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Vol. 36 No. 38 Website: theaustinvillager.com Email: vil3202@aol.com Phone: 512-476-0082 Fax: 512-476-0179 February 20, 2009

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2009

“The quest for Black citizenship in the Americas”

Americans have recog-nized black history annuallysince 1926. What you mightnot know is that black his-tory had barely begun to bestudied-or even docu-mented-when the traditionoriginated. Although blackshave been in America atleast as far back as colonialtimes, it was not until the20th century that they gaineda respectable presence in thehistory books.We owe thecelebration of Black HistoryMonth, and more impor-tantly, the study of black his-tory, to Dr. Carter G.Woodson. Born to parentswho were former slaves, hespent his childhood workingin the Kentucky coal mines

Carter G. Woodson

and enrolled in high schoolat age twenty. He graduatedwithin two years and laterwent on to earn a Ph.D. fromHarvard. The scholar wasdisturbed to find in his stud-ies that history books largelyignored the black Americanpopulation-and when blacksdid figure into the picture, itwas generally in ways thatreflected the inferior socialposition they were assignedat the time.Woodson, alwaysone to act on his ambitions,decided to take on the chal-lenge of writing blackAmericans into the nation’shistory. He established thethe Association for the Studyof Afro-American Life andHistory in 1915, and a yearlater founded the widely re-spected Journal of Black His-tory. In 1926, he launchedBlack History Week as aninitiative to bring nationalattention to the contributionsof black people throughoutAmerican history.Woodsonchose the second week ofFebruary for Black HistoryWeek because it marks thebirthdays of two men whogreatly influenced the blackAmerican population,Frederick Douglass andAbraham Lincoln. To learnmore about Black HistotyMonth, please visitwww.history.com

Dr. Carter G. Woodson is the Father of Black History Month

The HonorableHarriet M. Murphy, a 1969graduate of The Universityof Texas School of Law, re-ceived the 2005 RaymondPace Alexander Award bythe Judicial Council of theNational Bar Association(NBA) in Orlando, Fla.

Judge Murphy, a re-tired Austin munipal judgewho continues to practicelaw, received the award atthe 5th Annual ThurgoodMarshall Judicial AwardsLuncheon during the NBA’s80th annual convention andthe 34th anniversary of theJudicial Council. The award– given for contributions tojudicial advocacy and tohumanity – is named for

Judge Alexander, a found-ing member of the JudicialCouncil and a judge of theCourt of Common Pleas ofPhiladelphia.

Murphy was the firstAfrican American womanappointed to a regularjudgeship in Texas in 1973.She was a judge for the Cityof Austin Municipal Courtfor 20 years and during thattime she became the presid-ing judge. She is also theonly African Americanwoman to serve as a demo-cratic presidential electorfrom the state of Texas.

Prior to joining themunicipal court, Murphypracticed law for eight yearsand was head of the govern-

ment department of Huston-Tillotson College in Austinfor six years. Born andraised in Atlanta, she at-tended classes with the lateRev. Martin Luther King Jr.at Booker T. WashingtonHigh School. She receivedher undergraduate degreefrom Spelman College anda master’s degree fromClark-Atlanta University aswell as a law degree fromUT Law.

Murphy has been amember of the NBA’s Judi-cial Council for many yearsand served a long tenure asan officer and executivecommittee member of thecouncil. Her professional af-filiations and participationin community affairs aremany. Among them, she wasa founding member of theAustin Black Lawyers Asso-ciation, the Travis CountyWomen Lawyers Associa-tion and the Austin UrbanLeague. She has worked ona mayoral task force on thehomeless and a gender biasimplementation task forcefor the Texas SupremeCourt.

Among her numeroushonors, Murphy was the in-augural recipient of theThurgood Marshal LegalSociety Award of the UTSchool of Law. She was alsoinducted into the SpelmanCollege Alumnae Hall ofFame in 1993 and was rec-ognized by the NBA as the2003 recipient of theGertrude E. Rush Award.

It has only beenone month!

Barack Obama was sworn intooffice on January 20, 2009 asPresident of the United Statesand he hit the ground running. One of his first items of busi-ness was to get a huge stimuluspackage passed that he says willhead off the economic crisis inthis country. The package waspassed in record time, faster thanany president in history. It maybe because this is the biggest eco-nomic crisis since the Great De-pression and the country is anx-ious to turn it around. Obama’s plan was to keep thecitizens informed every step ofthe way so that everyone wouldbe aware of what is being done.One of his obstacles was the Re-publican minority in the houseand senate. Most of them votedagainst the package and told thePresident and congress that itwould not work. Obama had kept his campaignpromise of reaching across theisle and trying to work with theRepublican lawmakers. He metwith them both formally and in-formally during this process. Butwhen he did not receive their sup-port, he pressed on until the billwas passed. Republicans are critical of theplan saying that the market musthave the opportunity to correctitself. That kind of thinking iswhat got us in this mess in thefirst place. The Republicans wereworking on the “Trickle downTheory” for the last eight years.They believed that rich and pow-erful would make sure that theunderclass was taken of. But thereality is that the Rich and Pow-erful was only looking out forthemselves. Now that Obama is in office, ev-eryone seem to expect him tohave a quick fix to the problem.Talk Show hosts are feeding onthe fears of the public, by point-ing out that Obama has donenothing to fix the problem. Theyfail to mention that he has beenin office for only a month and thathe spent most of that month try-ing to get a bill passed that wouldauthorize him to begin the work. Immediately after the bill wassigned into law, Obama went toPhoeniz, Arizona to make his firstdecision on spending the money.He is calling for a buy down ofdeliquent mortgages and forhomeowners who have lost at leastone third of their property valueduring this crisis. This would givehomeowners the opportunity torework their mortgages in order thatthey will have lower payment. Heis also considering giving moremoney to the Automobile Compa-nies to help them further reorganize. Obama will be making othermoves during the next few days.But we must all remember that wedid not get into this mess over nightand we will not get out of it quickly.But, we must first relax and theObama administration work itsmagic. And keep in mild that theyhave only been in office for onemonth.

Gertrude Marie elder Brittonwas born December 21, 1923in Austin, Texas to the lateJames Elder and MamieMoore elder. She departedthis life on Thursday, Febru-ary 12, 2009, at the UniversityMedical Center atBrackenridge. She atended the Austin Pub-lic Schools and graduatedfrom the old L. C. AndersonHigh School. She received herBachelor of Science degree inbusiness from Prairie View A.M. University. Her professional career wasin public education with theAusitn Independent SWchoolDistrict where devoted 38years of dedicated service tothe Austin community asbusiness teacher at theAnderson high EveningSchool, secretary and registrarat the old L. C. Anderson HighSchool and A. N. McCallumHigh School. Upon retirement, she de-voted her time to church andcommunity service. She wasa member of the AlphaKappa Zeta Chapter of ZetaPhi Beta Sorority, Inc., Capi-tal city Chapter of the Top la-dies of Distinction, Inc., theEast AustinAustin GardenClub, the Austin Area GardenClubs, the National Councilof negro Women,the Old L. C.Anderson alumni Associa-tion, the Capital City EveningLions club, the FriendshipBridge club, and a volunteerat the Conley-Guerrero seiorActivity Center. She was a faithful memberof Ebenezer Baptist Churchwhere she served as sundaySchool Assistant Secretary,

Secretary, Assistant Director;Mission 1 Cir le 11 member,vacation Bible School Coordi-nator; Women’s day Finan-cial Committee Co-Chair andmany other organizations. She was a 25 year Silver elitemember of the Top Ladies ofDistinction, Inc.and held LifeMembership in Zeta Phi BetaSorority, Inc. and theNAACP. She received recog-nition from the Alpha KappaZeta Chapter of Zeta Phi BetaSorority, Inc. as Zeta of theYear and Women Who makea Difference. She was preceeded in Deathby her parents; her husbandof 52 years, Lawrence M.Britton, Sr.; her daughter,laura Katheleen; and herbrothers Edward “Bud” Elderand Richard Elder. She is survived by her son,Lawrence M. Britton, jr.; greatAusnt, Celia B. pearson; andother relatives and friends. Her going Home service washeld wednesday, February 18,2009 at the Ebernezer BaptistChurch under the direction ofrev. marvin C. Griffin,pastor.A host of well wishersand friends were in atten-dance.

Celebration of Life held forSister Gertrude E. Britton

Since Jan. 1975 RichardE. Scott has been Justice of thePeace for Precinct One. Hewas the first Black elected ju-dicial official for TravisCounty. In the early 1980s hesought office for another four-year term. His opponent wasfirst time candidate and cos-metologist David Hill, whomhe defeated.

Scott had some qualifi-cations that Hill didn’t have:a Doctor of JurisprudenceDegree from the University ofTexas School of Law, knowl-edge about courts and proce-dures. He taught criminallaw at Austin CommunityCollege. He was admitted tothe State Bar of Texas in 1972.

Scott went into privatepractice in 1972, and accord-ing to his resume, he was thesecond African-American at-torney to start his own prac-tice and the fifth to open anoffice in Austin.

Scott’s goal was to makehis court a people’s court,rather than a cold court withlittle understanding. “Iopened the courts to diversity,and brought to the courtrooma viewpoint from a cultural,social and economic back-ground different from the sta-tus quo.

