Baltimore-Washington Afro-American Newspaper September 10 2016 by AFRO News

September 10, 2016 - September 10, 2016, The Afro-American A1 www.afro.com $2.00 $1.00

Volume Volume 125 123 No. No.620–22

SEPTEMBER 10, 2016 - SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

Inside

Baltimore • Bishop Frank Reid

Morgan Musical Taps Stories of Mothers

Reflects on Tenure at Bethel AME

Washington

Commentary: Working Together to Achieve Fair and Effective Policing

Stop the Killing

By Rep. Elijah Cummings

Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune via AP A man holds a woman at the scene of a double shooting in Ogden Park on Sept. 5 in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. Thirteen people were shot to death over the Labor Day weekend in Chicago, making it the deadliest holiday weekend of one of the deadliest summers the city has experienced in decades.

The Black Vote Could Be the Difference

That’s how many people have liked the AFRO Facebook page. Join last week’s 1,700 new fans and become part of the family.

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com

By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com

According to John Bullock and David Bositis, two leading Black political scientists in the U.S., the Black vote, depending on turnout, could make the difference in some key battleground states. The pundits believe that on Nov. 8 millions of Blacks will go to the polls to vote primarily for Continued on A3

Police Discuss Race

Georgetown University Addresses Its Slaveholding History

2016 Presidential Election

676k

• D.C. Residents and

Former Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton could win the White House because of the Black vote.

In perhaps the most progressive move to address the legacy of African enslavement in America by an educational institution,

Georgetown University will soon offer priority admission to direct descendants of those whose enslavement directly benefited the school. Under the leadership of Georgetown’s president, John DeGioia and the university’s Working Group on Slavery, Continued on A3

AFRO File Photo

AFRO Archived History - 9/11

afro.com

Your History • Your Community • Your News

ATTACKED! Reaping the Whirlwind?

By George E. Curry and Benjamin Todd Jealous

Sept. 15, 2001

Listen to Afro’s “First Edition” Join Host Sean Yoes Monday-Friday 5-7 p.m. on 88.9 WEAA FM, the Voice of the Community. 22

47105 21847

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - A prominent African American lawyer who has recently represented an Islamic former terrorist says United States arrogance has caused the nation to be hated by many people around the world, hatred that could lead to more violent the nation this week. “We, as Americans, know that these people, these groups hate us and we are so arrogant that we don’t even worry why,” states David Baugh, a criminal lawyer who once represented convicted terrorist Muhammed Al-Owhali in connection with bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa. “We just assume they are crazies and we don’t even spend one minute wondering why they hate us.” Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus,

says she observed anti-American sentiment at the recently concluded international conference in Durban, South Africa. “At the World Conference Against Racism, the nations were quite angry with the U.S.,” she recounts. “... Continued on A4

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Deja Lindsey, 20, a junior at Georgetown University, talks on her cell phone in front of Healy Hall on campus in Washington. The university released a report calling on its leaders to offer a formal apology for the university’s participation in the slave trade.

In Virginia

Voting Rights Restoration Backlash By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) felt compelled to restore the voting rights of more than 206,000 former felons due to the state’s disenfranchisement policies, which he described as “rooted in a tragic history of voter suppression and marginalization of minorities.” However, his July 22 order was almost immediately overturned by the state’s Supreme Court. With the victory, state lawmakers and some of Continued on A4

Courtesy photo

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) restored the voting rights of more than 200,000 felons through broad legislation, but received backlash from residents who think that rights should be restored on a case by case basis.

The Afro-American, September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016

Serena Williams overtakes Federer for most Slam match wins

NATION & WORLD

By The Associated Press Serena Williams now owns more victories in Grand Slam matches than anyone else in tennis’ Open era, surpassing Roger Federer with her 308th. So, Serena, who’ll wind up with more? “I don’t know. We’ll see,” Williams said during her oncourt interview after reaching the U.S. Open quarterfinals by beating Yaroslava Shvedova 6-2, 6-3 on Sept. 5. “Hopefully we’ll both keep going,” she added. “I know I plan on it. I know he does. So we’ll see.” (AP Photo/Adam Hunger) Federer turned 35 Serena Williams reacts after on Aug. 8. Williams defeating Yaroslava Shvedova, turns 35 on Sept. 26. of Kazakhstan, during the fourth Williams’ very first round of the U.S. Open tennis win at a Grand Slam tournament, Sept. 5, in New York. tournament came way back when she was 16, a 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-1 victory over Irina Spirlea in the first round of the Australian Open on Jan. 19, 1998. Williams’ first loss at a major came in her next match, which happened to come against older sister Venus. Nearly two decades later, through plenty of highs and lows, from championships to health scares, the younger Williams is still at it — and still winning. “It’s a huge number,” she said about getting to 308. “I think it’s very significant, actually. I think it’s something that just really talks about the length of my career, in particular. I’ve been playing for a really long time. But also, given that consistency up there — that’s something that I’m really proud of.” Although her 36-year-old sibling is active, many of Williams’ contemporaries have come and gone, including Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, who are both younger, and Martina Hingis, who is only a year older. “I definitely never thought I would be playing still,” Williams said. “Now I don’t really see when I’m going to stop, because I’m just enjoying these moments out here, getting to break records that I didn’t even know existed or I didn’t even know was possible.” Over her career, she is 308-42 at the majors, for a winning

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percentage of .880. Here’s the victory breakdown: 88 at the U.S. Open, 86 at Wimbledon, 74 at the Australian Open, 60 at the French Open. Federer is 307-51 (.858) and can’t increase his total until next season, because he is sitting out the U.S. Open and the rest of 2016 because of problems with his surgically repaired right knee.

Donald Trump Goes to a Black Church in Detroit in Attempt to Woo Black Voters By The Associated Press

Donald Trump said Sept. 3 he wanted to help rebuild Detroit and told members of a Black church that “there are many wrongs that should be made right” as the GOP presidential nominee tried to woo African-Americans two months before the election. “I am here to listen to you,” Trump told the congregation at the Great Faith Ministries International in remarks that included references to some of his campaign plans. “As I prepare to campaign all across the nation, I will have the chance to lay out my economic plans which will be so good for Detroit.” Seated in the front row was Omarosa Manigault, a former contestant on Trump’s reality television series who has been helping guide his outreach to the Black community. Also in the audience was Detroit native Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who ran against Trump in the primaries and is now advising the campaign. While protesters were a vocal presence outside, Trump made a pitch inside for support from an electorate strongly aligned with Democrat Hillary Clinton. “I want to help you build and rebuild Detroit,” he said. “I fully understand that the African-American community has suffered from discrimination and there are many wrongs that should be made right.” He also said the nation needs “a civil rights agenda of our time,” with better education and good jobs. Unlike his usual campaign stops where he confidently has addressed mostly White crowds that supported him and his plans for the country, (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Trump’s visit to Detroit on Republican presidential Saturday was intended to candidate Donald Trump speaks be more intimate. during a church service at Great Some protesters tried Faith Ministries, Sept. 3, in to push through a barrier Detroit. to the parking lot but were stopped by church security and police. Rev. Horace Sheffield who led a march from his church blocks away said: “I walked up to the gate and said I was going to church. I was immediately confronted and was told I needed a ticket. You need a ticket to get in church? Anybody who is in this church should be appalled. I love Bishop Wayne T, but to not let the public in?” Ahead of his trip, Toni McIlwain said she believes that as a candidate, Trump has a right to go anywhere he wants. But, she said, it takes a lot of nerve for him to visit Detroit. Many Black people in the city, she said, are still stung by his stop in Michigan last month, when he went before a mostly White audience and declared, “You live in your poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed.” He asked, rhetorically, what Blacks had to lose by voting for him instead of Clinton. “People picked up on” Trump saying “you’re all just crap,” said McIlwain, who for years ran a community center that offered education and drug prevention programs in one of Detroit’s most distressed neighborhoods. “He generalized the total Black community. How dare you talk to us like that and talk about us like that?” she said. Carson told The Associated Press before Trump’s trip that it would serve as an opportunity for the GOP nominee to see the challenges residents face as he refines his policy plans. “It always makes much more of an impression, I think, when you see things firsthand,” he said.

Rape Survivor Gabrielle Union Faces Complex Issues as ‘Birth of a Nation’ Star By The Associated Press

As a rape survivor, victim’s advocate and an actress in “The Birth of a Nation,” Gabrielle Union has found herself in an impossible position. Union recently, along with much of the world, learned that her film’s director, writer, producer and star, Nate Parker, was accused and acquitted of rape 17 years ago. She collected her thoughts in a nuanced opinion piece for the Los Angeles Times Sept. 2, writing that while she cannot take the allegations lightly, the film also addresses and raises important questions about this very matter. It’s also the latest high-profile complication for a film that just a month ago was presumed to be one of the year’s most vital — a powerful awards contender and a possible antidote for the #OscarsSoWhite Hollywood diversity crisis. Yet the film, which fetched a record acquisition price at the Sundance Film Festival in January, is now in the shadow of persistent controversy just weeks away from its Oct. 7 release. In the film, about Nat Turner’s 1831 slave rebellion, Union’s character is raped, though it’s not depicted on screen. It’s why the actress took the part, she writes. She wanted to give voice to women of history, especially Black women, who have for so long been silenced on the matter. “I knew I could walk out of our movie and speak to the audience about what it feels like to be a survivor,” Union wrote. Union, who was raped at gunpoint in the backroom of a Payless shoe store 24 years ago, says she’s been “in a state of stomachchurning confusion” since learning of Parker’s 1999 rape case. The rape allegation came while Parker was a student and wrestler at Penn State University. Parker was acquitted, though his college roommate Jean Celestin (who co-wrote “The Birth of a Nation) was initially found guilty of sexual assault. That conviction was later overturned when the accuser declined to testify for a trial.

(Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)

Gabrielle Union, from left, Nate Parker and Aja Naomi King present the award for Dr. Bobby Jones best gospel/ inspirational award at the BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The case garnered a lot of attention at Penn State. Parker and Celestin allegedly harassed the accuser on campus. The incident spawned a civil lawsuit by the woman against the college with a settlement of $17,500 The recently renewed attention on the case also brought to light the fact that the accuser committed suicide in 2012, which Parker, now married with five daughters, also learnt of in the news. He wrote on his Facebook page that he was “filled with profound sorrow” and regretted that he didn’t “show enough empathy.” Parker also recently spoke to Ebony Magazine about how he’s taking steps to grow and educate himself. It remains unclear how all this might affect the release of the film, its public perception or even its awards chances. Distributor Fox Searchlight is proceeding with the October release and will still take the film, and Parker, to the Toronto International Film Festival this month. But things look very different from just a month ago when Parker was happily accepting a Sundance Vanguard Award and taking meetings in the White House. Union, for her part, says that she has read the 700 pages of court transcript from the case and doesn’t know for sure what happened that night. Instead of speculating on guilt or innocence, Union uses the platform to advocate for education and conversation on the topic of rape, consent and aggression, something she is also trying to do at home with her young son. “I believe that the film is an opportunity to inform and educate so that these situations cease to occur,” Union wrote. “Sexual violence happens more often than anyone can imagine. And if the stories around this film do not prove and emphasize this, then I don’t know what does. It is my hope that we can use this as an opportunity to look within.” Representatives for Fox Searchlight and Parker did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Despite More Police, New York West Indian Day Events Marred by Deaths By The Associated Press

(AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Participants march during the West Indian Day Parade in the Brooklyn borough of New York Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. Revelers in costumes danced as the sounds of steel drums filled the air Sept. 5 at the city’s annual West Indian Day Parade, but despite an expanded police presence, violence again marred the event with two people shot to death at pre-dawn festivities. A male in his late teens or early 20s was shot in the chest at around 3:50 a.m. in Brooklyn during J’ouvert, the celebration that fills the streets with music hours before the larger parade steps off. Police said a 72-year-old woman was shot in the arm at the same location and was taken to a hospital in stable condition. About 25 minutes later, a 22-year-old woman was shot in the head just a block away, police said. She died at a hospital. Police said they were investigating whether the shootings were related. A woman was also stabbed in the area, but police said she refused medical attention. The New York Police Department had doubled the number of officers at J’ouvert and the West Indian Day Parade, which are overseen by different organizations. They also added security cameras and additional light towers. The changes came a year after Carey Gabay, a 43-year-old lawyer who had worked for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and was deputy counsel of the state’s economic development agency, was shot in the head and killed as two street gangs exchanged gunshots during J’ouvert festivities. Separately, a Bronx man, Denentro Josiah, was stabbed to death. Cuomo, among the raft of state and local elected officials marching in the parade, connected the shootings to illegal guns. “NYPD doubled the number of police they had on duty, I don’t know what else they could’ve done, and I think the lesson is it’s not just about more police,” he said. “It’s going to take all of us working together to make a difference.” He continued: “We have to stop the violence, stop the shooting, stop the killing, and we have to do something about the insanity of illegal guns in this country.” J’ouvert brings an estimated 250,000 people to the streets, and the parade attracts more than 1 million. The route goes through a major Brooklyn roadway, in neighborhoods that have a strong Caribbean presence.

