Washington Afro-American Newspaper August 10 2013

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Volume 122 No. 1

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The AFRO Celebrates 121 Years

AUGUST 10, 2013 - AUGUST 16, 2013

Texas Leads U.S. in Execution of African Americans By Yanick Rice Lamb Special to the AFRO Texas isn’t just big in size and population. It’s also big on the death penalty. When it comes to executions, Texas is the battleground state and has been No. 1 since 1976. The Lone Star State reached a milestone this

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Washington View Alexandria’s Mandela

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Jazz Keyboardist George Duke Dies at 67

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After recording its lowest number of homicides in five decades in 2012, the District of Columbia will never return to the record-setting levels of violence that wracked the city from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Aug. 6. “I don’t think we’ll ever go back to those days of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s,” Gray said during an interview on a Northwest Washington street corner, where the mayor joined police officials and about 200 community members for an anti-crime rally as part of National Night Out. The annual event, which takes place the first Tuesday of every August, is

sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. Gray, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, and officials from other law enforcement and city agencies kicked off the National Night Out on a cordoned-off street adjacent to the Walker Jones Education Campus on New Jersey Avenue NW. Gray and Lanier planned to appear at many of the approximately 35 rallies held throughout the city. During a brief speech, Gray touted the city’s 2012 homicide total of 88. “Last year, we had the lowest number of homicides in 51 years in the District of Columbia,” Gray said as many in the crowd cheered. Recording fewer than 100 homicides was an important milestone, some 20 years after the city was known as the Continued on A3

Black Unemployment Rate Lowest Since 2009

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – The unemployment rate for Blacks fell from 13.7 percent in June to 12.6 percent in July, the lowest jobless rate for Blacks since January 2009, according to the latest jobs report from the Labor Department. Although economists warn against being too optimistic about one month’s jobs numbers, some economists found it unusual for the Black unemployment rate to fall more than a percentage point from June to July, as the jobless rate for Whites remained stagnant at 6.6 percent. The The unemployment rate for unemployment Blacks fell from 13.7 percent in rate for Black June to 12.6 percent in July. Continued on A4

The Bowen YMCA during construction and at night.

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An Abolitionist’s Legacy Showcased

Bowen YMCA Makeover to Be Unveiled in September By Terry Ashford Special to the AFRO The multi-million dollar renovation of the Anthony Bowen YMCA has been completed and set for reopening Sept. 9 after five years of overhauling.

“The grand opening is set in stone,” said Jackie Dilworth, Director of Communications. In observance of 160 years of service as the first African American YMCA in the nation, the renovation of the Anthony Bowen YMCA has resulted in a state-of-the-art

facility showcasing mixeduse development at 14th and W Streets, NW, in the city’s historic U Street corridor. “The point of the renovation is to have a place where everyone in the community can gather, belong Continued on A3

Sister Constance Murphy, Legendary Nun, Dies at 109 By Alexis Taylor AFRO Staff Writer

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By Ruben Castaneda Special to the AFRO

By Freddie Allen NNPA Washington Correspondent

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summer when Kimberly McCarthy became the 500th person executed in Texas since the death penalty was reinstated there in 1974 and modern-day executions resumed in 1982 with the nation’s first lethal injection. The problem, death penalty opponents say, is that eight of the last 11 people executed in Texas have been African Americans, who also account for 40 percent of those on the state’s death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. “The racism and the imposition of death sentences almost universally affect people who are poor or people of color,” said Maurie A. Continued on A5

D.C. Mayor, Police Chief Hail Drop in Murders on National Night Out

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Nine years into her life as a centenarian, Sister Constance Murphy took her last breath at peace, though a long way from her Baltimore roots. An acclaimed author, the former Canadian headmistress and life-long student would have been 110 years old on Feb. 2, 2014. She was the longest surviving nun of the Toronto, Ont.-based St. John the Divine convent. And while she spent her last years visiting homes for the elderly, using every bit of the masters in gerontology she earned at age 73 from the University of Michigan, the well-respected nun remained humble and true until the end, according to friends and family. “Savera, my wife, and I had visited Sister Constance last Saturday on the advice of the sisters,” said nephew Carlo Dade in an email sent out to family members on Aug. 5. “She had been bed ridden for the past two years

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and in and out of consciousness.” Before she took to her bed, his email said, “She was sitting up in a chair next to the bed and was able to carry on an extended conversation and attend prayer services with the sisters.” Born in Baltimore in 1904, the University of Pennsylvania graduate made an art of teaching and guiding others. She was a young woman when a stay in Europe exposed her to a theatrical performance detailing the crucifixion of Christ. This would further solidify her eventual calling. She joined the St. John the Divine convent. According to longtime friend, Sister Elizabeth Ann Eckert, Sister Constance’s work with girls will impact many generations to come. “She was a teacher at the Qu’Appelle Diocesan School in Regina, a province of Saskatchewan, and then Continued on A5

Prince George’s Community College’s top priority is ensuring that students begin their higher education journey and complete a degree. Through flexible and convenient learning options, students earn degrees, transfer to four-year institutions, and prepare for rewarding careers. We are transforming lives.

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Sister Constance Murphy AFRO File Photo

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Copyright © 2013 by the Afro-American Company


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