The Washington Informer - April 2, 2015

I N S I D E

Lee Daniels Sounds Off on the Hypocrisy of Free Speech, Pg 28

I N S I D E

Bonds Pushes for More Affordable Housing, Pg. 5

District Mourns Loss of Rev. C.L. Long, Pg. 19

Informer Staff Lead Talk on Future of Black Press, Pg.12

Nationals Give Little Leaguers New Uniforms, Pg. 30

Vol. 50, No. 25 Apr. 2 - Apr. 8 2015

Jussie Smollett and Yaz, cast members of television drama series “Empire” appear at Stone Fish Lounge for 93.9 WKYS 30 under 30 reception on Monday, March 30. /Photo by Shevry Lassiter

Bowser Delivers Her First State of the District Address

Mayor Puts Middle Class, Schools, Housing and Safety at Top of List

By D. Kevin McNeir WI Managing Editor It hasn’t even been 90 days since Muriel Bowser became the second woman to serve as the mayor of Washington, D.C. but one thing’s for certain – she has certainly been busy.

And on Tuesday evening,

March 31 at the Lincoln Theatre in Northwest, she delivered her first State of the District Address to a standing room only crowd – sharing her plan for the kinds of changes needed to make the District a city where everyone can experience opportunities that lead to the path of the middle class – and beyond.

Bowser has been traversing the District over the past seven days in a week-long effort to highlight ways that her Administration can create a more accessible road to citizens who have been locked out or stalled in their efforts to live the American Dream. And as she shared in her address, there are plenty of

issues that demand her attention – sometimes a more nuanced direction and in other cases, a complete about face.

However, despite what appeared to be a supportive audience, Bowser said she realizes that one of the first tasks that must be faced is presenting a balanced budget to the city council

next week and receiving their approval. And while she promised to add funding in areas that include affordable housing, education and business investment, there’s still a deficit of $200 million, and therefore some reductions in programming and ser-

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“Mickey“ Thompson Vincent

National Cherry Blossom Festival “Pink Tie Party”

Lillan Iversen (NCBF Prog. Dir.)

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a Washington institution, celebrating the beauty and magic of spring.

The annual Pink Tie Party was held at the Reagan International Trade Center to raise funds and to celebrate the beginning of the Festival. Games, music, fashions, an auction and fabulous cuisine highlighted the evening. The National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., is a non-profit organization dedicated to art, beauty and international Diana Mayhew (Pres. & friendship. For more information contact: nationalcherryblossomfestival.org CEO National Cherry Blossom Festival) with Sue Porter

Below -The Ehrlichs (NCBF Emeritus Bd. Membrs.)

Below - Dorica Hance

Cami Mazard, Matt Mixon & Lisa Sigler Lura Bobbitt & Dawn Gorhan

Michael C. Rogers (VP of Univ.

Advanement UDC), Gregory McCarthy (VP Govt. & Municipal Affairs Nationals).Phil MendelKristin Rohr son (Chair. DC Council) & (Bd. Chair NCBF) Below - Kimberly Patterson & Meta Williams

Michael & Mele Meltons

Safiya Harvey, Eillah Spivey, Assata Lee, Chinyere Hubbard & Chawan Hylton Freeman White, Latoya White with Gina & Clayton Toppin Tony Gittens (DC Filmest Dir.) with Jennifer Lawson

Pam Galloway-Tabb (Sr. VP Newseum ) & Roy Tabb

Dan Choi & Jennifer Shin Photo Right & Up - Ramona Carver & Evan Riggs

Kate Towsend, Lacey Knizer, Erika Ackerman, & Travis Howard

Carla Harmon & Joi Sheiffield (L-R) Michael C. Rogers (VP of Univ. Advancement UDC) & John Gordon (Dir. of Comm UDC), WUSA Pink Tie Guests & Marissa Bryant

Masamutsu Shinoaki (Ex. VP Mitsui & Co.), Masato Otaka (Minister for Public Affairs Dir. for Japan Information Culture Center Embassy Spokesperson), Shin Donowaki (Sumitomo Corp. of America VP & Gen. Mgr.), Tetsuo Lguchi (Sr. VP Toshiba) & Junichi Koike (Gen. Mgr. Toshiba)

(L-R) Jessie Jane Duff, Dr. Charles Vincent & Lynda Pejic

The Hubbards with Linda Angela Newby, Valarie Saundra Bouldin & Donavan Harper & Rob- Beth Herter, Jerry Golden, Kari Woodruff & Megan Dollison & Jenna Tammy Sparkman ert Demers Stern Money

Ezequiel Romero & Faith Smith -Pam Galloway-Tabb (Sr. VP Newseum) with the Gabrys (CEO Guest Services) --Erik Moses (Events DC), Guest, Ana Harvey (Dir. DSLBD), Gregg O’Dell (Pres. & CEO Events DC)

Pink Tie Co-Chairs (L-R) John A. Filipiak (VP Dev. Subway), Barbara Urban, Jesse Dwayne Davis Julia H. Rapley (VP Sales & Event Planning Edward Hubbard, Joseph Grewal & Carissa Askew, & Tab Baker & Montina AnRonald Reagan Bldg.) with Harry Wingo Sanchez derson Davis (Pres. & CEO DC Chamber of Commerce)

Pink Tie Party Guests

Pam Galloway-Tabb (Sr. VP Newseum ) & Roy Tabb Surrounded by Pink Tie Guests

“Mickey” Thompson Vincent & Dr. Charles Vincent (Publishers of Social Sightings, LLC)

Kecia Babb-Jordan (Dir. Sales & Marketing) & Andre Scott (Sales & Marketing Mgr

Stephen & Annie Whately

Joi Sheffield

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

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4/2/2015 – 4/8//2015 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY Pages 14 – 15 COMMENTARIES Pages 27 – 29 HEALTH Pages 20 – 22 LIFESTYLE Pages 30 – 35 SPORTS Page 37

(L-R) Justin Power, Linda Power, Anarea Carrasco, Zoe Carrasco and Natalie Power celebrate spring at the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s Kite Blossom on the National Mall on Saturday, March 28. /Photo by Rob Roberts

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Women Break the Cycle of The Challenge: Sustaining Growth, Drawing New, Young Readers Domestic Violence NNPA Declares the State of the Black Press Strong

By Barrington M. Salmon

By Tia Jones WI StaffCarol Writer@bsalmondc WI Staff Writer

The Internet and digital media have When L.Y. transformed theMarlow's landscape23-yearof the old daughter told in herthis thecountry father newspaper business of her daughter threatened her for both mainstream and alternative life, and the life of their child, publications. she knew something had to be And the constellation of owners done. Out of her frustration and publishers of African-American with law enforcement's handling newspapers have to be Email comments to: of the situation, sheinnovative, decided reto sourceful and adaptable if they camhope rburke@ start the Saving Promise to survive and thrive in a constantly paign. washingtoninformer.com changing mediatolandscape, said several “It seems be a vicious cycle speakers during the National Newsthat won't turn my family paper Publishers Black loose,” MarlowAssociation’s said. Marlow Press Week shared her2015. story with the audiA primary is toHeights attract ence at thechallenge District and retain younger readers, as well Domestic Violence Symposium as appealing, inviting inonbuilding May 7 an at the District Heights teractive website youngThe people will Municipal Center. sympofeel compelled to go to for news sium was sponsored by and the other information.

Equally important, Family and Youth Services aCenter number of is bridgof participants the city said, of District ing the veryand realthe divide betweenHookyoung Heights National Up of and Black people theirWomen. elders, allowing milMarlow has written a book, lennials and the younger generation to “Color Me asButterfly,” whichstepis a have a voice elders gracefully storyaside about ping and four allow generations young people of a domestic violence. The book is place at the table. inspired her own experiences, NNPA byeditor-in-chief George and those of her grandmother, Curry had a more somber view of the her of mother and her daughter. state black media.

She said every time she reads “We cannot divorce ourselves excerpts from her book, she still In Memoriam from what’s happening in newspapers Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. can not believe the words came generally,” he said.

“Newspapers are Wilhelmina J. Rolark from her.There’s “Color Mefor Butterfly” suffering. a call urgency.

The Washington Informer Newspaper won the People want2007 thingsNational right now,“Best and THE WASHINGTON INFORMER InPUBLISHER Memoriam Books” Award. technological devices put the pressure NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414)Dr.isCalvin Denise Rolark Barnes W. Rolark, Sr. just 16-years-old when published weekly on each Thursday. (for“Ius)was to produce.

Black papers are Wilhelmina J. Rolark my eye first blackened and my Periodicals postage paid at WashingSTAFF in a better position than other newspaWASHINGTON INFORMER lips bled,” Marlow said. ton,THE D.C. and additional mailing of- NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published pers. Lots of newspapers tell the news weekly Thursday.

Periodicals paidW. at Barnes, Washington, D.C. and additional Denise Editor Elaine Davis-Nickens, presifices.

Newsonand advertising deadlinepostage behind the news. That’s our forte: mailing offices. News and advertising deadline is Monday prior to publication. is Monday prior to publication. Andent of the National Hook-Up D. Kevin McNeir, Managing Editor Announcements must be received two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2000 by The What does it mean? said Howthere does is it afnouncements must be received two of Black Women, no Washington Informer. All rights reserved. POST MASTER: Send change of addressfect our readers?

Ron Burke, Advertising/ Marketing Director weeks event. Copyright 2015 consistency in the way domestic es toprior The to Washington Informer, 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington,

by D.C. The 20032.

Washington Informer.

All “Innovation is needed.

Wewith have by to No part of this publication may be Barnes, reproduced written violence issues are dealt Lafayette IV,without Assistant PhotopermisEditor rights POSTMASTER: sionreserved. from the publisher. TheSend Informer Newspaper cannot guarantee the return of find ways to monetize. The big boys change of addresses to The rates WashJohn E. De Sports Photo photographs.

Subscription are $30 per year, twoFreitas, years $45.

Papers willEditor be received haven’t figured it out yet, so would not more than 3117 a weekMartin after publication.

Make checks payable to: ington Informer, Luther we? One of our biggest challenges is Dorothy Rowley, Online Editor King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. that people are mystified by the black THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 20032. No part of this publication may Brian Young, Design & Layout 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. • Washington, D.C. 20032 press.” be reproduced without written permisPhone: 202 561-4100 • Fax: 202 Bookkeeper 574-3785 Mable Neville, NNPA President and CEO Benjasion from the publisher. The Informer E-mail: news@washingtoninformer.com Newspaper cannot guarantee the return min F. Chavis Jr. had an equally expanMickey Thompson, Social Sightings columnist www.washingtoninformer.com of photographs. Subscription rates are sive view of the black press’s role.

Stacey Palmer, Social Media Specialist $45 per year, two years $60. Papers will “What is the state of the black PUBLISHER be received not more than a week after Angie press in America and the world toDenise RolarkJohnson, Barnes Circulation publication. Make checks payable to: day?” he asked during a luncheon at STAFF REPORTERS THE WASHINGTON the National Press Club in Northwest.

Brooke N. Garner INFORMER Managing REPORTERS Editor Tia C. Jones, Ed Laiscell, Carla PeayLuther King, Assistant Managing Editor Brown, Odell B. Ruffin, Larry Saxton, 3117 Martin Jr. Ave., S.E Stacy Sam P.K. Collins, Eve Ferguson, “We are the most influential, the most Ron BurkeD.C. 20032 Advertising and Marketing Mary Wells, Joseph Young Washington, Elton Hayes, D. Kevin McNeir, Dorothy respected and the most trusted voice Mable Whittaker Bookkeeper Phone: 202 561-4100 Rowley, Barrington Salmon in print voice in the world that articLaNita Wrenn Administration PHOTOGRAPHERS Fax:John 202 574-3785 E. De Freitas Sports Editor Lafayette Barnes, IV, ulates and publishes the truth with news@washingtoninformer.com Victor Holt Photo Editor John E. De Freitas, Maurice Fitzgerald, respect to the interests of people of www.washingtoninformer.com Zebra Designs, Inc. Layout & Graphic Design Joanne Jackson, Roy Lewis, Robert PHOTOGRAPHERS Ken Harris /www.scsworks.com Webmaster African descent.

Ridley, Victor Holt John E. DeFreitas, Shevry Lassiter, “We should be deliberate and foRoy Lewis,CIRCULATION Travis Riddick , Nancy Shia cused on how we step forward to Paul Trantham ensure the financial and economic INTERNS sustainability of our businesses, instiGlynn Hill, Marc Rivers, Sarafina Wright tutions and communities over the 10 years.”

4 / May 15 - 21, 2008 The Washington Informer / www.washingtoninformer.com Chavis called for operational unity among national black organizations and getting an appropriate return on

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law enforcement. She said they threat,” she said. had come together to bring a Among the programs Marlow sense of uniformity in the way wants to see implemented are domestic violence victims and stricter restraining order policies, survivors are treated. more rights for victim's families “She's using her own personal to intervene on behalf of a vicstory, her own personal pain to tim, a domestic violence assesspush forward,” Davis-Nickens ment unit coupled with further said about Marlow. training Cloves for law enforcement (L-R) Jake Oliver, Lezli Baskerville, E.R.Shipp, C. Campbell, HilDavis-Nickens said anyone Child's Protecdred Rochon, George Curry, and Charlesagencies, O’Neal atathe State ofLife the Black who inreads Marlow's book willeventtion andNational mandatory Press America and in the World heldAct at the PresscounselClub “get it.” She said “puts the/Photo ingbyforRoy batterers. on Friday, March 27she in Northwest.

Lewis case in such a way, the average “If we are ever going to eradiperson canforget it.” She said atdolthe getic cate young domestic violence, must investment African-American men and womenwe who are endspent of with the different day, thecompanies. book will taking look at sides of the coin. lars the both fight to the establishment. help people begin to have a diato address bothcivil therights vic“Without over-belaboring the AWe riftneed has emerged between logueone about violence. tim and batterer,” point, thingdomestic that was always miss- veterans andthe the new bloods. Marlow the event plan was said. ing Also is a present business at development “We must become the humanity, Mildred Muhammad, the ex- equality, Marlow would like dignity to see that would bring increased revenue justice and also human wife of John Allen Muhammad, programs designed to into our respective organizations,” he in our system,” said Johnny B. raise Hill, who“Working was sentenced to six consecawareness among children in said. in collaboration with Ph.D., associate professor of religion utive life terms parole and private schools. She the Nielsen Holdingwithout Companies, we public philosophy at Claflin University by a Maryland jury for his role in and feels children need to be educathave documented $1.2 trillion con- in Orangeburg, South Carolina. “We the Beltway Sniper attacks in ed about domestic violence. sumer spending of black America. must ensure that future generations 2002. Mildred Muhammad is “We have to stop being pasThe challenge of forAfter us today, however, will see we’re humans. Now is the the founder the Trauma, sive-aggressive with poor chilisanto have a greater sense of economic is our time. There’s someorganization that helps the time. drenNow about domestic violence,” accountability economic equi- thing happening. survivors of and domestic violence Marlow said. What will your role tyand andtheir parity with those companies be?Marlow has worked to break children. that“Iare the profi benefi of something haplived in feartfor six ciaries years. Six the“There’s cycle of abuse inpowerful her family, trillion-dollar peopleIt inis pening years in fearconsumer is a longoftime. our worldthe today – a large and is inconfident policies she the States and throughout the cosmic notUnited an easy thing to come out is pushing for willfor start global struggle justice that and world.” of,” she said. process.dignity. The battle has haphuman P.Mildred R. Shipp, associate professor said and pened Muhammad “I plan takewith these to in thetopast Jimpolicies Crow and journalist residence Statea segregation. people inwho wantat Morgan to help Congress and implore them to Young activists tend to University Baltimore said must black be domestic inviolence victim change our laws,” Marlow said. ahistorical. We have to find a way newspapers to dothey a much be careful need of how gobetter into to “I connect will notancient stop until these wisdom withpolipasthethan victim's andtounderstand cies are passed.” job they’relife, doing gain the at- sion.

