June 6, 2015 - June 6, 2015, The Afro-American A1 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION
Volume 123 No. 45
Clinton Taps Drane for Black Outreach By James Wright Special to the AFRO Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton knows that she will need strong Black support to win the White House in 2016. So she has hired a former Congressional Black Caucus executive director to help her
do that. Clinton has hired LaDavia Drane, who works for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) as the director of federalregional affairs, as her campaign’s director of African-American Outreach. Drane, who will formally join the campaign at the end of this month, is excited about
“In order for Hillary Clinton to win in 2016, she will need the turnout among Blacks that Obama had in 2008 and 2012.” – Paul Brathwaite
JUNE 13, 2015 - JUNE 19 2015
Law Enforcement Reform Group Begins Work in Annapolis By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO
Courtesy Photo
LaDavia Drane is D.C.’s director of FederalRegional Affairs. the opportunity. “I cannot talk about what my role in the campaign will be because I am not working with it yet,” Drane said to two dozen professional Black women at the LEAP Luncheon Series on June 3. “But I love working on Continued on A6
The new Public Safety and Policing Workgroup of the Maryland General Assembly has begun holding hearings on law enforcement practices in Maryland. The group is moving towards generating a slate of bills for next year’s legislative session to help improve relations between police departments and communities across the state. Co-chaired by majority leader Sen. Catherine Pugh (D-Baltimore City), and chair of the Baltimore City delegation to the House, Del. Curt Anderson (D-Baltimore City), the workgroup received an overview of Maryland
law enforcement from the Department of Legislative Services. There was also a
Photo by Roberto Alejandro
The Public Safety and Policing Workgroup held its inaugural meeting on June 8, in Annapolis. Co-chairs Sen. Catherine Pugh (D-Baltimore City) and Del. Curt Anderson (D-Baltimore City) presided over the first meeting.
Zero Tolerance Policing
Evangel Assembly of God Hosts Collective Empowerment Group Conference By Courtney Jacobs AFRO Staff Writer The Collective Empowerment Group (CEG) made its way to Temple Hills, Md. to host a multitiered conference on finance, credit, and corporation between law enforcement and the youth. The conference was hosted at the Evangel Assembly of God church in Temple Hills from June 5-6. Dr. DeForest B. “Buster” Soaries Jr., senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey opened up the first session, discussing financial freedom through his “dfree” movement, which promotes financial
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freedom through values-based principles and practical approaches to financial management. He said his vision is to have an economic and cultural shift that increases consumer participation in savings, insurance, and investments with the ultimate goal of “dfree” is for everyone to live without debt, deficits, and delinquencies. “There is a new kind of slavery and its one that has not been imposed on us forcefully by another group of people. It is one that we are signing up for and that is economic slavery,” the Rev. Dr. St. Clair Mitchell, senior pastor at the church, told the AFRO. “We have to accept the fact that this is the most prosperous nation in the world, and if we plan properly, then we can survive this. Not only survive this, but we can thrive in this environment that is known as America.” The next session was for the youth, entitled “Real Talk with Law Enforcement.” This session featured
presentation on the state’s role in certifying police officers Continued on A4
AFRO’s Reporting on Communities’ Objections By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent
On April 12, SandtownWinchester resident Freddie Gray looked into the eyes of a Baltimore police officer, and whatever he saw there caused him to run. After a brief chase, he was arrested for possession of a pocketknife that was later
Baltimore
Prince George’s County Chief of Police Mark Magaw, Assistant Chief of Police Craig Howard, and four other police officers. They talked to youth and adults who had concerns about law enforcement in the county. The session started off very slow as the chief Continued on A3
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McDuffie Bill Prohibits Employment Credit Checks By James Wright Special to the AFRO D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) is the chief author of a bill to prohibit credit checks of potential employees until a conditional offer is made. He introduced the bill, The Fair Credit History Steering Act of 2015 to his colleagues on June 2. McDuffie wants to use the legislation as a vehicle to help more District residents obtain employment. “This bill will abolish restrictions that unjustly exacerbate challenges faced by applicants who are already having difficulty with finding employment and making ends meet,” McDuffie said. “As a result, we will create economic opportunities for more of our vulnerable residents.” The Fair Credit bill will prohibit an employer from considering a job applicant’s credit history during the hiring process, and will restrict an employer’s inquiry into an applicant’s credit history until after a conditional offer of employment. The bill would allow certain employers exemptions from enforcement, like financial institutions. The legislation establishes a complaint process for aggrieved potential employees and a penalties component for alleged employer violators. The D.C. Office of Human Rights would be responsible for enforcing the bill. According to a May 2013 Courtesy Photo online article, “Discredited: How Employment Checks Kenyan McDuffie Keep Qualified Workers Out represents Ward 5 on the D.C. Council. Continued on A6
D.C.
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Photo by U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. Margaret Taylor, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Maryland Army National Guard Soldiers and local law enforcement watch protesters gathered in front of City Hall, Baltimore, April 30, 2015. The Maryland National Guard was activated for the first time since 1968 to assist with peacekeeping operations in Baltimore.
Riot Redux: 2015 Mirrored 1968 Unrest By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent For elders within Baltimore’s Black community, the recent uprising after the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray was like a flashback to the riots that erupted in April 1968 after the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Both were birthed from tragic events involving the deaths of an African-American man and both represented the underlying rage and frustration present in the African-American community caused by years of not just benign neglect but [also] what appears to be intentional neglect caused by racism,” said Bishop Douglas Miles, pastor of Koinonia Baptist Church and cochairman emeritus of the advocacy group, Baltimoreans United in Leadership (BUILD). Both riots occurred after months of protest by African-American communities across the nation.
Baltimore
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