“Racism is a refuge for the ignorant. It seeks to divide and to destroy. It is the enemy of freedom, and deserves to be met head-on and stamped out.” – Pierre Berton
Wilmer Leon Examines Race and the Clipper Protest See Page 26 •
C e l e b r a t i n g 4 9 Ye a r s o f S e r v i c e
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Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area / Vol. 49, No.29 May 1 - May 7, 2014
Fabulous @ 40 Festival!
Dance students at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Northwest wowed audiences on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27 with their “Dancing at Duke Makes a Difference” performances which featured various well-known choreographers. See Page 34 for more photographs. /Photo by Roy Lewis
Lawmakers Reconsider Mandatory Minimum Prison Terms By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer Ordered to prison on wire fraud charges, Andrea James embraced her 12-year-old daughter and five-month-old son before saying goodbye for two years. A rude awakening and a harsh reality check awaited James, a
disgraced lawyer, as prison officials escorted her to her new home: a small cell block where she’d bunk with other women of the same skin color. “No one really told me about the injustices until I became incarcerated,” said James, 49. “What I encountered as a black woman walking into prison was
heartbreaking because all I saw were black women, many of whom had never even received a parking ticket before but ran into a little trouble because they made a decision, a tough decision, on how they were going to feed their babies.” James, who grew up in Northeast and practiced law for nearly
a decade in New England before her incarceration, has fought vigorously to end mandatory minimum sentences since her release in 2011. Her “Justice Roundtable” group, which works to reform the U.S. Justice System, meets monthly at locations around the District.
Visit us online for daily updates and much more @ www.washingtoninformer.com Area Youth Demonstrate Robotics Skills Page 5
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They’ve planned a, “Free Her,” rally scheduled to take place on the National Mall on Saturday, June 21, where James said thousands of individuals are expected to attend with the hopes of putting pressure on lawmakers and the Obama administration
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2014 COMCAST CARES DAY Comcast brought together employess, their familites, volunteers, friends and community partners (NBC Universal and others) from around the local communities to participate in hundreds of service projects. They built picnic tables, refurbished school bleachers, mulched, raked and seeded school grounds. Some removed graffiti, scrubbed windows, painted, picked up trash and assisted food banks that prepare packages for the elderly. Comcast says that as a company giving back is in their DNA and they seem to prove that on this Comcast Cares Day -- Keep up the good work and we look forward to next year’s day of service . Just some of the Comcast Volunteers for the “2014 COMCAST CARES DAY
(L-R) Jeff Franco, Andria Carathers, Neil Smith (President & Chief Executive Officer Comcast cable & Exec. VP Comcast Corporation) & Donna Rattley (VP Regional of Govt/ Affairs)
(Below) Rachel Manning (NBC Universal , Jackie Bradford, & Ron Berry
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DC Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
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5/1/2014 – 5/7/2014 AROUND THE REGION Black Facts Page 6 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY Pages 12-13 BUSINESS William Reed’s Business Exchange Page 16 NORTHERN VIRGINIA Page 18 EDUCATION Pages 22-23 COMMENTARIES Pages 26-27 In recognition of The Washington Informer’s 50th Anniversary in October 2014, we are looking back at some of the newsworthy moments we covered in D.C. history. Youth that frequented the now shuttered Southeast Branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs welcomed General Colin Powell and singer Janet Jackson who were on hand to spearhead the national mentoring program - America’s Promise - chaired by Powell in 1997. Currently, Powell’s wife, Alma, chairs America’s Promise Alliance which also focuses on increasing U.S. high school graduation rates. One of the five America’s Promises, to create safe havens with constructive activities for young people, did not prevent the club from closing in 2009. /WI Archives
SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS Pages 36-38 RELIGION Lyndia Grant’s Religion Column Page 39
LIFELINE Did you know?
You may qualify for assistance in paying your home phone bill. Discounts for basic telephone service are available to eligible District of Columbia low-income residents. Verizon Washington, D.C. Lifeline Plans: Verizon Washington, D.C.’s Lifeline service, known as “Economy II,” offers reduced rates on Verizon’s monthly telephone bill and one-time discounts on the cost of installing phone service. Additionally, toll blocking is available to Economy II customers at no charge. Economy II Service*: $3.00 per month for unlimited local calling. Value-added services are not included (e.g., Call Waiting, Caller ID). No connection charges apply. Also, customers will not be charged for the federal subscriber line charge. Economy II customers who are 65 years of age or older can have this service at a further reduced rate of $1.00 per month. * Full terms and rates for these services, including terms of eligibility, are as set forth in federal and in Verizon’s tariffs on file with the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia. Rates as stated here are effective as of September 1, 2011. But, the rates and other terms are subject to change in the future.
Restrictions:
Eligibility: District residents who have been certified by the District Department of the Environment’s Energy Office (DDOE) as income eligible may apply for the Economy II program this program. To apply, schedule an appointment with DDOE by calling 311. Households in which one or more individuals are receiving benefits from one of the following public assistance programs may be income eligible.
Food Stamps Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) Supplemental Security Income Public Assistance to Adults Temporary Disability Assistance Program
No other working telephone service at the same location No additional phone lines No Foreign Exchange or Foreign Zone service No bundles or packages No outstanding unpaid final bills Bill name must match eligible participant No separate Lifeline discount on cellular or wireless phone service Business lines are not eligible Phone number must match eligible participant Must be a current customer or establish new service with Verizon
Contact DDOE at 311 to apply To learn more about the Lifeline program, visit www.lifelinesupport.org.
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AROUND THEBreak REGION the Cycle of Women Domestic Violence By Tia Carol Jones
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 When L.Y. Marlow's 23-year- domestic violence victims and stricter restraining order policies, old daughter told her the father survivors are treated. more rights for victim's families of her daughter threatened her “She's using her own personal to intervene on behalf of a viclife, and the life of their child, story, her own personal pain to tim, a domestic violence assessshe knew something had to be push forward,” Davis-Nickens ment unit coupled with further done. Out of her frustration said about Marlow. training for law enforcement with law enforcement's handling Davis-Nickens said anyone agencies, a Child's Life Protecof the situation, she decided to who reads Marlow's book will tion Act and mandatory counselstart the Saving Promise cam- “get it.” She said she “puts the ing for batterers. paign. case in such a way, the average “If we are ever going to eradi“It seems to be a vicious cycle person can get it.” She said at the cate domestic violence, we must that won't turn my family end of the day, the book will look at both sides of the coin. loose,” Marlow said. Marlow help people begin to have a dia- We need to address both the vicshared her story with the audi- logue about domestic violence. tim and the batterer,” Marlow ence at the District Heights Also present at the event was said. Domestic Violence Symposium Mildred Muhammad, the exMarlow would also like to see on May 7 at the District Heights wife of John Allen Muhammad, programs designed to raise Municipal Center. The sympo- who was sentenced to six consec- awareness among children in sium was sponsored by the utive life terms without parole public and private schools. She Family and Youth Services by a Maryland jury for his role in feels children need to be educatCenter Bridges, of the39, city of District the 7, Beltway attacks 36 in served ed as about domestic Damon center, Tristan Bridges, left, andSniper Renee Reynolds, honorary ribbonviolence. cutters Heights and the National Hook2002. Mildred Muhammad is on Saturday, “We haveApril to stop during the annual March of Dimes Walk for Babies at Watkins Regional Park 26 inbeing Upper pasUp of Black Women. the founder of After the Trauma, sive-aggressive with poor chilMarlboro, Maryland. /Photo by Khalid Naji-Allah Marlow has written a book, an organization that helps the dren about domestic violence,” “Color Me Butterfly,” which is a survivors of domestic violence Marlow said. story about four generations of and their children. Marlow has worked to break domestic violence. The book is “I lived in fear for six years. Six the cycle of abuse in her family, inspired by her own experiences, years in fear is a long time. It is and is confident the policies she and those of her grandmother, not an easy thing to come out is pushing for will start that through the month of organization has supported baBy P.K.and Collins her Sam mother her daughter. tinues of,” she said. process. June with final amount colwould have policies not been WI Writer She Contributing said every time she reads MildredtheMuhammad said bies“I that plan to take these to lected projected to reach nearly here otherwise,” said Gray, @sampkcollins excerpts from her book, she still people who want to help a Congress and implore them58. to Visitors representing beenour over 20 years sincesaid. we can not believe the words came $170,000. domestic violence victim must “It’s change laws,” Marlow than 100 families, from her. “Color Me Butterfly” [thethese March of be careful of how they compago into started Hundreds of people zipped more “I will supporting not stop until poliblack Greek letter organi- Dimes]. wontheir the windbreakers, 2007 Nationalput“Best the victim's life, and understand cies are passed.” So it’s important that we up on nies, Books” Award.shoes and braved zations, nonprofits collect- help that sheand may be in “survival Tiathe Carol Jones can reached children,” saidbeGray, an their running “I was just 16-years-old mode”. funds through personal and IT at tiacaroljones@sbcglobal.net a breezy spring morning to when bring ed specialist who lives in Upper my eye first andissue my professional “Before you get to 'I'm going Marlboro, Maryland. networks and social attention to a blackened public health lips bled,” Marlow said. to kill you,' it started as a verbal WI2013 Centers for Disease media. during an annual walk last weekA Elaine Davis-Nickens, presiDenise Rolark Barnes, pubend. dent of the National Hook-Up lisher of The Washington In- Control and Prevention report than 500said people showed that one out of eight of More Black Women, there from is no former and Kellye Lynn, anchor mothers across the country deacross the D.C. metropolitan consistency in the way domestic area strolled and alongbya for News Channel 8, served liver prematurely every year. violence issues arejogged dealt with three-mile path during the annual as mistresses of ceremonies. Experts say that preterm births, March for Babies at Watkins Re- Barnes applauded the March described as the delivery of ingional Park in Upper Marlboro, of Dimes’ efforts and later led fants more than three weeks earMaryland. The Saturday, April 26 walkers across the start line with lier than their expected due date, event, hosted by the March of Lynn. results in the majority of infant “March of Dimes has touched Dimes Suburban Maryland Divideaths. Babies that survive presion, celebrated the participants’ more lives than [people] realize,” mature births face a higher risk efforts to raise thousands of dol- said Barnes during her remarks. of respiratory problems, cerelars and address the more than “Their work is not done until bral palsy, and hearing loss later 8900 premature births expected all babies are born healthy. We march in honor of those who in life. to occur in Maryland this year. “People should know the “Through March for Babies, did not survive. I am the mother signs of premature births and we are able to remember the ba- of a baby that did not survive. support researchers in finding a bies in our lives,” said Jennifer I’m glad that March of Dimes solution,” said Andrea B. Smith, Abell, director of the March of helps those in similar situations. an information manager for the Dimes Suburban Maryland Divi- There are people who are not federal government. She said here but need support.” sion, headquartered in Arlington, Amelia Gray warmed up for that her family raised more than Virginia. “We are encouraged to L.Y. herMarlow daughsee so many people walking to- the morning’s activities with her $2000 in memory of day to support one another as two daughters, grandson, and ter Braelyn who died weeks after well as March of Dimes research two nieces by her side. She said a premature birth in 2013. “We can save many lives. Even and community programs [that] that her family has raised more though it’s my first time walking, give all babies a healthy start in than $1000 in donations to date. it’s definitely not my first time life.” “We need to advertise [more / www.washingtoninformer.com This year’s fundraising cycle of March of Dimes’ work] and donating,” said Smith, who lives started in February and con- show the community how this in Silver Spring, Maryland. WI WI Staff Writer
Hundreds Walk for Healthy Babies
The Washington Informer Newspaper THE WASHINGTON INFORMER InPUBLISHER Memoriam NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414)Dr.isCalvin Denise Rolark Sr. Barnes W. Rolark, published weekly on each Thursday. Wilhelmina J. Rolark STAFF Periodicals postage paid at WashingWASHINGTON INFORMER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published ton,THE D.C. and additional mailing of- NEWSPAPER Denise W. Barnes, Editor weekly Thursday. Periodicals fices. Newsonand advertising deadlinepostage paid at Washington, D.C. and additional mailing offices. News and advertising deadlineY.isSherman, Monday prior to publication. Shantella Assistant Editor is Monday prior to publication. AnAnnouncements must be received two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2000 by The nouncements must be received two RonPOST Burke,MASTER: Advertising/ Marketing Director Washington Informer. All rights reserved. Send change of addressweeks event. Copyright 2013 es toprior The to Washington Informer, 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, Lafayette Barnes, IV, Assistant Photo Editor by D.C. The 20032. Washington Informer. All No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permisrights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send sion from the publisher. The Informer Newspaper cannotStaff guarantee the return of Khalid Naji-Allah, Photographer change of addresses to The rates Washphotographs. Subscription are $30 per year, two years $45. Papers will be received John E. De Freitas, Sports Photo Editor not more than 3117 a weekMartin after publication. Make checks payable to: ington Informer, Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. Dorothy Rowley, Online Editor THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 20032. No part of this publication may Young, Design & Layout 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr.Brian Ave., S.E. • Washington, D.C. 20032 be reproduced without written permisPhone: 202 561-4100 • Fax: 202 574-3785 sion from the publisher. The Informer Mable Neville, Bookkeeper E-mail: news@washingtoninformer.com Newspaper cannot guarantee the return www.washingtoninformer.com Mickey Thompson, Social Sightings columnist of photographs. Subscription rates are $45 per year, two years $60. Papers will Stacey Palmer, Social Media Specialist PUBLISHER be received not more than a week after Angie Denise RolarkJohnson, Barnes Circulation publication. Make checks payable to: STAFF REPORTERS THE WASHINGTON Brooke N. Garner INFORMER Managing REPORTERS Editor Tia C. Jones, Ed Laiscell, Carla PeayLuther King, Assistant Managing Editor Odell B. Ruffin, Larry Saxton, 3117 Martin Jr. Ave., S.E Ron BurkeD.C. 20032 Advertising and Marketing MarySam Wells, Joseph YoungMichelle Stacy Brown, P.K. Collins, Washington, Mable Whittaker Bookkeeper Phipps-Evans, Eve Ferguson, Gale Horton Phone: 202 561-4100 LaNita Wrenn Administration Gay, EltonPHOTOGRAPHERS J. Hayes, Njunga Kabugi, Stacey Fax:John 202 574-3785 E. De Freitas Sports Editor Lafayette Barnes, IV, Palmer, Dorothy Rowley, Barrington Salmon, news@washingtoninformer.com Victor Holt Photo Editor John E. De Freitas, Maurice Fitzgerald, Summers, Charles E. Sutton, www.washingtoninformer.com Zebra Designs, Inc. Layout & Graphic Margaret Design Joanne Jackson, Roy Lewis, RobertJames Ken Harris /www.scsworks.com Webmaster Wright Ridley, Victor Holt CIRCULATION Paul Trantham PHOTOGRAPHERS John E. De Freitas, Roy Lewis, Khalid Naji-Allah, Shevry Lassiter
4 / May 15 - 21, 2008 The Washington Informer
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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.