Older folks know the way bethat she maypeople. be in “survival Tiathey’ve Carolfought Jones the canbattle be reached tention of young cause before. mode”. at tiacaroljones@sbcglobal.net “The state of the black press is Young folk have the energy.”

“Before you get toin 'I'm shaky.

We need to bring peoplegoing who Cory to killknow you,'about it started as a press,” verbal WI Haywood, one of more than don’t the black two dozen interns at the event, told she said during opening remarks of panelists and the audience that while the luncheon panel discussion. “My they appreciate and honor the past, students monitored black press on the they’re tired of hearing about slavery Web. Oh my God, the students didn’t and the negative parts of the Afrisee much to be impressed with,” “We can-American experience. have a glorious past and not much of “We heard a lot, but we weren’t ala present. Students from New York lowed to speak. At the breakfast, you haven’t heard of the black press. Students haven’t heard the Afro. They had 20-25 young people. All I heard is that government, white people aren’t don’t really know what’s going on.

“The black press needs to be doing enough for black people,” said known, embraced and taken over by Haywood, a third-year English student at the University of California, the next generation.”

A breakfast panel discussion Northridge. “I don’t want to sound irfocused on how best to preserve reverent or rude, but the old heads still the newspaper and larger African- see this Jim Crow undercurrent in soAmerican historical, social and ciety. It doesn’t exist. Our consciouspolitical legacy for the next generation. ness of race and what is necessary What became very apparent and what on living together is moving towards the panelists acknowledged is the harmony. I think there are far more growing divide between young and non-racist people than racist.

“Why are we looking for handouts older blacks, particularly from a sociowhen we can do it onL.Y. our own?

Why political perspective.

Marlow The police killings of Michael aren’t our awards equally accepted?

Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and We have to get over the idea that black Eric Garner in Staten Island, New businesses are inferior. I would enYork, galvanized millennials and courage black businesses to reach out young activists to battle against police to customers to prove their worth to brutality and pursue criminal justice the black community and build trust. reform. Out of this has come a vi- If they want more, they have to do brant group of committed, unapolo- more.”WI

“

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

“

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301.292.9141/FAX 301.292.9142/Mobile 703.819.0920 doris@mcmilloncommunications.com/www.mcmilloncommunications.com Councilwoman Anita Bonds has been busy living up to her campaign pledges to help renters and to maintain affordable housing in the District. /Photo Courtesy of NBC. /Photo by Roy Lewis

Bonds Advocates for More Affordable Housing

Councilwoman Introduces Legislation Aimed at Assisting Renters

By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer Council member Anita Bonds continues to do what many politicians have found difficult.

The at-large D.C. councilwoman has been busy living up to her campaign pledges, and within a short period, she’s introduced two major pieces of legislation to help protect lower-income residents.

As part of her campaign pledge when she easily retained her seat in the November general election, Bonds, who chairs the Committee on Housing and Community Development, had vowed to do more for area renters.

Late in March, she introduced the TOPA Bona Fide Offer of Sale Clarification Amendment Act of 2015, a bill aimed at protecting tenants and providing further clarity to the Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act. “Current loopholes to TOPA allow building owners to speculatively inflate prices in anticipation of a future market value that is disproportionate to property’s current market value,” said Bonds, 67.

To prevent the permanent loss of affordable housing units, as well as prevent the displacement of elderly, longtime and low-income residents, Bonds introduced a bill drafted in consul-

tation with representatives on all sides of the issue, a staff spokesman said in an email.

The key components of the bill include provisions that will no longer require all TOPA sales to have two appraisals, regardless of whether there is a third-party offer.

It mandates that bona fide offers of sale for buildings with five or more units be made according to the present value of the property and not some speculative future value.

Further, Bonds’ legislation establishes the tenant’s right to request an appraisal if the tenants believe that an offer, in the absence of a third-party offer, is too high.

Finally, the bill protects the residents of Museum Square by applying retroactively to TOPA sales without a third-party contract.

“We must do more to protect tenants and strengthen legislation that preserves affordable housing, Bonds said. “Our bill will protect District residents, like the tenants at Museum Square, and bring further certainty to the housing market.”

The councilwoman said she wasn’t finished.

She then introduced the Rent Control Housing Clearinghouse Amendment Act, which would establish the first database of rent-controlled housing units, making it significantly easier

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for residents to find affordable housing.

Bonds said rent control is one of the most successful tools the District has to provide affordable housing to residents.

Since the Rental Housing Act Denise Rolark Barnes of 1985, the development of Independent Beauty Consultant a central database where one www.marykay/drolark-barnes.com might find the listing of afford202-236-8831 able housing units has not been obtained.

The legislation would create a real-time, searchable online database of all housing units subject to the District’s rent control laws.

It will also provide the District with data on its roughly 80,000unit rent control housing stock to assist in the development of more effective affordable housing public policy in the future (301) 864-6070 and will eliminate red tape to lighten the filing burden of rent control housing providers.

“The District of Columbia MCCOLLUM & ASSOCIATES, LLC must be a place where residents of all income levels can afford to ADA, Age Discrimination, Benefits, Civil Rights, live, said Bonds, who noted that COBRA, Contracts, Deaf Law, Defamation, Disability Law, she’s committed to fighting to Discipline, Discrimination, FMLA, FLSA, FOIA, expand affordable housing opFamily Responsibility, Harassment, HIPPA, OSHA, tions for all District residents.

“This legislation will signifiNational Origin Discrimination, Non-Compete, ‡ 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 cantly improve affordable Beautythe Consultant in 9-point Helvetica Neue Light;Discrimination, Web site or e-mail address in 9-point HelveticaAct, Neue Retaliation, Light; phone number in 9-point Helvetica Race Rehabilitation To the easily Independent Beauty Consultant: Only Company-approved Web sites obtained through the Mary Kay® Personal Web Site program may housing options available Severance Agreements, Sexual Harassment, Torts, to residents and the housing inWhistleblowing, Wage-and-Hour, Wrongful Discharge dustry alike by providing them with the ability to sit at a comSERVING MARYLAND, DC, & NORTH CAROLINA puter and search tens of thouwww.jmlaw.net (301) 864-6070 jmccollum@jmlaw.net sands of homes,” she said. WI

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AROUND THE REGION WEEK OF APR 2 TO APR 8

Black Facts April 2 1855 - John Mercer Langston, considered the first African-American to be elected to public office, is elected clerk of Brownhelm, Ohio town ship.

1932 – World-famous African-American cowboy Willie “Bill” Pickett died in Ponca, Oklahoma, of injuries sustained after he was kicked in the head by a horse on the Miller Brothers’ Fabulous 101 Ranch.

1939 – Marvin Gaye is born in Washington, D.C. He signs with Detroit’s Motown Records in 1962 and goes on to become one of the leading R&B male vocalists of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s with hits ranging from the socially conscious “What’s Going On” to the sexy “Let’s Get It On.” Gaye was shot to death by his father during an argument in 1984.

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April 3 1888 – Ma Rainey (Gertrude Bridget) was born on this date in 1888. Known as the “Mother of the Blues,” Rainey made first recording in 1923.

1962 - In retaliation against a black boycott of downtown stores, the Birmingham, Alabama, City Commission voted not to pay the city’s $45,000 share of a $100,000 county program that supplied surplus food to the needy. More than 90 percent of the recipients of aid were black.

When the NAACP protested the commission’s decision, Birmingham Mayor Arthur J. Hanes dismissed the complaint as a “typical reaction from New York Socialist radicals.”

April 4 1915 – Muddy Walters is born McKinley Morganfield in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Walters would go on to become one of the primary shapers of that genre of music known as the blues. Indeed, he was easily one of the most influential musicians of the first half of the 20th century.

1928 – Poet Maya Angelou is born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis. Angelou now ranks as one of the greatest poets in America. But her talents have also been expressed as a playwright, author, producer, historian and civil rights activist.

1968 – Dr. Martin Luther King

Jr. is assassinated while standing on a hotel balcony in Memphis. Urban rebellions break out in over 100 U.S. cities, and at least 50 people are killed as more than 20,000 federal troops and 34,000 National Guardsmen are mobilized to put down the disturbances.

April 5 1976 – The infamous COINTELPRO documents are released. In response to an accidental discovery at a warehouse and a freedom of information lawsuit, the FBI is forced to release documents detailing an intensive and extensive campaign to disrupt and destroy civil rights and anti-war organizations and their leaders.

1990 – Jazz great Sarah Vaughan dies. Vaughn was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1924 and went on to become what many considered “the world’s greatest singing talent.” She was known as the “incomparable Sarah Vaughan.”

April 6 1798 – One of the nation’s most famous and accomplished early black pioneers, James Beckwourth, is born. The product of a white slave owner and a black slave mother, Beckwourth acquired his freedom and became a successful fur trader.

He would later become a scout for the Rocky Mount Fur Company. However, in 1824, he joined the Crow Indian nation and married a Crow woman.

He would later move West, where he discovered an important passageway through the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. The passage was named “Beckwourth Pass” after him.

April 7 1915 – Billie Holiday is born. She would go on to become one of the greatest blues and jazz singers ever with songs like “The Man I Love” and “God Bless the Child Who’s Got His Own.” Motown legend Diana Ross portrayed Holiday in the biopic “Lady Sings the Blues” in 1977, immortalizing her life and music for future generations.

April 8 1974 – Hammering Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves breaks the homerun record of the legendary Babe Ruth when he hit his 715th homer during a game at Atlanta Stadium.

1990 – Scientist Percy Julian, who developed drugs to combat glaucoma and methods to mass-produce cortisone, is admitted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

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AROUND THE REGION INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS BY ELTON HAYES

VIEWP INT Andrea Barrow Washington, D.C. I consider myself an avid traveler and I will still continue to travel. I may be a little wary, but the events will not stop me from air travel. Traveling by airplane in America is safe, but maybe more can be done with psychological background checks on pilots. I think more frequent psychological background checks should be done. I also think airline industry officials should look at having additional capable pilots on flights who can take over when things happen.

Barry Parks Washington, D.C. If you look at the high number of people who use airplanes as their mode of travel, a study said that everyone would have to fly around the world four times to have increase the risk of them getting into a plane crash. If you look at many airliners crash, when compared against car crashes, air travel is far safer.

It’s a numbers game. Overall, I think air travel is safe. And even when there are crashes, thorough investigations are done to help lower the chance of another one happening.

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WITH THE GERMANWINGS AIRPLANE CRASH LAST WEEK, COUPLED WITH THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES 370, SOME HAVE QUESTIONED THE SAFETY OF AIR TRAVEL. HAVE THE RECENT TRAGEDIES CHANGED YOUR VIEWS ON AIR TRAVEL?

Maria Mims Washington, D.C. I think air travel is still safe. If you look at the numbers of flights per hour, compared to the number of crashes, air travel is very safe. However, it is a little disturbing when you see the increasing number of incidents that don’t seem to make sense. So it does make you think a little bit more when you’re planning to take an airplane for travel, because you just never know. But we never will have control over when our number is called, so we can’t live in fear.

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Lauren Cooper Washington, D.C. I think air travel safety is something to be concerned with, but I don’t think it’s any less safe than driving your car.

You’re much more likely to get into a car accident than you are to experience a plane crash. It is something to think about before you travel, but I don’t think it’s going to dissuade me from going anywhere by airplane.

Karen Dumas Washington, D.C. I still trust air travel. I love to fly and will continue to do so at every chance I have. The situation with the unstable pilot in Europe is unfortunate, especially considering the fact that I am going there in three weeks. There will always be situations that will make us wonder. But the Germanwings pilot had a lot of personal and health problems which impacted his irrational decision. I have issues with air travel in terms of all the added fees, but air travel is still safe.

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vices, that will need to be taken into account.

But for the evening of her first time speaking to the District, with a theme of “Pathways to the Middle Class,” both the mayor and most of those seated, were upbeat, energetic and optimistic.

To get things going, Bowser had two youth-led drumlines from District schools set the tone. For the national anthem, she tagged Robert Austin III, another student from the District who further illustrated the skills of young adults who live in Washington, D.C. Bowser entered the stage from the wings, with a group of about 30 men and women of different ages and races already in chairs behind her in a style reminiscent of President Barack Obama’s now-familiar town hall meetings.

She began by celebrating several of the more positive ways that the District has recently been described: top tech spot; the “coolest” city in America; the #2 fittest city in the nation; among the top five cities for vacationers; and one of the top U.S. cities in terms of its salaries for women.

But she also spoke to some of the District’s challenges.

“We have historic economic inequality, schools that are not good enough and a transit system that needs to be safer and more reliable,” Bowser said.

“There aren’t enough of our residents on the path to the middle class. When my parents bought their home in 1960, the average median cost for a home in the District was $15,000.

Now it’s $500,000. We’ve got to create more opportunities for The Washington Informer

Mayor Bowser announces 100 Internship Opportunities as Part of ‘Boys and Men of Color Initiative’ with (L-R) Harry Wingo, Antwayne Ford, and Ed Davies. /Photo by Rob Roberts

families.”

“Many of you have heard me say it’s time for a ‘fresh start.’

That’s more than a slogan – it’s a promise. That’s what my Administration plans to do with a series of innovative programs. – allow anyone who lives in the District the chance at a new start, a fresh start. I plan to fulfill that promise.”

Earlier in the day, Bowser announced a new internship, 100 in total that are now part of her “Boys and Men of Color Initiative” [BMCI]. The partnership between the DC Chamber of Commerce, Enlightened Inc. and the DC Trust will support one-year internships with host businesses and organizations for participants in the Audacity of Hope Challenge, a program of the District’s BMCI. In her address, she talked about black and Latino boys, 50 percent of whom continue to read below grade level by the time they reach the fourth grade.

And she said things will change – for the better.

One businessman that attended her earlier press conference agreed.

“It is overdue that our young men have an adequate shot to be leaders in the workplace. In order to grow inclusive and robust communities, it is imperative that we expose our next generation to positively life-changing experiences,” said Ed Davies, executive director, DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation in a printed statement.

Also included among her priorities and listed in her address: educational reform; healthcare for all; affordable housing; marriage equality; taxation with representation; a more sustainable playing field; a streetcar that has heretofore been long on promises and short on results; incentives to businesses that will reinvigorate areas like Ward 8; greater opportunities for employment for returning citizens; and support for the longtime goal of statehood for the District.

But not everyone came to support the mayor. WI For the rest of the story please visit www.washingtoninformer.com

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AROUND THE REGION

STATESWOMEN Female Leaders Address Racial Injustice

By Glynn A. Hill WI Intern Women took center stage during the fifth annual Stateswomen for Justice Luncheon, which featured leaders who addressed a range of racial justice issues.

Keynote speaker Maxine Waters, a Democratic U.S. representative from California, spoke about building and utilizing black wealth, economic empowerment, the impact of the recession on black financial progress and the wealth gap that persists as a result of years of discriminatory laws and policies.

The engaging discussion took place on Thursday, March 26, in the grand ballroom of the National Press Club in Northwest, hosted by Trice Edney News Wire editor Hazel Trice Edney.

Waters also underscored mobilizing for black progress and starting black businesses to eventually pass on to children, which she praised publishers in the black press for doing.

“I have an appreciation for the fact that African-American women are taking the challenge of being publishers. You’ll continue to publish because no one talks our language,” Waters said.

It is crucial, Waters said, to protect and ensure fairness for the black community. This extends to advertising, where she feels as though the influence of the black press doesn’t get the respect it deserves.

“Just as we are targeted to be ripped off by some of the biggest financial institutions in this country, target us with some of those advertising dollars,” she said.

Waters closed by emphasizing the black press’s role as an integral part of the black community both locally and nationwide.

“The NNPA represents the heart and soul of our communities across the country,” she said.

“We rely on our local papers to give us information that may not be covered by the mainstream media and tell the stories from our perspective in a way that the larger papers can never and will never replicate.”

Julianne Malveaux, a syndi-

cated columnist and president emeritus of Bennett College for Women, moderated the second half of the event, a discussion in which panelists addressed racial justice issues they felt passionately about.

