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There is No Place Like Home

HISD taps former Jack Yates High School student and teacher, Stephanie Torrez Square, to lead the historic school into the future After weeks of concern, angst, and uncertainty in the community about who would become the next principal of the historic Jack Yates Senior High School, an exciting decision has been made. Jack Yates is […]
The post There is No Place Like Home first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 years ago

July 26, 2023

Forward Times Staff

HISD taps former Jack Yates High School student and teacher, Stephanie Torrez Square, to lead the historic school into the future

After weeks of concern, angst, and uncertainty in the community about who would become the next principal of the historic Jack Yates Senior High School, an exciting decision has been made.

Jack Yates is welcoming its newest principal to the legendary Third Ward campus; but listen, although this newly-hired individual may be new to the principal role at Jack Yates, they are not new to serving as a principal. On top of that, they definitely are not new when it comes to understanding the traditions and appreciating the rich history of Jack Yates Senior High School.

So, who is the new principal? Drum roll, please …………

Stephanie Torrez Square, who is a proud Yates alumnus and former teacher at the school, has officially been named the new principal at Jack Yates. The announcement was made earlier this week.

Best believe, there has been tremendous excitement, a sigh of relief, and an enormous buzz in the community regarding the announcement of this new hire.

Square, 39, takes the helm at Jack Yates, just in time for the start of the upcoming school year.

Square took to Facebook on July 24^th to announce the exciting news about the hire, stating:

“I am proud to announce I will be serving as Principal at THE ONE AND ONLY Jack Yates High School.”

As part of her social media announcement, Square also posted several pictures of her that featured family members, former coaches—like several of her with popular longtime Coach Maurice McGowan—fellow classmates, former teammates, and several other individuals.

The Facebook post has garnered hundreds of positive responses, especially from members of the Jack Yates alumni, and the post continues to be liked and shared.

Square replaces former Jack Yates principal Tiffany Guillory, who was one of three principals removed from their respective schools and reassigned by new Interim Superintendent Mike Miles this month. Guillory served as the principal of Jack Yates High from the start of the 2018-19 school year, up to her removal and reassignment.

Prior to Jack Yates, Square served as the principal of East Early College High School. Under her leadership, the school earned an A rating from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) last year. Square takes the reins of a Jack Yates campus that the TEA claims has failed four out of the last six state assessments, although there are many advocates who dispute those expressed outcomes.

Square is excited and tells the Forward Times that she is humbled about being the new Jack Yates principal and is thrilled about taking the reins of leadership at the school she calls home.

“I’m elated to come back home! My priority is for Yates to thrive,” said Square. “I was voted ‘Most Athletic’ out of my graduating class as a student and was voted ‘Teacher of the Year’ by my peers in 2011, as a teacher. I have so many connections here. I met my husband here (a Square). Coach McGowan was the closest thing I had to a father. I know I’m home.”

Those who know, know that the “Square” last name is a well-known staple when it comes to Jack Yates and in the Greater Houston area. There are so many to name, such as NFL football defensive tackle Damion Square—who also was a three-time national champion with the Alabama Crimson Tide during his college career—and many more who attended Jack Yates.

“As a student athlete, I interacted with three ‘Squares’ while at Yates,” said Square. “When I was a student at Yates, Poppa Square would always volunteer. I would see him buying lunch for students who didn’t have money. John Michael “Supe” and I competed in UIL Math. I loved how the Square family showed up and showed out to watch all the games. I learned later on how almost synonymous the family name is with Jack Yates.”

Square was born and raised in Houston, after her parents immigrated to Houston from Nicaragua in the 1980s. They had five children, including two sets of twins. Square and her sisters started their educational journey attending Rusk and Anson Jones Elementary, as part of the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Square went on to attend Gregory Lincoln Education Center, where she played basketball and competed in gymnastics.

While in middle school, her father was deported, which led to her relocating with her mother and sisters from Clayton Homes to the Cuney Homes in Houston’s historic Third Ward. Square found herself enrolled as a student at Jack Yates, where she became a multi-sport athlete, having played basketball, soccer, softball, tennis, and even running track and cross country.

