DALLAS - The Meadows Foundation has awarded a $500,000 grant to the University of North Texas Dallas Campus to assist the university in its efforts to develop further its leadership program in educational administration. The grant provides scholarships for an additional 75 teachers seeking certification as school principals in public schools in Texas. The award also provides $200,000 for the study of at least two longer-standing school leadership programs in New York City and around the country, according to Joe Breshears, executive director of development at the UNT Dallas Campus. "An already outstanding curriculum will be refined as needed to remain state-of-the-art and at the cutting edge of training programs for school leaders," Breshears said. "We are grateful to the Meadows Foundation for their investment in this program that will increase the number of new, high-quality principals in our partner school districts and public education as a whole." The master's degree program in educational administration with principal certification at the UNT Dallas Campus has grown rapidly over the past two years. In the fall 2007 semester, graduate admissions increased 205 percent at the new campus, located on ...

  I haven't watched as much baseball as in years past, but I happened to be watching when Texas Rangers "closer" C.J. Wilson made two Busch League moves.  The latest came Tuesday night when Wilson showed blatant disrespect for Rangers manager Ron Washington in the team's 8-6 win over the New York Yankees. But let's go back to Sunday July 13, in a game between the Rangers and the Chicago White Sox.  Wilson entered that game in a non-save situation with the Rangers leading 12-8.  Jim Thome smacked one of Wilson's so called meatball pitch over the fence making the score 12-11 and causing White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen to start taunting Wilson from the dugout.  Wilson then "closed" the game and threw his arms up in a "how you like me now?" fashion. As a fan I was upset that a guy who almost blew a 4 run lead would show that type of emotion after a performance like that.  Wipe your brow, point to God, anything, but don't act like you retired the side in order. Now fast forward to Tuesday night, when Wilson started warming in the 7th inning with the score 5-2.  A three-run triple by Chris Davis gave the ...

On Sunday one of God's preaching greats left this Earth with the passing of Rev. C.A.W. Clark. Pastor Clark began preaching in 1929 and was ordained four years later. He lead his first church, Israelite Baptist in Louisiana, at age 19. Clark was a graduate of Bishop College. My earliest memories are of Pastor Clark on the cover of Ebony magazine in the early 80's as one of America's 15 Best Preachers.  This was a big deal in my house because I had an aunt and uncle who attended his church. As a matter of fact, the first time I met Pastor Clark was in my grandmother's Paris, Texas living room.   Clark was in town for a week long revival and Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church.  I  found Rev. Clark to be a quiet yet engaging figure with an unforgettable chuckle of a laugh. Speaking of unforgettable, once you heard Rev. Clark preach God's word, you could never forget it.  Clark's sermon's began slow and deliberately.  I wondered if his voice would ever rise above a whisper the first time I heard him.  But by the end of the sermon, his whoop had the congregation on their feet shouting, lifting their hands, and praising ...

After reading D Magazine and Curt Sampson's excellent article on Dallas County exoneree James Woodard (27 years). I had a little time on my hands so I scanned through their ranking of 62 Dallas Suburbs. I thought I would do one of my patented non-scientific experiments and see how diverse the Top 10 and Bottom 10 suburbers were. Well actually I just checked to see what percentage of white residents live in each city.  This isn't a knock on D's list or their criteria for that matter.  Just a look at good old American segregation. The information that is represented below isn't surprising since U.S. neighborhoods are as segregated as they have ever been. It's just that now there are no laws (but sometimes contracts) prohibiting integration, we just choose not to. Notice that all of the cities in the D Magazine's Top 10 had a population with at least 90% white residents, with the exception of Murphy (76%). One other interesting bit of information that I found during this "strenuous" search was that Lancaster (pop. 25,894) is the largest majority African-American city in Texas. So when people tell me that white folks are keeping school bond proposals of ...

Washington, D.C. – (July 15, 2008) Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson will hold panel discussions on wrongful convictions and DNA exonerations this Saturday, July 19. The event will consist of two discussion panels, one featuring three Texas exonerees and one featuring Michigan Congressman John Conyers, state Senator Rodney Ellis, District Attorney Craig Watkins and Jeff Blackburn of the Innocence Project of Texas. The discussions will be moderated by Judge John Creuzot.   Texas has more wrongful convictions proven by DNA evidence than any other state in the country, and of the 32 in the state, 19 were overturned in Dallas County.     A press conference will immediately precede the first discussion.     What: Panel Discussion: Wrongful Convictions and DNA Exonerations   Date: Saturday, July 19     Time: 4:00 – 4:15 PM – Press Conference 4:15 – 5:00 PM – Panel One – Discussion featuring three Dallas exonorees 5:00 – 6:00 PM – Panel Two – Discussion featuring Michigan Congressman John Conyers, State Senator Rodney Ellis, District ...