A native of Kilgore,Texas, where he graduated C.B. Dansby High School, Scottwent to Tyler District College.

In 1968 he received a BA inpolitical science at PrairieView A&M University.

A lifetime member of theNAACP, Scott is a member ofthe Omega Psi Phi Fraternity;was vice president of the EastAustin Youth Foundation;acted as chairman of AustinCommunity College’s Crimi-nal Justice Advisory Commit-tee; past president of theNorth East Austin RotaryClub.

Scott was listed inWho’s Who in America; wasOmega Man of the Year; re-

ceived the Outstanding Ser-vice Award from the JudicialCouncil National Bar Asso-ciation, which representsmore than 13,000 Blackjudges throughout the UnitedStates and it territories. Hehas received the Zeta Phi BeatRecognition Award, the AISDService Award; is a memberof Austin Black Lawyers As-sociation.

Scott is married to JoyMalone, and they are the par-ents of one son, Phillip. Theyare members of St. James Bap-tist Church.

Richard E. Scott Justice of the

Judge Harriet M. Murphy: First AfricanAmerican woman Appointed to a

regular judgeship in Texas

Peace, Pct. One for 34 years

EDITORIALS/COMMENTARYEditorial, Commentary or Letter to the Editor Fax to 512.476.0179 Email to vil3202@aol.com Mail to 1223-A Rosewood Avenue, 78702

Page 2/THE VILLAGER/February 20, 2009

The current economiccrisis is devastating our com-munity. The inner city isground zero for joblessness,foreclosures, poor educationand inadequate health care.

The endless debates inWashington DC are a mock-ery in contrast to the suffer-ing of the men, women andchildren at the bottom ofAmerica’s economic foodchain.

Local governments, so-cial service agencies andcharitable foundations arebeing overwhelmed by the de-mand for help and are beingstarved by the lack of re-sources.

President Obama hasissued a call to service foreach and every citizen, to dotheir part to help get our na-tion back on track. The federalgovernment’s stimulus pack-ages will help to get theeconomy moving again, butwill the impact come soonenough to help those in ourcommunity that are sufferingtoday?

You and I and ourchurches and social organi-

zations have to step up tohelp those in need today.

Tithing Your Time- Tith-ing has its origins in the oldtestament of the bible andnumerous verses are offeredfor its support.

A tithe as defined by theAmerican Heritage Dictio-nary is, “A tenth part of one’sannual income or produce,either in kind or money, con-tributed voluntarily for chari-table purposes or due as a taxfor the support of the clergyor church.”

People tithe for numer-ous reasons, but some of themost common ones are: a be-lief that the act of tithing is apart of their worship; tithingwill bestow additional bless-ings in their life; tithing is amandatory part of their reli-gious faith; and some out offear that if they don’t tithethey will not reach the after-life.

The tradition of sharingin our community is as old asslavery, segregation and ra-cial injustice. Sharing has al-ways been a part of our DNA,however some of the spirit hasbeen lost in the stampede tointegration and the flight tothe suburbs. Today, the eco-nomic crisis demands that weshare not only our financialresources but our most valu-able resource, our time.

How to Get Started - Ifyou work forty hours perweek on your job, considertithing the equivalent of tenpercent of your work time—four hours per week to volun-teer efforts at your church,social organization, localschool or charity of choice.

The volunteer efforts

that I am describing directlyserve people that are in need:for example, working at ahomeless shelter; instructingat a job training program; serv-ing community meals; tutor-ing and mentoring at an in-ner city school.

This does not includeushering at church, being anofficer of a social organiza-tion, attending a charity din-ner, etc.

Most people that readthis column will say, “I don’thave enough time now tomanage the things I need todo, let alone volunteer fourhours to help someone else.”

However, think over thepast seven days, did youspend four hours doing anyor a combination of the fol-lowing: • Watching Televi-sion • Text messaging, usingFacebook or the Internet •Playing video games • Talk-ing with friends or relativeson the telephone • Sitting ina bar, coffee shop or restau-rant • Playing cards, boardgames or sports

Our time is our mostvaluable resource. It is morevaluable than money, knowl-edge or personal power. Ourtime here on Earth is limited.Tithing our time in service toothers is one of the highestand best uses of our time.President Obama has calledon each of us to serve and tohelp get our nation back ontrack. Make tithing your timea part of your life. Contactyour church, social organiza-tion, local school or local char-ity to see how you can helpour community and ourpeople in need. The opportu-nity is in our hands.

“Answering the President’s Call”

By Ron WaltersNNPA Columnist

Michael ShinnNNPA Columnist

Now that the “Ameri-can Recovery and Reinvest-ment Act” has been signedinto law by President Obama,what has happened throughmuch trial and tribulation istantamount to what CubaGooding said in one of hismovies – “show me themoney.”

We have been shownthe money, $787 billion, andnow it is up to us to get downto business and follow themoney and then access it forthe good of our communities.

The stakes are enor-mous. This is one of the raremoments in history when acruise-ship size load of fundsdocks in our states in a fewweeks, but if we are not savvyenough to know enough howto access the funds, that shipcould come in and leave uswith substantial needsunmet.

The Act is a big onewith lots of sections, and youcan Google the title of the Actabove and look at them all.

But I will provide aquick glimpse of a few thingsin Title 9 on “Labor, Health,and Human Services andEducation.”

$4 billion is added to theWorkforce Investment pro-gram.

$500 million of thatamount goes to states foradult employment and train-ing activities;

$1.2 billion will go tostates for youth under 24years old for summer jobs;

$1 billion will go tostates to assist dislocatedworkers employment andtraining;

Another $500 millionwill be put in the dislocatedworker reserve to assistthrough June 30 2010;$50 million will go toYouthBuild programsthrough June 30, 2010;

$750 million will pro-vide grants for training andplacement of workers for ca-reers in energy efficiency andrenewable energy employ-ment

$120 million will be al-lotted to fund CommunityService jobs for senior citi-zens.

$500 million will begiven to states to augmenttheir Unemployment Insur-ance funds

$300 million for JobCorp.

This is the time for blackleaders the various communi-ties to come together and workout a system of communicat-ing information to manypeople who have been laid off,who are disabled, who areyouth, who have been unem-ployed, who are elderly butwant to work, and generallyeveryone who wants to par-ticipate in the programfunded by this Act. Citizensthemselves who want to par-ticipate in these programs,many of which are alreadygoing in some states likeYouthBuild and some thathave been shut down, sho uldcontact the office of theirelected officials at the local,county, state and nationallevel to find the entry pointinto these activities.The Obama Administrationhas vowed to create a websiteRECOVERY.GOV for the av-erage citizen to follow howthese funds will be used. That

will not be a place to accessthe programs, but to under-stand how they are being dis-tributed and what effect thefunding is having on thingslike the unemployment rate.As the debate has suggested,this may not be the last stimu-lus package needed to jump-start the economy by thespending made possiblethrough job creation.

But our national orga-nizations such as the Con-gressional Black Caucus,Black Leadership Forum, Na-tional Urban League,NAACP, National ActionNetwork, RainbowPush, andothers should followed thedistribution of such fundscarefully to see whether or notthe black community is get-ting a fair share of those jobsand the other resources madeavailable by this Act.

I must confess however,to being somewhat worriedwhen I see that B lack leadershave not visited the WhiteHouse to make their positionfelt on this matter, but on Fri-day, February 13, 60 Latinoand Latina leaders fromaround the country visited theWhite House for a briefing bykey White House staff.

Perhaps we should nothave been first in the dooramong racial and ethnicgroups – perhaps we wouldnot have been permitted to befirst – but we should make itplain that there is an expecta-tion that the black communitywould experience a fair dis-tribution of these funds.

Without the black vote,there would be no BarackObama in the White House.Take away the states wherethe Black vote influenced anObama victory: North Caro-lina, Virginia, District of Co-lumbia, Florida, Ohio, Penn-sylvania and Indiana, andJohn McCain would havewon the election. Our claimon policy fairness is strong.

FFFFFrrrrrom Stimulus to Rom Stimulus to Rom Stimulus to Rom Stimulus to Rom Stimulus to Recoecoecoecoecovvvvvererererery: Fy: Fy: Fy: Fy: Folloolloolloolloollow the Moneyw the Moneyw the Moneyw the Moneyw the Money

Last November, theAmerican people went to thepolls in droves and voted tobreak with the past.

Many hoped for an endto the Iraq War. Othersdreamed of a change in do-mestic policy to lift the bur-den on the poor.

Some simply wantedtheir homes back. Whateverthe reason, a clear signal wassent: unilateral, apathetic,and arrogant decision mak-ers would no longer be toler-ated in the White House.

Americans, like somany others around theworld, longed for a leaderwho could understand them,their struggles, and their de-sires. This outlook is sharedmost sympathetically by ourneighbors to the South, andespecially those of Africanand indigenous descent.Throughout Latin America inthe past decade, the down-trodden poor majority andthe endangered middle classhave gone to the polls to de-mand change. They haveelected leaders such as Presi-dent Lula de Silva in Brazil,Kirchner in Argentina,Chavez in Venezuela, andMorales in Bolivia, all of who— despite our varied politi-cal readings of them — havehad an undeniably positiveimpact on the lives of aver-

Harry C. AlfordNNPA ColumnistIt’s Friday morning

(Feb. 6) and I am at the WhiteHouse to support PresidentObama’s Stimulus Bill. I’mwalking in with Julian Bond,Chairman of the NAACP andit’s a milestone. He has beenabsent from White House vis-its for the last eight years.

