Charles Rayford Holleman, 73, of Amarillo died Saturday, March 8, 2008.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday March 17, 2008 in Carter Chapel Primitive Baptist Church with the Rev. Herman Moore, pastor, and the Rev. Al Gibson officiating. Arrangements are by Warford-Walker Mortuary, 509 N. Hughes St.

Charles Rayford Holleman was born March 17, 1934, in Amarillo to John and Jessie Holleman. He attended Patten and Carver High Schools in Amarillo. After graduating, he joined the U.S. Army and completed a two-year tour. After retuning home, he worked for Southwestern Public Service, Amarillo Coca-Cola Bottling and Amarillo ISD before retiring.

Charles had a passion for music and played the piano and the organ.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a son and four brothers.

Survivors include his wife, Goldie; five sons, Charles Holleman Jr. and wife Lorie of Oklahoma City, Michael Holleman and wife Dolor of Dallas and Harold Holleman, Darrell Holleman and Caylon Don Holleman, all of Amarillo; six daughters, Jackie Holleman and Regina Holleman Akens, both of Los Angeles, Anita Hughes and husband Jerome, Donna Kay Holleman and husband David and Mary Holleman and husband Don, all of Amarillo, and Sophia Bridges of Atlanta; 13 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends.

The family will be at 1531 N. Polk St.

God Help Me – Getting Rid of Fear and Anger
Each one of us has a particular level at which our emotions overflow and we cry out, “God help me!” We may have just received disappointing results to a medical test or some devastating news from a family member. Our emotions are a mess! We don’t know if we’re angry, panicked, scared, fearful of the future. . .we do know that we can’t continue on our own strength.

Sometimes these emotions are too much for us to handle and they spill onto others. When first diagnosed with cancer, I was fearful of going blind. I vented anger at my caretakers. Did you ever notice that fear and anger are siblings? Harsh words are exchanged between individuals, fearing betrayal in their relationships. Fear concerning a medical test generates anger when cancer is confirmed. It doesn’t even matter if the anger/fear is clearly justified . . . it still continues to ferment.

Destructive fear (worry, panic, suspicion) is generated from anticipation of the unknown. We all like to be in control of our circumstances. (And doesn’t it just make you angrier when you can’t be in control?) But when I compared my minimal human capabilities to that of an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present God, I surrendered my control. Suddenly my fears (and anger) diminished (Psalm 131:1-2).

God Help Me – Finding a Life That’s Worth Living
When you cry out, “God help me,” do you believe that there is a more fulfilling life ahead? A relationship with a dedicated and loving Heavenly Father changes your worldview from a temporary to an eternal perspective (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). The relationship that you develop through knowing God’s Son, Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior renews you mentally and physically.

You can’t change the world around you until you change your world. We can choose to live in disobedience to God’s plans — living in sin (Romans 3:23). Or we can ask for forgiveness and thank Jesus Christ for sacrificing His life as payment for our sins.

“This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault” (Colossians 1:21-22).

By accepting Jesus as Lord of our lives we are born again — members of God’s family — with the guarantee of eternal life in heaven. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

God Help Me – Making the Right Choice
God is eager to help you (Romans 5:6-11). He loves you so much and doesn’t want you to go through this trial alone.

All you need to do is believe. Pray a simple, sincere prayer: “Heavenly Father, I believe Your Son Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sin and was raised from the dead. I confess and ask forgiveness for my sins. Thank You for forgiving me and loving me. Help me to live a new life that pleases You, as a new creation in Christ Jesus. Sustain me through this circumstance. It is bigger than me and I can’t do it without You. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

If you decided to become a child of God today, welcome to His family. He will never leave you. Hebrews 13:5: “For God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never forsake you.’”

As a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to follow up on our commitment.

• Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
• Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
• Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
• Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
• Find a local church where you can worship God.

The Legacy of Literacy in The Black Community
by L. Arthalia Cravin

A few days ago a report on a local nightly news indicated that approximately 80 percent of African American males routinely drop out of a local Colorado Springs community college and do not graduate. The report indicated that approximately $100,000 has been earmarked to assist in increasing the enrollment and retention rate for African American males.