The Washington Informer
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In Memoriam Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. Wilhelmina J. Rolark
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Highland Park Christian Academy Wins Robotics Award By Barrington M. Salmon WI Staff Writer @bsalmondc
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The students, faculty and staff of Landover’s Highland Park Christian Academy are walking with a little more pep in their step and chests out after having snagged a $10,000 grant to begin a robotics program at the school. Principal E. Louise White said to her knowledge no other public or private school in the area received the YouthTouch grant from the Nebraska-based Goldenrod Research Corporation, and Highland Park is one of only 300 schools worldwide to be so honored. “I have worked about 40 years as a teacher and administrator and in different capacities as an educator,” said White. “This is a different season in my life. Here I have the ability to be creative and make teaching exciting and immersive.” “What’s excited me is that this is a new way of teaching. I’m still in the game because I’m always looking for new ways to learn.” White said the school has to come up with a matching amount of $10,000 which will likely be raised through fundraising efforts. The school and church will raise the money, she added. The grant pays for a robotics program, which will introduce students in grades 2 through 8 to the robotics tools – including joystick-controlled robots and robotic arms. The plan, White said, is for students and teachers to incorporate the program into the school’s curriculum. When the system is fully operational, the robots will be an added component and teaching tool that will help students solve problems and enhance language arts, teamwork, mathematics, sciences and communications activities. “We will add this to the Summer Program and it will start in August,” White said of incorporating the robotics program into the school’s curriculum. “It’s tied to the Maryland State Science standards and common core standards.” Last Friday, Goldenrod president Lea Melchior instructed seven teachers in a day-long hands-on training session on how to properly use the robot arm, hydralift, and other parts
AROUND THE REGION
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 (L-R) HPCA students: 8th grader Annabel Bent; and 6th graders Lindsey Sanders, Layla Banks and Michael Artemus show a definite interest in robotics. /Photo courtesy of Anthony E. Moore Sr.
of the apparatus. Stanley D. Jackson, the school’s technology coordinator crowed about the school’s recognition. “It’s the first time that a school in the D.C. area in 30 years has gotten a grant nationally or internationally,” he said. “We’re the little diamond on the hill in Ward 9, in the shadow of the (U.S.) Capital.” He said he’s excited about the possibilities the robotics program engenders. “We’re using computers that should be tossed off the coast of Florida for a coral reef,” Jackson joked. “But we’re not complaining. We use what we have. Our technology evolution has been strategic. This is one of the few schools that have adaptive computer-based assessment. ” “Going forward, we want to position this (robotics) across content areas, such as social science and mathematics,” said Jackson, who with his wife operates an IT company, Front of the Bus Productions in Northwest. “We want to sustain shared responsibility and ownership. We want teachers to be able to incorporate this into their curriculums. We wanted the time between now and the fall to train, write and wrap it into the content.” Jackson said he wanted to take a thoughtful approach. In a lot of cases, he said, teachers wouldn’t get the time they needed to learn the system but this training gives them the opportunity to get comfortable with the
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robotics system and its applications. “There are implications for aftercare, summer enrichment and more,” Jackson said on April 25. Jackson credits the staff with doing a great deal with scarce resources. “We’re passion-rich,” he said. “They (teachers) do amazing things with very little. They work Denise Rolark Barnes Independent Beauty Consultant hard at this school. Teachers’ salwww.marykay/drolark-barnes.com aries aren’t comparable to that 202-236-8831 of public school teachers. It’s dedication on their part.” “It ain’t pretty here. It’s like sausage. Our Internet structure in this building cannot support the type of infrastructure we need. Oh, what we could do if we had resources. I’m talking about time, talent, and equipment, not just money. It’s very hard for the school to acquire and maintain its own stuff. We need to improve the Internet but that’s probably something we’ll have to do on our own.” Ultimately, what he seeks to avoid, Jackson said, is having students at the school who’re technologically illiterate and unable to access information. As digital technology burgeons, he explained, the world is becoming 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 increasingly ‡ one technology Beautyof Consultant in 9-point Helvetica Neue Light; Web site or e-mail address in 9-point Helvetica Neue Light; phone number in 9-point Helvetica To the Independent Beauty Consultant: Only Company-approved Web sites obtained through the Mary Kay® Personal Web Site program may haves and have-nots. “I don’t want our kids to be left behind,” he said. “It’s a function of exposure and being technologically fearless.”WI The Washington Informer May 1, - May 7, 2014 5
WEEK OF MAY 1 TO MAY 7
Black Facts May 1 1866 – The two-day Memphis, Tennessee race riots, one of the most savage events immediately following the civil war, begins. When it was over former Confederate soldiers, angered by the lost of the Civil War and the new status for Blacks, had killed 46 Blacks and two of their white supporters as well as raped five Black women and torched over 90 homes, schools and churches. In support of the rebel soldiers, local police arrested hundreds of Blacks and not the whites who were rioting. 1950 – Brilliant poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize, is born on this day in Topeka, Kansas.
BUYING RECORDS
May 2 1870 – One of the most unsung religious leaders in American history, William Seymour, was born on this day in Centerville, Louisiana. Seymour became pastor of the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles and the catalyst for the worldwide Pentecostal movement. He not only rejected racial barriers in the church in favor of “Unity in Christ” but he is also credited with eliminating many of the restrictions placed on women in the church. He died of a heart attack in 1922. May 3 1845 – Macon B. Allen passes the Massachusetts bar thus becoming the first African American lawyer to pass a state bar and the first Black person permitted to practice law in the United States. Allen was born in
The Civil Rights Act of 1960
Indiana but after the Civil War he moved to South Carolina where he was elected a judge in 1873. May 4 1891 – Dr. Daniel Hale Williams founds the Provident Hospital and Training Center in Chicago, Illinois. It becomes a major training center for Black doctors and nurses. Williams is best known, however, for performing the nation’s first open heart surgery on July 9, 1893. He operated on a man injured in a knife fight. The man would live for another 20 years after the surgery. May 5 1905 – Robert Sengstacke Abbot (1870-1940) founds the Chicago Defender newspaper calling it “the world’s greatest weekly.” Indeed, he would build the Defender into the largest circulation and most influential Black newspaper of its day. May 6 1787 - African Lodge No. 459 organized in Boston with Prince Hall as Master. 1812- Martin R. Delany, a pioneering Black nationalist, is born on this day in Charles Town, Virginia. Abraham Lincoln once described him as one of the most brilliant men he had ever met. Delany would fight in the Civil War to end slavery and become one of the nation’s first
Black military officers. After the war he became a doctor. But over the years he became frustrated with American racism and began to advocate a return of Blacks to Africa. 1960 - President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960. 1967 - Four hundred students seized administration building at Cheyney State College. May 7 1800 – On this date the founder of the settlement which would grow to become the city of Chicago, Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, sold his property and left the settlement. The Haitian-born frontier trader and businessman had a history of building significant wealth, losing it and building it again. He would die 18 years later in St. Charles, Missouri. 1878 – Black inventor, J.R. Winters, receives a patent for his designing of the fire escape ladder. 1885 - Dr. John E. W. Thompson, graduate of the Yale University Medical School, named minister to Haiti. 1976 - William H. Hastie inaugurated as the first Black governor of the Virgin Islands.
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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AROUND THE THE REGION REGION AROUND INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY LINDEN
VIEWP INT William Taylor Washington, D.C. I feel that it is a good move by the NBA and Silver. Racism isn’t new in our society and there are still a lot of people who hold Sterling’s views. So this decision lets them know that those views will not be tolerated. The NBA was also put in a tough position where it felt as if it needed to protect its image and brand. This is Silver’s first year, as well. His decision brings awareness to racism.
Larry Barnes Bowie, Maryland I feel as if justice has been served. Seeing as though Sterling was the owner, the only thing the NBA could really do to deal with the situation was to ban him. I think Silver wanted to also send a message to the league that this will not be accepted. I’m just glad that the Clippers will be able to continue to play in the playoffs and not have to boycott.
h s a C d Nee
NBA COMMISSIONER ADAM SILVER IMPOSED A LIFETIME BAN AND A $2.5 MILLION FINE ON LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS OWNER DONALD STERLING AFTER A RECORDING OF STERLING MAKING RACIST COMMENTS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICANS SURFACED. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON SILVER’S DECISION?
Muhammad Allah Washington, D.C. Sterling’s comments were extremely disrespectful and uncalled for, and they showed a lack of professionalism. And given that the NBA is predominately black, it was just a foolish decision on Sterling’s part – especially for something that he’s financially vested in. I think Silver’s choice of a lifetime ban was a good decision. I think the NBA will retain a lot of its fans, and possibly add some new ones because of the way the incident was handled.
Marchelle Lewis Hyattsville, Maryland I think the punishment was a little harsh, but in the same sense, [Sterling] shouldn’t be able to profit off of people he does not like. For him to say that he didn’t want blacks to come to his arena, while he continued to make money off of black players, is wrong. I feel as if the lifetime ban was necessary.
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Pauline Senior Hyattsville, Maryland While I agree with the lifetime ban, I don’t think the fine was stiff enough. Sterling has the money and could have been fined a higher amount. The amount he was fined is a slap on the wrist. I hope he learns a lesson from this, and I hope that others who say the same thing, but haven’t been caught, will learn from this as well.
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Andrea James. /Photo courtesy of Boston Magazine
MINIMUMS continued from Page 1 to reconsider policies surrounding mandatory minimums, particularly the incarceration of blacks and minorities, who make up the overwhelming majority of the nation’s prison population. “People, including those in the black community, have a distorted view of who is in prison,” said James, who penned the 2013 book, “Upper Bunkies Unite: And Other Thoughts on the Politics of Mass Incarceration.” “They really don’t understand what’s happened in this country because of the ‘War on Drugs’ and what that really meant,” she said. A study by the Center for Research on Globalization in Canada revealed that the U.S. houses 2 million, primarily black, inmates in state, federal and private prisons. Today, nearly half of African-American men who grow up in the U.S. are arrested at least once by their 23rd birthday, Center for Research on Globalization officials said. Further, African-American women in the U.S. receive sentences that are 480 percent harsher than affluent white males who commit similar offenses. Ironically, the death of famed Maryland basketball superstar Len Bias led lawmakers to impose mandatory minimum prison sentences, particularly for drug offenses. Bias, just 22, and drafted by the Boston Celtics, died of a cocaine overdose on June 19 1986. Bias’ death politicized the drug debate that year.
Democrats quickly pushed through a bill that introduced mandatory minimum sentences, taking away any discretion judges previously held. “You had [lawmakers] say, ‘I want a drug bill, I want it in four weeks,’” said Eric E. Sterling, president of the nonprofit Criminal Justice Policy Foundation in Silver Spring, Maryland, who served as counsel to the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary from 1979 to 1989. “It set off kind of a stampede,” said Sterling, 62. “Numbers were picked out of the air. Ten-year mandatory minimum, routine sentences are 15, 20, 30 years without parole. Then you have conspiracy, and suddenly you have people facing 50 years, people facing either life in virtual terms or as a real sentence.” Fifteen thousand federal drug cases are brought before the court each year and the bulk of them are mandatory minimum cases despite most of them being minor offenders, Sterling said. “Only 10 percent of all federal drug cases are high-level traffickers,” he said. “You have drugless drug cases. You don’t need powder; all you need is the witness to say, ‘I saw a kilo.’” Perhaps, one case that underscores the call for reform is that of Southeast resident Antwuan Ball, whom prosecutors in 2005 indicted for his role in a massive drug conspiracy and murder. Ball was acquitted on all but one count of distribution of crack co-
See MINIMUMS on Page 9
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AROUND THE REGION MINIMUMS continued from Page 8 caine, but still received an 18-year prison sentence which law experts called excessive. Ball, now 43, recently lost an appeal of his sentence. His lawyer, Steven Tabackman, told ABC News that Ball should have been sentenced to no more than six years, but mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines were still used even for the charges which the jury voted not guilty. “It’s a sentencing scheme straight from the mind of Lewis Carroll,” said Tabackman, referring to the author of “Alice in Wonderland.” Attorney General Eric Holder has now declined to pursue charges that could lead to mandatory minimum sentences for low-level, nonviolent drug offenders. Holder cited the case of Stephanie Nodd, an Alabama woman who served 21 years in federal prison for her first and only conviction: conspiracy to sell crack cocaine. Although the indictment never cited any violent crimes, prosecutors named her as a trusted lieutenant in a drug ring that dealt crack. Sentenced at 23, Nodd emerged from prison a year go without having seen her five children grow up, and without any knowledge of today’s technology. The Justice Department issued new guidelines on April 23, allowing certain prisoners who already have served at least 10 years to apply for clemency. Deputy Attorney General James Cole said the changes include six separate criterion inmates must meet in order to be eligible, including not having a significant criminal history and having no strong ties to major gangs. The process will also be open to
those who would have received a lesser sentence if convicted of the same offense today. “Older, stringent punishments that are out of line with sentences imposed under today’s laws erode people’s confidence in our criminal justice system,” Cole told the Associated Press. “I am confident that this initiative will go far to promote the most fundamental of American ideals, specifically equal justice under the law.” Activists from Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) in Northwest said the new clemency criterion could help focus the attention of Congress on expanding legislation to cut mandatory sentences for nonviolent drug-related offenses. “It seems the Justice Department is doing what it can to help stem the tide of people going to prison in record numbers for absurd lengths of time,” said Julie Stewart, president of FAMM. “It’s really up to Congress to take the next step and change the number of mandatory sentencing laws.” Meanwhile, the timing of the Justice Department’s announcement proved remarkable, James said. “We had no idea that we’d have this wind beneath our wings right before our rally because we’d been organizing this rally for about two years,” she said. “Seventy percent of women who are incarcerated are the primary caregivers for their children and when you recognize that, you start to understand the direct correlation of how many black children are in the criminal justice system. We understand that the black and brown communities are targeted, but we’re not the majority who use or sell drugs. The majority is white, but our prisons are made up of blacks.”WI
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING AUTHORITY SOLICITATION NO.: 0027-2014 Land Development Planner
The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) is seeking a qualified professional Land Development Planner to assist DCHA in the full range of services to the planning and possible redevelopment of Lincoln Heights/Richardson and Greenleaf properties. SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS will be available at the Issuing Office at 1133 North Capitol Street, NE, Suite 300, Administrative Services/Contracts and Procurement, Washington, DC 20002-7599, between the hours of 9:00am and 4:00pm, Monday through Friday, beginning on Monday, April 28, 2014; and on DCHA’s web site at www.dchousing.org
SEALED PROPOSAL RESPONSES are due to the Issuing Office by 11:00am on Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Contact the Issuing Office, LaShawn Mizzell-McLeod on (202) 535-1212 or by email at lmmcleod@dchousing.org for additional information.
Shining Stars Montessori Academy Public Charter School REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS: 2014 – 2015 School Services DATE: 4/28/2014 Summary Through this Request for Proposals (RFP) Shining Stars Montessori Academy Public Charter School seeks multiple qualified firms to provide competitive bids for certain School Services such as building maintenance, Catering, IT services, Human Resource Management, Curriculum Development Consulting, Security, Construction & Renovation, Legal Services, Financial Management & Accounting Services, and Auditing Services throughout the 2014 – 2015 school year. The selected vendor(s) will be expected to work with Shining Stars administrative staff on an as-needed basis throughout the 2014 – 2015 school year. This will be a one-year contract from date of award, subject to cancellation at the sole discretion of Shining Stars within 180 days of the anniversary date.
Additional specifications outlined in the Request for Proposals (RFP) may be obtained from: Kamina Newsome, Director of Operations & Vendor Services at knewsome@ shiningstarsdc.org.
Sealed/Emailed proposals must be received by Friday, May 16, 2014 at 12 Noon.
Shining Stars Montessori Academy, PCS 1328 Florida Avenue, NW The Annex Washington, DC 20009 202-319-2307 ext. 102 www.washingtoninformer.com
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AROUND THE REGION
D.C. Political Roundup By James Wright WI Staff Writer
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Gray, GOP Differ on Council At-Large Seats D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (D), in an unprecedented move, has expressed concerns about a law in the District’s Home Rule Charter that sets aside two at-large seats on the D.C. Council for non-Democrats. “It seems to me that the compromise with the Republicans who supported Home Rule in the District in 1973 that two at-large seats go to Republicans or non-Democrats is outdated,” Gray said on April 16 at the Emancipation Day Parade that took place in Northwest. “That compromise took place 40 years ago and it should be revisited.” Gray, 71, expressed similar sentiments at the Democrats Unity Breakfast on April 4 at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church in Southeast. However, leaders of the District of Columbia Republican Party disagree with the mayor’s assessment. “Yes, I do think that you should reserve the two at-large seats on the D.C. Council for minority parties,” Ralph Chittams, the vice chair of the city’s GOP, said. “If you want any illusion or hope of having any dissenting voices in this city, those two seats need to be reserved for non-Democrats,” he said. The Democratic Party has a 10-1 registration advantage over the Republicans in the District. Jerry Moore, Carol Schwartz and David Catania have served on the D.C. Council as Republicans while Statehood Party members Julius Hobson and Hilda Mason have also been elected to the council. William Lightfoot became the first independent member of the council in 1988. The issue for the Republicans is that no member of their party has served on the D.C. Council since 2009. Catania changed his party affiliation to independent in 2004 because of the national GOP’s reluctance to embrace samesex marriage. Other independents who The Washington Informer
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray would like to see changes in the city council elections. /Courtesy Photo
D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes is known as a fighter for the District on Capitol Hill. /Courtesy Photo
have served on the D.C. Council are former Democrats Michael Brown (2009-2013) and David Grosso (2013-present). Former 2013 Democratic at-large candidate Elissa Silverman will likely run as an independent for the non-Democratic at-large seat in the Tuesday, Nov. 4 general election. D.C. Council member Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) running as an independent for the non-Democratic at-large seat in November is another possibility, as well. Gray said that it’s unfair that the District has to be penalized for its strong Democratic base. “No other jurisdiction in the United States is set up this way,” the mayor said. “You have some states where there
is one party rule and that is not prohibited. It is the people who should decide who should be elected to office.” Nonetheless, D.C. Republican Party Executive Director Robert Turner insist that his colleagues will fight to keep the two non-Democratic seats on the council. “We will fight this in two ways: through the courts and Congress,” said Turner, 43. “We will sue if Yvette Alexander tries to run as an independent but keep her seat on the D.C. Council as a Democrat. If necessary, we will get our fellow Republicans House Speaker John Boehner and U.S. Rep. Darrel Issa [he chairs a committee that deals with District affairs] involved to keep those two seats.” Norton to Fight for D.C. on Pot Decriminalization D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) is set to go into battle on Capitol Hill for the District’s right to implement a law that allows the decriminalization of marijuana. Later this month, Norton will testify at a hearing on the issue during the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on Government Operations. “It is inappropriate to hold a hearing on the local marijuana laws of only one jurisdiction, the District of Columbia, when 18 states have decriminalized marijuana, 21 states have legalized medical marijuana and two states have legalized marijuana,” said Norton, 76. “There is nothing that distinguishes the District from these states except for Congress’s illegitimate power to overturn the democratically enacted local laws of the District. What is clear is that the enforcement of marijuana laws here and throughout the country has a disproportionately unfair effect on African-American men and boys, leaving them with criminal records that often cripple them for the rest of their lives.”WI
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PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY BRIEFS
If Your Ad Were Here Someone Would Be Reading It! Contact me, Ron Burke, at 202-561-4100 or rburke@washingtoninformer.com
Usama Young of the Oakland Raiders returned to his elementary school in Upper Marlboro, Maryland to stress the importance of students developing their reading skills. /Photo courtesy of Prince George’s County Public Schools
Compiled By Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer
Transforming Lives
Young Gives Back
• Take the journey
Usama Young of the Oakland Raiders recently returned to Phyllis E. Williams Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to donate new books to students. Young attended the school as a child and his generous donation was done in partnership with “Athletes for Charity” and its “Youth Literacy Initiative.” “Education and academic achievement have always been a focal point in my life instilled in me by my parents at a very early age,” said Young. “It is befitting for me to return to [the school] that helped develop my early love of learning and share that passion with current students.” Book donations included “Disney’s Wonderful World of Earth,” “Wonderful World of Dinosaurs,” “Wonderful World of Nature,” and “Wonderful World of Space,” and other book series that feature notables like Jackie Robinson, Nelson Mandela, and President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. “We [were] extremely excited that Usama visited us,” said Karen DeSouza-Gallman, the principal at Phyllis E. Williams. “It’s great that he brought a positive message about the importance of education to our students and even better – spread the joy of reading.”
