PG County Final 1 7 17

November 12, 2016 - November 12, 2016, The Afro-American A1 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION

Volume 125 No. 23

JANUARY 7, 2016 - JANUARY 13, 2017

Inside

Prince George’s

• D.C. Churches Find Promised Land in Md.

Celebrating Black Women Engineers

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C1

Baltimore

Commentary

The Clock is Ticking on Baltimore’s Consent Decree

By S. Todd Yeary

Commander-in-Chief AP Photo/Susan Walsh

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President Barack Obama, second from left, is escorted by Army Col. Jason T. Garkey, left, as they review the troops during an Armed Forces Full Honor Farewell Review for the president, Jan. 4 at Conmy Hall, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va.

• Rutherford Wants to Work with City

D1 Congressional Black Caucus

What Will the Black Political Agenda Look Like? New Head

Join

By Charles D. Ellison Special to the AFRO

First popping off the New Year with a brawling public bang over ethics, a new and much more robust Republican Congress, fully complimented by a Republican president, showed little shyness when presenting legislative priorities at the top of 2017: repeal “ObamaCare;” overhaul the tax code; roll back many of President Obama-era regulations; and figure out how it can accommodate President-elect Donald Trump’s ambitious

$1 trillion infrastructure investment plan.

While Republicans seem fairly clear, if not completely unified, on what their policy goals will be, it’s still unclear what the Black political agenda will be.

“The Black political agenda first and foremost needs to focus on wealth creation in our communities,” Democratic strategist Tara Dowdell told the AFRO. “Black leaders need to leverage their political power and platforms to ensure that our community has access to real economic opportunity,

the 684K members of the 1,100 New Fans AFRO Facebook HBCU ‘Equality Lawsuit’ Resumes Jan. 9 Family

By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent zprince@afro.com

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On Jan. 9, the remedial portion of litigation brought by a coalition of former and current HBCU students against the state of Maryland will begin.

In October 2013, District Court Judge Catherine C. Blake ruled in favor of the Coalition for Equity and

Excellence in Maryland Higher Education, saying Maryland had violated the U.S. Constitution by perpetuating a segregated higher education system through the practice of program duplication.

Maryland’s willful disregard for the law violated the rights of students attending the state’s four HBCUs-Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Morgan Continued on A3

Md. Dermatologist Offers Tips to Avoid Winter Skin Damage

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com Dry skin occurs throughout the year, however, for many Blacks, it can become increasingly uncomfortable during winter months. Cold temperatures, low humidity, and strong, harsh winds, according to dermatologists, deplete the skin of its natural lipid layer,

Courtesy photo

Illinois State Rep. Carol Ammons, among others, is working to protect Black communities under the Trump administration.

which would normally help keep the skin from drying out.

Black skin, as a result, can become very flaky, dry, and ashy in the winter.

“Years ago, Black mothers might use anything from olive oil or cooking grease – later petroleum jelly – to keep skin soft and keep it from cracking, especially

contracts, and jobs.”

Others are worried about what the next administration will bring.

“More and more, I’m increasingly concerned about a Trump presidency,” former Obama administration appointee and former Colorado Senate president Peter Groff told the AFRO. “The random trolling Tweets, the attacks on needed government functions such as the intelligence community, the refusal to meet with the press, the appointment of radicals. The list goes on.”

But Groff, one of the first major Black elected officials to endorse then candidate Obama in 2008, expressed worry about what role the Congressional Black Caucus will play in resisting that.

“I’m anxiously waiting for the CBC legislative game plan and policy blueprint they will use to counter the radical rollback of the Obama legacy and decades of civil rights milestones. We have to do more than sit in and march.”

Of course, there is no one consolidated Black political party or consolidated onestop-shop umbrella effort Continued on A3

AFRO Archived History

Jackson Announces Plans for Inauguration Day Protests Jan. 5, 1985 WASHINGTON (UPI) - The Rev. Jesse Jackson says he is organizing nationwide protests against unemployment and poverty, including a rally outside the White House two days before President Reagan takes his second oath of office.

“This administration has refused to see the growth of poverty as a serious Continued on A6

Continued on A4

Copyright © 2017 by the Afro-American Company

Promises to Stand-Up to Trump

By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com Black lawmakers on Capitol Hill chose a chairman that made it clear he will confront the Trump administration or anyone else that seeks to Continued on A3

AFRO File Photo)

U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) promises he will stand up for Black equality as new chairman of the CBC.

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Talladega College Marching Tornadoes

Talladega College Band to March at Trump Inauguration, Igniting Controversy

By The Associated Press Organizers of President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural parade say the marching band of Talladega College, Alabama’s oldest private, historically Black liberal arts college has accepted an invitation to perform.

The move comes as historically black schools like Howard University, which marched in President Barack Obama’s first inaugural parade, said they didn’t apply to march at Trump’s inauguration.

The move has lit up Talladega College’s social media sites with a sharp debate about the band’s decision to participate. Some people voiced strong opposition, while others support the band’s participation.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced Friday that the Talladega College Marching Tornadoes was among 40 groups, including high school bands and military organizations, scheduled to perform in the parade.

Talladega College officials haven’t returned phone calls and emails seeking comment.

Women Victimized by Johns Hopkins Gynecologist to Each Get Up to $26K

By The Associated Press

More than 5,500 women who said they were secretly recorded during pelvic exams by a gynecologist at Johns Hopkins will each receive at least $20,000 as part of a $190 million settlement with the hospital system.

Determination letters have been sent to the about 9,600 women who said they were victimized by Dr. Nikita Levy at a Johns Hopkins-affiliated clinic in Baltimore, WBAL-TV reported. The settlement, which was approved in 2014, is one of the largest on U.S. record involving sexual misconduct by a physician.

The plaintiffs have been divided into four categories based

on the severity of injuries. Citing documents it has obtained, the television station reports that about 8,300 of the plaintiffs will receive money ranging from about $1,800 to about $26,000.

Levy was fired after 25 years with the Johns Hopkins Health System in February 2013 after a female co-worker spotted the penlike camera he wore around his neck and alerted authorities.

Levy killed himself days later, as a federal investigation led to roughly 1,200 videos and 140 images stored on computers in his home.

About 800 members are in the most severe category and will receive $26,048. Another 4,739 women will each receive $20,001.

About 2,100 members will receive $11,629, while 678 will get $1,750.

“We understand that everyone would like their money as soon as possible, and we are trying to accommodate that,” said retired Judge Irma Raker in a video posted on a website created to keep class members informed about the settlement.

Settlement administrators did not return the television station’s calls Thursday to confirm the amounts awarded.

A judge last year awarded attorneys from eight law firms $32 million in legal fees from the settlement.

Administrators have said all of the victims will be paid at the same time.

More Black Students Accepted through Harvard’s Early Admission

By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent zprince@afro.com

More African-American students were accepted to Harvard during its early admission process, the Massachusetts Ivy League is reporting.

School officials said applying for early action is becoming the “new normal” for many aspiring students. Early applications rose 5 percent this year to 6,473. Of that number, 14.5 percent, or 938 students, were admitted.

Among the almost 1,000 early action applicants who were accepted, 12.6 percent were African-American—an increase from 9.5 percent last year. Black students make up 11.3 percent of the current freshman class at Harvard.

Officials said course offerings and its financial aid programs may have played a role in increasing applications to the institution.

The Harvard Financial Aid Initiative has awarded nearly $1.6 billion in financial aid to undergraduates since its creation in 2005.

Among this year’s early action group, more students have high financial need and are first-generation college-goers, Harvard staff has estimated.

“Financial aid remained critically important to prospective Harvard students,” said Sarah C. Donahue, Griffin Director of Financial Aid. “It is still too early to know exactly how many of the admitted students will need financial aid, as many students’ financial information is incomplete. Ultimately, we expect that the majority of students will be awarded need-based aid.”

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The Afro-American, January 7, 2017 - January 7, 2017

January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017, The Afro-American

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Agenda Continued from A1 which brings the entire Black body politic under one policy-making roof.

Yet, the Black political space is typically perceived as monolithic and one-dimensional in its composition and application – with many who participate in it long dismissing that assumption as biased and unfair. It has always been, and will continue to persist, as a rather multi-faceted, diverse collection of ideological, cultural, religious and geographic perspectives loosely wedded together by similar experiences, similar identity and similar demands for Black progress.

Usually, the goals for justice and a better quality of life are consistent, but differing personalities, causes and generational interests always dramatically diverge on strategy.

The extent of those relationships, and the visible fractures which define them, will come under increased scrutiny in the so-called “Trump Era.” Black political and policy interests will not only be tested, but observers contend they will come under intense reevaluation. In the case of a hyperconservative political era just days away from being fully realized, the stakes are increasingly much higher than they were in the previous eight years of the Obama presidency.

What may have been seen as distant or manageable threats under President Obama – even with an obstructing Republican Congress – are now considered existential since Trump’s once unforeseen election

win.

Complicating the Black political community’s ability to navigate the new political landscape is the fact most Black elected officials are Democrats, along with a Black electorate that has very few close ties to the Republican Party. Relationships between Black

reforms and protecting HBCUs and supporting Pre-K education.”

The urgency of a Black political response, then, becomes crucial on a number of issues that may not make headlines the same way a Trump Tweet does, but are viewed as immensely harmful to the collective Black community.

“The ability to block legislation that goes against our interest will likely be as big of a win as passing legislation that aligns with our interest.”

-- Michele Watley Democrats and the fewer Black Republicans are so frayed that there’s little faith the latter can serve as effective liaisons to GOP leaders.

Former senior Obama White House official Heather Foster, envisioned Black elected officials at the local and national level focused on protecting current policies which benefit Blacks as much as they are pushing or negotiating them.

Topping that list is, “Protecting the Affordable Care Act given the tremendous impact the law has had on the community making healthcare more affordable and accessible,” she told the AFRO. “We cannot allow any further cuts to Medicare and Medicaid,” added Foster. “And we’ll need to continue pushing criminal justice

The scope and depth of focus on those issues will hinge largely on what group is putting what amount of energy into them.

Civil rights groups such as the NAACP, the Urban League and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights immediately put voting rights on blast after monitoring weeks of voter suppression schemes in action.

Those same groups and others went apoplectic over President-elect’s quick pick of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) - a staunch political ally of Trump but no friend to Black political interests – as the next Attorney General. The response set the tone for what promises to not only be a blistering Senate confirmation process for Sessions, but a moment for Black political

interests to take the spotlight.

Already, protests are emerging throughout Washington, from NAACP sit-ins blocking Sessions’ Senate office this past week to the build-up for massive rallies such as that planned by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network for Inauguration Week.

Emory University political scientist Andra Gillespie, however, recommends some caution to the traditional public noise approach of civil rights groups, bolstered by the usual supporting cast of CBC members. “As far as substance goes, I expect Black Congressional members to organize against certain Trump nominees – Sessions would be a target,” Gillespie told the AFRO “I expect Black politicians to be vigilant against any racist rhetoric that may come from the Trump administration.”

As Foster notes, there will be a need to solidify federal-state-local linkages while making job creation a key agenda item whether its Trump’s proposed infrastructure bill or local legislation to support minority contracting and small business growth.

Black state legislators and mayors, especially, find themselves on the front line of that fight, hoping that they can wield influence in state capitols and city halls in ways that can offset negative impact from the Trumpian agenda.

“For the Trump presidency, Black political leaders should be focused on economic justice,” Illinois State

Lawsuit

New Head

Continued from A1

Continued from A1

State University, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore—the federal judge concluded.

“This case is about bringing long overdue racial equity to students enrolled at HBCUs and for the prospective students not yet enrolled in those schools who are seeking access to equal educational opportunity,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which represented the Coalition, in a press call Jan. 4. “The court made clear the state’s obligation to eliminate vestiges of discrimination and found that that obligation includes more than efforts to diversify its traditionally White institutions but also an affirmative obligation to address the racial segregation that persists today at HBCUs, segregation that is the results of its very own unconstitutional policies and practices.”

Judge Blake had ordered the plaintiff and the state to enter into mediation and decide upon remedies to address the state’s longterm violations. When those talks failed, the parties were ordered to submit individual proposals—the state’s ideas were found to be inadequate.

“What the state used that two-year period to do was essentially delay coming up with a good-faith remedial plan along the lines that the judge had prescribed,”

said Michael Jones, co-lead counsel for the Coalition and partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP. But delaying true reform of ongoing segregation in higher education is an approach Maryland has long taken, with “at best, benign neglect” of its obligations and “at worst, outright hostility and foot-dragging,” Clarke said.

