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Posts tagged as “Texas”

Five African-American Museums to Visit in the U.S.

By goodblacknews on November 6, 2015

Black culture is found all across the country. Whether you’re in the rolling fields of the Midwest or the quiet back roads of the South, here are five inexpensive (or free) museums that feature art, music, and culture from the African diaspora.

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California African American Museum (photo via experiencela.com)

WEST 
What: California African American Museum
Where: Los Angeles, CA
How much: Free
This museum is home to some of the most fascinating exhibits of African and African American culture. Check out Toward Freedom: A Photo Exhibition of the Beta Israel Community in Israel and the Ethiopian Community in Los Angeles, photojournalist Irene Fertik’s images of Ethiopian communities establishing themselves in Israel and Los Angeles. Or, view The African American Journey West: Permanent Collection, which features art and artifacts that show the African American journey from the shores of Africa to America’s western frontier. Wherever your interests are, this museum is sure to have something that’ll satisfy your intellectual craving.
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DuSable Museum of African American History (Photo: wttw.com)

MIDWEST

What: DuSable Museum of African American History  
Where: Chicago, IL 
How much: $10 
This museum is a crux in Chicago’s black community. Home to several after-school programs, the museum has a history of engaging with the community on current topics. Current popular exhibits include Freedom, Resistance, and the Journey Towards Equality, Red, White, Blue & Black: A History of Blacks in the Armed Services, and The Freedom Now Mural.

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Buffalo Soldiers Museum (Photo: wikipedia.com)

SOUTHWEST

What: Buffalo Soldiers Museum
Where: Houston, TX
How much: $10 
The Buffalo Soldiers Museum has one of the most highly-curated museum collections of black soldier life. Founded in 2000 by a Vietnam veteran and African-American military historian, it’s currently the only museum primarily dedicated to the African-American veteran experience. Check out the memorabilia, fine arts collection and videos here.

grouptravelleader.com
Tubman African-American Museum (Photo: grouptravelleader.com)

SOUTHEAST

What: Tubman African American Museum
Where: Macon, GA
How much: $10  
This museum, which calls itself an “educational adventure through time,” houses one of the most diverse collections of African-American historical artifacts in the country. Currently, visitors can see areas such as Folk Art, the Inventors Gallery, and a special area for Black Artists of Georgia.

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Museum of African American History (Photo: timeinc.net)

NORTHEAST

What: Museum of African American History
Where: Boston, MA
How much: $3
This museum — which is the 1834 African American Meeting House — has both rotating and permanent exhibits on local African-American history. The Black Books exhibit examines the historical and cultural implications of forbidding enslaved Africans to read or write. It also traces the evolution and recovery of their written voices. You can also see the Abiel Smith School, the first public school built to educate black children.
article by Kayla Stewart via blavity.com

Joel Fitzgerald, Forth Worth's 1st Black Police Chief, Takes Charge

By goodblacknews on October 26, 2015
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Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald (CHRISTOPHER CONNELLY / KERA NEWS)
Fort Worth, Texas, swore in its first black police chief Tuesday at a ceremony packed with the city’s top leaders, WFAA reports.  Joel Fitzgerald takes over at a challenging time. He replaces Jeff Halstead, who retired in January amid federal discrimination lawsuits filed by several black police officers.
Black Lives Matter called for a rally in the city in August after a white police officer fatally shot an unarmed black college football player in Arlington, Texas. Weeks later, hundreds of mostly white people held a counter protest to support the police. Some held signs that read, “All Lives Matter.”
Many see Fitzgerald as the right person for the job. The new police chief is known for his ability to work well with the community, according to WFAA.
“The impetus is upon me to make sure that each and every person in this organization understands that when we speak of community, we’re part of the community,” he said at the ceremony. “The police department [is] an active member in the community and we’re to make sure that each contact that we have with each and every individual that we see is positive.”
With reference to Black Lives Matter, Fitzgerald told KERA News that he wants honest, “open discussions.”  “One of the things I said when I was first hired here is that I’m very inclusive, and I intend on listening to all stakeholders and making sure that they have a voice,” he added.
Fitzgerald underscored his track record of bringing together the police department and community. “I feel it won’t be any different in Fort Worth, the community has really opened their arms up and embraced me so far,” he stated.
Fort Worth’s new police chief, who holds degrees from Harvard and Northwestern, previously was the first black chief of police departments in Missouri City, Texas, and Allentown, Pa. Fitzgerald was a police officer in Philadelphia before climbing the ranks. He beat five other finalists to become Fort Worth’s police chief.
Read more at WFAA.com and KERA News.
article by Nigel Roberts via theroot.com

