Washington AFRO-American Newspaper April 13 2013

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Volume 121 No. 36

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APRIL 13, 2013 - APRIL 19, 2013

Black Families May Suffer in Immigration Reform

By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO

Black immigrants and others stand to lose if the United States’ system of family-based visas is changed, according to religious and immigration reform activists.

As the nation eagerly awaits legislative language on comprehensive immigration reform, which could be released any time now, early indications suggest possible reductions in visas available to foreign-born family

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Black immigrants and others stand to lose if the United States’ system of family-based visas is changed. of the Union” on March 31, Gang of Eight member Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., said a key goal of the legislation would be to “turn our chain migration family-based immigration system into a merit-based, [economicbased] immigration system with a family component.”

But religious and other pro-reform groups say the alleged proposal, which could seek to reduce or eliminate family-based visas available to the siblings and to the married adult children of U.S. citizens, would break up families and destabilize networks that support the success of new immigrants.

“To depend on immigrants for some of the hardest work in this country and then to Continued on A5

Quineshia Moore, 22, stands with her baby in front of a cherry tree near the Tidal Basin.

Photo by Gregory Dale

In the last few weeks, D.C. Fire/EMS Chief Kenneth Ellerbe has withstood a hailstorm of criticism—questions about the department’s response times, a vote of no confidence by the fire fighters’ union and a pounding from council members who warned during a recent hearing that his job is on the line.

DC.gov But, in an exclusive Kenneth Ellerbe interview with the AFRO, Ellerbe projected a confident, Teflon-like resistance to the pressures weighing in from multiple sides.

“It hasn’t impacted me at all,” Ellerbe said of the recent denunciations. “I don’t feel like I’ve been under pressure. It’s just the nature of the job. I knew what I was getting into when I accepted the job.”

As a 29-year veteran of the District’s Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department—he left in August 2009 to lead Continued on A3

Cherry Blossoms Arrive Late, But Right on Time

By Zachary Lester AFRO Staff Writer For Prince George’s County resident Bridgette Cooper, a trip into the District to see the cherry blossoms at their peak is a regular ritual of springtime.

As the news is announced that the cherry trees are fully in bloom and the throngs head to the city from points close and far to witness the spectacle, she collects her daughters and their friends and heads down to the Tidal Basin. There, she savors the blossoms as she walks beneath the gift first presented to the U.S. by Japan more than 100 years ago.

“They’re just beautiful. I like to go down and see them every year,” Cooper said. “My grandmother took me when I was little. She used to take me to the parade and I just fell in love with going. I wanted to share it with my own daughters.”

Starting in early March, cherry blossom lovers start a sort of vigil, watching for reports from the National Park Service about the progress of the pink and white flowers. For weeks, local residents wait and visitors play a game of cat and mouse, scheduling trips to D.C. that they hope will coincide with the peaking of the blossoms.

“I really look forward to this every year,” said Carol Johnson, the spokesperson for the National Park Service

National Mall. “Take advantage of the opportunity and see them while you can, because they aren’t around very long.”

According to Johnson, more than 1 million locals and

File photo

tourists trek to the National Mall and Tidal Basin each year to view the blossoms. She said her favorite place to view them is the Martin Luther King Continued on A4 Memorial.

AmeriHealth to Assume Operations Black Generals, Rich in Legacy, Make History of D.C. Chartered Health Plan

By AFRO Staff

13

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By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO

members of U.S. citizens.

Some in the faith community are bristling to take on that fight.

Speaking on CNN’s “State

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Embattled D.C. Fire Chief Ellerbe Fights Back

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The operations of Washington D.C.’s largest Medicaid insurer will be assumed by AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies on May 1, the city’s Department of Health Care Finance announced April 5.

The sale of certain assets of DC Chartered Health Plan Inc. to AmeriHealth was approved by a judge on March 1. Under the terms of the sale, AmeriHealth will be responsible for the payment only of claims with a date of service after May 1.

AmeriHealth will oversee processing of claims prior to that date, the city agency said in a release, but will not assume financial responsibility. Claims that should have been

paid by DC Chartered will be identified and reported to the Department of Health Care Finance.

AmeriHealth, a company with 30 years of experience serving low-income and chronically ill populations, is a national leader in Medicaid managed care and other health care solutions for the underserved with operations in 14 states serving more than 4.7 million Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP members through its Medicaid managed care products, pharmaceutical benefit management services, behavioral health services and other administrative services.

Following the Department of Health Care Finance announcement, Michael A. Rashid, president and chief executive officer of Continued on A5

By Frank J. Phillips Special to the AFRO

Courtesy photo

Gen. Lloyd Austin

Copyright © 2013 by the Afro-American Company

Two African-American generals made history this year by simultaneously taking charge of major regional commands.

President Barack Obama nominated Generals Lloyd Austin and Vincent Brooks to head U.S. Central Command and U.S. Army Pacific, respectively. Each powerful command position allows the generals to oversee operations in either the Middle East or Asia. Brooks will earn his fourth star upon assuming command, while Austin is already a four-star general.

Although the nominations highlight a first for African Continued on A4

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The Afro-American, April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013

NATION & WORLD

Wesley Snipes Released from Pa. Prison

Wesley Snipes was recently released from a federal prison in Pennsylvania where he was serving a three-year sentence after being convicted on federal tax charges.

According to the Associated Press, the Blade actor was released April 2 and placed under home confinement.

Officials told the AP that he will be overseen by the New York Community Corrections Office until July 19.

Snipes was a member of a group that challenged the government’s right to collect taxes. It was revealed that the actor hadn’t filed taxes in over a decade and owed

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millions of dollars in back taxes.

Federal Judge Compared Blacks to Animals; Sets Retirement Date

A federal judge in Montana who faced an investigation after forwarding an e-mail containing racist jokes about President Obama will Wikimedia Commons retire next month.

Wesley Snipes U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull in February 2012 forwarded an e-mail from his chambers that compared African Americans to animals and implied that the president’s mother had engaged in bestiality.

After the electronic missive was obtained and published by The Great Falls Tribune, Cebull sent a letter of apology to President Obama.

At the time, Cebull stepped down as chief circuit judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, took a reduced caseload and Wikimedia Commons initiated an investigation U.S. District Judge into his actions.

Richard Cebull Cebull has decided to retire effective May 3, according to a statement posted by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski on the court’s website April 2.

Cebull’s resignation letter, dated March 29, was submitted soon after the appellate court’s Judicial Council issued a March 15 order on the investigation into Cebull’s actions.

Fraternity Raises Awareness About Sex Trafficking

When hundreds of members and supports of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity meet in Las Vegas on April 11 for the first day of their 2013 Leadership Conference, awareness will be brought to a situation rarely addressed in the Black community: sex trafficking.

The San Diego chapter of Phi Beta Sigma has recently partnered with San Diego-based non-profit Nu(me)r.a.l.s. to launch a new campaign, “Gentlemen Don’t John,” pushing men of color to speak about the realities of sex trafficking. “John” is a commonly used term to identify men who solicit prostitutes.

During the first day of the four-day conference, the two organizations will sponsor a town hall meeting on sex trafficking and its impact on the Black community.

Panelists include Khalifa King, CEO and founder of Harmonious Solutions, a nonprofit that provides therapy and general counsel to minority communities, and Black sex trafficking survivor and advocate Leah Albright-Bryd.

Bluesman ‘Mr. Johnnie’ Billington Dies at 77

Mississippi bluesman Johnnie “Mr. Johnnie” Billington, a celebrated musician who launched a program to help children learn how to play the blues, died April 1 at a Clarksdale hospital. He was 77.

According to the Associated Press, Billington died from complications of www.arts.state.ms.us a heart attack.

Johnnie “Mr. Johnnie” Billington, a reputable Billington musician, played in clubs across the country. In 1977, he and a friend launched an after school blues program that taught children how to play the blues. Shortly thereafter, Billington’s young musicians were invited to play at various venues across the country.

Ala. Legislature Votes to Pardon Scottsboro Boys

Alabama lawmakers voted April 4 to issue posthumous pardons to the “Scottsboro Boys,” a group

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The Scottsboro Boys, with attorney Samuel Leibowitz, under guard by the state militia, 1932

of black teenagers who were wrongly convicted of raping two White women over eight decades ago.

According to the Associated Press, nearly every member of the group was sent to death row following a conviction from an all-white jury. All of the young men were eventually freed without executions.

The last member of the group died in 1989.

The nine teens from Georgia and Tennessee were accused of raping two White women aboard a freight train in Alabama in 1931.

The House approved legislation to issue the pardons in a 103-0 vote.

The measure had previously passed in the Senate in a 29-0 vote.

The bill has to be signed

by Gov. Robert Bentley to become law.

April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013, The Afro-American

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Jennifer Hudson and Rel

Washington View

D.C., Prince George’s Battle to Shape up Public Schools

By Alan King AFRO Staff Writer

What prompted former Republican vicepresidential candidate Sarah Palin to tweet “unflippingbelieveable,” about MSNBC’s host Melissa Harris-Perry? Gun control, gay marriage, or immigration? No, it’s public education.

Nothing triggers our passions or hits us as close to home as what does or does not happen inside Adrienne the schoolhouse doors Washington where our children and AFRO Columnist grandchildren spend most of their days.

But when Harris-Perry, a Tulane University political science professor, dared, in an advertisement, to suggest more public investment in public education, she was shot down. But someone needed to stand up to conservatives and point out that education reform requires more than teaching to the test for scores, disbanding unions or disenfranchising elected school boards.

“Once it’s everybody’s responsibility and not just the households, then we start making better investments,” Harris-Perry says. As a teacher, I know students need more resources, and not just money. They need more people from all sectors to care and make education a priority; not a political slogan.

That’s why the recent school controversies in Prince George’s and D.C. are welcome chaos. If nothing else, the turmoil has re-engaged attention on the intractable problem of poor public education. While resourceful parents have been able to send their children to private or charter schools, the ones who were left behind are beginning to demand better services.

Hundreds of parents, community activists and educators turned out this month for impassioned hearings about Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker’s hastily-

drafted proposal to wrest the school system’s management from the elected county school board. In the District, a grassroots activist organization, Empower DC, has taken the unprecedented step of suing the city on behalf of parents over Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s proposal to close 15 schools, disproportionately affecting poor, minority or special needs students. Translation: schools “west of Rock Creek Park” and “east of the Anacostia River.”

Meanwhile, in Prince George’s County, some say the larger issue facing county schools is being overlooked. “This is not about a power grab, it’s not about quality education, it’s about money and the allocation of school resources,” said activist Rodamays Cabrera, of Clinton, Md. “Has the board

“Nothing triggers our passions or hits us as close to home as what does or does not happen inside the schoolhouse doors…” been negligent in the administration of a $2 billion public agency?”

Cabrera charged the current school board with inefficient administration, evidenced, in part, by the board hoarding huge surpluses for the past two years. When, he said, “there are 30 children in a kindergarten class and library books that are 40 years old…[s]omething is wrong with that picture.”

He also questioned school board spending for a weekend meeting at expensive National Harbor to secretly select three superintendent candidates. Cabrera said that Baker’s attempt to take over the schools “is a good thing because it’s going to engage everybody to focus on what’s needed to correct the problem and the relationship between the underserved and the underutilized resources.”

Baker, who is up for reelection, said the voters think he should be more accountable for education. He was able to get the Maryland General Assembly to vote in favor of granting him some control over the school system’s $1.7 billion budget and the choice for superintendent in a hastily crafted bill that some criticized for not having enough public input.

D.C. Fire Chief Continued from A1

engines in the reserve fleet was inaccurate—several were out of service and some had been decommissioned and even sold for scrap. The deputy director responsible for maintaining that information had failed to update the inventory, Ellerbe said, and that faulty data had served as the basis for

to stop people from calling in sick on days with heavy call volume have been put in place, along with other changes meant to restore the public’s confidence in the department, Ellerbe said.

“We want the people in the city and the people in the region to be confident that a) we will protect them; b) we

“I don’t feel like I’ve been under pressure. It’s just the nature of the job. I knew what I was getting into when I accepted the job.”

—Kenneth Ellerbe

budget projections and other assessments for more than a year. That employee has since been forcibly retired and a civilian will be hired to manage the fleet, he said.

Similarly, new guidelines

will take care of them; and C, they are our highest priority,” he said. “I think we’re moving in the right direction with changes that will allow us to respond to the needs of our growing community.”

One initiative includes changing firefighters’ schedules and redeploying emergency vehicles to better accommodate emergency calls during times of high volume. Other priorities include purchasing new vehicles with up-to-date equipment and new uniforms, hiring qualified personnel and renovating stations to include such features as geothermal heating, Ellerbe said.

“We’re trying to make a lot of innovative changes that will carry us well into the future,” he said, to meet the demands of the District’s ever-growing population—it grew by 13,000 last year— and 500,000 daily commuters and 1.5 million tourists who visit annually.

But the D.C. Fire Fighters Association opposes some of the changes and on March 25 voted no confidence in Ellerbe’s ability to lead the department and carry out its mission.

Union President Ed Smith called Ellerbe “inept” and “incompetent” with “a

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ACORN Fights Back

Leader Calls Voter Registration Fraud Charge

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the fire and EMS agency in Sarasota County, Fla., before returning as D.C.’s fire chief in January 2011—Ellerbe is well acquainted with the demands placed on the department, as well its dismal reputation.

The department is one of the busiest in the nation.

In 2011, for instance, FEMS’ 1,800 uniformed fire fighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics responded to more than 160,000 emergency incidents, including transporting about 100,000 people to local hospitals.

But public disapproval of the department’s performance has also been high. Criticism grew after Jan. 6, 2006, when retired New York Times reporter and editor David E. Rosenbaum died after emergency personnel failed to respond in a timely fashion to his 911 call, mistaking injuries he sustained in a mugging as signs of drunkenness.

And recent missteps have heightened that sentiment.

The department has drawn fire for the alleged slow EMT response to a man who suffered a fatal heart attack in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, and the department’s alleged slow response to a police officer hit by a car on March 5. The officer was transported by an ambulance from Prince George’s County, as was the Jan. 1 heart attack victim, officials said.

Ellerbe blamed the New Year’s Day incident on 106 employees who called in sick, leaving the department in the lurch. Similarly, crews improperly ended their shifts early on March 5, hampering the department’s ability to respond to the fallen officer, he said.

Human error has also had a hand in the department’s faulty accounting of its fleet, Ellerbe said. A warning by the D.C. Fire Fighters Association and a February report by the D.C. Office of the Inspector General revealed that the reported number of fire

sport-utility vehicle sought in connection with the murder of Hudson’s mother and brother.

“Come 1, I’ll accountableThe andwhite, if [schools] does 1994 Chevrolet JenniferJune Hudson andbeother not improve, you’llidentified know exactly where to go,” Suburban withBaker Illinois license relatives positively said in a televised interview. He added that “there is no more important issue in Prince George’s County than K-12 education.”

