The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same

‎I cannot forget the first time I met the current Chairman of SOUL ten years ago in New Orleans. He and I were the only minorities in the room and to my dismay when my boss at the time introduced me to him, he replied "so, you the new house "ni_ _ _ er".

Almost 10 years later I'm back in New Orleans and, not as surprised that the Chairman is still politically incorrect.

Several months ago in Houston, a HCC Trustee race received international coverage because the winning candidate defeated the Black incumbent by misleading voters to believe he was Black. Both the voters and the new trustee were highly criticized, but sometimes the more things change the more they stay the same.

Recently the SOUL Chairman released their ballot ticket that endorses a candidate in each race in Orleans Parish. ‎Every candidate's picture is displayed except for one. If I took a guess, SOULS's policy must be that only black candidates are allowed a picture.

Traditionally SOUL and other groups like it are known for opposing racial inequity. There is only one other candidate in the race against the councilwoman. He is a Harvard graduate, a business owner and a proven leader. In this apple to apples race why would SOUL endorse a candidate that they aren't willing to put her picture on their ticket?

Maybe New Orleans isn't progressing as much as I thought. ‎Race is always an election issue we like to avoid. On the flip side of a coin,  it has helped to create voter apathy, but to the contrary, it's also used to motivate citizens to vote.

When you don’t vote you choose not to have a voice but, if you choose to vote be informed and use your vote wisely.

Don't Read This if You Don't like God Related Stuff

On a ferry ride to La Ceiba there was a baby boy, he was maybe eleven months old in a

stroller. His mom who was seated comfortably for the almost 2 hour ride for whatever reason did not want to hold him despite the boy's efforts to get her to pick him up.

As he whined and cried the mom's only attempt to pacify him was to continuously throw a blanket over his head (like pee a boo). As that went on for what seemed like hours the baby continued to whine. She

then moved on to shaking him as an alternative to get him to be quiet. The first time she covered his face with her hands and aggressively shook his head it took everything in me not to go over and take the child.  But what got me to stand to my feet was when she grabbed his arms and began to shake him. Every year thousands of babies die from "Shaken Baby Syndrome". Did you know as harmless as twirling a

child around by their arms looks it can cause an injury called "Nurse Maid Elbow" and thousands of kids are seen in the emergency room because little consideration was given to how fragile children can be? I'm sure that mother never assumed for a second that she could hurt her baby but how often do you think we neglect to think about the long term effects of things that seems so minor even when it comes to our own personal safety?

The lack of consideration is never a problem right until the moment that it is. Any emergency can throw us for a major loop and sometimes the consequences can be fatal. Do you ever think about whether your salvation is secured or what happens when your time comes? Not taking any precautions about where you will end up once you die won't be a problem right up until the moment it is....

Not having a relationship with Christ can be like that baby boy on the ferry. We are fragile and at any moment a playful shaking can send us to our demise. Because of Adam we were born into sin but because of Christ we can have deliverance Romans 5:15-17.

Right up until this moment we have a choice, how will you choose?

Sometimes When You Lose You Win

Seven years ago, in August 2005 my sister called me on a Saturday before dawn. She informed me that her boss, Mayor Ray Nagin, was calling a mandatory evacuation at 1:00p.m. and I should make arrangements so our family could leave together.  That morning, I was scheduled to staff my own boss, the Lieutenant Governor, during a funeral of a prominent community leader.  Having prior evacuated several times in the last couple of years, it never crossed my mind for a second that this evacuation would be the mother of all evacuations. I don’t believe any of us really understood what was coming. I advised the Lt Governor I would be evacuating to Texas and he directed me to report to our Baton Rouge offices’ on Tuesday.  On Saturday, after the funeral; my kids and I jumped in the car with a limit of 3 items each (my daughter had packed everything in her room and was distraught when I enforced the 3 items limit). I’d not spent much time watching the news like my kids, who were hanging on every word of the news anchors, and my daughter had determined that an immediate return would be futile.  In hindsight, the children were clearly more prepared then I despite I spent most of the morning with every elected official/decision maker in the city.  

