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Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area / Vol. 48, No. 44 Aug. 15 - Aug. 21 2013

Precision and synchronized movement set the tone during the Washington Performing Arts Society’s Summer Steps with Step Afrika! campers who performed on Sunday, Aug. 11 at the National Building Museum in Northwest. See additional photographs on Page 38. /Photo by Roy Lewis

Historic March on D.C. Horizon

By Barrington M. Salmon WI Staff Writer As the District of Columbia prepares for the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington, Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) said the city will provide materiel resources and in-kind services to support the march’s 50th

anniversary.

Gray said no one knows how many people will participate in the march which will take place on the National Mall on Saturday, Aug. 24, adding during a news conference last week that no one has figured out the eventual costs to the city.

“We’re participating in every

aspect of the march. We don’t know how much it will cost. But for our purposes, what is the cost of freedom?” Gray asked.

At a press briefing, Gray announced and introduced the 22 members of the March on Washington DC Host Committee.

Gray, Ward 8 Council member Marion S. Barry, the National

Action Network’s Janaye Ingram and Frank Smith were among those who discussed the 1963 March on Washington; the arc that connects it to the 50th anniversary commemoration; and the task District residents and other African Americans have to continue moving the baton forward.

“You’ll recall that the march in

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Mentors Make a Difference Page 4

Kidney Disease Rampant among African Americans Page 20

1963 was the largest event of its kind with 250,000 people,” Gray told the standing-room-only audience at the African American Civil War Museum in Northwest on Aug. 7. “It was covered on television, was a peaceful march and people walked from 14th

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“Lee Daniels’ The Butler” hits the Silver Screen Page 30

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The CoLumn

The Aria Club of Greater Washington Presents Its 15th Annual Opera Gala Jeannie Holloway Carter, the Founder/Director of the Aria Club of Greater Washington presented its 15th Annual Opera Gala at the Tifereth-Israel Congregation in Washington, DC. With English surtitles, arias and ensembles were perforemd by local and guest artists. Chinyere Hubbard was the narrator. Hedy Bannon accompanied the performers. The club is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that has been providing educational & performances opportunities for operatic and classically trained singers.

Jeannie Holloway Carter Founder-Director of the Aria Club of Greater Washington

Malaika Alvaro (Colorature) as Bess & Rafealito Ross (Tenor) as Sportin Life “There’s a boat dat’s leaving soon...” -

Jing Chang (Soprano) as Mimi & Paul McIIVaine (Tenor) as Rudolfo “O’Soave Fanciulla”

Talented Mother & Daughters Family Malaika Alvaro (Coloratura), Rose Marie Sims (Soprano) & Chinyere Hubbard (Narrator)

THE THREE TENORS (L-R) Yubun Hung (Tenor), John White (Tenor) & Paul McIIVaine (Tenor)

(Left) Detra Battle (Soprano) as Adriana sings “Io Son L’umile Ancella” (Below) Rose Marie Sims (Soprano) & Voice Coach Marjorie Jovanovic

(Left) Hillery Tsumba-Maritz (Contralto) as Orlofsky “Chacun A son gout” (Right) Malaika Alvaro (Coloratura) as Samantha sings “Je Dis”

(Above) Jennifer Hosmer (Soprano) as Elisabeth sings “Dich Theure Halle” (Below) Family Affair Malaika Sims Alvaro , Mr. & Mrs. Sims, Mrs. Ann Morgan (Chinyere’s Mother-inlaw), Chinyere Sims Hubbard (Narrator) & Zayani Sims

(Left) Sisterly Support Margeeah Israel with her sister Detra Battle (Soprano) (Right) Adrienne Neal (Soprano) as Lucy “Hello! Oh Margaret, It’s You”

Hedy Bannon (Accompanist)

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Kurt Pommonths, Sr, Photographer * Photo Enhancer * Graphic Designer Social Sightings - The CoLumn is published in the Hill Rag, DC Mid-City, East of the River & the Washington Informer 2003 © SOCIAL SIGHTINGS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED — DUPLICATION IN ANY FORM REQUIRES WRITTEN PERMISSION | E-mail SocialSightings@aol.com

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8/15/2013 – 8/21/2013 AROUND THE REGION Black Facts Page 6 PRNCE GEORGE’S COUNTY Page 14 BUSINESS William Reed’s Business Exchange Page 19 COMMENTARIES Pages 28-29 SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS Pages 40-42 RELIGION Lyndia Grant’s Religion Column Page 43

Visit us on the web at www.washingtoninformer.com Ismael Muhammad, the son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad addressed a gathering at Muhammad Mosque No. 4 in Southeast on Sunday, August 11. During his speech, he discussed African Americans long journey toward freedom, justice and equality. Muhammad stressed that the journey is far from over. /Photo by Roy Lewis

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around the region the Cycle of Women Break Domestic Violence Students Provide

Guidance to Peers

By Tia Carol Jones WI Staff Writer

By Sam P.K. Collins L.Y. Marlow's 23-yearWIWhen Contributing Writer old daughter told her the father of her daughter threatened her Every year, thousands of stulife, and the life of their child, dents fromsomething across thehad country she knew to be embark upon what often bedone. Out of her frustration comes a long and arduous jourwith law enforcement's handling Email comments to: ney. fill outsheapplications, of theThey situation, decided to rburke@ search for Saving scholarships, dolecamout start the Promise paign. hundreds of dollars to pay fees washingtoninformer.com seems to be a vicious to “It prospective colleges, andcycle lay that won't turn my family out their hopes and dreams in loose,” Marlow said. Marlow personal statements. shared her story with who the audiHowever, for those lack at the District Heights aence strong support system that Domestic Violence Symposium includes parents, friends and on May 7 at the District Heights school administrators, postsecMunicipal Center. The sympoWe represent victims of major ondary planssponsored sometimesbyrarely sium was the medical malpractice such as come to fruition.

Family and Youth Services Sandra Robinson Jack Olender cerebral palsy.

Longtime education profesCenter of the city of District All 5 lawyers were again elected sional Shana Payne wants to end Heights and the National Hook“Best Lawyers in America” 2012 the cycle low expectations Up of BlackofWomen.

Karen Evans is a nurse/attorney Marlow has written a book, among students who might be Attorney/Pediatrician Harlow Case Karen Evans Melissa Rhea “Color Me Butterfly,” whichcolis a discouraged from attending Robert Chabon, M.D., J.D. is story about four generations of lege.

Of Counsel. domestic violence.

Thethere bookare is “It’s very clear that inspired by her own experiences, some who are encouraged to and tothose of her go college andgrandmother, some who her mother and her daughter. [wouldn’t even be considered],” She said every time she reads said Payne, 35. “[We have to In Memoriam excerpts from her book, she still Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. reach] students can notthe believe the who wordshave camea Wilhelmina J. Rolark desire but don’t know how to get from her. “Color Me Butterfly” The Washington Informer Newspaper there,” the Greenbelt, Md., resiwon the 2007 National “Best THE WASHINGTON INFORMER PUBLISHER dent said.

Memoriam Books” Award.

NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is InDenise Rolark Barnes Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. Payne the16-years-old executive director published weekly on each Thursday.

“I wasisjust when Wilhelmina STAFFJ. Rolark Periodicals postage paid at Washingmythe eyeDistrict first blackened my of office of and College ton,THE D.C. and additional mailing of- NEWSPAPER WASHINGTON INFORMER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published lips bled,”aMarlow said.nonprofit Denise W. Barnes, Editor Summit, national fices.

Newsonand advertising deadlinepostage paid at Washington, D.C. and additional weekly Thursday.

Periodicals Elainein Davis-Nickens, presilocated Northwest, aimed at Shantella Assistant Editor mailing prior offices.to News and advertising deadlineY.isSherman, Monday prior to publication. is Monday publication.

Andent of the National Hook-Up increasing college enrollment in Announcements be received weeks prior to event.

Copyright 2000 by The nouncements must must be received two twoRon Burke, Advertising/ Marketing Director of Black Women, said there isShe no Washington Informer.

All rights low-income communities. weeks prior to event.

Copyright 2013reserved. POST MASTER: Send change of addressconsistency in the wayand domestic es to The Washington Informer, 3117 Martin Luther King,IV, Jr. Ave., S.E. Photo Washington, Lafayette Barnes, Assistant Editor

by The Washington Informer. All helps create curricula orgaD.C. 20032.POSTMASTER: No part of this Send publication may be reproduced without written permisviolence issues are dealt with by rights reserved.

Khalid Naji-Allah, Photographer nizes activities for students unsion from the publisher. The Informer Newspaper cannotStaff guarantee the return of change of addresses to The Washphotographs. Subscription rates are $30 per year, twoFreitas, years $45.

Papers willEditor be received familiar with the college applicaJohn E. De Sports Photo ington Informer, 3117 Martin Luther not more than a week after publication. Make checks payable to: tion process.

King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. Dorothy Rowley, Online Editor Founded in 1993, College 20032. No part of this publication may THE WASHINGTON INFORMER Brian Young, Design & Layout be reproduced without written permis3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. • Washington, D.C. 20032 Summit’s network includes 180 202 561-4100 • Fax: 202 Bookkeeper 574-3785 sion from the publisher.Phone: The Informer Mable Neville, schools nationwide and more news@washingtoninformer.com Newspaper cannot guaranteeE-mail: the return Mickey Thompson, Social Sightings columnist than 50,000 students – 4,000 of www.washingtoninformer.com of photographs. Subscription rates are whom attend high schools in the $45 per year, two years $60. Papers will Stacey Palmer, Social Media Specialist Washington metropolitan rebe received not more than a week after PUBLISHER Angie Johnson, Circulation publication. Make checks payable to: Denise Rolark Barnes gion. While the organization offers college preparation courses STAFF REPORTERS REPORTERS THE WASHINGTON INFORMER Brooke N. Garner Managing Editor Tia C. Jones, Ed Laiscell, for its partner schools, its main 3117 Martin Jr. Ave., S.E Carla PeayLuther King, Assistant Managing Editor Odell B. Ruffin, Larry Saxton, Stacy Brown, P.K. Collins, initiative focuses on peer menWashington, Ron BurkeD.C. 20032 Advertising and Marketing MarySam Wells, Joseph YoungMichelle Phipps-Evans, Eve Ferguson, Gale Horton Phone: 561-4100 Mable202 Whittaker Bookkeeper torship and galvanizing students Administration Gay, EltonPHOTOGRAPHERS J. Hayes, Njunga Kabugi, Stacey Fax:LaNita 202 Wrenn 574-3785 to promote the idea of college to John E. De Freitas Sports Palmer, Editor Dorothy LafayetteRowley, Barnes, IV, Barrington Salmon, news@washingtoninformer.com other students.

Victor Holt Photo Margaret Editor John E. De Freitas, Maurice Fitzgerald, Summers, Charles E. Sutton, James www.washingtoninformer.com Zebra Designs, Inc. Layout & Graphic Design Joanne Jackson, Roy Lewis, Robert “You see a change when you Wright Ken Harris /www.scsworks.com Webmaster Ridley, Victor Holt get the middle-tier students CIRCULATION and the B and C students exPHOTOGRAPHERS Paul Trantham cited about going to college,” John E. De Freitas, Roy Lewis, said Payne. “When they’re able Khalid Naji-Allah, Shevry Lassiter to show their peers the path to college, a culture shift is created [among prospective students 4 / May 15 - 21, 2008 The Washington Informer / www.washingtoninformer.com who weren’t previously] focused on getting [to that level].”

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law enforcement. She said they threat,” she said. had come together to bring a Among the programs Marlow sense of uniformity in the way wants to see implemented are domestic violence victims and stricter restraining order policies, survivors are treated. more rights for victim's families “She's using her own personal to intervene on behalf of a vicstory, her own personal pain to tim, a domestic violence assesspush forward,” Davis-Nickens ment unit coupled with further said about Marlow. training for law enforcement Davis-Nickens said anyone agencies, a Child's Life Protecwho reads Marlow's book will tion Act and mandatory counsel“get it.” She said she “puts the ing for batterers. case in such a way, the average “If we are ever going to eradiperson can get it.” She said at the cate domestic violence, we must end of the day, the book will look at both sides of the coin. help people begin to have a dia- We need to address both the viclogue about domestic violence. tim and the batterer,” Marlow Also present at the event was said.

Mildred Muhammad, the exMarlow would also like to see wife of John Allen Muhammad, programs designed to raise who wasleader sentenced to sixTeriece consec-Jonesawareness Alumni coordinator (center), 21,among surrounded by eight in children utive life terms without public ofand privateBaltimore schools. She alumni leaders on the campusparole of the University Maryland by a Maryland jury forhelped his role children need be peer educatCounty.

Jones recently the in group feels organize activities forto250 the Beltway Sniper attacks inof Vinette ed about domestic violence. leaders-in-training. /Photo courtesy Brown 2002. Mildred Muhammad is “We have to stop being pasthe founder of After the Trauma, sive-aggressive with poor chilJune, facultythat members in ni leaders anddomestic mentors,violence,” conductanInorganization helps the dren about survivors of domestic violencea ed Marlow each partner school selected four said. workshops at the Uniand their Marlow workedBaltimore to break group of children. rising high school se- versity of has Maryland “I lived in fear forpeer six years.

Six County, the cycle where of abusethey in her family, niors to become leaders, organized years in fear is a long time. It is team-building and is confident exercises the policies and she College Summit ambassadors not an easy thing to come out is pushing for will start that and college admissions advisors. group forums for 250 peer leadof,” she said. attend a four-day ers. process.

Peer leaders Mildred Muhammad said “I plan to take these policies to workshop on a college campus Teriece Jones, an alumni leader people who want to help a Congress and implore them to where theyviolence write resumes, draft coordinator with College domestic victim must change our laws,” Marlow Sumsaid. personal andgolearn and a junior who the be carefulstatements, of how they into mit “I will not stop until attends these poliabout financial Southern Maryland in the victim's life,aid. and understand College cies are of passed.”

By she the end Plata, Md.,Jones oftencan called on her that mayofbetheinworkshop, “survival LaTia Carol be reached peer leaders are prepared to teammates to openly engage mode”. at tiacaroljones@sbcglobal.netpeer guide underclassmen through “Before you get to 'I'm going leaders – especially those who to kill you,' it started WIhomesick and discouraged the application process.as a verbal were “You have a group of rising by the rigors associated with colseniors who are giving up four lege prep activities. days of their summer to write, “I wanted the alumni leaders to work in teams and [learn to] provide the same experiences for speak to authority figures,” said the peer leaders that they were Cliff Crosby, 38, school partner- given when they went through ship manager at College Summit the program,” said Jones, 21. in Northeast. “It’s just like be- “[The goal is to] provide a hoing in school again. Not a lot of listic view of what we’re doing young people want to do that.” to prepare students for college.

Jovan Davis, a former College They have to make sure that evSummit peer leader, said he met eryone is [positively] affected [in] individuals from different social the sessions,” said Jones, who and ethnic backgrounds during hails from Brandywine, Md. a summer workshop at Trinity Tim Spicer, a senior at MoreCollege in Northeast two years house College who participated ago. That experience piqued as an alumni leader for a second his interest in sociology – a dis- consecutive year, was eager to cipline he currently studies at duplicate the positive experience Morehouse College in Atlanta. he had in 2009 during a summer “There was a lot of diversity session at the University of Richand I had to quickly adjust,” said mond in Richmond, Va. L.Y. Marlow Davis, 18, who lives in Upper “I appreciated the mentorship Marlboro, Md. “That was my in- that I received at College Sumtroduction to the college experi- mit,” said Spicer, 21 of Arlingence. By the time I got to More- ton, Va. “I just want to let these house, I knew how to work with [students] know that college goes different people.” by quickly, so take advantage of In July, Davis and 14 of his these opportunities. The next colleagues, who worked as alum- four years will shape your life.” WI

“

We have to stop being passive-aggressive with poor children about domestic violence. I plan to take these policies to Congress and implore them to change our laws. I will not stop until these policies are passed.

“

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D.C. Council member Jack Evans is running for mayor in 2014. /Courtesy Photo

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By James Wright WI Staff Writer

Mendelson Discusses Council Activity D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) provided an update on recent legislative activity when he addressed members of the Ward 8 Democrats on July 30 at the Brighter Day Ministries Church in Southeast.

Mendelson, 60, figuratively pounded his chest with both hands. He’s proud of the 2014 city budget that the council passed in June.

“We have $100 million in affordable housing in the budget and we managed to lower the city’s sales tax,” he told the group of 35 who attended the meeting.

“The sales tax is the lowest in the Washington region.”

The 2014 budget is the first that Mendelson has managed since becoming chairman of the D.C. Council in 2012. Traditionally, the chairman has the most impact in terms of the allocation of funds. Mendelson noted increases in the arts, public safety, economic development and education.

He said, however, that the D.C. Council also voted for legislation that he did not support.

One bill that passed its first reading, the “Elected Attorney General Implementation and Legal Services Amendment Act of 2013,” sponsored by D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), failed to get the thumbs-up from the chairman.

District voters overwhelmingly approved the new elected position of attorney general in the November 2010 general election but Evans, and other council members, pointed out that no candidates have shown any interest in the position to date.

Evans’ bill would delay the election of the city’s legal officer until 2018 and Mendelson frowns upon that.

“The attorney general will serve as a check on the actions of the legislative and executive branches of the city,” Mendelson said. “We do have a chance to change that bill because we will have a second reading of it in either September or October.”

Mendelson said that he thinks that the bill – “The Primary Election Date Emergency Act of 2013” – that would change the District’s 2014 political primaries from April 1 to the second Tuesday in June, should be passed but acknowledges

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C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

301.292.9141/FAX 301.292.9142/Mobile 703.819.0920 doris@mcmilloncommunications.com/www.mcmilloncommunications.com

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson talked about council legislation recently at the Ward 8 Democrats meeting. /Courtesy Photo

staunch opposition to the bill.

“The lag time between winning the Democratic Party primary, which means in most cases winning the office, is way too long,” he said noting that elected officials will be sworn into their positions in early January 2015.

“Someone who loses in the primary in April will have nine months to make mischief because they will not return to the office. That is not right.”

Evans Gets Key Endorsement D.C. Council member and 2014 mayoral candidate Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) officially received the first formal endorsement in his quest to be the city’s top elected leader.

Evans, 59, is being supported by the DC and MD State Council of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. An affiliate of the AFL-CIO, the union represents blue-collar workers in the health, transportation, automotive and manufacturing industries in the Washington region, and its president, Lonnie Vick, said that his organization is committed to seeing Evans become the next

Denise Rolark Barnes elected leader of the District.

Independent Beauty Consultant “Over the last couple of www.marykay/drolark-barnes.com weeks, candidates had the op202-236-8831 portunity not only to ‘talk the talk’ but ‘walk the walk,’” Vick said. “When the moment arrived, Jack Evans was the only mayoral candidate with the guts to take that walk and stand with District workers and that is the type of leadership we need in the [John A.] Wilson Building. Jack Evans has shown time and time again that he can bring people together to get results for hard(301) 864-6070 working families here in the District.”

Evans said he’s pleased about the endorsement.

“I am proud to stand by the ADA, Age Discrimination, Benefits, Civil Rights, District’s working families and COBRA, Contracts, Deaf Law, Defamation, Disability Law, honored to have the endorsement of the State Council of Discipline, Discrimination, FMLA, FLSA, FOIA, the International Association of Family Responsibility, Harassment, HIPPA, OSHA, Machinist and Aerospace WorkNational Origin Descrimination, Non-Compete, ers,” he said.

