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Austin, TexasPermit No. 01949

TPATPATPATPATPATEXASPUBLISHERSASSOCIATION

Vol. 40 No. 9

RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’Tommy WyattTommy WyattTommy WyattTommy WyattTommy Wyatt

Email: vil3202@aol.comPhone: 512-476-0082 July 13, 2012

TheAustinVillager.com

INSIDE

TheAustinVillager.com

The Original L. C. Anderson High SchoolExhibit Gets New Permanent Home

On Thursday, June 28,2012 the newest L. C.Anderson High School ex-hibit opened at its new home,The George WashingtonCarver Museum and CulturalCenter, 1165 AngelinaStreet. The exhibit will housethe beautiful collective trea-sure that proudly belongs toAustin’s African Americancommunity.

The Original L.C.Anderson High School wasfamous for winning awardsin sports and band compe-tition while competing in thePrairie View InterscholasticLeague. The school wasclosed in 1971 under aschool desegregation order.

A new school wasbuild and named L. C.Anderson in far west Aus-tin, but the colors and mas-cot from the original schoolwere not transferred to thenew school.

The district decided topreserve the items andplaced them in the DorisMiller Auditorium, wherethey remained until recently.42 years after the East Aus-tin cultural anchor wasclosed, the former graduatesstill hold on to vivid memo-ries of their former school.

The current exhibit ismuch smaller and relegatedto a side hall. But, muchcould be learned about thefour locations of the schooldedicated to Austin’s AfricanAmericans. Its forerunner,Robinson Hill School, waslocated at San Marcos andEast 11th streets in 1884.One of the instructors there

was L. C. Anderson. The high school

moved to Olive and Curvestreets in 1909, then Penn-sylvania Avenue in 1913.Most of the graduates at theCarver’s informal reunion,

however, recall the Andersonthat opened on ThompsonStreet in 1953.

The school was re-spected around the state forfootball and band champion-ships in the Prairie View In-

terscholastic League, whichexisted under various namesfrom the 1920s to 1967.

Benjamin “B.L.”Joyce, who won rave re-views as director of the Yel-low Jacket Band from 1934to 1955. The current Battleof the Bands and Drumlinecompetition was named in hishonor.

Much of the exhibitconsists of photos and prizes,much like a trophy case at ahigh school. The exhibit nowjoins the other permanentdisplays at the Carver thahave become part of thebeautiful collective treasurethat prouely belongs toAustin’s African Americancommunity.

AUSTIN, Texas (July 9,2012) – The Austin CommunityCollege Jazz Ensemble will markits 30th anniversary with a spe-cial performance at Bass Con-cert Hall 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July21.

“The ACC Jazz Ensemble30th Anniversary Concert will bean exciting night – a heart-stoppin’, toe-tappin’, viscera-shakin’ experience,” says Dr.Tom Husak, director of the JazzEnsemble. “It will be a celebra-tion of American big band jazz,pop, soul, blues, and countrymusic.”

Over the past three de-cades, the Jazz Ensemble haspresented classic American jazzand pop music to audiencesthroughout Austin and across thestate and nation – at concerts,receptions, charity events,dances, and even a presidentialinauguration gala.

“We have been playingsome of the greatest songs in his-tory for 30 years, and to thinkthat generations of people havebeen sharing their passion formusic with us is just amazing,”says Dr. Husak.

For the anniversary con-cert, the Jazz Ensemble will beaccompanied by jazz drum leg-end Charli Persip and Grammy-winning guitarist Redd Volkaert.The music is specially arrangedby Dr. Husak. For more infor-mation on the concert, visit theJazz Ensemble’s Face- bookpage.

By George E. CurryEditor-in-Chief

NNPA News Service

WA S H I N G T O N(NNPA) – Highly-respectedmedia and entertainment ex-ecutive William G. Tompkins,Jr. has been name presidentand chief executive officer ofthe National NewspaperPublishers Association, a fed-eration of more than 200Black-owned publications.

NNPA ChairmanCloves Campbell, publisherof the Arizona Informant,said Tompkins was selectedfrom an impressive field ofcandidates screened byCarrrington & Carrington, aChicago-based executivesearch firm.

“Bill is an accom-plished, nationally-knownexecutive who will be re-sponsible for executing thevision of the NNPA Boardof Directors,” Campbell said.“Because the Board chair iselected every two years,having a president and CEO

Bill Tompkins Named President and CEO of NNPA

in place will provide the or-ganization with smoother op-erations and greater continu-ity.”

Campbell describedTompkins as “a true vision-ary who will make an imme-diate impact on the organi-zation.”

Tompkins worked atthe Washington Post for 19years in a variety of top-levelpositions, including vicepresident of marketing, di-rector of national advertisingand manager of corporate

and financial advertisingsales. He left the newspaperto join Kodak as chief mar-keting officer of its entertain-ment imaging business unit.Tompkins was also vicepresident and general man-ager of the Motion PictureFilm Group for the EastmanKodak Company, managinga $700 million global distri-bution operation.

In addition, he waschief marketing officer ofNextGen Media Group, thefirm that is launching the so-cial media news siteReportN. He also was presi-dent of William TompkinsAssociates, a consulting firmspecializing in providing ad-vice on strategic planningand operations.

Tompkins is eager todraw on his wealth of expe-rience on behalf of NNPA.

“Having had corporateroles during the majority ofmy career, I now have theopportunity to work withpeople who represent the

heart and soul of what ourcountry is all about, that be-ing entrepreneurs who aremaking a difference,” he said.

And he will make ahuge difference for NNPA,a group of publishers whoown and operate their ownnewspapers.

“I will be able to cre-ate a firm and more solidinternal foundation for theAssociation to ensure thatwe consistently providehigher quality and more use-ful services to our mem-bers,” Tompkins explained.“I will also be responsiblefor ensuring the long-termfinancial viability of theNNPA and for providingbigger revenue streams forour members.”

According to a jobdescription NNPA pro-vided to candidates for theposition, “The Presidentand CEO exercises overallauthority and

see NNPA page 4

William G. “Bill” Tompkins

Photos (top) Overflowing crowd attending the opening of theexhibit. (bottom) One of many displays showcasing L.C. Andersonartifacts. Photo by Bob Jones.

R.I.PGentlemen’sAgreement!

True PatriotsSee BLACK SOLDIERS

Page 7

ElectionSee RUN-OFF

Page 6

Learning OpportunitiesSee COLLEGE TOURS

Page 5

Annual ConferenceSee WOMEN’S PRAYER

Page 3

ACC Jazz EnsembleCelebrates 30 Yearswith Bass ConcertHall Performance

The Original L. C. Anderson High SchoolExhibit Gets New Permanent Home

While the discussiongoes on about the type ofsystem the City of Austinneeds to elect our council,we must first decide whetheror not we want to changefrom our current system. Thecurrent system provides forthe election of our council bya place system where allcouncil members are electedby the entire population.However, you must declarethe place that you are run-ning for.

Our council has sixplaces and the Mayor allelected at large. It is calledthe gentlemen’s agreement,because we can guaranteethe election of an AfricanAmerican and a Hispanic byencouraging them to run fora specific place and encour-aging other to stay clear ofthat place. Presently, Place6 is occupied by an AfricanAmerican and Place 2 by anHispanic.

Hispanics did not alwaysoccupy Place 2 as the originalplace was 5. But, in an effortto get two Hispanics on thecouncil, the long time councilmember in Place 5 moved toPlace 2 to open up the seat.However, the community didnot agree with that decisionand elected the oldcouncilmember to Place 2 andan Anglo in Place 5. That sys-tem has remained in place un-til this present day.

While, there is a lot ofdiscussion about changingour system by going to an-other type has attracted a lotof attention, the first decisionthat has to be made is “dowe want to change our cur-rent system?”

In my humble opinion,there is no other system thatwill assure the election of anAfrican American. The clos-est we will come to that is withthe structuring an “AfricanAmerican Opportunity Dis-trict,” which would place thelargest number of AfricanAmericans in one of the de-signed districts. There is noway, considering the smallnumber of African Americansin Austin, to guarantee theirpresence on the council with-out expanding the council to13 or more seats.

Because of this, I haveto remain supportive to ourcurrent system.

EDITORIALS/COMMENTARYTHE VILLAGER Page 2 ~ July 13, 2012 www.theaustinvillager.com

James ClingmanNNPA Columnist

Making Results Match Rhetoric

“Talk is cheap!”“Talkin’ loud and sayin’nothin’!” Black folks do a lotof talking, rappin,’ espous-ing, pontificating, andphilosophizin’. No matter thesubject, we seem to knowall about it and are morethan willing to get engagedon any topic at hand. Godgave us only one mouth,but He gave us two eyes,two nostrils, two ears, andtwo hands; we should getthe hint that talking shouldnot be the dominant of thefive senses.

Talking is what we doafter using our other foursenses. So why is rhetoric

so high on our agenda?Why do we hold in suchhigh esteem a speech, forinstance, that brings with itno action? Why are we soenthralled with leaders whoonly talk, albeit very well,but have never establishedan entity, built a business,or started an initiative re-lated to their rhetoric? Whydo we even call these folks“leaders” in the first place?Shouldn’t we at least mea-sure them by the results oftheir rhetoric?

I am so sick of hear-ing folks who only whineabout our problems andnever lift a finger to providesolutions. Loquaciousnessis very overrated amongBlack folks. You can hearit on talk radio, callers andsometimes even by hostswho have little if any infor-mation on the topic, talk-ing on and on as though theyknow everything there is toknow about it. Even sad-der is the fact that they giveout erroneous information

that others take and runwith, thereby, perpetuatingthe ignorance of a certainissue among our people.Their favorite thing is to saywhat others “need” to do orwhat “we as a people” needto do, all without offeringone thing they are willing todo or have done.