However, Theresa Dudley, vice president of the Prince George’s County Education Association told the {AFRO}, “It doesn’t say anything in this bill about how this is going to help children learn.”

Crossing into the District, attorney Johnny Barnes said that the D.C. school closures violate civil rights and access to equal education. Of the 2,700 students displaced, only two are white, according to the group. The school system officials deny any allegations of discrimination and say the closures will allow them to consolidate resources in more populated buildings. But some bristle at that suggestion, Courtesy Photos Jennifer Hudson and her mom, Darnell noting that theDonerson District haswho a was killed, as well as her brother, Jason. $417 million budget surplus.

“This is a national issue,” said Barnes in a statement, adding that court decision, expected the was D.C.found on platebefore X584859 the body of aher 7-year-old Council’s expected May 22 hearing on the FY2014 budget Chicago’s West Side after nephew Monday, just hours “will have an impact throughout the nation.” police received a 7 a.m. call after his body was found in a We’ve seen this failing lesson before when the overrated School Chancellor Michelle Rhee shuttered more than 20 D.C. schools for no visible academic achievement. As Daniel Del Pielago, education organizer for Empower DC, told the AFRO: “We haven’t seen a real improvement [with school closures]; we saw a loss of students and no real savings. That doesn’t lead us to believe that this and round willCowboys be successful.”

Dallas players

By Alan King Tony Romo andperformance?

Terrell Owens, AFRO Staffis Writer So who responsible for improving student among the names As Harris-Perry suggests, we are all responsible forsubmitted all our to election officials.

Presidential candidate John children whether or not they live under our roofs. And, that’s Hurd said those workers, who McCain’s attack on ACORN – not “unflippingbelieveable.” were doing those things without Associated Community ACORN’s knowledge or permisOrganization for Reform Now – Veteran journalist Adrienne Washington sion, were writes fired. weekly for confirms the success of the the Afro about relevant issues in the District, Maryland andsur“The evidence that has organization, the head of the Northern Virginia.

Send correspondence to her at editor@ faced so far shows they faked group says. afro.com.

“This is testimony to the work forms to get paid for work they didn’t do, not to stuff ballot we’ve done and success we’ve boxes.” ACORN, she said, is the had,” Maude Hurd, president of victim of fraud, not the perpetraACORN, said in an interview tor of it. with the AFRO. Hurd said the only things “When this attack started, we bogus are the charges themhad just announced that we had selves. And factcheck. orgbegin registeredrecord 1.3 million new vottwo-year of failed onboard as the changes agrees. ers,” she said.

“That’s just to say leadership.” to yield positive results.

It concluded, “Neither that someone’s running scared But Ellerbe addressed the Though by have ACORN norplagued its employees because of ACORN’s success.” criticism with aplomb, saying detractors, Ellerbe has the been found guilty of, or even McCain, who is running for such resistance is inevitable as support of the International president on the Republican tick- charged with, casting fraudulent change can trepidation.

Association of Progressive votes.” et, lashed outcause at ACORN in the “Ifdebate I didn’t expect some Black Fighters TheFire problem came(IAPBFF) about prifinal against Barack marily way to Obama, contending group “is and resistance, I think Ithe would thebecause mayor of as the he tries ACORN operates.

Rather than on the verge of maybe perpetrat- turn only have been fooling around the beleaguered rely on volunteers, it pays peoing one ofhethe greatest frauds in myself,” said. department. ple,“The manymayor of them poor or unemvoter history in this country, But, Ellerbe added, he has been ployed, to sign up new voters. maybe destroying the fabric of hopes some accord will be extremely supportive and I The idea was to help both those democracy.” achieved as they negotiate a am committed seeing being registeredtoand those this doing Factcheck.org, a non-partisan “fair” contract that, hopefully, mission through so that his the registration.

Web site, found those claims to includes a pay raise; support not go in have vain,” Maudwould explained, “We a be “exaggerated,” withand “nothat evithe firefighters would get he said. zero tolerance policy for deliberdence of any such democracyate falsification of registration.” destroying fraud.”

Most news account neglect to Hurd believes the McCain charges were politically motivat- point out that ACORN is required by law to turn in all reged. istration forms. And they also fail She said, “Because it’s lowto note that it was the organizaand moderate-income people, and people of color, I believe the tion, in many instances, that first brought the phony registrations McCain campaign thinks those to the attention of authorities. voters are going to vote The McCain camp apparently Democratic, which is not necesisn’t interested in those fine sarily true.” points, preferring to air misleadACORN is no stranger to ing ads that seek to link Obama controversy.

For 38 years, the non-partisan to ACORN, thereby undercutting organization has fought for social his political support.

McCain: I’m John McCain and economic justice for lowand I approve this message. and moderate-income Announcer: Who is Barack Americans. With 400,000 memObama? A man with “a political ber families organized into more baptism performed at warp than 1,200 neighborhood chapspeed.” Vast ambition. After colters in 110 cities nationwide, lege, he moved to Chicago.

ACORN has over the years seen its share of criticism while advo- Became a community organizer.

There, Obama met Madeleine cating for affordable housing, Talbot, part of the Chicago living wages, healthcare for the branch of ACORN. He was so underserved— and while organimpressive that he was asked to izing voter registration drives. train the ACORN staff.

But none has been as withering What did ACORN in Chicago and baseless as this one. engage in? Bullying banks.

With the presidential election Intimidation tactics. Disruption less than two weeks away, of business. ACORN forced ACORN’s detractors allege the organization has engaged in mas- banks to issue risky home loans.

The same types of loans that sive voter registration fraud after caused the financial crisis we’re the reported discovery of bogus in today. names, such as Mickey Mouse

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The Afro-American, April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013

D.C. Honoring Residents Age 100 and Over

WASHINGTON (AP) — The District of Columbia is honoring residents age 100 and over.

City officials are holding an annual event recognizing centenarians on

Tuesday at the Washington Plaza Hotel.

Approximately 40 centenarians are expected to attend. They’ll be given a medallion in honor of their longevity.

The city says more than 200

centenarians currently live in the city.

The 2010 U.S. Census found 53,364 people age 100 and older in the United States. Women outnumber men in that group by about five to one.

Cherry Blossoms Continued from A1

Courtesy Image

David Esan

Hampton U. Drowning Victim Buried in Baltimore

By Bria Freeman and Krishana Davis AFRO Staff Writers The day before his 18th birthday, David Tolulope Esan should have been preparing for a celebration with family and friends. Instead, 300 of his loved ones gathered April 5 at Faith Christian Fellowship World Outreach Center in Owings Mills, Md. for his funeral.

Esan, 17, was a freshman at Hampton University when he drowned at a Freshman Week pool party on campus on March 20. He did not swim. University spokeswoman Yuri Milligan called the incident an “accident” and said it did “not appear that foul play was involved.” Campus police originally investigated, but the Hampton Police Department was brought in at the request of Esan’s parents, Kemi and Ade Esan.

Questions about David’s death were on the minds of many at the wake and funeral. As mourners filed past a light-colored coffin bearing David in a black suit and white shirt, many wept.

Photos of the youth flashed across three giant projection screens—David dressed in overalls at a train station as a tiny child; David practicing piano in a University of Maryland hoodie as a teenager.

As the wake concluded, Kemi Esan approached and knelt near her son, wrapping her arms around him one last time before pallbearers closed the casket. Ade Esan tried to comfort her as their sons, Victor, 9, and Daniel, 20, a junior at the University of Maryland College Park, grieved next to them.

Esan graduated a year early from Western School of Technology and Environmental Science in Catonsville and enrolled at Hampton to study pharmacy. He was among hundreds of students who went to a pool party for the Class of 2016 on March 20 at Holland Hall billed “Caution: Wet When Slippery.”

A few minutes before midnight, he was found unconscious in the deep end of the indoor pool and was pulled out by three football players, according to students who were at the party. A lifeguard took over resuscitation attempts. Emergency workers who responded to 911 calls also were unable to revive him.

Esan was pronounced dead at Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton.

“We got a call from the school saying they were trying to revive him. It was so sad,” Rev. Remi Olabipo said during the funeral. “The sudden departure of David was tragic…To me, personally, I have lost a son—one that I will always be proud of.”

Esan’s former track coach at Western Tech, Shedrick Elliott III, told the congregation that he has hours of footage of David running track and giving commentary on the games when he worked as a manager his senior year. Elliot joked that he told David not to talk so much during the races. As a result, Esan began to whisper his commentary.

“David…left a lasting impression on his teammates past and present,” he said.

Rev. Barry Brown, youth pastor at Colonial Baptist Church, where David attended, said he gave up track to focus on church and playing piano.

“David grew as a musician beyond our wildest dreams,” he said.

The Esans have retained attorney Jasper Nzedu, president of the Northern Virginia chapter of African Christian Fellowship, USA. He wants the campus police excluded from the investigation.

“We believe there should be a criminal investigation of all university personnel and agents involved with the pool party,” Ade Esan said during a Hampton memorial service on March 27.

The university issued a statement that day saying that there were two university officials, three Hampton University police officers and three American Red Cross-certified lifeguards at the party and that CPR had been administered by the lifeguards.

Students at the party contradicted that, saying there were no administrators or police in the immediate area when Esan was pulled from the water.

“There were no administrators in the pool, around the pool area,” said Hampton freshman Briana Logue, a close friend of David’s who traveled to Baltimore for his funeral.

“They were outside. People were getting thrown in and not an administrator, not anyone, said stop it. No one said stop.”

Esan was buried at Druid Ridge Cemetery in Baltimore.

The blooming of the cherry blossoms, called sakura in Japanese, is celebrated each year with the Cherry Blossom Festival, a series of events that herald the coming of spring. This year’s festival, which started March 20 with an exhibit of Japanese art at the Smithsonian Freer and Sackler Galleries, will end on April 14. The most popular event of the festival is the Cherry Blossom Parade, scheduled for April 13. The parade, which will move down Constitution Avenue from 7th to 17th streets NW, is free and open to the public, though seats on the grandstand sell for $20 each.

“The parade is so much fun,” said Joe Perkins of Philadelphia, who brought his family to town this week for the peak of the blossoms.

“My daughters were fit to be tied waiting for the blossoms to come out this year. They took their time.”

According to the National Park Service, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, it is prohibited by law to pick the cherry blossoms or climb the trees. The biggest problem is that touching the trees

can damage the bark, which makes the trees susceptible to disease, Johnson said.

The cherry trees were first presented to America by the Japanese government in 1910 to commemorate the growing friendship between the two countries. When those trees died, the Japanese gifted more cherry trees in 1912, Johnson said. Additional trees were given to the United States in 1965 and again in 1999, when they were planted in West Potomac Park, according to the National Park Service website.

Cherry trees have a profound place in Japanese history. In the eighth century, the Japanese custom of hanami, the practice of picnicking under blossoming cherry trees, started. In Japanese art and architecture, cherry blossoms often represent clouds, due to their resemblance to clouds when blooming en masse. The gradual blooming, dazzling beauty and fast death of the blossoms represents mortality and they have become very symbolic in all aspects of Japanese culture, including film, television

Wikimedia Commons

(from left) Stamp picturing the Yasukuni Shrine, a shrine for the dead used during the war.

Stamp picturing Mount Fuji, where many families held services for soldiers who fell in the line of duty.

SInce the blossoms represent mortality, they were used to honor those who had a “heroic death.” and literature and even manga (comic books) and anime (cartoons). Cherry blossoms were also used as a patriotic symbol during World War II, sometimes even in propaganda.

Now, the cherry blossoms represent unity between nations. Cherry trees have been donated to several countries by the Japanese,

including the Australia, Canada and Germany.

For Cooper, of Prince George’s County, the cherry trees were the perfect gift.

“I just think they’re pretty.

I enjoy the view,” she said.

“Every time you look at them, it makes you grateful that the Japanese government shared them with us.”

Black Generals Continued from A1

Americans, both generals have had a career of firsts. A year ago, Austin became the first African American to hold the Army’s second highest position, vice chief of staff of the Army.

In 1979 Brooks became the first African-American to assume the cadet first captain position at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, the highest position a cadet can hold.

Along with their graduations from West Point, their honorary doctorates degrees and their 6-foot, 4-inch frames, these generals also share an ability to understand, counsel and inspire others toward excellence.

“Gen. Austin …is an outstanding illustration of what a Black male can achieve in America,” said Craig Hanford, president of Hanford Consulting and Austin’s West Point classmate. “He’s a great leader, decorated warrior, and compassionate mentor.”

“Lt. Gen. Brooks is a soldier’s soldier,” said Col. Rivers Johnson Jr., public affairs officer for U.S. Cyber Command.

“I’ve never worked so hard in my Army career as I did when I was his executive officer. He was the consummate mentor, teacher and dedicated leader.”

Both generals have legacies rich in military service. Austin, who hails from Thomasville, Ga., traces his military roots back to his distant relative, Second Lt. Henry O. Flipper, the first African American to graduate from West Point in 1877.

Brooks, born in Anchorage, Alaska, comes from a family of generals. His father, and older brother, Leo Brooks Sr. and Jr., retired as general officers. Brooks’ family service dates back to the Civil War, when his great-great grandfather, an escaped slave, joined the Union Army.

While some may see these nominations as the reasoned and

Courtesy photo

Lt. Gen. (P) Vincent Brooks strategic choices of a wise president, Foster Payne II, retired Army Col., also sees their value to others.

“In a society that searches for role models for our youth, both generals are trailblazers not only for their service to the nation but to mankind,” said Payne.

Whether defending America’s interests, developing soldiers or inspiring youth, these storied generals continue to make history.

Victor Esan, 9, a cousin, Kemi, Ade and Daniel Esan view David’s body

Photo by Andrea Crews

April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013, The Afro-American

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NCAA Championships

Has the Harlem Shake Louisville Outlasts Michigan Run Its Course? for Third National Title

By Perry Green AFRO Sports Editor In one of the most exciting men’s basketball title games in recent history, No. 1 seed Louisville on April 8 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga., won its third national basketball championship in school history after edging No. 4 seed Michigan, 8276.

Louisville and Michigan exchanged leads several times throughout the second half, but it was Louisville who simply made more plays late in the game to break away from Michigan for the championship victory.

It actually took a doubledigit comeback for Louisville to win; they trailed by as many as 12 points when Michigan got off to a hot start early in the first half.

Michigan’s sophomore guard Trey Burke, who was named the Naismith Player of the Year earlier on Monday April 8, got into foul trouble

just minutes into the start of the game and had to sit on the bench for 12 minutes of the first half. Michigan nevertheless got a surprising spark of points from reserve freshman guard Spike Albrecht, who scored 17 points in the opening half.

Louisville sustained Michigan’s early burst of points, however, and

maintained its pressuring defense until they eventually began creating transition points off of turnovers, allowing them to cut Michigan’s lead down to just one point at halftime.