“By bringing to‡ Please set all copy in upper and lowercase, flush left as indicated on artwork at these point sizes: Consultant name in 11-point Helvetica Neue Bo Beauty Consultant in 9-point Light; Web site or e-mail address in 9-point HelveticaAct, Neue Light; phone number in 9-point Helvetica Race Descrimination, Rehabilitation Retaliation, gether a diverse coalition of Helvetica Neue To the Independent Beauty Consultant: Only Company-approved Web sites obtained through the Mary Kay® Personal Web Site program may business and labor, residents of Severance Agreements, Sexual Harrasment, Torts all eight wards, ages, races and Whistleblowing, Wage-and-Hour, Wrongful Discharge economic backgrounds, we will Serving Maryland, District of Columbia, and North Carolina have the strongest campaign in www.jmlaw.net jmccollum@jmlaw.net this race.” wI

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BUYING RECORDS

August 15 1975 – In another of those highly publicized “trials of century” which frequently grip national attention, 20-year-old Joanne Little is found not guilty of murder after she stabbed a white jailer who had entered her cell in Beaufort County, North Carolina to sexually assault her.

1979 – President Jimmy Carter forces the resignation of United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young after he angered Jewish groups by meeting with representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The resignation created stormy relations between Blacks and the generally uncompromising pro-Israel lobby in the United States.

August 16 1922 – Author and investigative reporter Louis E. Lomax is born in Valdosta, Georgia. He was renowned for his coverage of the Civil Rights Movement and his investigative reporting. He died mysteriously in an automobile accident near Santa Rosa, New Mexico on July 30, 1970. One urban legend is that his car was forced off the road by persons working for the FBI because he was completing a book which would show that the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was part of a government plot.

August 17 1887 – Black separatist and Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey is born on this day in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1914 and with amazingly rapid speed built it into the largest independent Black organization in history with 1,100 branches in over 40 countries.

1791 – Benjamin Banneker writes a letter to Secretary of State (later president) Thomas Jefferson denouncing slavery. In his letter, Banneker declared, “I freely and cheerfully acknowledge that I am of the African race” and then precedes to label America’s recently achieved freedom from England a “hypocrisy” as long as Blacks continued to suffer under “groaning captivity and cruel oppression.” Banneker was a Black activist against slavery even though he is generally recognized for his mathematical achievements, designing one of the first clocks made in America and laying out the nation’s capital after Pierre L’Enfant abandoned the job.

1954 – African American diplomat Ralph Bunch is named Undersecretary of the United Nations.

Bunch had already received the Nobel Peace Prize (1950) for his work as a UN negotiator during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948-1949. Bunch would later become UN Secretary General. He was born in Detroit but raised in Los Angeles.

August 20 1619 – Approximately 20 Africans (the records of the day referred to them as “20 and odd Negras”) arrived in Jamestown, Virginia aboard a Dutch ship. It appears the Africans were sold as indentured servants who could work and earn their freedom.

Little is known about the group except that the Dutch had stolen them from a Spanish slave ship which was probably headed for the Caribbean or South America.

1942 – Musician, composer, singer, songwriter Isaac Hayes is born on this day in Covington, Tennessee.

August 21 1831 – The Nat Turner Slave Rebellion begins in Southampton, Virginia. It was the best organized and most deadly slave revolt in American history. The charismatic Turner brought together between 50 and 70 Blacks (some slave and some free) to launch his revolt prompted by what he saw as a vision from God. As many as 70 whites (men, women and children) were killed during a two-day period.

1904 – Jazz pianist and band leader William “Count” Bassie is born on this day in Red Bank, New Jersey.

1936 – Basketball legend Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 7’1” phenomenon had an amazing NBA career including being the only player to score 100 points in a single game.

Chamberlain died in October 1999.

Joanne Little

August 18 1963 – The first Black person admitted to the University of Mississippi, James Meredith, graduates on this day in 1963. His graduation was unmarred by the protests and violence which marked his federally forced entry into the once segregated institution.

August 19

Buying Vinyl Records from 1950 to 1986, Jazz, Rock-n-Roll, R&B, Disco, Soul, Reggae, Blues, Gospel, and record format 33 1/3, 45s, and some of the older 78s.

Prefer larger collections of at least 100.

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INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY LINDEN

Viewp int Dine Watson Washington, D.C. I think it has to a certain extent.

While we have seen progress in terms of racial equality, we still have a long way to go. The fact that we have an African-American president is a historical milestone, but it seems as if a lot of [legislators] are making it extremely difficult for him to do his job. It makes you wonder if an African American can really be an effective president today.

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Mary Myers-Nelson Silver Spring, Md. Over the last 50 years I feel that the dream has been realized in a number of ways. There are multiple educational opportunities available for African Americans and economic and political opportunities are available as well.

Africans Americans have been recognized in the corporate world and are able to climb the corporate ladder and break the glass ceiling.

However, there is a lot more that can be done. The fact that we have an African-American president gives many people hope that one day the dream can fully be realized.

THIS YEAR MARKS THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING’S FAMOUS SPEECH, “I HAVE A DREAM.” HAS KING’S DREAM FINALLY BEEN REALIZED?

Cheryl Coleridge Silver Spring, Md. I think the dream has been realized. I was born in 1964 and grew up in a time where I experienced desegregation. Since then, I’ve seen African Americans become presidents and vice presidents of companies. I do think, however, that a lot of us are still being left behind. The dream has been realized for many of us, but not all of us have been able to reap the benefits and take advantage of the opportunities.

Patrick D. McCoy Hyattsville, Md. In many ways it has as African Americans have been given more of an equal footing in terms of education and in the arts and sciences. But at the same time, the more things change, the more they tend to stay the same. I think we still have a lot of work to do as far as not allowing circumstances of the past to dictate and influence the trajectory of where we are trying to go. I believe that it is our responsibility to be good stewards of Dr. King’s dream and what he laid before us, and do our part to continue to progress.

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Corey Thompson Takoma Park, Md. We’ve come a long way in certain areas, but things have not really changed in others. My daughter [attends] a private school – when I was a young person – that was unattainable for a lot of African Americans. The fact that I can place my child in a private school and afford her the luxuries of education that this country has to offer is wonderful.

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AROUND THE REGION

Former D.C. Council Chairman Linda Cropp will serve as vice chair on the Host Committee for the upcoming March on Washington. /Courtesy Photo

GRAY

continued from Page 1 Street to the Lincoln Memorial.”

“There were many speeches delivered but the most significant and compelling was Dr. King’s speech.

More specifically the marchers advocated for an end to racial segregation, freedom from police brutality and fair wages and fair pay. King articulated self-rule for the District of Columbia. He spoke about this (then) and here we are in 2013.”

The city, Gray said, is still burdened by Congressional overlords who have held on tightly to budget autonomy, who continue to deny Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) voting privileges and who routinely interfere in the city’s affairs.

“We still are disenfranchised and can’t approve our own budget despite a sterling track record,” said Gray, 70. “Many days, we’re our own worst enemy but we deserve the right to rule our city. I hope again, for the march to be the platform for enfranchisement. I hope people will come out because if they don’t, people will think we don’t care. Two hundred or 500 people coming out would be a weak statement. Irrespective of the differences you have, you should agree on enfranchisement for our people.”

Ingram, the D.C. bureau chief of the National Action Network, and the main logistical organizer of the march, said the Aug. 24 march is a call to action.

“Invalidating Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was a huge threat to democracy in this country,” she said. “Many voting laws were intended to prevent us from voting.

We’re marching to restore these laws.”

Ingram noted that women face a raft of challenges around reproductive and other rights and student

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loan debt and rates threaten to bury those who are or were trying to get a higher education.

“Joblessness is still an issue with unemployment 2 to 1 for black people and youth are six times more likely to be unemployed.”

Smith, chair of the DC March on Washington Host Committee and executive director of the African American Civil War Museum, joked that he was one of the few people in the room willing to admit that he participated in the 1963 march.

“I traveled here from the Mississippi Delta after having been in jail,” he said. “I stayed in D.C. for six weeks for rest and relaxation. People gathered at 11th and Monroe streets and walked to the Mall. … I thought we might even win this thing.”

Smith, 70, described himself as “an old-fashioned SNCC organizer” who “keeps finding one or two [people] until we get a million.” The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) served as the catalyst for the civil rights movement and was composed primarily of young people.

The chairman of the host committee and former civil rights activist was appointed by Gray about three weeks ago, and the former D.C. council member said during an earlier interview that the committee was developing posters and flyers, sending out emails and using social media to spread the word. In addition, he added, the committee would be reaching out to people from churches and schools who marched in 1963.

Former D.C. Council Chairman Linda Cropp serves as the committee’s vice chair.

“The march acted as a catalyst [bringing us] to where we are today,” said Cropp, 65. “This has been the change needed to project us into the future. We still don’t have freedom

… we need to renew the idea and promise of the march.”

Barry, a former four-time mayor who is serving his second term as the Ward 8 representative, regaled the audience with his recollections of the march.

“Frank knows I’m on SNCC time, plus or minus half an hour,” he joked. “I thank the mayor for seeing what time it is: freedom time.”

Barry, 77, said he was in his second year of graduate school pursuing a degree in chemistry and he and between 200 and 300 people who’d been demonstrating in downtown Nashville were rounded up and jailed.

“We decided to stay until Monday morning to make a statement,” he said.

Barry said SNCC was impatient with the traditional civil rights organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Urban League and others, and pushed for more immediate change.

“We thought the Big Six moved too slowly. We were independent and wanted to make our own revolution. We had revolutionary zeal … we were like [the] Occupy [movement] seeking to change things permanently.”

Despite certifiable gains, Barry said, no one can be complacent because of the variety of challenges that continue to nip at people’s heels.

“You all know I’ve been in public office for 31 years and it started with SNCC,” he said. “If Jim Foreman hadn’t asked me, I wouldn’t be in Washington. Washington was a segregated and bad-off city much like cities down South. Police were beating people up for example.”

“We need to free people from bondage and toward self-sufficiency.

Until we step up the pace here locally, we will not be free. A lot of my constituents don’t see the connection between their situation and autonomy. We’ll continue to press on.”

Gray agreed.

“The reality is that we still have many challenges,” he said. “People will look at the Trayvon Martin verdict and ask how can that happen in a just society?”

He listed disparities in employment and educational underachievement as two pressing examples in the District.

“Those who think we’ve arrived should (look around) and see the challenges. We know that we still have challenges before us. We have made progress in this city but we have light years to go. The march will help us lay out strategy for the next 50 years,” Gray said.wi www.washingtoninformer.com

AROUND THE REGION

Hundreds Mourn the Passing of Ward 8 Activist

By James Wright WI Staff Writer

Hundreds of District politicians, family members and friends packed the sanctuary of a Southeast church to say goodbye to one of the ward’s most dedicated and effective leaders.

About 300 people filed through the doors of Matthews Memorial Baptist Church to attend the funeral service of Ward 8 civic and political activist James Bunn on Friday, Aug. 9. Bunn, 71, died on Aug. 1.

D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) noted the large turnout and attributed it to Bunn’s persistent activism.

“It shows how important you are when you see the people who show up to your homecoming,” said Barry, 77. “Black, white, Jewish, Gentile is here. Five members of the D.C. Council are here, along with the mayor and no one could get this type of response but James Bunn.”

Bunn worked throughout his adult life in Ward 8 as an entrepreneur and an activist for civic

and political causes. He served as an advisory neighborhood commissioner in the ward representing Bellevue for several years. He also served as a mayoral appointee to the District of Columbia Retirement Board and, prior to his death, he accepted an appointment as an alternate member of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority Board.

However, Bunn is best known for his stewardship of the Ward 8 Business Council and the Congress Heights Main Streets initiative. There’s no aspect of Ward 8 life that he didn’t touch in some way, as D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) noted.

“He kept giving until he had no more to give,” said Norton, 76. “He concentrated his talents on the ward’s improvement. He lived where he worked and he led by example.”

An example of Bunn’s “cando” spirit lives on in the Bunn Building in Southeast, where he housed his businesses and operations. D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (D) plans to honor his late friend.

“I will send over legislation in

The hearse drives by the Bunn Building on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue on Friday, August 9 in tribute to the late James Bunn, an activist and leader in Ward 8. /Photo by Khalid Naji-Allah

September when the D.C. Council returns to session that will rename the intersection of Astor Place and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Southeast as ‘James E. Bunn Avenue.’” Gray, 70, said.

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D.C. Council Chairman Pro Tempore Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) and D.C. Council members Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) and Anita Bonds (D-At Large) also attended the funeral.

McDuffie, 37, agreed with Barry that Bunn’s influence permeated throughout the city.

“Unlike many of you, I have not known Mr. Bunn for decades, but his death is tough for me to take because I know of him,” he said. “His reach will go beyond the artificial boundaries of Ward 8 and it reaches into mine, Ward 5. When you lose a Mr. Bunn, you lose a part of the District of Columbia.”

Mary Cuthbert, one of the city’s longest-serving advisory neighborhood commissioners and a consistent voice regarding Ward 8 politics, said that she and Bunn had their moments over issues involving the ward.

“Mr. Bunn and I were long, longtime friends,” Cuthbert said.

“We would fight, argue, agree and disagree.”

Nevertheless, she said that when she needed his support, he was there.

“I am going to miss Mr. Bunn,” she said. “It will be hard working in the community without Mr. Bunn. I thank him for passing through my life.”

Sheila Bunn, one of James Bunn’s daughters, who currently serves as the deputy chief of staff for Gray and previously worked as chief of staff for Norton, addressed the crowd. She

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said that she was holding onto her faith during this time of loss but remembers some lighthearted moments that she and her father shared.

“Mr. Bunn would do things others would not,” Sheila Bunn said. “We had a swimming pool in our backyard while others did not.”

Bunn’s grandchildren read an original verse entitled, “A Poem for PopPop.” Vocalists Robert E. Person, Julius Riddick, and Wendell Jordan performed a musical selection, “When Thou Comest” to thunderous applause.

The Rev. Anthony Motley, a longtime friend of Bunn’s and a well-known political activist in the District, offered a prayer of comfort.

“Mr. Bunn is in a better place,” said Motley, 64. “He fought the good fight. He finished the course for there was no wavering in this man.”

Dionna Stanton and Wanda Lockridge, friends of the late activist, each read scriptures during the service, and Bishop Matthew Hudson of Matthews Memorial Baptist Church offered the eulogy.

“If Mr. Bunn was here today, he would say that ‘I fought the good fight and finished my course,’” Hudson said. “He would say that ‘I have kept the faith and it is time to pass the mantle.’”

Barry said that there was one constant in Bunn’s life.

“He loved Ward 8,” he said with a smile. wi

August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

9

AROUND THE REGION

Re-Entry Resource Center a “One Stop Shop”

By Margaret Summers WI Contributing Writer People returning to the District following years of incarceration in prisons around the country are of-

ten disconnected from their families. They lack the skills, training and education needed to reestablish themselves in their communities. Many become recidivists to finance basic necessities.

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ment training and preparation, education, housing, and access to health care.

“We’ve been operating since July 8, and already processed 422 intakes,” Charles Thornton, ORCA’s director, told the packed audience attending the August 6 official opening ceremony. The center is in Room 100 at ORCA, 2100 Martin Luther King Avenue, Southeast.

Thornton, 52, a Ward 6 resident and returning citizen who grew up in Southeast’s East Capital Dwellings, said the center was created through partnerships with 16 District municipal agencies, and local and federal criminal justice agencies. The center has also partnered with area educational institutions such as Howard University’s Schools of Law, Social Work and Divinity, which conduct assessments of returning citizens seeking educational opportunities, and Georgetown, George Washington, and American Universities.

The University of the District of Columbia Community College is also a partner.

“The Department of General Services is working with us. They have schools’ and libraries’ renovations which involve returning citizens,” said Thornton. “We have a program with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) where returning citizens learn skills like putting up street signs. They can subcontract with companies that work with the department, and they are developing skills that are transferrable to other jobs.”

“If we can keep people gainfully employed, that’s a public safety issue,” Thornton added. “Reintegration is a public safety issue.”

Thornton said ORCA’s annual budget, which an Office of Budget and Finance website lists as $266,000, is not a hindrance in helping returning citizens. “We’re working with 16 other agencies which have untold resources.

That’s what collaboration is all about.”

Mayor Vincent Gray, 70, praised Thornton’s and the center’s efforts to reintegrate returning citizens. “I doubt that there are many other @AlexandriaVA cities which have brought together such agencies to serve this deserv@AlexandriaVA ing population,” he said.

Gray said he changed the name of the agency from the “Office on Ex-Offender Affairs” to its current name by executive order because “it is a much more dig-

But the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs’ (ORCA) Re-Entry Resource Center enables such individuals to go to a central location for assistance in obtaining everything they need – employ-

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nified name. The idea is to give people self-sufficiency so they can have respect and dignity.” Gray also signed the District’s “Ban the Box” legislation into law. The measure removed the check-off box and question on application forms inquiring whether applicants for District government jobs had criminal records.

“You won’t be knocked out of the box, no pun intended, when you apply for a job,” Gray said.

“You will be considered on your qualifications alone.”

Paul Quander, 58, the deputy mayor for Public Safety and Justice, said that as a result of the center, “Returning citizens feel good about themselves, they feel welcomed. And as they go, so their children go, and their communities grow. A lot of work and vision has gone into making this center.”

Gennine Hagar, 52, chief U.S. probation officer, whose office oversees District individuals sentenced in federal court, said, “I recall being as frustrated as the men and women released back into the District. Today, things are much different. I am so proud of this city.”

Nancy Ware, director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, which oversees persons sentenced in D.C. Superior Court, said, “I’m a D.C. girl, and like many in this audience, I am really excited to see how far we’ve come. This office tells returning citizens that they are important to us and to the success of the city.”

Monique Ware (no relation) 34, a returning citizen from Northeast, described how the center helped her reintegrate. “I came back to D.C. on December 26, 2012 after serving my sentence.

My family picked me up. I knew I had to win back my family’s trust.

I went to ORCA looking for opportunities, and I met with a staff assistant.” Since then, Ware said, she has earned a computer training certificate through ORCA, and is studying to be an electrician. She has also worked for DDOT, and is trained in sprinkler systems installation.

Ware had words of assurance to District communities where returning citizens are making a place for themselves: “Trust us. We’ve served our debt to society.” wi www.washingtoninformer.com

around the region

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August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

11

One City...

One Government...One Voice

I

Celebrating the Culture and Community in Ward 8

12 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

By Catherine Buell

f there is one thing that our Nation’s Capital has in common with thousands of other urban areas around the country, it is our passion for our community. Each steeped with its own unique roots, that love for “our hood” is often demonstrated by the way we come together in our own backyard to celebrate its culture, creativity, historical contributions and how we showcase our shared commitment to ensure that our community continues to thrive well into the future.

Recently my staff, with the support of the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development, embarked on a mission to help revitalize Ward 8 with the redevelopment of the St. Elizabeths East Campus. Core components of our mission include engaging the community and welcoming residents and local businesses onto the campus to observe the changes happening on this historic campus.

Two weeks ago, on July 27, 2013, part of that mission was realized with the successful kick-off of the Arts & Humanities Festival at St. Elizabeths East, which featured some of Ward 8’s most notable cultural enthusiast and performers as well as Mayor Vincent C. Gray.

