Washington Afro American Newspaper March 28 2015r

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Volume 123 No. 34

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MARCH 28, 2015 - APRIL 3, 2015

Bowser, County Execs Tackle Homelessness

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO

In this Jan. 28, 2015 file photo, Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Senate Minority Leader Richard Durbin, of Ill., the second-ranking Senate Democrat is accusing Republicans of putting Lynch’s nomination “in the back of the bus.”

AP Photo

Congressional Black Caucus:

Racism Defines Lynch Delay Supporters of President Obama’s embattled U.S. attorney general nominee are arguing that race and sex are the real reasons her U.S. Senate confirmation is being delayed. On March 19, members of the Congressional Black Caucus were joined by their colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to press

By James Wright Special to the AFRO

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“If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, then it is a duck.”

–Rep. Corrine Brown Sen. Mitch McConnell (RKy.), the majority leader of his chamber, to have a floor vote on attorney general hopeful Loretta Lynch. CBC members and their allies said that Lynch is being held up by the Senate because of Obama

place until after the Easter recess from March 30 to April 10. The spokesman said that the Lynch process will not move until the Senate deals with its budget resolution and the Democrats release a hold on an anti-human trafficking Continued on A6

Supreme Court Case

Confederate Flag License: A Symbol of Terrorism Vs. Free Speech

Starbucks Opens Dialogue on Race with Race Together Forums, Barista Banter

across the nation in recent years, Starbucks began hosting neighborhood forums for customers to vent, ask questions, challenge In an attempt to open dialogue on several their own beliefs, and potentially, heal. Each racially-charged events that have occurred forum, according to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, provides a respectful, if not emotional, exchange among attendees.

“Each voice offered insight into the divisive role unconscious bias plays in our society, and the role empathy can play to bridge those divides. In most of the cities we visited, we also met with senior police leaders to hear their concerns and share what we were learning,” said Schultz.

“At Starbucks, we felt a responsibility to act. We called our partners (employees) Courtesy photo together and invited them Baristas at area Starbucks will begin engaging customers to express what they were thinking or feeling. In forums in dialogue about race as part of the Race Together Continued on A4 initiative.

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO

Floretta McKenzie, Noted D.C. Schools Leader, Dies at 79

By James Wright Special to the AFRO AP Photo/Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

This image provided by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles shows the design of a proposed Sons of Confederate Veterans license plate.

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affiliation and her race.

“If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck and then it is a duck,” Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) said. “There is hidden rampant racism in the House and the Senate.”

A spokesman for the Senate Office of the Majority Leader told the AFRO on March 24 that a vote on Lynch will likely not take

Mayor Bowser, with Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, hosted a regional summit on homelessness March 17. Their goal was to determine how best to The summit goal was to determine how best to manage manage the growing number the growing number of metropolitan residents who of metropolitan residents who have lost their homes.

Courtesy Photo have lost their homes.

The Regional Summit must go further to address the root causes of on Homelessness, held in Montgomery housing instability,” Bowser said. “Every one County, was organized by leaders of the three of us standing in this room plays a critical role. jurisdictions as a call to action to funders, And for that reason, we are eager to be kicking developers, banks, employers, landlords, off this long overdue regional collaboration service providers, schools, institutes of higher between the District, Montgomery County, learning, and community members to join in Prince George’s County – and all of you.” the work to end homelessness.

For Bowser, the collaboration follows “We all know that we are going to have to efforts to end family homelessness by 2025 be proactive to solve this issue. Our response as outlined previously with the launch cannot be limited to sheltering people today. If we are ever going to get ahead of this issue, we Continued on A6

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By Gloria Browne-Marshall AANIC Supreme Court Correspondent The Confederate flag represents racial oppression to many.

Yet, it is a mere relic of Southern history to some. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments to decide if this symbol of the Confederacy should be allowed on official Texas license plates.

On March 23, the Court heard the case of Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans. These motorists pay an extra $30 for the specialty plate. Texas rejected the request of the Sons of Confederate Veterans to have an official license plate bearing Continued on A3

Dr. Floretta D. McKenzie, one of the District’s most respected school superintendents, died on March 23 at the age of 79 in Silver Spring., Md., according to published reports.

McKenzie led the District’s school system from 19811988. She is credited with raising academic standards for students by requiring them to meet certain educational criteria before going to the next grade. She also initiated public-private partnerships

with businesses of various types and corporations to help schools by providing financial and professional resources to mentor students and to provide needed equipment.

She played a major role in the development of Benjamin Banneker Senior High School, the city’s institution for academically-gifted students.

A native of Lakeland, Fla., McKenzie graduated from Dunbar Senior High School in 1952, got her bachelor’s degree from D.C. Teachers College in 1956, a master’s in education from

Copyright © 2015 by the Afro-American Company

howard.edu

Dr. Floretta McKenzie was a respected D.C. school superintendent.

Howard University in 1957 and a doctorate in education from George Washington University in 1985. McKenzie taught school in Baltimore and in the District, worked in Continued on A4

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The Afro-American, March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015

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Ex-NFL player Sharper Attempting to Resolve Rape Cases in Four Different States

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former NFL All-Pro Darren Sharper was expected to appear in one court in person March 23 and another via video to enter pleas as he seeks to resolve rape and drugging allegations involving women in four different states.

A changeof-plea hearing NFL All-Pro Darren Sharper was scheduled for Sharper in a court in Los Angeles. He’s then scheduled to enter a new plea via video conferencing in Arizona. The cases combined with others in Nevada and Louisiana are likely to lead to a long prison sentence.

In each state he’s accused of drugging and sexually assaulting two women when they were unconscious or otherwise unable to resist or consent.

Similar hearings will follow in Las Vegas this week and in New Orleans in the next month.

Sharper’s attorney on Friday announced that Sharper has reached agreements with prosecutors in all of the cases against him.

The 39-year-old former safety retired from the NFL in 2011 after winning a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints. He had a 14-year career with three teams and later worked as an analyst for the NFL network.

The alleged sexual assaults all happened since Sharper’s retirement as a player.

It was not clear what he would plead to in Monday’s hearings.

Only prosecutors in Nevada, where Sharper is scheduled to change his plea Tuesday, provided details of their part of the deal. There, he is expected to plead guilty to one felony charge of attempted sexual assault, with the expectation that he’ll face between 38 months and eight years in prison, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told The Associated Press.

Children of Comedian James McNair, Killed in NJ Tracy Morgan Crash, Awarded $10 million

(Seth Wenig/AP Photo and Brian Howard/AP Photo)

Jamel McNair, right, and Danita McNair, left, the children of comedian James McNair (center pic), are interviewed in New York City on Jan. 21, 2015.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — Court papers show that the children of the comedian who was killed in the crash that injured Tracy Morgan won a $10 million settlement from WalMart.

The amount was disclosed in documents filed in New York’s Westchester County, where comedian James McNair lived until the June 7 accident on the New Jersey Turnpike.

McNair died when a Wal-Mart truck hit a van carrying him, Morgan and others.

Morgan’s lawyer says the “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” star suffered a traumatic brain injury.

The McNair family lawyer announced a settlement in January, but the amount was said to be confidential. However, he disclosed the $10 million figure in court papers supporting his request for nearly $3 million in legal fees.

Wal-Mart said it could not discuss the terms.

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March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015, The Afro-American

Half-Black Woman Named Miss Japan—Stirs Reaction

By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent Apparently Black is also beautiful in Japan, despite the nation’s reputation for a lack of diversity.

Ariana Miyamoto, daughter of a Japanese mother and African-American father, recently became the first multiracial contestant to be crowned Miss Universe Japan, according to news reports. The former Miss Nagasaki will represent Japan in the 2015 Miss Universe pageant.

Local media describe the 20-year-old as a “saishoku kenbi,” a woman blessed with both intelligence and beauty. She holds a fifth-degree mastery of Japanese calligraphy, according to JapanToday. com.

But there have been mixed reactions to a “hāfu,” the Japanese word used to refer to half-Japanese individuals, representing the country.

“The selection of Ariana Miyamoto as this year’s Miss Universe Japan is a huge step forward in expanding the definition of what it means to be Japanese,” Megumi Nishikura, filmmaker and co-director of the film “Hafu: The Mixed-Race Experience in Japan,” told NBC News. “The controversy that

has erupted over her selection is a great opportunity for us Japanese to examine how far we have come from our self-perpetuated myth of homogeneity while at the same time it shows us how much further we have to go.”

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has reported that one in 49 babies born in Japan today are born into families with one non-Japanese parent, according to “Hafu.”

While the nation remains a Ariana Miyamoto, recently became the center of global tourism and trade, first multiracial contestant to be crowned it remains skeptical of diversity Miss Universe Japan. and actually prides itself on its homogeneity—more than 98 percent of the population comprise Japanese said Kyle Cleveland, an associate nationals, according to Vox.com. As professor of sociology at Temple such, it has a long and complicated University’s Tokyo campus who lectures history of racism. on race.

For example, the Vox article For example, artists who wear cited Japanese entertainers’ donning “blackface” and other appropriations, say of “blackface,” theatrical makeup they are signs of their appreciation for traditionally used in entertainment to other cultures, but rather, they are signs perpetuate negative stereotypes about of cultural ignorance and insensitivity African Americans. that can be addressed through education, “The blackface thing is emblematic Cleveland said. of a larger problem of Japanese politics “Japan is a globalized society,” he and civil society in which diversity is not said, but sometimes, it’s “very tone recognized, or cultivated, or respected,” deaf.”

Virginia, New Jersey Approve Pepco, Exelon Merger Others Still Undecided

By LaTrina Antoine Washington D.C. Editor The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the merger between energy powerhouses Pepco Holdings Inc. and Exelon Corporation.

The companies are still waiting on approvals from the D.C., Maryland, and Delaware Public Service Commissions.

The merger between the companies is expected to benefit customers through new financial and sustainability commitments, which would include the creation of 1500 new jobs.

“There are significant benefits that we are anticipating as a result of this proposed merger,” Melissa Sherrod, vice president of corporate affairs at Exelon told the AFRO on March 24. “And as a result, customers, as a whole, will benefit from improved service, more reliable service. Employees

will benefit from a stronger company that will deliver increased opportunities with a bigger company, and the philanthropy, nonprofit community will also benefit because of the long-term commitment that we have made to continue contributions.”

Sherrod said customer’s rates would be lower with the merger than without.

Although the D.C. Public Service Commission has not approved the merger, it will begin evidentiary hearings on March 30. The hearings are expected to last until April 8.

Sherrod said the companies expect to submit the merger for a decision to the D.C. Public Service Commission

by May 13.

The merger will provide benefits to D.C. customers including an increase in the v customer investment fund to $33.75 million from $14 million. The merger will also save $51.2 million over 10 years, which will flow back to District customers through lower rates, credits, or energy assistance to low

income customers, according to a press release. “As a result of the enhancement we have made to the customer investment fund, you also have enhanced the economic benefits that will come to the District,” Sherrod said.

The merger would provide the District with $168 million to $260 million in revenue, she said.

Pepco and Exelon recently

significant because it covers such a large portion of Pepco customers,” Sherrod said.

“It is very significant that you have two larger counties signing on to this agreement and reaching an agreement to say the merger is in the benefit of customers.”

According to Sherrod, three-fourths of Pepco’s customer base is located in the Maryland.

reached an agreement with Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties in Maryland.

“The Montgomery County and Prince George’s County settlement agreement is

A press release from Pepco and Exelon said the merger will also increase the value of the Maryland’s customer investment fund to $94.4 million from $40 million.

Earlier in the month,

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SAFEWAY Manager Earns Washington Business Journal Minority Business Leader Award Safeway’s Craig Muckle was honored last month by the Washington Business Journal with the publication’s Minority Business Leader Award on Feb. 19 during the newspaper’s 2015 Minority Business Leader Awards celebration at the Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C. He has served as Safeway’s Eastern Division Manager of Public Affairs and Safeway’s Craig Government Relations Muckle was awarded since 1997, he is the Minority Business responsible for media, Leader Award Feb. 19. government, community and consumer relations activities for 127 mid-Atlantic stores, including those that operate in Northern Virginia, the District of Columbia, Maryland and Delaware.

Muckle is also involved with numerous organizations representing Safeway on a variety of boards. Appointed to the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce in 1999, he is currently the longest-tenured board member and held the position of Chairman from July 2008 to June 2009. During that time, Muckle created the Chamber’s Sports, Hospitality, and Entertainment (SHE) Committee, a committee he currently chairs. He has also chaired numerous sub-committees including Public Safety, President/CEO Search Committee, the Political Impact Candidate Forum and Nominating Committee. In addition, Muckle has also served on the Board of the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce since 2011 and is currently the Board’s President. an agreement was made between Pepco, Exelon and The Alliance for Solar Choice, a Maryland solar advocacy group, to facilitate the introduction of more onsite renewable generation in Maryland and improve cooperation among solar developers and Pepco Holdings’ utilities.

“This settlement is an extension of Exelon’s commitment to advancing the development of clean energy in Maryland, including solar and other renewable sources,” said Chris Crane, Exelon president and CEO, in a press release. “The agreement will add further transparency and ease to the interconnection process for distributedgeneration resources in Pepco and Delmarva Power territories.”

The date the companies expected the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) to make a decision changed from April 8 to May 8.

“It’s moved a month later for a positive reason,” Sherrod said. “We were able to reach settlements with Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties. The schedule is moved to give additional time for parties to review that settlement and give comment on it and then at that point the commission will make their decision.”

Sherrod said the decision from the commission in Delaware is expected to occur on April 21.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the Virginia State Corporation Commission approved the merger in February 2015 and October 2014, respectively.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the merger in November 2014. “In general I believe this proposed merger will make Pepco a stronger company,” Sherrod said.

“Overall I think this is a win across the board.”

Confederate Flag

Continued from A1

the Confederate flag.

Even Gov. Rick Perry believed the flag symbol was divisive.

“We don’t need to be scraping old wounds,” he said.

However, the Sons of Confederate Veterans appealed the decision denying them a place on a Texas plate. The American Civil Liberties Union joined their fight against what they allege to be censorship. Nadine Strossen, New York Law professor, advocated on behalf of the Confederate flag while admitting it is offensive to many people, especially African-Americans.

“It is fully within its rights to exclude swastikas, sacrilege and overt racism from state-issued license plates that bear the

“States that issue ‘Fight Terrorism’ specialty plates are not required to offer specialty plates with messages that praise terrorism.”

– Nadine Strossen state’s name and imprimatur,” a Texas brief said. “States that issue ‘Fight Terrorism’ specialty plates are not required to offer specialty plates with messages that praise terrorism.”