Over the decades, several blue-ribbon commissions have studied and pointed out the state’s failure to eliminate the dual system of education and provided recommendations for its correction—solutions that were ignored. The state also failed to live up to a 2000 agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

“The state made many, many commitments to develop [HBCUs] into viable centers of excellence but never did,” said Earl Richardson, president emeritus of Morgan State University. “And so that’s what we’re striving for, such that the state of Maryland becomes the leader in terms of at last achieving an integrated and complementary system of higher education.”

And there are more recent signs of the state’s preferential treatment of traditionally White institutions, said Jon Greenbaum, senior counsel at the Lawyers’ Committee.

Last year, for example, the Maryland Legislature

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approved a working agreement between the University of Maryland College Park and the University of Maryland in Baltimore for which the state has pledged tens of millions of dollars. The same legislation also increased the base level of funding for Towson State University and University of Maryland Baltimore County.

“In our view this reflects the state’s capacity. When it comes to things that the state chooses to prioritize, it has the capacity of putting tens of millions of dollars into it.

Whereas, when it comes to things designed to improve and desegregate the HBIs, the state has pleaded poverty,” he said.

The attorney conceded that the cost of correcting program duplication and the resulting segregation would be “not insignificant.”

To address the ongoing segregation, the Coalition has proposed creating “programmatic niches” at the state’s four HBCUs that “build on existing institutional strengths and to further create institutional identities that would be successful in attracting students of all races,” Greenbaum said.

The group has also called for the process by which new programs are developed and approved by the state’s higher education authority to be changed to ensure duplication and disparities don’t occur.

And, for a person or group of persons to be assigned to monitor whatever remedies Judge Clarke orders.

An ideal outcome of the case, Greenbaum said, would be for “the court to order the development of these niches at each of the four school [and] create the structure and financial support and facilities necessary to make sure those programs are successful…. And having the state affirmatively dismantle this dual system.”

undermine Blacks.

On Jan. 3, U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond (DLa.) assumed the helm of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Warner Theatre in downtown Washington, D.C. in front of an audience of about 700.

Richmond will lead the organization during the 115th Congress that started at noon on Jan. 3 and will go out of business on Dec. 31, 2018.

In his remarks, Richmond thanked his colleagues for “this vote of confidence” and said the CBC will provide “leadership and moral clarity” for Blacks. “We acknowledge the mood of people of color now,” he said.

“Blacks are fearful that our country is in a state of hate and divisiveness.”

The CBC was founded in 1971 by Democratic U.S. Reps. Shirley Chisholm (N.Y.), William L. Clay (Mo.), George W. Collins (Ill.), John Conyers (Mich.), Ronald Dellums (Calif), Charles Diggs (Mich.), Augustus Hawkins (Calif.) Ralph Metcalfe (Ill.), Parren Mitchell (Md.), and D.C. Delegate Walter L. Fauntroy.

The CBC has been credited with helping to pass civil and voting rights laws, helping to end White supremacist rule in southern Africa, pushing to enact the federal holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., supporting more funds for historically Black colleges and universities, championing federal contracts for Black businesses, and facilitating the discussion and action on Black health.

The CBC reached a milestone when one of its own, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was elected president of the United States on Nov. 4, 2008, the first Black to win that office.

Richmond was elected in 2011 to the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana’s Second District, which covers most of New Orleans. Before his service in Congress, he served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 2000-2011.

Richmond is a graduate of Morehouse College and the Tulane School of Law. Richmond said the CBC is bipartisan and bicameral and “is up to the challenge to represent the interests of African Americans.”

Forty-nine members of the CBC were sworn in, including Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah), the group’s lone GOP member, and two U.S. senators, Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). Richmond said CBC members represent 78 million Americans that comprise 24 percent of the country’s population and 17 million Blacks which is 41 percent of that race’s populace.

Two Black Republicans, Sen. Tim Scott

Rep. Carol Ammons (D) told the AFRO, “We have to stop believing the free market is going to selfcorrect and provide a job economy that allows all people to prosper.

The Black community needs a political platform that pushes state and federal government to dedicate significant resources to provide job training and retraining.”

Tennessee State Rep. Harold Love (D) said that agenda will also need to highlight issues with less pop culture resonance - such as the environment, food deserts and K-12 education - but are nevertheless as crucial as big ticket mainstream items such as jobs and criminal justice. “Increased emphasis on environmental just is key so that we don’t have any other communities experience what Flint, Mich. experienced,” he said. “We also need to raise awareness about the extremely low numbers of grocery stores in African American neighborhoods. We should have access to fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and fresh meat like every other community.”

“For now, Black politicians and members of our community may need to redefine what a legislative win looks like,” Michele Watley, former national African American outreach political director for Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid, told the AFRO. “The ability to block legislation that goes against our interest will likely be as big of a win as passing legislation that aligns with our interest.”

(R-S.C.) and Rep. William Hurd (R-Texas) have not joined the CBC. Richmond said that the CBC will be a force to be reckoned with in the new congressional session. “We will confront those who seek to take us back, make those demands [for our rights], venture outside of Washington to places where Black people live, work, and worship, and evolve to tackle the challenges of today,” he said. Paraphrasing a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quote, Richmond said, “We will continue to bend the arc toward justice.”

Richmond added that the CBC won’t kowtow anyone. “We won’t scratch where it doesn’t itch and won’t run from a fight,” he said.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), past CBC chairman, said Richmond is up to the task.

“There is no question that Cedric Levon Richmond of Generation X is well-suited and well-prepared to lead us,” Butterfield said.

“We look forward to following you.”

The oath of office for CBC members was conducted by former Rep. Cleo Fields of

“There is no question that Cedric Levon Richmond of Generation X is well-suited and well-prepared to lead us.”

– U.S. Rep. G. K. Butterfield

Louisiana, who served in the House from 1993-1997.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) congratulated Richmond on his new responsibilities and said the CBC matters in today’s political climate. “The CBC has long been known as the conscience of the Congress and also of the nation,” Pelosi said. Pelosi said the CBC’s voice will needed to speak about the injustice of having President Obama’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court blocked and that legislation to correct the Voting Rights Act isn’t scheduled for consideration. “On these issues, it isn’t about Democrats or Republicans, it’s about America,” she said.

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The Afro-American, January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017

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Black Gun Purchases Reportedly Skyrocket Since Trump Election dozens of White aggressions against Black residents have been captured and posted to social media, including a Nov. 13 incident on Metrorail, where a White male yelled at minority passengers to wear deodorant, stop speaking in other languages, get jobs, or be ready for Trump.

“Guns have always scared me and I have not allowed them into my home, despite my husband pushing for gun ownership the last 12 years,” Ward 8 resident Yolanda Braithwaite told the AFRO. “There are so many microaggressions, like many Whites are tired of being polite and respectful and are reverting back to days in this country when they could hit, spit on, curse out, and kill Black people with impunity. For Christmas, my husband finally got his wish.”

The Braithwaite’s Hillcrest household is not alone. Jason and Marie Alston, in Ward 6,

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com Gun store owners across the nation have witnessed a quadrupling of Black customers and an increase in membership to Black gun clubs since the Nov. 8 election of Donald Trump, according to NBC News Nationally, Blacks and other minorities are voicing a need to arm themselves against what some believe will be a White nationalist-led America.

The Stoddard’s Range and Guns Club in west Atlanta, for instance, reported that while their average clientele remained 50 percent White and 50 percent Black, a recent Black Guns Matter gathering hosted more than 300 people.

“Those folks were very, very interested in learning more about gun safety, about their legal rights, about purchasing guns,” Stoddard’s owner Kenneth Baye told {NBC News}. “Anxiety about the political climate was hard to miss . . . it was definitely an underlying tone.”

In and around the nation’s capital,

said following coverage of the post-election gathering at one of their favorite restaurants by members of the National Policy Institute, a White supremacist organization that

supported Trump, they decided to purchase a firearm.

“Let me state from the off that Trump is one man and I don’t think he is racist.

I believe his behavior incites racists – especially the weak and marginalized ones – to hold in regard as the next Hitler,” Jason Alston told the AFRO. “Well, just in case all of their Nazi salutes are in aid of harming me

or my family, we will not be sitting ducks.”

Others like Charles Sykes Jr., owner of CS Exchange, a Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealer in the metropolitan area, told the AFRO that much of the anxiety over Trump being elected could not be categorically connected to an increase in Black gun ownership. Black or White, said Sykes, any increase could be attributed to the lifting of strict D.C. gun laws that have prohibited many from gun ownership.

“It is not a topic Black Americans tend to have when they need a gun because of Trump when they come into the shop. A lot of the desire to have or feeling like they need a gun is based more on the Supreme Court saying that all residents had the right to own and register handguns,” said Sykes, whose shop has been in business for 22 years. “Since the law changed – I couldn’t say more Blacks than Whites are coming in and those who are have filtered in.

It’s not like people standing in line to buy the latest cellphone.”

Winter Skin Continued from A1 if working outdoors,” Rockville dermatologist Candice Drummond told the AFRO. “Some of us still apply the Vaseline, but there are a host of dietary and topical measure to keep the ash away.”

To guard against dry skin and lips, Drummond recommends limiting baths or showers to 4-5 minutes, using lukewarm water and using non-drying, mild soap for cleansing. Long showers and baths actually strip the skin of its natural oils. “Many of us like using perfumed soaps or gels, which smell great, but do a fair job of drying out the skin in winter. Even mild soaps

can have drying effects, so limit soap use to areas where you are prone to perspire or where dirt readily accumulates (face, hands, feet, underarms and groin area).”

Avoid products with alcohol or that can be drying and irritating to the skin like harsh scrubs.

Drummond also offered tips of daily moisturizing, being careful, again to avoid heavily perfumed lotions. “Look for lotions that contain humectants (glycerin, hyaluronic acid and urea). When you come out of the shower or bath, immediately apply the moisturizer to your damp skin. This will help

to seal the moisture in and provide a protective barrier from the harsh winter environment,” Drummond said.

inadvertently drying skin as they heat the area. A low-cost alternative to humidifiers are plants. When watered, plants help diffuse moisture

“Some of us still apply the Vaseline, but there are a host of dietary and topical measure to keep the ash away.”

– Candice Drummond Additionally, Dermatology News offered: Moisturizing the air at home and the office with a humidifier to keep the heating systems from

throughout the room. Drummond added that many Black families keep a sauce pan with water in it on top of heating convectors to the same end.

Avoid wool clothing next to your skin. Wool often irritates skin, making it itchy in the winter. Instead, wear cotton camisoles, undershirts, or long underwear underneath any wool clothing. Finally, keeping the body well hydrated by drinking ample amounts of water each day is critical to fighting against both dehydration and ash.

If suffering from dry, itchy skin in spite of following these skin care tips, Drummond recommends seeing a dermatologist to make sure the condition is not from allergies or a skin condition like psoriasis or eczema.

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January 7, 2017 - January 13. 2017, The Afro-American

COMMENTARY

A5

The Clock is Ticking on Baltimore’s Consent Decree

Time is of the essence. With all Baltimore City suffered over the past several months, the community has remained supportive of efforts to reach a comprehensive agreement on police reforms.

After several fits and starts, it appears the process of negotiation between the City and the Department of Justice is on track. That’s where it must stay until we have a signed and judicially-approved consent decree. This is perhaps the last, best chance for Baltimore City residents and police to reform public safety.

Failure to formalize and finalize reforms based on principles identified in the Aug. 9, 2016 “Agreement in Principle” document signed by representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the City of Baltimore (City), and Baltimore Police Department (BPD) will leave the efforts S. Todd Yeary to rebuild confidence in the community-police relationship in Baltimore City severely compromised.

Failure to reach consent will also remove the benefit of judicial oversight of the implementation of needed reforms, while leaving the City exposed to potential litigation (and settlement) for current and future constitutional violations. The popular tag line “You can pay now, or you can pay later” is appropriate here.

Since 1994, when the authority for DOJ to investigate police departments was codified in The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (42 USC § 14141), we have seen wide variance in the strategies utilized by U.S. Attorneys General to insure constitutional policing.

If the U.S. District Court, prior to the federal transition of power, does not approve a consent decree between the City and DOJ, the opportunity for establishing necessary reforms will likely revert to the collaborative review process. This is unacceptable, as the collaborative review process begun prior to the pattern or practice investigation did not identify the level and types of violations found during the pattern or practice investigation.

