$1.00 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION
Volume 123 No. 9
Nation’s #1 African American Newspaper 2014 Nielsen-Essence Consumer Report
OCTOBER 4, 2014 - OCTOBER 10, 2014
Rep. Donna Christensen Campaigns for V.I. Governorship By LaTrina Antoine Washington D.C. Editor Del. Donna Christensen’s (D-V.I.) is currently a member of Congress, but her focus may shift to a position that more directly serves the residents of the Virgin Islands. Christensen is running for governor. The general elections on Nov. 4 is where her career direction will be decided, but, until then, she said she is campaigning “very hard” for the seat that stands a slight chance of becoming non-Democratic. “People are saying we have had Democrats for the last two years and look
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at where we are, so it’s not necessarily guaranteed that a Democrat will take the seat,” Christensen told the AFRO Sept. 24. “We will have to work on it.” Christensen’s opponents in the governor’s
“I’m going to try to get through it without crying. I don’t know where I would be without the Congressional Black Caucus.” – Donna Christensen
The U.S. Supreme Court new term opens Oct. 6.
race, all running as Independents, are Kenneth Mapp, Mona Barnes and Judge Soraya Diase Coffelt. As governor, Christensen said, her strategy will include bringing money to the territory, whose major private employer, Hovensa LLC, an oil refinery, pulled its operation from the islands in 2012. According to a press release, the pullout was due to financial losses. “We have to find ways to bring new revenue into the territory and to keep that revenue there,” Christensen said about a research and technology park; public, private partnerships; foreign investment through an immigrant investor; or a program providing job opportunities and investments in targeted areas on the islands. Christensen also said she is looking at strategies to maximize the Virgin Islands federal grants and to keep businesses on the islands. Her decision to run for governor, after serving in Congress for 18 years, was not planned, she said. She intended to retire after this Congressional term, scheduled Continued on A3
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Voting Rights and Police Top a Crowded U.S. Supreme Court Docket By Gloria J. Browne-Marshall Special to the AFRO Muslim inmates suing to grow beards in Arkansas. Facebook threats and police practices, pension plans and death row executioners, voting rights and a White supremacist’s conviction. These are but a few of the estimated 200 cases out of thousands that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on when the new term opens Oct. 6. A hand-written request by inmate Gregory Holt (aka Abdul Maalik Muhammad) asked the Court to decide if the Arkansas Department of Corrections’ grooming policy violated his religious freedom. Holt wants to grow a half-inch beard in accordance with his Muslim beliefs. But, Warden Ray Hobbs prohibits beards as a security risk. Even if the Department of Corrections (DOC) cannot prove beards are a security risk, and many other prisons allow them, Hobbs believes the Supreme Court should defer to DOC’s authority and deny Holt’s request. In Philadelphia, Anthony Elonis was sentenced to 44 months in federal prison for threatening his wife on Facebook. Elonis asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his conviction because he says it violates his First Amendment right to creative expression. These lyrics, “There’s one way to love you but a thousand ways to kill you” posted on his Facebook page were supposedly music, and not an actual threat against his wife, who had left him, taken the children, and, upon reading his lyrics, sought an Order of Protection. His case will be heard in December. Continued on A4
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Forensic evidence has linked Jesse L. Matthew Jr. to the case of missing UVA student Hannah Graham.
By AFRO Staff The AFRO-American Newspapers is considered the No. 1 African-American newspaper among Black consumers nationwide, according to the results of a survey released this week. Nielsen, a leading provider of ratings and other measurements, recently teamed up with ESSENCE magazine to conduct a customized assessment of African-American consumers. Among the categories they polled was media consumption, and the most popular publications in the Black Press were part of that evaluation. The AFRO rose to the top of the heap among Black consumers, followed by the Chicago Defender and the Amsterdam News in New York. And, rounding out the top five were the St. Louis American and The Call and Post in Cleveland, Ohio. AFRO Publisher and CEO Jake Oliver said he believes the ranking reflects the newspaper’s pioneering efforts with regards to digital media. “I am elated about the recognition,” he said. “I believe it confirms our belief that the digital evolution inside the African-American community justifies our continued use of various ambitious, non-traditional digital strategies to provide timely and often ‘real time’ coverage of news the Black community is interested in receiving. “Through our Facebook, Twitter and growing Instagram strategies, we are quickly becoming a ‘staple’ news outlet for growing numbers in the Black community,” he added. The AFRO is part of The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a 73-yearold federation of nearly 200 Black community newspapers from across the United States with a long history of influencing and engaging the AfricanAmerican community.
Police Hold Evidence in UVa Missing Student Case The Associated Press CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — They both were walking alone, separated from their friends late at night, on or near the University of Virginia campus. One was found dead nearly five years ago. The other is still missing. Now police say there’s a link between the 2009 slaying of Morgan Harrington and the Sept. 13 disappearance of Hannah Graham: Forensic evidence found as a result of the arrest of Jesse L. Matthew Jr., who fled the state after being questioned by police in the Graham case. Matthew, 32, was arrested on a beach near Galveston, Texas, last week and brought back to Virginia on a charge of abduction with intent to Continued on A3
GSA Hosts Open House in Greenbelt to Discuss FBI Headquarters By Derek Braxton Special to the AFRO The General Services Administration (GSA) hosted the first of four open houses at the public library in Greenbelt to discuss the future of the FBI headquarters. Residents were able to meet with GSA planners to learn more about the project. Bill Dowd, GSA project executive, explained the process of selecting a future home for the FBI headquarters, as well as requirements that the potential location has to meet. “The site has to be at least 2.1 million square feet,” said Dowd, “The development will be home to 11,000 employees, therefore there are transportation requirements, such as Metro accessibility.” The selection process will take at least a year, according to Dowd, who explained that GSA would continue seeking input from residents and transportation administrations of the potential communities, and the needed environmental research. Greenbelt Mayor Emmett V. Jordan shared his belief that the FBI will find a new
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“People will come to live here and fall in love with our many recreational opportunities.” – Emmett V. Jordan home in Greenbelt. Jordan expressed his excitement at the potential for the headquarters to attract new residents to the city. “The headquarters will attract 11,000 employees,” Jordan said. “People will come to live here and fall in love with our many recreational opportunities in what I think is a real community.” Jordan emphasized that Greenbelt is an ideal location as it will be directly next to Metro and near other government agencies such as NASA and USDA. “It
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will be a win-win for the community,” said Judith Davis, mayor pro tem, a resident of Greenbelt since 1975. Davis emphasized Greenbelt’s large park presence, “We have a 62 percent tree canopy thanks to Greenbelt Park,” said Davis, “Employees will fall in love with our beautiful community.” Many residents of Greenbelt expressed their excitement about Greenbelt Continued on A5