There’s a new “sheriff”in town and he is now morethan welcomed. All seemedwell as the President’s repre-sentatives assured us (smallbusiness associations) thatthe normal small businessprograms of federal procure-ment will remain intact forthe Stimulus unlike theavoidance that occurred inthe Bailout. The bill includesus and that will generate mil-lions of jobs for our commu-nities. The President was verymotivational in his speechand the introduction of hisnewly formed Economic Re-covery Advisory Board.

But then things startedgoing downhill in a hurry. Acredible friend from one of theHispanic sister organiza-tions came up to me and said,“Have you heard the news?They are putting a homopho-bic, sexist and racist as Secre-tary of Commerce. The Con-gressional Black Caucus andHispanic Caucus are going tolet it slide as long as the Cen-sus Bureau goes over to theWhite House”.

Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), who has a long stand-ing anti-affirmative action,anti-women rights and anti-gay rights voting record, wasnominated as Secretary of

Commerce. If that wasn’tcrazy enough by the time I re-turned to my office anothernemesis of small and minor-ity business, Senator JohnCoburn (R –OK) had just en-tered Amendment 176 to theSenate version of the Stimu-lus Bill.

This would kill all smalland minority bidding oppor-tunities within the bill despitewhat the President’s repre-sentative had just told us.This would return us to thebig boy monopoly on con-tracting like we saw in Iraqand the early stages ofKatrina. Man, the whole“fort” was on fire!

Senator Judd Gregg’svoting history is an enemy ofminorities, women and gays.He would destroy every mi-nority business program ifgiven the chance. He evenhates federal programs forsmall business so much thathe has voted whenever giventhe chance to eliminate theDepartment of Commerce.

But now they were go-ing to let him run it. He alsohas voiced disdain for theCensus Bureau and has at-tempted to eliminate it also.Why the hatred for the Cen-sus Bureau which is housedin the US Department of Com-merce? The Census is our bestfriend. It documents dispari-ties and tracks discrimina-tion. It is the key to votingrights, equal opportunity andjustification for the policing ofcivil rights in our nation. It’sour best friend and a bigot’sworst enemy.

Gregg opposes the Cen-sus and that says it all. Whowould Gregg put as Directorof Minority Business Devel-opment Agency (MBDA) thatis housed in the CommerceDepartment? Would it be hisfriend Wardell Connerly?

Sorry Mr. President butthis is something we just can’taccept. Came Tuesday morn-ing I launched the “missiles”.We put a blog on our websiteabout it. I sent an eBLAST totens of thousands of business

owners and advocates. Westirred the pots of discontent.I didn’t think we would haveto do this so soon but the op-portunity lurched at us.

By Thursday we calledoff the troops. Senator JuddGregg withdrew his namethat evening. He can go backto his lair of right wing Blackhating conservatives. He isn’ta “Yes We Can” kind of a guyso please sir, hit the road.

The other horror wasraging on. Amendment 176was still intact and wecouldn’t find one senator orcongressperson (small busi-ness committees, Congres-sional Black Caucus, etc.) tofocus on this matter let alonepledge to defeat it. The CBCheld a press conference boast-ing of increased funding forpublic housing and foodstamps. That’s good to pro-vide comfort to poverty but abetter thing is to end povertyby business development andjob creation.

What was at stake wasbillions of dollars in long-term contracting opportunityfor us. They were just smilingand letting it slip away.

There is more than alogical way to address thistype of challenge. We wentdown a strange route. Lastyear we went to Alaska andmade friends with variousAlaska Native Corporations.A few of them have becomemembers of the NationalBlack Chamber of Commerce.

We told them of our pre-dicament and they ap-proached their congressman,Honorable Don Young (R-AK). He understood that thiswas a threat to small business(which includes us) and hestated he would go to bat forAlaska small businesses. Theresult: he had the amendmentpulled out of the bill. He le-veraged his tenure (37 years).We need to teach that to ourmembers.

Another victory and wecan still say “Yes We Can”.It’s all in a week’s work at theoffice.

The Villager, 1223 Rosewood Avenue, Austin, Texas 78702(512) 476-0082 Fax (512) 476-0179

A Very Rough Week, And Victorious

age citizens.It seems they have

beaten us to the punch, and itwould behoove us as Ameri-cans to understand that wemight be able to learn some-thing from them.

The democratic govern-ments in Latin America todayare a direct result of failedeconomic and social policiesof the past, too often orches-trated by previous U.S. ad-ministrations and U.S.-domi-nated international financialinstitutions.

Countries like Haiti,Argentina and Bolivia thathold valuable natural re-sources and wealth withintheir borders watched theirriches squandered by foreigncorporations and lending in-stitutions while their citizensbecame poorer. Economistsgenerally refer to the 1980s asLatin America’s “lost decadeof development.”

Instead of attempting tounderstand this new realityand responding in a mea-sured way, the Bush admin-istration constantly reactedwith hostility. In Venezuela,U.S. government agenciesbacked a 2002 attempt to over-throw the democraticallyelected president through acoup d’etat; in Ecuador, thedecision to close the U.S. mili-tary base at Manta was de-picted as an attack againstAmerica; in Bolivia, the wellknown contempt of the U.S.embassy for the nation’s firstIndigenous President, EvoMorales, was demonstratedin public declarations and re-corded meddling.

The Bush administra-tion came to a close with his-torically low approval rat-ings at home, and far lowerappraisals from Latin Ameri-cans.

It is time to reevaluate

our role and relations in theregion. A recent survey findsthat in countries that havebeen consistently demonizedas “undemocratic” by the U.S.media and the Bush admin-istration, citizens actuallyclaim the highest levels of sat-isfaction with democracy andthe functioning of govern-ment institutions. Moreover,they show higher rates of po-litical participation and aremore hopeful about the future.

Meanwhile, countrieslauded as shining examplesof democracy by the Bush ad-ministration – such as Colom-bia – have witnessed a cleardecrease in support for de-mocracy, and show warningsigns of political apathy.

A Zogby poll conductedin September found that 46percent of Americans believewe should seek “new diplo-matic relations” with Ven-ezuela. Among democrats,that number rises to 73.6 per-cent.

Let us not forget that realchange, the kind that reachesout to alleviate poverty anddiscrimination, opens updoors of opportunity to thosewho need it most, and per-haps takes us out of our com-fort zone, even if only for asecond, comes with a price.

The Obama administra-tion must take this opportu-nity to seek change at homewhile also changing the waywe engage with the rest of theworld.

If we are to be worthy ofthe historic moment in whichwe find ourselves as Ameri-cans, and as African Ameri-cans, we must not let theghosts of the past dictate ourfuture. A new way of lookingat Latin America is in order,one that favors dialogue andrespect over hostility and in-tervention.

By Nicole C. LeeNNPA Columnist

An Opportunity to Do Right by the RegionAn Opportunity to Do Right by the RegionAn Opportunity to Do Right by the RegionAn Opportunity to Do Right by the RegionAn Opportunity to Do Right by the Region

Visit the church of your choice on Sunday

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.

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 exhibited isExemplified.” 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.org

Jesus is Coming AgainThe church fellowship where everybody can be somebody!

MaranathA Faith Center4930 South Congress Avenue, C-302 512-750-4628 512-804-2537

Sunday School 9:00-10:00 A.M.Morning Service 10:00 A.M. -12Noon

Floyd Fontenot, Sr., Founder Floyd Fontenot, Jr., Pastor

St. Peter’s United Methodist Church4509Springdale Road 512- 926-1686 Fax 512-929-7281

We invite you to come and worship with us

Sunday ServicesWorship 8:30 A.M.Sunday School 9:45 A.MWorship Service 11:00 A.M.

WednesdayEvening Bible Study 6:00 P.M.

Rev. Jack C. Gause 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 Study 6:30 P.M.Imani Complex, 1st and 4th Wednesday

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

Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Donald-Mims

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

Radio Ministry (KIXI 970 AM 9:00 A.M.TV Ministry (ACTV. Ch 32) 9:00 A.M.Bus Ministry Call 512-478-1875

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. Marvin C. GriffinPastor

Rev. H. Ed CalahanPastor

Sunday Services

Wednesday Service 7:00 - 8:00 P.M.

February 20, 2009/The Villager/Page 3

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

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

Sunday School 9:30 A.M.Morning services 10:45 A.M.

Rev. Derwin D. Gipson, Pastor

Aligned with Mattersof Eternity

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.

Place of WorshipThe Church of Glad Tidings 2700 Northland Dr. Austin, TX 78756

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

David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church2211 East MLK Blvd. Office: 512-472-9748 Fax: 512-472-5399

Sunday ServicesDiscipleship Training 8:15 A.M.Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Worship 10:00 A.M.

Rev. Joseph C. Parker Jr.Pastor

Nursery services available

DOUBLE “R” GROCERYWe cash ALL Tax Refund

ChecksCheck Out

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450l East Martin luther King Blvd.

