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The Afro-American, January 10, 2015 - January 16, 2015
District’s Youth Leadership Institute Renamed in Honor of Marion Barry By Shantella Sherman Special to the AFRO
“… Mayor Barry believed strongly in investing in our youth and founded the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute in 1979 to give them the tools they need to succeed and impact the future.”
The Mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute (MYLI) was renamed the “Marion Barry Youth Leadership Institute” in honor of the late councilmember and former Mayor Marion S. Barry Jr., who died Nov. 23. Former D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray enacted administrative Order 2014-338, that made the name change official, during his last days in office. “Among the many causes he championed, Mayor Barry believed strongly in investing in our youth and founded the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute in 1979 to give them the tools they need to succeed and impact the future,” Gray said. “It is only fitting that we rename the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute in his honor.” Barber Kevin Matthews, who secured his first job through the Barry’s Summer Youth program in 1987, said that in addition to honoring Barry, the name change promotes creating legacies among area teens. “As young people we thought of life as immediate challenges and rewards, and today’s young people are the same. Barry established rules and set asides just for young Black teens in D.C., that have had a long-term impact on the city and the individuals,” Matthews said. “For his strength of insight to be acknowledged after he passed away, encourages young people to think in terms of what positive things they can
–Vincent Gray leave behind for others.” The Marion Barry Youth Leadership Institute (MBYLI) is a four-level, year-round leadership training and development program for District of Columbia youth, ages 14-19. The training model emphasizes practical hands-on experience and a holistic approach to developing leaders of the 21st century. Each of the four levels of the training model – Alpha, Beta, Delta and Omega – has a unique focus area. The Alpha level focuses on personal growth and development skills. The Beta level focuses on community development. The Delta level focuses on college exploration and preparation, and the Omega level focuses on life skills, career exploration, and places Youth
Leaders in internships. Common training themes include: team building skills, personal development, communication skills, employability skills, public speaking, city government structure, community service, and college/career preparation. New participant recruitment takes place in the spring for the MBYLI Summer Intensive Training component. Youth Leaders are selected through a rigorous screening process. The summer portion of training is conducted for six weeks on a local college campus. It includes training seminars, community labs, youth government elections, cultural events, guest speakers and open discussion forums. The school year component of MBYLI focuses on applying the skills learned during the summer. Activities include community service projects, general body meetings, youth-related forums, and additional leadership development training. MBYLI Youth Leaders are also called upon to represent the youth of the District of Columbia at events throughout the city, country, and world. The renaming honors “the memory of Mr. Barry and his contributions to the governance and progress of the District of Columbia and the welfare of its citizens, which contributions were particularly significant in the nurturing and development of its youth,” Gray said.
Crime
Continued from A1 It was reported that, under her mother’s permission, Shamika Young allowed her daughter to go with a janitor, Kahlil Tatum, who worked at the shelter. The two then disappeared and later, Tatum was found in Kenilworth Park with investigations reporting that he committed suicide. A 12-page report was done on the accounting of the girl in which the search for her is still open. Relisha has been missing since March 1. Ban the Box: In July of 2014, the City Council voted unanimously (12-1) to forward the “Ban the Box” bill to give returning citizens greater access to employment. Former councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) introduced Bill 20642, the Fair Criminal Records Screening Act. Congress is reviewing the specifications of the bill. Vincent Gray Lost Primary: Gray probably would have
won a second term as mayor if his administration was not rocked by scandal. Former council members Michael Brown, Kwame Brown, and Harry Thomas pled guilty to bribery and embezzling funds. Michael and Harry Thomas went to prison while Kwame, guilty of bank fraud, received six months of home detention. But it didn’t stop there. Under Gray’s campaign, Thomas W. Gore, Suliamon Brown, Howard L. Brooks, Jeanne Clark Harris and Jeffrey E. Thompson were under investigation. Gore, Brooks pled guilty to election violations and secret pay-offs, while Harris pled guilty to thwarting campaign laws. Thompson is still being investigated. Despite a plea deal, Gray denies any illegal activity. He lost his bid for reelection in November to then Ward 4 councilmember Muriel Bowser. Bowser was recently inaugurated as Mayor of D.C. on Jan. 2. Mothers Come to Washington: A delegation of 10 African
American mothers of slain males who were killed by authorities came to the District between Dec. 9-11 to voice their criticism of police brutality and the criminal justice system. Their sessions contained a strategy meeting of organizations working on issues relating to police brutality, a public forum at First Trinity Lutheran Church in Northwest, a congressional hearing and meetings at the Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill and a public vigil at the Department of Justice. There are plans for a Mother’s Day march against police brutality for May 2015. Holiday Shootings and Homicides: The Christmas holiday season brought an onslaught of shootings and homicides in the District. Fifteen people were shot, with about half losing their lives. McFadden’s Restaurant Bar and Saloon in Foggy Bottom, where five people were stabbed on Dec. 27, has closed down permanently, according to recent news reports.