Barbara Arnwine, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, emphasized “purpose over position,” which means that someone’s position is just a position while someone’s purpose is what actually drives the person.

Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of The Washington Informer, emphasized supporting black business and reaching out to millennials through The Informer’s recent project, WI Bridge.

She stressed the motto “No one can save us for us, but us” before noting that The Informer is expanding its newsstand distribution locations to Dulles International Airport.

“We’re continuing to think of ideas to diversify our publication to generate revenue and serve our community to make sure their voices are heard,” she said.

Marcia Griffin, the founder and president of the homeowners’ assistance nonprofit HomeFree-USA, spoke about providing economic empowerment to African-Americans through real estate and home ownership.

“Everything we do in life, especially with money, we have to be more careful about who we do business with. We [also] need to look at our credit,” she said.

Griffin encouraged home ownership. “America is for sale to anyone who’s got some money.”

Dorothy Leavell, publisher of The Chicago Crusader, highlighted the advertising problem in the black press but also echoed the importance of improving the economic circumstances for African-Americans.

“We need to diversify; we need to make a change,” she said.

“Not everybody can do the same thing, but we can all put it together to make a difference.”WI

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The Honorable Maxine Waters (D-CA) (center), the featured speaker at the Stateswomen for Justice Luncheon held at the National Press Club on Thurs., March 26, poses with panelists (L-R) Dorothy Leavell, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Hazel Trice Edney, Marcia Griffin, Barbara Arnwine and Denise Rolark Barnes. /Photo by Shevry Lassiter

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Reparations Study Group The next Reparations Study Group session will be Thursday, April 9, 2015 from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Southeast Public Library 403 7th Street, Southeast, 20003 The series features discussion sessions and research on “The Debt America Owes Black Descendants of Slaves.”

This sessions meeting topics will include: Status of H.R. 40 Reparations- Legal or Legislation Way? Advantages of White Privilege The Southeast Library is located on Capitol Hill across from the Eastern Market subway stop.

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Partnership With Howard Students, Black Press Reaffirmed NNPA Rededicates Media Lab at HU’s School of Communications

By Sarafina Wright WI Intern The National Newspaper Publishers Association rededicated Howard University’s School of Communications media lab as a further testament to the commitment to the partnership between the organization and the school’s journalism department.

The ribbon cutting took place with numerous members of the NNPA, NNPA interns from around the country and prominent faculty members of the School of Communications.

“In 2014, the media lab was refurbished with 16 Mac desktop computers thanks to Mary Denson of the NNPA. This news lab serves as a central vehicle for the journalism department, preparing students to convey news and persuasive messages with technology,” said Wilhelmina Wright-Harp, the associate dean for research and academic affairs.

In 2003, the NNPA began its partnership with the Howard University School of Communications. It is one of the first news organization-university partnerships in the country.

Howard University journalism students continue this partnership through the Howard University News Service.

Students have their original stories published in NNPA papers throughout the country, which contributes to their resumes, clips and overall journal-

National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service editor-in-chief George E. Curry welcomes NNPA interns at the Media Lab Rededication on the campus of Howard University on Thurs., March 26. /Photo by Roy Lewis

ism acumen.

Anissa Pierre, a senior, was selected to participate as one of 20 interns in the NNPA’s Black Press Week.

“I was selected by Howard University News Service to participate in Black Press Week. We got to meet a lot of publishers and have workshops with George Curry, the NNPA editor-in-chief. He gave us interviewing and writing tips. I don’t have anything lined up after graduation, so this has been really helpful,” said Pierre.

Along with technological advances in the School of Commu-

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The Washington Informer

nications, the school has undergone major curriculum changes.

In the fall of 2013, the Radio, Television and Film Department merged with journalism to become the Media, Journalism and Film Department. This was intended to better serve students and prepare them for an ever-changing workforce.

“Our mission is to serve the NNPA and our students. We thank you for publishing their stories around the country. We have a chance to work on a lot of pressing issues affecting our communities,” said Yanick Rice Lamb, the assistant chair of the Department of Media, Journalism and Film.

When Trennie Williams Jr., 19, a sophomore at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who has been around the NNPA all his life, heard about the opportunity to participate in Black Press Week, he jumped.

“I found out about this opportunity through my granddad, Mr. Jimmy Williams, who owns the Memphis Silver Star. I thought it would be a great way to learn and get exposure. It’s crazy because everyone here knows my grandfather. To me, now it is that much more important for me to continue the tradition that has been set.” WI

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That’s why we’ve invested tens of billions over the past few decades to build one of the fastest, most reliable and secure networks in America. We’ve developed the fastest Wi-Fi network with more than 8 million hotspots, and increased Internet speeds 13 times in the past 13 years. And Comcast is also expanding access to the Internet through Internet Essentials,SM the nation’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program. Through the Time Warner Cable transaction, these advances will be available to millions more families across America.

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Informer Staff Lead Conversation on Future of Black Press

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins Black Press Week ended on a reflective and optimistic note for the dozens of newspaper publishers, community members, journalists and photographers who gathered in the historic gymnasium of the Thurgood Marshall Center in Northwest on Friday, March 27.

During the three-hour event, which is titled “Preserving Our History: Why It Matters,” guests walked through The Washington Informer’s photo exhibit and learned about the current state of the paper. They later listened as a panel of photographers and archivists explained the impor-

tance of preserving the black press’s work.

“We’re recording black history in every newspaper we have, and the Thurgood Marshall Center lends credit to what we do,” Cloves C. Campbell, Jr., chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a union of 200 black newspapers across the United States, said in his opening remarks.

“We try to make sure that black stories are told from the black perspective. One thing can remain constant, and that’s the black press telling the story of the people we serve. By the end of the day, we have to provide a printed document. That’s what we’ve been doing for 75 years,” Campbell told guests.

The NNPA co-sponsored

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(1st row) Dr. Ida Jones, Ja’Zette Marshburn, Denise Rolark Barnes, Roy Lewis, Sam P.K. Collins, (2nd row) Sharon Farmer, Freddie Allen, and Ron Burke pose for photo after the panel discussion sponsored by the NNPA and The Washington Informer at the Thurgood Marshall Center Friday, March 27. /Photo by Nancy Shia

the March 27 photo exhibit and panel discussion with The Washington Informer. Other speakers that evening included NNPA President Benjamin Chavis; Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of The Washington Informer; and Thomasina Yearwood, the Thurgood Marshall Center’s executive director. Nearly 80 people listened as Ron Burke, The Washington Informer’s marketing and advertising manager, talked about the newspaper’s latest projects, including the WI Bridge, its monthly millennial supplement that launched in February.

Later in the program, a group that included NNPA journalist and photographer Freddie Allen; Washington Informer photographer Roy Lewis; Ida Jones, assistant curator at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University in Northwest; archivist Ja-Zette Marshburn; and veteran photographer Sharon Farmer told stories that touched on the highlights of their careers. The panelists also explained what they considered the best methods of preserving history and ensuring that the black press maintains its position as the beacon of black news worldwide.

Farmer, a former White House photographer, recounted instances when she had to defend her work against people who wanted to replicate it without paying her or giving her credit. During the discussion, The Washington Informer

she implored aspiring photographers and members of the black media to protect their products and see to it that others understand its value. For Farmer, that means introducing children to The Washington Informer and other black-owned papers.

“We need to figure out how to get the black press into the schools,” Farmer said. “Students don’t just need to read The Washington Post. They should read The Washington Informer and write about what they read in that publication. Photographers also have to take advantage of copyright rules so that they can preserve their legacy.

I’ve had some issues and had to go back to those people to let them know that they couldn’t do what they wanted with my photography.”

The discussion had a lasting impression on some audience members, like Kelcey Abney, WI

Bridge layout designer. He said the event allowed him to relish in the black press’s rich history. Abney said that he has since been inspired to take WI Bridge to the next level.

“The program left me both enlightened and proud of the black press’s legacy,” Abney, 26, said. “The Bridge is on a good path to doing the same thing. I liked learning that Roy Lewis took photos of Dr. King a week after seeing him at an Informer staff meeting. It’s important that everyone tells their own story.

That perspective is the most important thing that we have. I feel like we should appreciate our elders’ resumes more. As for the future of newspapers, I feel that that’s not just a question for the black newspapers, but all media outlets will have to answer.” WI

Ja-Zette Marshburn, archivist for The Afro and Dr. Ida Jones, assistant curator at the Moorland Spingarn Research Center speak at the Thurgood Marshall Center on Friday, March 27. /Photo by Nancy Shia

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Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

13

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY

Residents Demand County to Clean Up Its Act

By Denise Rolark Barnes WI Publisher Southern Prince George’s County residents told officials they are fed up with the litter and trash that blanket the area and they are tired of hearing unfulfilled promises to clean it up.

County officials say the trash that lines major highway corWashington Informer ridors, roads, parking lots and 3.65 in W 8 in H issue for strip malls is ax serious them, too.

Darrell Mobley, director of Maryland’s Department of Public Works and Transportation, called the problem “out of control,” but stressed the solution does not rest with the government alone.

“We started the second week of March with all resources, collecting trash,” Mobley said. “Already, we’ve collected 1,000 tons of trash in two weeks – that’s approximately 2 million pounds of trash.”

“It’s not from the lack of ef-

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Prince George’s County 8th District Council member Obie Patterson held a town hall meeting in Oxon Hill attended by business leaders, community leaders and government officials on Saturday, March 28. /Photo by Maurice G. Fitzgerald

fort by our staff not going out to collect the litter,” Mobley said. “This is an issue the entire community is going to have to address. This is an ongoing effort that we are going to have to continue to fight.”

Trash and potholes, broken sidewalks and squatters and an early victory against plans to bring a Walmart into the area dominated the agenda at the Fifth Annual District 8 Community Meeting sponsored Saturday, March 28 by District 8 Councilmember Obie Patterson.

Over 200 Southern Marylanders attended the nearly two and a half hour session at the Oxon Hill Library on Oxon Hill Road in Maryland. Many stayed until the end hoping to weigh-in on widespread frustrations over the nagging problems plaguing the southern-most end of the county.

“I just think Prince George’s County is such a big county, but this area, where we are today, needs more attention,” said Tamara Johnson, a resident of Fort Washington. “We pay a lot in taxes, but we need more money in our area. I feel like we have been neglected and sometimes

I just want to pick up my house and move,” she said.

“Once you pass Exit 13, it’s a different world. It looks different to me,” Johnson said.

District 8 includes: Camp Springs, Clinton, Forest Heights, Fort Washington, Glass Manor, Marlow Heights, Oxon Hill and Temple Hills, Maryland.

The area currently houses the National Harbor, just off Interstate 495, and it will become the home to the new MGM Casino, currently under construction. Tanger Outlet Mall, which opened in 2013, is one of the largest economic development projects in the area, attracting shoppers from around the region. The area also shares borders with Wards 7 and 8 in the District.

However, the toll for the much-needed increase in economic development has been an increase in traffic, poorly maintained roads and tons of trash, residents say.

“As we see the good things that are coming into the county, I want to know why you can’t keep up with this trash,” David Prince asked. “I reside in Prince George’s County and I am pay-

ing property taxes like other folks in the neighborhoods with the money we earn. We want a return on the buck.”

Patterson, 77, who has represented District 8 since 2010, said, “We’ve got a lot of concerns. I think we need to put more resources into this part of the county to get us up to par. I don’t see in other parts of Prince George’s what I see here. We know that this part of the county needs a little more help than other [areas].”

The annual community meeting is part of Patterson’s ongoing outreach to District 8 residents. In addition, he holds smaller bi-monthly chats at local businesses to hear the concerns of residents.

“We use the concerns from those meetings to structure the agenda for this meeting,” Patterson added.

Patterson said he hopes Maryland State officials in attendance, “hear the concerns of the residents that we want our county cleaned up. We want better sidewalks and we want better roads.

And they [residents] are going to be expecting that,” he said. WI

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PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDUCATION BRIEFS

Kathrine Medina has been accepted to more than 25 colleges and universities./Photo courtesy PGCPS

Compiled by Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer

School Calendar Adjustments

To make up for the seven days of school students have missed this year due to inclement weather, the 2014-15 school calendar has been adjusted to include classes on June 18, 19, 22, and 23.

In addition, school officials have converted a non-instructional day on April 2 into a

two-hour early release day for students. Spring break otherwise remains April 3-10 for both students and teachers.

There will be a two-hour early dismissal on June 22 for students, and June 23 now be the last day for students, with classes dismissing two hours early.

The last day for teachers will be June 24.

CEO Kevin Maxwell, officials unveiled their “Strategic Plan” during the March 26 Board of Education meeting at Suitland High School in District Heights, Maryland.

The “Strategic Plan” represents a bold promise of “outstanding academic achievement for all students,” meaning that by 2020, PGCPS will meet or exceed state averages for SAT and ACT scores, achieve a 90 percent graduation rate, and equip 100 percent of graduates for collegeand career-readiness.

“Guiding the ‘Strategic Plan’ is the mission and vision that was developed by Board of Education,” said Segun Eubanks, board chair.

“These important statements heavily influenced the tactics in the ‘Strategic Plan’ and most importantly the accountability measures,” he said in alluding to an aggressive set of goals and measures that demonstrate how the school system will be held accountable during its contin-

ued, rapid progress as a major educational district.

Christa McAuliffe Award

Teachers are encouraged to apply for the Christa McAuliffe Award, which recognizes excellence in teaching.

The award, established in honor of Christa McAuliffe, a former county teacher who died in the 1986 explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, is available to PGCPS teachers only.

McAuliffe, “America’s TeacherIn-Space,” taught in the county from 1971 to 1978.

Candidates must be certified full-time teachers in grades kindergarten through 12, and have spent at least the past five years teaching in the PGCPS system.

The application deadline is April 20. For more information call the schools’ Office of Communications at 301-952-6001.

‘Scholar of the Week’

Katherine Medina, a senior at Oxon Hill High School in Oxon

Hill, Maryland, lists among the school system’s newest “Scholar of the Week” honorees.

Katherine, who has a 4.05 grade point average, excels in advanced placement courses that include calculus, physics, history, and geography.

Her extracurricular activities include membership in the National Honor Society, National Math Honor Society, National English Honor Society, and Filipino American Youth Association.

Katherine also participates in Varsity Tennis, Volleyball, Robotics, and the Poetry and Globe clubs.

Katherine, who wants to become an accountant, has been accepted to approximately 25 colleges, and has also received more than $1 million in scholarships.

She has decided to attend the University of Maryland College Park as a member of the Business Scholars program. WI

‘Strategic Plan’ Unveiled

Under leadership of schools

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Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

15

NATIONAL

NNPA Honors Legacy of Former Publishers

By Glynn A. Hill WI Intern One owned a prominent nightclub; the other became a highly esteemed physician. By the time their lives ended, they had become two of the most respected newspaper publishers in black press.

And, on Thursday, March 26, both men received their due during the Gallery of Distinguished Black Publishers Enshrinement Ceremony honoring Francis Page Sr. and Ludwald O. P. Perry for their contributions to their communities and the black press.

The ceremony, which took place in the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center on the campus of Howard University, was a part of the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s Black Press Week 2015.

Page was serial entrepreneur and philanthropist. He helped his community through his business and real estate ventures, board memberships and volunteer activities.

“He brought a different kind of paper,” said Dorothy Leavell, the publisher of The Chicago Crusader, who presented the enshrinements in front of a crowd of family members, journalists and fellow publishers.

“We were honored to have such an esteemed man. He was energized, exciting, and no-nonsense,” Leavell said.

A liquor salesman and nightclub owner turned newspaper

Francis Page Jr. (middle) with NNPA publishers after his father is honored posthumously during an enshrinement ceremony Thurs., March 26 at Howard University. /Photo by Roy Lewis

publisher, Page founded The Houston NewsPages Publishing Company. A Houston native, he attended the Houston College for Negroes, now Texas Southern, before he became the publisher of Houston Newspapers.

“He had everything he could want but didn’t take care of his health. I would charge each one of you to report about health care and prostate cancer in the black community because it’s important that we have early detection,” said Francis Page Jr.

