Black History

Comcast Partners with Mayor Sylvester Turner to Celebrate Black History Month

HOUSTON FORWARD TIMES — Comcast and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner recently honored ten (10) community volunteers and civic leaders.

Published

6 years ago

February 22, 2019

Oakland Post

By Forward Times Staff

In celebration of Black History Month, Comcast and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner recently honored ten (10) community volunteers and civic leaders at the second-annual Mayor’s History Makers Awards Luncheon, held at The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa. KPRC Meteorologist Khambrel Marshall served as the Emcee for the program.

The ten local honorees were recognized for their commitment to making a difference in the community through volunteerism, mentorship, advocacy and civic engagement.

In addition to being recognized, Comcast announced plans to donate $1,000 to the nonprofit organization of each honoree’s choice.

The ten 2019 Mayor’s History Makers Award Honorees and their Nominating Organizations are:

Sam Alix – Gulf Coast Center/MVPN

Darryl Blackburn – Big Brothers Big Sisters

Donna Brownlow – Target Hunger

Leonard Donaldson – CanCare

LaShonda Johnson – The Mission Continues

Rev. William Lawson – LULAC

Howard Middleton – The HEART Program

Patrick Purnell – Mental Health America Greater Houston

Tiffany Sanders – Kids Meals Inc.

Patricia Smith Prather was also awarded as the Living Legend Honoree for 2019.

The judges who had the responsibility of selecting this year’s honorees included: Ralph Martinez, Regional Senior Vice President for Comcast Houston Region; Mary Benton, City of Houston; Martha Castex-Tatum, Houston City Council Member (District K); Juana Collins, UNCF; Kevin Doffing, Lone Star Veterans Association; Marina Franco, Houston Recovery Center; Adriana Gonzalez, Camara de Empresarios Latinos de Houston; Charles Savage, Urban Enrichment Institute; and Yolanda Smith, NAACP Houston Branch.

This article originally appeared in the Houston Forward Times.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

PRESS ROOM: Boys Hope Girls Hope of Detroit to hold inaugural Festival of Hope event

Don't Miss

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, 1866 – 2019

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

6 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.