After graduating from Jack Yates in 2002, Square matriculated to Texas Southern University (TSU), where she graduated manga cum laude with distinguished honor roll, earning a B.B.A. in Accounting. Soon after graduation from TSU, she came back home to Jack Yates for the first time, beginning her teaching career as a secondary math teacher at the school. During her time as a teacher at Jack Yates, she also served as Small Learning Community lead, math department chairperson, a member of the Shared Decision-Making Committee (SDMC), varsity soccer coach, and was a part of the Faculty Advisory Committee.

Square continued her education at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, earning an M.B.A. with a concentration in Accounting. While attending Rice University, she was also a member of the Finance Club, Hispanic Business Student Association, Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program, Rice Educational Leadership Club, Net Impact Club, and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. Square went on to serve as a Teacher Specialist at Wheatley High School, and assistant principal at both North Forest and Austin high schools.

At Austin High School, Square led the mathematics department, oversaw dual credit programming, and executed a plan to increase linkage and usage of Khan Academy and College Board resources, prior to being named principal at East Early College High School in 2018.

Square served with distinction at East Early College High School from 2018, until she received the call to return home and serve as the newest principal of the high school where her educational journey and career all started—Jack Yates Senior High School.

When asked what message she wishes to share with the students, parents, alumni, staff, and community regarding the future of Yates with her at the helm, Square tells the Forward Times:

“The future is bright. Any students that don’t choose to attend Yates will wish they did later. Our school website will be updated soon and will serve as our main source of information, especially our calendar. I’m working to create systems to make myself more accessible. I’m beyond grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement I’ve received so far. There is no place like home!”

The post There is No Place Like Home appeared first on Forward Times.

The post There is No Place Like Home first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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COMMENTARY: Jim Crow 2.0 at the Pentagon

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The American people are expected to believe that one extraordinary officer after another suddenly fails to meet some undefined standard of excellence. We are expected to ignore impeccable service records while accepting that political appointees alone possess the wisdom to determine who is worthy of advancement.

Published

1 week ago

August 3, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Pete Hegseth insists that he is restoring “merit” to the United States military. But after months of dismissals, blocked promotions, and ideological purges, the evidence tells a different story. His campaign against so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” has become something far more dangerous: an assault on equal opportunity that falls with particular force on African Americans, while also targeting women, Latinos, gay Americans, and transgender service members.

The latest example is both troubling and infuriating.

Once again, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly blocked the promotion of an exceptionally qualified woman—Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt. Bauernschmidt is no ordinary officer. She became the Navy’s first woman to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, one of the most demanding leadership assignments in the world. Her career reflects decades of exemplary performance, operational excellence, and leadership under extraordinary pressure.

Yet once again, a distinguished military career appears to have been subordinated to an ideological agenda masquerading as “merit.”

I call BS!

The American people are expected to believe that one extraordinary officer after another suddenly fails to meet some undefined standard of excellence. We are expected to ignore impeccable service records while accepting that political appointees alone possess the wisdom to determine who is worthy of advancement.

The pattern has become impossible to ignore.

General Charles Q. Brown Jr., only the second African American to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was dismissed despite a career that placed him among the most accomplished military leaders of his generation.

Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman ever to serve as Chief of Naval Operations, was removed despite decades of distinguished command experience.

Reports have documented interventions that blocked or delayed the promotions of Black officers and women selected through the military’s rigorous promotion system.

Now Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt joins the growing list of highly accomplished officers whose careers have been derailed for reasons that have never been persuasively explained.

Where is Congress?

Its silence has become deafening.

Congress has an independent constitutional responsibility to oversee the armed forces. Instead, too many lawmakers have watched silently while one of the nation’s most respected institutions is subjected to ideological litmus tests and political interference.

This is not military reform. It is testosterone-fueled performative masculinity disguised as a philosophy of military excellence.

