Baltimore Afro American Newspaper June 20 2015

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Volume Volume 123 123 No. No. 46 20–22

www.afro.com

Happy Father’s Day

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Mayor Can’t Shake ‘Thugs’ Incident

Youth Summit Focuses on #SummerOfUs

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Sandtown Man Wants to Serve as Example

JUNE 20, 2015 - JUNE 26 2015

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By Melanie R. Duncan Special to The AFRO

Lt. Gov. Rutherford spoke at St. Frances Academy’s Commencement in Baltimore on June 7.

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Blacks Seek Business Opportunities At D.C. United Stadium

Truth •AboutTheJuneteenth

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Photo Courtesy Executive Office of the Governor

Tupac’s Messages Still Resonate CBC Rejects Obama Almost 20 Years After His Death Trade Deal By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO

Tupac Shakur’s words, describing both the hope and despair that can accompany inner-city life, continue to resonate as his 44th birthday approaches. Born on June 16, 1971, the heralded rapper died violently on Sept. 13, 1996, gunned down after attending a heavyweight championship bout in Las Vegas in a still unsolved case. Shakur lived in Baltimore from 1986 to 1988, attending the Baltimore School of the Arts before moving to California. Almost 20 years since his voice was silenced, Shakur’s words nonetheless speak to the social conditions and

experiences that abound in many parts of this charmed city. In the song “Thugz Mansion,” Shakur raps, “So much pressure in this life of mine/I cried times/I once contemplated suicide/and would’ve tried/but when I held that nine/all I could see was my momma’s eyes/ no one knows my struggle/ they only see the trouble/ not knowing it’s hard to carry on when no one loves you/picture me inside the misery of poverty.” In the poem ‘In the Event of My Demise,’ Shakur writes, “when my heart can beat no more/I hope I die for a principle/ or a belief that I had lived [for]/I will die before Wikipedial Commons my time/because I feel the shadow’s depth/so much I wanted [to] Continued on A3

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO

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Hooker Honored on 100th Birthday, Remembers Tulsa Riots at Gala

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Lt. Gov. Rutherford Calls Baltimore Youth Jail Protestors ‘Ill Informed’ •

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Boyd K. Rutherford, the state of Maryland’s third African-American lieutenant governor said his new role has been “interesting” and a balancing act. Not quite into his fifth month in office, Rutherford has already juggled tasks from finalizing the state’s budget to fighting drug abuse while observing the property tax debate in Prince George’s County and the crime wave in Baltimore City. “I’ve enjoyed it but it has been an adjustment,” he told the AFRO. “It’s finding the right balance in terms of how much you can do, how much you take on.”

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What becomes a living legend most? In the case of Dr. Olivia J. Hooker, the first African-American female to enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard, humbly living well and continuing to reach back to support others. In celebration of Hooker’s 100th birthday, the Oklahoma-native and Tulsa Race Riot survivor lent her name to a scholarship to provide 10 students with educational twitter.com support. Dr. Olivia J. Hooker is the first African-American female Hosted by decorated Coast to enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard. Guard officer Rhonda FlemingMakell, Hooker was lauded as of Hooker at the ceremony. “We have to stop the quintessential phoenix, rising from riot asking for permission and take what belongs trauma and institutional racism to earn a with us. We learn that though racism and doctorate in psychology and teach at Fordham sexism are everywhere, it ought not prevent University in New York. us from achieving. This is the message that “You have these women of audacity who Dr. Hooker’s life has given to us.” do not ask for permission, did not ask, ‘Can Hooker told the AFRO that it was difficult I?,’ but just did it,” Julianne Malveaux said Continued on A3

By James Wright Special to the AFRO President Obama suffered a rare and stinging rebuke from members of the Congressional Black Caucus recently when most of them rejected his TransPacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. On June 12, a large number of Congressional Democrats and some Republicans defeated Obama’s request for the approval of the Trans-Pacific AFRO File Photo Partnership, a commercial U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee is trading initiative that a strong Obama ally but consists largely of didn’t support TPP. Asian countries that, if formed, would create almost 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product. The vote to defeat the TPP was 219-211, with only four CBC members supporting it: Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Mia Love (R-Utah). The deal would have allowed any president of the United States fast track authority or the ability to negotiate trade agreements with minimal interference from Congress. U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), one of Obama’s strongest allies in the Congress, parted ways with the president on this issue. “We owe the American people a trade deal that created American jobs, not one that gambles with families’ livelihoods,” Lee said. “Fast Track only serves to push a secret agreement through Congress that endangers American jobs, human rights and our food.” Most members of the CBC are supported by organized labor, which has come out against the TPP. Environmental and human rights groups have also raised concerns about the trade deal. However, Sewell talked about supporting TPP more on political terms. “The bottom line is that President Obama has our back and we should have his too,” Sewell said. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2016, said that while she generally supports Obama, she didn’t support TPP. “I’ve seen enough of these ‘free trade’ deals to know how this goes,” Edwards said recently. “Giant, multinational corporations write the bill with their best interests in mind and then try to sell the public pipe dreams of jobs and economic growth that never materialize.” Edwards goes on further to say “it’s time to restart Continuedon onA3 A6 Continued

Copyright Š 2015 by the Afro-American Company


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