The crowd ultimately totaled about 550 people, mostly District residents and almost half were from East End The Washington Informer

of Washington, to this free family event. This weekend, we will culminate the festival with the Summer Celebration Weekend with free activities, food and fun on both Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The weekend definitely promises to be an exciting time.

While I have only served as Executive Director of St. Elizabeths East since December 2012, I am a resident of Ward 8. Just as those who have come before me and those who are born from generations of families who have been the official time keepers for this historic community, I am proud of the progress we continue to make even in the challenging times we live in.

The Arts & Humanities Festival represents for me a time to pause, reflect, engage and bond over where we have been, but also where we are going and how we are growing. Its success would not be possible without the input and feedback from our civic representative, faith-based leaders, and the voices on the streets who have embraced the revitalization of St Elizabeths East from the festival to the Gateway Pavilion. The festival is just the beginning of an exciting new era for Ward 8 and its residents.

So please come out and join us as we celebrate all that is great with Ward 8.

Catherine Buell is the Executive Director of St. Elizabeths East. WI www.washingtoninformer.com

around the region

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August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

13

prince george’s county

Committee Weighs in on Gang, Youth Violence

By Gale Horton Gay WI Staff Writer

Better coordination among groups working to stem gang and youth violence and more character education in schools are two initiatives that a task force suggests could make a difference in deterring crime.

The Prince George’s Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Steering Committee has turned in its report and 23 recommendations to the Prince George’s County Council and the county

executive. They say, if implemented, these suggestions will go a long way in decreasing gang and youth violence.

Among its recommendations: move the Youth Strategies and Programs Division to the Office of Community Relations, establish a grant writer position, clarify the mission and purpose of the Office of Youth Strategies and Programs, better track funding on youth and gang violence programs, provide money to schools for character education and include input from

youth groups on how to prevent violence.

“Any presence of a gang engaged in criminal activity is a problem,” said the committee’s co-chair Eric Olson, a member of the Prince George’s County Council. “I think it’s a long-term effort. We are not going to see wholesale change immediately.”

The 25-member committee, which was established in 2010, focused its efforts on intervention and prevention strategies.

The committee was made up of representatives from the po-

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lice department, sheriff ’s office, corrections department, youth and family service agencies, ministries, the NAACP, University of Maryland and other organizations.

According to the report, the task force achieved its primary goal of “bringing together numerous agencies and organizations to communicate and brainstorm about youth and gang violence. This, in and of itself, was significant, as a number of agencies and non-profits were unaware of some existing youth and gang-related programs that were being run by others.”

Council Member Will Campos, co-chair of the committee, said he’s pleased with the outcome. “I am happy that we were able to bring much-needed attention to an issue that is affecting our youth in many parts of the county,” said Campos. “We need to make sure we stay engaged and keep communication flowing with all entities involved in the committee.”

The committee would like to see continued coordination and intra-governmental collaboration with non-profits, law enforcement, and the education community.

The report cites accomplishments made thus far that are having a positive effect such as the establishment of the county Transforming Neighborhoods Initiative (TNI), launched in 2012. TNI focuses resources in six targeted areas – Langley Park, East Riverdale/Bladensburg, Kentland/Palmer Park, Suitland/Coral Hills, Hillcrest Heights/Marlowe Heights, Glassmanor/Oxon Hill.

Olson said cleaning up these

areas and taking a multi-faceted approach to improving health, recreation, and youth services are key.

“It’s all those elements,” said Olson. “It helps to create more stability.”

In part, the report stated that a “holistic approach is needed to ensure that our youth have the self-respect and self-confidence they need to become contributing adults.”

Other accomplishments cited include: increased partnerships, collaboration and information; increase in resources and outreach efforts, and an overall reduction in crime in Prince George’s County in 2011 and 2012.

“We have been doing a number of things to try to reach young people and address some of the problems [facing] young people before they get attracted to a gang,” said Olson.

Olson said the task force did not request gang activity statistics and was more concerned about determining steps that can be taken to make a difference.

Additional recommendations made by the committee: investment in after-school and summer programs; development of programs designed to include parents, especially fathers or male adult family members; funding to publicize and market existing county resources, especially hotlines to report gang activity and provide crisis services to youth; develop a process for research, outreach, and collaboration with local faith-based and church organizations that are pursuing solutions to prevent youth and gang violence.WI

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The Center for Minority Business Development (CMBD) at Prince George’s

VIRGINIA BRIEFS

Vehicle, Personal Property Tax Changes Announced The City of Alexandria has made two changes that may affect residents’ 2013 personal property tax bills, which will be mailed this week and are due on October 7, 2013. These changes will not affect taxes assessed for prior years.

On May 6, the City Council approved the FY 2014 budget, which went into effect July 1, 2013. The budget included an increase in the personal property tax rate from $4.75 per $100 of assessed value to $5 per $100 of assessed value. However, the restructuring of personal property tax relief may offset the resulting tax rate increase for qualifying vehicles assessed at $20,000 or less.

The following chart shows how the tax rate change and restructured personal property tax relief may impact City residents.

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Teaming Up

Identify and discuss various types of teaming arrangements and the benefits and challenges associated with them.

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Building Coalitions to Influence LMBE Policies

This workshop will discuss the power behind building coalitions to influence policies affecting small and minority-owned businesses and the steps needed to make coalitions effective.

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The Role of IT in Construction

Explore BIM technology’s potential to increase efficiency, productivity, and profitability for everyone in the construction industry.

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Discussion will focus on ways to leverage all the resources acquired in the 8(a) program and identify all the elements needed to develop a successful transition plan.

We will have mini workshops on how to get on GSA Schedule, how to get in the 8(a) program, how to get Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) DBE certification, and information on the new law CB-17.

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14056

Moody’s Investor Service has upgraded the City of Alexandria’s credit rating outlook from “negative” to “stable” as a result of also moving the United States government’s ‘Aaa’ rating to a “stable” outlook on July 18. Alexandria was one of 37 local governments and 4 states that were elevated to “stable.”

Standard and Poor’s Rating Services, another major credit rating agency, continues to maintain its ‘AAA’ credit rating for the City.

When Moody’s placed the U.S. government on “negative” outlook in 2011, it revised the outlooks of certain AAA-rated municipal issuers to “negative” to reflect their close economic, financial and capital markets linkages to the federal government.

Alexandria was one of those municipalities, due to its economic sensitivity to federal spending cuts, dependence on federal transfers and exposure to a capital markets disruption, according to Moody’s. Many of the other jurisdictions were also in the D.C. Metropolitan area.

According to Moody’s, the conditions that returned the U.S. government’s rating to a “stable” outlook also reduce Alexandria’s exposure to these risks.

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conference on September 19, 2013, from 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

For 2013, the method for distributing personal property tax relief to qualifying vehicles has been restructured to a tiered system, based upon the vehicle’s assessed value.

Under the new tiered system, qualifying vehicles assessed at $1,000 or less will continue to receive 100 percent relief. However, qualifying vehicles assessed at $1,001 or more would receive the following personal property tax relief. Please note that PPTRA relief is prorated for vehicles owned for a part of the year.

Vehicles valued between $1,001 and $20,000 will receive PPTRA relief of 61% on the total assessed value. (Maximum relief of $610) Vehicles valued between $20,001 and $25,000 will receive PPTRA relief of 50% on the first $20,000 of assessed value. (Maximum relief of $500) Vehicles valued at $25,001 and higher will receive PPTRA relief of 40% on the first $20,000 of assessed value. (Maximum relief of $400) The tax rate increase combined with the new personal property tax relief structure is expected to have the following effects on residents’ 2013 tax bills: The net tax due may remain the same, or decrease slightly, for most taxpayers with a qualifying vehicle valued at $20,000 or less, compared with 2012; Assuming a five percent reduction in a vehicle’s assessed value, the net tax due may increase by $79.50 for a qualifying vehicle valued between $20,001 and $25,000, compared with 2012; and Assuming a five percent reduction in a vehicle’s assessed value, the net tax due may increase by $179.50 for a qualifying vehicle valued at more than $25,000, compared with 2012.

Vehicle assessments that increase or decrease more than the assumed five percent decrease will have a corresponding difference in the net tax due.

For more information on personal property taxes and related topics, please visit the personal property tax website at alexandriava.gov/CarTax. Si necesita ayuda en Español, por favor llame al 703.746.3907. WI

Moody’s Upgrades Alexandria’s Credit Outlook to ‘Stable’

Where did you hear about that?

Community College will host its second annual procurement

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The Washington Informer

August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

15

national

Millions Face Cuts in Food Assistance WI Staff Report from New American Media In Michigan, 1.8 million people will see a cut in their food assistance benefits this fall, when a temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps — is set to expire, according to a new report from the Washington, D.C.based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

All of the more than 47 million Americans, including 22 million children, who receive SNAP will see their food assistance

reduced, when a modest boost in benefits to SNAP recipients, which policymakers included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to strengthen the economy and ease hardship, expires on Oct. 31.

For a family of three, that cut will mean a reduction of $29 a month—$319 for the remaining 11 months of the fiscal year.

This is a serious loss for families whose benefits, after this cut, will average less than $1.40 per person, per meal. “So many struggling families in Michigan have been helped by this small increase in food assistance ben-

efits at a time when we faced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,” stated Gilda Z. Jacobs, president and CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy.

“This modest assistance is a lifeline to many families with breadwinners, who are struggling to find work, or are working at jobs that do not pay them enough to put food on the table.”

In addition to helping feed hungry families, SNAP is one of the fastest, most effective, ways to stimulate a struggling economy. Every $1 increase in SNAP

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AT THE CROSSROADS OF FREEDOM AND EQUALITY:

The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington October 2 - 6, 2013

/Courtesy Photo

benefits generates about $1.70 in economic activity.

The across-the-board cuts, scheduled for November, will reduce the program by $5 billion in fiscal year 2014 alone.

In Michigan, it will mean an estimated loss of $183 million in benefits. Cuts of that magnitude will have a significant impact on low-income families. It will be the first time SNAP reductions impact all participants, including 22 million children nationwide.

Kareemah El-Amin, executive director of the Food Bank Council of Michigan, said nearly 24 percent of Michigan children are food insecure.

On top of these across-theboard cuts to the program, the U.S. House of Representatives recently defeated legislation that would have cut $20 billion from SNAP, eliminating food assistance for nearly 2 million people.

That legislation would have

provided strong financial incentives to states to reduce their caseloads. This could leave many families and their children without assistance to put food on the table when they need it most.

The House is considering, and could vote on, even deeper cuts to the program in the coming weeks.

“Most of the people on the Food Assistance Program are either unable to work, or are already working,” said Terri Stangl, executive director of the Center for Civil Justice, which operates a Food and Nutrition Program helpline. “The program is doing what it was designed to do: Meet a temporary need when families are struggling, because someone is laid off, or offered fewer hours of work. Now is not the time to reduce this modest source of help with something as basic as food.” wi

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16 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

The Washington Informer

Contact: Ron Burke | 202-561-4100 rburke@washingtoninformer.com

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NATIONAL

A New Look for Racial Profiling:

Saggy Pants Legislation

By Marjorie R. Esman Special to the Informer from New America Media Saggers are everywhere, from London to Paris, Barcelona to Port Au Prince, New Orleans to Steubenville, Ohio, and even Terrebonne Parish. Saggers are people, mostly young men who choose to wear their trousers particularly low on the hips, usually exposing about three to five inches of boxer shorts.

While donning saggy pants isn’t exclusive to the United States, it is widely accepted that the “fashion” phenomenon was incubated in America’s prisons.

But many local officials in cities across the U.S. don’t consider it fashion at all and have had enough of the trend that some call ridiculous and thuggish.

Others go further calling it indecent or even immoral. An official with the Black Mental Health Alliance of Massachusetts (BMHAM), a group that promotes parity in mental health services, thinks that wearing your jeans below your waist is a “behavioral health issue in our neighborhoods and communities that must be addressed.” And still others claim health reasons for banning saggy pants, citing potential future problems with hips and joints because of the “penguin” type walk saggers adopt in order to keep their pants up.

Fed up, cities from Cocoa Beach, Florida and Lynwood, Illinois to Boston, New York, Shreveport, and other communities around Louisiana are telling saggers to pull their pants up or face fines, community service and even prison time.

The terms of the laws vary – some ban showing any underwear at all, some ban pants below the waist, some measure the number of inches that may show before violating the law.

And the legal bases for the prohibitions aren’t clear, usually couched in terms of “obscenity” or “indecency,” although Louisiana law prohibits local communities from regulating obscenity more strictly than state law which defines obscenity in terms of the exposure of specific body parts. Underwear isn’t included in that list. Regardless of the justification, the result is the same: law enforce-

ment professionals, in effect, become “fashion police” when their duties include monitoring clothing styles. This seems an inefficient use of their time, not to mention the cost, both which could be better spent managing more serious and violent crime and issues of real public safety.

Saggy-Pants Laws Target Minorities

Saggy-pants laws violate a ba­ sic First Amendment right to free speech and the liberty interest in expression. Clothing style is one of the most personal forms of expression.

An individual’s liberty interest is a basic right that falls under the same category as the other liberties guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. Like stop and frisk and other so-called crime-fighting initiatives, saggy-pants laws invite trouble.

Based on “a look,” police target certain communities, usually the Afri­can-American community, even though people of all races wear pants that might fall under the legal prohibitions. This racially based profiling leads to a disproportionate number of African Americans being stopped and searched unnecessarily, which in turn leads to unnecessary arrests for questionable minor offenses.

The fact is that no link has been found between wearing saggy pants and increased crime or threat to public safety—but clothing has become a pretext to stop and search people for other things.

Many people, especially older, find the saggy pants trend objectionable, but does it qualify as a criminal act? It only becomes criminal when we make it so by passing laws that vilify what amounts to innocent behavior that in no way affects public safety. Benjamin Chavis, former executive director of the NAACP stated in a New York Times article, “I think to criminalize how a person wears their clothing is more offensive than what the remedy is trying to do.”

/Courtesy Photo

and that is reason enough to ban it. Others complain that it’s unsightly and impolite. Terrebonne Parish Council member Russell Hornsby said, “The problem is our young men are emulating prisoners. It sends a sign that you’re available for sex. It’s a bad example to set.”

But regardless of its genesis, the law is clear that people have the right to wear clothing

that others may dislike – as long as prohibited portions of the anatomy remain covered.

Crimi­ nalizing saggy pants, or any other fashion statement, sends the message that law enforcement must uphold a majoritarian view of aesthetics at the expense of public safety.

Consequently, law enforcement professionals devote time and resources monitoring

fashion while many communities face serious public-safety issues and stretched budgets.

Our police and courts would serve our communities better by focusing on violent individuals who pose a threat to their neighbors. We increase the risk to ourselves by using scarce resources targeting people who have done no harm other than to dress in a way that others don’t like.

This generational disconnect about clothing styles is nothing new. And even the most well-meaning adults haven’t always adhered to the same clothing styles. It’s tough to argue that sagging pants are inherently dangerous or violent; or that by itself, the height of a waistband puts others in the community at risk. In a state with the highest incarceration rate in the world, lawmakers would be well advised to consider the cost, both human and fiscal, of criminalizing harmless behavior at the public’s expense and the risk of public safety. WI

Waste of Public Resources at the Expense of Public Safety

There are those who argue that wearing saggy pants is modeled after prison behavior

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The Washington Informer

August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

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18 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

EDUCATION

High School Students’ Summer Graduation Result of Hard Work, Persistence

By Margaret Summers WI Contributing Writer Enthusiastic cheers, shouts and applause filled The George Washington University Lisner Auditorium on August 9. Nearly 1,000 people attended the event at 730 21st Street Northwest. Participating were 323 young men and women from 23 District of Columbia public and charter schools who completed their high school graduation requirements this summer.

Resplendent in caps and gowns of vibrant blue, gold, white and other colors, students crossed the stage as their names were called to accept their hard-won diplomas.

They were congratulated onstage by, among others, John Davis, the District of Columbia Chief of Schools, D.C. Council member Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7), and keynote speaker Kenneth Ward, executive director of College Bound, Inc. Many students endured years of painstaking study to graduate, a fact that was not lost on the commencement speakers.

“We expect greatness from each and every one of you,” said Alexander. “Congratulations, and don’t forget to dream.”

Ward, of College Bound, Inc., in Northwest said his organization prepares District eighth through 12th graders for college through tutoring, mentoring, college entrance exam training and career guidance. He said the District is changing rapidly, with construction of new buildings, and an influx of new residents for whom the city is creating “bike paths and dog parks.”

“You have to decide where you fit in these changes,” said Ward.

“Only one fourth or less of African Americans and Latinos has more than a high school diploma.

Without a high school diploma and college [degree], you will keep yourself trapped in a life of poverty and despair.”

He cautioned against being discouraged by setbacks.

“Automaker Henry Ford went bankrupt five times. Early in his career, a casting director told Sidney Poitier, ‘Why don’t you stop wasting people’s time? Go out and The Washington Informer

DaShawn Washington takes great pride in displaying her high school diploma on Friday, Aug. 9. The Ballou STAY graduate said that she was determined to excel because of her children. /Photo by Margaret Summers

get a job as a dishwasher.’”

Ward said one’s chosen life path is determined by character and ability to dream. “Dream big.

I’m convinced that my ancestors’ dreams are what kept them alive.”

Often, big dreams are not enough in a world where a 17-yearold boy armed only with a bag of Skittles candy and some ice tea can be gunned down, Ward noted.

“We must not only dream, but create the world we want for our children, and our children’s children.

Keep a hunger for justice.”

After commencement, some students from Ballou STAY High School in Southeast, a school specializing in students with academic challenges, discussed their journeys to graduation. DaShawn Washington, 21, of Southeast, said, “I couldn’t always get child care for my one-year-old twins Miké and Mikhya, and my twoyear-old son Demahri. I didn’t always have transportation until I was able to get a car. I stayed with it because of my children.” Washington wants to earn a psychology degree at the University of the District of Columbia and become a counselor.

“I was supposed to graduate in 2011, but I wasn’t doing the work I was supposed to do,” recalled Somaiya Blakney, 19, of Southeast.

She left Suitland High School in Suitland, Md., and enrolled in Bal-

lou STAY. “I spent an extra year there because I didn’t have enough credits to graduate. Everybody at Ballou STAY cared about me, the teachers and the counselors. Graduation means new beginnings.”

Blakney wants to attend a cosmetology or photography school.

Germaine Curtis, 53, exemplifies Ballou STAY’s motto, “It’s never too late to earn your high school diploma.” Curtis dropped out of school in the 10th grade. “I was in gangs, drinking and getting high. But I decided to get my life together.”

After giving up alcohol and drugs, Curtis, of Southeast, spent four months in a Colorado Job Corps program and six years in the military. “But I felt something in my life wasn’t complete. Without a high school diploma, I could only get low-paying jobs. In job interviews, I would lie and say I dropped out in the 11th grade.”

The life of Judge Greg Mathis, a television reality show star, inspired Curtis to graduate. “Judge Mathis was in gangs (as a youth).

Now, he’s recognized worldwide.”

At Ballou STAY, Curtis stayed up late studying, cramming 12 years of educational effort into weeks. He wants to attend college and become an addiction counselor, “helping people in the same boat I was in.” Wi www.washingtoninformer.com

busniess Business Exchange

Money Matter$

Look Who’s Stuck on Stupid Some phones were ringing; others were “on-hold” as Real Christian Radio’s midday host was well into his 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. set. The subject was “Is minimum wage enough to live on?” and syndicated radio personality Lonnie Hunter’s job was letting the audience “have their say” on the issue.

