March 3, 2012 - March 3, 2012, The Afro-American A1 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION
Volume 120 No. 30
MARCH 3, 2012 - MARCH 9, 2012
Eddie Brown
AFRO Celebrates Legends & Pioneers B1
By George Barnette AFRO Staff Writer
AP Photos/Joel Ryan
(Top) Octavia Spencer poses with her Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Minnie in The Help. (Bottom) Rich Middlemas, left, TJ Martin, second from right, and Daniel Lindsay, right, pose with presenter Sean “Diddy” Combs and their awards for best documentary feature for Undefeated during the 84th Academy Awards, Feb. 26. Combs received an Oscar for being the film’s executive producer.
Story on A3
Arkansas-native Jonathan Neal’s love affair with flying began when he was in the third grade. Now the 32-year-old uses his experience to help local kids achieve their dreams in the aviation industry. Neal and his business partner Wayne Tonkins formed Outreach Aviation, a nonprofit based in Prince George’s County, which provides youth with unique educational opportunities in science, tech, engineering and math (STEM) fields. They met after Neal moved to the area for better job opportunities and Tonkins was a student at A.T.C. Flight Training Center in Fort Washington. Tonkins needed help learning how to fly complex larger aircraft and Neal was happy to help. The two became fast friends and the brainchild for their organization was born. “We wanted to give kids something to look forward to as far as different career paths,” Neal said. “If they choose to go into aviation we can pretty much take them from start to finish whether they choose to fly or want to be a mechanic.” One of the larger challenges facing the group is the fact that there is a void of African Americans in the aviation industry. Only about one percent of all pilots are Black, a statistic that Neal hopes to see changed with his organization. “You don’t hear about Black pilots too often. When you do hear about Black pilots the first people they associate you with is the Tuskegee Airmen,”
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“Now I am not suggesting that you should endorse a candidate simply because they are African-American,” Wooten said. “Baltimore is filled with black politicians that I would never support. But when someone emerges as capable and competent and most of all an advocate for the people it is shameful to have a few black clergy to allow themselves to be divided and conquered.” Wooten said this practice doesn’t happen often within other faiths or cultural groups. “Let’s be clear. You will not see any group of Jewish Rabbis holding a press conference or inviting African-American candidates to the synagogue for their
Courtesy Photo
Jonathan Neal and Wayne Tonkins formed Outreach Aviation to expose local kids to flight Neal said. “They are the ones that opened the doors for myself. However, as far as aviation goes, people
“We wanted to give kids something to look forward to as far as different career paths.”
Muse Campaign Disappointed by IMA Endorsement of Cardin State Sen. C. Anthony Muse’s bid to unseat Ben Cardin for his U.S. Senate seat has been eventful so far and continues to be so after the Baltimorebased Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance’s (IMA) endorsed Cardin. In Facebook posts and tweets that have since been taken down, Muse’s team linked to a blog post – also sent to the AFRO by Muse supporters without solicitation – criticizing Black faithbased leaders for backing Cardin. The post was written by Jamye Wooten who runs the Kinetics Faith & Justice Network. Wooten called this an “historic” opportunity in January, but his words in his post were much sharper.
B2
Prince George’s Nonprofit Teaching Kids to Spread Wings
Oscar Recap +2 photos Film Maker +2 photos
By George Barnette AFRO Staff Writer
Celebrating Black History
“A Thousand Words” with Kerry Washington B3
endorsement when a Jewish candidate is their opponent,” he continued. “Only black preachers allow themselves to be divided and conquered.” Cardin has shown a willingness throughout his time in office to reach out to the Black clergy locally. Last year, along with the White House office of Faithbased and Neighborhood Partnerships, held a forum at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden to discuss ways in which the church can aid local residents in improving economic empowerment. “Senator Ben Cardin has proven himself to be a leader who is capable of making the right decisions Continued on A3
automatically say ‘oh you got to go to the military to learn how to fly a plane.’ That’s actually not true.” “It’s an expensive field
to get into, but it’s very rewarding if you decide to take it on as a career,” he said. For his work Neal has been recognized by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). In September, the CBC invited him to a private screening of” Red Tails” – making him one of the first people to see the film. Neal said people can learn how to fly at small airfields across the country, but it’s not Continued on A3
Maryland Submits Application for No Child Left Behind Waiver By Alexis Taylor AFRO Staff Writer Maryland joined the second round of applicants for a No Child Left Behind Act waiver, Feb. 28, adding to the list of states seeking to opt out of strictly following the law. The decision to apply for a waiver comes after state officials held over 40 meetings to discuss every detail of what Maryland children need to succeed in the classroom. Prior to drafting a final application for the waiver, the Maryland State Board of Education sought feedback from superintendents, principles, teachers, parents, students, special education advocates, and colleges and universities. “We want to make sure the state has the flexibility they need,” said Sen. Ben Cardin. “We don’t want to have teaching to the test; we want to have children really learning
and accountability in the classroom.” No Child Left Behind Act waivers give states an opportunity to modify or create guidelines that more accurately judge performance and progress in American schools. States who decide to use a waiver are free from the stricter demands of the law, but in its place agree to improve teacher quality and productiveness, strengthen accountability and set higher, yet attainable, goals for students. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), or the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as it later became known, was signed into law in 2002 by President Bush. Eleven states have already been granted approved waivers, which were first announced as an option by President Obama last September. Under the standing NCLB law, all American students are expected to be
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Teen Filmmaker Challenges Domestic Violence Among Youth By Alexis Taylor AFRO Staff Writer Payin’ the Price, a new film on teen domestic violence, was directed by 16-year-old New Jersey native Jordan Coleman, and has already gained widespread recognition and awards. The Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival presented Coleman with the HBO Best Feature Film award last year, and MTV gave the teenager $10,000 towards the completion of the project. “As I did more and more research I found out this was a serious topic,”
said Coleman, who at times met resistance from those around him while working on the film. “Some of my own family and friends were against me making the movie, but that gave me the push to continue.” Payin’ the Price is set around Jazz Johnson IV, a popular allstar athlete from a wealthy family, and Sabrina DeGraffe, a girl from a single-
parent home looking to escape her house of sisters and ordinary lifestyle. The film takes an in-depth look at the effects of teen domestic violence, how it starts, and how hard it can be for teens to walk away from someone they love even while being physically tormented. “Relationships like that are unsafe and unhealthy. They ruin your character from Photo by Alexis Taylor
Copyright © 2012 by the Afro-American Company
within because you always have that cloud hanging over you,” Coleman told the audience during a questionand-answer session after the screening
“How are you always sad when you’re with the person you’re supposed to love?” at Set the Captives Free Church in Baltimore. “How are you always sad when you’re with the person you’re supposed to love?”
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