Afro e-Edition 01-27-2023

Gov. Wes Moore completes first week in office

By Catherine Pugh

Special to the AFRO

Governor Wes Moore wasted little time getting to work in his new role. The first Black man to lead the state of Maryland filled his first full day in office as Maryland’s 63rd governor with meetings– both public and private–press conferences and announcements.

Moore signed the state’s Standards of Conduct and Ethics Guidelines, an executive order detailing expected behavior for state officials.

Flanked by Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and Secretary of State Susan Lee, Moore announced the release of $69 million authorized by

the General Assembly but withheld by then-Gov. Larry Hogan. Matters covered by the unreleased funds included abortion care access, paid family leave, state climate change control initiatives and marijuana policy reform reform.

“We view the General Assembly as partners not adversaries,” Moore said.

The majority of the funds being released, $46.5 million is earmarked to support participation and growth of small, minority and women-owned businesses in state-sanctioned marijuana businesses.

Of that total, $10 million dollars will go to the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations to set up a paid family leave program. “Eighty-eight

percent of Marylanders support a paid family leave program including 94 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of Republicans,” he said.

The restored funds include $9 million for climate change solutions and $3.5 million is designated toward medical training for women’s prochoice rights.

Another executive order from Moore created the new Office of Service and Civic Innovation. The governor tweeted that he will be nominating a Secretary for the new agency in the coming days.

Moore held a closed-door meeting with state Attorney General Anthony Brown and Erek Barron, U.S. attorney for Maryland on public safety. The meeting included topics such as policies for

Feds: investigation into Black man’s death may take time

Sainz

prosecuting repeat offenders in the criminal justice system.

Earlier on his first full day in office, Gov. Moore had breakfast with both Presiding Officers, Speaker of the House Adrienne Jones, and President of the Senate Bill Ferguson. Governor Moore held an afternoon cabinet meeting and toured the courts.

Later that day he announced the State’s Data Officer for twenty years would remain with the Administration.

On Jan. 20, Gov. Moore, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and Budget Secretary Helene Grady unveiled the proposed $63.1 billion budget outlining education, transportation and public

safety as the administration’s priorities. Included in the budget proposal is a measure to create a public service initiative for high school students and funds to push the state towards a $15 an hour minimum wage. The governor described his budget as being “bold without being reckless.”

By Tashi McQueen AFRO Political Writer Tmcqueen@afro.com

Just two days into his historic term, Gov. Wes Moore unveiled a proposed budget that spells out his plans for stemming child poverty, ensuring health care, enhancing the state’s schools and shoring up Maryland’s transportation infrastructure.

Moore’s $63.1 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year ending in 2024 envisions hiking the minimum wage, expanding the child tax credit and enhancing Medicare spending and would be supported by a general fund surplus that will be reduced by $820 million, according to the governor’s

budget officials.

The proposal marks the first step in fulfilling campaign promises, according to Nina Kasniunas, Goucher College political science professor.

Moore, she said, is “acting on promises he made during the campaign, “One way to read what a governor’s priorities are is by looking at the budget,” said Kasniunas. “Gov. Moore is prioritizing families, education, transportation, and re-building the government’s workforce.”

Moore wants to earmark $500 million for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s savings account dedicated to education reform. Another $500 million would help

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Schools face pressure to take harder line on discipline

By Annie Ma and Ben Finley The Associated Press

As kids’ behavior reaches crisis points after the stress and isolation of pandemic shutdowns, many schools are facing pressure from critics to rethink their approaches to discipline — including policies intended to reduce suspensions and expulsions.

Approaches such as “restorative justice” were adopted widely in recent decades as educators updated exclusionary policies that cut off students’ access to learning and disproportionately affected students of color.

But more students have been acting out, and some school systems have faced questions from teachers, parents and lawmakers about whether a gentle approach can effectively address problems that disrupt classrooms.

The latest example came this week in Newport News, Va., where teachers complained at a school

board meeting that the school system where a 6-year-old shot his teacher had become too lenient with students. Students who assaulted staff were routinely allowed to stay in the classroom, they said, because of a misguided focus on keeping them in school.

The local school board said it would take “the necessary steps to restore public confidence” in the school system.

Both anecdotally and according to federal data, instances of misbehavior have been on the rise since students returned to classrooms from the COVID-19 pandemic. A National Center for Education Statistics survey of school leaders last summer found 56 percent of respondents said the pandemic led to increased classroom disruptions from student misbehavior and 48 percent said it led to more acts of disrespect toward teachers and staff.

New scrutiny of approaches to discipline could halt momentum

Djifa Lee, a second-grade teacher at Saunders Elementary, center, stands with her daughter as she speaks in front of the Newport News School Board at the Newport News Public Schools Administration building on Jan. 17 in Newport News, Va., following a shooting at Richneck Elementary by a six-year-old that left a teacher in critical condition. As kids’ behavior reaches crisis points after the stress and isolation of pandemic shutdowns, many schools are facing pressure from critics to rethink their approaches to discipline — including policies intended to reduce suspensions and expulsions.

for policy reform, said Rachel Perera, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies education.

“There’s a lot of pressure on schools right now,” she said. “Schools also say they don’t have the resources to address more behavioral problems, and I worry that that will translate to schools falling back on old practices that are not effective in terms of supporting students in the way they need.”

Policy reversals are already underway.

legislation supporting the use of restorative practices in schools, according to research from the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality. Implementing the

said Thalia González, a professor at the UC College of the Law, San Francisco. But unlike other forms of discipline, restorative practices aim to address the root cause of

that these discipline disparities can have lifelong consequences for children, such as worsened educational outcomes and higher rates of incarceration.

Newport News has its own history with restorative justice.

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In Gwinnett County, Ga., the school board approved the use of a “restorative practices” program in August that was meant to focus on conflict resolution, repairing harm and rebuilding relationships in the classroom. But the district paused the program in December, with plans to restart it in the 2023-2024 school year, after concerns were raised over incidents in school, including a video of a student assaulting a teacher at a high school.

In Clark County, Nev., district leaders announced in March that they would take a harder line on fighting and physical altercations, saying they would be grounds for expulsion. Some in the community had blamed a “restorative justice” approach for an increase in violence.

As of 2020, 21 states and the District of Columbia had passed

practice properly takes time, resources and community support, said Rebecca Epstein, the center’s executive director.

“Change is hard,” Epstein said. “Change takes work and it also takes resources and educators are spread really thin. It can’t be up to individual teachers alone to shift the culture of automatically resorting to excluding students in response to disruptive behavior. It really takes a whole school cultural shift.”

Using restorative justice does not mean a school cannot remove a disruptive student from the classroom,

student’s behavior and reintegrate them into the classroom.

“That’s the problem with punitive discipline such as suspension and expulsion,” Gonzalez said. “You get removed and then you just come back. There’s nothing done to reintegrate into the community and rebuild the climate, the connectedness, the sense of safety, all the things that we know are so important to young people learning.”

Traditional discipline has widened inequities. Black children often are suspended or expelled at rates far higher than white children. Research has found

At a school board meeting in 2017 district officials discussed efforts to reduce school suspensions while implementing restorative practices. Tracy Pope, then the school system’s restorative practices specialist, said at the time that such practices did not do away with anything already in place, but was rather “another way to look at how we do discipline.”

Well before the Jan. 6 shooting of a firstgrade teacher, not all educators were happy with the handling of student discipline.

According to a spring 2022 survey of teachers and staff, only 60 percent of respondents said administrators were addressing negative student behaviors.

Michelle Price, a spokesperson for the Newport News schools, said in an email that the district’s code of conduct “fosters the school division’s mission to ensure all students graduate ‘citizen-ready.’

“It provides guidance for students, families, and staff, and details the many options available to NNPS staff to address student conduct,” she said.

Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP, File

“Change is hard. Change takes work and it also takes resources and educators are spread really thin. It can’t be up to individual teachers alone to shift the culture of automatically resorting to excluding students in response to disruptive behavior. It really takes a whole school cultural shift.”

Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland announces legislative agenda for 2023 general assembly session

By Tashi McQueen AFRO Political Writer tmcqueen@afro.com

On Jan. 25 at 11:30 a.m. the 64-member Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland (LBCM) announced their top priorities for the 445th Maryland General Assembly.

A significant crowd of news outlets and community activists joined members of the caucus as they outlined five priorities affecting Black and minority Marylanders this session.

“We believe we should be implementing significant oversight of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future,” said Del. Stephanie Smith (D-Baltimore City-45). “Educational equity needs to be operationalized to ensure that Black students, who are more likely to attend underfunded schools, receive the relief we voted for.”

The press conference was led by newly appointed Chair Del. Jheanelle Wilkins (D-Montgomery County-20), who spoke with a list of the top five priorities on display next to her.

Education

Passed in 2021 by the General Assembly, Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is a 10-year commitment to transform Maryland’s schooling system into a world-class education system. The caucus wants to help school districts recruit diverse 12-K teachers, strengthen community schools programs and “double the funding” for the Maryland Student Loan Credit Program, a state program that facilitates an income tax credit for Marylanders paying on college loans.

Wealth and Black Business

To support wealth and Black businesses,

caucus members plan to maintain Minority Business Enterprise programs, encouraging tech diversity to increase the number of Black entrepreneurs.

Cannabis Legalization

The Legislative Black Caucus will prioritize establishing justice reforms for those criminalized due to cannabis and prevent future convictions, including using cannabis odor as a reason for police stops and arrests. They will also work to remove fines and fees for using cannabis. They will prioritize licensing to grow and distribute cannabis as a business for applicants from slighted communities.

Health

Dels. and Sens. will create legislation to eliminate inhibitors for Black people who need access to cancer screening and treatment op-

portunities. They also want to create automatic enrollment for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients into Medicaid, state-provided insurance. Ensure more mental health services are available for Black Marylanders through Blueprints for HealthPublic Health and Behavioral Health.

Housing

Legislators will address appraisal bias and increase equal access to wealth through ownership by increasing the number of Black appraisers in the state of Maryland. They aim to provide a state-level housing voucher program and ensure people have at least 120 days to be notified about rent increases statewide.

Tashi McQueen is a Report For America Corps Member

District centenarian Ruth F. McIlwaine celebrates 100 years

Reginald Williams

Special to the AFRO and Alexis Taylor

Managing Editor

“I take care of my own affairs,” proclaims Ruth F. McIlwaine.

As she prepares to celebrate her 100th birthday, the former Wings Over Jordan Choir (WOJC) member has a voice that is still rich, powerful, and buoyant. The future centenarian makes it known that she still handles her day-to-day business. She chooses what she wants to do– even if it’s just “sitting around and watching television.”

On Feb. 1, her age will officially require three digits.

McIlwaine shared that she will spend time with her family to celebrate turning 100 years old, but a big public gathering is out of the picture.

“My son and daughter will be over,” she said. “But I just don’t be going out during these times.”

U.S. News & World Report states data collected in 2020 reports America has more than 97,000 centenarians– an increase of 58 percent over the past 20 years.

McIlwaine rises between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. each morning, but only because she is a night owl. Before the pandemic, McIlwaine shopped, attended social functions, and sang at Galbraith AME Zion Church, located on 6th Street, in Northwest Washington.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, McIlwaine moved to Washington, D.C., in 1951 when she married John A. McIlwaine. They remained married for 69 years before death did them part. She has two children, John Louis, who lives with her in the District, and her daughter Sharon R. Mason resides in Prince George’s County.

McIlwaine had four sisters and three brothers. Her parents were Mr. Lewis Fomby and Ms. Mary Fomby. Her mother was born in Alabama and her father was born in Georgia. Still to this day, she has one niece in Alabama and three nieces in Atlanta.

“During the Great Depression, my father took ill and we moved back to Alabama,” McIlwaine told the AFRO. “I was around seven years old at that time, so I really grew up in Alabama. I was 20 years old when I left and joined WOJC.”

When asked what life was like during her childhood in Alabama during the 1920s and 30s, McIlwaine replied “just what you read about it.”

“In the South at that time – the entire country, really- there

arrests that lead to deaths.

Video footage of the arrest has not been made public, but local officials have pledged to release it this week or next week.

Shelby County District

Attorney Steve Mulroy told The Associated Press on Jan. 24 that local and state investigators want to complete as many interviews as possible before releasing the video. The timetable has rankled some activists who expected the video to be released after Nichols’ family viewed the footage, which occurred on Jan. 23.

Ben Crump, the attorney who’s representing Nichols’ family, said police video the family viewed showed Nichols — a 29-year-old FedEx worker and father

was segregation. Blacks had theirs and White had theirs. You couldn’t go into stores, or you could go– but you were waited on last. If a White and Black person were standing at a counter to purchase something, they would wait on the White person first and the person of color last,” she said.

Still, McIlwaine says the African Americans of this time pressed forward. Free from the bonds of slavery, Black men and women of the South created a life for themselves–even in the face of Jim Crow.

“Back in that day, people of color had their own social life. They had their own entertainment and everything. That was back during the days of Count Basie and Duke Ellington. There was a huge recreational park in Anniston, Ala. for colored people only. All of the entertainers came and they had everything–all kinds of entertainment. They had pools, picnics and gazebos,” said McIlwaine. “The church was the backbone of everything for Black people at that time– for worship as well as social. I grew up at New Hope Baptist Church.”