I am also tired of see-ing Black folks on television(legitimate news journalistsnot included) who only “talk”about the issues, usually tell-ing us what we alreadyknow, and never havingdone one thing to contributeto our economic uplift. Youask them for a few dollars tohelp with a cause or to in-vest in a Black-owned busi-ness and you can’t findthem with a search warrant.Why are we so enamoredwith these folks? Is it be-cause it requires no workon our behalf other than tosimply sit and listen to whatthey have to say?

Politics is the best ex-ample of this phenomenon

among Black people. Ain’tnothing like an arousing,emotional, down-homespeech to get us wound up.But if all we get is woundup, and the speaker walksaway with thousands ofdollars for his or her rhe-torical gymnastics, wowingthe audience with big wordsand provocative quotes,what good is it? As LeBronJames suggested last yearafter losing the finals, mostof us will wake up tomor-row with the same prob-lems and the same life wehad yesterday, namely, ris-ing prices, inflation, foreclo-sures, unemployment, col-lege loan defaults, and tryingto pay for a fill-up in orderto get to work or operateour small businesses. Hesaid, we will “have to getback to the real world atsome point.” We must de-mand more from our “lead-ers” and not let them off thehook so easily.

Another thing we dois call “Town Hall Meet-

ings.” Nothing wrong withthat, but it sure would benice if we owned a TownHall or two in which to holdour meetings. And let’s notforget about the charlatanpreachers and their pros-perity gospel that alwaysends up providing for thembut seldom if ever tricklesdown to those whose dol-lars enriched them in thefirst place. Why are we soweak? Why are we so vul-nerable to mere rhetoric?Are we so lazy that we sim-ply refuse to research orstudy to see if what some-one says is true? It’s onething to risk your money; it’sanother thing to risk yoursoul.

The point here is thatBlack people cannot affordto be drawn into the eu-phoria of rhetorical non-sense or rhetorical excel-lence. We must not fall preyto those who only talk agood game but never getinto the game. Before youbelieve, follow, or praise

anyone simply because youheard them speak elo-quently or share some in-formation, find out whatthey have done and/or whatthey are doing. See if theyare using their other foursenses to initiate, build, orfacilitate something of sub-stance rather than just talk-ing about it or telling youwhat you should do.

Beware of bloviatingrhetoricians and sentiment-grabbing, self-absorbed,self-proclaimed know-it-alls.We must have authenticleadership among Blackpeople, not sideline coachesand Monday morning quar-terbacks. With all of therhetoric coming from and toBlack folks, we should bemuch further ahead in thiscountry, that is, if rhetoricalone accomplishes that end.Sadly, it does not and neverwill. Words without actionare just words. Informationis only power to those whoact upon it. Blackonomicsrequires action!

Bill FletcherNNPA Columnist

Sick of Healthcare Lies

The on-going debateabout healthcare reform hitme this week when I be-came quite ill. I am one ofthe lucky ones. I have ane m p l o y e r - p r o v i d e dhealthcare plan so I was ul-timately able to go to amedical facility, get diag-nosed and begin treatment.My co-pay was minimal,and certainly would nothave put me under water.

But what if I had notbeen so lucky? I use theterm “lucky” quite specifi-

cally since havinghealthcare, at least untilPresident Obama’s re-forms, has been the luck ofthe draw: Did you belongto a union? Did you havean employer that providedinsurance? Did you haveenough money to pay for iton your own? Not to men-tion the actual quality ofyour plan, if you were, likeme, lucky to have one.

Obama’s healthcarereform did not go as far asit needed to, and, with alldue respect, made toomany compromises withprivate-sector interests. Inthat sense, the struggle isnot over for universalhealthcare. PresidentObama, both because ofhis connections with corpo-rate America and his earlybelief in bi-partisanship,

sincerely seemed to believethat reasonable peoplecould strike a compromise.He could not accept, andperhaps still cannot com-pletely accept, that the Re-publicans from Day One ofhis administration — havebeen out for blood.

We needed and stillneed full healthcare reform.We need, in other words,the extension of Medicareto cover us all. We have toreject the false notion thatthis means a loss of jobs.

While I have been illthis week I have consid-ered many of the argumentsraised by the Republicansagainst Obama’s plan, aplan that has now been up-held by the Supreme Courtas constitutional. The mostironic of the argumentscomes from Mitt Romney,

who is in no position tocriticize the plan since it islargely based upon the onethat he initiated as gover-nor of Massachusetts.

But the arguments ofthe Republicans actually aredeeper and meaner thanRomney’s flip-flopping.They go to the question ofwhether there are, orshould be, a “deserving”population and an “unde-serving” population. Thismay sound vaguely familiar,and so it should since itgoes back to the Reaganera separation of the poorinto the “deserving” and the“undeserving.” In bothcases, a right-wing moraljudgment has been castagainst a segment of thepopulation. In today’s situ-ation, the notion is simple:the right-wing argues that

there is a segment of thepopulation that has donelittle to earn any of the so-called entitlements that theyreceive. Therefore, theseshould be cut.

Flowing from this fuzzyline of thinking is Republicanopposition to Obama’s plan— Romney’s hypocrisy not-withstanding — becomesmore understandable andequally unsettling. As far asthey are concerned, let theso-called undeservingswing in the wind and lookout for themselves. And ifthis means that this unde-serving population cannotget access to qualityhealthcare, jobs, foodhousing, proper education,etc., as far as the right-wingis concerned, so be it.

Just in case you thinkthat the right-wing is not

talking about you, let meclarify who they see as theundeserving populations:the poor (the right-wing isnot making the distinctionanymore between a ‘good’and ‘bad’ section); peopleof color; youth; immigrantsof color; low-waged work-ers; and in many cases, any-one who makes less than$100,000/year. Do yousee yourself in that picture?

This is what the No-vember 2012 election is allabout. It is not aboutObama and his record. It’sreally about whether youhave a right to be treatedfor illnesses in such a waythat you are not cast intothe bottomless pit of debtand poverty.

Sick or not, there isno way that I am stayinghome on Election Day.

Blame Republicans for High UnemploymentThe unemployment

rate has hovered above 8percent for severa lmonths, most recentlyholding ground at 8.2percent, the same as lastmonth. Meanwhile, theAfrican American unem-ployment rate went up,officially to 14.4 percent,and we all know thatmeans the real rate iseven higher, probably inexcess of 25 percent.

Republican presi-dential candidate MittRomney interrupted hisvacation to gloat aboutthe number of Americanswho are experiencing mis-ery, and his gloating mightbe at least somewhatamusing were this not thesame man who says helikes to fire people.

The 8.2 percent un-employment is not inPresident Obama’s bestinterest. Many who arefeeling the misery andpain are open to an alter-native, even if it is one asmuddled and confused asRomney who doesn’t sup-port health care reform

now, although he engi-neered a similar plan asgovernor of Massachu-setts. This man has sotalked out of his mouth,that a simple reel of hiscont radic tory quoteswould make it clear howconfused, or deliberatelydeceiving he is.

The good news forPresident Obama is thatthe lower the unemploy-ment rate goes, the bet-ter his chances for re-election. The better newsfor President Obama isthat many people don’tsnap into campaign modeuntil after Labor Day.People want jobs, to besure, but the summer num-bers even if they arelevel, don’t alarm every-one.

The employment re-ports that our presidenthas to pay the most atten-tion to are those releasedthe first Friday of Sep-tember and October. Thisis when Republicans willget all cranked up andsuggest that PresidentObama can’t handle the

fractured economy he in-herited.

Can the unemploy-ment rate drop? Well ifRepublicans would passthe American Jobs Act,an actual plan for employ-ment, it might. It is in theinterest of the nation’sunemployed, but not inthe interest of Republicanchicanery, for the Ameri-can Jobs Act to be en-acted. In some ways, Re-publicans are starvingthe i r cons t i tuents tothwart President Obama.

Similarly, when stateand local governmentshave to lay people off be-cause their budgets aretight, the federal govern-ment has previous lystepped in to help. Part ofthe recovery funds wentto state and local govern-ments, some who turnedthe money down in the in-terest of fiscal conserva-tism. There the Republi-cans go again, hurtingthe i r cons t i tuents tothwart President Obama.

Part of the reasonRepublicans can get away

with this is because noone is pressuring them.Just like the Tea Party haspushed these people tothe right, somebody needsto push them back tocenter. The Tea Party hasvirtually obliterated thenotion of a moderate Re-publican, but there mustbe some out there, andwhat has to happen is thatsomebody needs to pushback.

The African Ameri-can community has topush, too. While few of usare Republicans, many ofus live in districts withRepublican representa-tion. These representa-tives need to hear from us,and from our neighbors,not only African Ameri-cans. And these represen-tatives need to hear fromour mayors, not onlyDemocra ts , who canpressure them to do theright thing by cities.

Meanwhile, Repub-licans fiddle while Romeburns because no one hascalled them on it. When-ever Romney says the

president has no plan,somebody needs to re-mind him of the AmericanJobs Act . WheneverRomney starts babblingabout health care, some-one ought to throw Mas-sachusetts in his face.

When the brayingbunch of bobbleheadswho call themselves theTea Party get worked upover the economy, weneed to ask them: Howmany people in your fam-ily are unemployed? Howmuch Social Securitydoes your mama have?Don’t your kids have stu-dent loans? Does every-one in your family havehealth care?

Fuelled by race mat-ters and rhetoric, work-ing class White peopleare organized for Rom-ney, someone who wouldcut education, healthcare, and Social Securityand put those “savings”into military spending andtax cuts for the wealthy.In other words, and notfor the first time, workingclass White people are

working against their owneconomic interests.

