rates have fallen faster than in Houston overall. Cypress Station, where RISE was piloted alongside other interventions, experienced a 36% decline in crime during the first two years, including a 48% drop in family violence and a 34% decrease in aggravated robberies. “Gun violence doesn’t stay in one zip code, so neither should we,” said Larry Carrington, a RISE outreach specialist and public safety liaison serving Sunnyside, South Park, and Greater Old Spanish Trail. Carrington added, “It’s a lot cheaper to have someone like me sit with a person in crisis than it is to arrest, prosecute, and lock them up after the fact.” That philosophy is central to the county’s broader strategy: Put resources where violence is most concentrated and create alternatives to waiting for violence to escalate.
Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA): avda-tx.org — Legal assistance, counseling, and other domestic violence services; 713-224-9911. Bay Area Turning Point: bayareaturningpoint. org — Domestic violence services and crisis support; 281-286-2525. Family Time Crisis & Counseling Center: familytimeccc.org — Domestic violence crisis services in the Humble area; 281-446-2615. DAYA Houston: dayahouston. org — Domestic violence services serving South Asian survivors; 713-981-7645. National Domestic Violence Hotline: thehotline.org — 800-799-SAFE (7233). To read the full Advancing Safer Communities in Harris County report, check out the QR code below.
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DN ON SOCIAL THE WEB VOTE 2026
FIGHT VOTER FATIGUE Houston advocates urge Black voters to show up
M
By Laura Onyeneho
any Black voters have done e ver yt hing asked of them. They registered, studied the candidates, and showed up election
after election. Now, with the Nov. 3 midterm weeks away, a growing number are asking whether it is worth doing again. Those who work closest with these voters say the hesitation is not apathy. It comes from watching promises go unkept, district lines redrawn, and bills climb no matter who wins. “Just because voters have been labeled as disengaged doesn’t mean they don’t care,” said Pure Justice Senior Field Organizer Joy Davis, a Houston nonprofit that organizes residents around criminal justice reform and economic equity. “The campaign promises are not kept.” In Harris County, 42.9% of registered voters Joy Davis cast ballots in the 2022 midterm, compared with 65.9% in the 2020 presidential election, according to county data. “No one shows up for us”
Some residents dislike every name on the ballot. Others are sitting out on purpose after the March primary when U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a favorite among Black voters, lost the Democratic U.S. Senate race to state Rep. James Talarico. Many still point to Kamala Harris’ 2024 loss.
“They’re asking for our vote, and they’re asking for our support, and we give them that,” Davis said. “But when it’s our turn, no one shows up for us.” People feel ignored. For years, they have pressed officials about illegal dumping and damaged streets. “We need green spaces, we need health care, we need more housing options, and no one is listening to us,” Davis said. “But people want us to vote for them.” Redistricting has deepened the doubt. In 2025, Texas adopted a congressional map designed to give Republicans five more seats, pushing U.S. Rep. Al Green into a runoff he lost in May. In April, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the Voting Rights Act’s main protection against maps that dilute Black voting power. “These folks only come around during elections, and the politicians will say anything to get elected, and nothing changes for people like me,” said Davis, repeating what residents tell her. “So then why should I vote if this is happening anyway?” A long record of broken promises
Christine LeVeaux-Haley, a political science professor in the University of Houston Honors College who studies Black electoral politics, said that distrust has deep roots. She recalled how local politicians once drove trucks of chickens into Black neighborhoods and handed them out to families in exchange for votes. “That’s the last time they would see that alderman or that city council member,” LeVeaux-Haley said. “So this has been the track record for Black people.”