The Afro-American, September 10, 2016 - September 10, 2016

September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016, The Afro-American

Black Vote Continued from A1

president but will also vote for statewide and local offices. Bositis said that Clinton, the former Secretary of State, is the favorite to carry the Black vote. “The important Black leaders and President Obama have embraced Clinton,” he said. “Black voters in Virginia have liked Tim Kaine and Black leaders on the national level have embraced him also.” Bositis said Blacks won’t vote for the Republican nominee Donald Trump. “Blacks despise him,” he said. Several polls predict Trump will win only 1-2 percent of the Black vote, a drastic drop-off for a Republican candidate. Bositis is one of America’s leading political scientists dealing with Black politics. He is the former senior research associate at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a nonprofit public policy organization that produces ideas, research, and policy solutions that have a positive impact on people and communities of color. He has also authored numerous articles and several books on Black political representation, voting patterns, and

redistricting concerns. “If there is a strong solid turnout among African Americans, they will make the difference for Secretary Clinton,” he said. “Those battleground states are Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. If Secretary Clinton wins all of those states, she is on her way to winning the election. Even if she wins the states that Democrats traditionally win and adds Florida and North Carolina, she will win the presidency.” The battleground states that have strong Black populations are North Carolina at 21 percent and Pennsylvania with 10.9 percent. However, a number of political observers have stated that Georgia, a traditionally Republican state in presidential elections, could go for Clinton this year. President Obama lost Georgia to Republican Mitt Romney by a slimmer than expected 7.82 percent in 2012. A recent

Washington Post-Survey Monkey poll released on Sept. 6 showed that Clinton and Trump are both at 46 percent. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia was Hillary Clinton’s husband, Bill, who in 1992 defeated President George H.W. Bush by a 0.59 percent margin.

While many Democratic activists are salivating at Clinton winning the Peace State, Bositis advises caution. “I am not convinced that Georgia has flipped to the Democrats,” he said. “I will concede that it will be very close but there has to be an exceptional Black turnout for her to win Georgia.” Georgia is 31 percent Black and is the

beneficiary of Blacks moving back to the South from the North, Bositis said. He also noted that Georgia doesn’t have the growing Latino population that North Carolina has and that may be an impediment to Clinton taking the state this year. As Bositis said, a strong Black turnout is the key for Clinton to win the White House but many in the political realm wonder why Black voters don’t cast their ballot as often as they should. John Bullock, a political scientist at Towson University in Towson, Md., told the AFRO that weak Black voter turnout has long been the subject of academic speculation. “There is a great deal of literature devoted to that subject,” Bullock said. “There are theories that voter turnout is related to a person’s social class, educational attainment, and income. The higher the income, the more likely a person will vote. “A lot of people, particularly Blacks, who don’t vote say ‘the system doesn’t work for me’ or ‘voting doesn’t matter’. As a result, politicians generally respond to people who vote.”

“The unrest on many campuses and in many communities . . . gives evidence to how ubiquitous, profound, and enduring racial alienation and injustice remains in American society.”

eligible for the same admission priority enjoyed by legacy applicants. Wilder said that Georgetown, unlike other colonial colleges with ties to African enslavement, maintains its identity as a religious institution and therefore, must deal with its links to slavery as historical and intellectual, as well as morally. “At the University of Virginia, the president there has a commission on slavery and the university. At William & Mary, there’s the Lemon Project, which is an ongoing, multiyear research project into the history of slavery and race on the campus. There are a number of universities that have done stuff, but there’s the act of acknowledging that there’s a relationship between slavery and the university — [and] a very different thing is committing to addressing that history as an institutional obligation,” Wilder said. “I think part of the

reason why a lot of universities are afraid of the conversation about reparations [is] communities of people [may begin] making claims upon the institution based on these histories.” Additional recommendations made to DeGioia by the committee, include: permanently renaming Mulledy Hall to Isaac Hall after the first enslaved person named in the “Articles of Agreement” between Thomas Mulledy, S.J., and the Louisiana businessmen Henry Johnson and Jesse Batey; renaming McSherry Hall to Anne Marie Becraft Hall (also known as Sister Aloyons), a woman of color and trailblazing educator with deep family roots in the Georgetown neighborhood; offering a formal apology; and holding public events to explore the story of Jesuit slaveholding and its legacies at Georgetown and beyond.

“If there is a strong solid turnout among African Americans, they will make the difference for Secretary Clinton.”

– David Bositis

Georgetown Continued from A1

Memory and Reconciliation, a full report documenting the institution’s relation to slavery, and suggestions for reconciliation was released Sept. 1. According to the report, Georgetown University’s origins and growth, as well as its economic viability showed a direct link to their ownership and operation of plantations throughout Maryland. The Jesuit-owned and -operated plantations used profits from slave labor and proceeds from their sale to fund the school, whose students attended classes free of charge. “On our own campus, there are also the many whose experience of our community is fundamentally marred by estrangement, alienation, and hostility, sustained by persistent racism. The unrest on many campuses and in many communities over the past year gives evidence to how ubiquitous, profound, and enduring racial alienation and injustice remains in American society. The University owes its own efforts toward reconciliation to all of these,” the report concludes. Craig Steven Wilder, a professor of American history at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and author of “Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America’s Universities,” told WAMU, American University’s radio station, that while he was cautiously optimistic about the efforts Georgetown had made, he was less so about the ripple effect of other similar organizations following their lead.

– Working Group on Slavery report

“Georgetown deserves credit for going farther than just about any other of its peer institutions in dealing with the question of its relationship to slavery. And one of the greatest accomplishments of the report is, actually, its tone,” Wilder said. “It really does capture the gravity of the problem that the university is dealing with, and it does so with a kind of painful honesty at times that I think they really deserve credit for.” Relatives of the group of 272 enslaved men, women and children – named by Georgetown researchers as the GU272 – who were sold in an 1838 agreement, will become

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September 10, 2016 - September 10, 2016, The Afro-American

Attacked! Continued from A1

We’ve got to address some issues that apparently we have not addressed. And we’ve got to do so openly and with honestly.” Attorney Baugh says Bin Laden’s group, Al-Qaeda’ does not try to hide its contempt for the United States. “They have many reasons they say they hate America,” says Baugh, a former U.S. Attorney and a lawyer who once represented Kemba Smith, the young Black woman pardoned last December by President Clinton for her minor role in a Virginia drug ring. “They talk about the American-led sanctions against Iraq. They say that the sanctions have killed 1 million children. I, myself, have a tape with [former] Secretary [of State Madeline] Albright saying in 1996 that she knew the sanctions had killed half a million children under five, but that we thought that price was justifiable. “In a country of 22 million people, we are talking about 5 percent of their population. I am not offering this as a justification or rationale, but we need to think about it.” The most devastating terrorist attack on the United States was launched Tuesday morning, as many Americans were heading for work or watching the morning talk shows. It was a revolution that was indeed televised. Startled television viewers were horrified at the sight of one of the World Trade Center towers crumbling before their eyes when a second hijacked airliner crashed into the remaining tower, causing it to crumble, killing many of the people inside. Airline officials confirmed that United Airlines Flight No. 93, a Boeing 757 bound from Newark, N.J. to San Francisco, with 38 passengers and seven crew members, and Flight 175, a Boeing 767, bound from Boston to Los Angeles, with 56 passengers and nine crew members, were hijacked and forced to crash into New York City’s twin landmarks. In Suburban Washington, even Defense Department was defenseless after a plane crashed into the Pentagon, igniting a fire that damaged the building that houses the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other military brass. Reports that similar attacks had been made on the State Department and Congress were proven to be unfounded. Federal employees in Washington were sent home for the day and national landmarks were quickly closed as fear gripped the capital. The impact of the attacks extended beyond the East Coast. The National Park Service closed other facilities across the country, including the St.Louis Gateway Arch. In the wake of what was clearly an orchestrated attack, civil rights leader Jesse T:3.75” Jackson urged Americans not to overreact.

“We do not know who was responsible for the devastating, planned attack,” Jackson told the NNPA News Service. “We would do well to mourn the injured and dead and not panic. We made that mistake after Pearl Harbor and locked up people who looked like they might be Japanese.” Jackson, who is on first name basis with leaders if many Arab nations, said that the United States failure to have significant relationships with anyone who opposes Israel in the Middle East conflict, leaves the country vulnerable to these type of surprise attacks. “This shows that there is a body of people alienated from our country,” Jackson explains. “Our tendency toward isolation makes us more vulnerable to acts of hostility.” Ronald Walters, a political science professor at the University of Maryland at College Park, says that tough-talk by the Bush administration, while understandable, is unlikely to improve the nation’s fragile security. “It’s like Malcolm [X] said...All of these years we have been dancing on one side of the fence [in the Middle East] and pretending to be an honest broker,” Walters explains. “Now we have a choice. The U.S. can greatly exacerbate the situation by going in the direction of retribution or it can try to turn a corner and go in a new direction.” While public polls show how strong support for Israel, a survey sponsored by Abu Dhabi Television and the Arab American Institute last December disclosed that when asked “with whom do their sympathies lie,” 30 percent of the respondents replied that they were supportive of the state of Israel, 11 percent backed the Palestinians and 22 percent expressed sympathy for both sides. Approximately 29 percent favored neither. Sponsors of the report say that findings “represent a steady movement toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Walters held out little prospect that the U.S. is about to alter a Middle East policy that favors Israel, one of its most trusted allies. “A situation like this requires the kind of leadership that I just don’t think Bush and [Vice President Dick] Cheney are capable of,” he says. “... They will ratchet up the situation, And the dumb thing is that by so doing, they will expose the American people to more of this.” Joseph E. Lowery, chairman of the Black Leadership forum, and longtime aide to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., notes that we are living in an increasingly violent country.