As an entertainer herself, McIlwaine was afforded the opportunity to see how Black people lived all over the country.

McIlwaine, an alto, joined WOJC in 1947 and traveled extensively with the Cleveland-based spiritual choir for three years. The choir, credited with improving race relations, is endorsed as the first independently produced national and international radio programs created by African Americans. She even sang at the opening of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

“When I was with WOJC I traveled all over the United States more than once. I experienced everything as far as opportunities and things that people of color could do,” she told the AFRO. “People all over the country, back in that day, had their own areas– theaters, restaurants, whatever– they had their own.”

McIlwaine was careful to highlight that even though segregation kept them out of big hotels that wouldn’t accommodate them– even “up North,” there were Black entrepreneurs who stepped in the gap.

“One of the big Black hotels in New York City was the Theresa Hotel,” said McIlwaine. “It was a grand hotel. That’s where people of color would get lodging.”

According to the National Park Service, Hotel Theresa “was known as the ‘Waldorf of Harlem,’ playing host to many of America’s most prominent Black social, political, entertainment, and sports figures, as well as to many foreign dignitaries.”

McIlwaine shared that she will spend time with her family to celebrate turning 100 years old, but a big public gathering is out of the picture.

Still, McIlwaine says the African Americans of this time pressed forward. Free from the bonds of slavery, Black men and women of the South created a life for themselves– even in the face of Jim Crow.

NPS reports that “in 1940, long after Harlem had become a predominantly African-American community, the Hotel Theresa dropped its discrimination policies, went under new management, installed an African-American manager and catered almost exclusively to a Black clientele. As a result, the Theresa went on to become the most famous African-American hotel in the nation.

”When it came to entertainment, the Black community certainly wasn’t lacking in any regard.

“The people of color had their own outlets and entertainment. They had their own theaters and nightclubs,” said McIlwaine. “The Howard Theatre was a great showcase for entertainment down through the years and that was for people of color.”

McIlwaine told the AFRO that she remembers the shift that came for Black entrepreneurs, once desegregation became law and Black people were no longer forced to patronize Black businesses.

“When things integrated, the great change came. Black people started going to the White places where they couldn’t have gone when segregation was prevalent and everywhere.”

For someone coming up on a century of life, McIlwaine’s memory is still pretty sharp. She credits her longevity to the “golden rule.”

“I’m a deep person of faith and I believe in fairness and doing the right things,” replied McIlwaine when asked how she has lived so long.“‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ That’s all I can say.”

— was shocked, pepper sprayed and restrained when he was pulled over for a traffic stop near his home. He was returning home from a suburban park, where he had taken photos of the sunset. The legal team said officers beat Nichols for three minutes in a “savage” encounter reminiscent of the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.

Crump recently released a statement saying a forensic pathologist who was hired by the family conducted an independent autopsy that showed extensive internal bleeding. The statement did not state a cause of death or include the independent pathologist’s report. The statement said further details

would be released later.

Tennessee authorities have not released an autopsy of Nichols.

Relatives have accused the police of causing Nichols to have a heart attack and kidney failure. Authorities have only said Nichols experienced a medical emergency.

Two Memphis Fire Department employees have also been removed from duty while the agency conducts an investigation into Nichols’ death. The employees were involved in the initial patient care of Tyre Nichols, the Memphis Fire Department said in a statement.

The fire department employees were “relieved

of duty” last week while an internal investigation is conducted, the agency said. No further information was released.

Nichols was arrested after officers stopped him for reckless driving. The day after the encounter, police said in a statement that “a confrontation occurred” as officers approached the vehicle and Nichols ran; they said officers caught up to him and that ”another confrontation occurred” while they were taking him into custody. Police said Nichols complained of shortness of breath and was taken to a hospital, where he died three days later.

Reginald Williams, the author of “A Marginalized Voice: Devalued, Dismissed, Disenfranchised & Demonized” writes on Black men and Holistic Health concerns. Please email bookreggie@reginaldwilliams.org or visit amvonlinestore.com for more information.

fund new transportation projects in a move that Kasniunas characterized as a “sharp turn from the former governor.”

Blueprint for Maryland is a landmark legislation passed in 2021 that provides sweeping changes for Maryland’s early childhood education efforts and its K-12 public schools.

The budget proposal calls for $393 million for Maryland’s 15 local community colleges; $421 million in state support for Maryland’s historically Black colleges and universities, amounting to a 19 percent increase, and a 12 percent increase in funding for the University System of Maryland.

Moore also wants $8.8 billion for the state’s K-12 public schools.

The first Moore budget proposal will seek $1.3 billion for employee “salary and benefit enhancements” and $39.4 million in salary adjustments for registered nurses, attorneys, emergency response technicians, and certain educator positions.

In addition to seeking an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour, Moore wants a $171 million extension of the earned income tax credit and an expansion of the child tax credit to broaden an additional 40,000 families.

Additionally, the governor is proposing $2.5 billion capital budget addressing priorities identified by county governments and Baltimore City representatives; $11.3 million and nine new positions to support the West North Avenue Development Authority that was created by the General Assembly to support the development and approval of a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plan in the West North Avenue Development Area of Baltimore City; and $122 million for local police departments with $17.5 million committed to Baltimore City, expansion of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Public Defender.

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump speaks at a news conference with the family of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers, as RowVaughn Wells, mother of Tyre, right, and Tyre’s stepfather Rodney Wells, along with attorney Tony Romanucci, left, also stand with Crump, in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 23.

Photo courtesy of John McIlwaine Ruth F. McIlwaine, a former member of the Wings Over Jordan Choir (WOJC), will be celebrating her 100th birthday on Feb. 1.

Back in September of last year, I interviewed for a position in state government under the Hogan administration. When I made my way to the waiting area, I looked up and saw a picture of the then-current Governor Larry Hogan, and Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford.

As I stood there looking at his photo in a state building, I wondered if I could work in his administration given my political views. As you would expect, Hogan’s photo was slightly higher up, and Rutherford’s was beneath Hogan’s.

We’ve seen that same photo arrangement a few times in Maryland’s history. We saw it with Ehrlich and Steele, and we saw it with O’Malley and Brown. It’s been a winning combo for Democrats and Republicans alike in Maryland.

That photo arrangement is also a picture of a racist and gendered hierarchy in Maryland.

With the election of Wes Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor, voters break ranks with part of that pattern. Today, a Black man’s photo is first and slightly higher. I imagine the spirits of many Black voters are slightly higher today too, and rightfully so. The partial break from the previous photo arrangement is significant for all Marylanders and the nation.

In the opening of his bestseller, “Faces at the Bottom of the Well,” the late Derrick Bell wrote, “Even the poorest Whites, who must live their lives only a few levels above, gain their self-esteem by gazing down on us.”

We see there that White racism calms its nerves by having Black faces even slightly lower than itself. But for the next four years, White racism will have to look up at Governor Wes Moore, too.

The new photos of Governor Wes Moore and Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller in state buildings are more than symbolic for us. “Can’t you feel a brand new day?” Now, a Black man, born in 1978, like me, is at the helm of the state.

My governor being Black gives him an affinity, authenticity, and likeability with me that no pollster asking about whom I’d like to have a beer with can measure. As a Black man, the same age as Moore, I am walking around these Baltimore streets feeling like I could’ve been or could be governor too.

Finally, someone who may have worn Guess or Cross Colours in the 90s, like me, resides in the Governor’s Mansion. I know my governor at some point in his life had a little fro, and I’m sure he knows all about the Black barbershop experience.

At the same age, we lived through Rodney King, The

My governor is Black

Malcolm X movie, and the O.J. trial. I’m sure my governor received similar talks about race in America as I did. And I’d like to think my governor and I have similar musical interests, spiritual leanings, and taste buds. In Maryland, state power at the highest level is in Black hands and those Black hands are from my generation.

History shows us that state power is not just any sort of power. State power is the kind of power that can make or break you.

The brilliant sociologist

Tressie McMillan Cottom tells us about the making done by state power when she writes that “Whiteness can only be defined by state power. It requires a legal system that can formalize irrational biological expressions, making them rational.

It needs a justice system that will adjudicate the arbitrary inclusion and exclusion of people across time. And, most of all, Whiteness requires a police state that can use violent force to defend its sovereignty.”

State power is always consequential. It’s never neutral. It matters whether state power works for you or against you.

Steve Martinot, in his book, “The Machinery of Whiteness,” tells us about the breaking done by state power with these words, “Domination is always a social relation whose existence requires a state for its continuance. Without a state, the subjugated walk away and find autonomous modes of existence for themselves.”

With all the celebration and connection, we also know that state power in Black hands is not necessarily or automatically empowering for Black people. I shouldn’t have to name names. You already know.

In the past, the call for “Black power” wasn’t a call for any type of Black power. We must assess the plans and intentions of those sitting in the seat of state power. Fortunately, Moore has told us how he plans to use state power. His campaign slogan was “leave no one behind” and he spoke about “work, wages, and wealth.”

There’s no doubt that if Moore enacts his agenda, Black people will benefit. However, I am concerned it will not be enough for deep needs. I’m concerned that our first Black governor did not run a campaign that spoke directly to where Black Marylanders are located.

“Leave no one behind” resonated with voters. I asked my mom why she voted for Wes Moore, and she said, “His campaign slogan caught my attention. There are so many people who have been left behind for decades.”

That comes from a woman whose B.S. detector is next level. She always knew when I was lying, musty, or didn’t wash my hands. Her political

By Sam McKenzie

judgment is no less sound.

Like my mom, I understand the origins, the sentiment, and the use of “Leave no one behind.”

It works as a generalized and humane creed.

But “leave no one behind” is not adequate as the philosophical framework for an administration that seeks productive and enduring change.

Former President George W. Bush gave us a policy with a similar ring to it, “No Child Left Behind.” Some critics today call “No Child Left Behind” a policy failure.

Maybe part of the problem with “No Child Left Behind” wasn’t the sentiment but the angle it took. Moore’s “Leave no one behind” suggests some sort of horizontal arrangement that Black Marylanders don’t have or enjoy. Like the Lieutenant

that Maryland is “asset rich but strategy poor.” As a type of strategy, because my mom likes it, “leave no one behind” can be the public face. But behind closed doors, we need a different strategy. The difference between behind and beneath must be clear inside the Moore Administration.

Behind closed doors, let the Moore strategy be closer to Frantz Fanon’s interpretation of “the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.” I hope behind closed doors Moore’s strategy echoes Reverend Al’s, “Get your knees off our necks!”

In other words, I need my governor– who is Black– to be an antiracist, too. Undoubtedly, Moore understands that many Marylanders are ahead and on top of us because of White racism. I do not think it is too

wrecked. No one should expect a nonprofit to end the social problems it depends on for funding. So, while we need job training programs and everything else the state has to offer, Black Marylanders are also entitled to cash reparations.

The days of operating an Underground Railroad where many, but not all, get free are over. We need full emancipation once-and-for-all in the form of cash reparations. And it is troubling to me that Moore’s stance on reparations is unclear.

During a gubernatorial debate when asked about reparations, Moore did not say the word itself. Why not? I’m tired of reading between the lines and hoping for the best. The questions about reparations are not going away. There is no question there. But whether Maryland will soon serve as pudding full of proof is an outstanding question.

I hope Moore does not leave us to the pace and pulse of Annapolis. We need executive advocacy and executive action on reparations. Will Moore create a commission to disburse reparations like the governor of California or not? I hope he does, but it’s unclear.

I also find Moore’s “work, wages, and wealth” to come from the same place as “leave no one behind.”

The alliteration of “work, wages, and wealth” can serve as a roadmap. Fix the work. Fix the wages. People get wealthy. Great. It’s a politically effective three-word phrase that takes one from work to wealth.

to spread around the state and only cash reparations can do it.

Maryland Democrats have no excuse for not getting it right this time. And this time, my governor is Black.

I know that my governor being Black is not enough by itself. Over time, Moore’s policies and his use of power will matter more.

Politicians often form policies and use power based on their position in society. Position, they say, determines your perspective. While Moore’s race is a major change in the position, his gender is not. I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to write about my governor being a Black woman. I know one thing; Black women are at the forefront of reparations in America. A Black woman leads the reparations effort in Congress. A Black woman leads the reparations effort in Illinois. A Black woman leads the reparations effort in California. And a Black woman in Maryland, Del. Wanika Fisher, is leading the reparations charge here.

It is from Black women like Fisher that we get such clear statements like, “This (reparations) bill’s attempt is to address the cancer — to address the illness of the core — which is systematic racism in the form of slavery that has put the black diaspora in an economic, political and social disadvantage for far too long.”

Governor photos, Black Marylanders aren’t behind, we are beneath.

We are under helicopters, blue lights, and street cameras. We are underfunded and under-resourced. We are under dilapidated roofs and undervalued homes. We are under siege from bullets and inflation. We are underemployed and underpaid. We are under arrest, and we are under ineffective leadership that only gets us more of the same.

Being “beneath” or “under” is not the same as “being left behind.” Someone who is “behind” needs to catch up. Someone who is “beneath” needs what’s above and on them to get off them. How you see it will determine your approach.