Black voters hold power because they vote as a bloc, but they rarely have two candidates competing for them. “Your leverage is either we get out to vote, or we don’t get out to vote,” she said. “Not either we vote for this person, or we vote for that person.” Black voters have long treated voting as a duty, she said, but federal cuts to diversity programs and government jobs have left many discouraged, and few candidates are courting them this year. “It’s almost like disillusionment with the political system,” LeVeaux-Haley said. “When that happens, people will not go out to vote.” When basic needs come first
Carmela Walker, program coordinator and advocacy specialist at the Houston Area Urban League, works to bring those voters back. The league’s Center for Social Justice Education and Advocacy, launched after George Floyd’s murder, tracks legislation, neighborhoods, and produces voter education with Texas Southern and Prairie View Carmela Walker A&M universit ies, including the podcast “The Arc of Democracy: Reading Between the Lines.” “If you’re paying taxes, why do we still
have food deserts?” Walker said. “Why are the roads still not paved?” Families facing job loss, high gas prices, and rising utility bills have little room for elections. Yet several Texas health and human services agencies face state Sunset review before the 2027 legislative session, and residents can submit public comments to defend the programs they rely on. “I don’t think folks can concentrate on anything else but the fundamentals,” Walker said. “But what I feel that they don’t recognize is the fact that everything is about the vote, everything.” She said voters also have work to do between elections. Walker learned how state budgets shape daily life through the Texas Legislative Internship Program, which places students in the Legislature, and now encourages young people to join the Houston Area Urban League Young Professionals. “We need to get locally engaged, and we need to make sure that we understand the budgets and the appropriations,” Walker said. “So it’s important to know who represents us and to engage with our representatives over and over again.” That means submitting public comments and attending meetings, even those held during the workday. “We have to come together because it’s not just a low-propensity problem,” Walker said. “It’s everybody’s problem.”
Find out how to energize voters.
Just because voters have been labeled as disengaged doesn’t mean they don’t care.” JOY DAVIS PURE JUSTICE SENIOR FIELD ORGANIZER
Christine LeVeaux-Haley
Houston community advocates say broken promises, redistricting, and rising costs are leading some longtime Black voters to question whether to cast a ballot in the Nov. 3 midterm election. Credit: Gemini.
Houstonians rethink the way communities mobilize Black voters By Tannistha Sinha
If traditional appeals to civic duty are no longer enough to get some Black voters to the polls, Houston advocates say it may be time to rethink the way communities approach voting altogether. That means making voting easier, connecting elections more directly to the issues affecting people’s lives and rebuilding the sense of community that once made civic participation a shared responsibility rather than another task on an already crowded to-do list.
As the Nov. 3 midterm approaches, Rice University Associate Professor Joseph Ewoodzie Jr. and Shevann Steuben, vice president of the Houston NAACP, say the challenge is not simply convincing Black voters that elections matter. It is cre- Joseph Ewoodzie Jr. ating the conditions that make participation feel relevant and possible.
“We have made life hard, and civic engagement can start to feel like one other thing that I need to do,” Ewoodzie said. For Ewoodzie, part of the solution lies in rebuilding community around voting. “If you go to communities, they have deep histories of voting and actually being important parts of the fight, making voting as accessible to as many people as possible,” Ewoodzie said. “It’s because the messaging, the creation of civic life, included voting. We’ve just kind of gotten away from that…we’re not joiners anymore. People
don’t gather up and join clubs and leagues and social groups.” Making election day voting a community event makes it more appealing, he says. He also serves as a residential college “magister” at Rice, encouraging students to walk to the polls together as a college community rather than as an errand to be completed. How to bring in young voters to the polls Shevann Steuben, vice president of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Houston chapter, offered a companion diagnosis of voter turnout concerns. Steuben said Texas’ lack of online or sameday voter registration creates friction for Shevann Steuben students and new residents. She pointed to the combination of
registration deadlines, voter-identification rules, livelihood pressures, and address-related suspense status as obstacles that can weigh on students and young adults. Young people right now are struggling to go to school and get jobs that are well-paying. “If I choose between voting and paying my rent, it’s kind of a chicken and egg conversation,” Steuben said to the Defender. “It’s not a lack of care. A lot of the time, it’s that they have been made not to care…that might be through voter fatigue. It may be because the
issues that they care about, they continue to happen. It desensitized them, and it could be a lack of education. They don’t know who to be mad at.” Pushing for “intergenerational organizing,” Steuben suggests pairing lived history with current events. Instead of “talking down” to young voters, she suggests providing more contemporary examples of why they should care. “1965 may not work in 2026, but at least we know that was a tactic,” she said.