1149 Airport Blvd.

Serving Austin since 1970Let us Fill your next Perscription!

SAVE TIMEAsk your doctor to call

your prescription in to usand we’ll have it ready for you

when you get here!

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 PHARMACY

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

“Divine Enpowerment for Bold Ministries”

Mount Sanai 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 Pastor

Rev. Lois Hayes, Pastor

The annual Old Fash-ioned Sunday School will beheld on Sunday, March 1, atWesley United MethodistChurch, 1164 San BernardStreet, 478-7007. The pro-gram will begin at 4:00 p.m.and features Bro. & Mrs.Paul Stephens as guest su-perintendents, and WesleyIntergenerational Choir.

Church news, announcement? If so, contactthe Villager at 476-0082

Old Fashioned Sunday School atWesley United Methodist Church

The theme for this yearis: The Chains are Off, NowWhat?

Scriptures: Isaiah 58:6-12, and Acts 12:6-12

Friends and membersof the Austin Communityare cordially invited to at-tend.

Rev. Sylvester E. Chaseis the pastor.

Bro. and Sister Paul Stephens

On January 20,2009, President Obamastood on the steps of the U.S.Capitol to take the oath ofoffice as President of theUnited States. He wasstanding on the steps builtby slaves. In an interview,he said he is President be-cause he stands on theshoulders of others whocame before him. Grant Af-rican Methodist EpiscopalWorship Center calls it“Standing on the Shouldersof Greatness.”

All senior citizensand the people who lovethem are invited to a cel-ebration for the role theseseniors have played inopening the doors of oppor-tunity for all who followedbehind them. Choirs fromaround the AustinMetroplex area will join inthe musical concert called,“Standing on the Shouldersof Greatness,” on Sunday,February 22, at 3 p.m. atGrant A.M.E. Worship Cen-ter, located at 1701 KramerLane between Lamar Boule-vard and Braker Lane.

“We’re doing it oldschool,” said Rev. Adam T.Carrington, Pastor of Grant,“with congregational songs,hymns and anthems. It’stheir day; we’re going to rockit their way. It’s so easy to getcaught up in modern ways

AUSTIN-METRO AREA SENIORSCELEBRATED IN BLACK HISTORY

MUSICAL CONCERT AT GRANT A.M.EWORSHIP CENTER

By Linda ConnerSpecial to the Villager

to do things, that we totallyignore the value of what gotus here. Those old songs gotus over and these seniorsand our ancestors sufferedmuch so that we could cel-ebrate our first AfricanAmerican President. Wewant to celebrate him andthem in a way that ties ourpast to our future.”

Choirs are comingfrom St. Mary MissionaryBaptist Church inPflugerville, Wesley UnitedMethodist Church in Aus-tin, Cottonwood BaptistChurch in Del Valle andGrant A.M.E. Worship Cen-ter. Special guests includesoloist Bob McRae from Aus-tin, Musician MattieRobinson from Round Rockand the Crockett HighSchool Praise Dance Team.

Senior citizens willnot want to miss this tribute.Young people and middle-aged people will want tobring parents, grandpar-ents, uncles, aunts, teachers,counselors, coaches, pas-tors—anyone who hashelped them along the way.No one gets there by himselfor herself. This is a time tosalute those on whoseshoulders you stand. Comecelebrate “Standing on theShoulders of Greatness,”Sunday, February 22, at 3p.m. at Grant A.M.E. Wor-ship Center. For more infor-mation, call 512-339-4726.

St. James BaptistChurch is sponsoring its 2nd

Annual Missions 5K and 1KRun/Walk on Saturday,March 28th at 8:00a.m. Youdon’t want to miss the fun atthis community event whereyou can run or walk this chal-lenging course in East Aus-tin. Chip timing will be avail-able! A portion of the proceedswill be donated to theAlzheimer’s Foundation. Ad-ditionally, the event will fur-ther the involvement of our

…Looking to Improve YourWealth and Fitness?

community by supportingthe educational, financial,physical, and spiritual out-reach needs provided by St.James Missions. ON RaceLocation: St. James BaptistChurch 3417 Martin LutherKing Blvd. Austin, TX78721Online Registration:www.runtex.comAdditionalI n f o r m a t i o n :www.stjamescmbc.orgBodilyexercise profits…I Timothy 4:8NKJV

Youth of Today. Hope of Tomorrow.

Page 4/THE VILLAGER/February 20, 2009

Sponsorship

Available

Call for info

476-0082

Jeremy HendersonMcCallum High School

MYAC

The 28Th African American Men and Boys Confer-ence will be held at Manor High School , in the cafeteria.,February 28, 2009.The Conference is from 10:00 AM until 2:00PM . Registration starts at 9:30 AM . Volunteers are needed.

All Colleges and Universities are welcome to comeand set up tables for students and parents. The Conference isfree, Vendor tables are free, Refreshments will be provided,and Door Prizes will be given away.

There will be workshops for boys, girls, and adults.“Everyone is Welcome to Attend”. TEA will be facilitating aworkshop as well.There will be two dynamic speakers and 20workshops.

All High Schools should bring their students planningto attend college. Parents are encouraged to attend. The con-ference is FREE Volunteers need to be there by 8:30 AM. Ven-dors and Facilitators needs to be there by 9:00 AM .

We are also currently taking names for volunteers thatwould like to be on a committee to volunteer for the AfricanAmerican Women and Girls Conference as well as The Afri-can American Men and Boys Conference. This Committeewould meet twice a month and the day of the conference. TheCommittee Chair will be new Project Director, Ms. JaniceJohnson. Ms. Johnson can be reached at (512) 232-8588 be-tween the hours of 8:30 to 4:30 PM , Monday through Friday.Ms. Johnson email address is janicemj@aol.com.

28th African American Men andBoys conference set for Manor

High School

The McCallum footballteam will have its second test.This will not only test ourstrength, but it will test our

Jaylon KnightenCampbell Elementary

Our 2nd Football Testminds and our will powers todo more reps on bench press,squats, and incline. This sec-ond test is really important,because it will show howmuch we have progressed inspeed also. This second testwill also determine who willbe on varsity and who willnot. I pray that I will do wellon the test and be on varsity.I wish my teammates goodluck on the test also. Weshould give 100 percent andbe serious about it. Good luckto everyone and make sureyou prepared while you areout for the four day holiday,so that you can get great re-sults. Go Knights!!!!

Saturday Feb 7th wasScout ORama in Austin.Scouts from all over Texas

were involved. For the GrandParade which was down-town, we marched from thebridge to the Capitol; therewere all types of floats madeby the Scouts. At the Capitolwe had a ceremony wheresome of the Scouts spokeabout what their troop haddone to help their community.Our guest speaker was myPastor Coby Shorter III. It wasvery nice but a little cold in-side. After the speaker wetook tour of the Capitol andleft to have lunch. It was anexciting day. Next Year I hopeour Pack can have a float.

Race andFriendships

Almost fifty years afterBrown v Board of Educationwas supposed to end racialsegregation in schools, manyschool friendships are stillamong students of the samerace. Why is that? Social sci-ence research (and our ownexperience) tells us thatpeople tend to become friendswith others who they perceiveas similar. If kids perceiverace as an important differ-ence, they will be less likelyto become friends with kidsof other races. However, whenother factors are more impor-tant, such as being on thesame team, belonging to thesame youth group, being inthe same class, or havingsimilar interests, those mutualinterests and experiences canovercome the perception thatkids of other races are differ-ent.

A new study used theNational Longitudinal Studyof Adolescent Health, whichincludes students in grades 7-12, to try to determine whenthat will happen. This enor-mous study includes morethan 90,000 students selectedfrom 132 schools in April1994. Each student filled outa questionnaire and wasasked to list 5 male and 5 fe-male friends from a roster ofother students at theseschools.

The authors report thatfriendships are “highly seg-regated” by race and the oddsof nominating a same racefriend is 1.8 times the odds ofnominating a cross-racefriend. Although statisticallysignificant, this is certainlynot as “highly segregated” asfriendships prior to schoolintegration. Controlling forother factors, such as belong-ing to the same clubs, de-creases that to an average of1.3. There is enormous varia-tion: in some schools, teensare just as likely to list a friendthat is a different race as tolist one of the same race,whereas in other schools theyare five times as likely to list a

friend of the same race.The researchers con-

clude that increasing racialdiversity within a schoolmight heighten segregation.They believe this is a problemfor schools with intermediatelevels of heterogeneity (.3 and.65). They point out that hav-ing more than two races in aschool makes cross-friend-ships are more likely.

What can schools (andyouth programs) do? The au-thors suggest that keepingkids in groups in the samegrade increases cross-racefriends, because the kids be-lieve that they have more incommon. For example, if aclassroom has kids of differ-ent races and differentgrades, the kids are morelikely to choose friends of thesame race even if it meanschoosing friends in a differ-ent grade. In contrast, if all thekids in the class are in thesame grade, they are morelikely to chose cross-racefriends.

Integrated extra-cur-ricular activities also encour-age cross-race friends. Theexamples in the study arefrom school, but they obvi-ously apply to other youthactivities as well.