A “behind” approach seeks programs and assistance. A “beneath” approach seeks justice and transformation. A “behind” approach may close gaps slightly and slowly. A “beneath” approach is going to bust up and rearrange the state’s affairs as soon as possible. One is a remedial treatment– the other is a revolutionary undertaking.

Moore has said a few times

much to hope that the person who broke that history may also be interested to right that history.

The goal is not to catch up with the spoiled and spoils of White racism. We need the justice that is owed for being on top of us. It is the difference between “let me help you” (behind) and “let me get this out of your way (beneath).”

Based on his work history, Moore has done a good deal of “let me help you” work. Prior to becoming governor, Moore was CEO of the nonprofit, Robin Hood Foundation. Maryland’s nonprofits should have an ally in Moore for programs, funding, and support.

Like Moore, I have a history of working with nonprofits. I have been in the industry of helping people for over 20 years. I hope Moore has learned, like me, that nonprofit programs cannot do and should not do what only the state can do. Nonprofits do not have state power.

In fact, many nonprofits exist because the state refuses to do what it should do. Nonprofit programs cannot fundamentally fix what state policies royally

However, history messes with generic idealism: Black Marylanders shouldn’t have to work. Work for Black Marylanders should not be necessary for survival. Isn’t that how capitalism and generational wealth work?

For the beneficiaries of capitalism and generational wealth, work is optional. It should be the same for the recipients of generational deprivation and oppression. Instead of waiting and wading through work and wages, the people skipped over should now be skipping to the bank and the wealth part. Just as Moore is a newcomer to politics, many of us want to be newcomers to wealth.

That’s why if Democratic control of Annapolis doesn’t yield reparations this time, it will be a shame and a disgrace again. Only this time, my governor is Black.

Like Moore, I used to live in Montgomery County. I know Maryland to be a rich state overall. And now as a Baltimorean, I need Annapolis to know that if Maryland’s largest city is not transformed by this administration, it will be a Democratic failure again. Only this time– my governor is Black.

We need Maryland’s money

I want to see more Black progressive governors across America. I want to celebrate all those firsts while asking for more because we don’t just need more Black progressives as governors, we need Black women who are progressives as governors. The base of the Democratic Party deserves to reach the party’s pinnacles. Unless and until Black women become governors, gubernatorial politics is a bit of a farce.

For Moore, gubernatorial politics is a serious business venture that could lead to the White House. Like many governors before him, Moore could turn this into a presidential run. I hope he does. Democrats desperately need political talent. And Moore could be the one.

But if Moore decides to go easy on race-related issues, because he wants to go big politically, let’s hold him accountable. Moore has made history. He’s writing his track record now. While I am thrilled that my governor is Black and has a family photo that looks like the one I grew up in, that’s not enough by any means.

But for the first time ever, in the history of the state, it’s a start. It’s an excellent start.

Sam McKenzie is a freelance writer who lives in Baltimore City with his partner and two dogs.

Volunteer income tax assistance programs bridge the financial equity gap in Maryland

By Rosie Allen-Herring

Earned Income Tax Credit, or, EITC Awareness Day on Jan. 27, can be seen as the launch of tax season. EITC is a refundable tax credit available to qualifying lower-wage workers and their families. Childless workers younger than 25 are eligible for Maryland EITC (only childless workers aged between 25 and 64 years old are generally eligible for the federal EITC). Maryland’s refundable credit for families with children is 45 percent for tax years 2020 through 2022.

United Way of the National Capital Area (United Way NCA) is leading a regional coalition of partners working on this effort to provide VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) sites throughout the DMV region, 65 of which are located in Maryland. Trained and qualified IRS tax professionals are available to work free of charge with individuals with an annual income of $59,187 or less to determine if they qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to help them claim these tax credits, which can result in a larger tax refund.

Free VITA programs are also available through United Way National Capital Area’s (NCA) region-wide powerful network of Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs), including referrals for VITA programming at the Prince George’s Community College FEC, 301 Largo Road, Chesapeake Hall Room 108, Largo, Md., 20774. FECs also offer free financial coaching, small business counseling, workshops and more year-round.

The IRS estimates that 20 percent of tax filers don’t claim their EITC, which is why United Way NCA partners

with the IRS’ VITA program to ensure that our community members have access to qualified tax preparers who can ensure they have explored and applied for EITC credits. A motivating fact, in Maryland, the average VITA tax refund is $1,304.

United Way NCA’s Financial Empowerment Centers (FEC) will offer free tax services until April 15, 2023. To learn more about EITC, community members are encouraged to register for the United Way NCA’s Change Makers webinar, “VITA/EITC Programs and Their Impact

on Advancing Equity.” The Change Makers Education Series convenes thought leaders in conversations focused on trends in the National Capital Area and solutions that advance equity in the region.

To register for the Change Makers webinar and review the available resources, please visit https://unitedwaynca.org/ changemakers/.

Until we reach financial equity for all in the DMV, United Way NCA will continue to invest in IRStrained professionals to help our residents receive free tax preparation services each

year. We believe everyone should have access to financial professionals with the knowhow to maximize tax credits, receive the largest tax refund possible. Our professionals will guide residents on the best ways to use those funds to pay off debt, invest in a home, or contribute to generational wealth that can transform the future of their families. We truly believe that when none are ignored, all will thrive.

Rosie Allen Herring is the president and CEO of United Way National Capital Area

(NCA).

On the evening of Jan. 18 Governor Wes Moore welcomed more than 10,000 supporters from around the country to help him celebrate in his new role.

The governor spoke to the crowd, danced with his family and made his way to festivities happening on multiple levels of the Baltimore Convention Center, located on the same Pratt Street where slaves were once marched to Fells Point for transport.

Grammy-award winning artist Maxwell crooned the crowd on one floor while Baltimore’s own Dru Hill got the crowd moving in an upstairs ballroom. Members of the Divine Nine were seen repping their organizations, while HBCU grads proudly “swagged” and “surfed” into a truly historic night. Chris Tucker got the crowd laughing and Indian dancers graced the stage in full traditional dress, a nod to the newly sworn-in Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller’s heritage.

Governor Wes Moore’s inaugural celebration–the People’s Ball– was truly a spectacular affair, as Maryland’s First and Second Families made the night a perfect blend of culture and class.

Artist Demont Pinder painted a portrait of Gov. Wes Moore during the People’s Ball.

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy and Debra Hurd

Stacey Eadie, Cindy Penn, and Jaree Johnson

Gov. Wes Moore and his wife Dawn Moore share a slow dance during the ball.

DJ D-Nice had played a curated mix of songs during the ball.

Diane Hocker, Lenora Howze and Dana Peck represent the AFRO American Newspapers at the ball.

Reno West (left), Noel Lagay, Ciera Payton, Thaddeus Payton, Sharon Alston, and Dennis Glover

Singers, Maxwell (above) and Raheem DeVaughn (below) were among the performers at the People’s Ball.

Gov. Wes Moore hugs his son James Moore as he welcomes the guests at the ball.

Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and her husband, David Miller

Host of Urban One’s 93.9 WKYS, DJ Quiksilva

Photos by Stephen Hopkins and James Fields

On Jan. 18 Governor Wes Moore was officially sworn into office on the steps of the Maryland State House. The first Black man to take the governor’s seat in the state publicly stepped into his role on the steps of a building built by slaves, with his hand on a bible that belonged to the world-renowned abolitionist and Maryland native, Frederick Douglass.

Moore was introduced by celebrity journalist and activist Oprah Winfrey, and throughout the day those who know the new governor personally spoke about his integrity and courage to make change.

James Moore leads the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mia and James Moore, children of Governor Wes Moore and First Lady Dawn, wave and greet guests at their father’s inauguration.

Oprah Winfrey prepares to introduce the new governor.

William Rowel (left), senior adviser and community relations specialist, with Adetola Ajayi, an African-American community services specialist for the Office of the Mayor City of Annapolis.

Joseph Harris and Johnetta Shearer

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (right), Tyrone Taborn, CEO and publisher of the Career Communications Group, with Jean Hamilton, the company’s president and CFO and William Brooks (back), CEO of the Protection Detail, Police Security Group, at the inauguration. Zafira (left) and La’Claire Cross with parents, Mario Cross and Mayor Cashenna A. Cross, of the City of Glenadren, Md.

Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller with her husband, David Miller.

The 104th Fighter Squadron of Maryland’s Air National Guard holds a ceremonial 19-gun salute and an inaugural flyover.

The new governor, shares a moment with his daughter, Mia Moore, shortly after taking the oath of office.

Gov. Wes Moore and his wife, Dawn, greet the state of Maryland before beginning the public swearing-in ceremony.

Sen. Mary Washington (D-43) prepares to watch the historic moment. The inauguration crowd buzzed with excitement throughout the swearing-in ceremony.

Photo by Patricia McDougall

Photos by James Fields

BALTIMORE-AREA

The Moore Report

Sports betting: the power to win–or not– now in the palm of your hand

By Ralph E. Moore Jr. Special to the AFRO

Looking at the television commercials these days, comedian and Oscar winning actor, Jamie Foxx, is quite excited about betting on sports events on his phone. So is the also very popular comic and movie star, Kevin Hart. The former entertainer is on the BET MGM app, the latter on Draft King. The two well-known, highly regarded influencers are Black men who can and do get the public’s attention.

Grove Park residents sound off about plans to turn abandoned school building into a nursing facility

Annual Booklovers’ Breakfast returns to in-person format

By Reginald Williams Special to the AFRO

The Enoch Pratt Free Library’s 35th annual Black History Month Booklovers’ Breakfast will return to in-person format this year. The event will take place on Feb. 4 at the Renaissance Baltimore Harbor Hotel from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

But what exactly are they urging us to try these days?

The answer: gambling, via phone and computer apps.

Sports betting seems to be the latest craze with apps that can be available easily on your mobile device. You can watch games on television (or in person) and bet on outcomes on your phone.

Continued on B2

By Megan Sayles AFRO Business Writer msayles@afro.com

Baltimore County Public Schools’ (BCPS)

superintendent Darryl Williams announced on Jan. 23 that he would not renew his contract with the school district. Williams has oversaw the system’s educational program since May 2019.

The Randallstown National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is asking the Baltimore County Board of Education to hire an interim superintendent to take over the job for the 2023 school year and conduct a national search for someone to fill the position permanently.

“This is about children,

Grove Park Elementary School, which was shut down five years ago. Members of the association

Grove Park’s Community Association recently met with leaders and residents to discuss the sale

selling the school could lower property values, while community leaders plan to turn

home.

By Catherine Pugh Special to the AFRO

If Grove Park community leaders have their way, the elementary school that was shut down five years ago, won’t become a nursing home.

Residents have been voicing their concerns about the derelict property and the plans to turn it into a nursing home run by the Ohiobased company, CommuniCare, for months. Still, city officials have been moving forward with the plan.

Petitions have been signed, emails have been sent and social media posts have been made– all claiming that residents do not want the nursing home in their neighborhood.

The issue was revisited in a Jan. 20 community meeting, where stakeholders discussed the compatibility of a nursing home in a solid northwest Baltimore neighborhood.

“I can honestly tell you…that we are not happy with the way this selection of CommuniCare went down to develop this location into a senior care facility,” said Karen M. Braden, president of the Grove Park Improvement

Association (GPIA). “It is our understanding that the sale is not yet complete, and we still want to have answers. We have asked questions of our Councilman Schleifer and we are not comfortable with the answers he has provided us. He calls this venture with CommuniCare a big investment for our community and one of the biggest projects he has going in his district,” said Braden.

The Grove Park community, according to GPIA Vice President Stephen Ward, had other plans in mind for the closed Grove Park Elementary School.

“We wanted another school here,” said Ward.

Other proposals for the site, preferred by the GPIA members, were submitted to the city’s Housing Department. The community members suggested the BEAM Prep School be given a home in their neighborhood. The proposed Business and Economics Academy of Maryland, would be operated by Calvin Watkins, a resident of the Grove Park Community. Others put forth the idea that the Concord Baptist Church operate a community center.

The annual breakfast, hosted in person for the first time in two years, features Walter Mosely, the acclaimed best-selling author credited with being one of America’s greatest crime-fiction writers.

The Los Angeles, Calif., native is a television writer that has also has authored more than sixty critically acclaimed books that cover a wide range of ideas, genres, including “Devil in a Blue Dress,” which was adapted into a movie featuring Denzel Washington.

He’s written 20 episodes for the popular FX series “Snowfall.”

During the breakfast, the audience will have an opportunity to engage with Mosely during the question-and-answer section.

“The Booklovers’ Breakfast is the kickoff of Black History Month programming at the Pratt Library. For 35 years, the program has featured prominent African-American authors, including April D. Ryan, Terry McMillan, Congressman John Lewis,

Baltimore County Public School superintendent declines to renew contract, Randallstown NAACP calls for national search to find replacement

especially AfricanAmerican children. The research suggests that we should be seeing some improvement in academic achievement by year four,” said Ryan Coleman, president of the Randallstown Chapter of the NAACP, in a letter sent out to the media.

Still, the residents say Councilman Schleifer has not maintenance after a budget increase; insufficient communication with staff, community groups and elected officials; and concerns from the Baltimore County Council as reason for the Board of Education to conduct a national search.