8 | October 22, 2026 |
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DN Feature
WATCH
VIDEO
Trinity United Methodist Celebrates its role in Houston Black history
By Aswad Walker
Pastor Ed C. Jones III thought he knew Trinity United Methodist Church’s history after nearly a decade leading the Third Ward congregation. Then came a grant application for a restoration project. As Jones dug deeper, he discovered “new” pieces of a story connecting Trinity to Houston’s educational, cultural, and civic development. “It’s been a very phenomenal discovery of all of the impact the church has made on our culture, our educational system, not only Wiley College, TSU, and all the other schools that came out of this church,” said Jones. That history reaches from enslavement to Juneteenth, from historically Black colleges and universities to Houston’s public schools, and from Camp Logan to today’s efforts to prepare another generation. An education pipeline
Jones is himself part of Trinity’s legacy. As a child, he attended what was then Bunny Land, the same location where Trinity Preparatory Academy now operates. “And it just so happened one of those kids, me, became the pastor here,” shared Jones. Education has long been woven into Trinity’s identity. Jones says more than 20 schools have been named for Trinity members across the Houston metropolitan area and beyond. That legacy is represented in the church’s stained glass, including the “Education Window,” which depicts a mother teaching two children while holding an ancestral quilt representing history, wisdom, and generational knowledge. Wiley College and Texas Southern University appear at the bottom. “Many of the HBCUs that started across the nation find their roots in churches,” stated Jones. Trinity’s educational DNA also lives through members such as Ernestine Mitchel, who wrote her first book in her 90s and another at age 92. Windows that remember
Trinity’s stained-glass windows provide another history lesson. Jones, a veteran, points particularly to the “24th Infantry Window,” which recalls Houston’s 1917 Camp Logan incident involving Black soldiers of the 24th U.S. Infantry. “At Camp Logan, they were sworn to protect and defend not only the country but their unit,” said Jones. “And their unit came under attack by a white lynch mob.” The violence led to the Houston riot/rebellion and the subsequent prosecution and execution of several Black soldiers. “This window helps remind me of how
patriotic we are for those who have sworn to protect the country,” said Jones, “and when we came back home, how unjustly we were treated.” The history also offers a reminder that today’s Memorial Park was once a military base. A Juneteenth connection
Trinity’s story also intersects with Houston’s Juneteenth history. Jones says Trinity members were instrumental in an 1866 celebration now recognized as Houston’s first Juneteenth celebration. A planned church anniversary celebration in 1865 was delayed by rain and moved to June the following year. Methodists and Baptists joined in a parade beginning at Trinity’s then-location downtown. “It’s recorded now as the first Juneteenth celebration in Houston,” Jones said. Trinity’s history also connects to the 1872 purchase of land for Emancipation Park, in partnership with Antioch Missionary Baptist Church.
From enslavement through today, Trinity United Methodist Church has helped shape Houston’s Black educational, cultural, and civic landscape while preparing future generations. Credit: Aswad Walker/Defender.
Preserving the legacy
Jones believes Trinity belongs in conversations about Houston’s oldest Black institutions, saying the church can trace its roots to 1839, with property by 1851. “Trinity has been here since the beginning,” he said. Anita Lee-Punch, Trinity’s official historian and caretaker of its legacy, helps preserve that story. “This was our first church. This is where Trinity members gathered during enslavement,” she said, while pointing to pictures of Trinity’s 1851 sanctuary. Lee-Punch can trace the history of Trinity’s four sanctuaries and its long line of educators. “We have an incredible legacy here, and the legacy continues,” she said.
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Building the future
For Jones, preserving history ultimately means preparing the future. “In this season I found myself in, my focus is on early education,” he said. “I believe we can impact the pipeline to prison by helping those two, three, four-year-olds get the foundation they need.” Jones calls the broader vision Future First: supporting families reaching milestones that may represent historic firsts—the first college graduate, high school graduate, doctor, lawyer, or other professional. By preserving its windows, documenting its history, and investing in children, Jones sees Trinity continuing its long-standing role as a place where Black Houston’s past informs its future.
