I N S I D E
Edwards, Van Hollen Debate Attracts Hundreds Page 12
Arena Football Coming to DC in 2017e Page 16
The Comedic Brilliance of Rickey Smiley Page 30
Religious Groups Lend Hand in Flint Page 33
VOL. 51, NO. 24 MAR. 24 - 30, 2016
Askia Explores Republicans on Their Deathbed - Page 27
Presidential Hopefuls Make Pitch at AIPAC
NNPA EXCLUSIVE REPORT
An Update on the Flint Water Crisis DPS Emergency Manager Gives His Perspective
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
By Keith A. Owens Michigan Chronicle Senior Editor
Retiring Detroit Public Schools [DPS] Emergency Manager Darnell Earley has been caught in the crosshairs of withering criticism for more than six months now, targeted by the media as well as a number of community activists and some politicians for the damning role they all claim he played in the Flint water crisis when he served as emergency manager there. The Flint water crisis has developed into a nationwide story and even a potent campaign issue in the Democratic presidential primary. And as if that wasn’t enough, Earley has simultaneously fended off equally harsh criticism that he, as Emergency Manager #4, is also guilty for being in charge of a Detroit school system that critics claim is anti-democratic during a time when the most glaring shortcomings of that deteriorating system – buckling floors, dead rodents in classrooms and classrooms that are either freezing or overheated – have been put on wide display. Throughout this ordeal, Earley has steadfastly proclaimed his innocence, insisting that the
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5Thousands of District citizens and visitors have started flocking to Washington. D.C. for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival and related activities when the beautiful trees are in full bloom. / Courtesy photo
Bowser Delivers Her Second State of the District Address Remains Committed to Creating New Paths for Middle Class
By Rachel Sudduth WI Contributing Writer @rvsjournalist Since Mayor Muriel Bowser’s first state of the district address last March, she’s put several initiatives in action including providing more residents with affordable housing, focusing on more cost-efficient transit systems and placing an emphasis on increasing the budget for DCPS. And during her jam-packed second state of district address Tuesday evening at the Arena Stage in
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5Mayor Muriel Bowser delivers her second State of the District Address to residents and city officials at Arena Stage, Tuesday, March 22, in Southwest. / Photo by Patricia Little
For the Rev. Kenneth Flowers, attending the American Israel Public Affairs Committee – or AIPAC – conference is a must. Unlike the political candidates who attend and use the conference as a forum for their campaigns, Flowers, the pastor of the Greater New Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit, came to Washington, D.C. because of the issues that AIPAC addresses. In fact, he says many of their concerns also have significance for the Black community. “I first heard about AIPAC in 2006 in Detroit. I met the new national outreach director, Jeff Mendelsohn, who requested my help in building the African-American Outreach Program,” Flowers said. “He told me that AIPAC is the largest Pro-Israel Lobbying Group in the world and he needed African Americans to join them in lobbying Congress for a safe and secure Israel. I was immediately interested because of my longstanding relationship with the Jewish community dating back to 1987 in Los Angeles. Prior to that, Coretta Scott King adopted me as a spiritual son. “She always included rabbis and the Jewish Community in King Day celebrations. So I naturally became involved with the Jewish community in later years,” he said. Flowers noted that Israel is the only Democratic friend of the U.S. in the Middle East – a re-
AIPACDC Page 8
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