Meanwhile, if HouseRepubl icans want tomove an economicagenda that helps some14 million unemployedpeople, perhaps they cansee their way clear topass the American JobsAct. We don’t need allthe Republicans, maybejust a third of them, andI’ll wager that perhapsthat many have senseenough to see what theirleader, John Boehner (R-Ohio], does not. In anycase, let’s make it plain.

The unemploymentrate is stagnant becauseRepublicans have failed toact.

Julianne MalveauxNNPA Columnist

Agape Baptist ChurchIn “The Centre” Bldg. F-15 7801 N. Lamar Blvd. (SE Corner of N Lamar and 183)

AGAPE is a chuch for all people. “Where Jesus Christ is Magnified and the love He exhibitedis Exemplified.” Come, receive God’s unconditional lovefor you. For there is no greater love!

Church ServicesSunday School 9:30 AMSunday Worship 11:00 AM

Mid-Week ServiceThursday: Praise, Prayer and Bible Study 7:00 PM

Call 454-1547 for TransporationWebsite www.agapebcaustintx.orgRev. H. Ed Calahan

Pastor

Imani Community ChurchDavis Elementray Auditorium 5214 West Duval Road

Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Worship Service 10:00 A.M.•Power Hour Bible Life Group 6:00 P.M.

Imani Complex & Office,11800 Mustang at Duval Austin, Texas 78727

Visit:imanichurch.comOffice: 512-343-9300Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Donald-Mims

St. Peter’s United Methodist Church 4509 Springdale Road Austin, Tx 78723

Office 512- 926-1686 Fax 512-929-7281Christian Web Site-

stpetersaustintx.ning.comstpetersaustintx@att.net

THE PLACE WHERE WE STEP OUT ON FAITH.COME AND STEP OUT ON FAITH WITH US

Sunday School 8:45 a.m. Praise and Worship 10:15 a.m.

Wednesday Bible Study 12:00 p.m.and Praise /Bible Study 6:30 p.m.

(to include Children’s Choir Rehersaland Bible Study with age appropiate Activities)

Rev. Jack C. Gause Pastor

JOSHUA CHAPEL CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

1006 Yeager Lane, Suite 102-A Austin, Texas

Sunday ServicesSunday School 10:00 A.M.Worship Service 11:00 A.M.

WEDNESDAY Bible Study 6:30 P.M.SATURDAY New

Member Assimilation 10:00 A.M.

Rev. Lois Hayes, Pastor

Rosewood Avenue Missionary Baptist Church1820 Rosewood Avenue, Austin, Texas 78702

(512) 476-8201 Fax (512) 476-5693

Weekly ServicesSunday School 9:30 a.m.

Sunday Worship 11:00 a.m.Wed. Night Bible Fellowship 6:30 p.m.

Rev. Coby Shorter, IIIPastor

The Spencer & Ora Lee Nobles“Hope Center” (512) 476-6722

Websi te :www.rosewoodbaptistchurch.org

Ebenezer Baptist Church1010 East 10th Street 512-478-1875 Fax: 512-478-1892

Sunday ServicesWorship Service 8:00 A.M.Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Discipleship Training 10:00 A.M.Worship Service 11:00 A.M.

WednesdayMidweek Prayer Service 7:00 P.M. Child Development CenterAges 0-5 years (Daily) 512-478-6709

Rev. Rodney L Swisher,B.A., M. Div., Interim Pastor

Bus Ministry Call 512-478-1875

AFRICAN ASSEMBLIES of GODCHURCH

A growing church ministering to African American andother nationals

Come worship with us

Sunday Worship 11:30 A.M.Wednesday Prayer Meeting 6:45 P.M.

Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church 5900 Cameron Road Austin, Texas 78723-1843

(512) 451-0808 (512) 302-4575 Fax Web Site - www.themount.net

WORSHIP SERVICESSunday Worship - 7:45 a.m. & 11 a.m.Church School - 9:45 a.m.Bible Studies - Mon, 6:30 p.m. & Wed., 12 noonWednesday Night Worship - 7 p.m.

“Ministries For Mankind” Luke 4:18

A.W.. Anthony Mays, Senior PastorThe Church of Glad Tidings 2700 Northland Dr. Austin, TX 78756

For more information, contact Pastor Jonah Ghartey512-873-8103 www.allnationschurch@yahoo.com

Place of Worship

St Annie A.M.E. Church1711 Newton StreetAustin, Texas 78704

Voice mail (512) 444-4509E-mail: saamechurch@peoplepc.com

Church School 9:30 A.M. SunMorning Worship 10:45 A.M. Sun

Bible Study 7:30 P.M. Sun.

Rev. Derwin D. Gipson, Pastor

Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Chruch1701 Chestnut Avenue Austin, TX 78702

Church Phone (512) 476-0838

Morning Worship Service @ 11 a.m.Sundays @ 9:00a.m.- Sunday schoolSunday @ 10:00am Bible Study Monday @ 6:30 pm Bible Study Mid-Week Service each Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m., where there is Prayer, Praising, and Preaching going on. Come and worship with us!!!

Rev. Ralph H. Daniels, Pastor

Advancing the Ministry -Expanding the Church

2115 E. MLK Blvd.512-476-7338

Austin, Texas 78702www.PHRX.Net

Open Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sat 9 a.m. - Noon

HOSPITAL PHARMACYServing Austin since 1970

Let us Fill your next Perscription!SAVE TIME

*Ask your doctor to call your prescription in to usand we’ll have it ready for you when you get here!

THE VILLAGER Page 3 ~ July 13, 2012

CHURCH & TOWN BULLETINwww.theaustinvillager.com

DOUBLE

GROCERY“R”

450l East Martin Luther King Blvd.

*We cash ALL Tax Refund*Checks *Check Out

Leading People to Experience God’s Love, Know Jesus Christ& Grow in His Image!

The Church of Pentecost, USA Inc. Austin offers a wide varietyof opportunities for children, youth, adults, and older adults to e involved inworship, spiritual growth, education, community outreach, and making atangible difference to those in need in our community. Join us on Sunday forworship and learn hot you too, can make a positive difference in ourcommunity through prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, andyour witness.WORSHIP Sunday - 10:00 am - 12:30 pm, Tuesday Bible studies -

7:30 pm - 9:00 Friday Prayer - 7:30 - 9:30 pm

7801 N. Lamar Blvd, Suite D, Austin, TX 78752 (512) 302-1270

Located at 4509Springdale Road, Austin,Texas, St. Peter’s UnitedMethodist Church Women’sMinistry will celebrate their 6thAnnual Women’s Prayer Con-ference.

“Women of Triumph –Flowing in the Anointing!” isthe conference theme for2012. The Conference willbegin on Friday, July 27, 2012at 5:00 p.m. with registration,fellowship and worship. Ven-dors will be on site and re-freshments will be served.

6th ANNUAL WOMEN’S PRAYER CONFERENCE CELEBRATED ATST. PETER’S UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Friday, July 27, 2012will feature Reverend Dr.Lydia Jackson Waters,“Transition/Interim Special-ist” in the United MethodistChurch. Born and educatedin Lubbock, Texas, her

graduate and undergraduatestudies were done in Texasand California. Dr. Waterswas active in the Civil RightsMovement of the 1960’s and1970’s. She was among thefirst African American stu-dents who integrated TexasTech University in Lubbock,Texas, and was the first Af-rican American female inNorth Texas to become a min-isterial candidate mentored byDr. Zan Holmes, Jr. Afterpastoring for more thantwenty years, Dr. Waters re-tired in the summer of 2005and has spent two summersteaching at Keble College,Oxford University, London,England.

On Saturday, July 28,2012, our day will begin witha full fellowship breakfast at8:00 a.m., followed by aPraise Celebration, OpeningWorship and several work-shops at 9:00 a.m. Our Key-note Speaker will be theReverend Juana Jordan,M.Div., Pastor of HarrisChapel United MethodistChurch, Oakland Park,Florida. A native of Jackson-ville, Florida, Reverend Jor-dan is a former award-win-ning journalist and mediaconsultant turned pastor,preacher and teacher.

Passionate about pur-suing her passion as a pas-tor, she believes like theRev. Dr. Nancy Lane that,“telling our stories is a holywork.” She is extremelydedicated to helping oth-ers, particularly women, torealize and understand theirpurpose and find theirvoice.

During the Saturdayactivities we will have age-appropriate child involve-ment sessions for childrenthree years to 12 years ofage. These sessions will begoing on simultaneouslywith the Women’s PrayerConference Workshops.St. Peter’s will be sponsor-ing a Silent Auction Fridayevening through Saturdayafternoon.

Our climax for thisthree day Women’s PrayerConference will be our

Women’s Day Celebrationon Sunday, July 29, 2012 at3:30 p.m. with Mrs. IanGlenn as the KeynoteSpeaker. Married to Rever-end Robert E. Glenn, pastorof Bethel United MethodistChurch in San Antonio,Texas, Mrs. Glenn is a life-long member of the UnitedMethodist Church. She hasbeen a Certified LaySpeaker since 2004 and hasserved on the New ChurchGrowth and DevelopmentCommittee of the SouthwestTexas Conference, and as aStephen Leader.

Mrs. Ian Glenn takesseriously her relationship withher Lord and Savior, JesusChrist, and is willing to wit-ness to all of the great thingsHe has done in her life. Shestates, “I thank God that Iam “saved to serve.”

