Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper July 20 2013

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Volume 121 No. 50

July 20, 2013 - July 20, 2013, The Afro-American A1 $1.00

JULY 20, 2013 - JULY 26, 2013

Zimmerman Verdict: How Right, How Wrong?

Prominent Black Lawyers Debate the Stunning Outcome

By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO Black legal experts have conflicting opinions on the outcome of the trial of George Zimmerman, who was accused of killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin during an altercation on the night of Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, Fla. A six-member, all-female jury comprising five Whites

streets around the country, decrying the case’s underlying issues of racial profiling and equal justice.

“A lot of people in our community are still stunned by the outcome, including me,” said Glenn Ivey, 52, former state’s attorney for Prince George’s County, “I never thought they would get a second-degree murder charge out of this but I thought there was enough information to support manslaughter.”

Most legal experts agree that second-degree murder was a stretch, given the evidence. But some, unlike Ivey, said even a manslaughter Warren Brown conviction was too much to hope for.

“I didn’t think there was any chance for Trayvon to get justice,” said Warren Brown, a well-known criminal defense lawyer, who has practiced in Baltimore for 33 years. He added, “And unfortunately what happened to Trayvon Continued on A3

“…unfortunately what happened to Trayvon happens all the doggone time in thousands of cases per week in courts around the country.

It is reality.”

—Attorney and one Hispanic on July 13 acquitted the 29-year-old on the charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the shooting death of the unarmed Black teen.

The verdict has spawned both satisfaction and outrage, with crowds taking to the

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Double Loss for Trayvon Martin’s Family

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Blacks Who Stand Their Ground Often Imprisoned Florida’s Astounding Inconsistent ‘Stand Your Ground’ Application

By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO The recent acquittal of neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old unarmed Trayvon Martin has led to intense scrutiny of Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law, on which Zimmerman’s defense was based, and similar “no retreat” selfdefense laws and their impact on people of color.

“I think the Trayvon Martin case highlighted the racial inequalities that exist in American society,” said Brendan Fischer, general counsel of the Center for Media and Democracy. “It is a symbol of how the American justice system devalues the lives of people of color. [And], ‘Stand Your Ground’ has embedded a lot of these injustices into the system. Statistics have shown its application has been anything but equitable.”

Supported by the National Rifle Association, “Stand Your Ground” was passed by the Florida legislature in 2005. The measure turned age-old self-defense principle on its head by allowing persons to use deadly force to defend themselves, without first trying to retreat, if they have a reasonable belief that they face a threat.

The law’s template was then adopted by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonprofit organization made up of corporations, foundations and legislators that advance federalist and conservative public policies, authorities said. Since Florida passed the law, similar measures have been introduced in one form or another in about 30 states, usually those with state legislatures dominated by Republicans.

Continued on A4

The Deltas Significantly Impact the Capital

Centennial Celebration Bathes Washington in a Crimson and Cream Sea of Activity

By Blair Adams and Ariel Medley AFRO Staff Writers As members of the world’s largest AfricanAmerican women’s Greek-letter organization descended on the nation’s capital in a mid-July blanket of crimson and cream, it became clear to even the most baffled tourist that the women of Delta Sigma Theta are a force to be reckoned with.

More than a century after being the only Black group in the historic Women’s Suffrage March in 1913, an estimated 40,000 Deltas swarmed Washington D.C. from July 11 to July 17, for their 51st national convention—and 100th birthday.

Inside the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest D.C. July 15, and throughout the city, thousands of women, many of whom had traveled thousands of miles for the event, created a sea of the sorority’s colors as they celebrate Delta’s 100th anniversary.

“We are here celebrating years of sisterhood and community service,” said Beverly Goss, who pledged in 1994 and traveled from New Jersey. She said, “It’s great to see all of our college educated black women come together and let the world know that we are Delta Sigma Theta.”

The weeklong celebration began July 11with the lighting of the Delta Torch at Continued on A4

Acquittal in Florida Sparks Protest in Baltimore

By Alexis Taylor Special to the AFRO

Roughly 100 Baltimoreans gathered at McKeldin Square in the Inner Harbor July 14 to protest the not guilty verdict of a six-woman jury on murder charges facing George Zimmerman late Saturday.

Carrying signs with photographs of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old Zimmerman admitted shooting, and demanding justice, protesters took turns speaking out against the July 13 acquittal and what it could mean for their own Black sons and daughters.

“I think it’s opened a whirlpool of injustice,” said Shiloh McIntosh, a 24-year-old bus driver who attended the protest with her 3-year-old son. “I already teach him good values, but it just makes me nervous about him stepping out into a world where people are still stereotyping him and his future.”

“The future being set up for him is already unfair,” McIntosh told the AFRO, more than a year after the shooting death of Martin, in Sanford, Fla. on Feb. 26, 2012.

Zimmerman, now 29, followed Martin from a Sanford convenience store, where the teen purchased a bag of skittles and a can of tea before attempting the return to The Retreat at Twin Lakes, where he was visiting his father’s fiancé.

Even after being advised by 911 dispatchers to stop following the young man, he continued to do so because, he told police, he believed Martin looked suspicious and was one of the “punks” plaguing gated Twin Lakes community.

Social media exploded with the news late Saturday night, as a verdict came on the second day of deliberations. The jury acted after weeks of testimony in the case against Zimmerman, who claimed he shot the 17-year-old after the teen attacked him, causing him to fear of his life.

With rally cries of “No Justice, No Peace” in the background, cars honked in support as they passed the corner of Pratt and Light Streets where the rally took place.

Protesters seemed to have come from all walks of life, from students and librarians to lawyers and office assistants. And though they may have had different upbringings in Charm City, all of the protesters expressed concern about how the Florida legal system dealt with the case.

Russell Bromell, a 49-year-old lawyer for the federal government, believed that though jurors will never know what really happened between the two on that rainy, February night, there were certain things that just shouldn’t have been overlooked by the mostly-white jury.

“Zimmerman shouldn’t have followed Martin,” Bromell told the AFRO. “Dead men can’t talk and no one knows what kind of struggle occurred between Martin and Zimmerman.”

“What happened in that time is a black hole,” he said, adding that “if Zimmerman isn’t charged criminally, he should be charged in civil court.”

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AFRO to Host Obamacare Forums

By AFRO Staff

Forget about fifth grade; are you smarter than a fourth grader or even a third grader? Chances are good that if you were on the popular quiz show and were asked anything about Obamacare and the upcoming changes to your family’s health insurance, you’d know about as much as most grownups: not too much.

Making matters worse, rumors about Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act, as it’s officially known, have been flying around like pigeons in downtown Baltimore since before President Obama signed this bill into law in 2010.

One of the first rumors had to do with death panels of bureaucrats who would have the power to decide questions of life and death. Exaggerated lie.

Maybe you heard the one about the microchip, which when implanted in your hand would allow the government to know all your personal business and track your whereabouts. We checked; not true.

Have you heard that the IRS is coming after your home if you don’t sign up for Obamacare. Not true, at least mostly not true.

The scare tactics have gotten ugly at times. That’s why the Afro American Newspapers will be informing you about everything you’ll need to know to protect the health and wellbeing of yourself and your family. We will feature reliable information about what to do, when, and who to call if you

Copyright © 2013 by the Afro-American Company

Continued on A4

The Afro-American, July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013

The Afro-American Newspapers

Baltimore Office • Corporate Headquarters 2519 N. Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4602 410-554-8200 • Fax: 1-877-570-9297 www.afro.com Founded by John Henry Murphy Sr., August 13, 1892 Washington Publisher Emerita - Frances L. Murphy II Chairman of the Board/Publisher - John J. Oliver, Jr. Executive Assistant - Takiea Hinton - 410-554-8222 Receptionist - Wanda Pearson - 410-554-8200 Director of Advertising Lenora Howze - 410-554-8271 - lhowze@afro.com Baltimore Advertising Manager Robert Blount - 410-554-8246 - rblount@afro.com Director of Finance - Jack Leister - 410-554-8242 Archivist - Ja-Zette Marshburn - 410-554-8265 Director, Community & Public Relations Diane W. Hocker - 410-554-8243 Editorial Executive Editor - Avis Thomas-Lester Editor - Dorothy Boulware News Editor - Gregory Dale Production Department - 410-554-8288 Global Markets Director - Benjamin M. Phillips IV - 410-554-8220 - bphillips@afro.com Baltimore Circulation/Distribution Manager Sammy Graham - 410-554-8266

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NATION & WORLD Essynce Moore, Tween Fashion Designer and Owner of Essynce Couture, LLC

A 10-year-old designer?

She might not be out of grade school yet but Essynce Moore isn’t waiting for the fashion world to cater to her and her pre-teen cohorts.

The New Jersey girl is catering to children, tweens and teens. The website includes an exclusive upscale fashion line, as well as body products.

Each piece in the Essynce Couture’s stylish collection is hand-crafted, often from sketches or with Essynce Moore embroidery. Despite these meticulous details, the fashions sell at much lower prices than those of competitors.

The Essynce Couture brand has nicely carved out a niche in the fashion industry since the collection is created by a child, for children, with only children in mind. The brand is designed to recognize their uniqueness, give them the added confidence they desire to look good and smell good and segue these same feelings all over the world.

Essynce introduced her children’s clothing line in January 2013 at a photo-shoot launch party that officially promoted her website, children’s body products and kid rep’s program. This pre-teen is giving other children an outlet to learn, make money and have fun while doing so.

She has been buzzing “big-time” on all of her social media websites that include: * Twitter: www.twitter.com/EssynceCouture * Facebook: www.facebook.com/essyncecouture * Instagram: www.instagram.com/essyncecouturellc Essynce Couture, LLC believes in education and encourages children of all ages to upload their report cards, certificates and other rewards to one of its social sites. In return and as a kudos for all children, each will receive an Essynce Couture exclusive accommodation acknowledging their dedication for a job well done.

For more information about, visit www.essyncecouture.com

Second Autopsy to Settle How Black Ga. Schoolboy Athlete Died

The family and friends of Kendrick Johnson are waiting to see if a second autopsy confirms a Lowndes County, Ga. medical examiner’s

finding six months ago that the 17-year-old, whose body was found rolled inside a gym mat, died of positional asphyxia.

A second autopsy was conducted after the body was exhumed June 14 to address skepticism about county officials’ assertion that the two-sport athlete died in January trying to reach a pair of tennis shoes at the bottom of a rolledup wrestling mat when he became pinned head-first and perpendicular to the ground.

“My K.J was murdered and his killers and the people that help cover up for these monsters are still free,” said mother, Jackie Johnson, from a personal Facebook page that seems to be dedicated to her late son. “How can we, The Johnson Family, and friends begin to heal when we can’t begin to grieve the murder of Kendrick ‘K.J.’ Johnson?”

Authorities in the South Georgia county say the death of the high school football and basketball player was accidental.

“There was an autopsy performed and it was determined that this was an accident- we have obtained no information contrary to that,” Lt. Stryde Jones, of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, told the AFRO. “If anyone has additional information we are open to listening and examining what is brought to us.”

Jones said that the death was highly unusual, the first he could remember that involved a dead body at a county high school.

“There were no Kendrick Johnson witnesses, so we can only surmisebut the information that we have obtained from interviews shows that he stored his shoes in there and probably went in there to get them out. Unfortunately- and very sadly, he was unsuccessful.”

Johnson’s body was found early in the school day on Jan. 11 at Lowndes High School.

Since then, there have been multiple protests and rallies held by the family and organized in conjunction with the NAACP Georgia State Conference and the National Action Network.

Family members believe that Johnson was murdered and a sloppy investigation was conducted in the hours after his death.

When asked why Lowndes County Coroner Bill Watson was called six hours after Johnson’s body was found, instead of immediately according to Georgia law, it was indicated that a professional investigation was conducted.

In June a judge granted permission for the Johnson family to exhume the 17-year old’s body for a second autopsy, one they hope will give more answers.

Family attorney Chevene King Jr. did not respond to interview requests.

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Washington View

Zimmerman Acquittal Could Mean Double Loss for Trayvon Martin’s Family The family of Trayvon Martin not only lost their 17-year-old son at the hands of George Zimmerman, a Florida neighborhood watch volunteer. They could lose their money to him, too.

Imagine this bitter irony: Under Florida’s stand your ground law, according to sport-utility vehicle sought by in

By Alan King legal experts contacted connection with AFRO Staff Writer the AFRO, if the the murder Martin of Hudson’s mother and brother. family files1994 a civil lawsuit The white, Chevrolet Jennifer Hudson and other against Zimmerman for Suburban with Illinois license relatives positively identified Adrienne the wrongful death of their Washington son, and they lose the case, AFRO Columnist a judge could order them to pay all Zimmerman’s attorney fees, court costs including fees for expert witness testimony and all his lost wages during preparation or participation in the trial.

“That’s double injury,” Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, (PRwatch.org) told the AFRO this week as she explained the hidden intricacies of the Florida Stand Your Ground law that “would require the victim’s family to pay the killer and pay for the killer’s wages.”

An angry Graves aimed most of her frustration and protest over the trial and what she deemed the “immoral”Courtesy verdict Photos Jennifer andRifle her Association mom, Darnell who toward Hudson the National and Donerson the conservative, was killed, as wellAmerican as her brother, Jason. corporate-backed Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). It was those groups, she said, who lobbied for the plate X584859inwas foundstates on thegun-friendly body of her 7-year-old Stand Your Ground legislation a dozen Chicago’s West Side after nephew Monday, just hours not only to protect Second Amendment rights, but also “to police received a 7 a.m. call after his body was found in a have a deliberate chilling effect” on families, like Martin’s, to deter them from bringing civil suits in crimes involving guns and fatal shootings of loved ones.

