New law allows Fort Bend County to operate and maintain historic cemetery
DEFENDER NEWS NETWORK — There was a significant new development in the historic case of the Sugar Land 95. At a news conference Monday, Fort Bend County and school district officials celebrating a new law that allows the county to operate and maintain a cemetery.
There was a significant new development in the historic case of the Sugar Land 95.
At a news conference Monday, Fort Bend County and school district officials celebrating a new law that allows the county to operate and maintain a cemetery.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law last week. Sixteen months ago, while the Forts Bend ISD was building a new technology center, backhoe operators unearthed human remains.
Eventually, 95 sets of bones were discovered the century-old unmarked cemetery.
It’s believed the remains belonged to black prisoners – among them former slaves – who were forced to do hard labor for plantations and railroad companies, so the state could make a profit.
The county and school district are now making plans to reinter the remains, exactly where they were found.
Oakland Protesters Rally to Defend Haitian Immigrants and TPS
The Haiti Action Committee traces its roots to the international movement that emerged following Haiti’s 1991 military coup, which overthrew the nation’s first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Political violence sent thousands of Haitians fleeing the country, while U.S. policies resulted in refugees being intercepted at sea, repatriated, or detained at Guantanamo Bay.
Protesters gathered in downtown Oakland near City Hall at 14th Street and Broadway on Thursday, Aug. 13, calling for protections for Haitian immigrants and an end to deportation policies affecting Haitian communities across the United States.
Organized as a call to action by the Legalization for All Network and supported by the Haiti Action Committee and other community organizations, the demonstration carried a clear message: “Defend TPS! Legalization, Not Deportation!”
Participants focused attention on the termination of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haiti and immigration policies protesters described as continuing attacks on Haitian immigrants under the Trump administration.
Haitian Romaine Charite of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization urged demonstrators to stand with Haitian families and led chants:
“When Haitians are under attack, what do we do? We fight back.”
Injustice to one is an injustice to us all.”
“Dump Trump!”
Charite and other protesters condemned the federal government’s treatment of Haitian immigrants, describing the policies as an attack on a population already facing extraordinary hardship.
Haiti’s TPS designation was terminated effective July 27, 2026, removing temporary deportation protections and work authorization for hundreds of thousands of Haitian beneficiaries who lacked another legal basis to remain in the United States.
Gerald Smith, a protester and former member of the Black Panther Party during the 1970s, said Haitians were being unfairly targeted and warned that ending TPS would have a devastating impact on Haitian families and communities.
“These policies are racially motivated and unfair,” Smith said. “Everyone deserves the right to self-determination and protection from persecution.”
The Haiti Action Committee cited the continuing political, economic and humanitarian crisis in Haiti as evidence that returning large numbers of immigrants to the country could place already vulnerable people at greater risk.
The Oakland gathering, which drew about 20 participants, reflected a decades-long history of Bay Area activism surrounding Haitian democracy, refugee rights and U.S. immigration policy.
The Haiti Action Committee traces its roots to the international movement that emerged following Haiti’s 1991 military coup, which overthrew the nation’s first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Political violence sent thousands of Haitians fleeing the country, while U.S. policies resulted in refugees being intercepted at sea, repatriated or detained at Guantanamo Bay.
Those policies sparked protests involving Haitian communities, Black activists, artists, college students, churches, labor organizations and human rights advocates. Prominent figures, including dancer and activist Katherine Dunham, tennis champion Arthur Ashe, and TransAfrica leader Randall Robinson, joined campaigns challenging the treatment of Haitian refugees.
In 1992, Haiti Action Committee joined other Bay Area organizations in a dramatic demonstration on San Francisco Bay. Boats carrying Haitian participants were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard while supporters gathered along the waterfront and reportedly chanted, “Let Them Land!”
More than three decades later, protesters have returned to the streets of Oakland, centering on protecting Haitian immigrants, opposing deportation and pressing for immigration policies that provide families with a pathway toward permanent legal residency.
NABJ Convention Brings Black Journalists, Civic Leaders Together in Atlanta
Among the conference’s most closely watched sessions was Thursday’s Newsmaker Plenary, where House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries discussed the national political climate with NABJ President Errin Haines. Journalist Joy-Ann Reid later led a fireside conversation with legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, creator of the term “intersectionality,” and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the 1619 Project.
ATLANTA—The 52nd National Association of Black Journalists conference brought thousands of journalists, students, media executives and civic leaders to Atlanta Aug. 12-16 for its 2026 Convention and Career Fair, a five-day gathering centered on the theme “Our Revolution: Truth, Power and Black Journalism.”
