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Volume 122 No. 42
May 24, 2014 - May 24, 2014, The Afro-American A1 $1.00
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MAY 24, 2014 - MAY 30, 2014
NAACP Presidential Selection Process Again Mired in Controversy By George E. Curry NNPA Editor-in-Chief WASHINGTON (NNPA) – A search firm hired by the NAACP ranked the Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III, senior pastor of FriendshipWest Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, as the top candidate five years ago
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to become president and CEO of the NAACP. But Haynes wasn’t the favorite of Julian Bond, then chairman of the board of directors, who preferred Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of a small, private foundation in California, for the spot. So when the selection process shifted from the search committee to the NAACP’s executive committee, the NAACP’s legendary political maneuvering came into play. At Bond’s urging, the executive committee opted to present only Jealous’ name
Morgan State University Commencement
Calvin Butler: If I Can Do It, So Can You By AFRO Staff
Cornell William Brooks, newly elected NAACP president to the full board for an upor-down vote. To no one’s surprise, Jealous was elected (34-21). Though Benjamin L. Hooks, one of the association’s most popular leaders, pastored two churches – one in Memphis and one in Detroit – while serving as executive director of the NAACP from 1977 to
Calvin Butler Jr., CEO of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. , addresses Morgan State University 2014 grads.
Continued on A3
Photo by A. Lois DeLaine
Town Hall Meeting: Protecting Our HBCUs
Exactly 60 years after the Supreme Court struck down the fallacy of the “separate but equal” doctrine as it applied to public education in the United States, 1,300 beneficiaries of that legacy received degrees at Morgan State University’s 138th spring commencement ceremony, May 17. The spirit of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision covered the entire exercise—evident in the attendance of the 50th Continued on A4
A Demand For Equity and Equality In Higher Education By Jonathan Hunter AFRO Staff Writer A town hall meeting on the plight of the state’s HBCUs and their future was the site of much discussion, May 13, at Coppin State University in Baltimore. State Del. Aisha N. Braveboy, attorney John C. Brittain, State Sen. Joan Carter Conway, Dr. John Organ, attorney A. Dwight Pettit, Dr. Earl S. Richardson and Mr. David Burton, president of the Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education, served on the panel that was moderated by George E. Curry, editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers of America. The focus was the ongoing 2006 lawsuit in which the Coalition, representing students, alumni and supporters of Continued on A6
The panelists focused on the ongoing 2006 lawsuit.
Photo by JD Howard
Council Closer to Renewing Ravens’ Jacoby Jones Brings Curfew Law Tech Tools to Area Schools curfew is intended to keep young children from wandering the streets at night and becoming victims of crime The Baltimore City Council, on and neglect. May 12, preliminarily approved The legislation states that kids a tough new curfew for children, under 14 are to be indoors by 9 p.m. designed to have them off the streets year-round. Kids ages 14 through and inside by 9 p.m. Opponents of the 16 could stay out until 10 p.m. on school nights and 11 p.m. on other nights. The bill also establishes a daytime curfew of 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the exception of children traveling to or from school. Parents can be fined up to $500 or made to attend counseling sessions if their children are not inside by the designated curfew hours. The bill has faced much opposition from unions and citizens alike. The American Civil Liberties Union and the head of the – Mayor Rawlings-Blake city’s police union have criticized the bill. City new curfew say it is unconstitutional Councilmen Carl Stokes and Warren and will create conflict between youth Branch voted against it. and police. A Baltimore City resident, Kirby According to the bill’s sponsor, Griffin, thinks the bill will create more Councilman Brandon Scott, the Continued on A6 By Victoria Jones Special to the AFRO
"I believe this legislation will be another much needed tool to help reduce the number of juveniles on the streets at night, while furthering a commitment my administration has made to provide more services for young people we know are vulnerable."
AFRO Staff Margaret Brent Elementary School on St. Paul Street in Baltimore was just one stop on the May 20 trail for the Jacoby Jones Foundation. Jones, along with his Emily London Jones, brought tablets for each student as a part of his Playbook for Success Program, one he created to put tools in the hands of hard working students Jacoby Jones and his mother whose families might Emily London Jones not be able to afford them. Photo by Robert Blount Tablets were also donated to City Neighbors Charter School on Raspe Avenue and to Deer Park Middle Magnet School. Jones said in a statement that he was blessed to be in a position to provide access to technology. “In order to score big wins in life, these kids must choose daily to devote themselves to educational success.” He told the children to get their education because it is one thing no one can ever take from them.