He reminisced about a story his father told him – that he’d even sell his spot in line at the barbershop as a child to make money, a testament to his drive and initiative.

“This guy was truly one of the talented tenth,” Leavell said as she introduced the next enshrinee.

Perry, the founder of The Tennessee Tribune, was the son of one of Yale’s first black graduates, one of several renowned family members.

Perry attended Lincoln University prior to becoming a captain in the Medical Corps of the Army. He and his wife also established the Anthony J. Cebrun Journalism Center in 1992.

“You read his biography; he went to Harvard and Yale, and he had relatives that had such a distinguished career of being educationally prepared,” Leavell said. “He could’ve rested on his laurels, being a successful physician, but he didn’t do that.

He was integrally involved in

his community and wanted it to progress.”

Later, Perry’s daughter spoke about her father’s desire to be involved in his community as well as his intentions to make the paper a statewide presence — which it has become.

Mary Denson, the NNPA Foundation chair, said what set Page and Perry apart was their courage.

“Their legacy is the fact that their newspapers continue today,” she said. WI

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Hezekiah Walker Honored With NNPA Torch Award

By Elaina Johnson Howard University News Service Grammy Award-winning artist Bishop Hezekiah Walker can add the 2015 Torch Award for religion to his list of accomplishments as a gospel music artist and pastor of Love Fellowship Tabernacle, a megachurch in Brooklyn, New York.

The National Newspapers Publishers Association honored him last week at Black Press Week in Washington for his diligence in spreading the gospel through music, radio and ministry.

“I was extremely shocked when I heard that I won this honor,” Walker said. “I quickly changed my plans to make sure I was there to receive it.”

Walker, 52, was born and raised in the Fort Greene housing projects in Brooklyn. He formed the Love Fellowship Crusade Choir when he was in his 20s and has been releasing music with the choir and by himself since.

Walker is also the senior pastor of Love Fellowship Tabernacle, a church that he founded in April1994. The church has brought together people of different races, socioeconomic backgrounds and ages.

He also launched the “Hezekiah Walker-Afternoon Praise” radio show on 1190 WLIB in New York City, which was followed by the “Sunday Morning Celebration” radio show on 107.5 WBLS. Walker, who received Grammy Awards in 1994 and 2001, said receiving the NNPA’s Torch Award meant more to him than winning the Grammys.

“I really feel in my heart that out of all the awards I’ve won, the Torch Award is the best award I could have ever received in my life,” he said. “Music is the foundation of our people. Its one thing when others recognize you, but it’s another thing when your own people recognize you.”

There is, however, one honor that meant way more to him than receiving both the Grammy and the Torch Award. That was finding out that his music helped to save the life of a 9-year-old boy.

Willie Myrick was grabbed from the streets last March and forced into a car by an unidentified man while playing with his dog outside his home in Atlanta.

Young Myrick continuously sang Hezekiah Walker’s hit song “Every Praise.” He sang the song for three hours straight until the kidnapper finally threw him into the street and drove away.

“I have had many great things happen in my life, but just to save that young boy’s life really meant a lot to me,” Walker said. “When you begin to sing and put music out, you never know how many lives you touch across the world.” WI

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Minority Set-asides What happened to the momentum that Blacks in the Washington area had that made them the wealthiest concentration of Blacks in the nation?

Blacks moved on up under Marion Barry, but over the years and subsequent mayors, the District’s minority set-aside programs and precepts eroded away. The programs of minority set asides of the Barry-days opened the door for a lot of people who were locked out of a lot of opportunities. The programs Barry put in place as mayor set aside a percentage of local government contracts each year to minority-owned businesses, and helped benefit a legion of people. Under Mayor Barry, Blacks’ business and employment opportunities grew exponentially.

It’s time Black Washingtonians revive programs requiring that a proper percentage of government procurement contracts be reserved for Black and disadvantaged businesses.

A strong incentive used to exist for the District government to establish programs which set aside a percentage of their contracts or contract funds for minority business enterprises.

Generally, two types of setaside programs have been established by local governments.

The first type of program is a “pure” set-aside which requires a certain percentage of the total number of government contracts awarded each year to be set aside for award to minority-owned businesses. The second type of set-aside program, a subcontractor goal set-aside, requires all prime contractors bidding on a contract to spend a percentage of the contract price by contracting with minority-owned subcontractors.

A variation of this type of setaside is to require the prime contractor to submit with their bids an acceptable “affirmative action plan” for hiring minority owned subcontractors.

Major projects occurred in the District under mayoral administrations that were lax on the issue of “set asides.” Under current Mayor Muriel Bower, the current Department of Small and Local Business

18 Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

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By William Reed Development (DSLBD) says it “supports the development, economic growth, and retention of District-based businesses, and promotes economic development throughout the District’s commercial districts.”

The current CBE Program evolved from the Sheltered Market program managed by the Minority Business Opportunity Commission (“MBOC”) and the Local, Small, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“LSDBE”) program managed by the Office of Local Business Development (“OLBD”) and, eventually, DSLBD. The CBE program’s history in the District dates back to the mid1970s. Over three decades, the program evolved as one of the most progressive local inclusion programs in the United States, serving as a best practice model for other local and state jurisdictions.

To be eligible for CBE certification, a business must meet a local standard to demonstrate that it is a bona fide District-based business. Among other requirements, the business must have its principal office located in the District and the chief executive officer and highest level managerial employees of the business must maintain office and perform managerial functions in the District.

In addition, the business must meet one of four standards: it must have more than 50 percent of its assets located in the District; more than 50 percent of its total sales or other revenues derived from transactions in the District; more than 50 percent of employees must be District residents; or, more than 50 percent of owners must be District residents.

Despite the evident benefits

REED Page 19

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Community Mourns Loss of Rev. C.L. Long Known by many as “the radio pastor, the Apostle C.L. Long died on Saturday, March 23 after decades of service in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area.

He touched people not only throughout the District but also in Amherst, Virginia, at WYCB where he broadcast at the same time slot, 12 noon for 36 years and his church where he served as pastor, Scripture Cathedral.

Long wore many hats including: father, husband, pastor, apostle, broadcaster and friend.

His son, Elder Donnell Long had this to say about his father.

“I, my family and the Scripture Cathedral Church mourn the loss of my father and our pastor, Apostle C.L. Long. This news comes as a major blow to us all, especially knowing that Bishop Long’s ministry has meant so much, to so many people, over the past 50 years. I would like to thank the Scripture Cathedral family and friends for your loving prayers and support during this time. We have been taught well and are looking forward to honoring his legacy. I am grateful to God, for giving us such a giant in the faith, community leader and the best father one could ever hope for.”

Bishop C. L. Long was the senior pastor and founder of the Scripture Cathedral, located on the corner of 9th and Cathedral Way, Northwest in Washington, D.C. The church, once a storefront with a seating capacity of 30 and a membership of only three, relocated to its present site and has a seating capacity of over 1,800 and has a membership of over 10,000 on roll.

Long also served as the president of Cathedral Ministries, Inc., an international ministry of fellowship churches.

Born in 1941, Clarence Lee Long was the eldest son of the late Mason and Pauline Long. He accepted Christ in his life at an early age and joined the Scripture Church of Christ in Bailey’s

REED from Page 18 Washington-area Blacks have derived from set-aside programs, they have allowed local politicians to now downplay “set-aside” programs whenever opposition to it has occurred.

Under mayoral administrations

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Devoted Pastor, Leader Dies

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Apostle C.L. Long /Photo Courtesy of Scripture Cathedral

Crossroads, Virginia under the leadership of Elder George Marshall at the age of 15.

At the age of 19, he married Joanne Lee who later accepted her call to the ministry. Their children include: Elder Donnell Long, assistant pastor; Edward Long, associate minister; and Chantell Moses. Their legacy also includes four grandchildren: Promise Long, Jaelyn and Skylar Moses and one step-grandson, Robert McKissick.

In 1961, Bishop Long launched his radio/television ministry and worked diligently to have the radio station WUST, 1120 AM, converted to a full-time gospel music station. He was one of the first black ministers to broadcast via television and paved the way for the black church to enter the path of tele-evangelism. His ministry was so effective that radio broadcasts and telecasts were launched in over 150 stations throughout the nation. His min-

istry, both domestic and abroad, included Africa, where there are 478 churches under the umbrella of Cathedral Ministries.

Long’s book, “What About the Woman,” was proof of his obedience to God to embrace the woman’s call to ministry.

After more than 40 years of traditional pasturing, he shared the truth of God’s revelation concerning women. The book sold over one-half million copies worldwide. His most recent publication, “How to Get Rid of Stress,” ministers to the needs of people in this fast-paced electronic society.

His adage, “we have a story to tell the nation,” served as more than just a cliché. It was his goal to share with the world his life-changing experiences with God – experiences that made him a man of wisdom, compassion and counsel. WI

since Marion Barry’s, District Government agency heads have sought to avoid set aside requirements. Currently, District Government agency contracts exceeding $250,000 require a 35 percent subcontracting setaside with small businesses certified under the CBE Program.

Subcontracting requirements

may be waived by the Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) if an agency submits an official waiver request to DSLBD justifying why the requirement cannot be met.

Surely it’s time local residents make critical reviews of these programs and procedures.WI

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HEALTH

Author’s Journey: A Brave New World Cancer Claims Husband; Wife Seeks Healing

By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer It’s a day that Yvonne Broady will never forget.

On Jan. 24, 2009, Broady’s beloved husband, Clarence Cortez Loftin III, a distinguished venture capitalist and educator from Northeast, succumbed to pancreatic cancer, which sent his widow into deep depression and loneliness.

Broady said she scoured bookstores to find solutions to the various emotions that she was going through.

None surfaced.

However, as she navigated her way through such a dark time, Broady knew she was entering into a new phase, a new world in which she had to be brave.

“The prospect of waking up every day and being faced with the same reality was very exhausting to me, and I really wanted this to be over,” she said.

“At night, I would go to bed and

pull the covers over my head and hope that I would sleep for several hours, only to be met with the same reality of another day without my Chuck.”

A former art teacher, Broady went to work on a book about her experience with a goal of helping others who may be going through or who might go through similar tragedy and trauma.

Earlier this year, she released the book “Brave in a New World: A Guide to Grieving the Loss of a Spouse,” in which she shares her journey through the grief process. She said that while her husband’s anguish and pain from his battle with cancer had ended, hers had just begun.

“This book is about being brave and courageous in a brand-new world.

This is not meant to be a definitive guide on how to grieve, but I hope my experience will assist those who are grieving the loss of a spouse by illustrating what can be expected as one embarks on a grieving journey,”

The book “Brave in a New World: A Guide to Grieving the Loss of a Spouse” is one woman’s journey to overcome depression, loneliness and other emotions in dealing with the death of her spouse. /Photo Courtesy of Amazon.com.

Broady said.

“After years of marriage, no matter how few or how many, it is up to the grieving spouse to re-create a life for herself or himself. I hope this book helps to make that task easier.”

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Through personal examples, she illustrates the new world the death of a spouse brings and discusses the steps she took to handle the emotional pain.

Broady narrates the effects of the grieving process, which she said is a long and arduous course, and the only one who can get through it is the one who is left, the bereaved spouse.

“People don’t understand that because a person has a terminal illness, it doesn’t mean they’ve given up,” she said. “They might say that you knew [death] was going to happen, but in our case, Chuck and I decided that we were going to be hopeful, and we hoped for a miracle.”

She said that after her husband’s diagnosis, she went to the World Trade Center in New York to put in her retirement papers.

“I didn’t get the opportunity to think about being retired, and here I was at, of all places, the World Trade Center, so the depression was already

real because you’re supposed to be feeling elated, but look where I was and look at why I was putting in my papers,” Broady said.

She said Loftin had insisted on watching news coverage of the 2008 presidential election because there was “no way he was going to miss history, seeing the first black president elected.”

He died shortly after the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

“I just refused to believe he was going to pass away,” Broady said.

“I went through so many emotions.

I had emotional issues like anxiety, claustrophobia, and I had a therapist come to my house. And then I went into a bereavement group and attended church an extra day during the week.”

Over time, Broady said, she began to come back to life and then decided to write the book. “I really gained the strength to know that I had the power to re-create and rebuild my life alone.”

Broady said she is now hopeful and enthusiastic about her life and believes her book can be a tool to help others.

“I want people reading this book to know that what they’re feeling is normal and they can get through this experience,” she said.

“There is no time expectation. You want to reach that pinhole of light and then eventually that reawakening, but the fact that you start out feeling numb – that’s natural.”

To purchase the book visit, www.amazon. com, www.barnesandnoble.com or www.yvonnebroady.com. WI

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Yvonne Broady said she wants to help others get through the loss of a spouse, and her new book aims to do just that. /Photo Courtesy Yvonne Broady

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Breathe Easy: Living Well with COPD Submitted by AmeriHealth District of Columbia Before you keep reading, take a deep breath. Breathe in deeply through your nose, and then breathe out from your mouth. Try it again. Breathing deeply and slowly like this can help the body and mind relax. Not only can breathing help us calm down, it can help keep us active, too. Our breathing speeds up during exercise, giving us more oxygen as the heart rate rises. Breathing well is important to staying healthy. However, health conditions like COPD can make it hard to breathe, putting your health in danger.

What is COPD? COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary (pull-mun-ary) disease. It’s a serious health condition that damages one or both of your lungs. When you have COPD, the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs are partly closed. This can make it hard to breathe.

Symptoms COPD develops slowly and gets worse over time. This means it may take a few years before you have any symptoms. Overtime, as symptoms get worse, they can limit your activity. They can keep you from getting the exercise you need to stay well.

These symptoms, listed below, can even become life threating.

Symptoms of COPD include: • Shortness of breath, especially with physical activity • Nagging cough, especially if there is a lot of mucus • Chest tightness • Wheezing (a whistling or squeaky sound when you breathe)

•

•

•

Keep up with your vaccines. The flu and other conditions that affect the lungs can make your COPD worse and make it harder to breathe. Getting your flu shot and other vaccines can help keep you from getting sick.

Take part in therapy. Ask your doctor if there are rehab or therapy programs you can join. These may include fitness programs, oxygen therapy, nutrition classes and disease management.

Surgery. There are different surgeries that people with COPD can have. But this is usually only for people with very bad symptoms and a severe form of the condition.

Your doctor will tell you if surgery is best for you.

For people living with COPD, it can be hard to live healthy, active lives. If you think you are at risk for COPD, talk to your doctor. He or she may be able to help prevent or slow down the condition.

No matter what stage of life you’re in, AmeriHealth DC wants you to be healthy and breathing well.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MedlinePlus and U.S. Department of Health & Human Services All images are used under license for illustrative purposes only.

Any individual depicted is a model.

Risk Factors COPD is most often found in middle-aged and older adults — many times in people who are or used to be smokers. Cigarette smoke is the most common cause of COPD. Smoking not only hurts your lungs, but it raises blood pressure. It can put you at risk for a heart attack and stroke. Both first- and secondhand smoke are very harmful to you and your family.

Other risk factors for COPD include things that irritate your lungs, like pollution, mold and dust. These health-harming factors can be found right in your home or workplace. Mold can cause many different health problems. If you think you might have mold, arrange for it to be removed right away. But don’t do it yourself — it can be very unsafe. Call your building manager or a mold removal service if you think you have mold in your home. Also, be sure to keep your home clean by dusting and vacuuming 1 time a week. And don’t let anyone smoke in or around your house or apartment building.

Treatment Although there is no cure for COPD, there are many ways to slow the condition and help you feel better.

• Avoid first- and secondhand smoke. If you smoke, quitting is the most important step you can take in treating COPD. For help quitting, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW. • Avoid dust and mold. Make sure to keep your home clean and dry. Avoid places that may have a lot of dust, mold or other things that may bother your lungs.

• Ask your doctor about medicines. Your doctor may prescribe an inhaler. Inhalers can help open your airways to help you breathe easier. Your doctor may also suggest other types of medicines if your airways are inflamed.

Ask your doctor questions and schedule follow-up appointments so he or she can prevent the condition from getting worse.