Drivers can use bumper stickers, Texas argued. But, the state has the power to decide whether language or symbols are offensive and what can be placed on official state platforms such as a license plate, argued Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller. License plates are mini-billboards, he claimed. An official state license plate is expressing the views of the

individual as well as Texas, he said.

Nine other states have confederate flag options for drivers - Maryland, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia, and South Carolina. In South Carolina, the Confederate flag flies above the capitol. It is part of the state flag.

Texas complains that if it cannot control its specialty plates then license plates could contain racial slurs, Jihad, or other words that incite violence.

Ben Jones, a national spokesperson for the 30,000 member Sons of Confederate Veterans, calls Texas’ stance hypocritical.

Texas has placed the Confederate flag on dozens of statesanctioned tourist items and miniature flags can be bought in the Texas capitol gift shop, the Confederate brief states. Texas also holds a Confederate Heroes Day celebration.

Jones, who played Cooter Davenport on the Dukes of Hazzard television show, refutes any notion that his Confederate organization is racist. But, Jones said that there are “Black members, Hispanic members, Jewish members and Native members” in the Sons of the Confederate Veterans.

During his argument on behalf of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, R. James George, Jr. argued that the First Amendment required approval of all messages no matter how offensive to some. He then raised the fact that Texas endorses a commemoration in June for the abolition of slavery called Juneteenth.

Free speech takes many forms.

A man who burned the American flag was expressing his political beliefs and the Court protected it as freedom of expression in the 1989 Supreme Court decision Texas v.

Johnson.

Iowa high school students who wore black armbands

to protest the Vietnam War were protected under the First Amendment, as well, according to the 1969 Supreme Court decision, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District. So, speech need not be spoken or written to be protected. Nor must speech be popular.

Although the Confederate flag remains a symbol of racial division and terrorism, the Court seemed unsure as to how to balance the history with the current developments in communication. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagen both remarked, “this is a new world” for free speech.

Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, an Associate Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College (CUNY), is a writer, and the U.S. Supreme Court correspondent for AANIC (African-American News & Information Consortium).

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The Afro-American, March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015

Business Profile

Public School Chancellor Announces New School Budget

Vegan Chef Grows Career in D.C.

By Christina Sturdivant Special to the AFRO

By Lauren E. Williams Special to the AFRO The early part of the calendar year for government entities is both a trying and exciting time. Why? Because budget season is on the horizon. From the largest department to the smallest, contracting programs, everything is up for financial examination and review. What is not needed is cut, and what is seemingly imperative for growth, expanded.

In the case of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) FY 2016 budget, its central office was cut, while its comprehensive high school programs, and school-based staff size, expanded. The news was announced March 17 by DCPS Chancellor, Kaya Henderson.

Comprehensive high school programs throughout the district will receive $13 million in new funding to increase the number of advanced placement courses and elective courses, such as African-American literature, and school-based positions will increase by 200. The new funding does not include additional money for specific special education or alternative high school programs.

“Our budget process this year started with strong input from our community and included honest conversations and hard decisions.

This has allowed us to set a higher bar and higher expectations for our students and our schools,” said Chancellor Henderson in a press release.

“Together, this budget will allow us to continue to transform DCPS into the best urban school district in the country, and the school district we all want for our children.”

The budget represents a 3.4 percent increase in funding from FY 2015, which

dcps.dc.gov

DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced the new school budget on March 17. comes out to $25 million more dollars and a total local budget of $726 million for D.C.’s students. New schools will also be opened through the Chancellor’s new budget.

The schools include: • Brookland Middle School (Ward 5); • Van Ness Elementary School (Ward 6); • River Terrace Elementary School (Ward 7); and • Community Academy Public Charter School Amos I Campus The Community Academy will now operate under DCPS, Ward 4. DCPS continues to experience enrollment

Raymond Education Campus (Ward 4) made possible through a $1 million pilot investment. The money will give students extra instruction time, and the program will affect planning decisions for other D.C. schools in the future.

The most alarming part about the newly announced DCPS budget is the large reduction of the central office.

At the time of the budget announcement, Chancellor Henderson said the school system still is not sure how the 25 percent decrease would translate into positions and staff. She was clear however, telling the AFRO on March 12, “Schools will feel it. There will be some limits to what the Central Office can provide.”

The increase in funding aligns with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s dedication to improving D.C. schools, and more specifically, – DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson transforming middle school grades by 2020. While many D.C. public agencies experienced budget increases, including 1,500 decreases, DCPS did not. new students expected next While still early, DCPS’ year. These new schools will budget shows promise for help furnish DCPS’ growing the upcoming school year. population.

Individual school budgets still Related to new schools, is need to be determined. The the extension of an extended budgets should be submitted school-year program at the within the next few weeks.

“… this budget will allow us to continue to transform DCPS into the best urban school district in the country, and the school district we all want for our children.”

When Rakhel Yisrael began selling her homemade vegan cuisine in 2009, she had few resources, but a lot of ambition. “I had a cooler that was able to strap on my back and I would make deliveries on my bicycle,” Yisrael told the AFRO, March 20. “I would speed down U St. to drop off deliveries to the Universal Capoeira [Angola] Center.”

Yisrael’s love for food came at an early age. “When I was a child, I used to cook all the time at home and I always liked trying new spices,” she recalled. “I would have my family taste it and they were like ‘Yeah that’s good!’”

After high school, she met a former classmate who introduced her to vegan cuisine. She became an assistant chef at Soul Vegetarian Restaurant on Georgia Ave. northwest, D.C. and Everlasting Life Cafe in Capitol Heights, Md. In 2009, she spent six months in Israel where her knowledge of vegan food deepened as well as her skills in hospitality and food service. Though she’d grown up on fast-food chains and local carryout, mixing vegan and processed food began to disagree with her body. Soon, she began exploring literature that spoke to the benefits and guidelines around facebook.com healthy eating.

“I started reading a lot about how fruits and Rakhel Yisrael, owner of vegetables cleanse the body,” she says. “I also read Rakhel’s Live Cuisine believes the key to serving vegan food is in the Bible in Genesis Chapter 9 where it says ‘flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall creating meals with flavor and ye not eat’ and every plant is given to us for food. So soul. that was one of the major reasons that I changed my diet – I could not believe that it said that in the Bible.”

After transitioning fully to veganism, she’s experienced results that have helped her individually and as a person of color. “Once I started eating more fruits and vegetables, I started to understand myself more and my thoughts became more clear,” she says. “[And] I believe eating vegan is very important for the Black community because it helps us to really reach our highest self.”

In 2012, Yisrael officially launched Rakhel’s Live Cuisine as a catering service. Over the years, growth – RakhelYisrael became necessary. “I realized that I needed help and to serve more people, I couldn’t just do it on one single bike,” she says.

She created a budget and was able to hire a driver. On a typical week, she caters about four events and prepares meals for over two-dozen personal customers. “The number [of customers] is growing because a lot of my customers have been referring people to me—they’ve been my PR,” she says.

She also moved from preparing meals in Columbia Heights to a kitchen in southeast, which is known to be a food desert for healthy options.

The key in serving vegan food, like any other cuisine, is creating meals with flavor and soul. On Yisrael’s menu, the barbeque steak, steak and gravy, raw pizza and salads like ginger kale, coconut curry kale and sweet basil kale have customers coming back for more.

When she isn’t coming up with new concepts for her business, she continues to gain experience in the restaurant industry as the raw chef at Senbeb Cafe in northwest, D.C. It’s definitely been a long journey – I’ve grown a lot and I’ve been doing a lot more,” she says. “The next step is a restaurant or a cafe.”

To view Yisrael’s weekly menus, cooking tips and recipes, visit http://rakhelslivecuisine. tumblr.com/. To get in touch with Yisrael, she can be reached at 202-460-9913.

“I believe eating vegan is very important for the Black community because it helps us to really reach our highest self.”

Starbucks

Floretta McKenzie

Continued from A1 across the country, people shared personal experiences and ideas about how to move our country forward. Men and women from backgrounds as diverse as America’s spoke about their childhoods, neighborhoods, fears and hopes.”

Race Together – an initiative designed by Starbucks and USA Today to stimulate conversation, compassion and action around race in America – kicked off in earnest around the country March 20. Popular figures like financial guru Mellody Hobson encouraged Americans to live “color brave,” rather than color blind by acknowledging when there is a lack of diversity in the boardroom, classroom, or neighborhood.

Others, like rapper-actor Common, applauded Starbucks for demonstrating their capacity to care about the well-being of the people they serve.

“I always believed that people with power, didn’t care,” said Common. “I often wondered why corporations make all this money but don’t care about the people in the communities that are supporting them. Well, I am here to witness that Starbucks is a different type of company.”

In the D.C. metropolitan area, the AFRO visited eight stores throughout the city and found that while customers were willing to entertain discussions about race with baristas, their own biases often made them too uncomfortable for a full conversation.

Complicated by mass re-gentrification that has witnessed an influx of White, urban SINKs (Single Income No Kids) residents, several White Starbucks customers told the AFRO they feared saying the “wrong thing.” That fear, was shared by many people across racial and socioeconomic lines.

“The problem is that there are a lot of people moving to this area who have never been around this many Blacks, Latinos, or people who are not White,” said Yusef Abdullah, a sedan driver who frequents one Southwest-area Starbucks. “Instead

Continued from A1 of it being an opportunity for them to learn something new and integrate into a vibrant and multicultural city, there is fear, there is animosity, and there is a desire to hide behind stereotypes rather than interact.”

Abdullah, who immigrated from Sierra Leone, then moved from Northern Virginia to Mount Pleasant, said that it was an experience to which, he too, had to acclimate himself.

“I had fear of Black teens on sight and I am not embarrassed to admit that and my own sons look very much like them. But I began talking to the people in the Starbucks one day and they were college students. They were very well-educated, kind, and interesting young Black people,” Abdullah said. “It is like Dr. King said, we must learn to judge people by their character and not by the stereotypes in our heads.”

However, faced with an enormous amount of anger and resistance on social media, Schultz ended the first phase of his Race Together initiative -- having baristas write “Race Together” on the sides of drink cups on March 22. That phase of the program, which Schultz insists was scheduled to end on the same day will usher in additional Race Together activities in the weeks and months to come. Among them, three additional special sections co-produced with USA TODAY; plans to expand its store footprint in urban communities; and plans to hire 10,000 “opportunity youth” over the next three years. The dialogues and forums, according to Schultz will continue.

“Our nation is only becoming more diverse. To ignore, dismiss or fail to productively engage our differences is to stifle our collective potential,” Schultz said. “I am not going to stand here and tell you that Starbucks is going to solve the centuries-old problem of racism in America. But I am going to tell you that we are going to demonstrate a level of respect, of leadership, and of concern that we can make a difference.”

different capacities for the Montgomery County, Md., school system, and did stints at the U.S. Department of Education and the Ford Foundation.

In 1988, McKenzie started her own business, The McKenzie Group, an educational consulting firm. The McKenzie Group was later bought out by the American Institutes of Research.

“She played a major role in the development of Benjamin Banneker Senior High School, the city’s institution for academically-gifted students.”

McKenzie is considered a pioneer in the corporate world.

At a time when the Black female presence on corporate boards was rare, she became the first elected Black board member of the Marriott Corporation and the first woman non-family member to serve as a director in 1992. She would also serve on the boards of PEPCO, the D.C. area’s power company, and Acacia Mutual Insurance.

McKenzie was a member of the Howard University Board of Trustees from 1993-2014, serving as the chairwoman for two years and vice chairwoman for 10 years.

McKenzie was also a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015, The Afro-American

Saving African-American Sight

HEALTH

Local Eye Doctor Encourages Regular Testing to Diagnose Diabetic Retinopathy

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease and the leading cause of blindness in adults 20 to 74 years of age. So why do so few African Americans know they are at risk for developing it and losing their sight?

According to the National Eye Institute (NEI), more than 800,000 African Americans have diabetic retinopathy.

And while fear of physicians, an “I’d rather not know� mentality, and a lack of access to resources, have all been blamed for its prevalence, those impacted by diabetic retinopathy is projected to increase to approximately 1.2 million people by 2030.

According to Dr. Frank Spellman, M.D., retina specialist with The Retina Group of Washington, who has been treating diabetic retinopathy for thirty years, awareness of the degenerative nature of the disease is key to stemming its progression. “We cannot allow patients to be in denial about the impact of these kinds of diseases. We understand that people are busy and they are working to support their children and raise their families. You add to that a person with diabetes, who has an entire complex of other health concerns that can range from heart to vascular and kidney disease, and they simply do not have their eyes checked,� Spellman said.

Several eye diseases plague diabetics, including cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy, which is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina.

Treating Diabetic Retinopathy

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO Diabetic retinopathy and macular edema can be diagnosed through a comprehensive eye exam that includes: a visual acuity test, a dilated eye exam, the use of a tonometry -- an instrument that measures the pressure inside the eye. With these tests, physicians are able to check for leaking blood vessels, retinal swelling (macular edema), pale, fatty deposits on the retina–signs of leaking blood vessels, damaged nerve tissue, and any changes to the blood vessels. Because macular edema can develop without symptoms, it is imperative that persons with diabetes (or those who suspect they may be diabetic) have

In some people with diabetic retinopathy, blood vessels may swell and leak fluid; while in others, abnormal new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina.

Blood vessels damaged from diabetic retinopathy can cause vision loss when damaged blood vessels leak

Photos by Shantella Y. Sherman

Dr. Frank Spellman describes the technological advances of laser equipment used to treat diabetic retinopathy.

blood into the center of the eye, blurring vision. Fluid can also leak into the center of the macula, the part of the eye where sharp, straightahead vision occurs, causing the macula to swell and blur vision. Known as macular edema, this can occur at any stage of diabetic retinopathy.

Spellman points to a set of twins, both with type 1 diabetes whom he treated several years ago. In what he documented as “A Tale of Two Sisters,� Spellman said that one was extremely compliant and went to her doctors’ visits and managed her diet; the other not. “Her identical twin had a pathological fear of

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physicians and was to an extent was in denial about the potential ramifications of the disease she had. That sister died within several years of our first meeting.

The identical twin, to my knowledge, is doing fine and seeing well, and under the care of one of my colleagues in Greenbelt. She is here functioning as a member of society and her sister is just a memory,� Spellman said.

The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) showed that better control of blood sugar levels slows the onset and progression of retinopathy. The people with diabetes who kept their blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible also had

much less kidney and nerve disease. Better control also reduces the need for sightsaving laser surgery.

With advances in technology, Spellman believes more African Americans could potentially save their vision, if they managed their diabetes and ensured their eye health. “We can help a much wider range of patients. We owe it to our community to give them the very best. We want people to protect their vision so that they are able to live productive and rewarding lives,� Spellman said.

“Because macular edema can develop without symptoms, it is imperative that persons with diabetes‌have regular eye examinations.â€? regular eye examinations.