Restoration Backlash Continued from A1

T:9”

Virginia’s most powerful leaders, are calling for McAuliffe’s – crimes for which the overwhelming new majority of arrested resignation. are White and poor – Graham took pause. “Restoring the rights of Virginians who have served their “We can’t just lock up everyone… there should be some time and live, work, and pay taxes in our communities is level of treatment so that people don’t lose their dignity and one of the pressing civil rights issues of our day,” McAuliffe can still function in society . . . Well, I guess citizenship and said at the Richmond signing of the resolution. “I have met some crimes should be reconsidered felonies because there are these men and women and know how sincerely they want to drugs involved or maybe we just need to re-examine the entire contribute to our society as full citizens again.” system,” she said. Kenny Anthony Mills, convicted in 1982 of armed robbery An overhaul of the entire system works for Mills, who said and felonious assault, was among the initial 200,000 to have the gang he “ran with” had as many White members as Blacks his rights restored, and subsequently taken away a second and five guys were arrested along with him in 1982. Of them, time. Mills told the AFRO that he was at first excited and now the three White guys served less than a decade, and he and dismayed by the turn of the other Black accomplice events that will force him to received 30-years sentences. seek individual restoration of “Making things right his rights. afterwards is a major feat, “It’s all politics to the but we need to address the White people manipulating bias and racism that had me the markers, but this is my – the getaway driver – locked life,” Mills said. “I served 33 up long after the shooters years in prison for crimes I were home getting married – Kenny Anthony Mills committed as a kid – I was and making babies,” Mills 19. My citizenship in this told the AFRO. “The least I country does not end because can get is my right to vote I broke the law. McAuliffe back.” tried to strike an unfair law so that its citizens can get back Virginia has been a swing state in the last two presidential to being lawful and abiding, but he’s being treated like he elections. But with polls suggesting Clinton currently has a committed treason.” solid lead in the state over GOP nominee Donald Trump, her At issue for McAuliffe’s opponents was the broad stroke campaign has said it won’t run local ads there, allowing it to of restoration without examining individual cases. Many said focus resources on states that appear closer. they believed that in addition to excluding those who had once Republicans said McAuliffe was trying to help Clinton, been violent offenders, the restoration of voting rights should a close friend and political ally, by pumping up the voting not be extended to individuals who committed particularly rolls with Black voters. Exit polls show Blacks tend to vote heinous crimes. “Once a savage, always a savage,” Ashburn Democratic. Republican leaders and residents like Graham, resident Marlena Graham told the AFRO. “Prisons do not remain upset that the order covered violent felons. Both rehabilitate as they ought to and some of these people have say that each former felon’s case needed to be addressed committed crimes that continue to scar their victims 20, 30, individually by the governor. or 40 years later. They should never be allowed to function in Virginia is one of several states that has seen efforts to society without being ostracized.” loosen rules on voting by former felons, which disenfranchise But when pressed on the fact that many of the ex-offenders nearly 6 million Americans, who are disproportionately Black. seeking restoration of their rights had committed felonies that Maryland this year restored voting rights to all felons no were drug-related, drug-induced, or perpetrated by then-teens longer in prison.

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September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016, The Afro-American

National Suicide Prevention Week

Rates for Black Kids Increase Association’s Pediatrics journal, suggest questions about what factors might influence increasing suicide rates among young Black children. And while there are few concrete answers, author of the study Jeffery A. Bridge said he believes early exposure to trauma to be a consistent indicator. “Black children may experience disproportionate exposure to violence and traumatic stress and aggressive school discipline. They are also likely to experience an early onset of puberty, which increases the risk of suicide, most likely owing to the greater liability to depression and impulsive aggression,” Bridge concluded. “Other potential influences include differential changes in social support and religiosity, factors that have traditionally been hypothesized to protect Black youth from suicide but shifted significantly during the two decades in our study.” Citing cultural differences – even within Black communities – Dennis said the need for outreach and being aggressively vigilant in noting signs of depression among different groups is important. With many young children Courtesy photo taught early to “suck it up” or “get over it,” many have grown hesitant of speaking up about sadness, anger, or wanting to harm themselves. By Shantella Y. Sherman “There are cultures and communities in which suicide is not considered Special to the AFRO a problem to be shared with people outside the community. There’s [also] a ssherman@afro.com history of medical experts violating Black people’s trust. They’re not eager to relive that and so seeking that care is looked down on in Black communities,” Social service and health professionals kicked off an annual week dedicated Dennis said. “A lot of families rely more on spirituality to heal. Going to towards suicide prevention. The week celebrated the decrease in suicides a professional would be a betrayal of faith – regardless of your faith base.” among Black males, while also pressing Black families to become more Even though church cognizant of warning signs of self harm among Black are “Black children may experience disproportionate populations children between the ages of five and 11. dwindling, the report A 2015 study from the Centers for Disease Control exposure to violence and traumatic stress and says that while fewer found that for the first time, the suicide rate of Black Blacks may be attending aggressive school discipline.” – Jeffery A. Bridge children between the ages of five and 11 doubled church, their religious between 1993 and 2013 – while the rate among Black values continue to male teens 15-24 had decreased by 8 percent. The findings, according to the dictate staying away from psychiatric help. CDC study, were so surprising that researchers spent an extra year re-analyzing Carl Tishler, a physician with the Society for Academic Emergency data. Medicine, said suicidal behavior in young children often screams for “Many families want to keep information to themselves when a family intervention that adults, unfortunately, overlook. Warning signs, Tishler notes, member expresses suicidal ideas, attempts suicide, or dies by suicide. This include: identification with a depressed or lost parent; shouldering the blame or is why suicide outreach needs to be culturally aware of varying perspectives distracting from family problems such as divorce; self-punishment; escape from including environments in which suicide, suicidal self-harm, and mental health an unbearable life situation; attempting to regain control; acting out the covert conditions tend to be ignored and shamed,” Kimya N. Dennis, a sociologist and or overt desire of the parent to be rid of the child; and feelings of hopelessness criminologist for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, said in a and anger. news release. The largest rates of increase in suicide came from White women and White The findings of the CDC study, which appear in the American Medical men, whose rates increased by 60 percent and 28 percent, respectively.

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The Afro-American, September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016

COMMENTARY

Working Together to Achieve Fair and Effective Policing

As our Department of Justice’s “pattern or practice investigation” of the Baltimore City Police Department has revealed, far too many law enforcement officers have participated in repeated violations of the constitutional rights of our citizens, especially our African American citizens. Now, with the cooperation of our Police Department, we are proceeding toward a judicially supervised and enforced Consent Decree governing the manner in which our law enforcement officers will perform their duties. Our first imperative is this. We will not allow anyone to trample on the constitutional rights of our citizens. That is — and must remain — a non-negotiable principle underlying reform. We also know full well, however, that the process of creating a culture of greater justice in our community demands a sustained and comprehensive commitment to change that extends beyond police reform. Elijah Cummings As the Justice Department’s investigation made clear, we cannot reform the manner in which law enforcement is conducted in our city without also addressing the social and economic context in which both crime and policing take place. Ms. Diane Bell-McCoy, CEO of Associated Black Charities, has accurately observed that “we also must understand and dismantle the structurally racialized policies and practices that limit economic opportunity and growth for all of our people. It’s not just a civic rights issue. It’s not just a social justice issue. It is also very much an economic issue for our entire community.” I fully agree. The most readily apparent economic consequences of the zero tolerance, racially-stereotyped policing in our past have been felt by the neighbors who have died, been injured, lost their jobs or been unable to find employment as a consequence of arrests for non-violent, often trivial crimes. Yet, if we are to achieve reform by speaking truth to power, we must be willing to search for the whole truth about the inter-relationships between policing and economic disinvestment in our community. We know, as my colleague, Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, has observed, that Republican policies during the last 30 years have resulted in the “systematic abandonment of Black neighborhoods.” We also know, as Diane Bell-McCoy has pointed out, that racialized policies here in Baltimore (and other major American cities) have not been limited to law enforcement but, rather, have extended to every significant area of our lives. There also is a second, equally compelling imperative for our community. We must squarely confront the reality that far too many Baltimoreans do not feel safe — even though the Baltimore City government is spending more than $400 million dollars each year on “public safety.” That fear, the fear of becoming victimized by violent crime, has had disastrous economic consequences. It is one of the major obstacles that I have encountered in my own efforts to encourage economic development in many areas of our community. When I have listened to our police officers, I have encountered resistance to the Justice Department’s conclusions about the future direction of law enforcement in Baltimore. Many believe that the manner in which they have been performing their duties is what is required to keep us safe. Yet, the reality is that Baltimore Police Officers have violated our Constitution by engaging in stopping, detaining and arresting African Americans for minor offenses, especially in our less affluent neighborhoods, and without what most of us would consider either “reasonable suspicion” or “probable cause.” To achieve real, lasting reform beyond the language of a court order, we must convince those who have pledged to protect and defend us that relying upon racial stereotyping is not only unconstitutional, it is ineffective policing.

Too many officers have been following the perception, as former Acting Police Commissioner Anthony Barksdale has remarked, that to protect us, “you go where the violence is.” However, we know (from statistics for the years 2008-2012 developed by the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics) that persons in African American households at or below the Federal Poverty Level experienced rates of violence (51.3 per 1,000) similar to poor urban Whites (56.4 per 1,000). We also know that unconstitutional and racially disproportionate policing of less significant offenses has been a major factor in law enforcement’s losing the trust and cooperation of much of our community. Most of us would wholeheartedly agree that the primary duty of law enforcement is to keep us safe. Yet, without the public’s cooperation, effective policing of violent crime has become far more difficult, if not impossible. Through August 13 of this year, for example, the BCPD’s own statistics have confirmed 181 homicides in our City — but only 8 homicide arrests. We must do better than this, and I am convinced that we can — through major reinvestment in our cities and our people combined with constitutional “community policing” that targets violent crime with greater cooperation from the public. Working together with law enforcement, we can achieve more effective and constitutional policing, as well as a safer, more equitable, and more prosperous community. Congressman Elijah Cummings represents Maryland’s 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.

How to Get Your Garden and Lawn Ready for Bed I have truly enjoyed my garden and my lawn all spring and summer long. Autumn is arriving and now it’s time to get ready to prepare my beautiful friends for their annual sixth-month slumber. Here are some natural tips to successfully put your garden and lawn to bed for the winter: Flowerbeds Preparing your flowerbeds and lawn for their winter’s rest is necessary to ensure healthy plant life that is free of diseases and insects. Removal of annual and herbaceous plant debris from their flowerbeds is key. Dirty flowerbeds filled with plant debris, weeds and trash attracts insects and disease that uses that debris as hiding places over the winter which creates problems for the spring. Annuals are normally removed after the killing frost, when the temperatures have fallen below forty degrees. Perennials can be cut back in the fall. Perennials such as ornamental grasses should be cut back in spring to give them a boost for summer growth. After removing the annuals from their flowerbeds, enhance the soil by adding organic compost. To apply simply till in the compost within the soil. This reduces compaction of the soil and increases the

soil and organic matter drainage. If you have a mix of annuals and perennials in the same flowerbeds tilling is not required. The roots from the perennials can get damaged from the till which in turn will promote slow growth in the spring. The next step is to tuck-in your flowerbeds with mulch. Mulching is the blanket for your plants over the winter months. It provides nutrients, a barrier from freezing temperatures and prevents root damage from frozen winter soil. Mulch the area with natural organic mulch that is free of dyes 2-3 inches on top of your flowerbeds. Pines needles, straw or woods chips are perfect substitutes for mulch. Fall is also the perfect time to plant perennials such as: spring bulbs, mums, trees and shrubs. After planting your perennials add 2-3 inches of mulch on top of the flowerbed. Finally, water the perennials when the weather in late summer and fall is dry. The temperatures will drop but your perennials are not asleep or dormant yet. The fall brings stiff winds and can quickly dry out the soil. Remember to continuously water your perennials before the ground freezes if conditions are dry. Lawns In the autumn, your lawn is also getting ready for its slumber too. To ensure your lawn has a blissful winter’s rest: Mow: Your lawn grass will grow slower and you will not have to cut the lawn as much, but you will need to lower the height of your lawn mower blades to about 1/2 inch. Anymore lower than an 1/2 inch can shock your grass. Clear: Just like your flowerbeds you want to remove any debris

from your lawn that can block sunlight and limit the grass from feeding through photosynthesis. Remove all and any weeds from your lawn. Some weeds are very aggressive and can take over your lawn in the fall because your grass is less active. Rake leaves from your lawn thoroughly before the snow arrives. Over time leaves start to decompose by draining the water out of the soil and away from the grass roots. Decaying leaves are homes for insects that use them as their breeding grounds. Aerate and Seed: After the long spring and summer months your lawn has become compacted, reducing the air pockets that allow nutrients and water to reach the roots of your grass. To aerate simply, spike your lawn with holes. Once your lawn has been spiked, sprinkle compost over the entire lawn then cover with grass seeds. Properly putting your garden and lawn to bed in the fall months will ensure that their awakening in spring will be happy, healthy, vibrant and lush. Cathy Allen is an award-winning Urban Environmentalist, the co-creator of G.R.A.S.S. (Growing Resources After Sowing Seed) as well as Chair of the “Grow-It Eat It” campaign. G.R.A.S.S. is an environmental entrepreneurial nonprofit program based on the fundamentals of gardening, agriculture and ecology. In conjunction with Baltimore City Public Schools, Allen’s campaign has planted over a half-million trees on the lawns of Baltimore City public schools. She can be reached at cathy.allen@thegreenambassador.org.