Given these findings, itis not surprising that schoolbusing did not encourage in-tegration as much as neigh-borhood schools. That’s atleast partly because whenrace and social class arelinked, there is less integra-tion.

R e f e r e n c e :Race, School Integration, andFriendship Segregation inA m e r i c aJames MoodyAmerican Journal of Sociol-ogy, Vol 107, No 3, November2001, pgs 679-716Copies free from Mr. Moodyat 372 Bricker Hall, Dept ofSociology, Ohio State U, Co-lumbus, Ohio 43210 orm o o d y . 7 7 @ o s u . e d u

RecreationPrograms Work

It makes logical sense,but it is still reassuring that astudy shows that an orga-nized, non-competitive, lei-sure-time program can in factincrease kids’ physical

a c t i v i t y .

This very small study evalu-ated only four 12-year-oldboys and girls who partici-pated in a summer programat least 75 percent of the time,and eight 10- to 11-year-oldsparticipating in the fall after-school program at least 75percent of the time. Both pro-grams were held outdoors onpublic school grounds in Co-lumbus, Ohio.

The activities includedgardening and an “adven-ture education” program. Thegardening program was heldfor 30 to 45 minutes each day,and children assisted in plan-ning, cultivating, planting,maintaining and harvestingin the summer, with some ac-tivities continuing into thefall. The school cultivated theground and local nurseriesdonated the herbs and otherplants. The produce was soldat a farmer’s market, and theproceeds went to the school.The children were paid $25each for participating in theevaluation.

The Adventure Educa-tion program was an houreach day, and consisted ofadventure games to teachkids to solve problems (in-cluding succeeding in an ath-letic contest) by playing withother kids. The games re-quired constant movement.For example, in a version of“sharks and minnows,” theshark stands near a watersprinkler that the other kidsmust run through to stay wetwhile they try to avoid beingtagged. Those who are taggedall become sharks, so all kidsstay in the game until there is

only one minnow left.During the summer, the

weather was hot and therewere frequent water breaks,during which the childrenwere not physically active.

Physical movement wasmeasured by a uniaxial accel-erometer strapped to the wrist,which measures caloriesused, and a breath test usedto measure carbon monoxideproduction. For the summerprogram, physical movementwas significantly increasedand carbon monoxide pro-duction was increased by60%, compared with watch-ing a video. In the fall pro-gram, there was a 95% in-crease in physical movementcompared with when the chil-dren were home.

Although it is hardlysurprising that recreationprograms result in increasedphysical activity, the authorspoint out that the results areencouraging because the pro-grams were not designed forchildren with athletic interestor skills. All they need to par-ticipate is “a reasonable de-sire to socialize with otherchildren and adults.” For thatreason, these kinds of recre-ation programs could attractthe kinds of children whomost need them – those whoare not good at competitivesports and not especially ath-letic, and who are thereforeless likely than other kids tobe involved in physical activi-ties.

Reference:Physical Activity in

Middle School-Aged Chil-dren Participating in aSchool-Based Recreation Pro-g r a mC. Lawrence Kien, MD, Ph.D.,and Andrew Chiodo, MAArchives of Pediatrics & Ado-lescent Medicine, Vol. 157,August 2003, pages 811-815

Are BackpacksDangerous for Kids?

When the ConsumerProduct Safety Commissionreported that backpacks wereassociated with more than12,000 injuries between 1999and 2000, the news raisedconcerns about the weightthat students are carrying intheir backpacks. A new studyindicates that backpack inju-ries are not the types of backinjuries that so many educa-tors and health professionalsassumed.

Hard as it is to believe,the most common backpackinjury is to the head or face!Using data from a nationaldata base of medical recordsfrom 100 US hospitals, the re-searchers found that the mostcommon injury was to thehead/face (22%), hand (14percent), wrist/elbow (13percent), shoulder (12 per-cent) or foot/ankle (12 per-c e n t ) .Only 11 percent had back in-juries.

Most injuries (at leastthose requiring treatment)were from tripping over abackpack (28 percent), and 13

percent from getting hit by abackpack, usually intention-ally. Only 13 percent had in-juries resulting from wearinga backpack, and 8 percentfrom lifting a backpack to putit on.

Of the 247 children withbackpack injuries, half wereboys and the average age was11.8 years.

The authors concludedthat although backpacks canbe dangerous, the solution isto educate kids to “properbackpack safety habits”rather than redesigning back-packs or regulating theweight that children carry intheir backpacks. The implica-tions for parents, teachers,and other adults: don’t letkids use backpacks as weap-ons, and try to keep them outof the way of kids

R e f e r e n c e :Acute Backpack Injuries inC h i l d r e nBrent Wierema, DO, EricWall, MD, and Susan Boad,M P HPediatrics, Vol. 111, January2003

PASSALONG••

Arts and

Culture

EvelynMartin

Anderson

February 20, 2009/THE VILLAGER/page 5

Capital metro 4/1color

The Browns

By ROBYN H. JIMENEZThe Dallas Examiner

Healthy teeth and toothloss is a different issue whenyou’re 5-years-old than whenyou’re 55-years-old. Yet, goodoral hygiene plays a signifi-cant role in maintaining goodover all physical and mentalhealth, at any age.

Inadequate care canlead to unhealthy teeth andgums, resulting in misalign-ment, discoloration, gingivi-tis, tooth decay or an abscess.

Untreated, tooth decaycan spread through theenamel and into the pulp,which houses the nerves,causing intense pain. Leftuntreated, decay can lead toabscess, which can be fatal,according to the HealthProfessional’s Guide to Pediat-ric Oral Health Management.

Last year, after a 12-year-old in Maryland dieddue to complications of atooth infection, reports re-vealed that, nationwide,about 6.5 million childrenwith tooth decay receivingChildren’s Medicaid go un-treated. However, programrequires regular dental visits.

“A lot of people are onlydriven by discomfort. If theirchildren are not complainingabout their teeth, they don’tbring them in,” said Dr.Donna Barefield, a local pe-diatric dentist who treats chil-dren covered by Children’s

A child’s smile can last a lifetimeMedicaid.

Many parents don’t re-alize the importance ofproper early care.

“Baby teeth serve a func-tion, not only for appearance,but they contribute to thechild’s ability to speak clearly,proper nutrition by havingteeth to chew, said Barefield.

Also, unhealthy teethmay not be as aestheticallypleasing, according toBarefield. Unhealthy or miss-ing teeth can lower a child’sself-image, especially in olderchildren, according the Na-tional Institute of Health.

The care of primaryteeth can affect permanentteeth and should start duringinfancy, as suggested byTexas Health Steps, whichprovides preventive medicaland dental checkups for chil-dren on Medicaid. It’s “TakeTime for Teeth” initiativestates that infant should beheld during bottle-feeding,then clean the gums with aclean damp washcloth.

“The American Acad-emy of Pediatric Dentistryrecommends that soon afterthe first tooth comes in, par-ents should plan to take theirchild to see a dentist, and nolater than age one. As soon asthat first tooth come in theyneed to start brushing andsending them to the dentist,”said Barefield, “For children,dental problems can progressrather quickly, so we like to

see them every six months.Pediatric dentist play a

significant role in teachingproper oral care, making thefirst visit crucial to long-termdental health.

By age 2, childrenshould begin brushing twicea day with fluoride tooth-paste, as recommended by theAmerican Dental Associa-tion.

With proper oral care,children’s permanent teethcan remain permanent andhealthy.

“It’s absolutely possiblefor teeth to last a life-time.That’s why we recommend toparents, as soon as the fisttooth comes in, to get the childuse to seeing the dentist regu-larly,” said Barefield. “It re-ally does give children anoption to keep teeth for a life-time.”

In Texas, more than 2million children have accessto regular dental care throughChildren’s Medicaid andCHIP. The programs, admin-istered by the Texas Healthand Human Services Com-mission, provide low-incomechildren with health-carecoverage, including dentalcheckups twice a year.

These programs pro-vide health coverage for chil-dren in families that earn upto 200 percent of the federalpoverty level. To apply, visitwww.chipmedicaid.org orcall 1-877-543-7669.

On February 12, 2009,the NAACP will mark its100th anniversary. TheNAACP Headquarters, basedin Baltimore, MD, along withits 1,700 units nationwide,will host celebrations andobservances throughout theyear ending on February 12,2010, that highlight the sig-nificant role the organizationhas played in leading socialchange in America.

“Our journey remainsunfinished,” says NAACPPresident Ben Jealous. “Afri-can Americans suffer dispro-portionately from the eco-nomic recession, we are see-

Power, Justice, Freedom, Vote was the theme of the past

weekend, and in many ways for the past 100 years.

The NAACP celebrates100 year Anniversary

ing a rise in hate crimes andpolice killings, there is still nota level playing field in eco-nomic and educational op-portunities for every commu-nity. The audacious dream ofAmerica, a land where oppor-tunity exists for all and whereevery person is given a chanceto reach their full potential,still remains elusive.”