To that end, Graves suggested that Martin’s family must

take their time and seriously consider the outcome of a civil attorneys didn’t actually ask for the criminal case to be lawsuit against Zimmerman. If they win, they could collect thrown out on the stand your ground statute because he would on any profits he might receive from future media deals, not have been able to ask for it in a later civil trial. However, but the liability becomes theirs if they lose. Graves said the his attorneys had to know the law would be read to the jury Martin family might decide not to go forward unless they during the judge’s final instructions, they said. had a guarantee there would be a pool of moneyNovember waiting and agrees theThe trial’s outcome was grossly unfair A3 1, 2008 - Halleck November 7, that 2008, Washington Afro-American available from some sympathetic organizations or donors “because Zimmerman never should have gotten out of his car.” should they need it in the real possibility that their case might But the Justice Department also has a tricky decision not succeed. to make, Shalleck added, because they have to prove Meanwhile, those shocked and outraged -- black, that Zimmerman violated Martin’s civil rights “because from a neighbor about a suspiposted bearing brown and white – are rightfully protesting this behemoth [the teenager] was black; they would havefliers to get insidehis photocious vehicle. of The man noticed around the city. On miscarriage justice by demanding that Zimmerman face [Zimmerman’s head which would graph be tough to do.” the vehicle while walking his Sunday, Jennifer Hudson asked twoAccording subsequenttocivil cases -- one to be brought by the Holder will be under extreme political pressure to in bring dog. the Chicago for the public’s help finding Department of Justice for possible civil rights violations; the a civil rights violation case, Shalleck said, which could send Tribune, the boy had been shot her nephew. In her MySpace multiple in thesurvivors back seatfor possible wrongful death. sheorthanked fans and supother bytimes Martin’s Zimmerman to prison, but not for blog, murder manslaughter. of the vehicle. The SUV, regisporters should for theirbeprayers The attorney insists that Zimmerman held and tered to Hudson’s murdered offered a $100,000 reward to responsible and not benefit from this tragedy. brother, was towed with the anyone who“That’s returnedwhy the boy people are so upset, including me,” said Shalleck. boy’s body inside and is being alive. processed by evidence techniSincedeals the investigation, For sure there will be movie and book for cians and workers. The body Hudson – deals who gained Zimmerman, and maybe even endorsement from stardom was later removed and taken to after appearing on “American the NRA or some gun manufacturer, hawking their easily the Cook County Medical Idol,” and then won an concealed weapons to future vigilantes masquerading as role in Examiner’s office.

Academy Award for her Hudson and other family the movie Dreamgirls victims in states with Stand Your Ground statutes.

After – has members arrived at the Medical outto ofhim the public eye. all, Zimmerman’s gun will also bestayed returned with the Examiner’s office mid-afterThe Chicago Tribune reportRev. Al Sharpton is also asking protesters to lobby against bone-chilling thought that “he needs it now more than ever,” Julian King, Jennnifer Hudson’s nephew. noon to identify the body. ed that a parade of cars moved ALECtheand to seek the repeal according to his arrogant attorney.slowly past her family’s home Given choice between look-of stand your ground laws. thenot office theDon’t murders but he’s is being in Monday However, lawbody experts thespokesman protestersfor need set forget got held a potentially lucrative lawsuit ing directly at the or warn that A morning, past the told the newspaper that Hudson jail for parole violation after viewing it on a wall-mounted news their high hopes of revenge or retaliation on those last-ditch for defamation against NBC, which theyvans, deny.reporters Thoughand curious onlookers. legal options, either. A civil case is no cakewalk. unemployed, he’s already collected millions in funding for his Neighbors stood For held one, it’s not cheap to fight your day in legal defense those who supported him from the start.

“She hands with herforfamily.

Itcourt. wasWho obviously a veryfrom emotional moment.” quietly and do you think paid for that high-priced defense team, the slick But the most egregious pot of money Zimmerman could reflected on the “remained strong for her fami- collect being convicted attempted video screen, the family violence. reenactment video andchose those nationally-acclaimed experts? is from a of dead child’s parents.

The law does not allow ly” and was clearly its leader. murder and vehicular hijackthe latter.

According to theformer prosecutor In front of the Hudson’s Not Zimmerman, noted and Republican jeopardy, but “double is another story.

“She held hands with her fami- for ing.double Cook County records show injury” Tribune, Hudson said, “Yes, home, men in heavy jackets Maryland lawyer James F. Shalleck. ly,” the spokesman said. “It that he pleaded guilty to both that’s him.” and hooded sweatshirts came to wasteam,” obviously a very emotional charges in 1999.

He was also Washington “He surely had the best defense an incensed Veteran journalist Adrienne writes weekly forbarkiss the twin white crosses convicted 1998relevant for possesnamesMaryland of Donerson Halleck told the AFRO. “And I’llmoment.” bet there was easily a the AFRO in about issues ining thethe District, andand The boy – the son of Julia sion of a stolen motor vehicle.

Jason. to her at editor@ quarter of a million dollars spentHudson, on [Zimmerman’s] defense.”

Virginia.

Send correspondence Jennifer’s sister – had Northern He was released from prison in “Everybody is sick of going Halleck and Graves both pointed out that the shrewd afro.com. been missing since Friday, 2006 after serving seven years through stuff like this,” Artisha

Jennifer Hudson and Relatives Identify Body of Her Slain Nephew

ACORN Fights Back

“The family of Trayvon Martin not only lost their 17-year-old son at the hands of George Zimmerman…They could lose their money to him, too.”

Leader Calls Voter Registration Fraud Charges ‘Bogus’

when a relative found Julian’s for the attempted murder and West, a former resident of the grandmother, Darnell car hijacking charges. area told the Tribune. “We all No wonder Obama’s campaign is Donerson, 57, and his uncle, and Dallas Cowboys players

By Alan King The boy remained missing have to stick together. All these trying to distance him from the Tony Romo and Terrell Owens, AFRO Staff Writer Jason Hudson, 29, shot to death through a long weekend in young children are dying, and group, saying, “Barack Obama among the names submitted to in his grandmother’s home in which police and volunteers for what?”

Never Organized with ACORN.” election officials.

Presidential candidate John the 7000 block of South Yale Hurd said those workers, who But Obama’s ties to ACORN run McCain’s attack on ACORN – Avenue. long and deep. He taught classes were doing those things without Associated Community An Amber Alert – a desigfor ACORN. They even endorsed ACORN’s knowledge or permisOrganization for Reform Now – nation for high-risk missing By AFROthe Staff dubbed “Public Enemyhim Number where Anderson was hiding and summoned June 27 by a woman who for President. sion, were fired. confirms success of the children – was issued Friday One” in connection to poke his head out,” was engaged in a dispute with some Butthe nowShird ACORN is in waited trouble. for him “The evidence that has sur- with organization, the head of the after Julian was discovered Reporter:in There areaccording at least to missing shows they faked other murders group says.Anderson, who police faced thefrom murders.

Darryl say so farkilling and several a news after release the women who were gathered on the front investigations across the Marshal’s 11 forms to getBaltimore, paid for work they testimony to the work Police arrested William shot“This threeis women--killing 20-year-old is awaiting extradition from U.S. Service. porch of a row house in the 3300 block country involving thousands of didn’t do, not to stuff ballot we’ve done and success we’ve Balfour, the missing boy’s stepGennie Shird-in a June 27 assault Birmingham where he was held after The ex-convict “never stood a of Elmora Avenue. potentially fraudulent ACORN boxes.” ACORN, she said, is the had,” Maude Hurd, president of father and estranged husband staged onsaid a Baltimore front porch, wasof fraud, beingnotsurrounded without chance,” marshals said of the suspect When he arrived, he was allegedly forms. victim the perpetra-and captured ACORN, in an interview of Julia, at his girlfriend’s Announcer: Massive voter tor ofofit. incident the morning of July with the down AFRO.in Alabama by a team tracked 16. who was saidSouthside to be armed with two told by a woman later arrested by apartment several fraud. And the Obama guns Hurd said the only things campaign “When this attack we July 16. after murders. federal marshals andstarted, arrested A team of law enforcement and hadhours vowed to the never return to police as a conspirator in the case bogus are the charges thempaid more than $800,000 to an had just announced that we had Balfour’s mother, Michele, has “do what y’all do,” law enforcement Anderson, 25, who was considered officers, acting on a tip, trailed him to prison. selves. And factcheck. org ACORN front for get out the vote registered 1.3 million new vottold reporters that her son had Darryl Anderson armed and dangerous and had been Birmingham, “surrounded the location Police said Anderson agrees. efforts. ers,” she said.

“That’s just to say nothing to do had withbeen the slayings. officials said.

It concluded, “Neither Pressuring banks to issue risky that someone’s running scared Balfour remains a suspect in Jason Hudson ACORN nor its employees have loans. voter fraud. because of ACORN’s success.”

The NAACP has launched a petition calling on the Justice TheNationwide prosecution made a “calculated” decision to play been found guilty of, or even Barack Obama.

Bad judgment.

McCain, who is running for Department to file civil charges against Zimmerman. The Zimmerman’s taped interviews in an attempt to undermine his charged with, casting fraudulent Blind ambition. Too risky for president on the Republican tickContinued from A1 petition, which is also posted on the website of MoveOn.org, credibility. But, without an actual cross-examination, it was votes.”

America. et, lashed out at ACORN in the had almost a half-million signatures as of July 16.

The problem came final debate Baracktime in thousands happens all against the doggone of cases perabout weekpriin difficult to do so, experts said. marily because of the way Since McCain’s comments, had forced Zimmerman to take Obama,around contending the groupIt“is “It is time for the Department of Justice to act,” read the “I think if the prosecution SQUARE HIGH courts the country. is reality.”

ACORN operates. Rather than ACORN’s have on the verge of maybe perpetratonline petition addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder, the stand, 87 andoffices if they didbeen a good job cross-examining him, the Some of the experts agreed that race had a significant, rely on volunteers, it pays peobombarded with threats and ing one of the greatest frauds in which was posted right after the verdict was announced. case could though insidious, in the case’sple, result. many of them poor or unem- racist mail. have turned out differently,” Bolden concluded. voter history in thisrole country, “The most fundamental of civil rights — the right to life — Theday prosecution made several missteps, many of the legal ployed, to mentioned, sign up new voters.

The after the presidential maybe destroying fabric “Even thoughthe race wasofnever explicitly it was The idea was to debate, into thewith the initial investigation. democracy.” was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then expertsvandals agreed,broke beginning pretty obvious that it was on everyone’s mind.

It help was both the those being registered and those doing organization’s Boston Seattle that had already been done Factcheck.org, a non-partisan took the life of Trayvon Martin,” it continued. “We ask that “There was a lot and of damage elephant the those roomclaims for sure, theregistration. defense took advantage offices and stole computers.

Web site, in found to andthe the Department of Justice file civil rights against Mr. before the case came to trial,” Brown said.

NOT ON THE charges LIST BREAD of that,” said Ivey, also a former federal prosecutor, who is Maud explained, “We have a After a Cleveland representative be “exaggerated,” with “no eviZimmerman for this egregious violation.”

“The on decision the prosecution, initially, was not to bring zerolaw tolerance for deliberappeared TV, an of e-mail was dence of any such democracycurrently practicing criminal defense with apolicy Washington, registration.” sent to theSo local office saying she to prosecute the case, they were destroying fraud.”

Bolden said if the department agrees, it would likely charge charges. when they decided D.C.-based firm. “If this had beenate thefalsification other wayof around, Most news account neglect to “is going to have her life ended.”

Hurd believes the McCain Zimmerman with criminal violation of Trayvon’s civil rights stuck with the mess they had already created.” ifcharges Trayvon Martin had been accused of killing George point out that ACORN is A worker in Providence, R.I., were politically motivatunder Title 42, the hate crime statute.

Givena threatening the dearth call of evidence collected and the conflicting Zimmerman and had stood trial before an by all-White jury, required law to turn in all reg- received sayed.

RIGHT “Given their resources, the fact that the charges would be testimony given the the prosecutors essentiallyLEFT istration forms.

And they also fail ing, “We know youbyget offwitnesses, work She said, “Because it’s lowMartin would have been convicted, at least on manslaughter.” to noteattorney that it was the has organizaat 9” and uttered epithets. andA. moderate-income different and racial profiling would be front and center, their were “trying to racial fit a square peg into a round hole,” Brown said.

Dwight Pettit, people, a renowned Black who tion, in many instances, that first A callerjury to one left a and people of color, I believe the “The hadoffice to determine if the state proved its proposition case could be more successful,” Bolden said. practiced law in Baltimore for fourbrought decades, agreedregistrations that race the phony message on the answering McCain campaign thinks those beyond a reasonable doubt.

[But] this case was rigged with Brown, however, said the evidence and witnesses played a role, as evidenced in the jury selection, which he to the attention of authorities. machine, saying: “Hi, I was just voters are going to vote reasonable about testimonies are still too spotty for a successful conviction.

The McCain camp apparently calling to let doubt you know thatwhat happened, and without that Democratic, is notfactor neces-to the trial’s believes waswhich a pivotal outcome. thoseyou finestep Barack sarily true.”be from the old school,isn’t clarity,Obama the juryneeds had to noget choice but to check off ‘not guilty,’” the “I don’t think the Justice Department will take it,” he said.

“I may but interested I believe in when points, preferring to air misleadhung.

He’s a (expletive deleted) ACORN is no stranger to 60-year-old attorney added.

“I don’t think any lawyer who looks at the evidence and the across certain lines into these jurisdictions, justice changes ing ads that seek to link Obama nigger, and he’s a piece of controversy.

With Zimmerman’s acquittal witnesses would take on this case.” dramatically,” andthereby criminal defense to rights ACORN, undercutting (expletive deleted). You guys are in the criminal trial, For 38 years,the the67-year-old non-partisan civil Martin’s parents seek justice for their son’s slaying in a fraudulent, and youcould need to go to organization has foughtthe forbeginning social hisI political attorney said.