The Only Issue Black America Should Be Voting On If transgender people are allowed to use the bathroom of their choice, Black America will not become less impoverished. A ban on assault weapons will not make us whole, either. Forget everything the candidates are saying--the only thing that matters to and for Black America is money. Our issues must be addressed with cash. I’m tired of people telling Black folks that all will be just fine if we vote for candidates who support the next “progressive” issue we’re told to care about. Some years it’s abortion, then LGBT rights and next year it will be something else. All that has its place but none of it produces Black wealth or jobs. Black businesses do those things. The money to grow our businesses and enrich our community exists already but it isn’t coming to us. We can fix that but only if we understand the issue and use our votes to rectify it. The issue is procurement. Procurement is relatively simple. Your city, county, state and federal governments award contracts to businesses to do a variety of things, big and small. County school systems need pencils and awards an office supply company a contract to supply them. Your city needs snow removed from its streets and awards a contract to provide that service. Transit bus repair, carpet installation, mental health services for seniors and removal of animal carcasses are all items and services requested by local governments throughout the country.

D’Juan Hopewell

This is procurement. Government awarding contracts to private companies to provide goods and services. These contracts are often lucrative but rarely awarded to Black-owned firms. Black Americans pay billions in taxes annually to government at all levels but that money is handed over to (mostly) White men to build wealth and provide jobs. The problem is immense. According to data from the Federal Procurement Data System, in fiscal year 2015 the federal government awarded close to $440 billion in contracts to private companies; contracts funded by taxpayer dollars. Only 1.8 percent of those dollars went to Black-owned firms. States, counties and cities also award contracts and the results aren’t much better. Consider New York City, which is over 50 percent minority and over 25 percent black. In 2015 only 5 percent of NYC’s procurement dollars went to women or minority-owned companies – that includes White women. Every city, county and state government has its own procurement process and rules, as does the federal government. Based on the process and the rules governing it, Black businesses win or lose. As Black businesses win or lose, so do Black people who depend on those businesses to provide jobs. The federal government is a huge monster to tackle so I suggest we start by focusing on our city governments, where influence is much easier to be had. Briefly, city councilors and mayors can influence city procurement and billions are at stake. Every Black organization citywide must make clear to mayoral and city council candidates that they will only win our vote by committing to Black procurement. If contracts

awarded to our businesses do not increase substantially during their term in office, vote them out. No excuses. There is a National Black Chamber of Commerce but also various local Black Chambers already working on this issue. Our organizations should join with them as they pressure city leaders. The Chambers have the knowledge but we have the votes to bring the pain. Some say Black businesses don’t deserve a fair share because we don’t pay taxes in proportion to our numbers in the population. However, Fortune 500 companies often elude federal and local taxes and no one blinks if they receive government contracts. Some say there are fewer Black businesses or that they don’t apply for government contracts so the problem just is. Bologna. If an elected politician knew their job was on the line based on this one issue, they’d figure out how to get more contracts to existing Black businesses in the application pool or do outreach to other businesses to get them into the pool. Others say the issue is too complex to solve. They’ve obviously never heard of Marion Barry. As Don Peebles pointed out at Barry’s funeral, when Barry was elected in 1979 minority firms received 3 percent of the city’s contracts. When Barry started his third term as mayor, minority businesses were receiving nearly fifty percent of the city’s contracts. Black wealth and jobs are on the line, make this our issue. D’Juan Hopewell is a political and nonprofit consultant specializing in corporate social responsibility, persuasion and political outreach strategies.

The opinions on this page are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the AFRO. Send letters to: The Afro-American Newspaper • 2519 N. Charles St. • Baltimore, MD 21218 or fax to 1-877-570-9297 or e-mail to editor@afro.com

September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016, The Afro-American

Arkansas Inmate’s Mother Still Hopes for His Release After 33 Years By Avis Thomas-Lester Urban News Service Doris Proctor remembers her fear 33 years ago as she sat behind her 17-year-old son, Terrance, as he was sentenced for participating in several armed robberies. Bernice Stewart, her mother and Terrance’s grandmother, sat with her. “I just kept praying,” said Doris Proctor, 68, of Grand Prairie, Texas. “My mother was praying. We were hoping that the judge would have mercy.” Terrance Proctor has been imprisoned in the Arkansas Department of Correction since he received 200 years plus life “at hard labor” on January 15, 1983 – two weeks before he turned 18 years old. The judge called Proctor a public threat. His supporters call his sentence excessive because he never committed physical violence against any of the robbery victims. Proctor was not sentenced to life without parole, but the length of his prison term means he likely will spend the rest of his life behind bars unless he successfully appeals his release. His chances are slim because Arkansas administrators grant release to few inmates. The Arkansas parole board has recommended Proctor’s freedom four times, but governors have balked, records show. Like many offenders, Proctor has been imprisoned for more than three decades for juvenile crimes that did not involve assault, rape, molestation or murder,

Arkansas Department of Correction

Terrance Proctor

Courtesy photo

Doris Proctor, mother of Terrance Proctor experts said. In some jurisdictions, offenders have done that much time for property crimes. It could not be determined how many inmates are serving lengthy sentences for

juvenile offenses. However, among 159,000 people serving life sentences in 2012, 7,862 were juveniles when sentenced to life, according to the Sentencing Project in Washington, D.C. Another 2,498 were minors when sentenced to life without parole. “The next frontier in this work is to try to get legislators who make sentencing laws and judges who apply those laws to understand that juveniles should have the opportunity to be released within a reasonable amount of time,” said Rhonda Brownstein, legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. Proctor was charged in late 1982 with armed holdups at a high school custodian’s office, a uniform shop, a jeans store, a cab company and several gas stations. He drove the getaway car in a purse snatching. Proctor was involved in a robbery in which shots were fired at a car pursuing him and his accomplice, records show. He said his accomplice fired to flatten the vehicle’s tires to disable it. None of his other charges involved a weapon being fired. Proctor told Urban News Service that he pleaded guilty to 10 counts of aggravated robbery because he was remorseful, though he didn’t commit some of these offenses. The Proctors said Terrance’s lawyer told them the judge would be lenient if he admitted guilt. Doris Proctor, a nurse, reminisced about her son’s

life as she sat in court that fateful morning. She had divorced his father and raised “Terry” and his sister, Kim, with the help of her parents and nine siblings. Problems started when Terrance reached adolescence. She took him to counseling. He refused to take ADHD medication because of its side effects. Doris learned of Terrance’s November 1982 arrest from a friend who saw police detain him. “There are potentially 10 life sentences here,” Judge Floyd J. Lofton told Proctor, according to a court transcript. “I don’t think there’s much doubt about it, Mr. Proctor, you’re going to

spend the rest of your life in the Department of Correction. Do you understand that?” “Yes, sir,” Proctor said, not understanding at all. He and his mother still believed that his lawyer would arrange a deal with the court. “And you’re pleading guilty?” Lofton asked. “Yes, sir.” “How old are you?” Lofton asked. “Seventeen,” Proctor said. Doris Proctor asked Lofton to consider her son’s psychiatric problems, drug use and abusive father. Proctor admitted guilt. However, Lofton was not moved. “Mr. Proctor, it is my

intention that when you get out of the penitentiary you [will] be an old man,” Lofton said. “My intention is to keep you there for most of the rest of your life.” Doris Proctor is still praying for her son – that a lawyer will come forth to help him, that he will be safe. She still has nightmares about him being stabbed in prison several years ago. She thinks his debt to society has been paid. “My greatest hope is that I stay here long enough that I see him live as a free man,” she said. “I pray that he will have a chance to experience some of his life outside of prison.”

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The Afro-American, September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016

Almenta Bell, Yvonne Frye, Everene Johnson-Turner and Patricia Payne

Ann Branch, Lonnie Sprull and Marian Finney

Toni Purdy, M. Bertha McCloud, Freddie Hendricks and Roberta Johnon-Herndon

Gwen Taliaferro, Sharon Wiggs and Denise Gordon

Gwendolyn Jackson, Harry Johnson and Denise Smith

Betty Clark, Landa McLaurin, Senator Catherine Pugh, Mildred Long Harper, Joy Pinder Savage and Rhonda Alexander

Patricia Carter, Dr. Sheila V. Plater and Joyce Tunstall Dixon

For the past seven years, the Steppin’ Out Bunch has been drawing a crowd of retirees who get together on the opening day of the Baltimore Public Schools to celebrate their retirement. The event, School is Open, But We Don’t Have to Go, was held this year at Martin’s West in Baltimore on Aug. 29. The event, which also serves as a fundraiser for their scholarship fund, has grown to include over 1,200 retired educators.

Photos by Dr. A. Lois De Laine

Rita Cooper, Barbara Lee, Owen Lee and Carolyn Jones

Anastatia Phillips Benton, Laura Phillips Byrd, Joyce Holmes, Ben Holmes and Doris Holmes

MIldred Long Harper, founder, Steppin’ Out Bunch welcomes the crowd to the event Ollie Johnson, Thomas Frasiier, Andrew Bates and Morgan C. Kelly

Baltimore’s Bethel AME Church was packed with notable figures for the final sermon of Bishop Frank M. Reid III as pastor. Reid served as pastor for over three decades. This July he was elected as the new Bishop for the African Methodist Episcopal Church at the 50th Quadrennial Conference that was held in Philadelphia, Pa. His replacement is the Rev. Patrick D. Clayborn.

Morgan State University hosted a reception for three Cuban students and the assistant dean from the Facultad de Comunicación at the University of Havana. The exchange followed students from Morgan’s School of Global Journalism & Communication spending the summer in Cuba shooting a documentary.

Prof. Max Barbosa Miranda, University of Havana

(See story on B1)

Photos by JD Howard

(L-R): Front row - Daniella Fernandez, Zenaida Costales Perez, associate dean of the school of communications at the University of Havana, SGJC senior Kendra Hawkins, Randdy Fundora. Back row - Max Barbosa Miranda, SGJC senior Katia Jordan, and Prof. Jackie Jones Photos courtesy of Morgan State University

To purchase this digital photo page contact Takiea Hinton: thinton@afro.com or 410.554.8277.

Send your news tips to tips@afro.com.