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Prince George’s County officials joined students and staff at Longfields Elementary School in Forestville, Maryland for an annual “Arbor Day Celebration” that included the planting of 49 trees which designated the building as a green school. During the celebration, Adam Ortiz, director of the Department of Environmental Resources, presented a proclama-
tion to the principal, Maisha Strong, who is also scheduled to accept the “Tree City USA Award” from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Forest Service. “I hope the students take this experience with beautifying our school into something they will do for years to come,” said Strong. Derrick Davis, District 6 County Council representative, added that such partnerships serve as an example of citizens’ seriousness concerning the health of their environment. “We have a responsibility as elected officials, community activists, and as school leaders to instill in them that the world they inherit is important,” Davis said.
Applications Accepted for Summer Bridge Programs The school system is still accepting applications for enrollment in summer bridge programs. Among the remaining bridge programs are slots for the Advanced Placement (AP) Summer Bridge Academy, which is offered at no cost to students taking an AP placement course this fall. The program teaches students to develop and improve strategies for thinking, writing, goal setting, planning, time management, note-taking and other valuable skills needed to achieve success in academically-challenging courses. The wide variety of enrichment and bridge programs are being offered for all grade levels, although rising 9th- graders are being encouraged to explore the Algebra 1 and Biology programs. For more information, visit the Summer School webpage at www1.pgcps.org/summerschool/ or call 301-808-1124. WI
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PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY
A couple mixed it up on the dance floor during Mt. Rainier’s annual festival, Better Block Night on April 25. /Photo courtesy of Joe’s Movement Emporium
CALL (202) 670-7495
Artists Sizzle at Mt. Rainier Festival Local Businesses Open their Doors to Growing Clientele By D. Kevin McNeir WI Contributing Writer Despite intermittent showers and brisk winds, diehard shoppers and supporters of the arts strolled through the commercial district of downtown Mt. Rainier last Friday evening to enjoy the town’s annual street festival, Better Block Night. Crowds converged at the Mt. Rainier Circle and intersecting streets of Rhode Island Avenue and 34th Street, which came to life with music, workshops, a parade, performances, open studios, arts activities and more. Through an Art Lives Here initiative, the arts community now partners with local businesses, two community development corporations, four cities and Prince George’s County to increase regional visibility for the Gateway Arts District. County Executive Rushern Baker III has been selected as the honorary chair for the Art Lives Here 2014 season during which time more than 20 events will take place. Baker, unavailable for comment, met on Thursday, April 24 with leaders of local arts organizations and Art Lives Here partners
to kick off the 2014 season. Carole Bernard, executive director, Gateway Community Development Corporation attended the meeting and said the support that her organization has received from both the state and the county has been “huge.” “We serve Mt. Rainier, Brentwood and North Brentwood and along with Hyattsville the four cities make up the Gateway Project,” she said. “We’re delighted to see the county’s investment facilitated through the Redevelopment Authority. Two projects are under development in Brentwood and an RFP has just been released for a third property in Mt. Rainier where the former Singer Building [3300 block of Rhode Island Ave.] once operated,” Bernard said. “It’s this kind of commitment that local leaders can use as a catalyst to spur the economic driving force we need to get others to move into our community. Our goal is to maintain a small town feel while also broadening the economic base. The financial resources we’ve gotten so far from the state and county have been vital to our success but for us to continue in that vein we’ll need sustained
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and additional support.” When asked to assess the county’s commitment to businesses in Prince George’s County, Mt. Rainier City Manager Jeannelle Wallace said “they are now putting their money where their mouth is.” “… The county has said it will put up $4 million through the waiver of fees, as one example, to encourage developers interested in participating in the rehab project of the 3200 block of Rhode Island Avenue,” Wallace said. “That’s the entry way to the City of Mt. Rainier. Granted, the proposal has been on the table for a while and an agreement has not been reached with the developer. … My office has been told that the county executive budget director’s office and the chief of staff both feel that an agreement is eminent. Projects like these help in the rehabilitation of the south side of Rhode Island Avenue that leads into the District and are essential as many of those buildings have been vacant for almost two decades.” WI To read this story in its entirety, go to www.washingtoninformer.com The Washington Informer
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NATIONAL
RIF Gala Helps Cultivate Next Generation of Readers By Barrington M. Salmon WI Staff Writer @bsalmondc Carol Rasco remembers as a child growing up in the Arkansas Delta her parents and grandparents helping instill in her a deep love for reading and the written word. “I remember my daddy between dinner and the evening news reading,” recalled Rasco, president and CEO of Reading is Fundamental (RIF). “My grandparents did that too. Every summer, my grandparents took two of their grandchildren for six weeks. We traveled in a trailer and we had a box from my grandmother with ‘the word of the day.’ We would say the word, spell and have to know how to use it in a sentence.” “It was amazing as we drove and I saw some of those words. My grandmother was a big supporter of education. Her parents died when she was young and she put her siblings through college.” On the evening of April 24, about 450 supporters, philanthro-
pists, RIF staff and volunteers – book lovers all – joined Rasco at the 2014 Reading is Fundamental Cat in the Hat Gala. CNN and ABC news correspondent Jeanne Meserve guided the evening’s activities at the Four Seasons Hotel in Northwest as mistress of ceremonies, and special guest Alma Powell read a Cat in the Hat bedtime story to the rapt audience. “I was made aware of RIF in 1970 when Colin was a White House Fellow,” said Powell of her husband, retired general and former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. “If a child isn’t reading at grade level by age three, (he/she) will drop out (later in their school life). A study (by Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley) showed pictures of childrens’ brain development and a 13-hour-old baby imitating movements. This shows the importance of giving them a sound foundation for reading.” Rasco concurred. “Eighty-six percent of children who have trouble in third grade will have trouble in the 12th,” she said. “We can predict who will
dropout … this job makes me realize that there are millions of kids who don’t have a book. In a lot of homes, children say there are two books: The Bible and the Yellow Pages phone book.” “One of the biggest hurdles we have is to get people to understand that when people are debating between buying Pampers and reading, reading isn’t a priority. Parents don’t read, can’t read or are uncomfortable reading. We have to tell parents to make up their own stories with the pictures in the book or tell them to do a family history.” Powell, chair of the America’s Promise Alliance and a longtime advocate on children and youth issues, recalls growing up in a house filled with books. Her godmother was a librarian and Powell said she read frequently to and with her mother. “I’m impressed by RIF and dedicated to helping our children to read,” she said. “I see and know the joy a book brings. I will continue the tradition of reading bedtime stories and talking about the importance of reading.” In a lot of ways, some people said RIF is often playing catchup, trying to attract children who live in poverty or reside in underserved communities. “We give away eight books for summer reading to each child and serve communities all over the country,”
said RIF Senior Trainer Laura Walters. “It’s crucial to give kids the foundation. It’s important to put books in their hands. It enhances their reading ability.” All around the salon where guests dined, the Cat in the Hat theme dominated. Costumed characters from Dr. Seuss’ inimitable book strolled the halls and posed for pictures with guests. While intricate balloons twisted into different shapes showed the cat sitting on tables and perched on a light pole; meanwhile, young hosts from local universities sported the cat’s distinctive red and white hat. The gala, though blacktie optional, saw many of the guests adorn themselves with red bowties in an assortment of ways, including as hairpieces, bowties, and boutonnieres and
artwork, paying for reading celebrations in varied communities and autographed tickets from Robert Griffin III and Nats pitcher Stephen Strasburg. In the midst of their successes, Rasco and other speakers said RIF has faced some challenges, especially in recent years. “For 34 years, Congress gave us money,” Rasco explained. “For years we’ve known that the Office of Management and Budget didn’t think a private, nonprofit, non-governmental group should get money. A number of times in the past, OMB recommended that Congress cut out the grant.” House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) followed through after
See RIF on Page 15
r e d and white striped ties. Guests bid in an auction for Dr. Seuss serigraphs and illustrations, weekend packages at the Four Seasons and other hotels and resorts, signed sports jerseys from the likes of Sergei Ovechkin, Aaron Rogers and LeBron James, signed basketballs, and children’s books. Between dinner and dessert, guests vied for goodies in a live auction including stays at swanky resorts, U.S. Open golf tickets, fly fishing, wine tastings,
The Cat In The Hat By Dr. Seuss
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NATIONAL RIF continued from Page 14 the 2010 midterm elections and eliminated RIF’s grant. “We lost $24 million a year,” said Rasco. “I had to let 65 people go and many communities have no books. We did, however, get a $5 million research grant, we have wonderful sponsors and we’re very good friends with Macy’s which does cause marketing. RIF gets $3 and customers receive $10 off $30 purchases.” Rasco said she’s especially proud that RIF handed out its 10 millionth book last year. Margaret “Margy” Pastor basked in the glow of the evening. She said she could never have imagined that a project started with a book mobile donated by the Ford Foundation and leftover books from several publishers could have grown into this grand endeavor. Her mother, Margaret “Margy” McNamara founded RIF in 1966 and since then, Pastor has watched the organization introduce children to the joy, thrill and satisfaction of reading. Pastor said her mother tutored children in Ann Arbor, Michigan and when her parents moved to D.C. in 1960, her mother began tutoring in District schools. McNamara’s father, Robert served in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and was defense secretary under Lyndon Johnson. Today, RIF boasts hundreds of thousands of volunteers in more than 20,000 communities. “She had a hard time getting kids interested in reading so she put a bunch of books in the car,” said Pastor. “She put books out and told the kids to choose. She asked what interested them and asked them a little bit about what they thought the story was about.” “She suggested that they take the books, they said no and she told them to take them. She started at one school and it spread. It just evolved and along with it grew the most amazing grassroots organization with the commitment of people to support this project. It promotes reading, excites the kids.” WI
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House on the Hill For all the good he’s done, and individuals he’s made rich and elevated to the middle class, it’s a shame that Marion Barry has been left to struggle. Instead of having been provided a house in Hillcrest, a limousine and full-time chauffeur, the 78-year-old District of Columbia City Council member is in failing health and hanging on to his “good government job” for dear life. Marion S. Barry has been at the forefront of American race and politics for four decades and “Can I borrow your car?” is an exhortation the legendary politician should never have to make. As many people as he’s made “rich” it should have been automatic that Barry’s benefactors put him in a place on top of the highest hill in the city. “Mayor Barry” deserves a house with a balcony in the forest-like landscape in Hillcrest that affords him easy views of the Capitol and Washington Monument. Hillcrest is located in D.C.’s Ward 7 and considered one of city’s most beautiful neighborhoods. East of the Anacostia River and populated mostly by Blacks, Hillcrest is like an island that has one quiet, rolling street after another, each lined with dignified homes that sit above well-tended lawns. Despite the passé “Chocolate City” moniker, Washington, D.C. is actually a place where virtually all the commercial real estate is owned by Whites and foreign investors. Barry brought the D.C. government and populace into the commercial and governmental “big leagues.” His leadership and guidance of Blacks and their issues is an important story of impressive achievements. Despised by many of America’s Whites, and disowned by many Blacks, Barry has dominated the collective psyche of the nation’s capital since the 1960s. During his public life in the spotlight, Barry came to town as a young civil rights activist, then moved seamlessly into mainstream politics, and then evolved into a
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By William Reed political machine boss. He fell in disgrace after an FBI sting. After being imprisoned, Barry resurrected his political career and rode a redemptive wave back to power. For what’s he done, there are many Blacks who owe Barry the honor of a house on a hill. Barry helped hundreds of thousands of Blacks fulfill their business and professional dreams. Barry purposefully funneled lucrative proposals and contracts to Blacks. In and around D.C., vast numbers of Blacks owe their upward mobility to Barry. Prince George’s County, Md., right next door to D.C. is dubbed the richest majority-Black county in the nation; Barry had a lot – if not everything to do with that. The names Donahue Peebles, Bob Johnson and Black Entertainment Television (BET), might be meaningless were it not for Barry. After they made their fortunes through access and opportunities Barry provided, they quietly took the money, boarded private jets, and went to Miami leaving Barry back home “to fend for himself.” Roy Donahue “Don” Peebles is a successful real-estate entrepreneur. In the early 1990s, R. Donahue Peebles got his start when at age 24 Mayor Barry appointed him chairperson of the Washington, D.C. Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals. Now, Peebles is the chairman and chief executive officer of the Peebles Corp., the largest African-American real-estate development company in the U.S., with a multi-billion-dollar development portfolio of luxury hotels, high-rise residential and commercial properties in D.C., Las Vegas and Miami Beach. Since 2003 Peebles solidified his reputation as one of the most powerful players in the ranks of South Florida developers. In 2009, Forbes listed him as one of the top 10 wealthiest Black Americans
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Student Loans Vary in Type, Terms and Costs As graduation day nears for high school seniors, students and their families are also weighing choices for college and financial aid. With college costs rising faster than most family incomes, schools are often compared to the level of financial aid each offers. How much assistance and how long it is available can be the final deciding factor for families. Already, the nation’s student loan borrowers owe more than $1.2 trillion dollars. So before adding to that enormous debt, it’s best to know how to reduce the need for loans and equally important, the different loan options including their cost and repayment terms. Pell Grants, based upon financial need, can provide financial aid up to 12 semesters or its equivalent. The level of need is determined by family finances, cost of attendance and whether enrollment is part-time or fulltime. For the 2014 – 15 award year (July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015), the maximum award will be $5,730. None of these funds require repayment. All student loans require repayment and can include applicable interest rates and fees. As a rule, federal loans generally offer better terms than private ones. But even among federal options, terms and availability vary. Borrowers typically incur penalties for skipping payments, or making either partial or late payments. Direct loans, also known as Stafford Loans, are the most common type of federal student loan and are available in two forms: subsidized and unsubsi-
REED continued from Page 16 in the country estimating his wealth at $350 million. Barry met an unemployed model named Hazel Diane “Rasheeda” Moore at a birthday party for Robert L. John-
dized. As of July 2012, Stafford Loans are limited to undergraduate students. Depending upon the cost of enrollment, and the level of financial need demonstrated, undergraduates can borrow from $5,500-$12,500 per year on both kinds of Stafford Loans. On a Subsidized Stafford Loans, the government determines financial need and then pays loan interest while the student is enrolled at least part-time. Borrowing an unsubsidized Stafford Loan means that interest on the loan begins to accrue while students are enrolled. Repayment for both types of Stafford Loans begins six months following graduation or the end of enrollment – whichever comes first. Another option may be a Perkins Loan. Designed to serve full- and part-time students with the most acute financial need, a Perkins Loan can be used to support undergraduate, graduate or professional programs. Although these loans are free from origination fees, they are not available at all schools. Where available, Perkins Loan borrowers who are undergraduate students could receive up to $5,500 per year and up to a total of $27,500. As long as students are enrolled at least part-time, interest on these loans is subsidized by the government. Graduate and professional students for these
loans may be eligible for up to $8,000 per year. Should a student use a Perkins Loan for both undergraduate and graduate studies, the loan cap is $60,000. On the repayment side of Perkins Loans, full and part-time students have nine months from graduation or the date of leaving school before repayments are scheduled to begin – three months longer than the requirements for Stafford Loans. One other federal loan, Parent PLUS, offers funds for education expenses not covered by other forms of financial aid. To qualify for this loan, parents or guardians of enrolled students cannot have an “adverse credit history.” Credit reports showing recent foreclosures, tax lien or other credit delinquencies would reflect adverse credit. In recent months, Parent PLUS has come under attack by education advocates, including the United Negro College Fund. Currently and in reaction to critics of the Parent PLUS loan, the Department of Education is considering adjustments to loan criteria and adverse impacts. A future commentary will be dedicated to additional information on private loan terms and characteristics. But what should be clear is that federal loans are generally cheaper and may offer more options for repayment than private loans. Additional information on federal loan options is available at: http://studentaid. ed.gov/. In today’s economy, even young professionals equipped with degrees and marketable skills can face a difficult and uncertain job search. Income-based repayment, loan forbearance and forgiveness can be options for federal loans. Take the necessary time and effort to ensure that your student loan decisions are right for you.WI Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.
son. In later years, the founder of BET became the first African-American billionaire in 2000 after he sold the network to Viacom for $3 billion. Now, a hotel and real-estate tycoon, Johnson founded cable channel BET in 1979. Barry helped Johnson become the
city’s cable operator and later built BET’s offices and studios through government financing and bond sales.WI William Reed is publisher of “Who’s Who in Black Corporate America” and available for projects via the BaileyGroup.org
By Charlene Crowell
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NORTHERN VIRGINIA
Seniors Receive Free Home Repairs By Margaret Summers WI Contributor @margaretsumme10 Oocerla Gaskill has lived in her Alexandria, Virginia row house since 1952. The street is lined with two-story wooden houses similar to hers. Red brick sidewalks and trees in spring bloom add a burst of color to the neighborhood. The street, usually filled with cars, is quiet, except for the sounds of hammering and sawing from Gaskill’s house. Gaskill, 94, is one of several seniors who benefited from the work of 600 volunteers, ranging in age from preteen to over 50. They plastered and painted, reinforced weakening home interiors with drywall and cleaned out 40 houses of low-income Alexandria seniors during National Rebuilding Day on Saturday, April
26. Rebuilding Together Alexandria (RTA), organizer of the local effort, has repaired and upgraded more than 1,700 homes of low-income individuals for free since its 1987 inception. “Nobody’s ever helped me like this,” said Gaskill. “I’ve got family [in the area] but they don’t help. Now I’m going to stay here in my house until the day I die. [Without the repairs] I would have had to move. I don’t want to move. Moving is too much work.” Volunteers made extensive repairs. “There’s a big crack in the master bedroom ceiling that we’ll fix with drywall,” said Suzanne Touart, 34, of Poolesville, Maryland, the “house captain” or leader of the project. “We’ll clean the backyard, replace a sump pump pipe, replace cracked window panes, and install fire and carbon monoxide detectors.”
