July 6, 2013 - July 6, 2013, The Afro-American A1 $1.00
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Volume 121 No. 48
JULY 6, 2013 - JULY 12, 2013
Delta Centennial Convention
The Deltas are Coming! By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO
The lighting of an Olympic-style torch at Howard University on July 11 will launch the 51st National Convention of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, part of a yearlong celebration of the group’s 100year legacy of Black sisterhood, advocacy and service. Beginning Jan. 1, the group has memorialized its founding with a historic participation in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.; a Delta Torch Tour across 22 cities; a Hollywood gala; Centennial Founders Day Weekend and a reenactment of the Women’s Suffrage March, among other activities. From July 11-17, Washington, D.C., and the surrounding areas will be awash in hues of crimson and Continued on A4
INSIDE A7
Voting Rights Act Sherrilyn Ifill
A6
Book review: Why “O say can you see” might not mean the same.
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Hot Fun in the Summer Time Baltimore Facilities Offer a Cool Refuge By Alexis Taylor Special to the AFRO With the Fourth of July weekend, summer officially kicks into high gear again and all 29 Baltimore public pools are geared for fun--and safety. This year, in addition to swim lessons throughout the day, water aerobics—Zumba-style—will be offered at select pools. “We’ve all heard the phrase ‘the long hot summer’ and that means many different things,” said Gary Nelson, a Baltimore firefighter attached to Ladder and Truck Co. 12, who says pool openings help keep tempers in check.. “You can attribute a lessening of violence in Baltimore City directly to the availability of cool swimming pools. That cannot be underestimated in any way, shape, or form,” Nelson said. After more than two decades in a
Tyrone Wolfe, 11, lays back in the sun.
Continued on A4
Photo by Alexis Taylor
Former UNCF Head, Ex-Congressman and Pastor William H. Gray, Dies at 71 By AFRO Staff
William H. Gray III, pastor, former United Negro College Fund chief and a member of Congress who was the first Black to chair the House Budget Committee, died July 1 in London at the age of 71. “Bill Gray was a trailblazer, proudly representing his beloved Philadelphia in Congress for over a decade as the first African-American to chair the Budget Committee and to serve as the Majority Whip,” President Obama said July 2 in remarks noting Gray’s death and legislative legacy. “Bill’s extraordinary leadership, on
issues from housing to transportation to supporting efforts that ended Apartheid in South Africa, made our communities, our country and our world a more just place.” The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation issued a statement calling Gray a “man of integrity” who would surely be missed. “His dedicated leadership benefitted the African diaspora,” said CBCF Chairman Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.). The statement went on to say that in addition to “serving with distinction as pastor at Bright Hope Baptist Church for 36 years in Philadelphia…
Rep. Gray founded Gray Global Advisors following his work at UNCF. His life’s work focused on middle class and under-served Americans.” A. Shuanise Washington, CBCF president and chief executive officer said, “His commitment to educating young people is a cornerstone of our mission and was Bill’s passion.” Former aide William Epstein said Gray passed away suddenly while in London with one of his sons to attend the Wimbledon tennis championships. Gray was elected as a Democrat to Congress in 1978 and served as budget committee chairman and majority whip. Gray resigned the House seat he had held since 1978 to run the United Negro College Fund in 1991. In 1994,
President Bill Clinton named him special adviser on Haiti. Gray succeeded his father as pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church in 1972 and held that position until 2007. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter ordered flags at all city buildings to fly at half-mast.
Family of Woman Slain in Triple Shooting Speaks Out Women Win Big in Judicial Victim’s Grandmother Said, ‘They Appointments Murdered My Child’ By Krishana Davis AFRO Staff Writer Gloria Williams, 65, said she is still making funeral arrangements for her granddaughter, Gennie Shird, 21, who was fatally killed in a triple shooting June 27, even though she hasn’t even been able to identify the body. “We never even got to ID the body,” said Williams fighting back tears during a recent interview with the AFRO in her Belair-Edison home. “For all I know I could be paying for someone else’s funeral.” Shird was one of three women shot after a neighborhood dispute in the 3300 block of Elmora Ave. in the Four by Four neighborhood on June 27. According to police officials, just minutes after northeast district Maj. Robert Worley left the block after making his patrol rounds, the district received 911 calls of a shooting. Law enforcement officials said a group of women, including Shird and the other victims, were all sitting on a porch together. According to sources, one
unidentified woman left the porch and returned some time later with an unidentified man. Sources said someone fired shots, which hit a 25-year-old woman, a 51-year-old woman and Shird, who was hit in the chest. Continued on A3
Photo by Krishana Davis
Gloria Williams, grandmother of victim, Gennie Shird, said all she could do was cry after finding out the news.
Shirley M. Watts Becomes First Black Female Appellate Judge By Krishana Davis AFRO Staff Writer Gov. Martin O’Malley July 3 named Shirley M. Watts to the Maryland Court of Appeals making her the first African-American female appeals state’s court judge. O’Malley also elevated Appeals Court Judge Mary Ellen Barbera to be the first woman to sit as chief of the state’s court of appeals. “Judge Barbera and Judge Watts represent the best of the Maryland bar and will do an outstanding job serving on the highest court of Maryland,” said O’Malley in a statement. “I am honored that we are not only making history today with these appointments, but that the hard work, talents and skills of these women will help us build on the progress we’re making together for the people of Maryland.” The two appointments signal a seminal moment in women’s history in Maryland, creating a female majority
Copyright © 2013 by the Afro-American Company
on the appeals court. “The day of women being captives of White supremacy is over in Maryland,” Judge William H. “Billy” Murphy Jr. said. “Women have been oppressed much longer than Black people and women have taken all ounces of strength to come into play. “Judicial power is firmly in the hands of women for the first time.” A Baltimore native, Watts, who has had a long, distinguished career on the bar and on the bench, fills a seat vacated by Judge Robert M. Bell who retired this month following a court mandated retirement on his 70th birthday. “Chief Judge Bell has served for almost four decades in every level of our judicial system and we are grateful for his passion for fairness and commitment to justice,” continued O’Malley in a statement. A graduate of Howard University and Rutgers University School Continued on A4