September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016, The Afro-American

BALTIMORE-AREA

Race and Politics

The Battle for the Baltimore NAACP

The Baltimore branch of the NAACP has a storied history, and its future trajectory could be Sean Yoes changed Senior AFRO radically Contributor with the organization’s upcoming election in November (the exact date has not been announced as of September 7), when Cortly “C.D.” Witherspoon, challenges Tessa Hill-Aston for the presidency of the organization. Witherspoon, 35, a community activist and president of the Baltimore chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, says the Baltimore branch has been, “missing in action,” on too many issues vital to mostly Black, mostly poor communities in Baltimore (for the record, I reached out both to Witherspoon and Hill -Aston for this column, he responded and she did not). “I think we are at a really, really interesting time in Baltimore, in terms of issues in relationship to gentrification and in terms of the issues in relationship to the upcoming redistricting, which I don’t think we’re talking enough about, in 2020,” Witherspoon said during a phone conversation. “Because, of course we continue to lose population and when we lose population as a city, that typically means that the African American community will have the potential to lose a legislative Continued on B2

Bishop Frank Reid Reflects on His Tenure at Bethel AME

In Wake of Port Covington, Council Focuses on Affordable Housing By Deborah Bailey Special to the AFRO

Photo by JD Howard

Bishop Frank Reid delivered his last service as pastor of Baltimore’s Bethel AME Church on Aug. 28. The well-attended service was held to launch the recently elevated Bishop Reid to the next phase of his pastoral career. necessary ending so that Bethel could go on to its next stage and I could go on to my next stage of greater works.” Dr. Patrick Clayborn, from Huntsville, Ala. is the new senior Bishop Frank M. Reid III has made more than a lasting pastor at Bethel. impression during his 28 years at Bethel AME Church, judging The Baltimore that Reid first addressed from the Bethel pulpit by the illustrious send-off he received from the congregation in 1988 is a far cry from the city that exists today, in both positive following his last sermon there on August 28. and negative ways. Despite the negative publicity brought to the Reid took over the reins from legendary pastor John Richard city following the death of Freddie Gray in April 2015 and the Bryant, and now he is moving on to a new church in a new role. subsequent uprising that ensued, Reid said he looks at the city As he prepares for the transition Reid reflected on his legacy at through a positive lens and remains optimistic. Bethel, the growth of Baltimore, and his immediate future. “It would be easy to talk about what’s wrong with Baltimore, In July, Reid was elected as the new Bishop for the African when one looks at it and sees what really goes on,” said Reid. Methodist Episcopal Church at “Walk through the neighborhoods, the 50th Quadrennial Conference drive through the neighborhoods, that was held in Philadelphia, when one sees Renaissance High Pa. On Aug. 28, Reid addressed and how even if in the midst of at the West Baltimore congregation least three students being killed that he called home for nearly last year, they had a wonderful three decades for the last time, graduating class.” an experience he described as Reid praised the many citizens “painful.” who are making strides to make “I mean painful in the sense – Bishop Frank M. Reid III the city better, including author of a woman who is experiencing Wes Moore and athletic brand labor pains, having giving birth Under Armour. to a child,” Reid told the AFRO. “For 28 years Bethel and I gave “Wes Moore will be on Oprah because he is a symbol of what birth to a new way of worship, a new way of doing church.” is right in Baltimore, [and] look at Under Armour” said Reid. Reid noted the household names that have visited Bethel during “Baltimore is a blessed city, Baltimore’s best days are in front of his time, from author Terry McMillan to Nation of Islam leader us.” The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. Despite the big names In his new role, Reid said he plans various humanitarian acts, that have graced Bethel with their presence, Reid said he is more but said a key goal is a “voter registration pact.” Reid has long proud of the growth of some of his members. stressed the importance of the Black vote, and he feels an alliance “After 28 years, when I looked out the congregation and saw among Black churches could make a difference. former drug dealers and users, former prostitutes who now own “Votes are the gasoline of politics, but money is the engine,” their own homes and are positive productive citizens, it really hit said Reid. me,” he said. “They came to support and say goodbye, it was a See more pictures from Reid’s final sermon on A8. By Maliik Obee Special to the AFRO

“They came to support and say goodbye, it was a necessary ending so that Bethel could go on to its next stage…”

BCPS Families in Favor of AC in Schools, Not Closures

Public Enemy #1 Arrested After Violent Labor Day Weekend By Michelle Richardson Special to the AFRO

By Briahnna Brown Special to the AFRO The mandated closure of the 37 Baltimore County schools Courtesy photo without air conditioning when the forecasted heat would be at A Baltimore County school bus. least 90 degrees did not sit well student at Woodlawn High School, said that with many parents. this change doesn’t make much of a difference. In the first week of classes, those schools “I’ve had three children already graduate closed for two days because of the heat, and in from Woodlawn and we’ve never had this response to the outrage the Board of Education situation where the heat index indicates of Baltimore County voted to revise the rule so anything about them going to school or not,” that those non air-conditioned schools would Williams told the AFRO. only close if the heat index was to reach 90 He also expressed support for portable degrees by 11 a.m. AC units in schools in the meantime, as it Mark Williams, a parent to an 11th grade is projected that all county elementary and middle schools will not have air until fall of 2017 and high schools will not have air conditioning until fall of 2018, after his son will have already graduated. On Aug. 31, Gov. Hogan signed an executive order to delay the start of school next year until after Labor Day which he said in a press conference would generate tourism revenue and keep children out of “hot, un-air conditioned classrooms.” Williams said that he

“…we’ve never had this situation where the heat index indicates anything about them going to school or not…”

– Mark Williams

Affordable housing reform is in the pipeline at City Hall. This past week, the City Council’s Housing and Community Development Committee held its first public hearing on Bill CC-16-0735, an ordinance to expand Baltimore’s affordable and inclusionary Housing programs. City agencies, housing advocates and economic development representatives weighed in on the city’s first major attempt to expand the current inclusionary housing law passed in July 2007. Councilman Bill Henry, sponsor of the proposed new ordinance, has repeatedly noted the limitations of the current law, which has yielded only 32 units of affordable housing. The first draft of Henry’s Inclusionary Housing ordinance: • Reduces the affordable housing requirement from the current 20% to 10% for developments of more than 30 residential units that require major public subsidies. • Eliminates the City’s legal obligation to provide additional subsidies to developers to meet inclusionary housing requirements and eliminates waivers • Creates a Baltimore City Affordable Housing Fund, through a combination of general obligation bonds, and an increase in the transfer and recordation tax. Both pro-development and affordable housing advocates expressed concerns about the proposed ordinance. Andrew Kleine, the City’s Budget Director, went on record to oppose an increase in transfer and recordation taxes to fund the proposed Affordable Housing Fund. Baltimore Development Continued on B2

Continued on B2

This past Labor Day weekend in Baltimore saw 22 people shot including two children, the youngest being a 4 year old girl, in a series of triple shootings throughout the city. Baltimore Police made a major arrest on Sept. 8 in one of those cases. On Sept. 5, three people were shot around 1:00 a.m. in the 2600 block of East Monument; a 23 year old woman was shot in the leg, another woman; a 22 year old shot in the abdomen, and a 34 year-old male was shot and killed after gunshot wound to the chest. One of those women was confirmed to be pregnant. 31-year old Marion Daughton, who is affiliated with the Bloods gang, was arrested on the afternoon of Sept. 8 in connection with the triple shooting but police say they are still searching for another suspect in the case. Police had been about to hold

Baltimore Police Department

Marion Daughton - charged with a triple homicide. press conference declaring Daughton to be Public Enemy #1 when she was arrested and

Past Seven Days

charged in the triple shooting. Police say Daughton has a lengthy criminal record. “The only time that Marion Daughton was not committing a crime was when she was in jail,” said Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis in a media briefing. According to Maryland Case Search, Daughton’s criminal record includes charges ranging from first and second degree assault, reckless endangerment, attempted first degree murder, firearm use in commission of violent felony, and now first degree murder. Continued on B2

206 2016 Total

Data as of Sept. 7

The Afro-American, September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016

Race and Politics Continued from B1

district. And a lot of times that has to do really with efforts to further gentrify Baltimore City,” Witherspoon added. Beyond the issues of gentrification and redistricting, Witherspoon argues the Baltimore branch has been, “completely invisible,” on a litany of high profile issues. “The NAACP was not involved in the Black Lives Matter Movement in Baltimore City and I think that was a serious problem... the NAACP has the reputation to be able to provide leadership and guidance and I think that’s important, because that was one of the... components as a member of the Black Lives Matter movement that I contend we needed,” Witherspoon said. “We needed to have an entity with the type of credibility and the reputation of the NAACP standing out there with us. And we advocated for very valid and legitimate issues, and when we turned around we never ever saw the NAACP,” he added. “The NAACP has been completely invisible on the $15/hour minimum wage. How is that

possible? When we look at the condition of our communities and the overwhelming amount of poverty and joblessness we experience in our communities, how is it that the city’s chief civil rights organization doesn’t take a position on the $15/hour living wage? That is reprehensible,” he said. “I live in West Baltimore, I live in Sandtown, right around the corner from where Freddie Gray was killed by the police...and when I go outside my door where I live, I see the interconnectedness between police brutality and people’s rights being violated and vacant and abandoned properties and schools that are struggling and recreation centers hanging on by a thread,” Witherspoon said. “Other people in Baltimore City are thriving and Black people and poor people and working class people are surviving. We’ve got to begin addressing these socio-economic issues. My interest is nothing personal whatsoever in relationship to the incumbent, it’s just that I believe we must begin to address

these socio-economic issues that plague our community and that are really symptomatic of systemic and structural racism,” added Witherspoon alluding to his opposition of HillAston, who first became branch president in November 2010, when she defeated long-time former head G.I. Johnson. The Baltimore branch was perhaps at the height of its powers from the 1930’s to the 1950’s under the leadership of Lillie Mae Carroll Jackson, her daughter Juanita Jackson Mitchell, AFRO editor Dr. Carl Murphy and a young attorney named Thurgood Marshall, among others. That’s when the organization was the force behind Baltimore’s vanguard role in the struggle for civil rights and human

rights. Witherspoon acknowledges the branch occupies a much different space on the national stage in 2016. “The NAACP that we deal with today, pales in comparison to the NAACP of yesterday and we just have to be honest about that,” Witherspoon said. “But, I think...the NAACP has to be visible, we have to be vocal, we have to be interactively involved and engaged with what’s happening on the ground.” Sean Yoes is a senior contributor for the AFRO and host and executive producer of First Edition, which airs Monday through Friday, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on WEAA 88.9.

BCPS

Continued from B1 feels this won’t help with the issue. “We’re only talking about a difference of maybe eight days,” he said. “With the unpredictable weather it could be 100 degrees in October just like it could be 100 degrees in August.” His son, Christopher Williams, said that he is used to the summer heat from playing football on 100 degree days and doesn’t mind sweating it out in class, but the conditions inside the school are different. “We’re inside a building so the humidity is really bad,” he said. “Woodlawn’s population is growing drastically so our hallways are becoming stuffed. It’s kind of hard to focus.” Jalyne Swann, an 11th grader at Dulaney High School, also said that the heat can be distracting but she doesn’t like having to miss volleyball practice while her competitors at airconditioned BCPS schools do not. “I think [the rule] is good because it’s always really hot in that school and we can’t really concentrate and focus because everybody is worried about cooling down and stuff,” she said. “It’s good that we get away from that but then again we’re missing school and now we’re falling behind.” Her mother, Lanine Swann, expressed concerns of her daughter falling behind academically. “They’re out of school more but they’re still held to the same standard,” Swann said. “I think there should be something in mind saying that when schools are closed, the work that they would do in school would be posted online so when they go back to that class they won’t fall behind.”

Public Enemy #1

Port Covington

The shooting that Daughton is connected to is just one of 12 shootings that police say began on Sept. 2. Friday 5 people were shot in 5 separate incidents. Saturday 3 people were shot including a 61, 4, and 8 year old. Sunday 4 people were shot in 2 separate incidents. Monday 9 people were shot in 5 separate incidents including the 3 in which Daughton is accused of.

Corporation Vice President, Kimberly Clark, who serves on the City’s Inclusionary Housing Task Force, submitted testimony expressing concern that the law should apply only to rentals vs. sale housing. “While Baltimore Development Corporation has some concerns about the legislation in its current form, our objective is to work with the Task Force until we can establish a product that is supportive of development,” Clark told the AFRO. Affordable housing advocates were equally concerned. “There are aspects of this bill that do plug some of the current loopholes,” said Barbara Samuels, Fair Housing Attorney with the Maryland ACLU, in testimony for the bill. “But it doesn’t plug all of them and in some ways takes a step backwards in lowering the percent affordable from 20% to 10% and omitting projects that benefit from zoning actions,” Samuels said. “Two steps forward and one step back.” Councilman Bill Henry (District 4) primary sponsor of the bill, made clear that he wants the new inclusionary housing ordinance passed before this year’s council session is over. He wants to ensure the proposed Port Covington Project will have a legal mandate, rather than guidelines for affordable housing requirements in their planned 7500 residential units. The City exempted the Port Covington Project from a requirement to build affordable housing because under current law, the city must purchase the affordable units built by developers receiving subsidies at market rate. Because the city’s Affordable Housing Fund can’t afford to pay for the housing, an exemption from the Affordable Housing requirement was given to the Port Covington Project. Sagamore Development, which is spearheading the Port Covington Project, signed a memorandum of understanding with Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to voluntarily create a 10% goal or inclusionary housing if they can find funds from state or federal sources to pay for the housing.

