Happy Christmas from Dallas South

Posted on December 25, 2008 by Shawn Williams

I started saying “Happy Christmas” as my holiday greeting about 8 years ago. Besides the strange looks I get, now people start correcting me because they think I’ve gotten Merry Christmas and Happy New Year’ confused.

But one thing not to be confused is why we celebrate this time of year. We celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ, our Redeemer. The joy that we share today is in remembrance of his birth.

But my odd yuletide greeting is confirmed by the memorable poem written by Clement Clarke Moore. The narrator watches as St. Nick leaves in his sleigh and exclaims “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

May God Bless you and yours.

Rihanna to Perform at the Feeding America and the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) Presidential Inauguration Charity Ball

Posted on December 24, 2008 by Shawn Williams

Proceeds From the Event to Benefit the Growing Number of Hungry Americans

CHICAGO, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Feeding America and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced today that Def Jam artist and Multi-Platinum, Grammy Award-winning global superstar Rihanna will perform at an inauguration charity ball on January 20, 2008 in Washington, D.C. All of the proceeds from the RIAA inauguration after party will go directly to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. The joint announcement was made today by Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America, and Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Vicki Escarra said, “We are thrilled to have Rihanna’s participation in the inauguration charity ball. As the prevalence of hunger in America increases at an unprecedented rate, we are most grateful to Rihanna and to RIAA for helping us bring greater visibility to this tragic reality and helping us feed millions more people in need.”
David Arquette, chairman of Feeding America’s Entertainment Council said, “We are hopeful that President-elect Obama’s pledge to fighting hunger in America and ending child hunger by 2015 will bring relief to the 1 in 8 million Americans at risk of hunger today. We can all do our part by raising money, donating food, or volunteering. The RIAA Inauguration event is the perfect example of an organization that has chosen to lead the way by choosing Feeding America as it beneficiary.”
Mitch Bainwol said, “We are delighted to partner with Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic charity dedicated to hunger relief, to announce Grammy-award winner and superstar Rihanna as the performer at our inauguration event. With her unique sound and addictive melodies that have garnered numerous Grammy awards and countless other music accolades, Rihanna is the perfect fit to entertain our inauguration audience as we salute the historic Obama Administration and the anti-hunger efforts of Feeding America.”
Other special celebrity guests and entertainers, including members of Feeding America’s Entertainment Council, as well as details about the event will be announced in the coming weeks.
With the economic downturn, our nation’s food banks are experiencing an unprecedented increase in the demand for emergency food assistance. In the past few months the demand for food assistance in many communities has increased anywhere from 15% to 100%. Food banks, soup kitchens and food pantries are seeing many new faces each day.
This event is not open to the general public and is by invitation only. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact: PJ McCann; (202) 669-2687; pjmccann@comcast.net
To donate or to learn more about Feeding America, please visit: www.FeedingAmerica.org

Brainstorm Media, Time Life, TV One & MarVista Entertainment Collaborate To Produce Feature-Length Civil Rights Documentary

Posted on December 24, 2008 by Shawn Williams

“LET FREEDOM SING: How Music Inspired the Civil Rights Movement” to Premiere on TV One on Feb. 15 during Black History Month 2009