The second half of the game was much tighter on the scoreboard; Louisville led by only three points with just a few minutes left in the game when Burke hustled

down court for a huge block on Louisville senior guard Peyton Silva. But instead of Burke getting what replay cameras reflected as being a clean block, he was called for a foul, which gave Silva two easy free throws and shifted the momentum back into Louisville’s favor. The free throws gave Louisville a five point lead and Michigan was never able to cut back into the lead.

Silva finished with 18 points, along with five assists and six rebounds; junior forward Luke Hancock led Louisville with 22 points off the bench.

Burke scored a game-high 24 points, while Michigan’s freshman forward Glenn Robinson III and junior guard Tim Hardaway Jr. both scored 12 points despite the heartbreaking loss.

With the victory, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino became the first coach to win national championships with different colleges. His first championship came in 1996 when he coached the University of Kentucky to the NCAA basketball crown.

UCONN Crushes Louisville for Eighth Women’s National Title

By Perry Green AFRO Sports Editor The No. 5 seed Louisville women’s basketball team fell short in an attempt to match the Louisville men’s basketball team with a national title April 9 as they were blown away by No. 1 seed University of Connecticut 93-60 in New Orleans, La. Connecticut (35-4) ran

away with a comfortable lead in the first half of the game and didn’t allow Louisville (29-9) to get close the entire second half as they posted the largest margin of victory in NCAA championship history.

The Lady Huskies are now 8-0 in championship games.

UCONN head coach Geno Auriemma is now tied with the University of Tennessee’s legendary women’s basketball

head coach Pat Summitt for the most national championships won with eight.

Freshman forward Breanna Stewart led Connecticut with 23 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis followed with 18 points for UCONN. Louisville was led by sophomore forward Sara Hammond with 15 points and five rebounds in the loss.

By Brian Waters AFRO/MSU Urban Reporting Project

The Harlem Shake, a dance that first surfaced 32 years ago at a New York City summer league basketball tournament, is on the verge of becoming an AfricanAmerican underground cultural expression that could be crushed by popular embrace.

As attempts at performing what Harlem resident Al B. is credited with inventing in 1981 show up more and more often in viral video clips, some As attempts at performing the dance show up more people are wondering and more often in viral video clips, some people are if the latest efforts to wondering if the latest efforts to do the Harlem Shake do the Harlem Shake are feeble, funny or disrespectful. are feeble, funny or disrespectful.

It started out as an impromptu dance that made New Yorkers feel good. Al B. said in 2003 that it was a “drunken shake like a mummy that couldn’t move, just shake. It’s all about feeling good,” he said.

It spread beyond Manhattan and went mainstream after it had become a fixture at the Entertainer´s Basketball Classic, the street basketball tournament in Harlem’s Rucker Park better known around the world as the Rucker Tournament. The dance went mainstream when it was featured in the G.Dep music video “Let’s Get it.”

By February 2013, doing the Harlem Shake had become a movement, with young –and not so young—people dropping their normal routine and jumping around acting as crazy as they could. The dance went viral on YouTube and everyone began making his or her own version of it, including the National Basketball Association World Champion Miami Heat.

— Al B. Whether it is at school or sports events, groups of individuals get together and, on cue, jump up and start doing the Harlem Shake. It has even been seen in the aisle of a passenger jet.

As the Shake continues to go viral, many people from New York are now voicing some displeasure with new versions of the dance. They feel that since the dance is not the same it should not be called the Harlem Shake. Hugh Scott, a Baltimore native, feels the dance is another way of disrespecting the African-American community. “They always take something we like doing and find a way to make fun of us.”

But Jerry Bembry, a Brooklyn native says the dance is funny. “When you see them doing the dance, it’s almost like they are doing the boogie. I just hope they let it go, it has [run] its course. It was funny, but now it’s time to stop.”

“…it was a “drunken shake like a mummy that couldn’t move, just shake.

It’s all about feeling good.”

Go to Afro.com to view Harlem Shake video at http://www.afro.com/sections/news/afro_ briefs/story.htm?storyid=78047

AmeriHealth Continued from A1

AmeriHealth indicated in a statement: “We have been helping people get care, stay well and build healthy communities for 30 years. It is a privilege to be given the opportunity to work closely with community organizations and providers to meet the health care needs of the underserved and chronically-ill living in this vibrant community. The associates of DC Chartered Health Plan have done an

outstanding job in delivering high-quality care and I could not be more pleased that our missions are so closely aligned as we move forward together.

Additionally, this is a great opportunity for the D.C. community to have access to the innovative programs and services AmeriHealth District of Columbia offers. With our strong reputation in Medical managed care, we will work hard

to ensure continuity for our members and providers.”

AmeriHealth was one of three companies selected in March to overtake assets of DC Chartered Health Plan Inc., according to The Washington Post.

economic growth.”

But proponents of maintaining visas based on family ties say immigration is not a zero-sum game where one goal, reuniting families, necessitates sacrificing another—economic prosperity, or where either goal should outweigh the other.

“Some are trying to pit economic interests against family,” said AFLCIO President Richard Trumka during the April 3 teleconference. “They say that ‘on merit,’ brothers and sisters and children and spouses are worth less than people employers prefer.

The labor movement doesn’t buy that for one second. The idea that family unity stands in opposition to economic growth is completely backwards. Strong families are critical to our economic growth.”

Jen Smyers, associate director of immigration and

education levels and skill sets could create an immigration system that is less diverse.

For instance, the majority of Black immigrants from the Caribbean, who represent half of the approximately 3 million immigrants of African descent in the U.S., gain residency through family ties.

Increasing job-based visas according to educational attainment or technical skills, McCullough said, “may open up the possibility of discrimination against a certain group of people, likely based on race” because the quality of education in some developing parts of the world, such as in the Caribbean, may be lacking.

The same is true for a potential gender-based bias, Smyers added, since in some women in many countries don’t have equal access to education and training.

Advocates said that instead of reducing family-

For more information on the Department of Health Care Finance, please visitwww.dhcf.dc.gov.

Black Families Continued from A1

deny them the opportunity to be reunited with their families is nothing less than a sin,” said Bishop Minerva Carcaño, resident bishop of the United Methodist Church, Los Angeles Conference, during an April 3 media call with reporters, which was hosted by the Faith in Action coalition.

“To deny people the right to reunite with their families is an act of violence against the family unit,” Church World Service President/ CEO Rev. John McCullough told the AFRO. He added, “We believe family unity is at the core of any society, so whatever debate is being had, has to take that into consideration.”

But the forthcoming bill seems to be focused more on how immigration policy can boost the economy, as Graham’s statement indicated.

And reducing family-based visas will make room for more visas based on

employment, proponents say.

Most new legal permanent residents in the U.S. gain their status through family ties, according to Department of Homeland Security statistics.

In 2011, for example, 65 percent of the more than 1 million new legal permanent residents were granted their green card based on a family relationship with a U.S. citizen or resident.

“We are not bringing in skilled immigrants in sufficient numbers to meet our needs and to maximize future American prosperity,” former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush wrote in his new book on immigration reform. He later added, “Unlike every other country, in America, family members of existing immigrants account for a large majority of new lawful entrants into our country, crowding out most others, including immigrants who would contribute greatly to

refugee policy at Church World Service, said the suggestion that immigrants who gain residency via family ties are mere leeches on the economy is erroneous.

“People who come through family immigration contribute to this economy,” Smyers said in an interview. “The founder of Google (Sergey Brin) came to this country as a refugee; the [first CEO] of Intel (Andrew Grove) came here through a family-based visa. These are people who have contributed thousands of jobs to the economy.”

Additionally, she said, reuniting families means that more income would be invested in America, in homes and consumer goods, for example, instead of being sent out of the country via remittances.

Both Smyers and McCullough voiced another concern—that giving preference to visas based on

based visas, or creating a system where preference is given to one category over the other, lawmakers should concentrate on increasing the number of available visas and streamlining an arduous application process, among other fixes.

Demand for visas has long exceeded supply, creating a backlog. Current immigration law places caps on the number of visas available for the married adult children of U.S. citizens at 23,400 per year, and those for the siblings of citizens at 65,000.

The immediate families of legal permanent residents also face visa caps.

According to a report by the Congressional Research Service, 4.4 million approved visa petitioners were still waiting on open slots for permanent residency status last year; 97 percent had been approved through family ties.

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The Afro-American, April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013

PEOPLE NABJ Names Yamiche Alcindor as the Emerging Journalist of the Year The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) recently named USA Today news reporter Yamiche Alcindor as the 2013 Emerging Journalist of the Year.

Alcindor is one of several honorees who will be recognized this summer at the organiation’s annual convention and career fair.

Alcindor is presently a breaking news reporter at Courtesy photo USA Today and has reported Yamiche Alcindor from the scenes of some of the biggest stories in recent memory. In 2012 she traveled to Sanford, Fla. to cover the Trayvon Martin story, to Tallahassee, Fla. to cover the Florida A&M University hazing scandal, and to Newtown, Conn. to cover the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

“It is inspiring to see young journalists like Yamiche take

Photo by Lamonte Gwynn

Anthony McCarthy

Talk Show Host Anthony McCarthy to Honor Six Civil Rights Leaders

Anthony McCarthy, activist and host of the “Anthony McCarthy Show” on WEAA FM, will honor six civil rights leaders with the Anthony McCarthy Civil Rights Awards at the La Fontaine Bleue in Glen Burnie, Md. on May 10.

According to a news release, McCarthy created the award to honor people who exemplify the principles of equality, justice and service to humanity. This year’s recipients are: • Tessa Hill-Aston – President of the Baltimore City Branch of the NAACP • Rep. Elijah E. Cummings • Taylor Branch – Pulitzer Prize winning author and noted historian • Ricardo Martinez – Business leader and Hispanic community advocate • Dr. Helena Hicks – Civil Rights icon who helped organize the historic 1955 sitins in Baltimore • Archbishop Carl Bean – Presiding prelate of Unity Fellowship Church of Christ Senator Catherine Pugh will serve as the event’s Mistress of Ceremonies and the awards program will feature several VIP guests and musical presentations.

ItSuitsYou.org, a nonprofit organization, is sponsoring the event.

Tickets are $50 and can be purchased by visiting http:// amcra.eventbrite.com. A portion of the proceeds from the awards event will go to ItSuitsYou.org.

and NABJ Student Projects, I feel blessed to have been given the support and opportunities needed to tell the stories I have told.”

A Miami, Fla. native, Alcindor is a 2009 graduate of Georgetown University where — Yamiche Alcindor she was a Patrick Healy Scholar and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. As a college student she interned at The Miami Herald, Mmegi, a Botswanan newspaper, washingtonpost.com, and The Washington Post.

Her career began as a reporter at Newsday where she worked for two years.

“Yamiche embodies what the Emerging Journalist of the Year Award stands for,” CNN’s All-Platform Journalist Sarah Hoye, who is also NABJ’s Student Multimedia Projects Manager, former SEED Co-Chair, and past recipient of the Emerging Journalist of the Year Award. “Engaged, curious and intrepid, Yamiche is a young and talented journalist with great promise who has distinguished herself in the field with her tenacious reporting and compelling storytelling.”

“To be recognized among peers who have shown me the hard work and dedication it takes to be a black journalist is something special.” advantage of every opportunity presented them to learn, to grow, and to thrive,” NABJ President Gregory Lee, Jr. said in a statement “This is surely just the beginning of what will be a richly rewarding career for a talented young woman.”

Considered a “NABJ Baby,” Alcindor was NABJ’s summer intern at The Seattle Times and was a participant in the prestigious NABJ Student Projects, a multimedia-reporting project which allows student reporters to cover the association and the NABJ convention.

“I am especially humbled and thankful to receive such a distinguished award,” Alcindor said in a statement. “To be recognized among peers who have shown me the hard work and dedication it takes to be a black journalist is something special. As a participant of The New York Times Student Journalism Institute

Wayne K. Curry Elected Chair of Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation Gwen S. McCall, president & CEO of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation, recently named former County Executive Wayne K. Curry as the new chairman of the EDC Board of Directors.

“We are pleased to have a leader whose roots in this county run deep,” McCall said

Courtesy photo

Wayne Curry

in a statement. “He brings an enviable combination of government and economic development experience to our board, and we will benefit greatly from that.”

Curry is president of NAI Michael and served two terms as Prince George’s County Executive, from 1994 to 2002. He was chairman of the Transition Team for current County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III. “Wayne Curry is the

consummate ambassador for our great County and I am extremely pleased that he is continuing his life-long commitment of service as Chairman of the Board for the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation. His passionate voice and visionary leadership will be definite assets to achieving our goal as a thriving jurisdiction in the Metropolitan Washington region,” Baker said in a statement. “Additionally, I want to commend the work of outgoing Chair Jason Groves and the great work that he accomplished. Through his efforts and the hard working staff of the EDC, Prince George’s County is primed for business.”

Curry says he hopes to use his position on the board to help stimulate economic growth in the county, and to bring awareness legislatively to those issues that have a direct impact on local development.

“I am encouraged by what I see happening at the EDC,” Curry said in a statement. “President McCall and Mr. Baker’s economic development team have really taken the bull by the horns and reenergized our efforts to attract and retain local businesses. I want to use my position to supplement their efforts and to become a stronger advocate for all the opportunities that lie before us.”

Former EDC Board

Courtesy photo

The Rev. Dr. Beryl Whipple, shown here with his wife, Roxanne, was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College, April 4, in Atlanta. Rev. Whipple has served as pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in White Marsh, Md. (www.achargetokeep.org) since 2008 where there has been significant membership growth and ministry advancements under his leadership. Those inducted into the Board of Preachers reflect the prophetic preaching tradition of Dr. King as well as other philosophers and theologians.

Chairman Jason Groves, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Medifast, resigned citing increased responsibilities at the company.

“Having served as chairman during the transition that brought in Ms. McCall and her new team, I am very proud of the reorganization and structural changes that have been implemented to provide greater service to the citizens of Prince George’s

County,” Groves said in a statement.

“When I was elected chairman of the EDC Board, I was Assistant VP of Government Affairs for Verizon Maryland. I joined Medifast in November 2011.

It has grown tremendously and, as a result, I don’t have the time required to continue to serve effectively.”

Curry is a board member and General Counsel for the Prince George’s Business

Roundtable. He was General Counsel of Community Hospital and Healthcare Systems; past president of Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce; former director of First American Bank of Maryland; past president of the J. Franklin Bourne Bar Association, and a former partner in several local law firms. He also served on the Maryland Stadium Authority and the Maryland Port Authority.

Happy 80th Birthday!

Dr. Harriet Walker-Grigsby

Family and friends of the Rev. Dr. Harriet Marie Walker-Grigsby are gathering at 3 p.m., April 13 to celebrate her 80th birthday at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, 3050 Liberty Heights Avenue in Baltimore. Dr. Grigsby is well known this area as a singer, musician, preacher, teacher, and according to her family, still a skater. She is a former member of the Utterbach Choral Ensemble of New York, having recorded three albums with the choir. She has four children, 11 grandchildren and 26 great grandchildren. The Rev. Wanda Bynum Duckette is pastor of Mt. Zion UM Church.