As a result, failure to reach an agreement on the decree could allow for the continued violations of Baltimoreans constitutional rights that have been persistent, imbedded aspects of the policing culture in the City. Be very clear, Attorneys General in Republican administrations rarely pursue consent decrees to remedy policing violations. Failure to reach an agreement could foster an environment of unconstitutional policing because of the perceived lack of oversight ability by the executive branch of City government.

Faith leaders, community organizations, and other advocacy groups have expressed concern about the state of negotiations around formalizing a consent decree between the City and DOJ on this issue. There is broad support for the Mayor Catherine Pugh’s efforts

in insuring that an agreement is reached in the coming days. The findings of the recent DOJ pattern or practice investigation, requested by the City AND community leaders, found City residents suffered significant constitutional rights violations. Many of the examples cited point out racist, sexist, excessive, and unconscionable policing. The report’s findings warrant the urgent adoption of a substantive, comprehensive agreement identifying corrective police reforms.

This is not the time to point fingers, but to link arms to make our beloved city better and stronger. Our shared obligation to better the community-police relationship cannot be deferred. The commitment to constitutional police reforms must be established now.

S. Todd Yeary is senior pastor at Douglas Memorial Community Church in Baltimore and principal, Community Churches for Community Development.

Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men

Whether Black on Black street violence, the fighting in Palestine over existence and the occupation of land, sabre rattling by Russia, China or North Korea or the ever present threat and use of terrorism, the one gift we all wish we could have is “…peace on earth; goodwill toward Men,” as stated in the King James Bible and expressed in most holy books.

The Quran states clearly at 25:63, “…the worshippers of John R. Hawkins the All-Merciful are they who III tread gently upon the earth, and when the ignorant address them, they reply: Peace!”

This thing we call peace, like all other worthy gifts, comes from hard work. We all have heard the saying that “…freedom is not free;” well from my foxhole, peace is not easy to obtain and even harder to sustain – and it is only worth the toil and trouble if sustained. If not sustained peace is only a respite from enhanced hostilities.

Whether we are concerned about community violence in America or international violence in the Middle-East, one thing is clear: the acts of violence achieve nothing. Rather, conversation and a meeting of the minds is what leads to the cessation of hostilities. Such conversations are not easily undertaken and often are even more difficult to pursue through to a mutually satisfactory outcome.

Peace takes work. Hard-thoughtful planning and commitment; not quick sound bites such as those heard recently about fueling an enhanced arms race (I say enhanced because to say “new” implies, such a race does not currently exist; and from my foxhole it quietly has existed and exists right now ever since the firing of the first atomic bomb in July 1945 in Alamogordo, NM.) Making peace is something we all can do. Whether it is working with organizations in our communities to stop the violence or making it clear that saber-rattling by national leaders will not be tolerated, there are actions we can, in fact we must, undertake for the good of those we love. Whether it means you work prevent street violence with groups such as the “Hampton U/ Howard U. Promise Program,” which aims to end violence among and between young Black males, or contributing to your favorite international cause, like it or not, we are the answer, not someone else. This is our problem to

fix. We must own it and go about doing our part to achieve and sustain this wonderful state of being called peace.

From my foxhole, being at peace also means that one must be well (not to be confused with in perfect health). You can contribute to peace on many fronts. You may wish to take the time to ensure that local political leaders use your tax dollars to enhance the delivery of mental healthcare, behavioral healthcare and physical healthcare in environments conducive to improving one’s well-being. You may choose to ensure elected officials, government workers and community groups work diligently for the betterment of those needing services. You may perform mentoring or counseling services to the youth of today to let them know that there are ways of resolving differences other than killing each other and ways to be successful and then help them realize that goodness.

From my foxhole, I am going to do all I can to help bring and sustain peace. Aren’t you?

Maj Gen US Army (ret) John R. Hawkins III, JD, MPA is President and CEO of Hawkins Solutions Intl., a government relations and lobby company. His last military assignment as a “two star” was Dir., Human Resources Directorate for the Army world-wide and prior to that Deputy Chief Public Affairs for the Army, world-wide.

Trump’s New Deal for Black America Won’t Work President-elect Donald J. Trump has a plan for Black America. However, the plan is tone deaf and pays little attention to the actual needs and desires of the community. In many ways they are just a re-hash of his larger plans for the nation.

In his outreach to African Americans, Donald Trump touted his support for school choice as a departure from traditional failings in public education which have so badly affected Black youth. Some have gone as far as to call school choice the civil rights issue of our time. The substandard education that has historically been offered to African American students has in many cases been disturbing. Trump and his surrogates are not wrong for supporting Charter schools, vouchers, and school choice. The problem is they are positing it as a cure all for the ills of urban education and the achievement gap.

School choice has some undeniably excellent qualities. It could potentially not only increase teacher accountability, but teacher salaries along with it. Projections from the conservative National Center for Policy Analysis say universal school choice could raise teacher salaries by as much as $12,000 annually in Houston.

Charter schools have produced excellent results in many parts of the country including the nation’s capitol. According to U.S. News and World Report, “ …charter students gained the equivalent of 72 days of extra learning per year in reading, 101 in math, compared to traditional public students” Conservatives love charters because they operate at a lower cost, but they still have a business model. If they aren’t generating revenue, they run the risk of closing. Also, charters

Jason Nichols

have a reputation for unfair disciplinary practices. While 17% of charters educate children better than public schools (a high or low number depending on your expectations), they also expel problem students to achieve those results. Ultimately, some children will be left behind.

School choice in many ways operates on the assumption that some children are worthy of an excellent education. It also allows for wealthy private schools to depend on public taxpayer subsidies rather than private scholarships that should come from their endowments. Public schools, however, run the risk of being defunded.

School choice will fix some problems, but potentially create new ones. Trump’s new deal for Black America does not address fundamental issues that affect Black America.

Donald Trump promises safe communities by placing more law enforcement officials in African-American neighborhoods, without addressing the fractured relationship between the community and police. Their attempt to clean up the street could very well be interpreted as an occupation and their desire to rid the community of drug dealers and gang members could turn into an assault on young Black and brown males.

He would be better served working police reform and mentorship programs to create successful partnerships between law enforcement and communities.

President-elect Trump promises equal treatment under the law, and the abandonment of a two tiered criminal justice system, but gives hardly any details into how he plans to achieve this end.

Trump wants to stop illegal immigration, and makes his case to African-Americans that this action would be to their

benefit. However, the idea that undocumented immigrants are the primary obstacle to African-American employment has long been debunked. African-Americans struggle with unemployment and underemployment at all levels, including the highly educated. Furthermore, Blacks have had high levels of unemployment since before undocumented immigration was an issue. African-American unemployment is high and has been for decades due to institutional racism.

The next administration also claims to want to protect the African-American church. He gives no details on how the church was in jeopardy in the first place, or how his administration will protect it.

Donald Trump’s plan makes consistent references to the inner city as a euphemism for Black. However, AfricanAmericans are leaving the inner cities in record number.

Trump’s plan should be much broader than just focusing on inner cities.

In the end, Trump’s plan shows he listens only to those who echo what he already thought. He doesn’t address police reform and instead talks about lowering crime. If the President elect is sincere, he will convene African-Americans and Latinos from both sides of the political spectrum and do more listening as to what the concerns of the communities are and how the Trump Administration can assist.

Jason Nichols is a full-time lecturer in the African American studies department at the University of Maryland College Park and the current editor-in-chief of Words Beats & Life: The Global Journal of Hip-Hop Culture, the first peer-reviewed journal of hip-hop studies.

A6

The Afro-American, January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017

Jackson

Continued from A1

problem for our nation,” Jackson said Thursday. “It has, instead, pitched its policies toward the rich.”

Jackson, joined by Rep. Ron Dellums D-Calif., District of Columbia, Mayor Marion Barry and local leaders, announced plans for nationwide demonstrations Jan. 18 in industrial cities hard-hit by unemployment.

Another protest has been scheduled for Jan. 19, two days before Reagan’s inauguration across from

the White House, the former Democratic presidential candidate said.

Jackson said his national Rainbow Coalition also will lobby Congress to resist cuts in domestic spending proposed by Reagan.

Blaming “slave labor” in South Africa for a loss of jobs in America’s steel and mining industries, Jackson said Reagan administration’s policies are encouraging U.S. firms to do business in the white-ruled nation.

“Where White and Hispanic copper miners in Arizona are struggling for $9 per hour, they are losing their jobs to slaves in South Africa working for 37 cents

per hour,” he told reporters at the Shiloh Baptist Church.

Jackson praised the recent series of South African Embassy demonstrations against that country’s system of racial separation known as apartheid. “The new visibility being given to apartheid has allowed a volcano to explode. And now we see the lip of the iceberg as we develop a solid policy against South Africa,” he said.

Jackson said he plans to travel to South Africa to visit Nobel Peace Prize recipient Bishop Desmond Tutu in February and is scheduled to meet with Pope John Paul II to ask for more help in protesting South African policies.

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January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017, The Afro-American

B1

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY-AREA

Miss D.C. USA

D.C. Churches Find Promised Land in Md.

Ciera Brookins Memorialized

Courtesy photo

Photo by Rob Roberts

Rev. Jeffrey Mitchell, Sr., pastor of Rock Creek Baptist Church, said that moving out of D.C. was the best option for the church’s longevity.

By Hamil R. Harris Special to the AFRO For Sandy Tate, worshipping at Rock Creek Baptist Church meant making a 45-minute trek from Upper Marlboro, Md. into the District and then trolling for parking in the congested Petworth Community.

But now Tate’s church home is only 10 minutes away because after years of not having parking or the ability to expand, Rock Creek Baptist Church moved to a new home that sits on 25 acres of land. “Every time we came into the District we had to worry about parking and the police writing tickets,” said Tate, one of the trustees of a church that moved into Prince George’s County about three months ago.

The Rev. Jeffrey L.

“Now we have parking, we have space, we have classrooms for learning…”

– The Rev. Jeffrey L. Mitchell Sr.

Mitchell Sr., pastor of the 144-year-old congregation, said the church tried for years to expand but about a decade ago realized there was no way to grow at their 8th and Upshur Streets, NW location. The church moved to Maryland in October.

“We couldn’t expand to do ministry,” Mitchell said.

“Now we have parking, we have space, we have classrooms for learning, we now have enough room to do multiple things at once.”

But John-Paul C. Hayworth, the outgoing Ward 4 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, said while parking is a major problem in the area, he was surprised and “saddened” when he found out the church was moving. “I live four doors down from the church and I didn’t know until I saw the sign go up,” said Hayworth, adding he was particularly bothered that the church Continued on B2

Photo by Rob Roberts

Dylan Murphy, Miss D.C. Teen USA 2016; Jasmine Jones, Miss D.C. USA 2016; Deshauna Barber, Miss USA 2016; Kara McCullough, Miss D.C. USA 2017 and Nadiya Williams, Miss Teen D.C. USA 2017. See more photos of the Miss D.C. USA pageant on B4.

Young Douglass Orators Compete in National Park Service Competition

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com On Dec. 23 the National Park Service announced the winners of the annual oratorical contest at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site. The 2016 competition, held Dec. 9 and 10, saw 80 students in grades 1-12 present a portion of a Douglass speech. The students chose speeches that meant something to them and were judged on a system that included memorization, deportment, and delivery.

The oratorical contest provided students with opportunities for more than 30 years. There are four separate award categories: Elementary (grades 1-3); Junior (grades 4-5); Junior High (grades 6-8); and Senior High (grades 9-12). The judges were from the community in addition to members of the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association. The association provided prize money to the first, second and third place winners in each of the four categories.

“The speeches were amazing this year – as they are each year, in fact. And I am so pleased to see so many young ladies taking to the stage this year,” Marilyn Moser, an educator and reading specialist who attended the event this year. “So many were impassioned in their young deliveries and having taught for more than 60 years, I found it exhilarating.”

The goal of the contest is for students to experience the same transformative power of language that Frederick Douglass experienced as a young man. The winners are: Elementary

Photo by Shantella Sherman

Silas Montgomery, a homeschooled Takoma Park, Md. resident, dressed as Frederick Douglass wowed the audience with his recitation of The Meaning of July Fourth to the Negro. (grades 1-3): 1st place, Gabrielle Sutherland, homeschooled, Baltimore, Md.; 2nd place, Isaiah Montgomery, homeschooled, Takoma Park, Md.; 3rd place, Ethan Sutherland, homeschooled, Baltimore, Md. Junior (grades 4-5): 1st place, Silas Montgomery, homeschooled, Takoma Park, Md.; 2nd place, Aneesh Mandapatti, Floris Continued on B2

Prince George’s County

Prince George’s County

By The Associated Press

By AFRO Staff

Police are searching for a 44-year-old man after a DNA test linked him to the 1999 rape of a teenage girl.