Actually, the subject had come up earlier on “The Yolanda Adams Morning Show” when the show’s cohost asked listeners to “speak up” let him know whether minimum wage “is a livable wage” and could they survive on $7.25 an hour. All morning long stations in the “Praise” network urged listeners to: “Say what you want to say” about whether minimum wage is a livable wage.

So, as they say in the business, the subject “already had legs” by the time Hunter stepped to the microphone. Christian Radio’s midday host Hunter is a minister, musician, artist and producer who got misled into taking an “on air” position advocating flawed economic concepts. Sadly, Hunter doesn’t know, or see, the socialist philosophy the issue is based upon. Though he never cited himself as an economist, but amid the tweets, Facebook messages and contest challenges, the high audience involvement Hunter achieved that day, was based on bogus subject matter and theme.

The whole idea and discussion of wage legislation is politics run amuck. Many liberals, still widely accept the view that minimum wage laws are needed to provide the working poor with a fair wage. Hunter unwittingly took sides in a misguided issue that labor unions have been pushing for years. People proposing minimum wage legislation have the rose-colored glasses’ view of government that promotes redistribution of wealth and marketplace intervention.

Labor unions have held lofty status in the Black political agenda of recent years. Supporters of the minimum wage claim it increases the standard of living of workers, reduces poverty, reduces inequality and boosts morale. Actually, such rules and legislation increase poverty and unemployment. Sixty percent of the jobs lost in the last recession were middle income.

Most new positions are in expanding low-wage industries such as retail, food services, cleaning and health-care support. By 2020, 48 percent of jobs will be in those service sectors.

The economic evidence shows Blacks haven’t yet mastered capitalism. Most show a gross lack of understanding of how it works. An www.washingtoninformer.com

Industrial Bank Industrial Strong

By Maria Randall VP/ Commercial Loan Officer

www.industrial-bank.com

Member FDIC

Submitted by: Maria Randall, Vice President Senior Commercial Loan Officer Industrial Bank

Finding Access to Capital

By William Reed example of our participation in misguided social engineering goes back to Chicago in 2006 when the Chicago City Council rejected a proposal from Wal-Mart to open a store on the South Side. Subsequently, that Council approved an ordinance requiring Wal-Mart and other “Big-Box” stores to pay much higher minimum wages than their competitors. All to which Chicago unions and community groups cheered, not fully grasping the fact that such targeted legislation tarnishes a city’s reputation as a place to do business.

A free market economic system is one in which prices and wages are determined by unrestricted competition between businesses, without government interference. Politicians in the nation’s capital moved to center stage buffoonery with a new “minimum wage” chicanery. The D.C. Council has moved to raise the local minimum wage for employees at major retailers and requiring “Big-Box” stores to pay their employees 50 percent more than the existing District minimum wage. At its core, the city council measure is all a plot to tell the world’s largest retailer “how it should operate.”

The “Large Retailer Accountability Act of 2013,” would require retailers with more than $1 billion in annual revenues to pay employees making less than $50,000 a year at least $12.50 per hour. Ironically, D.C.’s minimum wage is $8.25 per hour.

The belief that increasing the minimum wage is socially beneficial is a delusion Blacks need to delete from their economic lexicon. It’s time such buffoonery ceases and Blacks think and act in ways that illustrate a realization of where we live and work – an economic and political system in which trade and industry are based on private ownership for profit. “Minimum wage” is antithetical to how “laissez-faire” works. Wi William Reed is publisher of “Who’s Who in Black Corporate America” and available for projects via the BaileyGroup.org

In the more than 25 years I’ve spent in the banking and finance industry, I have had the pleasure of meeting many small business owners, and hearing the stories of how they got started. Whether it was a graphic design company, or a childcare center, there was always a common thread to the stories: Each owner decided that to take the business where they wanted it to go, they were going to need access to capital - CASH, plainly speaking.

As a Senior Commercial Loan Officer with Industrial Bank, I work with business clients throughout the Metropolitan Washington area. It’s not uncommon to see a truck pass by bearing the name of a business with whom I had worked to obtain a line of credit that enabled them to purchase additional inventory, or a commercial mortgage to purchase their new business location. Whenever that happens, I’m reminded of their story and that in many instances it was an SBA loan program that made it possible for them to access the capital they needed.

While the SBA does not provide loans directly to businesses, their programs do provide banks and other lenders with a guarantee that if the loan should default, the lender will be able to recoup a good portion of the balance owed them. This guarantee can go a long way in lowering the risk potential of a given loan transaction and help in making bankers and other lenders stamp a loan request “Approved.”

What

do lenders look for in order to approve a loan? Among other things, one key question that must be answered satisfactorily before a loan can be approved is, “Can the loan easily be repaid from the cash generated by regular operation of the business or some other reliable repayment source?” After analysis of revenue and expenses, trends, income projections, credit history, etc., the lender then typically looks for a secondary source of repayment. Why a secondary source?

The answer is quite simple: Since the loan is being made to the business entity whose ongoing operations provide the means of repayment of the loan, the bank needs to have a back-up plan for repayment, should the business prematurely shut its doors. This is where collateral, an SBA guarantee, and other forms of “back-up” can play a meaningful part in the loan decision.

The SBA has done a lot to both simplify and de-mystify the process of obtaining an SBAguaranteed loan. From eliminating a number of cumbersome requirements from the application process, to adding new programs and making major enhancements to its website (www.SBA. gov), they’ve made it easier for business owners to access information and resources to help their business grow, and for lenders to utilize their programs.

Earlier in my career, I worked with a national SBA lender that made SBA loans to businesses across the U.S. While gaining some expertise in SBA loan procedure, I also gained an appreciation of how the many programs can help small businesses, who might not qualify for “traditional” bank financing to achieve their goals. One of the programs I’ve used to assist small business clients here at Industrial Bank is the SBAExpress program, one of the permanent loan programs under the SBA’s 7(a) Loan umbrella. For loan amounts up to $350,000, this program allows for variable or fixed rates, term loans or lines of credit, and has an accelerated processing time. In just the past year, I’ve used the program to provide funds for a licensed clinical social work practice to purchase their building in Prince George’s County, and to provide a line of credit for working capital to a certified public accounting firm in DC. If you’re interested in speaking with a lender about SBA loan programs, or are ready to tell your business story, I hope you’ll contact me at MRandall@Industrial-Bank.com. /Courtesy Photo

The Washington Informer

August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

19

health

Kidney Disease Persist in Black Community Sixty Percent Waiting for a Transplant are African Americans

By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer She wasn’t supposed to survive.

Cherryl Jones often heard those words of doom, and with good reason.

In the early 1980s, the Temple Hills, Md., resident fought tenaciously with systemic lupus, and then discovered she was pregnant.

While lupus and pregnancy often can prove to be a fatal combination, Jones received even more disconcerting news.

“In my third trimester, my kidneys failed,” Jones said. “I was devastated. All I wanted was to be able to see my child

grow up. I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

Shortly after giving birth to a healthy baby girl, Jones received a kidney transplant. Still, the new kidney itself had a life expectancy of just five years.

“But, here we are today, 27 years later, and I’m still here and I’ve seen my daughter grow up,” said Jones, 55. “I owe a lot to Dr. Clive Callender. He performed the transplant and he still takes care of me.”

A longtime physician at Howard University Hospital and one of the foremost specialists in organ transplant medicine, Callender said kidney failure doesn’t have to result in death.

“If we love ourselves and live a healthy life, that race from

20 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

Cherryl Jones had a kidney transplant shortly after her daughter was born. She credits Dr. Clive Callender of Howard University Hospital, the surgeon who performed the transplant for helping her to continue to thrive and enjoy life. She said Callender continues to monitor her health. /Photo by Shevry Lassiter

cradle to the grave is one that we can happily lose,” Callender said. “Cherryl has done well, she’s changed her lifestyle and she has done the things necessary and she’s blessed.”

The Washington Informer

A native New Yorker who now lives in Silver Spring, Md., Callender, 76, helped develop the first minority directed dialysis and transplant center and Histocompatibility and Immunogenetic (H&I) laboratory in the country in 1973.

Located at Howard University Hospital in Northwest, the H&I lab provides a complete range of diagnostic testing services used primarily in the field of clinical organ transplantation. It provides aroundthe-clock coverage for clinical consultation and for final placement of organs from deceased donors, including kidney and other transplants.

In 1991, Callender founded the Investigator of the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program, the first of its kind targeting African Americans, Latinos, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Kidney disease is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States, causing more deaths than breast or prostate cancer each year, officials at the National Kidney Foundation in New York said.

About 26 million Americans have the disease and most don’t know it. Approximately 73 million Americans are at-risk for kidney disease due to diabetes, high blood pressure or a family history of kidney failure. Minorities and the elderly are at a greater risk of developing the dreaded illness.

“Minorities are 25 percent

of the population, but almost 60 percent of those waiting for a transplant are minorities,” Callender said, adding that those who consume soft drinks, red meat and fast food are also at great risk.

Additionally, among individuals with chronic kidney disease, African Americans experience faster progression of the disease during later stages compared to other races, according to medical officials.

The lifetime incidence of kidney failure is about 8.6 percent for blacks compared to 3.5 percent for other Americans, according to the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Medical experts said they’re unsure of the reason for the disparity, but many agreed that blacks remain at great risk.

“Not only are African Americans more likely to be designated with chronic kidney disease at an early age, we are more likely to be diagnosed with the advanced stage of kidney disease and kidney failure which pose a huge burden on our physical, emotional and financial well being,” said Dr. Constance Mere, a nephrologist at Howard University Hospital.

Richmond, Va., resident Darryl Cheatham’s kidneys stopped working at an early age. He was 24, and after a year-and-ahalf of waiting for a transplant and undergoing three hours of dialysis three days per week, Cheatham, 48, finally received

See DISEASE on Page 21 www.washingtoninformer.com

health DISEASE continued from Page 20 a transplant. “It’s an awesome blessing,” he said. “Having a transplant is a second chance at life. I encourage people to donate.”

More than 116,000 Americans are currently on the national organ transplant waiting list, with more than 94,000 patiently waiting for a life-saving kidney.

In 2012, an average of 13 people died each day while waiting for a kidney transplant, many of the fatalities were African Americans.

Because of the extended waiting list for a transplant, Callender established National Minority Donor Awareness Day, which is observed each year during the first week of August.

The goal is not only to raise awareness about the need for more organ and tissue donors, but to also prevent the need for transplants by promoting healthy lifestyles.

“It’s very important that we understand there are ways to help fight this,” Callender said.

“I also believe the perception

that African Americans are not interested in being donors or are not interesting in doing something about this is wrong.”

Nearly 60 percent of Americans will develop kidney disease in their lifetime, according to a new analysis published in the American Journal of Kidney Disease. In comparison, the lifetime risk of diabetes, heart attack and invasive cancer is approximately 40 percent.

“This data clearly shows that Americans are more likely than not to develop kidney disease, which – in its later stages – is physically devastating and financially overwhelming,” said Dr. Beth Piraino, president of the National Kidney Foundation.

“More importantly, if caught early, the progression of kidney disease can be slowed with lifestyle changes and medications,” Piraino said. “This underscores the importance of annual screenings, especially within the at–risk population, to potentially prevent kidney disease and ensure every patient with kidney disease receives optimal care.”wi

Dr. Clive Callender helped to develop the first minority directed dialysis and transplant center and Histocompatibility and Immunogenetic (H&I) laboratory in the country in 1973. /Photo by Shevry Lassiter

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August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

21

health

Suicide among Indian Americans: We’re Depressed, But Who’s Listening?

By Sunita Sohrabji Special to the Informer from New America Media A year before he died earlier this year on April 23, Sunil Tripathi had dropped out of college at Brown University, allegedly suffering from bouts of depression.

Tripathi, 22, went missing Mar. 15 from his Providence, Rhode Island, home, leaving behind his cell phone and his wallet. The former philosophy major, who played saxophone in a jazz band, also left a three-word note: “goodbye cruel world,” according to several media sources.

Despite the alleged note, Tripathi’s family, father Akhil, mother Judy, sister Sangeeta and brother Ravi, set up a massive social media effort – “Lend Your Hand” – to find the young man, who was described as thoughtful and gentle by his friends.

Tripathi’s body was pulled Apr. 23 from the Providence River. In a brief interview with India-West shortly after her brother’s body was found, Sangeeta Tripathi said she and her family were struggling with attempting to understand what had happened.

Ravi Tripathi, Sunil’s brother, told CNN, “He was never clinically diagnosed with depression. But we in the family knew he had problems with his mood.”

In 2008, Congress proclaimed July as National Minority Mental

Health Awareness Month. One out of four adults living in the U.S. and one out of every 10 children struggles with mental health issues, reports the National Alliance on Mental Health, one of the country’s largest non-profit organizations addressing the issue.

Minority communities are less likely to access health care for mental health issues because of the stigma surrounded around depression and other mental health illnesses, according to NAMI. While there is a lack of data related to depression in the South Asian American community, a study released by the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum reported that a higher percentage of South Asian Americans, especially between the ages of 15 to 24, tested positive for symptoms of depression.

Young South Asian American women have a higher rate of suicide than the general U.S. population, noted the study, adding that family conflict, anxiety and stress were precursors to depression and suicide in this community.

Conversely, South Asian Americans are the lowest users of mental health services because of the perceived cultural stigma attached to mental health issues, noted the APIAHF report.

Asian American teenage girls have the highest rates of suicide of any U.S. population, concluded

ATTENTION CBE SERVICE PROVIDERS

/Courtesy Photo

NAMI in a 2011 report.

people who successfully commit suicide have not been diagnosed with depression.

Parijat Deshpande, a clinical psychologist and founder of MySahana, an organization which aims to increase awareness about mental health issues, said very few Indian Americans seek counseling.

“There’s a lot of misinformation about what mental health is. Those few that do come for counseling often don’t know why they are there,” Deshpande told India-West.

“There’s definitely a stigma in the community about discussing mental

High Rates Of Suicide Suicide levels are very high among Asian Americans, agreed Aruna Rao, associate director of the New Jersey chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “Young people don’t have any outlets to talk about their problems and they try suicide and complete suicide,” she told India-West.

“They can’t talk to their families, because we are the model minority, so there’s no one to talk to,” said Rao, adding that the bulk of young

health issues. People don’t understand why it’s important to share, and they feel, ‘I don’t know whether they will be able to understand me,’” she said, noting that the greater mental health community for the most part does not have enough knowledge of the South Asian culture.Wi Editor’s note: India West reporter Sunita Sohrabji received a fellowship from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism to report on mental health disorders in the South Asian American community.

Read the full article at IndiaWest. com

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12:0523 PM August 15, 2013 - August 21,7/26/13 2013

education briefs D.C. Public Charter Schools

The D.C. Public Charter School Board (PCSB), Office of State Superintendent of Education and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer recently announced results from the annual financial analysis of District public charter schools, which show that their financial health significantly improved during the past year.

The report, which was conducted in 2012, reveals in a definitive study, the financial health of all 53 public charter schools that were in operation last year.

According to a PCSB-issued statement, the schools collectively received $504 million in District funds in per-pupil allotments, a facilities allowance of $96 million, as well as federal and philanthropic funding totaling an additional $110 million.

“In years past, we had a few schools literally run out of cash in the middle of the year, creating great disruption for families and school staff,” said Scott Pearson, PCSB executive director. “With the creation of the Audit Management Unit, I am confident that we now have the oversight in place to ensure that

ny,” said Anne Taylor, director of Montgomery County Public Schools’ curriculum and instructional programs.

charter schools have the financial health to meet their obligations.”

In addition, there were fewer individual schools with flagged financial issues. Also, the number of charter schools with audit problems declined to eight, compared to 18 in Fiscal Year 2011.

Prince George’s County Public Schools

Fairfax County Public Schools

Fairfax County Public Schools open on Tuesday, Sept. 3, where an estimated 184,625 students will begin classes in the nation’s 11th largest school system.

The students will attend 139 elementary schools, 20 middle schools, 22 high schools, seven special education centers, two alternative high schools, and 46 alternative programs. Three of the schools are magnet facilities, and include Bailey’s Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences, Hunters Woods Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Meanwhile, in July the Fairfax County School Board elected Ilryong Moon as chairman and Tamara Derenak Kaufax as vice chairman. Both officers will serve a one-year term.

/Courtesy Photo

Montgomery County Public Schools

More than 100 students received their diplomas during the recent 2013 Regional High School Summer School graduation ceremony that took place

Do your kids a favor.

at Richard Montgomery High School.

During the Aug. 8 ceremony, students from 25 high schools received their diplomas, making them bonafide members of the Class of 2013.

“It’s important to recognize that these students, who for whatever reasons [didn’t march in June among their 12th-grade classmates] reached a milestone and deserve to have a wonderful, beautiful graduation ceremo-

The Office of Interscholastic Athletics has announced the 2013-2014, fall, winter and spring sports programs for middle school students.

Fall and winter offerings include baseball, softball, cheerleading and basketball. Soccer players will be recruited for the spring program.

Student eligibility requirements are as follows: Students in the seventh- and eighth-grades must have at least a 2.0 grade point average (GPA) from the previous grading period.

While sixth-graders are automatically eligible for fall sports, they must have a 2.0 GPA from the previous grading period in order to participate in winter and spring sports.

Parents must complete the student/parent packet, which can be downloaded at the Prince George’s County Public Schools’ website.

A physical examination form completed by a licensed physician, certified physician’s assistant or a certified nurse practitioner must be returned to the schools’ athletic director. WI

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The Washington Informer

8/5/13 10:01 AM www.washingtoninformer.com

Editorial

opinions/editorials

Much Needed Change This Monday proved to be fortuitous for black and brown men in America because of two separate but related decisions that could be of potential importance to their lives and well-being.

In New York, Federal Judge Shira A. Scheindlin handed down a 195-page ruling calling the city’s stop-and-frisk law unconstitutional, adding that it violates the rights of minorities in the city. Her decision repudiates a central piece of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-crime tools.

She said the law encourages racial profiling and pointed to the disparity between the numbers of Latinos and African Americans stopped and searched by police, versus the rate at which their respective groups are held responsible for crime.

Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly claimed major success, citing the dramatic reduction of major crimes and homicides as proof of the law’s success. But Scheindlin said the stops indicated a widespread disregard for the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, and the Fourth Amendment which protects citizens against unreasonable search and seizure.

What Bloomberg, Kelly and the law’s supporters overlooked in their crime-fighting zeal is the corrosive effects of innocent black and Latino men and boys being stopped based on a hunch, bias and racial profiling. Innocent young men caught up in the gauntlet speak of the embarrassment and humiliation of being subjected to these searches. And others describe the fear of being stopped and harassed, and feeling that they’re not welcome in New York City.

Bloomberg was visibly angry at his news conference but he’ll get over it.

Scheindlin’s actions put a pause to this odious practice, and while Bloomberg plans to appeal, we hope that the judge’s prudent first step will lead to the law being tossed out permanently.

In the second development, U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder announced a major policy shift in federal sentencing policies by instructing federal prosecutors to no longer impose charges on non-violent drug offenders that carry mandatory minimum penalties. Holder also told the audience at the American Bar Association in San Francisco that he plans to work with a bipartisan Congressional group to craft ways to give judges greater latitude in sentencing.