This is the second yearthat our Prayer Conferencewill sponsor a Women’sChorus Musical, “PRAISE!Flowing Out to God for theAnointing, scheduled forSunday, July 22, 2012 at3:30 p.m. This praise musi-cal will be featuring choirs,groups and soloist from theAustin and surroundingcommunities. Serving as theMistress of Ceremony forthis celebration will beClaudia D. Williams, aChristian woman who hascarried the baton directingthe St. James Missionary

Baptist Church Music Min-istry since 1976. Her lovefor gospel music, especiallyher rhythmic and animatedactions, began at a veryearly age. Her accoladeswithin her church as well asthe community are numer-ous and extraordinary. OnWednesday night, July 25,2012, we will have an OldFashioned Prayer Meetingbeginning at 7:00 p.m.

Our psalmist for this

year’s Women’s PrayerConference and Women’sDay will be St. Peter’s Min-ister of Music, CherylMcWilliams-Lee. Raised inSan Marcos, Texas, CherylLee began her music min-istry as a local church mu-sician in Central Texas andhas served in this capacityfor over twenty-five years.Her individual perfor-mances garnered the atten-

tion of the local communityand church, resulting inmany requests to performat community and regionalevents and programs.

Mrs. Lee’s debut CD,“Got That Feeling (re-leased in 2002) was ex-tremely well received anda second CD was releasedin 2004. The next CDproject is in the works.Continuing to dedicate herlife to Christ, her vision forthe future is to continueserving and expanding thereach of her ministry.

The Austin and sur-rounding communities areinvited to join us for thisawesome conference, mu-sical and prayer meeting.For conference informationpertaining to registration,scheduling, etc., pleasecontact the church office at512 926-1686. First LadyTammie Y.

Gause is the founderof the St. Peter’s UnitedMethodis t ChurchWomen’s Ministry andthe Women’s Prayer Con-ference and Elder JackC. Gause, M.Div., is thepas tor of St . Pe ter ’sUni ted Methodis tChurch.

Rev. Dr. Lydia Jackson Waters

Reverend Juana Jordan

Mrs. Ian Glenn

Claudia D. Williams

Cheryl McWilliams-Lee

THE VILLAGER Page 4 ~ July 13, 2012 www.theaustinvillager.com

2012 ACC Juneteenth Domino Tournament WinnerA Domino Tournament

was a new addition this yearto the annual Juneteenth Cel-ebration at Austin Commu-nity College (ACC)Eastview Campus on June15, 2012. The team-styletournament took place in theStudent Lounge and drewparticipation by ACC stu-dents and community resi-

dents. After all the trash talk-ing and dominoes slamming,the three winning teams wererecognized: First Place:Henry Underwood andCurtis Bradley, SecondPlace WillieNunn andMarvin Massie, Third Place:Mark Griffen and A.J.Sneed

The ACC Juneteenth

Celebration also included aprogram by the African-American Culture Centerfeaturing “Sunday at Six”jazz band. Additionally,Bertram Allen, local artist,was recognized for his artis-tic work and contributions.There were other perform-ers and food, fun and gamesfor all those in attendance.

responsibility forthe direction of theorganization’s personnel,programs and servicesand drives the executionof the strategy through itsdaily activities.”

The job descriptionalso said the presidentand CEO “is the leadspokesperson and advo-cate for the organizationwith the community anda diverse set of partnersand stakeholders.”

Tompkins receivedhis BA in economics ma-gna cum laude fromTufts University and hisMBA from the HarvardBusiness School. He is a

Bill Tompkins Named President andCEO of NNPA from page 1

former chairman of theNational Kidney Founda-tion and has served on theboard of the National Ad-vertising Council.

Although many ma-jor U.S. daily newspapersare experiencing finan-cial problems as a resultof dwindling circulation,community-based publi-cations appear to bemuch more viable. Somuch so that a companyowned by Warren Buffett,the second-richest per-son in the United Statesbehind Bill Gates, re-cently purchased 63 dailyand weekly newspapersfrom Media General, Inc.

for $142 million.“In spite of the

transformational changesin the newspaper indus-try, Black media publica-tions continue to play acritical role in our coun-try, both in terms of theirimpact on society atlarge and especially in therole they play in localcommunities,” Tompkinssaid. “My background isin media and entertain-ment so the opportunityto participate in the rein-vigoration and transfor-mation of this hiddenjewel of newspaper assetswill be both exciting andimpactful.”

Community - National - World News

By Reshonda TateBillingsley

Special to the NNPANews Service from

The Houston Defender

HOUSTON (NNPA)– The NAACP has alwayshad a concentrated effort toget people of color registeredto vote, but due to recentsuppression measures,NAACP officials say that’sonly half the battle. Now, it’sjust as important to makesure voters are at the pollson Election Day.

The nation’s oldest andlargest civil rights organiza-tion will address voting – aswell as other pressing issues– as members gather inHouston for the 103rd An-nual National Conventionthrough Thursday, July 12 atthe George R. Brown Con-vention Center.

This year’s conventiontheme is “NAACP: YourPower, Your Decision –Vote” and will focus on theimportance and voter par-ticipation and the impact ofvoting on all aspects of ourlives, including economicpolicy, health care, educationand more.

“In this election year itis especially important for usto come together and dis-cuss the challenges facingcommunities of color and thenation as a whole,” saidNAACP Chairman RoslynM. Brock…The NAACPwill continue to educate,mobilize and agitate to cre-ate an informed populace, sothat every American feelsthey have the privilege andthe power to go to the ballotbox and exercise their rightto vote.”

NAACP President andCEO Ben Jealous echoedBrock’s sentiments.

“America recently wit-nessed the most significantassault on voter access inmore than a century,” Jeal-ous said. “We are going toanswer that assault by work-ing through Election Day toregister more voters, educatethem on the new rules to en-sure they have full access atthe ballot box and turn outto vote.”

It’s that potential turn-out that has some politicalscientists concerned. NathanMitchell, an assistant profes-sor of political science atPrairie View A&M Univer-sity, said if voters aren’t mo-

NAACP Mobilizes Black Voters

bilized, we could see a re-peat of the 2010 midtermelections, when Black voterturnout was down comparedto 2008.

Mitchel said there “wasa lot of excitement” aboutPresident Obama in 2008,but voter interest declinedtwo years later. “In Texas wesaw almost a 20 percentdrop in turnout, which is kindof typical of midterm elec-tions anyway, but it allowedthe Tea Party to take over,”Mitchell said.

“That’s why it’s impor-tant for the NACCP and oth-ers trying to mobilize people.If you look at historical datasince 2000, in Texas presi-dential elections there hasbeen 50-60 percent turnoutfor election-year races. Wesaw a historical turnout in2008; people voted whonever voted before and Ithink that really helped theDemocratic Party.”

Now, Mitchell said,turnout is likely to be lowerfor both parties.

“Republicans are notexcited about Romney at all.Democrats are lukewarmtoward President Obama,”he said. “Then you have thefact that it’s hard for peopleto look past a singular issuelike gay marriage orabortion…“That’s why it’simportant for interest groupsto really push what matters.A lot of these issues like gaymarriage and abortion are todivide people up instead offocusing on what’s really im-portant. What’s really impor-tant is the economy. I thinkvoters need to look criticallyat Obama and Romney andsee who’s going to be bestfor the economy and stayingat home is not the answer.”

Franklin Jones, profes-sor and chair of political sci-ence at Texas Southern Uni-versity, said threats such asvoter ID laws and redistrict-

ing could also affect voterturnout.

“The most immediateimpact will be the reductionin the number of Black reg-istered voters because theyfail to provide the requiredidentification materials or arehampered in getting to theregistration offices,” Jonessaid. “The numbers will varybased on the efforts to getpeople registered and the in-tensity of the states to sup-press the minority vote. A 5percent drop could be criti-cal in tight contests.”

The NAACP has al-ready implemented efforts tomobilize Black voters – fromsupporting the Voter Em-powerment Act, which fo-cuses on guaranteeing earlyvoting, allowing same-dayregistration, outlawing “votercaging,” counting provisionalballots, and penalizing voterintimidation – to activating itsElection Day CommandCenter on Nov. 4.

The Command Centerwill act as “war room” ofsorts, where the NAACP, inpartnership with state andlocal organizations, legal ad-visors, community and faithleaders, and its 1,700branches across the country,will be working to ensure theintegrity of the voting pro-cess.

Many NAACP unitswill also provide rides tothe polls for those who donot have transportation.This is My Vote, the onlynon-partisan 50-state elec-toral program in the coun-try, will conduct a Get OutThe Vote (GOTV) cam-paign near Election Day.The campaign will usedoor-to-door canvassing,registration booths at pub-lic events and work withchurches throughout thestate to help attract and turnout new voters.

“From voting rightsattacks to institutionalizedracial profiling programs tothe gross disparities in theAmerican classroom, weare in the midst of a coor-dinated attack on civilrights in this country,” saidJealous. “Our 103rd AnnualConvention in Houston isan opportunity to set anagenda for how we fightback against these attacksand expand rights over thenext 100 years.”

Ben Jealous, NAACPPresident/CEO

With the way some gov-ernors and congressionalpeople are reacting to theUnited States Supreme Courtruling that The AffordableHealth Care Act is constitu-tional indicates to me that weare still fighting the Civil Warin this country. Those individu-als call it “Obama Care” whichI read as code for race. Thisruling came on the heels of anearlier decision by the samecourt to strike down parts ofthe State of Arizona’s passageof a very restrictive immigra-tion law aimed at our Latinobrothers and sisters in thiscountry.

It has become crystalclear that most Americanshave come to grips with thesetwo issues and agree that thecourt was correct in both de-cisions. We all know that ourhealth care delivery system isbroken and must be corrected.Even those who still say thatthey want to repeal what thepresident, congress, and thecourt has said is legal say thesystem is broken and needsrepairing.

