November 29, 2014 - November 29, 2014, www.afro.com
Volume 123 No. 17
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The Afro-American
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NOVEMBER 29, 2014 - DECEMBER 5, 2014
Photos by Anderson Ward
Students at Morgan State University held a peaceful protest Nov. 25 that began on campus and ended at the Baltimore Police Department’s Northeastern District station.
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Ferguson Ignites By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent After months of deliberation, a 12-member grand jury on Nov. 24 decided Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson was justified in his fatal August shooting of an unarmed African-American teen, triggering protests in the city. Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said the grand jury decided “no probable cause exists” to indict
Wilson on any of the five possible charges in the wake of his Aug. 9 fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Both eyewitness testimony and physical evidence pointed to Brown being the aggressor, including the presence of the teenager’s DNA and fingerprints in the officer’s vehicle and on his gun, he said. And, McCulloch added, several eyewitnesses offered statements that were “inconsistent with other statements they made and also conflicting with the physical evidence.”
“I’m ever mindful that this decision will not be accepted by some and may cause disappoint for others. But all decisions in the criminal justice system must be determined by the physical and scientific evidence and credible testimony corroborated by that evidence, not in response to public outcry or for political expediency,” McCulloch said. “Decisions on a matter as serious as charging an individual with a crime simply Continued on A3
Marion Barry: D.C.’s ‘Mayor for Life’ By James Wright Special to the AFRO Several leaders from across the District reflected on Marion Barry’s life with plenty of reflective and positive thoughts on former D.C. Council member and four-term mayor. Barry died at 1:46 a.m. at the United Medical Center on Nov. 23 after collapsing the previous day while he was leaving Howard University Hospital after visiting his son, Christopher.
Barry served as mayor of the District from 1979-1991 and from 1995-1999. He was elected to the D.C. Board of Education, from 1971-1974 and served on the D.C. Council from 1974-1979 as an at-large member and represented Ward 8 from 1993-1995 and from 2005 to 2014. D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (D), who had known Barry for over 30 years, said that political icon will be missed. Continued on A4
Quinton Pinkney, City College’s Local Politicians Head Classic ‘63 Point Guard dies at 69 Efforts to Bring Christmas Surrounded by his Team’s Spirit and Family Joy to Those in Need By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent
By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO
Quinton Pinkney, the celebrated Baltimore City College point guard who led the Knights to two consecutive Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA) Division A championships in 1961 and 1962, is being remembered as a stellar athlete, dedicated social worker, loving family man and an all-around extraordinary human being. “Quinton Pinkney was a [heck] of a guy,” summed up Lee Raskin, 69, Pinkney’s City College classmate for three years. Pinkney died Nov. 17 after a weeks-long illness—but not before he and his family were visited and offered other support from his fellow City alum. “I thought that was so extraordinary,” said Pinkney’s widow Joan, of the outpouring of support from people who first met her husband a half-century ago. The show of care and the shared stories and sentiments about her husband buoyed the family’s spirits even in the midst of their loss, she told the AFRO. Continued on A4
With Christmas around the corner, many needy families in Baltimore will struggle to provide the food and gifts so many of us take for granted during the holidays. A number of recent and upcoming events, all headed by the city’s elected officials, are seeking to make the holidays a joyful occasion for more Baltimore’s families. Recently, Councilman Brandon Scott (D-2nd District), joined by a number of the city’s younger elected officials—including incoming state delegates Antonio Hayes (D-40th District), Brooke Lierman (D-46th District), and Cory McCray (D-45th District), Sen. Bill Ferguson (D-46th District), councilpersons Nick Mosby and Eric Costello, as well as incoming Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby—held his ‘Holiday Bowling for a Cause’ event, which sought to collect gifts for families receiving assistance from the Dept. of Social Services. The event was held at Baltimore’s Shake & Bake Family Fun Center and volunteers collected over 120 gifts for needy families. “What we’ve been trying to do is have all of the young elected officials in the city try to meet more often and do things together, and we thought that it would be a great, great, great opportunity for us to come together and do something fun . . . that benefits people in need in the city of Baltimore, especially around the holidays, but also that lifts up a business or a location in the city that we’re trying to get people to reconnect to,” Scott said. On Dec. 4, the Baltimore City House Delegation, chaired by Del. Curt Anderson (D-43rd District), will hold its second annual ‘Eat, Drink & Continued on A4
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Photo from Baltimore City College Class of 1963 50th Reunion, May 2013. 1963 BCC Basketball team members--Front row: Dennis Wallace, Quinton Pinkney and Alex Gabbin; second row: George Roderick and Marc Rudick
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