I have been preparing for an upcoming presentation of a recently discovered cookbook, written in 1866, by an African American woman named Malinda Russell. Prior to this discovery it was believed that the first cookbook by an African American was written by a woman named Abby Fisher, who wrote a cookbook in 1881 entitled, “What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking.” The Russell cookbook was accidentally discovered last year in box of old cookbooks by a California cookbook collector. The cookbook then made its way to the University of Michigan’s Museum of Culinary History in Ann Arbor. I recently received a copy of Russell’s cookbook sort of in exchange for submitting my own cookbook to the Museum.

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Dorothy Burns Addison, 57, formerly of Amarillo, died Friday, March 7, 2008.

Wake services were from 6 to 8 p.m. March 14, 2008 in Warford-Walker Mortuary Chapel, 509 N. Hughes St. Services were at 2 p.m. Saturday March 15, 2008 in Prayer Temple Church of God in Christ with the Rev. Mal Carr, pastor, officiating. Burial in Llano Cemetery.

Dorothy Addison was born Aug. 30, 1951, in Austin. She was educated in Austin and was a former Amarillo resident before moving to Houston in 1998. She was formerly employed with Kmart on Northeast 24th Avenue in Amarillo.

Survivors include a son, Ben McIntire of Houston; two daughters, Angela Wharton of Houston and Louella Rene Addison of Austin; her mother, Bobbie Harris of Amarillo; a sister, Vergie Burns of Amarillo; a brother, Fennis Scott of Manor; and 13 grandchildren.

Curtis Watkins, 51, died Monday, March 10, 2008.

Services were at 10 a.m. Saturday March 15, 2008 in Temple of Praise Community Church, 1900 W. Amarillo Blvd. Burial in Llano Cemetery by Angel Funeral Home, 2209 S. Arthur St.

Mr. Watkins was born Oct. 22, 1956, in Lubbock to Edward and Rosie Watkins. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Lubbock. He married Sandra Sheppard on April 14, 1984, in Lubbock. Mr. Watkins was a member of Pentecostal Church of God in Christ and served as chairman of the deacon board. He worked for IBP for eight years before having to retire because of his health.

Mr. Watkins had a deep devotion to his church. He spent hours in the kitchen baking homemade cakes and pies for church functions and family. In addition to the church, Mr. Watkins was deeply devoted to his family, and he loved to fish.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Rosie; a brother, Jodey; and a son, Toddrick.

Survivors include his wife, Sandra Watkins; three daughters, Lakisha Sheppard and Chelsey Watkins, both of Amarillo, and Nastaja Watkins of Arlington; two sons, Ricky Sheppard of Lubbock and Roddrick Watkins of San Antonio; four sisters, Nina Mooring and Misty Watkins, both of Lubbock, and Elizabeth Dill and Glorene Watkins, both of Amarillo; three brothers, Bobby Watkins of Amarillo and Jeremy Watkins and Joshua Watkins, both of Lubbock; his father, Edward Watkins and stepmother Linda Watkins of Lubbock; a special daughter-in-law, Natalie Watkins of San Antonio; and many loving family members and friends.

Bacon’s Rebellion and Tyranny
by L. Arthalia Cravin

A nation that forgets its past can function no better than an individual with amnesia. ~David McCullough

The above quote came to mind while I was reading Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States: 1492- Present.” Zinn’s book, written twelve years ago, gives a most vivid account of the people conflicts that have produced these United States. One of those conflicts was Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676. What I am learning about understanding history is that the events that assume single name titles are rarely if ever about a single set of circumstances. To me this is the problem with history; there are always many players and many perspectives than most history books take the time to include. It’s akin to the saying that if one records the history of a turkey shoot, it will invariably be the perspective of the hunter that gets the recorded attention—not the perspective of the turkey.