Holder said America’s criminal justice system is overwhelmed and prisons have been flooded with low-level drug offenders.

U.S. prisons are operating 40 percent over capacity, Holder said, and the prison population has grown at a clip of 800 percent since 1980. While the U.S. comprises five percent of the world’s population, 25 percent of the world’s prison population – 2.5 million people – are incarcerated in this country and one in every 37 persons is under the control of criminal justice agencies.While blacks comprise 13 percent of America’s population, almost 35 percent of those in U.S. prisons and jails are African American.

There is growing realization that millions of people’s lives have been perhaps unalterably affected by laws enacted in the 1980s to combat the crack epidemic. And wisely, Holder and others see the wisdom in revisiting this stubborn and deeply troubling issue.

In both of these cases, non-whites have been unfairly penalized because of their color, as well as the penchant of law enforcement to aggressively police minority communities. We know that police aren’t going to swoop into affluent neighborhoods to collar white people using illegal drugs.

Nationally, African Americans are almost four times more likely as whites to be arrested for marijuana possession even though both groups use the substance at similar rates.

So this boils down to a question of fairness and equality.

We applaud Holder’s decision because it is timely and necessary and because the so-called War on Drugs has outlived its usefulness.

www.washingtoninformer.com

Foul Ball!

Stacy M. Brown’s article, “A-Rod Strikes Out,” August 8, 2013, (excuse me for saying) is “old news.” This story has been written and talked about so much that it’s getting to be downright pitiful.

Major League Baseball has been after Alex Rodriquez ever since he signed that historic contract, and now the New York Yankees see a way to get out of it. A-Rod is doing nothing any differently than countless other players have done and will continue to do. If Major League Baseball wanted to make an example of someone why didn’t it go after Roger Clemens? You know why: it’s all about the money, that big contract!

I would have preferred to read more about A-Rod’s ownership of those apartments in Prince George’s County and what steps the tenants are taking to ensure that he maintains his properties.

Robert Lowry Prince George’s County

A True District Stalwart

As a long-time resident of Ward 8, I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the family of the late James Bunn. I would also like his family to know that Mr. Bunn was well respected and loved by so many people in this city.

James Bunn’s legacy can truly be looked upon as being a role model for young people in the District, and he will be sorely missed. He really cared about the community that he lived in, providing jobs and business opportunities to so many. It wasn’t just the name on his building; he had a real presence on Martin Luther King Jr., Avenue in Southeast – he made it personal – always chatting with residents – and checking on the status of projects taking place in his beloved ward and in other quadrants of the city.

My prayers are with his family at this time. I sincerely hope that they find peace in knowing that their loved one was loved by so many others.

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The Washington Informer welcomes letters to the editor about articles we publish or issues affecting the community. Write to: lsaxton@washingtoninformer.com or send to: 3117 Martin Luther King Jr Ave., SE, Washington, D.C. 20032. Please note that we are unable to publish letters that do not include a full name, address and phone number. We look forward to hearing from you.

The Washington Informer

August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

27

opinions/editorials

Guest Columnist

By Harry C. Alford

How Deep is Corruption?

I have seen examples of corruption throughout my life.

Some are pretty much like the Coca-Cola driver peddling hot drinks throughout my old neighborhood. How about the time when one of my football coaches offered cash under the table for us if we made major hits, touchdowns, interceptions, etc.? I have seen it all. Some has been petty and some had the potential of serious implications and outcomes

if I would have agreed to it.

I have avoided or turned down 96 percent of the attempts made on me but I am sure there are many who haven’t had the will power to turn away. How do you avoid it? It is easy, according to then Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano: “Don’t pay any bribes; there won’t be any bribery.” In other words the offers will be made to us all and the key to avoiding it is to just turn them down and walk away. I have taken his advice to heart.

A great spawning ground for

corruption are the minority business programs throughout our nation. City, county, state, federal and corporations have some form of outreach and technical assistance for businesses that come from racial/socio economic disadvantaged groups. Most require participants to be “certified” as a minority, female, etc. type of business ownership. There is so much fraud involved in many of these applications that we can’t count them all. Cheating applicant, cheating employee overseeing the program and usually a

Guest Columnist

cheating White- owned seasoned business conspiring with the others. Every one of these programs has some form of corruption in their daily process. Some do it for quick bucks and some do it to prolong their racist attitudes and/ or greed.

I have had experience with mayoral offices during my travels.

The Thomas Barnes administration in Gary, Indiana was a trip.

They would demand my members who had won contracts competitively to pay a “fee” before they received payment. One protesting

member was told by an employee in the Deputy Mayor’s office, “What? Do you think we just give these contracts away?” He finally got his money after filing a claim in court. They gave him a check for the money due as he walked up the court house steps.

My experience with Mayor Willie Brown’s office of San Francisco was quite interesting. We set up an introductory meeting with the mayor. While I was waiting in the mayor’s office, a unscru-

See alford on Page 49

By Raynard Jackson

Double Standard on Using the N-Word I typically don’t write about professional athletes doing stupid things because I have absolutely no interest and it serves no purpose. But Riley Cooper’s actions from last month can be very instructive and deserves my attention.

Riley Cooper is about to begin his fourth season as a wide receiver with Philadelphia Eagles of the N.F.L. The 25-yearold was born in Oklahoma City

and raised in Clearwater, Fla. He played football for the University of Florida. By all accounts, he is a very good receiver and has been a model teammate during his years in the league.

Last month, he attended a Kenny Chesney concert in Philadelphia. He was denied backstage access before the concert and became visibly angry based on the video that has gone viral.

In the video, Riley can be seen and heard telling security (who cannot be seen in the video and

is said to be Black), “I will jump that fence and fight every nigger here, bro.”

After the video went viral, Riley issued a series of tweets apologizing for his actions and words, “I am so ashamed and disgusted with myself. I want to apologize. I have been offensive.

I have apologized to my coach, Jeffrey Lurie, and Howie Roseman and to my teammates. I owe an apology to the fans and to this community. I am so ashamed, but there are no excuses. What

Guest Columnist

I did…Was wrong and I will accept the consequences.”

The chairman and CEO of the team, Jeffrey Lurie issued this statement on behalf of the team, saying: “We are shocked and appalled by Riley Cooper’s words. This sort of behavior or attitude from anyone has no role in a civil society. He has accepted responsibility for his words and his actions. He has been fined for this incident.”

The team then posted a statement on their website: “In meet-

ing with Riley yesterday, we decided together that his next step will be to seek outside assistance to help him fully understand the impact of his words and actions.

He needs to reflect. As an organization, we will provide the resources he needs to do so.”

What Cooper said was stupid.

But, what I am having a problem reconciling is the reaction of the public in general and the team and N.F.L. in particular.

See jackson on Page 49

By Lee A. Daniels

Black and White Views Converge on Intermarriage I’ve long believed a succinct modern definition of marriage can be found in America’s Declaration of Independence: as “the pursuit of Happiness.”

In that sense, then, it’s no coincidence that the phrase comes at the end of the document’s famous assertion: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalien-

able Rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” – connecting a time-honored human rite to the conventionally-accepted human right of freedom.

Nowhere, in the American context, has that link between the rite and the right been more apparent than in society’s stance toward marriage between Blacks and Whites. And no more so than today, when intermarriage between Americans of different racial and ethnic backgrounds is more common than ever; and

28 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

same-sex marriage has made historic breakthroughs in acceptance; and the nation’s first Black president is the child of an interracial marriage.

That’s why the finding of a just-released Gallup survey that Black Americans and White Americans are approaching a point of unanimous tolerance about Black-White intermarriage is so important: Because the fact that 96 percent of Blacks and 84 percent of Whites express approval of intermarriage – an average of 87 percent – indicates a The Washington Informer

great deal about America’s present and future.

We know about the past of Black-White intermarriage in America. Whites, driven by crackpot assertions of racial purity and the “practical” necessities of slavery, banned it by law during the slave and Jim Crow eras. Not until California’s Supreme Court struck down that state’s law in 1948 – when a total of 24 other states had such laws and state and federal courts routinely dismissed challenges to them – did the racist restriction

of the rite begin to lose power.

The Supreme Court’s famous 1967 decision in Loving v. Virginia invalidated the intermarriage bans in the last 16 backward states. But even so, Whites’ attitudes toward intermarriage remained mired in the past.

A 1969 Gallup survey found that while more than 1 of every 2 Blacks expressed approval of intermarriage, less than 1 in 5 of Whites did. By 1983, Black approval was at 71 percent; White

See daniels on Page 49 www.washingtoninformer.com

opinions/editorials

Guest Columnist

By Julianne Malveaux

What is a Living Wage? to pay $12.50, which is more than the D.C. minimum wage of $8.25 an hour. In response, Wal-Mart says it may not build all of the six stores it had slated for D.C. Responses depend on whom you talk to, with some of the unemployed saying that an $8.25 job is better than no job, and others saying that $8.25 is not a living wage.

Let’s do the math.

Someone who earns $8.25 an hour (which is a dollar more an hour than the federal minimum wage) earns $17,160 per year if

Last week, workers at fast food restaurants demonstrated outside their places of work, highlighting the low wages they receive and demanding more.

They say twice as much, or $15 an hour, will provide them with a living wage. In Washington, D.C., the City Council has sent legislation to Mayor Vincent Gray requiring “big box” stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy

they work full time (40 hours) all year (52 weeks). Although taxes for the low income are low, they are still deducted, especially the Social Security tax (about 7 percent). Too many minimum workers don’t work full-time, full-year. Many have their hours cut so that companies can avoid paying benefits. This means full time, full year work is the bestcase scenario. For many, it can be much worse.

The poverty line for one adult and two children is $19,530, which puts the $8.25 worker be-

Guest Columnist

low the poverty line. The parent who earns this scant wage struggles to make ends meet, and often cannot. Too often, this parent has to choose between transportation and shoes for their children, between children’s books and food. A two-parent family has a higher poverty threshold of $23,550, about 20 percent more than the minimum wage worker earns.

Federal and state supplements often make the difference between swimming and sinking.

Many families who live below

the poverty line use supplemental nutrition programs (formerly called food stamps) to enhance their food budget. Congress is in the process of cutting SNAP so low that 5 million of the roughly 47 million people on the program will be cut. Some receive medical assistance through Medicaid. Some cities subsidize summer programs or other efforts, offering day care possibilities for those who struggle to afford it. According to the

See malveaux on Page 50

By Marian Wright Edelman

“Teddy Bears, Toy Guns, and Real Guns” gun with the cowboy costume in the toy box? The real handgun kept unlocked and loaded in his father’s nightstand?

If you hoped you could count on safety features on the real gun, you’d be making a tragic mistake. Many Americans heed the CPSC and its recalls of dangerous products to help keep their families safe. As the agency describes its job, “CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of

Imagine your kindergartner is visiting a new friend’s house.

During the hour they are running around together, they’ll pick up and play with all three of the following things, but only two of them have been tested by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for safety standards. Which one do you want to be sure has been regulated for safety?

The teddy bear sitting on his or her friend’s bed? The plastic

types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction . . .

CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products – such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals – contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.”

But thanks in large part to the work of the gun lobby, guns are specifically not under the CPSC’s jurisdiction and are the only consumer product not regulated for safety. Instead the CPSC is

ASKIA-AT-LARGE

expressly forbidden from regulating the manufacture and sale of guns, although they are one of the most lethal consumer products.

A 1976 amendment to the Consumer Product Safety Act specifically states that the Commission “shall make no ruling or order that restricts the manufacture or sale of guns, guns ammunition, or components of guns ammunition, including black powder or gun powder for guns.” As a result, the CPSC can regulate teddy bears and toy

guns but not real guns.

In the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF)’s new report, “Protect Children Not Guns 2013,” we’ve identified consumer safety standards, childproof safety features, and authorized-user identification technology for all guns as three major gaps in our nation’s current gun safety policy where we can do better to protect child lives. Every gun in our country should be childproof.

Many gun tragedies could have

See edelman on Page 50

By Askia Muhammad

Worn-out White ‘Backlash’ Again in Richmond, Everywhere

I guess I’ll be saying this until I’m blue in the face: White people just aren’t into us Black folks.

No way, not even as the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington is upon us, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., uttered the words White folks love to quote, just as they are about to lay waste to Black folks dreams and ambitions. To wit: we will all be “judged by the content of our www.washingtoninformer.com

character, not the color of our skin.” Ha! The latest reminder of racist White hatred to come to my attention is from Richmond, Va. There, a so-called “Confederate heritage group” has leased land adjacent to Interstate 95 to erect a 50-foot flag pole so they can fly a Confederate flag. They intend to install and fly a 10-by-15 foot Confederate battle flag for all to see. According to the website Free North Carolina, the group intends to even keep the flag lit at night.

“The sole intention of this is to honor our ancestors,” said Susan Hathaway, founder of the Virginia Flaggers. “There is no intention to stick anything in anybody’s face.” Likewise Black folks don’t mean any harm when we lionize Nat Turner, and Denmark Vesey, and others who led slave rebellions which murdered White folks. Those slave uprisings were meant to do away with the evil enslavement of Black people, and were justified under every definition of the universal declarations of human rights.

The Confederate treason on the other hand, was meant to preserve that unholy crime against humanity, and everyone who honors that treasonous act is saying under their breath, they wish to see Black people once again and perpetually in chains.

OK, there is historical significance in Richmond serving as capital of the treasonous Confederacy during the Civil War, but Virginia NAACP chapter executive director King Salim Khalfani said the flag will portray Richmond as a “backwater,

The Washington Informer

trailer park, hick town.” Well said.

“If (those rebel soldiers) had been successful, I’d still be in chains,” Khalfani said. That flag is “an embarrassment” and will only dampen tourism in the area, he said. Can anyone say Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman in Florida?

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told KNPR radio recently that he hopes Republicans’ ongoing

See Muhammad on Page 50

August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

29

Forest Whitaker, Cuba Gooding Jr., and others star in “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” /Courtesy Photo

Lee Daniels’

By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer Director Lee Daniels’ latest film, “The Butler,” centers on an ordinary man with an extraordinary perspective.

The movie, which opens nationwide this week, takes great liberties with the true story of Eugene Allen, a butler who served eight American presidents over the course of three decades.

It traces the dramatic changes in America, from the civil rights movement to the release of the American hostages in Iran in 1981, and through the years of Reaganomics.

“I think that this movie allows you to see different people reaching for the things they believe in,” said Forest Whitaker, who portrays the Allen-inspired Cecil Gaines in the film. Whitaker, 52, has starred in scores of big screen masterpieces, including “North and South,” in 1985, “The Crying Game,” in 1992, and “Panic Room,” in 2002. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film, “The Last King of Scotland.”

The star-studded cast for,

The Butler Opens in D.C.

Film Recounts Story of District Resident, Eugene Allen

“The Butler,” includes talk show diva Oprah Winfrey as Gaines’ wife, Gloria, Robin Williams as President Dwight Eisenhower, John Cusack as President Richard Nixon, Alan Rickman as President Ronald Reagan, James Marsden as President John F. Kennedy, and many others.

Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, Jane Fonda and Oscar winner Cuba Gooding, Jr., add to the Hollywood A-list appearing in the critically-acclaimed feature, which reflects Allen’s tenure at the White House beginning in 1952.

30 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

Shortly after obtaining employment at the most famous residence on Pennsylvania Avenue, Allen would prove to be an unofficial confidant to several presidents.

Gerald and Betty Ford once serenaded the Scottsville, Va., native because he and the president shared the same birth date, while Ronald and Nancy Reagan welcomed the butler as their guest at state dinners.

Allen served during the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, Watergate and Nixon’s resignation, and many other watershed moments in AmeriThe Washington Informer

can history.

When he left the White House in 1986, many of the country’s first families counted the humble servant as a favorite among all presidential employees.

For years, Allen lived in a house off of Georgia Avenue in Northwest Washington, D.C., until his death at the age of 90 in 2010.

He succumbed to renal failure at Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, Md. The film, “The Butler,” opens in the early 1900s in a Georgia cotton field, where Al-

len’s father worked for decades.

It ends with an invitation for Allen to return to the White House in 2009 so that he could meet the first black president in American history.

The two hour and 11 minute motion picture reveals that, as a young man, Allen worked as a waiter and bartender at whites-only venues. When he applied for a kitchen job at the White House, the maitre d’ posed just one important question.

“Are you political?” An offer of employment hinged upon the answer. “You hear nothing, you see nothing. You only serve,” Allen was told prior to being hired.

Not long after Allen started his new job, Eisenhower queried him on the subject of forced integration of schools.

“This is the first time I ever saw a president stick his neck out for us,” Allen’s character, Gaines, tells his wife in the movie after the president sent troops to Arkansas to enforce his order to desegregate schools there.

The racial divide that existed in the 1950s as tackled in the movie, exists in some See butler on Page 31

www.washingtoninformer.com

Forest Whitaker portrays Cecil Gaines, based on the life of Eugene Allen in “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” Cuba Gooding, Jr., Robin Williams, Lenny Kravitz and Jane Fonda add to the Hollywood A-list appearing in the critically-acclaimed feature film. /Courtesy Photo

butler continued from Page 30 forms today, director Daniels said. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation in 2013,” said Daniels, 53. “When we made this film, Trayvon Martin hadn’t happened…but it shows that any white man can get away with killing a black man and that’s crazy.”

George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain in a gated community in Sanford, Fla., fatally shot Trayvon in 2012.

Zimmerman, 28, claimed that he shot the unarmed 17-year-old in self-defense as the young man returned to his father’s home after buying a bag of Skittles from a nearby grocery store.

Last month, a jury acquitted Zimmerman of murdering Trayvon.

Daniels said America remains full of people who only view blacks as targets or, at the least, troublesome individuals.

“We choose to ignore that white Americans will never be able to understand (African Americans),” Daniels said, regarding racial profiling.

Earlier this year, Whitaker also experienced the unpleaswww.washingtoninformer.com

“I think that this movie allows you to see different people reaching for the things they believe in.”

– Forest Whitaker portrays the Allen-inspired Cecil Gaines in the film.

Terrence Howard and Opray Winfrey star in “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” /Courtesy Photo

antness of randomly being stopped and frisked at Milano Market on Broadway in New York.

In an interview with journalist Gayle King for Oprah.com, Whitaker, 52, said everyone must stand together if America will be free of racism.

“I’m hoping that people will recognize that they need to stand up and have their voices heard,” Whitaker said.

While the film prominently noted the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, Daniels lamented the recent legislation which overturned the bill.

“They are saying now, that if my grandmother doesn’t show identification at the polls, she cannot vote,” Daniels said.

However, there’s at least one cast member who expressed an opposing view about where America stands as related to race.

In an interview televised earlier this month on the Oprah Winfrey Network, British-born actor David Oyelowo, who portrays the militant son in the film, said he sees the movie as a love letter to America.

“I just think you’d be hard pressed to find another country on planet Earth that has made the strides this country did in the 20th century,” said Oyelowo, 37.

The Washington Informer

The film, shows America’s struggle and fight for freedom, Oyelowo said. “I just think that this country celebrates freedom and the right to it in ways that very, very few other countries … have managed to,” he said. wi The film opens locally at the AMC Loews Georgetown 14 in Northwest and at select theaters in Alexandria, Va., and Largo and Gaithersburg, Md.

August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

31

LIFESTYLE

Greater First Baptist Church Celebrates the Faith of a Servant

“Lee Daniels’ The Butler” Depicts the Life of Eugene Allen

By B. Denise Hawkins WI Contributing Writer Even on the seventh day, Eugene Allen served.