Continued from B1

“We have to take a stand and stand up for our community,” Baltimore City Councilman Brandon Scott told the media. Scott is urging witnesses to come forward to be a voice for the elderly and for children. “When its children and seniors we have to step up for those who there’s no one else to speak up for them.” He said violence is an epidemic and should be treated as such. “I never really expected to spend my night on Saturday with a 4-year-old girl,” said Davis about the toddler who was shot earlier in the day. “Just a tiny girl as she picked out the color of her cast.” That gunman is still on the loose. Authorities know many people saw the shootings but are afraid to come forward. A witness helped police arrest Marion Daughton. “To not have that level of cooperation at this point is frustrating to us,” said Davis. Police are urging anyone that has information about any of the shootings that took place over the holiday weekend to call 1-866-7LOCKUP.

Homeownership is important. We’re here to help first-time homebuyers navigate the mortgage process and make buying a home affordable, even if you have: • Little money for a downpayment • Little or “less-than-perfect” credit history • A recent job change To get started, call 1-888-253-0993 or visit mtb.com/mortgage.

Equal Housing Lender. This is not a commitment to make a mortgage loan. Certain restrictions apply. Subject to credit and property approval. ©2016 M&T Bank. Member FDIC. NMLS# 381076 Baltimore Afro American: 3.55” x 5”

Continued from B1

September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016, The Afro-American

BALTIMORE AREA

COMMUNITY CONNECTION Send your upcoming events to tips@afro.com. For more community events go to afro.com/Baltimore-events

Maryland Mornings return to National Aquarium

The National Aquarium in Baltimore, Md. is reducing the price of admission for Maryland residents who visit before noon Sunday through Friday. Adults will receive $10 off and children $5 off the price of admission. Starting Sept. 6 the program runs through next Feb. For more information go to aqua.org.

Roberta’s House Family Fundraiser for Healing Hearts

On Sept. 9 Roberta’s House will host ‘Mystery Bag Bingo,’ at the Delta Community Center, 2501 Springhill Avenue, Baltimore, Md. 21215, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. A wide variety of prizes including vacation packages, designer bags, shopping sprees, etc. For additional information call 410-235-6633 or email info@robertashouse.org.

The Children’s Home to Host Pup Parade

The first ever Pup Parade is on September 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Children’s Home, 205 Bloomsbury Avenue, Catonsville, Md. 21228. Pets can strut their stuff and compete for awards. Guests will enjoy performances by the Boh-tinis, face painting, food and refreshments. For more information and to register for the Pup Parade call 410-744-7310 or visit thechildrenshome.net.

CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES

investing in Students work in Barclay Elementary/Middle School’s new engineering and science lab. Johns Hopkins has partnered with Baltimore City Public Schools and Barclay to create the city’s first pre-K through 8th grade school focused on engineering and computer science.

Good neighbors know that the whole community shares responsibility for the education of its children. At Johns Hopkins, we believe there is great potential in Baltimore’s students, and we want to do our part to make their futures even brighter. That’s why we’ve formed partnerships with Barclay and Margaret Brent elementary/middle schools—supporting teachers and principals, enhancing programming, funding renovations, and adding high-tech tools for learning. Sharing resources with our youngest neighbors is important to us because when Baltimore thrives, we all do.

Johns Hopkins University. Investing in our community.

The Afro-American, September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016

September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016, The Afro-American

ARTS & CULTURE

D.C., Tennessee Win First Night Miss America Preliminaries By Wayne Parry, Associated Press

(AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Miss District of Columbia, Cierra Jackson is introduced during Miss America Pageant arrival ceremonies in Atlantic City. Jackson, never missed a day of school from the first day of kindergarten through high school graduation. She worked as a communications intern in the Obama White House and hopes for a career in music.

Miss District of Columbia and Miss Tennessee won the first night of preliminaries in the Miss America competition on Sept. 6. Cierra Jackson, Miss District of Columbia, won the swimsuit competition, while Miss Tennessee, Grace Burgess, won the talent competition, singing the Eagles’ classic “Desperado.” It was the first of three nights of preliminary competition at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. The new Miss America will be crowned during Sunday night’s nationally televised finale. Here are some highlights from the first night of competition: Stating It With 52 women vying for the crown, finding a way to stand out from the crowd is imperative, and contestants traditionally incorporate their home state into a humorous introduction of themselves. “From the state that gave you your first phone exchange — America, can you hear me now?” asked Miss Connecticut Alyssa Rae Taglia. “From the state with the highest number of lightning strikes in the nation, I’m comin’ in hot!” said Miss Florida, Courtney Sexton. “Whether it’s baked, mashed or fried, I’m one hot potato!” boasted Miss Idaho, Kylee Solberg. And Miss Massachusetts Alissa Musto added, “From the state that brought you bands like Boston, The Cars and Aerosmith, I’m here to rock and roll!” Such Talent Burgess chose the well-known crowd pleaser “Desperado” by The Eagles as her talent performance, delivering it with a slight country tilt, earning one of the loudest ovations of the evening. Miss Rhode Island Shruti Nagarajan performed a Bollywood fusion dance in which she employed a facial mask, and Miss Ohio, Alice Magoto sang “Astonishing” from “Little Women.” Say It Bullying, suicide prevention, support for the military and helping children and the elderly figured prominently in the onstage interviews some of the contestants gave. Musto, Miss Massachusetts, has a pageant platform that calls for placing pianos in schools and community centers that don’t have one, in order to help foster a communal love of music. “One piano can create 1,000 musicians,” she said. “Anyone can play them and anyone can listen.” Miss Michigan, Arianna Quan, spoke about immigration and helping people show pride in their heritage. “As we’ve all seen with this election year, a talk about immigration has been extremely painful,” she said. The Beijing-born Quan said she hopes to “provide tools to Americans to celebrate their backgrounds. Let’s face it: unless you are Native American, we are all the sons and daughters of immigrants.”

Univ. of Md. Names New Director of School of Music By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent zprince@afro.com An African-American music scholar and young piano prodigy has been named the new director of the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP) School of Music. His tenure began July 1. Jason Geary comes to Maryland after a 12-year stint at his alma mater, the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where he served as associate professor and associate dean for graduate studies, equity and inclusion. “We’re thrilled to have Jason join us as the next director for the School of Music,” Bonnie Thornton Dill, dean of UMCP’s College of Arts and Humanities, said in a statement. “Jason has the knowledge and experience to take the school to the next level, making it a national leader among schools for music at public research institutions.” As a young pianist, Geary won competitions that resulted in performances with several esteemed orchestras. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as well as master’s

and doctoral degrees in musicology from the University of Michigan and Yale University, respectively. Now a respected musicologist and pianist, Geary has won many prestigious grants and fellowships, including a Fulbright Grant and membership in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. His scholarship has focused on music of the 19th century, and he has published several articles and book chapters exploring the intersection of music and Hellenism, according to his bio on Amazon.com, where his treatise, “The Politics of Appropriation: German Romantic Music and the Ancient Greek Legacy” is sold. Geary said he is excited to expand the reach of the school across and beyond the College Park campus. “The School of Music at the University of Maryland has an excellent reputation both nationally and internationally, and I am eager to help build upon the many successes of this already dynamic and distinguished institution,” Geary said in a statement. “I see the promise and the potential of building on the reputation of respected academic and performance programs, of collaborating with an active and engaged faculty, and of capitalizing on the beautiful resources offered by The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.”

(Courtesy photo)

Jason Geary, a respected musicologist and pianist, is the new music director of the University of Maryland School of Music.

Morgan Musical Taps Stories of Mothers of Children Lost to Violence

Courtesy Photo

International opera star Marquita Lister is a guest soloist in ‘Mother’s Lament.’ By Charise Wallace Special to the AFRO The catastrophe of violent deaths in cities across America has led many to seek peace, but less prominent is the emotional damage that families—and especially mothers— have endured through the loss of their children’s lives. Morgan State University (MSU) music directors will shine a spotlight on those losses with “Mother’s Lament,” a multimedia tribute highlighting families who have lost their sons due to violence. Organized by the Freedom, Love and Light Project, an organization which seeks to use creativity and artistry to assist community members who have experienced tragic loss, the orchestrated musical will take place at MSU’s Murphy Fine Arts Center on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The performance will showcase a series of visual artwork, musical performances from highly-acclaimed opera and bassbaritone singers, university choirs, poetry and documentary clips of families telling stories of how they lost their sons in violent acts. “Mother’s Lament” was created by Vincent Dion Stringer, Morgan State’s coordinator of vocal studies and opera director, and James Lee III, an associate professor of theory. The event is Stringer and Lee’s first attempt to spread awareness about the loss of young lives. While the concert’s subject includes the deaths of all children, it focuses particularly on young Black males who face police brutality, Black-on-Black crimes, hate crimes and more. Lee said unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray unsettled him and brought to the forefront a need to find a resolution. After discussing the events with Stringer, both knew the most positive way to bring the community together would be through music and vivid art expressions. “Opposing voices coming together, working through and struggling through the difficulties, ultimately finding a way to connect our common existence and common cost,” said Stringer. “That’s the work that we have to do.” Both Stringer and Lee have collaborated in the past on lyrics and poetry; one of their compositions entitled “Songs of Love and Loss” will be performed during “Mother’s Lament” by bass-baritone soloist Robert Cantrell. The event’s featured piece, “Mother’s Lament,” is a poem Stringer wrote and recorded. It will be performed by Marquita Lister, Morgan State’s coordinator of voice and international opera. “When James talked to me about doing this piece, we talked about the concept of this one soprano,” said Stringer. “I couldn’t think of anybody else that I wanted to have do that than Marquita. She has the right temperament, she has the right spirit and I wanted to honor her in this way to have her perform this. It was written for her…for her voice.”

Stringer talked with Morgan State University families who have experienced the loss of a loved one, but whose stories didn’t reach national news. Two people who inspired Stringer to create his poem “Mother’s Lament” were Debbi BlackwellCook and Morgan State production manager, Dwight R.B. Cook. Their son, D’Roderick Cook, attended MSU and was killed in 2013. Several mothers whose stories contributed to “Mother’s Lament” have created their own organizations which seek change in their communities and an end to violence. They will share their stories at the event, hoping to honor their children by sharing their loss. “These are stories of people who have gone through adversity and they’ve taken it and turned it into something of purpose,” Stringer said. “It’s also a means of them getting up.” Stringer feels that underprivileged communities where children are prone to violence often are the ones who possess the most artistic talent. “They can draw, they can write, they can do spoken word,” he said. “Imagine if we can create an opportunity for them to build something and to find that as the valuable means on which they can conduct their lives and make a living.” Choir performances will be performed by the Morgan State University choir, the Boys Choir of Powhatan, Singing Sensations Choir, and the choirs of Delaware State University, Lincoln University and Ohio University. “Making beautiful music is one of the healthiest forms to standing up to violence,” said Julien Benichou, conductor of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony. While the concert is the Freedom, Light and Love Project’s first showcase, Stringer hopes it will grow into a resource to help educate the youth in all communities. “This is a movement to bring artists together to create opportunities for creativity to guide the way to the dialogue,” said Stringer. To purchase tickets to the concert visit motherslament.net or Ticketmaster.

The Afro-American, September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016

AFRO Sports Desk Faceoff

SPORTS

Should More Black NFL Players Join Kaepernick’s Protest? By Perry Green and Stephen D. Riley AFRO Sports Desk

Green: If there’s a group of players that feel as though their country isn’t living up to its promise, why should they continue to support a chorus of words that are clearly being contradicted by the people who are in charge of protecting the country’s own citizens? I’m extremely satisfied that Kaepernick is using his social platform to do something different, and I think it’s time more players joined him. The NFL and football is the unofficial sport of America, so how powerful would it be if the country’s most celebrated athletes were taking a stand and demanding change?