Bacon’s rebellion is so named after Nathaniel Bacon, the British born son of a wealthy diplomat. As with most so called rebellions, their origins typically originate with one person’s contagious discontent. Although of wealthy origins, Bacon was able to gain the trust of various “out cast” groups, namely slaves, servants and poor farmers. According to one source, “in the early 1600s African slaves were rare in Virginia, (where the rebellion occurred) mainly due to their expense and the lack of slave traders bringing Africans to Virginia. Many Africans were brought as indentured servants, becoming free after serving their term of labor.” History is clear that indentured servants from Europe played a role in Virginia after Bacon’s rebellion. Read more »

New Report: Black children doing better than ever
but still trail white children in quality of life

Black children are doing better than ever, but still have a long way to go before closing the racialethnic gap in quality of life, according to a report released last month by the Foundation for Child Development. The report was the first ever to analyze and compare trends in the well-being of Black, white, and Hispanic children over a span of nearly two decades.

According to the report, all children experienced overall improvements in quality of life between 1985 and 2004. However, because improvements were greater for Black and Hispanic children during this time span - particularly after 1993 - the gap between them and whites is narrowing. But even if trends continue at their current pace, it will take at least an entire generation to fully eliminate these gaps.

“Even if we manage to continue to make progress towards closing the racial-ethnic gaps in children’s well-being at the same rate we have been, it would take another 18 years before Black children essentially caught up with white children,” Ruby Takanishi, president and CEO of FCD, said. “As a leading world superpower, America can do and should do better than this,” Takanishi continued. The report is entitled “Racial- Ethnic Inequality in Child Well- Being from 1985-2004: Gaps Narrowing but Persist.”

The researchers pulled data from several years of the FCD Child Well-Being Index-an annual analysis of the quality of life for all American children. It found that the gap in the overall quality of life separating Black children from white children narrowed by 26 percent- a change driven largely by promising improvements in safety, economic security and health for children of color.

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Waiting to exhale
Why black America is afraid to hope for a President Obama
By Joseph Williams,The Boston Globe

A few days ago, after she cleaned my teeth, my dentist turned her small talk to politics. What was said - and what wasn’t - was a microcosm of how African-Americans are talking about Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

“A lot of surprises, huh?” she said, a sly grin crossing her face.

Yes, I answered. A lot of surprises.

A headline in this month’s Ebony magazine spelled out our unspoken conversation: “In Our Lifetime - Are We Witnessing the Election of the Nation’s First Black President?”

The question, it seems, is on the lips of most African-Americans these days, anticipation that Obama may smash what generations believed was an unbreakable barrier: a black man in the White House. Given Obama’s remarkable 11 straight primary or caucus wins, his packed campaign rallies, and Hillary Clinton’s struggling campaign, one might expect giddy anticipation rippling through the black community.

Instead, there is an almost palpable anxiety. Conversations about how Obama is tantalizingly close to the presidency are muted, not celebratory, tamped down by a mixture of cynicism and fear.

Clinton, a formidable politician, might rebound. Obama could stumble. Conspiracy theories bubble: Political maneuvering or party bosses will torpedo him. Or, the unthinkable - an assassin - might strike at an open-air rally, personally preventing the first black presidency.

As Obama’s campaign sweeps across America with the promise of reconciliation and a strikingly different face in the White House, it has revealed something else in black American culture: a deep-seated fear of hope.

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Election ’08- Between a Rock and Hard Place
by L. Arthalia Cravin

This past Monday I started planning for my spring garden. Although I have a small tiller, I still need what they call a cultivator. It looks like a long fork but the tines are turned inward similar to the blade on a hoe. After stopping at several thrift stores, where I buy most garden stuff, I decided to try a Goodwill Store as my last stop. I did not find the cultivator, but even when you can’t find what you’re looking for, Goodwill Stores are nice places to just browse. I am trying to understand how American public policy is shaped so I decided to look for second-hand books on the topic.

Public policy, as best as I understand it, refers to the process of identifying and making important governmental or organizational decisions, or alternatives, for programs and spending priorities, on the basis of the impact they will have. Public policy concepts include political, fiscal, and administrative mechanisms for reaching certain explicit goals. I could not find a book on public policy but I did stumble across two books, costing a dime each. One was entitled, “The Politics of the Common Market,” by W. Hartley Clark, written in 1967, and “False Hope: The Politics of Illusion of the Clinton Era,” written in 1994 by Norman Solomon. Solomon is a syndicated columnist, journalist and also the founder and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. I read “False Hope” first and came away with a very sick feeling—similar to Winston Smith, the main character in George Orwell’s 1948 book entitled, “1984.”

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