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Seventy-one-year-old James Cole (left), who is legally blind, commends volunteers from Rebuilding Together Alexandria for their efforts. The group of volunteers spruced up his yard during National Rebuilding Day on Saturday, April 26. /Photo by Nancy Shia
Not far from Gaskill, James Cole, 71, insisted on helping the volunteers when he could. Blind in his right eye, and losing sight in his left, he moved about his home as volunteers spread mulch in his backyard, preparing the soil for planting. Cole has lived in his home for 27 years. During the 2011 earthquake, part of the roof caved in and a section of his bedroom ceiling fell on his bed. “I went to RTA about my roof,” said Cole.
“I was surprised when RTA inspectors found other things that needed repair.” “I’m overjoyed and overwhelmed [about the repairs],” said Cole. “I’m disabled and no one helps me. The repairs I used to make I can’t do anymore with my limited sight.” Outside Kenneth and Katharina Sanford’s row house, volunteers carefully applied white paint to the front yard’s old wooden picket fence. Sanford, 71, and her
husband Kenneth, 81, have lived in their home for 40 years, and have been married for 45. “I’m so happy about the free home repairs,” said Sanford, whose husband wasn’t home at the time volunteers showed up to rehab Sanford’s home. “We can’t do it. We used to. We repaired our porch. Kenneth cut the wood and I nailed the boards in place.” “The volunteers are the nicest
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news@washingtoninformer.com THE ART OF LYNDE
Known for both classic and contemporary portraits of boxing icons like Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, and Evander Holyfield, former NFL player Lynde Washington teases the viewers’ perceptions and expectations to recalibrate the familiar with the extraordinary. What differentiates Lynde Washington from other American artists is his focus on the diverse aspects of American culture and his interpretation of life growing up in the 1980s and the 1990s. Washington strives and succeeds to capture his generation, his sports background, and his heritage through the exciting, expressive, and bold works he creates. “Lynde’s paintings are so amazing to me and definitely one of kind,” Says Former Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson said. “Keep doing your thing, Lynde. Much love.”
Volunteer Don Catlaw repaired a roof for a senior citizen on behalf of Rebuilding Together Alexandria during National Rebuilding Day 2014 on Saturday, April 26. /Photo by Nancy Shia
SENIORS continued from Page 18 people,” she said. “They’re fixing my storm door, repairing a side of the house where there’s water damage, and they repaired my entire roof. I’m truly excited about this, yes I am.” Katharine Dixon, 41, RTA’s president and CEO, said volunteers rolled up their sleeves and repaired homes in 150 cities and towns across the country. “National Rebuilding Day originated in 1972 in Midland, Texas,” she said. “A Sunday school teacher [challenged] his students to repair homes of [needy] families. It’s rumored that someone whose home was repaired said, ‘This is like Christmas in April!’” Since then, said Dixon, National Rebuilding Day is always held on the last Saturday in April. Seniors needing RTA’s services complete an application to prove that they cannot pay for home repairs on their income. RTA inspects their homes and deter-
mines what repairs should be made. “The average age of our clients is 72,” said Dixon. Before leaving for assigned worksites, volunteers gathered at First Baptist Church on King Street at 7:30 a.m. for coffee and donuts. Alexandria Councilmember Tim Lovain and the city’s mayor William Euille thanked them for improving the quality of life for low-income senior citizens. Several volunteers expressed satisfaction with making seniors’ homes safer. “Now a [senior] woman doesn’t have to worry about a ceiling falling in on her after we’ve done six and a half hours of repair work,” said Cynthea Gismegian, 41, of Woodbridge, Virginia. “I think that’s worth getting up early for on a Saturday.” WI RTA is funded by grants and fundraisers. Its sponsors include the city of Alexandria, Booz Allen Hamilton, Wells Fargo and Capital One banks. Visit www.rebuildingtogetheralex.org for more information.
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There are only 250 limited edition Giclee prints of Mr. Washington’s Mike Tyson “Human” piece. These original paintings also come with a complete “Certificate of Authenticity”. To learn how to secure a one-of-akind piece, contact Lynde Washington at lnwsportsart@gmail. com For more Info visit https://www. facebook.com/lynde. washington
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In Crowded Households, Stress is a Killer By Rabiya Hussain Special to the Informer from New America Media Every morning before Evangelina Ramirez leaves for work, she cleans the house in a meticulous manner so that everything is where it belongs. She does this, she says, so she can come home to a clean house where she can unwind after a busy day at work. Ramirez, a caregiver and a community activist, shares a three-bedroom apartment in central Long Beach with her two teenage children, a roommate and her roommate’s daughter. Unfortunately for Ramirez, the tight quarters mean that her dream of relaxing after work in a clean and quiet home is just that, a dream. “As soon as I get home, I start feeling stressed because I have to work all day and then I go home and I find all the mess,” said Ramirez, who has lived in overcrowded homes for the past 20 years. “I start getting mad and start yelling at everybody.” Ramirez’ experience is not uncommon. According to a new report by Housing Long Beach (HLB), a community non-profit, nearly 20,000 families are currently living in overcrowded housing in that city alone. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines overcrowded housing as any residence with at least 1.5 people per room. According to the HLB report, individuals or families living in overcrowded housing situations are more likely than others to experience poor mental health outcomes including persistent stress, and even have a shorter life expectancy. Additionally, children who grow up in overcrowded homes are more likely to fall behind in their schooling and The Washington Informer
exhibit behavioral issues. In spite of the health issues associated with overcrowded housing, said Ramiez, such arrangements are made out of necessity and not choice. Ramirez herself spent 17 years living in a small one-bedroom apartment with five other family members, prior to moving into her current home two years ago. “I always kept my kids indoors so they don’t get into gangs and drugs, but the only thing [my oldest] son liked to do was eat. That made my son become overweight,” she said. “Now he is an adult, and he is [an overweight] man who has many health problems.” A younger son of Ramirez was diagnosed with ADHD, and she worried about the impact of the frequent yelling in the home, which she attributed to the stress of living in a cramped environment. “When a kid who has ADHD starts listening to someone who’s yelling, they start feeling anxious [and] he just doesn’t want to be home.” Ramirez said her two teenage children, a girl and a boy, also suffered from having to share a room. “They didn’t have space to do their homework and all the things they need to do,” Ramirez said. “I tried to find another apartment but I [couldn’t] pay $ 1,400. It’s too much.” Ramirez was eventually able to find a roommate, her best friend’s sister, lowering her share of the rent to $900 -- but even that was more than Ramirez, a minimum-wage earner, could afford to pay. “Most of the time, per month, I get around $1,200 or $1,400. Most of the money goes to rent and another $300 on bills, like electricity, gas, Internet and cellphone. Sometimes I don’t have enough money for food and that’s the
biggest problem.” The accepted rule of thumb is that housing costs should be no more than 30 percent of a household income, to allow other basic needs to be met. However, close to 130,000 Long Beach renters, including Ramirez, spend somewhere between 30 and 65 percent of their income on rent, said HLB Executive Director Kerry Gallagher. “Some families cope and they have really affordable rent, but they live in really terrible, substandard units,” Gallagher said. “Other families cope by living in overcrowded homes. So it makes it more affordable, but it adds on all these impacts of the stress of living in an overcrowded environment.” Currently, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Long Beach is $1,513 per month in the downtown area, and $1,200 in North Long Beach. That would require a single person to earn an hourly rate of $29.09 or $23.07, respectively, in order to afford that rent while not exceeding 30 percent of their overall take-home pay, according to HLB. Furthermore, the report concludes, if the Long Beach tourism industry continues to create low-paying service-sector jobs while the California minimum wage stays stagnant at only $8.00 hour, “the imbalance between jobs and housing will tip further and further toward un-sustainability.”WI Rabiya Hussain is a Journalism & Mass Communications student at CSU Long Beach and a contributor to VoiceWaves, a youth-led community journalism project founded by New America Media to report on community health issues in Long Beach. The project is supported by grants from The California Endowment and the Long Beach Community Foundation.
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Early Learning Focus of OSSE Conference By Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer When it comes to the education of its infants and toddlers, the District of Columbia boasts the most robust pre-kindergarten initiative in the nation, where at least 70 percent of 3-year-olds and 90 percent of 4-year-olds are already enrolled in Head Start classes. However, opportunities to elevate preschool programs like Head Start remain an ongoing challenge. “In the District of Columbia, we understand the sensitivity of [these kinds of issues] and we are committed to making infants and toddlers our priority,” Mayor Vincent C. Gray said in welcoming guests to the inaugural “Infant and Toddler Conference” held April 14-17 at the Kellogg Conference Center at Gallaudet University in Northeast. “Infants and toddlers need close, nurturing relationships that provide them with a secure base for exploration, learning and discovery,” said Gray, 71. The Office of the Superintendent of Education (OSSE) sponsored three days of workshops and seminars that centered on the Common Core early learning standards, Head Start framework and developmental growth concerns identified from birth through age 3. The gathering, which attracted 300 childcare providers, therapists, teachers and program directors each day, tied-in with President Barack Obama’s Early Learning Initiative which makes it a priority to educate our youngest children. The initiative focuses on ages from birth through age 5 which are the critical years for building the foundation needed for success later in school and in life. One of the programs under that initiative provides a $5 million grant from which qualified early childhood programs can obtain funding to improve their efficiency as high-quality learning programs. Rae Shawn Crosson-Settles, who manages OSSE’s childcare subsidy program, also monitors the District’s more than 500 licensed childcare
providers. She credited the city with already having “well-mastered” the bulk of its early childhood objectives. “No state in the country has free public education for all 3and 4-year-olds,” Crosson-Settles said. “Whether or not a parent choses to [enroll] their child [in preschool], we have free slots for those ages at facilities all over the District.” Arnaya Bell, the mother of children ages 1 and 5, said the programs have been a godsend for single working women like herself who are looking for early learning programs committed to giving their children a boost as they enter school. Bell, 27, said her oldest child began his education two years ago having attended a program at Kipp Public Charter School that was similar to Head Start. Her youngest son is currently enrolled at the Southeast Children’s Fund Development Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. While Bell who lives in Ward 8, acknowledged her oldest child’s progress in PreK-3, which is part of a national initiative to transform how children 3 to 8 learn, she also remembers the difficulty she had obtaining childcare vouchers so that her son could attend Kipp. “There was only one place in the city to get them and they only took requests early in the week,” Bell said. “So, most times [women in need of the vouchers] would have to be in line by 6 a.m.” Bell also admitted being concerned that last year’s federal budget cuts and subsequent government shutdown could have ended Head Start, altogether. “I was relieved because many parents are dependent on these kinds of programs for decent childcare as well,” said Bell. “I think Mayor Gray has done a good job helping the city provide alternatives for [childcare and early learning], so although there may be room for improvement in certain areas, I wouldn’t want to see them end.”WI
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EDUCATION
Students at the Southeast Children’s Fund Development Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Southeast receive an early introduction to learning that will take them into first grade and beyond. /Photo courtesy of the Southeast Children’s Fund Development Center
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EDUCATION Compiled By Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer
School Board Recognizes Outstanding Volunteers
The School Board recently recognized four individuals and a local church group for exceptional volunteerism to the school system. Recipients of the 2013-14 “Outstanding School Volunteer Awards” include George Rasmussen for his work at the elementary school level; Eugenia Ballering, middle schools; James Kern, secondary schools; Christine Candio as a corporate volunteer, and a group of former teachers and concerned community members from Beulah Baptist Church who established the “Saturday School Tutoring Program” to assist students with their academic challenges.
“On behalf of our entire division, I congratulate and thank these enthusiastic and devoted community members, whose many hours of volunteer work benefit our students in countless ways,” said Superintendent Alvin Crawley. “Their dedication and generosity make them role models for all of us.” The honorees counted among a list of nominees submitted to a team of school personnel and program members who, following a series of evaluations, selected them as winners.
T.C. Williams Alumni Honored
T.C. Williams High School alumni Vantross Medina-White, Ria Kristine Namata and Michael Tilghman II have been honored as outstanding graduates. The former students were recognized during the 28th an-
A previous Titan Expo and Spring Fair at T.C. Williams High School featured plenty of baked goods. /Photo courtesy of Wayne Hulehan, Alexandria City Public Schools
nual Spring Gala dinner dance and silent auction on Saturday, April 26 by the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria (SFA).
Early Childhood Lab School The University of the District of Columbia
A special place where children EXPLORE, DISCOVER & INVENT
The fund, which was named the 2013 Nonprofit of the Year by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, each year, provides approximately $900,000 in scholarships to graduates of T.C. Williams. The gala honors past scholarship recipients who used their awards to attend college and make their career dreams a reality. Medina-White, a 1995 graduate of T.C. Williams, fulfilled her dream of a career in education and now teaches special education at the city’s James K. Polk Elementary School. A graduate of George Mason University, Medina-White, holds a B.A. degree in psychol-
ogy and a Master’s in special education, describes teaching as her passion. Namata, who came to Alexandria as a child after her family moved from the Philippines, graduated in 2002 and completed a B.S. degree in finance at George Mason University. She is currently the Group Business finance manager with Gibbs and Cox in Crystal City, Virginia. In the spirit of giving back, Namata and her husband – also a T.C. Williams graduate – donated part of the money they received as wedding gifts to SFA. Tilghman, a 2001 graduate,
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NAEYC accredited program Reggio-emilia inspired, arts infused program All day program with extended day: 8 am – 6 pm Certified Teaching Staff Breakfast, lunch and two snacks included Summer camp program: July 1 – August 15, 2015 Subsidy vouchers welcome for families who qualify For Additional Information Contact:
Phone: 202-274-5219 Email: fireflies@udc.edu 4200 Connecticut Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20008 Building 41
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“Education is the key to success. Returning to school has made me happier and will take me to another level.” R O S E T TA B R O W N
The Car Bash has become a popular attraction at the annual Titan Expo and Spring Fair at T.C. Williams High School. /Photo courtesy of Wayne Hulehan
ACPS BRIEFS continued from Page 22 values the encouragement he received from his teachers and counselor at T.C. Williams. Tilghman completed his studies for a B.A. degree in international affairs at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and received his law degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Today, he’s an attorney specializing in employee benefits and litigation at Bailey & Ehrenberg PLLC in Northwest.