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ — Brainstorm Media, Time Life, TV One and MarVista Entertainment announced today the production of LET FREEDOM SING: How Music Inspired the Civil Rights Movement, a full-length documentary featuring iconic songs of the period.
LET FREEDOM SING will trace the interaction among the music, the movement and the people involved. It begins in the era between the wars when segregation was often brutally enforced in Southern states, and when jazz and blues evolved from songs sung by African-Americans in church and in the fields. It will feature never-before-seen footage from the 1960′s, while tracing the influence of Civil Rights-inspired music around the world and revealing the enduring impact it retains on today’s popular music.
The film includes interviews with musicians, civil rights activists, music industry executives, historians and others involved in the movement, including former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young; actress Ruby Dee, influential musicians Pete Seeger, Gladys Knight, Jimmy Carter and the Blind Boys of Alabama, Ruth Brown, Jerry Butler and Chuck D; and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) co-founder Dr. Bernard Lafayette.
TV One will premiere the documentary during Black History Month on Sunday, February 15 from 8-10 PM ET (repeating at midnight), and Time Life will subsequently release the film on DVD.
The project represents a unique collaboration between Time Life and Brainstorm Media. Time Life was already developing a 3-CD box set, LET FREEDOM SING: The Music of the Civil Rights Movement (available January 27, 2009), when Brainstorm Media President Meyer Shwarzstein suggested the project deserved a visual companion and secured the interest of TV One, along with other financing partners.
Shwarzstein, in partnership with feature film and documentary producer Charles Hannah, brought distinguished Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Jon Goodman to the project. Goodman, the son of African-American radio personality George W Goodman Sr., has written, produced, directed or supervised more than 300 hours of documentary programming for broadcast in the U.S. and abroad, including the Explorer series for National Geographic Television.
“Jon brought everything we could have hoped for and more – intellect, passion and a wonderful personal perspective,” said Shwarzstein. Adds Mike Jason, Sr. Vice President of Audio & Video Retail at Time Life, “We at Time Life are deeply committed to telling this story and we were immediately struck by how Jon’s vision complimented the way we approached the music box set.”
“I consider myself fortunate to have grown up during one of the most turbulent periods in our nation’s history,” said Goodman. “For a kid who always loved music and wanted to make television shows, the times were as exhilarating as they were often frightening and bewildering. But there was never any doubt that I was a young eyewitness to history. It was hard to miss. I vividly recall my father telling me, ‘Son, mark my words. Things will be different for your generation.’ And indeed they have been, perhaps beyond his wildest dreams.”
“As a person who marched for civil rights as a young student and covered the movement as an adult journalist, I am especially proud to be part of this project,” said TV One President-CEO Johnathan Rodgers. “We knew then we had to march to the beat of a different drummer; but what a beat it was! The music of that time is still the music of our time.”
MarVista Entertainment (www.marvista.net) is producing the project in association with Brainstorm Media and will distribute the film outside of the U.S. Michael Jacobs, President of MarVista Entertainment, said, “The American Civil Rights movement not only influenced American politics, it was felt around the world. We anticipate strong interest for the film across many territories.”
Source: McReynolds Elek Communications

Jazz Series at Bishop Arts Theater Center announced by Cameron Smith and Teresa Coleman Wash

Posted on December 22, 2008 by Shawn Williams

Bishop Arts Theater Center

Last week, Cameron Smith and Teresa Coleman Wash announced an exciting partnership that will bring great music to the Dallas Fort Worth area. In February, they will kickoff the 2009 Jazz Series at the beautiful Bishop Arts Theater Center in Oak Cliff.

Teresa Coleman-Wash and Cameron Smith

For 14 seasons Smith has hosted Smooth Jazz T.V. His jazz roots go back even farther with his ties to 107.5 The Oasis where at one time he served as morning drive host. He also runs My Jazz Network a customizable internet jazz station.

Teresa Wash’s 170 seat, newly renovated Bishop Arts Theater will serve as the venue for the year long concert series. The theater was refurbished with $500,000 of private sector funding (i.e. zero dollars from the City of Dallas towards this wonderful artistic space). The building is also home to a learning laboratory for local youth and an arts business incubator for aspiring artists.

Buy Digital Prints

The 2009 Jazz Series will bring Grammy Award winning talent right into the heart of Oak Cliff. Each date of the concert series will consist of two performances at 7 and 9:45 p.m. Smith plans to have the artists arrive early to participate in community activities and a Friday Jam Session with local high school musicians. They also teased a music festival/block party in the June 6th time frame but weren’t ready to give any details.