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AmeriHealth District of Columbia Member Wellness Center

Connecting with our members right in their neighborhood!

2027 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20020 Our Member Wellness Center provides a location for AmeriHealth District of Columbia (DC) members to: • Get one-on-one advice from AmeriHealth DC nurse care managers on how to get and stay healthy • Learn how to live a healthy lifestyle through healthy cooking and fitness classes • Speak with AmeriHealth DC community outreach representatives about their AmeriHealth DC benefits Visit www.amerihealthdc.com or scan the QR code to see the wellness classes we offer. Classes change each month. Free transportation can be provided to all members.

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HEALTH

Surgeon’s Battle with Cancer Featured in Documentary

By Shannen Hill Howard University Hospital From the age of seven, Lori Wilson knew that she wanted to be a surgeon.

While other kids were reading Dr. Seuss, Wilson was fascinated by an anatomy book inside of an encyclopedia.

“I remember when I was little, I would watch MASH, which was a show about surgeons,” Wilson said. “I wanted to be like Hawkeye, who was the guy surgeon who saved people and was good at what he did.”

Beginning at age 15, she said, she began to dedicate her life to cancer research. When she was in the 10th grade, Wilson was selected to do a summer program to do cancer research. She decided wanted to be a cancer surgeon.

And today she is Dr. Lori Wilson, division chief of surgical oncology, which focuses on breast cancer, as well as the program director of the general surgery residency at Howard University Hospital, where she completed her residency years ago.

She is also, like millions of Americans, a cancer patient, struggling to

beat the dreaded disease.

Wilson, 46, wife, mother and medical specialist, and her struggle is now part of a Ken Burns documentary, Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies that aired earlier this week on public television.

Wilson allowed cameras to film in surgery as she underwent a double mastectomy Wilson grew up in southern Virginia in a middle-class, Black neighborhood. Her father was in the Air Force and her mother was a stay-at-home mom who, Wilson said, managed the house very efficiently. Along with great parental role models, many other successful adults, including her father’s best friend who became mayor of their city, surrounded Wilson.

Cancer is not foreign to Wilson.

Aside from treating hundreds of cancer patients, she also saw both of her parents go through the disease.

However, she said she had never completely understood what it was like to be in the patient’s shoes until she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013.

“I had my son and breast fed for about a year,” she said. “Since I was

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over 40, the recommendations were to wait three to four months for my breasts to go down. It had been about four months, and I realized that one of my breasts didn’t go down to the size that I expected. So, I ended up getting a mammogram and an ultrasound and was diagnosed when my son was a year and a half.”

Wilson said she went to church that Sunday, and the message that day was about being in the fight of your life and needing to ask for help instead of trying to take everything on alone.

From that moment, she said, she decided that she would be completely open with everyone in her life about her diagnoses.

“My mom taught me the importance of letting people who are close to you care for you,” she said. “I wanted to be a patient, not a physician sort of managing my own care. That meant letting everyone know, because this is something that doesn’t just affect me. It took a lot of pressure off and gave me the ability to go through treatment without worrying if anyone would find out.”

Wilson said it was important to use her experience to educate and help others.

“At Howard, we talk a lot about legacy,” she said. “For me, part of that is making sure that your life has purpose. It was important for me because

a lot of my patients look like me. We wanted people to see the bigger picture, the humanity, the care and how people just step up. It’s those quiet moments of humanity that are really special.”

Through her diagnoses, Wilson’s husband, who she met in medical school, has been her greatest support system, she said. Her diagnoses has brought her family closer together and allowed them to share on a more intimate level, she said. Wilson said she also receives support from her church family and her Howard family.

“It is important to have a network of support and I could not have gone through it better at any place,” Wilson said. “I want for us to have the best possible experience no matter what happens.”

To get more of a glimpse into Wilson’s life, you can catch her in Cancer: The Emperor of Maladies, which airs on PBS at 9:00 p.m. this week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. For more listings, visit www.pbs.org.

Readers who want more information on breast cancer can view a link in which Dr. Lori Wilson, the surgical oncologist featured in the Ken Burns documentary talks about cancer during a news program. It’s available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfkYy-GGKF4 WI

WARD 5 TOWN HALL MEETING

Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie and DC Water General Manager George S. Hawkins are co-hosting a town hall meeting to discuss water projects and issues impacting your community.

• Water Rates • Clean Rivers • Drinking Water

• Billing Issues • Infrastructure • Job Opportunities

For more information, visit dcwater.com/rates or call the DC Water Office of External Affairs at (202) 787-2200.

THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015 • 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Noyes Education Campus • 2725 10th Street, NE

KENYAN R. McDUFFIE COUNCILMEMBER WARD FIVE

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An Open Letter to Concerned Citizens of Washington

I

t’s important that we make moves to support Mayor Muriel Bowser on her 35% CBE inclusion on the Department of Corrections Contract.

Mayor Muriel Bowser has sent a request to the City Council to approve a Department of Corrections (DOC) contract that includes Corizon and MBI Health Services, LLC, a Certified Business Enterprise (CBE). The District’s procurement law governing contracts over a million dollars require 35% CBE participation and approval of the City Council. In this case, some City Council members have indicated a desire to allow the contract to remain with the current vendor, Unity Health Services, without evidence of the minimum 35% CBE participation.

A recent evaluation of the current vendor, Unity Health Services, shows that their operations and officials have steadfastly refused to comply with the City’s CBE participation requirements. This means that over the time that their contract has been in place the city’s local, small, and disadvantaged business enterprises lost more than 70 million dollars in contracting opportunities.

It’s imperative that elected officials and their staffers do everything they can to employ, and contract with local, small, and disadvantaged business enterprises in good standing.

In regards to the Department of Corrections (DOC) contract Mayor Bowser is supporting, the contractor Corizon has met and exceeded the City’s CBE requirement by partnering with MBI Health Services.

The District of Columbia’s procurement processes have set the standard for governments across the nation. Although she only has a short time in the Office of the Mayor, by her actions in this case, Mayor Muriel Bowser is protecting the integrity of the OCP procurement process and the City’s highly regarded CBE program.

The city cannot afford to go down the road of recalcitrance and go “back to the days of old.” Instead of side-stepping CBE rules, intent and participation we recommend that elected and city officials make good faith efforts and make city businesses and residents recipients of city contracts and jobs.

The DC Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP) considered CBE participation in all the recommendations in the report evaluation when it assessed the “best and final” offers presented by Corizon and Unity on six separate occasions. There is uncontroverted evidence that the OCP procurement process in awarding the DOC contract to Corizon was transparent, based on rules that guaranteed fair and non-discriminatory conditions of competition and which afforded the losing parties due process. The question is whether or not the City Council should exercise its legislative powers through the promulgation of law and policy, rather than nullifying the results of the OCP’s competitive bid process by introducing political issues and unfair manipulation.

City residents should begin to show a “business state of mind.” We all can show support for our city and mayor by calling or e-mailing Council members and by attending the “Rally To Save Our 35%” on April 9th at 9AM at the Wilson Building.

Respectfully, Dr. Malcolm Beech President National Business League of Greater Washington

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NATIONAL BUSINESS LEAGUE OF GREATER WASHINGTON

SAVE CERTIFIED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES (CBEs)

RALLY PROTECT OUR RETURNING CITIZENS

April 7th from 11 AM to 12:30 PM On the steps of the District Building 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW SUPPORT MAYOR MURIAL BOWSER’S RESOLUTION TO AWARD 40 MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT TO CERTIFIED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES Washington, D.C.’s nationally respected LSDBE Contracting laws are under attack.

DOC inmates are being denied the high quality innovative healthcare they need. If the Council is allowed to kill the Corizon Department of Corrections Health Services Contract, no CBE contract will be safe. Please ask your council member to uphold the integrity of the D.C. procurement process and enforce CBE contracting laws. Join us in front of the John Wilson District Building on April 7th at 11 AM to demand that the D.C. Council approve Mayor Bowser’s Resolution to approve the Department of Corrections Health Services Contract.

PLEASE WRITE YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER AND ASK HIM/HER NOT TO UNDERMINE THE INTEGRITY OF THE D. C. PROCUREMENT PROCESS. LET THEM KNOW THAT UNITY HEALTH CARE, INC’S SOLE-SOURCE, NO-BID CONTRACT MUST COME TO AN END. The Washington Informer

Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

23

EDUCATION

All Youth Benefit From Exposure to Black Professionals

By Keshia Knight Pulliam

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Videographer Two Rivers Public Charter School invites all interested parties to submit proposals to provide videographer to document best teaching practices. The complete RFP can be obtained by contacting Khizer Husain at procurement@tworiverspcs.org.

Responses are due April 17, 2015.

WI Community Calendar

Explore a list of upcoming community events including festivals, art and cultural events, workshops, classes and neighborhood meetings, sporting events and tournaments in and around DC, Maryland and Virginia on our online community calendar at www.washingtoninformer.com.

If you have an event you would like to include on our community calendar, please email the details and attach a jpeg document (if available) to news@washingtoninformer.com.

Please include your name, email address and daytime phone number.

I think every person that walks the face of the earth has a calling and passion that they are meant to maximize to make our world a better place. For me, my passion and calling come through acting, but they also show up through my nonprofit Kamp Kizzy.

Kamp Kizzy gives young people the opportunity to learn, share, explore and expand their horizons through workshops, candid discussions and the opportunity to meet and “pick” the brains of some of the top individuals in their given professions. Now that we have been doing Kamp Kizzy for nearly a decade now, there are some undeniable truths that have been reinforced through this work.

The first truth is that when children are exposed to careers, opportunities and people that inspire, they become more determined about pursuing their life’s work. The second great truth that has been cemented through this work is that education is the great equalizer for children who might come from underserved communities and cities. Because the second truth is so near and dear to my heart, I have joined forces with a great organiza-

tion, American Federation for Children due to its mission is to make sure that all children have access to a quality education.

An unfortunate reality for far too many families in our great country is that they are limited in their ability to access the best education for their children. Oftentimes, these barriers are due to lack of financial resources or their zip code and/or address is in a part of town that relegates them to inferior educational opportunities.

Our country is founded and thrives on opportunity and the mere fact that so many of our children are not getting the edu-

WARD 1 TOWN HALL MEETING

Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau and DC Water General Manager George S. Hawkins are co-hosting a town hall meeting to discuss water projects and issues impacting your community.

• Water Rates • Clean Rivers • Drinking Water

• Billing Issues • Infrastructure • Job Opportunities

For more information, visit dcwater.com/rates or call the DC Water Office of External Affairs at (202) 787-2200.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015 • 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Tubman Elementary School (Cafeteria) • 3101 13th Street, NW

BRIANNE K. NADEAU COUNCILMEMBER WARD ONE

Enjoy all of our features at

www.washingtoninformer.com 24 Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

Keshia Knight Pulliam

cational opportunities that they so richly deserve is one of the reasons that I unabashedly lend my name and voice to the issue of school choice.

Disproportionately, children of color and lesser financial means are the ones who are subjected to poor schools that have been underperforming for decades and giving their families more quality options when it comes to their children’s education is one of the ways that we can proactively solve this mammoth of an issue.

Finally, I just want to explicitly and emphatically state that, for me, the issue of school choice is about children. It is not about political party, affiliation or any other motive that does not derive itself from doing what is best for our children.

I will humbly ask that you, like I, add your voice and support to American Federation for Children and the work that it continues to do for our children especially those who are low-income and working-class and deserving the opportunity to access great schools. WI For more information on American Federation for Children, visit federationforchildren.org

The Washington Informer

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The Washington Informer

Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

EDITORIAL Lynch Deserves to be Confirmed

It’s been more than 160 days that Loretta Lynch, Brooklyn’s top prosecutor, has languished, waiting for the Senate to confirm her. But after dragging their feet, offering feeble excuses and tying the confirmation to an effort to block federal funds from bankrolling the majority of abortions, the confirmation is stalled.

The delay in Lynch’s confirmation speaks to the dysfunction that has gripped Washington’s political establishment, hyper-partisanship and the icy relationship between Republicans and President Barack Obama.

Texas Sen. Jon Cornyn said he felt no rush to confirm Lynch as the Senate adjourned for its two-week recess recently. And when the Senate reconvenes in the middle of April, no other cabinet nominee will have waited longer for a confirmation vote in the last three administrations.

What we’re witnessing is a failure of leadership by elected officials who act more like spoiled children than adults. Those in positions of power get paid substantial amounts of money and do next to nothing, while the country’s infrastructure crumbles; the income and wage gap widens; homelessness grows; people go hungry; jobs disappear overseas and lobbyists extract greater financial concessions for the wealthy and corporate interests at the expense of the ordinary Americans The Republican majority’s behavior is shameful and embarrassing. But they have no shame. Their arrogant and high-handed behavior shows they’re more concerned with holding onto power, securing re-election and bowing to the radical wing of their base than with taking care of the people’s business.

Obama and Democrats aren’t blameless in this matter. This impasse may have been avoided if Democrats had moved the nomination while the party controlled the Senate, but they dropped the ball.

Although some like South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham continue to assure us that Lynch will be confirmed, word is that she has 50 votes and Vice President Joe Biden may have step in to break a tie, should that occur.

Last November when the GOP grabbed both houses of Congress, we were promised strong leadership and good government. Is this what that looks like?

Indiana in Spotlight for Wrong Reason

D.C. Councilmember David Grosso joined a growing group of critics in the political sphere Monday who moved to punish the state of Indiana in response to a bill passed last week that is largely believed to discriminate against gay people.

Grosso wanted a ban on the use of public funds for city employees traveling to Indiana on city business after Governor Mike Pence signed into law a bill that allows businesses to refuse service to lesbian, gay, and transgender individuals on religious grounds.

To her credit, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an executive order to that effect March 31.

Pence says the law is misunderstood but critics are clear it’s just one more example of the bigotry and hate that continues to bubble to the surface in this country. There are those who always seek out scapegoats to blame, torment and subjugate, while erecting straw men in an effort to hide their hostility and narrow-mindedness. They – in this case social and religious conservatives – have gone after women, non-whites, gays, President Obama – anyone they construe as being the “other,” different or outside of their accepted frame of reference.

In Pence’s case, he was either unaware or chose to ignore the consequences of his action, which have been swift and severe.

In addition to a firestorm of criticism, Connecticut’s governor and the mayors of San Francisco and Seattle are imposing travel bans and businesses and groups are rethinking their relationships with the state. These include Angie’s List, whose CEO said the company would shelf plans to expand in Indiana.

We hope opponents use boycotts and other economic cudgels to make clear their disapproval of Pence, Indiana legislators and the law. www.washingtoninformer.com

Justice Denied

Every citizen of the District of Columbia should feel a sense of outrage and betrayal by Ron Machen, Jr., the U.S. Attorney, who knowingly sabotaged the D.C. mayoral election by putting forth the assumption that former mayor Vincent Gray had knowledge of illegal finances in his campaign. Machen is now leaving his office without any charges being brought [“Machen Walks, Gray Left Hanging,” by Stacy M. Brown and Barrington M. Salomon, March 26,2015].

We have the right to elect who we want in office, not who someone else thinks we should elect.

In every election, we as citizens have to endure congressional interference as if those who don’t live here know what’s best for us.

So, now the top cop in the District of Columbia, who promised right before the mayoral elections to clean up all the dirty politics and show that Vincent Gray had dirt on his hands, is leaving for private practice.

Why is he leaving? I’ll tell you why, his job is done: Vincent Gray was not elected Mayor of the District of Columbia. We went for their bluff, and they won. The citizens of the District were denied their right to a fair election.

Carlos Knight Washington, DC The Washington Informer

More on Exelon Merger

After reading your article, “Exelon, Pepco Merger Moves Forward,” by Dorothy Rowley, in the March 26, 2015 edition, I came away wanting to know more information. There was some good information about what could be seen as positive things for the residents of both Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties, but all I read was rate increases for the residents of DC. As a resident of DC, my utility bills are high enough, and I can barely afford to pay them now, so I couldn’t stand any increases in charges. Will we get to have any say in this merger? Will there be some public meetings to discuss this merger? I hope The Washington Informer will do some more articles to inform us on how such a merger would affect our utility rates in the District.