Prince George’s County police identified the man as Richard Cedric Taylor in a news release on Dec. 29, 2016.

The case involves a then15-year-old girl who girl said Courtesy photo she was talking with friends Richard Cedric Taylor, 44, when a man she didn’t know is wanted for raping a offered her a ride home. She teenage girl in 1999. said she got into the car and the man took her to a vacant Capitol Heights apartment, where she was assaulted and raped.

The case went unsolved for years until a DNA hit in September linked Taylor to the crime.

Taylor is now wanted on charges of second-degree rape and first- and second-degree assault. His last known address was in Temple Hills, Md.

Prince George’s County Police are investigating two unrelated homicides.

The department said in a news release that the first slaying occurred late Dec. 30, 2016 in Capitol Heights, Md. Officers say 27-year-old Carrington Carter II of Fort Washington died at a hospital after being found with a gunshot wound.

Police Investigating 2 DNA Links Man to 1999 Rape of Teen Girl Homicides

Continued on B2

Homicide Count 2016 Total

98

2017 Total

0

Data as of Jan. 4

Chaplain (LTC) Grace Hollis, pastor of the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Gospel Service, delivers the eulogy at the funeral of Ciera Brookins Dec. 19 as her parents, family and friends mourn her passing.

By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com Ciera Brookins, the late daughter of Edgar Brookins, the AFRO’s Washington D.C. office general manager, was remembered by her family and friends in a passionate funeral service with plenty of tears of joy and sadness.

Ciera Nicole Brookins, daughter of Evelyn Collier and Edgar A. Brookins Jr., died from a Lupus-related illness on Dec. 19 at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore. The memorial service took place on Dec. 28 at the Fort Myers Memorial Chapel in Fort Myers, Va. Minister Lougenia Carnell told the 65-member audience not to be sad. “We’re not here for a funeral,” Carnell said. “We are here to

“I’m here to celebrate my baby.”

– Edgar A. Brookins celebrate the homegoing of Ciera Brookins. This is a celebration of life.”

Ciera was born on Oct. 30, 1991 in Cheverly, Md. She attended Prince George’s County public schools, graduating from Largo High School and was a junior at Morgan State University studying to be a social worker.

She was a devoted member of the Sunday school, the usher ministry, and church at the Gospel Service, Joint Base MyerHenderson Hall. William Douglas served as Ciera’s Sunday school teacher and talked about her faithfulness to the church.

“There were times when we had Sunday school and there were only four people attending,” Douglas said.

“That afforded for some time for some real down-to-earth discussions. Any parent would be proud to have an honest child with a special smile and a loving spirit who seeks a deeper understanding of God’s Word.”

Continued on B3

B2

The Afro-American, January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017

Trey Songz Kicked Out of MGM National Harbor

By Chelsea Burwell Special to the AFRO

December seems like a terrible month for Trey Songz after being kicked out of a casino resort in Maryland and arrested in Detroit.

Courtesy Photo

The end of 2016, spelled nothing but trouble for R&B singer Trey Songz.

On Dec. 23, the Virginia native was kicked out of the MGM National Harbor Casino in Oxon Hill, Md. According to a video posted on the entertainer’s Snapchat account on Dec. 23, the 32-year-old, whose real name is Tremaine Neverson, said he was playing cards at a table when a man at another table started “talking crazy.” After his security approached the man to settle the disturbance, the artist said he and his crew were ejected from the casino for being “unruly.”

In his Snapchat video, Songz decried, with profanities, the Prince George’s County police, the MGM casino in both Prince George’s County and Las Vegas and its employees. The video has appeared on several social media sites

including Instagram and You Tube with more than 3,000 views combined.

“F*** the MGM…once more,” Songz said in a post on Twitter on Dec. 25. The post was liked by more than 1,000 people

Donelan, spokeswoman for the Prince George’s County Police Department, said that her department was not involved in Songz’ ejection from the resort.

In a separate incident, on Dec. 28,

“…the artist said a MGM staff member offered to accommodate him if his social media posts relating to the incident were deleted.” and retweeted more than 300 times.

Neither, MGM or Songz’ label commented on the incident. However, in the video, the artist said a MGM staff member offered to accommodate him if his social media posts relating to the incident were deleted.

Even though, the singer vocalizes his displeasure with law enforcement in the video posted to social media, the Washington Post reported that Jennifer

Songz was taken into custody in Detroit, Mich. for unruly behavior.

He was charged Dec. 29 with aggravated assault and assaulting a police officer after he threw microphones and speakers from a stage, following his performance at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena.

Songz was released from jail Dec. 29 after posting the $25,000 bail, according to People Magazine. He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 5.

Churches

Continued from B1

allowed the building to be torn down. “They put in a provision that the church would be demolished. The developer didn’t do that.”

But Reginald Haynie, chairman of the deacon board at Rock Creek, said the church had no choice but to move on. “They would ticket us on Sundays and parking became more restricted,” Haynie said. “My vision now is to share God’s word with everyone because we are in the middle of everywhere.”

Rock Creek is one of several Black churches to leave the District in the last four decades. Ebenezer AME, Jericho City

“My vision now is to share God’s word with everyone, because we are in the middle of everywhere.”

– Reginald Haynie of Praise, and Metropolitan Baptist Church were all large D.C. congregations that moved to Prince George’s County as real

Competition Continued from B1

Elementary School, Herndon, Va.; 3rd place, Laila Brooks, Ducketts Lane Elementary School, Elkridge, Md. Junior High (grades 6-8): 1st place, Elijah Coles-Brown, Moody Middle School, Richmond, Va.; 2nd place, Dhruv Pai, Takoma Park Middle School, Silver Spring, Md.; 3rd place, F. Jerimah McClain, Friends Community School, College Park, Md. Senior High (grades 9-12): 1st place, Daevon Gurley, Bard High School Early

estate prices rose and young White families moved in. The old Rock Creek sanctuary was demolished to make way for four new row houses that will each hold two units. According to several sources, each unit will cost about $600,000.

Rock Creek has had several locations in its 144-year history, Mitchell said. The church has set up locations in Tenleytown, Foggy Bottom, and Eighth Street, where they remained from 1956 until Oct. 16, 2016.

Tate said while church has moved, every Sunday the church shuttles about 30 seniors from the Petworth community to the new sanctuary. “God is not doing a new thing we are just doing it in another way. The community is the church. There is a spiritual need out here,” Mitchell quoted from his wife.

“The goal of the contest is for students to experience the same transformative power of language that Frederick Douglass experienced as a young man.”

Homicides Continued from B1 College, Baltimore, Md.; 2nd place, Daniel Bates, homeschooled, Fort Washington, Md.; 3rd place, Sudhan Chitgopkar, South Forsyth High School, Cumming, Ga. All the winners will be invited back to Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in February 2017 to celebrate Douglass’s birthday and be recognized for their accomplishments and their school’s participation.

Courtesy Photo

Carrington Carter II was a victim in a homicide that occurred on Dec. 30.

Investigators say early Dec. 31, 2016 in Suitland, Md. 34-year-old Terria Petty of Suitland was found dead behind a building. Police say she had trauma to her upper body.

Police ask anyone with information about the two homicides to call the homicide unit.

January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017, The Afro-American

B3

Michelle Obama, ‘Hidden Figures’ Cast Promote Resilience for Black Girls

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com When Brea Dahlgren, a D.C. Ward 7 high school student, began watching “Hidden Figures” at a special December screening of the movie at the White House, her frame of reference regarding Blacks and women in the nation’s space program, was limited. By the end, Dahlgren had a new understanding of Black women in hard science careers. She also gained advice from First Lady Michelle Obama and the “Hidden Figures” lead cast members about the continuing need for resilience among Black female intellectuals.

The movie is scheduled to open nationwide on Jan. 6.

“I don’t complain about Hollywood. I don’t say that they don’t do this for Black women, and that, and the third. I just keep working because one day you look up and you’re a Golden Globe winner, you’re Academy Award-nominated, but I couldn’t get there by complaining,” Taraji Henson told the group of roughly 300 girls interested in science, technology, engineering, and math careers. “At the end of the day, you couldn’t take [Mary Jackson’s] mind from her. You could call her all kinds of names and belittle her efforts, but she had a brilliant mind that God gave her. And she walked in that. She did not complain.”

Henson’s words were more than a pep

talk about staying the course. Research has and have been regarded so shown that despite matriculating successfully little. But there’s still a lot of through STEM programs, and private and Ivy road to cover, a lot of stories League schools, Black girls tended to be most to tell.” ostracized and least accepted among their Perhaps no one has counterparts. In fact, a 2013 Atlantic Magazine understood the impact of feature reported that while Black boys were stereotypes and racial bias considered by their White peers to be cool and more than Michelle Obama. tough, Black girls were stereotyped as “ghetto” Her reign as First Lady caught Photo by Shantella Y. Sherman and “loud,” without any interaction. her firmly in the netting of First Lady Michelle Obama encouraged Black girls in Octavia Spencer encouraged the audience cruel stereotyping and harsh, STEM programs to ignore the naysayers and focus on to embrace a pop culture that respects them by undue criticism. their education. showing more of Black girls and women than For Obama, the goal, she mere stereotypes. Stereotypes from television, said, was always to ignore the she said, often fuel negative comments no one had ever thought before – people like beliefs about Black women and focus on the job. many of you in this room.” and their competency. “There “When you’re faced with Saying she and the President were is cognitive dissonance when overwhelming challenges supposed to be ‘hidden figures,’ who many I think of African-American in life – and in this case people didn’t believe were real, Obama women at that time and their it was winning the space stressed the importance of disregarding contributions at that time. race, it was a challenge that naysayers and being prepared by putting down There’s an underserved we were actually losing at cellphones and focusing on school. audience for stories of first, the United States. We “Skin color and gender are the most women like this working, and didn’t shrink back from that ridiculous defining trait that we cling to succeeding,” Spencer said. challenge, and we didn’t continuously. It doesn’t matter. What matters “There is a kind of fatigue on point fingers or cast blame. is that you believe in your own potential, and slave stories, on subjugated We just did the work,” that’s for sure, because people will try to tear stories, which for some Michelle Obama told you down, I guarantee you that. There will reason there is still a plethora the girls. “We sought out – Octavia Spencer the very best minds in math never be a point at which people will 100 of in Hollywood. I think this percent be cheering you on,” the first lady said. movie will be impactful in a and engineering at the “So, when you hit those barriers in life, all you lot of ways because Africantime, people with diverse have is your belief in yourself. That’s all you American women have contributed so much perspectives who could think in ways that have to fall back on.”

WASHINGTON AREA

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS Washington, D.C.

2017 Health and Fitness Expo

The 2017 NBC4 Health & Fitness Expo will be held from Jan. 7 to Jan. 8 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt Vernon Pl, NW. The event is a hands-on exposition that offers information on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle with forums on healthy cooking, exercise demonstrations, and fun activities for children, including games, face painting, etc. All events are FREE.

Shiloh Baptist Church Tech Clinic

Shiloh Baptist Church, 1500 Ninth Street, NW, will be holding a Technology Clinic on Jan. 7 at 10 a.m. Bring your old gadgets for a check up; or learn how to use them. The clinic is free and members, friends, and guests are welcome. Free Wi-Fi will be available and walk-ins are welcome. For more information, contact the church at (202) 232-4288.

Manassas, Va.

‘7’ Step Hand Dance Academy’s Line Dance Class The “7” Step Hand Dance Academy is scheduled to host a Line Dance Class at the Manassas Park Community Center, 99 Adams Street, on Jan. 8 from 2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m. Registration for the class will be held from 2 p.m.-2:15 p.m. For more information, contact Mia Jones at 804-306-8390 or email at miajones66@yahoo.com or Ray Morton at 240-271-6697 or email at rstrdm@aol.com.

Washington, D.C.

NASA’s Solutions for Enterprise Wide Procurement Training

The Solutions for Enterprise Wide Procurement (SEWP) Program Management Office (PMO) is scheduled to host a ‘SEWP Training Showcase’ at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt Vernon Pl, NW from Jan. 10-12. This three-day event encompasses training and information sessions for SEWP customers, industry and SEWP contract holders. On Jan. 10 from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. there will be SEWP training. This event is open to SEWP Customers and SEWP Contract Holders On Jan. 11 there will be an Industry Forum from 8 a.m. -2:30 p.m. This event is open to all industry and contract holders. For more information, visit https://www.sewp.nasa.gov/.