A short ride from his home off Georgia Avenue NW in the District delivered him to The Greater First Baptist Church on the corner of 13th and Fairmont streets. When he stepped through the front door and into the lobby, Allen looked like other workers in the ministry of service – ready and determined.

Well groomed and standing tall,

Allen could be counted on to show up well ahead of the 11 a.m. worship service.

As president of the band of senior ushers, Caroline Hereford would sometimes stop when Allen arrived. It was to give him the once over, always with admiration, a smile, and a nod. She, like other usher board officers Allen served under at the church, could look but never find a reason to inspect or fix his uniform when he was on duty.

“Brother Allen was always impeccably dressed. I’d first look

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down at his shoes, which were always shining, then up at his black suit and crisp white shirt.”

His gold-trimmed usher’s badge adorned the left breast pocket of his jacket.

On a recent Sunday morning, Hereford remembers Allen, her friend and fellow usher, as she begins to rally and assemble her team. But Hereford knows that none of them is ever ready to greet and usher in the faithful until they first huddle together out of view, near a stairwell in a corner of the church. Allen

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32 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

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Eugene Allen began his career at the White House in 1952, during the Truman administration. His tenure as a butler ended during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. President Reagan and Nancy Reagan say farewell to Allen who retired on July 17, 1986. /Photo courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

would have been among this circle of servants as each linked hands, bowed heads, and uttered fervent prayers for their work and for each other.

While on duty at Greater First Baptist, “Brother Allen’s” white-gloved hands held open the doors of God’s house, directed churchgoers into waiting pews, and distributed fans and bulletins. During the preaching hour, when most of their duties ceased, Allen would again join fellow ushers seated in the center section of the church along the last pew. It was the designated place for ushers. Then on the Sundays when Allen, also a church trustee, served in that capacity, his place was at the front of the church in the second or third row among the lay leaders of Greater First Baptist.

But for years, few who worked with Allen on church business or prayed alongside him at the church, knew what he did for a living. If they didn’t ask, Allen didn’t tell. For more than three decades, Allen held another post with pride, serving America’s presidents – from Truman to Reagan – at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. He served as the White House butler.

Recalling Allen’s “dignified presence” in the church, Judith Webb, a longtime member at Greater First Baptist, can’t help but imagine how Allen, the butler must have also moved with a similar pride and dignity through the halls of the White House.

The life he lived as a master butler and witness to history is now the subject of a book by Washington Post staff writer Wil

Haygood who first chronicled Allen’s life in a 2008 feature story. Haygood’s article inspired the movie titled “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” which is loosely based on Allen’s White House years.

The faith of the man portrayed and the church considered central to Allen’s personal and professional life of service, however, won’t be featured in the film, laments the Rev. Dr. Winston C. Ridley Jr. “It was that faith that undergirded Brother Allen’s whole life,” contends Ridley who has pastored Greater First Baptist since 2001.When he was in the pulpit, preaching and looking out at his members, Ridley’s eyes would almost always land on Allen’s face among the trustees seated at the front. Often, “the expression on Trustee Allen’s face was what I needed to encourage me as I tried to drive my point home,” says Ridley recalling the “quick smile, knowing look, and pleasant demeanor” he found and embraced. “I knew then that my message was on the right track.”

Allen joined Greater First Baptist in 1949, when the Rev. Dr. Edward Thomas was the pastor, and just two years before landing his White House job in 1952. Evelyn Rodgers-Washington, a member of the church for more than five decades, also led the usher board and served with Allen. Rodgers-Washington still beams when she remembers Allen, the man that she enjoyed “sparring with” on political issues or the attempts she made

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LIFESTYLE

te a D e h t e v a S

The white-gloved hands of a senior usher at The Greater First Baptist Church in Northwest. /Photo courtesy of B. Denise Hawkins

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in jest to tease out of him White House secrets.

“Whenever I would do that, Brother Allen would have a subtle smile on his face, but he was never going to give out trade secrets,” says Rodgers-Washington who learned “from other church members” over the years that Allen was the White House butler. She knew Allen to be “private and humble, never flaunting what he did for a living” or the address at which he worked.

When Allen contributed funds, but was never available to participate in any of the usher board’s many fundraisers and trips held during her tenure as president, Rodgers-Washington understood that duty called at the White House. Rodgers-Washington is like many members at Greater First Baptist who believe that it was their faith community and Allen’s unwavering belief in

A

Upper Marlboro, Maryland

God that sustained him during the White House years.

Without them, Rodgers-Washington says, “I doubt if he would have been able to last and do all that he did at the White House.”

Before retiring in 1986, Allen had risen to maitre d’, the pinnacle of his profession, but he still knew the sting of stigma that came with being a black servant in a white household. On the job he moved in the midst of world leaders and witnessed the arc of history as it spanned from segregation to integration while ferrying flutes of champagne during state dinners, serving petit fours, and pouring tea.

On Friday, Aug. 16, when “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” premieres, says Ridley, “that servant’s life will be exulted. Trustee Eugene Allen was an inspiration to those who knew him at The Greater First Baptist Church. Now, he will be an inspiration to the world.”wi

allen continued from Page 32

The Washington Informer

August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

33

LIFESTYLE

Events DC is soliciting proposals Events DC is soliciting proposals from qualified contractors to perform Bleacher Seating Replacement Services at the DC Armory as specified in Request for Proposal No. (RFP) #13-S-022-208. This is an open market solicitation with a 35% Set-Aside for District of Columbia Certified Business Enterprises. Interested parties can obtain a copy of the RFP by accessing Events DC’s procurement website at https://www.wcsapex.com/ .

RFP Release Date: August 8, 2013 Proposal Due Date: September 5, 2013

A scene from the film, “Nishan.” /Photo courtesy of ADIFF

African Diaspora Film Festival Opens in D.C.

By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer

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34 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

The longest running film festival of its kind arrives in the District this week.

The annual African Diaspora International Film Festival, a three-day event which highlights urban, classic, independent and foreign films from filmmakers of color, opens at the Goethe Institute in Northwest on Friday, Aug. 16.

“The festival has been a labor of love for us,” said co-founder, Diarah N’Daw-Spech. “For me, personally, it has also been an education. Being exposed to all of these films and stories from many countries for over 20 years has really expanded my world view and given me a chance to better appreciate how much people really face similar challenges and strive for the same things, specifically stability, love, and security,” she said.

The festival started in 1992 in New York as a creation of Diarah N’Daw-Spech and her husband, Reinaldo Barroso-Spech.

The themes of the films in the festival are related to history, politics, social injustice, and culture. Subplots include The Washington Informer

current affairs, migration, refugees, war, poverty, discrimination, music, dance and food.

“We wish to expose the audience to the diversity of people of color,” said Barroso-Spech, a former New York City Public Schools teacher and current foreign language professor at Columbia University in New York.

Now, in its 20th year in New York and seventh year in the District, the concept of the festival reflects the creative writings and teachings of Barroso-Spech.

The films that are featured allow audiences to explore the diverse experiences of people of African descent all over the world, he said.

A total of seven films are scheduled to be presented during the festival and each promises to provide audiences with an in-depth view not only of American cities that are rich in black culture such as Atlanta, New Orleans and Philadelphia, but also eight different countries, including Senegal, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Tanzania, South Africa and Kenya.

“The revealing nature of art is very important to us and these films will allow everyone

to get a view of a variety of places in America and throughout the world,” Barroso-Spech said.

The Opening Night film, “African Independence,” counts as a riveting, feature-length documentary written, directed and produced by scholar, filmmaker and PBS’ “History Detectives” host, Tukufu Zuberi.

The documentary traces the history of the Independence Movement throughout Africa using archival footage as well as interviews with such personalities as President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Samia Yaba Nkrumah, the daughter of the first president of Ghana, and F.W. de Klerk, the former president of South Africa.

“I make films as an extension of my desire to educate,” said Zuberi, 59, a University of Pennsylvania sociology and Africana Studies professor. “I decided to submit this film to several festivals, and I could not have anticipated the buzz that it’s generating.”

Four watershed events are featured in the moving one hour and 17 minute motion picture, World War II, the end

See FILM on Page 35 www.washingtoninformer.com

LIFESTYLE FILM continued from Page 34

A scene from the movie, “Nishan.” /Photo courtesy of ADIFF

A scene from the film, “Youssou.” /Photo courtesy of ADIFF

A scene from the film, “The Pirogue.” /Photo courtesy of ADIFF

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of Colonialism, the Cold War, and the era of the African Republics.

An Opening Night reception kicks off the festival at 6 p.m. on Friday, August 16, followed by a question and answer session with Zuberi.

First night festivities will give way to the screening of the award-winning film, “The Pirogue,” a drama produced and developed in Senegal.

The movie, “The Pirogue,” enjoyed its premiere at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in France.

The high-seas drama follows a group of 30 men – all of whom speak different languages – who together sail to Europe in a pirogue, an extremely small boat.

Seeking a better life in Europe, the men face numerous challenges at sea and the possibility of never reaching their destination.

“A lot of these films completely challenge one’s false perception and ideas about other cultures and peoples,” N’Daw-Spech said.

“For example, the film, ‘Nishan,’ offers a very modern perspective of Ethiopia. It takes place in a middle-class environment, and it will enable the audience to better understand the realities of the large Ethiopian population living in Washington, D.C.,” she said.

In the suspense-filled drama, “Nishan,” the main character is a young businesswoman who dreams of leaving Ethiopia to seek her fortune abroad.

When her father mortgages their house to support Nishan’s emigration, an unsigned document creates a disastrous situation, ultimately entangling the young explorer in a web of deceit and danger which she must navigate to preserve her independence, protect her family, and finally realize her dreams of a better life.

“This and the other films in the festival all bring better understanding about who we are as a group of people in Africa and its Diaspora,” N’DawSpech said.WI Tickets range from $12 per screening to $60 for an all-access pass.

For a full schedule and to order tickets, call 212-864-1760 or visit, www.

NYADIFF.org.

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LIFESTYLE

aug 15 - aug 21, 2013

ARIES Don’t let worry put a strain on your relationships.

Concentration is key, but be as light hearted as possible.

Open up to romantic feelings. Let love come to you. It may come from inside. Soul Affirmation: Shining brightly is something that I can do even in shadows. Lucky Numbers: 11, 40, 46 TAURUS The time has come to forgive and forget. Take the first step in reconciling a friendship. You thought no one knew, but you may be romantically attracted to an old pal.

Soul Affirmation: Helping others is the true measure of my worth. Lucky Numbers: 38, 45, 48

Idris Elba returns for a third season as the super-dishy Detective Chief Inspector John Luther in the BBC America crime drama “Luther.” / Courtesy photo

Actress Ruth Wilson, portrays Alice Morgan, a psychopathic killer, whose mental sparring with Luther, borders the psychosexual. / Courtesy photo

Elba Returns for Highly Anticipated Third Season of ‘Luther’ BBC America Drama Reunites Elba, Wilson

By Shantella Y. Sherman WI Assistant Editor When the character Alice Morgan of the BBC America crime drama “Luther,” makes the pronouncement that the “absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence,” she solidified her place as one of the more clever and oddly endearing psychopaths in television history. Having spent the last two series playing an emotionally charged cat-and-mouse game with Detective Chief Inspector John Luther, Alice – played by actress Ruth Wilson (Small Island) – returns for the third series alongside Idris Elba, as the title character. ** No spoilers!

BBC America is offering the first two series in their entirety On Demand before the new series airs. ** Elba reinvigorates the haunted, often misunderstood Luther this season, but adds a touch of long-awaited gentleness not witnessed in the previous seasons, through the addition of a new love interest, Mary Day, played

by Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil). Unlike the frantic passions of the Zoe-John saga, writer Neil Cross introduces a shy, blushing, even, fumbling Luther, who is a refreshing change from the sobering “Billy Badass” audiences have come to love. Luther’s attention, and dare it be said, affections, however, are splintered, between Mary and the brilliantly deranged Alice.

“You realize why Luther is so good when you read Neil Cross’

GEMINI When you let go of pain and fear you are a force to be reckoned with. Use your talents for regeneration to create a new reality for yourself, one that is filled with joy and happiness. Turn away from inner thoughts that are anything less than positive. Soul Affirmation: I enjoy living in my dream. Lucky Numbers: 11, 42, 44 CANCER Treat yourself with kindness, and let love be your guiding light. The past few weeks have been rather hard on your personality, but you’ve come through a troubled time with flying colors. Soul Affirmation: I am what I consistently do. Lucky Numbers: 3, 4, 18 LEO Critical voices should be tuned out this week. You are in the mood for a pleasant week and you shouldn’t let anyone keep you from your just rewards. Relax with friends who you can share positive vibes with. Soul Affirmation: I get because I give.

Lucky Numbers: 12, 23, 45 VIRGO Unexpected company may arrive, or an invitation may be extended. Use good judgment and set realistic boundaries to protect your valuable personal time. Drive carefully. Soul Affirmation: I make the first step and the universe will come to my aid. Lucky Numbers: 34, 41, 47 LIBRA Your rewards come not only from what you do, but from who you are! Give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back and work some wonders. You are full of positive energy this week; use it to your advantage. Soul Affirmation: I care deeply about the feelings of others. Lucky Numbers: 10, 11, 26

/Courtesy photo

scripts, and then you meet Idris and understand what ‘untamed’ means. There is no other set I’d rather be on, and I love the disastrous fun of being Mary Day, the right girl in the wrong place,” Guillory said.

In the crosshairs of his personal life are a series of fetish murders he cannot seem to grasp fully, as well as an old nemesis bent on ending his career. Elba is strikingly powerful, decidedly masterful, and absolutely breathtaking as John Luther. The Billy Dee Williams of a new age, Elba offers brains, brawn, and sex appeal without much effort.

Elba, who won a Golden Globe Best Actor award, for the role in 2012, believes the crossroads Luther faces this season will ultimately shape the direction in which the character itself grows. “[Luther’s] gone through a lot of trauma. Each time you go through anything bad in your life, it makes you a bit more reflective, and it definitely scars

36 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

you in some way. In this series he’s looking for peace. But a lot happens in this season … I don’t know where it’s going to leave Luther. He’s not a fragile man, but he might end up becoming fragile after what he goes through. This series is very much about Luther trying to change his life and get to the finish line,” said Elba, 40.

Cross’ writing is chilling and will have audiences biting their nails from the opening sequence.

For those who want to get a more intimate glance at John Luther, and Cross’ genius, the novel Luther, The Calling, written by Cross in 2011 is now available in paperback. The work follows Luther’s obsessive, intense, and impassioned career (and personal life) pre-series.

The new four-part miniseries returns Sept. 3-6, 10:00 p.m.

ET/PT.Wi The Washington Informer

SCORPIO Practical matters may seem like nuisances that are only there to spite your sunny mood this week. The vibration has its place though, and if you apply yourself to practical things, you’ll have a lot accomplished by the end of the week. Avoid spinning your wheels on impossible projects or relationships. Soul Affirmation: Distant love is sometimes sweeter. Lucky Numbers: 17, 24, 29 SAGITTARIUS Excellent vibrations accompany you to meetings and appointments or anywhere where your gifts of communication can be used. You’ll have managers eating out of your hand if you choose to exercise a little charm. Soul Affirmation: I call on my creative talents to pay my bills. Lucky Numbers: 18, 32, 47 CAPRICORN Charming, simply charming! You have everything going for you this week, so make the most of it. You are capable of handling many projects, and equally capable of asking for help if you need it. Soul Affirmation: My imagination is the source of my happiness. Lucky Numbers: 1, 12, 30 AQUARIUS If you acknowledge your need to be with someone this afternoon, the universe will probably provide. Ask for help if you need it. There are many resources available to you that you could be drawing from. All you have to do is ask. Soul Affirmation: I accept fate and see good in it. Lucky Numbers: 7, 26, 28 PISCES Watching the sunrise will help quell any impatience that may arise within you this week. As you watch the sun kiss the sky, imagine that the universe is embracing you with love. Soul Affirmation: I judge no one, especially myself this week. Lucky Numbers: 3, 5, 54

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LIFESTYLE

The Chrysler 200’s 3.6-liter V6 engine is one of the most energetic in the segment, offering robust acceleration without a significant fuel economy penalty. /Photo courtesy of Chrysler Group, LLC

Chrysler 200, a Little Dated but Still a Bargain

By Njuguna Kabugi WI Contributing Writer The annual NFL Super Bowl is by far the most overhyped sports event of the year. But the most memorable part of the Super Bowl is not the football game itself. That honor goes to the TV commercials. Every Super Bowl spurns the “it” that people talk about for months.

The “it” in the Feb. 6, 2011 Super Bowl was the “Made in Detroit” commercial Chrysler rolled out in the third quarter of the game. With rapper Eminem’s Oscar-winning hit “Lose Yourself ” thumping in the background, Chrysler’s highly acclaimed two minute “Made in Detroit” ad (practically a short-length film as far as TV ads go) featured a new car driving through the once proud and great city of Detroit, reminding viewers that the strong tradition of industry and manufacturing was still alive.

The car was the Chrysler 200.

For millions, the juxtaposition of powerful icons – the struggling American city that put the world on notice that the nation had arrived as a world industrial power, and its wounded car company that had cheated extinction – was not only an attention grabber but also conveyed

that great car making was back in the Motor City and that Chrysler could be proud of itself; something missing since the bankruptcy and bailout. The 200, enjoyed not only the proverbial 15 minutes of fame but also decent sales in the following year.

But what many may have missed, and Chrysler left out, was that the 200 wasn’t exactly all-new. Underneath its new grille, re-sculpted sheet metal, and name change was essentially, the Chrysler Sebring – a vehicle that consistently ranked among the lowest in sales and reliability. Consumer Reports rated the convertible model of the Sebring last among 10 premium drop-tops in 2010.

It’s been a while since we last drove this car, so when Chrysler called asking if we would be interested in a 200, we jumped at the chance. We test drove the Touring version with a six cylinder engine on an extensive stretch through the Mid-Atlantic region. To our delight, Chrysler has done a great job tweaking and exorcising the ghosts of the Sebring from the 200.

Whether one is driving along the Chesapeake on Maryland’s eastern shore or the Virginia Mountains west of Leesburg Pike, the Chrysler offers a smooth ride, a solid feel and sur-

www.washingtoninformer.com

prisingly tight handling. The cabin is very quiet, with high-quality materials and supportive seats.

Though the 200 is a bit dated now and is not as polished as the rival Mazda6 or the Ford Fusion models that we drove in the last few months, it still delivers better-than-average handling, and performs nicely when equipped with the 6-speed automatic transmission. Starting at just under $19,000 it’s also reasonably priced, offering a bevy of standard equipment and good driving dynamics.

Our test model ($21,995) came with a 6-speed automatic transmission, automatic climate control, an eight-way power driver’s seat, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a six-speaker sound system with satellite radio and automatic headlamps. Standard wheels are 17-inch alloys, with two 18-inch wheel designs optional – which is not bad at this price point but we were disappointed Chrysler left out a navigation system – we could have used one driving through several rural stretches in Virginia. Fuel economy is an EPA-rated 20/31 mpg City/Highway. Chrysler has announced they will be replacing the 200 with a European designed model by next year.WI The Washington Informer

August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

37

CTM

The Washington Performing Arts Society’s Summer Steps with Step Afrika!