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DN Health
A DEFENDER AND KELSEY-SEYBOLD CLINIC ALLIANCE
What To Do When You Find a Lump By TRACY CARTER, MD
Finding a lump or noticing another unusual breast symptom can raise concerns about cancer. Your primary care doctor can help you understand what you’ve noticed and decide what should happen next. What You Notice May Have Another Cause Hormonal changes and noncancerous conditions can cause breast symptoms that are also associated with cancer, so what you notice may not reveal the cause. Your doctor can examine the area and decide whether more testing is needed. What To Expect at Your Visit Your doctor will ask what you noticed and when it began. You may also discuss whether your symptoms have changed
and if breast cancer runs in your family. After examining the area, your doctor can explain the next step. This may mean watching for further changes or getting imaging for a closer look. If specialty care is needed, your doctor can help connect you with the right specialist. Symptoms and Screening Are Different Mammograms don’t find every breast cancer. Routine screening serves a different purpose because it may find cancer before symptoms develop. For women at average risk, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends a screening mammogram every two years from ages 40 through 74. However, some physicians and health systems recommend annual mammograms beginning at age 40
because they may increase the likelihood of detecting breast cancer at an earlier stage. Talk with your doctor about the screening schedule that’s right for you. If a mammogram shows something unexpected, follow-up helps determine what was found and whether more testing is needed. Black women are approximately 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than White women. When To Talk With Your Doctor Talk with your primary care doctor if you find a new lump or notice another unusual symptom. Don’t wait for your next routine mammogram to bring it up. If a screening result shows something unexpected, follow the recommended next steps so you can understand what was found.
Tracy Carter, MD Internal Medicine
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10 | October 22, 2026 |
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DN Sports
PrairieViewA&Mfootball Builds pressure after rough start to season By Terrance Harris
If nothing else, Tremaine Jackson is a football coach at his core. So, it just seems natural that the second-year Prairie View A&M football coach thinks in on-the-field situations even as he tries to make sense of what is going wrong with the Panthers. Prairie View, the defending SWAC champions and HBCU national runner-up, faces the possibility that what was supposed to be a repeat season is falling apart, with the Panthers sitting at 3-5 overall and 3-2 in league play with four games to go in the regular season. Time is running out on this season. “It ain’t just this win. The urgency around here … It’s fourth-and-one,” Jackson said to the Defender this week when asked about the sense of urgency during last week’s SWAC Coaches Call. “Talking to you right now is wasting my time in my mind because it’s fourthand-one and you’ve got no play call for me.” But Jackson and his staff are looking to make the right call in hopes of salvaging a seaFrank Whirley son that seems to be spiraling. The Panthers, the overwhelming favorites to repeat as SWAC West champs and return to the Celebration Bowl, lost back-to-back conference games to Brandon Mississippi Valley Andersen State and Southern before recovering with a 41-38 win last week against Alcorn State. Offensively, they are still looking for consistency with quarterback Tevin Carter in control, Clifford Fedd and the defense has been susceptible to both the run and the pass. To confront the deficiencies on both sides of the football, Jackson announced last week that he has relieved offensive coordinator Chris Buckner and defensive backs coach Darren Garrigan of their duties.
The pressure is on for head football coach Tremaine Jackson (middle) to get the Prairie View Panthers back on the winning track. Credit: Prairie View.