The irony is impossible to miss. Hegseth repeatedly invokes “merit,” yet his rhetoric begins with the assumption that Black officers, women, and other historically excluded Americans must somehow justify their achievements in ways that white male officers are rarely required to do.

That is not meritocracy. It is prejudice wrapped in patriotic language.

No one is asking that anyone be promoted because of race or gender. Americans simply expect that promotions be based on demonstrated competence, leadership, integrity, and service. The officers being targeted have already proven themselves repeatedly under one of the world’s most demanding evaluation systems.

Their records speak for themselves.

The attack on African American military leadership has been especially pernicious.

For generations, Black Americans fought in segregated units, earned decorations while denied equal treatment, and repeatedly demonstrated loyalty to a nation that often failed to extend them full citizenship. They broke barriers not because standards were lowered but because excellence finally overcame institutional discrimination.

Today’s campaign against “diversity” threatens to revive old assumptions under new slogans.

The implication that Black generals and admirals somehow owe their success to affirmative action rather than extraordinary performance echoes some of the ugliest stereotypes of the Jim Crow era. Yesterday’s segregationists claimed Black Americans were inherently less qualified. Today’s culture warriors simply employ more politically acceptable language while inviting the same suspicion about Black achievement.

That is why Hegseth’s campaign increasingly resembles Jim Crow 2.0.

The targets may now wear stars on their shoulders instead of military patches on segregated uniforms, but the underlying message is hauntingly familiar: Black excellence is presumed suspect, while white excellence is presumed earned.

America’s military became the finest fighting force in history because it opened its doors to talent wherever it could be found. It grew stronger after President Truman desegregated the armed forces. It became stronger when women assumed greater command responsibilities. It became stronger when every qualified American was given the opportunity to serve to the fullest extent of their abilities.

Diversity is not a concession. It is a strategic advantage.

The nation’s adversaries do not fear an American military because it is racially homogeneous. They fear it because it draws upon the talents of more than 340 million Americans whose diverse experiences, perspectives, and abilities make our armed forces unmatched anywhere in the world.

Every politically motivated dismissal of a distinguished officer sends a chilling message throughout the ranks: excellence alone may no longer be enough if you belong to the wrong demographic group.

That weakens morale. It weakens recruitment. It weakens retention.

And ultimately, it weakens national security.

Pete Hegseth has every right to pursue military readiness. He has no right to redefine merit in ways that repeatedly cast suspicion upon the accomplishments of Black officers, women, and others who have devoted their lives to defending this nation.

America deserves better. The men and women who wear the uniform deserve better. The Constitution deserves better.

And unless Congress finds the courage to exercise meaningful oversight, history may well remember this period not as a restoration of military excellence, but as the moment political ideology attempted to resurrect, in modern form, the old poison of exclusion.

Jim Crow did not strengthen America. Jim Crow 2.0 will not strengthen America’s military. It will only diminish it

Wade Henderson
Strategic Advisor
Civil and Human Rights
wade@wadejhenderson.com

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New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial

By Emilie St. John (Contributor) Karmelo Anthony will return to court next month in his first step to overturn his murder conviction. Anthony was found guilty last month in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His new legal team has filed motions seeking the recusal of State District […]
The post New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Oakland Post

By Emilie St. John
(Contributor)

Karmelo Anthony will return to court next month in his first step to overturn his murder conviction.

Anthony was found guilty last month in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His new legal team has filed motions seeking the recusal of State District Judge John Roach Jr. from overseeing the appeals process.

Two hearings have been scheduled on the motion for Aug. 9 and 10 in the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, according to Fox4 News.

On July 14, Senior Judge Sid L. Harle of the 226th District Court was assigned to preside over the defense’s motion to recuse Collin County Judge John Roach. The assignment took effect immediately and authorized Harle to handle all matters related to the recusal request, the filing read.

The Collin County District Attorney’s Office continues to defend its handling of the case by issuing a statement to NBC 5 DFW.

