PRINCE GEORGEâS COUNTY EDITION
Volume 123 No. 15
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NOVEMBER 15, 2014 - NOVEMBER 21, 2014
Baseball Field Renamed After First Black Athlete in Lanham Boys Club By Derek Braxton Special to the AFRO In 1959, seven-year-old Bryan Broadie insisted that his mother take him to the local baseball field where only White children played. His insistence paid off. Bryan became the first AfricanAmerican child to play for the Lanham Boys Club, now
(X-District 5), attended the event. As a Duvall High School student, Bryan was murdered at age 17 in 1970. He was survived by his mother, Ola Mae Broadie. Broadie first wrote to the department of Parks and Planning in 1987 in an effort to have the park renamed in her sonâs honor. Broadie stated that
âPeople like Bryan help change the world, and not just for their time.â
Photo by Derek Braxton
â Anne Healey
called the Lanham Boys and Girls Club. For this act of bravery, the baseball field at Whitfield Chapel Park in Lanham, Md. was renamed âThe Bryan Alonzo Broadie Fieldâ in his honor Nov. 8. Several local politicians including Maryland Sen. Paul Pinsky, (X-District 22), Prince Georgeâs County Del. Anne Healey, (X-District 22) and Prince Georgeâs Council member Andrea Harrison,
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The parents of Michael Brown, Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr. speak to The Associated Press during an interview in Washington Sept. 27.
although the request was initially rejected without explanation, Maryland State Sen. Leo E. Green wrote a letter to the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission in support of her efforts. âI never gave up hope,â Broadie told the AFRO. âI never allowed them to forget,â she continued. Ms. Broadie remained steadfast in her efforts to have the park
Derrick Broadie, brother of Bryan Broadie, Elizabeth Hewlett, chairman of Prince Georgeâs County Planning Board, Ola Mae Broadie, mother of Bryan Broadie and Russell Crawford, friend of family, pose with new plaque at baseball field. renamed in her sonâs honor. âIt has been 44 years,â she exclaimed to the attendees at the renaming ceremony. Broadie counted the years that have passed since her sonâs death as a way to put the momentous occasion into perspective. Broadie recounted her sonâs interest in playing ball during a time of racial inequality in America. âYou will be playing with all White
Continued on A3
MGM Internship Programs Guarantee Employment at National Harbor By Derek Braxton Special to the AFRO MGM National Harbor, currently under construction in Oxon Hill, Md., will soon employ some graduates of MGMâs internship programs. According to Adam Miller, college relations manager for MGM Resorts, young people across the country are exposed to career building resources through MGM Resorts Hospitality Internship and Management Associate Programs. âThis is a fast track Continued on A6
MGM employees at Morgan State University
Hundreds Celebrate Library of Congressâ The HistoryMakers Collection
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Michael Brownâs Parents Present their CaseâHas U.S. Violated the Convention Against Torture? By Saschane Stephenson Special to the AFRO âWhat were they thinking?!â Standing alongside their attorney, Michael Brownâs parents stood on the streets of Geneva, Switzerland, calling for peaceful protest from supporters in Ferguson, and declaring that they âwant the world to knowâ whatâs going on in Ferguson. âWe need answers and we need action. And we have to bring it to the U.N. so they can expose it to the rest of the world, whatâs going on in small town Ferguson.â As I took in the flaming red hair of Michaelâs mother, Lesley McSpadden, I thought it appropriately reflected the tamed anger and indignation of a motherâs loss of her child. Better yet, the fiery color embodied the tensions and presently subdued rage of a community that has grown weary of the deaths of their unarmed children. I wondered if their presence in Geneva was a publicity stunt or rather some brilliant strategy that slipped by all of us who have been looking on. It is almost three months to the day of the death of their son. They, like the rest of the nation, are waiting for the grand jury decision on whether police officer Wilson will be indicted on criminal charges. McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr. have literally moved from the streets to the world stage; and with a bright spotlight on the United States, they are calling for global intervention. Their petition suggests that the U.S. is a territory where human rights violations are rampant. Yes, it seems hard to believe, but the U.S. might just be put under a microscope where typically they are the ones who call out the violations of other nations. It has been reported that the parents of Michael Brown gave an emotional testimony, Nov. 11, in a closed meeting proceeding, before the United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT). What is CAT, and how in the world did Michaelâs parents end up in Switzerland before them? Continued on A3
AFRO Congratulates Industrial Bank on its 80th Anniversary
By AFRO Staff Hundreds celebrated the confirmation Nov. 8 of the Library of Congress as the permanent repository for The HistoryMakersâ collection, the nationâs largest collection of the archive of African American video oral history, featuring
âThe HistoryMakers represents the single largest archival project of its kind.â â Julieanna Richardson
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children,â she said to her son. At seven years old, young Bryan responded, âMommy, if I treat them well, they will treat me well.â Broadie said that her son did not have a deep understanding of an unhealthy racial climate. He only knew that he liked playing sports. âThere was a question mark on the faces of the parents during the first
Ferguson Goes to the UN in Geneva: Stunt or Clever Strategy?
2600 interviews well known and unsung African Americans that include President Barack Obama, General Colin Powell, Marion Wright Edelman and Nikki Giovanni, among others. Continued on A3
Karen Tolles, Prince Georgeâs County Council member; Prince Georges County Executive Rushern Baker, Patricia Mitchell, Industrial Bank executive vice president and B. Doyle Mitchell, Industrial Bank president and CEO By AFRO Staff Several prominent Black businesses, figures and politicians among others
Copyright Š 2014 by the Afro-American Company
Photo by Rob Roberts
gathered Nov. 10 at the Arena Stage in Southwest D.C. to pay homage to Industrial Banksâ 80th Anniversary. Continued on A3