Steps Prairie View must take to stay atop the SWAC West. Running backs coach Clifford Fedd has the offensive coordinator and playcalling roles, while defensive coordinator Brandon Andersen and defensive assistant Frank Whirley are now sharing secondary coaching duties. “We don’t waste a lot of time around here, man,” said Jackson, whose team is back at the top of the SWAC West standings with one-game leads and the tie-breaker over both Grambling State and Alcorn State. “The urgency has always been here. It’s been here since we got here. Nothing has changed at Prairie View A&M. Prairie View A&M knows exactly who it is and what we are doing here. “It’s always been urgent. It’s fourth-andone. It’s urgent. That’s just how we operate.” Could QB change be next? Trying to push the right buttons to get similar production as last season out of
players is where Jackson and his staff seem to be. Last week’s coaching staff shake-up before the Homecoming showdown against Alcorn State seems to indicate that nothing is off the table for Jackson to turn the season around. Jackson has been supportive of Carter, a dual-threat quarterback in his first season as a full-time starter. But during the loss to Southern, he threw three costly interceptions, which included the pick-six in the waning seconds of the game that thwarted the Panthers’ comeback attempt. Carter bounced back against Alcorn State by completing 14 of 18 passes for 150 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. “I believe in Tevin Carter. I believe Tevin Carter is a good player, and I think he has shown that time and time again,” Jackson said. “The last two weeks just hadn’t been
very good. I’m not going to sit here and hope the next two weeks to get it right.” At this point, the focus seems to be on what Jackson knows best: Competing for titles at both the conference level and on the national stage. He won back-to-back conference championships (2023 and 2024) with Division II Valdosta State and led the Division II powerhouse program to the national title game in 2024. While Jackson is known for saying, “Just because you were, doesn’t mean you are,” he hasn’t been shy about saying a successful season for him only happens when the confetti falls on his team at the conclusion of the national title game. “Since 2023, I don’t know what it’s like not to hold a trophy up at the end,” said Jackson, whose team concludes a daunting none-conference schedule this weekend at East Texas A&M. “So, we walked in the door urgent. It remains the same right now, and we still have an opportunity. So, my staff is urgent because we have been living like this since 2023 in two different areas. That’s all we know. I don’t know anything else.”
October 22, 2026 |
DEFENDER NETWORK
| 11
DN Sports ALIEF TAYLOR QB
NICK KONGOLO Keeps pushing, despite no offers
By Jimmie Aggison
Nick Kongolo has already done enough on the field to earn recognition. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Alief Taylor senior quarterback completed 134 passes for 1,497 yards and 14 touchdowns during his junior season. He was a 20-6A First Team All-District selection, but entering his final high school season, scholarship offers and significant recruiting attention have remained elusive. Rather than let the silence become a distraction, Kongolo has responded the only way he knows how: By putting in more work. “After receiving my First Team All-District selection, I was proud, but I told myself it wasn’t enough. Entering my senior season, I’m shooting for District MVP,” said Kongolo. “I believe that after that, the offers will come. I was never the type of kid to get mad because I didn’t have any interest or offers. It’s all God’s timing.” That mindset has kept Kongolo focused on what he can control. “Instead of becoming frustrated or distracted, I just maintained my off-season work because I knew I still had one more season to show my skills,” said Kongolo. During Kongolo’s junior season, Alief Taylor head coach Shawn Gray saw a quarterback capable of creating opportunities even when the original play broke down. “His junior-season performance demonstrated his ability to extend plays and make something positive happen when the original play broke down,” said Gray. “He Alief Taylor High School senior Nick Kongolo (5) leads his team on a third-quarter drive as he calls out a play to his wide receiver prior to the snap at Delmar Stadium. Credit: Jimmie Aggison/ Defender.
showed strong athleticism, poise, and creativity outside the structure of the offense.” Kongolo’s ability to keep his eyes downfield, avoid pressure, and continue making plays under difficult circumstances is one of his greatest strengths. Gray believes those traits could make Kongolo an intriguing option for college programs. “I believe college coaches may be missing an opportunity to see the type of playmaker
