Faith Formula Human Services Corporation will host its Third Annual Faith Summit on Poverty on Friday

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Shawn Williams

Faith Formula Human Services Corporation will host its Third Annual Faith Summit on Poverty on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26, 2008.

The Faith Summit on Poverty was implemented as a direct result of the Gulf Coast (Katrina) Relief efforts which resulted in elevated focus on the poverty conditions in America. It is the belief of FaithFormula Human Services that Katrina exposed the pink elephant in our nation.

The Gulf Coast Disaster pulled the covers off the real issues of poverty. Therefore, the Summit is positioned as a partnership of churches, community organizations, corporations, schools, city, state and national government institutions, elected officials and citizens to build stronger communities.

The Texas House of Representatives held a hearing on House Bill 947, the Bill of Rights for the Underprivileged, on March 15, 2007. Rep. Yvonne Davis of Legislative District 111, sponsored the bill which came out of the 2006 Faith Summit on Poverty, authored by Dr. Haynes. This legislation will institute a policy statement for the State of Texas that reinforces basic rights every Texan including the underprivileged of our society should enjoy. We believe in public policies that invest in human beings.

To this end, United States Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes III, Senior Pastor of the Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas will join forces again to host the 3nd Annual Faith Summit on Poverty, April 25^th and 26^th , 2008 at the Friendship-West Worship and Conference Center, 2020 W. Wheatland Road; Dallas. The central theme and goal is to engage, enlighten and equip citizens to mobilize their city, state, county and federal elected officials, and community stakeholders to promote positive public policies geared to fight the War On Poverty!

The focus this year is three fold: (1) to take a microscopic look at Americas “Cradle to Prison Pipeline”; (2) to discuss openly and directly the causes of substance abuse and lack of treatment and recovery centers in the southern sector; and (3)to investigate the realities of economic development, specifically land development, in distressed communities. A special focus will be on foreclosure and citizens who wish to return to New Orleans at Saturday’s Town Hall Meeting.

All are invited to be a part of progressive dialogue and action event!

Also, here is the link for regisration: http://www.friendshipwest.org/FaithSummit.html

Friendship-West has a full day:Mayor Tom Leppert, Black Marriage Day, Groundbreaking for Phase II

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Shawn Williams

This past Sunday was a busy one for Friendship-West Baptist Church. I’m still trying to figure out how we fit so much into each service yesterday.

First Dr. Haynes acknowledged some guests from the Brite Divinity School Black Church Summit. There was a banquet held during the summit to honor Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. Dr. Wright did not attend due in part to security concerns. The Dallas Morning News’ Jeffrey Weiss gives a summary of some of the weekend’s events here.

Married couples in the congregation participated in a vow renewal ceremony in conjunction with Black Marriage Day. Sister Nisa Muhammad , founder of Black Marriage Day, was also in attendance. Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and his wife were also present, and the mayor presented Friendship-West with a proclamation from the city commending the church’s support of Black Marriage Day and commitment to family. (I hope the mayor doesn’t plan to run for President anytime soon).

Following service, Dr. Haynes lead those present in a groundbreaking ceremony for Phase II of the Friendship-West development. The ceremony was held around a monument that will be placed in the Village Prayer Garden on the site. Phase II includes:

Wild Wild West Inspotainment Center – a Main Event/Chuck E. Cheese type family facility to serve as an outlet for area youth. It will also consist of a youth chapel, serving the spiritual needs of area youth as well.

Senior Housing Village – Gated housing community tailored for Seasoned Saints who may be in need of assisted living.

Amphitheater – Outdoor entertainment venue for the arts unlike any other venue in Southern Dallas.

Phase I included the 150,000 sq. ft. Friendship-West Baptist Church and Conference Center.

Rev. Al Sharpton in Dallas April 6th, preaching at Frederick D. Haynes III 25th Pastoral Anniversary celebration

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Shawn Williams

On Sunday April 6, Rev. Al Sharpton will be minister of the hour to kick off the celebration of the 25th Pastoral Anniversary of Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III. Dr. Haynes is commemorating his silver anniversary as Senior Pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church.

The visit by Rev. Sharpton is part of a month long celebration. As more information becomes available, I will place it on the site.

Who: Rev. Al Sharpton

What: 25th Pastoral Anniversary of Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III

Where: Friendship-West Baptist Church

2020 Wheatland RD

Dallas, TX 75236

When: April 6, 2008 – 8 am and 10:45 am

Obama leading Texas Senatorial Convention delegate count

Posted on March 30, 2008 by Shawn Williams

As of 1:10 p.m. on Sunday, Burnt Orange Report reported results of the Texas Senatorial Conventions with 83% (6,365) of the total delegates (7,64) counted – 55% of the conventions tallied. Of the total delegates count reported, Senator Barack Obama has garnered 56% (3,561 delegates) and Senator Clinton 44% (2,804).