We all know people

Are Some Still Fighting The CivilWar In America Over Affordable

Health and Immigrationwho need care and cannot af-ford it. We all know familieswho have had to remove chil-dren from their health planbecause of age before they areestablished and the child can’tget established. Your childcomes out of college in theirearly twenties trying to get ajob with benefits but thosejobs have been outsourced toother countries. If KaiserFoundation Health Plan hadmade us drop my son, HardyII before he had gotten estab-lished, we would have gone tothe poor house when he brokehis leg and was hospitalized fora month. He had just gradu-ated from Wilberforce Univer-sity and not employed whenthe accident happened nearCal State University, San Ber-nardino. There is no way wecould have covered the finan-cial cost of his excellent careat Kaiser in Fontana.

Yet we have governorsfrom the poorest states in thecountry saying they will rejectthe coverage for the people intheir state. These states havehigh populations of AfricanAmericans, Latinos andpeople living below the pov-erty level and sadly do not votein high numbers. I think theseleaders need to consult withtheir providers of health carein their state and question thewisdom of denying health cov-erage to their citizens.

Regardless, the Afford-able Health Care Act passedby congress and signed byPresident Barack Obama isthe law of the land in America.

With the U. S. SupremeCourt taking the thunder outof the State of Arizona’s Im-migration Law in essence say-ing that only the federal gov-ernment has the right to makeand enforce immigration laws,this did not sit well with thesesame people.

Now I will admit some-thing needs to be done aboutpeople coming into the coun-try illegally, it has become acomplicated problem. I knowa young lady that had to bedeported back to Mexico andit is a horrible thing to see thathappen. She was a good col-lege student and involved incommunity activities to assistchildren. Then there are oth-ers that work in agriculture onlarge farms to help harvest thefood we eat, while others getlegal visas and when they ex-pire never go back home. Noone political party or group ofpeople have an answer thatwill satisfy everyone but wemust treat every group withrespect while we work towarda solution. We cannot denyour neighbors basic humanrights if they are in need. We cannot stop and ask people for le-gal papers and identification justbecause we suspect they arehere illegally.

Yes the more thingschange the more they stay thesame and the decisions by theUnited States Supreme Courtand the reactions by some whovow to not abide by the law, onlyhighlights that. They should askthemselves are they still fightingthe Civil War?

Nigeria’s long-awaited oilreform bill is a Christmas stock-ing stuffed with goodies for themultinational oil companies whohave been feasting for years onthe nation’s rich supply of crudeoil.

Provisions that would haveforced the government to pub-lish how much oil it pumps andall the payments it receives fromoil firms – in an industry wheresecrecy is blamed for corruption– have been stripped from thebill.

The Petroleum IndustryBill, stuck in committee since2009, was fast-tracked this yearby President Goodluck Jonathan.Under the new law, anyone who

“interferes” with the oil ministerwill be fined or imprisoned. Andit allows the oil minister and thedirectors of state institutions to re-ceive gifts, which will not pleasecivil society groups calling for anend to graft.

Meanwhlle, tempers areflaring over the failure of Presi-dent Jonathan to punish those whoorchestrated the $6.8 billion fuelsubsidy scam, uncovered in aprobe whose findings were re-leased last month.

Professors at AhmaduBello University picked up thewarning. In a press releaseposted today, they expressed“shock, profound indignation andtotal condemnation of all individu-

als, corporate firms and govern-ment agencies or departmentsthat connived to defraud the gov-ernment and people of hundredsof billions between 2009 and 2011in the name of fuel subsidyclaims.”

“This despicable and un-godly act has visited incalculabledamage on the Nigerianeconomy, threatening the survivalof millions of our countrymen andpushing our nation to the edge ofnear moral and financial bank-ruptcy. “ “We, as concerned citi-zens of this country, have de-cided we cannot afford theluxury of remaining silent on amatter which endangers the sur-vival of our country.”

Foreign Firms Get Big Break Under Nigeria’s New Oil Law

By Hardy L. BrownSpecial to the NNPA from

Black Voice News

THE VILLAGER Page 5 ~ July 13, 2012www.theaustinvillager.com

ENTERTAINMENT

Paul Mannie III is aveteran traveler on the TexasAll Star Marching BandCaravan and University andCollege Tour. Last year,Paul was part of the inaugu-ral tour that took nearly 100students to the West Coastfor performances and cam-pus visits that spanned Texas,New Mexico, Arizona, Cali-fornia, and Nevada.

This year, Paul, whoplays trombone in the AustinAll Star band, was part of thetour that visited East Coastschools (June 18 - 25). Theonly reason he won’t be onnext year’s tour is that he willgraduate in May — and get-ting ready to start his fresh-man year at Morehouse Col-lege.

Morehouse was one ofthe 12 schools students vis-ited on this trip. The campusmade such an impression onPaul, 17, that he plans toapply to the Atlanta college.

“I only knew a littleabout Morehouse before Iwent,” Paul said. “Now, Iwant to go to Morehouse,”he said. In addition to tour-ing the historically black all-male campus, Paul got to seea video of the football teamthat featured the MorehouseHouse of Funk MarchingBand. Paul now wants to bea part of that rich Morehousetradition, he said.

Other schools visitedthis year included LouisianaState University, JacksonState University, GramblingState University, SouthernUniversity, North CarolinaA&T, Morgan State Univer-sity, Howard University,Tennessee State University,Yale University, and HarvardUniversity

Now back in Austin, ina few weeks, Paul will beginhis senior year at Reagan

By Roxann EvansSpecial to the Villager

High School. Although helives near Reagan, Paul pre-viously chose to go toEastside Memorial, when theNew Tech program startedthere under the direction offormer principal ConnorGrady. Now, Paul says, withthe loss of Mr. Grady andthe loss of many teacherswho felt compelled to leavebecause of changes broughtabout as a result of the IDEAcharter taking over theschool, Paul is leavingEastside to return to hisneighborhood high school,Reagan.

Comparing the twotrips, Paul said this year’s tripwas improved, in terms ofexecution, organization andmanagement. “It’s the typeof thing that it can get betterand better each year, “ hesaid. “I hope the momentumcontinues.”

Although Paul has beento Washington, D.C. on twoprevious occasions, he saidthis year’s trip was specialbecause he got to go on thefloor of the U.S. House ofRepresentatives, courtesy ofU.S. Rep Lloyd Doggett.

Paul said Doggett acted asan informal tour guide. “Hespent a lot of time talking tous,” he said of the Austinlawmaker.

Paul, who has twobrothers and a sister, said hewould encourage them to goon future trips. He said itmeant a lot to him for tourfounder Larry Jackson to beso engaged with the bandand the students.

“Mr. Jackson is at ev-ery event, every practice. Itmakes a difference,” he said.

Although Paul is well-travelled, he said he enjoyedsharing the trips with fellowband members, and he par-ticularly enjoyed seeing theawe of students who hadnever travelled outside ofTexas before.

Paul’s mother, TrinessaSampson, said that the tripwas an excellent learning tripfor Paul and other students.“I read Mr. Jackson’s bioand I am so impressed abouthis commitment to youth,”she said.

The tour representsthe collective vision ofJackson, community activ-ists, educators, elected of-ficials and public and pri-vate agencies in Texas andbeyond.

This year’s tour wasmade possible by the sup-port of private and publicdonors and supporters, in-cluding the City of Austin.New this year, was the cre-ation of the Art Angels pro-gram. Jerry’s Art-a-rama Dis-count Artist Supplies storeprovide materials for four stu-dents to be official sketch art-ists for the tour. An exhibit oftheir work is in the planningstages.

“I am gratefully to theCity of Austin, our businessand school district partnerswho helped make our secondtour a success,” said Jackson

Paul Mannie, III

DiverseArts is happy toannounce the latest initiativeto unify the network of vari-ous creative constituencieswho live and/or work in, andserve the culture-rich, in-creasingly vibrant East Aus-tin Community. The EastAustin Blues Alliance is anewly formed, loose amal-gam of musicians, music in-dustry and creative profes-sionals, clubs and venueswho are dedicated to bring-ing positive attention to thewealth of talent, resources,and SOUL found east of I-35 on any given day.

The East Austin BluesAlliance Summer Series isthe first performance vehiclefor this new group of coop-erating musicians, venuesand professionals. The Se-ries continues through-outthe summer and will culmi-nate with the first Annual EastAustin Blues Fest this fall.

DiverseArts And East Austin BluesAlliance Presents Summer PerformanceSeries At Kenny Dorham’s Backyard!

The Notorious MissLavelle White Miss LavelleWhite, a Texas rhythm & blueslegend who has performedwith the likes of ArethaFranklin, Smokey Robinson,Gladys Knight, and manymore, will perform Saturday,July 14.

Miss Lavelle began hercareer in the 1950’s in Hous-ton as a teenager singingchurch spirituals. She gainedacclaim in her later teens bywriting and singing with JohnnyCopeland and touring with B.

B. King, and has been a main-stay in the Texas music sceneever since

Harold McMillan’s EastSide Blues Syndicate, featur-ing longtime Austin bassistHarold McMillan, emergingAustin blues favorite WoodyRussell, harmonica masterJose Ruiz, and Roland Laws,as well as other friends andguest musicians of advancedskill will also perform..

Enjoy locally grownfood from Sun Farm Kitchen.B.Y.O.B (cans and plasticonly). Bring your own lawnchairs and blankets. A dona-tion is suggested to helpDiverseArts continue it’s workpromoting local arts and art-ists. Children have free admis-sion.

Kenny Dorham’s Back-yard is located at 1106 East11th St, Austin, TX 78702.For more information go toDirector@ diverse arts.org

Although he is only 42years old, and made his debut asa film director, producer, screen-play writer, actor, playwright andsongwriter in 2005, Tyler Perry’soutput has been so prolific —some would call it Herculean —that in several respects he seemslike a veteran in the world of film-making and play and TV produc-ing.