Titan Expo and Spring Fair
A . S . LIBER AL STUDIES, 2013 H O M E H E A LT H A I D E A N D D I R E C T SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL C E R T I F I C AT E S , 2 0 1 3 B.S. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, 2015
Families, friends and community leaders and organizations from all over the city of Alexandria are invited to the T.C. Williams Titan Expo, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, May 4, at the front field of the high school, located at 3330 King Street. The expo will offer carnival games, a Car Bash, bake sale, Bingo, and a used book sale. Admission is free and the event will be held rain or shine. Proceeds will benefit the Larry Trice PTSA/SCA Scholarships for vocational student graduates. WI
Where Lives are Changed At the University of the District of Columbia, you’re not a number. Classes are small, affordable and easily accessible. Professors care. Students are engaged in the pursuit of knowledge and embracing opportunities to grow and prosper. Reach for your opportunity today. For more information, visit www.udc.edu.
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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS
NCAA and Unionization Whether the union vote taken by Northwestern University football players last Friday succeeds or fails, its significance will have far-reaching repercussions well beyond the gridiron. Players voted whether to be recognized as a union after the National Labor Relations Board ruled that the university is a workplace, therefore giving the players the right to seek representation. NCAA President Mark Emmert claims that unions “would blow up everything about the collegiate model of athletics.” Northwestern players want to be paid, want concussion testing, better medical coverage and four-year scholarships that cover the entire cost of college attendance. Emmert’s right, because unions would begin to bring parity between the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its student-athletes and dismantle the exploitive system that is a cash-cow. Emmert, who makes a multi-million dollar salary, has characterized any attempt to unionize as inappropriate and unnecessary. The expectation is that a vote to unionize – and that’s not certain – will land the case in court. It may be months before we learn the results, but this case serves notice to the NCAA and universities across this country that a much-needed change is in the offing. This development comes at a time when the NCAA is under intense scrutiny. A number of critics have described the relationship between the NCAA and student-athletes as “the new slavery.” In 2012, during March Madness, the NCAA made more than $1 billion in advertising revenue, while the “gladiators” who battled for basketball supremacy made nothing. Not a dollar. The NCAA also made a ton of money in other areas. As Michael Lewis, author of The Blind Side and Moneyball, explained, “It’s a purely commercial enterprise, and a pretty ruthless one. College sports is professional in every aspect but one. They don’t pay the players.” The NCAA also raked in cash from broadcast rights ($10.8 billion over 14 years with CBS); ticket sales and sponsorships ($40 million); the division of March Madness revenue among schools and conferences that have basketball teams; and then there’s gambling and wagers (more than $7 billion a year in bets on March Madness games). According to USA Today, Duke Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski made $9,682,032.00 this year, while Louisville’s Rick Pitino made $4,678,327.00 and John Calipari of Kentucky earned $5,200,000.00. No one begrudges these coaches the money they make, but if universities are willing to ante up this type of money for coaches, the NCAA should be willing to pay those who make these financial windfalls possible. On the flipside, you have players like Shabazz Napier, one of the most talented and heralded basketball players in the country, who led the University of Connecticut Huskies to national championship glory last month. During interviews after the game, he told reporters that sometimes he’s starving when he goes to bed because he can’t afford food even though there are provisions in place that offer the university’s student-athletes meal plans. It’s not lost on people that Napier, the finals MVP, is going to bed hungry while the NCAA makes hundreds of millions of dollars off of him. Obscene is one word that comes to mind. The NCAA was quick to respond to Napier’s comments and last week, the NCAA Legislative Council approved unlimited meals and snacks for Division I student-athletes as long as they’re involved in their sport.
Unionization is just the latest salvo across the NCAA bow. There is growing unrest among players, more critics are calling on the NCAA to share the spoils with athletes, and others seek to improve the conditions under which athletes work. The NCAA will undoubtedly attempt to maintain the status quo. Be that as it may, like it or not, change is a-coming.
We Salute Our Students!
I take my hat off to the students at Oxon Hill High School for taking a stance against the building of a Wal-Mart next to their school [“Students Push to Halt Planned Wal-Mart,” April 17, 2014 by Joshua Garner]. I don’t have anything against the Wal-Mart brand. However, I think it’s an important learning experience for students to be informed about things happening in their community, and if they don’t agree with a decision, by all means take a stance for what they believe is right. Their concern is over the amount of traffic the store would bring in and around both their school and the John Hanson Montessori School, which would lead to safety issues. These students have a long hard fight ahead of them because Wal-Mart is a multi-billion dollar corporation, but to take a position and stand by something you believe is right is far more valuable than 10 multi-billion dollar corporations, and I applaud them for their tenacity. Martin Anthony Suitland, Maryland
The ACA – a Great Law!
I wasn’t around when the Federal government rolled out the Social Security Act, but I can just imagine all of the difficulties it must have faced in its formative years. Now that our president and this Congress have given us the Affordable Care Act (ACA) we have a lot to look forward to. Yes, there are problems that must be overcome, but the ACA is a good law and we should stay the course. I personally know of a least seven individuals who have been able to secure an affordable health insurance plan for themselves, whereas in the past they could not have afforded one. When I read the article, “HHS Secretary Resignation Gets Mixed Reviews,” [Stacy M. Brown, April 17, 2014], I had to write this letter to you to say how proud I am to be alive to witness the beginning of such a truly worthy and long overdue law, the Affordable Care Act. And to Ms. Kathleen Sebelius, upon on her resignation, I want to wish her all the success in whatever she decides to do.
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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS
Guest Columnist
By James Clingman
Higher Education too Important to Fail We may as well call it “Edupay-tion,” as far as many prospective students are concerned. The cost of a college degree has risen 1,120 percent since 1978, but wages have increased a mere 6 percent during that same period. The national collective college debt is more than $1 trillion. We have college grads mired in $29,000 of debt, on average, while they are looking for jobs that do not exist. Parents
and grandparents of those grads are also saddled with much of that debt, which is immune to bankruptcy, and they will have to make the payments until they die. What have we gotten ourselves into? The greed that accompanied those easy-to-obtain, just-signhere college tuition loans, borders on immoral. Financial institutions were like Black Friday crowds, trampling one another to get in on the act. New lending operations cropped up every day,
and new proprietary colleges and universities opened their doors throughout the nation, advertising their degrees and easy to get loans for tuition. What would happen if students and parents just stop paying on that $1 trillion debt? Who would pay then? Bingo! I can see another bailout coming, and this time it will be for student loans. Ethical implications exist on both sides, the lenders and the borrowers. But no matter what side you take the problem is still here and is looming as yet anoth-
Guest Columnist
er bubble about to burst in the near future. As many schools are raising their tuition costs, despite the ominous specter of a meltdown, many prospective students are opting out of their plans to attend college. But where does that leave them in today’s “jobless market”? Sounds like a catch-22. This nation trails many other countries in various fields of education, and we will find ourselves even further behind if this tuition bubble is not deflated very soon. Our young people
will not be able to compete on a national level, much less on an international level, without access to adequate, relevant, and higher educational experiences. In other words, the famous mantra, “Leave no child behind” will soon become, “Help every child catch up.” We have smart bombs and dumb children. We have the ability to kill people with drones without even seeing them, but we cannot – but will not – pro-
See CLINGMAN on Page 45
By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, III
The Reaction to Donald Sterling, Double Standards in the Midst of a Racial Hierarchy “When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don’t really have to do anything; you just let them talk…” President Obama April 27, 2014 Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has spoken and he has said a mouthful. Once again, the never healing scab of bigotry and racism that permeates American society and culture has been pulled away and it is stinging. So much so that President Obama was forced to address this is-
sue while attending a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was forced to honestly admit, “The United States continues to wrestle with the legacy of race and slavery and segregation, that’s still there, the vestiges of discrimination…” As I have listened to the various pundits, analysts, commentators, and sports icons discuss this issue and express their outrage at Donald Sterling’s comments I thought I would try to connect a few other dots that have been missing from the discussion. First, if ABC/ESPN commentator
Jeff Van Gundy can say (and rightfully so) in response to Sterling, “The only action that would be wrong is inaction or neutrality… There are some things that are bigger than pursuing a championship... Making a stand on something that impacts society is even more important…” then there should be the same level of outrage directed toward Washington football franchise owner Daniel Snider. By continuing to use a racial epithet and image as the symbols of his football team, Daniel Snyder’s public insults of Native American’s are just as/if not more
Guest Columnist
vile and offensive as Donald Sterling’s private bigoted conversations with his girlfriend. Why should the reaction, pressure, and suggested course of action being directed at Sterling be more than that directed at Snyder? If there’s a clarion call for Sterling to be relieved of his operational duties and forced to sell his team, why not direct the same ire and hold Snyder and the NFL to the same standard? The lack of a collective outrage towards Snyder when compared to what is being directed toward Sterling makes me wonder if
there’s a racial hierarchy of outrage in this country. Insults are insults and bigots are bigots. During pre-game warm-ups for Game 4 with Golden State, Clippers players wore their red T-shirts inside out to obscure the team logo then piled them in the middle of the court. This was a nice gesture of solidarity but it was a statement not a stand. The stand would have been for the players to boycott the game. Some such as ESPN’s Stephen A.
See LEON on Page 45
By Bill Fletcher, Jr.
Black America was Silent during Rwandan Genocide It was 20 years ago this month that the monstrous Rwandan genocide unfolded. In less than 90 days, close to 1 million Rwandan Tutsis and their Hutu allies were murdered by rightwing Hutu extremists, instigated by the government of Rwanda. The scale and speed of the genocide defied imagination. Dramatized in the film Hotel Rwanda, the events of 1994 were linked to both the externally imposed
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economic policies that Rwanda was forced to accept, as well as historic tensions that were rooted in colonialism. There is much that can and should be said about the events that unfolded, not the least of which being the Clinton administration’s obstruction of the United Nations’ efforts to prevent the genocide. Yet there is one thing that we, in Black America, rarely discuss: our own relative silence on the genocide. It was striking at the time. With the notable exception of
the founding president of TransAfrica Forum –Randall Robinson, the Black political establishment was largely quiet. There was little outrage expressed with the Clinton administration for its obstruction. There were no mass demonstrations against the genocide and calls for an international military intervention to stop it. More than anything else there appeared to be something that can only be described as embarrassment within Black America. At the time of the genocide, The Washington Informer
and later after I took over as president of TransAfrica Forum, I said that if 100 Belgian paratroopers had landed in Kigali (capitol of Rwanda) and killed 1,000 Rwandans, there would have been mass demonstrations across the U.S. Yet, in a situation where a million people were being exterminated, Black America appeared paralyzed. For too many of us the framework in looking at Africa had been that of a site of struggle for racial justice and national liberation against European colo-
nialism and White minority rule. We reduced many, if not most of the struggles to that framework. And it was actually easy to do that given that European colonialism and White minority-rule had been central to the Africa for most of the 20th century. Yet the reality of Africa was (and is) never just about European colonialism and White minority rule. Within each country there have been ethnic contradictions, frequently root-
See FLETCHER on Page 45
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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS
Guest Columnist
By Lee A. Daniels
Hank Aaron and the Real ‘Acting White’ Syndrome Hank Aaron, the major leaguer who 40 years ago broke Babe Ruth’s titanic home-run record, recently spoke the truth about the source of some of the opposition to President Obama the politician and the man – and in doing so, illuminated a blazing truth about American society as a whole. That is that some Americans are still motivated by the ‘acting White’ syndrome. No, I’m not
referring to that tricked-up version of the “culture-of poverty” theory that assigns the myriad difficulties many poor Black children encounter in the segregated public schools they attend to a “flaw” within Black culture itself that denigrates traditional scholastic achievement. I’m talking about the old acting-White syndrome that held sway among most Whites in this country until the civil rights victories of the mid-1960s. That notion declared that any Black American who thought they had
a right, for example, to pursue any job they were qualified for, or sit anywhere they chose on any mode of public transportation, or buy a home in any neighborhood they could afford were violating the code of White Supremacy. In other words, those “uppity” Blacks were trying, to “act White.” Hank Aaron knows that acting-White syndrome well, and not just because he grew up in the 1930s and 1940s Mobile, Ala. He knows it because of the most important thing he and
Guest Columnist
another baseball Hall of Famer, Jackie Robinson, and President Obama share: Each of them broke deeply-rooted racial barriers to achieve three of the most cherished – indeed, mythic – positions in American society. Robinson broke the color barrier that had kept Blacks from Major League Baseball for 50 years. Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home-run record, which had stood for half a century. And Barack Obama was elected president of the United States – twice. Each of these men drew
worldwide acclaim and an heroic stature in the pages of history and the eyes of millions of Americans. But to some White Americans, their achievements were, literally, a Black mark against the White supremacy they believe America should continue to stand for. And so, even as Robinson’s and Aaron’s and Obama’s individual displays of determination and competence and grace under pressure enabled more and
See DANIELS on Page 46
By Julianne Malveaux
Mental Illness is Our Dirty Little Secret I’m tired, my sisterfriend says. I don’t know how much longer I can hold on. As I hear her I have a couple of choices. One is to tell her to get with her pastor and pray; the other is to tell her to get real with her illness. Running her to her pastor takes her to a familiar place. Pushing her to help takes her out of her comfort zone. When my beloved brothers and sisters share that they are stymied in the way
they live their lives, I don’t mind praying and encouraging spiritual counsel, but I do mind ignoring the medicinal help that could assist my sisterfriend. So my sister is sighing her pain, and I am wondering what to do. There are few that will hear a Black woman in a Black community, strumming her pain, questioning her faith. According to the National Associations of Mental Health more than 4 percent of African Americans have considered suicide. Most of them are African American
women. Mental health is our nation’s dirty little secret, and if it is whispered in the nation at large, it is a silent scream in the African American community. We are afraid, ashamed, frightened to own up to it, using our own lingo (s’kerd, shamed) to wrap ourselves around the fear that goes with “coming out” on mental illness. So we are silent, even when we loose a warrior. Karyn Washington was a 22-year-old Morgan State University sister who com-
ASKIA-AT-LARGE
mitted suicide, last week. This young and brilliant one turned her pain into power when she created a website, “for brown girls” (forbrowngirls.com) that lifted up and affirmed our brown skin girls. Karyn was a colored girl whose mental issues were apparently so severe that she chose to take her own life while affirming those of others. From all accounts Karyn experienced depression. How many feel it and don’t say it? How many nod and just don’t mean it? How many exhale, inhale and really
reach out to a brother or a sister to listen, have a cup of tea, take a walk, or just reach out and touch? The poet Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote, “We wear the mask that grins and lies that hides our cheeks and shades our eyes.” Many in our nation, especially African Americans, wear the mask. When we peek/speak/ tweet from behind the mask we realize, yet if we were real, we would have to acknowledge
See MALVEAUX on Page 46
By Askia Muhammad
White Men and Their Guns A Georgia White man panicked parents and children at a Forsythe County park and baseball field recently by randomly walking around and displaying his gun to anyone he encountered in the parking lot. As parents barricaded their children and the game was cancelled, the man wandered around the park showing his gun to strangers, telling them “there’s nothing you can do about it.” And he was
correct. A new law signed by Georgia’s Republican governor gives licensed gun permit owners permission to take their weapons, of course on the streets, into churches, restaurants, bars, some government buildings, even into unsecured areas of the Atlanta airport, one of the world’s busiest. What’s more, police officers cannot even question persons they suspect of having a gun to show their permit. That’s the new law. Watching some of the tele-
vision coverage of the reaction to the new law by a bunch of armed White folks at a celebration, one man told a reporter he carries a gun to “protect myself.” Protect yourself from whom, mister? Who else? From Black men and boys, that’s who. I realize that there are a lot of Black men and women who talk “the smack” about having and using guns, and there are lots of White women in the game too – why I read a rumor that when she moved into the White House, first lady Nancy Reagan
slept with a pistol under her pillow. But by and large, this gun thing is a White guy’s game. Eminent psychiatrist Dr. Frances Cress Welsing explains this as a White (especially male) reaction to their own genetic inferiority. That is the genes in White people are genetically “recessive,” where as the genes in Black folks are genetically “dominant.” In other words if a White person of any gender produces an offspring with a Black person of the opposite gender, the child will have darker skin, curlier hair,
and brown – not blue – eyes. Therefore, if all White genetically recessive people – who are also a numerical minority of the world’s population – “integrate” with genetically dominant darker people, Caucasian people will disappear from the earth’s population. Realizing this, White men especially in America, want something to help them “even the score” with Blacks who they see as genetically superior. Hence the
See MUHAMMAD on Page 46
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Taraji Henson. /Photo courtesy of The Rough Productions, LLC
District Native Taraji Henson Portrays Legendary Coach New Film, ‘From the Rough,’ Chronicles Career of Catana Starks
By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer One of the District’s favorite and well-known actresses returns to the Silver Screen this week in a role that she called one of the most satisfying of her career. Taraji P. Henson, a native of Southeast and a Howard University graduate, stars alongside the late Michael Clarke Duncan in, “From the Rough,” the story of Catana Starks, who made history nearly 30 years ago at the historically black Tennessee State University as the first African-American woman to coach a men’s NCAA Division I golf team. “I was attracted to the film because it dealt with actualizing one’s dreams, even against the odds,” said Henson, 43, who earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress opposite Brad Pitt in the 2008 film, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” The film also stars the late Duncan, who received a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination for “The Green Mile” in 1999. Duncan died in 2012 at the age of 54, just months after completing “From the Rough.” Former “NYPD Blue” and “Pretty Little Liars” star Henry
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Catana Starks. /Photo courtesy of Tennessee State University
Simmons, and original “Destiny’s Child” singer, LeToya Luckett, also appears in the 92-minute film, which opened on Friday, April 25, and showings are scheduled at several local theaters including the Regal Majestic 20 & IMAX in Silver Spring, Maryland, AMC Theatres Hoffman Center 22 in Alexandria, Virginia, and the AMC Magic Johnson Capital Center 12 in Largo. “At first glance, many are probably thinking that black people aren’t going to be interested in golf or a golf movie,” said Tyrus
Barker, who regularly plays golf with friends and family members at the Langston Golf Course in Northeast. “But, this is our history. Golf isn’t just about Tiger Woods, it’s about Catana Starks, too,” said Barker, 58. One of Barker’s golf buddies, Desmond Rice, said he hopes that the new film will further encourage African Americans to hit the links. “We as black people typically have a little more stress and, believe me, playing a round of The Washington Informer
golf, just a round, helps to rid you of that if just a little bit,” said Rice, 61. “But, let me tell you, I’m glad that the Catana Starks story has made it to theaters because it’s inspirational and it further lets us know that we are only as limited as we allow ourselves to believe we are. She obviously didn’t allow any perceived or even real limitations [to] stand in her way.” After Tennessee State joined the Ohio Valley Conference in 1986, the school’s former athletic director Bill Thomas traded their
swimming program for a men’s golf team and requested that Starks coach the team. At the time of the change, Starks served as the school’s men’s swimming and diving coach and she had very little experience coaching golf. “I was hired to teach,” Starks told ESPN. “They asked me to return to teach and that’s what I was doing. I was asked to take over the men’s swimming and diving teams. I did that for a couple years and [then] we joined the Ohio Valley Conference.” “I had started playing golf when I was teaching and coaching high school sports in Saginaw, Michigan. I learned to play golf from other people. I learned even more once I got to Nashville,” she said. Starks, 69, said her first golf team consisted of two injured football players, two other guys and one girl permitted to play with the squad. “I started out with that and they were all African Americans. It continued on and then I started getting other interested players from other ethnic groups. Eventually, it evolved into having some international students,” she said. Starks, who eventually led TenSee STARKS on Page 29
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Henry Simmons, formerly of “NYPD Blue” portrays the university’s athletic director. /Photographs courtesy of The Rough Productions, LLC
The late Michael Clarke Duncan provides Starks the courage she needs to persevere.