Right before our departure, I received a call from the Governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff.  Although the Mayor’s press conference had not occurred, the Governor’s office was advising constituents to evacuate and the people were not responding.  I was directed to reach out to the churches to encourage their congregations to evacuate. I’m glad we left when we did because the 8 hour ride to Houston was a welcome in comparison to the 14 hour ride we experienced during the last evacuation (it usually took us 5 hours to drive to Houston from New Orleans). Although I would have preferred to travel to Atlanta because Houston was the default location for years, we didn’t because the snippet of news I did watch was directing evacuees not to travel that route.  Nevertheless, I was the first of my family to arrive to Houston.  My friends and siblings were in tow; my parents were refusing to evacuate and my brother stayed behind to make sure they departed. As we got comfortable at the hotel that I had only booked through Monday, the news reports were starting to look very grim. On Sunday I was almost in a panic when I couldn’t locate lodging that would accommodate all of us for the rest of the week. The rain had start to beat down New Orleans and reality set in that we would not be returning on Monday, Tuesday, or even Wednesday. With more than 20 of us, the floors became the bed but being together made it comforting and everything worked itself out.

On Monday (the day Katrina made landfall), being an evacuee was no longer a priority; I had to put on my work hat quick, fast and in a hurry. I realized that if history repeated itself, Houston would soon be flooded with New Orleanians.  As the Community and Governmental Affairs Director for the Lieutenant Governor, there was lots of work to be done and no other city came to the rescue like Houston.  On Thursday, I learned that the levee breached near the Lake Front caused my property to take in 10 feet of water. There was no time to mourn.  I set up an office at City Hall and Senator Ellis’s. Through amazing partnerships with Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church, BET, 97.9 The Box,  Red Cross, The City of Houston, Harris County  and elected officials throughout the State we served. During this very trying time I witnessed and experienced unconditional love.    Nevertheless; “to have ying, you must have yang” and unfortunately despite the many good experiences, there were as many bad experiences.  However; sometimes when you lose you win.  I lost relationships I valued because I didn’t return to live in New Orleans after the storm.   According to some, not returning to post with the Lieutenant Governor hurt my career. However; despite the loss of everything (and I did not have adequate insurance) over the last seven years I have accumulated more than I ever owned. If I would have returned to New Orleans I would not have been blessed with the opportunity to create the City of Houston’s first Department of Neighborhoods. I would not have met the many wonderful Houstonian’s I call friends. On the heels of having twenty guests at my home who evacuated to Houston because of Hurricane Isaac during the anniversary week of Katrina and as bad as things seemed, you can always have a winning outlook because sometimes even when you lose, you win.

Plant a seed..... How does your garden grow?

After my house warming several years ago, I received a very cool bowl that depending on the activity I'm hosting it is placed throughout the house.

Most of the time the bowl is used to house potpourri but earlier this year I started dumping wine corks in the bowl. After some months and many parties later the bowl is full.

I never really paid much attention to why I was so persistence about making sure we didn't throw any cork away, even if we could only save half a cork I would still just throw it in the bowl. Now that the bowl is full I couldn't believe that my kids wanted to throw all the corks away; "really"? Their chief compliant was the corks didn’t serve a purpose.

Well, every Saturday I'm at CNN radio and every time I get there I'm rushing to get to the 19th floor but because of an approaching holiday we prerecorded the show during the weekday. On this day I wasn't in a hurry and noticed an over sized glass container that sits on the lobby check-in desk. I suppose I never noticed it before because it had been hidden by the sign in front of it that encouraged visitors to contribute wine corks. For every cork donated money is contributed for cancer treatments and in addition the corks are recycled.

I must admit that my heart smiled as I emptied my bag into the glass container. My contribution actually filled it to the top. Last year this time the doctors told my family and me that my father wouldn't make it through the weekend. His cancer treatments had produced detrimental results but through God's grace he's still here. So knowing all too well the emotional and financial cost of cancer I recognize that my very minimal contribution of hundreds of corks didn’t amount to the cost of a pack of seeds. However, I believe that one of the most important objectives as a Christian is "to love your neighbor as you love yourself ". Love is an action and every action is a seed. Contingent on the number of seeds you plant, your life's garden can be beautiful and filled with an unlimited number of blossoms or on the other hand it can be desolate place.

Every seed planted has an opportunity to grow. A mustard seed is the smallest seed available but in the bible it is referred to as the greatest amongst herb consequently even the smallest action can create the most impactful result.

What kind of seeds are you planting? How does your garden grow?

I support immigration reform

This week was the Oilman's Tennis Tournament at the Houston Racquet Club. As a board member I was invited to socialize amongst the elite and considered it a privilege to be included. In an effort to fit in I wore my cutest tennis outfit including a matching hat. There was probably a couple hundred people on site and during the two hours I was there I saw only one black couple. Although I dont drive a luxury vehicle and I didnt spend $300 plus dollars on my raquet I never felt out of place for second and because I looked the part I was enveloped into the mix.