Photo by Dorothy Boulware

April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013, The Afro-American

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OPINION

Americans Want to Work

In the Baltimore region, and across America, job growth remains the most important issue on people’s minds. That is why job creation continues to be my number one priority in the Congress.

We have evidence that our economy is improving. It also remains painfully clear, however, that we have many more good jobs to create, both nationally and right here in our own community.

The big picture is Congressman encouraging. Despite partisan Elijah Cummings resistance, President Obama and progressive policies are succeeding in turning our economy around.

We have not forgotten that, when President Obama took office, the Bush recession was costing our economy more than 700,000 jobs each month. In response, the new president and congressional Democrats acted quickly to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. We avoided another Great Depression by cutting taxes for small businesses and 95 percent of working families, while we also provided emergency funding to support hundreds of thousands of education jobs, tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs and thousands of law enforcement positions.

Our strategy is working. Our economy now has added more than 5.4 million private sector jobs in the past 32 months – and the last 12 months have continued on this upward course.

Here in Maryland, for example, despite very real concerns about the impact of federal sequestration policies, we are in a better employment environment than many other states. In February, for example, Maryland employers added 10,500 positions.

We must all pull together to strengthen this trend – and our initiatives must be both practical and realistic.

For African Americans especially, whose rate of unemployment remains twice the national average, the job picture continues to be daunting.

That is why my office will be hosting our 16th Annual Job Fair on April 15, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., at the Fifth Regiment Armory. More information is available at our office (410-6859199) and on the Internet (http://cummings.house.gov).

I am once again sponsoring this public service event because we have learned that we can be most helpful to job seekers by bringing them together with approximately 60 employers who are ready to hire and experts in job seeking skills.

We also will be providing participants with the ability to place job applications online.

Once again, this year’s Job Fair includes “Résumé Doctor,” writing assistance and advice, Computer Café and ONE-Stop Mobile Career Centers provided by the Maryland Workforce Exchange.

We all know that good jobs continue to be scarce, especially for African Americans. That is why I invited only those employers who have confirmed that they are hiring at this time or in the very near future.

Employers participating will represent a wide range of industries - including banking, hospitality, healthcare, public safety, universities and government agencies. They have confirmed that they have approximately 500 jobs to offer.

Attendees at our April 15 Job Fair also will be offered free workshops on “Steps to Federal Employment” on using social media when searching for a job and on résumé writing and interview techniques.

“DLLR for YOU” will provide an overview of Maryland’s One-Stop Career Centers, services for veterans, and opportunities for apprenticeship programs – along with helpful information about unemployment benefits. We also will have a workshop to provide helpful employment information for ex-offenders.

More than our free, once-a-year, opportunity will be required to reverse the still-desperate employment picture in our community.

This is why, back during the Clinton years, I worked so hard to support the creation of “One-Stop Career Centers,” initiatives that

President Obama has continued to fund.

So, if you know anyone who is looking for a job - or for a better position - bring them to our event on Monday, April 15 (please bring photo identification to gain entrance to the armory).

Urge them to utilize our City’s One-Stop Career Centers, 1100 N. Eutaw Street (410-767-2148), 3001 E. Madison Street (410396-9030), and Mondawmin Mall (410-523-1060).

Baltimore County and Howard County residents can find the same help at 7930 Eastern Boulevard (410-288-9050 ext. 424), 11101 McCormick Road (410- 887-7940), or 7161 Columbia Gateway Drive (410-290-2600).

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

A Year Later, Trayvon Martin Tragedy Still Stings One year later, the Trayvon Martin tragedy still stings, and some people are still throwing salt on the open wound. Last week George Zimmerman’s brother, Robert Zimmerman, posted a tweet comparing Trayvon Martin to De’Marquis Elkins, 17-year-old black teenager charged with fatally shooting a one-year-old baby.

The tweet showed a photo of Elkins side by side with a photo of Martin, both making inappropriate gestures, with the caption, “A picture speaks a thousand words. Any questions?”

Zimmerman’s follow-up tweet read “Lib[eral] media [should] ask if what these [two] black teens did [to] a [woman and her baby] is the reason [people] think blacks might [be] risky”. The implication was that Trayvon Martin’s actions on the night he was murdered were equivalent to the killing of an innocent child.

This would be worrisome enough if it were just the opportunistic cry of a family embroiled in racial controversy. But this belief--that male “black teens” are inherently more likely to be criminals--is ingrained in our society. It has seeped into our institutions in the form of racial profiling, and too often it poisons the judgment of those who are supposed to protect us.

Last year I visited Sanford, Fla. in the wake of the Trayvon Martin case. The NAACP hosted a forum where residents could report incidents of police abuse. A number of African American

Benjamin Todd Jealous

mothers alleged that their teenage sons had been profiled, abused or even assaulted by the police. I found that the attitude of the local police department toward “black teens” was uncomfortably similar to that of Robert Zimmerman.

But the fact is that fifty years after enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, racial bias still runs rampant among law enforcement in this country. And Zimmerman’s attitude infects an institution much more influential than the Sanford Police Department: the NYPD. The New York Police Department is currently fighting a classaction lawsuit against their racially biased practice of “stop-andfrisk” policing. Stop-and-frisk allows officers to stop, question and physically search any individual they consider suspicious. In 2011 NYPD officers stopped nearly 800,000 people for alleged “suspicious activity. “ Nine out of ten were innocent, 99 percent did not have a gun--and nine out of ten were black or Latino.

The most revealing tidbit to come out of the class-action trial is a secretly recorded conversation between a deputy inspector and a police officer. The inspector is discussing a high-crime neighborhood, and he can be heard telling his patrolman: “The problem was, what, male blacks... And I told you at roll call, and I have no problem telling you this, male blacks 14 to 20, 21.” In other words: stop more young black boys.

Other evidence indicates that patrolmen may be encouraged to

meet arrest quotas. A tape played at the trial reveals a supervising officer asking for “more 250s” - or more stop-and-frisk forms. One plaintiff, a police officer, testified about the pressure he felt from supervisors - “they were very clear, it’s non-negotiable, you’re gonna do it, or you’re gonna become a Pizza Hut delivery man.”

A picture may speak a thousand words, but leaked recordings speak volumes about an institution’s priorities. These tapes reveal that the NYPD has effectively placed a bounty on “black teens”.

By profiling young teens of color, they are using the same grisly logic as Robert Zimmerman. And the result is apparent: in 2011, black and Latino men between the ages of 14 and 24 made up 42 percent of those targeted by stop-and-frisk. That group makes up less than 5 percent of the city’s population.

The crime attributed to De’Marquis Elkins was truly horrific and despicable. But Elkins does not represent an entire demographic, just like Adam Lanza did not act on behalf of all young white men.

Racial profiling punishes innocent individuals for the past actions of those who look and sound like them. It misdirects crucial resources and undercuts the trust needed between law enforcement and the communities they serve. It has no place in our national discourse, and no place in our nation’s police departments.

Ben Jealous is president/CEO of the NAACP. Ben Wrobel, 202292-3386, bwrobel@naacpnet.org.

The State of Equality and Justice in America: ‘No One Can Change the Change’ The state of equality and justice in America is shameful-especially since the election of President Barack Obama.

Unlike many of my friends who think America is going to hell in a hand basket, and have given up thinking things will get better for those who’ve been marginalized for so long, I still have hope for a better day.

When Barack Obama was running for President of the United States, a close friend told me, “Mark my word. When Senator Obama is elected, some people will go absolutely crazy, and after he’s re-elected, they will go mad!” His rationale was that the average White person had never had the opportunity to wake up every morning and see a brilliant Black man on television who was the most powerful man in the world! Unless they were wed to FOX News and the O’Reilly, Hannity, Beck, Von Sustern programs, they would learn so much about us- so many good things they had refused to acknowledge before.

So many of our people are brilliant in what they do, but never had a fair chance to be seen in a positive light in their daily newspapers or on mainstream television or heard on major radio stations. Now, here we are after the Obama victories. He’s there

Dr. E. Faye Williams

every single day! The madness really swung into high gear with the tea party, Michelle Bachman, Sarah Palin, Sen. Ted Cruz and a whole lot of others. Some I didn’t mention because they were already on the list of what most of us have come to know as the “crazies”, such as Rush Limbaugh and his horrible ilk.

Black women like our first lady, Michelle Obama, had not often been seen on the evening news, except when they were there crying over a son or daughter who’d been shot or accused of being involved in some kind of wrongdoing. Now, here she was--beautiful, smart, Mom-in-Chief, presiding over social events for world leaders and their first ladies. She was dealing with real American challengessuch as military families and childhood obesity. She was out making speeches and inspiring women of all backgrounds.

With people who could not stand all these positive scenes and unbelievable accomplishments, insanity set in, and instead of grinning and bearing the strides America was making, they began trying to set us back to what they called “the good ole days.” Some make every effort to send Black people to the back of the bus, send immigrants of color back to from wherever they had come, send gay people back into the closet, and force women to go back to the kitchen! They began talking about taking back their country as though they didn’t take it from the Native Americans and as though immigrants and

enslaved people had done nothing to build this country.

Many in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate tried to block everything President Obama supported-even if they had supported the same things in the past. They were tone deaf to the phrase, “Where there is no justice, there will be no peace!”

With a President who truly tried to make all levels of government look like America by appointing women, Hispanics, Asians, gays and lesbians, Democrats and Republicans and being totally inclusive of all of us, those who’d gone mad did not understand that you cannot put a genie back in the box.

We may be going through a rough period as far as progress on equality and justice, but I still believe there are enough good people who will work through their prejudices and biases with which they were reared as they understand that those of us who’ve previously been left out, won’t turn back. I still have hope. No one can change the change for which we’ve worked so hard.

Dr. E. Faye Williams is national chair of the National Congress of Black Women. This article, the 13th of a 20-part series, is written in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. For more information, please visit www.lawyerscommittee.org.

The opinions on this page are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the AFRO. Send letters to The Afro-American 2519 N. Charles St. • Baltimore, MD 21218 or fax to 1-877-570-9297 or e-mail to editor@afro.com

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The Afro-American, April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013

BUSINESS Local Credit Union to Acquire Black-Founded Advance Bank

By Krishana Davis AFRO Staff Writer The Municipal Employees Credit Union of Baltimore (MECU), which services people who “live, work, worship or go to school in Baltimore,” according to its advertising slogan, is set to expand at the end of the 2013 fiscal year as it acquires Baltimore-based, Black-founded Advance Bank.

The credit union and the bank on April 4 signed an agreement which gave MECU the right to acquire and assume all of the assets and liabilities of Advance Bank. Advance Bank was founded as the Advance Federal Savings and Loan Association in 1957 by Dr. Winfred O. Bryson, Jr., a professor of economics at then-Morgan State College. Bryson founded the bank to aid African Americans who were having difficulties getting loans and establishing credit at White-owned banks in Baltimore.

In the acquisition, MECU will purchase all loans, investments, real estate and accrued interest receivables and other banking-related assets of Advance. After Advance resolves its liabilities, it will surrender its charter and distribute any remaining net assets to its members, according to a statement announcing the transaction.

In the statement, executives at Advance and MECU said they are enthusiastic about the deal.

“Both MECU and Advance are mutual institutions that are owned by their members. Our operating philosophy and principles are strikingly similar,” said John Hamilton, CEO and president of Advance. “MECU understands and cares about our community. We are pleased that this new partnership will allow us to continue to serve our customers with the same care and commitment that they have come to expect.”

Bryson was an activist who battled against financial racism. In the 1940s, he began fighting

against the financial inequalities against Blacks in the life insurance industry. Policies written for Blacks and Whites provided more benefits to White clients. He later challenged unequal practices at banks, protesting against the failure of White bankers to provide loans for African Americans. He eventually established Advance Savings and Loans Association in a row house on West North Avenue to provide financing to Blacks.

Bryson’s bank also played a major role in the Black community by serving many of Baltimore’s African American religious institutions, which were typically refused funding by other banks in the city. Many of the churches that still exist in Baltimore today have Bryson to thank for financing projects ranging from renovation to building purchases.

As of December 31, 2012, Advance’s assets totaled $61 million. MECU, which was established in 1936, is a member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative headquartered on East Redwood Street in downtown Baltimore. It operates nine locations representing more than 100,000 members. MECU’s assets are valued at approximately $1.2 billion, according to the statement.

“We will continue to invest in the future of our organization. MECU remains strategically focused on providing financial services to our members,” said MECU CEO Bert Hash. “Members will mutually benefit from this transaction as we build a stronger platform for the delivery of new products and services and as we focus on new delivery channels in a dynamic banking environment.”

Payday Lending Drains Nearly $1 Billion from Communities

By Charlene Crowell NNPA Columnist

Morguefile.com

One of the worst ironies of the nagging economic recession is that consumers with the fewest financial resources have lost the most. Now, a new report finds that payday loans not only strip much-needed income from low-income families, but harms the economic viability of the communities where they operate, draining nearly $1 billion a year. Written by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development (Insight Center), it also reveals other net negative impacts of these small-dollar, high cost loans on economic growth and personal bankruptcy filings.

The Insight Center examined the net economic impact of the $3.3 billion in interest that borrowers paid to non-bank payday lenders in 2011. The study found that if consumers collectively had an additional $3.3 billion in discretionary spending, it would have resulted in $6.34 billion in economic activity and created 79,000 jobs. In comparison, payday lending activity added $5.56 billion to the national economy and created 65,000 jobs.

Combining these figures shows a net loss from payday lending of $774 million in economic growth and more than 14,000 jobs. That’s in addition to $169 million lost through Chapter 13 bankruptcies.

“This nearly $1 billion loss in economic activity should serve as a strong signal that,

in addition to the well-documented harm to the families directly receiving payday loans, payday lending harms local community economies and the overall economy,” the report states. “Payday lending drains over $2.5 million from the economy each day. In addition, we estimate that more than 38 people lose their jobs each day due to the economic drain of payday lending.”

Payday lending has been a centerpiece of the Center for Responsible Lending’s research and policy efforts over the past decade. CRL also supported the new report’s development.

Earlier CRL research determined that each year 12 million Americans become entrapped in payday loans, taking out an average of nine loans per year. With more than 22,000 locations, there are more than two payday stores for every Starbucks coffee store.

CRL has also documented how storefront payday lenders tend to concentrate locations in low-income and communities of color. The Southern states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina had the highest number of payday stores per 10,000 residents. Outside of the Deep South, Missouri and Nevada were the only states with comparable density of payday storefronts.

Similarly, the Insight Center found that five states charged the greatest amount of payday loan interest were California, Texas, Florida, Mississippi and Illinois. In these locales, financial payday losses ranged from $135 million in California to $55 million in Illinois.