“This is not about firing anyone. The current superintendent’s contract is coming to an end. Something must be done to stop the ten-year decline of student achievement.”

On Jan. 23, Williams issued a statement regarding his decision to step down as superintendent.

“After much deliberation and conversation with my family, I have decided not to seek an additional four-year contract. It has been an honor to serve as superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools, and I thank the Board of Education of Baltimore County for the opportunity to lead this incredible system,”

Daryl Williams,

Baltimore County Public Schools, recently announced that he will not renew his four-year contract for the 2023-2024 school year.

The local social justice organization cited the continual decline in academic achievement; ongoing disciplinary issues; a lack of improvement in teacher development, students’ learning and facility

Photo by Baltimore County Public Schools

superintendent for

“We are asking other communities that are reaching out to us to continue supporting us. We don’t want a nursing home or anything that is going to operate in that building for 24 hours.”

Photo by James Fields

of

argue that

the building into a nursing

Pigtown’s Groundwork Kitchen reopens its doors after pandemic hiatus

By Megan Sayles AFRO Business Writer msayles@afro.com

After nearly a yearlong hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Groundwork Kitchen is gearing up to reopen its doors in Southwest Baltimore’s Pigtown neighborhood. During the break, the restaurant gained two new members to its team, executive chef Jonathan Hicks, “The Uneek Chef,” and general manager Melanie Molinaro.

Currently, Groundwork Kitchen is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday for carryout. By the end of the month, the restaurant’s carryout will run Monday through Friday, and during the second week of February, it will be open for in-person dining.

Established in 2021,

Groundwork Kitchen is a social enterprise out of Paul’s Place, a 40-yearold local nonprofit organization. It offers a free culinary arts training program for those interested in a hospitality career.

“Hospitality is and has always been one of the fastest-growing industries. Any city that you go into, you’re either going to go to a restaurant, hotel or somewhere to grab a snack, and what we wanted to do was provide a program that was going to jumpstart our students into that industry,” said Molinaro, who also owns Little Fig Bake Shop.

“But, we take it a step further by giving them certifications and job placement. We’re also striving to put them in jobs that are good-quality jobs that have great pay, benefits and flexible

The Moore Report

Continued from B1

If you bet on a winner of a game, that’s a money line bet. If you wager that a team will win or lose by a certain amount of points (or runs, goals or whatever) that’s betting on the spread, and if you feel lucky enough to gamble on several outcomes in a single bet, that’s a parlay.

Online betting officially became legally available on Nov. 23, 2022 in the great state of Maryland –just in time for Thanksgiving Day bets on college and NFL football games. According to the state’s Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC), these franchises were awarded online betting licenses and were ready to roll. Next in line are the following:

• Barstool Sportsbook (operator for PENN Maryland/Hollywood Casino in Perryville)

• BetMGM (operator for BetMGM Maryland Sports/MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill)

• BetRivers (operator for Arundel Amusements/Bingo World in BrooklynPark)

• Caesars Sportsbook (operator for CZR Maryland Mobile Opportunity/ Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore)

• DraftKings (Crown MD Online Gaming)

•FanDuel (operator for PPE Maryland Mobile/Live! Casino and Hotel in Hanover, Md.)

• PointsBet (operator for Riverboat on the Potomac in Charles County)

Maryland was the second state to launch mobile betting during the 20222023 NFL season. The legal gambling process was an evolving one: first the states legalized gambling (Nevada has always had it), then they approved online betting. In recent times, however, Mississippi had the first legal bets placed in its borders on Aug. 1, 2018, after their law passed in 2017. The state of Pennsylvania permitted legal gambling shortly thereafter.

The floodgates to gambling were opened by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 14, 2018. The Supreme Court of the United States issued a much awaited decision that struck down the federal ban on states being able to authorize legal

After closing for the COVID-19 pandemic, Groundwork Kitchen recently reopened its doors to Southwest Baltimore. Groundwork Kitchen is currently open for carryout on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with in-person dining available beginning the second week of February.

scheduling for those who have kids or are taking care of a parent.”

During the hiatus,

Groundwork Kitchen also had an opportunity to revamp its operations, including extending carryout hours and installing a new bar in the restaurant.

It’s also instituting a new barista program for

10 years, also designed a new menu for Groundwork Kitchen. He described the concept as comfort food with a twist with dishes, including slow-cooked short rib egg rolls, duck bao, vegan Nashville hot chicken and wild

sports betting.

Betting has its own terminology, such as ‘action’ which is the amount of bets placed on the game. “Book” is an abbreviation for “sportsbook” which is an establishment that accepts bets. A “dog” is the team that is expected to lose. And “lines” describe the point spread, the total or the money line. Finally, the word “lock” describes the team that is expected to win. There are over 60 words and phrases in the glossary of gambling terms– only a pro knows them all.

But as more and more folks take to online gambling, more people will likely start speaking the language of betting. Betting seems to be a very fast growing phenomenon in Maryland.

The apps have built in safeguards and rules to ensure that one cannot gamble if under the age of 21 or if a person is in a state where sports betting is not yet legal based on the GPS embedded in the sports betting apps.

According to Maryland Sports Wagering Reports, mobile wagers could bet over $4 billion in the first year. All major league sports as well as college games are available to bet on. The companies with licenses give 15 percent to the state of Maryland for public education programs that are part of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund.

In a recent phone conversation with Bert Hash Jr., some perspective was offered on the value of sports betting revenue to the citizens of the state for its important need—education.

According to his biography on the website for the current Sports Wagering Application Review Commission members, Hash is the retired President and CEO of the Municipal Employees Credit Union of Baltimore. He is a seasoned financial services executive with over 44 years of experience in managing various aspects of banking and financial services, including Equitable Bank for 15 years and Provident Bank of Maryland for 12 years.

Hash was appointed to the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission by former Gov. Larry Hogan along with six other members. Hash said, “At the end of the day, the funding from the wagering is going to education needs of the state. That should be very exciting for children and adults alike.”

As we all know, folks are going to gamble. And society benefiting from all the wagering in our state’s future can be worthwhile bets if done responsibly, of course.

culinary arts trainees and ramping up its catering and rental services for businesses and organizations.

Hicks, who’s worked as a professional chef for

Grove Park

Continued from B1

mushroom risotto.

For him, cooking is his superpower, and with it, he can change people’s worlds with just one plate of food.

“Everybody knows to go to Harbor East, or

the Inner Harbor, or even Hampden and areas like that to eat, and there’s great quality food there, but someone needs to highlight all of these other neighborhoods where there are gems hiding in those neighborhoods,” said Hicks.

“Groundwork Kitchen can bring attention to the Pigtown area so that [places] like Suspended Brewing and Swill gets more business. It’s just all for the better.”

As part of Groundwork Kitchen’s culinary arts training, students participate in a 12-week program that exposes them to food service fundamentals, including food safety, knife skills, table service and kitchen math. They engage in all facets of the restaurant business, including food preparation, catering, carry-out and sit-down service.

Students also leave the program as certified food handlers, managers, servers and kitchen cooks.

Molinaro said she hopes with the relaunch Groundwork Kitchen will be able to take its culinary arts students and staff on field trips to fisheries and farmers markets to learn more about food production.

“We want better for our students. We want better for our community and our city, and it starts here at Groundwork by holding that standard for that,” said Molinaro.

Megan Sayles is a Report for America corps member.

honored their requests, instead choosing to develop a plan for the building with CommuniCare, a company that has donated thousands to politicians in the state.

“We are not ready to get on board with the selection of CommuniCare. We have many questions that deserve to be answered,” said Braden, who identified some of the most pressing concerns they want addressed.

“No provisions have been made in this community for our young people and we want that. The school provided a meeting place, after school programs and a place where our children could play,” said Braden. “We have over 100 youth in this immediate community. They need a playground and place to go for activities. These concerns need to be addressed before we can move forward.”

Then there is the matter of community safety, she said. “We want to know how much security will be provided for our community. We are nestled here in a pretty safe and clean community, and we want to keep it that way.”

CommuniCare sent a representative to the town hall meeting Grove Park held last week, assuring residents that their interests will be addressed. But many Grove Park residents are not convinced their interests are being considered.

“I asked him if he is taking back everything to CommuniCare that he hears in our meetings,” Braden said. He responded that he was,” said Braden. “The community does not want CommuniCare in their neighborhood. They do not communicate with us, so we don’t trust them,” she said.

“We are asking that the City Housing Department start a new process.”

Vice Braden Ward says the community is organizing and “you will see signage going up,” he said. “We are asking other communities that are reaching out to us to continue supporting us. We don’t want a nursing home or anything that is going to operate in that building for 24 hours,” said Braden.

The AFRO reached out to CommuniCare and got no response. The publication also reached out to Councilman Yitzy Schleifer whose Director of Constituent Services, Sherrell Savage, told us that the Councilman had fought to keep the school open, even with its declining enrollment. There were only 260 students at the school at the time of its closure.

Savage says she believes the Grove Park Community does have a point, since none of them nor the councilman were represented on the planning committee that made the final decision to choose CommuniCare. “I don’t know that the outcome would have been any different, but the fact is they were not represented,” she said.

Ms. Savage said she would have the councilman respond, but as of press time he had not.

Photo by Groundwork Kitchen

“Groundwork Kitchen can bring attention to the Pigtown area so that [places] like Suspended Brewing and Swill get more business. It’s just all for the better.”

Rev. Jerome Stephens moved to Baltimore City 50 years ago and never looked back

By Beverly Richards Special to the AFRO

The Rev. Jerome Stephens is a transplant from Plain Dealing, La., a small town north of Shreveport, La., 15 miles from the Arkansas line.

Nearly 50 years ago, after graduating from college, Stephens bought a one-way ticket and caught a Greyhound bus to Baltimore. The plan was to stay with his uncle for “better career opportunities.” Admittedly, he exclaimed, “I never looked back.”

Indeed he did fall in love with Baltimore, the city’s neighborhoods, its diversity, cultural

experiences, and the numerous education prospects. “It’s all here in Baltimore City,” said Stephens, a man now well-known around Charm City and within the faith-based community.

“We talk about the bad part of Baltimore too much, and don’t accentuate the good part,” he said.

When he first arrived, Stephens enjoyed driving downtown around Park Avenue, marveling at the area’s large, distinguished row houses. “You could ride through at night, and everybody had their lights on, and you could see through their houses and see how they had decorated them. They were showing off the grandeur of the row homes. Those are little things,” he added, “that we don’t talk enough about.” There’s a lot of beauty here, said Stephens.

It’s true that Baltimore neighborhoods have their own unique qualities and traits.

Booklovers’ Breakfast

Continued from B1

“The Booklovers’ Breakfast is the kickoff of Black History Month programming at the Pratt Library. For 35 years, the program has featured prominent African-American authors, including April D. Ryan, Terry McMillan, Congressman John Lewis, and more.”

and more,” explained Meghan McCorkell, chief of marketing, communications, and strategy at EPFL. “Hundreds of people gather for the annual breakfast, including dozens of book clubs from across Maryland.”

This year’s breakfast kicks off robust Black History month programming, including an event hosted on Feb. 8 at the Central Library, featuring former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

Admission is $50 per person or $450 for a table of ten. Advance registration is required. Visit www.prattlibrary.org. The deadline to register for the breakfast is Jan. 30 at noon. Seats are reserved based on receipt of registration and payment. All sales are final: no refunds. Mahogany Books will provide sales of Mosley’s book.

For more information, call 410-396-5494.

Reginald Williams, the author of “A Marginalized Voice: Devalued, Dismissed, Disenfranchised & Demonized” writes on Black men and Holistic Health concerns. Please email bookreggie@reginaldwilliams.org or visit amvonlinestore.com for more information.

“You can go from Ashburton, Ridgely’s Delight, Barre Circle, or to some of the other areas like Canton, or Roland Park and they each have their own distinct characteristics,” said Stephens, who also enjoys Baltimore’s proximity to New York, Philadelphia, and D.C. “It’s easy to just get on the beltway or a train and go to any of those cities. Then come right back to Baltimore.”

Stephens believes Baltimore’s best kept secrets are the educational institutions that call the area home.

“If you want to go to school for higher education, this is the place. We have Morgan State University, Coppin State University, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, and Loyola. They are all here. Some of the nation’s brightest minds are educated here. I think Baltimore is the place that if you prepare yourself [educationally], there’s a job for you.”

Baltimore is a city of culture, he shared. He recalled the first play he saw here.

“It was ‘Bubbling Brown Sugar,’ starring Melba Moore, at the Morris Mechanic. But if you look at Baltimore, culturally, it has different genres of music and plays. We have various playhouses like Everyman Theater, the Hippodrome, and Morgan’s Murphy Fine Arts Center. From time-to-time I get to take in a nice show.”

Stephens said he is anticipating the recently announced multi-million dollar renovation of the Arena Players in the 800 block of McCulloh Street. “I’ll be right there,” he said.

The reverend is also fond of the culinary options the city has to offer, and cheekily professed to visiting various restaurants around town, particularly around the waterfront area and Fells Point. Miss Shirley’s on Coldspring Lane is one of the places he frequents, as he enjoys the restaurant’s grits.