Texas City Votes to Leave in Place Street Name Changed to Honor Sandra Bland

By goodblacknews on September 27, 2015
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Sandra Bland (photo via FACEBOOK)
The newly-minted Sandra Bland Parkway in Prairie View, Texas, will keep its name.
The Prairie View City Council voted Tuesday to keep the name for a road that leads into Prairie View A&M University and was renamed this summer in honor of Bland, who died at the Waller County Jail in July after she arrested during a traffic stop, according to KHOU.
Police said Bland was found hanging in her cell after the July 10 arrest. But suspicions arose after the release of a police dashcam video of Bland’s traffic stop and arrest. An officer had stopped Bland for failing to signal a lane change, but their encounter became confrontational, and the officer arrested her for allegedly assaulting him.
To ease tensions in the community, the City Council voted in August to change the name of University Boulevard to Sandra Bland Parkway. It is the same stretch of road on which she was stopped and arrested. Not everyone agreed with the name change, and city leaders on Tuesday heard from a divided community on the issue. But lawmakers decided to keep the new name in honor of Bland, who had moved back to Texas in July to take a job with her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University.
“The whole world is talking about Sandra Bland,” said one supporter from the council podium, reports the news outlet. “And Sandra Bland is putting Prairie View on the map.”
When the street was renamed in August, ABC 13 reported that hundreds of Prairie View A&M alumni gathered with current students to march from the student-union building to the site where Bland was stopped, and then on to City Hall, where the street was renamed.
“If every time they pull over a student, they have to be reminded of what took place here, then that will help the relationship to be more respectful between the officers and the students,” protester Hannah Bonner told the news station in August.
Read more at KHOU.
article by Lynette Holloway via theroot.com

Simone Biles Becomes 1st Female Gymnast In 23 Years To Win Three National Titles

By goodblacknews on August 17, 2015

Simone Biles waves to the crowd after competing at the 2015 P&G Gymnastics Championships on Aug. 15, 2015 in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS – Simone Biles was so good in her pursuit of a third national title that she surprised even herself.   “It’s really exciting; I keep shocking myself every year, it’s weird,” she said of her latest achievement.
Biles became the first American woman in 23 years to win three all-around national titles Saturday night at the 2015 P&G Gymnastics Championships.
The last woman to win three titles, Kim Zmeskal, did so leading into her first Olympic appearance, a feat Biles is now looking to emulate at next year’s Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
“It’s amazing just because I know she took the same path and it led her to the Olympics, so I feel pretty good knowing I’ve achieved what she’s achieved,” Biles said of the 1991 world all-around champion.
Biles won her latest U.S. crown with a two-day score of 124.100, an impressive 4.95 points higher than second-place finisher Maggie Nichols. For comparison, her last two U.S. wins were by margins of 0.2 points in 2013 and 4.25 points in 2014.  Her win was highlighted by a near-perfect 9.9 execution score on vault.
Clearly, the gap between Biles and everyone else in the country – or world, for that matter – is rapidly increasing.  “It’s truly (a matter of wanting) to be the best version of me and I don’t want to replicate others,” Biles said. “Because a lot of people compare me to other people a bunch, but I just want to go out there and I just want to be Simone.”