Texas NAACP Presi-dent Gary Bledsoe said,“Hopefully the time willcome when all Americansand Texans can join thevoices of Oswald Villard, IdaWells Barnett, William En-glish Walling, Henry

Moskowitz, W.E.B. DuBois,Mary White Ovington,Moorfield Storey and JohnHanyes Holmes when theysaid back in 1909: “Hencewe call upon all the believ-ers in democracy to join in anational conference for thediscussion of present evils,the voicing of protests, andthe renewal of the strugglefor civil and political lib-erty.” So, the NAACP goeson, its original mission stillintact 100 years later: “Topromote equality of rightsand to eradicate caste or raceprejudice among the citizensof the United States.”

February 16, 2009 - Aswe celebrate this Black His-tory Month, we remember ourpast, rejoice in our progressand reflect on the challengesof our future. We’re workinghard at City Hall and I wantto share some of our recenthighlights and upcomingprojects:

Lions Municipal GolfCourse (Muny) - The CityCouncil approved a resolu-tion supporting the TravisCounty HistoricalCommission’s application tothe Texas Historical Com-mission for a historicalmarker at Muny. This distinc-tion, approved by the Com-mission, recognizes the golfcourse as one of the first inte-grated public golf courses inthe South.

New Fire Chief - TheCity of Austin welcomedAustin’s first female FireChief, Rhoda Mae Kerr. ChiefKerr previously served as FireChief in Little Rock, AR. Welook forward to her leader-ship.

2009 Budget - We’re allaffected by the economicdownturn of our nation. TheCity Manager presented hiscost-reduction plan to ad-dress a projected $20 millionshortfall in the General Fund.The community will have anopportunity to give input onthis plan at a Town Hall Meet-ing on February 19th from6pm to 8pm at the MexicanAmerican Cultural Center,600 River Street. Citizen feed-back can also be emailed atcommunityfeedback@ci.austin.tx.us.For a copy of the presentationand the detailed menu of cost-

City Hall Alert by Council memberSheryl Cole

reduction proposals, go towww.cityofaustin.org/bud-get. The final action plan willbe presented to the City Coun-cil on February 26th.

Acting City Auditor -Steve Morgan, who has servedas Austin’s City Auditor willretire on February 28th. Wecommend Steve for his out-standing service to the City ofAustin. He will be missed. OnFebruary 12th, the City Coun-cil appointed Taylor Dudleyas Acting City Auditor effec-tive March 1st.

Recent appointments toBoards and Commissions -Michael Jones - RobertMueller Municipal AirportPlan Implementation Advi-sory Commission; EllenSweets - Sustainable FoodPolicy Board; Candace Wade- African American ResourceAdvisory Commission.

I am honored to serveyou on the Austin City Coun-cil. Please feel free to contactour office if we can be of anyassistance to you. Our num-ber is 512-974-2266.

Last week, Austin TravisCounty Mental Health MentalRetardation Center(ATCMHMR) kicked off the offi-cial opening of the new CrisisRespite “Next Step” Program, at6222 N Lamar with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Key stake-holders present includedMichael D. Maples from theTexas Department of StateHealth Services, Austin CityCouncilmember Lee Leffingwell,Trish Young Brown of the TravisCounty Healthcare District, JoyceOrr, New Milestones Founda-tion President and Diana Kern,local advocate representing con-sumer interest. Next Step pro-vides services for individualsthat need short-term (up to twoweeks), community-based resi-dential and outpatient psychi-atric services.

This new programwill provide in-facility carefor up to two weeks for indi-viduals who are experienc-ing a psychiatric crisis andwho may be at risk of notmaintaining stability inde-pendently in the commu-nity. The program also in-cludes up to two weeks ofoutpatient programs de-signed to develop commu-nity support systems andeducate consumers on re-covery life skills needed toprevent future hospitaliza-tions or incarcerations.

Austin MHMR Center Opens Doors to Next Step:New Crisis Respite Facility

The expansion ofour local crisis services isthe result of the new fundingappropriated during the 2007legislative session. Local part-ners, including the City of Aus-

tin, the Texas Department of StateHealth Services, Travis CountyHealthcare District and NewMilestones Foundation haveprovided local support andfunding for this project.

Page 6/ THE VILLAGER/February 20, 2009

Villager SportsvilleVillager SportsvilleVillager SportsvilleVillager SportsvilleVillager Sportsville

By GeorBy GeorBy GeorBy GeorBy Georggggge Hare Hare Hare Hare HardindindindindinSporSporSporSporSportsBeatsBeatsBeatsBeatsBeattttt

Texas Gas w/1 color

HT men lose aswomen beat Texas

Wesleyan

It was a battle of the ramsas the Texas Wesleyan Univer-sity Rams overcame theHuston-Tillotson UniversityRams 79-63 Saturday, Feb. 14,at Mary E. Branch Gymnasium.Four players for TexasWesleyan hit scores in thedouble figures as the visitorstrailed at times but surgedahead in the second half toclaim a victory in the Red RiverAthletic Conference Game.

Leading all playerswas Texas Wesleyan’s ChrisBerry with 25 points. He was10 for 17 in shooting and hadnine rebounds and five steals.Kennith Gober had 18 pointsfor Texas Wesleyan, TerrellHenry 16, and Ryan Barnesmade 12. Huston-Tillotson’sGabe Haskins, a graduate ofShoemaker High in Killeen,

was tops for his team with 20points. Austinite DarrallGlover had eight points and14 rebounds for the localRams.

Rex Kyles and JamesBlack contributed eight pointseach for the homestandingRams. Huston-Tillotson was6 for 37 in the first half fromthe field. As the teams brokefor the half Texas Wesleyanhad a 35-26 lead. Upon re-turning, with the visitorsahead by 10 points, Huston-Tillotson made a fast-paced15-4 run early in the secondhalf to inch ahead 45-44, pro-pelled by Glover’s successfulfast-break jump shot. Fromthat point on Texas Wesleyanbegan to move out front andHuston-Tillotson remainedbehind for the remainder ofthe game.

Texas Wesleyanracked up an 8-1 run withina three-minute time span togain a 65-56 advantage. With

just over two minutes left thevisiting Rams were out frontby 15 points. Huston-Tillotson players missed 10shots in a row as the clock wasrunning down.

“We couldn’t capi-talize on all the turnovers thatwe forced,” said William Bell,Huston-Tillotson assistant.“We forced 26 turnovers andonly got 20 points out of it.That was A-OK but we gotstagnant on offense. Theykilled us on the boards. Theygot 50 rebounds on us. Thathurt big time.” Curtis Jones ishead men’s basketball coach.

“I think we did agood job to keep attacking,getting to the basket,” saidTexas Wesleyan head coachTerry Waldrop. “They’ve gota talented team, pressured usreally well. We were finallyable to break some of the pres-sure and get a couple of easybaskets.” Brennen Shingletonis assistant coach of the team.

In the women’s con-test Kevetta Williams, a fresh-man, was the game’s pace-maker with 28 points as theHuston-Tillotson Lady Ramsovercame the Texas WesleyanLady Rams 78-69. A gradu-ate of University High Schoolin Waco, Williams connectedon nine of 17 from the fieldand hit eight of 11 in shoot-ing from the free-throw line.Williams’ 28 points was aseason’s record for the LadyRams. She surpassedShaneka Mason who made 25points in an earlier gameagainst Texas College.

Four Lady Ramsposted double-figure scoringmarks. Ashley Bell had 16points and 16 rebounds. Brit-tany Jones had 13 points andShaneka Mason had 12points for Huston-Tillotson.Iesha Everline scored 17points and led the game inrebounds, with 17. DeaniraMonday and Everline both

TAKING AIM—Shaneka Mason jumps to shoot forHuston-Tillotson as two defenders from Texas WesleyanUniversity move in against her. On the left is Andria Mitchelland on the right Sheleatha Simmons. Photo by George E.Hardin

IN IT GOES—Huston-Tillotson’s James Black tips one induring the game with Texas Wesleyan University. Black madeeight points as the HT Rams lost 79-63. Photo by George E. Hardin

had five assists.Texas Wesleyan had

four players in double figures:Keona Ray, 15, Kim Gatlinand Astin Williams, 13 each,

and Lauren Dorsey 10.Kerrie Patterson-

Brown is head coach of theHuston-Tillotson LadyRams.

Emmett Ashford made mark asumpire in major leagues

By George Hardin SportsBeat

Paso Texans and the JuarezIndios. Another was TijuanaPortros. Dissension beganwhen the Portros complainedabout late salary payments.There were financial andmanagement problems andthe SIL folded after two sea-sons. Ashford went on toumpire in the Pacific CoastLeague for nine years andthen he was selected as thefirst African-American um-

pire in Major League Base-ball, taking a post with theAmerican League. He um-pired his first major leaguegame in April 1966, whenCleveland defeated Wash-ington 5-2.

Born in Los Angeles,Ashford attended ChapmanUniversity and had been apostal worker before he be-gan umpiring at the age of 36.Ashford served as an outfieldumpire in the All-Star gamein 1967 and he worked theWorld Series in 1970. Hereached mandatory retire-ment age that year and beganworking as a public relationsrepresentative for MajorLeague Baseball. He had aheart attack at the age of 65and died in Marina del Rey,Calif., March 1, 1980.

