Many warm-blooded Americans like Chi Cheung (AKA - JoAnn), the minority homeowner and well-respected minority businesswoman (pictured above) who lives in the New Territory Subdivision in Sugarland, Texas face similar challenges and struggles as we do in their quest to achieve "THE AMERICAN DREAM" in this country. Nope!!! We aren't the only one's who face challenges these days -- 2021 has brought us to a serious crossroads as a nation. So, as we pause to celebrate "MLK DAY 2021" let's not forget a few of my favorite quotes from Dr. King, Jr. during these turbulent times we're pressing through. I totally agree with Dr. King's quote that says, "We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now." Another one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. says, “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right.” That being said, I believe that most warm-blooded Americans regardless of our political affiliations, ethnicity or socio-economic status should agree that we are living in a time right now, that we as the "AMERICAN PEOPLE" must find common ground and forge forward together in some semblance of unity as "ONE NATION UNDER GOD WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL" toward our individual and corporate destinies! For, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., so eloquently stated, “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” So, as Monday, January 18, 2021, approaches let's make it our business to search for common ground and do what's right for our country as God's plan for our great nation continues to unfold during this pivotal moment in time. And while you're at it, please never forget these words, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
As the MLK Day 2021 Holiday Approaches on January 18th, the Fight to Achieve the American Dream Seems Fleeting to Many Warm-blooded Americans
AUBREY R. TAYLOR REPORTS©
On Monday, January 18, 2021, while most Americans will pause to celebrate how far we’ve come as a nation since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s historic “I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH,” some Americans may be pausing to ask themselves, “how far have we really come?” Let’s face it, from the recent chaos at the White House, to our ongoing fight with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and how it’s disproportionately impacting minority communities across America – it’s become more and more clear that America is at a serious crossroads right now. But for one Fort Bend County family, their “AMERICAN DREAM” has become more like a “BAD DREAM” as their fight against their HOA and the Fort Bend County Courts has them wondering if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s dream of equality for every warm-blooded American is even achievable. But on a much brighter note, Houston Business Connections Newspaper© would like to congratulate all of the “2020-2021” Fort Bend County “Campus Teachers of the Year” for all of their hard work. Each of these honorees represents excellence in classroom education and leadership and is largely responsible for preparing America’s youth by giving them the much-needed tools they will need to have a chance at acquiring the American Dreams for themselves. The honorees were selected by their peers, based on their commitment to students and dedication to teaching. And don’t forget to check out Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH” that’s published below as God’s plan for our great nation continues to unfold. And by all means, please don’t forget that we are “ONE NATION UNDER GOD” and our continued freedom is dependent upon us working together as we each strive to achieve the American Dream that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed would one day be enjoyed by us all.
AUBREY R. TAYLOR COMMUNICATIONS
957 NASA PARKWAY #251
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77058-3039
PHONE: (832)212-8735
CELL: (281)788-3033
This minority homeowner who lives in the New Territory subdivision of Sugarland, Texas is a law-abiding citizen whom it appears only wanted to build a pool in her backyard for she and her family to enjoy in pursuit of their American Dream. But what began as a dream for her and her family has turned into a nightmare as they've become embroiled in a fight with their HOA and a Fort Bend County Court system that appears to have issued a one-sided ruling against her and her family.
The minority homeowner you see above holding an award that was presented to her by the Houston Fire Department lives in the New Territory subdivision of Sugarland, Texas and is a law-abiding citizen and very respected businesswoman.
Back in 2015, if someone wanted a pool, all that needed to be done was gain the approval of the New Territory Residential Community Association and begin to build. That is exactly what was done in the case of of the minority homeowner featured in this report. A contractor was hired, plans were drawn, and those plans in turn were turned over to New Territory RCA for their approval (along with the required fee of $1,000 to the HOA). The plans were then approved, and the pool was built. That should have been the end of the story – right? Simple enough – right?
