Volume Volume 124 123 No. No. 36 20–22
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April 9, 2016 - April 9, 2016, The Afro-American A1 $1.00
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APRIL 9, 2016 - APRIL 15, 2016
Inside
Baltimore
AFRO Editorial: The Republican Gun Convention
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• Mayoral
Candidates Critical of Rawlings-Blake’s Budget
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Masta P and No Limit Records Changed the Business of Hip Hop Forever
Washington
Top Pick
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• Transgender Alejandra Villa/Newsday via AP
Elmont Memorial High School valedictorian Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna poses for a photo in an empty classroom on Monday, April 4, 2016 in Elmont, N.Y. Uwamanzu-Nna has won acceptance to all 12 schools she applied for including all eight Ivy League universities. It’s the second time in as many years a student at the suburban New York high school has been accepted at all eight Ivy League universities.
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The U.S. Supreme Court handed Texas a victory April 4, upholding the state’s system of drawing legislative voting districts based on everyone who lives there — not just registered voters. But it was liberal groups, rather than the Republican-controlled state’s top leaders, who applauded the 8-0 ruling loudest since it likely bolsters the voting power of Texas’ booming Latino population over sparsely populated rural areas dominated by conservatives. Gov. Greg Abbott’s office declined to
comment. Attorney General Ken Paxton put out a statement saying only that his office was pleased with the decision and “committed to defending the Constitution and ensuring the state legislature, representing the citizens, continues to have the freedom to ensure voting rights consistent with the Constitution.” Contrast that with the head of the Texas Democratic Party, which hailed the ruling as affirming the principle of “one person, one vote,” a requirement laid out by the Supreme Court in 1964. “This is a victory for our democracy Continued on A3
RNC Black
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“There is no time to be afraid,” Brenda Robinson said about carrier landings, “you just do it!” Robinson, a retired Navy Reserve lieutenant commander, was the first Black female pilot certified to land on an aircraft carrier – the USS America – in January 1981. Six months earlier, she broke the navy’s gender-race barrier when she earned her wings. Robinson was inducted into the Women in Aviation International (WAI) Pioneer Hall of Fame during WAI’s 27th annual convention in Nashville, Tennessee March 10-12. She is the first female Continued on A3
By AFRO Staff
Brenda Robinson became the first Black female pilot in the military to be inducted into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame.
Kristal Hartsfield is the latest top Black employee at the Republican National Committee to leave the organization. Hartsfield is joining Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration as director of intergovernmental affairs, the Republican governor announced on March 31. Hartsfield follows in the departing footsteps of Orlando Watson, communications director for Black media, Tara Wall and Raffi Williams, both of whom worked Continued on A3
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
The Supreme Court is seen in Washington April 4 after justices ruled in a case involving the constitutional principle of “one person, one vote” and unanimously upheld a Texas law that counts everyone, not just eligible voters, in deciding how to draw legislative districts.
Alma Arrington Brown, Widow of Former Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, Dies at 76 By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com Alma Arrington Brown, wife of the late U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown and a prominent
Apr 8–May 8 At Towson University
DETROIT ’67 By Dominique Morisseau
In association with Detroit Public Theatre
U.S. Department of Commerce
FIRE-FUELED DREAMS and FRUSTRATED LOVE.” –Star Tribune
“A poetic play of
PREVIEWS START FRIDAY! TICKETS AS LOW AS $19!
The music and politics of the Motown era sizzle in the background of this sharp drama that follows one family’s survival amidst the Detroit riots of 1967.
advocate on behalf of children and under-served communities, died on April 3, exactly 20 years to the day of her husband’s death. Brown died in Washington, D.C. after a brief illness. She was 76. Continued on A4
Alma Arrington Brown passed away on April 3. She was the widow of former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown.
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By The Associated Press
By Monica Smith Special to the AFRO
Join Host Sean Yoes Monday-Friday 5-7 p.m. on 88.9 WEAA FM, the Voice of the Community.
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Supreme Court Ruling on Texas Redistricting Cheers Democrats
First Black Military Woman Hogan Taps Elected to Aviation Hall of Fame High Ranking
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Assaults Increase in D.C.