To prevent the progression of diabetic retinopathy, Dr. Frank Spellman of The Retina Group of Washington advises people with diabetes manage their levels of blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol.

Proliferative retinopathy is treated most often using a procedure called scatter laser treatment, which helps shrink abnormal blood vessels. Scatter laser treatment works better before the fragile, new blood vessels begin bleeding. If bleeding is severe, physicians may suggest a vitrectomy procedure, during which blood is removed from the center of your eye.

Whether or not you have symptoms, early detection and timely treatment can prevent vision loss.

The Retina Group of Washington from any offers the vast experience and sub-specialty expertise of retinal physicians and surgeons who are both local and national leaders in treating vitreoretinal diseases. For more information about Dr. Frank Spellman and The Retina Group of Washington, visit their website at www.rgw.com

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The Afro-American, March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015

Smith to Deliver Jefferson Lecture

By James Wright Special to the AFRO Anna Deavere Smith will be the primary speaker-performer at the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) 2015 Jefferson Lecture, 7:30 p.m. April 6 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the District. Smith, a Baltimore native who has appeared on televisions shows such

government can bestow for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities. Past Jefferson lecturers include scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., author Toni Morrison, and playwright Arthur Miller. The engagement carries a $10,000 honorarium.

William Adams, chairman of the NEH, said that Smith is the right artist for the event. “Anna Deavere Smith is a remarkable chronicler of the human character and condition,” Adams said.

“In her examination of such thorny subjects as race relations or our feelings about death, she has applied her virtuosic talent to questions that most of us would prefer to avoid.”

Smith said she hopes her performance reaches out to African Americans and other people of color. Smith is active in The Pipeline Project, which explores the “school-to-prison pipeline” that puts low-income and minority students out of the educational track and into the criminal justice system.

“While some African Americans are affluent, many people are in poverty,” she said. “We see the problems and we see the

“Anna Deavere Smith is a remarkable chronicler of the human character and condition.”

– William Adams

annadeaveresmithprojects.net

Anna Deavere Smith is a well-known actress and scholar.

as the {West Wing} and {Nurse Jackie}, earned a National Humanities Medal in 2012 from President Obama and is excited about the engagement.

“I am honored that I was asked to do this,” Smith said. “It is a testament to my work as an artist.”

The lecture is among the highest honors that the federal

causes. We need the will that we had in the 1960s to solve these problems.”

Smith’s lecture will be hosted by the Congressional Humanities Caucus, which is co-chaired by U.S. Reps. David Price (D-N.C.) and Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) and includes Black members such as Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the assistant Democratic leader. Smith is aware of the perception among some lawmakers that funding the humanities should not be as important as supporting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) initiatives, but she is not deterred.

“We need to champion the arts and the humanities on every level of education,” she said. “We need skills but we also need meaning. We have a need for the humanities in the public space.”

Sister Mary Antona Ebo (center) stands with cousins Alexandra Duncan (left) and BW4PC member Janell Mayo Duncan during the recent commemorative events in Selma.

Black Women for Positive Change Participate in History in Selma Black Women for Positive Change (BW4PC), a national policy-focused network of African-American women recently organized a delegate of 21 members and guests to attend 50th Anniversary Commemorative Events in Selma, Alabama. Sister Mary Antona Ebo, a St. Louis native, civil rights pioneer, and one of the “Sisters of Selma,” was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame of the Voting Rights Museum and Institute in Selma, Alabama. Her cousins, Janell Mayo Duncan, a Maryland attorney who is also a member of BW4PC, traveled to Selma with her daughter, Alexandra, to attend the ceremony. While in Selma, the three attended President Obama’s speech at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. “This was a once in a lifetime event and we were so proud to be there as our cousin, Sister Antona, received this honor,” said Janell Mayo Duncan. “We were also very inspired to witness President Obama’s speech at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.”

Homelessness

Continued from A1

of several initiatives to expand affordable housing opportunities. One provision allows for the allocation of funds for a variety of programs to help families exit homelessness through financial assistance. A more recent plan, announced by Bowser, opts for the closing of the family homeless shelter currently housed on the campus of D.C. General Hospital.

“As part of my Administration’s effort to end homelessness, we are launching an initiative to help give families who experience homelessness a fresh start. We will bring on professionals to increase the District’s capacity to quickly connect families experiencing homelessness to housing opportunities in the private

market,” said Bowser.

Mayor Bowser’s initiative would reduce the length of time that families experience homelessness, alleviate the need for overflow shelter capacity at motels; and improve the District’s capacity to meet the needs of families who are experiencing homelessness. Some residents are hopeful, but leery of how all of the pieces will fit together under Bowser’s initiatives.

“In a city where developers and landlords are demanding upwards of $3,000 a month for suitable housing, Bowser and the City Council would do well to address homelessness and their core constituents being pushed out by exorbitant rents,” said Natalie Hinton, a Northwest career counselor. “When hard-

working, educated people need housing subsidies, it cuts into the monies that those in dire straits really need in order to survive. Right now it

homelessness remains an uphill battle that will not allow for resting upon ones laurels. Citing an extensive commitment of resources for

“We will bring on professionals to increase the District’s capacity to quickly connect families experiencing homelessness to housing opportunities in the private market.”

– Muriel Bowser

is a ‘lose-lose’ situation, but I voted for Bowser, and believe she can get this right.”

Leggett said that

shelters, an overall decrease in homelessness over several years, and initiatives to preserve affordable housing in

Montgomery County, he said homelessness, nonetheless, showed an uptick this past year.

“Clearly, even with using best practices, there is no easy answer. That’s why we need to develop and implement a plan for transformation of our local efforts to include our partners in the region. That’s why it is so important that Montgomery, Prince George’s and the District are coming together to commit ourselves to regional coordination and collaboration to reduce and end homelessness in our respective jurisdictions.”

Baker said that an allinclusive approach using the collective energies of the three jurisdictions was necessary to combat a crisis of homelessness. “Partnering and consolidating our resources

will allow all of us to help more people who are on the cusp of homelessness.

We want to take a holistic approach to help people avoid this tragedy by providing wrap around services, as well as shelter and stability focused programs,” Baker said.

A lack of affordable housing, a skilled workforce with jobs that pay a livable wage, and sustainable support networks have been largely attributed to the monumental escalation of family homelessness. The District is the nation’s most expensive place to live, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report. According to the report, District residents spend an average of $28,416 annually on housing – more than denizens in even New York and San Francisco.

Lynch Delay

Continued from A1 bill that has abortion restrictions.

However, Lynch allies in the House don’t accept that explanation.

On Feb. 26, Lynch’s nomination was sent to the Senate floor by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 12-8 vote. All of the Democrats on the committee supported her nomination and three Republicans, Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) voted for her also.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said it is wrong for the Senate not to schedule a floor vote for Lynch. “It is my firm belief her confirmation is being delayed not because of her qualifications or lack thereof; rather she is being penalized by the majority party for President Barack Obama’s immigration policies and a general disdain for Attorney General Eric Holder.

It is a stain on the U.S. Senate and it is nothing more than political gamesmanship.”

She pointed out that Lynch’s time to be confirmed is much longer than other attorney general nominees. She presented a chart that showed that Janet Reno took 29 days, John Ashcroft had 42 days, Michael Mukasey waited 53 days, Alberto Gonzales endured 86 days and Eric Holder waited 64 days. Edwin Meese, President Reagan’s nominee for attorney general, took 13 months to confirm after being nominated, the chart showed also.

“To date, Ms. Lynch’s confirmation has taken 131 days and

counting,” Jackson Lee said.

“Senator McConnell, schedule Ms. Lynch now.”

On March 18, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) criticized McConnell for not moving Lynch’s nomination forward, comparing her struggle to the late civil rights icon Rosa Parks’ stand on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) disputes that race is Wikimedia Commons the reason for Lynch’s holdup U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Lee wants the Senate to the only Black Republican vote on Loretta Lynch in his chamber, criticized expeditiously.

Durbin’s comparison of Lynch’s ordeal to that of Parks as “offensive.”

Hoyer said holding up Lynch’s nomination is holding up the regular order of government.

“Stable leadership is needed in the Department of Justice,”

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said.

Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said that the Lynch saga may discourage qualified people from seeking positions in government leadership. However, Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) said he is not surprised with the way that Lynch is being treated.

“This is the way our president has been treated and this is the way Eric Holder has been treated,” Rangel said. “Even Dr. [Martin Luther] King would have had a difficult time with the Senate.”

Maloney said that even Obama critic, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, supports Lynch and noted dryly that the Republicans have the chance to get rid of Attorney General Eric Holder but aren’t doing so by holding up the confirmation.

Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who is running for the vacant 2016 Senate seat against Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), a CBC member, said that U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter had a quick confirmation period and asked, rhetorically, why Lynch did not have that happen to her.

Veasey said that the country needs the new attorney general to get to work. “People are really looking toward the Justice Department to give our country answers,” he said. “We need the next leader of the Justice Department to get in there and get focused on community policing and other things like that so we can get things turned around and give people confidence in the system again.”

March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015, The Afro-American

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COMMUNITY CONNECTION March 23

Washington, D.C. DC Capitol Stars Performance

will hold “The DC Legendary Musicians Awards Ceremony and Concert” on April 2 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street N.W. at 6 p.m. The event is being held to support music in D.C. To RSVP for the event, email Sandra@dclegendarymusicians.org. Tax free contributions may be made through Paypal at DCLMusicians.org.

Links Young Black Writers Awards Presentation

The Metro DC LINKS will hold an awards presentation to introduce the winners of the Young Black Writers Contest. Three students from D.C. area schools will be honored and given monetary prizes. This awards presentation will take place at the WUSA 9 Broadcast house, located at 4100 Wisconsin Avenue N.W. from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. To attend, please contact Janet Terry at JTERRY@WUSA9.COM.

Alexandria, Va. Parenting Conference DC-CAP graduates

The top 10 DC public and public charter high school student DC-CAPITAL STARS finalists, selected via a city-wide audition and public voting process, will take center stage and compete for college scholarships at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, located at 2700 F Street N.W., on April 1 at 7 p.m. The Seventh Annual DC-CAPITAL STARS: A Tribute to Rock ‘n’ Roll is presented by the DC College Access Program (DC-CAP).

The event is the largest annual fundraiser for the DC-CAP and showcases the students’ artistic abilities in vocal, dance and instrumental performances. The performance is followed by a private reception for gala ticketholders. For more information, visit www.dccap.org/gala.

DC Legendary Musicians Awards and Concert

The D.C. Public Library in collaboration with The DC Legendary Musicians

Renowned Child Care and Family Expert and Lifetime TV’s “American’s Supernanny” Deborah Tillman headlines the annual 2015 HOPE Experience (Helping Optimistic Parents Everywhere) parenting conference on April 11 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel. The conference, designed to encourage and empower parents also features Courtesy photo John Finch, author of “The Father Deborah Tillman will headline the annual Effect” and Brandi Baldwin-Rana, 2015 HOPE Experience conference on April author of “The Balancing Act.” For 11. ticket information, please visit www.theparentingmovement.org.

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The Afro-American, March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015

HBCU NEWS “My Sister’s Keeper” Launched at Howard University & Spelman College Black Women’s Health Imperative’ Program Focuses on Women Health Issues

By Maria Adebola Special to the AFRO Black Women’s Health Imperative, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit has launched the first chapter of the “My Sister’s Keeper” initiative at Howard University and Spelman College.

The program is intended to provide information on a variety of topics including sexual violence, reproductive health, and sexually transmitted diseases, geared towards African American women.

“It’s important that we give young women the tools needed to protect themselves and their sisters, and that they understand that they must be invested in good decision-making—their own, that of their partners, and that of policy makers—around their sexual health and rights,” Linda Goler Blount, president and CEO of the Black Women’s Health Imperative, said in a statement. “We also want young women to know that their sexual health and rights intersect with the reproductive justice movement, started by Black women in 1994, that melds health justice to justice in education, housing and transportation, among many other factors.”

According to the organization, sexual violence, unintended pregnancy and risky sexual activities are among the leading causes of college dropout among women.

Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, the Anna Cooper Professor of Women’s Studies at Spelman College, said she believes that the partnership will highlight the importance of addressing the particular needs of African-American women.

“The Women’s Research & Resource Center at Spelman College has had a long connection with the Black Women’s Health Imperative, which began in 1983 at their first national Black women’s health conference, during which 2,000 women traveled to the Spelman campus for a historic gathering,” she said. “We are thrilled to host on campus the launching of their equally historic My Sister’s Keeper initiative which promises to be as transformative in the lives of Black women.”

“It is fitting for the launch to occur at Spelman, the oldest college for women of African descent in the world,” she added. “For over a century and a half, Spelman has played a significant role as our sister’s keeper locally, nationally, and globally.”

Black Women’s Health Imperative is a nationally-recognized organization dedicated to improving the health and wellness of African American women and girls physically, emotionally and financially.

New Agreements Allow Calif. Community College Students to Transfer to HBCUs

By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent

Beginning this fall, qualified students at California’s community colleges will be able transfer to nine historically Black colleges and universities across the nation, thanks to agreements inked this week.

The agreements offer community college students who complete a transfer-level associate degree with a GPA of 2.5 or higher guaranteed admission to Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C.; Dillard University in New Orleans, La.; Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn.; Lincoln University of Missouri in Jefferson City, Mo.; Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark.; Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Talladega College in Talladega, Ala.; Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Ala.; and Wiley College in Marshall, Texas.

The agreements are the first between the state’s community colleges and institutions outside the state, according to The Sacramento Bee. “The California Community Colleges is working on multiple fronts to create avenues of opportunity for our students,” California Community Colleges Board of Governors President Geoffrey L. Baum said in a statement. “This agreement opens a new and streamlined transfer pathway for our students to some of the finest and culturally diverse institutions of higher learning in the United States. I thank our nine partners for working with us to make it possible.”

The new arrangement is also the first time that HBCUs have reached a transfer

agreement with an entire community college system, according to the Bee, and HBCU representatives said they hope the model would be replicated elsewhere. The arrangement is a boon to HBCUs which have suffered falling enrollment in recent years due to the economic downturn, changes in federal policy and other factors.

Representatives of the nine institutions hailed the initiative as “truly a dream come true” during the signing event in Sacramento on March 17, the Bee reported.

California’s agreement supports a White House initiative led by Dr. George Cooper to strengthen and expand the capacity of HBCUs to provide quality higher education to students.

“California community college students and the nine participating schools will benefit immensely from the agreement,” Cooper said in a statement. “The schools will have an even larger pool of gifted students knocking on their doors and California community college students will be guaranteed transfer to four-year institutions with rich histories, traditions and track records of success.”