Clearly Perry, born EmmittPerry Jr. in New Orleans, foundhis audience early on. It was anunderserved audience, over-whelmingly Black, although hehas White followers too, that hadbeen longing for movies andplays that “keep it real” (as theyperceived it).

And just as the O’Jayssang of having “a message in themusic,” Perry has always made apoint of having “a messages inthe movie,” the stage productionand the television program.

Without question, a goodpart of Tyler Perry’s work doesnot win the approval of manyBlack people, particularly themiddle class and above. Theword “ghetto” sometimes comesup.

Spike Lee, one of the fewother giants in Black filmmaking,and another maverick, has beenparticularly critical of Tyler Perry.While acknowledging that Perry“has a large audience” and is“very smart in what he’s done,”Lee also famously noted that“some of the imagery is troubling”and “we can do better.” He evenwent so far as to use the words“buffoonery” and “coonery.”

Those last two words seemappropriate for the loud-talking,English-abusing, gaudy-clothes-wearing character Leroy Brown(portrayed by David Mann) onthe TV show “Meet the Browns”(he was in the movie too). How-ever, that is not to deny that he isvery often funny.

LEE HAS A right to hisopinion (could there be a little jeal-ousy in there?) and in some re-spects he hits the mark and in-deed, as he put it, “a lot of this ison us.” He pointed out that manyhigh quality Black movies havereceived very little support in theBlack community.

Perry was, to say the least,not pleased. He said, “It is so in-sulting. It’s attitudes like that, thatmake Hollywood think that thesepeople (Perry’s audience) do notexist, and that is why there is nomaterial speaking to them.” Headded, “ I can slap Madea onsomething and talk then aboutGod, love, faith, forgiveness, fam-

ily, any of those.”Justifiable (or not justifi-

able) criticism notwithstanding,few could deny the worth — interms of entertainment and socialvalue — of movies like “Madea’sFamily Union” (with BlairUnderwood, Maya Angelou,Lynn Whitfield, Cicely Tyson andBoris Kodjoe), “Meet theBrowns” (starring Angela Bassettand Rick Fox), “Why Did I GetMarried?” and “Why Did I GetMarried Too” (featuring JanetJackson, Louis Gossett Jr. and JillScott), “The Family That Preys”(with Alfre Woodward and KathyBates), and “I Can Do Bad All ByMyself” (starring Taraji P.Henson).

Tyler has no trouble in se-curing the talents of major stars.

And it should be kept inmind that Tyler Perry provideswork for an exceptionally largenumber of lesser known Blackactors and actresses, as well aspeople working behind the cam-era, both of whom spend a lot oftime out of work, more so thatWhites, even though their unem-ployment is high as well. It’s thenature of the business.

IF THERE IS a female edgeto much, if not most, of Perry’swork, it could have something todo with having had an abusivefather. He said bluntly that hisfather’s “only answer to every-thing was to beat it out of you.”

His mother took him tochurch a lot which served as akind of refuge. That is why thereare so many church settings inhis films, and why there are reli-gious undertones even in themost unlikely places.

Young Tyler was so de-tached from and fearful of his fa-ther that when he was only 16years of age, he had his first namechanged from Emmitt to Tyler.This was one way to distancehimself that much more from theman who had made his life so dif-ficult.

Oprah Winfrey has saidnumerous times that as a girl, see-ing the Supremes on the EdSullivan show made her realizethat she too could “be some-

thing.” It was on her show that aguest author got his attention,explaining that writing could betherapeutic, indeed, a way to helpwork out personal problems.

TYLER PERRY decidedthen and there to launch a careerin writing. Initially he wrote let-ters to himelf, and those lettersevolved into the development ofa stage musical titled “I Know I’veBeen Changed,” which made itsdebut in a community theater inAtlanta, the city he had decidedto make home two years prior.

The play was not a suc-cess, leaving Tyler disap-pointed but undaunted. Fu-eled by a need to express him-self, please a largely ignoredaudience, and become the suc-cess he envisioned, he forgedon, finding major success in asurprisingly short period oftime.

His first movie was “Di-ary of a Mad Black Woman” in2005. Certain crude elementsnotwithstanding, it grossed animpressive $50.6 million at thebox office. His second film thefollowing year, “Madea’s Fam-ily Reunion,” did even better,grossing $65 million.

After that, there was along stretch of of sucessfulmovies, stage productions andtelevision programs, and itshows no signs of subsiding.

DESPITE THE supporthe receives regularly fromOprah Winfrey and many othernotables, there is still critcism,some of it exceptionally harsh.Touré, a New York based cul-tural critic, novelist and TVshow host, once describedTyler Perry as “perhaps theworst filmmaker in Hollywood”and “the KFC of Black cin-ema.”

The fact is, Tyler Perryhas a niche in Hollyywood andbeyond, and he functionswithin it exceptionally well.Morever, he is a very wealthyman. He also gives back to thecommunity, including a milliondollar gift to the NAACP in2009, and sending 65 kids fromPhiladelphia to Disney World.

Someone once sa id ,“You can’t argue with suc-cess.” Well, you can, but itis essentially to of no avail ifhuge numbers of people aremaking that success pos-sible.

It seems right to giveTyler Perry the last word:

“I work really hard. Iknow my audience andthey’re not people the stu-dios know anything about.”

Who could take issuewith that?

Tyler Perry

The City of Austin Music Di-vision is accepting nominations forthe 2012 Austin Music Memorial,the highest civic honor to memori-alize the legacy of local musiciansand music supporters.

Nominations for the memo-rial will be accepted until August15. The 2012 Austin Music Memo-rial Induction Ceremony will takeplace November 30 at Austin CityHall.

The Austin Music Memorialrecognizes notable, deceased Aus-tin musicians and music industry

professionals who made a positive,lasting impact on the Austin musiccommunity. The Music Divisionworks with numerous communitypartners on the memorial programand annual induction ceremony andis pleased to have formed a new part-nership with Austin Music People(AMP). Together they will host the2012 Austin Music Memorial Induc-tion Ceremony.

“AMP is both honored andproud to partner with the City ofAustin in recognizing those whosevision and voices have made Aus-

tin the Live Music Capital ofthe World,” said JenniferHoulihan, AMP executive di-rector. “It is our privilege tohelp pay tribute to the men andwomen whose commitment tomusic, in all its forms, havegiven our city its well-de-served worldwide reputationas a destination for both art-ists and music lovers.”

Those interested in sub-mitting a potential inducteemust complete a nominationform.

by Steve HolseySpecial to the NNPA fromThe Michigan Chronicle

Spotlight: Tyler Perry

College Tours Provide ValuableLearning Opportunities

NOMINATIONS FOR 2012 AUSTIN MUSIC MEMORIAL INDUCTEES

CITY ~ STATE ~ NATIONAL ~ WORLDTHE VILLAGER Page 6 ~ July 13, 2012 www.theaustinvillager.com

Last, week the Depart-ment of Labor and Statisticscame out with the monthly jobreport. According to the De-partment of Labor, there wereabout “80,000 jobs created”.According to the Department ofLabor Job Report, it showedthat more jobs were created inthe private sector than in the pub-lic sectors. In other words, it isthe public sector that is sheddingor not producing enough jobopenings. On the other hand, itis the private sector that is pro-ducing more jobs.

It is the private sector area,such as small local businesses likeBilly Ray Barbecue that’s mak-ing a difference. For instance,

Billy Ray Barbecue whichopened its doors in the fall of2011 has seen massive customerdemands. In other words, theirbusiness has been growing at avery fast pace due to great foodand good customer service. Asa result, a local small business likeBilly Ray Barbecue has had toadd two different locations.

Now, they can be foundat both 804 East Braker Laneand also 1005 Braker Lane,Suite 3. Furthermore, the newaddition means that they have toadd extra staff in order to meetthe extra demands. Therefore,they have also increased theirmenu selections to include cat-fish and chicken wings. Conse-

quently, small businesses will ledthe way to a robust economy.

Massive job growth ratewill increase when small busi-nesses start hiring people. Inother words, it is not the Fed-eral government or State gov-ernment that will cause theeconomic down-turn to end.Consequently, it is time tostart recycling our dollarswithin the community; sothat businesses like BillyRay Barbecue can continueto growth; therefore hiremore people. Moreover,that “recycled dollar” goestoward lowering the un-employing rate in CentralTexas.

Small Local Businesses WillLead to Economic Recovery

After the May 29,2012 general elections, therewere no clear winners onboth Democratic and Re-publican candidates runningfor the United States Senate.In both the Democratic andRepublican primaries none ofthe candidates received the50% of the bench mark.

As a result in theDemocratic race, PaulSadler will face GradyYarbrough while in the Re-publican race; it will beDavid Dewhurst versus TedCruz. In addition, the Demo-cratic Precinct 2 ConstableRace did not have a clearwinner due to the fact noneof the candidates received50% of the vote.

In the U.S senate race,Paul Sadler and GradyYarbrough will face eachother. Paul L. Sadler

“served in the Texas Houseof Representatives from1991 – 2003. During his ten-ure in the Texas House ofRepresentatives, he servedon numerous committees in-cluding Education, Judiciary,Pensions and Investments,Health and Human Services.His most significant commit-tee work, however, was inthe area of Education. Sadlerserved on the House PublicEducation Committee from1993 – 2003 (serving asChairman of the committeefrom 1995 – 2003).” On theother hand, GradyYarborough moved to Chi-cago where he taught for 15years. Then, Grady movedback to Tyler, TX and con-tinued to teach. In 2000, hemoved to San Antonio, TXand continued to teach so-cial studies at Sam Houston

and Lanier High School be-fore retiring recently. In otherwords, he never held publicoffice.