“Baltimore is a great place. The different communities, wherever you want to go in the city, there are homes at every price level,” said Stephens, adding that he would tell anyone, “Come home to Baltimore, it’s a city that will embrace you too.”

BCPS superintendent

Continued from B1

said Darryl Williams in a statement.

“I am very proud of the work we have done together to raise the bar, close gaps and prepare our students to thrive in their future, despite the many challenges our system has faced.”

In the statement, Williams went on to thank BCPS’ teachers, staff and administration who he said strive to deliver a word-class education and endeavor to tackle the academic, social and emotional needs of every student.

“There is more work to be done, but I believe that BCPS is well-poised to make progress toward

Obituary

eliminating disparities in academic achievement and will advance equity and excellence for all students,” said Williams.

Megan Sayles is a Report for America corps member.

Screenshot

Rev. Jerome Stephens shares everything he loves about the city of Baltimore. From restaurants to the many opportunities for higher education, he says “Baltimore is a great place.”

“Come home to Baltimore, it’s a city that will embrace you too.”

“After much deliberation and conversation with my family, I have decided not to seek an additional four-year contract. It has been an honor to serve as superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools, and I thank the Board of Education of Baltimore County for the opportunity to lead this incredible system.”

Photo by Pratt Library

To kickoff Black History Month, the Enoch Pratt Free Library will be hosting their 35th annual Booklovers’ Breakfast for in-person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual breakfast has featured a plethora of bestselling authors and this year, Walter Mosely, author of the critically acclaimed novel Devil in a Blue Dress, will be featured.

Arts and culture: paint us as we are

By “Lady” Brion Gill Special to the AFRO

“The Black artist is dangerous. Black art controls the Negro’s’ reality, negates negative influences, and creates positive images.” - Sonia Sanchez

Recently, the Washington Post ran a Jan. 6 article highlighting a painting of Thurgood Marshall by the renowned Baltimore artist, Ernest Shaw. The article prompted this reflection after disclosing that the committee in charge of commissioning the artwork rejected the first painting because it was too aggressive. I happen to know Ernest Shaw and looked at his social media to see if he posted a picture of the first painting.

When I saw the contrast between what got accepted and what got rejected, I couldn’t help but think about this as a metaphor for how Blackness in White-dominated settings is curated and ultimately watered down.

The painting that got accepted has a younger Thurgood Marshall, with a less assertive posture and a loose-fitting suit, conveying a less mature and less threatening image. Black assertiveness in Whitedominated spaces are often demonized. Personally, as a spoken word artist, I know all too well what it feels like to have the Blackness in my art minimized. The Baltimore slam poetry team has been characterized as angry for unapologetically critiquing racism or White supremacy in our poems.

In grad school at the University of Baltimore, my professors and

classmates would refer to my poems as “speeches” because the content was too radical or political to be considered poetry. And, often when I am asked to write commissioned pieces for institutions across the state, I am asked to “tone down” my words so that the audience can feel inspired rather than uncomfortable.

Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS) and other organizations that are assertive in our advocacy have experienced attempts

at marginalization in order to discourage meaningful challenges to the system of White supremacy. Art reflects how aspects of a society or culture address themselves to the human experience. The question of what it means to be human is a site of constant cultural and political contestation.

Alfonzo Peter Bailey, a journalist who worked with Malcolm X as the editor of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) newsletter

Upcoming meetings and

By Tashi McQueen AFRO Political Writer tmcqueen@afro.com

a portrait like this will be for someone that has never seen themselves reflected on the walls of the halls of power....a portrait of a young attorney in the midst of his fight for civil rights will serve as a symbol of hope for all who would come to the committee in search of justice.”

It is true that images and representations have power. The article goes on to talk about the increase in Black elected leadership in Maryland. However, if the images that are most accepted by the centers of power are less “aggressive” figures, then aren’t we just encouraging Black people not to confront the system of White supremacy?

called “Blacklash,” once described all art as propaganda. He made this statement on a panel in January of 1993 regarding the release of Spike Lee’s movie, Malcolm X.

In describing his issues with the film, he made the point that Malcolm X was one of the few leaders during the 1960s to call attention to the psychological attacks on Black people’s minds as a result of the system of White supremacy.

Mr. Bailey described

community

Baltimore City Council - Public Safety and Government Operations Committee

The Baltimore City Council Public Safety and Government Operations Committee

how movies like Tarzan portrayed Africa as backward, perpetuating the societal propaganda of Black inferiority.

The notion of all art being propaganda helps to explain what is at stake in the contestation of what it means to be human. This society produces art– or propaganda–that advances the systemic dehumanization of people of African descent.

State Sen. Will C. Smith Jr., in the article, said “Just think about how impactful

In other words, the folks that commissioned the artwork want to ensure that we don’t encourage Black people who are aggressive. Black people are not going to be free by finessing White people into including us, as a people, as beneficiaries of their societal power. The art or propaganda that is used to condition Black people into acquiescing to the White imagination’s fear of Black assertiveness has the political consequences of allowing those of us who are assertive to be marginalized.

The committee that commissioned the art and that rejected the first painting is a metaphor for the ways that White institutions seek to water down Blackness. Luckily, we have artists like Ernest Shaw who produce artwork all over the region that depicts Blackness as powerful and assertive. We should fight for those images to be what our children see.

forums in the Baltimore area

will hold a hearing on Feb. 1 at one p.m. The topic of discussion for the hearing is “Human Trafficking Investigations and Prosecutions.” According to information disclosed by the city ahead of the meeting, members from the human trafficking collaborative will “brief the City Council on the scope of the human trafficking problem in Baltimore City, current efforts to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking, further strategies that could be implemented to bring these individuals to justice, and resources that are needed.”

Residents can attend in person to view or testify during the hearing.

The virtual option is available here: https://bmore.webex.com/bmore/j.php?MTID=m 13abfcef5ef0445f93362b9caa399a5b or watch it on CharmTV Baltimore.

Monthly Woodlawn Baltimore County Police - Community Relations Council Meeting

On Feb. 8 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. the Woodlawn Baltimore County Police Community Relations Council will conduct their monthly general meeting. The council will meet at the Woodlawn Precinct Conference Room located at 6424 Windsor Mill Rd, Baltimore, MD 21207. Everyone is welcome to attend and share their thoughts and concerns about the Woodlawn area. Each meeting features a guest speaker who will provide relevant information for community members.

Sign up for the meeting online at: https://www.4410online.com/event-details/ woodlawn-police-community-relations-council-meeting-2023-02-08-19-00

To participate virtually you can use this virtual meeting link: https:// baltimorecountymd.webex.com/baltimorecountymd/j.php?MTID=m5c2eae9911cb5b1a 9a276ecc825ee54b

Baltimore City Public Schools - Family and Community Board Forum

The Family and Community Board forum

Baltimore artist Ernest Shaw was commissioned to create a painting of the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall for installation at the Maryland Senate Building, only to have his first rendition of the civil rights giant, titled “Until You Do Right By We,” labeled as “aggressive.”

Shaw’s second painting, of a younger Thurgood Marshall, was accepted and now hangs in the Annapolis, Md. building.

Photo by Instagram/Ernest Shaw Screenshot

Single in the city: he found me

By Ericka Alston Buck Special to the AFRO

This week we’ll discuss how you transition from online dating, to a phone conversation to meeting in person and signing on the dotted line that takes you off the market!

As we recently discussed last week, it all begins with your profile.

What are you saying? What are you showing? Are you being authentic? Or playing a game?

Is jumping back into the dating pool scary? Absolutely! There are still so many people playing the game and those of us who are serious about meeting our person this year have to navigate the good, the bad and ugly that goes with making ourselves accessible to be found.

Don’t give up. There’s hope for all of us that are currently “Single In The City!”

Last month we proclaimed that 2023 would bring a “New Year! New You! New Boo!” I’m proud to announce: he found me!

How did I meet him? How did I determine that he was my person and he determined that I was his?

Well, we both knew what we were looking for. We both had already determined our boundaries and our nonnegotiables. Most importantly– our vices match.

Vices? I’m very social, so is he. I’ll always seek a seat at the bar, versus a booth. So does he.

I venture into our casinos, he does, too.

He enjoys a craft cocktail, me too!

His baby is 19, my baby is 19– meaning both our nests are empty!

He is absolutely committed to getting out of this horrid dating pool and so am I .

My initial communication from him was a very excited message that said he’d been waiting for me to match with him. We are connected via Facebook dating.

That was flattering.

We chatted.

We exchanged numbers.

He asked me out immediately.

We made plans for our first date.

He arrived with roses.

He picked me up from my office.

Our first date was five hours long.

Our second date was the next day, the third date was the day after that, the fourth date was the day after that and our fifth date was the day after that.

We are intentional about our expectations, our desires, our dreams, goals and aspirations.

Finding your person is simply about finding the person that sees you, your flaws and all - and still finds you perfect for them.

Finding the person that makes time to be with you and not the person that makes excuses as to why they can’t.

As cliche as “Good Morning Beautiful” text messages may be, they are an actual indication of the first thought your potential boo had when they awakened.

I am open, available and absolutely vulnerable enough to see where this leads.

He and I have an intentional and strategic alliance to each other, led by our hearts and not the expectations of others and are willing to travel this journey together.

I shall keep you posted.

Not so single in this city, today.

Found my person? We shall see…

Dating rating

Keystone Korner Jazz Restaurant and Bar 4 out of 5

This week, I had six amazing dates, with the same amazing guy! I’m looking forward to dates seven through 1,000. It was difficult to pick just one dating experience with him to share with you, so I chose date number two, because it was impromptu and perfect. Remember every date doesn’t have to be a whole production. Great dates take the investment of time, intention, effort and energy.

Because we had a sit-down meal the night before, he wanted to stir things up a bit on our second date and asked if I wanted to go out to shoot pool. Yes! I hadn’t done that in a very long time and I absolutely love when men use a little creativity in their dating choices. SOLD!

As the day progressed, playing pool at the end of a long work day wasn’t my top pick, but I had already agreed and didn’t want to inconvenience him with a last minute change in plans.

I did, however, scroll the internet for a more subtle experience. I stumbled upon Keystone Korner Jazz Restaurant & Bar, and kept it to myself.

He picked me up from my office, opened my car door and had roses for me as I slid into the passenger seat. We began our drive to play pool and headed towards Harbor East, as we slowed down by Keystone Korner, he asked me if I had ever been. I told him the food was amazing, I’d been there twice before and assured him that he would love it.

Quickly scrolled my phone to see who was playing and

purchased two tickets for us, premier seating.

We were led to a table, front and center of the stage. Best impromptu date in a very long time.

Cocktails: I had the Blues Margarita and he had an Old Fashioned. He requested Knob Hill which they did not have, he then opted for Bulliet. The drinks were perfect!

Appetizers: If you visit Keystone, you must have the Charbroiled Oysters. We ended up ordering a second serving. We also had the Ultimate Deviled Eggs, which was his introduction to quail eggs. He’s now a fan.

Entrees: The chef’s special was pan seared trout, with green beans and roasted potatoes, my choice. My date ordered the white bass, with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. We misread the menu and his bass arrived beerbattered and fried. As he began to order a different entree, I realized that my portion was enough to share and we boxed the fried bass.

Ambiance: The G. Thomas Allen Quintet was playing, the lead vocalist is a Morgan Alum and the Bears were out to support. The lighting was perfect. The performance was entertaining from start to finish. Though tables are shared, it still made for a very personable and intimate engagement.

Service: Could’ve been better especially, considering the 18 percent gratuity added to each check.

Our server was slow and inattentive, on more than one occasion we had to look for her.

Ability to have a conversation: I wouldn’t recommend Keystone for a date where you are looking to converse and get to know each other better. Talking during a jazz show is inconsiderate. So we were left to resort to a few whispers, and smiles.

Definitely a great place for a date night for existing couples and good for dates two, or three.

As for us, we’re losing count on which date this is because we’ve seen each other every day since our first date. For those of you following closely, I told you so! New Year. New You, New Boo!

All you need is love: a look at the health benefits of wholesome relationships

By Black Health Matters

Loved ones are good for your heart

Ok, you may need a little more than love, but loving someone—a BFF (best friend forever), your significant other, your sister, your dad—does go a long way toward improving heart health. Here’s how.

“Stretch those arms without delay and give someone a hug today.” That line from an old poem may seem corny, but hugs really are heart healthy. Research from the University of North Carolina found that when you hug someone you love, your body releases oxytocin, the feelgood hormone, which reduces stress hormones and lowers blood pressure.

Give your heart a workout. Look into a loved one’s eyes and your heart speeds up a little. This is because your brain releases hormones such as adrenaline, dopamine and norepinephrine, which make your heart beat faster and stronger. Though short-lived, these “love” spikes can train your heart to pump blood more efficiently. (Don’t get too excited; you’ll still need to head to Zumba for a more substantial cardiac workout.)

Grab his hand. Recent research shows that holding hands with someone you love has a calming effect. Experts tried this experiment on happily married couples. They placed each woman in an MRI, and prepared her to feel a mild shock to her ankle. Holding hands with their husbands reduced the women’s brain activity associated with anticipating pain. To be fair, the study also found the women got comfort from a stranger’s touch, too, but not as much as a spouse.

High levels of anxiety have been linked to high blood pressure, increased heart rate and other factors that can contribute to heart disease. This study gives new meaning to “lending a helping hand.”