Just a few seasons ago, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was ripping apart opposing defenses for the 2012 NFC champions. Now, critics are ripping him apart over his recent decision to sit during the pre-game performance of the national anthem. Kaepernick’s stance this NFL preseason has been a popular topic in NFL circles because critics don’t know what to make of it. Kaepernick’s protest stems from an 11-month investigation into a video of former South Carolina police officer Ben Fields, who was Riley: You mean how disastrous would recorded slamming a Black high school it be, Green? Having whole teams or groups girl to the ground before arresting her. of major players kneeling for the anthem When news broke a few weeks ago spells trouble. Americans are battling with (AP Photo/Chris Carlson) each other as well as other countries. Now that Fields, a 34-year-old Caucasian San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, middle, kneels during the national and former body builder, wouldn’t isn’t the time to show the world how divided anthem before the team’s NFL preseason football game against the San Diego be charged, Kaepernick took a stand we are as a nation, but how unified we are Chargers, in San Diego. by taking a knee. Since that time, as terrorism and potential war threaten Kaepernick has kneeled during the our country. If Kaepernick really wants Star-Spangled Banner, and a handful of other NFL players have joined him. Police to protest, then he can start taking every penny he’s ever earned from the National brutality against Blacks has always been an issue, but recently it’s taken on a whole Football League and donating it. He’s still cashing checks from his employer—whose new meaning. Should more NFL players join Kaepernick’s protest? Perry Green and name begins with “National”—but refuses to recognize the national anthem. Leaders Stephen D. Riley of the AFRO Sports Desk debate this important question. can’t pick and choose their battles and it would be highly controversial if other players joined in. Riley: I salute what Kaepernick is doing. Social issues are out of hand in America and several races are fed up with what’s going on. The national anthem has a very Green: What’s going on in America isn’t “highly controversial,” Riley? Should controversial history to it, and while I can agree with Kaepernick’s stance, it’s Kaepernick and any other NFL player who wants to protest just sit quietly and let important for him to remember that there are children watching as well as several other nature take its course? Donating money is fine and Kaepernick has told reporters countries. His sitting during the anthem paints a horrific picture for children watching he will be donating the first $1 million he makes this year to social groups. But at home. When I was in elementary school, the children would stand with their hands donating money isn’t enough; voices need to be heard too. Besides, Kaepernick may over their heart while the Star-Spangled Banner blared through the loud speakers in lose endorsement deals because of his courageous stance, and there’s no greater my class. I can only imagine the repercussions that would have followed had a kid in sacrifice in America than when you take action that will hurt your money. Other star my class refused to cooperate. I don’t know how prevalent the playing of the national athletes should honor his sacrifice and join in with him. It’s time to take a stand and anthem still is in schools, but that’s something that Kaepernick and anybody else who I personally hope Kaepernick becomes the first of many to use their athletic status to wants to join him should consider the next time he kneels. influence others.

Washington NFL Preseason Analysis

Another Winning Season Could Push Washington Football Team Name to Backburner

Now, fully resurrected with a team roster geared for another playoff appearance, the talk from the Washington camp this preseason has been centered around winning and not on the controversial issue of a name change. Despite media polls and surveys intended to ease tension over the moniker, Snyder and the Washington franchise have been focused more on improving the team and its Super Bowl chances than appealing to the throng of offended football fans. It was easy to pile on Snyder while the team was floundering at the bottom of the NFC East. But with Washington expected by many to repeat as division champions, bolstered by a few big free agent acquisitions this summer, Snyder may be able sweep the backlash under the rug for another season if his team finds success on the field.

By Stephen D. Riley Special to AFRO The excitement over the Washington football team that returns as the reigning NFC East champions, piloted by up-and-coming signal caller Kirk Cousins, could push growing resentment over the team’s nickname back another season. Washington owner Daniel Snyder had been facing major pressure and backlash over the last few seasons as various social and racial groups have united in their demand for the team to change its name. The once-legendary franchise had seen their bottom fall out following losing seasons, lackluster play and a growing mass of people demanding that the team alter its nickname from “Redskins” to anything less offensive. With Washington tumbling down the standings and onceprized quarterback Robert Griffin III failing to repeat a historic rookie season, Washington was an easy target for protestors to take aim at. Last year’s 9-7 finish, however, along with a historic year from Cousins, breathed new life into a stagnant organization and finally placed Washington into a positive light outside of the name controversy.

(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Washington football team running back Mack Brown (34) is tackled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah (38) after rushing for yardage during the first half of an NFL preseason football game in Tampa, Fla. on Aug. 31.

National Coalition for 100 Black Women Baltimore Metropolitan Chapter

Annual Torchbearer’s Awards Breakfast

“Embracing the Power of Leadership” Saturday, September 24, 2016 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Martin’s West

6817 Dogwood Road • Baltimore, Maryland 21244

Donation $45

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C4 The Afro-American, September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016 LEGAL NOTICES

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C6 The Afro-American, September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016

“The Black slave after receiving this indoctrination shall carry on and will become selfre-fueling and self-generating for hundreds of years, maybe thousands. Don’t forget you must pitch the old Black male vs. the young Black male, and the young Black male against the old Black male. You must use the dark skin slaves vs. the light skin slaves and the light skin slaves vs. the dark skin slaves. You must use the female vs. the male, and the male vs. the female. You must also have your white servants and overseers distrust all Blacks, but it is necessary that your slaves trust and depend on us. They must love, respect and trust only us.”-Willie Lynch “Like a snowball rolling down the side of a snowcovered hill, it’s growing. Like the size of a fish that the man claims broke his reel, it’s growing. Like a rosebud blooming in the warm of the summer sun, it’s growing. Like the tale by the time it’s been told by more than one, woo, it’s growing.”-Temptations Grandparents Day 2016 is history but the memories of the day will linger and like the Temptations’ song, “It’s Growing.” More than 40 grandkids and their grandparents enjoyed a perfect summer afternoon making new friends and reestablishing friendships they have created over the years at previous Grandparents Day parties. From the youngest to the oldest grandchild, they enjoyed swimming, picture taking and game playing while munching on hot dogs, burgers and fresh popcorn from a theater-size machine. Eugene and Sara Smalley’s great grandson was the youngest and Dell and Dan Henson’s grandson was the oldest. The day was especially special when Darrien, who has never missed a Grandparents Day, made a detour before

driving to college to see Aunt Valerie and reminisce. “I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the Lord.”-Psalms 122:1 On a warm Sunday afternoon, family and friends joined The Carpenter’s House at the first pastor’s appreciation for Pastor Purcell Wylie. Among the guests were Iota Phi Theta founder Frank Coakley, Louise Wylie, Delray and Elexis Wylie, Curtis McMeekin, Dwight Harris and brothers of IOTA. Bishop Jude Egbe presided at the service. “Down the aisle I walk with you.”-Patti LaBelle Congratulations to Jerome and Paula Stephens they walked “down the aisle” 35 years ago, Rose and Michael Heigel walked down the aisle 25 years ago and to Zoey and John Sheff on their 1st anniversary after walking down the aisle. Happy birthday Colin’s restaurateur Dante Daniels, Tina Jolivet, Lauretta Walden, Frances Tilghman, Beta Dotson, Miss Shirley Ball, Eleanor Janey, Delores Chambers, Carla Nelson-Chambers, Carlos Hutchins, Yvonne Frye, Purcell Wylie, Joyce Ward, Eunice Robinson, Jaqueline Richardson, Kenneth Grimes, Clarissa Johnson, Mattie Mumby and Darrien Henson. Join Baltimore City Chamber of Commerce’s annual Breakfast with the Mayor, Sept.15, at Horseshoe Casino. This will be Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake final Breakfast as Mayor of Baltimore “Imagine a world where no music was playing, then think of a church where nobody’s praying, if you’ve ever looked up at a sky with no blue, then you’ve seen a picture of me without you.”-George Jones

Iota Phi Theta Fraternity is mourning the death of Brothers Troy Johnson and Ronald Wheatley, both of whom were eulogized within hours of each other. Sending our prayers to Charlie Scott on the death of his sister Jessie, to Jay Johnson on the death of his wife Wanda Johnson and to Humphrey White on the death of his mother Harriett Jones at the age of 106. Many of you remember Ms. Jones and the pink house on Liberty Heights. Willie Lynch in 1712 allegedly gave a speech on the banks of the James River on how to control slaves. We need to educate people on the importance of their vote and the need to make change in order to break the cycle that creates the Willie Lynch cycle to exist. Fifty-eight years ago, Dr. King spoke these words on the campus of Morgan State College encouraging the students “to challenge the old and fading regime of racial segregation and white supremacy.” “So I say to you, go out, not as detached spectators, but as individuals involved in the struggle, ready to cooperate with God, ready to cooperate with the forces of the universe, and make the new world a reality.”-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Thanks Leonard “Duck” Welling for the article “A Christian Goon Squad in Black Baltimore” written by Rudolph Lewis. Members of the Goon Squad were Marion Bascom, Homer Favor, Patrick Scott, Vernon Dodson, Augustus Adair, Lalit H. Gadhia, Parren Mitchell, Joe Howard, Sidney Daniels Harold Dodson, Wendell Phillips and Chester Wickwire; leaders

September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016, The Afro-American

AS ONE JOURNEY ENDS, ANOTHER BEGINS. CONGRATULATIONS!

Eight Howard University students were selected to take the journey and DISCOVER THE UNEXPECTEDâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a first-ever fellowship program sponsored by the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Malibu in partnership with the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Congratulations to our brilliant fellows! Thank you for taking us on this wonderful journey. May you continue to discover new roads that help you shatter perceptions and inspire us all.

#discovertheunexpected

DISCOVER MORE OF THEIR STORY AT NNPA.ORG/DTU

The Afro-American, September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016

The Prince George’s County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority hosted more than 1,400 guests from across the region at their Annual Crab Feast fundraiser on Aug. 12 at Martin’s Crosswinds in Greenbelt, Md. Proceeds from the event will support the chapter’s programs to continue to provide assistance to the needs of the Prince George’s County community.

Edwinna Love, Jakki Wilder and Saundra McNair

Event Committee Leadership Stacia Shields, Diane Venable and Henri Cooper join Rene Buckmon (2nd Vice President), Miriam Brewer (1st Vice President) and Greta Wiggins-Lewis to welcome guests.

Photos by Angela Holmes

Channel Brown, Karen Burks, Ronald Burks, Jr., Kevin Ford, Jr.

Miriam Brewer (1st vice president) shows off the Delta Stroll Kichelle Joseph and Dominique Joseph

Cassandra Logan and Renita Chappell

Sandra Anderson, Mary Hall Cooper, Joyce Hall Shambley, Harold Shambley

Presentation to Committee Chair Rosa O’Neal

Leslie Hagans-Johnson, Nadine Bennett, Jonya Wagner, Beverly Reed

Eastern Regional Director Rosia Blackwell Lawrence and Prince George’s County Delta Alumni Chapter President Greta Wiggins-Lewis

Alumni and former teachers of the Hoffman-Boston (H-B) Junior Senior High School gathered from Aug.12-14 to observe the centennial anniversary of the school. The high school was established in Arlington, Va. to educate the children of freed slaves whose families had come out of the Freedmen’s Bureau and Queen City, the current sites of Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon. The speaker for the “Senior Prom” was the Rev. Wilbert Talley, a 1962 graduate and first quarterback of the school’s football team. The oldest graduates in attendance at the celebration at the Arlington, Va. school were: Loretta Reid, Delores Downey, and Florence Ross from the class of 1949. Today, the school is an elementary Alum school, enjoying serving more dinner than 26 nationalities. Kimberley Graves, current H-B principal and Carmen Dela CruzScales, assistant principal

Karen Willis (Event Committee), Robin Jacobs (Past Eastern Regional Director)

Frankie Evans and Brenda Cox with welcoming remarks

Courtesy Photos Classmates gather for a group picture

Ron White, Class of ‘64 and Mary McCoy, former Ms. Senior District of Columbia

Prom King, Rev. Roy Carter and Prom Queen Carolyn Syphax Young

Alumns dancing to old school music by DJ Nate D Skate

Crowning of Prom King, Rev. Roy Carter

Prom Queen Carolyn Syphax Young

Elizabeth Evans and William Gee light the Memorial Candle

Members of the Class of 1948 draw names for King & Queen of the Prom

Louise McGregor, former Home Economics and Special Education teacher

September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016, The Afro-American

WASHINGTON-AREA

D.C. Residents Wary of Police

Salute to Her Awards

D.C. Metro Rail

Crumbling Infrastructure Raises More Concerns By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com

Courtesy Photo

Ronald Hampton, a Black criminal justice consultant, who worked for the Metropolitan Police Department, spoke about the need for holding the police accountable for their actions on Sept. 6. By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com While residents of the District of Columbia haven’t had to endure the drama of racially-tinged incidents involving police officers shooting unarmed Blacks, residents are still wary of the city’s law enforcement department. On Sept. 6, 76 residents gathered at the Busboys & Poets restaurant on 14th Street to talk about the relationship between the Metropolitan Police Department and the neighborhoods they serve at a monthly A.C.T.O.R. (A Continuing Talk on Race) meeting, a program the eatery holds. Ronald Hampton, a wellknown Black criminal justice consultant who used to work for the District’s police department, told the gathering that an ongoing discussion about the police department is critical to residents. “We should hold our police department and its officers accountable for their actions and the department should be transparent on how they deal with residents,” Hampton said. The District’s police department consists of approximately 3,900 officers and 400 civilian staff and is the sixth-largest municipal police department in the United States. The department serves an area of 68 square miles and a population of 672,228 people.