Shiloh Baptist Church Financial Peace University

On Jan. 11, Shiloh Baptist Church, 1500 Ninth Street, NW, will hold debt management classes under its Financial Peace University from 6:30-8 p.m. the classes will help residents get their finances in shape for 2017. For more information, contact David Hayes at fpu@shilohbaptist.org.

“There’s an underserved audience for stories of women like this working, and succeeding.”

Brookins

Continued from B1

Three of Ciera’s closest friends, Eric Hatton, Jamila Kamara, and Bria Stewart, talked about her and, at times, while one was speaking, another was crying softly and the other holding back tears.

“Ciera was my best friend, my partner in crime, and my love, “Hatton said. “I want to thank Mrs. C and Mr. Brookins for raising an amazing person.”

Lt. Col. Dexter Brookins, Ciera’s older brother, spoke about his relationship with her. He said that when she was having trouble in school, he would meet with her school counselors and “stalk her in the hallways to make sure that she was going to class.”

“We put her through some tough love,” Dexter Brookins said. “After that, she paid attention in class and acted responsibly.”

Dexter Brookins spoke highly of his sister, saying, “She came, she saw and she conquered. I salute you.”

Remarks delivered by Ciera’s father, Edgar Brookins, on behalf of himself and Collier, were the emotional high point of the service.

Edgar Brookins, known by friends as an even-tempered, no-nonsense individual, talked about his daughter emotionally. “I am here to celebrate my baby,” he said with a whimper. Edgar Brookins recalled that Ciera would call his office and ask “Dad, what’s up?”

“I would try to explain to Ciera that I was working to make the family money,” he said to some snickers in the audience. “I remember times when she would tell me about something that happened in her life but she only told me tidbits. I would learn the full story from her mother because she would tell her mother everything.”

During his remarks, Edgar Brookins sang stanzas of the Jackson 5’s “Never Can Say Goodbye” and Michael Jackson’s “Gone too Soon.”

Renee Allen, a friend of the Brookins family, presided over the ceremony. She read acknowledgements from the White House Office of Engagement, Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker III, Morgan State

University, Jackson State University and its alumni association, Omega Psi Phi, and the AFRO. Chaplain (LTC) Grace Hollis serves as the pastor of the Joint Base MyersHenderson Hall Gospel Service and delivered Ciera’s eulogy, noting the appropriateness of the service being held at the Memorial Chapel. “This was the

place where Ciera worshipped the Lord and served the Lord,” Hollins said. “She was active in the youth ministry, Sunday school, and she was a champion for children. She was a sweet, kind, devoted daughter, sister, and friend.”

Brookins body is set to be cremated and placed in a D.C. mausoleum during a ceremony for close family and friends.

B4

The Afro-American, January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017

Kara McCullough, Miss D.C. USA 2017 and Nadiya Williams, Miss D.C. USA Teen 2017

The Miss D.C. USA pageant was held on Dec. 17 at the Renaissance Washington Hotel in Northwest.

T. Kara McCullough and Nadiya Williams were crowned as Miss D.C. USA 2017 and Miss Teen D.C. USA 2017, respectively.

The former Miss D.C. USA and Miss D.C. Teen USA, Dylan Murphy and Jasmine Jones, received a farewell salute. Reigning Miss USA 2016, Deshauna Barber also attended the pageant.

Both contestants will go on to compete in the Miss USA pageant scheduled to be held later this year.

Miss Teen D.C. USA 2017, Nadiya Williams and Miss D.C. USA 2017, Kara McCullough with pageant judges

Miss D.C. USA contestants Miss D.C. Teen USA evening gown competition

Dylan Murphy, Miss D.C. USA Teen 2016 and Jasmine Jones, Miss D.C. USA 2016

Miss D.C. USA Teen sportswear competition

Former Miss D.C. USA winners

Kamie Crawford and Chris Saltalamacchio, pageant emcees

Miss D.C. USA evening gown competition

Marismah, Army Veterans Kyra Davenport, Wendy Jo Myers and Edgar Brookins, AfroAmerican Newspapers D.C. general manager Pageant staff members

Photos by Rob Roberts

About 500 D.C. area residents attended the 31st Annual Olender Foundation Awards at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center on Dec. 8. In addition to a dozen law students

from Howard Law School and the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke Law School, major awards were given to three

local personalities, including Greg Twombley and Aaron “Cliff” Webster who received the Children’s Advocate Award. Kenneth Holbert, received the Advocate for Justice award.

Photos by Marshall Cohen

Jack Olender Host Paul Berry

Annamaria Steward, president of the D.C. Bar and associate dean at UDC David Clarke School of Law

UDC David A. Clarke School of Law Dean Shelley Broderick and student awardee Thomas Matthews IV

Advocate Awardee Greg Twombley and Presenter Tanya Roane, Ph.D., principal of Cardozo Education Campus

Howard University School of Law Dean Danielle Holley-Walker and student awardee Logan Patmon

Debra Tidwell, singer for the event

Kenneth Holbert and Dean Shelley Broderick Presenter Judge Alex Manuel, Advocate for Justice Awardee Kenneth Holbert and Jack Olender

Kenneth Holbert; Jack Olender; Dean Alfreda Robinson, George Washington School of Law; Judge Alex Manuel, administrative judge with the Department of Housing and Urban Development

Children’s Advocate Awardee Aaron “Cliff” Webster, executive director of Kingman Boys and Girls Club; Presenter Charles Allen - previous Unsung Hero Awardee on behalf of his father Eugene Allen “The Butler” and Jack Olender

To purchase this digital photo page contact Takiea Hinton: thinton@afro.com or 410.554.8277.

January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017, The Afro-American

‘Hidden Figures’

ARTS & CULTURE

C1

Film Celebrates Work of Black Women Engineers in NASA Space Program Katherine Goble, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan were hardly household names in 1961 as the U.S. space program under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) attempted to keep pace with its global competitors. However, with the release of the film “Hidden Figures” on Dec. 6, the trio of Black women, whose computations and intellectual zeal solidified America’s nonpareil position in the space race, they will soon become household names.

Katherine Goble (Taraji P. Henson) a mathematical prodigy, assigned by NASA to join an all-White, male team of engineers charged with calculating the launch coordinates and trajectory for an Atlas rocket. Her reception is cold, aggressive, and undermining, which force audiences to cheer all the more, when Goble’s tenacity pays off.

The deliberate pace of the film offers a slow build that effectively documents the trials of women fighting pressure to abandon their efforts from their colleagues, and at times, their relatives.

Based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s nonfiction book of the same title, the film, and directed

by Theodore Melfi (who wrote the script with Allison Schroeder), “Hidden Figures” recounts

Courtesy Photo

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com

Janelle Monet portrays Mary Jackson, one of three African-American women engineers to bring NASA’s glass ceiling in the film ‘Hidden Figures.’ the critical roles Goble, Jackson (Janelle Monet) and Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) performed in not only creating complex math equations to solve the problems hindering the successful space launch, but also doing so in the face of both overt racism and sexism.

“We don’t have parades for mathematicians; we have parades for astronauts — but tonight is a parade for mathematicians,” director Theodore Melfi told the SVA Theatre audience at a premiere of Hidden Figures. “I hope this film shows

kids of all races and sexes that there’s more opportunity and success to be had than in a Kardashian kind of world. To see a different dream about their mind is so desperately needed.”

Courtesy photo For Shetterly, who grew up around scientists, near NASA’s Hampton Virginia headquarters, the manuscript allowed her to more fully examine a host of Black women mathematicians – literally hidden in plain view – throughout the organization’s heyday.

“When I started digging into records, I

realized that Mary Jackson was a manager as the head of a group of Black female mathematicians in the 1950s. She was the very first African-American manager in all of the organization that would become NASA,” Shetterly told the AFRO. “Learning how these women were able to achieve this measure of success back then, was a revelation and it demonstrates how these women are a part of the American mosaic, too.”

Henson, Spencer, and Monet give Academy Award-winning performances, and are anchored brilliantly by Kevin Costner (Al Harrison) and Glen Powell (astronaut John Glenn).

But far from being just a tale of resilience in the face of overt bias – which included having to walk nearly a mile across the campus of NASA to use the segregated bathroom, and having co-workers suddenly add a “Colored” coffeepot to the kitchen – “Hidden Figures” helps recast the historical gaze, according to film historian David Shackleford.

“Our culture is so used to seeing White men in authority that mentioning the NASA, one automatically envisions White men in starched shirts and ties chain-smoking through math equations. If there is a woman in the room she is White and a secretary; if she is Black, then she is the cleaner,” Shackleford told the AFRO. “This film is brilliant in forcing audiences to move away from stereotypes.”

Art

Haitian Revolution Captured in New D.C. Exhibit

By Lenore T. Adkins Special to the AFRO

An upcoming exhibition at the Phillips Collection in Northwest D.C. features 15 rarely seen silkscreen prints about Toussaint L’Ouverture — the Haitian ex-slave turned general who led a revolution that ultimately wrested the island from French control and ended slavery.

The exhibit, called “To Haiti Let Us Go,” shows works from late African-American painter Jacob Lawrence, who created the series between 1986 and 1997. It’s based on an earlier series of paintings Lawrence executed on the same topic in the 1930s, said Elsa Smithgall, the museum’s curator. The exhibit opens on Jan. 7 and closes April 23.

The former French colony, with its massive coffee and sugar exports that relied on slave labor and used brutality to keep slaves in check, was the most profitable colony in the Americas by the 1760s, according to the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Historian.

L’Ouverture was born into slavery in 1743 in Haiti, and led a massive slave insurrection on the island against White planters in 1791. Three years later, the French National Convention abolished slavery in France and in all of its colonies. L’Ouverture rolled out a Haitian constitution in 1801 that declared him governor-general for life according to Britannica.com.

But Napoleon Bonaparte sent troops to invade Haiti the next year in a failed attempt to restore French control and slavery to the island. French officials invited L’Ouverture to France under false pretenses, and under Napoleon’s orders, French soldiers kidnapped and imprisoned him because they were fearful L’Ouverture was planning another uprising, according

Collection of Di and Lou Stoval

Jacob Lawrence, Toussaint at Ennery (print based on painting from The Life of Toussaint L’Ouvertureseries), 1989. to Britannica.com. L’Ouverture died in a French prison in 1803.

The Haitian Revolution persisted until after the Haitians defeated Napoleon’s army at the Battle of Vertieres in 1803.

The following year, Haiti became an independent state, and with it, the world’s first Black republic and the second country in the Americas after the United States to earn its independence.

France retaliated against Haiti in 1825 by imposing a trade embargo that forced Haiti to pay 125 million francs to the French for the loss of its slaves. Haiti, relegated to borrowing money at unfavorable rates from foreign banks, did not repay the debt until 1947. Haiti is now the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world,

according to the World Bank.

Lawrence, who died in 2000, captured multiple stages of the Haitian Revolution — some depict violence and others show soldiers quietly plotting the next maneuver.

“The thing about Toussaint L’Ouverture that Lawrence is really interested in expressing here, that he does in so many of his works, is the struggle … and the part about searching for freedom and doing away with oppression,” Smithgall said.

Lou and his wife, Di Stovall, who are D.C. residents, own the collection and were friends with Lawrence and his wife, Gwendolyn Knight, for decades. Lou Stovall, 79, and Lawrence forged their friendship in the 1960s after one of Stovall’s professors introduced them at Howard University.

Lawrence later tapped Stovall, a master print maker, to print the silkscreen images that comprise “To Haiti Let Us Go” in order to dramatically capture the revolution and suffering Haitians experienced under French colonial rule. The collection, one of the first to bring substantial recognition to Lawrence, also meant a great deal to the artist, and showed his lifelong passion for the human condition, Stovall said.

“Jake, first of all, learned about the Haitians and their predicament with France and with Spain through reading and he was concerned, of course, about the plight of all people,” Stovall said. “He wanted everyone to be free.”

Phillips officials hope visitors understand how this series and its depiction of freedom, social justice and the fight against oppression paved the way for Lawrence’s famous Migration Series, which depicts African Americans fleeing the racist South for better lives in the North.

Phillips typically houses Lawrence’s Migration Series, but museum officials loaned it to the Seattle Art Museum. “To Haiti Let Us Go” temporarily replaces it.

