Here's a gun violence column that I wrote for Dallas Morning News' Sunday Points section. It's already available online and Trey Garrison also wrote a column on the same subject which now available as well. Trey and I often have a running version of Point/Counterpoint going on our blogs, but I figured we would probably see this one about the same way. Thanks to Sharon Grigsby for the opportunity. SHAWN WILLIAMS: FIRST, ADMIT BLACK ON BLACK CRIME PROBLEM (I don't pick the titles but this one isn't too bad) Too often, African-Americans cover their ears when the talk turns to black homicide rates. Yet the statistics are beyond alarming: Blacks make up nearly half of this country’s murder victims, and nine out of 10 times those deaths are the result of a black hand squeezing the trigger of a gun. It’s time that we talk about — and better understand — the factors at the core of the black-on-black violence that exists throughout the nation. Some groups are doing just that. Projects like CeaseFire in Chicago, where community leaders intervene in conflicts and promote alternative solutions to violence. In the Dallas area, Vision Regeneration focuses on violence prevention, gang intervention and youth rehabilitation. But ...

Here's a cool video which was recently posted on the Blogging While Brown website that recaps some of the presentations and panels that took place.  I'm not just promoting it because I have a cameo at the beginning, there's some good info here.  Hopefully this will inspire some folks to attend next year who weren't able to make it to Chicago.

Embedded video from <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video" mce_href="http://www.cnn.com/video">CNN Video</a> Thursday's Bloggers Bunch on CNN was interesting to say the least.  One of the bloggers on the show was Lurita Doan of EyesOnGov.com.  Lurita went out of her way to criticize the President, and Black folks seemingly, during our discussion of race.  I wanted to follow up to a couple of her points during the show, but I had no such luck.  I like it better when there are three guests on instead of four because we get a little more time to establish our points.  Let me know what you think.

Embedded video from <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video" mce_href="http://www.cnn.com/video">CNN Video</a> It was sad discussing the passing of Michael Jackson on CNNcom/Live today, but it was made easier by seeing two friendly faces on the screen with me.  Those were Carmen D. of All About Race, and Lola Adesioye from TheGriot.com. Here's the 15 or so minutes that we discussed our thoughts on the King of Pop, what his music meant to the world, and how the discussion has played out since his death.

On Friday at 11 AM Central, I will be on CNN Live (online) where we will talk about the life, death, and legacy of Michael Jackson. Central. We were originally scheduled to talk about CNN's Black in America, but the topic obviously changed after the tragic news regarding the King of Pop. Click here or the link above to go to the site.

After I wrote this article I thought, wouldn't a Johnny Taylor themed restaurant look good in Deep Ellum (or South Dallas)? Some of ya'll entrepreneur types should be able to take that one and run. Anyway, here's the article I wrote for the Dallas Morning News almost in its entirety. To see the few parts I didn't paste, click here. Thanks to Sharon Grigsby for the space. From DallasNews.com To borrow a phrase from legendary musician Robert Johnson, Deep Ellum has the crossroad blues. The path toward the future may mean taking a look back. With the possible exception of the city's preaching tradition, the blues scene in the early part of the last century represents the biggest mark left on this city by African-Americans. But the community is letting that rich history die by allowing the place where it all went down to lose its soul. It's part of a trend nationwide where the African-American community neglects history that is not intimately tied to the civil rights movement. This is even more pronounced in our city, where not only is the history ignored, it's all but forgotten. Deep Ellum should be the same type of cultural destination as the 18th and ...

_ Shawn P. Williams cordially invites you to join in a special night celebrating the Third Blogiversary of Dallas South Friday, the Twelfth of June Two thousand and nine Eight o'clock in the evening Bishop Arts Theater Center 215 South Tyler Street Dallas, Texas Kindly RSVP by June 8th Carla@dallassouth.com On Saturday June 12th, Dallas South will celebrate our 3rd anniversary at the Bishop Arts Theater Center in Dallas. Since we celebrated our 2nd birthday at Brooklyn last year, Dallas South has attended the DNC Convention as a credentialed blog, appeared as a weekly Ranter on Channel 8, and appeared in the Toronto Star, BBC, Quick, and D Magazine. Help us celebrate this wonderful year on what promises to be an exciting night. We'll also talk about Dallas South News, our nonprofit news venture. All are invited and welcome to attend but seating is limited, so it's important that you RSVP if you plan to attend. To do so, leave a comment on this post, or email carla@dallassouthblog.com. I'll have more information about this exciting event as it becomes available.

My wife and I are the proud parents of a healthy baby girl: Maliyah Faith Williams.  Maliyah was born at 5:13 p.m. and weighed 7 lbs and 8 oz.  She and mother are both doing well.  Big brother Isaiah has been smiling for almost 24 straight hours. Thanks so much to everyone for all of the prayers that were offered to Tamela during her 7 weeks in the hospital and 7 weeks at home on bed rest.  She sacrificed so much to bring this little baby in the world.  Words cannot express my love nor gratitude. Thanks to the Dallas South family who has given me plenty of latitude and support through this rough time.  I've tried my best -through the help of the crew- to keep the site on track. I think we accomplished that and then some. Again, thanks to the fam and God Bless. Shawn

Talking about the impending hurricane season and the nation's preparedness on CNN's bloggers bunch. Embedded video from &lt;a href="http://www.cnn.com/video" mce_href="http://www.cnn.com/video"&gt;CNN Video&lt;/a&gt;

In this month's D Magazine, there's an article written by yours truly where I talk about the plight of Southwest Center/Red Bird Mall.  You can read Saving Old Red Bird Mall at the D Magazine site (MAKE SURE TO GO PICK UP A FEW COPIES).  Thanks to Tim Rogers at D for the opportunity, and Trey Garrison for helping me with the edit.  Here are a few excerpts from the article. My son and I recently found ourselves in the mall formerly known as Red Bird because I had forgotten Dillard’s had packed up last year and moved to the new Uptown Village at Cedar Hill. We tried to find something else to occupy our time since we had already made the trip. “Does this mall have a Build-A-Bear Workshop?” my first-grader asked. “No, son,” I said, halfway shamed by his question and my answer. “They don’t have that store here.” Dr. Frederick D. Haynes of Friendship-West Baptist Church and a group of Southern Dallas pastors unsuccessfully pursued a joint venture with an investment group to purchase the mall in 2001. (“The owners of Red Bird got complacent and didn’t keep up with what other malls were doing,” Haynes says. “They lost ...