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January 23, 2016 - January 29, 2016, The Afro-American
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PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY-AREA Planned Parenthood Battle Leaves Women Vulnerable
District Residents Honor Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with Peace Walk, Parade
D.C.’s Surveillance Progam Moves Forward
By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com Attempts at undermining preventive healthcare by Republicans opposed to President Barack Obama’s universal healthcare and Planned Parenthood have turned into a bitter fight with the nation’s most vulnerable in the middle. The recent attempt to defund Planned Parenthood just days before Christmas with H.R. 3762: Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 was cut down by executive veto – only to be resurrected by states such as Texas at the turn of the calendar as retaliatory cuts to other health programs. In Texas, for instance, the Department of State Health Services announced that at the start of 2016 it would cut off about $600,000 in state funding for HIV prevention services provided by Planned Parenthood – that included more than 138,000 HIV tests, HIV and STI counseling, and education programs in jails,
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Mayor Bowser signed a bill to provide rebates for security camera systems on the exterior of certain buildings. By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com Politicians, organizations and residents gathered in Southeast D.C. to march in the 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Walk and Parade Jan. 18. By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com The 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Walk and Parade Jan. 18 took place on the District street that bears his name. Thousands of people stood on the sidewalks and curbs of a major thoroughfare in Southeast D.C. to observe marchers, floats and bands honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the federal holiday designated in his honor. The peace walk started at the parking lot next to the headquarters of the United Black Fund. It consisted of leaders of organizations speaking about the impact of King had on the nation. “Many people have forgotten who Dr. King was,” said Eugene Puryear, a leader in the Justice First advocacy organization. “When Dr. King left us he was fighting militarism, racism, and poverty and all of those things are still with us. We need to get rid of them completely.” There were speakers on District statehood, women and youth issues, and ways to stop the violence on the streets of the city and in society. After the speeches, 300 people, with their organizations, marched one mile to St. Elizabeth’s East campus. The peace walk had diverse groups participate in it, such as the D.C. GOP, Justice for Barry Farm, Save McMillan, and the Federal City Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta. Backers of D.C. Council member LaRuby May (D-Ward 8) and her strongest challenger in the June 14, 2015 Democratic Party primary, Trayon White, walked with them wearing purple and white for May and light green and red for White. White said participating in the peace walk and parade was never a
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question for him. “I feel it is my responsibility to keep Dr. King’s dream alive,” he said. “His dream is that we collectively can do more for people. We need to do more for people who live in Wards 7 and 8.” The marchers in the peace walk took a side entrance on King Avenue to join the parade contingent gathering next to the R.I.S.E. Demonstration at St. Elizabeths East. A large gathering of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s supporters begin the parade procession. Bowser arrived shortly before the parade started. During the parade, the mayor dashed to both sides of King Avenue taking pictures and selfies, handing out beads and greeting residents. D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) and council members Vincent Orange (D-At Large), Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7), and Brandon Todd (D-Ward 4) marched with their supporters. Orange’s followers handed out orange beads to the crowd while Alexander, – Keith Davis Mendelson and Todd stayed with the procession. Two graduate chapters of King’s fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha’s Omicron Lambda Alpha and Omicron Eta Lambda, marched separately. Omicron Eta Lambda President Thomas Davis said that the work of King will continue. “We must continue to provide manly deeds, scholarship and love for all mankind,” he said. “That is Alpha Phi Alpha’s mission.” The soon-to-be-opened Rocketship Charter School and the IDEA Charter School Jr. ROTC had a contingent of officials, parents, and students while the Anacostia and Ballou High School
“This is the best parade we have had in decades.”
