PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION
Volume 121 No. 38
APRIL 27, 2013 - MAY 3, 2013
D.C. Officer’s Stepson Charged with Killing Him Report: Maryland Public The Associated Press
Police in Maryland said Tuesday that a 27-year-old man accused in the fatal shooting of his stepfather, a District of Columbia police detective, has surrendered to authorities. Prince George’s County police said Tuesday evening that Antwan James surrendered and was being held at police headquarters. He is Slain D.C. police Newell’s stepson, accused of killing 46-year-old D.C. police Detective Joseph Antwan James, Detective Joseph Newell on Monday night Newell who was arrested following a dispute over yard work at their for the murder home in Upper Marlboro, Md. Authorities say the entire incident was captured by surveillance cameras at the home. Police said James, a former District of Columbia firefighter, was charged in a warrant with first-degree murder. Authorities had been searching for him after they said he ran away after the shooting. Before the shooting, Newell had asked James to help him with some yard work, and James refused, Assistant Police Chief Kevin Davis told a news conference. As Newell stood on a stepladder outside his garage while screwing in a light bulb, James approached him from behind and shot him in the back, Davis said. He fell to the driveway, and James stood over Newell and fired several shots, Davis said. “It was an execution,” he said. Continued on A3
INSIDE A3
Washington View Bonds Beats Back Critics Photo by Rob Roberts
A4
Obama, Patrick and Holder Dazzle as Crisis Unfolds
B3
Woodstock Icon Richie Havens Dies at 72
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Gen. Lloyd Austin(left) and Col. Donald West pinning the stars on the newly promoted Maj. Gen. Nadja West.
Army General Receives Second Star By Frank J. Phillips Special to the AFRO Nadja Y. West, who serves as deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Army Medical Command, has become the Army’s first African American active duty woman officer to be promoted to two-star general.
West was honored at a promotional ceremony held April 19 at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington, establishing her place in military history. In front of about 200 guests, including several military dignitaries and her family, Maj. Gen. West was pinned on the left
Schools Among Most Segregated in Nation By Roz Hamlett Special to the AFRO Maryland has been the top-rated public school system in the nation for the last five years, but the state’s public school system is also one of the most segregated in the nation, according to a new study. A recent report “Settle for Segregation or Strive for Diversity? A Defining Moment for Maryland’s Public Schools,” found that an astonishing number of Black students attend public schools in Maryland that are nearly as segregated in 2013 as they were during the peak years of desegregation in the 1980s. The report, conducted by the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, revealed that more than half of the state’s Black students attended schools with minority enrollments between 90 and 100 percent during the 2010-2011 school year, up from 33 percent in 1989. At the same time, nearly a quarter of Maryland’s Black students attended so-called “apartheid schools” with almost no White students in attendance, up from 19.1 percent in 1989. “It is clear that the unequal educational opportunities associated with most segregated public classrooms – less experienced teachers, higher teacher turnover, disparities in teaching materials, disparities in technology, disparities in facilities, and disparities in student teacher ratios – are deleterious,” said Lezli Baskerville, President of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education. “The [report] suggests that the lack of
side of her shoulder board by Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander, U.S. Central Command, and on her right by her husband, Col. Donald West, commander, Northern Regional Medical Command, as military tradition dictates. “Part of the history that marks the walls of this memorial were written by
42 Snubs Legendary Sports Writer Sam Lacy
comparability in investments in Maryland’s HBCUs as clearly documented by the plaintiffs in the Coalition for Equity and Excellence v. Maryland Higher Education Commission apparently begins in elementary and secondary schools in the state, and continues through its dual and unequal higher education,” said Baskerville, whose organization advocates on behalf of traditionally underserved and underresourced students. It is difficult to precisely compare segregation at the K-12 level to that which exists in higher education because of the role that residential segregation plays in the K-12 context and the role that personal choice plays in where a student attends college. Nevertheless, Brenda Shum, Director of the Equal Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law believes there is a strong correlation between limited opportunities in Maryland’s K-12 and limited opportunities at HBCUs in Maryland. “To the extent that Maryland’s students of color attend racially identifiable schools which are also predominantly poor schools, it is more likely they have fewer educational opportunities at the K-12 level and are less equipped for college,” said Shum. “The HBCUs which serve those students must expend greater resources for remediation, financial aid, programming and faculty to address ongoing disparities perpetuated by a segregated K-12 system,” she said. “It is not hard to believe that the Continued on A3
people like Nadja,” Austin told the audience. “I knew she would reach this rank and this promotion validates her potential to serve.” The promotion was the latest milestone in a storied journey that Maj. Gen. West started as a child in Germany five decades ago. She came into the world a
mischlingskinder or “brown baby”—one of many children borne of liaisons between African American servicemen and German women. Orphaned as a baby, she was adopted at nine months by Oscar and Mabel Grammer. Oscar Grammer worked as a chief warrant officer Continued on A4
Twelve HBCUs Mobilize for Campus Sexual Assault Awareness
By Moses J. Newson Special to the AFRO The hit movie 42 talks plenty about Jackie Robinson, baseball’s color barrier and fair play but snubs AfroAmerican Newspapers’ legendary sports editor Sam Lacy, who played a key role in the baseball integration saga. Included among those who believe Lacy, a leader in the media push in the 1940s to integrate baseball was low-balled by the flick, are Jake Oliver, AFRO Continued on A3
April 19, 1947 AFRO
Sam Lacy and Jackie Robinson AFRO File Photo
Students from 12 HBCUs came together April 24, wearing jeans and T-shirts touting “Denim Day,” to show support for an effort to end sexual violence on college campuses. Copyright © 2013 by the Afro-American Company