“From felt theysupport. had a difficult John McCain the niggers on oak trees. and economic justice for lowcivilAll suit. time in that jurisdiction empanelling McCain: a jury ofI’m Trayvon’s peers.” hell. and I approve this message.

They’re gonna honand moderate-income “The civil get caseallishung really a better venue to determine the truth 1 BANANA A. ScottWith Bolden, managing with the D.C.-based law eys, they’re going to get assassiAnnouncer: Who is Barack Americans.

400,000 mem- partner of what occurred,” Bolden said.

“Zimmerman’s credibility Lloyd H. Seay Jr. firm Reed Smith, disagreed that the racial makeup of the jury nated, they’re gonna get killed.”

Obama? A man with “a political ber families organized into more would be severely during deposition and testimony.

Another message tested” said, “You warp Lloyd H. Seay Jr. the son of the late Lloyd Sr. than 1,200 neighborhood necessarily impacted thechapoutcome.baptism The sixperformed jurors allatshowed idiots. Dumbother (expletive speed.”

Vast ambition. and Blanche Seay. He was born on March 24, ters in 110of cities nationwide, Alternatively, activists are pursuing other means of evidence being “thoughtful” and “hard-working” heAfter said,col- liberal deleted).

Welfare Youas a wrong. lege, he moved to Chicago.

ACORN has over the years seen 1929 in Baltimore, Md. His wife, Queenesther correcting what bums. they see given their requests to review evidence and their questions guys just (expletive deleted) Became a community organizer. its share of criticism while advoL. Seay preceded him in death on Dec. 14, 2012. about charges during deliberation. come to our country, consume There, Obama met Madeleine cating the for affordable housing, He was a graduate of the 1947 class of Douglass every natural resource there is, of witnesses. the Chicago living healthcare for was the the Talbot, Thewages, problem, he said, lack ofpart solid High School and it was there that he met the and make a lot of babies. That’s branch of ACORN. He was so underserved— while organ- even love of his life Queenesther (Queenie)and they Several of the and state’s witnesses proved counterproductive all you guys do. And then suck impressive that he was asked to izing voter registration drives. became an inseparable couple. God called to their case, such as the witnesses who waffled on whether the up the welfare andA1 expect everytrain the ACORN staff.

But none has been as withering Sonny home to be in His heavenly kingdom and Continued from voice heard screaming Trayvon’s. one else to pay for your hospital What did ACORN in Chicago and baseless as this one. on the tape was reunite with his wife of 61 years. some shock and sadness about the outcome billsWhile for your kids.expressed I jus’ say let engage in?because Bullyingthere banks.were With the presidentialhad election “The prosecution a very tough case Sonny, as he affectionately preferred to be Before age five, every isCortez a classroom. your die. That’s the best Intimidation tactics. Disruption lesswitnesses than two weeks away,say definitively of thekids highly publicized case, others said the moment should be called,room attended Peters Business School, no that could that happened during move.

Just let your children die. of business. ACORN forced ACORN’s detractors allege the State andare the Community College of Baltimore.

Fun learningMorgan opportunities everywhere.

Simple things likeIn February used to move Black Americans to action. this altercation,” Bolden said.

“The only witness they had left Forget about paying for hospital organization has engaged in mas- banks to issue risky home loans.

1951 Sonnyshapes enlistedactivate in the United Stateslearning Army during the Korean War counting and identifying a child’s ability, year old Sunday Alexander, a Baltimore was – Trayvon Martin was dead – and Zimmerman billsTwenty-seven for them. I’m not gonna do The same types of loans that sive Zimmerman voter registration fraud after andenter was honorably discharged in February 1953.why In the mid 50’s Lloyd and help them school more prepared.

That’s PNC chef and student at Howard the case it. You guys are lowlifes.

And ICommunity College, saidfounded caused the financial crisis we’re refused to take the stand.” the reported discovery of bogus at Maddox Printing and the AFRO American Newspaper. For Grow Upworked Great and its Spanish-language equivalent Crezca hope you die.”as an example of why African Americans need in today. names, such as Mickey Mouse should beallused $ years, from 1953 to 1982, Sonny operated trolley cars and almost 30 con Éxito, a 10-year, 100 million program to help prepare young Hurdback thinkstheir the hate calls will and get on one accord. then drove Baltimore Metropolitan Administration to take communities children for school and life.buses Pickfor upthe a free bilingual SesameTransit Street™ cease soon.

(MTA) andfor was stationed Eastern Avenue, “Happy, Healthy, Ready School” kitout atof a the PNC branch.

It’s fiBush lled Street, and “I think this means that we need to change the Black image “In two weeks, I think these divisions. kinds of Retreat simple,Street everyday things you can do to help a child in America,” 14. all “We attacks will be she over.said, But Iamid thinkaitcrowd of protesters Julywith Mr. can Seaywork was inspired by communities his grandfather, so Albert Seay (builder) who learn.

Together, we with our an entire will betoharder forour us to get our need change focus.” constructed homes to ensure that people received decent housing. Since generation won’t just grow up... but grow up great. name back on good Identification Statements Alexander said graces that while she didn’t agree with 1955, he helped thousands of families to obtain safe and affordable because they really trashed us in Baltimore Afro-American — (USPS 040-800) is published weekly by The Afro-American housing.

Zimmerman’s actions, she could identify with racially profiling the last few weeks.”

Newspapers, 2519 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4602. Subscription Rate: To find out more, go Gov. to pncgrowupgreat.com In 1987 William Donald Schafer appointed Lloyd H. Seay as a Baltimore - 1 Year - $40.00 (Price includes tax.) Checks for subscriptions should be made members of herwill own But ACORN notrace. be call 1-877-PNC-GROW. payable to: The Afro-American Newspaper Company, 2519 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD real estateor commissioner.

In 1992, Gov. Parris Glendening reappointed deterred.

“When I moved back into the city I had to catch myself,” 21218-4602. Periodicals postage paid at Baltimore, MD. him to his second term and the committee selected him as their distin“We’ve been fighting for a POSTMASTER: Send addresses changes to: The Afro-American Newspaper Company, 2519 she said. “I was walking around and I noticed that when I saw a guished chairman for the four year term. long time, for over 30 years, for N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4602.

Although, Sonny enjoyed his real estate nothing in this world could Black person approaching I would get nervous.

I realized how the rights of low- and moderateThe Washington Afro-American & Washington Tribune — (0276-6523) is published replace, substitute, or equal to his love for his family. ridiculous it was.” income people all across the weekly by the Afro-American Newspapers at 1917 Benning Road, N.E., Washington, D.C. Lloyd H. Seay life was celebrated during a Homecoming Service at 20002-4723. Subscription Rate: Washington - 1 Year - $40.00. Periodical Postage paid country,” Hurdto said.

“We’re “We need change that with education, volunteering, and at Washington, D.C. St. Peter Claver Catholic Church on Thursday July 18, 2013. The intergoing to continue to fight for giving back. We need to work with our youth and increase our POSTMASTER: Send addresses changes to: The Washington Afro-American ment was at Arbutus Memorial Park. economic justice in our commu& Washington Tribune, 2519 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4602. productivity.” nities.”

TM /©2008 Sesame Workshop. All rights reserved. ©2008 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Baltimore’s Public Enemy #1 Captured

Third Slaying Suspect Nabbed in Alabama

Zimmerman Verdict

Protest in Baltimore

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The Afro-American, July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013

July 20, 2013 - July 20, 2013, The Afro-American

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Black Pastors to Members: Be Aware and Beware Zimmerman Verdict

By Courtney Jacobs and Blair Adams AFRO Staff Writers

The Rev. John K. Jenkins Sr. looked out at the congregation of First Baptist Church of Glendarden and sighed.

Less than 12 hours after jurors in Sanford, Fla., found George Zimmerman not guilty in the fatal shooting of unarmed Black teenager Trayvon Martin, he was having “trouble” coming to terms with the verdict and what it meant for justice, and righteousness, or the lack thereof, in this country.

Though the church celebrated its annual Music and Arts Ministry on July 14, Jenkins had a heavy heart. His topic for the day was “Directions for Troubled Times.”

“I was speechless,” Jenkins told the congregation about his reaction to the verdict. “It took the breath out of me.”

Jenkins said he found statements

made by one of Zimmerman’s defenders particularly disturbing.

“I heard the man’s lawyer say he did nothing wrong…I heard the killer’s lawyer say [Trayvon] used the concrete as a weapon.”

At one point, tears began to roll down his cheeks.

Even for men and women accustomed to explaining evil and wrong, the verdict that freed Zimmerman proved difficult.

Jenkins and several other pastors from Baltimore to the metropolitan Washington area decried the verdict July 14 and urged their members to understand that the verdict indicated that Black life was not as valuable as White life, despite some race gains over the last 50 years.

While some Americans believe the verdict delivered by the sixwoman jury was just, many Blacks found it implausible that the jurors could acquit Zimmerman in the 2012 slaying of Martin, 17.

The Rev. Dr. Beryl Whipple,

Stand Their Ground Continued from A1

“That law gives lawand-order activists, rightwingers and vigilantes an arguable basis for defense and opens up a pathway for unjust dispositions of justice because it allows civilians to shoot first and make certain determinations later,” said Dwight Pettit, 67, a renowned Black attorney in Baltimore.

Pettit drew comparisons to police-involved shootings of African Americans when the officers make claims such as “I was in fear for my life,” or “I thought he was reaching for his gun,” and are exonerated.

He said he discusses the phenomenon in his soon-tobe-released book Under Color of Law. “Blacks don’t fare well with these laws at all,” Pettit said. “It’s another lessening of protection for African Americans.”

An analysis conducted

by the Tampa Bay Times last year showed that defendants in Florida who employ the “Stand Your Ground” defense are more successful when the victim is Black. In its examination of 200 applicable cases, the Times found that 73 percent of those who killed a Black person were acquitted, compared to 59 percent of those who killed a White.

Similarly, an analysis of Supplemental Homicide Reports (SHR) submitted by local law enforcement to the FBI between 2005 and 2010 demonstrates that in cases with a Black shooter and a White victim, the rate of justifiable homicide rulings is about 1 percent. However, if the shooter is White and the victim is Black, it is ruled justified in 9.5 percent of cases in non-Stand Your Ground (SYG) states. In SYG states, the rate is even

pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in White Marsh, near Baltimore, said he was not surprised by the jurors’ decision.

“This is a wake-up call not just for America, but for African Americans,” he said.

“This is a call to finally put an end to the senseless violence and be active in their community to make sure a tragedy like this never happens again.”

Whipple, like Jenkins, heard the verdict on television.

“I was watching CNN at home,” he said. “I don’t think he was innocent…Zimmerman killed a minor. In this case, we missed the mark on our opportunity for justice.

I can only assume they came to that verdict based on their own life experience….They sided more with the community watch patrol officer than the young man trying to get home.”

The Rev. Grady Yeargin, pastor of City Temple Baptist Church of

higher—almost 17 percent, according to John Roman of the Urban Institute.

The trends could partly explain Zimmerman’s verdict, some legal experts said.

While his defense team did not invoke the law, Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson introduced the principle in her instructions to the jury.

“If George Zimmerman was not engaged in an unlawful activity and was attacked in any place where he had a right to be, he had no duty to retreat and had the right to stand his ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he reasonably believed that it was necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony,” she said in her statements to the jury of one Hispanic and five White women.

To police officers and prosecutors in Sanford, Fla.—

Obamacare Continued from A1

need help in our newspapers, on our website, and in upcoming supplements.

We will be holding a series of town hall meetings throughout the community to give you the no-nonsense information you need to know.

For starters, let’s begin with the most basic question: What is Obamacare? This federal law requires everyone to have health insurance

by Oct. 1, 2014. In some states like Maryland, health insurance exchanges will be open for enrollment, beginning in October 2013, to make it easier to shop for health plans. Think of a mall for health care coverage.

In Maryland, the exchange is called the Maryland Health Connection. It’s a new marketplace that will offer health insurance and coverage options to individuals, families, and small employers. This exchange or marketplace will include a call center and a navigator program to provide inperson assistance statewide. For more information about MHC, go to http://www.

marylandhealthconnection.gov/ Why do we need it? Obamacare will provide health insurance to many more people. Unless 1) you work for a company that provides health insurance, or 2) you can afford to pay for it on your own and you have no pre-existing conditions, or 3) you have Medicaid, or 4) you’re 65 years or older and have Medicare, you haven’t been able to afford health care coverage. Either the hospital picked up the costs or you filed bankruptcy.

The Maryland Health Connection will provide health coverage options to everyone, including access to public assistance programs such as Medicaid and the Maryland Children’s Health Insurance Program as well as health plans offered by private carriers.

And yes, the IRS will penalize those who fail to enroll in a plan. But they probably won’t be confiscating homes and personal possessions. More about all that later. Stay tuned.

Baltimore, preached in a hoodie the morning after the verdict, as did the Rev. Tony Lee, pastor of Community of Hope AME Church in Temple Hills in Prince George’s County.

Trayvon was wearing a hoodie on the night Zimmerman reported him to police as a suspicious person, then followed, fought with and fatally shot the youth.

“When you have great progress, there is always great pushback,” Lee told his congregation. “We want to act like we’re in this postracial society where everything is ‘Howdy, howdy’ and everything is all good. Just because you found you have a Black woman, Black man, Black baby girls, a Black dog and a Black grandmamma in the White House, you thought it was a post-racial society.”

Several pastors said they believe race figured in the verdict, just as it did in the shooting and the investigation by law enforcement

officials in Sanford, Fla., where Martin was killed.

Trayvon was “racially profiled from the beginning” to the end of the case, Whipple said.

“With this verdict, it showed that in the 21st century, we haven’t really moved forward as we should have it terms of racism,” he said.

“We didn’t have justice in this case.”