Obama did extremely well in the Dallas County conventions. In State Sen. Royce West’s District 23, Obama won 82% (306) of the delegates. If Clinton had not received at least 15% from the precinct convention representative, then all of the districts 373 state delegates would have gone to Obama. Sen Clinton gained 67 delegates from District 23.

Other Dallas County results:

District 2 – 80 delegates to 30 delegates
District 8 – 52 to 35

District 9 – 45 to 28

District 16- 150 to 105

Click here to see Burnt Orange’s County/District breakdown.

Howard Witt claims rift between Rev. Al Shapton and Web based activist movement in Dunbar Village rape case

Posted on March 29, 2008 by Shawn Williams

Howard Witt once gain writes about a relevant issue in the African-American community for the Chicago Tribune. He has a theory that there is a rift between old guard activists -Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, NAACP- and new school internet advocates. Howard Witt’s theory is (mostly) right.

One thing that I don’t like is how the media has chosen to join Sharpton and Jackson at the hip. Though their work is similar, their styles and tactics are not the same. Even at the Jena rally, by the afternoon, Rev. Sharpton had left town while Rev. Jackson was still speaking and marching. I think the frustration lies more with Sharpton and the NAACP more that with Rev. Jackson. The names Jackson-Sharpton have become a punchline amongst whites and many well to do blacks. It is unfair to both, but especially to Jesse Jackson.

Anyway, we’ve been wondering for months why there hasn’t been more attention given to Dunbar Village. The story first appeared on this website August 5th, even before the Jena 6 march. June 18th of last year, a mother (with son present) gang raped in their W. Palm Beach apartment complex (Dunbar Village). Both the victims and assailants were black.

See the horrific details of the attack by clicking here and reading my November 1, “Day of Blogging for Justice” post.

The call has been for black leaders to speak out against the actions of the attackers in the Dunbar Village case. There has been virtually nothing on that front. So when Rev. Sharpton called a press conference in support of the accused teens, many black bloggers were outraged. I posted an article from Electronic Village on March 20 titled Al Sharpton and NAACP are wrong in Dunbar Village Gang Rape Case.

With all that said, here’s are parts of the Howard Witt Chicago Tribune Article. See the entire story here.

Three weeks ago, however, Al Sharpton and local representatives of the NAACP held a news conference in West Palm Beach where they declared that four black teenagers arrested for the Dunbar Village attack are being treated unfairly because they remain incarcerated without bond, while five white teenagers recently accused of sexually assaulting two white girls in nearby Boca Raton were freed on bail.
“You cannot have one set of rules for acts that are wrong and horrific in Boca and another set in Dunbar Village,” Sharpton said, as parents of some of the Dunbar defendants nodded behind him. “You must have equal protection under the law.”

“For Sharpton and the NAACP to come out and recklessly say we need to free these guys because some white guys over in Boca Raton are out on bail is just unconscionable,” said Gina McCauley, an Austin, Texas, attorney and author of an influential African-American civil rights blog called What About Our Daughters? “We’ve lost our way in the civil rights movement…”

Color of Change, a Web-based civil rights group that counts nearly 400,000 members, criticized Sharpton for choosing the accused Dunbar Village assailants to champion. “I question whether this is the case we want to be standing up for,” said Mervyn Marcano, the group’s spokesman. “At the end of the day, when we choose to fight for equal justice, we have to be aware of who’s being affected. A lot of people think no one was speaking for the victims of this terrible crime.”

Sharpton’s critics say it was wrong to equate the Dunbar Village and Boca Raton rape cases in the first place because the Dunbar assault was far more vicious. Among the awful details: The attackers forced the mother to perform oral sex on her 12-year-old son.

The rift between the new generation of civil rights activists, organized via blogs, Web sites and e-mail lists, and their old-guard forebears such as Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the NAACP, opened last September over the civil rights march through Jena, La., that drew more than 20,000 demonstrators…Two months later, black civil rights bloggers were perplexed when Sharpton organized a march for justice in Washington without tapping their organizing abilities.

It should be noted that the local NAACP participated in the Sharpton press conference, but the national organization has not been involved to this point.

Click here to see Rev. Sharpton’s Florida press conference.

Click here to see very detailed accounts at the Dunbar Village Blog.

REPORT:Ellis Davis Senate Convention already

Posted on March 29, 2008 by Shawn Williams

I’ve gotten an initial report (8:30 am) that delegates have been told that they are not eligible to participate in the convention. They have been told that they must “re-caucus.” Anyone with convention stories shoot me an email @ shawn@dallassouthblog.com.

