PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION
Volume 123 No. 24
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Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A3
JANUARY 17, 2015 - JANUARY 23, 2015
Prince George’s Lawmakers Prepare to Tackle Priorities in General Assembly By James Wright Special to the AFRO
AFRO Series
What is America’s Racial Digital Divide? By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO African Americans connect to the Internet, and have broadband access in their homes at lower rates than their White counterparts, according to the Pew Research Center. Diversity numbers for the nation’s largest tech firms are woefully inadequate, with Blacks in particular making up only one percent of those employed in tech positions at Facebook, Google, and Twitter; and no more than six percent at Apple, Microsoft and Ebay. Only 14 percent of African-American eighth graders score at or above proficient in math, compared to 44 percent of Whites, according to a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. While these numbers are troubling, there is some evidence to suggest that
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this “digital divide”—the racial gap in access to and proficiency in digital technology and related areas—could close over time. Pew has found that Internet connected smartphone ownership among Blacks and Whites is roughly the same, and that younger African Americans (ages 1829) utilize social media at somewhat higher rates than Whites in the same age group. Those numbers are only cause for hope, however, if tech companies, and the country as a whole, are putting themselves in a position to take advantage of such developments. The AFRO is presenting a four-part series addressing the digital divide in America. Among the topics covered will be net neutrality; employment diversity in Silicon Valley; funding for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education efforts; and the way the discriminatory practice of redlining has made the digital divide worse in parts of the country. With this series, the reader will have a focused look at the current state of the digital divide and the challenges it presents. Each challenge, however, is also a locus of opportunity, an arena in which Continued on A6
The Prince George’s County House of Delegates contingent has new leaders and a plate full of priorities as it settles into the recently convened Maryland General Assembly session. Del. Jay Walker (D-District 26) was elected chairman of the House delegation in December 2014. Walker said he is ready to go to work. “We have a lot of bright minds and energetic people looking to move things forward,” Walker said. “I think the delegates Del. Jay Walker is the will do a very good job. I look chairman of the Prince forward to working together.” George’s County House Other officers elected Delegation. with Walker were Delegates Geraldine Valentino-Smith (D-District 23A) and Michael Vaughn (D-District 24) as first vice chair and second vice chair, respectively. The officers will
serve two-year terms. Walker and his 22 colleagues represent 890,000 Prince George’s County residents in the House, the second largest delegation to the state capital. Leading the county’s eight senators in Annapolis is Douglas J.J. Peters, a Democrat representing District 23. Sen. Thomas “Mike” Miller (D-District 27) is the president of the senate and is the longest serving presiding officer of a legislative body in the country. While equal in authority, the House delegation tends to lead on county legislative matters because it has more members. The Assembly is the state’s legislative body and consists of 47 senators and 141 members of the House of Delegates. The Assembly convened on Jan. 14 at the State House in Annapolis and will meet for 90 calendar days to pass bills – particularly the state’s budget – and monitor the activity of state agencies and perform ceremonial duties. The new delegates include former county sheriff Michael A. Jackson, former Prince George’s County Council members Will Campos and Tony Knotts, and civic activist Daryl Barnes. Vaughn, who has served in the House since 2003, said that the delegation will work to maintain the state’s level of funding to the county. “We have high-ticket items that need to be taken care of,” Vaughn said. “We want to make sure that the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Continued on A4
NAMI Brings Mental Health Awareness to Black Community By Christina Sturdivant Special to the AFRO
Photo by Hamzat Sani
Representatives from the National Alliance of Mental Illness’s Prince George’s County, Md. participte in the NBC4 Health and Fitness Expo.
The D.C. region had its first big check-up of the year at the 2015 NBC4 Health & Fitness Expo, Jan. 10 and 11 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. For the first time, the expo’s focus extended to include resources for mental health. For decades, the Black community has held a common consensus on the topic: Blacks don’t suffer from mental illnesses. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Continued on A5
Commentary
From 12 Years a Slave to Selma to Obama
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racism is tolerated, if not perpetuated, by our government in 2015. The intergenerational pain continues to flow The movie 12 Years a Slave rather uninterrupted from slavery to Jim Crow brutally reminded us not only of the and from Selma to Obama. raping, lynching and public lashing our President Obama often speaks of ancestors suffered, but also of the sheer “the most evident of truths - that all of humiliation of being stripped naked us are created equal - is the star that in public that they endured. America’s guides us still.” I am here to tell the revered creed - the self evident truth President that at the World Bank, the – Dr. E. Faye Williams third largest employer in our nation’s that all men are created equal - did not apply to them. “A Black man has no capital, African Americans are reminded rights a White man is bound to respect” daily that his high-minded words lack was the law of the land as established by moral resolve behind them. The World the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney in the Bank, where Blacks are seen as mere numbers without landmark 1857 Dred Scott case. human dignity and rights, serves as a metaphor for our Coming on the heels of 12 Years a Slave, another movie, government’s lack of moral resolve to show zero tolerance Selma, took us back down the memory lane of recent past for institutional racism. of what our parents suffered. We are barely two generations Dr. E. Faye Williams, chair of the National Congress for Black Women, highlighted in a recent article: “A simple removed from the daily humiliation of institutional racism, not to mention the physical attacks by cattle prods and police Google search will confirm the breathtaking racial injustice [in the World Bank], producing several pages of [citations dogs. The lesson we draw from the two movies is not how of] articles with shocking titles that seem to describe another far America has come in exorcising its racial evil, but the era or a faraway place. The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s column institutional racism its Black citizens suffer still. in the Chicago Sun Times entitled ‘Apartheid Avenue two Some would want us to focus on the progress made, not Blocks from the White House’ is one example. ‘World Bank on the continued breach of America’s allegiance to racial puts Blacks at the Back of Bus’ is another. For those who equality and justice. The needle on the Richter scale of prefer French or Spanish there are ‘Apartheid á la Banque racial injustice has undoubtedly moved down progressively, but that is not the issue. The issue is that institutional Mondiale’ and ‘Discriminación racial en el Banco Mundial’ By Marie Brown Special to the AFRO
“A simple Google search will confirm the breathtaking racial injustice in the World Bank…”
Continued on A5
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The march on Jan. 15 is being organized by the Rev. Dr. Heber Brown (top) and Farajii Muhammad.
Coalition to March on Annapolis for Law Enforcement Reforms
By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO
A large coalition of advocacy organizations will march on Annapolis this week, the first week of the legislative session, to demand changes to state laws they believe insulate police from accountability and impede operational transparency Continued on A5