The Washington Performing Arts Society’s Summer Steps with Step Afrika! campers culminated with an electric stepping performance on Sunday, Aug. 11 at the National Building Museum in Northwest. Talented youth, including students from Washington area schools stepped to the beat. Led by members of Step Afrika!, the nation’s leading professional touring step troupe, the youth wowed the crowd. /Photos by Roy Lewis

38 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

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August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013 39 7/25/13 2:39 PM

sports

Washington Nationals Defeat Philadelphia Phillies 9-2 Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche is tagged between bases by Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Cody Asche during game one of a Major League Baseball (MLB) weekend series that started on Friday, August 9 at Nationals Park in Southeast. The Nationals defeated the Phillies 9-2. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman shares a congratulatory moment with incoming left fielder Bryce Harper during MLB weekend action on Friday, August 9 at Nationals Park in Southeast. Zimmerman’s home run was the 13th of the season and gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead. The Nationals defeated the Phillies 9-2. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

Washington Nationals second baseman Anthony Rendon is congratulated by incoming center fielder Denard Span and catcher Wilson Ramos during MLB action on Friday, August 9 at Nationals Park in Southeast.

Rendon’s home run was the first run scored in the game as the Nationals defeated the Phillies 9-2. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

40 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

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Chelsea Defeats Roma 2-1 Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta goes up to head away a corner kick as other players anxiously wait around the goal during the second half of Friendly International Soccer on Saturday, August 10 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Southeast. Chelsea defeated Roma 2-1 before 25, 615 fans. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

sports

Friendly International Soccer – A.S. Roma vs.

Chelsea F.C.

Referee Armando Villarreal gets between Pablo Osvaldo and Chelsea defender Gary Cahill to avoid a confrontation prior to taking a corner kick in the second half of Friendly International Soccer action on Saturday, August 10 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Southeast. Chelsea defeated Roma 2-1. /Photo

by John E. De Freitas

View

Sports Photos

by John De Freitas

at:



SPAN

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium served as the venue for Friendly International Soccer between European teams Chelsea and Roma. Both teams showed local fans their skills before starting their upcoming season. Chelsea defeated Roma 2-1 on Saturday, August 10. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

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The Washington Informer

August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

41

SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

Redskins, Griffin III Ready to Roll

By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer

      •   •  •  

 

      

•     •   • 

    Fiduciary Panel Attorney - Superior Court of the District of Columbia - Probate Division Former DC Fraud Bureau Examiner - Insurance Administration  Former Law Clerk for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

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42 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

The Washington Redskins surprised the National Football League in 2012, winning the NFC East title and leaving perennial powers, the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants, in the proverbial dust.

Now, with the start of the 2013 season on the horizon, the Skins and their loyal fans are hoping to fair much better than the Washington Nationals, who count among the biggest disappointment in all of sports.

“My expectations are for the Redskins to go to the playoffs again and, possibly make the Super Bowl,” said Southwest resident Kimberly Curtis.

Curtis, 45, a registered nurse, is a lifelong fan of the team, which at one time played its home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Southeast, but now calls FedEx Field in Landover, Md., home.

Curtis said the team’s decisions must improve if they are to become Super Bowl champs. “Coach Mike Shanahan has to put the backup quarterback into the game if he sees that (starter) Robert Griffin III is a little hurt early on or if he’s not having a good game,” she said. “I think the team is looking stronger than last year and I think if they make wiser decisions, they will do well.”

The Redskins went 10-6 last year, capturing their first division crown since 1999. They qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

However, the team lost in the Wild Card round to the Seattle Seahawks, 24-14. Ironically, each of the Redskins last three trips to the playoffs have ended with losses to the Seahawks.

Still, many in the Redskins Nation are convinced that the 2013 season will end with the team hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy.

“I am expecting us to go to the Super Bowl, of course,” said Kia Anderson, who works as a cashier at a restaurant in District Heights, Md. Anderson, 19, said success doesn’t depend upon just one player, but the entire unit.

“We need our defense to block and our offense to score. If we have offense but no defense, we’ll be scoring points but our opponents will answer back,” said Anderson, who lives in Temple Hills, Md. “I think everyone plays a part in the success.”

The Washington Informer

Robert Griffin III at training camp in Richmond, Va. Griffin said that he’s ready to join his teammates on the field. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

Shanahan agreed that Washington’s success depends heavily upon teamwork.

“We still have some (pre-season) games before the season opens, but we’ll be ready,” said the coach, who has won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos and enjoys a career record of 167-125.

The major key to the Skins chances of repeating as division champs and going deep into the playoffs hinges on Griffin, their franchise quarterback.

Griffin tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during last season’s Wild Card Playoff loss to the Seahawks and he has been rehabbing ever since.

Last month, the superstar received clearance from doctors to resume all football activities.

As a precaution, however, he sat out the Skins 22-21 pre-season opening victory against the Tennessee Titans on Thursday, Aug. 8.

Griffin could make his 2013 debut against either the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, Aug. 19 or when the team takes on the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, Aug. 24, with each contest scheduled to take place at FedEx Field.

The Skins are scheduled to play their final pre-season game on Thursday, Aug. 29 in Tampa Bay against the Bucs and the regular season kicks-off at home with a divisional showdown on Monday, Sept. 9 against the Philadelphia

Eagles.

“I’m ready to go,” said Griffin, 23, the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year award recipient. “I’m ready to be out on the field with my teammates and there is no doubt that I’m playing in week one [of the regular season].”

Before the injury, many football experts touted him as the fastest quarterback in league history.

In 2012, Griffin scored seven rushing touchdowns and he eclipsed 60 rushing yards in seven of his 15 regular-season starts.

Only four quarterbacks in league history accumulated more than the 815 rushing yards gained by Griffin last year. As a passer, scouts said Griffin rates as accurate in the short game, and, as a runner, they said Griffin has few, if any, rivals.

“I’m not surprised he was successful because, again, if they had taken Griffin and made him a conventional drop back quarterback, guess what? He’s not nearly as successful,” said Tony Barnhart of CBS Sports in Lanham, Md. With a healthy Griffin, the Redskins have plenty to be optimistic about, most football experts said.

“For the first time in decades, the Redskins’ future is bright,” said Matthew Kory, who covers the team for the sports website, “Sports on Earth.” Mostly, Kory said, the future looks great because of Griffin. wi www.washingtoninformer.com

The Religion Corner

religion

Domestic Violence – The Conclusion “The Big Secret� ceived any financial support; and I certainly never received alimony. It fell squarely upon my shoulders to ensure my children’s well-being in all regards.

I compare myself to Mildred Muhammad. I was afraid that I might also see my ex-husband standing somewhere in the distance with a military-issued firearm in his hand, pointed directly at me. If you’ve never experienced any form or abuse, let me assure you that threats are real – they take on a life of their own. He said, “If you take me to court, you’ll be sorry.�

Why didn’t I try? Maybe because I knew that he had changed his Social Security number. He told me “we’re all just a number, get a new name, and a new number, and nobody can find you.� He changed his name and he used my date of birth.

Thank God my three children are now grown and gainfully employed. They all have careers.

One of my children graduated from Morehouse College. He earned a bachelor’s in finance; then went on to the University of Maryland where he pursued his master’s in finance. Today, he’s a banker and he’s doing very well.

My daughter is a computer technician at the Environmental Protection Agency. Though she didn’t finish college, she completed cosmetology school and attended classes at Trinity University. I’m extremely proud of

This week will end my fivepart series on “Domestic Violence – the Big Secret.� We pray victims currently living with this madness are reading this column or have read previous columns; I sincerely hope that someone who loves you will rescue you – if could be your mom, or father, a co-worker or a neighbor – but always remember – you’ve got to want to change your circumstances.

We shared the story of Lynn Strange, who married a man she knew to be an abuser, yet she signed on nonetheless; and her abuse only intensified; and in one of the worst scenarios, we shared the story of Mildred Muhammad, a mother of three, and the wife of the late John Allen Muhammad, the D.C. sniper. Mildred Muhammad lived in constant fear of being shot and killed.

This week, it’s my turn. My ex-husband walked out and left me with three young children, ages 6, 12 and 15 in the middle of the night. He decided to move back to California.

He would go off and stay for days and even weeks at a time. So when he left, it didn’t feel strange to us, however, as time elapsed, I knew instinctively that he was gone for good. And like Mildred Muhammad’s former husband, my ex-husband’s demeanor and temperament changed after serving in the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, we never re-

with Lyndia Grant her. She’s married and both she and her husband are computer technicians and they’re able to provide for their family.

My youngest son happened to be a special education student, yet he was able to secure a great position with Whole Foods Market as a meat cutter. He’s doing great. We’re all good. I admit that I made mistakes along the way; my biggest misgiving is that I didn’t involve the judicial system as it pertained to my ex-husband being held accountable. He shouldn’t have been able to walk away scot free, but fear paralyzed me.

This is what abuse will do to you. Look at what it did to me.

We don’t think rationally. If you’re in an abusive relationship, don’t become a statistic – don’t let another individual put you in a grave before your time. Keep praying! Tell somebody! Get help; call 911.

It’s not what the Lord intends for any of us. WI Lyndia Grant is an author, inspirational and motivational speaker, radio talk show host and columnist; if you would like Lyndia to serve as facilitator for your retreat or special event, call 202-518-3192. Tune in Fridays at 6 p.m., to the radio talk show, 1340 AM, WYCB, a Radio One Station.

Listen to

“Praise In The City�

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Lyndia “The Media Guru�

Author Speaker Fundraiser Event Planner Religious Columnist Community Organizer Radio Feature Speaker Washington Times Writer Washington Informer Religious Columnist “For we Walk by Faith,

Not by Sight.�

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The New Public Affairs Talk Show Hosted by Praise 104.1’s Sheila Stewart  Saturday 5:30am-6:30am on Praise 104.1 For more info visit  www.praise1041.com Â

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www.washingtoninformer.com

The Washington Informer

August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

43

religion BAPTIST

african methodist episcopal

Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Rev. James Manion Supply Priest Foggy Bottom • Founded in 1867 728 23rd Street, NW • Washington, DC 20037 Church office: 202-333-3985 • Fax : 202-338-4958 Worship Services Sundays: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Music and Hymns Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist www.stmarysfoggybottom.org Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org All are welcome to St. Mary’s to Learn, Worship, and Grow.

Blessed Word of Life Church Dr. Dekontee L. & Dr. Ayele A. Johnson Pastors 4001 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 (202) 265-6147 Office 1-800 576-1047 Voicemail/Fax Schedule of Services: Sunday School – 9:30 AM Sunday Morning Worship Service – 11:00 AM Communion Service – First Sunday Prayer Service/Bible Study – Tuesday, 6:30 PM www.blessedwordoflifechurch.org e-mail: church@blessedwordoflifechurch.org

Campbell AME Church Reverend Daryl K. Kearney, Pastor 2562 MLK Jr. Ave., S E Washington, DC 20020 Adm. Office 202-678-2263 Email:Campbell@mycame.org Sunday Worship Service 10: am Sunday Church School 8: 45 am Bible Study Wednesday 12:00 Noon Wednesday 7:00 pm Thursday 7: pm “Reaching Up To Reach Out” Mailing Address Campbell AME Church 2502 Stanton Road SE Washington, DC 20020

Mt. Zion Baptist Church Rev. John W. Davis, Pastor 5101 14th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20011 202-726-2220/ 202-726-9089 Sunday Worship Service 8:00am and 11:00am Sunday School 9:15am Holy Communion 4th Sunday 10:00am Prayer and Bible Study Wednesday 7;00pm TV Ministry –Channel 6 Wednesday 10:00pm gsccm.administration@verizon.net

Pilgrim Baptist Church

700 I. Street, NE Washington, D.C. 20002 Pastor Louis B. Jones, II and Pilgrim invite you to join us during our July and August Summer schedule! Attire is Christian casual.

Worship: Sundays@ 7:30 A.M. & 10:00 A.M. 3rd Sunday Holy Communion/Baptism/Consecration Prayer & Praise: Wednesdays @12:00 Noon @ 6:30 P.M. – One Hour of Power!

(202) 547-8849 www.pilgrimbaptistdc.org

Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ Drs. Dennis W. and Christine Y. Wiley, Pastors 3845 South Capitol Street Washington, DC 20032 (202) 562-5576 (Office) (202) 562-4219 (Fax) SERVICES AND TIMES: SUNDAYS: 10:00 am AM Worship Services BIBLE STUDY: Wonderful Wednesdays in Worship and the Word Bible Study Wednesdays 12:00 Noon; 6:30 PM (dinner @ 5:30 PM) SUNDAY SCHOOL: 9:00 AM – Hour of Power “An inclusive ministry where all are welcomed and affirmed.” www.covenantbaptistdc.org

Twelfth Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 1812 12th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 Phone: 202-265-4494 Fax: 202 265 4340

Church of Living Waters

Rev. Paul Carrette Senior Pastor Harold Andrew, Assistant Pastor 4915 Wheeler Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-894-6464 Schedule of Service Sunday Service: 8:30 AM & 11:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM Communion Service: First Sunday www.livingwatersmd.org

St. Stephen Baptist Church Lanier C. Twyman, Sr. State Overseer 5757 Temple Hill Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748 Office 301-899-8885 – fax 301-899-2555 Sunday Early Morning Worship - 7:45 a.m.

Church School - 9:30 a.m.

Sunday Morning Worship – 10:45 a.m.

Tuesday – Thursday - Kingdom Building Bible Institute – 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday – Prayer/Praise/Bible Study – 7:30 p.m.

Baptism & Communion Service- 4th Sunday – 10:30am Radio Broadcast WYCB -1340 AM-Sunday -6:00pm T.V. Broadcast - Channel 190 – Sunday -4:00pm/Tuesday 7:00am

“We are one in the Spirit” www.ssbc5757.org e-mail: ssbc5757@verizon.net

Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church Rev. Dr. Michael E. Bell, Sr., • Pastor 2498 Alabama Ave., SE • Washington D.C. 20020 Office: (202) 889-7296 Fax: (202) 889-2198 • www.acamec.org 2008: The Year of New Beginnings “Expect the Extraordinary”

Crusader Baptist Church

Isle of Patmos Baptist Church Reverend Dr. Calvin L. Matthews • Senior Pastor 1200 Isle of Patmos Plaza, Northeast Washington, DC 20018 Office: (202) 529-6767 Fax: (202) 526-1661

Rev. Dr. Alton W. Jordan, Pastor 800 I Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 202-548-0707 Fax No. 202-548-0703

Sunday Worship Services: 8:00a.m. and 11:00a.m.

Sunday Church School - 9:15a.m. & Sunday Adult Forum Bible Study - 10:30a.m.

2nd & 4th Monday Women’s Bible Study - 6:30p.m.

Tuesday Jr./Sr. Bible Study - 10:00a.m.

Tuesday Topical Bible Study - 6:30p.m.

Tuesday New Beginnings Bible Study - 6:30p.m.

Wednesday Pastoral Bible Study - 6:30p.m.

Wednesday Children’s Bible Study - 6:30p.m.

Thursday Men’s Bible Study - 6:30p.m.

Friday before 1st Sunday Praise & Worship Service - 6:30p.m.

Saturday Adult Bible Study - 10:00a.m.

Sunday Morning Worship 11:00am Holy Communion – 1st Sunday Sunday School-9:45am Men’s Monday Bible Study – 7:00pm Wednesday Night Bible Study – 7:00pm Women’s Ministry Bible Study 3rd Friday -7:00pm Computer Classes- Announced Family and Marital Counseling by appointment E-mail: Crusadersbaptistchurch@verizon.net www.CrusadersBaptistChurch.org

“The Amazing, Awesome, Audacious Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church”

“God is Love”

Third Street Church of God Rev. Cheryl J. Sanders, Th.D. Senior Pastor 1204 Third Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 202.347.5889 office 202.638.1803 fax Sunday School: 9:30 a.m.

Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m.

Prayer Meeting and Bible Study: Wed. 7:30 p.m.

“Ambassadors for Christ to the Nation’s Capital” www.thirdstreet.org

Sunday Worship Services: 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

Holy Communion: 2nd Sunday at 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Church School: 9:20 a.m.

Seniors Bible Study: Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m.

Noon Day Prayer Service: Tuesdays at Noon Bible Study: Tuesdays at 7 p.m.

Motto: “A Ministry of Reconciliation Where Everybody is Somebody!”

Website: http://isleofpatmosbc.org Church Email: ipbcsecretary@verizon.net

Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.; Senior Bishop & Evangelist Susie C. Owens – Co-Pastor 610 Rhode Island Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 529-4547 office • (202) 529-4495 fax Sunday Worship Service: 8 AM and 10:45 AM Sunday Youth Worship Services: 1st & 4th 10:45 AM; 804 R.I. Ave., NE 5th 8 AM & 10:45 AM; Main Church Prayer Services Tuesday – Noon, Wednesday 6 AM & 6:30 PM Calvary Bible Institute: Year-Round Contact Church Communion Every 3rd Sunday The Church in The Hood that will do you Good! www.gmchc.org emailus@gmchc.org

ST Marks Baptist Come Worship with us...

St. Mark's Baptist Church 624 Underwood Street, NW Washington, dc 20011 Dr. Raymond T. Matthews, Pastor and First Lady Marcia Matthews Sunday School 9:am Worship Service 10:am Wed. Noon Day prayer service Thur. Prayer service 6:45 pm Thur. Bible Study 7:15 pm

We are proud to provide the trophies for the Washington Informer Spelling Bee

Reverend Dr. Paul H. Saddler Senior Pastor Service and Times Sunday Worship Service 11:00 a.m.

Communion every Sunday 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School 10:00 a.m.

Bible Study Tuesday 12Noon Pastor’s Bible Study Tuesday 6:30 p.m.

Motto; “Discover Something Wonderful.”

Website: 12thscc.org Email: Twelfthstcc@aol.com

Mount Carmel Baptist Church

52 Years of Expert Engraving Services

Joseph N. Evans, Ph.D Senior Pastor 901 Third Street N.W. Washington, DC. 20001 Phone (202) 842-3411 Fax (202) 682-9423 Sunday Church School : 9: 30am Sunday Morning Worship: 10: 45am Bible Study Tuesday: 6: 00pm Prayer Service Tuesday: 7:00pm Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday 10: 45am themcbc.org

44 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

The Washington Informer

www.washingtoninformer.com

religion Baptist

All Nations Baptist Church

Advertise Your Church services here: call Ron Burke at

202-561-4100 or email rburke@washingtoninformer.com

Rev. Dr. James Coleman Pastor 2001 North Capitol St, N.E. • Washington, DC 20002 Phone (202) 832-9591

Website: www.allnationsbaptistchurch.com All Nations Baptist Church – A Church of Standards

“Where Jesus is the King”

Israel Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Morris L Shearin, Sr. Pastor

4850 Blagdon Ave, NW • Washington D.C 20011 Phone (202) 722-4940 • Fax (202) 291-3773

1251 Saratoga Ave., NE Washington, DC 20018 (202) 269-0288 Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 A.M. Sunday School: 8:30 A.M. Holy Communion1st Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Prayer Service: Wednesday at 6:30 P.M. Bible Study: Wednesday at 7:00 P.M.

Mount Moriah Baptist Church

St. Luke Baptist Church

1415 Gallatin Street, NW Washington, DC 20011-3851 P: (202) 726-5940 Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School: 9:15 a.m.

Holy Communion: 11:00 a.m., 3rd Sun. Bible Study: Monday - 7:00 p.m.

Prayer Meeting: Thursday - 7:00 p.m.

