www.afro.com
Volume 123 No. 24
$1.00 Nation’s #1 African American Newspaper 2014 Nielsen-Essence Consumer Report
Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A3
JANUARY 17, 2015 - JANUARY 23, 2015
Chris Barry’s Surprising, Speckled Voting Record AFRO Series
What is America’s Racial Digital Divide? By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO African Americans connect to the Internet, and have broadband access in their homes at lower rates than their White counterparts, according to the Pew Research Center. Diversity numbers for the nation’s largest tech firms are woefully inadequate, with Blacks in particular making up only one percent of those employed in
INSERTS • Walmart
Join the 405,287 Facebook fans who follow the AFRO, the Black newspaper with the largest digital reach in the country.
Hear the AFRO on The Daily Drum, Wednesday at 7 p.m.
tech positions at Facebook, Google, and Twitter; and no more than six percent at Apple, Microsoft and Ebay. Only 14 percent of African-American eighth graders score at or above proficient in math, compared to 44 percent of Whites, according to a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. While these numbers are troubling, there is some evidence to suggest that this “digital divide”—the racial gap in access to and proficiency in digital technology and related areas—could close over time. Pew has found that Internet connected smartphone ownership among Blacks and Whites is roughly the same, and that younger African Americans (ages 1829) utilize social media at somewhat higher rates than Whites in the same age group. Those numbers are only cause for hope, however, if tech companies, and the country as a whole, are putting themselves in a position to take advantage of such developments. The AFRO is presenting a four-part series addressing the digital divide in America. Among the topics covered will be net neutrality; employment diversity in Silicon Valley; Continued on A6
By James Wright Special to the AFRO
Marion Christopher Barry, candidate for the Ward 8 D.C. Council seat of his late father Marion S. Barry, has not voted consistently in District and ward elections, the AFRO has learned. Tamara Robinson, spokeswoman for the Board of Elections, said on Jan. 13 that Barry didn’t vote in the July 15, 2014, special election for the vacant Ward 8 Board of Education position or in the April 1, 2014 primary. Another elections official said she couldn’t confirm or deny whether Barry voted in the Nov. 4, 2014 general election. Agency staff revealed Barry cast a provisional ballot in the Nov. 6, 2012 general and special election. These elections included his late father on the ballot, running for re-election. Despite repeated calls to the number Barry provided on the D.C. Board of Elections website, he didn’t respond to the AFRO by deadline. Barry is running against 23 other candidates to claim his father’s seat. He officially began the process of running on Jan. 5 by picking up petitions and signing the necessary paperwork. The deadline for petitions to get on the ballot is Jan. 28 and Barry is actively seeking the required 500 signatures of Continued on A4
Photo by JD Howard
Marion Christopher Barry is a candidate for the Ward 8 D.C. Council seat.
NAMI Brings Mental Health Awareness to Black Community By Christina Sturdivant Special to the AFRO
Photo by Hamzat Sani
Representatives from the National Alliance of Mental Illness’s Prince George’s County, Md. participte in the NBC4 Health and Fitness Expo.
The D.C. region had its first big check-up of the year at the 2015 NBC4 Health & Fitness Expo, Jan. 10 and 11 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. For the first time, the expo’s focus extended to include resources for mental health. For decades, the Black community has held a common consensus on the topic: Blacks don’t suffer from mental illnesses. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Continued on A5
Commentary
afro.com
Your History • Your Community • Your News
From 12 Years a Slave to Selma to Obama “A simple Google search will confirm the breathtaking racial injustice in the World Bank…”
10
7
47105 21847
racism is tolerated, if not perpetuated, by our government in 2015. The intergenerational pain continues to flow The movie 12 Years a Slave rather uninterrupted from slavery to Jim Crow brutally reminded us not only of the and from Selma to Obama. raping, lynching and public lashing our President Obama often speaks of ancestors suffered, but also of the sheer “the most evident of truths - that all of humiliation of being stripped naked us are created equal - is the star that in public that they endured. America’s guides us still.” I am here to tell the revered creed - the self evident truth President that at the World Bank, the – Dr. E. Faye Williams third largest employer in our nation’s that all men are created equal - did not apply to them. “A Black man has no capital, African Americans are reminded rights a White man is bound to respect” daily that his high-minded words lack was the law of the land as established by moral resolve behind them. The World the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney in the Bank, where Blacks are seen as mere numbers without landmark 1857 Dred Scott case. human dignity and rights, serves as a metaphor for our Coming on the heels of 12 Years a Slave, another movie, government’s lack of moral resolve to show zero tolerance Selma, took us back down the memory lane of recent past for institutional racism. of what our parents suffered. We are barely two generations Dr. E. Faye Williams, chair of the National Congress for Black Women, highlighted in a recent article: “A simple removed from the daily humiliation of institutional racism, not to mention the physical attacks by cattle prods and police Google search will confirm the breathtaking racial injustice [in the World Bank], producing several pages of [citations dogs. The lesson we draw from the two movies is not how of] articles with shocking titles that seem to describe another far America has come in exorcising its racial evil, but the era or a faraway place. The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s column institutional racism its Black citizens suffer still. in the Chicago Sun Times entitled ‘Apartheid Avenue two Some would want us to focus on the progress made, not Blocks from the White House’ is one example. ‘World Bank on the continued breach of America’s allegiance to racial puts Blacks at the Back of Bus’ is another. For those who equality and justice. The needle on the Richter scale of prefer French or Spanish there are ‘Apartheid á la Banque racial injustice has undoubtedly moved down progressively, but that is not the issue. The issue is that institutional Mondiale’ and ‘Discriminación racial en el Banco Mundial’ By Marie Brown Special to the AFRO
2
Join the AFRO on Twitter and Facebook
Continued on A5
Copyright © 2015 by the Afro-American Company
Carol Glover of Alexandria, Va. died Jan. 12 after the tragic Yellow Line incident.
Metro Smoke Leaves One Dead By Linda Poulson Special to the AFRO D.C.’s Metro system had a horrific accident on Jan. 12 that affected the Yellow Line, leaving one person dead and 80 injuries due to smoke inhalation. “On behalf of the Board of Directors and all Metro employees, I offer my deepest condolences to the family of the passenger who died yesterday following the incident on the Yellow Line,” Metro Board Chair Tom Downs said in a statement released Jan. 13. “To those who were injured or frightened, and to the thousands who have been inconvenienced by this major service disruption, I offer a heartfelt apology. Please also know that Metro is working to restore full service as soon as possible.” Around 3:30 p.m. at the L’Enfant Plaza station was shut down for all passengers due to smoke escaping from a third subway car. Described as a fire activity and “harrowing situation,” the District’s Fire Department, the Metropolitan Police Department and federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security stepped in to investigate the catastrophe. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also involved to examine the crisis. Continued on A5