Like Jenkins, he took offense at the idea that Trayvon had assaulted Zimmerman during the fight that ensued after Zimmerman refused a police dispatcher’s order to stay inside his car and followed and confronted the youth. Trayvon was returning to his father’s home in the community after going to the store to buy snacks.

“Travon Martin was trying not to get shot, he didn’t use the concrete as a weapon,” Whipple said.

Teria Rogers contributed to this report.

in 2006 in connection with the fatal shooting of White contractor Brian Epp. McNeil said Epp threatened him and his son during a hostile encounter after going onto McNeil’s property to confront him. He was released earlier this year on time served.

Similarly, in July 2012, Marissa Alexander, 31, the mother of three, was given a 20-year mandatory sentence for an aggravated assault conviction for firing a warning shot into the air in the garage of her home at her abusive husband. Alexander said the man was moving toward her as she attempted to retreat from him when she fired the shot. He was not injured.

Florida Sen. Gary Siplin (D) said the Alexander case was his motivation to attempt to get the Stand Your Ground law overturned. He was unsuccessful, however,

because “there are more Democrats in Florida, but more Republicans [are] in charge and they don’t want to change the law,” he told the AFRO. Working toward a repeal of the laws would be a positive outcome or response to the verdict in the George Zimmerman case, Fischer said.

“People have to vote and elect legislators that would support more just laws that protect the rights of all people instead of just a few,” he said.

In the meantime, many officials are vowing to examine the laws and work toward their repeal, if necessary.

“It’s time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a speech to the NAACP on July 16.

“By allowing, and perhaps encouraging, violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety.”

The Trayvon Martin case “opened up a nationwide inquiry into the appropriateness and efficacy of Stand Your Ground laws,” said Commissioner Michael Yaki, of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, who initiated the body’s investigation into racial bias in the application of such laws. He said the commission is committed to investigating the laws.

“To honor Trayvon and his family, we will continue this inquiry with resolve and renewed purpose,” Yaki said.

women as honorary sisters.

They are actress Angela Bassett; Essence Magazine former Editor-in-Chief Susan L. Taylor; former Environmental Protection Agency chief and chemical engineer Lisa P. Jackson; Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Suzan Johnson Cook; entrepreneur Paula Williams Madison and inspirational speaker and author Dr. Tererai Trent.

During the weekend, ladies young and seasoned, endured the beginning of a heat wave in the name of sisterhood but also to renew old ties. Long separated friends reunited after decades of being apart with hugs as they came to support their organization. Inside the convention center, the “Delta Dears’ convened, as many haven’t saw one another in years. Delta Dears are active members who are over the

age of 62.

Delta Dear Elogene C. Hughes flew in from West Palm Beach, Fla. to partake in the centennial. Hughes has been an active member of Delta Sigma Theta since 1961 and said, “it’s been wonderful since the first day I went over on line at Knoxville College.” She said, “seeing how many changes that have been made and how being a part of this has changed America. It’s great to see the level of growth.”

Delta Dear Lorelei Blackman a 1935 pledge, traveled from New York City and said she wouldn’t miss this for the world. She said, “My mother is a Delta, my grandmother was a Delta and I have numerous aunts who are a part of this great organization,” “It’s a service and I love doing work in the community and helping and encouraging people,” said Blackman.

Courtesy NNPA

who had initially decided not to charge Zimmerman— and to jurors in the case, Zimmerman’s “fear” of Trayvon Martin, a hoodiewearing Black teenager, likely appeared to be justified, Fischer said.

“If you have a case like George Zimmerman, who is part White, alleging that a young Black male is a threat to him, a lot of times law enforcement would agree that such as person did [constitute] a threat because of the biases and presumptions about Black males, in particular, which exist in society,” he said.

Conversely, Stand Your Ground laws are less accommodating of Black defendants. Such was the case of successful AfricanAmerican businessman John McNeil who was found guilty of aggravated assault and felony murder in Georgia

Deltas

Continued from A1

Howard University, where the sorority was founded.

Throughout the week, sorority sisters attended step shows, committee meetings, “shopping time”, heard music from the Delta Choir and attended a Signature Gala.

There was a concert July 13 with performances by singers Patti LaBelle, India Arie and Roberta Flack.

There was an ecumenical worship service July 14 conducted by Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, granddaughter of one of the sorority founders and the first female elected bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and a gospel concert at the Verizon Center featuring Fred Hammond, Yolanda Adams, Byron Cage and The Joe Johnson Band.

They also added to an already impressive list of Deltas by inducting some important Black

July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013, The Afro-American

COMMUNITY CONNECTION July 19

Sen. Cardin at Coppin

Sen. Ben Cardin will host a roundtable discussion, 1 p.m., July 19, in the Talon Center at Coppin State University in Baltimore with students who are being impacted by the blocking of efforts to save student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1. Sen. Cardin is a cosponsor of the Keep Student Loans Affordable Act of 2013 and has been supportive of additional legislation that would keep student interest rates lower.

July 22

CenterStage

Single tickets go on sale, July 22, for Center Stage’s 2013-14 Season. With directors lined up and casting underway, Season 51: Theater for the Heart brings together a roster of remarkable theater artists and stunning stories— from classic masterpieces of comedy to cutting edge work by some of America’s most talked-about playwrights.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 410.332.0033, or visiting www.centerstage. org. Full information on the season can be found at www.centerstage.org/201314season.

July 26

ArtsCentric Production

ArtsCentric will launch a new production of Ntozake Shange’s provocative play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.” The production will run from July 26-28 at Garrison Forest School’s Garland Theater, 300 Garrison Forest Road, Owings Mills, Md. ArtsCentric will give a portion of the proceeds from the production to House of Ruth Maryland, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing services for women and their children who are victims of domestic violence. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www.ArtsCentric.net or for special group rates call 410-504-5398.

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The Afro-American, July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013

OPINION

The Verdict

Criminal Injustice System Failed Trayvon Watching television Saturday night, I sat in stunned silence as the jury returned its not guilty verdict for George Zimmerman in connection with the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla. Then, I was jolted by a comment made

by Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda: “… We live in a great country that has a great criminal justice system. It is not perfect but it is the best in the world and we respect the jury’s verdict.”

In what country does de la Rionda live?

Surely, he couldn’t be George E. Curry referring to the United States.

NNPA Columnist Granted, making the prosecutor prove his or her case against a defendant is a great idea. So is the notion of being presumed innocent until proven guilty. But when it comes to African Americans, this is by no stretch of the imagination “a great criminal justice system.”

I don’t say this out of any bitterness over the failure of the jurors to convict Zimmerman for murdering Trayvon Martin.

Yes, I thought Zimmerman was guilty of murder or, at the least, manslaughter. But as much as it pains me, I must also acknowledge that the state of Florida did a poor job prosecuting Zimmerman.

Trayvon’s death is a cold reminder that the Black homicide rate is more than six times that of Whites. According to 2010 FBI statistics analyzed by the Violence Policy Center, the homicide rate for Black victims was 16.32 per 100,000, compared to a rate of 2.66 per 100,000 for Whites.

For Black women, the rate was 4.28 per 100,000, compared to 1.48 per 100,000 for White females. And African-American men were homicide victims at a rate of 29.50 per 100,000, compared to 7.08 per 100,000 for White males.

“America faces a continuing epidemic of homicide among young black males,” according to the introduction to a Violence Policy Center report titled, “Black Homicide in the United States: An Analysis of 2010 Homicide Data.” The report, published in January, continued, “The devastation homicide inflicts on black teens and adults is a national crisis, yet it is all too often ignored outside of affected communities.”

And what happens when criminal cases move through America’s “great criminal justice system?”

Richard Pryor used to joke that criminal justice in the U.S. means “just us.” Although the comedian usually evoked a laugh – unlike Zimmerman lawyer’s knock-knock joke – this is no laughing matter.

American Progress, the Washington, D.C.-based think tank, collected some interesting statistics and published an article titled, “The Top 10 Most Startling Facts About People of Color and Criminal Justice in the United States.”

Among the facts: • People of color make up about 30 percent of the U.S. population, but 60 percent of those imprisoned.

• Once convicted, Black offenders receive sentences that 10 percent longer than White offenders for the same crimes. In addition, Blacks are 21 percent more likely to receive mandatoryminimum sentences than White defendants and 20 percent more likely to be sentenced to prison.

• Although African Americans comprise 14 percent of regular drug users, they are 37 percent of those arrested for drug offenses.

• Although Black juveniles are approximately 16 percent of the youth population, 37 percent of their cases are moved to criminal court and 58 percent of African-American youth are sent to adult prisons.

• Blacks are twice as likely to be arrested during a traffic stop than Whites and four times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with police.

News coverage and commentary on the Zimmerman trial demonstrated the toxic state of race relations in the U.S., despite having a Black president in the White House.

Geraldo Rivera said on Fox News Friday, “I see those six ladies

Justice Denied—Again Until the killing of Black men, Black mothers’ sons, is as important as the killing of White mothers’ sons, we who believe in freedom cannot rest.

- Ella Baker, Leading Mentor of Black Youth, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960’s (1964)

Marian Wright Edelman

Trayvon Martin will forever remain in the annals of history next to Medgar Evers and Emmett Till as symbols for the fight for equal justice for all.

- Benjamin Crump, lawyer for Trayvon Martin’s parents (2013)

The reaction to the not guilty verdict from George Zimmerman’s jury was swift and strong.

Young people poured onto the streets in peaceful protests in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C. By 3

in the jury putting themselves on that rainy night, in that housing complex that has just been burglarized by three or four different groups of black youngsters from the adjacent community. So it’s a dark night, a 6-foot-2-inch hoodie-wearing stranger is in the immediate housing complex. How would the ladies of that jury have reacted? I submit that if they were armed, they would have shot Trayvon Martin a lot sooner than George Zimmerman did. This is self-defense.”

This is the same Geraldo Rivera who said last March, “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman.”

Fox News even invited Mark Furman, the former detective for the Los Angeles Police Department, to discuss the role of race in jury selection for Zimmerman’s trial. Lawyers for O.J. Simpson presented evidence that Furman had used the n-word more than 40 times over a 10-year period. Yet, Furman, who pled no contest to perjury charges and sentenced to three years of probation, appeared on Fox News’ “America Live” to talk about race.

When Zimmerman earlier selected Fox News as the only network he would grant an interview to, he was right at home.

George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA.) He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reached through his Web site, www. georgecurry.com.

a.m. more than 100,000 people signed an online petition urging the Justice Department to pursue civil rights violation charges against George Zimmerman.

The outrage over the killing of an unarmed Black teenager who was doing nothing wrong must continue until some semblance of justice is achieved. People who want to keep faith in American justice feel uncomfortable, upset and disheartened. Where is the justice if walking while Black is enough to get you “stopped and frisked” in New York City and fatally shot in Florida with its senseless violent “Stand Your Ground” law that allows people to defend themselves with deadly force anytime and anywhere they imagine they are or say they feel threatened even if they are the stalker?

Many decades of struggle and progress to eliminate racial profiling, arbitrary arrests, unfair sentencing, imprisonment and criminalization of Black males at younger and younger ages are being reversed by determined special interests like the gun lobby putting profits before the most basic American civil rights. The National Rifle Association and their allies, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), determined efforts to support and pass “Stand Your Ground” and other destructive laws to protect guns rather than children perpetuates the epidemic of gun violence, especially for Black male teenagers like Trayvon Martin.

Black children and teens were 17 times more likely to die from a gun homicide than White children and teens in 2010. Since 1963, 59,265 Black children and teens have been killed by guns -- more than 17 times the recorded lynchings of Black people of all ages in America between 1882 and 1968.

What made a Black male teenager in a hoodie walking home in the rain appear suspicious and “up to no good” in George Zimmerman’s eyes? Would he have stopped a White male teenager? Isn’t it long past time that we have a candid conversation about how we can create a post-racial America for our children and grandchildren beginning today?

Let us refuse to be silent. If Trayvon Martin’s parents had been silent and other voices had not joined with them, George Zimmerman never would have been arrested and never would have been brought to trial. Let us continue to refuse to be silent until all the George Zimmermans of this world are deterred and held accountable for vigilante justice against Black males. Let us refuse to be silent until the killing of Black mothers’ sons is as important as the killing of White mothers’ sons. Only then will we have a post-racial America.

you, even the ones who piss you off. YOU CANNOT VALUE MY LIFE AND NOT VALUE THE LIVES OF BLACK MEN AND BOYS AS WELL. WE ARE INEXTRICABLY LINKED. I have never been comfortable being the “acceptable minority:” the one whose successes in life can be used to prove a point to mainstream society that says, “See, “they” really can be like “us” if they work hard and leave the weight and gravity of race behind them.” As if my accomplishments, no matter how big or small, negates the persistence of race and racism in America and globally? How remarkably suffocating it is to live in such a way as to have the very breath I take be measured by the length of an instrument that deliberately denies my full humanity. How deadening it is to be forced into a dance with a devil who is trying to kill my very soul at every turn every, single day. How maddening it is to know that no sooner than the very moment I stop to smell the roses, the world will thrust me right back into the acrid stench of a new and improved form of my oppression. It seems never ending. 50 years after my King shared his dream, we are here?

The reality is that for all of the celebrating we do over a Black president, Black CEO’s, Black billionaires, and the like, none of that Black assimilationist success translated into changing the heart and mind of a man who decided it was his right to stalk and kill an unarmed, 17-year old Black boy who went on a candy run, in cold blood, with the law on his side. For all of the banter about American jurisprudence, I invite you to sit with that for a moment. A 28 year-old man, stalked and killed an unarmed, 17 year-old boy. The law of this land is on his side. He is a free man, allowed to carry the same gun he used to kill that child. That child will never see another day. Again, the tears are streaming and I

cannot see the keyboard. I cannot breathe.