Sandra Bland's Family Files Federal Lawsuit over Jail Cell Death

Sandra Bland's Family Files Federal Lawsuit over Jail Cell Death

By goodblacknews on August 4, 2015

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Attorney Cannon Lambert Sr., left, and Geneva Reed-Veal, Sandra Bland’s mother, announce in Houston on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015, the family’s lawsuit against those believed to be responsible for Bland’s July 13, 2015, death. (Photo: KHOU-TV, Houston)

HOUSTON — The family of Sandra Bland, the Illinois woman found dead in a Texas jail cell last month, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Houston seeking to hold people involved in her death accountable.  “We are looking for Waller County and the individuals involved to take accountability,” said attorney Cannon Lambert Sr., who is representing the family.
The lawsuit is filed against Trooper Brian Encinia, the sheriff of Waller County, Texas, two of the jailers and the Texas Department of Public Safety, Lambert said.
Encinia arrested Bland on July 10 in Waller County, Texas. Three days later, on July 13, she was found dead in a jail cell in Hempstead, Texas. Officials say she used a plastic bag to hang herself.
Many of Bland’s family, friends and others on social media worldwide have questioned that explanation. They say she was about to start a new job at Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater.

The 28-year-old was pulled over for failing to signal while changing lanes. She was arrested for allegedly kicking Encinia during a traffic stop near Prairie View A&M. Dashcam video does not make clear whether or not that happened, but does show the encounter quickly escalating after Encinia tells Bland to put out her cigarette.
The trooper was put on desk duty for violating procedures during the stop.  “Mr. Encinia is still employed and it doesn’t make sense that the taxpayers are paying for the type of service that he employed on July 10,” Lambert said.
“This family needs an answer to the principle question of what happened to Sandra Bland. It’s why we filed suit,” he said.
The family would like the Department of Justice to investigate Bland’s death as they said the case requires a fresh set of eyes.  Last week, Waller County officials released hours of video of Bland inside the jail to try to disprove claims of foul play.

On July 22, police released a 52-minute long dash camera video from Encinia’s car. The clip showed Encinia yelling for Bland to get out of her car and demanding that she put her phone away.  “Step out, or I will remove you,” he said repeatedly, opening the driver’s door as she protested.
The release of the video raised questions on whether the video had been edited. The Texas Department of Public Safety disputed those claims, saying the “glitches” in the video came during the uploading process. The next day, the department released the video without the “glitches.”
“I watched the video once. I will not watch it again,” said Geneva Reed-Veal, Bland’s mother. She said watching the video she felt “anger, disgust, disappointment and sadness. I have chosen to channel those feelings in another way. … I am angry. Justice is going to be served if the justice system does what it’s supposed to do.”

TX Prosecutor Appoints Committee Outside His Jurisdiction to Investigate Death Of Sandra Bland

By goodblacknews on July 27, 2015

Sandra Bland (photo via fusion.net)
Sandra Bland (photo via fusion.net)

In the wake of funeral services for Sandra Bland this past weekend, Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis has appointed a committee of attorneys from outside his jurisdiction to review findings in the mysterious death of Bland. This committee will review evidence as it continues to be collected, all in an effort to help Mathis sort out the many moving parts of the case.
Mathis made the announcement on Monday, just as the fervor around finding out how exactly the 28-year-old Illinois woman died just three days after a traffic stop in Texas on July 10. Mathis’ office released a toxicology report last Monday, revealing that Bland had marijuana in her system. According to the Chicago Tribune, a pair of experts that reviewed the report for the Associated Press suggested that Bland may have used the drug while in custody.
Mathis said he and the collective of lawyers intend to review “credible evidence and not rumors” according to a report from CBS News. Mathis has much to contend with in that arena, as Bland’s family and supporters are questioning findings that her death was indeed a self-inflicted hanging by way of a plastic trash bag in her Waller County jail cell.

Obama Permanently Protects More Than One Million Acres of Public Lands

By goodblacknews on July 15, 2015
CREDIT: TYLER ROEMER

President Barack Obama announced last week that he will designate three new national monuments, permanently protecting more than one million acres of public lands. He designated pristine wilderness landscapes in Nevada as Basin and Range National Monument, scenic mountains in California as Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, and a fossil-rich site in Texas as Waco Mammoth National Monument.
With these designations, President Obama is adding to the 16 national monuments he has already created with his authority under the Antiquities Act, setting aside “more public lands and waters than any administration in history.” Both Democratic and Republican presidents have used their authority under the law to designate national monuments, many of which have later become some of the country’s most iconic national parks such as the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, and Arches National Park.
A diverse array of groups praised the announcement, emphasizing that the new monuments were a response to years of local support and advocacy to permanently protect these sites.
“By creating these three new national monuments, President Obama is continuing his commitment to preserving America’s treasured places and cementing his well-deserved place in conservation history,” Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters told the Hill. “The president acted in response to the overwhelming support expressed by local communities and stakeholders across the country for protecting these places of extraordinary environmental, historic, and scientific value.”