Jovon Duke, 22, attended El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., and transferred to Fisk University in 2013 because of its small class sizes and friendly, supportive atmosphere.

“Fisk is such a tight-knitted community and Nashville is great,” the psychology and sociology major said in a statement. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities to take on leadership positions and have made many friends and close relationships with my professors. I love it here.”

March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015 The Afro-American

COMMENTARY

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Equal Pay For Equal Work – It’s Not That Complicated Despite being unfair and against the law, far too many women are paid less than men are paid for doing essentially the same jobs for the same employers.

It is reasonable to ask how our laws could allow these inequalities in pay. After all, pay discrimination violates the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and our civil rights laws.

The short answer is clear.

Elijah Cummings Due to loopholes and probusiness judicial rulings, achieving legal relief within the fair pay laws that currently are on the books is extraordinarily difficult for the women and their families who are being harmed — even when they have the courage and determination to take their complaints to court.

Democrats have been fighting for this civil rights reform for years.

President Obama reiterated his firm belief that “all women deserve equal pay for equal work,” in his 2015 Proclamation for Women’s History Month. He is doing everything within his power to address this injustice — signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, creating an Equal Pay Task Force within the Executive Branch, and pushing for fair pay for women within the government and government contracting.

In the Congress, Democratic women (including, most notably, Senators Barbara Mikulski and Elizabeth Warren and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Rosa DeLauro) have led the legislative efforts on multiple occasions during the last six years to pass a Paycheck Fairness Act. This reform would give working women a more effective and less burdensome legal forum for demanding fair and equal pay for their work.

I have been proud to add my voice as a leading co-sponsor on each occasion, but our Republican colleagues have blocked these efforts every time.

Yet, this should not be a partisan issue. Working families, Republican and Democrats alike, are suffering from the disparities in women’s pay.

In light of Republican control of the Congress and the past Republican opposition to paycheck fairness, it is unlikely that this Congress will adopt meaningful reforms without a national demand

by Republicans and Democrats alike.

To achieve this goal, we must make our case to the American people. Here are some of the key facts.

As the White House has repeatedly pointed out, on average, full-time working women earn only about 77 percent of their male counterparts’ earnings overall.

Racial and ethnic disparities in compensation are even more glaring. When compared to each dollar earned by Caucasian men doing the same job with the same qualifications, African-American women earn only 64 cents and Latina women earn only 56 cents.

This is not to say that women of color have been making no progress in pay equity over time.

However, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that inflation-adjusted earnings for Caucasian women increased by 31 percent between 1979 and 2012 — while the earnings for Black and Latina women rose during that period by only 20 and 13 percent, respectively.

Conservatives may argue with the details of these federal statistics. For example, the U.S. Department of Labor’s wage data for last year suggests that, over all, America’s working women earned 82 cents for every dollar that our men earned.

Yet, the extent to which these recent figures demonstrate significant progress for working women during our economic recovery — or, in the alternative, reflect greater difficulty for working men —remains unclear.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research has found, for example, that during the last 30 years, men’s real earnings have remained essentially the same while women’s have grown – especially in the 1980s and 1990s.

Since the early 2000s, however, both women’s earnings and men’s have stagnated.

As I have previously reported, Sen. Warren and I are working together on a “Middle Class Prosperity Project” in which we have enlisted the expertise of world-class economic experts to examine the suppression of American wages - for women and men alike.

Overall, worker productivity has increased to historic levels while wages have remained flat, corporate profits have skyrocketed, and our entire economy (driven by lowered consumer demand) has suffered

as a result.

Gender-based wage discrimination may not be the dominant force driving this overall wage stagnation. Yet, there are good reasons to believe that pay inequity is a significant negative factor.

Women, after all, are now one-half of our national labor force — and, increasingly, they are the primary bread winners for their families.

This is why everyone (women and men, the struggling and affluent alike) has a personal interest in forging a more sustainable national economy in which gender-based pay discrimination is ended — now, not in the distant future.

I am convinced that our nation has the capability to move toward a better, more equitable economy for everyone. Despite the past resistance of our Republican colleagues, I remain confident that an educated American public will see the wisdom of our reforms and help us succeed.

There is a better way — a more American way.

As President Obama observed during his Women’s History 2015 Proclamation: “Equal pay for equal work — it’s not that complicated.”

Congressman Elijah Cummings represents Maryland’s 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.

The Hypocrisy of Black College Hatred During the month of February, the C-SPAN bus traveled to eight historically Black college campuses to provide viewers with insight on these institutions. Since these are my colleagues, I made sure I watched each as this was great exposure not only for their campuses, but for all historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

As the phone lines were opened, a pattern generally emerged. At least one caller each day raised some form of question about the need, relevance or role of historically Black colleges and universities in the 21st century. All of us in the HBCU community are used to these questions; we get them all the time from reporters, funders, politicians, you name it. So the questions were not unexpected and my colleagues were able to handle them easily, although I am sure the callers completely dismissed their answers.

But this series gave me a new insight into the questioners. The host of the show, most often Pedro Echevarria, welcomed the callers, giving their first name and from where they called. This demographic data revealed a great deal about the callers, a group of men who are fixated on schools that use the term “Black” and charging them with segregation, while also completely ignoring their current realities.

Robert called from New Baltimore, Michigan, asking if a school had White students and, if not, why not? Fair question. I wonder why Robert, who lives in a town of 12,000 people that is 94 percent White, doesn’t live in a town with more Black residents. He’s only 35 miles from Detroit, and may even work there, but he chooses to live where there are virtually no Black people. Choice works for Robert, but not for Black students who want an HBCU experience.

Shawn from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, called twice that week. The first time he told the college president, “I don’t appreciate what you do.” The second time he said HBCUs perpetuate racial differences and then went off on a tangent about President Obama and ended his call dropping the F-bomb, on live TV. Shrewsbury: 35,000 residents, 89 percent White and 0.12 percent Black. Again, Shawn has intentionally limited interactions with Black people but feels the need to offer an opinion on HBCUs. The most fascinating comment came from Thomas in Cincinnati. I completed graduate school at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, 35 miles from Cincinnati. Thomas asked if it was acceptable to have

Walter M. Kimbrough

Black colleges in the 21st century, that it seems like reverse segregation. He wanted to know why this was acceptable.

He lives in Cincinnati, the city listed by the Mixed Metro Project as one of the most segregated cities in the country. CensusScope.org listed Cincinnati as the eighth-most segregated urban area in 2011. In a Salon.com article, University of Cincinnati historian David Stradling says, “There are so many places where whites will try to flee the problems of the city, including the problem of diversity. Obviously the No. 1 cause of this is, of course, simply racism.”

Thomas lives in the city that was featured in a 2014 Education Week story called “Still Segregated After 50 Years.” Consider the demographic data for the high schools of the Cincinnati Public Schools: Western Hills, 82 percent Black. Withrow University High, 88 percent Black. Aiken, 92 percent Black.

Hughes STEM, 93 percent Black. Taft, 98 percent Black. The city is 45 percent Black, but Hamilton County is only 26 percent Black. Thomas pays taxes to fund segregated schools, yet wants to talk about the evils of reverse racism. His lived experience is one of hypocrisy.

Thomas, along with Shawn, Robert and Jeff, represent a segment of America that loves to attack HBCUs for no reason other than they say they’re historically Black. Each willfully lives in segregation, an indication that they aren’t interested in integration or developing meaningful cross-cultural relationships.

They simply want Blackness to go away, and they have done well to isolate themselves from Black people.

So we find ourselves in this conundrum. If we stop identifying ourselves as historically Black, and remove all semblance of HBCU programs, events, awards, etc. maybe this vitriol would die down. But if we stop simply to appease some loud critics, do we not only lose our history, but ultimately, lose an opportunity to continue to address real issues?

For now, I’ll stick with historically Black until the hypocrites can explain to me why HBCUs are bad, yet the overwhelmingly Black Benjamin Mays High, Booker T. Washington Middle and Rosa Parks Elementary schools are just fine.

Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough is the president of Dillard University. He can be reached at wkimbrough@ dillard.edu. (Reprinted with permission from Diverse Issues in Higher Education)

U.S. Criminal Justice System Needs Urgent Reform I know from firsthand experience that the criminal justice system today in the United States is in serious and urgent need of reform, repair and restructuring. Millions of families have been devastated by the overcriminalization of people in America. Black American families in particular have suffered and continue to suffer disproportionately as a result of an unjust system of justice.

When I was unjustly incarcerated in the 1970s as member of the famed Wilmington Ten civil rights case, I personally witnessed how the massive warehousing of prison inmates in overcrowded prison cells led to unspeakable dehumanization and self-destruction. In fact, the inhumanity and senselessness of the prison system itself directly contributed to the increased in violence and prison recidivism.

Forty-five years ago, the myriad of problems concerning the Benjamin F. nation’s courts and prison systems was not seen as a national priority.

Chavis Jr. Today, however, the dysfunction of the criminal justice system is not only a matter of national and global disgrace; it has also now become a multi-billion dollar counterproductive albatross around the neck of the nation.

According to a fact sheet by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), during the last four decades the prison population in the U.S. “quadrupled from roughly 500,000 to 2.3 million people.” There are nearly a million Black Americans in jails and prisons across the country.

The NAACP has identified the following other racial disparities in U.S. incarceration: • African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of Whites; • Together, African American and Hispanics comprised 58 percent of all prisoners in 2008, even though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately one quarter of the U.S. population; • According to a November 2007 report titled, “Unlocking America,” if African American and Hispanics were incarcerated at the same rates of Whites, today’s prison and jail populations would decline by approximately 50 percent; • One in six Black men had been incarcerated as of 2001. If current trends continue, one in three Black males born today can expect to spend time in prison during his lifetime

• 1 in 100 African American women are in prison • Nationwide, African-Americans represent 26 percent of juvenile arrests, 44 percent of youth who are detained, 46 percent of the youth who are judicially waived to criminal court, and 58 percent of the youth admitted to state prisons (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice).

The recent public outcries about allegations of police brutality, prosecutorial misconduct, and unfair targeting of judicial sanctions based on race and socioeconomic status are all symptoms of a much border and larger systemic problem.

The problems of inequalities within the criminal justice system are structural and institutional. While the U.S. is only 5 percent of the world’s population, 25 percent of the world’s prisoners are being held in the U.S. Yet, the calls for reform of the criminal justice system are not revolutionary or misplaced. Both conservatives and liberals seem to agree that some fundamental changes need to be put in place when it comes to the nation’s courts, sentencing, jails and prisons. What is missing is a sense of urgency to get reform actions and policies established. Every day and every hour Black America is negatively impacted by the criminal justice system.

The Pew Charitable Trust has a study that documents the correlation between mass incarceration and the persistence of poverty in the U.S. There is no question that in the Black American community the lingering negative effects of imprisonment and poverty are closely related. Similarly a revealing Villanova University study on poverty and criminal justice found that “had mass incarceration not occurred, poverty would have decreased by more than 20 percent….. several million fewer people would have been in poverty in recent years.”

We all should find ways and means to tackle the reformation of the criminal justice system as a top priority. It is urgent and it is long overdue. So many lives and so many families are at risk. If we do not assert the responsibility to demand change and reform of a system that continues to brutalize and harm our families and communities, then we will not be our sisters and brothers keepers as we should.

Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is the President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and can be reached for national advertisement sales and partnership proposals at: dr.bchavis@ nnpa.org; and for lectures and other professional consultations at: http://drbenjaminfchavisjr.wix.com/ drbfc

March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015, The Afro-American

B1

Welfare Reform Garnered for Black Women a Hard Time and a Bad Name

By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent

This is the third in a series of articles about laws that have significantly impacted Black women in America.

On Aug. 22, 1996, then-U.S. President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), keeping his campaign pledge to “change welfare as we know it” and signing the dotted line on Republicans’ “Contract with America.” And while there are many who, almost 20 years later, tout the measure as being a resounding success, many social scientists, feminists and human rights activists see the reform as having had a particularly deleterious impact on African-American women.

The PRWORA was a reversal in paternalistic, protectionist social welfare policy embodied in the “mother’s pensions” that were instituted by states in the early 19th century to assist women – usually widows – who did not have a male breadwinner in the home.

“The rationale was that they were providing a social service to the state by virtue of the fact that they were raising children,” said Sonya Michel, history professor at the University of Maryland.

The accommodation was not, however, equitably provided to African-American women. And, when the New Deal moved welfare from the states and instituted the federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (AFDC) in 1935, officials found ways to disqualify Black women for such things as having a man in the house—even if he was not the children’s father.

“Part of it was the assumption that African-American women were unlike White women—during slavery and after African-American women were always expected to work,” Michel said. “African-American women have always had a disproportionately high rate of participation in the workforce compared to White women.”

During the Civil Rights Movement, courts struck down many of these disqualifications—in 1968’s King v. Smith, for example, the U.S. Supreme Court held that AFDC funds could not be withheld because of the presence of a “substitute father” who visited a family on weekends.

The legal victories made more women—African-American and divorced or never-married mothers—qualify for aid and that, Michel said, is when the tide began to change.

“This did not sit well with White lawmakers, particularly those from the South,” she said.

Increasingly, conservatives began to demonize the AFDC and its recipients, saying the policy, among other things, encouraged teen and out-of-wedlock pregnancies and had led to the destruction of families.

“There was some pretty ugly rhetoric in the early years,” said Donna Pavetti, vice president for Family Income Support with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Suddenly, full-time mothering was no longer seen as a viable occupation—at least among the poor. And those mothers—particularly Black mothers—who accepted public assistance began to be viewed as undeserving parasites depending on society’s largesse to finance their sexually profligate and irresponsible lifestyles. Those tropes, particularly that of the “welfare queen,” an oft-cited character in Ronald Reagan’s 1976 presidential campaign, came to define the urgency behind welfare reform and became a caricature of poor Black women that has endured to this day.

But the characterization of welfare as a “Black problem” was based on false premises, experts said.

“What’s remarkable about the general association of Black people with welfare and handouts in the popular culture — that stereotype — is that it’s almost a perfect inversion of American history,” said University of Minnesota sociologist Joe Soss, who has studied welfare reform for more than a decade, in a 2014 interview with BIllMoyers.com.

“For much of the 20th century, and certainly in the earlier history of this country, we had all sorts of race-specific programs that channeled benefits to Whites and excluded everyone else,” he continued. “So until very recently, in many ways we have this long history of a White-centered welfare state. But after that time, when victories were achieved that actually allowed for some equality of access to those programs, that very equality became the basis for saying, ‘Oh, this is all about African Americans and it’s just a handout to this racially targeted group.’”

Feminist critics such as Barbara Ehrenreich argued that PRWORA was motivated by both “racism” and “misogyny.”