Ashford is the center-piece of an unusual collectionof baseball-related imagescalled Art in the Park at SafecoField, home of the SeattleMariners. It is called the mostcomprehensive permanentart exhibit at any athletic fa-cility in the nation. The sculp-

Emmett Ashford madehistory when be became thefirst black professional um-pire in organized baseball. Hetook to the mound on Feb. 20,1951, as an umpire in theSouthwest InternationalLeague (SIL). The SIL was ashort-lived organization thatwas created by a merger be-tween the Arizona-TexasLeague and Sunset League.Among teams were the El

Emmett Ashford

ture called “Safe” is the larg-est single piece in the exhibitand shows Ashford with hisarms spread and handsdown indicating that theplayer made it safely to thebase. It is based on a photo-graph taken of Ashford in1955. The larger-than-lifesculpture is more than six feettall and the outstretched armsmeasure 92 inches from fin-gertip to fingertip. On a tripto Seattle I was able to get aclose look at the sculpture andthe 42 other pieces of art,which includes paintings,prints and photographs. Theart is distributed throughoutthe park’s several levels andin the Terrace Club lounge onthe first base side of SafecoPark.

Ashford’s daughter,Adrienne Cherie Ashford, wrotehis biography, “Strrr-ike!!:Emmett Ashford, Major LeagueUmpire.” She is an educatorwith a master of arts degree fromCalifornia State University andserves as editor of a dance maga-zine. The biography was pub-lished in 2004.

EMPLOYMENT/BIDS/PRO-POSALS/PUBLIC INFORMATION/

FOR SALE/FOR RENT/MISC

February 20, 2009/The Villager/Page 7

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AustinCommunity

College

City of AustinPurchasingOfficeAdvertisements02/16/2009

On October 2, 1995, a revision to the City’s MBE/WBE DBEsOrdinance became effective. The Ordinance establishes new goals for MBE/WBE or DBE Participation Bid/Proposal. Bidders are required to docu-ment efforts to solicit MBE/WBE or DBEs in the Compliance Plan. TheGoals for each project and the instructions and forms for the CompliancePlan are included in the MBE/WBE or DBE Program Packet included inthe solicitation. For construction contracts, the MBE/WBE or DBE Pro-gram Packet is a separately bound volume of the Project Manual. ALLBIDS AND COMPLIANCE PLANS NOT RECEIVED PRIOR TO THEDATE AND TIME SET FORTH WILL BE RETURNED TO THE BID-DER UNOPENED. SPECIAL NOTICE: Solicitations issued on behalf ofthe Electric Utility Dept. (Austin Energy) are no longer advertised in theAustin American Statesman. Notices will be posted on the City of AustinPurchasing website at: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/purchase

A. CONSTRUCTION ADVERTISEMENTS - ALL CONSTRUC-TION SEALED BIDS addressed to the City of Austin will be receivedPRIOR TO date and time indicated for the following project(s), inthe Reception Area, 10th FL., Ste. 1045, Office of Contract and LandManagement, OCLM, One Texas Center (OTC), 505 Barton Springs Rd.,Austin, TX, then publicly opened and read aloud in the 10th FL.Conference Room, Ste. 1045, unless otherwise indicated in the ad-vertisement. All Bids received after the time set forth will be re-turned to the bidder unopened. The OWNER’s Official opening theBids shall establish the time for opening of the Bids. All Bid Depos-its are refundable upon return of documents within the specifiedtime frame and in good condition, unless otherwise indicated. UN-LESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, Project Manuals, Plans and Ad-denda may be obtained at the Office of Engineering Design & Sur-veying, PWD, Ste. 760, OTC. First time bidders are encouraged toattend the pre-bid conference to assure their understanding ofOwner’s bidding and contracting requirements, particularly M/WBEProcurements Program requirements. Cashiers or Certified CheckPayable to the City of Austin or acceptable Bid Bond must accom-pany each bid. Bidders will be required to provide Payment/Perfor-mance bonds as specified in the bidding documents. The City re-serves the right to reject any and all Bids and to waive any informal-ity in the bids received.

Bidders must attend any Mandatory Pre-Bid Conference and areencouraged to attend any non-mandatory Pre-Bid Conference to ensuretheir understanding of Owner’s bidding and contracting requirements, par-ticularly MBE/WBE Procurement Program requirements. If the Pre-BidConference is mandatory the Bidder must arrive and sign-in within fifteen(15) minutes of the scheduled start time of the meeting, otherwise theBidder will not be allowed to submit a Bid for the project.

1. ONION CRK FLOOD HAZRD MITIGATION ECOSYS-TEM RESTOR. & REC. (CIP 8602 6307 6803). IFB 6100 CLMC025.Pickup bid docs at OTC, STE 760, Gabriel Stan 974-7151 after 2/16/09. Arefundable deposit of $50 is required. For info Darryl Haba, 974-7205. AMANDATORY Vendor Conf will be held at One Texas Center, 505 BartonSprgs Rd, 8th floor Conf Rm A at 1:00P on 2/24/09. Offers due prior to10:30A on 3/12/09. No Compliance Plan due. Offers will be opened on 3/12/09 at 10:30A.

2. WATER TREATMENT PLANT 4 CM@R (CIP 3960-2207-7185) RFQ CLMA002. Pick up at OTC, STE 760 after 2/16/09. NoDeposit is required. For info Carolyn Williams at 974-7049 or RobertHengst at 974-3490. A Pre-submittal meeting will be held on Wednesday,2/25/09 at Austin City Hall, in Council Chambers, Rm 1001, 301 W. 2nd

Street, Austin, TX at 1:00P. Responses due prior to 5:00P on Thursday,3/12/09. Offerors will be read aloud on Thursday, 3/12/09 at 5:00P in ConfRm 10A.

B. SERVICES AND SYSTEMS CONTRACTING/ C. COM-MODITIES - Solicitations will be issued, and sealed bids or proposalsmay be received at the Purchasing Office, Municipal Building, 124 W.8th St., 3rd floor, Room 308/310, telephone number (512) 974-2500,Austin, TX until the dates and times specified on following item(s):

B. SOLICITATION SERVICES AND SYSTEMS1. SDC0160 LOCKSMITH MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

SERVICES. Offers due prior to 2:00P on 3/4/09.2.BKH0033REBID1 RECYCLING DROP_OFF CENTER. Of-

fers due prior to 11:00A on 3/4/09.3. RML0012 PAINTING SERVICES. A Vendor Conf will be held

at Municipal Bldg, 3rd FLR at 2:00P on 2/25/09. Offers due prior to 2:00Pon 3/5/09.

4. SSC0095 BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEM REPAIRAND RELATED SERVICES FOR THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CEN-TER AND PALMER EVENTS CENTER. Offers due prior to 2:30P on3/4/09.

5. SDC0161 TRAILER MOUNTED THERMOPLASTICPREMELTER. Offers due prior to 3:00P on 3/4/09.

C. SOLICITATION COMMODITIES1. STA0197 ELECTRICALLY HEATED VAPORIZERS AND

PRESSURE RELIEF VALVES FOR SULFUR DIOXIDE. Offers dueprior to 10:30A on 3/3/09.

2. STA0189 RE-BID 24-MONTH CONTRACT FOR FIREHYDRANT UPPER BARRELS. Offers due prior to 11:30A on 3/3/09.

3. STA0198 36-MONTH REQUIREMENTS CONTRACT FORFIRE HYDRANTS. Offers due prior to 10:30A on 3/4/09.

THE CITY OF AUSTIN HEREBY NOTIFIES ALL OFFERORSTHAT IN REGARD TO ANY CONTRACT ENTERED INTO PUR-SUANT TO THIS ADVERTISEMENT; MINORITY BUSINESS EN-TERPRISES WILL BE AFFORDED EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES TOSUBMIT OFFERS IN RESPONSE TO THIS INVITATION AND WILLNOT BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST ON THE GROUNDS OFRACE, COLOR, SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN OR DISABILITY IN CON-SIDERATION FOR AN AWARD.

Request for Proposal

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“Austin Canyon Corpora-tion is requesting certified COAminoritysubcontractor bids for theDittmar Gym Enclosure bidding 2/26/09. Call 327-3135 or e-mailinfo@austincanyon.com for specificinformation.”

Austin Community CollegeDistrict is requesting proposalsfrom firms for the purpose of se-lecting a provider for irrigation sys-tems repair and maintenance ser-vices district-wide.

Request for Proposal No. 934-09019RW

All proposals must be sub-mitted to the Purchasing Depart-ment by no later than 2:00 p.m.,Central Time, on Thursday, April2, 2009.

The Request for Proposal isavailable in the ACC PurchasingOffice [(512)223-1044] between thehours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.,Monday through Friday, and on theACC Purchasing website: http://www.aust incc.edu/purchase/advertisedbids.php. All responsesmust be sealed and returned to theACC Purchasing Office, ACC Ser-vice Center, 9101 Tuscany Way,Austin, Texas 78754, by the dateand time indicated above. Elec-tronically transmitted responseswill NOT be accepted unless oth-erwise stated in the documents.

The ACC Board of Trusteesreserves the right to reject any and/or all responses and waive all for-malities in the solicitation process.

MB/WBE

By Chuck PennieSpecial to the VillagerJuly 1839 - Mahala

Murchison, a 10 year old mu-latto slave is the first blackperson in Austin. She worksas a maid for the wife ofAlexander Murchison forwhich Murchison School islater named.