SPORTS

Where the Ravens and Washington NFL Went Wrong

By Perry Green AFRO Sports Editor pgreen@afro.com

Losing sucks. But it’s even worse when you’re not used to losing.

That’s how the fanbase of both the Baltimore Ravens and the Washington NFL team feels right about now, as both teams missed out on the playoffs this year.

Baltimore finished its season Jan. 1 with an 8-8 record, despite how it controlled its own destiny just two weeks ago when the team was 8-6 and only needed to win out to make the AFC postseason tournament.

Washington ended the season in similar fashion with an 8-7-1 record, also controlling its own destiny in the end.

Washington needed only to win its regular season finale at home against the New York Giants Sunday afternoon to clinch a wildcard seed in the NFC playoffs. But just like Baltimore, they lost, crushing the hearts of Washington fans.

So, what went wrong?

For starters, the Ravens’ struggled all season to find an offensive identity. Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco had a careerhigh 4,317 passing yards on the year, marking the first time of his nine-year career he passed for more than 4,000 yards. But that’s only because he threw the ball 672 times, the second most thrown by any quarterback this season.

Baltimore had never been known as a pass-happy team; Flacco spent most of his career managing a balanced offensive attack. The Ravens usually ran the ball a lot, which would then set up the deep-ball play for Flacco. The big-armed quarterback would take his fair amount of shots down the field, but he was

AP Photo/Frank Victores

Cincinnati Bengals running back Rex Burkhead (33) breaks a tackle from Baltimore Ravens strong safety Matt Elam (33), on Jan. 1, in Cincinnati. The Ravens and the Washington NFL team were both eliminated from playoff contention. never throwing the ball as much as he did this season. During Flacco’s first five seasons of his career (which each ended with the Ravens in the playoffs), he never threw the ball more than 542 times. He passed the ball 531 times the year Baltimore won the Super Bowl in 2012. Instead of following that strategy this season, the Ravens forced the passing game and it really hurt them.

Fortunately, Baltimore was able to lean on its defensive unit most of the year to remain competitive. The unit ranked in the top three throughout the majority of the season, and was ranked No. 1 in run defense for the first 14 weeks of the season.

But the run defense broke down during the final stretch of the

season, giving up a hundred-yard runner in each of the Ravens’ last three games. Baltimore couldn’t overcome that and lost two of those three games.

Washington wasn’t any better stopping the run in its loss to the Giants Sunday. They gave up 161 rushing yards to New York, while only running for 38 yards itself. Perhaps Washington was also a little too pass happy as quarterback Kirk Cousins threw the ball 20 more times than the team ran it.

Cousins tossed two interceptions in that loss, including a pick that ended the game with less than a minute left.

It was a fitting end to Washington’s season. They put in the ball in Cousins’ hands with the season on the line and he determined their fate. Some would say that fate was predetermined ever since Washington’s front office decided to pay Cousins $19.5 million this offseason under the franchise tag. If you pay your quarterback that much money, you’re practically obligated to ride his shoulders when the games are one the line. Cousins just wasn’t strong enough to carry the load. Not yet, anyway.

That leaves Washington fans wondering if Cousins will ever be strong enough, or good enough, to lead Washington to a Super Bowl. He’s very talented, and his numbers over the last two seasons as a starter prove it.

But Kirk is no longer a young quarterback who can depend on talent and potential. He’s played five years in the league.

He led Washington to the playoffs in 2015, but then stunk it up in the playoff game. He led Washington to a “win-and-getin” scenario in Week 17 this season, but then stunk it up in the game. There’s a trend developing there, and if it continues, Washington fans may be in for a lot more disappointment in the future.

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The Afro-American, January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017

Nelson George Talks Netflix’s ‘The Get Down’ of these people will become legends and what they’ll create will change the world.”

Longtime music and cultural critic, Gabriel “Kwikstep” Dionisio was author, and filmmaker Nelson George one of those kids growing up during the (“A Ballerina’s Tale”) recently teamed early days of hip-hop. He eventually up with iconic filmmaker Baz Luhrmann became a world renowned breakdancer (“Moulin Rouge,” “Strictly Ballroom”) and has also seen the Netflix series. to create Netflix sensation, “The Get “What’s great about the show is that Down.” The series, which co-stars it ties everybody to a memory of what Will Smith scion Jaden Smith, is a once was and what it has become, and fictional depiction the lives of a group what it has been transformed into.” of talented teens in the Bronx of the The series also does an excellent seventies, who end up making history job of showing how hip-hop began by creating the music which came to be to grow and thrive during the dying known as hip-hop. Daveed Diggs from days of disco. Disco didn’t die silently “Hamilton” cameos throughout as the but experienced aggressive backlash. grown-up rap star version of the main The dawn of hip-hop parallelled character, Ezekiel played by newcomer a steady increase in popularity of Justice Smith. George shared some of rock and heavy metal in the White his experiences and observations about community. Ironically disco, with its that era as well as some insight into the encouragement of social integration, making of the film with the AFRO. was perhaps subconsciously viewed From the humblest roots, hip-hop as more subversive and threatening to has grown into a global culture and a the status quo than either rap or metal. multi-billion dollar business. It is also Each of these genres of music reinforced Courtesy photo a young enough phenomenon that most segregation in a way that disco did not.

(L to R) Tremaine Brown Jr., Shameik Moore and Jaden Smith star in Netflix’s ‘The Get Down’ Americans over the age of, say, thirty Asked about this, George said, “As we can spot any glaring inaccuracies in a illustrate in the show, hip-hop grew out show that purports to trace its roots. It of disco, out of the culture of the DJ as is not surprising then that many would king. What the pioneers did was find decade of moving people around the world experiences within a community segregated be watching the Netflix series closely for different records and a different aesthetic than is an epic one. Hip-hop is about choosing based on ethnicity, race, and class. When authenticity. what was happening in disco. If there was life and living it to the fullest, and at its best, asked about the decision of the filmmakers to Jeff Chang, author of his own seminal opposition it was more generational than a the series captures some of that energy. But I focus more on the teens and their friendships work on the genesis of hip-hop, “Can’t conscious rejection of disco. Many hip-hop think ‘The Get Down’ captures the exuberance and families, George said, “The show is told Stop, Won’t Stop” and head of Stanford at the birth of hip-hop better than the gravity from the point view of young people who find DJs played disco records that fit their set. As University’s Institute for Diversity in the Arts the hip-hop grew up they began moving into of the conditions that surrounded it.” an outlet for their creativity and dreams. It’s said, “The story of how youths in the Bronx the adult clubs, the stage and record business It can be argued that the show reflects an optimistic vision of young people who live and other Black neighborhoods in New York hip-hop would grow as a force throughout the a certain level of sophistication in in a very poor neighborhood in a city that has City created a culture that is now in its fifth understanding that there existed a diversity of basically written them off. We know that some ‘80s.”

By Nadine Matthews Special to the AFRO

Black Entrepreneurs Turn to Social Media

Greg Hatza, Local Musician, Is Digging Up His Roots

By Maliik Obee Special to the AFRO

By Rosa “Rambling Rose” Pryor Special to the AFRO

Social Media isn’t just the newest way to communicate, find love and reconnect with lost friends, it’s also a thriving marketplace. From conglomerates to start-ups, businesses are utilizing social media to further push their brand worldwide. Now, people of color are getting in on the action. Across the country, Black designers are using social media as a means to promote their works and circulate the Black dollar.

A 2015 study by the Pew Research Center found that 67 percent of Facebook users were African-American, along with 47 percent for Instagram and 28 percent for Twitter. In 2016, BlackBuying power increased to 1.2 trillion dollars.

Spending is annually increasing for AfricanAmericans, as people of color continue to strive to better themselves economically.

In light of what is going on across the country in terms of racial tension and violence,

more prevalent than ever, as people of color become more inclined to spend with their own kind. Currently, the hashtag has over 366,000 posts on Instagram, as entrepreneurs sell everything from knick-knacks, to

“If I can get a few people at every school to buy my stuff, word of mouth will travel for me, and I can get nationwide without leaving my house.”

–Andre Henry

more people of color are spending with their own.

The “Black Lives Matter” movement has spiked a rise in both activism and self-support. The hashtag #SupportBlackBusiness is

Instagram

Baltimore based Cashland Apparel received a boost when rap superstar Snoop Dogg posted a photo of the store’s clothes to Instagram.

paintings to clothes.

From restaurants, to banks, to stores, social media is boosting the revenue and appeal of Black businesses.

The mythical “Black Twitter”, a realm of social commentary especially for people of color, is responsible for booming businesses with just 140 characters.

All it takes at times is the right person or figure to tweet about the latest black clothing line or black-owned fashion line, to boost sales.

Across the country, Black-owned businesses are being started off the ground, but instead of flyers and pamphlets, they are using tweets and posts to spread awareness. Local business owners, especially those in fashion are capitalizing on the movement as well.

Baltimore’s Jon Cash has been building Cashland Apparel since it was established in 2001, becoming a staple in urban fashion in the area. The apparel store is located on West Pratt Street, but on a stroll through the city you can see the latest Cashland threads on teens and adults alike.

But social media has created a different type of buzz, from those unfamiliar with the brand, in the city and beyond. Like when Philadelphia rapper Freeway

Greg Hatza, of the musical group Greg Hatza ORGANization, just released his new CD called “Diggin Up My Roots,” a collection of R&B and Blues songs that he grew up with.

Hatza started playing professionally at the age of 16 with the Frankie Scott Trio in small towns in central Pennsylvania. Because there were no jazz organ instructors at the time, Greg was largely self taught, picking up most of his insider knowledge from the organ players at jam sessions at a local club called the Grand Hotel.

It was there he met Baltimore Colts’ Lenny Moore who asked the teenager to perform at a club he was opening in Baltimore on Gwynn Oak Avenue. Moore became Greg’s manager and Baltimore became Greg’s home. He recorded two albums for MCA subsidiary label Coral Records.

In the late sixties, Baltimore was still an “organ” town and had its share of great players who helped Greg hone his jazz organ skills. Lenny Moore’s Club was a great stopping point for a lot of the national jazz who came to Baltimore to perform and it was here that Greg said he met his mentor Jimmy Smith. He also met, and played jam sessions with such personalities as Kenny Burrell, Groove Holmes, Damita Jo, Philly Joe Jones, Roland Kirk, Less McCann, James Moody and Sonny Stitt, among others.

Greg received a degree in composition from the Peabody Conservatory and a Master’s from the Peabody Conservatory, and a Masters degree from Baltimore’s Towson State University, where he taught jazz, piano composition, improvisation and music theory for many years. While at Towson, Greg organized a series of jazz concerts. He performed with artists such Courtesy photo as David Liebman, John Abercrombie, Greg Hatza’s new CD is called ‘Digging John Scofield, Dennis Chambers, and Dave Up My Roots.’

Samuels. Greg Hatza also participated in many jazz clinics throughout the Midwest with Stan Kenton, and later performed with the Towson Jazz Faculty Quartet in St. Petersburg, Russia.

“Every since I started piano lessons I was drawn to African American music. Improvising boogie woogies on the piano at 5 years old is probably why my mother decided to get me to a piano teacher quick. My father owned a small restaurant that had a juke box which had all the current R&B, blues and rock & roll songs. When the box was serviced for new records, they gave the old 45’s to my father, who in turn gave them to me,” Hatza told the AFRO. took a candid photo in the wears for Instagram. For some, seeing their favorite entertainers in the brand peaked their interest.

Cameron Robinson, a Washington D.C. native, got intrigued by the brand when he saw rapper Snoop Dogg holding up a shirt on Twitter.

“I’ve never even been to Baltimore, but when I seen Snoop with the shirt, I was like that’s dope, let me get a

few of them” said Robinson.

Andre Henry, a Morgan State student from the Eastern Shore, is using social media to market his clothing line to the masses.

In particular, Henry uses hashtags on social media to appeal to college students, especially those from Historically Black Colleges & Universities. Henry’s Persevere’ Clothing line is particularly branded to

HBCU students, focusing on the market of the younger generation.

“If I can get a few people at every school to buy my stuff, word of mouth will travel for me, and I can get nationwide without leaving my house” said Henry.

As social media continues to evolve, so do Black businesses in hopes of keeping up with the times and increasing their revenue.

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January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017, The Afro-American

D1

BALTIMORE-AREA

Race and Politics

Joan Carter Conway Heads List of Honorees at Anne Arundel’s King Awards

Exclusive

Despite It Lt. Gov. All, Give Rutherford Lays Thanks Out Ways for Baltimore and State to Work Together

With a little more than two weeks before the 45th President of the United States takes Sean Yoes office, there Senior AFRO continues Contributor to be much gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands here and around the globe.