Thank you very much.

former. I am a longtime reader and enjoy everything you do.

Valerie Wise Washington, DC

WI Spelling Bee

Thank you for continuing to sponsor the spelling bee for DC students. I have enjoyed watching the spelling bee on NBC Channel 4 and it makes me extremely proud to see the excellent performance of our school children on display. I will be watching the spelling bee again this year and I hope that more children will realize how important it is to be a good speller. Keep up the good work.

Ben Walker Washington, DC

Carrie Morgan Washington, DC

WI Bridge

I enjoyed reading the latest issue of WI Bridge in The Washington Informer. I know the publication is geared towards millennials, but it’s a pleasure to read and know what’s on their minds. Please let keep them encouraged. This is a wonderful addition to The Washington In-

We want to hear from you.

Please send your Letters to the Editor to lsaxton@washingtoninformer.com. Make sure to add your name, email address and a daytime number.

Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

27

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

Guest Columnist

By Lee A. Daniels

Free Speech Hypocrisy This winter the media’s been ablaze with stories about racist, homophobic and sexist slurs being hurled this way and that by college students and other adults.

Revealingly, those that have captured the most attention all involve black Americans as the targets of the racist speech or action: the members of the University of Oklahoma chapter of one prominent white fraternity

singing a racist ditty that referenced lynching a black man; the sexist slur hurled against adolescent baseball star Mo’Ne Davis by a college baseball athlete, and the attempt by the Sons of Confederate Veterans of Texas to force that state to produce a license plate with their symbol, the Confederate battle flag, on it. This latest effort by Confederate sympathizers to obscure the racist rebellion’s ineradicable stain of “treason in the defense of slavery,” as one analyst wrote, has reached the U.S. Supreme

Court, which heard oral arguments on the case last week.

The controversies have provoked a growing volume of commentary and opinion columns. Most of those I’ve seen have declared that, while offensive speech and ideas are despicable, they must be tolerated in the name of freedom of expression so that society can benefit in the short- and long-term from the free flow of ideas.

I’m a free-speech advocate myself. But in recent years, whenever these free-speech con-

Guest Columnist

troversies have burst into the open, I’ve increasingly noticed some important things missing from the general run of commentary and opinion columns.

For one thing, I don’t see them grappling with the question of “why” those who spout the slurs do so.

For example, shouldn’t we be examining why a group of white college students, most of whom come from middle-class and upper-middle-class families, would gleefully traffic in expressions of racism?

And why a white college baseball player would feel the need to use a slur of sexual degeneracy against Mo’Ne Davis, the 14-year-old black American girl whose athletic prowess and off-the-field poise has won her well-deserved national attention?

Why should any public entity sanction the lies Confederate sympathizers continue to spout?

The Confederacy’s own documents – among them, the Confederate Constitution of 1861,

DANIELS Page 45

By Marian Wright Edelman and Melanie Hartzog

Time for Justice for Children in New York Under New York’s juvenile justice system, a child as young as 7 can be arrested for a crime, and a 16-year-old is automatically charged as an adult.

These laws are shockingly behind the times — bad for children and bad for public safety.

New York is one of only four states to create a juvenile jurisdiction for little children who are barely old enough to shed their baby teeth and still believe in the

tooth fairy. And they are expected to have the cognitive development necessary to participate in and understand a trial?

New York is one of only two states to ignore the latest neurological research underscoring the fact that 16- and 17-year-olds are still children developmentally. Their brains will not be fully formed until age 25, and they lack the ability to control impulsive behavior by focusing on its consequences.

This key developmental period

is an important opportunity for rehabilitation. Research shows adolescents are highly receptive to change in a way that adults are not. They respond very well to proven interventions, and with them, can learn to make more responsible choices.

Ignoring evidence-based interventions proven to reduce recidivism and continuing to ship teens off to crime school (adult prison) are mistakes we can’t afford to keep making. In adult prisons, youths are more

Guest Columnist

likely to suffer physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and to be molded by other prisoners, often hardened career criminals. Studies have found that youths in the adult criminal justice system are 36 times more likely to commit suicide and are re-arrested 34 percent more often for felony crimes than their peers in the juvenile justice system.

This sobering fact, that automatically charging 16- and 17year olds as adults makes them more likely to commit violent

crimes, is proof that this policy is a threat to public safety. The evidence shows children should be treated as children, particularly since these teen arrests are overwhelmingly for nonviolent crimes like shoplifting, turnstile jumping or drug possession.

The racial disparities in policing youths of color (over 70 percent of the children arrested and 80 percent of the children sent to prison statewide are black and

EDELMAN Page 45

By Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.

Maxine Waters Works to Shrink Wealth Gap One of leading freedom fighters in the United States Congress is none other than the extraordinarily dynamic Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). Congresswoman Waters does not bite her tongue.

Not only has she gained the top Democratic seniority position in the House Committee on Financial Services, she also continues to speak truth to power on all the critical public policy issues that affect the quality of life of

28 Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

black Americans.

It is important to support Congresswoman Waters’ latest courageous act of leadership in the U.S. Congress: introducing the “Wealth Gap Resolution” that addresses the widening wealth gap in America and its devastating impact on black Americans and other communities of color.

There are serious economic disparities and inequalities between white and black Americans. During the past decade, these inequities have increased.

We are all more than aware of the current declining economic base of the black American community.

Maxine Waters explained how that gap can fundamentally alter the quality of one’s life.

She said, “Wealth is the difference between sending your children to college or not…. It’s the difference between retiring with a comfortable nest egg or relying on Social Security. And it’s the difference between starting your own business or working at a low-paying job. So when we The Washington Informer

talk about the wealth gap and economic equality, we’re not just talking about numbers. We’re talking about pulling families out of poverty, keeping them out of poverty, and ensuring that their children and their grandchildren never fall back into poverty again.”

Waters’ resolution should not only be taken seriously by the U.S. Congress, but by President Barack Obama and the White House public policy advocates as well. During the last two years of the Obama administration,

we should intensify efforts to end poverty in America. But in Black America, ending poverty through wealth creation and other strategies to create more sustainable economic development in our communities has to be a top priority.

According to research done

by Congresswoman Waters’ staffers, the median wealth of white American households is 20 times the median wealth of Black American households and

CHAVIS Page 45

www.washingtoninformer.com

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

Guest Columnist

By George E. Curry

Wade and the ‘First Family of the Housing Projects’ Approximately three weeks ago, I suffered a mild heart attack. Shortly afterwards, Robert T. Wade, a longtime family friend in Tuscaloosa, Ala., died at the age of 94. Against the advice of close friends and even some relatives, I attended his funeral last Saturday.

To appreciate why I was determined to attend Wade’s funeral, you have to understand what Wade meant to me and thou-

sands of black kids who grew up in the housing projects during the 1950s and 1960s. Most black communities have a Wade, a universally respected adult who adopts every child in the community as his own.

As I said in my tribute to him at the funeral, we considered the Wades the “First Family of the Housing Projects.” Of course, Wade was the president and his wife, Ella Wade, was the First Lady. To those of us who lived in McKenzie Court, my all-Black housing project, they were our

Kennedys. They were royalty and we wanted to be like them.

Of the seven Wade children, two of them were males – Archie and Harold. Archie was the oldest and seven years my senior.

Harold was five years older than me, about the same age as my youngest uncle, Jesse Harris. The three were the brothers I never had.

Hal and Archie were standout athletes and even played professional baseball. But they were scholars first. Wade and the girls – Ethel Jean, Glenda, Janice,

Guest Columnist

Phyllis and Karen – in addition to being beautiful, were classy and always exuded class.

And if you happened to be at 73-B McKenzie Court around dinner time, which many of us skillfully managed to do, somehow Wade had cooked enough food to accommodate young people like me who wanted to get as close to royalty as possible.

Wade was the first Black businessman that I knew. He established Wade Printing Co. in 1953 and most of my life it was on what was then 32nd Avenue, now

Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It was on our route from McKenzie Court to Druid High School.

So, every school day, we walked past his shop going to and from school; many times he would be standing outside, which was an open invitation for us to stop by and talk.

For those of us who did not grow up with our biological father, Wade cast an even larger shadow. He became daddy, teacher, counselor and role mod-

CURRY Page 46

By Marc H. Morial

The State of Black America – Part 1, Education “What the people want is very simple: they want an America as good as its promise.” - Texas Congresswoman Barbara C. Jordan.

There’s no other way to say it. Black America is in crisis.

Over the past year, we have been bombarded with headlines that continue to drive home the longstanding challenges faced by Black and Brown communities in our nation. From the killings of unarmed Black males at the hands of police officers to the

introduction of new voter suppression laws that make it more difficult for people of color to exercise their constitutional right to vote, it is clear that for many in our nation, equality under the law remains dangerously out of reach.

But beyond the headlines, anecdotes and agenda-fueled debates lie the real numbers – all facts, no chaser.

Last week, the National Urban League released the 2015 State of Black America report – “Save our Cities: Education, Jobs + Justice.”

The report is the 39th edition of the National Urban League’s annual anal-

ysis of Black and Latino equality in America, and for the first time, this year’s report is available in an all-digital format available at www.stateofblackamerica.org, where visitors can find the e-book, Web Series, select data, videos, articles and other frequently updated features (as well as download a free copy of the 2015 State of Black America report until March 31).

This year’s report again includes the Equality Index™, in its 11th year for the Black-White Index and its sixth year for the Hispanic-White Index – measuring how well Blacks and Latinos are doing in comparison

ASKIA-AT-LARGE

to their White peers in five categories: economics, education, health, social justice and civic engagement.

What we’ve found is that while strides have been made in our communities, tremendous gaps continue to leave us with a crisis in education, jobs and justice.

There are tremendous challenges before us, but the good news is that they are not insurmountable. For the next few weeks – and beginning with education, I will explore the findings of the 2015 State of Black America, and better still, suggest solutions to these challenges.

As our nation enjoys historically low dropout rates, the highest high school graduation rates in history and more students of color studying on college campuses, we must also contend with the reality that school districts serving the highest percentage of low-income households spend fewer state and local dollars in those districts than ones that have fewer students in poverty.

In addition, a lack of consistent education standards and equity and excellence at scale means that the quality of education that our children receive

MORIAL Page 46

By Askia Muhammad

Republican 2016 Death Star: ‘All Aboard’ There is absolutely no chance that Republican Party leaders will pay attention to a single word I say, so I feel no guilt about giving them good advice which might help them win the presidential and senate election derby in 2016.

Cast as the party of ideas (attractive to older White males), GOP leaders are politically tone deaf. They long to win “their country back.” They long for the

nostalgic America of the 1950s TV-land which President Ronald Reagan yearned for. Some are convinced that the 1920s America of Herbert Hoover and the high-flying 1920s is the answer.

Better still, particularly as Black folks are concerned, they would like to return to the antebellum days of President James Buchanan, before Abraham Lincoln launched the “War of Northern Aggression” against what most now realize was the Southern “Lost Cause.” Lincoln wanted to preserve a “unit-

www.washingtoninformer.com

ed states” of America against the treasonous rebellion by the Southern states desirous of maintaining their “peculiar institution”—chattel slavery. Ah, the Bad Ole Days…

But those days are not to be, ever again. Despite the never-ending struggle by the wealthiest 1 percent of the population to increase their grip on the 50 percent (or better) of the world’s wealth, which they control, they want the remaining 99 percent to realize the reality of the 1 percent’s superiority, and permit The Washington Informer

them to make all the decisions, whose benefits will eventually trickle down to the rest of us.

The genie is out of the bottle 1 percenters. Truth is in the world to set the captives free.

So, the U.S. Republican Party in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election cycle is doubling down its bets on fatally flawed, conservative, White supremacy philosophy, rather than trying to trick the public, as George W. Bush did, to believe that he was a moderate. Bush then governed like an arch-conservative, as he

was instructed to do by Vice President Dick Cheney and the cabal of neo-conservatives with which he was surrounded.

Today, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is leading the charge leading up to 2016. He kicked off his campaign last week at tiny Liberty University in Virginia—in the same symbolic way in 1980, Reagan kicked off his presidential campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the site of the 1964 murders of Civil Rights workers

MUHAMMAD Page 46 Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

29

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Youth Riding High with New Baseball Uniforms

Nationals Support Little League Teams From Across the District

By Rachel Sudduth WI Intern When the Washington D.C. Little League season officially begins on Saturday, March 28, the youthful little league players will say farewell to their uniforms from last season and welcome their new jerseys, sponsored by the Washington Nationals.

Donning their fresh, crisp new athletic quality red, blue and white t-shirt, caps and two-buttoned pullover jerseys, the children seemed more than proud to be part of the Opening Day festivities, held on Saturday, March 28 at Payne Elementary in Southeast.

Tugging on his brand new red baseball cap, Derrick Lewis, 12, from Howard University Middle School, embraced the new look.

“I feel confident,” Derrick said. “The new uniform really means business, like us. We mean business,” he repeated, referring to the numerous victories and other achievements he’s accomplished over the past six years of being involved with Capitol Hill Little League baseball.

The Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy partnered with D.C. Little League and D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation Rookie League players to drive the vision of positive character development, team sportsmanship, as well as a safe after-school environment for youth in grades three to eight.

The Washington Informer

Launched in March 2014 by the Academy, the nine-acre education and recreation campus in D.C.’s Ward 7 Fort Dupont Park is an 18,000 square feet clubhouse featuring seven complete classrooms, a full teaching kitchen and multi-purpose training and education space.

The basic core of the after-school programming takes place three days a week during the academic school year and involves more than 140 third, fourth, and fifth grade boys and girls from D.C. school districts across the city including students east of the Anacostia River and other at-risk communities in Washington D.C. The diverse background and various age groups is what makes the eight distinct little league baseball teams special, according to Washington Nationals Vice President of Community Engagement, Gregory McCarthy.

“Baseball is a sport that uniquely brings people together.

Size doesn’t matter, skill does,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said he remains impressed by the comradery of the youth in Wards 3, 4, 5 and 8.

“Kids connect with role models, build teamwork, and learn life skills from baseball,” he said.

Lisa Raymond, a member of the Board of Directors for Capitol Hill Little League, said there are more than 500 children engaged in Capitol Hill’s softball and baseball teams.

“There are no questions asked

if a child needs financial assistance,” Raymond said. “We offer scholarships for any child that meets the two requirements that are listed on our website.”

According to Capitol Hill Little League’s website, the two requirements students must meet include: children may participate if they are at least 6 years old in 2015 or will not be 15 before April 30, 2015; and youth must play in their designated age group unless they receive a recommendation from their prior year coach indicating they are well-prepared and able to play at a higher level.

Bridging the gap between atrisk communities and equal opportunities to succeed in Olympic categorized sports are a part of NCLL and the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy’s initiative to foster coaching and mentored relationships.

The Opening Day festival contributes to upcoming plans for little league teams this season. One of the special featured guests, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser mingled with children and their parents.

“I want our children to know that their job is to treasure their youthfulness by going to school and having fun,” she said.

Bowser added that with the District in full support of the current 500 families involved in little league activities, good sportsman will be around for years to come. WI

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Black Women Unite at Local Conference

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins Hundreds of activists, business owners, artists, and educators from around the D.C. metropolitan area and across the United States closed Women’s History Month at an event during which they immersed themselves in African-centered studies, culture, food and dance as part of an effort to raise awareness around issues affecting women of the Diaspora.

During the three-day conference touted as the Black Power Women’s Conference, more than 200 guests, many of whom sported multicolor African fabrics, head wraps, and jewelry, listened to Pan-African academics, took part in wealth building and community economics seminars, danced the various sounds of the Motherland, nibbled on vegan meals, and purchased trinkets, books and photos.

“We wanted to raise an awareness of the women in our community and around the area doing great work in the movement,” said Kristina Jacobs, secretary of the D.C. chapter of the National Black United Front (NBUF), organizer of the Black Power Women’s Conference.