Willie, Jaxon, Christopher, David. The names of four Black boys born to my loved ones over the past year. Four boys who will have to be taught how to behave, what to wear, how to handle their bodies, where to place their hands, and what to say in public to reduce their chances of being harmed due to the racial aggression against them that we have accepted and allowed to go unchecked for far too long. They will have to learn this as boys, as very young boys, before their voices even start to develop the first hints of any bass.

I will never get over the fact that with all of the love, support, and opportunities I have been blessed with, from people of all stripes, in my lifetime, in this country, there was not one thing I could do to ensure that Trayvon got to see his father again that night instead of being taken, unidentified, to the morgue in a body bag, six doors away from his father’s home.

Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children’s Defense Fund.

You Cannot Love Me And Not Love Black Men And Boys: We Are Inextricably Linked

I’ve been talking with my friends about what they are telling their children about what happened to Trayvon Martin. What Black men and women are saying to their sons. What Black men and women are saying to their daughters. What everyone else, from all other backgrounds, are saying to their children, their loved ones, their friends. Their stories are ripping me into shreds.

We, as a nation, are ill-equipped to have the conversation that is necessary to April Yvonne scrape the surface of the agony Garrett that so many of us, from all walks of life and vastly different perspectives, feel about the outcome of this case.

What I know for sure is that it is impossible for you to love me-- my faith, my passion, my intellect, my body of work, my accomplishments, my skin, my joy, my laugh, my tenacity, my grit, my funk-- and not love Black men and boys. All of them. No matter how articulate or inelegant they may be, no matter how successful or wayward they may be, no matter how polished or thugged out they may be, no matter how kindhearted or belligerent they may be. To love me, you must love them: every single one of them. Even the ones who disappoint you, even the ones who scare

I will never get over that.

I will never get over that.

I will never get over the fact that this happened in my country, the United States of America, in 2013.

I will never get over that.

This is a reflection. This is not a surrender.

I will never bow down. I will never bow out. I will never retreat.

I will never be defeated.

April Yvonne Garrett is curator of TheAYGList.com.

July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013, The Afro-American

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OPINION

Our struggle to end hunger in America continues When we consider all that is at stake in the ongoing struggle between progressive and reactionary forces on the issue of food stamps, the faces of hungry American children should be the picture in the forefront of our minds and hearts.

We all should be following the lead of national leaders like my Massachusetts colleague and friend, Congressman Jim McGovern, and “end hunger in Rep. Elijah America now.”

Cummings As Congressman McGovern has often pointed out on the floor of the House, there are 50 million Americans, 17 million of whom are children, who would go to bed hungry tonight without a little help from their countrymen and women. Most of these vulnerable Americans are children, the elderly and the disabled.

Even those who deride food stamps (now called the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program or SNAP) will acknowledge that providing healthy food to struggling families is a core pillar supporting our American value that none of us should go hungry.

Yet, at the same time that they applaud this national priority, they are seeking to deny nutritional food to families whom they must know are but a few dollars away from going to bed hungry.

Since the 1970s, our national agricultural and food security policies have been supported by a bipartisan coalition consisting of rural and more urbanized representatives.

That is not what happened last month when the House Republican leadership failed in its first attempt to reauthorize this nation’s primary agriculture and nutrition policy, the Federal Agricultural Reform and Risk Management (“FARRM”) Act,

H.R. 1947.

On the surface, it may have appeared that progressive Democrats and the Tea Party Republican Caucus had achieved common ground, both of us voting in large numbers to defeat H.R. 1947.

In fact, while my progressive colleagues and I were voting against an attempt by the Republican leadership to slash nutrition aid to struggling families, Tea Party Republicans wanted to cut food stamp funding even more drastically than the Republican Leadership had proposed.

Traditionally, more than 80 percent of farm bill funding has supported our national struggle against hunger. As proposed, however, H.R. 1947 would have cut $20 billion in SNAP funding, ending nutrition funding for nearly 2 million Americans. More than 210,000 needy children would have been deprived of the subsistence they now receive from free school breakfasts and lunches.

Most of the vulnerable Americans attacked by the Republican caucus last month are working families with children or are senior citizens. That was why I voted against H.R. 1947 last month - and why President Obama threatened to veto the measure, were it to pass.

Then, last week, having failed to pass their version of the FARRM bill, the House Republican leadership bowed to the ideological radicalism of their Tea Party faction and forced through an agricultural support bill [H.R. 2642] stripped of any continued authorization for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Bowing to the obstinacy of their Tea Party wing, they did so in the face of unanimous opposition from House Democrats, food security advocates and more than 500 pro-agriculture groups.

Attempting to explain why the Republican leadership decided to drop the food stamp program from the farm bill, Congressman Pete Sessions of Texas remarked that “what we have carefully done is exclude some extraneous pieces” from

the farm legislation.

Most Americans would ask: How can tens of millions of Americans, nearly one-half of them children, going to bed hungry be “extraneous?”

“The 47 million people who are on SNAP are not extraneous,” Congressman McGovern responded. “They are important. They are part of our community,” and, along with most Americans who have any shred of conscience, I wholeheartedly agree.

Without doubt, as the Republicans assert, the impact of the Bush recession and our painfully slow recovery has dramatically expanded the cost of federal nutrition assistance. Yet, that is a short-term cost that will moderate as the economy recovers, a cost that we must be prepared to pay.

In March of this year, for example, 767,000 Marylanders qualified for food stamps. Nationally, as Congressman McGovern noted, more than 47 million Americans are at least partially reliant upon this assistance to survive.

The Republicans’ party-line vote last week deeply injured the decades’ long coalition that has both reduced hunger in America and moderated the risks faced by agriculture. Their continued reactionary position could deal both national policies a mortal blow.

Any nation that fails to assure that all of her children, disabled and senior citizens receive the basic necessities of life cannot claim to be a humane and civilized society. In the Senate, the House and the White House, we Democrats will not throw tens of millions of struggling Americans under the bus.

As a nation, our choice is clear.

If America’s children, elderly and disabled do not receive the help that they need to survive, neither will America’s agricultural interests. If we do not continue to fight hunger in a united, bi-partisan way, all Americans will suffer as a result.

Rep. Elijah Cummings represents Maryland’s Seventh Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Maryland: A State of Many Contradictions

A. Dwight Petit

Maryland is geographically located just below the historic Mason and Dixon Line, making it a southern state. The “Old Line State” as Maryland is sometimes called, actually had elements fighting on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War to uphold slavery. Today State leaders deliberately shun the southern affiliation, choosing instead to market the state as part of a more progressive Middle Atlantic region. Such a politically correct agenda better serves the political ambitions of the governor, legislators and others in the

white power structure.

Like New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and six other northern jurisdictions, Maryland recently enacted legislation supporting same sex marriage. In 2012, the State followed some of the same states in authorizing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. This year Maryland joined a handful of states like New York Connecticut and Colorado with the enactment of stricter gun control laws. Boasting of these accomplishments, the president of the state Senate, Thomas Mike V. Miller is quoted in the Baltimore Sun as saying, “Are we the Southern state that we used to be? No, we’re not. We’re more

progressive.” The question is: Are we, as a state, really more progressive?

As Gov. Martin O’Malley gloats over the success of his progressive agenda, there are many contradictions on issues related to African Americans. The most glaring example is the Historically Black Universities (HBUs) where Maryland continues to mirror the Deep South in significant ways. Like Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, Maryland refuses to make the historically Black Institutions comparable and competitive with its Traditionally White Institutions in their attractiveness to students regardless of race; and thus, continues to operate a dual system of higher education. State officials are currently in federal court arguing as their counterparts in the Deep South did earlier, that contrary to civil rights law, the State has no obligation to create parity between its historically Black and traditionally White campuses.

Unlike Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and several other southern states, Maryland is politically a democratic state. It has had both a democratic governor and a majority of democrats in the legislature for 48 of the 58 years since segregation in public education was outlawed. The state legislative Black Caucus now has a membership of 43 democrats, 9 senators and 34 delegates. This means democrats rather than the republican minority bear primary responsibility for the continued segregation and inequities in the state higher education system.

Democrats controlled the Statehouse and the Legislature when the State decided to build a new campus in Baltimore County; to develop Towson College into a comprehensive university; and to incorporate a private University of Baltimore

into the public system rather than to invest in the growth and development of the existing historically black campuses in the Baltimore region. Democratic lawmakers are primarily responsible for maintaining policies that allow white institutions to duplicate the academic programs at HBIs while White enrollment in the HBCUs plummet. It is the democrats who continue to accelerate funding to construct facilities at TWIs as the backlog of unfunded facilities at historically black campuses gets longer.

Meanwhile, African Americans make up 29 percent of the state’s population and historically they vote overwhelmingly democratic. Our vote has been so consistent that we are now taken for granted. As we approach the next state and federal election cycles, African Americans must decide who among the current elected officials they will either reelect or ouster, and whom they will support for higher state and national office.

We as a community should have no “permanent friends, only permanent interests” and we have as much power and influence as any other interest groups. It is time we use that influence to force the hand of the governor and the legislature on the issue of parity for our Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

The way we use that influence can ultimately determine whether the governor’s legacy of neglect of the Historically Black Universities becomes a benefit or an impediment to any aspirations he has for the office of President of the United States.

Baltimore attorney A. Dwight Pettit is a former member of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, 2003-2010; and former vice chairman of the finance committee, 2007-2010.

To Be Equal

The State of Black Men – Part 1

“As of 2004, more black men were denied the right to vote because of a criminal record than in 1870, when the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified, giving blacks the right to vote.” Joshua Dubois, former director of President Obama’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives As the Trayvon Martin trial and record high summer temperatures both begin to add their heat to the unemployment and economic woes plaguing Black America, we thought it Marc H. Morial would be a good time to take NNPA Columnist stock of the one group that more than most continues to be locked up, shut out and left behind – African-American men.

This topic is too big and too complicated to cover in one column.

But it is not too big or complicated to solve with the necessary resources, commitment and partnerships. So we will continue our discussion of the issues, along with the creation of solutions, in future columns.

Today, we simply want to provide an overview and begin to point to some answers. A good place to start is the recent

Newsweek cover story, “The Fight for Black Men,” by former Obama White House advisor Joshua Dubois.

Like the National Urban League, Dubois understands that the solution to the under-employment and over-incarceration of African-American men must begin with changing our perception of who they are and investing in their potential through job opportunities, quality education and economic development.

These have been the building blocks of the great American middle class and represent the surest path to responsible adulthood and stronger communities. So why haven’t we done this for African-American men?

The reasons are many but one stands out. As described by Michelle Alexander in her best-selling book, The New Jim Crow, the intentional mass incarceration of young Black men has created what she calls a “permanent under-caste” that may never be able to escape the past and compete on equal footing with the rest of us. Disproportionate arrests and unequal sentencing have had a devastating impact in Black communities. AfricanAmerican men are six times more likely to be incarcerated than Whites. More African Americans are in prison or on probation today than were enslaved in 1850.

The economic consequences have been just as bad. This year’s Urban League State of Black America report found that the average unemployment rate for Black men in 2012 was 15 percent compared with just 7.4 percent for White men. Black men earn only 72 cents for every dollar earned by White men.

Because of the civil rights advances of the past 50 years and the

election of Barack Obama as president, in the words of Michelle Alexander, we may have been “lulled to sleep by the rhetoric of color blindness and the appearance of great racial progress” and thus have “closed our eyes to the millions who have been locked up, locked out and relegated to second-class citizen status.”

But our focus must extend beyond talking about the problems.

That is why the National Urban League has been a leading voice in challenging Washington to develop a comprehensive urban agenda. It is also why we recently announced our $100 million Jobs Rebuild America campaign designed to address the nation’s employment and education crisis. This effort includes our Urban Youth Empowerment Program, which offers job training, education and other wrap-around services to prepare out-of-school and adjudicated youth for the world of work, as well as our Training for Work-Adult Re-entry program, which targets convicted adults in Work Release Programs and provides them with supportive services, education and training opportunities, mentoring, and job readiness and placement support.

We must create more opportunities for Black men who have been locked up or left out. As we celebrate the momentous anniversaries of our civil rights struggle, let’s remember – there can be no celebration without continuation. We cannot afford to stop now.

Marc H. Morial, former mayor of New Orleans, is president and CEO of the National Urban League.

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The Afro-American, July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013

TECHNOLOGY

Tavis Smiley, U Maryland Announce $75,000 Social Innovation Challenge Broadcaster Tavis Smiley, in partnership with the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, will launch a $75,000 TS/UM Social Innovation Challenge to address some of society’s most pressing issues in three key areas: hunger, education and sustainability.

The inaugural TS/UM Social Innovation Challenge invites aspiring entrepreneurs to develop transformative solutions to effect positive change for individuals and communities across the nation. The Challenge serves as a prompt for diverse groups of people to come together to solve specific societal issues by harnessing inventiveness and bringing innovative ideas to the marketplace.

Submissions will be evaluated by a panel comprised of representatives from academia, business, community/grassroots, government, nonprofit groups and the technology community.

The winners will be announced in January 2014.

The TS/UM Social Innovation Challenge supports Tavis Smiley’s initiative to dramatically

reduce poverty in America and the University of Maryland’s commitment to increase the number and quality of new businesses inspired by competition to create a large and strong new generation of entrepreneurs who benefit society.

“Solutions to the many daunting problems facing the United States and the global community will come from a diversity of thinking in the areas of science, engineering and technology,” Smiley told BlackNews. com. “I can think of no better way to invest in our collective well being than to invest in the minds of the future.”

Adds Darryl Pines, dean and Nariman Farvardin Professor of

Aerospace Engineering at the Clark School, “I believe that competitions are crucial to create a climate of innovation and entrepreneurship, and

capacity to innovate.”

The TS/UM Social Innovation Challenge will award a minimum of $25,000 each to three social innovators, one in each of the target impact areas of hunger, sustainability and education. Additionally, each winning entrant will have an opportunity to appear on the Tavis Smiley Network, receive an entrepreneur mentorship at the Clark School’s Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech), and showcase their innovation at Platform Summit 2014.