March 1865 - WesleyChapel Methodist EpiscopalChurch is organized. The firstchurch building is built in1874-75 at Fourth Street andCongress Avenue. CurrentlyWesley United MethodistChurch is located at 1164 SanBernard Street.

June 1865 - Union Gen-eral Gordon Granger arrivesin Texas to declare the slavesfree, more than two years af-ter President Lincoln enactedthe Emancipation Proclama-tion.

1867 - Blacks organizethe First Baptist Church in therear of a blacksmith’s shop onthe southeast corner of Con-gress Avenue and West 10thStreet under the leadership ofthe Rev. Jacob Fontain. Thechurch later moves to a build-ing at 14th and Red RiverStreets.

1860s - The black com-munity of Masontown isfounded by Ralford and SamMason Jr. who purchaseproperty on Cedar/FourthStreet.

1868 - The Freedman’sBureau School opens the firstschool building for blacks. Itwas also paid for by blacks.

1871 - The black com-munity of Clarksville isfounded when Charles Grif-fin, whose freed name wasCharles Clark. He buys someacreage on what is now West10th Street.

January 1881 - TheAmerican Missionary Asso-ciation opens Tillotson Col-lege and Normal Institute.

1900 - Samuel HustonCollege is founded at WesleyMethodist Church. The firstpresident was R.S.Lovinggood.

1907 - A new highschool for black students isestablished. It is later namedL.C. Anderson High School,after the educator who wasthe brother of the principal,

A Historical Chronology OfBlack Austin Up To 1980

L.C. Anderson. The firstschool building was at Oliveand Curve Streets.

1940 - Austin has apopulation of 70,000,14,000 ofwho is black. The blacks livedmainly in the eastern part oftown. Most of the city’s eightschools for blacks are now inEast Austin. Clarksville El-ementary and BrackenridgeElementary, 419 West Eliza-beth Street are exceptions.

1946 - Heman MarionSweat is rejected by the Uni-versity of Texas Law Schoolbecause he is black. He suesand wins in the U.S. SupremeCourt in 1950. UT admits thefirst blacks to some graduateprograms.

1952 - Samuel Hustonand Tillotson Colleges mergeto form Huston-Tillotson Col-lege.

1955 - The UT Board ofRegents decides to allowblacks to enroll in all classes.September 1956 marks thefirst time black undergradu-ates enroll.

1967 - City Council es-tablishes a Human RightsCommission.

1968 - Wilhemina Delcobecomes the first black electedto the Austin IndependentSchool District Board.

1970- The U.S. JusticeDepartment files suit againstAISD for failure to desegre-gate schools. Volma Overton,president of the Austin Chap-ter of the NAACP, also sues.

1971 - Berl Hancock be-comes the first black electedto the City Council since re-construction.

1975 - Nineteenth Streetis changed to Martin LutherKing Jr. Blvd at the urging ofblack groups.

1980 - The Carver Mu-seum, a repository for localblack history opens. A newfacility and the George Wash-ington Carver Library is estab-lished.

HISTORICAL BLACKSETTLEMENTS

Around 1927 there hadbeen considerable talk in Aus-tin, as well as other cities, inregard to the race segregationproblem. “This problem can-not be solved legally underany zoning law known to usat present”, held the city pow-

ers. Practically all attempts ofsuch has been proven to beunconstitutional, theyclaimed.

This was a conversationbetween Austin’s City Fa-thers and other controllingfactors to arrive at a solutionto the fact that blacks werepresent in small numbers inpractically all sections of thecity, excepting the area justeast of East Avenue and southof the city cemetery. This areaseem to be an all black popu-lation.

The City Fathers de-cided to recommend that thenearest approach to the solu-tion of the segregation prob-lem will be the designation ofthis district as a negro district,and that all the facilities andconveniences be provided thenegros in this district as anincentive to draw the negropopulation to this area andaway from white populatedareas where they now lived.No other district with a heavynegro population will be pro-vided these amenities.

As a result of not beingprovided facilities and conve-niences (water, electricity,garbage pickups and sanita-tion services), blacks movedto four specific areas;

Masontown -Masontown was bounded bySixth Street on the north,Third Street on the south,Waller Street on the west andChicon Street on the east.

Wheatsville -Wheatsville’s boundarieswere Rio Grande Street on theeast, Shoal Creek on the west,24th Street on the south and26th Street on the north.

Clarksville - Clarksvilleis between Waterson and10th Street with West Lynn onthe east and the Missouri Pa-cific Railroad tracks (MoPac)on the west.

Kincheonville - It’sboundaries were Brodie Laneon the west, Longview on theeast, Paisano Trail on thenorth and Davis lane on thesouth.

Disclaimer::This research is based

on information filed in theAustin History Center andthe Carver Museum at 1165Angelina Street in Austin,TX.

The Juneteenth Com-mittee and Greater East Aus-tin Youth Association an-nounce the 2009 JuneteenthEssay Competition, open toelementary, middle and highschool students in CentralTexas. Students are encour-aged to write an essay thatreflects the importance ofJuneteenth by answering -Juneteenth “Why it is impor-tant to Texans.”Intended to provide studentswith an applied academiclearning experience and civicengagement, this essay com-petition will offer an oppor-tunity for students to demon-strate areas of education de-fined by the Texas EssentialSkills and Knowledge – per-ception, creative expression/performance, historical andcultural heritage, and criticalevaluation. The learning ele-

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2009 Juneteenth Essay Competition - Texas AfricanAmerican History Project

ments of the competition arecomplemented by the benefitsof participation. Participa-tion in the competition invitesstudents to offer personal per-spectives, explore Texas his-tory and be a part of a celebra-tion that honors liberty, jus-tice and the pursuit of happi-ness-unalienable rights thatshould be afforded every hu-man being. Students candownload an applicationfrom the Central TexasJuneteenth website atwww.juneteenthcentraltexas.org.Entries must include theauthor’s full name, address,and phone numbers. Sub-missions must be post-marked or delivered no laterthan March 31, 2009 to beconsidered. Essay winnerswill be notified by May 4,2009. All entries become theproperty of the Juneteenth

Committee and the GreaterEast Austin Youth Associa-tion.

Sponsors are needed tosupport this competition. Inaddition to providing an edu-cational experience for Cen-tral Texas students, all spon-sors will receive benefits ac-cording the level of sponsor-ship. See the 2009 CentralTexas Juneteenth Sponsor-ship Packet for details. If youare interested in sponsoringthis event, please visitwww.junetenthcentraltexas.comand click on the sponsorshiplink.

For additional informa-tion, please contact TiffanyJohnson Carter at 512-413-5681tjcarter@junteenthcentraltexas.com

ABOUT Greater EastAustin Youth Association(GEAYA) - GEAYA is a501(c)3 non-profit, volunteerorganization established in1975 to provide organizedand structured sports activi-ties for the economically dis-advantaged youth of EastAustin. In 1996, the City ofAustin Parks and Recreation(PARD) designated GEAYAas the official City sponsor ofthe Annual Juneteenth Cel-ebration. PARD’s effortthrough GEAYA raises thecultural awareness and em-braces the diversity of this his-torical event for all of Austin.

AUSTIN, Texas —BiGAUSTIN (BiG) – CentralTexas’ single-source solu-tion for entrepreneurial edu-cation, tailored businesscounseling, and flexibleloans – is gearing up for thesecond annual BiG IDEABusiness Plan Competition.BiGAUSTIN has extendedthe application deadline.All entries are now due byFebruary 27, 2009.

The competition pro-vides small business own-ers the opportunity to sub-mit a business idea to beevaluated by a panel ofhand-picked judges, whichincludes early-stage inves-tors, experienced entrepre-neurs, high-tech industryleaders, bankers, and busi-ness lawyers.

“In only its secondyear, we are proud to an-nounce the BiG Idea Busi-ness Plan Competition hasalready doubled theaward,” said JeannettePeten, Executive Directorand Founder, BiGAUSTIN.“This year, the winner willreceive cash and in-kindprizes valued at $10,000.”

Three finalists will beselected to present their “bigidea” to an anticipated au-dience of more than 500prominent members of thelocal business community atthe April 17th BiG Idea DayLuncheon . This annual,sold out event offers partici-

Deadline Extended to February 27th forBiGAUSTIN 2009 BUSINESS PLAN

COMPETITIONWinner eligible to win $10,000 in cash and prizes

pants a unique opportunityto network with members ofAustin’s business commu-nity and develop contactsthat can help launch orgrow their small businesses.Last year, the competitionhad 60 submissions. Thewinner was Gayle Skiera,Founder and CEO of TheMoney Academy, whichprovides hands-on experi-ence with money, coupledwith lessons on key finan-cial distinctions, which em-power kids to see the valueof using money as a tool for

creating wealth. Theseclubs are now in schools allover Austin.

BiGAUSTIN is theleading self-sustainablesmall business developmentorganization providing in-novative growth strategiesto underserved entrepre-neurs in Central Texas. Formore details on the BiG IdeaBusiness Plan Competition,guidelines and rules for en-tering the competition, visitwww.bigaustin.org, or con-tact BiGAUSTIN at 512-928-8010.

BiGAustin Executive Director Jeanette Peten (l) and BiGAustinstaff are prepared to take applications.