The gathering, which kicked off on Friday, March 27 in Howard University’s Blackburn Center, followed a forum about domestic violence at the Emergence Arts Collective in Northwest earlier that week and the organization’s Malcolm X Conference at Howard last month.

“We also wanted to build a network of likeminded, African-focused businesswomen and leaders and get them in the same space sharing and talking about issues revolving around women. We’ve been able to get Africans from the continent and Diaspora together and the diversity has been great. Our keynote speakers are really challenging us to think about relationships between women in the movement, relationships between men and women in the movement, and internal struggles that affect our psychological, emotional, physical, spiritual, and intellectual awareness and effectiveness as people trying to better our communities,” Jacobs, 22, said.

The weekend’s festivities opened up with a tribute to Harriet Tubman that included the singing of the Negro national

Members of the National Black United Front participated in a fashion last Saturday during the organization’s Black Power Women’s Conference at Howard University’s Blackburn Center. /Photo courtesy of NBUF

anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and spoken word performances. On Friday evening, revelers enjoyed musical performances by Aly, Shiral, Dre Skuffs & JP and an Ethiopian Eskista dance. Participants later dissected how the media detrimentally portrays black women.

Toward the end of the first night, Dr. Leah Daughtry, a founding member of NBUF, regaled the audience with the story of the organization’s inception in the wake of boycotts of stores in downtown Brooklyn in the late 1970s. During her presentation, Daughtry focused on the women who kept the fervor of the movement high in NBUF’s infancy and later years, particularly Hattie Worrell, wife of a former NBUF national chairman, and Safiya Bandele, a former professor at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, N.Y. “The planning and building of this movement happened every day, rain, snow, or sleet,” Daughtry told the audience on Friday evening. “There were people downtown boycotting stores until we got what we needed. The women were present at every rally. Our success attracted activists from all over the country. The women had this boldness that showed us young girls that women could be anything, even the security force.

They protected our leadership and people. They showed us

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how courage and valor looked.

That’s why we call their names.”

New NBUF member Christine Hall said the Black Power Women’s Conference showed the tangible rewards of her affiliation including the opportunity to learn more about the organization’s history and African culture in the company of other conscious women of color.

“This conference gave people a chance to explore their heritage and share while being in a safe environment,” said Hall, program coordinator at the National Black Child Development Institute in Northwest.

“Many of us are uneducated about the movement. Events like this help us connect with our folks across the Diaspora.

The gentleman who performed on Friday evening had positive things to say about black women. The musical performances and other activities at this conference also broadens our understanding of art,” said Hall, 25, a Northwest resident.

Local social worker Shannon Young shared Hall’s sentiments, noting that NBUF highlighted the importance of the black woman in communities around the world that experience high levels of drug abuse, poverty, unemployment and illiteracy.

“This weekend, I got more knowledge about NBUF, an organization I didn’t really know about, after attending this conThe Washington Informer

LIFESTYLE ference, “said Young, 25. “The black woman is the rock. She keeps it going. That’s where life begins so we have to get the black woman in order if we want to keep the world in order. I got some cultural competence in terms of the Ethiopian dance. I liked what I saw and I can’t wait to see more,” said Young who lives in Southeast.

Throughout the rest of the weekend, people relished in their African heritage during a fashion show, dance performance by the Malcolm X Drummers & Dancers and info sessions about natural childbirth and natural hair symbolism and maintenance.

Guests also discussed effective ways to build solidarity among people of color around the world with presentations by international renowned psychologist Dr. Frances Cress Welsing and a financial planning workshop led

by Jennipher Snowden, the vice president of strategic planning at Industrial Bank, the District’s only black-owned bank.

Dr. Valencia Watkins, an educator and researcher at Howard University, later examined the impact of women in the Black Power movement and sparked a discussion about what the future held.

The Black Power Women’s Conference ended on a reflective note with a presentation by accomplished anthropologist Dr. Marimba Ani who implored the younger members of the audience to strategically organize and combat what she described as an intricate plot to rid the world of people of color.

Uniting around African sovereignty, Ali said, means that one should truly understand and embrace their African heritage unabashedly.

“Either we understand what it means to be African or we cease to be. We’re looking at the possibility of our extermination,” Ali told the audience on Sunday afternoon. “We should not be asking for piecemeal changes because we want America to be an easier place for black people. We don’t get power that way. The power is in our connectedness to Africa. That’s in family ownership and reciprocal relationships that are non-exploitative.

African culture is a protective mechanism that’s grounded in our historical conscience.”WI

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Redskins’ Cheerleader Death Examined in New Book

By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer The story of Debbie Flores has always fascinated.

Raised in Baltimore where she attended Old Mill High School, the Puerto Rico-born Flores earned two college degrees, one in business and the other in law at the University of Baltimore and at Towson.

And, as much as her academic and brief show business career impressed, Flores’ lasting impression locally has always been how well she represented the Washington Redskins, serving in 2007 as the team’s cheerleading ambassador which took her all over the District and in Maryland at various community events.

Since her tragic death in December of 2010, many still hold on to the memories she left behind, including television news reporter Carolina Sarassa, who’s authored a new book about Flores called, “Dancing on Her Grave: The Murder of a Las Vegas Showgirl.”

“Debbie Flores was a vivacious, college-educated Washington Redskins cheerleader who seemingly had it all when she headed for Las Vegas. Leaving behind a successful career as an attorney in high finance, she had aspirations of stardom as a showgirl,” Sarassa writes in the 304-page tome that’s scheduled for release on April 7.

Sarassa, a three-time Emmy award-winning journalist who’s

currently an anchor and correspondent for MundoFox National Network News in Los Angeles, said Flores’ rise and her murder occurred all too quick.

“In short order, Debbie found herself preparing for her solo debut at the legendary Luxor,” Sarassa says. “But one day, after morning rehearsals, no one saw her alive again.”

Sarassa had just started her new job as a reporter at a Spanish-language television station in Las Vegas when she received a Facebook message from a viewer imploring her to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a friend.

Like Sarassa, the viewer was originally from Colombia and a bond quickly formed between them.

She said an ambiguous text message Flores left behind for her mother led authorities to her charismatic boyfriend, Jason “Blu” Griffith, an internationally celebrated Cirque de Soleil performer.

When the details of Debbie’s murder emerged, it was revealed that Blu was hiding a terrible secret, one that involved a rental van, bags of cement, two plastic tubs, and a handsaw.

Flores’ dreams of a dazzling career had ended in grisly, nightmarish fashion.

“Carolina certainly related to it on a personal level, being a young Latina herself,” her publicist, Elliott Chang said in an email.

“As a journalist, she has been

trained to leave her work at the office and not bring it home.

However, this case struck her very differently,” Chang said.

The defense team for Jason “Blu” Griffith claimed Flores was a stalker and that he killed her in self-defense.

However, as she covered the case as a reporter Sarassa questioned that contention and during her subsequent research for her book, she drew a different conclusion altogether, as she was privy to the full breadth of evidence that was not entirely admissible in court.

“Carolina’s goal in writing the book was simply to provide an account of what really happened. In so doing, she would hopefully provide some insight to the question of how some-

Former Redskins Cheerleader Ambassador Debbie Flores’ life is detailed in a new book. /Photo Courtesy

thing this horrific could happen to a young woman with so much promise,” Chang said.

At an emotional private memorial service on Jan. 13, 2011, her parents, sister Celeste Flores Narvaez and others paid tribute to Flores and recalled her as passionate about life and dancing.

They praised her success at landing a job on the famed Las Vegas Strip.

A day later, a public memorial was held inside the Luxor on the Fantasy stage where Flores performed.

“How could a girl with such passion and promise come to an end so violent and unexpected?

I hope this book will provide some insight,” Sarassa said.

To purchase the book, visit www. amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble. com. WI

Journalist Carolina Sarassa has written a book about the murder of former Redskins cheerleader Debbie Flores. /Photo Courtesy

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ACTION TRAVEL Commission $600-$800/Wk. Travel USA! Represent TB SALES Paid Expenses during training.

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1-678-788-4566 D.C. youth participated in a step show to raise awareness about drug and alcohol use by teens. /Photo courtesy Howard University

D.C. Youth Step Out Against Drugs

By Tonesha Townsel Howard University News Service On a brisk Saturday afternoon (March 28), children and parents from across metro Washington poured into Howard University’s Cramton Auditorium to help fight the use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco – by step dancing.

It’s called Stomp D.A.T., a youth step show featuring local area teams showcasing their talents by stepping to promote public awareness about the dangers of using certain legal and illegal substances, namely drugs, alcohol and tobacco, thus the acronym, D.A.T. The organizers said they hope the show will help dispel myths about use of the substances.

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the most common excuse for using drugs is that they aren’t harmful because they are “natural.” Nearly 4.2 million people over the age of 12 had a drug abuse or addiction problem, according to the Institute.

Tony Redz, radio personality for WPGC 95.5, hosted the event and kept the crowd laughing with stints of comedy between each performance.

“Man. all the stomping and sweating and working – those kids stomping so hard they got my heart beating fast. I knew I should have slowed down with those hors d’oeuvres in the back.

I’m getting tired just looking at them kids,” he said.

“Y’all gone have to help

me, though. I don’t know how to pronounce half of what y’all put in these introductions.”

Stomp D.A.T. is sponsored by the Federal City alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Federal City Public Service Foundation, both in Washington. They aim to teach the youth confidence and the meaning of sister and brotherhood. They also teach leadership through the power of step.

Coach Simone Martin for team Junior Stomp of Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Fort Washington, Maryland said the primary goal of her team is to minister to people through stepping.

“This is why we incorporate scriptures as well as gospel music to our routines,” Martin said. “You never know who may need to be touched by the word of God. Also, it allows them to show the community that just because we are a church affiliated step team, doesn’t mean we can’t do what other step teams do.”

Martin said the program also allows the church to mentor the girls who make up the team with school, homework or helping them with discipline.

“Performing gives them the chance to display who they are and their different characteristics,” she said “They show themselves in the skits they take on as well as their facial expressions and intensity.”

Before the announcement of the victors, Dr. M. Joycelyn Elders, the nation’s 16th Surgeon General, was presented with an

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award for her service and leadership by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

This year’s competition, the 13th year of the program, showcased eight teams, including the Polly Stompettes/P.Bodies, Beltsville Steppers, Eagle Steppers, Dem’ Raider Boyz, Steppers With Class, Jaguar Steppers, Jr. Stomp and On Pointe Step Team.

Howard University student Candace Paschal, who has seen her share of stepping with the university’s various fraternities and sororities, said she was impressed by the performances.

“I was just completely speechless,” Paschal said. “I wouldn’t have guessed that some of these teams were elementary and high school students. And those guys that came out there in blue, man, honestly, some of the teams inside could rival some of them out there on the (university’s) yard.”

At the end of the night, Eagle Steppers were awarded first place in the Beginners’ Steppers Division. Jaguar Steppers placed 2nd in the All Teams Division.

The showstoppers of the night were Dem’ Raider Boyz, who took home first place in the All Teams Division.

For treatment and help for friends and family addicted to drugs or alcohol, call the referral hotline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357), or visit findtreatment. samhsa.gov for local treatment programs. WI The Washington Informer

UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH MRC AN ORIGINAL FILM/ONE RACE FILMS PRODUCTION VIN DIESEL PAUL WALKER GIBSON CHRISEXECUTIVE ‘ LUDACRIS’ BRIDGES JORDANA BREWSTER DWAYNE JOHNSON “FURIOUS 7” MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ TYRESE AMANDA LEWIS SAMANTHA VINCENT DJIMON HOUNSOUBASEDWITHONKURT RUSSELL AND JASON STATHAM MUSICBY BRIAN TYLER PRODUCERS PRODUCED

BY NEAL H. MORITZ p.g.a. VIN DIESEL MICHAEL FOTTRELL CHRIS MORGAN CHARACTERS CREATED BY GARY SCOTT THOMPSON WRITTEN DIRECTED

BY CHRIS MORGAN

BY JAMES WAN A UNIVERSAL PICTURE SOUNDTRACK ON ATLANTIC RECORDS

<50=,9:(3 :;<+06:

STARTS FRIDAY, APRIL 3

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news@washingtoninformer.com 5.625"

Iconic Songstress to Make D.C. Appearance

Dianne Reeves Showcased at Kennedy Center

By D. Kevin McNeir WI Managing Editor

10.5"

One of the world’s most talented female jazz vocalists, Dianne Reeves, returns to the District for what will undoubtedly be a true “tour de force” on Saturday, April 11 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Northwest.

Reeves, the recent recipient of a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her “Beautiful Life” CD, continues to display her stellar ability to combine elements of R&B, Latin and pop all within the framework of contemporary jazz.

“At its essence, life is beautiful and I wanted to celebrate that which is too often overlooked,” Reeves said.

The recording is her debut work for Concord Records.

The CD offers a plethora of soul-stirring, longtime favorite songs including Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You” and Ani DiFranco’s “32 Flavors.” Other tracks that will warm the heart and soul include two new songs, “Cold” and “Satiated” which have been described by one writer as “emotionally volcanic.”

The recording, produced by Terri Lyne Carrington, features an admirable cast of veterans in-

Discussion / Book Signing Friday, April 10th, 12:30PM 555 12th Street Northwest Washington, D.C. (202) 347-0176 The PBS host and bestselling author reflects on his 28-year friendship with the late Maya Angelou and how it shaped his personal and professional lives.

Priority seating with book purchase.

Get more info and get to know your favorite writers at BN.COM/events. All events subject to change, so please contact the store to confirm.

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cluding bassists Esperanza Spalding and Richard Bona, vocalists Gregory Porter and Lalah Hathaway, pianists Robert Glasper and Gerald Clayton and Reeves’ cousin and frequent longtime collaborator, the late George Duke.

Reeves has certainly proven herself in an industry that has few female vocalists that can match her vocal skills. A fourtime Grammy winner, she has recorded and extensively performed with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis.

Marsalis said, “She has one of the most powerful, purposeful and accurate voices of this or any time.”

Most recently, Reeves appeared throughout George Clooney’s award winning film, “Good Night and Good Luck,” performing every song on the Grammy-winning soundtrack.

In addition, she has been touring in a musical program, “Sing the Truth,” a celebration of the great Nina Simone in which Lizz Wright and Angelique Kidjo were also featured.

If you have never experienced the magic that is Dianne Reeves, you may want to enjoy the ride at the Kennedy Center next week.

Make it a post-Easter gift to someone special. WI

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LIFESTYLE

Griot

TAURUS Your energy level is marvelous, and you are probably getting a great deal of work done in an unusually facile manner. Bless your lucky stars, and stay on track. Expect to hear from a friend this week. Soul Affirmation: I entertain wild ideas about making money this week. Lucky Numbers: 40, 46, 52

by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld c.2015, Disney Hyperion $16.99 / $17.99 Canada 293 pages

GEMINI A little space from your current love interest seems to be in order. Use a brief time-out to remember the unique and wonderful personality traits of the person you love. Don’t forget to tell her or him of your love! Keep your heart open. Soul Affirmation: Smooth communication is the key to my success this week. Lucky Numbers: 19, 30, 32

Oh, how you hate to lose!

You hate it so much, in fact, that it’s not really an option: you’ll do anything and work hardest to make sure that you’re not finishing last. It’s all or nothing for you and in the new book “Stealing the Game” by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld, it’s about more than how you play the game.

Everyone at Orangetree Middle School knew that thirteen-year-old Chris Richards was someone they could trust, a decent-enough student, but kind of quiet.

Even Chris himself would admit that, and he was okay with it. He always thought his observation skills were better than anything else he did, except maybe basketball.

Yep, Chris was a good kid. So it came as a huge surprise to everyone when a cop came to algebra class and escorted him to the principal’s office.

The whole mess started four days earlier.

Jax, Chris’s older brother was the “Golden Boy.” Always likeable, good-hearted, smart, capable, and responsible, Jax had spent the last year at Stanford University on a full scholarship, studying to being a lawyer.

The Richards – both lawyers – were proud of him but when Jax came home and announced that he’d quit school, well, it was like World War III had started in the living room.