Key Information for Challenge Entrants: Entrants’ submissions must include a written executive summary and short video Courtesy Photo articulating the issue being Tavis Smiley solved; methodology; a sense of the potential local, national for driving new advances in targeted and global impact of the social areas. The future economic solution; and more. growth and competitiveness of • Friday, July 12-September 13: Prethe United States depends on our registration for announcements and

award increase • September 13, 9 a.m. EST: Entrants may register online (no cost) and post project submissions • October 13 at 5 p.m. EST: Deadline for entrants to register online (no cost) and post project submissions • Nov. 2013: Finalists will be notified and invited to pitch their idea to the panel of judges • Jan. 2014: Winners will be listed on tavistalks.com/socialinnovator and announced on the TAVIS SMILEY NETWORK The winners and the three promising projects will share a minimum of $75,000 in cash prizes.

For more information, visit www. tavistalks.com/socialinnovator or via Twitter #socialinnovator.

A key aspect of the TS/UM Social Innovation Challenge is its emphasis on collaborations to advance social innovation. For donors or partners interested in making a financial contribution to increase the cash award for solutions to promising innovators, please contact Denise Pines at (323) 290-1182 or dpines@ tavistalks.com.

Smithsonian, NIH and thirstDC Host Special-Edition Genomics Event July 18 The Smithsonian and the National Institutes of Health are joining the thirstDC lineup for a special-edition event highlighting genomics July 18. Six speakers from two Smithsonian museums, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and the NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute will deliver short presentations on

a variety of genomic topics from the human microbiome to skin pigmentation to bees, illustrating the enormous effect genomic research has had on our understanding of life’s building blocks.

The special theme for the event complements the opening of Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code, the newest exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History and a collaboration between the Smithsonian and NIH. Doors will open at U Street Music Hall: 1115 U St., N.W. at 6 p.m., and at 7 p.m. the experts will take the stage to talk on this rapidly advancing research. In between presentations, guests are encouraged to engage directly with the speakers and each other over cocktails and to the sounds of the house DJ. Started in 2011, thirstDC focuses on creating and fostering thought leaders both

on- and offstage by crafting an informal learning environment where world-renowned experts can socialize, interact with and inspire attendees in a lounge atmosphere.

The Smithsonian and thirstDC have collaborated before, selling out each event to record crowds that represent a diverse crosssection of Washington’s hippest nerds.

“The response we get when we participate in this type of social learning event is like nothing we’ve ever seen,” said Kelly Carnes, press officer for the National Museum of Natural History. “We see information from these talks shooting across social networks, to the tune of tens of thousands of Facebook profiles and hundreds of thousands of Twitter feeds per event. We couldn’t do it without the creative brainy expertise of the thirstDC team and wonderful partners like NHGRI, so we’re grateful that they’re willing to go on this adventure with us, helping us share critical messages with the masses about our natural

world.”

“The marriage of science, art, design and presentation are nerdy values we hold close to our cardiac muscles,” said thirstDC’s creative director and chief nerd, Eric Schulze. “Being able to showcase each of these aspects from all of the Smithsonian and National Institutes of Health experts rocking our stage July 18 is a match made in DNA.” The 4,400-square-foot exhibition, “Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code” will be on view at the National Museum of Natural History through Sept. 1, 2014.

For more information about the Smithsonian, visit www.si.edu. For more information about Genome Unlocking Life’s Code, visit http:// unlockinglifescode.org/. For more information about thirstDC and to purchase tickets to the event, visit http://thirstdc.com or their Facebook page or Twitter feed: @ThirstDC.

higher

Before you climb look for the wire.

Smart energy. It’s in the overhead power lines that deliver safe and reliable energy to your home or business. But those same power lines must also be avoided. If you’re planning

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to do work, keep all ladders, poles or landscaping equipment at least 10 feet away from

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them—that’s the law. Call BGE at 800.685.0123 before starting any work within 10 feet.

Also don’t build playhouses and tree forts in trees with power lines running through or near

In

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them. To learn more about safety around power lines, visit BGE.COM

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ENERGY WORKS SMARTER

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July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013, The Afro-American

John Berkley, president of Pan Hellenic, and a strong supporter of the Deltas congratulated Dr. Daley as Hon. Kweisi Mfume looks on

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n honor of its Centennial Anniversary, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority launched an international 22-city Torch tour, Jan. 1.

The trek that started in Los Angeles and ended Washington, DC, “honored the sorority’s founders and past national presidents, and the flame they ignited in us so many decades ago back to their cities and gladly carry the everburning torch,” said Cynthia Butler-McIntyre, national president of the public service organization.

The Baltimore-Annapolis stop, the last before reaching the torch’s home on Howard University’s campus, encompassed the hometown and current resident city of Dr. Thelma Thomas Daley. The culminating celebration held in her honor, at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum was a grand evening of multi-level entertainment, Honoree, Dr. Thelma Thomas elected officials speakers, silent auction, Daley, 16th National President, and a program of special guests, friends Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, gave and relatives. thanks for the honor

Admiring the mosaic artwork are the Rev. Winifred Blagmond, Georgia Dickins, Kathie McLaughlin

Photos by Dr. A. Lois De Laine

Beverly Booth Brown, Robert Nelson, Phyllis Nelson, Almeta Sly-Thompson

Carolyn Vaughan, Allenette Valentine, Zenobia Thomas

Dr. Daley's Annapolis friends, Ronald Suel and Mary Wright

Jacqueline Hrabrowski, Dr. Freeman Hrabrowski, Dr. Elizabeth Oates

Howard Tutman III and wife Lora Higgins Tutman

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Barbara Crawley, past president, Baltimore County Alumnae, Kay Curry, Carla Taliaferro

Donnice E. Brown, Dr. Tracey L. Durant, Kimberly Robinson

Dr. Leah Goldsborough Hasty

Kimberly Washington, Lorna Brice, the Rev. Tamara England, chaplain, Baltimore Alumnae

Lynda Brown, Betty Ann Clark, Sen. Catherine Pugh, State of Maryland, Kathy L. Alexander, Joanne Mack, third vice president, Baltimore Alumnae

Patricia Plummer, Bernadette White, Tessa Murphy, Stephanie Minor Harper

Cimmon Burris, immediate past president, Baltimore Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter, Jerilynn Reid, president, Baltimore County Alumnae Chapter

Doris Haley and her husband, George, of Silver Spring, Md.

Dr. Charlene Cooper Boston, the Honorable Kweisi Mfume, Gwendolyn Lindsay, Brenda Sykes, Stephanie Covington

Lataysheia Lance, Cori A. Ramos, Samantha Richardson

Mary Sutton, Linda Wilson, Norma Sermon Boyd, from North Carolina were greeted by Joe Ann Oatis, VIP Escort

Thais Ridgeway, Eastern Regional Representative, Robin Jacobs, Eastern Regional Director, Eleanor Peters Matthews, president, Baltimore Alumnae Chapter, Hattie Jones Penn, president, Annapolis Alumnae Chapter

Wendy Johnson, past Eastern Area director, Deborah Hayes Barton, Md. State Coordinator

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The Afro-American, July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013

Sojourner Douglass College in Baltimore held its 33rd Commencement Exercises on June 23 with honorary degrees awarded to the keynote speaker, Loida Lewis and to the late Dr. Homer Favor, Morgan professor, author and member of the storied Goon Squad. Dr. Charles Simmons is founder and president of the private college that has campuses in Maryland counties as well as in the Bahamas.

Master's degree candidates

Alumni march in

The Rev. Dr. Lee Miles gives the invocation

Valedictorian Belinda O. Johnson gives the farewell address

Faculty members Diana Hood and Paulette Williams

Myron Missouri and Atiba Wise

Cameron and Malia Phillips

Graduate student Cheryl K. Youngblood introduces the speaker

Jacki Franklin, Kellie Chew, Doris Phillips and Michelle Tillman

Joanne Stanley, Cynthia Willis, Ashley Thornton and Andrea Manning

Vicky Favor accepts an honorary degree presented to her late father Dr. Homer E. Favor by Dr. Charles Simmons

Keynote speaker, Loida NicolasLewis, chair and CEO of TLC Beatrice, is presented with an honorary degree by Dr. Marian Stanton, O. Patrick Scott and Dr. Simmons

Family members of the late Dr. Homer E. Favor Natasha Ramsui and Esther Stevens

Raven Ellis and Melvin Velange-Bey

Terri Ross pays tribute to Dr. Homer E. Favor as Dr.Charles W. Simmons listens

The Platform Party marches in

Undergraduates process The John Lamkin Brass Quintet Photos By Anderson Ward

July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013, The Afro-American

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ARTS & CULTURE

Sam Jackson, Snoop Dog Voice a Snail’s Tale Turbo Film Review

By Kam Williams Theo (Ryan Reynolds) is routinely ridiculed by his friends for entertaining what they see as the impossible dream of one day competing in the Indianapolis 500. Even his brother, Chet (Paul Giamatti), suggests that, “The sooner you accept the reality of your existence, the happier you’ll be.”

After all, Theo is just your garden variety, suburban snail and thus so slow he can barely get out of the way of a lawnmower or a kid on a tricycle. But that hasn’t stopped him from permanently painting the number “5” and racing stripes right on his shell.

Theo whiles away his days dining on tomatoes that have ripened on the vine and fallen to the ground. At night, however, he retreats to his lair to watch TV and see drivers like his hero, Frenchman Guy Gagne (Bill Hader), fly around racetracks at over 200 miles per hour.

Everything changes the day Theo is inadvertently sucked into the engine of a passing automobile and accidentally injected with nitrous oxide. By the time he is deposited back on

the ground somewhere in the inner city, the slowpoke slug has been transformed into the speed demon, Turbo, thanks to the luminescent laughing gas now coursing through his veins.

Soon, the motoring mollusk becomes the latest internet

rottentomatoes.com

sensation and is welcomed to the ‘hood by a posse of streetwise slugs led by mellow Smoove Move (Snoop Dogg), trashtalking Whiplash (Samuel L. Jackson) and flirtatious Burn (Maya Rudolph). He also finds human benefactors in the kindly co-owners of Dos Bros Tacos, a mobile Mexican restaurant.

Not surprisingly, all of the above, including the food cart, make their way from L.A. to Indiana, with altruistic Angelo (Luis Guzman) and Tito’s (Michael Pena) life savings covering the Indy 500 entrance fee. At the track, it’s no surprise that the race ultimately morphs into an exciting showdown between Turbo and his idol, Guy. Marking the masterful directorial debut of David Soren, Turbo is a visually- captivating and inspirational modern parable guaranteed to keep the tykes perched on the edge of their seats for the duration. For, besides its uplifting, overcoming the odds message, the movie fills the screen with a memorable menagerie of colorful characters who keep the laughs coming en route to the satisfying resolution.

A hilarious, high-octane variation of Aesop’s fable about The Tortoise and the Hare!

Excellent (HHHH) Rated PG for mild action and mature themes Running time: 96 minutes Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Cynthia McKinney—A 21st Century Gadfly Ain’t Nothing Like Freedom

By Cynthia McKinney Clarity Press Book Review

By Kam Williams “Elected six times to the House from the state of Georgia, Cynthia McKinney cut a trail through Congressional deceit like a hot ember through ash. She discovered legislators who passed laws without reading them… [and] black-skinned individuals shilling for the white status quo.

She excoriated government lassitude over Hurricane Katrina… [and] held the only critical Congressional briefing on 9/11… She read truth into the Congressional Record, held town hall and hearings, led protests, showed up while others played along to get along…

This is the Cynthia McKinney saga as it stands to date—what she saw, what she learned, and how she fought for change.”

—Excerpted from the book jacket

Here, the marginalized iconoclast makes a decent attempt at resurrecting her terriblytarnished image with this self-serving autobiography, Ain’t Nothing Like Freedom. The book doesn’t touch much on her personal life beyond several sincere expressions of affection for her parents and son, Coy. Instead, the author focuses squarely on her checkered career, conveniently putting a positive spin on many of its dubious and debatable highlights. For example, in a 20-page chapter on her presidential campaign, not once does she mention the fact that she rubbed a lot of people the wrong way by potentially spoiling Obama’s historic bid, the same way that third-party candidate Ralph Nader had done to Gore in 2000.

Basically, McKinney paints herself as a woman of the people and a tireless advocate of such causes as Hurricane Katrina victims, reparations for African-Americans, and the preservation of the planet. Along the way, she repeatedly indicts her fellow black politicians as sellouts, including the President, predicting that folks will tire of his speeches and symbolic gestures if they remain “unattached to real gains and material change in the community’s conditions.”

Among her advocates is anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who asserts that Cynthia was more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than just-elected President Obama. McKinney, wacky or wise? You be the judge.

A classic case of revisionist history walking a fine line between inspired and insanity.

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is a fearless firebrand who always seemed to be sitting in the middle of controversy, both during her tenure in the House of Representatives, and since.

Whether it’s questioning the legitimacy of the 2000 Presidential election, suggesting that the U.S. had advance knowledge of the 9/11 terror attack, punching a Capitol police officer who asked to see her ID, blaming a failed reelection bid on the Israel lobby, insinuating that there might be more to the murder of gangsta’ rapper Tupac Shakur than Cynthia McKinney an East-Coast-West Coast turf battle, running for the presidency against Barack Obama in 2008 as the Green Party candidate, being aboard a boat torpedoed by Israel as it tried to run a blockade of Gaza or, most recently, intimating that the Boston Marathon bombings might have been an inside job on the part of the local police, she’s never been one afraid to speak her mind.

Dismissed by some, present company included, as simply too nutty to take seriously, Cynthia has languished lately at the lunatic fringe of American politics. Frankly, I’d long since written her off as a hopelessly-paranoid conspiracy theorist in the wake of her staff’s treatment of an innocuous journalist like me as suspicious when I innocently asked for an interview.