On the local level, vot-ers in Precinct 2 Constablerace will have the opportu-nity to go back to the pollsin order to choose betweenthe incumbent AdanBallesteros and the chal-lenger Michael Cargill. Thisrace has been very “heated”due to the amount of moneythat has been spent by bothcandidates. Moreover, theCargill campaign mentionedthat the primary race wasmarked and marred by “tac-tics of intimidation” from theother campaign. As a result,the Cargill campaign hopesthat this time the concerns ofvoters in Precinct 2 will beaddressed. Finally, the run-off is on July 31st.

July 31st Election Run-off

On July 7, 2012, the“Welcome Home Iraq Vet-eran Committee” and the cityof Austin organized a “spe-cial day” for the soldiers whoserved in the Iraq War. The“special day” to commemo-rate the Iraqi veterans startedwith a parade.

The parade began fromCongress Avenue and endedat the Texas State Capitol.The parade was marked bysoldiers walking down Con-gress Avenue. For instance,both the political partiesmarched together downCongress Avenue.

After the loud and flam-boyant parade, there was abrief ceremony. During theceremony, various dignitar-ies thanked the Iraq veter-ans and their families for theirservice for the nation. Finally,

the committee held a job andresource fair for all veteranswith dozens of Central Texasemployers. Moreover, theemployers varied from Fed-eral, State, and local non-profit groups.

The “Iraq WelcomeVeterans” parade, job andresource fair were well or-

(L to R) Bobby charles, Karen Merriweather, Leticia Johns, Jenniger JohnCharles, and Billy Ray. Photo by By Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

Chris Frandsen (candidate for House District 47) and with the GrandMarshall of the ceremony. Photos by By Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

Saurah, Ali Diaz-Tello and Andrew Farcosky.

ganized. Furthermore, thisevent helped the generalpublic recognize and appre-ciate the hard work done bythese soldiers. As soon as theAfghanistan war is over, thissame group also plans tohold a “welcome home pa-rade” for these sets of sol-diers.

By Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

By Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

By Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

Grady Yarbrough David Dewhurst

Welcoming Iraq Veterans Back Home

Michael CargillTed Cruz

Paul Sadler

Adan Ballesteros

Free Diabetis edu.

CLASSIFIEDS ~ PUBLIC INFORMATIONTHE VILLAGER Page 7 ~ July 13, 2012

BIDS/PROPOSALS

www.theaustinvillager.com

EMPLOYMENTPROPOSALS

PUBLIC INFORMATIONFOR SALE - FOR RENT

BIDS - MISC

The City of Austin Purchasing Officeinvites you to view current bid solicitationsat http://-www.ci.austin.tx.us/purcase/vs/p2.htm. Vendors are encouraged to registeron-line in the City’s Vendor Self ServiceSystem. Once your company is registered,you will receive notifications about new bidopportunities. For additional information re-garding current bid opportunities or Ven-dor Registration, please call the PurchasingOffice at 512-974-2500. For information onthe City of Austin’s Minority-Owned andWomen-Owned Procurement Program andthe certification process, please contact theSmall & Minority Business Resources De-partment at 512-974-7600 or visit theirwebsite at http://www.-ci.austin.tx.us/smbr.

City of AustinPurchasing Office

Employment

PARK RANGER I(4 openings) -

City of Austin Parksand Recreation

DepartmentTo complete your

application, go online towww.austincityjobs.org

Black Soldiers Are the True PatriotsBy Freddie Allen

NNPA WashingtonCorrespondentWA S H I N G T O N

(NNPA) – It was about time.More than 60 years after20,000 African-Americanmen donned United StatesMarine Corps uniforms andtrained at the legendaryMontford Point MarineCorps facility in Jacksonville,N.C., the United States gov-ernment celebrated them fortheir service with the Con-gressional Gold Medal, thehighest civilian honor.

“It’s a long time com-ing,” said retired Sgt. RubenMcNair, 86, during an inter-view with ABC News inWashington, D.C. after theHouse passed a resolutionlast year honoring theMontford Point Marines.“Something you look for-ward to, wonder if you aregoing to make it to live longenough to see it.”

More than 400 of thesurviving marines and theirfamilies showed up in Wash-ington recently for the cer-emony. Some walked withcanes others rolled in wheelchairs, all of them marchingout of a shadowed history ofthe armed services and a timewhen Black men were stillconsidered second-class citi-zens, denied the opportunityto serve as commissionedofficers, and unceremoni-ously discouraged from re-enlisting.

The young men thatflowed through the segre-

gated Montford Point campjust outside of Marine CorpsBase Camp Lejeune, re-named Camp Gilbert H.Johnson in 1974, from1942-1949 endured mos-quito-ridden barracks,shoddy latrines that harboredswamp snakes and unsani-tary mess hall conditions.Health care on the base waseven worst, consisting of anall-purpose vitamin andbrown syrup, mixed withmineral oil and castor oil.

Staph infections andsalmonella plagued theMontford Point Marines foryears. They suffered indigni-ties at the hands of superiorofficers who often saw train-ing Negroes to fight as awaste of time at best anddangerous at worst. Yet, his-torians say that those firstBlack marines of the 20thcentury knew that they suf-fered and sacrificed for morethan proving their mettle incombat in foreign conflicts.They also saw the value ingaining skills that would

make them more effectiveleaders in their communities.

“ [The MontfordPoint Marines] still un-derstood the importanceof defea t ing fasc ismabroad and by doing thisthing they would be bet-ter prepared to deal withracism at home,” saidHari Jones assistant di-rector and curator of theAfrican American CivilWar Memorial FreedomFoundation and Museum.Jones said that their fightwasn’t just about onewar. It was also aboutcivil rights and making abetter way of life forBlacks in America.

Although Jones, aformer marine himself,cherishes the recent cer-emony in Washington hon-oring the Montford Pointveterans, he’s saddenedthat the United StatesMarine Corps fails to tellthe whole story.“With theMarine Corps, the most dis-appointing thing is wheneverthey talk about the first Afri-can-American marines theyleave out the African-Ameri-cans that served in the Con-tinental Marine Corps andthat disappoints me,” Jonessaid.

But telling that story ismore complicated.

Blacks participated inevery single armed conflictdating back to their servicein the Continental MarineCorps during the Revolu-tionary War. John Martin,the first known Black Ma-rine, served on the USS Re-prisal from April 1776 toOctober 1777, engaging inhard scrabble ship-to-shipfighting with the British fleetuntil the brig sank and hisentire Marine platoon per-ished.

Although more than adozen Blacks were identifiedin their service, historians es-timate that many more tookup arms, the final toll lost torecords that often didn’t in-clude race. The ContinentalMarine Corps disbanded in1783. In 1798 when the U.S.government re-establishedthe United States MarineCorps, it barred Blacks andNative Americans from en-listing.

“Telling the story ofhow African Americanswere later forced out ofthe Marine Corps and letback in is just not a storythat they have chosen totell and that’s disappoint-ing because we know thatthey were there,” Jonessaid.

Not only were Afri-can Americans there, theyshowed their valor in sig-nificant numbers at everyopportunity, fighting anddying for the ideals of ayoung nation.

After suffering heavylosses during the first yearof the War of 1812, theU.S. Navy and the U.S.Army lifted the ban onBlack soldiers with helpfrom Congress. Blacksailors accounted for 15-20 percent of all enlistedmen in the United StatesNavy.

Highest Gains amongEconomically Disadvan-taged Students and EnglishLanguage Learners

Austin, TX- Gradua-tion rates for Austin Inde-pendent School District’sclass of 2011 have increasedto 80 percent, according tothe Texas EducationAgency’s recently releasedreport on graduation and

completion rates.“I am proud of our stu-

dents, teachers and princi-pals, who are working hardto continue to raise gradua-tion rates for all students andremain committed to ourgoals,” AISD Superinten-dent Meria Carstarphensaid. “Higher graduationrates are critical to the suc-cess of our students, district

and to the future of our localeconomy.”

Since 2008, graduationrates among AISD’s highschool seniors have risensteadily from 74.3 to 80 per-cent. Each year, the TEA re-ports graduation rates for theprevious school year. Infor-mation for the past five yearsis included in the chart be-low.

Graduation Rate Changes from 2010 to 2011 by Student Populations · All students-The graduation rate for all students increased by slightly more than

one percentage point, from 78.6 to 80 percent. ·African-American students-The graduation rate for African-American students in-

creased by 2.5 percentage points, from 71 to 74 percent. ·Hispanic students-The graduation rate for Hispanic students increased by slightly

more than two percentage points, from 72 to 75 percent. þ · Economically disad-vantaged students-Thegraduation rates for students from economically disadvantagedcommunities increased by four percentage points, from 73 to 77 percent.

· English language learners-The graduation rates for English language learnersincreased by slightly more than four percentage points, from 56 to 60 percent.

· Special education students-The graduation rates for special education studentsdecreased slightly, from 61 to 60 percent.

· White students-The graduation rates for white students remained relatively steady,going from 89.8 to 89.6 percent.

The U.S. Department of Education uses data such as graduation rates to determinewhether the district and its campuses are meeting the federal Adequate Yearly Progressrequirements under the No Child Left Behind act. Beginning this year, the DOE requires allstudent groups to be evaluated under the NCLB law, which requires all student groupsmust meet the AYP graduation rate standard, which is 75 percent, or the required improve-ment target of one percent.

For more information, please contact the Department of Public Relations andMulticultural Outreach at 414-2414.