DC COMMISSION ON THE ARTS & HUMANITIES
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Tom Felton and LeToya Luckett in “From the Rough.”
STARKS continued from Page 28 nessee State to the Minority Golf Championship in 2005, went on to coach a diverse group of players throughout her career, including several white players. In fact, she coached Canadian Sean Foley, who now serves as Woods’ swing coach. “Coach Starks has a Ph.D.,” Foley told ESPN. “She’s well educated. I used to sit in the front of the bus with coach. We would ride for hours and hours. She always saw something in me. She always knew I was going to do special things in some form. She didn’t know what I was going to be.” Foley said as he reflects on Starks, he realized all the more how impressive she’s always been. “I should have spent more time
trying to figure out how she did it all,” he said. “To see what she accomplished and how she became a professor at the university … all of that is really something.” The film’s title, “From the Rough,” certainly fits well into the overall theme, which deals with overcoming the uphill challenges faced by Starks and other African Americans in a sport that’s still reluctant to accept black golfers. “You’re your own worse enemy, but if you can get out of your own way, who knows how much you can accomplish,” said Luckett, 33, whose character falls in love with one of Starks’ students, played by actor Tom Felton, whose best known for his role as Draco Malfoy in the celebrated “Harry Potter” film series. Producers said Duncan, in one of his last roles, portrays Roger, a quiet force at the school whose constant encouragement
helps Starks to draw upon her own strength to succeed. Henson’s character faces some of her greatest challenges and roadblocks from the school’s athletic director, who’s portrayed by Simmons. “I believe what makes us successful is that one teacher, one coach, that one mentor who at the right time, said something that changed the course of our life and put us in the right direction,” said the film’s producer, Michael Critelli. “This film is an effort to celebrate everyday heroes, and for me, this story isn’t about golf, it’s about the essence of what makes people successful in all walks of life,” said Critelli, 65. Henson said that she was often reminded of one of the basic lessons of life while working on the film. “You can’t give up hope,” she said. “Hope is everything.”WI
2014
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LIFESTYLE
D.C. Director Revisits Los Angeles Riots By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer A District native and playwright who said she envisions theater as socially transformative, has stepped into the director’s chair for her latest work about one of the country’s most polarizing events: The 1992 Los Angeles riots. Caroline Clay, who earned critical acclaim in 2013 for her role as the lead in the Dan Dietz play, “Clementine and the Lower 9,” will direct playwright Anna Deavere Smith’s, “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992,” a documentary featuring a small cast of actors from the University of Maryland
School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies. The play runs from Saturday, May 3, to Saturday, May 10 at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the university’s campus in College Park, Maryland. “This is a powerful piece based on the riots and based on Smith’s way of putting it together,” said Clay, a Duke Ellington School of the Arts graduate who grew up in Northwest. “It’s based on hours upon hours of interviews with about 300 people, and in the original adaptation, Smith herself played more than 40 different characters,” Clay said. Several Maryland students will
fill in the various roles this time as the shifting points of view in the Tony Award-nominated play, which creates moving, insightful and multiple perspectives on one of the worst urban disasters in American history. The backdrop, of course, is the 1991 brutal police assault on African-American motorist Rodney King, which an amateur photographer caught on video. When footage of the beating was broadcast nationwide, many individuals expressed outrage. Tensions spilled over a year later, in 1992, in the aftermath of the trial and acquittal of the police officers charged with assaulting King. Protests and, Caroline Clay. /Photo courtesy of Caroline Clay
eventually, the riot broke out in the streets of Los Angeles, ultimately claiming the lives of 50 people and costing the city an estimated $1 billion in damages. “What happens in the play is that we are providing a comprehensive portrait through the verbatim words of the people from the ashes of the riots,” Clay said. “There are the perspectives of the store owners, the truck driver named Reginald Denny who was badly beaten by rioters, shopkeepers, lawyers, activists, police and the Korean community in Los Angeles.” Clay said “Twilight” offers an introspection of the social, economic and political impact the
King beating and subsequent verdict and the riots had not only on Los Angeles, but on the entire nation. “I believe Anna Deavere Smith is an emphatic genius for discovering the humanness in spoken word through her documentary style theater about the riots,” said Sisi Reid, a senior and theater major at the University of Maryland who’s performing in the play. “Being a part of a show that includes actual words of real people is humbling and exciting. In my acting, I’m always very particular about learning every single word in my lines, but for
See TWILIGHT on Page 31
/Courtesy Photo
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/Courtesy Photo
TWILIGHT continued from Page 30 this show, I am even more caring of the speech, so I can fully respect the existence and memory of each person,” said Reid, 21. Already, cast members said rehearsals have revealed a roller coaster of emotions with actors who weren’t born at the time of the riots, sensing what the individuals involved may have been going through as they watched their homes, businesses and community go up in flames.
Noah Israel, who majors in neurobiology and physiology and theater at the University of Maryland, said Clay’s direction has proven to be a godsend. “Rehearsal is where I go to forget about all the stress related to my academics, social and personal life. So it means a lot to have a director in Caroline Clay who is willing to go far beyond her duties as a director to support us,” said Israel, 20. “I hope this show is able to spark some very heated discus-
sions when audience members leave the theater. I believe that’s what theater should be about. Sure, it can be pretty and sound nice, but is it really worth all that much if we aren’t inspiring people and making them think as they leave the space that evening?”WI
WhondCares? a Green Eggs & Ham
Tickets for the performances are $25 for general admission and $10 for students. To purchase tickets or for more information about the show, visit www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu, or call (301) 405-2782.
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Rare Black Newspapers on Display By Margaret Summers WI Contributing Writer @margaretsumme10 Five African-American newspapers published in Staunton, Virginia early in the 20th century will be available for public view on Thursday, May 1 in the Richmond-based Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street. The newspapers detail the lives and concerns of African-Americans living in Staunton between 1916 and 1931. The Augusta County, Virginia Genealogical Society donated the newspapers to the Library of Virginia, established in 1823 to house, protect and preserve books, manuscripts, newspapers and other materials documenting the Commonwealth’s history. “We have encapsulated the African-American newspapers in sealed, acid-free, plastic sleeves. Anyone can see, touch and read them [without
damaging them],” said Errol Somay, coordinator of the library’s Virginia Newspaper Project, which locates and inventories archival newspapers. “They will be in our second floor reference area. At a later date, we will scan and digitize them for Internet viewing.” The Virginia Newspaper Project is part of the United States Newspaper Program, a cooperative effort by federal and state governments to microfilm U.S. newspapers published from the 18th century to the present. “The Staunton newspapers are significant because they provide valuable insight about African-Americans in the more western part of Virginia,” Somay said. All U.S. newspapers from previous centuries, whether published by whites or African-Americans, are difficult to obtain, explained Somay. “African-American newspapers
from the past are especially hard to find, because they haven’t been [saved or preserved] in any organized way. Such old newspapers are brittle and fragile. They must be stabilized, mended and healed in a conservation laboratory because they tear and crumble so easily.” The newspapers acquired by the library are The Staunton Reporter, which focused on local news, and The Staunton Tribune, which highlighted national and international news. Staunton resident Jennifer Vickers, 62, the newspapers’ original owner, sold them to the Augusta County, Virginia Genealogical Society years after her great-grandmother, grandmother and mother left them to her. “I saw Alex Haley, author of the book ‘Roots,’ speak in 1970 at Mary Baldwin College here in Staunton,” Vickers recalled. “[I was inspired] to research my family history. When I
This 1928 edition of The Staunton Tribune is one of five archival African-American newspapers that the public can read in the Library of Virginia’s reference area. It’s one of five restored newspapers donated to the library that provides a snapshot of African-American life in the more western part of the Commonwealth. /Photo courtesy of the Library of Virginia
read these newspapers, I saw in them the lives of family members.” When Vickers began her research, there was little documentation about African-Americans in genealogy organizations or courthouses. “[African-American families’] information was often recorded in the back of record books, and not archived correctly,” said Vickers. “It was misplaced, or simply thrown away. Today with the Internet and family history websites, it’s much easier to trace families’ histories.” An obituary published in The Staunton Reporter refers to Vickers’ great-uncle, Raymond Johnson. In 1916 he was struck in the head with a baseball, and died waiting for medical assistance that never came. Not all of the newspapers’ articles are about tragic events. There are also accounts of religious revivals held in tents, essay contests, and a tour by a musical quartet from the historically black Hampton Institute (now known as Hampton University) that was “well received” by audiences. Vickers’ oldest newspaper was an 1894 edition of The Staunton Tribune, which she donated to the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research at Harvard University. “The Staunton Tribune is important to Virginia history because it was published by Willis Carter, a former
32 May 1, - May 7, 2014
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slave who became an educator and publisher,” said Somay. Prior to newspaper publishing, Carter was a teacher and a principal in Staunton. He led civil rights demonstrations, and served as an alternate delegate to the 1896 Republican National Convention. Somay said the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute’s director, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, expressed interest in the newspaper because of Carter’s history. “We don’t know who edited The Staunton Tribune issues we have in our collection,” said Somay. “They were published after Carter’s death.” Vickers kept the Staunton newspapers for personal reasons, but eventually decided to share them with the public. “My only intent and responsibility was to honor [my] family history, their memory, and gift them for future generations to come,” Vickers said. The Virginia Newspaper Project seeks other historic Virginia African-American newspapers. Individuals who own such newspapers and are willing to donate them or provide copies to the Library of Virginia or the University of Virginia may email Errol.Somay@lva.virginia.gov, or call the library at (804) 692-3500. For a list of the newspapers, visit http://www. lva.virginia.gov/exhibits/mitchell/ comherit.htm. WI
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LIFESTYLE
Griot
“The Hippest Trip in America: Soul Train and the Evolution of Culture & Style” by Nelson George c.2014, William Morrow $27.99 / $34.99 Canada 256 pages By Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer They should have called you Super Fly. Yep, that’s what you were, dancing in front of your TV every Saturday, spinning on the carpet and waving your arms around until you got yelled at for “going [to] break something.” But you were the flyest of fly. The only thing you were going to bust was a move, just like on Soul Train. And in “The Hippest Trip in America” by Nelson George, you’ll read about the iconic TV program that you never, ever missed. Everyone knew that Don Cornelius had “ambition”: he was a car salesman, policeman, and insurance agent before his “foghorn voice” led him to radio in 1966. He made the transition to TV two years later, and he soon realized there was a need for a “black” TV show. He presented the idea, then he found major corporate sponsorship, and on October 2, 1971, Soul Train appeared locally in Chicago. The show was “’overnight hot’” but Cornelius knew there was more to this idea. With another sponsor on-board for a nationwide launch, Cornelius pitched the show to the networks, but they turned it down. He decided to syndicate Soul Train and moved the show to Los Angeles.
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ARIES Monday and Tuesday are all about your family. Whatever you wanted to get to at the beginning of the week, if it isn’t related to family, forget about it. (Although you might get some chores done around the house.) Wednesday and Thursday, try as you might to at last get some work done, you’re sidetracked by your love life. (But what a wonderful thing to be sidetracked by, right?) The advantage of being distracted by your love life is that it fills you with tons of energy, which will be useful Friday, Saturday and Sunday -- which is, strangely enough, when you finally get some work done. TAURUS On Monday and Tuesday, you’re speaking your mind -- and getting a great response. People light up when you say something they aren’t expecting. They realize they’re in the middle of an actual conversation. It’s startling. You surprise people in small ways like this all week. Remember, it takes confidence to really talk with people. However, a little too much confidence sometimes looks like pomposity -- watch for that Wednesday and Thursday. Friday through Sunday is everything you could hope for in a weekend. It’s an array of colors and lights and love.