“The stereotype of the welfare recipient—lazy overweight, and endlessly fecund—had been a coded way of talking about African Americans,” she argued in an April 2002 article in The Progressive.

And, the law not only stigmatized single-mother households as being “inherently defective,” but also advanced the longheld negative stereotypes about Black women’s sexuality.

“In the reformers’ view, welfare recipients were moral outlaws, and they were this way because welfare supported them in their slovenly, sexually indulgent ways,” she wrote.

“Even welfare itself was sexualized in the reformers’ overheated imaginations: It had ‘cuckolded’ Black men, usurping their rightful place as breadwinners, leaving them emasculated and demoralized.”

Welfare reform proponents further argued AFDC had

Continued on B4

AFRO Archives

She claimed 38 children in welfare fraud, 1-17-81 edition

AFRO Archives

Welfare queen gets 8 years. 1-283 edition ‘Welfare Queen’ claims victory, 9-5-87 edition

A Tale of Two Queens

AFRO Archives

‘Welfare queen’ convicted in L.A., 12-16-78 edition ‘Welfare queen’ hit with new charges, 9-1-79 edition

B2

The Afro-American, March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) hosted its 89th Annual Black History Luncheon on Feb. 28 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in N.W. D.C. The event’s theme was, “A Century of Black Life, History and Culture” and the association’s president, Dr. Daryl Scott, was the keynote speaker. Highlights of the luncheon included the presentation of the 2015 Living Legacy Honorees that included, Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.); an original poem by poet laureate, Sonia Sanchez; the unveiling of a Commemorative Stamp by the U.S. Post Office; and a $10,000 check presentation by Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. A featured authors’ event preceded the luncheon.

Dr. Valerie Maholmes, chair, Luncheon Committee, Sylvia Cyrus, former editor of Essence magazine, Susan Taylor, Sonia Sanchez, Dr. Daryl Scott and Dr. Sheila Flemming Hunter

The luncheon emcee, A’Lelia Bundles, Dr. Karsonya WiseWhitehead

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity donates $10,000 to ASALH

Living Legacy Award honoree in the field of business, Myron Gray with Gina Paige, Awards Committee co-chair

Dr. Louis Sullivan and Rep. James Clyburn

2015 Living Legacy Award Honorees with Dr. Daryl Scott ,3rd from left and Sylvia Cyrus ,far right

Unveiling of the Commemorative Stamp by the U.S. Post Office

Members of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson family

Kiamsha Youth Empowerment Group led the singing of, “Lift Every Voice”

Sylvia Cyrus, executive director, ASALH (left) and Dr. Daryl Scott, president, ASALH, present the Living Legacy Award to Rep. James Clyburn

ASALH PR/Media team: Tangela Richardson, Leris Bernard, LaTrina Antoine, Edgar Brookins, Ebony Andrews, Miss Black Maryland, Faye Hyslop, Lisa Matthews and Venitra Miller Honoree Rev. Dr. Jonathan Weaver ,center, with members of his congregation, Mt. Nebo AME Church

Local Queens who served as hostesses

Author, Judge Rohulamin Quander

Melvin Williams brings remarks on behalf of the White House

Men of Omega with Rep. James Clyburn, center Photos by Rob Roberts

T

he Washington DC Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, hosted its 11th Annual Distinguished Men Cookin’ with the Deltas community fundraiser on March 7 at the Howard University Blackburn Center in N.W. D.C. About 500 patrons jammed into the ballroom to sample the various dishes that the chefs prepared.

Chef Brandon Todd was voted the top chef with his award- winning corn pudding. Cheers to the Deltas and the chapter leadership for a fun filled afternoon of dining, dancing and networking for a worthy cause. Proceeds from the event help students attend college.

Toiya, Jordyn and Janice Crump

Selerya Moore trying out the Banana Pudding from the chef

Rahman “Rock” Harper, celebrity chef, Kimberly Davis, 3rd VP, Nancy Harris, Chef Brandon Todd, Top Chef Winner, Darryl Haley, Nichelle Poe, chapter president, Michelle Robertson, committee co-chair, Audrey Domain and Keela Seales

Author Willie Cooper and Robert Fuller Houston ,curator

Photos by Rob Roberts

We are Deltas

Gwendolyn Brown (standing) and Deloves Burnett; Donna Burnett (seated), Lois Hopson Reeder and Kenneth Reeder

Audrey M. Domain, president, Washington, D.C. Alumnae Foundation, Jacqueline Boles and Melanee Woodard of the Industrial Bank and Nichelle A. Poe, chapter president

The cookin’ chefs

Master of Ceremonies, former NFL football player, Darryl Haley with some Delta ladies

Chef Edgar Brookins dishes up a sample of his award-winning bread pudding

On the serving line… yummy, yummy

We ate, now we dance the pounds away

Chef Reginald Thomas serves up his Shrimp Potato Soup to DeGloria Hallman

Michelle Robertson, Committee Chair, Anthony Lacey, Lt. Cdr. Kami Cooper, US Public Health Service, Ayanna Hawkins with daughter, Nasya and Latecia Engram

March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015, The Afro-American

B3

ARTS & CULTURE

April Ryan, Political Lion

“The Presidency in Black and White” Interview

By Kam Williams Special to the AFRO April D. Ryan is veteran journalist who has been a White House correspondent for the past 18 years. She

got fired. Then, when President Obama was elected, my agent and I looked at each other, and said, “This is it!” And it was time. [Chuckles] KW: Who is the most

George W. Bush and I laughed so much, and President Clinton and I laughed a lot. They’re more gregarious than President Obama, but he’s funny, too.

And he’s a nice guy. But he’s had to be more cautious about

My family is very, very much into the Black Church. I grew up in church. Sunday was always a big day for us. I did Sunday School… Bible study… I was on the usher board… I sang in the choir…

reporter’s job. I fell into this by accident.

all that stuff. Like a lot of kids, I had a period where I rebelled and didn’t want to go to church, but God is a strength for me. And I became closer to God after my mother died 8 years ago. I think this has really been a spiritual journey because for all intents and purposes, I should not be in the White House. I did not have a traditional

mother one more time, to be able to hug her and let her know how much I love her. I just really wish that she were here.

KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?

AR: To be able to talk to my

anymore because anybody who has a personality and a big following on a blog or on Twitter, can basically get on the air, participate and say whatever you want. I wouldn’t study journalism.

(l to r) April Ryan’s Mom meets Hillary Clinton, Clinton Interview, with George W. Bush also serves as the Washington bureau chief for the American Urban Radio Networks.

Besides covering the Obama administration, April’s responsibilities include hosting “The White House Report,” a syndicated show airing on about 300 radio stations around the country.

The Morgan State grad still lives in her native Baltimore which is where she is raising two daughters, aged 7 and 12.

Here, she talks about her new memoir, The Presidency in Black and White.

Kam Williams: Hi April, thanks for the interview.

April: Thank you, Kam. KW: I believe we have a mutual friend in Jennifer Dargan.

AR: Yes! I love her. She’s such a sweet person.

KW: I agree. She’s one of my favorite people. I have a lot of questions for you that were submitted to me by readers. Sangeetha Subramanian says: Hello Ms. Ryan. Congratulations on your book. I wish it lots of success and look forward to reading it.

Advocacy seems like a constant tango between knowing which battles to choose and when.

How do you find the balance between knowing when to pull back and when to go full steam ahead?

AR: Wow! That’s a good question. [Laughs] You’re right, Sangeetha, it’s kind of a dance we do that’s not scripted or choreographed.

We just have to kinda feel our way through. For the most part, you ask questions about current events of the day or about what’s happening in the community. If you think you can get more of an answer, you follow up. But you do have to know when to pull back, otherwise you could make a fatal mistake, because that room is unforgiving. It’s just a dance that you have to learn how to do.

KW: What interested you in writing a memoir?

AR: A friend told me that I could not sit in that room and not write one. I basically started journaling from day one. I tried to work out a book deal during the Clinton years, but it was too soon. During the Bush years we did get a bite, but the editor

likeable of the presidents you covered, and who was the smartest?

AR: [LOL] I don’t want to answer that. [Laughs some more] Let me say this. All three are likable. One thing that many people forget is that they are human beings as well as presidents. When I had a soul food dinner with Bill Clinton and other black journalists, he said, “I came because you invited me and I like you, and I like the food.” He said it made him feel like he was back home again, and that you’d be surprised how, after becoming president, people only invite you out for a fundraiser or for this or that official function, but not for a simple dinner where you could just relax and be yourself.

That was so telling. I actually felt sorry for him. President

he’s perceived. All three of the presidents are very smart, although Bush played on the fact that people had low expectations of him. He looked more like the average person than Clinton or Obama.

KW: Which president aged the most in the job?

AR: All three aged a lot, but Obama has aged tremendously.

That job will put a lot of stress on you. I understand why he golfs and plays basketball. He looked like a little boy when he first ran for president. Now, you look at him and go, “Who is that?”

KW: Was there a meaningful spiritual component to your childhood?

AR: Yes, most definitely.

Salutes The Baltimore (MD) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated and its work with Coppin and Morgan State Universities.

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April 14, 2015 • 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. Tickets: $25 VIP Networking Reception 6:00 – 7:00 P.M. VIP Tickets: $75 Contact Diane W. Hocker for more information • 410-554-8243

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KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

AR: This business has changed from when I started out in the Eighties. You don’t have to major in broadcasting

It could be a hobby along the way while you’re doing something else. So, the delivery system is changing, so I would really rethink the idea of entering this industry.

KW: Thanks again for the time, April, and best of luck with the book.

AR: Thank you, Kam, and have a great one.

B4

The Afro-American, March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015

Continued from B1 affordable, recalls author Michael D. Mint in the book, Oversight: Representing the Interests of Blacks and Latinos in Congress.”

“Providing jobs and job security will change [the current] system to one that promotes and encourages selfsufficiency; however, we are unable or unwilling to invest the necessary resources in our families,” Payne argued.

But that investment in livable jobs never really transpired, Pavetti said.

“There has never been a huge commitment of resources to providing sound job opportunities,” she said.

In fact, on average, states spend only 8 percent of TANF funds on work programs— some states spend as little as 1 percent.

PRWORA proponents point to vastly reduced welfare caseloads and increased employment figures after the law’s passage as a sign of its success. But those trends could be mostly attributed to a simultaneous boom in the economy—and not necessarily to welfare reform, social scientists say. In fact, those claims of welfare reform’s success fail to account for employment numbers that have steadily fallen since 2000, nor do they consider the conditions of those who were booted off the welfare rolls.

In fact, several social scientists and activists predicted {PRWORA} would plunge millions into poverty.

Peter B. Edelman, who resigned as an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and

A Chicago Queen AFRO Archives

‘Welfare Queen’ denies fraud rap, 1-7-74 edition

entrenched generational poverty and created a culture of dependency that discouraged welfare recipients from finding self-affirming employment.

“We’re in danger of creating a permanent culture of poverty as inescapable as any chain or bond,” said Reagan in a radio address to the nation on welfare reform, Feb. 15, 1986.

Clinton echoed those sentiments at PRWORA’s introduction, saying “the current welfare system undermines the basis values of work, responsibility and family, trapping generation after generation in dependency and hurting the very people it was designed to help.”

He added, “We have an opportunity to make welfare what it was meant to be: a second chance, not a way of life.”

Those reforms included: replacing AFDC with the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, which gave more power to states to design their welfare programs through federal block grants, which depended on states reducing their welfare caseloads; limiting lifetime welfare benefits; creating stricter requirements for food stamp eligibility; instituting work requirements; reducing immigrant welfare assistance; enhancing enforcement of child support and others designed with an eye to encouraging two-parent families and discouraging out-of-wedlock births and increasing the workforce.

Many civil rights groups and Black lawmakers opposed the bill, due to its demonization of those – particularly Black women – on welfare and because of its punitive nature.

In the years since the “reform,” studies have found an overreliance on punitive measures to restrict welfare caseloads—measures that were often racially discriminatory.

“States with higher percentages of blacks and Hispanics on their welfare rolls have been significantly more likely to impose strict lifetime limits on aid, family caps limiting benefits for women who have children while receiving aid, and the toughest sanctions for non-compliance with program rules. Interestingly such racialized patterns do not emerge for state choices regarding supportive TANF benefits, but they are robust for directive and punitive policies,” according to “The Color of Devolution: The Politics of Local Punishment in the New World of Welfare.”

PRWORA’s detractors also felt it did not address the underlying problem of poverty.

For example, during a hearing of Clinton’s bill before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources, then-Rep. Donald Payne, a Congressional Black Caucus member from New Jersey, argued that many welfare recipients accepted aid out of necessity and not choice. He said many would come off the welfare rolls if jobs that offered livable wages were available and child care and housing were

Human Services in protest of PRWORA’s passage, cited studies by HHS and the Urban Institute which predicted the bill would “move 2.6 million people, including 1.1 million children, into poverty,” and further, reduce the income of 11 million families, many of them with incomes just above the poverty line.

“What we know about conditions for those families is that they became more distressed,” Pavetti said. “TANF provides a safety net for far fewer families,” even in times of greatest need, such as the recent recession, she added.

A CBPP assessment of the program released last August found several disturbing trends: For every 100 American families in poverty, only 25 receive TANF funds, compared to 68 out of 100 indigent families who received assistance under AFDC. TANF also plays a much smaller role in addressing poverty. While TANF monthly caseloads have fallen by almost two-thirds in the past 18 years — from 4.7 million families in 1996 to 1.7 million families in 2013 – poverty and deep poverty has worsened. The number of families with children in poverty hit a low of 5.2 AFRO Archives

The AFRO outlined impending legislation with great detail. 7/3/71 edition

Welfare by any other name.

AFRO Archives

million in 2000, but has since increased to more than 7 million.

Similarly, the number of families with children in deep poverty (with incomes below half of the poverty line) hit a low of about 2 million in 2000, but is now above 3 million.

Much of that, experts argue, was the lack of access to sound, well-paying jobs with health and other benefits that could allow people to pull themselves out of poverty.

The ethos promoted by PRWORA is, “Any job, no matter how dangerous, abusive, or poorly paid, can be construed as better than no job at all,” Ehrenreich, the feminist critic, argued.

And, because TANF grants to states are cut if they fail to meet work requirements, many welfare recipients are pushed “to take whatever jobs are available, and usually the first job that comes along.”

Many studies over the years have shown that women of color are the least paid workers in the labor force and endure other challenges at the lowest economic rung.

March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015, The Afro-American

B5

SENIOR LIVING

Take Being ‘Heart Healthy’ to Heart Jannette J. Witmyer Special to The Afro

A

s springtime blossoms into longer and warmer days, it’s the perfect time to tweak or add some heart healthy behaviors to your daily routine. The fact that the American Heart Association (AHA) ranks heart disease and stroke as the nation’s No. 1 and No. 5 killers should be motivation enough. But, since it’s such an easy thing to do, there really is no excuse.