Healthcare and Classic Cinema “The Girl From Chicago” Sashays Into D.C. Area UnitedHealthcare is hosting free events aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of African-American seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries in the D.C. area. The events begin with a Medicare seminar where participants learn the basics of Medicare, including the different parts of the program, eligibility requirements and enrollment windows. Immediately following the seminar, attendees will be treated to a viewing of a classic movie filmed during the black and white cinematic era.

For the next event taking place July 24th, the Black Classic Cinema Series comes to Alexandria, Va. with a free screening of the 1932 movie, The Girl from Chicago. The movie stars Carl Mahon and Grace Smith, and tells the story of an undercover government agent on a case in Mississippi who meets and falls in love with a beautiful young woman who’s being menaced by a local crime boss.

He rescues the girl, and they leave Mississippi and head to Harlem, but their troubles follow them: they become involved in the murder of a local crime boss there.

This event is the second in the three-part free cinema series being held through August to celebrate classic black films.

The final film in the series is the 1947

movie, Juke Joint, on Aug. 7. The movie stars July Jones and Spencer Williams. It tells the story of a con artist and his sidekick who become boarders at the home of “Mama Lou” Holiday, who they’ve fooled into believing that Williams’ character is an acting teacher named Whitney Vanderbilt. Mama Lou agrees to give the men free room and board if they will provide poise lessons to her daughter, an aspiring beauty queen named Honey Dew. The lessons pay off and Honey Dew wins the beauty contest. Problems arise when Mama Lou’s husband, Papa Sam, decides to hold a party for the new beauty queen at a disreputable juke joint.

UnitedHealthcare invites all seniors and Medicare beneficiaries to come out and get a better understanding of their healthcare options.

“The Girl From Chicago” will be shown 9 a.m., July 24 at Lee Center Adult Day Services, 1108 Jefferson St., Alexandria, Va. 22314.

“Juke Joint” will be shown 9 a.m., Aug. 7 at Bowie Senior Center, 14900 Health Center Drive, Bowie, Md. 20716.

For more information contact Fiona Roberts, froberts@bemythic.com; 678-3132764.

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LOCAL LISTINGS FOR STARTS FRIDAY, JULY 19 CHECK THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES AFRO AMERICAN (DC) SATURDAY 7.13

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The Afro-American, July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013

HBCU NEWS

Howard Team Wins Innovation Contest Morgan Students Designing and The thorny issue of transportation efficiency Building Artscape 2013 Exhibit in the Washington, D.C. region could be solved by broadening bicycle sharing to include a pod car system, which would feature automated vehicles operating on a network of guide ways.

That solution, which is a long way from being put into place, was good enough to win a team from Howard University first place in the 2013 Partnership for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering and Education (PACE) Collaboration and Innovation Challenge.

The team will travel to the 2013 PACE Annual Forum held July 21-26 in Pasadena, Calif. to present their winning project and accept the award.

“I am elated about this win because the engineering students worked extremely hard on this project,” said Sonya T. Smith, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who participated on the team.

“Considering that two of the three engineering team members were freshmen during the last academic year, this win is a testament to the caliber of students Howard attracts and their preparation by the mechanical

Students and faculty from the School of Architecture and Planning have been invited for the third straight year to participate and exhibit an environmental installation for Artscape. The project, titled Destination 1, is a music pavilion and DJ dome inspired by the visionary ideas of Buckminster Fuller. A forefather of the modern sustainability movement, Fuller sought ways to help humanity better understand the inherent connections of Earth’s living systems that bind us all together. Melding with Artscape’s 2013 theme “No Passport Required,” Destination 1 seeks to celebrate the oneness of the human race regardless of nationality, ethnic, geographic, cultural or financial boundaries. Working with reclaimed, re-purposed materials, Destination 1 seeks to deconstruct those boundaries. Thus, by promoting a global “oneness” and encouraging Courtesy Photo visitors to think holistically about our planet, we can engineering program,” she added. encourage all to be better The competition is an annual challenge stewards of the planet aimed at promoting collaboration between we share, our “Spaceship students in different majors with the intent of Earth.” fueling innovation in the areas of engineering, Led by faculty members industrial design, manufacturing and market Brian Grieb, AIA and Brian research. The collaborators are General Motors, Stansbury, Destination 1 Autodesk, Hewlett Packard, Oracle and will be a centerpiece of the Siemens PLM Software. festival along the Charles Street promenade. The See more on afro.com Courtesy Photo team has collaborated with local DJ’s and artists Students work on the models for who will help activate Destination 1. the space with music performances. Throughout the three-day event, DJ’s will be spinning found records for a local salvage company. On Saturday evening, the

By AFRO Staff sounds of Kinetic Light Instruments designed by artists McCormack and Figg, will help bring the first ever “Artscape After Dark” event to life.

The first Black astronaut to walk in space lead an exhibition “We are excited to once again be selected by Artscape and the of what 50 middle school students helped produce in a tough Baltimore Office and Promotion & the Arts,” said Brian Grieb, faculty math and science camp, July 12, at Bowie State University. advisor for Destination 1. “The event provides a fantastic environment for Under the guidance of Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr., the our students to display their talents and creative energy, while creating a campers created spacesuit coatings that would endure the harsh vibrant and thought provoking space for festival attendees.” environment of space but consisting of only household items.

“Working on Destination 1 is extremely rewarding to see our The ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp concepts and models become physical structures,” said team member at Bowie State, founded by former astronaut Dr. Bernard A. Courtney Morgan, a junior in the architecture program at Morgan State Harris Jr., is one of 20 camps being held on university campuses University. “It’s hard work, but at the end of day when you walk past all nationwide to immerse campers in hands-on, team-based the things we have built, it definitely puts a smile on my face seeing what learning activities designed to reveal the science behind the latest we have accomplished.” technology, increase environmental awareness and explore how Learn more at: www.destination1.org math impacts daily life.

Middle-School Students Work With Black Astronaut at Science Camp

Courtesy Photo

Dr. Bernard Harris demonstrates task for prospective scientists.

SPORTS

Collegiate Women’s Track & Field

UMES’ Lenora Guion-Firmin Takes Gold, Silver and Bronze at European Championships Former Hawk superstar and multi-All-American Lenora Guion-Firmin cemented her place among the best in the world on the track this past weekend at the European Athletics U23 (Under 23) Championships held in Tampere Finland. The speedster took gold in the women’s 400 meter and silver in the 200 meter and completed the sweep with a bronze in the 4x400m relay.

The European Athletics website (www.european-athletics.org) said it best in their headline, Guion-Firmin confirms her class” as they recapped a thrilling event that saw six of the eight finalists in the event set lifetime bests. “She looked like the champion in waiting ever since she stepped on the track,” they said in their recap. “Lenora Guion-Firmin of France confirmed it by setting a personal best of 51.68 to lift the 400m title. It looks very much like France has found a successor to Marie Jo Perec.”

Guion-Firmin wasn’t done yet. Just one hour later she stepped on the track to run the 200m.

“After her storming win in the 400m earlier in the afternoon, Lenora GuionFirmin was always likely to be a threat.” She would take the silver, “with the tenacious Frenchwoman failing but 0.04 to catch her [Great Britain’s Jodie Williams]. For GuionFirmin came the reward of a 22.96 personal best.”

Two days later, Guion-

Courtesy Photo

Lenora Guion-Firmin Firmin stepped on the track again, this time as part of the women’s 4 x 400m relay. Running the leadoff leg, she did not disappoint, “getting the baton round first in 51.22.” But it wasn’t to be as Poland and Romania held their own against the other French runners. France was still in first with 200m to go.

They faded over the final 50m and Poland took gold (3:29.74), Romania silver (3:30.28) and France the bronze (3:30.64).

Both of Poland’s and Romania’s times were records for the national U23.

“She is the best woman athlete to ever run at this school,” said head coach Ernest Barrett. “I am proud of her and knew she capable of great things; I think this is just the start of a lot of success she will have internationally.”

Guion-Firmin is the school record holder in both the 200 and 400 meter outdoor events. Also competing in the championships was former Hawk and MEAC Champion, Petra Kubesova who runs for the Czech Republic. Kubesova, a distance specialist, took 17th in the 10,000 meter run with a time of 37:06.46.

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July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013, The Afro-American

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FAITH

Ark Church Visits Haiti on a Mission

By Blair Adams AFRO Staff Writer

Exhausted from their three-hour plane ride, just 700 miles off the coast of Miami, a team of eight local church members visited Haiti on a mission to spread the good news of the gospel.

From June 24 through June 28, the Rev. J. L. Carter, pastor of Ark Church in East Baltimore, led his team through the rugged country to experience Haitian life.

“Our purpose of going to Haiti was to provide help to others. I wanted to partner with an organization where we would be able to send monthly support,” said Rev. Carter.

Haiti, which has a 90 percent unemployment rate and 80 percent of its residents living in poverty, is in desperate need of economic improvement.

Rev. Carter, who has visited the country several times, told the AFRO, “I wanted my members to see just how our living conditions are compared to a country less fortunate than ours.”

During their 5-day journey, they visited churches, schools, orphans, villages and schools for children who are domestic slaves. On her first visit to the country, Mia Miller said she never would have imagined a place could be so poor, yet rich in the spirit of the Lord.

She said, “I didn’t know what to expect.”

“The citizens of Haiti might be poor in physical things, but they are rich in faith, rich in love, rich in respect and rich in integrity,” Miller said.

Ark Church’s mission was to be able to provide support in hopes that Haitians will live a fruitful life. In the poorest country in the western hemisphere, a country where no public assistance or help provided, they try to make good use of what they have—which isn’t much. Haiti is mostly hot and humid and some areas of the country can be almost desert-like. Water is limited; therefore Haitians rely solely on rainwater for drinking and bathing.

“Haitians aren’t getting enough clean water,” Rev. Carter said. “To them having clean water is like having money in your pocket.”

Since his initial visit, the east Baltimore pastor said a lot has changed, however there is still so much that needs to be done. “One thing

Courtesy photos

impact on Haitians.”

Carter told the AFRO, “we are committed.” He said, “they are so used to seeing Whites giving to them, so for a black-based organization to go and give back is great.”

In traveling throughout Haiti Miller said as a church family, we connected with organizations and other churches that they could help.

“We’ve built relationships with them in a major way,” said Miller.

Upon their return, Carter said there’s a “great amount” of persons in the church who want to go on future journeys to Haiti to spread the good gospel. He said, “I have the Macedonia vision that we can do more.”

The “Macedonia vision,” is stated in Acts 16:9-10, which says, “A vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him saying, come over to Macedonia and help us. Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to him.”

“I pray that other churches and communities will collectively get together to do the same, said Carter.

Carter said, “God has blessed us so that we can be a blessing to others.”

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I observed, particularly in the rural areas, persons were suffering and stricken with diseases because of polluted water.”

As the team traveled through some of the rural areas, Miller saw a woman with no shoes on her feet and gave her the shoes she was wearing. She said, “They appreciate everything they have and they have faith that God will provide them with more.”

The church has already made plans to return to Haiti.

They plan to offer more in hopes others will be willing to do the same. Rev. Carter said Ark Church is helping by providing the resources to

have a well dug in order to have clean water.

“What we’re doing is just a small band-aid of help,” he said. “The people there have strong faith. You saw religious scriptures on the sides of transportation, businesses, restaurants and bars.”

He said there were writings on sides of buildings that said, “Thank God for Jesus.”

While it’s clear God is the center of their lives, Carter said, “as a church they are inspired to do more.” “There is a great Harvest of people who need to hear the gospel and what Ark church has done was left a tremendous

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NOTICE TO BIDDERS Hopkins Construction, Inc. is soliciting quotations from qualified MBE, WBE & DBE contractors for the following project:

Hopkins Construction, Inc. is an EEO Employer.

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HOUSING AUTHORITY OF BALTIMORE CITY INVITATION FOR BIDS SUPPLY APPLIANCES

JULY 31, 2013 FIRE TOOLS, EQUIPMENT & REPAIR PARTS B50002883 0 GENERAL CHARTER BUS TRANS PORTATION SERVICE B50003063 0 CHLORINE CYLINDER TRUCK B50003067

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Hopkins Construction, Inc.- Project #: 130730 Nuttles Pump Station Upgrade, Contract No. 403A037 Town of Federalsburg, Federalsburg, MD Plans and specifications for this project are available for review at our Bridgeville, DE office. Area of work includes concrete, piping modifications and appurtenances, pumps, gratings, hatches, ladder, exhaust fan, and associated electrical work. Please respond by 7/24/13 for particulars. Hopkins Construction, Inc., 18904 Maranatha Way, Unit 1, Bridgeville, DE 19933. Phone (302) 337-3366 or Fax (302) 337-8315.

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY Case No.: 24-D-13-001711 IN THE MATTER OF HINA SABIR FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO HINA FAIZAN ORDER FOR NOTICE BY PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to officially change the name of the petitioner from Hina Sabir to Hina Faizan It is this 26th day of June, 2013 by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, ORDERED, that publication be given one time in a newspaper of general circulation in Baltimore City on or before the 26th day of July, 2013, which shall warn all interested persons to file an affidavit in opposition to the relief requested on or before the 12th day of August, 2013

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The Afro-American, July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013

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The Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) will issue an Invitation for Bids (IFB) for qualified and interested vendors to submit sealed bids to supply refrigerators and ranges as needed to various HABC properties.

BIDS WILL BE DUE no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, August 16, 2013.

A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Friday, August 2, 2013 at 10:00 a.m., at the Charles L. Benton Building, 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 416, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202.

HABC has established a minimum threshold of twenty percent (20%) of the total dollar amount of the proposed contract for Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) utilization, applicable to all minority and non-minority businesses proposing to provide the requested services as the prime contractor. No threshold has been established for participation of Women-owned businesses (WBEs), however, HABC strongly encourages and affirmatively promotes the use of WBEs in all HABC contracts.