Among the conference’s most closely watched sessions was Thursday’s Newsmaker Plenary, where House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries discussed the national political climate with NABJ President Errin Haines. Journalist Joy-Ann Reid later led a fireside conversation with legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, creator of the term “intersectionality,” and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the 1619 Project.
The plenary also turned toward grief, accountability and justice as the parents of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, appeared with civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the Rev. Al Sharpton. Crump was also the attorney for Trayvon Martin’s, Michael Brown’s, and Tamir Rice’s families. Moderated by journalist Tiffany Cross, the Wells family’s appearance focused on unanswered questions surrounding Nolan’s July death in Mississippi and calls for a federal review.
Reid and journalist Don Lemon also joined a separate discussion with Cross, columnist Michael Harriot and journalist Chandra Whitfield about career disruption, resilience and building independent platforms as Black journalists face layoffs and wider media industry upheaval.
Across generations, attendees exchanged ideas about sustaining careers and serving Black communities.
The gathering reflected NABJ’s long-standing role as both professional home and public forum for Black journalists. For Black-owned legacy newspapers, including ours, the Atlanta convention reinforced a familiar mandate: defend truth, elevate Black voices and connect national debates over politics, justice and media power to the communities most affected.
$5 Billion Coliseum Vision Puts Oakland Jobs, Businesses at Center
Reynolds said Black and Brown contractors have historically lacked the bonding, insurance, equipment and staffing required to compete for large contracts because they were denied opportunities to expand.
OAKLAND – A sweeping, multiphase redevelopment of the Oakland Coliseum site led by Ray Bobbitt, president of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG), and businessman James “Jim” Reynolds Jr., could eventually attract between $3 billion and $5 billion in investment.
Reynolds said the first phase, estimated at $1 billion to $1.5 billion, could include housing, hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, open space and opportunities for local small businesses.
“We are going to transform the entire area with housing, hotels, with an infrastructure that benefits the community,” Reynolds said.
He also wants to attract major entertainment partners and position Oakland to compete with venues in San Francisco and San Jose. Reynolds said the city already possesses natural assets that other cities spend fortunes trying to create.
“One of the most naturally beautiful cities I’ve ever been to,” he said. “In Oakland, if you do nothing, it’s beautiful naturally: lakes, the mountains, the scenery, the open space, the weather.”
Reynolds’ vision, however, extends beyond buildings and entertainment. He is also focused on which businesses receive contracts and which residents benefit from the jobs and economic opportunities the project creates.
Reynolds said Black and Brown contractors have historically lacked the bonding, insurance, equipment and staffing required to compete for large contracts because they were denied opportunities to expand.
“Why would you build a big business when you know no one was going to hire you to do the job?” Reynolds asked.
He recalled working with longtime business partner Earvin “Magic” Johnson to encourage minority-owned firms to compete for larger contracts. About 1,000 businesses attended one outreach event after receiving assurances that opportunities to serve as prime contractors were real.
Reynolds wants to bring the same approach to Oakland.
“I don’t need goals and set-asides to figure out how to give Black companies a chance to be a prime,” he said.
He also wants Black businesses to move beyond seeking only small portions of projects or subcontracting roles.
At SpringHill Suites by Marriott Oakland Airport, Post News Group Publisher Paul Cobb, OAACC President Cathy Adams, and Loop Capital President James “Jim” Reynolds, Jr. Photo by Carla Thomas.
“When we run the concessions, we pick who has a concession,” Reynolds said, citing partnerships involving Johnson, LL Cool J and Stephen A. Smith.
The same principle should apply to construction, entrepreneurship and workforce development, he said.
“Job training and opportunities to have Blacks lead something like this matter,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds also wants young Oakland residents connected to the jobs and career pathways created by the redevelopment.
“They’re going to have jobs, job training, and opportunities to work,” Reynolds said.
He rejects assumptions that Black youth and Black-owned companies cannot manage major responsibilities.
“I’m not going to sit here like others who have been in positions like this and doubt that Black people can do certain things,” Reynolds said.
For Reynolds and Bobbitt, the Coliseum redevelopment is an opportunity to create more than a replacement for the professional sports teams Oakland lost. Bobbitt contributes deep Oakland roots, community relationships and years of persistence, while Reynolds brings capital-market experience, global business relationships and a record of structuring enormous transactions.
Together, they envision a destination that attracts visitors while creating jobs, businesses and ownership opportunities for Oakland residents.
“Thank you, Jim, for believing in Oakland and investing,” Bobbitt said.
CEO of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce Cathy Adams, who wrote a letter of support for AASEG at a time when many doubted the feasibility of their goals, said the Coliseum area development plan will become the example of how Black-owned businesses and contractors can help close the disparity gap in Oakland.
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