Nick Kongolo can be at quarterback,” said Gray. “He has the size and physical tools that coaches look for at the position, but he missed some opportunities to showcase his talent this summer because he was unable to attend many camps or receive invitations to some of the elite quarterback camps. I feel those environments would have given him an opportunity to compete against other top quarterbacks and show college coaches what he is capable of.” Instead of letting the lack of attention define his senior season, Kongolo used it as motivation to focus on what he could control and find ways to become a better quarterback. “I wanted to improve my pocket awareness because during my junior season I was taking unnecessary sacks,” said Kongolo. During the offseason, Kongolo worked with quarterback coach Milton Holmes II to refine the technical aspects of his game and become a more complete quarterback. “He’s got real talent, so this was about sharpening, not overhauling,” said Holmes. “His footwork wasn’t consistent, so that’s where we started. He’d hang on his first read a little too long, so we worked through progressions to help him move through the field faster. And under pressure, his instinct was to escape rather than climb the pocket, usually the last thing to come together. By the end, he was composed and still delivering on time.” Kongolo’s work with Holmes went beyond simply throwing more passes. “Foot placement and mechanics go together,” said Holmes. “His lower half wasn’t syncing with his upper body, especially on rollouts, so that’s where we started. For pocket awareness, we worked on feeling pressure through his feet rather than needing to see it, so he could climb instead
of drift. Accuracy came from that same foundation, plus focused rep work on ball placement, route timing, and back-shoulder throws, that kind of precision.” Holmes, who has worked with many quarterbacks in the area, saw something in Kongolo that went beyond his physical tools. “His athleticism is the separator,” said Holmes. “He can extend plays that should be dead, buying time with his legs without losing his eyes downfield. The athletic ability to keep a play alive and the poise to make the defense pay for it are what stand out most.” For Kongolo, the value of that offseason work would ultimately be measured when he stepped onto the field. Through the first five games, Kongolo has completed 65 of 109 passes for 1,033 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also rushed for 233 yards and six touchdowns, with only two interceptions during that span. Alief Taylor scored 244 points while allowing only 89, with multiple games ending with a running clock. “Nick has shown that he can be a playmaker and give his team opportunities even when things don’t go according to plan,” said Gray. “He allows us to play 11-on-11 football against every opponent we face each week. He is a dual threat who can make plays with his legs while also being a capable pocket passer.” The numbers reflect another strong performance for a quarterback who already has an All-District season on his résumé. But for Kongolo, the bigger goal remains proving he belongs at the next level. Kongolo wants college coaches to see beyond what appears on a recruiting profile. “I want college coaches to know I’m a team player who will do whatever it takes to win,” said Kongolo. “If recruiting attention doesn’t come until later, I want to keep putting up good numbers to show they’re sleeping on me. But when the opportunity does come, I want college programs to know they’re getting a DAWG.” Holmes sees a quarterback whose ability to create outside the structure of the play could translate to the next level. “Nick plays like he refuses to let a broken play be the end of the story,” said Holmes. “He’s not scrambling to survive; he’s scrambling to create, and he still delivers on target when he does. That’s a quarterback a program builds an offense around, not just plays around.”
12 | October 22, 2026 |
DEFENDER NETWORK
SOCIAL THE WEB DN ON VOTE 2026
Houston Black judges Lead fight to save democracy
“Judicial independence is the most effective manner in which the Justice system can provide fair, impartial, and consistent renderings of justice,” said Garner. “The US Judiciary has never faced such a lack of judicial independence, critical to a healthy democracy, as it does today,” said Burney.
By Aswad Walker
In an era of deep political polarization, democracy advocates increasingly worry about the institutions designed to prevent political power from becoming unchecked. Among those institutions is the judiciary. Former U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore believes protecting democracy requires protecting courts that can operate independently, judges who can make decisions without political intimidation, and citizens who understand how elections and the legal system actually work. “The need to protect our democracy, and how the judiciary is an integral part of protecting our democracy, the right to vote, and the right to free and fair elections,” said Gilmore. That conviction has led the Houston-area jurist into civic education work with Keep Our Republic and its Article III Coalition, a national group of retired federal judges committed to judicial independence, separation of powers, and the rule of law. The coalition
From courtrooms to polling places, Houston-area judicial leaders, like Judge Vanessa Gilmore, and justices of the peace Roderick Garner and Sharon Burney, say informed citizens and independent judges remain essential democratic safeguards. Courtesy Judge Vanessa Gilmore, Roderick Garner, and Sharon Burney/IG.
includes former judges appointed by presidents from both parties. Gilmore is not alone locally. Fort Bend County Justice of the Peace Roderick Garner
and Harris County Justice of the Peace Sharon Burney also see judicial independence as essential to maintaining public confidence in the courts.
Independence is the point For Gilmore, the concern isn’t simply whether people approve of particular Supreme Court decisions. It’s whether Americans continue believing that courts are institutions where the Constitution, evidence, and law—not political pressure—ultimately prevail. “We have to believe in the integrity of the judiciary if we believe in the democratic process,” she said. Read the entire article at DefenderNetwork.com
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