Remarking on the Insight Center’s new findings, Keith Corbett, CRL executive vicepresident said, “Payday lending is really financial assault on communities of color. By preying on consumers with few resources, this predatory product takes what little they have and winds up leaving borrowers worse off than before these loans.”

Corbett’s comments are underscored by the Insight report’s finding: “Far from creating opportunity, payday lending creates impoverished households and endangers local economies.

Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending.

New Phone App Helps Locate Black-Owned Businesses

By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO Want to find a Black-owned business in your area? Now, there’s an app for that.

The new smartphone application allows users to locate any of the estimated 1.9 million Black-owned businesses in the United States utilizing the GPS feature built into their phones.

The breakthrough utility comes thanks to a partnership between the U.S. Black Chambers and Around The Way®, developers of the application.

U.S. Black Chambers President Ron Busby Sr. said the new app is an extension of the organization’s objectives, which include building a database of African Americanowned businesses nationwide.

“This partnership with Around The Way is an important first step,” he said in a statement. “Through the app, supporters of Black business can quickly access the location of businesses, no matter where they are in the country.”

“We believe Around The Way provides an important tool in our quest to strengthen Black business,” he added.

Members of the U.S. Black Chamber’s 110 affiliate chambers nationwide will get premium listings, including having their locations highlighted on local maps with the USBC logo.

The Around The Way app can be downloaded for free on Android and iPhones. The app uses the GPS technology imbedded in the phone to locate the user, then lists all the Black-owned businesses within a 5-mile radius.

“We can’t imagine a more natural evolution, a better way to improve both the awareness of the number of Black-owned businesses and increase their bottom lines,” said Busby. “[This is] an excellent app for the Black community. America’s Black businesses and the consuming public will benefit tremendously - all by clicking an app on their phone!”

Janine Hausif, CEO of Around The Way, said they were pleased to join the U.S. Black Chambers in boosting support for Black businesses. She also said the app was a natural for African-American consumers, who are notably technology savvy, value conscious, brand loyal and prolific buyers.

“We believe that Around The Way is the perfect blend of technology and convenience,” Hausif said in a press release. “The app capitalizes on the above-the-index embrace of smartphone technology by African Americans with well over 50 percent of Black Americans using the devices to bridge the Digital Divide.”

April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013, The Afro-American

DC Alumni chapter members who organized the event

Photos by Rob Roberts

Deltas stepping

The Washington D.C. Alumnae Chapter in collaboration with the Washington D.C. Alumnae Foundation, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, held their 9th Annual Distinguished Men Cookin’ on Mar 2 at Howard University’s Blackburn Center where about 75 home-grown chefs showcased their culinary skills. Each chef brought their favorite main dish, side dish or dessert enough to provide a sampling for up to 100 guests. There was great dining, entertainment and line dancing to cap the afternoon off.

Special guest chef was Mayor Vincent Gray. Kudos to chapter president, A. Chevelle Glymph Foster and Co-Chairs Natasha Osborne and Jennifer Loren Beecher, Anita Will, Delaine Dodson, Womack.

Monica Rheinhart and Cynthia Hatten

Dwayne Coleman, Orlando Dixon and Edgar Brookins with Andrea Young, preparing to sample the dishes.

A. Chevelle Glymph Foster, Natasha Osborne, event co-chair, Brandon Todd, Quincy Booth, David Burton, Jason Cross, Carter Burley, Rickey Moore, William Shelton and Jennifer Womack, event co-chair. (unidentified chef assistant kneeling)

Barbara Shaw, Delores Burnett, Donna M. Burnett and Wanda M. Francis

Scholarship winners

Photos by Rob Roberts

Babs Tate, Lynette Williams, Eve St. Cyr, Denise Hall and Sandra Pearles

Alexandra Alsobrooks, daughter of Angela Alsobrooks, PG States Attorney and MD Del. Carolyn JB Howard

Strutting the runway...Red, Red and Red Award winning actress Debbi Morgan with scholarship winner, Jillian Danielle Griffith (left) MD Del. Carolyn JB Howard, Greta Wiggins-Lewis, Ethel Mae Rogers Grundy and County Councilwoman Karen Toles, seated: Carol Moses and MD State Coordinator for Deltas, Debra Carol Moses, Miriam Brewer, Hayes Greta Wiggins-Lewis, Edgar Brookins and Frenchettia Payne

2013 Scholarship Committee

Mayor Gray serves his baked dish to a guest

The chefs; Distinguished Men who were cooking with the Deltas

WPGC Radio personality Guy Lambert, Mayor Vincent Gray and DC Alumna Chapter President, A. Chevelle Glymph Foster

Maurice and Janice Crump with their grandbaby, Jordyn

After the guests sampled the dishes, they did some line dancing.

Chef Reggie Thomas serves his Sea Food Medley to guests

The Prince George’s County DELTA Alumnae Foundation (PGCDAF) in partnership with Prince George’s County Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. presented its 37th Annual Scholarship Benefit Fashion Show and Luncheon at Martin’s Crosswinds, Greenbelt, MD on Sun, Mar 17, 2013. Under the theme: Couture1913-Celebrating the Evolution of Fashion, A Centennial of Style, 25 students were awarded $75,000 in scholarships with the Charge to the Scholars being given by award winning actress, Debbi Morgan. After lunch, Guests were treated to a fashion fair extravaganza and the afternoon closed with a drawing for the Grand Prize, a Fabulous Fur Coat.

Actress Debbi Morgan and Sinthea Myrick Kelly, Chair, Fashion Show Committee

FOX 5 news morning anchor Wisdom Martin, emcee with Dr. Charlene Dukes, President, PGCC

Norma J. Hatot, Chair, PGCDAF and Carol A. Moses, President, PGCAC

Carol Moses, Debbi Morgan, Ethel Mae Rogers Grundy, MD Del. JB Howard, Greta Wiggins-Lewis, Windom Martin and Norma Hatot

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Classic, couture evening wear

Corporate sponsors

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The Afro-American, April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013

LIVING

Focusing on Kitchen and Baths Can Hasten Home Sale

By Zachary Lester AFRO Staff Writer

To Carol Harriston, preparing a home for sale is an art.

As many sellers know who have found their homes on the real estate market for months with no prospects of a sale in sight, sprucing up your home and property can turn a lengthy process into a speedy one, she said.

Harriston, of Long and Foster Real Estate’s White Oak/Silver Spring office, a member of the National Association of Realtors and the Maryland Association of Realtors, said she advises her clients to concentrate on curb appeal on the outside and a cheery and uncluttered kitchen and bright bathrooms for a quick sale.

Kitchens should be spotless and uncluttered—no rugs on the floor or dish cloths hanging, not even very pretty ones. Decorations should be kept to a minimum, with sunlight and a bowl of fresh fruit or flowers the only thing left out on a counter or island, Harriston said.

“And in the bathroom, I advise that there are only four things out—toilet paper on the roll, a piece of art on the wall, a plant to bring a living thing into the room and clean towels—I like them rolled in a nice basket,” she said.

“There shouldn’t be a lot hanging, or clutter.”

Harriston said her “passion” is helping her clients to maximize the appearance of their homes.

She believes that sunlight is the best asset a homeowner can play up. She makes suggestions on everything from paint color to additions of pieces of furniture like small, decorative tables to

improve the home’s look.

A tip that may surprise many, she said, is the significance of light in selling a home.

“If you have beautiful windows and your home brings in a lot of natural light, you want to spotlight that,” she said. “People are attracted to light and the ones who

home is showcasing itself as being in move-in ready condition.”

De-clutter: Harriston said the key to successful home selling is accentuating the home’s value and that equates to space. “By de-cluttering, removing unnecessary items from counters, floors and walkways, you create an

Carol Harriston said clearing counters and stoves can help spotlight kitchens.

are concerned about energy conservation consider it a benefit.”

Then there are her three D’s—depersonalize, de-clutter and decorate.

Depersonalize: Harriston said when possible, home sellers should remove as many personal items as possible. “When perspective purchasers look for a new home, they are envisioning themselves living in your home, so the more they see of you, the more they are distracted from the image of them living there,” she said.

“It is important to take away a lot of the personal effects— pictures, religious icons, etc.

You want the focus to be on the improvements you have made and the fact that your

Black Memorabilia,

Art, Doll & Collectible Show April 20-21, 2013

Saturday: 10 AM – 7 PM ** Sunday: 10 AM – 5 PM Montgomery County Fairgrounds 16 Chestnut Street ** Gaithersburg, Maryland 20877

“29th Year Celebrating the African American Experience” • Purchase Black Memorabilia, Fine Art & Black Dolls from vendors and artisans from 15 States.

• View Educational Exhibits including Slavery Artifacts, Buffalo Soldiers, Black Panther Party, Marcus Garvey, Madame C. J. Walker Malcolm X, George Washington Carver, Dorothy Dandridge, etc.

• Meet and obtain autographs from Negro League Baseball Players and Tuskegee Airmen.

• Verbal appraisal of Black Memorabilia for $5 per item.

Admission: $7, Students are admitted free (301) 649-1915 ** www.johnsonshows.com

illusion of more usable living space,” she said.

Decorate: Even though the right decorations are essential for improving the look of a home, more than a few key, strategically placed items may make a home look smaller and junky. “You want to create an illusion of the best living space,” Harriston said. “By adding just a few key items, you can provide appealing accents to your home, like a bowl of colorful fruit, like red or green apples, something seasonal. I like apples because they live longer, or fresh-cut flowers.

Go into your garden. That really is all you need.”

In bedrooms and bathrooms, she advises using plants to decorate. Each room, of course, should be freshly painted, uncluttered and furnished in the best way to make the room look larger.

Neutral colors are always best because they don’t take away light, she said. A pop of color on a wall won’t necessarily turn a buyer off, as long as the trim—crown moulding, chair rails and baseboards—is painted white or very light, she said.

“If something is too dark, be it the paint, the furniture or the window treatments, those things can affect the sale,” she said.

She also advises replacing outdated appliances with modern, energy-saving devices. Appliances should be clean and uncluttered, as well—no crumbs in the

microwave or rotting food in the bottom drawer of the frig.

Lighting should also be updated. And homeowners should remember to check to

see that their light bulbs work.

“Use beautiful lighting,” Harriston said. “You want bring the outdoors in.”

Next week: Sprucing up the outside of your home.

Need Home Improvement Motivation? Tax Break May Help (NewsUSA) - The “fiscal cliff” was averted, but what does this mean to homeowners? The answer: a lot. The bill, signed into affect on Jan. 2, restricts tax rates from increasing and, among other things, reinstates and extends tax credits for qualifying energy-efficient home upgrades between Jan. 1, 2012 through Dec. 31, 2013.

Homeowners can earn up to $500 in tax credits with the purchase and installation of qualifying products.

“Now is an ideal time to check off some of those home improvement ‘to do’ items,” said Trey Hoffman, global product manager at Rinnai. “In addition to the tax break, homeowners reap the benefits of these energyefficient upgrades for years, as these products can help reduce monthly utility bills.”

What qualifies as an energy-efficient upgrade? All products must meet certain efficiency criteria to qualify. A licensed contractor, builder or remodeler can help homeowners select eligible products, such as: • Insulation materials, which help keep a house warm in the winter and cool in the summer, qualify if they meet 2009 International Energy Conservation Code requirements. The credit value is 10 percent of insulation material cost.

• Exterior windows and skylights, if Energy Star-rated, can reduce homeowner energy bills

seven to 15 percent. A 10 percent credit can be earned when homeowners select Energy Starqualified windows.

• A Tankless Water Heater can save homeowners up to 40 percent on their monthly energy bills. Qualifying tankless water heaters, such as those manufactured by Rinnai, have an Energy Factor (EF) of at least .82. A $300 credit is available to homeowners opting for a more efficient way to heat water.

“Homeowners don’t always have to sacrifice luxury, aesthetics and comfort when upgrading to energy-efficient products.

This is especially the case with tankless water heaters,” added Hoffman. “Tankless technology affords homeowners the ability to enjoy endless hot water, while saving energy.

The product’s long lifespan -- nearly two decades -- gives homeowners peace of mind knowing they’ve selected an energy-efficient product that will pay them back month after month for years to come.”

What documentation is needed to earn the tax credit? Homeowners need to file IRS Form 5695 with their taxes. They also need to keep receipts proving when the equipment was purchased and a copy of the manufacturer’s certification. Accountants and tax advisors can provide additional guidance. For more info on receiving the tax credit for a tankless water heater, visit www.rinnai.us/tankless-tax-credit.

Spring Cleaning and Spring Pest Proofing Go Hand in Hand (NewsUSA) - As the ritual of spring cleaning nears with every slightly warmer and longer day, many homeowners will look to home organizational trends to kick start their list of projects.

No matter which trends homeowners choose to take charge of their houses, it’s important to ensure that any home care initiatives include pest prevention practices.

Spring is a particularly crucial time to take proactive measures to pest-proof as the season’s warmer weather serves as a wake-up call to a myriad of home-invading pests.

Some of the most common pests emerging in the spring are termites, ants (especially odorous house ants, pavement ants and carpenter ants), springtails, cockroaches and spiders. According to Missy

warmest winters on record and pests across the country emerged weeks, and even months, early,” said Henriksen.

“Those who NewsUSA experienced Cleaning kitchen counters and cabinets wet winters is a good way to keep pests out of your may have home. lingering moisture Henriksen of the National that may Pest Management Association be creating pest-friendly (NPMA), what homeowners environments within their can expect to see this season homes.” depends largely on where In addition to minimizing they live and local weather clutter and organizing pantry conditions. “People who shelves this spring, the NPMA experienced milder winters suggests these important steps are likely to see an early to prevent pests from feeling arrival of spring pests, since welcome in your home. last year was one of the Remove shelter: • Maintain a one-inch gap between soil and wood portions of a building.

• Keep mulch at least 15 inches from your home’s foundation.

• Seal cracks along the bottom of the structure.

• Keep tree branches and plants trimmed back from the house.

• Screen windows and doors.

Remove food: • Keep trash containers clean and sealed.

• Don’t allow dirty dishes Theresa Bryant, of Lanham, who retired from NASA to accumulate in the sink. four years ago, is upgrading several things in her 30-year• Wipe counters and old home, including installing granite countertops and new vacuum floors regularly. tile in the kitchen. She plans to replace some light fixtures, • Remove remaining food paint and stain her hardwood floors. “I’m basically trying after your pet is done eating. to spruce it up,” she said. “Springtime is when people do Remove water: their spring cleaning and I’ve always liked to work with • Check under sinks for my hands. I thank God he has gifted me with a natural puddles, and fix any leaks or talent for doing things on my own. I love doing creative drips. things with my home improvement projects. I just walk • Use a dehumidifier for around seeing what needs to be done and how I can make damp basements and crawl the place look a little better.” spaces.

A Little Home Improvement

April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013, The Afro-American

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ARTS & CULTURE

Hanging with Chad: The ‘42’ Interview

Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford in “42.”

