PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION
Volume 123 No. 10
Nation’s #1 African American Newspaper 2014 Nielsen-Essence Consumer Report
OCTOBER 11, 2014 - OCTOBER 17, 2014
Congressmen, Advocates Discuss Initiative to Save Young Black Men By Courtney Jacobs Special to the AFRO U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) joined advocates for Black youth at Bowie State University Oct. 3. There they participated in a briefing on President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, which addresses persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color. The event was held at the home of the Bulldogs due to the successes of the university’s male initiative. Bowie’s initiative, established in 2009 by Mickey L. Burnim, president of the university, was designed to help male students reach their full potential by developing
their academic, personal, and social skills. Hoyer and Cardin were joined by Roy Austin, director of the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity at
and Darryl Smith, JP Morgan Chase and Co. vice president of Relations Management and Office of Corporate Responsibilities. My Brother’s Keeper was
“We need to know the importance of young people and them pushing and pursuing their dreams.” – Steny Hoyer the White House Domestic Policy Council; Michael Smith, director of the Social Innovation Fund at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Brandee McHale, chief operations officer of Citi Foundation;
brought into perspective by Obama in February to ensure that all youth, including boys and young men of color, have opportunities to improve their outcomes in life and overcome barriers to success. Continued on A3
Bustier Brunch Promotes Breast Health Awareness By Andrea “Aunni” Young Special to the AFRO A sea of women in pink celebrated breast cancer survivors during an artsy and culture-rich brunch Oct. 4 at
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Ignorance of the Law No Excuse for Police By Gloria J. Browne-Marshall AANIC Supreme Court Correspondent
Like most people, Sgt. Matt Darisse said he believed driving with a broken tail light was against the law, but he was wrong. On Oct. 6 the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments that ignorance of the law is no excuse for police officers or well as private citizens. This was the first case of the Supreme Court’s new term. Sgt. Darisse was on the look-out for guns and drugs in April 2009, when he spotted a Ford Escort with a broken brake light. Maynor Javier Vasquez and Nicholas Heien were on I-77, in Surrey County, N.C. Vasquez drove. Heien, the car’s owner, slept in back. Darisse pulled them over and wrote a ticket for the tail light. But, he said the men struck
him as suspicious. Darisse asked to search the car. Heien and Vasquez agreed. That is when the officer found a cellophane wrapper with white powder residue in the driver’s door panel and burnt marijuana seeds in an ashtray. It was a duffel bag in the back hatch area containing cocaine that resulted in a sentence of two consecutive prison terms of 10 to 12 months for drug trafficking. Heien appealed. One broken brake light is not against the law in North Carolina. Stock Allowing Image Darisse’s legal mistake to stand would “vastly – Robert Montgomery expand police powers,” said Jeffrey Fisher, attorney for Heien. Darisse, sporting a six-inch salt-and-pepper goatee, sat in the far corner of the courtroom as attorneys argued over his mistake and a law Continued on A3
“A police officer does not have to be perfect.”
the Howard Theatre in Northwest D.C. The second annual “Bustier Brunch: An Afternoon with the Girls” is a signature event for the Natalie Williams Photo by Rob Roberts Breast Care Natalie Williams welcomes actress Lynn Foundation, Whitfield the leading voice in the promotion and had a mammogram of breast care awareness to kick off the NWBCF among women of color. Lynn campaign,” Williams said. Whitfield, an award-winning “The mammography unit took actress, was the keynote great care of her and she was speaker. encouraged by our state-of“This weekend Ms. the art MicroDose machine Whitfield visited UMC that detects even the smallest
cancers.” Natalie Williams, the foundation’s founder and chair, is a 2012 survivor who chose to have a double mastectomy to battle breast cancer. She has become a leading voice for breast care support, advocating regular mammograms for women of color, specifically those who live east of the river where lack of awareness and resources have been reported as the highest in the area. As a hospital spokesperson at United Medical Center, she also serves as the president of the Ward 8 Democrats
and is also an advisory neighborhood commissioner. Award-winning actress Lynn Whitfield, daughter of a breast cancer survivor and third generation graduate of Howard University, gave the keynote address. Whitfield, graceful and poised, thrilled the audience with her bluesstyle rendition of Dr. Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise.” Two of Washington, D.C.’s top-rated media personalities served as mistresses of ceremony, Triscina Grey, personality for Howard University’s WHUR 96.3 FM radio station, and Shawn
Yancy, co-anchor for Fox 5 News. Williams said she was pleased the women could make the event. Miss Cydney Hill, Miss District of Columbia’s Outstanding Teen 2014
See more event photos on B1. brought tears of joy as she opened the brunch with a modern dance performance to the music “I Love the Lord” by Whitney Houston Continued on A4
Prince George’s County Deltas Empower Minority Businesswomen Sheila Brooks, moderator, William Von Hoene, senior executive vice president and chief strategy officer, Exelon; Bridget Reidy, senior vice president and chief supply officer, Exelon; Emmett Vaughn, director of Diverse Business Empowerment, Exelon; and Calvin Butler Jr., CEO, BGE Photo by Rob Roberts
Pepco Merger Seeks Engagement for Minority Businesses By Christina Sturdivant Special to the AFRO More than 150 minority business owners serving Washington, D.C. residents had details of the proposed merger of Chicagobased energy company Exelon and parent company of D.C.based utility Pepco shared with them on Oct. 7, at the Carnegie Library at Mt. Vernon Square in Northwest. The forum was co-hosted by The President’s Roundtable and Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council. The $6.8 billion merger consists of Exelon’s 3 utilities – BGE, ComEd and PECO – and Pepco Holdings Inc.’s (PHI) 3 utilities – Atlantic City Electric, Delmarva Power and Pepco, which will create a leading mid-Atlantic electric and gas utility. Since the announcement that the two companies signed a definitive agreement in April, skepticism has surfaced about the benefits Continued on A4
By Maria Adebola AFRO Staff Writer It’s no surprise that minority women have already sparked a new revolution that is reshaping the working landscape, but even after almost two decades with women starting businesses at a higher rate than men, the success of these businesses is still at a dismal low, especially in the small startup business venture, according to business magazine Black Enterprise. The women only “2014 Women’s Business Empowerment Expo,” hosted by the Prince George’s County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Prince George’s County Delta Alumnae Foundation, International Franchise Association, and America’s Small Business Development Center of Maryland Corridor Region convened at the University of Maryland A. James Clark School of Engineering building Oct. 4. It highlighted several resources and outlets available to those who aspire to own
businesses or are in the process of growing their businesses. With about 75 women in attendance, the conference covered a variety of topics, including branding through social media, direct sales, understanding the method in marketing a business, and a panel discussion on seeking out resources available to support women and their businesses. In the stratosphere of building a small business, Miriam Brewer, senior director of education and diversity for the International Franchise Education, and one of the cochairs for chapter said she believes minority women do have a leg up in business, but they – Miriam Brewer also do face challenges. “We are at a disadvantage because sometimes ‘we don’t know that we don’t know,’” she explained, saying that sometimes women are not aware of the resources available to assist them. “We are at a disadvantage sometimes financially also because we may not have excess money Continued on A3
“We are at a disadvantage because sometimes ‘we don’t know that we don’t know”
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