Perhaps for good reason; Donald Trump continues his seemingly naive (and some argue treasonous) infatuation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and recently Trump has begun taunting (via Twitter of course) the dangerously unstable Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un.

Without delving into the much publicized details of each scenario, both Trump entanglements could have catastrophic consequences.

In the words of the venerable Hip Hop trio De La Soul, “Stakes is high.”

And the American people seem to have little confidence in the incoming president’s ability, well, to do much of anything competently.

According to the results of a Gallup Poll published January 2, less than half of Americans believe Trump can handle several duties and his numbers lag woefully behind former recent incoming Presidents, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Only 44 percent of respondents believe Trump could prevent major scandals in his administration, Continued on D2

Courtesy Photo

Maryland State Senator Joan Carter Conway will be honored for her civil rights work.

By AFRO Staff

Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford says he and the Hogan administration are ready to work with new Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh.

By Deborah Bailey Special to the AFRO Boyd Rutherford, the State’s ninth Lt. Governor and second African-American elected to the position, signaled that 2017 might be the Happy New Year Baltimoreans have needed since the 2015 unrest that shocked the city and nation.

In an exclusive interview with the AFRO Rutherford said that he and Gov. Larry Hogan are ready to press the reset button with Mayor Catherine Pugh to address a range of issues including the demolition and redevelopment process, education and transportation challenges that have been longstanding points of frustration with Baltimore residents.

Courtesy photo

to the state’s major demolition program known as Project C.O.R.E. that announced $16 million in demolition grants for community projects December 9th.

Community members like Joyce Smith with Project RENEW (Residents engaged in Neighborhood Empowerment and Wellbeing) remain concerned about community input in the State funded demolition process.

“We need to include residents living here who like their neighborhoods with whatever hardships people may see, to bring about neighborhoods change,” Joyce told the AFRO. Rutherford agrees. “It’s up to the City to decide what to do with – Boyd Rutherford the property. I don’t necessarily mean City Hall. I mean the people who City Hall represents will decide what it is they want in those communities,” he said.

“…the people who City Hall represents will decide what it is they want in those communities.”

Moving Forward with Vacant Building Demolition Program “We will accelerate what previous governors tried to do with those vacant properties,” Rutherford said in reference

Transferring Control of Baltimore City Public Schools Back Continued on D2

Baltimore Starts 2017 with 2 Homicides

Mayoral Transition

Jill P. Carter to Head Baltimore City’s Civil Rights Office

By AFRO Staff

By Briahnna Brown Special to the AFRO Former Del. Jill P. Carter has started her new job in Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh’s administration as director of the city’s Office of Civil Rights and Wage Enforcement.

“I am excited to have Jill Carter join my staff to lead the Office of Civil Rights and Wage Enforcement,” Mayor Catherine Pugh said in a statement. “She is a city resident whose legal and judicial background, as well as her legislative and community experiences, will bode well for the agency.”

Carter has served in the House of Delegates since 2003, representing Baltimore’s 41st Legislative District. In her new position, she will manage investigations on civil rights violations such as complaints against the city’s police force, fair employment practices, and wage laws.

The move comes as Baltimore and the Department of Justice are negotiating a consent decree Continued on D2

On Jan. 13, the largest celebration of Dr. King’s birthday in Anne Arundel County will be held at La Fountaine Bleue with the Naval Academy Gospel Choir performing and an address

by Reverend Dr. Kevin W. Cosby, who delivered the eulogy at Muhammad Ali’s funeral.

Maryland State Senator Joan Carter Conway is the recipient of the 2017 Courageous Leadership Award. Conway has been a member of the Senate since 1997 and her work has helped citizens across the State to receive better mental healthcare and health insurance. She has chaired the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee since 2007, and was vice chair from 2003 through 2007.

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Dinner in Continued on D2

Courtesy photo

Jill P. Carter left the state legislature to work in the administration of Mayor Catherine Pugh.

In Memoriam

Maxine Pryor Dies at 65

On the afternoon of Jan. 1, patrol officers in the Western District heard gunshots coming from the 1800 block of West Fayette St. When the officers arrived they found an adult male shot in the upper body. The victim of the gunshot wound was identified as 20-year-old Shearmon Pearlie, of the 4600 block of Reisterstown Rd. Pearlie was pronounced dead at the scene.

A few hours later, another officer from the Western District was patrolling in the 1000 block of North Mount St., when the officer heard gunshots and then saw a man who was armed with a gun. Police said the suspect fled the vicinity. The officer then found 33-year-old James Williams, of the 1100 block of North Stricker St., nearby with a gunshot wound inside a car. Williams was transported to an area hospital where he died from his injuries.

Both of these incidents are being investigated by Baltimore City homicide detectives. Anyone with further information about either shooting is asked to call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup.

By AFRO Staff

Courtesy photo

Maxine Pryor, sister of Rosa ‘Rambling Rose’ Pryor, died following a long illness.

Maxine Delores Pryor, sister of AFRO columnist Rosa ‘Rambling Rose’ Pryor, died on Dec. 5 following a long illness.

Born on Sept. 2, 1951, Pryor graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore in 1971. She worked at several of Maryland’s top hotels as a hostess and was a member of Wayland Baptist Church in Baltimore. Pryor was a fan of the Ravens, visiting casinos and spending time with her family.

She leaves behind two children Ty and Wayne, nine grandchildren, three sisters, two brothers, eight nieces, five nephews, two brothers-in-law and a sister in law.

Services were held at Joseph H. Brown, Jr. Funeral Home on Dec. 14.

318 2016 Total

4

2017 Total

Data as of Jan. 4

D2

The Afro-American, January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017

Rutherford Continued from D1

to Baltimore call for a full audit. How do you get yourself in the position of Rutherford projected big changes ahead for Baltimore City a $129 million shortfall?” Rutherford said.

Public Schools (BCPS).

“We need to see what the city’s going to do to address “The Mayor would like to end the partnership and have that issue before they come to the State. I think the new the city take back control of the schools and I agree with Superintendent is trying to get her arms around what’s going that,” said Rutherford referring to the present system of joint on,” he said. oversight of Baltimore City Public schools by the Governor’s Rutherford emphasized that he and the Governor continue Office and The City of Baltimore. Currently the Governor and to invest in innovative projects like P Tech schools to transform Mayor jointly appoint the City’s Board education across the state of School Commissioners who in turn “We’ve been trying to educate kids hire and oversee Baltimore City Schools the same way for 100 years and we need C.E.O. Sonja Santilesis. to bring innovation to the process,” “The challenge with the partnership Rutherford said. is that no one is in control,” Said “Last year we introduced P-Tech Rutherford. “I think there should have Schools at Carver and at Dunbar. The – Boyd Rutherford next locations for P-Tech Schools will been an audit of the school system called for years ago,” he said expressing be Prince Georges, Lower Eastern Shore concern over BCPS’s current $129 and Western Maryland.” million deficit.

“Those programs (P-Tech schools) are set up so the kids Rutherford is waiting for the City of Baltimore to develop a will be first in line for the skilled jobs that are here today and process to transfer full control of BCPS back into the hands of will be here in the coming years,” Rutherford said. the Mayor’s office.

P-Tech (Pathways in Technology Early College High “We anticipate the City taking full control of schools. It’s School) is an educational model co-developed by IBM just a matter of how that process unwinds,” Rutherford said.

International blending an integrated six-year high school, “There’s a lot of State and local money that doesn’t seem college and work place skills program. Students graduate with to always reach the classroom, so there’s concern there,” he both their high school diploma and a two-year post-secondary cautioned. degree from an accredited community college.

“When [Pugh] takes it over I think it’s smart on her part to

“We anticipate the City taking full control of schools.”

A New Slate for A Baltimore Transportation Plan Rutherford is open to new ideas to expand transit options for Baltimoreans, referring to the failed Red Line project championed by Former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

“If you are going to come up with a rail system, it should be an integrated system,” Rutherford said of the $2.9 billion rail line project proposed by the Blake administration. Red Line advocates said that the project would allow West Baltimoreans access to jobs on the city’s East side.

Rutherford said the proposal offered by Rawlings-Blake did not provide connectivity between the city’s current rail lines.

“If you look at D.C.’s metro system, it is an integrated system.

Baltimore has a Metro that is on one line and Light Rail system that don’t connect.”

“The plan was to run a third system, the Red Line, that wouldn’t connect with either one of those. In my opinion, it doesn’t make any sense.”

Working with Mayor Catherine Pugh Rutherford will do all he can to work with current Mayor Catherine Pugh to reset the agenda in areas where city-state cooperation is essential.

“I think the relationship with the new mayor is going to be something good. I’ve known her for a number of years and the Governor and she have a good relationship.”

“I think we can work together on what the real needs are and come up with solutions that make will sense for everybody,” Rutherford said.

Race and Politics Continued from D1

compared to 74 percent for Obama and 77 percent for Bush as they entered the Oval Office. Only 46 percent believe in Trump’s capacity to handle an international crisis,

compared to 73 percent for Obama, 71 percent for Bush and 70 percent for Clinton.

And according to Gallup, only 47 percent of Americans believe Trump will use the

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military wisely, as opposed to 71 percent for Obama and 78 percent for Bush.

Despite the signs, which foreshadow bedlam in the White House, in Baltimore we are forced to confront our own collective madness as we exit yet another murderous year of epic violence.

2016 was the second most deadly year (318 homicides) on record, only behind 2015 (344 homicides).

In comparison, New York City, with a population of 8,550,405 (more than 10 times the population of Baltimore’s 620,961) had 334 homicides.

Further, the population of people experiencing homelessness is burgeoning, affordable housing seems more scarce and Baltimore City Public Schools is reeling under a massive fiscal deficit.

Despite all of our challenges, the last live broadcast of First Edition for 2016, focused on “gratitude,” and shed light on the vital community work of a group

of dynamic leaders, including Ericka Bridgeford, director of training for Community Mediation Maryland.

“I am most grateful for the

fantasies), think about us, perhaps we should pray and meditate on the real strength of our city, its resilient people.

There are literally

“…in Baltimore we are forced to confront our own collective madness as we exit yet another murderous year of epic violence.” ability to love who I am. You know, being a Black girl from inner city West Baltimore with one hand, I spent a lot of my life believing other people’s perceptions of me... I am grateful for learning what loving me looks like and feels like and I’m so appreciative of who I am in the world,” she added.

All too often we fall prey to, ‘other people’s perceptions of us.’

Despite of what much of the world, the national media and millions of nonBaltimoreans (with minds infused with “Wire” inspired

thousands of brilliant, courageous and innovative people who plunge into the streets of our city everyday and do the thankless, hard work that sustains thousands of others operating on the fringes of our communities.

The foundation of our neighborhoods are families of every configuration imaginable who hold it down for each other and others, day in and day out fueled by unconditional love.

On Christmas Day, I sat down with one of my favorite families, the family of one of my dearest friends,

Lisa Respers France. I met Lisa when she was a young reporter for the Sun back in the mid 1990’s (we’ve been friends ever since), now she’s a senior writer for CNN digital. Breaking bread with her family and savoring her mother, Patricia “Ms. Pat” Respers’ food (arguably the best in Northwest Baltimore) and sipping on brown liquor has been our Christmas tradition for a couple of decades. In Lisa’s words, “decades of love, yo.”

What a wonderful way to wind down what for many was a disastrous 2016.

Despite the good days, bad days and halfway days (to take a line from D’Angelo), we made it out of 2016. And, we have another year, another chance to make things better.

So, give thanks.

Sean Yoes is a senior contributor for the AFRO, and host and executive producer of, AFRO First Edition, which airs Monday through Friday, 5 pm.-7 p.m. on WEAA, 88.9.

Carter

Continued from D1 between the department and the Baltimore City Police Department. In August, the Department of Justice released a scathing reporting detailing the long-standing constitutional violations committed against primarily African-Americans by the police in Baltimore.

The office handles local civil rights issues and oversees the Civilian Review Board, the only Baltimore City entity authorized to independently investigate the police. It also oversees the Community Relations Commission which enforces the Ban the Box law, making it illegal for employers to check criminal records during the application process.

Throughout her time serving in the House of Delegates, Carter was a vocal critic of former Mayor Martin O’Malley’s “zero tolerance policy” on crime as it pressured officers to make more arrests and many did not produce any charges. She has also been a proponent of fair housing practices and was actively against Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) rate hikes in 2007.