2324 Ontario Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-1730 Sunday School – 9:30 am Sunday Worship Service – 11:00 am Baptismal Service – 1st Sunday – 9:30 am Holy Communion – 1st Sunday – 11:00 am Prayer Meeting & Bible Study – Wednesday -7:30 pm

Rev. Keith W. Byrd, Sr. Pastor

Rev. Aubrey C. Lewis Pastor

Rev. Daryl F. Bell Pastor

Sunday Church School – 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service – 11:00 AM Holy Communion – 1st Sunday at 11:00 AM Prayer – Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Bible Study – Wednesdays, 7:00 PM Christian Education School of Biblical Knowledge Saturdays, 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM, Call for Registration

Zion Baptist Church

Sunday Worship Service 10:15AM- Praise and Worship Services Sunday School 9:00am Monday: Noon Bible School Wednesday: Noon & 7PM: Pastor’s Bible Study Ordinance of Baptism 2nd Holy Communion 4th Sunday Mission Zion Baptist Church Shall; Enlist Sinners, Educate Students, Empower the Suffering, Encourage the Saints, and Exalt Our Savior. (Acts 2:41-47) www.zionbaptistchurchdc.org

King Emmanuel Baptist Church

Dr. Lucius M. Dalton, Senior Pastor 1636 East Capitol Street, NE Washington, DC 20003 Telephone: 202-544-5588 Fax: 202-544-2964 Sunday Worship Services: 7:45 am and 10:45 am Holy Communion: 1st Sundays at 7:45 am and 10:45 am Sunday School: 9:30 am Prayer & Praise Service: Tuesdays at 12 noon and 6:30 pm Bible Study: Tuesdays at 1 pm and 7 pm Youth Bible Study: Fridays at 7 pm

Advertise Your Church services here: call Ron Burke at

202-561-4100 or email rburke@washingtoninformer.com

Advertise Your Church services here: call Ron Burke at

202-561-4100 or email rburke@washingtoninformer.com

Web: www.mountmoriahchurch.org Email: mtmoriah@mountmoriahchurch.org

Rehoboth Baptist Church

St. Matthews Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Maxwell M. Washington Pastor 1105 New Jersey Ave, S.E • Washington, DC 20003 202 488-7298 Order of Services Sunday Worship Services: 9:05 A.M. Sunday School: 8:00 A.M. Holy Communion 3rd Sunday Morning Prayer Meeting: 7:00 P.M. (Tuesday) Bible Study: 7:30 P.M. (Tuesday) Theme: “Striving to be more like Jesus “Stewardship”.

Philippians 3:12-14; Malachi 3:8-10 and 2 Corinthians 9:7 Email: stmatthewbaptist@msn.com Website: www.stmatthewsbaptist.com

Salem Baptist Church

Emmanuel Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Clinton W. Austin Pastor 2409 Ainger Pl.,SE – WDC 20020 (202) 678-0884 – Office (202) 678-0885 – Fax “Come Grow With Us and Establish a Blessed Family” Sunday Worship 7:30am & 10:45am Baptism/Holy Communion 3rd Sunday Family Bible Study Tuesdays – 6:30pm Prayer Service Tuesdays – 8:00pm www.emmanuelbaptistchurchdc.org

Sermon On The Mount Temple Of Joy Apostolic Faith

Florida Avenue Baptist Church Dr. Earl D. Trent Senior Pastor

Rev. Dr. George C. Gilbert SR. Pastor

623 Florida Ave.. NW • WDC. 20001 Church (202) 667-3409 • Study (202) 265-0836 Home Study (301) 464-8211 • Fax (202) 483-4009

4504 Gault Place, N.E. Washington, D.C 20019 202-397-7775 – 7184

Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 a.m.

Sunday Church School: 8:45 – 9:45 a.m.

Holy Communion: Every First Sunday Intercessory Prayer: Monday – 7:00-8:00 p.m.

Pastor’s Bible Study: Wednesday –7:45 p.m.

Midweek Prayer: Wednesday – 7:00 p.m.

Noonday Prayer Every Thursday

9:30AM. Sunday Church School 11:00 Am. Sunday Worship Service The Lord’s Supper 1st Sunday Wednesday 7:00pm Prayer & Praise Services 7:30pm. Bible Study Saturday before 4th Sunday Men, Women, Youth Discipleship Ministries 10:30am A Christ Centered Church htubc@comcast.net

Matthews Memorial Baptist Church

5606 Marlboro Pike District Heights, MD 20747 301-735-6005

Dr. C. Matthew Hudson, Jr, Pastor

Elder Herman L. Simms, Pastor

2616 MLK Ave., SE • Washington, DC 20020 Office 202-889-3709 • Fax 202-678-3304

Sunday Apostolic Worship Services 11:00 A.M and 5:00 P.M Communion and Feet Wash 4th Sunday at 5:00 P.M Prayer/Seeking Wednesday at 8:00 P.M. Apostolic in Doctrine, Pentecostal in Experience, Holiness in Living, Uncompromised and Unchanged.

The Apostolic Faith is still alive –Acts 2:42

New Commandment Baptist Church Rev. Stephen E. Tucker Senior Pastor 13701 Old Jericho Park Road Bowie, MD. 20720 (301) 262-0560 Services: Sunday Worship 11 AM Sunday School 10 AM Wednesday Mid-Week Worship, Prayer & Bible Study - Wed. 7 PM “A Church Where Love Is Essential and Praise is Intentional”

Shiloh Baptist Church

Early Worship Service 7:30a.m Worship Service 10:45a.m.

New Members Class 9:30a.m.

Holy Communion : 1st Sunday -10:45a.m Church School 9:30a.m.

Prayer, Praise and Bible Study: Wednesday 7p.m Bible Study : Saturday: 11a.m.

Baptism: 4th Sunday – 10:45a.m “Empowered to love and Challenged to Lead a Multitude of Souls to Christ”

Peace Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Michael T. Bell 712 18th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 Phone 202-399-3450/ Fax 202-398-8836 Sunday Morning Worship Service 7:15 am & 10:50 am Sunday School 9:30am Sunday Morning Worship Service 10:50am Wednesday Prayer & Testimonies Service 7:30pm Wednesday School of the Bible 8:00pm Wednesday - Midweek Prayer Service 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm “The Loving Church of the living lord “ Email Address pbcexec@verizon.net

First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Rev. R. Vincent Palmer Pastor

Rev. Alonzo Hart Pastor

Rev. Dr. Wallace Charles Smith Pastor

Rev. Reginald M. Green, Sr., Interim Pastor

621 Alabama Avenue, S.E. • Washington, D.C. 20032 P: (202) 561-1111 F: (202) 561-1112

917 N St. NW • Washington, DC 20001 (202) 232-4294

9th & P Street, N.W. • W. D.C. 20001 (202) 232-4200

602 N Street NW • Washington, D.C. 20001 Office:(202) 289-4480 Fax: (202) 289-4595

The Church Where GOD Is Working....

And We Are Working With GOD

Sunrise Prayer Services - Sunday 7:00 a.m.

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Third Sunday Baptismal & Holy Communion:10:30 a.m.

Tuesday Church At Study Prayer & Praise: 6:30 p.m.

Morning Worship: 8:00 a.m Church School : 9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship: 10:55 a.m.

Bible Study, Thursday: 6:30 p.m.

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Sunday Service: 10 am Sunday School for all ages: 8:30 am 1st Sunday Baptism: 10: am 2nd Sunday Holy Communion: 10 am Tuesday: Bible Study: 6:30 pm Prayer Meeting: 7:45 pm

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Holy Trinity United Baptist Church

Sunday Worship Services: 7:45am & 11:00am Sunday school For All Ages 9:30am Prayer Services Wednesday 11:30am & 6:45pm Bible Institute Wednesday at Noon & 7:45pm “Changing Lives On Purpose “ Email: Froffice@firstrising.org Website: www.firstrising.org

Advertise Your Church services here: call Ron Burke at

202-561-4100 or email rburke@washingtoninformer.com

Pennsylvania Ave. Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Kendrick E. Curry Pastor 3000 Pennsylvania Ave.. S.E Washington, DC 20020 202 581-1500 Sunday Church School: 9:30 A.M. Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 A.M. Monday Adult Bible Study: 7:00 P.M. Wednesday Youth & Adult Activities: 6:30 P.M. Prayer Service Bible Study

Mt. Horeb Baptist Church Rev. Dr. H. B. Sampson, III Pastor 2914 Bladensburg Road, NE Wash., DC 20018 Office: (202) 529-3180 Fax: (202) 529-7738 Order of Services Worship Service: 7:30 a.m.

Sunday School: 9:00 a.m.

Worship Service: 10:30 a.m.

Holy Communion: 4th Sunday 7:30 a.m. & 10:30a.m.

Prayer Services: Tuesday 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday 12 Noon Email:mthoreb@mthoreb.org Website:www.mthoreb.org For further information, please contact me at (202) 529-3180.

August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

45

legal notices SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013 ADM 740 Athalia Johnson Frazier Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Juan M. Johnson, whose address is 2027 E. 17th St NE, Winston-Salem, NC 27105, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Athalia Johnson Frazier, who died on December 24, 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., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before February 1, 2014. 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 February 1, 2014, 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 first publication: August 1, 2013 Juan M. Johnson Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer

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NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Lillian Gant, whose address is 2515 Alabama Ave., SE, Apt. 301, Washington, DC 20020, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Frances R. Greene, who died on December 23, 2002 without a Will, and will serve with Court supervision.

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ties. There are two big abuses going on. 1. German auto manufacturer BMW has built a plant in South Africa for the sole purpose of shipping the product to the United States duty free. In essence, a European firm is benefitting from a program meant for African firms. India has jumped into this AGOA action. The island nation of Mauritius is located in the Indian Ocean and has been given “nominal status” as an African nation. India is shipping tons of raw products to this island of mainly Indian expatriates and then shipping the finished products to the Unites States under AGOA benefits.

How many trillions of dollars

alford continued from Page 28 pulous guy comes up to me and said, “I’m Charlie, best friend and adviser of the mayor, you need to meet with me outside before your meeting.” As we went outside the building I stated, “I know what you are trying to do. So, just go to hell and I am out of here.” (I don’t know for a fact that Mayor Brown was aware of what Charlie was doing.)

There is much corruption going on with the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

This is similar to a free trade treaty. AGOA certified nations in Africa may export goods to America without paying any du-

are taken out of our general economy because of corruption? How many good decisions and acts of leadership are lost to bribery, kickbacks and many other forms of corruption? It is an attitude that focuses on greed, quick money and a life style of cheating. You can’t get to Heaven living that way. Sooner or later most of the corrupt operators will get their justice. Too bad, most will be replaced with others of the same ilk. Just how deep is corruption?

Too deep!Wi Harry Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Website: www.nationalbcc.org. Email: halford@nationalbcc.org.

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jackson continued from Page 28 I have had many professional athletes as clients and friends and spend a considerable amount of time with them both in public and in private. I am appalled at how freely the word nigger is used by these athletes in mixed crowds. Riley is White, but I can assure you that his Black teammates use the word nigger around him—on the field, in the locker room, and when they are together privately.

I am not making a judgment as to whether it is right or wrong; I am simply sharing my personal interactions with professional athletes in various settings.

This is the dilemma the Black community has created for the

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broader public. We give rappers, entertainers, and other Blacks a pass when they use the word nigger, but then want to hold a White person to a different standard. There must be one standard when it comes to the usage of this word – it is not acceptable for anyone, under any circumstance to use it, period.

Team management and NFL officials hear the word used on the sidelines every Sunday during the games and every now and then league microphones picks up the word being used on the field during live games. Coarse language is part and parcel of the N.F.L., but is not for public consumption.

So, why is there no outrage by team and league officials when they hear these words on

the sideline? Oh, I forgot, this feigned outrage over Cooper’s comments were caught on camera and the outrage is more of a public relations response—to protect their sport’s brand.

My point is very simple: If we in the Black community didn’t use the word nigger, then others wouldn’t feel comfortable using it, either. Cooper is totally responsible for what came out of his mouth; but the Black community is responsible for making him feel comfortable saying it.WI Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a Washington, D.C.based public relations/government affairs firm. He can be reached through his Web site, www.raynardjackson. com. You can also follow him on Twitter at raynard1223.

(largely among themselves) and birthed a sizable second-generation – their children – who grew up thoroughly Americanized. In numerical terms, it’s the marriage record of that generation and Americans who’ve married in the last decade that have made intermarriage a common fact of American life.

Now, one in seven American marriages are between people of different racial or ethnic backgrounds – and together White-Hispanic American and White-Asian American marriages account for more than half of them.

The 558,000 married couples in which one spouse is Black and

SERvICINg ALL TRUCK BRANDS FOR OvER 75 YEARS! the other White make up only about 11 percent of all intermarwww.dovellandwilliams.com riages and less than 1 percent of 1120 Crain Highway, N.W.,Glen Burnie, 21061 8016 Reichs Ford Rd., Frederick, 21704 all married couples in America.

Those two facts underscore the central role Black-White intermarriage continues to have: as a source of inspiration to the DovellWilliamsMDDC3.79x2.indd 1 5/21/13 1:22 PM acceptance of intermarriage in a their child testify to its continued pouring of support for the ad broader sense; and specifically to grip on the diseased minds of from the decent denizens of the the fight for same-sex marriage; some Americans, including some Twitter-verse conveyed the same and, finally, as lighting-rod for in high places. So does the stun- message as the Gallup survey’s the continuing racist sentiment ning explosion of racist tweets data: the overwhelming majoriagainst the now-famous Cheerin American society. ty of Americans accept that this The Gallup survey findings ios interracial advertisement of human rite is a human right. WI are not a recommendation for late May. Lee A. Daniels is a longtime jourBut it’s equally important to thinking those attitudes have nalist based in New York City. His completely disappeared. The note that while the racist tweets latest book is Last Chance: The Politvirulent slurs against President initially had the element of surObama’s parents and him as prise on their side, the huge out- ical Threat to Black America.

Daniels continued from Page 28 approval at 38 percent. Not until 1997 did White approval pass the 60 percent mark; and not until 2005, when Black approval was at 87 percent, did White approval break 70 percent.

The current valuable Gallup survey, conducted over four weeks from early June to early July, just presents the data. It wasn’t designed to explore the reasons behind the rise in tolerance.

But of course doing so is imperative.

That first wave of new Americans had by the 1980s married www.washingtoninformer.com

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es. With an overall unemployment rate of 7.4 percent and a Black unemployment rate of 12,6 percent as of July, too many households with two adults have only one earner in the household. Another concern is that the federal poverty line is published as a national rate, yet it’s much cheaper to live, for example, in rural Mississippi than it does in New York City. In many instances, the poverty line does not reflect differences in housing costs, health care costs, or even transportation costs.

The Economic Policy Institute (epi.org) has developed budgets for “adequate” living in certain cities. (Full disclosure – I sit on the organization’s board).

This tool shows the wide variety of realistic and adequate living costs, which range from more than $90,000 in New York City,

to around $40,000 in parts of Mississippi. These are adequate living standards, not extravagant ones, taking into account rent, transportation, and other costs.

Many quibble over the minimum wage, but the more relevant issue is the living wage.

Millions are pushed below the poverty line because too many employers do not take the cost of living into consideration when the set wage levels. Paying workers less than they are worth drains our economy because these workers will not be spenders or “economic expanders.”WI Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and writer.

She is President Emerita of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C.

been prevented by the use of simple technologies that exist today.

Authorized-user identification, or personalized, gun technology encompasses a broad range of manufacturing designs that allow guns to recognize an authorized user and become inoperable when handled by anyone else.

The New Jersey Institute of Technology has been working on developing another form of personalized gun technology, “grip recognition,” which would recognize the palm configuration of authorized users and only operate for them. Research and data suggest this kind of technology would be extremely effective in preventing child and teen deaths.

A study of unintentional gun deaths in Maryland and Milwaukee County, Wisconsin found that 37 percent of the deaths would have been preventable with gun

personalization technology.

New Jersey passed a model law in 2002 requiring that all new handguns sold in the state include authorized-user identification technology within three years of becoming available in the state.

At the national level, Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) has introduced the Personalized Handgun Safety Act of 2013, which would take a major step forward for gun safety by requiring handguns manufactured in the future to be fitted with personalization technology. This proposed legislation would authorize National Institute of Justice grants for further development of personalized handgun technology and require older guns to be retrofitted with personalization technology before being resold with the retrofitting process paid for by the Department of Justice.

It also would direct the CPSC to create the safety standard for personalized handguns that all newly-manufactured handguns

would be required to meet and require that all U.S. manufactured handguns comply with the CPSC standard two years after the date of enactment—finally giving the CPSC the authority to develop safety standards related to guns.

Urge your members of Congress to support these common sense safety measures. Congress must subject guns to the same consumer product safety regulations that cover virtually every other consumer product. It’s time for childproof safety features on all guns to save young lives.WI Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children’s Defense Fund whose Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. For more information go to www.childrensdefense.org.

chance Senator.

So, who rides in on a white horse to defend White folks?

Why Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the only African American serving in the chamber. He called on Reid to apologize. “I hope Senator Reid will realize the offensive nature of his remarks and apologize to those who disagree with the president’s policies because of one thing – they are hurting hardworking American families,” said Sen. Scott, a.k.a. “Uncle Ruckus” in the TV cartoon series “The Boondocks.”

The last time the president

was in Arizona, you may recall, during his meeting with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, she contemptuously wagged her finger in the president’s face while they spoke on an airport tarmac. Just recently the president was in Arizona again, and while Brewer minded her “Ps and Qs” there was a racist hazing incident. As the president spoke in Phoenix about responsible home ownership, hundreds of people stood outside protesting his policies, many shouting and carrying racially charged signs.

“Bye Bye Black Sheep,” some

protestors shouted at one point, a reference to the president’s skin color, according to the Arizona Republic. Another protestor carried a sign that said, “Impeach the Half-White Muslim!” Another protestor shouted: “He’s 47 percent Negro.”

Enough said. He’s the president of their country, they certainly can’t think any better of the rest of us. But that tired, racist, xenophobia is invalid in these modern times, when White folks will need Black folks to help save them, before Black folks will need White folks to “deliver” them.wi

malveaux continued from Page 29

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Muhammad continued from Page 29 opposition to President Obama is driven by “substance” and not race.

“My counterpart, Mitch McConnell, said at the beginning of the presidency of Barack Obama that he had one goal, and that is to defeat Obama and make sure he wasn’t re-elected.

And that’s how they legislate in the Senate,” he said. “It was really bad. And we’re now seven

months into this second term of the president’s and they haven’t changed much.” Double that in the House where they have voted 40 times (count them) to repeal the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare.

“It’s been obvious that they’re doing everything they can to make him fail,” Reid said. “And I hope, I hope – and I say this seriously – I hope that’s based on substance and not the fact that he’s African-American.” Fat

50 August 15, 2013 - August 21, 2013

Economic Policy Institute, the average cost of childcare in the District of Columbia is $1,300 a month, or $13,600 a year. Poverty line $23,550, childcare costs $13,600 per year. Go figure.

Some feel these low wages are acceptable, especially some Tea Party members of Congress, yet they earn at least $174,000 per year. Actually, if fast food workers were as productive as this Congress, which has produced little of nothing so far this year, they wouldn’t earn a penny. Yet those who are well paid and well supported show little empathy for those whose lives and work are daily struggles.

The issue of unemployment must be taken into account when we look at the matter of poverty lines and minimum wag-

edelman continued from Page 29

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