The IFB and all supporting documents may be obtained on or after Monday, July 29, 2013 from the following location: Housing Authority of Baltimore City Division of Fiscal Operations, Procurement Department 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 414 Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Attention: John Airey, Chief of Contracting Services Tel: (410) 396-3261 Fax: (410) 962-1586 Questions regarding the IFB should be directed in writing to the address and individual indicated above, and must include the reference: HABC Bid No. B-1728-13.

TYPESET: TYPESET: Wed Jul 17 14:28:45 EDTWed 2013Jul 17 14:29:12 TYPESET: Wed Jul 17 14:28:24 EDT 2013 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY Case No.: 24-D-13-002128 IN THE MATTER OF Sylvina Elizabeth Mullins FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO Sylvina Mullins Raver ORDER FOR NOTICE BY PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to officially change the name of the petitioner from Sylvina Elizabeth Mullins to Sylvina Mullins Raver It is this 10th day of July, 2013 by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, ORDERED, that publication be given one time in a newspaper of general circulation in Baltimore City on or before the 12th day of August, 2013, which shall warn all interested persons to file an affidavit in opposition to the relief requested on or before the 27th day of August, 2013 Frank M. Conaway Clerk 7/19/2013

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY Case No.: 24-D-13-002091 IN THE MATTER OF CONSTANTINE REGINA KENNEDY FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO CONSTANCETINA REGINA HOBBS ORDER FOR NOTICE BY PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to officially change the name of the petitioner from Constantine Regina Kennedy to Constancetina Regina Hobbs It is this 10th day of July, 2013 by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, ORDERED, that publication be given one time in a newspaper of general circulation in Baltimore City on or before the 12th day of August, 2013, which shall warn all interested persons to file an affidavit in opposition to the relief requested on or before the 27th day of August, 2013 Frank M. Conaway Clerk 07/19

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY Case No.: 24-D-13-001834 IN THE MATTER OF Sharrieff Ibn Grahman, Jr. FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO Sharieff Kian Smith ORDER FOR NOTICE BY PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to officially change the name of the petitioner from Sharrieff Ibn Grahman, Jr. to Sharieff Kian Smith It is this 17th day of June, 2013 by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, ORDERED, that publication be given one time in a newspaper of general circulation in Baltimore City on or before the 17th day of July, 2013, which shall warn all interested persons to file an affidavit in opposition to the relief requested on or before the 1st day of August, 2013 Frank M. Conaway Clerk 7/19/2013

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July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013, The Afro-American

OBITUARIES

CAREER CORNER TYPESET: Wed Jul 17 14:24:41 EDT 2013

Joyce E.R. Ervin, 71

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)

Baltimore City Health District Employee

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Joyce Elaine Robinson Ervin was born November 27, 1941 in Baltimore, Md. She was the second oldest child of the late Nolan (Booth) and Annie Hicks Robinson. She entered eternal rest at Season’s Hospice at Northwest Hospital on March 16, 2013.

She was educated in the public schools of Baltimore, graduating from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in 1959.

She furthered her education at Cortez W. Peters Business College, receiving her A.A. degree in 1962. In later years, she attended the College of Notre Dame, working towards a degree in sociology.

She was baptized at an early JOYCE age at Fountain Baptist Church by the late Rev. Dennis Barrow.

Later, she became a member of Saint Paul Baptist Church, under the leadership of the late Rev. Dr. George A. Crawley Jr. She was married to the late Tommy L. Ervin Sr. on Nov. 20, 1971. From that union a son was born, Tommy Jr. She changed her membership to her husband’s church, Greater Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of the late Rev. Robert Halsey, and the current pastor, Rev. Dr. Reginald Thomas. She ended her Christian life as a member of Berean Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. Dr. John A. Lunn Sr.

Receptionist Unique community health center serving homeless individuals is seeking a Receptionist who is responsible for initial identification of all clients and potential clients coming to HCH for services. This position functions as the primary point of entry to HCH for all adult and pediatric clients. Main functions include but are not limited to checking in appointments for established clients, and providing information about the process of obtaining services at HCH to new clients. Must have working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications: good communication and interpersonal skills; comfortable working with homeless and/or low income individuals. Send resumes to S. Johnson, HCH, 421 Fallsway. Baltimore, MD 21202. E-mail: hrresumes@hchmd. org. Fax: 410-837-8020. No Phone Calls. Bi-lingual applicants are encouraged to apply.

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Co-Occurring Therapist Case Manager Therapist Case Manager needed to provide co-occurring treatment services to adults with histories of homelessness, substance abuse, mental illness and trauma. This person will engage/re-engage clients, assess, and provide integrated therapy and case management services to a population of individuals experiencing homelessness and who present with co-occurring symptoms. Applicant should be comfortable working with homeless and/or low-income individuals and possess excellent verbal and written communication skills. Candidates having a prior history of working with addictions is preferred.License required: LCADC, LGSW, LCSW, LCSW-C or LCPC, LGPC. Send resume to S. Johnson, HCH, 421 Fallsway, Baltimore, MD 21202 by 07/28/13. E-mail: hrresumes@hchmd.org. Fax (410) TYPESET: Wed 17 14:25:36 837-8020.

NoJulphone calls. EDT EOE2013

She was employed for over 23 years as a clerk for Baltimore City Eastern Health District. She was then employed with Equitable Trust Bank, Maryland National Bank, Nations Bank and Centre One Remarketing, from which she retired.

Joyce and her late husband loved to travel. They also enjoyed shopping together.

Joyce enjoyed cooking, looking at cooking shows, and “Everything Hollywood.”

She took classes in flower arranging and ceramics.

However, her greatest joy was being a part of the Seven-Up Ministry. She truly enjoyed expounding on the E.R. ERVIN seven fruits of the spirit. She was faithful to this ministry until her health began to decline. She suffered long, but she was strong--she did not complain!

She leaves to cherish their memories of her: a son, Tommy Ervin Jr., (LaKenya); five grandchildren, Tommy III, Cameron, Jordan, Kamara and Kamaal; two sisters, Margaret Diggs and Debra Jackson; one brother, Nolan Robinson; two sisters-in-law, Rosemary Robinson and Betty Ervin; one aunt, Bertha Robinson; nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, cousins and a host of other family and friends.

Sadie A. Smarr, 107 LPN Sadie A, Smarr passed away regularly for who He was and peacefully on March 10, 2013 at the people that were around Future Care Nursing Facility in to help her. She will be sorely Baltimore, Md. Sadie was born missed by all that knew and in Richburg, S.C. on Oct. 22, loved her.

1906.

Sadie was preceded in She graduated from Brennan death by her parents; James College in Chester, S.C. She and Georganna Aldrich; her then moved to Maryland and husband, Fred Smarr; son, became a LPN. Sadie joined Alfredrich and sister Geneva Penn Ave AME Zion Church James. and was a faithful member until Sadie is survived by two the age of 99 when she became nephews; Elmorris James physically unable.

(Laverne) of Charlotte, Sadie was a woman who N.C. and Lawrence Brunt truly loved the Lord. She loved (Yvonne) of Baltimore, Md., singing gospel music and four nieces; Gloria Wheeler was such joy to anyone in her of Baltimore, Doris James of presence. She was funny and Sherman Oaks, Ca., Hettie loved to laugh. When asked how Martin of Charlotte, N.C. and she felt her famous words were, SADIE A. SMARR Maria Brunt of Atlanta, Ga. great and wonderful. She never She also leaves a host of great ever grumbled or complained and was grateful nieces and nephews. for anything you did for her. She thanked God

Free Service Obituaries are printed for free by the AFROAmerican Newspapers. Send funeral program and picture to: Obituaries The Baltimore Afro-American , 2519 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, Md. 21218

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Work that matters. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is a national leader in affordable housing and community development. The HOME Processor in the Single Family Program provides administrative support to the federally funded HOME Investment Partnerships Program and records program and performance data through the Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS). the linkEDT above TYPESET: Wed Jul Visit 17 14:25:11 2013to apply online. EOE

Appointment Scheduler Health Care for the Homeless is seeking an Appointment Scheduler who is responsible for answering the phone and accurately scheduling appointments for multiple disciplines according to protocols established by each team. In this role, the Appointment Scheduler books, coordinates and reschedules all appointments as needed. The Appointment Scheduler participates collaboratively within the multidisciplinary health care team, to meet the goals and objectives of the clinic. Requirements: High School Diploma/GED; experience working in a team in a health setting; working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications; good communication and interpersonal skills; comfortable working with homeless and/or low income individuals. Send resume by 7/24/2013 to Ms. S. Johnson, HCH, 421 Fallsway. Baltimore, MD 21202. E-mail: hrresumes@hchmd.org. Fax: 410-837-8020. No Phone Calls. * Bi-lingual candidates TYPESET: Wed to Julapply.

17 14:15:44 encouraged EOE EDT 2013

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The Afro-American, July 20, 2013 - July 26, 2013

By Valerie Fraling “The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America. I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher.

But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken. I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son.”

President Barack Obama There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.” Nelson Mandela

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“I get lifted” whenever I approach the Adams Morgan neighborhood in D.C. “…It’s electric…” the energy as people bustle from place to place with a season of purpose. The restaurants and the energy that exudes from this community are extraordinary. It reminds me of Sinatra’s New York, a city that never sleeps.

In the midst of Adams Morgan is the Marriott Wardham Park Hotel, a grand hotel that hosted Restaurants in Bloom Gala RAMMY Awards. The event sponsored by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington resembled the Grammys with restaurants, staff, hotels and bars vying to be voted the best in their category in the industry. Guests circulated throughout the massive ballroom during the cocktail reception tasting regional drinks, Virginia wines and craft beers. Dinner was served in the beautifully decorated main ballroom with dinner stations representing food, drinks and desserts from Peru, Australia, Chile and Mexico. Guests visited each station to enjoy Australian Lamb, scallops in Chilean olive oil with Carca Pebre, smoked salmon with avocado, braised short ribs and dozens of other items including passion cupcakes and crème Brule.

My first stop was at the famous Gifford’s ice cream station for a dip each of blueberry and toasted coconut ice cream and a homemade cake donut before having dinner.

Guests enjoying the fine cuisine and dancing to the Onyx band were Chef Ron Reid, Stacy Cowan, Pat Thomas, the ambassador of Peru, Mayor Gray, Alexandria, Va. Haute Dogs & Fries owners Pamela Swanson and Lionel Holmes and Chloe Swanson.

“Although we’ve come to the end of the road still I can’t let go… it’s unnatural” Boyz II Men I met Andy Rosenthal about 10 years ago at Ruth’s Chris’ Steakhouse in Pikesville.

As our crowd got larger we slowly “creep creep” into his space. He said, “You can sit at my table,” or something like that, and we toasted with a glass of Grand Marnier to our new friendship that is still strong. He invited me to his restaurant. He didn’t think we would come and I didn’t think he owned a restaurant so we were both pleasantly surprised. I showed up with about fifteen

Whether it’s behind the scenes, in the scenes or never before seen, the stories of the African-American experience have enriched all of our lives.

Enjoy hit movies, TV shows, videos, interviews and more all highlighting the African-American experience.

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friends on his busiest night. When I got word that Shuckers was closing after a successful run in Fells Point, I was overwhelmed with emotions. Andy had “last call” so I called a group of friends to converge on Shockers for “another Saturday night…” “…for the good times.” “…Neither one of us wants to be the first to say goodbye…” “Oh what a night” we sat outside enjoying the harbor breeze until the “other side of midnight.” When we left, he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow the last day. I didn’t go because I didn’t want to be there to see him ‘turn off the lights.’”

The week of July 4 became “blurred lines” as we travelled from one party to the next.

Jimmy and Pat Fittings “set it off” at their huge barbeque with tents under the stars.

“You can’t sit down…” the music played by DJ Turk was nonstop. The deejay and the grill never stopped as people “danced the night away.” It was great seeing former school CEOs Dr. Charlene Cooper-Boston, Dr. Walter and Adriene Amprey, Debbie Allen, Pat and Charles Payne and Michael Mitchell partying “in the heat of the night.”

July 4 we joined Tony and Paula at their fabulous 14th floor Harbor East condominium to watch the fireworks. The view was spectacular with the barge sitting in the harbor directly in front. What a view watching the fireworks in Dundalk and the harbor simultaneously.

“The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one’s relationship has a growing depth, beauty, and joy as the years increase.” Hugh Walpole Sr. Family and friends surrounded Professor Larry and Diana Gibson as they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on a sultry Sunday afternoon at their lovely home.

Guests brought plenty of hugs and kisses to the informal gathering to celebrate the couple.

The magnificent feast of salmon, lamb chops, ribs, crab cakes etc. was plentiful and just when we thought we couldn’t eat another thing Danny and Della Henson arrived with hot fried chicken wings. Judge Robert Bell, David Allen, Randy Carroll, Joe and Kip Yoor, Angela Gibson, Charles Thomas, Kevin, O’Keeffe, Marta Pola, Frank Coakley, Paul Flower, Frank McNeil, Ralph and Dana Moore, Pat and Howard Jessamy, Esperance and Wendell Sutton, Fran Allen and Vernon and Linda Simms were among the folks bringing best wishes.

Happy 27th anniversary to Scott and Valerie Phillips and a special anniversary prayer for James “Peck” and Gloria “Tuttle” Began as they celebrate 52 years of marriage.

It’s your birthday AFRO editor Dorothy Boulware, Mayor Jeffrey Slavin, Everene Johnson-Turner, Greg Williams, Greg Hill, Dr. Patricia Schmoke, Takiea Hinton and Thurman Pinder.

“The highest reach of injustice is to be deemed just when you are not.” Plato Aleuta Continua (the struggle continues) Valerie & the Friday Night Bunch