HOA from A Dream to a Nightmare in the New Territory Subdivision of Sugarland, Texas
Back in 2015 a female minority resident of New Territory in the Sugarland area decided that she and her family would like to have a pool in their backyard to enjoy. This all American dream quickly became a nightmare due to the “alleged” follies of an inept HOA and their willing accomplice, the Fort Bend County Courts. The follies were numerous and unbelievable, and not surprisingly all of the court decisions (at this point) appear to be pretty much one sided in favor of New Territory Residential Community Association, the HOA, which appears to be all too familiar with the courts in Fort Bend County, Texas. On the surface, it appears that the HOA and the courts are working in concert with one another against the longtime minority resident of this community. Which speaks to a much broader issue as the 2022 Midterm Elections draws nearer – We must do our very best to make sure that we are nominate, and then elected the “BEST-QUALIFIED” judges who are fair, impartial, and always willing to do what’s right to local, and statewide benches across these United States of America going forward.
A SAD SAD STORY
It was a simpler time back in 2015, if someone wanted a pool, all that needed to be done was gain the approval of the New Territory Residential Community Association and begin to build. That is exactly what was done in this particular case. A contractor was hired, plans were drawn, and those plans in turn were turned over to New Territory RCA for their approval (along with the required fee of $1,000 to the HOA). The plans were then approved, and the pool was built. That should have been the end of the story – right? Simple enough – right? But, this was no time to relax in the pool.
Upon completion of the pool, the problems began. Miraculously New Territory RCA began to back up on its approval of the plans immediately stating that the pool was built on an easement belonging to Center Point Energy. But the plans were approved by New Territory. So, what could have gone wrong?
Come to find out, the HOA has an approval process consisting of one Chidinma Egwim, an employee of New Territory RCA. Egwim is New Territory’s Compliance Manager. Egwim’s own LinkedIn page self proclaims among her duties as: “Reading/understanding and applying blue prints”. Egwim has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and is a Certified Manager of Community Associations and an Association Management Specialist. However, Egwim does not list that she is a Registered Surveyor, an Engineer, or anything of the like you would expect to be ruling as to where a line on a survey is located. Can you believe this?
So, Egwim and New Territory, after approving the blueprints, then came to the homeowner and issued a warning that their new pool was lying in a utility easement and something would have to be done. But what could be done? Remove the pool? Why was this “encroachment” so important to New Territory? After all, the resident’s fence has stood for years in the same easement New Territory is now so protective of. Did New Territory realize the danger of electrocution?
It was ultimately New Territory that charged for and provided the service of approval and inspection so how could this happened?
Well, from what we can see, Egwim more than likely “mis-read” the easement, and became “confused” as to whether the easement was 5 feet or 8 feet, thus approving plans to build a large swimming pool too close to buried electrical lines. New Territory even attempted to alter the original plans in an effort to remove the burden of negligence from themselves – it appears.
The minority homeowner quickly became aware of the fact that their lives were in Eminent Danger if they were to swim in a pool that was built near buried electrical lines. And their dream of swimming in their brand new pool quickly became a nightmare. But how could New Territory have approved the building of this pool so close to the easement in the first place?
Inept, incompetent and untrained employees of New Territory had only one chance to cover up their mistake…TURN UP THE HEAT on the Resident and use their relationship with the court to get their way.
A program of unrelenting pressure was unleashed on the resident. Letters of Non-Compliance, threats of fines, and even a lien all come in short order. How could the resident be expected to cure a problem that was purely the responsibility of New Territory? How is the homeowner expected to resolve a problem in which their only involvement was to pay experts who made the decisions for them? The resident had no choice but to ask the Courts for help.
But the resident’s cries for help were met with what appears at this point to be a ‘Good Ole Boy Hometown’ court relationship that New Territory had with Fort Bend County Courts (Case 19-DCV-267710 in the 240th District Court). How, well, the aforementioned case was quickly dismissed in favor of New Territory in what appeared on the surface to be an effort to just simply force the resident to succumb to the pressure to vacate their longtime home. Did New Territory really expect the homeowner to just move the pool?