Though the music was always the focus of Soul Train, Cornelius knew that the dancers (in particular, those in the Soul Train line) were what brought viewers back. In Los Angeles, scouts kept their eyes open for promising teens who could dance, often mining prospects from three main area clubs. Dancers performed for free but the real appeal of being a Soul Train dancer was fame and the opportunity for a career in show biz. It seemed as though every regular viewer wanted to be a Soul Train regular, too. But as much as Cornelius controlled his show (and, to a certain extent, his dancers), he couldn’t control what happened, culturally. Early-90s fashions confounded him, music videos concerned him, and gangsta rap made him uncomfortable. And so, though the show would continue for another 13 years, Cornelius announced in 1993 that he’d step down as Soul Train host – a move that arguably meant “the show was over.” From its first pages and throughout, the word “joy” crops up often in “The Hippest Trip in America,” and for good reason: it was everywhere in the show and even more in this book. I took great joy, in fact, in seeing how author Nelson George sent me to the Internet. His descriptions of what happened through the years on Soul Train made me want to see, too, and there are plenty of clips online. I also liked the interviews with former dancers and the cultural frame-of-reference included here, and the history of the show – along with little-known tidbits – made this a great (and surprisingly fast-paced) read filled with reminiscing, “love, peace, and soul.” Get out your bell bottom pants and your best dancin’ shoes, have a good Internet connection, and get ready. For you, “The Hippest Trip in America” is a book you’ll want to bust out and find.WI
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GEMINI Moodiness is a dominant theme Monday and Tuesday -- you’re moody, and so are the people around you. There’s a sense that there isn’t enough good stuff to go around, and people are fighting over what’s left. But none of this is real. It’s a perception thing. Wednesday and Thursday you more or less see the light: New ideas come to you, you spark a few debates and you make headway on a big project. (And all of those moody people from Monday and Tuesday? Ha! Look at you now!) Friday through Sunday you have about a billion things to get done. Chop, chop! CANCER Someone asks you what you want on Monday or Tuesday, and almost without knowing it, you tell them everything. Hopes and dreams -- and all that. Somehow in the telling, all the things that once seemed so far away from you seem, well, closer than ever. Achievable, even. Wednesday and Thursday, you continue to think about the future this way, your perfect future. You carry the thought with you like a possession. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are more rooted in the here and now. They are great days in a minor chord. LEO You’re sensitive on Monday and Tuesday -- a lot more sensitive than usual. So when someone tells you something and you almost physically react -- well, that’s what’s up. That said, no one else can tell. You have such command, such a polished way with things, that people register absolutely no change in your disposition. Wednesday and Thursday, this unbelievable finesse is the subject of much discussion among others. Apparently you have fans. How flattering! Friday through Sunday, you keep to yourself a bit more than usual, but you have a lot of gears turning. Great things are coming. VIRGO You derive your energy from other people Monday and Tuesday. Someone walks into a room -- for what it’s worth, women figure prominently in the stars -- and something about your conversational chemistry wakes you up. Wednesday and Thursday, you need to be as woken up as possible. Madness is transpiring and you’ll need to be flexible to survive it. (And avoid the martyr thing, too: When you make it out unscathed, don’t brag about your valor.) But all this is just the preamble to Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Great days? Yes. You’re beaming. LIBRA You’d love to keep your head down and focus on Monday and Tuesday, but you have all these feelings swimming around in you, all these distractions. Find something small and beautiful to focus on. If you’re at work, go buy a little plant and put it on your desk. Somehow this sort of thing works. Wednesday and Thursday, what works is seeing good friends, people who inspire you to conversational greatness and who can see that there’s something you want to talk about. They convince you to open up. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, you’re the perceptive one, getting others to talk. SCORPIO As much as you’d like to be in control, you’re not controlling the reins on Monday and Tuesday. So you might as well put your feet up and enjoy the ride. Right? And while you’re at it, let someone else choose where to eat lunch. Wednesday and Thursday, you almost have the urge to put your foot down and demand that something go the way you want it to -- you may even feel like standing up to your boss. But, really, don’t. That would just come across as all ego. And remember how comfortable it is with your feet up? Friday, Saturday and Sunday are great days in a subtle way. Your friends are excellent. SAGITARIUS It’s okay that you’re not on the same page as everyone else on Monday and Tuesday. Follow where your own mood takes you and you’ll stumble onto something wonderful, some idea that no one else could think of. Wednesday and Thursday, you stumble onto more wonderful things, although these things are actually things -- for example, upgraded seats on an airplane or a 20-dollar bill you find on the ground. Yay! You have some luck at this time. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, you have the urge to speed ahead. But what’s the hurry? Relax. Enjoy the walk. CAPRICORN Take things one at a time on Monday and Tuesday. Change is in the air, and you’re not opposed to change -- sometimes you really like the idea, actually. But it’s a process. Plus, it’s way more fun to experience life as it unfolds. That said, what unfolds on Wednesday and Thursday is hardly fun. File it under ‘challenging.’ (Sometimes challenges are fun, but not this time.) The real fun happens on Friday. And also Saturday. Plus, Sunday. It’s a great weekend: You get a bunch done, you catch up with someone long-distance and you develop a new obsession (a good one). AQUARIUS Monday and Tuesday are challenging, no doubt about it. But try not to let the challenges bring you down. Challenges are fun! Sure, when it’s real life and not a game, feelings get added to the mix, but that just makes things more interesting. Wednesday and Thursday, you feel strongly about something, and someone else strongly disagrees. What ends up happening is the joint discovery of a brilliant middle ground, something neither of you would have found if not for the other. This accomplishment makes you long (this weekend) for another challenge. PISCES Monday and Tuesday are awesome. Romance is in the air, and so is a little music. Is that in your head? Is that piped in from somewhere? Whatever the case, you feel like you’re in a movie about someone who’s happy. You’re light on your feet. Wednesday and Thursday, you’re brought back to the real world by someone who insists on waving their hand in front of your face. You’re such a romantic, imagining your life with you-know-who while there’s work to be done. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, relationships -- romantic and platonic -- are in the stars. Help a pal out.
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World Natural Hair Show
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On Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27, Beautiful Textures dominated the World Natural Hair Show in Atlanta. Held at the Georgia International Convention Center (2000 Convention Center Concourse), the two-day experience was a hit with attendees and featured superstar recording artist, Chrisette Michele. Showcasing an amazing display of products, hair demonstrations and a ton of free giveaways, both days featured celebrity hair stylist, Felicia Leatherwood, and master hair stylist, Pam Hogan, who educated attendees on the new Texture Manageability System (TMS) and Dream Kids products. On Sunday, April 27, Strength of Nature Global Brand Manager, Camila Crews, greeted an awaiting crowd and introduced Chrisette Michele who took to the stage to share her enthusiasm of being a naturalista. Afterward, Chrisette sang her hit single, “A Couple of Forevers,” and participated in a special meet and greet where she signed autographs and took pictures with her fans. / Photos Courtesy of James Hogan
NO MORE BLACK HISTORY MONTH
BLACK HISTORY IS 24/7 - PERMANENTLY! It’s the 4th Annual Black History Awards and Celebration!!! Saturday, May 10, 2014, 3pm-7pm - THEARC 1901 Mississippi Ave., SE, WDC 20020
Your Health is Your Wealth Featuring: Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad, M.D.
World Renowned Minister, Dr., Abdul Alim Muhammad is the Minister of Health and Human Services for the Nation of Islam. He is the Key Note Speaker for the 4th Annual Black History Awards & Celebration Program. He will also demonstrate on volunteers his successful non-evasive individualize procedure that determines the needs of various organs such as the liver, brain, kidney and more!!
Min. Dr. A. Alim Muhammad Hannah Hawkins Highest Achievement Award Winner 2014
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It’s family fun for everyone!! Don’t miss SunShine Youth Division! Good food! Vendors! and Unity in the Community!
Tickets in advance $12:50-- At the door $13:50--Children 6-10 yrs old $9:50 Children 5 and under are free. Call for group rates or more information (202) 352-2121
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SPORTS
Wizards Playoff Highlights Wizards Defeat Bulls 98-89 in Game 4
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis wore the jersey of suspended Washington forward Nene and watched from the bench as Washington point guard John Wall shoots before a sellout crowd in the first quarter of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Sunday, April 27 at the Verizon Center in Northwest. The Wizards defeated Chicago 98-89. /Photo by John E. De Freitas Wizards guard Bradley Beal takes on Chicago guard Jimmy Butler in the second quarter of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Sunday, April 27 at the Verizon Center in Northwest. The Wizards defeated Chicago 98-89. /Photo by John E. De Freitas
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Chicago forward Taj Gibson attempts to score two of his 32 points in the third quarter of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Sunday, April 27 at the Verizon Center in Northwest. The Wizards defeated Chicago 9889. /Photo by John E. De Freitas
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41st Annual Capital Classic Highlights Metro North All-Stars Defeat Metro South All-Stars 109-106
SPORTS
Xavier Sewell shields the basketball from his opponent in the first quarter of the 41st Annual Capital Classic youth basketball tournament on Saturday, April 26 at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia. The North All-Stars defeated the South All-Stars 109-106. /Photo by John E. De Freitas
Keif Williams takes on two Metro South All-Stars players in the second quarter of the 41st Annual Capital Classic youth basketball tournament on Saturday, April 26 at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia. Williams was named tournament MVP as the North All-Stars defeated the South All-Stars 109-106. /Photo by John E. De Freitas
Russell Sangster heads to the basket as Daniel Noe defends him in the first quarter of the 41st Annual Capital Classic youth basketball tournament on Saturday, April 26 at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia. The North All-Stars defeated the South All-Stars 109-106. /Photo by John E. De Freitas
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Wizards Take Control in Playoffs
SPORTS U.S. CENSUS BUREAU IS HIRING The Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau is hiring locally for temporary positions in selected areas of Washington, D.C., and selected areas of Montgomery Co., MD for the 2014 Census Test. Positions range from $14.00-$21.50 per hour. Please call 1.888.480.1639 for more information and to be scheduled for testing. The Census Bureau is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.
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Defeat Bulls to Advance for the First Time in a Decade By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer David Winslow has spent a decade of basketball springs watching the playoffs, shouting at his television and bemoaning the fact that his beloved Washington Wizards failed to compete for a championship. With the Wizards 75-69 victory on Tuesday, April 29, which catapulted them to a second round playoff berth for the first time in 10 seasons, Winslow and other fans are no longer criticizing the Wizards, but cheering every John Wall assist, each Bradley Beal jump shot and the stellar defense the team’s shown in defeating the heavily favored Chicago Bulls in five games. “This is why we’ve been patient with this team,” said Winslow, 47, who lives in Southeast. “We’ve suffered with all of the losses and all of the years they failed to make the playoffs or get past the first round. But, the front office has been making the right moves for a few years. We got Wall, Bradley [Beal] and a good veteran mix, so, how do you like us now?” After sweeping the first two games of the best-of-7 first round series on the road, the Wizards returned home to the Verizon Center in Northwest for Game 3 on April 25, and Game 4 on Sunday, April 27. The teams split the two games in D.C., including a convincing 98-89 Wizards’ victory in Game 4. For the pivotal Game 5 on Tuesday, April 29, the teams squared off at the United Center in Chicago where the Wizards continued their domination of the Bulls. Now, with a trip to the conference semi-finals secured, Wall and company have the team and their fans dreaming of traveling where no Washington team – be it the Wizards or Bullets – have in more than 30 years. “Dare we say it? I will. This is a title contender, just look at how the season unfolded and look at what they’re doing to Chicago who the experts said should have had an easy time knocking us off in this series,” said Curtis Appier, a Northwest resident whose held season tickets for 18 years. “We had teams that had talent before with Gilbert Arenas, Larry Hughes, Antawn Jamison and some others,” Appier, 46, said The Washington Informer
/Photo by John E. De Freitas
of the 2004/05 squad, the last to reach the second round of the playoffs. “The difference with this year’s team is that you have a true leader in John Wall and guys like Bradley Beal, Drew Gooden, Martell Webster, and Gortat Marcin who work really well together and who have a will that the 2004 team didn’t have,” Appier said. The Wizards most recent postseason appearance occurred in 2008, when they lost in six games to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The last time they won a playoff series, they defeated the Bulls in six games in 2005 before being swept by the Miami Heat in the conference semi-finals. Prior to 2005, the team suffered a 23-year drought between playoff series wins. Also, 1979 proved to be the last time Washington Bullets won a second round series. They sprinted to the Finals but lost to the Seattle Supersonics, 4-1. The Bullets defeated that same Supersonics team a year earlier in 1978 to win the franchise’s only NBA championship. “There were probably people saying that we didn’t have a chance this year and now they’re saying how great we are,” Wizards head coach Randy Wittman said. “We can’t read into that. We’ve just got to go out and play.” Ariza, the Game 4 hero who scored a team high 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds in filling
in for the suspended Nene, said the team is thrilled to be in a position to advance to the second round. “We still have better basketball that we can play,” said Ariza, 28. “It’s about the opportunity presenting itself and, so far, we’ve taken advantage of what’s been presented.” Additionally, opponents might find it frightening that the young Wizards are handling the pressure of the playoffs with the skill of seasoned veterans. In three of the contests in the Chicago series, the Wizards have gotten off to fast starts, opening Game 1 with a 19-13 run before besting that in Game 2 with a 2912 spurt and then outscoring the Bulls 15-8 to begin Game 3. “We went through the adversity of not winning a lot of close games and not knowing how to close teams out,” Wall, 23, said after the Wizards victory over the Bulls in the series’ second game in Chicago on April 22. “Now, we’re staying with it as a group. We’re going with whoever makes the right play. Whoever is hot,” Wall said. In Game 4, Ariza held the hot hand and refused to allow his teammates to get down after Nene’s suspension for an on-court altercation with Bulls guard Jimmy Butler. “We’re a smart enough group to understand that when one of your pieces goes down, you have to find ways and a will to win,” Ariza said. WI
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The Religion Corner
RELIGION
12 Ways That Make Men Rich Applied Faith: No. 6 Applied faith is that mental attitude which allows you to clear your mind of all fears and doubts and direct it toward actually getting and having whatever you desire in life. You’re not just writing down and talking about faith that one day you will get whatever it is you want. No, this means that you are actually putting forth the effort required. Scripture reminds us “Faith without works is dead.” The majority of people talk about goals, but they don’t really believe they deserve to accomplish their goals. Therefore, faith is voided out by their non-belief. Belief is that one quality you must develop before you can make use of the master key to success. Scripture reminds us in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” The place to start believing is by trusting in the Lord, and to believe in yourself. Recognize the fact that you were born with the privilege of complete control over your own mind. Don’t let the world take that away from you. Never wonder, always know! You can make your mind yield for you whatever you demand (not beg for) in life, when you apply faith, and take the necessary steps required to obtain what you desire. Applied faith aka, that doing something about your dream
kind of faith is the only means by which the master key can be appropriated and used. Know what you want and believe that you can and will get it. Keep your hand in the Lord’s hand. Like that old Negro spiritual that says “It is no secret, what God can do. What He’s done for others, He’ll do for you!” Begin to thank the Lord many times a daily for having already received whatever it is you want. Be sure to say thank you in the present tense. Say “Lord I thank you for my new home; Lord I thank you for my new car; Lord I thank you for my children making a success out of their lives!” Whatever it is you desire, thank the Lord for already having received it. And it will become true in the future. Let’s look at my own example: The day that I opened the doors to a corporation on Georgia Avenue. I was receiving my unemployment, had no money in the bank; and my one investor gave me $500 to pay the first month’s rent. But it worked; we kept the doors open nine years until I was asked to come to work for the D.C. Council and to serve as project director of what has now become a national monument. Keep your mind open for hunches, and when you are inspired to action, move at once. And when defeat comes, accept it as nothing more than a challenge to keep on trying. A burning desire is the starting point of applied faith. If you
with Lyndia Grant
are not definite about what it is you desire, and if you don’t believe, act, and keep on acting on this desire, it will never happen. Whenever doubt creeps in, remember that “Whatsoever a man believes, that shall he also receive.” You already have faith – use it positively. Remember that fear is faith going backward. Faith looks to the future; fear makes you afraid of something that has happened in the past. Your life is exactly what you make it by your own mental attitude and ability to have and apply your faith in the Lord and that you can have what you ask for just like others have done and continue to do.WI
Lyndia Grant is an author, inspirational and motivational speaker, radio talk show host and columnist; visit her new website at www.lyndiagrant.com and, call 202-518-3192. Tune in Fridays at 6 p.m., to the radio talk show, 1340 AM, WYCB, a Radio One Station.
• • •
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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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RELIGION RELIGION BAPTIST
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL
Pilgrim Baptist Church
Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
Pilgrim Baptist Church
The Reverend Lyndon Shakespeare Interim 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
Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor
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
Worship Sundays @ 7:30 & 11:00 A.M. 5th Sundays @ 9:30 A.M. 3rd Sundays: Baptism & Holy Communion Prayer & Praise: Wednesdays @ Noon & 6:30 P.M.
Schedule of Service Sunday Service: 8:30 AM & 11:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM Communion Service: First Sunday www.livingwatersmd.org
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
Campbell AME Church Reverend Daryl K. Kearney, Pastor
(Disciples of Christ) 1812 12th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 Phone: 202-265-4494 Fax: 202 265 4340
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”
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
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”
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”
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
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.
Third Street Church of God
Isle of Patmos Baptist Church
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
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
Rev. John W. Davis, Pastor 5101 14th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20011 202-726-2220/ 202-726-9089
TV Ministry –Channel 6 Wednesday 10:00pm gsccm.administration@verizon.net
Lanier C. Twyman, Sr. Bishop
Rev. Dr. Michael E. Bell, Sr., • Pastor
Crusader Baptist Church
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
Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Holy Communion 4th Sunday 10:00am Prayer and Bible Study Wednesday 7;00pm
St. Stephen Baptist Church
Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church
Reverend Dr. Paul H. Saddler Senior Pastor
Mailing Address Campbell AME Church 2502 Stanton Road SE Washington, DC 20020
Sunday Worship Service 8:00am and 11:00am Sunday School 9:15am
4915 Wheeler Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-894-6464
Blessed Word of Life Church
4001 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 (202) 265-6147 Office 1-800 576-1047 Voicemail/Fax
Rev. Paul Carrette Senior Pastor Harold Andrew, Assistant Pastor
700 I Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 547-8849
All are welcome to St. Mary’s to Learn, Worship, and Grow.
Dr. Dekontee L. & Dr. Ayele A. Johnson Pastors
Church of Living Waters
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
40 May 1, - May 7, 2014
The Washington Informer
www.washingtoninformer.com
RELIGION BAPTIST
Advertise Your Church services here: call Ron Burke at
202-561-4100 or email rburke@washingtoninformer.com Zion Baptist Church
All Nations Baptist Church 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
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
Rev. Aubrey C. Lewis Pastor 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. Dr. Morris L Shearin, Sr. Pastor
St. Luke Baptist Church
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
Rev. Keith W. Byrd, Sr. Pastor
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
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 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 Worshiping Location Knights of Columbus - 1633 Tucker Road Fort Washington, MD 20744 (240) 838-7074 Order of Services Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 am Sunday School: 9:00 am Holy Communion 3rd Sunday Morning Prayer / Bible Study: 6:15 pm - 7:20 pm (Tuesday)
Salem Baptist Church
Emmanuel Baptist Church
Florida Avenue 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
Holy Trinity United 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
Sermon On The Mount Temple Of Joy Apostolic Faith
Christ Embassy DC
5606 Marlboro Pike District Heights, MD 20747 301-735-6005
Dr. C. Matthew Hudson, Jr, Pastor
6839 Eastern Avenue, R1 Takoma Park, MD 20912 (202) 556-7065
Elder Herman L. Simms, Pastor
2616 MLK Ave., SE • Washington, DC 20020 Office 202-889-3709 • Fax 202-678-3304
Kelechi Ajieren Coordinator
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”
Sunday Worship Service 10:00 A.M.