Pizza Shop Employee Courtney Best Helps Save Kidnapped Child While on "Smoke Break"

By goodblacknews on July 13, 2015
Local Hero Courtney Best (photo via )
Local Hero Courtney Best (photo via KRIStv.com )

A young pizza shop employee in Texas used an alert she received on her phone to help authorities catch a kidnapper and save a young boy.
Courtney Best was on a smoke break from her job at Papa Murphy’s pizza in Corpus Christi, Texas when she checked an Amber alert on her cell phone. According to KRIS-TV, that alert helped her identify the kidnapper when he parked in the same shopping plaza.
“I stepped outside, I was standing by the trash can and I seen a white car pull up and I just happen to take my phone with me cause we don’t look at our phones at work, and I looked down and I saw ‘white Dodge Avenger amber alert’, and I was like, nah, that’s not him,” Best told KRIS-TV. “The man was walking across the parking lot looking at me … cause I was the only person out here, with the little boy and the little boy looked scared and I was like ‘no, that’s not him.’”
But she felt uneasy, so she checked the license plates. Sure enough, it was a match. When she realized that the car was, in fact, the right car, she knew she had to act.
“And I’m on the phone with 911 and I tell her, look, the plates match up, he’s turning left on Staples but I’m gonna follow him.”
The police came to their aid moments later, and the boy, 7-year old Nicholas Gomez, is now safe.
“That’s why I’m freakin’ out,” said Best. “Cause, what are the odds? What are the odds of me looking at my phone? And I usually don’t even look at amber alerts, as bad as that sounds, I look at them and I don’t really pay attention. And I was like, he couldn’t get from Alice in that little bit of time. Sure enough it was him.”
article via thegrio.com

San Antonio Elects Ivy Taylor Its 1st Black Mayor

By goodblacknews on June 15, 2015

San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor (Photo via hellobeautiful.com) Ivy Taylor.

Today, Ivy Taylor began her first official day as the elected mayor of San Antonio, Texas. Taylor is the first African-American to fulfill the role.
This development comes almost a year after Taylor was selected to serve as the interim mayor of the city to finish the term of the previous mayor, Julian Castro. Castro stepped down from his position as mayor of San Antonio when the White House nominated him as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Taylor won in the race against her opponent, former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, with 52 percent of the vote. Taylor was born and bred in Queens, NY. She got her start in city planning, then made her way to city council.  Taylor got her undergraduate degree from Yale University and her master’s from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
article by Monique John via hellobeautiful.com

Houston Cuts Its Homeless Population Nearly in Half

By goodblacknews on June 12, 2015
Wendell Johnson readies his bed at the Salvation Army shelter September 23, 2005 in Houston. (Photo: Getty Images)

A new report from Coalition for the Homeless reveals that the number of unsheltered homeless people in the Houston area has dropped by 46 percent since 2011.

The statistics come from a “point-in-time” count of people who were experiencing homelessness on January 29, 2015, in the greater Houston area (Harris County and Fort Bend County) in Texas. The annual canvass found that there were 4,609 people either staying in emergency shelters, transitional housing or safe havens, or unsheltered (living in places not meant for human habitation, such as abandoned buildings or under bridges). In 2011, that number was 8,538. This puts the current homeless rate at 1 out of every 1,130 residents. That number was 1 out of every 450 residents in 2011. Just under 60 percent of those displaced citizens are black.
“It’s incredible,” said Marilyn Brown, president and CEO of Coalition for the Homeless in the Houston Chronicle’s article available behind the newspaper’s paywall. “When we see the result—that the number of homeless has been cut in half—we see we’ve gone from managing homelessness to ending it.” With 58 percent of the total homeless population installed in some type of housing, all signs point to that being true.
The coalition of homeless services providers said their success stems from the The Way Home, a local collaborative model adopted in 2012 with the goal of eradicating homelessness by installing permanent housing units and creating a coordinated intake, needs assessment and triage system that gets people the help they need more efficiently.
article by Kenrya Rankin Naasel via colorlines.com