Get your mind right, reduce your heart attack risk. Studies show that having a positive outlook on life can protect against cardiovascular disease. Researchers define “positive” as feeling joy, happiness, excitement, enthusiasm and contentment, all of which can stem from having people you love in your life. In one study, each participant’s level of positive affect (based on a 12-minute in-person interview) was measured and their health records were followed for 10 years to look for incidences of heart disease. People who scored even a single point higher for positive affect had a 22 perfect lower risk. They also found those with higher positive affect were

more likely to be female, less likely to smoke, had lower levels of total cholesterol, and lower levels of hostility and anxiousness—all of which suggests that a positive attitude contributes to better health overall.

Quality time with a loved one reduces blood pressure. We know you don’t need an excuse to share some face time with your husband, but here’s one anyway. A study in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine found that people who spent time with their romantic partners experienced a greater dip in blood pressure than those who hung out with a stranger. Researchers link the lower blood pressure to “perceived emotional support,” like you get from someone who knows you really well.

This post originally appeared on BlackHealth Matters. com.

Keystone Korner Baltimore

Photo by Keystone Korner Baltimore

According to a study in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, those who spent time with loved ones experienced a bigger drop in blood pressure than those who hung out with strangers.

Photo by Freepik

Macy’s to hold month-long donation campaign to benefit United Negro College Fund

By Megan Sayles AFRO Business Writer msayles@afro.com

To celebrate Black History Month, Macy’s on Feb. 1 will launch Black History. Black Brilliance., a month-long donation campaign in stores and online to support the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), which provides scholarships to African-American students and funding to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

The retail giant will also highlight Black-owned brands through its social purpose platform, Mission Every One, and organize online shopping events to encourage customers to buy Black.

“This Black History Month, we’re furthering Macy’s mission of building a brighter future with bold representation for our colleagues, customers and communities by spotlighting and celebrating the history, accomplishments and resilience of Black Americans throughout our stores and across our bands,” said Shawn Outler, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for Macy’s.

“Through Mission Every One, we work with our communities and UNCF to raise critical funding that will empower the next generation of leaders, enabling growth and leadership through HBCU educational opportunities.”

Throughout the month of February, customers have the opportunity to engage in a round-up campaign to support scholarships for students across the nation who plan to attend HBCUs and who are already enrolled in HBCUs.

Customers can donate online, or they can round-up their in-store purchases and contribute the extra change to fund

On Feb. 1 Macy’s will launch a month-long campaign for customers to donate money to support the United Negro College Fund. The retail company will also spotlight Black-owned brands online and in stores.

Macy’s Brighter Futures Scholarship Fund.

As part of Black History. Black Business., several Black brands will be promoted in stores and online, including Harlem Candle Co., a luxury home fragrance line by Teri Johnson; OMA The Label, a jewelry brand by Neumi Anekhe; and Healthy Roots, a toy company created by Yelitsa Jean-Charles that teaches natural hair care with Black dolls.

The brands will also be featured during

two virtual Macy’s Live shopping events on Feb. 8 and Feb. 17.

Since 2021, Macy’s has given nearly $2 million to benefit the mission of UNCF. Last spring, the department store also announced that Mission Every One would deploy $5 billion by 2025 to build a more equitable and sustainable future.

The initiative’s commitments included raising Macy’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, providing grant funding to advance human rights and social justice efforts,

investing in underrepresented brands and designers, supporting scholarship for underrepresented youth in fashion and using more sustainable materials for Macy’s products.

Megan Sayles is a Report for America corps member.

Related article: • https://afro.com/ macys-and-momentus-capital-to-use-200million-to-create-diverse-suppliers/

Apiary in the Sky works to beautify Newark neighborhoods, improve quality of life for residents

By Megan Sayles

AFRO Business Writer msayles@afro.com

When the COVID-19 pandemic inundated the world with uncertainty, Newark, N.J. native Marcellis Counts became a beekeeper.

A recent graduate of Seton Hall University, Counts wanted to create an enterprise that would not only support him but the community. He subsequently created Apiary in the Sky, a beekeeping and environmental company, to address neighborhood neglect and quality of life concerns for the residents of Newark..

“With Newark, it’s very strange. It’s almost like there’s a narrative inside the city for people who live here, and there’s a narrative outside the city. Similar to Baltimore, there’s a lot of negative connotations and associations with our homes, but it’s not a true reflection of the people that live in these places because you see a lot of beautiful things here,” said Counts.

“Despite what you’re told about with Newark, Baltimore, Chicago, all these places, they’re also these hubs of transportation, universities, innovation, and they’re special places that contribute a lot to society. My company, Apiary in the Sky, we’re trying to uplift that.”

As part of Apiary in the Sky, LLC’s mission, Counts wants to teach people about the country’s long history of environmental racism and discrimination and increase representation for Black beekeepers, who comprise a fractional amount of the larger beekeeping industry, according to Counts.

Aside from raising bees to harvest honey, the environmental company tidies green spaces in Newark neighborhoods and beautifies them. Then, Counts opens up the spaces to local Black businesses to host pop-up shops and local farmers to host markets and free food distributions.

“We really work together to provide real, nuanced solutions to the issues that we’re facing around food insecurity, pollution and capitalism, all these nasty things that are really tearing apart our communities and our families,” said Counts. “These things are very important to me, and I’m affected directly by these issues just the same because I’m from the same community.”

According to Counts, residents in urban areas are often undereducated about agriculture and what it takes to produce the food they eat. The beekeeper tries to mitigate this by teaching communities about bees’ instrumental role in pollination, which is integral to growing crops.

While many regard bees as a nuisance, their relationship can change with the pollinators once they understand how critical they are to the world’s nourishment.

In the future, Counts hopes Apiary in the Sky, LLC can partner with more local schools to educate youth about the importance of agriculture, farming and beekeeping.

“It’s really about starting to change people’s environments and empower folks around issues so that they understand that they are a critical part of the solution,” said Counts. “Things aren’t only happening to us, but they’re happening because of us, so we have to kind of work together to envision the life and the world that we want to see together.”

AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File

Megan Sayles is a Report for America corps member.

“We really work together to provide real, nuanced solutions to the issues that we’re facing around food insecurity, pollution and capitalism, all these nasty things that are really tearing apart our communities and our families.”

Courtesy Photo Marcellis Counts is the founder and owner of Apiary in the Sky, a beekeeping company in Newark, N.J. The business seeks to beautify underserved communities and support local farmers with honey products.

Florida to Black people: we’re not teaching your history

By Aziah Siid Word In Black

The Florida Department of Education officially launched its 2023 Black History Month Student and Educator Contests with the theme of celebrating the achievements of African-American Floridians.

In the same breath, they’ve rejected the College Board’s AP AfricanAmerican course for high school students.On Jan. 19, news broke that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration wrote a letter to College Board, the nonprofit organization that administers SAT exams and AP classes, stating the course is “explicitly contrary” to state law and “lacks educational value.”

The interdisciplinary course — like any other AP course — explores the vital contributions and experiences of African Americans in literature, political science, geography, arts, humanities, and science, according to the College Board’s website

“In the future, should College Board be willing to come back to the table with lawful, historically accurate content, FDOE will always be willing to reopen the discussion,” the letter stated.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, legendary former professional basketball player, and current author and cultural commentator, addressed the administration’s continued disregard for African-American history in

education.

“I don’t understand how a state like Florida, which is [more than 45 percent] non-White allows the Whitewashing of ethnic history and culture,” he wrote.

“Florida has one of the largest Black populations in the country, but Blacks are still being treated as insignificant in education.”

Abdul-Jabbar spoke to DeSantis’ opinion of the course not having any “educational value” by listing Michelle Obama, Mae Jemison, Angela Bassett, Aaron McGruder, and Gloria Naylor as successful Black people who received degrees in Black Studies.

“At the time, most people didn’t think it was a legitimate course of study. To them, Black history and culture was just slavery, pimps, and tap dancing,” said Abdul-Jabbar, in reference to education in the 60s and 70s.

“What more was there to say after day one? That was the point: to broaden our children’s knowledge of and respect for a people who were nearly invisible in their history books.”

In response to the decision, College Board issued a statement pointing out that, “like all new AP courses, AP African American Studies is undergoing a rigorous, multi-year pilot phase, collecting feedback from teachers, students, scholars, and policymakers. The process of piloting

and revising course frameworks is a standard part of any new AP course, and frameworks change significantly as a result.”

The Advanced Placement program, which was developed alongside higher education schools, is the first African American course offered by the College Board. The course is currently offered in 60 schools across the country for the 2022-2023 academic year.

The goal is to offer the course to all schools by 2024 and administer the first AP African American exam by Spring 2025, according to the College Board’s website.

Rejection of the curriculum follows efforts by DeSantis’ to limit the teaching of what he believes to be critical race theory (CRT) in Florida schools.

In 2021, the state passed a law that banned the teaching of the concept, which examines the history of systematic racism in the United States. In April 2022, the Florida Department of Education rejected 54 math books for the K-12 curriculum, claiming the textbooks “indoctrinate” students with CRT.

Nine months later, students, politicians and caregivers within the system have spoken out against the continued attempt to whitewash crucial history all students, particularly Black students, should know.

“This political extremism and its

attack of Black History and Black people, is going to create an entire generation of Black children who won’t be able to see themselves reflected at all within their own education or in their own state,” Democratic state Sen. Shevrin Jones said In a Twitter repost, Ameshia Cross, a political analyst at Sirius XM, noted the obvious disregard of Black history compared to other cultural academia.

“Clearly every history except Black is seen as worthy of further development, exploration and understanding in Florida under DeSantis’ leadership,” Cross wrote. “Black history is American history. Striking it from [the] curriculum does students a grave disservice, and makes America weaker for it.”

This article originally appeared on WordinBlack.com.

Black students are still experiencing pandemic trauma

By Maya Pottiger Word In Black

People aren’t rubber bands.

Even as kids attend school in-person full-time again and life slowly returns to normal, they aren’t going to snap back to who they were and how they felt before the COVID-19 pandemic. It had a deep and lasting impact on everyone, especially Black families and Black children, that we are still learning about, says Fitzgerald, Ph.D., EdM and MSW, an internal consultant with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

And one of the keys to understanding these impacts and finding solutions is acknowledging the important variables that we like to ignore, Fitzgerald says, like race, gender, and class, which all play a role in a person’s identity.

“We have to be able to take race into consideration more often as we think about solutions versus these universal solutions that we think apply to every child,” Fitzgerald said. “That does a disservice to children, and it also ignores their pain.”

Parents of K-12 students overwhelmingly agreed that the pandemic had a somewhat to very negative impact on both their children’s education (61 percent) and emotional well-being (48 percent), according to an October 2022 study by Pew Research Center.

However, while Black parents were the least likely to say the pandemic had a negative impact on their children’s emotional wellbeing (39 percent), they were the most likely to say the emotional impact hasn’t gotten better (30 percent).

How can both be true? In an interview with Word In Black, Fitzgerald spoke about Black folks’ history with trauma and mental health, and how we move forward from here.

Word In Black: When we’re talking about this lingering negative impact on emotional well-being, what does that look like, especially in Black students in the K-12 age range?

Terence Fitzgerald: When we think about children specifically, trauma can play out in attention span. It can play out in behaviors where you’re already within a system where you’re already being scrutinized differently. So not paying attention, maybe displaying unwanted academic behaviors.

The majority of teachers, specifically non-teachers of color, will see that behavior as, “Oh, that’s how they are. This is how they act,” and it feeds into the stereotype about people of color especially kids of color. And when it comes to the parents’ response, it’s like, “oh, they don’t care about their kids’ education. Look how they’re responding.”

Well, they’re responding in an adaptive way due to the trauma that they’re already undergoing. So it plays out much differently. Our schools, our doctors, our institutions — any institution that deals with children already has issues with understanding trauma, so the fact that people of color, and others who don’t fit into the stereotype, display trauma differently.

WIB: Many have argued that we’ve returned to normal: kids are in school, masks have been optional for a long time. Can you explain why these negative impacts are sticking around?

Fitzgerald: Because that’s trauma. Trauma doesn’t end just because the event is no longer occurring.

For example, we can think about 9/11. Yes, this city is clean, the debris is removed, we have all of these other safety protocols put into place. That doesn’t stop the trauma that initially occurred.

It’s like throwing a 50-ton boulder in a lake. Those ripples that are created continue on and on, even though where that initial boulder landed is far away. That’s trauma.

Trauma continues on, so we’re going to see the effects until someone is able to put into place measures where we’re able to say, this is what trauma is, this is how we deal with it, this is how we can help those who have these concerns. But by putting it in the rearview mirror and going, “it’s in the past” does a disservice to children because they’re still dealing with those repercussions. We know on a cellular level that trauma can change and can have an effect on one’s DNA. That’s how powerful trauma is.

WIB: Why do you think Black parents were the least likely to say the pandemic impacted their kids’ emotional well-being?

Fitzgerald: It’s important, when we look at this, to take into consideration the history of Black people, and the history of Black people and its relation to environmental stress, as we think about trauma and this prolonged trauma. So having experience with prolonged trauma as it relates to being a person of color in a system, which is rooted in oppression and marginalization, and subjugation, you become accustomed to what that looks like. It becomes nothing new to you.