Addressing ways that families can stay heart healthy, family practice physician Martina P. Callum, M.D. says, “Really, it starts

with lifestyle changes and looking at their diet.” She adds, with a sigh, “I’m not talking quantity.”

In other words, Callum is talking about the quality of foods eaten and says that consuming foods that are fatty and/or high in cholesterol is directly related to heart disease. She says that people’s diets need more fruits, green leafy vegetables and root vegetables that have been properly prepared. And, eating properly prepared foods in moderation includes limiting salt intake.

Apparently, the AHA is in agreement with her assessment, and is making it easy for individuals and groups to learn how to prepare heart

I Had a Heart Attack

By George E. Curry NNPA Columnist

Nothing was more startling than when a cardiologist looked me directly in the eyes and said matter-of-factly: “It looks like you had a heart attack.”

I was dumbfounded. When?

Where? How much damage was done? Why didn’t I know it?

It certainly didn’t feel like I had suffered a heart attack.

I had just covered and participated in the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Ala. The ceremonies had special significance to me because as a senior at Druid High School in Tuscaloosa, I had participated in the last day of the march in Montgomery, where I saw James Baldwin and Harry Belafonte for the first time.

Ann and I arrived a day early, had dinner with Susan Gandy, the youngest of my three sisters, who had driven over to Montgomery from Tuskegee with her husband, Iverson Jr., and my niece, Rachel.

In addition to covering the President’s speech, March 14, I had received a Freedom Flame Award that night and on March 15, was one of the speakers at the Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast.

I walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday and completed my writing and editing for the NNPA News Service on Monday.

We stopped in Buford, Ga., March 17, en route back

to Washington, D.C. to visit Ann’s son, Derek Ragland; his wife, April, and our grandkids, Austin, 5, and Autumn 1.

On Wednesday night, I felt a slight pain in my chest, but dismissed it as indigestion.

It continued Thursday night.

When the pain persisted Friday night, Ann insisted on taking me to the hospital and I acquiesced.

George E. Curry We ended up at Emory Johns Creek Hospital. To Ann’s disbelief, I grabbed my iPad mini, a book, my charger, and a notebook as we headed out of the door. I know how long the wait can be in emergency rooms and did not want to be without reading material if I became trapped in the waiting lounge.

But once my symptoms were shared with the intake nurses, I was whizzed through the paperwork and placed in a room to wait for a doctor, to be administered an EKG and, of course, give blood.

“We’re going to keep

you overnight to see what’s happening,” the attending physician told me. From the way he said “keep me,” I deduced that they were not keeping me around just to get to know me better. Something was amiss and I wasn’t sure what it was. I was wheeled into a private room in the Intensive Care Unit, where I was closely monitored around the clock, had blood extracted – usually at ungodly hours – and hooked up to a series of instruments. A hospital is not a place to get sleep; it’s the only place in the world where they wake you up to give you a sleeping pill.

I was told around midnight that at 7 a.m., March 21, a stent would be inserted into my heart to unblock a clogged artery. At the age of 50, I had a triple bypass. I had played quarterback at Druid High and Knoxville College and neither drank – not even wine – smoked nor used illicit drugs. Yet, an athletic past and clean living were not sufficient. I was the son of the South and I had grown up in a family where our grease was cooked in grease.

Now, 18 years later, I was told that of the three bypassed arteries, one was completely blocked, one was 97 percent blocked, and one was functioning fine. The surgery itself was not as dramatic as the bypass, which required the heart to be stopped temporarily. This time, the cardiologist made an incision in my groin, placed a stent over a balloon catheter and slid it into the heart muscle

healthy meals in Baltimore. The organization is celebrating its oneyear anniversary of offering a variety of cooking classes at its Simple Cooking with Heart Kitchen, located downtown at Stratford University.

For a nominal fee, participants learn to cook a meal for four, which they carry home, once prepared. So, for those with cooking limitations, make it easy on yourself, and visit www. heart.org/baltimorekitchen.

While modifying one’s diet will help, adding physical activity to the equation will increase the benefits.

Everyone, including First Lady Michelle Obama, is encouraging people of all ages to get moving and involved in some kind of physical

to improve blood flow. I was awake, but did not feel any pain.

From there, the ICU nurses took fantastic care of me. They could not have provided better care, even if that meant waking me constantly.

I had a follow-up visit and a stress test with Dr. Jigishu Dhabuwala at the North Atlanta Heart and Vascular Clinic before being released to the care of Dr. Boisey O. Barnes, my regular cardiologist in Washington. I spoke with Dr. Barnes during this period and before I returned home, he had already discussed getting me into a heart rehabilitation program

activity. It’s not always necessary to go work out at the gym. Family walks can be great exercise and lots of fun. And, April 1 is AHA’s National Walking Day, perfect timing to bring the family together for a trek.

Now that you’re eating and exercising properly, managing your weight and stress will become a little easier. Callum explains that people with bad eating and exercise habits, generally, don’t feel well and often suffer with joint pain, heartburn and other discomforts, which is stressful.

“Physically, when you are feeling good, you can handle stress, better,” she says.

and enrolling me in a Harvard study to prevent second heart attacks.

After writing about my bypass 18 years ago, Bill Pickard, a Detroit businessman, said I had probably saved his life because he took some immediate steps to improve his health after reading about my challenge in Emerge magazine.

At the urging of “Uncle Mike” Fauvelle of Setauket, N.Y., I am writing about my second close call with death, hoping that it, too, will prompt you to not only pay closer attention to your health, but be aware of the small signs of trouble

WHAT MATTERS MOST TO

and do something about it immediately if you sense something is awry.

George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA) and BlackPressUSA.com. He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com.

You can also follow him at www.twitter.com/currygeorge and George E. Curry Fan Page on Facebook. See previous columns at http:// www.georgecurry.com/ columns.

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Ricardo, with Dr. McDonald, Community Hospice medical director

©2015 The Washington Home & Community Hospices WHCH-017 Ricardo 5.4x10-5.indd 1

2/27/15 10:56 AM

B6

The Afro-American, March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015

SPORTS

Despite Injury, Will the Wizards Pursue Kevin Durant in 2016?

AFRO Sports Desk Faceoff

center position in free agency and letting Otto Porter, the third overall pick of the 2013 draft, develop into a serviceable small forward.

By Stephen D. Riley and Perry Green AFRO Sports Desk With Kevin Durant potentially sidelined for the remainder of the season with persistent soreness in his right foot—the same he broke earlier in the season—there is a fear his injury could affect his career.

The injury comes at a horrible time for the Washington Wizards, who are rumored to be in the running to land Durant when he becomes a free agent in 2016 amid an exploding league salary cap. Durant’s pending free agent status spurred numerous rumors around Washington, D.C., and his potential loss has become a thorn in the side for the Oklahoma City Thunder. A foot injury for a 6-foot, 9-inch forward typically spells disaster for most NBA players; will it derail a possible move by the Wizards to acquire Durant in 2016? Perry Green and Stephen D. Riley of the AFRO Sports Desk debate the question.

Riley: If you’re the Washington Wizards, you still have to make the attempt to sign Durant whether he’s fully healthy or not. He’ll be the marquee name that’s available next summer, and there aren’t too many injuries in sports that can’t be helped with modern medicine and rehab. Durant will play again—but I always thought it was risky trying to rush back your superstar from a foot injury. At least we know now that he’ll get his proper recovery time and, barring a setback, should be totally healthy by the summer of 2016. His injury could actually turn into a blessing in disguise for the Wizards, as it may persuade the Thunder to rethink offering Durant a mega contract while Washington waits with open arms.

Green: I’m not going to say that Durant shouldn’t be in play, but Washington needs to be careful if it’s thinking about placing all of its eggs into the slender forward’s basket. Durant

Riley: A big man would be nice for the Wizards, but you can never go wrong with a big-time scorer with deep range. A player who’s liable to put up 40 points or more on a hot night is invaluable across the Association. A plodding big man who can score in the paint consistently is a solid rock for your team’s foundation, but an All-Star swingman who can score from anywhere is a priceless gem. If Washington wants to compete with LeBron while he resides in the East, they’re going to need some firepower. Durant brings that and more. He’s a matchup nightmare for any defender in the league, and the impact of his return to the D.C. area would do amazing things for a city in transition. It would be huge just from a marketing standpoint, as Durant comes fully equipped with an MVP trophy and a Finals appearance. He’s the move for the Wizards, healthy or not.

Kevin Durant is potentially sidelined for the remainder of the season.

headlines the 2016 free agent list, but it’s a group that’s pretty deep. Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Dwight Howard, DeMar DeRozan, Lance Stephenson and even LeBron James and Chris Paul could all be available if things swing right. In an ideal world, Durant would be injury-free and ready and willing to sign a contract with the Wizards. But grabbing a Horford or a DeRozan in the prime of their careers could be a big coup.

Washington needs impact in the front court if they want to make some noise in the playoffs, regardless of whether they get Durant. If I’m Washington, I’m going for the power forward or

Green: There is no “healthy or not” because an injured Durant would cripple Washington’s salary cap and their chances of a title. Ernie Grunfield has gotten it wrong on plenty of occasions and lived to fight another day, but he can’t get this one wrong. The last thing this franchise needs is a situation similar to what the Orlando Magic went through with Grant Hill 15 years ago. The difference this time around is that the NBA is littered with blossoming talent and the abundance of quality players should keep Grunfield from pushing all his chips in on one player. Surfing the free agency pool and maximizing the salary cap with multiple additions would be the perfect way to build the Wizards into a true contender. Risking it all on a player coming off a foot ailment just doesn’t sound like a wise investment—but it’s one that Grunfield will likely attempt nonetheless.

West Virginia’s Defense Too Much for Maryland Midwest Regional Semifinals: NCAA Basketball Tournament— Men

By Perry Green AFRO Sports Desk The No. 5 seed West Virginia Mountaineers used stifling, high pressure defense to break down No. 4 seed Maryland, in the Midwest regional semifinals on March 22 in Columbus, Ohio. West Virginia advanced on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010, while Maryland exits in the round of 32.

West Virginia (25-9 overall record) gave Maryland problems with its signature full court press on defense.

The Terps were forced into committing 22 turnovers, and went on scoring drought that lasted more than six minutes in the second half, ultimately giving control of the game.

Initially, Maryland didn’t appear to be fazed by West Virginia’s full-court press.

Terps freshman guard Melo Trimble dashed by the press

easily, finding his way to the basket often. Trimble made 5-of-6 shot attempts for a team-high 15 points with seven rebounds for Maryland.

But no other Terp was able to get into a groove to help support Melo on the scoring attack.

Trimble would eventually injure his head during a fall late in the second half and was forced to sit out for the final seven minutes of action.

With it’s best scorer and ball handler out, Maryland had no player capable of breaking West Virginia’s press, which led to more turnovers. Senior forward Dez Wells struggled offensively for Maryland, making just 3-of-8 shot attempts for nine points. Wells also committed nearly 10 turnovers. Junior forward Jake Layman was the only other player for Maryland to score double digits with 10 points.

Sophomore forward Devin

AP Photo

Maryland’s Melo Trimble (2) fights off West Virginia’s Juwan Staten (3) in the second half of an NCAA tournament college basketball game in the Round of 32 in Columbus, Ohio, March 22, 2015.

Williams led a balanced offensive attack by the

Mountaineers – Williams posted a double-double of

16 points with 10 rebounds, while three other WV players

also scored double digits in points.

Obama Cheers Niece on at NCAA Women’s Basketball Game

President Obama applauds as he attends a Princeton vs Wisconsin-Green Bay women’s college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament in College Park, Md.

AP Photo

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — President Barack Obama cheered for his niece’s Princeton team Saturday as the squad defeated Wisconsin-Green Bay in a first-round NCAA Tournament game.

The 80-70 victory by Princeton means the team remains undefeated.

Obama’s niece, freshman Princeton forward Leslie Robinson, did not appear in the game for her team.

Leslie Robinson is the daughter of Michelle Obama’s brother, Craig Robinson.

Obama sat a few rows away from courtside surrounded by an entourage that included his daughter Malia, motherin-law Marian Robinson, Craig Robinson and other Robinson family members. Both Craig Robinson and the first lady are Princeton graduates.

Most in Obama’s group wore orange “Tiger Pride” T-shirts to support Princeton. Obama wore a dark sweater.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a former professional basketball player and a Chicago pal of the president, also attended.

Michelle Obama missed seeing her niece because she is traveling in Cambodia.

Princeton’s win had some wondering whether Obama would return again on Monday when the Tigers take on the winner of Saturday’s matchup between Maryland and New Mexico State.

Obama took in another game after seeing Princeton: He went to Andrews Air Force Base to play golf with some of his aides.

March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015, The Afro-American

B7

Rethinking the Recognition of Doris Miller

By MarshaRose Joyner Special to the AFRO First in a series.

Doris “Dorie� Miller, and hundreds of other messmen who were serving breakfast that morning, never dreamed that day in 1941, was the time for them to be heroes. That point is not to be questioned.

When the office of Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) contacted me about their desire to have Dorie Miller awarded the Medal of Honor, I was excited. Since 1942 there have been thousands of people attempting to have his Navy Cross upgraded to the Medal of Honor.

In the last several sessions, Rep. Johnson, with the support of the Congressional Black Caucus and members of both parties in

Officers’ Mess on a Cruiser during WWII

Congress, has filed legislation to waive the statute of limitations so that Miller could receive the Medal of Honor. “The Navy has concluded that the Navy Cross, the highest award that can be approved and awarded by the Secretary of the Navy, appropriately recognizes Petty Officer Miller’s heroic actions,� said Navy spokesman, Lt. Mike Kafka, who added that those seeking to upgrade Miller’s award can offer new evidence or ask the Navy to look at the case anew, a request Johnson may make.

First let me say, Lt. Kafka apparently did not do any research. In 1941 no Black messman was a petty officer. At the time of Miller’s actions the Navy was totally segregated. How could the Navy not recognize that racism was the underlying theme?

Absolutely we must ask again!

However this may not be new evidence, since racism is the birth defect of this country.

What is new is the evidence of his long lasting legacy. I believe that we must look at Miller in a new light. The history of wars is generally written about battles as if there were no people. And when people are mentioned, it is the generals, admirals and presidents. Miller was not even a sailor; he was a messman second class, the very bottom of the Navy’s tight knit social thread. To shine a real light on World War II, we must see with today’s eyes the “little people,� the mess attendants of the world. Filipinos and Guamanians who chose to come to America following a dream; after a period of untold harassment and brutality, enlisted in the Navy only to become messmen.

Servants!

