Volume Volume 124 123 No. No. 40 20–22
May 7, 2016 - May 7, 2016, The Afro-American A1 $1.00
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Inside
Baltimore • HBCU National
The AFRO’s Tribute to Mothers
Treasure
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Washington
Documentary Uncovers Student Challenges During D.C.’s Crack Epidemic
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• D.C. Bus Hijacker AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
President Barack Obama awards the 2016 National Teacher of the Year to Jahana Hayes on May 3 during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Hayes is a Social Studies teacher at John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury, Conn.
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Obama Honors Connecticut’s Jahana Hayes as National Teacher of the Year By Kevin Freking Associated Press
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President Barack Obama on May 3 bestowed the National Teacher of the Year honor on a Connecticut woman who has demonstrated through her own life that students can overcome almost any obstacle. In a White House ceremony, Obama described how high school history teacher Jahana Hayes grew up in a Waterbury housing project and lived in a community full of “poverty and violence, high crime and low expectations.” “Being a teacher was the furthest thing from her mind,” Obama said. “In fact, there were times where she didn’t even want to be a student.”
But Obama said Hayes’ teachers saw something in her and challenged her to dream bigger and imagine a better life. They convinced her she
– President Obama was college material. Obama said Hayes now uses that experience to connect with the students she teaches at John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury.
Dear Mama: Afeni Shakur, Mother of Rapper Tupac Shakur, Dies By Kristin J. Bender Associated Press Afeni Shakur, the former Black Panther who inspired the work of her son, rap icon Tupac Shakur, and fostered his legacy for decades after he was slain, has died of an apparent heart attack, authorities said May 3. She was 69. Responding to a 911 call to Shakur’s home in Sausalito on the evening of May 2, deputies and firefighters performed CPR, rushed her to a hospital and tried to revive her for about an hour, but “she had in fact died from what is believed to be some kind of cardiac event,” Marin County Sheriff’s Lt. Doug Pittman said. A statement from her family and the Tupac Shakur estate, Amaru Entertainment, mourned her loss. “Afeni embodied strength, resilience, wisdom and love. She was a pioneer for social change and was committed to building Continued on A3
Tim Goodwin / Star Max via AP Images
Afeni Shakur at the premiere of “Tupac Resurrection” in Hollywood, California in November 2011.
was joined at the ceremony by those selected as teacher of the year in their home state. Obama said Hayes also pushes her students to volunteer in the community. She’s helped get students involved in Relay for Life walks to raise money for cancer, and also organized efforts to feed the homeless, donate clothes to the poor and register to vote, the president said. “She understands the less you have the more important it is to see yourself giving,” Obama said. “I see myself in every one of those students,” Hayes said at the beginning of the ceremony. “I have Continued on A3
Army Leadership Conference Encourages Mentorship By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com In an effort to reinforce its mission statement, a national organization dedicated to providing mentorship to Army service members and ROTC cadets along with its Washington D.C. chapter held its
biannual conference from April 21-23 in Washington D.C. The National Board of the ROCKS, named after one of the group’s early mentors, Brigadier General Roscoe Cartwright, conducted its 2016 BiAnnual Leadership and Training Conference to continue its commitment to
Army mentorship through developmental guidance. Hundreds of cadets and military officers gathered to learn methods of enhancing their professional and personal paths. The conference, an armywide diversity outreach event, focused on the professional development of Continued on A3
Pepco Asks for Rate Congressional Caucus Raise in Maryland for Black Women, Girls By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com
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those kids. We just have to find it.” Hayes accepted the crystal apple given to the winner each year. She was selected for the honor by the Council of Chief State School Officers and
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“Our teacher of the year here stands as proof that you can’t set expectations high enough for our kids,” Obama said. “There’s magic in
“Our teacher of the year here stands as proof that you can’t set expectations high enough for our kids.”
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Allegedly Smoked PCP
Two of the District’s leading public officials are asking the city’s public service commission to reconsider its decision in the Exelon-Pepco merger as the new utility announced plans to raise rates in the District and Maryland. The People’s Counsel, Sandra MattavousFrye, and District Attorney General Karl Racine requested April 22 that the District of
Continued on A5
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Fight Disparities By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com
Zora Neale Hurston once lamented that Black women were the mules of the earth. In an attempt to shift that narrative, the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls recently launched at The Library of Congress Members Room. Hosted by U.S. Representatives Bonnie Watson-Coleman (D-N.J.), Robin L. Kelly (D-Ill.), and Yvette D. Clark (D-N.Y.), a standing-room only crowd moved to usher in legislation, community supports, and aggressive policyContinued on A3