If you know that racism and the fact that your life is considered less than in comparison to people who are non-people of color, specifically, White, you live with this. You grew up in this environment, what that trauma brings, and you’re reminded daily that your value is less than. Even though it doesn’t look the same as it did in the 1960s or 50s, people of color, specifically, Black and Native Americans, are consistently reminded — through policies and procedures, institutions, the media, movies, the way stories are covered, music, and daily interactions — that your value is less than, so that set of circumstances has created historical trauma, intergenerational trauma, so this is not new to people of color. It isn’t new.

WIB: The other piece of the research is that Black parents were the most likely to say emotional well-being hasn’t improved. Why is that?

Fitzgerald: If there is strife, or feelings of unsurmountable social economic changes that have created this set of

circumstances for people to live in, and the emotions that people undergo with these traumatic events, it’s a harsher pain for those who are oppressed — historically oppressed.

So what White people feel as we think about COVID, and what they saw in relation to schooling, how a majority of schools were inadequate in preparation for a national pandemic, we saw how schools were ineffective in putting into place a plan. We saw the effects on the kids, to children in their learning. We still don’t know the full extent of the effect of COVID on the social and emotional well-being of children.

Now, put that into context. This is what White people are feeling: “Oh, my gosh, this is traumatic.” This is not new for people of color, to be left out, for people not to have a plan, for systems to be inadequate in addressing the needs and concerns. This isn’t new.

Maybe what the data is showing is that people of color are like, “no, this is par for the course.” And the fact that we don’t historically take in consideration mental health, and that’s a historical thing, that’s a historical fact. We think about historical research around psychology, psychiatry: people of color were left out.

If we think about the institutions that were then put into place to deal with those concerns, they didn’t offer the same services or offer any services, at times, to people of color. So if you grew up in a society where you’re seeing mental health discussed over here, but your mental health isn’t seen as a concern, people then adapt. They create their own strategies for dealing with it.

Now we’re dealing with the fact that people of color are — even more so now than I ever heard growing up — hearing these conversations about mental health and Black communities. White communities have been having this much longer. Now we’re also doing this sort of catch-up. So Black parents may not be able to recognize how that trauma may be playing out in their lives.

It’s different. Trauma plays out differently, gender-wise, cultural, ethnic, religious, or racial. It plays out differently. So when the majority of the news is covering “this is what trauma is, this is what it looks like,” and Black parents are going, “Oh, my kid isn’t doing this.” But they are displaying it — it’s just different. And we don’t talk about those differences enough, how trauma looks along racial lines.

WIB: What are some ways that parents can support their children who are still experiencing this negative impact from the pandemic?

Fitzgerald: One is to have a sense of understanding and forgiveness. Forgiveness for the fact that their children are still displaying the ramifications of undergoing trauma, as we think about COVID. To have some forgiveness in our hearts that these children are, in a sense, suffering, and it is our responsibility, then, to understand trauma. What does trauma look like? How can it affect us? How can I advocate for my child as they are displaying these particular traits of trauma? How can I support my child? How can I educate those within their lives that what you’re seeing is not what you think it is?

This isn’t a child being defiant for defiance sake. This isn’t a child who fits into your false narrative of people of color: “That’s how Black kids work or how Black kids act in schools,” but to say, wait a minute, I have to educate them to let them know this is what this is. And because of that, it will hopefully force people to confront what trauma is. It also ties into building resiliency within these children. Since I know what trauma looks like now, I’m advocating for my child.

How can I then set up my child to be more resilient? How can I build off of this strength for them to meet these challenges of what COVID had? What COVID presented? What COVID did?

Photo by Twitter/Terence Fitzgerald Terence Fitzgerald, Ph.D., EdM and MSW, is an internal consultant with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

Photo courtesy of Word In Black Florida’s Board of Education sparks nationwide outrage after making the decision to block the College Board’s AP African American Studies course to be taught in high schools throughout the state.

Photo by Redd F on Unsplash

An October 2022 study by Pew Research Center found that while Black parents were the least likely to say the pandemic affected their child’s emotional health, they were also the group most likely to say their child hadn’t made any emotional progress.

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January 28, 2023 - February 3, 2023 The Afro-American C5

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ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND Annapolis, Maryland ANNOUNCEMENT

REQUEST FOR BIDS

On or after January 23, 2023, Plans and Specifications may be obtained from the Anne Arundel County Web Page at the following address: https:// www.aacounty.org/departments/central-services/purchasing/P.O.R.T./ bids/index.html . Bids will be received until time/date shown below, please submit your bid electronically via the PORT. Bids received after the date and time set will be rejected.

Due by 1:30 p.m. Local Time, Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Project: H534901 – Rehabilitation of Bridge No. AA-3001 Magothy Bridge Road Over Magothy River Sonication No.: CAP23000184

Contact: Debra Russell – 410-222-1340

January 28, 2023 - February 3, 2023 The Afro-American C5 3x2.5”

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

CANDIDATES FOR MARYLAND STATE TREASURER

The General Assembly of Maryland is charged by the Maryland Constitution with appointing the State Treasurer by joint ballot of the Senate and House of Delegates. A committee, appointed pursuant to Section 5-101(b) of the State Government Article of the Maryland Annotated Code,will review resumes of all applicants, hold a public hearing, and make a recommendation to themembers of the General Assembly. The State Treasurer is the guardian of State funds,responsible for receiving, depositing, investing, and distributing State money. Among otherduties, the Treasurer oversees the issuance of State debt, the investment of State funds, and the administration of the State Insurance Program. The State Treasurer also serves on a variety of fiscal planning committees and a number of other State boards, including the Board of Trustees of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System and the Board of Public Works. The Honorable Dereck E. Davis, the current State Treasurer, has applied for reappointment. Other applicants must submit their resumes no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. Applicants may also be asked to present themselves at a public hearing to be held on Tuesday, February 14, 2023. Resumes should be submitted to: Marcia Alvarado, Staff Special Joint Legislative Committee to Select the State Treasurer Bill Drafting Office, Department of Legislative Services 1 East, Miller Senate Building Annapolis, Maryland 21401 410-946-5350 Baltimore/Annapolis 301-970-5350 Washington D.C. Metro Area 1-800-492-7122 for other areas in Maryland

WASHINGTON-AREA

National Portrait Gallery holds inaugural “Our Struggle for Justice: A Day of Action” event

Reginald Williams

Special to the AFRO

A cadre of social justice organizations recently joined forces to present the inaugural “Our Struggle for Justice: A Day of Action” at the National Portrait Gallery.

According to the National Portrait Gallery, “Our Struggle for Justice is a digital collaboration between the National Portrait Gallery and Capital One that explores activism and social justice through biography.”

The three-hour event included a “Dress for Success” session, a women’s empowerment round table, and a criminal justice reform letter-writing workshop facilitated by Jason D. Fabrikant, interim director of American University’s School of Public Affairs (SPA) Leadership Program and senior professional lecturer with SPA Leadership students. The day also included tours of the Struggle for Justice Gallery and activities meant to encourage youth activism.

Our Struggle for Justice began as a social media campaign initiative in February 2021, using Instagram and Twitter to encourage activism. Members of the collective used the social media platforms to amplify their voices by telling their stories.

“We wanted to encourage activism and

Family seeks $50M from L.A. police for D.C. teacher’s death

District communities receive updates on crime and prevention measures

By Aria Brent Special to the AFRO

On Jan. 21, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser met with advisory neighborhood commissioners to discuss the state of crime in the community. A PowerPoint of the itinerary for the meeting has been released to the public for those who were unable to attend.

The mayor started off the meeting with a mood check and an intimate question, asking if any of the attendants or someone they know had personally been a victim of a crime. Out of all of the attendees, 32 percent voted to being a victim of any crime, while 22 percent voted to having been a victim of gun violence.

By Brian Melley The Associated Press

Lawyers for the 5-year-old son of a man who died after repeatedly being shocked by Los Angeles police with a stun gun following a traffic collision filed a $50 million claim Friday for damages against the city.

The legal claim is required before Keenan Anderson’s son and estate can sue LA police for wrongful death and civil rights violations for restraining him and shocking him six times with a Taser in less than a minute on Jan. 3.

“If you Taser someone with 50,000 watts of electrical energy six times ... is there really any wonder that moments later his heart will begin to flutter?” attorney Carl Douglas said at a news conference. “Is there any wonder why four hours later his heart could no longer withstand the pressure from that Taser and gave up, leaving a 5-year-old boy in his wake?”

The claim was filed on behalf of Anderson’s son, Syncere Kai Anderson, who stood with his mother, Gabrielle Hansell, the administrator of his estate, alongside their attorneys.

Anderson, 31, a high school English teacher in Washington, D.C., and cousin of Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, was the suspect in a hitand-run traffic collision when he was stopped by police in Venice. He later ran from officers and resisted arrest, police said.

Anderson screamed for help after he was pinned to the street by officers and repeatedly shocked, according to video released by the department.

“They’re trying to kill me,” Anderson yelled.

Footage showed an officer pressing his forearm on Anderson’s chest and an elbow in this neck.

“They’re trying to George Floyd me,” Anderson said in reference to the Black man killed by officers in Minnesota.

“We can only wonder what Keenan Anderson meant,” attorney Ben Crump said. “But if he meant that he would end up dead at the end of the encounter at the hands of the Los Angeles Police Department then Keenan Anderson was correct. They George Floyd him.”

Chief Michel Moore said Anderson initially complied with officers as they investigated whether he was under the influence of drugs

or alcohol. But he was subdued after struggling with officers who had chased him when he bolted.

Anderson ran in fear — as other Black men have — when additional officers responding to a call for backup rushed toward him, Douglas said.

The claim said officers used unreasonable deadly

force, carelessly and mistakenly deployed the Taser, failed to follow training on the dangers of asphyxiation while handcuffing Anderson and conspired with each other to hide and distort information in false police reports.

An LAPD toxicology test found cocaine and cannabis in Anderson’s body, the chief said.

The crime trends in the city from the last two years were then reviewed. According to the data shared there was a decrease in every crime except for robbery and motor vehicle theft.

There were an additional 36 robberies in 2022 when compared to 2021. There were also 268 more motor vehicle thefts in 2022, compared

D.C. officer in recovery after being stabbed in the face while serving warrant

By Aria Brent Special

to the AFRO

A D.C police officer is in recovery after being stabbed in the face on the afternoon of Jan. 21. It was reported by authorities that an officer was serving a bench warrant on Mount Olivet Road in the Northeast D.C., area.

Around 1:10 p.m., officers from the fifth District arrived in the area after reports of a wanted person came through. Once the officers arrived at the home and attempted to arrest the woman under arrest things got violent.

Tanesha Davis, 28, resisted arrest, pulled out a knife and stabbed an officer in the face multiple

times. According to D.C. police, she was “swiftly apprehended” following the incident. The officer’s injuries were minor and he received treatment on the scene.

Davis has since been charged with assault on a police officer, in addition to the outstanding warrant.

A D.C. police officer was recently stabbed in the face by Tanesha Davis, 28, as she resisted arrest.

Photo by Unsplash/Matt Povoloch

“Our Struggle for Justice is a digital collaboration between the National Portrait Gallery and Capital One that explores activism and social justice through biography.”

Lawyer Carl Douglas, right, holds a news conference with Gabrielle Hansel, guardian of five-year-old Syncere Kai Anderson, to announce filing a $50 million in damages claim against the city of Los Angeles over the death of Keenan Anderson, seen photo right, at a news conference in Los Angeles on Jan. 20.

Photo by AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

National Portrait Gallery

Continued from D1

tell the story of activism through portraiture,” explained Irina Rubenstein, education specialist at the Portrait Gallery. “We have an exhibition called The Struggle for Justice, and it features leaders of the civil rights movement—different leaders of justice and social justice causes. We wanted to spark activism among young people, but really amongst everyone.”

Sponsored by Capital One, the Day of Action partnered with nine organizations, including Teaching for Change, a pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade educational non-profit organization based in the District. One of their programs, D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice, supports and provides resources for those educators teaching outside the traditional textbook.

“Here in the D.C. area, we facilitate working groups in early childhood, elementary, and middle and high school groups, bringing educators from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia together to connect on curriculum,” explained NaKeesha Ceran, associate director for Teaching for Change. “We need people to support educators who won’t back down from teaching [the] truth.”

Art played a substantial role in the overall event.

“Art is activism. Portraiture is powerful. And knowledge is empowerment,” Rubenstein explained. The event, emceed by The HEALACIST HipHopMomma Princess Best, included art pop-ups with local artists and music provided by DJ Adrian Loving.

Family seeks $50m

Continued from D1

The coroner’s office will also perform a toxicology report.

The officers haven’t been named yet but their union issued a statement saying the family and attorneys were

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser

Continued from D1

to the 3,493 car theft crimes committed in 2021.

Following this, the report for gunshot victims and illegal guns was shown. In this report it showed that a total of 3,152 illegal guns were recovered in 2022. This is a 26 percent increase when compared to the 2,310 firearms recovered in the previous year.

Although there were fewer illegal guns recovered in 2021, the number of fatal gun violence crimes was highest that year. The range of years mentioned when discussing this particular crime statistic spanned over four years from 2019 to 2022.