Those already scheduled to perform include:

Alex Bugnon with Keith Anderson & Joe McBride
Saturday, February 7, 2009

Marion Meadows with Nick Colionne
Saturday, March 21, 2009

Phil Perry with Everette Harp
Friday, October 2, 2009

Jeff Lorber
Saturday, November 14, 2009

Tickets are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 214-373-8000.

Casey Thomas looks to unseat Dave Neumann in Dallas District 3

Posted on December 22, 2008 by Shawn Williams

Casey Thomas, outgoing president of the Dallas Branch NAACP, is planning a run for the Dallas City Council this Spring. He looks to replace incumbent Dave Neumann in Council District 3.

In a message to friends and family, Thomas says “In my years of serving the Dallas Community and speaking with many of you, I feel our community needs new, energized leadership to promote District 3 in the Dallas City Council.” He goes on to say that he feels he can help “make District 3 whole.”

As a resident of District 3, I am excited about the prospect of Casey Thomas becoming our next representative on the council. The next person that I speak with who has a good opinion of our current representative will be the first.

Casey has filed Darryl Washington as his campaign treasurer.

Free* Quickbooks Pro 2009 at Staples Monday only

Posted on December 21, 2008 by Shawn Williams

On Saturday, I learned that Intuit will offer the Windows version of QuickBooks Pro 2009 for free* at all Staples stores on Monday, Dec. 22, for one day only. I called my local Staples today to verify the validity of this event. They confirmed that this information is true.

What does free* mean and why do I keep putting and asterisk by it? Well here’s how the software ends up being free.

* The regular price at Staples is $199.99.
* The customer will receive $40 in instant savings.
* The customer at the store will receive a $159.99 mail-in rebate form.
* When the customer mails in the rebate form they will receive, some weeks later, a rebate for $159.99.
* Once the customer obtains the rebate, their base costs are zero: $199.99 – $40.00 – $159.99 = $0.
* The buyer may still be responsible for sales tax at the time of purchase; sales tax is not free.

An email that was forwarded to me about this promotions said that “Intuit wants to help small businesses through tough
economic times, and of course we are always working to bring more business owners on board as QuickBooks users.”

I’ll be catching Staples bright and early in the morning.

BOYCOTT AUBURN: Taylor’s thoughts on Turner Gill timely and doable

Posted on December 20, 2008 by Shawn Williams

In Friday’s Dallas Morning News, Sports Columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor suggests that Class of 2009 football recruits boycott Auburn University for their decision to hire Gene Chizik over Buffalo Head Coach Turner Gill. I agree with Taylor, and I believe that his suggestion is doable.

Read the write up on Turner Gill that I wrote before he interviewed with Auburn and before Tiger Athletic Director Jay Jacobs hired Chizik. Chizik compiled a 5-19 record at Iowa State before he was deemed “fit” to take over Auburn. Here’s what Jacobs said about the hire in a letter to Auburn fans.

Throughout the search process, we interviewed a strong group of candidates, but Coach Chizik clearly rose to the top. Everyone we talked with about Coach Chizik spoke about his impeccable character, relentless work ethic, his relationships with his players and his ability to motivate them.

I guess winning doesn’t fit into the equation huh Jay? Iowa State lost their last 10 games after wins over South Dakota State and Kent State. Yeah he was a good defensive coordinator, but to date (unlike Gill) he hasn’t show that he can translate that into head coaching success.

The most important event of the Civil Rights Era (IMHO) took place just 50 miles east of Auburn. A group of Civil Rights giants, then just ordinary citizens, dealt the first blow towards ending Jim Crow racism in the South.

The Montgomery (Alabama) Improvement Association, lead by 26 year old Martin Luther King, Jr. initiated a boycott of the city bus system after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to relinquish her seat to a white passenger. The protest lasted for 381 days and for me is the most effective single initiative of the civil rights struggle.

The reason I believe in the bus boycott so strongly is because black folks in Montgomery withheld something from the business structure that it couldn’t do without. What was the city going to do, force people to stop walking and car pooling?