Attempts at undermining preventive healthcare have turned into a bitter fight. nightclubs, and on college campuses. U.S. Rep. Donna F. Edwards (D-Md.) issued a statement immediately following the bill’s introduction, which passed by a House vote of 240181, denouncing the bill as irresponsible. “Just six days into the New Year, Republicans picked right up where they left off in 2015 with this damaging Reconciliation bill,” Edwards said in a written statement. “The vote exemplifies the definition of insanity.” The House Republicans have made 62 attempts to repeal or dismantle the Affordable Care Act and 11 attempts to defund Planned Parenthood since its inception, according to Edwards. All of them have failed. “This Republican obsession with attacking access to health care for women and working families is outrageous and unacceptable, “she said. Executives at Unity Healthcare, one of the largest providers of services for the city’s low-income residents, told the AFRO that Title X funding ensures smooth service provision even amid Planned Parenthood cuts. “Unity is the Title X grantee for the District of Columbia. While we do not have a Planned Parenthood affiliate currently as a Title X sub-recipient, Unity has multiple funding sources for the reproductive health services we provide including the Federal 330 grant, Title X grant from the Office of Continued on B2
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Walmart Pulls Out of Southeast D.C. Leaving Anger in its Wake By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com Former D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray was livid while discussing the recent economic pullout of Walmart from several signed leases to build new stores east of the river. He described it as Walmart’s “midnight raid” that yanked the deals from the table. “Walmart reneged on a deal and there is nothing they can do to justify the way in which they did this,” Gray told News Channel 8. “We should have stayed on top of Walmart because it always had a bit of an uneasy feel. They wanted to come, but they didn’t want to put stores where they were most needed.” Gray’s uneasy feeling came after constant wrangling with Walmart executives while serving as mayor to court the chain into the city – without compromising the integrity of the city’s workforce. In one battle Walmart refused to sign off on offering employees a “living wage” – no less than $12.50 an hour in combined wages and benefits. But even after concessions were made by Gray, including his veto of the Large Retailer Accountability Act, that would have forced retailers with corporate sales of $1 billion or more operating in the District to pay the living wage, Walmart came in, and then refused to follow through with a wage that exceeded the city’s current $8.25 an hour wage. “It has been under discussion for several years – not a few weeks and Walmart knows how important it was to have their presence is at Skyland,” Gray said. “Walmart is a company that generates billions of dollars in revenue each year, so even if it went to litigation and we win – what do we have to show for
Following recent legislation, D.C. residents can expect to see an increase in surveillance cameras on businesses, non-profits, religious institutions and homes. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the Private Security Camera System Incentive Program Emergency Act of 2016 into law Jan. 14, Continued on B2
Prince George’s County
Residents March on MLK Jr. Day to Stop the Violence By Lauren Poteat Special to the AFRO The rise in homicides in Prince George’s County has provoked Mayor Eugene Grant of Seat Pleasant, Maryland to initiate a “Stop the Violence” campaign. The campaign began with a march Jan. 18 to promote nonviolence. From 2014 to 2015, the county saw a 36 percent increase in homicides, enduring another homicide at the start of the New Year. “We have to remember Dr. King’s principal point of nonviolence in this country, because there is a retreat in values, Grant said. “Everywhere you turn there is violence. It’s like
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Walmart decided against building stores in Southeast D.C., causing a major ripple in several development deals in areas in desperate need of revitalization. it at the end of the day? We still don’t have the stores, jobs, or the 400 to 500 housing units that were supposed to go with it.” Mayor Muriel Bowser echoed Gray’s frustration. She said she was “blood mad” about the pullout, during a news conference Jan. 15. Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander (D) followed the same sentiment. “I am angry and I take this personally as I advocated – Vincent Gray to bring them to Ward 7. The District had a deal with Walmart to bring in five stores with two coming to Ward 7. They signed leases and now they have broken their deal,” she said. “This has racial and social-economic discrimination implications. This is a major setback but I am confident that the District will do everything possible to move forward with the projects.” A Wal-Mart spokesman told reporters, “As part of a broad, strategic review of our existing portfolio and pipeline, we’ve concluded opening two additional stores in Washington, D.C.
“They wanted to come, but they didn’t want to put stores where they were most needed.”
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Seat Pleasant, Md. Mayor Eugene Grant
a disease. We have to do something to change the way we are thinking.” The increase comes at time when homicides are on the rise in nearby Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. After the march, participants attended a panel discussion at The City of Continued on B2