Nevertheless I ended up leaving the event early despite that not enough of the city's richest oil executives saw me in my cutest outfit. unfortunately I received a call that my girlfriend's mother died and because of the approaching holiday I knew I couldn't make it to the funeral in Texarcana on Saturday, so I made the decision to visit with her in Arkansas today because she said she needed me.


So, what does this have to do with immigration? Please bear with me. I went home, map quested the directions (projected a 4 hour ride), rented a car and got on the road to Texarcana at about p on Thursday.

The ride was pleasant enough but an hour outside of Dallas I realize I took the long way, I should have taken 59 instead of 45. At midnight I was stopped by the police and I was still 88 miles from my destination. I thought I was being pulled over for speeding which was inevitable because I love to drive fast. As I was racing to pull over in front of a truck I noticed the officer to late as the road was very dark. When the officer approached my car he actually said that I was driving 51mph (go figure) and was cruising in the do not pass lane. Now this dude followed me for more than a mile before he pulled me over and I wasn't in the pass lane when he finally turned his lights on.

Nevertheless, he asked me to step out the car and wait on the side of the road. Tons of cars passed and slowed down as I felt I was being showcased for all to see. Before being stopped I actually was okay with getting a ticket for speeding because I was, but now I was trying very hard not to have an attitude because I felt he was not truthful. He went to his car and was gone for about 5minutes and returned with a litany of questions: Where was I going? Why was I driving so late? If I was coming from Houston why did I take the wrong way? What was joyce's mother cause of death ? And more. Every answer I provided prompted more questions (he actually didn't believe I was going to provide emotional support for one day to my girlfriend that lost her mother) and he returned to his car again, I thought this time to write the ticket.

Upon his return more questions ensued: had I ever been arrested? did I have anything illegal in the car, etc? He returned to his car again and by this time 30 minutes had past and I was starting to wonder what was really going on. He came back and asked me to search my car. Considering my options I said yes and before his search he did ask me if I understood why he had suspicions.

After hearing myself answer all his questions and remembering footage from all those crazy cop shows about police stops, I COULD actually appreciate his due diligence. Of course he searched the car thoroughly and came back without any findings.

Upon his return I actually thought he was going to ask me for my number because he came back with more questions regarding my trip that seemed more of a personal nature.. Finally he issued a warning and I was on my way.

The entire time, I had been on the phone which the officer made me leave in the car and of course his first accusation was racial profiling.

Immediately my incident made me think about the AZ legislation and in conclusion my experience strengthens my support of the illegal immigration bill. Except for the reason that I was pulled over, I believe the officers actions were justifiable.

There is a cost to civil liberties and I believe that as a citizen I have a personal responsibility to respect authority. I believe that had I not responded in a professional manner it is very likely this message would be far different
I am in no way implying that racial profiling is not real. However we should address pockets of violations for what they are and those in authority that operate outside the designed framework should be challenged. Personal responsibility includes being an active citizen, being proactive and being responsive..

I suggest as opposed to racial profiling being the issue, perhaps those in opposition of the new legislation should consider advocating for fair application of our laws.

AZ didn't just arrived at the legislation, the issues those communities are facing as a border state are real and the public's opinion tends to always be reactive. The people of Texas have an opportunity to revamp legislation that in fact, deals with a matter that is long over due to be addressed. I challenge the advocates to be a part of the solution, have a seat at the table and objectively participate in the conversations to produce realistic solutions that address the real issues.

Illegal immigrants are a drain on our already weak systems. I challenge decision makers to fish or cut bait. Border control, illegals, etc are issues that we need to face now.
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Today is the 1st day of the rest of my life however this blog may become the death of my career, my dreams and aspirations. Just earlier for the gazillion time I was told to not rock the boat, that I should be patience and learn to understand the politics of things; this is on the heels of exhausting close to $100k in operation cost for my non-profit.

Just last night, I watched government officials mislead the public as I held documentation in my hand that proved that most of what they said was a lie. In my attempt to be politically correct and a real advocate for the people, I gingerly shared my concerns. I opted not to entertainment the media when approached. I never verbally attacked any of the players and yet of course Im the one that end up with the "black eye"

I'm exhausted of having to always "hurry up and wait". I'm tired of watching our communities die because those in power are waiting on the doers to kiss the ring.

I am one of the most resourceful people I know. I love being in the mix. I get up in the morning just so I can try to make the world a better place but I'm starting to believe that a bounty has been posted for my assassination. I'm not sure anymore if my work makes any difference at all and sometimes I can feel a little part of me die.

Welcome to my page! Thanks for stopping by, please let me know what's killing you?