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
Peace Baptist Church
Rev. Stephen E. Tucker Senior Pastor
Rev. Dr. Michael T. Bell
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
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”
“The Loving Church of the living lord “ Email Address pbcexec@verizon.net
Shiloh Baptist Church
First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church
1864-2014
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.
Sunday Morning Prayer Service: 8:00 a.m. Sunday Church School: 9:15 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship: 10:40 a.m. 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. Prayer Meeting,Thursday : 7:30 p.m.
150 Years of Service
Theme: “The Kingdom Focused Church” Matthew 6:33 and Mathew 28:18-20, KJV
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
Email: stmatthewsbaptist@msn.com Website: www.stmatthewsbaptist.org
Motto: : “Where God is First and Where Friendly People Worship”
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
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The Washington Informer
Friday Evening Service 7:00 P.M. ; Last Friday “…Giving Your Life a Meaning” www.Christembassydc.org Christ.embassy.dc@hotmail.com
Pennsylvania Ave. Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Kendrick E. Curry Pastor
712 18th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 Phone 202-399-3450/ Fax 202-398-8836
13701 Old Jericho Park Road Bowie, MD. 20720 (301) 262-0560
Wednesday Bible Study 7:00 P.M.
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.
May 1, - May 7, 2014
41
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
Administration No. 2014 ADM 220
Administration No. 2014 ADM 345
William E. Davis, Jr. aka William Davis aka William E. Davis Decedent
Mattie W. Dudley aka Mattie Dudley Decedent
Administration No. 2014 ADM 334 John Pinkney, Jr. Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Tisa D. Huff, whose address is 15314 Bennetts Run Court, Brandywine, MD 20613, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of John Pinkney, Jr., who died on February 20, 2014 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 October 17, 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 October 17, 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: April 17, 2014 Tisa D. Huff Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Foreign No. 2014 FEP 50
Ronald Dixon Bynum & Jenkins 1010 Cameron Street Alexandria, VA 22314 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS Patricia A. Ellis whose address is 7127 Talisman Lane, Columbia, MD 21045 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Alicia Thomas, deceased, by the Office of the Register of Wills Court for Howard County, State of Maryland, on March 26, 2014. Service of process may be made upon Loretta D. McKethan, 4408 6th Place, NE, Washington, DC 20017 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real property; 1/3 ownership of 1220 Jackson Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Alton R. Dudley, whose address is 12929 Vicar Woods Lane, Bowie, MD 20720, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Mattie W. Dudley aka Mattie Dudley, who died on July 26, 2009 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 October 24, 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 October 24, 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: April 24, 2014
Date of first publication: April 24, 2014
Ronald Dixon Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
LEGAL NOTICES services here: call Ron Burke at
202-561-4100 or email
Date of first publication: April 17, 2014 Patricia A. Ellis Personal Representative Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
42 May 1, - May 7, 2014
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Ronald Dixon, whose address is Bynum & Jenkins, 1010 Cameron Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of William E. Davis, Jr. aka William Davis aka William E. Davis, who died on April 3, 2013 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (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 October 24, 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 October 24, 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.
July 9, 2013 Date of Death Alicia Thomas Name of Decedent
James Larry Frazier, Esq. 918 Maryland Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney
rburke@washingtoninformer.com
Alton R. Dudley Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY
CLASSIFIEDS SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014 ADM 375
CLASSIFIEDS SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2013 ADM 1288 Sadie Williams Decedent
John H. Miles, Jr. Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Joan B. Miles, whose address is 157 Uhland Terr., NE, Washington, DC 20002, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of John H. Miles, Jr., who died on November 11, 2013 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before November 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 November 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: May 1, 2014
Colline Silvera c/o Robinson Kirlew & Associates, PC 7731 Belle Point Drive Greenbelt, MD 20770 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Debra A. Garner, whose address is 6606 Landsdale St., District Height, MD 20747, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Sadie Williams, who died on June 4, 2012 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before November 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 November 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: May 1, 2014
Joan B. Miles Personal Representative
Debra A. Garner Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
TRUE TEST COPY
Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
Administration No. 2014 ADM 35
Administration No. 2014 ADM 383
Administration No. 2013 ADM 114
Cordelia R. Gray Decedent
Kristie Delois Montague Decedent
George L. Watkins, Jr. Decedent
Matthew F. Shannon, Esq. 1420 N Street, NW, Suite 102 Washington, DC 20005 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
James Larry Frazier, Esq. 918 Maryland Avenues, NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney
Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Lyle W. Gray, whose address is 1813 Upshur Street, NE, Washington, DC 20018, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Cordelia R. Gray, who died on November 15, 2013 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before November 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 November 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: May 1, 2014
Sean Kristopher Montague & Pierre Jacques Montague, Co-Personal Representatives, whose address is 1514 Newton Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Kristie Delois Montague, who died on February 1, 2014 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (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 November 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 November 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: May 1, 2014
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Irene M. Watkins, whose address is 6419 Landover Road, Apt. 202, Cheverly, MD 20785, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of George L. Watkins, Jr., who died on September 25, 2007 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 October 17, 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 October 17, 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: April 17, 2014
Lyle W. Gray Personal Representative
Sean Kristopher Montague Pierre Jacques Montague Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
TRUE TEST COPY
TRUE TEST COPY
Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
The Washington Informer
Irene M. Watkins Personal Representative
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LEGAL NOTICES U.S. CENSUS BUREAU IS HIRING The Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau is hiring locally for temporary positions in selected areas of Washington, D.C., and selected areas of Montgomery Co., MD for the 2014 Census Test. Positions range from $14.00-$21.50 per hour. Please call 1.888.480.1639 for more information and to be scheduled for testing. The Census Bureau is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. PHOTOS and VIDEOS Unique, reliable and competitively-priced professional photography packages & gifts for weddings, schools, civic organizations and athletic leagues. TRUST REA3L PHOTOS & VIDEOS with making your special events “more than just photos in a flash!” CALL 202670-7495 or Rea3lenterprises@gmail.com Canada Drug Center is your choice for safe and affordable medications. Our licensed Canadian mail order pharmacy will provide you with savings of up to 90 percent on all your medication needs. Call today 1-800-308-9817, for $10.00 off your first prescription and free shipping. Medical Alert for Seniors - 24/7 monitoring. FREE Equipment. FREE Shipping. Nationwide Service. $29.95/Month CALL Medical Guardian Today 888-710-6484
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CLINGMAN continued from Page 26 vide adequate education for our children whom we see every day. This is not to say that money alone will solve all of our education problems, but more of it, pointed in the right direction, sure would make a positive difference in our current educational crisis – and that’s exactly what it is. Simply throwing money at a problem only results in it being caught by folks for whom it is not meant. The students are at the bottom of the food chain and see little or no benefit from money meant to help them. Meanwhile, as we teach our children how to take tests rather than how to use their critical and
LEON continued from Page 26 Smith and Herman Edward’s have stated that the players should not have boycotted the game. They invoked the name of the great Jackie Robinson saying that he came to work every day and played in the face of horrific bigotry. That is true but don’t get it twisted, Jackie Robinson’s showing up to play was the stand. He played so others could. Watching the Clipper’s players engage in silent protest against their teams’ owner made me wonder, how many of those players who protested before the game would then go into the tunnel or locker room after the game and refer to each other as n----r or some derivation of such? How many outraged African American fans will continue to direct their ire towards Donald Sterling and his private expressions of hatred while publically referring to themselves and those around them as n----r? As a community, we concede the moral high ground when we try to hold the Donald Sterling’s of the world to one standard in their private endeavors that we will not hold ourselves to in our public endeavors. That strikes me as being a double standard. Finally, prior to Sterling’s recent comments coming to light, he was scheduled to receive his second
FLETCHER continued from Page 26 ed in and/or fueled by colonialism. There have been struggles rooted in class and power, also regularly tied in with the activities of multi-national corporations and countries of the global North. These realities have been the kerosene thrown onto open flames. We, in Black America, were not prepared for the Rwandan
analytical thinking skills, we are doing them a gross disservice. And similar to what we saw with the sub-prime housing debacle, if we continue to make financial institutions even wealthier by allowing them to make outlandish loans to college students who cannot afford to repay them, we will soon have another piper to pay. So what do we do? Prospective students should start looking at less expensive alternatives to attain their college degrees. For instance, go to a local school and live at home. Government and financial institutions worked so well when it came to the bailouts. Banks were too big to fail and had to be helped with $780 billion or so. Aren’t our children too important to fail?
Maybe they are not; at least not in this country, huh? Anyway, if they care to listen, banks, proprietary schools, and government officials should get together and stop the madness that has led to $1 trillion in student loan debt while graduates cannot get commensurate employment and cannot compete in a global society. We have to stop education from turning into “educ-pay-tion.”WI Jim Clingman, founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce, is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati and can be reached through his Web site, blackonomics.com.
NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award from the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP. That honor has since been rescinded. The questions still remain, what are the criteria for bestowing this honor upon an individual? Who nominated this known and documented bigot for the award and why? How much money did Sterling donate to the organization for this honor? Was the NAACP allowing Sterling to buy a new image at their expense? According to the LA Times, in 2009 Sterling “…agreed to pay a record $2.725 million to settle allegations that he discriminated against African Americans, Hispanics and families with children at scores of apartment buildings he owns in and around Los Angeles.” According to the Huffington Post, “According to testimony given by property manager Summer Davenport in the discrimination lawsuit brought against Sterling in 2003: When Sterling first bought the Ardmore, he remarked on its odor to Davenport. “That’s because of all the blacks in this building, they smell, they’re not clean,” he said, according to Davenport’s testimony. “And it’s because of all of the Mexicans that just sit around and smoke and drink all day.” He added: “So we have to get them out of here.”” This is public record, public information and the NAACP disregarded it!
In spite of this housing discrimination lawsuit and settlement, in 2009 the NAACP still bestowed the honor of a Lifetime Achievement Award upon Sterling even after ex-Clippers general manager and NBA Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor filed a lawsuit against the NBA, the Clippers, and Sterling, alleging racial discrimination during his tenure. Donald Sterling has been the antithesis to everything that the NAACP was founded to fight against but somehow members of the LA chapter found it acceptable to grant him one of their highest honors (not once but twice). As the issues surrounding Sterling’s comments and actions continue to be analyzed and discussed it is important that we not get lost in the narrative. He’s a vile and despicable guy. Let’s be sure that through our reaction to him and his comments we do not put ourselves into the indefensible box of double standards in the midst of a racial hierarchy.WI Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the Sirius/XM Satellite radio channel 110 call-in talk radio program “Inside the Issues with Wilmer Leon” Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email:wjl3us@yahoo.com. www. twitter.com/drwleon and Dr. Leon’s Prescription at Facebook.com © 2014 InfoWave Communications, LLC
genocide. It did not correspond to what we knew or thought that we knew about Africa. It seemed, to many of us, to be a situation of Black people killing Black people with a viciousness that was difficult to comprehend. And, as chronically happens in our own communities, we decided that silence was the best option. And so, people died, many of who might have lived if Black
America had created an uproar forcing the USA to get out of the way of a United Nations rescue mission. But it simply did not add up for too many of us. The White people were not there; they were not the obvious perpetrators; and it was just a bit easier to turn the page.WI Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum. He can be followed on Facebook and at www.billfletcherjr.com.
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DANIELS continued from Page 27 more Whites to support them and thereby escape the prison of White supremacy, these retrograde Whites clung even tighter to the old attitudes. During Jackie Robinson’s first year, 1947, as he compiled the statistics that would gain him Rookie-of-the-Year honors, the hate mail, including death threats,
poured in to Brooklyn Dodgers’ headquarters. In 1974, as Hank Aaron began to close in on Ruth’s record, the hate mail, including death threats, poured in to Atlanta Braves’ headquarters. Once President Obama took office in 2009, the available evidence indicates that the volume of hate mail directed toward him, including death threats, surged to extraordinary levels. So, when Hank Aaron was
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asked earlier this month by USA Today sports reporter Bob Nightingale why he still keeps the racist hate mail he got during his record home-run quest, he said it was to “remind myself that we are not that far removed from when I was chasing the record. If you think that, you are fooling yourself. A lot of things have happened in this country,” Aaron continued, “but we have far to go. … Sure, this country has a black president, but … President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all the Republicans with the way he’s treated. We have moved in the right direction, and there have been improvements, but we
still have a long ways to go. The bigger difference is back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shorts.” News reports indicate that the hate mail poured into the Atlanta Braves’ offices – just like in the old days; and, in keeping with our modern era, splashed across the Internet, too, underscoring one of the points we should take from this episode. That is that now, as in the past, we should be grateful for these outbursts of racist venom at a Jackie Robinson, a Hank Aaron, a Barack Obama or the many other Black men and women who’ve made the breakthroughs that have
helped redeem the American Ideal. For it’s motivated by the racists’ knowing that, while these individuals are exceptional people, they’re not exceptions among Black Americans and that there are millions of others walking down those paths the Obamas, Aarons, Robinsons and others have blazed to their rightful places in American society. Not because they want to “act White,” but simply because they’re acting human.WI Lee A. Daniels is a longtime journalist based in New York City. His latest book is Last Chance: The Political Threat to Black America.
MALVEAUX continued from Page 27
nation that would inflict, rather than attempt to fix, mental illness. For all the care the Affordable Care Act has offered, we must ask if it has offered enough to combat mental illness, We in the African American community have paid more and received less to be perceived as “normal” members of society. Despite injustices in Scottsboro, Groveland and other vile places in our nation, we have been expected to show up, with amazing dignity, ignoring the massacre of our sons or daughters with well-modulated emotion. Too many of us fear or fail to speak our pain. Poverty and mental health are correlated, yet the poorest of us see our pain as “par for the course” and we don’t speak about it. Whether African Americans are wealthy or financially challenged, mental health is elusive for some. And faith without works is dead, which means fall on those knees
if it comforts you, then run to the doctor who may help you with medication and therapy. Baby girl Karyn Washington inspired this column, and as I thought of her, others kept reminding me of their own pain and the ways it has been ignored. If you don’t get it, read from Terrie Williams’ Black Pain. And if you get it/read it, remind folks that this is not a sympathy issue, this is a public policy issue. So weep sister soldier, brother warrior. Those who bear the scars of mental illness have often fought longer, harder, and with the chemical imbalance that makes them feel it all so much more intensely. Mental health is not an embarrassment; it is a national health issue. It is a silent killer that we have yet to acknowledge.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.
dude or that dude may be “packing.” In addition to the correct (in my opinion) analysis provided by Dr. Welsing about the gun and its place in the White male thinking process, I believe the gun and the gun issue in modern times is a substitute for the hood and sheet in the Reconstruction era, following the Civil War. It’s a tool intended to intimidate Black folks. And on many folks it’s working because the first thing Black thugs want to have in their arsenal is a gun. Innocent Black folks are overwhelmingly more often victims of crimes committed by Black thugs than are White folks. What Mr. Muhammad teaches us is that any weapons in the hands of Black folks are never intended for use against White folks, but rather against one another. “I’ll kill that Black, soand-so,” we think, and so it is today. More importantly, Mr. Muhammad taught us that when we carry carnal weapons, it means that our “faith” is in the power of the weapon, and not
in the power of God, the Creator, the Supreme Being, who presumably would have power over the weapon and its perpetrator. Mr. Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, his representative among us now, teaches us to carry ourselves in a peaceful manner, and to never be an aggressor, but to defend ourselves against those who attack us. Following those rules we are taught, if Almighty God Allah permits, if an aggressor tries to use such a weapon against us, Allah will bless us to get the weapon from the peace breaker. I do not own, nor do I carry a gun, and I am certainly not afraid of racial/genetic annihilation by another race of people. I and my family have been safe all these years. I thank Allah and pray for continued peace and safety among all men and women.WI
in the words of Paul Lawrence Dunbar that to make a poet Black and bid her sing is to challenge her and her two realities. In the words of Sister Maya, “I know why the caged bird sings”. I chose to focus on this because in one scant week I have spoken to African American women who have experienced depression or feel shackled by other mental health issues. They walk like they hold the world in their hands; sway like they are hearing drums from another continent, yet cry behind closed doors, like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders. They are sad, ground down, depressed, and we play off their pain, trivialize it, instead of responding to it. We are losing too much genius when we play off the scourge of metal illness. We decide that it is their problem, not the problem of a
MUHAMMAD continued from Page 27
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gun, which has a nickname as “the equalizer.” Hence the gun is usually worn on a belt, in the area of the genitals – the part of the body which transfers the genetic code to the next generation. Yes, White men also have a mortal fear of “street crime” by Black men, and of course the “violation” of their women. Witness the example of the White man who murdered a Black teenager for playing his music too loud. That White man felt he needed to protect himself from that Black child by drawing his gun and shooting the car in which the Black teenager was sitting, then driving off with his girlfriend and ordering a pizza. So in Georgia, White men can be almost anywhere and everywhere with concealed weapons – a warning to Black would-be assailants to go pick on someone else, because this The Washington Informer
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