The Houston Defender

The Houston Defender is a weekly newspaper serving the African-American community in Houston, Texas. It was founded on October 11, 1930.

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English

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Trump administration targets majority Black nations with travel ban threat

4 days ago | defendernetwork.com | Laura Onyeneho

The Trump administration issued a sweeping demand to 36 countries. Other nations are being told to improve how they screen and document travelers or risk being added to the United States travel ban list. The State Department gave embassies and consulates a 60-day deadline to show cooperation and progress, and instructed embassies to begin gauging each country's response. Of the 36 nations identified, 25 are African.
National Report Card showed improvement for Houston, but grade level gaps remain

4 days ago | defendernetwork.com | Tannistha Sinha

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) showed signs of recovery in academic performance after the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the "Nation's Report Card."The NAEP chose 108 elementary schools to assess fourth-grade students and 44 middle schools for eighth-grade students. Of these schools, 30 belong to Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles' New Education System (NES).
A mother's story of gun violence and grief, community mourns loss of Alex Heyliger

5 days ago | defendernetwork.com | Reshonda Tate

When Addie Heyliger remembers her son, Alex, she thinks of laughter echoing through their home, his playful fights with friends and a bright future suddenly stolen. Now, a year after his tragic death, Heyliger is speaking out-not just to honor her son's memory, but to call attention to the epidemic of gun violence stealing the lives of young Black men.
Black vendors gain ground in Harris Health's contract equity push, but far from reaching parity

1 week ago | defendernetwork.com | Tannistha Sinha

When Harris Health launched its race- and gender-conscious Minority- and Woman-owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) program for locally funded contracts in September 2022, it did so amid glaring disparities. In the fiscal years 2018 and 2019, Black-owned businesses received 0% of Harris Health's total contract dollars. While the numbers have improved significantly in 2024, a closer look reveals that the road to equity is long, especially for Black vendors.
Will House Bill 6 fail Texas' vulnerable students?

1 week ago | defendernetwork.com | Tannistha Sinha

A new Texas bill could spell trouble for the state's most vulnerable students, once shielded by law from the most extreme discipline. Lawmakers, through House Bill (HB) 6, have allowed suspensions from pre-K to second-grade students. That's not all. The bill will also allow the suspension of homeless students who cause "disruption" in the classroom, overturning Texas laws that previously protected those students. Now, they can be suspended and even expelled under a wider range of justifications.
Ananda, No Kings and Morris Brown

1 week ago | defendernetwork.com | Aswad Walker

For us Gen Xers, Ananda Lewis was one of the faces of our generation. An MTV VJ, she was a celebrity figure in the center of the 1980s and 90s media universe. She was later diagnosed with breast cancer, which is a diagnosis that too often proves fatal for Black women. Lewis, however, very publicly rejected mammograms and other actions associated with dealing with or preventing breast cancer.
Houston City Council seeks state funds for pedestrian bridge near HISD school

1 week ago | defendernetwork.com | Tannistha Sinha

The Houston City Council is applying for a state grant to build a pedestrian bridge near Reynolds Middle School that would improve student safety and traffic flow in Houston's Fifth Ward. If approved, the proposed McReynolds Middle School Safe Passage Bridge Project would receive over $4.65 million in funding from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) under its Transportation Alternatives (TA) Set-Aside Program.
10 times Black women saved the culture-and didn't even break a swea

1 week ago | defendernetwork.com | Reshonda Tate

Let's be clear: If the culture had a backbone, it would be dipped in cocoa butter and braided tight with laid edges. Black women are the blueprint, the foundation, the spark-and somehow, we still get side-eyed when we say it out loud. But we've got the receipts to back up this claim. From the voting booth to the Billboard charts, when the culture was in crisis, Black women showed up, showed out and still managed to keep their gloss poppin'.
Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones pushes for community investment in first term

1 week ago | defendernetwork.com | Tannistha Sinha

Lesley Briones fulfilled a historic feat when she assumed office in 2023 as the Harris County Commissioner for Precinct 4. She was not just the first mother to serve on the Commissioners Court in the third-largest county in the nation, but she was also a Latina woman, former teacher, civil court judge and daughter of educators from South Texas who never expected to enter politics.
Elon Musk Tesla Cybertruck ominously reflects hearts of its owners

1 week ago | defendernetwork.com | Aswad Walker

Super fans of the Netflix show Black Mirror who saw the Tesla Cybertruck (the ugly Elon Musk Mobile) for the first time said to themselves, "I've seen that before; it's Metalhead."Metalhead was the name of episode 5 of Black Mirror season 4. Metalhead was a machine with no conscience, no emotion, no empathy...