Nowadays African-Americans often make demands but are not willing to make changes to their lifestyles if those needs are not met. The way to get change in American (even in a case like the BCS) is to hit folks in their pocketbook. See the 2008 Presidential Election.

If black and white recruits withhold the one thing that a good football team can’t do without -good players- they could send shockwaves throughout college football. This is bigger than Turner Gill and Gene Chizik. If Auburn had chosen not to interview Gill, I probably would be playing Wii right now.

This is about institutional racism in the hiring practices of football coaches nationwide. Those practices are seen in boardrooms and offices across the United States.

Here in 2008, there is an opportunity to revisit the state of Alabama and Auburn’s puzzling decision to hire Gene Chizik as their next football coach. I hope to have specific actions around this in the days to come, but realize that there’s potential for Jean-Jacques Taylor’s column to serve more positive purposes than just as recyclable paper. I believe that Auburn’s 2009 recruiting efforts can be disrupted.

Letters of intent declaring where students plan to attend college are signed in February. We’ve got work to do.

Barack Obama names Ron Kirk -former Dallas mayor- U.S. Trade Representative

Posted on December 19, 2008 by Shawn Williams

As President Elect Obama moves to finish out his cabinet, he has selected former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk to the position of U.S. Trade Representative. Kirk is a currently a partner with law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP.

Born in Austin, Texas, Kirk is a graduate of Austin College, in Sherman (Texas). He is also a graduate of the University of Texas Law School.

Kirk served as Secretary of State under Ann Richards in 1994. He also ran for U.S. Senate in 2002, but was defeated by Senator John Cornyn. He was Barack Obama’s Texas point man during the Democratic Primary, and time campaigning for Obama in North Carolina during the general election.

There have been questions on Kirk’s experience and ability to handle this trade post. To date, Ron Kirk hasn’t found a job that he wasn’t able to handle.

I was having a discussion on the Kevin Ross Show a couple of days ago about the diversity of Obama’s staff. I urged Kevin to hold off before making his final decision. I think the end result has turned out pretty impressive.

High level positions have gone to African-Americans Eric Holder (Attorney General), Susan Rice (U.N. Ambassador) and Kirk. Not to mention Social Secretary Desiree Rogers and Melody Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Eric Holder

Susan Rice

Desiree Rogers

Melody Barnes

Obama also named California Rep. Hilda Solis as his labor secretary. This move was lauded by the Communications Workers of America. “Representative Solis is a tremendous supporter of workers’ rights and the Employee Free Choice Act, which is critical to repairing our broken labor law,” said CWA President Larry Cohen.

And in a statement released to the media, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said “We’re thrilled with the selection of Rep. Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary. Under her leadership, we expect the Labor Department to return to its mission of protecting workers rather than attacking them.”

Congrats to Dallas’ own Ron Kirk on this esteemed nomination.

Congresswoman Johnson comes out hard against Inland Port Master Plan and JWP

Posted on December 18, 2008 by Shawn Williams

When talk of a Master Plan at the Inland Port in Southern Dallas came up, I was skeptical. I mean the Allen Group had gotten the port off to a great start and I haven’t heard one negative thing about what they are doing out there. They have 6,000 acres of what could one day be a 70,000 acre project.

I was taken aback by the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board’s decision to support the Master Plan. The Dallas County commissioners came back a few weeks later and killed the plan by a 3-2 vote. The editorial board came back and disagreed with their decision.

Jim Schutze of the Dallas Observer writes an article regarding the port that pits Rep. Eddie B. Johnson against Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price. Here’s some cuts from Schutze’s article, …Shaking Down Development Deal.

Johnson told me last week she views Commissioner Price’s role, in particular, as part of a long, bad history: “I see all of these different deals that he’s trying to do over the years, shaking people down and all that kind of stuff.”

She said she knew what was wrong with the proposed inland port master plan the first time she heard of it. “John was making sure he put a cork in there to stop everything until they did what he wanted them to do.”