Carlos Bulosan wrote “I feel like a criminal running away from a crime I did not commit. And this crime is that I am a Filipino in America.�

That day, the “day that will live in infamy� was for heroes. Thousands of them! Most of Carlos Bulosan whom we will never know. That day was loc.gov a day for every man and woman to step out of their comfort zone and be counted. In America, that day was to question what people take for granted, what people hold to be true about “colored men.� For Miller that day was to break through the hypnosis of social conditioning; to take a stand at any cost; to be courageous and noble in their actions and in deeds. That December day was to be that moment.

Beginning of WWII

“Even as Hitler espoused the theory of the “Superior Aryan Race,� the U.S. military practiced the theory of “African-American

mental inferiority.� The Army War College study of 1940 described the African American as having ‘less developed mental capacities.�

The Navy was accepting African Americans on a limited basis as messmen/stewards. The Marines were accepting no African Americans.

According to historian Duane B. Bradford; “during the first six months of 1940, the Army admitted 30 African Americans total into all of its schools.�

World War II African-American sailors were stripped of their dignity, their “somebodyness.� Regardless of their education they were expected to be messmen, stewards and cabin boys, not trained for combat.

They did not even wear the traditional Naval Anchor on their uniforms. Secretary of the Navy (Colonel) Frank Knox, (former publisher of the Chicago Daily News and the 1936 G.O.P. vicepresidential nominee) wrote “the policy of not enlisting men of the colored races for any branch of the naval service but the messmen branch was adopted to meet the best interests of general ship efficiency.�

However, there is so much misinformation about Miller, his actions that day and even the ship he served on, no wonder he has not been awarded the Medal of Honor.

Having had the rare opportunity of knowing men who served with him on the West Virginia as well as other survivors of the attack on the Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941, I decided to revisit the mounds of articles, books and films about Miller. Much to my horror the vast majority of it was incorrect.

My friend, Ray Emory, a Pearl Harbor survivor and historian was gracious enough to spend the day with me and another friend as we combed through his records and files of Dec. 7. So much so that I now feel I have to rethink the recognition of Miller.

Some of the misinformation was trivial, but none the less it is out there.

The biggest misinformation and most often repeated stated that Miller served on the USS Arizona. That was not correct. All of the messmen who served on the Arizona went down with the ship. One article claimed he was on board the USS Missouri. That ship was not at Pearl Harbor the day of the attack. She was the last battleship commissioned by the U.S. Navy in June 1944.

His rate or rank has always been at question. In the Navy a person’s “rate� is the same as “rank� in the other branches of the military. At the time of the attack Miller was a messman attendant second class, a rate created for men of color only.

I have read in several articles that he was a seaman. At the time of the Dec. 7 attack, there were no Black seamen.

The Messman Branch, responsible for servicing officers only, was a racially segregated part of the U.S. Navy. White sailors could not serve in the Messman Branch, which was composed almost exclusively of African Americans, Guamanians, Chinese and Filipinos. Dorie Miller’s very public presence as a messman attracted criticism from civil rights leaders during the war, and the Roosevelt administration was under some pressure to address this inequality.

Some steps were taken throughout the war, but the navy’s leadership proved resistant to major change. In February 1943 the name of the branch was changed to Steward Branch, the word “officer� was dropped from rate titles, and “mess attendant� became “steward’s mate.�

The new rating of “cook� should not be confused with “ship’s cook,� which was part of the Commissary Branch.

In June 1944, cooks and stewards were authorized to wear petty officer-style rating badges. Despite the change in insignia, however, stewards and cooks were not petty officers and ranked below the most junior petty officer grade. Petty officer status was not extended to stewards until 1950.

Some articles have Miller as a cook. That is somewhat correct. At the time of the attack on Dec. 7 Miller was a messman. As the war raged on, men of color were promoted to the rate of cook, because they needed them to do more than wait on the officers. At the time of his death Miller had been promoted to cook third class. In April 1942 changes were announced to allow African Americans to serve in other capacities. Even so African Americans selected

Doris “Dorie� Miller with his Navy Cross Wikimedia Commons

for ratings other than messman were to be segregated and commanded by White officers and chief petty officers.

The movie Pearl Harbor was probably the worst offender of the portrayal of Doris Miller.

Several people say it is only a movie. And that is true. However, a majority of people get all they know about history from movies. Lt. Frederick White, who served on the USS West Virginia, wrote that Miller was called up to the deck to move the ship’s captain because he had been mortally wounded because he (Miller) was the biggest man on the ship. In the movie it is apparent to all watching that Cuba Gooding Jr. was not the biggest man on the ship.

At the time of the filming at Pearl Harbor, I complained about Cuba Gooding Jr. being

portrayed as Dorie Miller because he was not big enough. I was told by one of the historians, “at least the character is in the film.� What else could I say?

Director of the movie Pearl Harbor Michael Bay acknowledges on his DVD commentary track that Miller’s actions were altered slightly simply for the sake of the narrative; it was more dramatic to have him comfort the dying captain and then deliver his final order.

All so the movie portrays Miller on Dec. 7, 1941 in a uniform with a cook’s second class rate. As we have said before the cook’s rate did not exist in 1941. This error is difficult to attribute to anything other than a lack of adequate research. The National Parks Service and the U.S. Navy are credited as consultants on the film.

UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH MRC AN ORIGINAL FILM/ONE RACE FILMS PRODUCTION VIN DIESEL BREWSTER DJIMON HOUNSOU 7� MICHELLE EXECUTIVE RODRIGUEZ TYRESE GIBSON CHRIS ‘ LUDACRIS’ BRIDGES JORDANA PAUL WALKER DWAYNE JOHNSON “FURIOUS BASED ON CHARACTERS AMANDA LEWIS SAMANTHA VINCENT CHRIS MORGAN WITH KURT RUSSELL AND JASON STATHAM MUSICBY BRIAN TYLER PRODUCERS CREATED BY GARY SCOTT THOMPSON WRITTEN DIRECTED PRODUCED

BY NEAL H. MORITZ p.g.a. VIN DIESEL MICHAEL FOTTRELL BY CHRIS MORGAN BY JAMES WAN A UNIVERSAL PICTURE SOUNDTRACK ON ATLANTIC RECORDS

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TYPESET: Tue Mar 10 LEGAL NOTICES Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM1328 Carletha T. Bell AKA Carletha T. Kelly-Bell AKA Carletha K. Bell Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Michael O. Middleton and Lester L. Oates Sr. , whose addresses are 14909 Health Center Drive, Apt 435, Bowie, MD 20716 and 11504 Dundee Drive, Bowie , MD 20721were appointed personal representatives of the estate of Carletha T. Bell AKA Carletha T. Kelly-Bell AKA Carletha K. Bell, who died on August 15, 2003 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 13, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 13, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 13, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Micheal O. Middleton Lester L. Oates Sr. Personal Representatives TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

TYPESET: Tue Mar 24 03/13, 03/20, 03/27/15

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014ADM1311 Syid Abdullah Muhammad Decedent Michelle Lanchester Esq 601 Pennsylvania Ave NW Suite 900-South Building Washington, DC 20004 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Julian Cheek, whose address is 3974 Ames St., N E , Wa s h i n g t o n , D C 20019 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Syid Abdullah Muhammad, who died on April 18, 2014 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 27, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 27, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 27, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Julian Cheek Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 03/27, 04/03, 04/10/15

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2011ADM644 14:00:41 2015 Audrey S.EDT Douglas Decedent Bradley A. Thomas Esq 4201 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 400 Washington, DC 20008-1128 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS K e v i n W. D o u g l a s , whose address is 1035 Lake Shore Dr, Mitchellville, MD 20721 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Audrey S. Douglas, who died on April 16, 2009 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 13, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 13, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 13, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Kevin W. Douglas Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

TYPESET: Tue Mar 10 03/13, 03/20, 03/27/15

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014ADM658 Linwood Chisholm DecedentEDT 2015 14:07:03 Jamison B. Taylor 1218 11th St. NW Washington, DC 20001 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS H a z e l V. C h i s h o l m , whose address is 2604 Monroe St. NE, Washington, DC 20018, was appointed personal representative of the estate of Linwood Chisholm, who died on January 18, 2014 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 13, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 13, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 13, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Hazel V. Chisholm Personal Representative

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM200 John Gilliam Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Keith Gilliam, whose address is 1223 Rock Creek Ford Road,NW, Washington, DC 20011 was appointed personal representative of the estate of John Gilliam, who died on May 4, 2000 without a will, and will serve with Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 13, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 13, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 13, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Keith Gilliam Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 3/13, 03/20, 03/27/2015 TYPESET: Tue Mar 10 Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION 14:02:46 EDT 2015 Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM215 Tammy Louise WhiteSmiley Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Isaiah Deshaun Smiley, whose address is 312 P e a b o d y S t , N W, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed personal representative of the estate of Tammy Louise White-Smiley, who died on December 26, 2014 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 13, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 13, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 13, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Iasaih Deshaun Smiley Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 03/13, 03/20, 03/27/115

TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 03/13, 03/20, 03/27/15

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INSERTION DATE:_________________ TYPESET: Tue Mar 24 14:08:11 EDT 2015 WASHINGTON AFRO-AMERICAN NEWSPAPER

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Superior Court of theEffective District of October 1, 2008 District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. PROBATE DIVISION 20001-2131 (Estates) Administration No. 2014ADM1242 202-332-0080 Mary B.Gibson DecedentPROBATE NOTICES James E. McCollum,Jr. Esquire and McCollum & Associates, LLC a. Order Nisi $ 60 per insertion $180.00 per 3 weeks 7309 Baltimore Ave., b. Small Estates (singleSuite publication $ 60 per insertion 117 c. Notice to Creditors College Park, Maryland TYPESET: Tue Mar 24 14:08:34 EDT 2015 20740 1. Domestic $ 60 per insertion $180.00 per 3 weeks Attorney 2. Foreign NOTICE OF$ 60 per insertion $180.00 per 3 weeks Superior Court of APPOINTMENT, d. Escheated Estates NOTICE TO$ 60 per insertion $360.00 per 6 weeks the District of District of Columbia $125.00 CREDITORS e. Standard Probates PROBATE DIVISION AND NOTICE TO Washington, D.C. UNKNOWN HEIRS 14:03:11 EDT 2015 20001-2131 James Gibson, whose CIVIL NOTICES Administration No. address is 1416 Whittier 2014ADM911 a. Name Changes 202-879-1133 $ 80.00 Place, NW, Washington, DC 20012 was appointed Lillie Mae Bell b. Real Property $ 200.00 personal representative Decedent of the estate of Mary Nathan A. Neal B.Gibson, who died on Attorney at Law FAMILY 209 Kennedy St. NW April 11, 1990 without a COURT will. All unknown heirs Washington,DC 202-879-1212 a n d h e i r s w h o s e 20011-5214 Attorney whereabouts are un-RELATIONS DOMESTIC TYPESET: Tue Mar 24 NOTICE OF known shall enter their 202-879-0157 APPOINTMENT, appearance in this NOTICE TO proceeding. Objections CREDITORS Superior Court of to such appointment AND NOTICE TO $ 150.00 shall be filed with the the District of a. Absent Defendant UNKNOWN HEIRS Register of Wills, D.C., District of Columbia b. Absolute Divorce $ 150.00 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Nathan A. NEal, Attorney PROBATE DIVISION Floor Washington, D.C. at Law, whose address is$150.00 Washington, D.C. c. Custody Divorce 209 Kennedy Street, 20001, on or before 20001-2131 NW, Washington, DC September 27, 2015.

Administration No. Claims against the de- 20011-5214 was ap2015ADM266 To place your ad, call 1-800-237-6892, 262,personal PublicrepreNotices $50.00 & up pointed cedent shall be pre- ext.

Mason sentative of the estate of Anthony to the underdepending onsented size, Baltimore Legal Notices are $24.84 per inch. signed with a copy to the Lillie Mae Bell, who died Decedent 3, 2013 Tina Smith Nelson 1-800 892 Register of Wills or (AFRO) filed on December the Register of Wills without a will, and will Legal Counsel for the For Proof ofwith Publication, please call 1-800-237-6892, 244 with a copy to the under- serve without Court su- ext.

Elderly, signed, on or before pervision. All unknown 601 E Street, NW September 27, 2015, or heirs and heirs whose Washington, DC 20049 be forever barred. Per- whereabouts are un- Attorney sons believed to be heirs known shall enter their NOTICE OF or legatees of the de- a p p e a r a n c e i n t h i s APPOINTMENT, cedent who do not re- proceeding. Objections NOTICE TO ceive a copy of this notice to such appointment (or CREDITORS by mail within 25 days of to the probate of deLEGAL NOTICES TYPESET: Tue Mar 24 14:08:11 EDT 2015 AND NOTICE TO its first publication shall cedent´s will) shall be so inform the Register of filed with the Register of UNKNOWN HEIRS Wills, including name, Wills, D.C., 515 5th Agustina Mason, whose Superior Court of address and relation- Street, N.W., 3rd Floor address is 1805 Kearny Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C . the District of ship.

St. NE, Washington, DC 20001, on or before District of Columbia Date of Publication: September 27, 2015. 20018 was appointed PROBATE DIVISION March 27, 2015 Claims against the de- personal representative Washington, D.C. Name of newspaper: cedent shall be pre- of the estate of Anthony 20001-2131 Afro-American sented to the under- Mason, who died on Administration No. Washington signed with a copy to the September 2, 2014 with2014ADM1242 Law Reporter Mary B.Gibson James Gibson Register of Wills or filed out a will, and will serve Decedent Personal with the Register of Wills without Court superviJames E. McCollum,Jr. Representative with a copy to the under- sion. All unknown heirs signed, on or before Esquire and McCollum and heirs whose whereSeptember 27, 2015, or abouts are unknown & Associates, LLC TRUE TEST COPY be forever barred. Per7309 Baltimore Ave., REGISTER OF WILLS sons believed to be heirs shall enter their appearSuite 117 or legatees of the de- ance in this proceeding.

College Park, Maryland 03/27,04/03,Tue 04/10/15 TYPESET: Mar 24 14:08:34 EDTdo2015 cedent who not re- Objections to such 20740 ceive a copy of this notice appointment shall be Attorney by mail within 25 days of filed with the Register of NOTICE OF Superior Court of its first publication shall Wills, D.C., 515 5th APPOINTMENT, the District of so inform the Register of Street, N.W., 3rd Floor NOTICE TO District of Columbia Wills, including name, Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

CREDITORS PROBATE DIVISION address and relation- 20001, on or before AND NOTICE TO Washington, D.C. ship.

UNKNOWN HEIRS September 27, 2015.