By Kam Williams Chadwick Boseman is an accomplished actor, scriptwriter and playwright who, until now, was probably best known for portraying the character Nate on the critically-acclaimed TV series Lincoln Heights. Prior to entering show business, he earned degrees at Howard University and the British American Drama Academy at Oxford.

Here, he talks about playing Jackie Robinson opposite Harrison Ford and Nicole Beharie in 42, a biopic about Robinson breaking the Major League Baseball color barrier in 1947.

KW: What did it mean to you to portray Jackie Robinson and how did you prepare for the role?

CB: It’s just a great honor to play him. In order to portray him, I basically paid attention to three different aspects of the role. First, the physical aspect of baseball, and his five-day-a-week workout regimen starting with spring training…I studied [National Baseball] Hall of Fame

Heartbreaking Documentary Revisits Rush to Judgment

The Central Park Five

By Kam Williams

Around 9 p.m. on April 19, 1989, a 28 year-old female jogger was brutally beaten, sexually assaulted and left for dead in an isolated wooded area of Central Park. Because she was an investment banker with an Ivy League pedigree, the NYPD felt the pressure to apprehend the perpetrators of the heinous crime ASAP. Within hours, cops had extracted confessions from Anton McCray, Kevin Richardson, Korey Wise, Yusef Salaam and Raymond Santana Jr., teenagers who had been denied their right to an attorney. Although none of the five had ever been arrested before, they were all convicted of rape and attempted murder on the strength of those incriminating admissions alone.

Part of the explanation for the legal lynching was that the victim was a wealthy white woman while the accused were poor black kids from Harlem. The press was all too willing to exploit the hot button issues of color and class, and the media sensationalized the case’s lurid details, coining the term “wilding” to describe the alleged behavior of the defendants.

Real estate magnate Donald Trump even took out full-page ads in every New York City daily newspaper, calling for the death penalty and saying that the boys “should be executed for their crimes.” In the face of the vigilante-like demand for vengeance, no one seemed concerned that the suspects’ DNA failed to match the only semen found at the scene.

Sadly, they were only exonerated in 2002 after having completely served sentences ranging from 6 to 13 years when Matias Reyes, a serial rapist whose DNA was a match, confessed to the crime because of his guilty conscience. This gross miscarriage of justice is recounted in The Central Park Five, a riveting documentary co-directed by the father-daughter team of Ken and Sarah Burns, along with her husband, David McMahon.

The film features reams of archival footage, including videotapes of the framed quintet’s coerced confessions. Mixed in are present-day reflections by them, their lawyers, and relatives, as well as by politicians, prosecutors and other pivotal players.

It is a heartbreaking expose’ about a rush to judgment which ruined five innocent young lives.

Excellent (4 stars) Unrated Running time: 119 minutes Distributor: PBS/Sundance Selects To see a trailer for The Central Park Five, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNqE6-qq60

footage of Jackie so that I could emulate his batting stance, how he took leads, how he ran bases, the arm slide he used in certain situations, and his fielding style. Thirdly, there was the question of how to attack the role. I didn’t want to just do an imitation. I wanted to interpret it while remaining faithful to the script and [director] Brian Helgeland’s vision.

The research also included reading, and talking to Jackie’s widow, Rachel, and his daughter, Sharon, in order to deliver the most authentic interpretation of him possible.

KW: Was the role at all intimidating to you? Did you feel any pressure to get Jackie right, given his importance in history?

CB: Yes, because Jackie is a hero to people from so many walks of life whose reverence for him is often based on different interpretations of who he was. I also felt a certain amount of responsibility to give an accurate account of his life and the person that he was for the benefit of the youth who don’t know him. But I still felt a great responsibility to Rachel Robinson and his family. She has carried on his legacy for decades, and she’s carried the torch for this film. So, my main goal was to do right by her.

KW: Prior to auditioning, how much of the Jackie Robinson story did you know?

CB: I knew his story since I was a kid. My parents told me stories about him. And I learned about him, Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders at church. I didn’t know anything about Jackie’s personality, or the specifics about his family or where he came from. So, I went into the audition with very limited knowledge of the facts that you would need to play him.

KW: In doing this film, what did you find out about Jackie Robinson that surprised you the most?

CB: I was surprised that he was considering quitting baseball just before he was signed by the Dodgers’ GM Branch Rickey [played by Harrison Ford]. He had become disenchanted with barnstorming across the country in the Negro [Leagues] for several reasons: he often had to play several games a day; there were a lot of places where African-Americans couldn’t stop to eat, sleep, buy gas or even use the bathroom; and he wasn’t being paid enough at a time when the most important thing to him was taking care of his family.

KW: Jackie Robinson encountered extraordinary obstacles on account of the color of his skin pursuing his professional baseball career. Have you encountered similar obstacles in your acting career?

CB: Well, you don’t get the same opportunities as White actors. Every year, Hollywood is looking for that new, White leading man and new White starlet that audiences fall in love with.

But they’re not looking for the next Denzel Washington, Will Smith or Sidney Poitier...

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

CB: One wish instantly granted? Woo! I would love for my grandmother and my sister to have been able to see this movie. They both passed.

KW: Thanks again for the time.

CB: Thank you, Kam.

Jay-Z Announces Music Festival Returning to Philadelphia PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jay-Z is bringing the “Made in America” music festival back to Philadelphia.

The rapper posted a teaser video on his “Life and Times” website Monday that showed footage from last year. It says this year’s festival will again take place on Labor Day weekend — Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.

The lineup will be revealed at noon Wednesday on the digital music streaming website Spotify.

Last year’s festival was the first of its kind for the entrepreneurial Jay-Z, who is married to superstar Beyonce and owns a music management company, fashion line, nightclub and restaurant. He also has a stake in the Brooklyn Nets.

About 40,000 people attended each of the two days of the 2012 “Made in America” on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in front of the Jay-Z Philadelphia Museum of Art. More than two dozen acts performed on three stages, one of which was near the museum steps made famous in the film “Rocky.” The eclectic lineup chosen by Jay-Z included Skrillex, D’Angelo, X, Janelle Monae, Calvin Harris, Pearl Jam, The Hives, Run DMC, Odd Future and Drake.

City officials said the festival generated at least $10 million in economic impact for the city and covered all municipal costs associated with the event. The teaser video says “Made in America” will again be sponsored by Budweiser.

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The Afro-American, April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013

FAITH

Civil Rights Royalty Remembers Dr. King, Cites Drum Majors for Justice

(Photo Credit: Donnie Hunter)

Participants in SCLC/WOMEN’s Drum Major for Justice Awards dinner look on as Dr. Joseph E. Lowery closes out the program. Pictured behind Dr. Lowery are, from left, Honoree DeMaurice Fitzgerald Smith, NFL Players’ Association; Karyn Greer, WXIA-TV; Henry Panion III, producer and composer; Evelyn Gibson Lowery, SCLC/WOMEN; Dr. Christine King Farris, Dr. King’s sister and Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-Ala.).

ATLANTA - Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook, U.S. Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom, U. S. State Department, was visibly moved as she accepted her award at the SCLC/Women’s Organizational Movement for Equality Now’s (SCLC/WOMEN) 34th Annual Drum Major for Justice Awards Dinner held in Atlanta last week.

“I could not miss this moment,” Ambassador Cook said as she accepted the Religious Freedom Award. “It is such an honor to be here on this day with civil rights royalty - especially our queen, Mrs. Evelyn Lowery.”

For the past 34 years Dr. Evelyn Gibson Lowery, founder of SCLC/WOMEN, observes April 4, the day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, by celebrating leaders who exemplify the spirit of Dr. King. Lowery recruited an impressive, intergenerational group of leaders to participate in the program including Dr. King’s sister, Christine King Farris; former Atlanta mayor, Shirley Franklin; Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall and civil rights leader and King confidant, Dr. Joseph E. Lowery.

“Having been a part of the civil rights movement from the beginning, I am very proud to present Drum Major Awards to these accomplished leaders,” Mrs. Lowery said. “Each of the honorees, in their own way and respective areas, is answering Dr. King’s call to be a Drum Major for Justice.”

In addition to Photo Credit: Philip McCollum Ambassador Cook, 2013 U.S. Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-Ala.) accepts her award.

Drum Major for Justice Shown, from left, are Rep. Stacy Y. Abrams, Georgia honorees are: House Minority Leader, Rep. Sewell; Dr. Evelyn Lowery • Dr. Henry Panion III, (Magnificent Maestro Award) and Karyn Greer, WXIA-TV. -University of Alabama Professor and Grammy/Dove Award winning producer, composer and conductor • DeMaurice Fitzgerald Smith (Sports Award )executive director, NFL Players’ Association • Rep. Stacy Y. Abrams (Government Award),Georgia House Minority Leader • Rep. Terri A. Sewell (Government Award), U.S. House of Representatives • Minnie Morgan (Faithful Servant Award), Teamsters Local Union 528 Photo Credit: Philip McCollum • Seaborn Johnson Dr. Evelyn Gibson Lowery, left, SCLC/WOMEN, presented (Auburn Avenue Entrepreneur Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook, U.S. AmbassadorAward), Barber At-Large for International Religious Freedom, with the • Lynard Thomas (Youth Religious Freedom Award. WXIA-TV’s Karyn Greer, right, Award), Evelyn Gibson served as emcee of the event.

Lowery Heritage Tour talent contest winner Karyn Greer, WXIA-TV news anchor, served as mistress of ceremonies and stellar performances by Miles College Golden Voices of Fairfield, Ala. earned more than a few standing ovations.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION April 11-May 2

Psuit Drive Various locations throughout the D.C. region. The Psi Nu Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity will host a clothing drive. Metro residents are invited to recycle their gently worn male and female business attire to benefit families in need. For more information and to view drop-off locations, visit: Psinuques. com.

April 11

African Soiree National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Ave., S.W. 7 p.m.

The Smithsonian’s African Art Museum and International Gallery will be transformed into an exotic night spot that mixes fashion, art, music and dancing. $35. For more information: Africansoiree.eventbrite.com.

April 13

MR

2013 Annual Spring Gala and Awards Ceremony Fort Belvoir Officers’ Club, 5500 Schulz Circle, Fort Belvoir, Va. 6 p.m.

The ROCKS will host their 39th Annual Joint Spring Gala and Awards Ceremony. The ROCKS is a nonprofit organization comprised of over 1,200 members from the Armed Forces, active duty, retired and former commissioned officers. For more information: 301-856-9319.

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Alabama Big-3 HBCU Scholarship Gala Washington D.C. Navy Yard Catering and Conference Center, 1454 Parsons Ave., S.E. D.C. 7 p.m.-12 a.m. The D.c. Metro Alumni chapters of Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University and Tuskegee University will host the fifth annual Alabama Big-3 Scholarship Gala. The event will celebrate the youth and raise money for scholarships to these three universities. $70. For more information: 703-863-0223.

April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013, The Afro-American

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Sizing up Shaq: Where Does the Former Lakers Center Rank Among the NBA’s Greatest?

as Olajuwon, but he amassed the same totals and inflicted countless bruising and battering to opponents along the way.

By Perry Green and Stephen D. Riley The Los Angeles Lakers gave retired center Shaquille O’Neal a nod of respect April 2 as they retired his No. 34 jersey ahead of a 101-81 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

O’Neal, the catalyst for three consecutive Los Angeles titles from 2000 to 2003, took a place among other elite Lakers when his jersey was hung from the rafters, positioned beside the threads of Jerry West, Magic Johnson and others. While O’Neal was a prolific star for Los Angeles, where does he rank among the all-time great centers? Perry Green and Stephen D. Riley of the AFRO Sports Desk debate the question.

Green: I have Shaq ranked third all time, tied with Wilt Chamberlain and behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar at two and Hakeem Olajuwon at No 1.

Olajuwon is the most skilled center to ever play the game and nobody was better offensively or defensively as Olajuwon was in his prime. He was the Michael Jordan of bigs and possessed a game that we may never see again from another man of his stature.

Riley: I’m a little bit more biased to O’Neal because I was able to see his career from start to finish.

O’Neal didn’t have the finesse or the skill of some of his predecessors but his brute strength and fierce aggression made him a mad bull on the hardwood. I would take O’Neal No. 1 as my all-time center and wouldn’t flinch at the thought. He was dominant, unafraid and a pure mismatch for any opponent checking him, all the ingredients I need from

Green: You talk about Olajuwon as if he didn’t dominate, too. He dominated every star center he faced. He dominated Shaq in the Finals, he dominated Ewing in the Finals and he dominated Abdul Jabbar and David Robinson in the playoffs. Between the agility and the grace, it was just an electrifying combo to watch—pure poetry in motion. Imagine how much more effective O’Neal could’ve been with Olajuwon’s skillset or picture how much more dangerous Olajuwon would’ve been with Shaq’s size? I think if you swap bodies on both specimens you would’ve had the best big man ever in Olajuwon but a less effective O’Neal if he wasn’t the 7-foot, 300-pound ultra-athlete that we grew to know.

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Shaq and Kobe Bryant in 2001. my all-time best center.

Green: To this day, Olajuwon is the only player in NBA history to win regular season MVP, Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year all in the same season. He was an unstoppable scorer, unstoppable rebounder and an unstoppable pest on defense. He was the only player in history to end his career in the top 10 in all four statistical categories of points, blocks, rebounds and steals.

How many big men could rank in the top 10 for steals?

Riley: Not many, but that’s what

guards are for. I appreciate an allaround game more than the next man, but the nastiness of O’Neal was simply unmatched. He was the team leader and biggest bully on the court. The name Shaquille O’Neal still puts a chill down the spines of the centers who ran the hardwood against him, and even the “hacka-Shaq” methods had to disappear after O’Neal started nailing clutch free throws in the

Howard University Lady Bison Coach Leaves for Towson University

By Ariel V. Germain Special to the AFRO After five years as the head coach of the Howard University women’s basketball team, Niki Reid Geckeler has departed for the head coaching position at Towson University Over the course of five years, Geckeler, known by her players as “Coach G,” has taken a team with a 4-26 overall record in 2007-08 to multiple 20-plus-win seasons, two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship game appearances, and two post-season appearances. She coached two MEAC Player of Year studentathletes, the all-time leading scorer both in the MEAC and at Howard, as well as multiple 1,000-plus scorers, rebounders and assist leaders, and multiple MEAC Player of the Week student-athletes.

Geckler’s final record at Howard is 8576.

“In everything I do, my goal is to make it better and that was my goal here at Howard,” Geckeler said.

“We have seen Howard women’s basketball grow and develop during my time here,” she said. “With the help of my student-athletes we have definitely set the bar for Howard women’s basketball. But outside of that, the greatest accomplishment was the family we created. The bond that the student-athletes share with one another, as well as the mother-daughter bond I share with each of my student-athletes over the years.”