The familiar relationship between the aforementioned 240th District Court and the HOA would prove to be a daunting challenge to the homeowner and New Territory would have the opportunity to clean up their internal issues under cover of night – so to speak. And none would be the wiser.
As of this day a lien is still placed on the home by New Territory for:
1. A pool that New Territory approved.
2. A plan that New Territory charged $1,000 to read incorrectly and approve.
3. Center Point has never objected to the “encroachment”.
"As many Americans continue to struggle for equality, let’s continue to pray that our nation’s leaders will rise up and do the right thing whereas all American citizens are concerned. What’s happening in Fort Bend in the fight between a minority homeowner, the HOA and the Fort Bend County Court System right now just isn’t right, and someone needs to do something about it. So, as we prepare to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s dream on Monday, January 18, 2021, let us all remember that we are all “GOD’S CHILDREN” and should all be afforded the same opportunity to pursue our own happiness just so long as it does not infringe upon the rights of our fellow Americans."
AUBREY R. TAYLOR COMMUNICATIONS
957 NASA PARKWAY #251
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77058-3039
PHONE: (832)212-8735
CELL: (281)788-3033
The "I Have a Dream" speech is considered one of the pivotal moments of the Civil Rights Movement and some historians have rated it as the top American speech of the 20th Century.
Read the entire text of Dr. King's masterpiece below:
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
THE BRAINS
I’m the President/CEO of Aubrey R. Taylor Communications, the publisher of Houston Business Connections Newspaper©. In case you don’t know, I have 30-years of experience in marketing, branding, investigative reporting, public relations, opposition research, and political consulting. I’ve assisted in branding Republican and Democratic candidates in statewide elections and local municipalities throughout the State of Texas. Over the years, I’ve also assisted in branding and marketing (through my various publications) such corporations and institutions as Shell Oil, The City of Houston, Texas A&M University, Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M University, Chevron, Waste Management, Nationwide Insurance, Momentum Jaguar/BMW, Channel 11, Channel 13, State Farm Insurance, and Allstate Insurance to name a few.
EXPERIENCED REPORTER
I would have you to know that not everyone who has been accused of a crime or enters a guilty plea in connection with a crime is guilty of the crime they're accused of committing. Neither is everyone who goes to trial to fight charges that are leveled against them and get's convicted are guilty. Look, over the years, some very bad things have happened to people of color in our criminal justice system. So to this end, please understand, that during my career, I’ve gone into the Harris County Jail and Texas prisons on numerous occasions (on secret assignments) working in conjunction with the owner of one of the largest locally owned private security, and investigations firms. The man who was funding my investigations back then (who mysteriously died) also was the godfather of one of my sons, and the backer of one of my publications. That being said, I can straight-faced assure you that I’ve seen some of the injustices that are occurring in the Texas penal system up close and personal. While on the inside, I interviewed (face-to-face) some of the hardest criminals you can imagine for my research. I also discovered first-hand that many of the people who should be locked up are walking around free, and not all of those who are locked behind bars are guilty of the crimes that they, in some cases pleaded guilty to – for whatever reason. So, let me assure you that I know a criminal when I see one. And we have a handful of local elected officials who are straight-criminals and must be stopped!!!
PEOPLE OVER POLITICS
Based on my direct observations over the years, I can attest to the fact that our current criminal justice system is more about “HAVE’S AND HAVE NOT’S” to a greater degree than most people realize. That being said, sure, in some cases, the skin color of the person being accused of a crime plays a role in who gets indicted and eventually convicted of crimes and those who go free. However, at the end of the day, from observing the system from the inside, and out; having money, good legal representation and access to influential people are unfortunately key determining factors when it comes to who will spend the rest of their life walking around with an “X” on their back and who doesn’t. So, to this end, we must endeavor to change our criminal justice system and political landscape by “TAKING POLITICS OUT” of the way our judges are selected in the Lone Star State – that’s very important to me!
AUBREY R. TAYLOR COMMUNICATIONS
957 NASA PARKWAY #251
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77058-3039
PHONE: (832)212-8735
CELL: (281)788-3033