Continued on D2

Lyanla Vanzant (middle) was honored Aug. 25 along with nine other women for being female trailblazors at the “Salute Her: Beauty of Diversity Awards” Luncheon at the Washington Convention Center in D.C. Photo by Rob Roberts

smashed into the other tower a little after 9 o’clock. Then United Airline flight 93, which left Newark, N.J., for San Francisco around 8 a.m., crashed in western Pennsylvania, a little after 10 a.m. The death toll from the flights numbered about 266, according to reports, in what government officials described as the worse attack on the United States since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Within an hour, the towers in New York had completely collapsed to the ground. Sept. 15, 2001 Aviation officials pointed out that the fact that the flights were all heading to the West Coast was not by accident. The By Michelle B. Phipps tanks would have been filled with several thousand gallons of Washington AFRO Staff gasoline, and that would have caused the large explosions. As soon as the The District of Pentagon was attacked, Columbia looked like the areas around the White a ghost town by early House became chaotic afternoon on Sept. 11, as many people began after the White House and leaving the area quickly. other federal buildings The cars in the area were were evacuated minutes gridlocked. Emergency after a passenger plane vehicles had their sirens plowed into the Pentagon, blaring, as they rushed to less than an hour after the Pentagon. two plans crashed into And several persons, the World Trade Center in such as Wallicia New York. McCaskill and Deborah “This was a vicious, Feggins, both employees well-coordinated attack at the Export/Import Bank against the U.S,” said of the United States, left Defense Secretary Donald their office around 10:00 H. Rumsfeld at a late a.m., walking up 14th evening press conference. St., N.W., in the hope of He did not want to say AP Photo meeting up with family whether the attack was “an Firefighters spary water on a section of members at U Street, act of war.” the Pentagon Tues. Sept. 11, after the to carry them home in American Airlines building took a direct hit by an aircraft. Maryland. flight 77, a Boeing “Traffic’s so backed 757, which left Dulles up, it was crazy down International Airport there,” said Ms. McCaskill, whose office is across the street heading to Los Angeles, crashed into the northwest side of the from the White House. Pentagon, the seat of the American military power, around 9:43 The economy was also affected as all U.S. financial a.m., according to the Associated Press. Earlier, American flight markets were closed Sept.11. Officials for the New York Stock 11, which left Boston heading for Los Angeles, slammed into the north tower of the World Trade Center around 8:45 a.m. And Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market, American Stock Exchange, Continued on D2 United Airlines Flight 175 en route from Boston to Los Angeles

AFRO Archived History –– The 9/11 Attack

Terrorists Create Gridlock in D.C.

D.C. resident Ronald Johnson was happy with the reopening of the Rhode Island Avenue Metrorail station on Sept. 4 following its closure on Sept. 1 for safety concerns. However, he and many of the riders using the station remain reluctant about the overall safety of the system. “It is important to ensure the safety of the riders, but also to address general maintenance before things literally begin to fall apart,” Johnson told the AFRO. “Concrete and metal rods falling from the system, coupled with the massive construction projects surrounding [the] station, made me feel like the entire structure could potentially collapse.” Free shuttle services operated between Rhode Island Avenue and Brookland stations throughout the time the station was closed, when transit authority engineers concluded that the ceiling contained several “areas of loose concrete” that probably deteriorated from exposure to the environment. The report concluded, however, that the falling debris did not reveal any “structural concerns” that could endanger riders. As a precaution, inspectors installed debris-catching netting across the entire length of the station and scheduled a large-scale inspection of the station in coming weeks, according to the report. “I don’t trust the system right now, especially since the reports are that the area is safe, but there are nets and other safety measures all over the station,” rider Victoria French told the AFRO. Metro has set an agenda to obtain board authorization to hold public hearings on three late night time change proposals to fix the system at its next meeting on Sept. 8.

Struggle Mounts for Grandfamilies in D.C. Minor Killed in Southeast D.C. Double Shooting By Briana Thomas Special to the AFRO

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com When D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and District officials broke ground in June on Plaza West, a Ward 6 development that holds 50 units of affordable housing for grandparents who are raising their grandchildren – or grandfamilies – District resident Mozette Clark breathed a sigh of relief. Charged with caring for three of her 12 school-aged grandchildren, Clark found it nearly impossible to find an affordable apartment that met the needs of her family. While the $84 million development project, located at 4th and K Streets NW, addresses the housing needs of an often overlooked segment of the city’s population, Clark said the need for grandfamily support – mental, social, and academic – has reached a crisis stage. “I – Ephraim Jolly applaud Mayor Bowser for her efforts to secure housing, there are so many things that young kids today face that I’ve never experienced in all my 70 years,” Clark told the AFRO. “Many of the resources my husband and I utilized for our own children 40 years ago, no longer exist. Those that do, require technology and an understanding of digital processes.” Clark points to applications, forms, and even physician appointments made through websites and apps, which she said makes her feel uninformed, despite having earned a master’s degree and owning

“Many of my friends have their grandbabies and have to hide them in the senior citizen dwellings . . . Black men of a certain age were raised to never let a child go hungry.”

Continued on D2

A daytime shooting left a boy dead and one man in critical condition after being struck by gunfire in an Anacostia neighborhood on Sept. 1, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Early in the afternoon around 2:19 p.m. authorities responded to the crime scene in the 1900 block of 16th Street, SE. Police said they found Kevin Anthony Jackson II, 17, suffering from a gunshot wound in front of a home along a sidewalk. One street away from Jackson, police said they found another male victim injured by gunfire in the 1900 block of 17th Street, SE. The second victim was reported to be a bystander who is a pizza shop worker who was making a delivery when the fatal incident took place in the residential area. Officials said the delivery man was shot in his lower body. Police said both victims were transported to local hospitals by D.C. Fire and EMS personnel, where the juvenile victim, Jackson, later died. The other victim is in critical, but stable, condition. A front window in the neighborhood was shattered by a bullet, according to police

reports. Alice Kim, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department told the AFRO no arrests have been made regarding this case as of Sept. 6. According to data collected by the police, the immediate area has had three homicides as of Sept. 6. The holiday weekend continued with two more homicides. A Maryland man was murdered on Sept. 2 on the 5100 block of H Street, SE around 9:30 p.m., police said. The area has had two homicides as of Sept. 6, according to data collected by the police. Christopher Redfear, 23, was found unconscious and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds just off Benning Road, police reported. Redfear was taken to a local hospital where he later died. On Labor Day, another young man was fatally attacked in the District. Justin Richardson, 24, was stabbed multiple times in the 300 block of 50th Street NE around 5:20 p.m., police said. Authorities said they found him suffering from the assault, and he was taken to an area hospital where he died. The immediate area has had two homicides as of Sept. 6.

The Afro-American, September 10, 2016 - September 16, 2016

Police

Continued from D1

Unlike many big-city police departments, the District’s force has had a reputation for hiring a large number of police officers even during the era of racial segregation. In 1970, the department was 35 percent Black but the city was rapidly becoming more Black at that time. Today, the department is 59 percent Black, 32 percent White, seven percent Latino and two percent Asian. The first Black police chief in the District was Burtell Jefferson, who was appointed by then D.C. Mayor Walter Washington. He was followed by Black chiefs Maurice Turner and Ike Fulwood.

Several people at the discussion said they believe that the department’s strong Black workforce and outgoing police chief Cathy Lanier’s emphasis on community policing are the reasons why no highly-publicized racial killings have taken place in the city. Nevertheless, the police force has its problems and Hampton said he blames it on the department’s culture. “Even though we have had Black officers, the unofficial policy is to protect the White community and monitor the Black community,” he said. “All of the minorities in the force, even the chiefs, couldn’t change the culture.”

Officer Kevin Johnson works in the Special Liaison Division of the District’s police force. The Division works with the District’s gay and lesbian, deaf and hard of hearing, Latino and Black residents. Johnson said the police force has worked hard to engage residents. “This is why we come to community events like this,” Johnson said. “We want to listen to what you have to say and work with you.” His colleague, Officer Myra Jordan, said residents should consider signing up for the department’s citizens’ police department.”If you participate in the citizens’ police academy, you will be able to walk in our

STEP AFRIKA! The Migration:

Reflections on Jacob Lawrence

with a special appearance by members of Washington Performing Arts’ Men & Women of the Gospel Choir

Three Shows! Fri, Sep 30 - Sun, Oct 2 UDC Theater of the Arts

Photo by Meredith Hanafi

The renowned D.C.-based dance company debuts a new and expanded production of its signature work, The Migration, based on American painter Jacob Lawrence’s iconic series (displayed at the Phillips Collection and at MoMA in New York). Step Afrika! viscerally blends body percussion, dance, spoken word, projected images of Lawrence’s paintings, and live and recorded music to chart the story of African-American migrants moving from the South to the North in the early 1900s. Special thanks to: Altria; Patricia and Lloyd Howell; Reginald Van Lee; the Phillips Collection; The Hon. Phil Mendelson

Co-presented by:

TICKETS: WashingtonPerformingArts.org (202) 785-9727

shoes, see what we see, and you’ll see how tough our job is,” she said. Courses of action included more racial sensitivity training for officers, requiring officers

to live in the District, and more opportunities for officers to interact with the community. While A.J. Head was positive about the event, District resident Jelani Wilkins wasn’t.

“My true thoughts are that this was public relations for the police department,” she said. “There wasn’t any talk about real solutions and there was no real discussion about race.”

The Museum of Tolerance and the 1,700-foot Library Tower in Los Angeles shut down. In Florida, Walt Disney World evacuated and closed its four theme parks and shopping and entertainment complex. Sea World, Universal Studios, Busch Gardens in Tampa and Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven closed early. Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and Independence Hall were closed. Seattle’s Space Needle was evacuated and closed. President Bush reassured the nation that the country stays strongly united despite the “acts of mass murder.” “Our way of life…and thousands of lives were ended by evil,” President Bush said, adding that the administration will work tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice. According to an anonymous source from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, this could be considered a “successful terrorist attack.” “The economy was shut down, the military was destabilized, the areas were cleared of people and everyone was sent home early,” he said. Although many have speculated that Afghanistanbased Saudi millionaire, Osama Bin Laden is responsible for the attacks, at AFRO press time Wednesday afternoon, that remained unconfirmed. Also several reports have come out that hundreds, maybe thousands, may have been killed in the attacks. That included casualties not only in the planes, but also on the ground, rescue personnel and workers in the buildings that were hit. Farkhunda Ali, a spokesperson at the American Muslim Council, said

her organization strongly condemned the plane attacks. “American Muslims utterly condemn what are apparently vicious and cowardly acts of terrorism against innocent civilians,” said Ms. Ali in a written statement. “We join all Americans in calling for the swift apprehension and punishment of the perpetrators.”