Edward Brooke
Continued from A1
of Representatives and fewer Blacks served in elected
offices. Brooke also made history in 1962 when he was
elected as the Massachusetts attorney general, the first
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Black to be elected to that position in the nation. President Obama, upon hearing of Brooke’s passing, said in a statement that “Senator Brooke led an extraordinary life of public service” and “Ed Brooke stood on the forefront of the battle for civil rights and economic fairness.” Brooke received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award Congress has to honor civilians, in October 2009. The late senator also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004 from President George W. Bush. Brooke served in the Senate from 1967-1979 and was an outspoken supporter of civil and human rights, federal raid to the poor, increased foreign support for African and Caribbean countries, and a critic of African countries, such as Rhodesia and South Africa, that were ruled by White supremacists. He was one of the first lawmakers to call for President Richard Nixon to resign in light of the Watergate scandal and, according to his book, “Bridging the Divide: My Life,” he was considered a vice presidential and a U.S. Supreme Court prospect. While Brooke was a passionate Republican, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, nevertheless praised his leadership skills and their impact. “He was a statesman in the truest sense, possessing a commitment to public service which is all too rare to find in this day and age,” Schultz said. “HIs constituents were fortunate to have been served by him and our legislative branch of government was better for his service.” Schultz’s Republican counterpart, Reince Priebus, agreed. “Brooke was a pioneer and an inspiration to many,” Priebus said. “Our party and our nation have lost a statesman and a trailblazer.”
Outgoing Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) tweeted that Brooke was” a friend and a mentor.” “Massachusetts has a history of sending giants to the U.S. Senate, great statesmen like Quincy Adams, [Daniel] Webster, [Henry] Cabot Lodge and [Edward] Kennedy,” Patrick said. “We count Ed Brooke among them. He carried the added honor and burden of being ‘the first’ and did so with distinction and grace.”
100th anniversary Centennial Celebration in 2006. Brooke graduated from Dunbar High School in 1936 and lived in the LeDroit Park neighborhood that was nearby. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), a longtime friend of Brooke’s, said that “the District has lost its most distinguished native son.” “Edward Brooke had to leave his hometown to get a congressional vote and certainly to become a U.S.
“The District has lost its most distinguished native son.” – Eleanor Holmes Norton
Brooke was a graduate of Howard University in 1941 and supported his college alma mater as an alumnus and a senator. He supported the university’s annual congressional appropriation and received an honorary degree in 1967. Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick said Brooke was an example of the fabled “Howard Man.” “He was an advocate for education and a generous donor, with several scholarships in his name for the benefit of students in need,” Frederick said. “He will be greatly missed by all and we at Howard will honor his memory by continuing to ensure that we send our graduates out onto the path he blazed in earnest.” While at Howard, Brooke joined Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and served as a national undergraduate leader. He stayed active in Alpha throughout his life, participating in national conventions and served, in 1996, as the first chairman of the fraternity’s World Policy Council and chaired its
senator,” Norton said. “Sen. Brooke, however, never forgot his hometown and played an important role in the city’s quest for the House Voting Rights Act, when he lobbied his former colleagues in the Senate.” Norton is referring to the 2009 bill that would have given the city a voting representative and Utah an additional representative. It was killed in April 2010 when the National Rifle Association pressured members of Congress to support an amendment eliminating all the District’s gun laws. While that effort failed, the delegate said Brooke tried to do what he thought was right. “D.C. residents will never forget their native son, who got a vote for himself in Massachusetts and used his last years to try to do the same for the city where he was born and raised,” she said. On Jan. 4, Norton tweeted that Brooke’s wife, Ann, agreed to hold the senator’s funeral services in the District. Norton had not released any further details by AFRO press time.