Washington Afro-American Newspaper August 3 2013

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Volume 121 No. 52

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AUGUST 3, 2013 - AUGUST 9, 2013

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scaffolded surprise and dismay that the statue was only partially visible. “Ohhhhh,” said Tania

By Zachary Lester AFRO Staff Writer

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Washington View Making Ends Meet on Minimum Wages

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Concerned Citizens Protest Beyoncé INSERT • Walmart

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All hail to the queen, the Queen B, that is. After months of traveling the country, the “Mrs. Carter World Tour,” the most recent concert tour by singer/ dancer/songwriter/ actress Beyoncé, finally stopped in Washington D.C. for two sold-out performances on July 29 and 30 at the Verizon Center in Northwest Washington. At the July 29 concert,

By Freddie Allen NNPA Washington Correspondent The Voting Rights Act is down, but not out, and civil rights leaders joined President Obama and Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. at the White House July 29 to discuss renewed efforts in the fight against voter discrimination. In a statement released after the meeting, Al Sharpton, civil rights activist and president of the National Action Network said: “Today the United States President and Attorney General met with a broad coalition of civil rights and voting rights leaders to assure us that they will continue to work with us to protect every American’s right to vote.” Sharpton continued: “We had a great alarm when the Supreme Court ruled against Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act but after meeting with the

President and the Attorney General we were assured that the Voting Rights Act may be wounded but it is not dead. It is not even critically wounded; it can and will be revived.” Last month, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, effectively neutering what many called the crown jewel of the Civil Rights Movement. Section 4 required all or parts of 15 states with track records of voter discrimination to get “pre-clearance” from the Justice Department or a federal court for any changes they wanted to make to voting laws. Within hours after the Supreme Court ruling in Shelby County v. Holder, a number of state lawmakers from previously covered states announced plans to move forward with restrictive voting laws that disproportionately affect minorities, the elderly and

young voters. Texas is one of those states.

The Lone Star State has a history of voting discrimination, the latest entry

due to redistricting plans that disproportionately affected Continued on A4

Photo by NNPA

Al Sharpton and other voting rights advocates speak with press after meeting with President Obama.

National Urban League Annual Convention

First Black to Head Academy Awards Board By AFRO Staff

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Beyoncé, 31, also known as “Queen B,” dazzled her way through a wellchoreographed two-hour performance which featured renditions of her most popular songs and nine costume changes, empowering girls and women and enticing men the way only she can. Thousands of fans stood for as long as eight hours in a line that wrapped around the Verizon Center, waiting in almost breathless anticipation to see the highly acclaimed “Mrs. Carter Show World Tour” show. Beyoncé is married to rapper/mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. There were little girls, escorted by their mothers; giggly teenagers who had been dropped off by their Continued on A3

By Blair Adams AFRO Staff Writer

Civil Rights Leaders Meet with Obama on Voting Rights

INSIDE

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Photo by Avis Thomas-Lester

Renovation is underway at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Northwest Washington to remove the controversial “drum major” inscription from the side of the structure. On a recent afternoon, the 30foot statue, a likeness of King with arms folded emerging from a “Stone of Hope” was surrounded by Martin Luther King Jr. scaffolding, some of Memorial is scaffolded as work it draped in white. is underway to remove a quote Tourists who visited from the structure. the site expressed

Reynolds, 27, of Chicago, who visited the memorial with a group of friends who had driven to town for a long weekend. She looked up at the statue of King with a frown. “I heard they were going to change it, but I thought it would already be done,” Reynolds said. “Isn’t the march on Washington coming up soon? I will be back then and I want to see the whole thing.” Despite the scaffolding, visitors posed for pictures in front of the statue. “I’m glad they are fixing it,” said Continued on A4

Beyoncé Lands in D.C. During Her ‘Mrs. Carter World Tour’

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Fifty Years Later, Jobs Dominate Civil Rights Agenda By George E. Curry NNPA Editor-in-Chief

Cheryl Boone Isaacs

Cheryl Boone Isaacs, film industry marketing veteran and one of the few Black Hollywood insiders, was named president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences July 30 in Los Angeles, Calif. The election of the Lionsgate motion picture group co-chair, who is already an Academy member, by the 48-member board marks the first time an African American will oversee the group that bestows coveted Oscars for cinematic works. The action comes during a period in which the commercial film industry is under pressure to demonstrate ethnic diversity. “I think it’s wonderful. She’s a person who has paid her dues for the academy. She knows all the ins and outs of the academy. She doesn’t have to start at the beginning,” said former academy president Tom Sherak.”

PHILADELPHIA – One of the primary goals of the 1963 March on Washington was finding or creating jobs for Blacks. At a panel discussion during the annual convention of the National Urban League, jobs was mentioned more frequently than any other topic as leaders discussed the famous march 50 years ago and an upcoming one planned for Aug. 24. Barbara Arnwine, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said employers are increasingly using measures that have nothing to do with job performance that

disproportionately limit the ability of AfricanAmericans to gain employment. “I need you to make sure that your state has a law that says very clearly that you cannot use the fact that somebody has been arrested as a reason not to employ them,” she told convention delegates. “A mere arrest tells you nothing.” Sounding more like an evangelical preacher than the lawyer that she is, Arnwine drew loud — Barbara Arnwine applause when she said, “You need a state law that says to employers that credit checks have nothing to do with your ability to work. If your credit is bad, it’s because you don’t have a job. Get real.” Al Sharpton, president of the National Continued on A4

“…employers are increasingly using measures that have nothing to do with job performance that disproportionately limit the ability of African-Americans to gain employment.”

Copyright © 2013 by the Afro-American Company


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