Selection to fill Carter’s delegate vacancy for the 41st District is set for Jan. 18.

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Baltimore Chums The Charms • Labor Finders MECU • Neen Cares Radio-One WOLB Larry Young Morning Show Reginald Hopkins Tony White

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Awards

Continued from D1 Anne Arundel County was founded in 1988 by then Alderman Carl O. Snowden. The event was created to pay homage to the memory of Dr. King, the dinner honors those whose deeds, words, and actions have helped keep his legacy alive.

Other winners of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. awards who will be recognized for their dedication to the ideals of Dr. King include: Annapolis Fire Department Deputy Chief Kevin Simmons, Anne Arundel County Chief of Police Timothy J. Altomare, Honorable Annapolis Alderman Kenneth A. Kirby, Patience Schenck, Dr. Alyson L. Hall, Terry Patton, Midshipman First Class Megan Rosenberger, Alicia A. Smoot, and Annapolis Police Department Sergeant James C. Spearman, Jr. The 29th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Dinner is presented by the Annapolis-based Martin Luther King Jr. Committee at La Fontaine Bleue, 7514 Richie Highway in Glen Burnie, Md. For more information, call 443-871-5656 or visit mlkcskmd.org.

January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017, The Afro-American

D3

Happy New Year to One and All

Happy New Year to all my friends and fans. Hoping our 2017 year will be better than last year. Well it is not starting off too bad, because if you are reading my column today, that means that we are still above ground. So many of us lost love ones last year including myself, but we must keep them in good memory space in our hearts and try to move on. Life is a blessing and we must live it to our fullest.

I want to thank all of my readers and fans for the love and support you have given Roz Gaines, producer and playwright of the Kuumba me in support of my column Ensemble Heritage House Rambling Community Theater will Rose. I will host her musical play continue to “Low Down Dirty Blues” bring you on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Randallstown High School entertainment, Auditorium, 4000 Offutt information Road, Randallstown, Md. and For ticket information, call community 443-413-1470. interest

Tionna Brunson, second left with other recipients in 2008 with Rosa Pryor, the CEO and Founder (center) and Dr. Donna Hollie, the Director of the Children’s Scholarship Committee of the Rosa Pryor Music Scholarship Fund. (b) Tionna Brunson, when she graduated from the Baltimore School for the Arts in June 2012 (c) Tionna Brunson on the day she graduated from the California Institute of the Arts, May 2016.

stories with photos and music to give the couch sitters and the nightlife’s folks something to do and places to go. I also thank the Afro-American Newspaper for giving me the space to talk to you thru the power of my pen.

I first want to tell you about this young lady that I am so proud of named Tionna Brunson. She is a young lady whose journey started with my former organization the Rosa Pryor Music Scholarship Fund as a recipient in 2008 at the age of 8. She was one of four winners who received scholarship funds from

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the RPMSF that year.

Since then she graduated from the Baltimore School for the Arts in 2012 before attending and graduating from the California Institute of the Arts.

Tionna resides in California where she continues to pursue her career in the musical arena. She has had several shows already playing professionally with several jazz bands in the area. Her family sends a note thanking the Rosa Pryor Music Scholarship Fund for head starting her success.

Every Wednesday night at the Corinthian Restaurant & Lounge; 7107 Windsor Mill Road in Baltimore features a “Sing-a-Long to the Oldies” from 6 p.m.-11 p.m. with DJ Sugar Chris. This is the place to be for grown folks to gather to have great food, good drinks and take the microphone and sing your favorite oldies.

Vulcan Blazers Hall, 2811 Druid Park Drive, is alive and well hosting Karaoke every Tuesday from 8 p.m. until 12 and Hand Dancing every Friday from 7 p.m.-11 p.m.

The venue is also available for renting for birthdays and anniversaries parties, and any other special events. For more information,

In Memoriam

Bone Marrow Drive at Woodlawn Senior High School

LiLA, the DMV Warriors Professional Basketball Team and the BE THE Match organizations will host their first annual Bone Marrow Drive on Jan. 7 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Woodlawn Senior High School in Baltimore County. Contact Kenya Vincent at 443-992-1474 for more information and to register. Woodlawn Senior High School is located at 1801 Woodlawn Drive, Gwynn Oak, Md. 21207.

Kurt Schmoke to Be Honored by Gamma Omicron Omega Chapter of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Kurt Schmoke will be honored by the Gamma Omicron Omega Chapter of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity on Jan. 14. at the organization’s annual black-tie gala. The event will be held at the Forum Caterers at 4210 Primrose Avenue in Baltimore, Md. from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The proceeds of The Third Annual Black-Tie-Affair Gala will go to the Gamma Omicron Omega Scholarship Foundation, which will be distributed to several organizations to provide academic scholarships, college preparation, and professional development.

For more information contact Richard Smothers at 410-370-9061.

Apply Now for Baltimore City’s 2017 YouthWorks Summer Jobs

Baltimore City residents between the ages of 14 and 21 can begin the 2017 YouthWorks summer jobs registration process by applying online at youthworks.oedworks.com. The online application is the first step of the YouthWorks summer jobs registration and will remain available for Baltimore City residents through March 10, 2017. For more information about YouthWorks, please visit moed.baltimorecity.gov/youth-services/summer-jobs.

The Howard L. Cornish Metropolitan Baltimore Chapter of the Morgan State University National Alumni Association Annual

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. SCHOLARSHIP BREAKFAST Saturday, January 14, 2017 9:00 a.m. - 12 noon

Morgan State University Student Center Calvin & Tina Tyler Ballroom HONOREES Carolyn Fugett Dr. Burney J. Hollis Dr. Virginia Johns Erika Alston Corvelli McDaniel

Special Musical Performances By:

Morgan Choir and Morgan Jazz Ensemble Master of Ceremonies:

Jason Newton

WBAL-TV 11 News Anchor

GUEST SPEAKER:

Michael Conway

President, Starbucks Global Channel Development

Door Prizes

$4,000 Fur Coat by Kent Fisher Furs Morgan Memorabilia

Admission: $60.00 ($30.00 Tax Deductible) Ticket Information: 410-461-3931

FREE PARKING MSU GARAGE

call Haki Ammi at 410-209-9687.

Okay my dear friends, before I leave you, I want to share with you something that was sent to me by an unknown writer: “Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present; what others think of you is none of your business; time heals almost everything, give it time. Don’t compare your life to others and don’t judge them. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Stop thinking too much, it’s alright not to know the answers.

They will come to you when you least expect it. No one is in charge of your happiness except you and smile you don’t own all the problems in the world.”

Well, my dear friends, I am out of space.

Enjoy your week. I send prayers to all the sick and shut-ins.

Remember if you need me call me at 410833-9474 or email me at rosapryor@aol.com.

Until the next time, I’m musically yours.

Jacqueline Rae Hull Williams

Jacqueline Rae Hull Williams, age 88, transitioned from this life on Saturday, December 3rd, 2016 after a brief stay in Stella Maris Hospice. Services were held on Friday, December 9, 2016 at St. Cecilia’s Roman Catholic Church, where she was a parishioner for over 60 years.

Jackie, as she was affectionately known, was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. for over 69 years.

She leaves behind 4 children, 3 grandchildren, great grandchildren and many friends. Donations may be made in her name to the Epilepsy Foundation, 8301 Professional Place East, Suite 200, Landover MD 20785-2353.

D4

The Afro-American, January 7, 2017 - January 13, 2017

Photos by Anderson R. Ward

Erica and Michael Cryor— President, Baltimore National Association of Guardsmen

Marilyn Mosby (Balto.

City S.A.) and Nick Mosby

Taneisha Williams, Adrienne Townes and Tori Stephens

The National Association of Guardsmen held their New Year’s Eve Celebration at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore on Dec. 31.

Among the attendees were: Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, former Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, Dr.

Elizabeth Koontz, Babila Lima and Sabrina Johnson Turner Hundreds of people showed up at the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore for the annual Philanthropix Holiday Toy Drive on Dec. 15. The Philanthropix Foundation was founded in 2011 by Zachary McDaniels. Sandy Pagnotti, CEO of Ronald McDonald House, was there to collect over 1,000 toys for the Ronald McDonald House. The Soul Symphony String Quartet and DJ Lil Mic provided the music.

Guardmen Guests: Michael Miller, Cheryl Miller, Patricia Schmoke and former Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke

Cheryl Hitchcock and Reginald Thomas

Patricia Schmoke, Baltimore States Attorney Marilyn Mosby, Nick Mosby and Dr. Dallas Dance (Balto Co. School CEO). Michael Cryor, president of the Cryor Group, is the local chapter president.

Dwight and Aileen Taylor

Baltimore National Association of Guardsmen, Inc. Members Bonnell Moses, Valerie Fraling and George Ray

Tania Tydings and Robyn Dixon

Zachary McDaniels (Event Chair.), Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and Craig Martin

William “Billy” Murphy, Bilial Ali and Thomas Faulk

Continental Societies Inc. members Mary Louise Brown, B. Maria Hopewell, Ann Taylor Ross (Pres.), Gail V. Tucker (Scholarship Chair.) Gladys Rice, Janet Merritt, Marguerite Walker and Helen McDonald

Baltimore Guardsmen-Michael Cryor, J.P. Grant, Tom Moorehead, and Walt Pearson

Photos by Anderson R. Ward

Dr. Russell Kelley, Senator Delores Kelley

Photos by Dr. A. Lois De Laine Dr. Erness Hill, Mark Hill

Omega Psi Phi (Pi Omega Chapter) members Judson Wood, Lester Buster, Bob Washington, Otho Thompson, Charles Downs (Pres.), Helen McDonald, T. Russell Hopewell, Adolph McDonald and Benny Short

Delta Sigma Theta (Alumni Chap.) Diane Tunstall, Patricia Payne, Dorothy Short, Brenda Sykes, Jackie Richardson, Laura Phillips-Byrd, Roslyn Smith, Mildred Long-Harper, Eleanor Matthews, Helen McDonald, Olivia Scott and Sandy Downs

Craig and Deborah Thompson, Sharon and Calvin Butler

Barbara Lee, Owen Lee Dorothy Scales Parrott, James Walker, Marguerite Walker Shirley Swafford, LeRoy Swafford

MBABSE members Marsha Taylor, Brenda Abrams, Nell McKnight, Velma C. Hicks, Delphine Lee, Dr. Lorraine C. Harrison, Ella Hamilton, Arlene K. Scott, Brenda Simmons, Sylvia Fleet, M. Bertha McCloud

Union Bethel AME Church members, Almena Bell, Patricia Watts, Eunice Reaves, Tamelyn Tucker-Worgs, Loretta B. Byers, Ruth Gladney, Roberta Peace, Cynthia Jordan and Natalie Johnson

The Steppin’ Out Bunch gathered at The Forum Caterers in Baltimore on Dec. 5 for their annual scholarship ceremony and to distribute toys to the AFRO’s Ms. Santa. The Steppin’ Out Bunch began as a group of retired educators who gathered to party with a purpose Over the years, they have given out over $50,000.00 in scholarships. They also participate in the AFRO’s Ms. Santa’s Toy Drive.

Mildred Long-Harper, who started the group and retired as an assistant principal from Benjamin Franklin Middle School in 2007, was the M. C. for the event.

Photos by Eleven organizations were given scholarship checks and Ms. Santa arrived in Anderson the AFRO truck to collect the donated toys.

R. Ward

Essie Sutton, Gwendolyn Howard Markus Standback, Domonique Davis, Sonya Davis, Edward Davis Jr.

Mozelle Fisher, Beulah Parker

The Baltimore Chapter of Continental Societies hosted its annual Christmas Gala on Dec. 30 at Martin’s West. The event is one of the largest attended fundraiser in Baltimore during the holiday season.

Karen Carrington, Dr. The Baltimore Chapter presented Nathan Fletcher the Continental Memorial Award to Darlene Crider for her exemplary work with Sisters-in-Law, a mentoring group. Darlene Crider, a retired police officer and founder of Sisters-in-Law, works with young women to develop life skills such as buying and cooking healthy food, etiquette and conflict resolution.

A. Ravayia Nash, National Ethics, Edna Lee Moffitt, National President, Yvette Jones, National Recording Secretary, Gwendolyn Lindfday, National Scholarship co-chair

Tiera York Jones, co-chair, Dr. Tasha Ross, Ann Taylor Ross, president, Darlene Crider, award recipient, Donna Wyatt-Mason