20001-2131 Date of Publication: James Gibson, whose Claims against the deAdministration No. March 27, 2015 address is 1416 Whittier cedent shall be pre2014ADM911 Name of newspaper: Place, NW, Washington, sented to the underAfro-American DC 20012 was appointed Lillie Mae Bell signed with a copy to the Washington personal representative Decedent Nathan A. Neal Register of Wills or filed Law Reporter of the estate of Mary Attorney at Law Lillie Mae Bell with the Register of Wills B.Gibson, who died on 209 Kennedy St. NW Personal with a copy to the underApril 11, 1990 without a Representative signed, on or before will. All unknown heirs Washington,DC a n d h e i r s w h o s e 20011-5214 September 27, 2015 or TRUE TEST COPY whereabouts are un- Attorney be forever barred. PerNOTICE OF REGISTER OF WILLS known shall enter their sons believed to be heirs APPOINTMENT, appearance in this TYPESET: Mar 24 14:08:57 EDTof2015 or legatees the deNOTICE TO 03/27, 04/03,Tue 04/10/15 proceeding. Objections CREDITORS cedent who do not reto such appointment AND NOTICE TO ceive a copy of this notice shall be filed with the UNKNOWN HEIRS Superior Court of by mail within 25 days of Register of Wills, D.C., Nathan A. NEal, Attorney the District of 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd its first publication shall at Law, whose address is District of Columbia Floor Washington, D.C. so inform the Register of 209 Kennedy Street, PROBATE DIVISION 20001, on or before Wills, including name, Washington, D.C. September 27, 2015. NW, Washington, DC address and relation20001-2131 Claims against the de- 20011-5214 was apship.

Administration No. cedent shall be pre- pointed personal repreDate of Publication: 2015ADM266 sented to the under- sentative of the estate of March 27, 2015 signed with a copy to the Lillie Mae Bell, who died Anthony Mason Name of newspaper: Register of Wills or filed on December 3, 2013 Decedent Afro-American with the Register of Wills without a will, and will Tina Smith Nelson with a copy to the under- serve without Court su- Legal Counsel for the Washington pervision.

All unknown Elderly, signed, on or before Law Reporter September 27, 2015, or heirs and heirs whose 601 E Street, NW Agustina Mason whereabouts are unWashington, DC 20049 be forever barred. PerPersonal sons believed to be heirs known shall enter their Attorney Representative NOTICE OF or legatees of the de- a p p e a r a n c e i n t h i s APPOINTMENT, cedent who do not re- proceeding. Objections TRUE TEST COPY NOTICE TO ceive a copy of this notice to such appointment (or REGISTER OF WILLS to the probate of deCREDITORS by mail within 25 days of AND NOTICE TO its first publication shall cedent´s will) shall be UNKNOWN HEIRS 03/27, 04/03, 04/10/15 so inform the Register of filed with the Register of Agustina Mason, whose Wills, including name, Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor address is 1805 Kearny address and relationWa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

St. NE, Washington, DC ship.

20001, on or before 20018 was appointed Date of Publication: September 27, 2015. personal representative March 27, 2015 Claims against the de- of the estate of Anthony Name of newspaper:

14:08:57

TYPESET: Tue2015 Mar 10 14:02:20 TYPESET: Tue Mar 24 14:09:19 TYPESET: Tue2015 Mar 24 LEGAL NOTICES LEGALEDT NOTICES LEGALEDT NOTICES Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM301 Robert W. Medlock AKA Robert Wallace Medlock Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Carlton A. Curry, whose address is 3509 Copley Road, Baltimore, MD 21215 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Robert W. Medlock AKA Robert Wallace Medlock, who died on February 13, 2015 with a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 27, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 27, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 27, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Carlton A. Curry Personal Representative

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM216 Dorothy V. Rush Decedent Philip N. Margolius 4201 Connecticut Ave, NW Washington, DC 20008 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Veronica E. Rush, whose address is 1358 Tucke r m a n S t r e e t N W, Washington, DC 20011 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Dorothy V. Rush, who died on January 23, 2015 with a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose where-abouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 13, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 13, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 13, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington TRUE TEST COPY Law Reporter REGISTER OF WILLS Veronica E. Rush TYPESET: Tue Mar 17 16:56:02 EDT 2015 Personal 03/27, 04/03, 04/10/15 Representative Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM229 Juliana Esther Parker Decedent Theodore H. Brown Esq Law Office o Theodora H. Brown, PLLC 3127 Cherry Road, NE, Washington, DC 20018-1611 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Maria Waters and Julian L. Parker, whose address is, are 3502 Scotts Lane,#A-9, Philadelphia, PA, 19129 & 844 Olgethorpe St., NE, Washington, DC 20011 were appointed personal representatives of the estate of Juliana Esther Parker, who died on December 27, 2014 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 20, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 20, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 20, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Maria Waters Julian L.Parker Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

03/20, 03/27, 04/3/15

03/13, 03/20, 03/27/15

TYPESET: Tue Mar 10

03/13, 03/20, 03/27/15

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM198 Roland F. Rogers Decedent Thomas H. Queen, Esq 7 9 6 1 E a s t e r n Av e , Suite 304 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS June Layton, whose address is 2859 Sheppert o n Te r r a c e , S i l v e r Spring, MD 20904 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Roland F. Rogers, who died on January 9, 2015 with a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding.

Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 13, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 13, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 13, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter June Layton Personal Representative

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Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM269 Marion R. Mcmillian Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Maria E. William, whose address is 105 Springhouse Way, Apt 202, Newport News was appointed personal representative of the estate of Marion R McMillian, who died on October 12, 2014 with a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose where-abouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 27, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 27, 2015 or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 27, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Maria E.Williams Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

TYPESET: Mar 24 03/27, 04/03,Tue 04/10/15 Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 14:02:01 EDT 2015 Administration No. 2015ADM285 Mary Elizabeth Jenkins Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Alice M. Jenkins , whose address is 4102 4th Street NW, Washington,DC 20011 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Mary E. Jenkins, who died on April 12, 2014 with a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 27, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 27, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 27, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Alice M. Jenkins Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

TYPESET: Tue Mar 24 03/27, 04/03, 04/10/15

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM293 Decedent Daisy L.M. Alsop NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Margaret H. Smith, whose address 3926 17th Place NE Washington, DC 20018 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Daisy L.M. Alsop, who died on January 30, 2015 with a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 27, 2015.

Claims against the de-

without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of de14:09:39 2015 LEGALEDT NOTICES cedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 27, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 27, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 27, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Daisy L.M. Alsop Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

TYPESET: Tue Mar 24

03/27, 04/03, 04/10/15

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM274 Jacqueline Lyles Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Andrea Lyles, whose address is 1760 W Street, SE, Washington, DC 20020 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Jacqueline Lyles, who died on December 22, 2014 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´sEDT will) 2015 shall be 14:09:58 filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 27, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 27, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 27, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Andrea Lyles Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

TYPESET: Mar 24 03/27, 04/03,Tue 04/10/15 Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM296 Alma Wilson Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Bryan Mckie, whose address is 89 Carona Ct, Silver, Spring, MD 20905 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Alma Wilson, who died on February 7, 2015 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose where-abouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 14:10:20 EDT 2015 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 27, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 27, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 27, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Bryan Mckie Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 03/27, 04/03, 04/10/15

March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015, The Afro-American

B9

TYPESET: Tue Mar 24 14:11:48 TYPESET: Tue2015 Mar 17 16:56:19 TYPESET: Tue2015 Mar 10 14:03:30 TYPESET: Tue 2015 Mar 10 17:06:54 TYPESET: Tue2015 Mar 10 17:07:53 LEGAL NOTICES LEGALEDT NOTICES LEGALEDT NOTICES LEGALEDT NOTICES LEGALEDT NOTICES Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM259 Herbert C.Spears Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Edwin Spears, whose address is 5065 6th Pl. NE Washington, DC 20002 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Herbert C. Spears, who died on June 2, 2002 without a will, and will serve with Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on before 14:10:38 EDTor 2015 September 27, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 27, 2015 or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 27, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Edwin Spears Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM253 Ralph Y. Poole A.K.A. Ralph Yancy Poole Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Boyd Poole, whose address is 11807 Parallel Road, Bowie MD 20720 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Ralph Y. Poole A.K.A. Ralph Yancy Poole, who died on February 5, 2015 with a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 20, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 20, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 20, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Boyd Poole Personal Representative

TYPESET: Mar 24 14:12:21 EDT 2015 03/27, 04/03,Tue 04/10/15 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM305 Richard Allen Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Beverly D. Hill, whose address is 9212 Alcona St., Lanham, MD 20706 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Richard Allen, who died on December 30, 2014 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 27, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be pre14:11:05 EDT 2015 sented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 27, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 27, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Beverley D.Hill Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 03/27, 04/03,04/10/15

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM192 Christine R. Ali Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Daryl K. Roberson, whose address is 2011 Sandlake Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30331 was appointed personal representative(s) of the estate of Christine R. Ali, who died on January 27, 2015 with a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 13, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 13, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 13, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Daryl K. Roberson Personal Representative

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM91 Wilbert Bradley Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Alberta B Merriwether , whose address is 2636 10th Street, NE Washington, DC 20018 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Wilbert Bradley , who died on October 18, 2014 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 13, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 13, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 13, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Alberta B. Merriwether Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

03/20, 03/26 & 04/03/15

03/13, 03/20, 03/27/15 3/13, 3/20, 3/27/15 TYPESET: Tue Mar 24 15:39:43 EDT 2015 TYPESET: Tue Mar 24 14:51:43 EDT 2015

Order of Publication Square 5125 Lot 0869 In accordance with D.C. Code § 47-1375, the object of this proceeding is to secure the foreclosure of the right of redemption in the real property described as Square: 5125; Lot: 0869,which may also be known as certain unimproved real property located on 4402 Lee Street N.E.,Washington, DC 20019, which property was sold by the Mayor of the District of Columbia to the Plaintiff in this action.

The Amended Complaint states, among other things, that the amounts necessary for redemption have not been paid.

Pursuant to the Chief Judge´s Administrative Order No. 02.11, it is this 26th day of January 2015, ORDERED by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, that notice be given by the insertion of a copy of this Order in The Afro American Newspapers~ a newspaper having a general circulation in the District of Columbia, once a week for three (3) successive weeks, notifying all persons interested in the real property described above to appear in this Court by the 8th day of April 2015, and redeem the real property by payment of $1068.78 , together with interest from the date the real property tax certificate was purchased; court costs; reasonable attorney´s fees; expenses incurred in the publication and service of process; and all other amounts in accordance with the provisions of D.C. Official Code §47-1361 though 1377 (2001 ed.) et.seq., or answer the Amended Complaint, or, thereafter, a final judgment will be entered foreclosing the right of redemption in the real property and vesting in the Plaintiff a title in fee simple.

To advertise in the Call 202-3320080

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIVIL DIVISION Civil Action No. 2014CA7023 R (RP) Calendar 12 Judge Brian F. Holeman Nikita Petties PLAINTIFF v.

ESTATE OF GEORGE MARTIN. III, et al.

ORDER OF PUBLICATION NOTICE TO ANY UNKNOWN HEIRS~ OR CREDITORS OF GEORGE MARTIN III AND TO ANY CLAIMANTS TO AN INTEREST IN THE PREMISES COMMONLY KNOWN AS 419 NEWTON PLACE NW, WASHINGTON, DC LOT 57 IN SQUARE 3035 and it is further Nikita PettIes has tiled a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Case No. 2014 CA 7023 R(RP)This lawsuit seeks to quiet the title to the premises commonly known as 419 Newton Place NW, Washington,DC. George Martin III appears as a grantee on a deed to said premises dated March 17, 20 11, which was recorded among the land records of the District of Columbia on April 7, 20 II. Nikita Petties´ lawsuit claims that this deed invalid. In the event that you wish to assert a claim against George Martin Ill, or against the premises, you are advised to contact the attorney for Plaintiff, Thomas DeCaro, DeCaro & Howell PC Suite 20 1, 14406 Old Mill Rd, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 / phone 301-464-1400/fax 301-464-4776/ e-mail tfd@erols.eom, on or before the thirtieth day after the date on which this Notice was published, providing a written description of your claim against George Martin III or against said premises ises, or to file a responsive pleading by said date in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. In the alternative, you can appear at the Scheduling Conference Hearing at D.C.Superior Court, 500 Indiana Avenue, NW, Washington,D.C. 20001 in Courtroom 214 at 930 a.m. on May 22,2015.

Failure to do so will result in a bar to any such claims and a judgment by default may be entered against you with respect to any claims you may be entitled to assert; ORDERED, that Plaintiffs SHALL FILE Proof of Service on or before May 4, 2015.

TYPESET: Tue Mar 24 15:39:43 EDT 2015 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIVIL DIVISION Civil Action No. 2014CA7023 R (RP) Calendar 12 Judge Brian F. Holeman

Nikita Petties PLAINTIFF v.

ESTATE OF GEORGE

Copies e-served to: Thomas F. DeCaro, Jr, Esquire 14406 Old Mill Rd. #201 Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 Counsel for Plaintiff BRIAN F. HOLEMAN JUDGE

Thomas F. DeCaro, Jr, Esquire 14406 Old Mill Rd. #201 Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 Counsel for Plaintiff BRIAN F. HOLEMAN JUDGE

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2015ADM242 Julia Mae Cooper Harris Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Samaria Harris-Pitts, whose address is 906 James Ridge Road, Bowie, Maryland, 20721 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Julia Mae Cooper Harris, who died on February 3, 2015 with a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose where-abouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .

20001, on or before September 13, 2015.

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 13, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: March 13, 2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Samaria Harris-Pitts Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 03/13, 03/20, 03/27/15

B10

The Afro-American, March 28, 2015 - April 3, 2015

PEPCO AND EXELON:

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We believe the proposed merger of Pepco and Exelon will benefit the District’s residents, communities, civic life and business environment.

If approved, this merger will create savings that will be passed on in customers’ utility bills, saving families and businesses more of their hardearned money every month. It means honoring and maintaining Pepco’s strong commitment to workforce-and supplier-diversity programs. It means more jobs for District workers. That’s good for families, local businesses, and the District’s workforce.

It means millions of dollars more that could be used for programs such as bill credits, low-income assistance and energy efficiency programs through a $33.75 million Customer Investment Fund. It also means continued annual charitable contributions and local community support – exceeding Pepco’s 2013 level of $1.6 million for 10 years following the merger. And it means $168 million to $260 million in economic benefits to the District.

That’s good for communities and those most in need.

It also means enhanced reliability of our electric grid and additional resources to speed storm restoration. It means a commitment to sustainability and corporate citizenship. It means continued local presence and local leadership.

And it means millions of dollars more invested in our local economy.

That’s good for all of us.

WE SUPPORT THE PROPOSED PEPCO AND EXELON MERGER.

OF GREATER GREA W WASHINGT ON

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