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Volume 121 No. 49
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JULY 13, 2013 - JULY 19, 2013
Welcome Home, Deltas A Leader with a Servant’s Heart
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Centennial Celebration and Torch Tour Stops
By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO
‘More Like a Family Reunion’ Gwendolyn Boyd
By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO
INSIDE A7
Ruth Bader Ginsburg—the New Thurgood Marshall
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AFRO Sports Desk Faceoff
What to Expect from Houston Rockets Next Season INSERT • Walmart
Hear the AFRO on The Daily Drum, Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Rev. Dr. Gwendolyn E. Boyd has been on a special assignment—chairing the Centennial Celebrations of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, of which she has been a member for many years. “It is truly a very high honor to put this celebration together,” Boyd told the AFRO. But it was also a challenge: How to do you capture 100 years of pioneering leadership, stalwart activism, scholarship and sisterhood? “Celebrating 100 years…we knew one event would not be enough. We wanted to make sure we captured the essence of the organization,” Boyd said. “It certainly gave all of us an opportunity to stretch our imagination.” What emerged was a series of events, in a months-long observance. It began Jan. 1 with the launching of the Torch Tour, during which selected members of the sorority bore an Olympic-style torch to 22 cities across the United States and the world. That same day, the group also made history by becoming the first African-American women’s organization and the first Greek-letter organization to sponsor a float in the 124th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif. The sorority also held a Hollywood Gala, a media blitz of the major morning shows in New York and a Founders Day Weekend in Washington, D.C., among other activities. And, the celebration will culminate at the sorority’s 51st Annual Convention, which convenes in Washington, D.C., July 11-17. While the gathering is a business meeting, where new leaders will be elected, it will also feature the penultimate commemorative festivities. On July 11, the city will rename the street where the Deltas’
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Murphy Legacy Tribute
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AFRO Historical Coverage
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Delta Outreach
Cynthia M.A. ButlerMcIntyre of America’s first Black president and the 100th Continued on A4
Missing Autistic Boy Found Dead Yards From N.E. D.C. Home
Michael Kingsbury
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Cynthia M.A. ButlerMcIntyre has led the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority through a tumultuous period in U.S. and world history. It is an era of inspiring highs, such as the election and re-election
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By Krishana Davis and Talib Babb Special to the AFRO D.C. police said July 8 they are baffled about the circumstances surrounding the death of a 7-year-old autistic boy whose body was found just a few yards from where he was lasted spotted July 7.
The body of Michael Kingsbury, 7, was found in an abandoned vehicle in an alley behind his home 32 hours after he was last seen wearing only a pull-up diaper. Police officials said they want to know how teams of searchers missed the old car parked in the alley behind his house. They also want to know the sequence of events linking the last known siting in his home and the grisly discovery in the car. more than a day later. Katrina Kingsbury, his mother, said he went missing just after 9:47 a.m. at the
family home in the 1700 block of West Virginia Ave. N.E. “My daughter came in the room and told me that Michael dropped a bowl or something out the window and went outside to get it,” said Kingsbury in a recent interview with the AFRO. “I threw on my robe and ran outside.” She said by the time she got outside Michael was gone. This is not the first time Michael has wandered away from home. Kingsbury told the AFRO. Michael wandered away a few years ago and she later learned he was at a neighbor’s house. Kingsbury said her son was non-verbal and unable to communicate well. She has
two other children. “He doesn’t know his address, but he has a photographic memory,” said Kingsbury. Michael, who is autistic, went missing about 9:30 a.m. July 6, touching off an extensive search involving police and residents. His body was found about 6 p.m. July 8 in the car, which was parked in an alley just two apartment buildings away from where he lived. Acquaintances said his mother had been understandably devastated by the news. As loved ones rallied around her July 8, police investigators combed the car where his body was found. Officers refused to answer questions as they
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worked behind a yellow tape barricade. A lone police officer guarded the area late into the night. “This is a sad day for the whole community,” said Commissioner Petagay Lewis, the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Michael’s neighborhood near Gallaudet University. After spending hours with grief counselors, Michael’s mother spoke to the media late on July 8 near her home. “I came out to thank everybody in the community for coming out and helping to find my child,” said Kingsbury while fighting back tears. Her father, Billy Byers, Continued on A3