“The defendant’s new lawyers have filed a motion containing several inaccurate characterizations of the trial proceedings. The entire prosecution team and I conducted this trial ethically and in full compliance with the Court’s rulings and any agreements with defense counsel. We look forward to addressing these claims thoroughly in a Court of law in the coming weeks. The jury heard extensive evidence over the course of the trial and returned a unanimous verdict. We remain confident in that verdict and the fairness of the proceedings.”

Anthony’s new legal team, made up of appellate, civil rights, and criminal defense attorneys, was retained following Anthony’s conviction.

“Our responsibility is to determine whether a legal error occurred and to ensure that every issue supported by the record is fully and vigorously presented on appeal,” the team said in a statement.

“We recognize the profound loss suffered by one young man’s family and the uncertainty facing another, and we extend our respect to everyone whose lives have been forever changed by these events,” the release reads.

Anthony was charged with the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf during a track meet in Frisco, Texas, April 2, 2025. Anthony has long maintained it was an act of self-defense.

The attorneys are representing Anthony pro bono. The nearly 200-page notice of appeal seeks a new trial because his Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was violated.

“The cumulative and practical effect of these provisions was to exclude members of the public from proceedings at every stage,” the filing reads.

The filing also focused on an alleged “handshake deal” that kept Anthony from taking the stand in his defense.

The defense filing said the agreement was that the jury would not hear that Metcalf and his twin brother had been accused of racism and bullying in the past. In exchange, they also would not see Anthony’s cellphone records or his school disciplinary record, according to court documents reported by the Dallas Morning News.

Anthony’s former defense attorney, Mike Howard, said the defense relied heavily on that deal. The team chose not to ask certain questions of witnesses or call on a separate expert witness based on that agreement. It also abandoned plans to introduce testimony and evidence about the allegations against Metcalf and his brother.

Appellate attorney Russell Wilson is now handling post-trial proceedings and Anthony’s appeal. He recently sat down for an interview, stating, “The court committed multiple errors during the June murder trial, preventing him from receiving a fair trial.”

“You know, we file motions that we expect to prevail on, but we understand that there’s two sides to every story. And at the end of the day, it’ll be a judge that has to make these decisions, but we feel confident in the positions that we’re taking,” Wilson said during an interview with WFAA. “There were substantial issues that we thought a reviewing court needed to look at. We thought these were constitutional irregularities, and we could have them addressed now. And so, we put them into a motion for a new trial.”

Bree West, a former Dallas County Assistant District Attorney, found it startling that so little time was given to Anthony’s team for such a serious “life or death” situation.

“I do think that it’s really challenging that potentially a court decided that you have 10 minutes to make that level of decision when it has the potential of being life-altering,” said West during an interview with Fox 4 News.

Judge Harle is no stranger to high-profile cases, having presided over the prosecution of a police officer charged in connection with the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Anthony was convicted on June 9 of the murder of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison.

The post New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump!

WESTSIDE GAZETTE — The author criticizes Donald Trump’s rhetoric, noting his use of terms like “Dumbocrats” and “Communist” to describe Democrats and democracy. The column asserts that Trump’s current strategy involves creating doubt about midterm elections due to a lack of Republican agenda.
The post COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump! appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Oakland Post

Frankly Speaking

Wow! Wow! Wow! The swamp drainers have truly stepped down to new levels of stupidity. You remember Weapons of Mass Destruction? We now have Weapons of Mass Distraction. Trump has introduced Dumbocrats and Communists into the conversation about Democrats and Democracy.

Trump lies so much, and his current strategy is to set up doubt about midterm elections because he and Republicans have no agenda!

He has no “Trump “ card, but Iran has a strait! He called it a skirmish; it’s now a War. He said five days; now it’s five months. He said few casualties; now it’s 18 deaths. He knew nothing about Project 2025 but hired its architects! Trump lies about the lies and often forgets these little inventions called cameras and phones

We see and hear and then see and hear the inconsistencies.

I didn’t like 45 and dislike 47 even more!

The post LSMFT! Lord Save Me From Trump! appeared first on The Westside Gazette.

Based on reporting by Westside Gazette.

The post COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump! appeared first on BlackPressUSA.