As the meeting progressed the amount of youth related violence taking place in the city was highlighted. The year of 2022 held the highest rate of juvenile arrest for both violent crimes, and firearmrelated crimes. In addition to this, the overall number of juvenile gunshot wound victims ended up being 105 in 2022, this is nearly 50 percent more than the previous year.

The conversation then shifted to review the size of the D.C. police department throughout the last 23 years. Notably, 2008 had the highest number of sworn staff members with a total of 4,051. The number of sworn staff decreased by 19 people the following year in 2009 and it continued to do so up until 2013 when there was a slight spike in the number of staff members. In 2013, MPD had 4,010 sworn staff members.

It was then sometimes dedicated to recognizing a few of the most newsworthy and community-oriented moments that have taken place in the D.C. area.

Prior to the dismissal of the meeting, those attending were asked about who they view as a close partner in helping them respond to or prevent crime in their communities. The highest percentage of votes were for MPD, meanwhile the federal government received the lowest percentage.

“trying to shamelessly profit” from a “tragic incident.”

An LAPD spokesperson declined comment citing a policy not to comment on pending litigation.

After being subdued, Anderson went into cardiac arrest and died at a hospital about four hours later.

It was then announced that the District of Columbia is spending over $115 million on violence intervention and prevention this year. This is in addition to MPD’s budget that includes a multitude of programs such as community-based violence interventions, pathways program, D.C. school connect and earning for learning. Following this the meeting was adjourned.

NaKeesha Ceran is the associate director for Teaching for Change, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting educators and students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12.

Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo

“Our Struggle for Justice: A Day of Action,” was recently held at the National Portrait Gallery on Jan 22.

In 2023, the District of Columbia is spending over $115 million on violence intervention and prevention.

Photo by David von Diemar on Unsplash

“Is there any wonder why four hours later his heart could no longer withstand the pressure from that Taser and gave up, leaving a 5-year-old boy in his wake?”

Reginald Williams, the author of “A Marginalized Voice: Devalued, Dismissed, Disenfranchised & Demonized” writes on Black men and Holistic Health concerns. Please email bookreggie@reginaldwilliams. org or visit amvonlinestore.com for more information.

Washington filmmaker implores churches to take ‘L.O.V.E. is the Answer’ challenge

By Marnita Coleman Special to the AFRO

A movement dedicated to bridging the racial divide between police officers and minority communities is sweeping the country.

Native Washingtonian, A.J. Ali, a journalist and filmmaker, is using film and faith to address racial tension across the country with his documentary “Walking While Black: L.O.V.E. Is the Answer.”

The film features interviews with peace officers, faith leaders, educators, activists, and others, who expose racism and the ignorance behind it in an undeniable way. The documentary has given way to reconciliation in people’s hearts and offers an inspiring example of how unity can be promoted by the church community.

“I tell stories,” Ali said confidently.

It all began in 2012 when Ali, at age 48, was stopped by a police officer for walking in his Howard County, Md. community. Unfortunately, it was a recurring scene that happened to him at least two dozen times during his life just because of the color of his skin. The incident started with one police officer and escalated into three police officers.

Ali sat on the side of the road, thinking he would die there.

No longer turning the other cheek, Ali committed to taking action. “That’s when I decided to make the film,” sai the filmmaker, who has made other films and television shows, including a television show in Baltimore called ‘Good Fellas of Baltimore’ on Fox.

Since the initial launching of the film in 2017, Ali has seen miracles in relationships among people that literally hated one another. He has witnessed the change first hand, and said many showing often end with viewers hugging each other and apologizing 90 minutes after watching the film. Yet, he remained discontent in his heart because he wanted to retaliate against the officers that detained him.

Ali felt “God telling him, to change the hearts of police or anyone else, you

African American Mayors Association awards Marion Barry Jr. Award to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser

have to let go of the fear, frustration, anger, and pain, and you have to love on them.“

The bigger purpose of love inspired him to use the film as a tool of reconciliation to bring unity to a racially divided faith community.

Data shows that as many as 87 percent of Christian churches in the United States are completely made up of only White or AfricanAmerican parishioners.

Today, Ali, the 2022 Joseph R. Biden Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, is ambitiously launching the ‘L.O.V.E. is the Answer “ church challenge.”

The acronyms are action steps that bring people together. Specifically, “L.O.V.E.” stands for: learn about others, open your heart to their needs, volunteer to be part of the solution in their lives, and empower others to do the same.

Ali believes that when the first three steps are taken, it will inspire others to follow the example and help to overcome their differences.

The “L.O.V.E. is the Answer” church challenge invites Black and White churches to partner and watch the “Walking While Black: L.O.V.E. is the

Answer” film, and have an open conversation about it.

The challenge encourages churches to start a book club by reading the “L.O.V.E. is the Answer” book, with readers sharing their thoughts respectfully, and then, serving the community together in some capacity.

The kick-off began on Jan. 1, and ends with a nationwide celebration of reconciliation on Sept. 17, which is L.O.V.E. is the Answer Day.

According to Ali, his organization is donating lifetime licenses of their film to the first 100 churches that commit to the ‘L.O.V.E. is the Answer” church challenge before April 1.

Each lifetime license is valued at $1,295. The organization will also give away $2,000 to one of their team members who participate in virtual questions and answers, following an in-person or virtual film screening. Also, they are providing other perks like free coaching to enhance the experience of the challenge.

To start the book club, churches need to purchase a minimum of 10 “L.O.V.E. is the Answer” texts, at $30 through this link: https:// trylovenow.com/read-thebook/.

By DaQuan Lawrence Special to the AFRO

On Jan. 20, the African American Mayors Association (AAMA) announced D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, as the inaugural recipient of the Marion Barry Jr. Award for Public Service.

The award was named in honor of Barry, the last D.C. Mayor elected to serve three terms, and was created to recognize leaders who have a legacy of public service and leadership to the community via service to local governments.

“I am honored to receive this award, named in honor of our Mayor for Life, Marion Barry, whose footsteps I followed on Jan. 2 when I took the oath of office for a third time,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The first Black woman elected to a third mayoral term in any large American city, Mayor Muriel Bowser won the award due to her significant reelection in November 2022, for a consecutive third, four-year term.

Mayor Bowser received the award, amid leading the nation’s capital during several international crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, challenges within the global economy such as looming inflation, and international threats to democracy.

“In recognition of her historic reelection to a third term, we proudly celebrate her long-standing leadership and incredible achievements. This award is a testament to dedicated public service and Mayor Bowser is well-deserving,” said AAMA President and Mayor of Little Rock, Frank Scott Jr.

“A third term is a special opportunity because I have a mandate from the people to be bold, to think big, to push the envelope, and above all else, to win for Washington, D.C.. Now, the work continues to ensure every Washingtonian gets a fair shot” Bowser said.

Earlier this month, Mayor Bowser and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic

Development (DMPED) released D.C.’s Comeback Plan. The plan serves as an instrument for determining the District’s economic development agenda through 2028.

Overall, the plan seeks to make Washington, D.C. ripe for business investment, with a thriving population and abundance of resource and opportunity-rich

employment opportunities and resources due to public policies.

Mayor Bowser’s plan explicitly seeks to address the economic inequality in the city, which severely and disproportionately affects the District’s Black population more than other ethnic groups. Goal 6 of the listed priorities includes “increasing economic prosperity in D.C. by lifting the median household income of Black residents by $25,000” by 2028.

“This is a comeback that is focused on equity” said Mayor Bowser speaking of the plan.

“This is about making sure we have the revenues to support our world-class city services, our robust network of social programs, and the resources – like our schools and rec centers –that keep people in D.C.” she continued.

Mayor Bowser has served her hometown as an elected official since 2004, when she was elected to the office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner.

“Mayor Bowser is a friend, a colleague, and a role model for young girls and women throughout our nation,” said Mayor Scott, Jr.

neighborhoods.

Despite Black people’s historical significance and importance to D.C., approximately 86,300 Black people are impoverished in the city and many experience limited access to affordable housing, educational and

During her mayoral tenure, she has created Washington, D.C.’s first Office of Racial Equity, and Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Mayor Bowser also funded the first ever Black Homeownership Fund and expanded the Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program to young aged 24.

Upcoming meetings and community forums in the D.C. area

Public Meeting of the Juvenile Justice Advisory Group

On Feb 7 from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm, the Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (JJAG) will conduct a meeting for the advisory commission to Mayor Bowser and other government stakeholders. The meeting will focus on D.C. juvenile justice and delinquency prevention matters. JJAG advises the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants through the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, ensuring the Mayor and other local systems meet the needs of D.C. youth.

The DC Housing Finance Agency commences its ‘The Baldwin DuBois Discussion Series: Equity Access and Social Transformation.’

On Feb. 1, from 9 to 11 a.m., the DC Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) will kickoff a new discussion series focused on equity access and social transformation. The event will be held at DCHFA’s headquarters, located at 815 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001. Throughout the year, DCHFA will host conversations for the community to learn from some of the best leaders throughout the D.C. area and around the country.

Part one of the series will focus on preparing the next generation of emerging developers. The conversation will include information on D.C. real estate development, resources for success, how to craft a viable business and how Black professionals can bring about positive change to the real estate industry.

The event is free to attend and space is limited, but interested parties can RSVP at bit.ly/DCBuildingBlocks.

Public meeting of the District of Columbia

Stabilization & Reform Board.

The D.C. Housing Authority’s Stabilization and Reform Board is hosting a public hearing on Feb. 8th at 1 p.m. The live stream can be viewed at: http://www.dchousing.org/live. The D.C. Housing Authority’s Stabilization and Reform Board ensures the agency has the governing resources to improve our policies, processes, operations, finances, and overall agency effectiveness. The public is invited to speak at the hearing by signing up through boc_ speaker.aspx .

By Tashi McQueen AFRO Political Writer tmcqueen@afro.com

McQueen

A.J. Ali is a film producer, author and the founder and CEO of L.O.V.E. Is the Answer, a novel and short film which has the mission to help end the division between police officers and minority communities.

Photo by Facebook/A.J. Ali

African American Mayors Association’s Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C. recently became the first Black woman to receive the Marion Barry Jr. award for public service.

Photo Courtesy of the African American Mayors Association

“In recognition of her historic reelection to a third term, we proudly celebrate her long-standing leadership and incredible achievements. This award is a testament to dedicated public service and Mayor Bowser is welldeserving.”

PBS and Kennedy Center honor the legacy of literary and cultural icon Zora Neale Hurston

By Megan Sayles AFRO Business Writer msayles@afro.com

BothPBS and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Kennedy Center) have celebrated acclaimed anthropologist and author Zora Neale Hurston during her birth month of January. On Jan. 20, the Kennedy Center commemorated the literary great’s birthday on the Millenium Stage with a song from “Zora Past the Sun,” a musical tribute performed by Liberated Muse. The multi-disciplinary arts group, led and founded by Khadijah Ali-Coleman, seeks to spotlight the experiences and stories of people across the African diaspora with music, theater, spoken word and film.

Born on Jan. 7, 1891 in Notasulga, Ala., Hurston grew up in Eatonville, Fla., the country’s first incorporated Black township. There, she witnessed an abundance of Black achievement, where African-American men were leading local government and African-American women oversaw Sunday school at the churches, according to her website. In 1917, Hurston came to Baltimore and attended Morgan College for high school. She later went to Howard University and Barnard College to obtain her bachelor’s of arts degree. As an anthropologist Hurston chose to study her own race, which defied the study area’s standards.

Typically, anthropologists were required to remain detached and objective from your subjects. Hurston changed that. The PBS documentary details how she became one with the subjects she studied. If voodoo was the topic, she was skinning cats and boiling them for rituals. If the question was life in the South, she was leaving the comforts of Harlem to imbed herself in the Black communities of Florida. Hurston traveled alone through the American South and the Caribbean documenting the lives of African Americans in rural communities, according to her website.

Her most renowned work, “Their Eyes were Watching God,” was a fictional novel released in 1937 that told the story of Janie Crawford and her journey through three marriages that were shaped by poverty and purpose. It’s considered one of the most esteemed writings of the Harlem renaissance, and Hurston is still recognized today as one of the most influential voices of that time period. Hurston died on Jan. 28, 1960 from a stroke at the age of 69.

Megan Sayles is a Report for America corps member.

The AFRO extensively covered the life of Zora Neale Hurston, with some of the first mentions of her name coming in a 1925 article about unrest at Howard University. Over the years, she has been the subject of countless headlines and even cartoons by AFRO artist Thomas Stockett. This week, the AFRO salutes the life and legacy of Zora

The Liberated Muse Arts Group recently held a special performance of Zora Past the Sun, a musical and poetic birthday tribute to literary icon Zora Neale Hurston at the Kennedy Center on the Millennium Stage. Shown here, Mike Pryor, a bassist, and Colie Aziza, singer and songwriter.

Poet and writer Lyn Artope Halstead and drummer Daruba Kenyatte perform for the crowd gathered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to celebrate author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston.

Photos by Patricia McDougall

Recently, PBS released a biographical documentary about the late influential writer, Zora Neale Hurston in “Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space.”

Neale Hurston.

Photo by imdb