In prior columns, I’ve reported on the extraordinary lengths to which Price has gone to oppose The Allen Group project, with help from the North Central Texas Council of Governments, a regional planning agency. Last week on December 11, Leppert blinked: Chris Heinbaugh, his spokesman, confirmed for me that the mayor had withdrawn his support from the plan, at least for now.
Then this week on Monday, December 15, the NCTCOG blinked too. The agency’s director told a specially convened panel of local elected officials that he was willing to drop it, as well. I guess that leaves the News.
Congresswoman Johnson was blunt with me about her view of Price’s role. “If people want equity,” she said, “they have to come up with some money. Most of the time folks don’t care what color you are if you come up with money.”

Of course Schutze’s columns are always long, but it’s worth it to dig through what he’s talking about.

The craziest part is that the only person who could give an interview like this, the only person who could say the things that are said here is Congresswoman Johnson. I’ve had people allude to these types of dealings and talk around people involved, but according to Schutze, the Congresswoman was naming names.

The last time I mentioned the Master Plan on Dallas South, this was a comment that I received:

If history is any predictor of future behavior, the smaller surrounding cities will have zero input on this plan. Similar to the bridge that Price held up in Hutchins until Congr. Eddie Bernice Johnson came to ensure that it was built.

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson is the highest ranking African-American official in these parts, and her words carry a lot of weight. After the vote by the Dallas County Commissioners, everybody else has jumped ship. As quickly as they jumped on board the Master Plan, now it’s as if the Master Plan never existed.

Whatever happened here, a lot more people will be paying attention now that she has entered into the discussion.

Hopefully it will cause more people to look at the inland port and the opportunities that it presents to Southern Dallas. It’s to bad that it has to take Jim Schutze’s muckraking to get it done, but the more people know about the inland port -and the Allen Group- the better.

There are more and more parties interested in making sure that the will of the few doesn’t negatively impact the plight of the many. That includes folks like the person who sent me this article on Facebook.

But one thing is true. Ii we wanted to truly influence what goes on in our community and sit at the table where the decisions are made, we’re going to have to come up with some capital from somewhere.

Pam’s House Blend: Homobigot Rick Warren to deliver invocation at inauguration

Posted on December 17, 2008 by Shawn Williams

#1 Black Blogger and LGBT advocate Pam Spalding goes off on the Obama team’s decision to select Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the Presidential inauguration. Here’s a little bit of what Pam had to say in her Homobigot Rick Warren Invocation Post.

I can understand the selection of Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, a revered veteran of the civil rights movement co-founder with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, to deliver the benediction at Obama’s inauguration, but how on earth could he select fundie Rick Warren to do the invocation?

This selection is clearly not about “change” — it’s about making a high profile decision to give the stage over to a known homophobe; choosing Rick Warren is tantamount to asking any of the professional “Christian” set to stand up there. There is no excuse for this; given so many leaders of the faith community that are in alignment with equality for all.

She also points readers to Kyle of Right Wing Watch who says:

As we’ve pointed out several times before, in 2004 Warren declared that marriage, reproductive choice, and stem cell research were “non-negotiable” issues for Christian voters and has admitted that the main difference between himself and James Dobson is a matter of tone. He criticized Obama’s answers at the Faith Forum he hosted before the election and vowed to continue to pressure him to change his views on the issue of reproductive choice. He came out strongly in support of Prop 8, saying “there is no need to change the universal, historical defintion of marriage to appease 2 percent of our population …

By checking out Pam’s comments and some of the other sites that she’s directed folks to, this seems to be gaining some steam. Ya’ll know I love Pam, I don’t think she’s too off base here.

We all watched Warren toss John McCain soft balls in mock debate, even though he hadn’t been in the sound proof room. He tried to trip Obama up every chance he got, and is rewarded with a prime spot in history.

This is a story worth following.

ShawnPWilliams.com

The Toxic Mix of Race, Politics and Media

Monthly Archives: December 2008