Geckeler will not be alone in her new career venture, as assistant coaches Brian

Howard University Photo

Niki Reid Geckeler Johnson and James Simmons will join her at Towson. “‘Coach G’ has been a phenomenal force in Howard Athletics,” said Howard Director of Athletics Louis “Skip” Perkins. “She has completely turned the Lady Bison program around both academically and athletically. I am proud to have seen her success and wish her the very best at Towson.”

prime of his postseason success. To me, there’s a big difference between being prolific and being dominant.

Olajuwon was a prolific scorer and rebounder, but O’Neal was just a flat-out dominant player. He couldn’t score or rebound as nicely

Riley: I can admit that O’Neal got by mostly on pure size and skill, but he did it masterfully. We criticize bigs all the time for not playing to their commanding size, but O’Neal actually did it better than any player has done before him. When you have great size you need to play up to it, and O’Neal did that, in the most menacing way possible.

Nats Sweep Marlins, Split Weekend with Reds

Nationals Weekly

By Dion Johnson Special to the AFRO

The Washington Nationals swept the oncepesky Miami Marlins in three straight games at Nationals Park during the opening week of the 2013 season.

During the three-game series, the Nats outscored the Marlins 11-1 and had three solid starts from the top of the pitching rotation in Stephen Strasburg (seven shutout innings), Gio Gonzalez (six shutout innings), and Jordan Zimmermann (one unearned run in six innings).

Newly-acquired closer Raphael Soriano notched two saves while star outfielder Bryce Harper led the team with hits in all three games, including a twohomerun game on Opening Day in front of the secondlargest crowd in Nationals Park history. The 45,274 fans in attendance were the most ever for a regular season game.

In the briskly cold second game, starting pitcher Gonzalez brought the crowd to their feet with his second career homerun in the fifth inning to cap off his first start of the season.

Game 3 was highlighted by Jayson Werth’s towering blast in the seventh inning to put away the game and the series. In the series, the three starters gave up no earned runs for a perfect ERA of 0.00.

The Marlins had a virtual fire sale of all of their premium talent this off-season, making them an easy target for the better team in Washington. Yet it was still a good sign to see the Nationals making light work of a weaker team, especially considering how Washington often had problems closing out games against bad teams last season.

Nats Split with Reds (April 5-April 7) Washington visited Cincinnati’s very “homerun friendly” Great American Ballpark to battle the former National League MVP Joey Votto and the defending NL Central

champion Reds.

The opener on April 5 was one to forget.

Starting pitcher Dan Haren made his Nationals debut and wasn’t very sharp, as he and the other relievers gave up six homeruns in a 15-0 loss, the most lopsided defeat in team history.

The next day could be considered a lot of things: it was a gut check, an instant classic, a heart attack, and dagger all in one. Ian Desmond atoned for his two costly defensive errors when he hit the go-ahead homerun in the 11th inning. Wilson Ramos followed Desmond’s blast with a homer himself, his

second of the game and first since he suffered a devastating ACL injury last year in that same park.

Harper and Jason Werth also contributed homeruns as the Nats overcome the loss of their 5-0 lead and blown save by Rafael Soriano to win, 7-6.

Player of the Week: Harper slugged three homeruns and hit at a .381 average. But he did make a poor decision in the field during the April 6 game against the Reds by not throwing to the second baseman, and instead trying to show off his arm, only to throw the ball behind the catcher and allow two runners to advance.

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Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2012ADM927 TYPESET: Tue Apr 02 11:47:15 EDT 2013 Graves LEGAL NOTICES Genneter Decedent Deborah Cason Daniel 503 D Street NW # 200 Superior Court of Washington DC 20001 the District of Attorney District of Columbia NOTICE OF PROBATE DIVISION APPOINTMENT, Washington, D.C. NOTICE TO 20001-2131 CREDITORS Administration No. AND NOTICE TO 2012ADM1015 UNKNOWN HEIRS Teresa Diggs Granison Deborah Cason Daniel aka whose address is 503 D Teresa D. Granison Street NW #200 Washington Decedent DC 20001, was appointed Alan D. Titus, Esq personal representative of 2846 Meadow Lane the estate of Gennetter Graves, who died on October Falls Church, VA 24, 1997 without a Will, and 22042 will serve with Court superviAttorney sion. All unknown heirs and NOTICE OF heirs whose whereabouts APPOINTMENT, are unknown shall enter their NOTICE TO appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such CREDITORS appointment (or to the proAND NOTICE TO bate of decedent´s will) shall UNKNOWN HEIRS

Paulette Granison Savoy whose address is 7710 Hano v e r P a r k w a y, # 1 0 2 , Greenbelt MD 20770 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Teresa Diggs Granison aka Teresa D. Granison, who died on July 21, 2012 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs a n d h e i r s w h o s e 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 October 5, 2013.

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 October 5, 2013, 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: April 5, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Paulette Granison Savoy Personal Representative 240-350-8270 TRUE TEST COPY TYPESET:OFTue Apr 02 REGISTER WILLS 4/5, 4/12, 4/19

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM65 Christopher P. Demos Decedent Henry Docter Esq, Henry Docter PLLC 3617 Idaho Ave NW Washington DC 20016 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Paul C. Demos whose address is 32 Partridge Drive, Blairstown, NJ 07825, was appointed personal representative of the estate of Christopher P. Demos, who died on December 25, 2012 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 October 5, 2013. 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 October 5, 2013, 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: April 5, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Paul C. Demos Personal Representative 973-476-7626 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 4/5, 4/12, 4/19

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be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before October 5, 2013. 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 October 5, 2013, 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: April 5, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Deborah Cason Daniel Personal Representative 202-737-4466 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER WILLS TYPESET:OFTue Apr 02 4/5, 4/12, 4/19

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM247 Hilda L. Thomas Decedent Thomas H. Queen Esq 530 Eighth Street SE 11:47:41 EDTDC 2013 Washington 20003 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Khalid Abdul Kareem and Sheryl A. Thomas whose addresses are 611 Penn Ave SE Ste 333, Washington DC 20003 and 2530 36th Pl SE Washington DC 20020, were appointed personal representatives of the estate of Hilda L. Thomas, who died on January 30, 2013 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 October 5, 2013.

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 October 5, 2013, 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: April 5, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Khalid Abdul Kareem Sheryl A. Thomas Personal Representatives 202-544-4200 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 4/5, 4/12, 4/19

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM274 Estate of R.B Reynolds aka Robert Brooks Reynolds Deceased NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Martha Stuart Jewett for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representative. Unless a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.

0 in the absence of a will or proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution, enter an order determining that the decedent died intestate.

0 appoint an unsupervised personal representative Register of Wills Clerk of the Probate Division Date of First Publication April 5, 2013 Names of Newspapers: Washington Law Reporter Washington AFRO-AMERICAN L a w O ff i c e o f S h a r o n Senghor 4800 Hampden Lane Suite 200 Bethesda MD 20814 202-423-6918 Signature of TYPESET: Tue Apr 02 Petitioners/Attorney 4/5, 4/12

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM266 Arthur Willard Bradley 11:48:21 EDT 2013 Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Arthur R. Bradley whose address is 5062 Fielding Lane, Temple Hills MD 20748, was appointed personal representative of the estate of Arthur Willard Bradley, who died on January 24, 2013 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 October 5, 2013. 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 October 5, 2013, 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: April 5, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Arthur R. Bradley Personal Representative 301-630-0711 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS TYPESET: 4/5, Tue4/12, Apr4/19 02

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM275 Orlena Faye Woodall Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Minner Ree Woodall whose address is 761 Wheeler Hill Drive SE Washington DC 20032, was appointed personal representative of the estate of Orlena Faye Woodall, who died on February 26, 2013 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 October 5, 2013.

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 October 5, 2013, 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: April 5, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Minner Ree Woodall Personal Representative 202-563-5920 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 4/5, 4/12, 4/19

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1-800 (AFRO) 892 For Proof of Publication, please call 1-800-237-8892, ext. 244 TYPESET: Tue Apr 02NOTICES 11:54:01 EDTTue 2013 TYPESET: Tue Apr 02 11:53:36 EDT 2013 TYPESET: Apr 09 11:38:07 EDTTue 2013 LEGAL TYPESET: Apr 09 11:37:28 Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 11:49:0120001-2131 EDT 2013 Administration No. 2013ADM237 Hans Heymann, Jr. Decedent Beth Shapiro Kaufman One Thomas Circle NW, Suite 1100 Washington DC 20005 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Kendra Heymann Sagoff and Angela Heymann Latta, whose addresses are 6801 Carlynn Ct, Bethesda MD 2 0 8 1 7 , a n d 11 0 W. Ashbridge Street, West Chester PA 19380 were appointed personal representatives of the estate of Hans Heymann Jr., who died on January 10, 2012 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 29, 2013. 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 29, 2013, 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 29, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Kendra Heymann Sagoff Angela Heymann Latta Personal Representatives 301-229-7666 610-436-4998 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 3/29, 4/5, 4/12

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM231 Annie M. Jeffries aka Annie Marie Jeffries Decedent Larry C. Williams Esq 7600 Georgia Ave NW Suite 405 Washington DC 20012 NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Diane Jeffries Lucas, whose address is 618 Jefferson Street NW, Washington 20011was appointed personal representative of the estate of Annie M. Jeffries aka Annie Marie Jeffries, who died on August 15, 1997 with 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 29, 2013. 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 29, 2013, 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 29, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Diane Jeffries Lucas Personal Representative 202-842-2222 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 3/29, 4/5, 4/12

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM282 Anna Margaret Smith Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Zechnolvia Gerald, Glinda Gregg-Culbreth, and Valencia Roach, whose addresses are 4367 Varnum Place, NE Washington DC 20017, 6620 24th Place, Hyattsville MD 20782 and 614 Allison Street, NE Washington DC 20017 were appointed personal representatives of the estate of Anna Margaret Smith, who died on January 30, 2013 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 October 12, 2013.

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 October 12, 2013, 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: April 12, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Zechnolvia Gerald Glinda Gregg-Culbreth Valencia Roach Personal Representative 202-269-6023 301-559-4948 202-210-6926 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 4/12, 4/19, 4/26

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM261 Jacques Rene Morgan Decedent Peter N. Mann 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Washington DC 20036 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Valerie Monica Morgan, whose address is 2467 18th Street, NW Washington DC 20009 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Jacques Rene Morgan, who died on November 26, 2012 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 October 12, 2013. 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 October 12, 2013, 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: April 12, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Valerie Monica Morgan Personal Representative 202-265-9194 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 4/12, 4/19, 4/26

April 13, 2013 - April 19, 2013, The Afro-American

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TYPESET: Tue Apr 09 09:12:59 EDT 2013 TYPESET: Tue Apr 09 11:38:26 2013 TYPESET: Tue Apr 02 11:49:26 EDT 2013 TYPESET: Tue Apr 02 11:52:09 EDT 2013 TYPESET: Tue Apr 02 11:53:16 TYPESET: EDT Tue 2013 Apr 09 11:39:39 EDT 2013 TYPESET: Tue Apr 09 11:35:13 TYPESET: EDT Tue 2013 Apr 09 11:36:45 EDTLEGAL 2013 LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGALEDT NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES NOTICES SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Foreign No. 2013FEP28 Date of Death February 15, 2009 Clarence Silas Scott Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Kathy Mancusi whose address is 4423 Lehigh Road #433 College Park MD 20740 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Clarence Silas Scott, deceased, by the Orphan’s Court for Prince George’s County, State of Maryland, on March 12, 2013.

Service of process may be made upon Nathan A. Neal, 3108 Cherry Road NE, Wa s h i n g t o n D C 2 0 0 1 8 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real property: (strike preceding sentence if no real estate) one-half of 5627 Eads St. NE, Washington DC 20019-6920.

Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills for the District of Columbia, Building A, 515 5th Street NW 3rd Floor Washington DC 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.

Kathy Mancusi Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS Date of first publication: April 5, 2013 Name of newspapers and/or periodical: The Daily Washington Law Reporter The Afro-American 301-220-4382 TYPESET: Tue Apr 02 4/5, 4/12, 4/19

SUPERIOR COURT OF Superior Court of WASHINGTON COUNTY the District of OF District of Columbia PIERCE COUNTY PROBATE DIVISION WASHINGTON Washington, D.C. IN RE: 20001-2131 LAVAN PEREZ Administration No. PETITIONER, 2013ADM208 AND Reginald Paul Butler OLIVIA JANICE FENTY Decedent (THOMPSON) NOTICE OF RESPONDENT APPOINTMENT, NO: 133009187 NOTICE TO ORDER FOR SERVICE CREDITORS OF SUMMONS BY AND NOTICE TO PUBLICATION UNKNOWN HEIRS (IF REQUIRED BY Valerie Woods, whose adLOCAL PRACTICE) dress is 18860 Bent Willow (ORPUB) Circle #1328, Germantown I. Basis MD 20874 was appointed The court has considered personal representative of Lavan Perez [moving par- the estate of Reginald Paul ty]’s motion and declara- Butler, who died on Novemtion requesting that the ber 20, 2012 without a Will, summons in this matter be and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown served by publication. heirs and heirs whose II. Findings are unknown Based on the representa- whereabouts shall enter their appearance tions made in the declara- in this proceeding. Objection, the court Finds that tions to such appointment the summons in this mat- shall be filed with the Register may be served on ter of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Olivia Janice Fenty Thompson [nonmoving Washington, D.C. 20001, on party] by publication in or before September 29, accordance with RCW 2013. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to 4.28.100. the undersigned with a copy III. Order to the Register of Wills or filed It is ordered that the sum- with the Register of Wills with mons in this matter may a copy to the undersigned, on be served on the non- or before September 29, moving party by publica- 2013, or be forever barred. tion in conformity with Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent RCW 4.28.100. who do not receive a copy of Dated: March 11, 2013 this notice by mail within 25 Judge/Commissioner days of its first publication Presented by: shall so inform the Register Lavan Perez of Wills, including name, adSignature of Moving dress and relationship.