5 Republican/Conservative Politicians I can tolerate

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Shawn Williams

Over the last couple of weeks a lot of people have sent me….less just say less than positive responses to my thoughts about Dr. Wright and Black Pastors. Most had never visited Dallas South prior to this. They felt they needed to let me know that they respected good black folks like Thomas Sowell and Clarence Thomas.

I dismissed the whole notion, but then I began to think about whether there were any Republican or Conservative types that I could roll with. 8 years ago, George W. probably would have made this list. He was a popular governor here in Texas and did work with Democrats quite often. That seems like 100 years ago.

Anyway, here’s what I was able to scrape up.

5. Michael Williams

Michael L. Williams is the Chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s oldest energy regulatory commission. I’ve heard him speak here and there and he is always impressive in his manor (the bow ties are a nice touch also).

I continue to wonder how it is the African-Americans can move through the ranks of the Republican Party, while the Democrats seem to have some sort of glass ceiling in tact. Now that’s a bit unfair with the emergence of Barack Obama, Deval Patrick, and David Paterson. But as long as Texas was Democratic state, black folks never sniffed a position like the one Williams currently holds.

Williams no doubt tows the party line, touting the “Reagan Revolution” if you watch the video linked above. He is one of the key Black Republicans nationwide now that J.C. Watts has moved away from the public eye. Williams is the highest ranking Republican elected official in the United States.

4. Tom Leppert

In 2006, Dallas Mayor came out of nowhere to become a contender for the city’s lead council person. With very little political experience and a whole lot of money, Leppert found himself in a runoff with popular councilman Ed Oakley who was running as a Democrat.

Leppert worked hard to make inroads in Southern Dallas, heavily populated by African-Americans and Hispanics. He showed up at our church so much I thought he would accept the alter call on any given Sunday.

So far so good, as Leppert has seemed willing to move the city forward and cross political lines and racial boundaries to work with those who have often been left out of Dallas politics. The Dallas convention center hotel, Trinity River Project, and Homeless Assistance Center are all projects that looking to get up and running under Leppert’s watch.

3. Robert Gates

I first became aware of Dr. Gates when he was appointed president of my alma mater, Texas A&M University. Appointing a George H.W. Bush crony to the presidency was no reason for me to get excited.

But during my time as an officer of A&M’s Black Former Student Network, I had a limited opportunity to see Gates operate. Those who served with me saw even more of Gates and how he handled issues like minority recruitment and retention. At A&M he proved to be a pragmatic leader who garnered as much information as possible before making decisions.

His assignment to the Iraq Study Group was no surprise with his background in foreign affairs. When George W. tapped him as Secretary of Defense, the department was in dire need of the logical/steady approach Gates brings. Pragmatism is the last word one would used to describe the Donald Rumsfeld Department of Defense. Gates has brought a measure of credibility back to the Department, yet there are still few signs of true progress in Iraq.

2. Colin Powell

This is an easy one. Who doesn’t like Colin Powell (besides Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheyney)?

Oren Harari’s The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell paints a great picture of why Americans think so highly of General Powell. Polls throughout the late ninety’s and aughts showed Powell would have made a strong presidential candidate, for either party.

The one blemish on the ledger of Colin Powell is the role he played in the run up to the War in Iraq. He used suspect intelligence gathered by a trigger happy administration to make a case for going to war.

Where he proved right was his theory on using “overwhelming” force against the enemy. While we go back and forth about troop surges, Powell argued from the beginning that more than 200,000 American troops would be needed to get the job done in Iraq. It’s a shame that Powell’s voice and experience were not counted on in such critical decisions.

1. Condoleezza Rice

I like Condi. What can I say? Yes she’s a war hawk. I get that. Yes her job is to make the least learned President in American history appear that he has a clue. God Bless her for that.

She’s a child of the segregated south, and a classmate of one of the four girls killed in the Birmingham Church bombing. Her preparation and intelligence are unmatched in the Bush White House, and she has gained the respect of the nation and the world.

But again, I think the ONE positive thing that I can say about the Bush Administration is that African-Americans have had significant role in these two failed terms (maybe that’s not positive). The truth of the matter is we have never seen an African-American female with this much political clout and God knows when we will see it again.

Rice has had her fair share of dust ups with the true hawks in the administration (Cheney and Rumsfeld). Where Powell was eventually forced out, Rice stood her ground against Rummy and Cheyney and has helped Bush spin his wheels in a different direction. Again, not sure how much anyone could have done to save this man’s presidency, but after 8 years of Condoleezza, I’ve come around.