Thanks to Nicole Stockdale, copy editor at the Dallas Morning News for giving me my first opportunity to appear in the Sunday paper.  See my civic pride column below. Is anyone proud to live in Dallas? I pondered this question after listening to a weeklong radio field trip that NPR's News and Notes program took to Atlanta. Each day, the show focused on various aspects of the city, with topics that ranged from reducing water flow at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport to the success of the Atlanta University System. One thing was constant during each night of programming. Whether it was the mayor or a congressperson, a student or a cab driver, Atlantans spoke of their city with pride and enthusiasm. So I wondered what residents would say about our city if News and Notes host Farai Chideya were to bring her show to Dallas. My thought is that optimism and glad tidings would be in short supply. Many would probably harp on the same tired chords we always hear: Why are they throwing money away on the Cotton Bowl? When will DISD get its act together? What's up with the Trinity River project? I'm not suggesting that the skepticism isn't justified, but we are so accustomed to negativity ...

Thursday evening, the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau launched a new web portal targeting African-Americans. The event was hosted at the African-American Museum in Fair Park. See the new web portal at www.visitblackdallas.com DCVB President and CEO Phillip Jones said that he considers the site part of the new face of Dallas. That face showcases Dallas' diverse citizens all working together. Mr. Jones said that he has targeted three African-American conventions that he hopes lure to Dallas now that the convention center hotel is coming on line: Bishop T.D. Jakes Mega Fest (South Africa '08) NAACP Annual Convention (Cincinnati '08) National Urban League Annual Conference (Orlando '08) Also having words at the event were State Senator Royce West, and Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce President Reginald Gates. Fitzgerald Dodd, Executive Chef at One Arts Plaza's newly opened SCREENDOOR Restaurant ,prepared hors d'oeuvrs for the evenings proceedings. Sederrick Raphiel and the design factory are responsible for much of the visual presentation involved in the project. They produced an excellent booklet, much of which is also present on the website. What I like most about how they presented African-Americans in Dallas is that all shades and colors are represented in the marketing pieces. The ...

Washington, D.C. – (July 9, 2008) Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson today announced that Dallas’s Cedar Valley College, located in the 30th Congressional District of Texas, will receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions Program. The college will receive $400,056.00 for FY 2009, and an equal amount in the four following fiscal years, for a total of five years. “Cedar Valley College is a community college that truly serves its community,” Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson said. “The faculty and administration work hard to meet the needs of the students, and the students work hard to balance their schoolwork with the other responsibilities in their lives. I am proud that Cedar Valley College is in my District, and I congratulate it on receiving this grant.” Cedar Valley College is a Minority Serving Institution with an enrollment of almost 5,000 students. It will use the grant money to improve both retention of students and student success, with a focus on enhancing instruction and academic services. Grants made by the U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions Program are designed to enable institutions ...

Go back with me to the beginning of the baseball season. Now what would you have guessed the Rangers record to be after 90 games with these names on the roster: Catching - Max Ramierez (Started season at Frisco) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (OK City) Third Base - German Duran(OK City) and Ramon Vasquez (Bench Player) First Base - Chris Davis (Frisco) Outfield - Brandon Boggs (OK City) Pitchers - Scott Feldman (Frisco), Luis Mendoza (Frisco), Eric Hurley (OK City), Frank Francisco (OK City), Warner Madrigal (Frisco) I would have guessed 35-40 wins at best, landing them solidly in last place. I don't know of one - not one- expert prognosticator, sports predictor or pundit who expected the Texas Rangers to have a record of 46-43 as the team prepares to play their 90th game tonight. Especially after a horrific 7-16 start that included an embarrassing 19-6 loss in Detroit to the Tigers. Many around town, in the papers, on the radio, and in the stands, were calling for the firing of Rangers' manager Ron Washington. I have to admit after the Tigers debacle I was ready to add my voice to the chorus. It wasn't just the team's record, ...

Folks are often trying to tell me how the court system usually gets it right and how there is really much racial disparity there these days. Well if justice were blind, wouldn't Dallas County be freeing more white folks by way of DNA evidence?  You know that chick (Justice) is peeking through that blindfold every chance she gets. Today, Partick Waller will become Dallas County's 18th prisoner exonerated since 2001, widening a dubious lead for having the most such releases in the nation. The Dallas Morning News' James Ragland says the exonerations give him "mixed feelings." In a column in today's News, James Ragland credits Dallas County's preservation of DNA evidence -for decades in many cases- equally with current D.A. Craig Watkins' desire for justice as the reason so many are gaining freedom. While the preservation is key and a major factor, I can't give much in the way of kudos to the DA's office. Before I can get to praise, I share the feelings of John Rolater who Ragland quotes in is article. Rolater once worked for former Dallas District Attorney John Vance and oversaw DNA test requests for D.A. Bill Hill. "It's a threefold tragedy because ...