Party Date of Publication: TYPESET: Tue Apr 02 11:52:32 March 29, EDT 2013 2013 or Lawyer/WSBA No. 3/29, 4/5, 4/12 Name of newspaper:

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM250 MARY BELL Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, 11:49:47 EDT 2013 NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO SUPERIOR COURT OF UNKNOWN HEIRS THE DISTRICT OF Dwight H. Bell, whose adCOLUMBIA dress is 1225 Monroe Street PROBATE DIVISION NE, Washington DC 20017 Washington, D.C. was appointed personal representative of the estate of 20001-2131 Mary Bell, who died on OctoForeign No. ber 1, 2004 without a Will, 2013FEP31 and will serve with Court suDate of Death pervision. All unknown heirs March 24, 2011 a n d h e i r s w h o s e Lillie C. Hemingeay whereabouts are unknown Decedent shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. ObjecNOTICE OF tions to such appointment APPOINTMENT shall be filed with the RegisOF FOREIGN ter of Wills, D.C., 515 5th PERSONAL Street, N.W., 3rd Floor REPRESENTATIVE Washington, D.C. 20001, on AND or before September 29, 2013. Claims against the deNOTICE cedent shall be presented to TO CREDITORS

Superior Court of the District of Columbia Civil Division Case No. 2013CA973 IN RE: Marion Sanders Jones Applicant AMENDED ORDER OF PUBLICATION

Marion Sanders Jones having filed a complaint for judgment changing Marion Sanders Jones name to Marian Sanders Wright and having applied to the court for an Order of Publication of the notice required by law in such cases; it is by the Court this 26th day of March 2013, hereby ORDERED, that a copy of this Order be published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, in The AfroAmerican Newspapers, a newspaper of general circulation of the District of Columbia; and it is further ORDERED, that the publication must began no later than 12 days after the filing of the application; and is further ORDERED, that the FINAL HEARING on this application to change name will be held in Judge-in-Chambers, Room 4220 in the District of Columbia at 500 Indiana Avenue NW Washington DC 20001, on the 14th day of May 2013 at 2:30 pm.If any person desires to oppose this application, that person or his or her attorney must be present at the hearing or file written detailed objections five (5) days in advance of the hearing with Judge-inChambers and mail a copy of the applicant or applicant’s counsel; and it is further ORDERED 0 that the applicant must send the application for change of name and notice of final hearing to the applicant’s creditors personally or by registered or certified mail and show proof of service by filing the affidavit/declaration or service.

SO ORDERED JUDGE 4/5, 4/12, 4/19

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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 29, 2013, 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 29, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Dwight H. Bell Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER WILLS TYPESET:OFTue Apr 02 3/29, 4/5, 4/12

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM212 Virginia M. Frierson Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, 11:50:29 EDT 2013 NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Wanda Rowe, whose address is 6332 Bentham Drive, Ft. Washington MD 20744 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Virginia M. Frierson, who died on January 5, 2013 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 29, 2013. 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 29, 2013, 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 29, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Wanda Rowe Personal Representative 240-253-2838 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 3/29, 4/5, 4/12

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Carrie E. Lester whose address is 321 Fifth Ave., Rankin PA 15104 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Lillie C. Hemingway, deceased, by the Orphan’s Court for Allegheny County, State of Pennsylvania, on April 11, 2012.

Service of process may be made upon John E. Scheuermann Esq, 700 E Street SE Wa s h i n g t o n D C 2 0 0 0 3 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills for the District of Columbia, Building A, 515 5th Street NW 3rd Floor Washington DC 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.

Carrie E. Lester Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS Date of first publication: April 5, 2013 Name of newspapers and/or periodical: The Daily Washington Law Reporter The Afro-American TYPESET: Tue Apr 02 412-271-7302 4/5, 4/12, 4/19

Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Valerie Woods Personal Representative 301-300-8296 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OFTue WILLS TYPESET: Apr 02 3/29, 4/5, 4/12

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM276 Margaret C. Nelson Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Viola T. Cornelius whose address is 9404 Sheridan Street, Seabrook, MD 20706, was appointed personal representative of the estate of Margaret C. Nelson, who died on February 13, 2013 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 October 5, 2013. 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 October 5, 2013, 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, 11:52:57 EDTaddress 2013 and including name, relationship.

Date of Publication: April 5, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Viola T. Cornelius Personal Representative 301-577-0514 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER WILLS TYPESET:OFTue Apr 09 4/5, 4/12, 4/19

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2012ADM492 Caroline French Decedent Wesley L. Clarke 1629 K Street NW Suite 300 Washington DC 20006 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Beverley Wiggs, whose address is 612 Ray Street Selma, NC 27576 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Caroline French, who died on December 6, 2011 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 October 12, 2013.

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 October 12, 2013, 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: April 12, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Beverley Wiggs Personal Representative 919-901-8700 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 4/12, 4/19, 4/26

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM298 William S. Campbell Decedent Arnettia S. Wright Eq Wright Law Group PC 444 North Capitol St NW, Suite 605 Washington DC 20001 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Jerenze A. Campbell, whose address is 2811m Enterprise Road, Bowie MD 20721 was appointed personal representative of the estate of William S. Campbell, who died on June 12, 2012 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 October 12, 2013.

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 October 12, 2013, 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: April 12, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter 12:02:59 EDT 2013 Jerenze A. Campbell Personal Representative 240-353-4566 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS TYPESET: Tue4/19, Apr4/26 09 4/12,

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2012ADM1123 Shirley Mixon Earnes Decedent Wesley L. Clarke 1629 K Street NW Suite 300 Washington DC 20006 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Wesley L. Clarke, whose address is 1629 K Street NW Suite 300 Washington DC 20006 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Shirley Mixon Earnes, who died on September 18, 2012 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs a n d h e i r s w h o s e 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 October 12, 2013.

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 October 12, 2013, 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: 11:39:15 EDT 2013 April 12, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Wesley L. Clarke Personal Representative 202-257-9730 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OFTue WILLS TYPESET: Apr 09 4/12, 4/19, 4/26

Superior Court of the District of Columbia Civil Division Case No. 13-0002394 IN RE: Brent Khristopher Jaime Gwathney Applicant ORDER OF PUBLICATION CHANGE OF NAME

Brent Khristopher Jaime Gwathney having filed a complaint for judgment changing Brent Khristopher Jaime Gwathney name to Brent Khristopher Michael Thorpe and having applied to the court for an Order of Publication of the notice required by law in such cases; it is by the Court this 3rd day of April 2013, hereby ORDERED, that a copy of this Order be published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, in The AfroAmerican Newspapers, a newspaper of general circulation of the District of Columbia; and it is further ORDERED, that the publication must began no later than 12 days after the filing of the application; and is further ORDERED, that the FINAL HEARING on this application to change name will be held in Judge-in-Chambers, Room 4220 in the District of Columbia at 500 Indiana Avenue NW Washington DC 20001, on the 16th day of May, 2013 at 3:15 pm.If any person desires to oppose this application, that person or his or her attorney must be present at the hearing or file written detailed objections five (5) days in advance of the hearing with Judge-inChambers and mail a copy of the applicant or applicant’s counsel; and it is further 0 the applicant must send the application for change of name of an adult and notice of final hearing to the applicant’s creditors personally or by registered or certified mail and show proof of service by filling the affidavit/ declaration of service.

SO ORDERED JUDGE 4/12, 4/19, 4/26

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM288 Margo A. Smith Decedent Diana R. Engel Liotta, Dranitzke and Engel 1666 Connecticut Ave Suite 250 NW, Washington DC 20009 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Melanie Felton, whose address is 775 Tramore Place, Milton GA 30004 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Margo A. Smith, who died on March 12, 2013 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 October 12, 2013. 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 October 12, 2013, 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: April 12, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Melanie Felton Personal Representative 11:40:06 EDT706-224-2125 2013 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS TYPESET:4/12, Tue4/19, Apr4/26 09

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM278 Killis Thomas Houston Decedent Tina Smith Nelson Esq Legal Counsel for the Elderly 601 E Street NW Washington DC 20049 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Mary R. Nunn, whose address is 1437 Monroe Street, NE Washington DC 20017 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Killis Thomas Houston, who died on March 30, 1986 without a Will. All unknown heirs a n d h e i r s w h o s e 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 October 12, 2013.

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 October 12, 2013, 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: April 12, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Mary R. Nunn Personal Representative 11:34:52 EDT 2013 202-832-3065 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS TYPESET: Tue Apr 09 4/12, 4/19, 4/26

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2012ADM401 Estate of Josephine Witherspoon Teague aka Josephine W. Teague Deceased NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Barbara L. Lucas for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representative. Unless a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.

0 order any interested person to show cause why the provisions of the lost or destroyed will dated April 5, 1993 should not be admitted to probate as expressed in the petition.

0 appoint a supervised personal representative Register of Wills Clerk of the Probate Division Date of First Publication April 12, 2013 Names of Newspapers: Washington Law Reporter Washington AFRO-AMERICAN William A. Bland Esq 1140 Connecticut Ave NW #1100 Washington DC 20036 202-452-8080 Signature of Petitioners/Attorney 4/12, 4/19

Superior Court of the District of Columbia Civil Division Case No. 13-0002489 IN RE: Althea Bonita Flack Applicant ORDER OF PUBLICATION CHANGE OF NAME

Althea Bonita Flack having filed a complaint for judgment changing Althea Bonita Harshaw name to Althea Bonita Flack and having applied to the court for an Order of Publication of the notice required by law in such cases; it is by the Court this 5th day of April 2013, hereby ORDERED, that a copy of this Order be published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, in The AfroAmerican Newspapers, a newspaper of general circulation of the District of Columbia; and it is further ORDERED, that the publication must began no later than 12 days after the filing of the application; and is further ORDERED, that the FINAL HEARING on this application to change name will be held in Judge-in-Chambers, Room 4220 in the District of Columbia at 500 Indiana Avenue NW Washington DC 20001, on the 21st day of May, 2013 at 2:45 pm.If any person desires to oppose this application, that person or his or her attorney must be present at the hearing or file written detailed objections five (5) days in advance of the hearing with Judge-inChambers and mail a copy of the applicant or applicant’s counsel; and it is further 0 the applicant must send the application for change of name of an adult and notice of final hearing to the applicant’s creditors personally or by registered or certified mail and show proof of service by filling the affidavit/ declaration of service.

SO ORDERED JUDGE TYPESET: Tue Apr 09 4/12, 4/19, 4/26

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 11:38:48 EDT 2013 2011ADM127 Estate of DOLLY B. JOHNSON Deceased NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Dianne J. Dunlap, Donald Johnson for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representative. Unless a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.

0 in the absence of a will or proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution, enter an order determining that the decedent died intestate 0 appoint a supervised personal representative Register of Wills Clerk of the Probate Division Date of First Publication April 12, 2013 Names of Newspapers: Washington Law Reporter Washington AFRO-AMERICAN Julius P. Terrell 1455 Pennsylvania Ave NW #400 Washington DC 20004 202-349-554 Signature of Petitioners/Attorney TYPESET: Tue4/12, Apr4/19 09

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM306 Estate of Catherine L.J. Poe aka Catherine L. Poe Deceased NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Bruce E. Gardner for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal 11:35:37 EDT representa2013 tive. Unless a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.

0 order S. Mayfield who is alleged to have custody of the will dated December 19, 2011 to deliver it to the Court 0 Ordered any interested person to show cause why the provisions of the lost or destroyed will dated December 19, 2011 should not be admitted to probate as expressed in the petition 0 in the absence of a will or proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution, enter an order determining that the decedent died intestate 0 appoint a supervised personal representative Register of Wills Clerk of the Probate Division Date of First Publication April 12, 2013 Names of Newspapers: Washington Law Reporter Washington AFRO-AMERICAN Bruce E. Gardner, Esq 1101 Penn Ave. NW Suite 600 Washington DC 20004 202-271-0552 Signature of Petitioners/Attorney 4/12, 4/19

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Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM285 Birdie Lucille Brown aka Birdie L. Brown Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Charles H. Brown, whose address is 2322 16th Street SE, #3, Washington DC 20020 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Birdie Lucille Brown aka Birdie L. Brown, who died on October 19, 2010 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 October 12, 2013.

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 October 12, 2013, 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: April 12, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Charles H. Brown Personal 11:36:01 EDT 2013 Representative 202-271-6612 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OFTue WILLS TYPESET: Apr 09 4/12, 4/19, 4/26

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM255 Ruth P. Hancock Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Gwendolyn HancockWoods, whose address is 2400 Queens Chapel Road #1014, Hyattsville MD 20782 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Ruth P. Hancock, who died on December 30, 2012 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 October 12, 2013.

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 October 12, 2013, 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 11:36:25 EDT 2013 of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Publication: April 12, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Gwendolyn Hancock-Woods Personal Representative 301-648-4402 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OFTue WILLS TYPESET: Apr 09 4/12, 4/19, 4/26

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013ADM270 Estephana Eloise Williams Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

J. Arthur Brown, whose address is 4506 Saint Barnabas Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Estephana Eloise Williams, who died on January 26, 2011 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 October 12, 2013.

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 October 12, 2013, 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: April 12, 2013 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter J. Arthur Brown Personal Representative 301-316-5246 TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 4/12, 4/19, 4/26

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY (DC Water) REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS STATEMENTS FOR AGREEMENT DCFA 456-WSA ASSET MANAGEMENT PROGRAM The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) requests the submittal of Qualifications Statements for professional engineering and related services under the proposed agreement pertaining to the planning, design, and implementation of a comprehensive asset management program for DC Water. The work under this agreement generally involves assisting DC Water in the development and implementation of an asset management program that will include services in the areas of program management, technology and data management, maintenance and resource management, reliability and condition assessment, and asset lifecycle management.

The agreement resulting from this Request for Qualifications Statements will be subject to a Fair Share Objective for Minority and Women´s Business Enterprises participation in this work of 28% and 4%, respectively. The program requirements are defined in the EPA´s Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in Procurement under EPA Financial Assistance Agreements - May 27, 2008. The proposed project specific Business Development Plan shall address achievement of the Fair Share Objective participation.

Interested firms should contact Mrs. Senail Manley directly by email senail.manley@dcwater.com, to obtain a more detailed Request for Qualifications Statements. Qualifications Statements are due May 21, 2013 noTue laterApr than 09 2:00PM local time.

TYPESET: 14:59:47 EDT 2013 NOTICE TO BIDDERS The Pocomoke City Housing Authority will receive separate sealed bids for rehabilitation for (2) house until 4:30 pm April 19, 2013 at which time they will be opened and read aloud.

Bids are to be delivered or mailed to the Housing Authority, City Hall P.O. Box 29, Pocomoke City, Maryland 21851, Attention: Mr. Harvey Lee Davis, Sr. Location and specifications for the houses to be rehabilitated may be picked up at the Housing Office at City Hall, Clarke Avenue. Pocomoke City, Maryland.

The Housing Authority reserves the right to reject any or all bids and waive formalities therein, as may be in theEDT best 2013 interests of the City.

11:37:07 Harvey Lee Davis, Sr. Housing Coordinator

CALL TODAY! 202332-0080 Strictly Personal Pen Pal

Handsome intelligent incarcerated Black male, age 29, 5’11”, 172 lbs. with no children. Love to read, write, and exercise.

Looking for sincere correspondents, any age, race unimport11:37:48 EDT 2013 ant, will answer all.

Lamar Cherry #701036, P.O. Box 6000, Southwoods State Prison, Bridgenton, N.J. 08302

Lonesome Hearts Pen Pals

To have a notice published in the Strictly Personal Section, write the message you want printed in the space below. Enclose ten dollars ($10.00), check or money order for 25 words. NO CASH PLEASE. Additional words will cost 50 cents each.

To answer a Lonesome Heart notice, enclose a check or money order for $2.00 for each letter you wish to have forwarded.

NO CASH PLEASE. Be sure to include the box number of the person you wish to contact.

All letters, queries and notices should be sent to: STRICTLY PERSONAL 2519 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE!

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