Washington Afro-American Newspaper May 17 2014

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www.afro.com

Volume 122 No. 41

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MAY 17, 2014 - MAY 23, 2014

Texas ID Law ‘Most Restrictive in the Country’

#BringBackOurGirls

By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent

In Texas, everything seems to be bigger—oversized hats and belt-buckles, oversized houses and landmarks, oversized personalities and now an oversized voter identification law that activists say is one of the worst cases of voter suppression in the United States. “Texas’ voter ID law in many ways is the most restrictive in the country,” said Vishal Agraharkar, counsel, Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “At the end of the day, it will prevent hundreds of thousands of Texans from being able to cast their votes…. It is disheartening to say the least.” Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed the voter ID bill, SB 14, into law on May 27, 2011. With the cliché of voter fraud as its impetus, the bill banned all nonphotographic IDs as Archive pages of acceptable for voting. AFRO coverage of Unlike other states,

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the Brown v Board Decision of May 17, 1954.

Wikimedia.org

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D.C.’s Home Rule Under Attack

House Republican Vows to Stop D.C.’s Decriminalization of Marijuana

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By Valencia Mohammed Special to the AFRO It is a game of tug-of-war between those who want autonomy to govern themselves and others who hid behind a 226-year-old doctrine to diminish the thought of selfdetermination. Four congressmen gave onlookers a taste of the brewing

“While usage of marijuana is equal among Blacks and Whites, 91 percent of arrests were of Blacks, males in particular.”

– ACLU\NCA report

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Alfred Street Offers Mother’s Day Prayers By AFRO Staff Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va. hosted prayer vigils, May 11, at both of their worship services in support of the 300 school girls who were kidnapped from Nigeria. Nearly 3,000 members of the historic church, the oldest and largest African-American church in Alexandria, celebrated Mother’s Day with a prayer vigil to raise awareness of the international travesty. The Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, senior pastor, led the congregation in a powerful, poignant and moving prayer for the Nigerian girls and for all kidnapped and missing girls and women worldwide. Nigeria remains one of eight countries with the highest rate of human trafficking in the world. In a show of solidarity and support for the mothers of the abducted school girls in the Chibok Borno State region of Nigeria, the pastor asked everyone to hold up their ASBC “PRAY FOR OUR GIRLS” signs that were disseminated as they entered the

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battle on the District of Columbia. Two in favor, one adamantly opposed, and a committee head flexing his muscle to keep the District in servitude. This time the issue was decriminalizing possession of marijuana. The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s subcommittee on Government Operations called a hearing to discuss the matter. It was another opportunity for political leaders from outside Continued on A4

sanctuary. “These young innocent girls belong to all of us. They are all of our daughters,” said Rev. Dr. Wesley. “Many of us go into a panic if we look away for one moment and can’t find our

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Dr. Sean Combs: ‘You Will Change the World’

While experts say marijuana usage by Whites is far greater than Blacks, arrests for possession and use of marijuana in the District is overwhelmingly discriminatory. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Blacks get arrested 8 to 1 more times than that of Whites.

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By Maria Adebola Special to the AFRO

United Medical Center Improves Its Services to Wards 7 and 8 By Maria Adebola Special to the AFRO United Medical Center (UMC) is taking major strides in sprucing up the Southeast part of the District by improving services and recruiting more doctors and nurses. In the last 12 months alone, UMC has added 19 new physicians and has already started recruiting specialists and primary care physicians specializing in cardiology, oncology, general surgery and orthopedics. Continued on A4

Howard University’s class of 2014 got a lot livelier and excited on May 10 when superstar music mogul and entrepreneur Sean Combs delivered the 146th commencement address. Combs, who received an honorary doctorate in humanities, shared insights about his time at Howard and moved the crowd Sean Combs is excited after being in a heartfelt awarded an honorary doctorate speech about from Howard University. the numerous Photo by Rob Roberts possibilities that await the graduates once they realize how powerful they are. “I want to ask you a quick question; do you know how powerful you are,” Combs inquired. “Our stories may be different, but I bet some of you grew up with single mothers or Continued on A3

$10 OFF ADULT TICKETS! To purchase online, select ADULT ticket type and enter the code AAN, or call the Box Office at 301.924.3400 and mention promo code AAN. Valid for all performances of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. Subject to availability. Not to be combined with other offers. Not valid on previously purchased tickets. All sales final.

NOW PLAYING! For Tickets/Info, call: 301.924.3400 PLAYWRIGHT August Wilson

OLNEY THEATRE CENTER

or visit olneytheatre.org WE’RE CLOSE BY! Just 30 mins. from DC, 15 mins. from Columbia and Rockville, and 40 mins. from Baltimore!

Copyright © 2014 by the Afro-American Company


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