Hari Jones is the assistantdirector and curator of the

African American Civil WarMemorial Freedom

Foundation and Museum.(www.afroamcivilwar.org)

http://www.facebook.compages/The-Villager-Black

Registry-Company213078192090461

https://twitter.com/#!/TheVillagerATX

Austin ISD Graduation RatesIncrease for Third Year

THE VILLAGER Page 8 ~ July 13, 2012 www.theaustinvillager.com

By: Terry Davis

@terryd515

SportsSerena Williams Win Wimbledon AgainSerena Williams Win Wimbledon Again

By: Terry DavisSerena Williams re-

turned to her dominance inwomen’s tennis. Williamswon her 5 Wimbledoncrown after defeatingAgnieszka Radwanska. “Ican’t even describe it,” saidWilliams. Williams defeatedRadwanska in three sets 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.

This is the first GrandSlam win in two years forSerena. The past two years

has been difficult for Will-iams she has been in acci-dents, injuries and illness. “Ialmost didn’t make it. A fewyears ago, I was in the hos-pital, and now I’m hereagain. It’s so worth it, andI’m so happy.”

With the win Serenahas 14 Grand Slams tour-nament wins. She is cur-rently first among activeplayers on the tour. Serenawhile winning the singles

title she found time to playin the doubles tournamentwith her sister Venus.

Serena and Venus wonthe doubles crown atWimbledon defeatingCzechs Andrea Hlaváèkováand Lucie Hradecká instraight sets 7-5, 6-4. Thedoubles win for Venus willhelp ease the pain of beingput of the singles tournamentin the first round this year.This is the 13 doubles cham-pionship for the pair.

Serena will not havemuch time to celebrate herchampionship. She andVenus will be heading toLondon to compete in theOlympics for team USA.Both players will play in thesingles tournament and theywill play together asdoubles partners. The sis-ters are undefeated indoubles play in the Olym-pics winning gold medals in2000 and 2008.

Serena and Venus wins their 13 doubles championshipSerena and Venus wins their 13 doubles championship

Serena Williams wins her 5 Wimbledon Crown.Serena Williams wins her 5 Wimbledon Crown.

USA Football is LosingGround to the World

Team USA has lost thelast two championship gamesto international teams in thepast six months. TeamCanada defeated the U.S.Under-19 National Team, 23-17, in the Gold Medal gameof the 2012 International Fed-eration of American FootballUnder-19 World Champion-ship at Burger Stadium in Aus-tin, Texas.

Canada, thetournament’s No. 2 seed,jumped out to a 10-0 lead thatit never relinquished and wenton to stun top-seeded TeamUSA. “Both teams playedhard,” Team USA head coachSteve Specht of Cincinnati St.Xavier H.S. said. “There wasebb and flow. They just madeone more play than we did.Give Canada credit. Theyplayed a heck of a game.”

The Canadians got re-venge on the American teamafter losing the inaugural gamein 2010 41-3. That game wasplayed in Canton, Ohio. TheAmerican under 19 team lostto World All-Star in the Inter-national Bowl in February.

The American teamlooked very impressive in thefirst two games of the tourna-ment. The Americans defeatedthe American Somalia team27-6 in the first round game.In the second round game theAmerican just demolished theAustrian team 70-7.

Two local playersplayed for team USADesmond Wyatt a 5’11" wide

receiver from AustinWestwood and a 6 foot line-backer Lance Duran forWestlake. Wyatt has not de-cided on his college commit-ment yet and Duran has com-mitted to Blinn.

The International Fed-eration of American FootballUnder-19 World Champion-ship hosted by USA Footballbrings together eight teams ofhigh school-age players rep-resenting four continents in acelebration of the sportthrough competition and cul-tural exchange. The eight-daytournament culminates in agold-medal championshipgame.

USA Football is LosingGround to the World

16 Demarcus Ayers of Lancaster, Texas isbrought down by the Canadian team.

By: Terry DavisOklahoma City Thun-

der forward Kevin Durant,guard Russell Westbrookand guard James Hardenwere named to the 2012U.S. Olympic men’s basket-ball team, it was announcedby USA Basketball chair-man Jerry Colangelo.

“I think it has the po-tential to be that if we learnto use our versatility. It’s amore versatile team than2008. Now does that trans-late into being better?”Coach Mike Krzyzewskisaid Sunday. “Although wedon’t have the center, thatteam didn’t have Durant orWestbrook. So it’s a differ-ent team and we’ll see if itbecomes better, but it canbe. It could be.”

In some ways, that’sdifficult to envision. Wadewas the team’s leadingscorer, averaging 16 pointsin just over 18 minutes pergame off the bench. Howard

Kevin Durant and TeammatesSelected to Play in the Olympics

started at center and aver-aged 10.9 points whileshooting 74.5 percent fromthe field. Chris Bosh, alsoout this summer, backed himup and shot even better,knocking down 24 of 31shots (77.4 percent) andleading the team .

Durant will become thefourth player in Texas Bas-ketball history to compete inthe Olympics and the firstsince Albert Almanza repre-sented Mexico in 1964.Durant also will be the thirdformer Longhorn in the sportof Men’s Basketball to com-pete for the United States inOlympic competition andfirst since Jay Arnette in1960.

“We are all so happyfor Kevin,” said Texascoach Rick Barnes. “Forthose of us who know himso well, we understand thatthis experience will not beabout him as an individual.Kevin will be a great team-

mate and leader and willplay any role asked of him,because his only goal willbe to win a gold medal. I’mamazed at the way he con-tinues to grow and developand yet remain the same,grounded person who wehave always known. I hopehe never changes.

“The effect of KevinDurant on The University ofTexas Basketball programwill last a lifetime,” Barnesadded. “Our school’s mottois ‘What Starts HereChanges the World,’ andthere’s no doubt that Kevinwill be doing that shortly onthe world’s biggest stage.Kevin is so much more thana basketball player, and hemakes every Longhornproud.

Durant was namedWorld Championship MVPon the 2010 USA WorldChampionship squad thatwent 9-0 and captured goldin Istanbul, Turkey.

His involvement in USAbasketball began in 2006when he was named a mem-ber of the U.S. team at theNike Hoop Summit. Sincethat time, he competed in the2007 State Farm USA Bas-ketball Challenge as well asparticipated in the NationalTeam training camps.

The 2012 SummerOlympic Games will be heldJuly 27-August 12 in Lon-don, England. Twelve teamswill compete in the 2012Olympic men’s basketballcompetition.

Kevin Durant and TeammatesSelected to Play in the Olympics

Teammates James Harden, Kevin Durant, RussellWestbrook and will compete for gold in London.

Teammates James Harden, Kevin Durant, RussellWestbrook and will compete for gold in London.

The Los Angeles Clip-pers are passing on Ray Allenbut will still bolster theirbackcourt by re-signingChauncey Billups and add-ing Jamal Crawford.

Billups, who played20 games with the Clippers

In an unforeseen twistthat could thrust the LosAngeles Lakers straightback into title contention,

last season before injuringhis Achilles’ heel, will get aone-year deal, sources toldESPN The Magazine’sChris Broussard. The LosAngeles Times, which firstreported the moves, re-ported the contract isworth up to $4.3 million.

Crawford, who optedout of the last year of hisdeal with the Trail Blazers,will receive a multiyearcontract.

two-time NBA MVP SteveNash has successfully ne-gotiated a sign-and-tradedeal from the Phoenix Sunsto the Lakers that will teamhim up with Kobe Bryant.

Nash will receive athree-year deal for an esti-mated $27 million becausethe Suns ultimately agreedto sign-and-trade him tothe Lakers, who can ab-sorb Nash via the trade ex-ception they created bydealing Lamar Odom to theDallas Mavericks in De-cember. In return, the Sunsget four draft picks — firstrounders in 2013 and 2015and second rounders in2013 and 2014.

NBA BUZZ! NBA BUZZ! NBA BUZZ!

Chauncey BillupsSteve Nash

Willie Ray Davis wasthe first African AmericanCaptain in the Fire Depart-ment in Austin, Texas. TheWillie Ray Davis Pass theTorch basketball is an annualfree event sponsored by Aus-tin Fire Department and Aus-tin Parks and RecreationDepartment. The camp willbe celebrating their 15th yearat the Virginia L. Brown Rec-reation Center, 7500 Bless-ing Ave.

Austin Fire fighters vol-unteered their time to helpput on this basketball campalong with PARD staff, col-lege basketball players, highschool students, and highschool basketball coaches.This year campers will havea chance to receive the RayDavis award for best maleathlete, the Mini Freemanaward for best female ath-lete, and the Ed BridgesSportsmanship award

The camp is designed forboys and girls ages 6-12 yearold that are being trained in shoot-ing, dribbling, passing, defense,conditioning, fire safety, and tour-nament play. The participantscome from various recreationcenters. Each participant receivesfree lunch and a T-shirt for at-tending the three day camp.Deadline to register is July 13,2012. For more information callMerv J. Griffin at (512) 974-7859.

Willie Ray Davis “Pass The Torch” Basketball Camp

Conscience Hesitatus, a new play by Bretton B. Holmes.One day, corrections officer Will Davenport is mysteriously calledhome from work. He rushes home to find his wife, Janet (LindsayKent), having a breakdown and his children in danger. While heis struggling to deal with what has happened and put his life backtogether, he rents a room from a fellow corrections officer. How-ever, he finds that his new roommates are not going to help hissituation. Randy (Duncan Coe) is friendly enough, but doesn�twant to get involved. And Will soon learns that Dirk (Derek Vandi)is not what he seems on the surface.

The show runs July 16-28, Monday-Saturday at 8:00 p.m.at Buttross Properties. 7901 Cameron Rd. Ste. 702. Tickets $15.More information can be found at www. lastacttheater.com

Last Act Theatre Company proudly presents

Willie Ray Davis “Pass The Torch” Basketball Camp