Chris had always looked up to Jax, and Jax’s behavior didn’t make sense. Then again, in Chris’s world, not much did. Girls were a total mystery, teachers were a surprise, and most of his classes were a struggle. But basketball… now, that made sense.

For Chris, the only thing better than a good pick-up game was drawing comics.

Ever since his parents started pushing Chris toward college, he wished he could tell them that being a comic book artist was what he wanted to do someday. He loved comics, loved collecting them, and he loved imagining ways that his own main character, Master Thief, could save the world.

But Master Thief couldn’t save Jax. Jax, in fact, was in big trouble and he needed Chris’s help with a real burglary.

Jax, you see, had a secret life, too…

Ka-thunk-ka-thunk-ka-thunk. If you’ve got a basketball fan around, that’s a familiar sound at your house. But you’ll silence that sound for a few hours, if you can swap the ball for this book.

More than just a basketball novel, “Stealing the Game” is also a mystery, solved by a sharp, smart, funny and genuinely nice thirteen-year-old. The real Dream Team of authors Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld introduce readers to that kind of kid, the one you wish your kids would hang out with; but while Chris Richards is surely the star here, the rest of the appealed to me, too. And the book’s Big Reveal? It’s perfect.

Three points.

Another nice thing: there’s a strong girl b-baller, as well, which means that this isn’t just a book for boys. Actually, it’s not just a book for kids, either; it’s for anybody, any age. “Stealing the Game” is a win.

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CANCER This is truly your week. Take a break from any disappointments that you may have been remembering and move toward the Now with a wise heart. Your attention may focus on personal health and ways to make yours better. Soul Affirmation: I exercise to lower tension this week. Lucky Numbers: 9, 17, 24 LEO Family matters will be pleasant this week, but save your evenings for your romantic partner. The vibes support a mutually wonderful experience that will deepen your appreciation for one another! Soul Affirmation: I obey the rules this week and avoid hassles. Lucky Numbers: 1, 2, 46 VIRGO You lucky ducklings! Everything goes your way this week, so relax and enjoy the abundant and wonderful soul vibrations. Make calls early in the week so that you can cruise through the afternoon. Soul Affirmation: I find peace in spending time out of doors this week. Lucky Numbers: 18, 29, 36 LIBRA A project at work may suddenly demand your attention. If you pounce on it rather than waiting for it to go away (it won’t), you’ll be finished by lunchtime. Your speed and agility enable you to work smart; use your advantage. Soul Affirmation: By going slowly I get there faster this week. Lucky Numbers: 14, 40, 55

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ARIES Balance is an important skill. If you’ve been working too hard, the urge to play is going to be nearly irresistible this week. However, if you’ve been playing too hard, it’s a terrific week to restore some order to your work. Keep smiling! Soul Affirmation: I quiet all confusion. Lucky Numbers: 11, 26, 27

“Stealing the Game”

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Horoscopes

SCORPIO Talk it up this week. You’ve got a gift with words this week that will facilitate all endeavors. If you’ve been meaning to ask for a raise, this week might be the day to broach the subject with the boss. Trust your instincts! Soul Affirmation: By rewarding others I reward myself. Lucky Numbers: 51, 53, 54 SAGITTARIUS Energy in the mornings will be more productive than the energy you feel in the afternoons. Work hard early each day. Then take the afternoons off to play. Better yet, get your honey to join you in playing hooky from work! Soul Affirmation: I give thanks for the chance to give. Lucky Numbers: 31, 42, 52 CAPRICORN Finding a way to do it better than others is not going to be hard this week. Share your wisdom with other seekers. All who receive your word will benefit this week. Happiness rules! Don’t waste a moment of this perfect week on any negative thoughts. Soul Affirmation: I create a positive world for myself by thinking positive. Lucky Numbers: 11, 13, 18 AQUARIUS Strong vibrations bring a series of dramatic interactions with others this week. Practice your charm. Let it come from the heart, and let your energy carry you upwards to your best, highest self. Keep emotions calm. Soul Affirmation: In the storms of the week I find comfort inside myself.

Lucky Numbers: 25, 28, 30 PISCES People often forget about the roaming side to your personality.

This week is a week when you’ll love thinking about “faraway places with strange sounding names,” as the song says. What you do about your urges is yet another matter. Home calls too. What a week! Soul Affirmation: I smile as I think about faraway paces. Lucky Numbers: 42, 47, 49

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SPORTS

D.C. United Defeats Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0

D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid comes off his line to punch out a corner kick from above the heads of players during Major League Soccer (MLS) action on Saturday, March 28 at the Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial Stadium (RFK) in Southeast.

The United defeated the Galaxy 1-0. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

United forward Chris Pontius and Galaxy defender Robbie Rogers fight for ball possession during the second half of MLS action on Saturday, March 28 at RFK Stadium in Southeast. The United defeated the Galaxy 1-0. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

WARD 8 TOWN HALL MEETING

DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and DC Water General Manager George S. Hawkins are co-hosting a town hall meeting to discuss water projects and issues impacting your community.

• Water Rates • Clean Rivers • Drinking Water

• Billing Issues • Infrastructure • Job Opportunities

For more information, visit dcwater.com/rates or call the DC Water Office of External Affairs at (202) 787-2200.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015 • 6:30-8:30 p.m.

R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center • 2730 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE

United forward Jairo Arrieta attempts to cross the ball to center before defender Omar Gonzalez can stop him during the second half of MLS action on Saturday March 28 at RFK Stadium in Southeast. The United defeated the Galaxy 1-0. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

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PHIL MENDELSON DC COUNCIL CHAIRMAN

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The National Newspaper Publishers Association held its annual Torch Awards Dinner at the Marriott Hotel on Friday, March 27. Awards were handed out to (top left) Filmmaker Jeff Friday (Entertainment), (top right) B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr. (right), president and CEO of the Industrial Bank (Business) presented by U.S. Chamber president Ron Busby, Atty. Benjamin Crump (Newsmaker) with George and Ann Curry, and Jennifer S. Carroll, former lieutenant governor of Florida, honored for her successful political career with NNPA Chair Cloves C. Campbell, Jr. (Below) Recipients take photo-op with NNPA officials. /Photos by Shevry Lassiter

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RELIGION

The Religion Corner

This Day In History: April 4, 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is Assassinated

The Griffin Firm, PLLC Committed to providing services and supports to increase the capacity of individuals, businesses, and communities.

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Tune in on ‘Good Friday’ to hear my interview with Rev. Bernice A. King, CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Non-Violent Social Change. Rev. King, who will be my guest on, ‘Think on These Things,’ on Radio One’s Spirit 1340-AM on WYCB at 6:00 pm, will talk about the continued moratorium on gun violence that she is shepherding!

The King Center sent me the schedule for the weekend of Saturday, April 4th, 2015, and how the commemoration of the 47th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King will again be remembered.

They are calling on this continued moratorium on violence for the day, which kicked off last year, on April 4, 2014, by asking everyone to commit to “No Shots Fired.” This means abstaining from shots fired by the ‘tongue’ (speech), ‘fists’ (physical violence), or ‘guns’ (gun violence and media that glorifies gun violence). “This is just one of the ways we can begin to turn the tide of escalating violence in our world,” stated Bernice A. King.

Reverend King also announced that The King Center will remember the assassination of her father by convening a forum, “A Moratorium on Violence: It Starts with Me!” on Saturday, April 4, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. in The Center’s Freedom Hall Auditorium. The forum will include thought-provoking videos and a facilitated, interactive discussion with diverse participants addressing our Right(s) versus our Responsibility to the Beloved Community.

Rights that we will be discussed include: A Right to Protest, A Right to Freedom of Speech, A Right to Bear Arms, A Right to Profit and A Duty to Serve and Protect in the case of law enforcement. A Moratorium on Violence: It Starts with Me is free and open to the public.

Anyone in the Atlanta area is welcome.

Following the forum, at 4:00 p.m., King Center CEO Bernice A. King, other members of the King family, along with representatives of the National Park Service, will participate in a silent wreath-laying ceremony at the crypt of Dr. King and Mrs. Coretta Scott King.

If you are a leader in your community, help Rev. Bernice A. King to spread the word of this annual moratorium of “No Shots Fired on April 4!”

It was just after 6 p.m. on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot while standing on the balcony outside his second-story room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

The civil rights leader was in Memphis to support a sanitation workers’ strike and was on his way to dinner when a bullet struck him in the jaw and severed his spinal cord. King was pronounced dead after his arrival at a Memphis hospital. He was 39 years old.

During Dr. King’s last sermon in Memphis; he said “We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop…And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain.

And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there

with Lyndia Grant with you, but we as a people, will get to the promise land!

In honor of her father’s legacy of non-violence and his sacrifice for our civil and human rights, Reverend King is urging Americans to: “…make April 4th a day of meditation and action to prevent physical and spiritual violence in our homes, communities and nation.”

“We will be able to honor my father’s legacy in a way that serves the cause of nonviolent change, for which he gave his life.”

Lyndia Grant is a speaker, radio talk show host and columnist; visit her new website at www.lyndiagrant. com and, call 202-263-4621. Listen Friday, 6 p.m., to the talk show, 1340 AM, WYCB, a Radio One Station; Address 1250 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036.

(301) 864-6070

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RELIGION BAPTIST

AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL

Pilgrim Baptist Church

Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

Pilgrim Baptist Church

The Reverend Lyndon Shakespeare Interim Priest

Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor

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

Schedule of Service Sunday Service: 8:30 AM & 11:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM Communion Service: First Sunday

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

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

Church School - 9:30 a.m.

Sunday Morning Worship – 10:45 a.m.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday Men’s Bible Study - 6:30p.m.

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

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

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

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

“God is Love”

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

Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m.

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

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

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

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

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

Twelfth Street Christian Church (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”

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

Communion every Sunday 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School 10:00 a.m.

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

Motto; “Discover Something Wonderful.”

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

Mailing Address Campbell AME Church 2502 Stanton Road SE Washington, DC 20020

Mount Carmel Baptist Church

Mt. Zion Baptist Church

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

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.

3845 South Capitol Street Washington, DC 20032 (202) 562-5576 (Office) (202) 562-4219 (Fax)

Reverend Daryl K. Kearney, Pastor

Holy Communion 4th Sunday 10:00am Prayer and Bible Study Wednesday 7;00pm

301-894-6464

Drs. Dennis W. and Christine Y. Wiley, Pastors

Campbell AME Church

Sunday Worship Service 8:00am and 11:00am Sunday School 9:15am

700 I Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 547-8849

Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ

Dr. Dekontee L. & Dr. Ayele A. Johnson Pastors

www.blessedwordoflifechurch.org e-mail: church@blessedwordoflifechurch.org

4915 Wheeler Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745

www.livingwatersmd.org

Blessed Word of Life Church

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

Rev. Paul Carrette Senior Pastor Harold Andrew, Assistant Pastor

www.pilgrimbaptistdc.org

All are welcome to St. Mary’s to Learn, Worship, and Grow.

4001 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 (202) 265-6147 Office 1-800 576-1047 Voicemail/Fax

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 Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

The Washington Informer

www.washingtoninformer.com

RELIGION BAPTIST

Shabbath Commandment Church 7801 Livingston Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-534-5471 Bishop Adrian A. Taylor, Sr. Pastor Sabbath School 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Service 11:00 a.m. Praise & Worship Preaching 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Motto: “A Church Keeping It Real for Real.”

Website: Shabbathcommandmentchruch.org Email: Praisebetoyhwh@gmail.com

Zion Baptist Church

All Nations Baptist Church

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

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

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 Institute Wednesday - 1:30 pm Prayer Meeting Wednesday - 12:00 Noon

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)

Lincoln Park United Methodist Church Rev. Dr. Diane Dixon Proctor, Pastor 1301 North Carolina Ave. N E Washington, D C 20002 202 543 1318 lpumconthegrow@gmail.com

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

www.lpumcdc.org Sunday worship 10: am Holy Communion first Sunday 10: am Sunday school 9: am Bible Study each Wednesday @ 12 noon and 6:30pm Motto: “A CHURCH ON THE GROW”.

ChurCh Printing

20% Off PrOgrams & BOOklets

Dr. Lucius M. Dalton, Senior Pastor 1636 East Capitol Street, NE Washington, DC 20003 Telephone: 202-544-5588 Fax: 202-544-2964

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

St. Matthews Baptist Church

2324 Ontario Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-1730

2001 North Capitol St, N.E. • Washington, DC 20002 Phone (202) 832-9591

Rev. Dr. Morris L Shearin, Sr. Pastor

St. Luke Baptist Church

Rev. Daryl F. Bell Pastor

Rev. Dr. James Coleman Pastor

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

Rehoboth Baptist Church

l l l l

Copies Color Copies fax services tee shirts scan & email service lamination

Quality Printers 301 kennedy street, nW Washington, DC 20011

tel: 202-291-6565 Salem Baptist Church

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

Sermon On The Mount Temple Of Joy Apostolic Faith

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

Rev. Dr. George C. Gilbert SR. Pastor

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

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

Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 a.m.

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

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

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

Midweek Prayer: Wednesday – 7:00 p.m.

Noonday Prayer Every Thursday

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

Matthews Memorial Baptist Church Dr. C. Matthew Hudson, Jr, Pastor

Elder Herman L. Simms, Pastor

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

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

Shiloh Baptist Church

Peace Baptist Church

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

First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Rev. 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.

Theme: “The Kingdom Focused Church” Matthew 6:33 and Mathew 28:18-20, KJV Email: stmatthewsbaptist@msn.com Website: www.stmatthewsbaptist.org

Motto: : “Where God is First and Where Friendly People Worship”

www.washingtoninformer.com

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

Rev. Alonzo Hart Pastor

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

Christ Embassy DC

6839 Eastern Avenue, R1 Takoma Park, MD 20912 (202) 556-7065

1864-2014

150 Years of Service

Holy Trinity United Baptist Church

The Washington Informer

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

Wednesday Bible Study 7:00 P.M. 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 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.

Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

41

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Probate Division

Probate Division

Probate Division

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Administration No. 2015 ADM 326

Administration No. 2015 ADM 302

Carolyn E. Jordan

Rother Calvin Owens

Decedent

Decedent

Larry C. Williams, Esq.

Aimee D. Griffin, Esq.

7600 Georgia Avenue, NW #405

1353 Sheridan Street, NW

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Washington, DC 20012

Washington, DC 20011

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Attorney

Attorney

SW, Washington, DC 20032, was appointed Personal

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Representative of the estate of Hildrus Alexander Burrus,

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Bria S. Bailey, whose address is 2227 1st Street, NW,

Johnnie Frazier, whose address is 10209 Windsor View

Washington, DC 20001, was appointed Personal

Drive, Potomac, MD 20854, was appointed Personal

will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs

Representative of the estate of Carolyn E. Jordan, who

Representative of the estate of Rother Calvin Owens,

and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter

died on October 12, 2014 without a Will, and will

who died on October 18, 2013 without a Will, and

their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such

serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and

will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs

appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills,

without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision.

heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their

and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter

All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are

appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such

their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such

D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor

20001, on or before October 2, 2015. Claims against

unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding.

appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills,

appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills,

Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before October 2, 2015.

the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with

D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor

D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor

a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register

Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before October 2, 2015.

Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before October 2, 2015.

of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the

Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the

October 2, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed

undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed

undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed

on or before October 2, 2015, or be forever barred.

shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the

with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned,

with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned,

Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent

Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with

on or before October 2, 2015, or be forever barred.

on or before October 2, 2015, or be forever barred.

who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25

a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 19,

Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent

Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent

days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of

who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25

who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25

days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of

days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of

Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of first publication:

Date of first publication:

April 2, 2015

April 2, 2015

Bria S. Bailey

Johnnie Frazier

Personal Representative

Personal Representative

Administration No. 2015 ADM 241 Hildrus Alexander Burrus Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Patricia L. Williams, whose address is 4016 1st Place,

who died on December 27, 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.

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 2, 2015 Patricia L. Williams Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY

TRUE TEST COPY

Anne Meister

Anne Meister

Register of Wills

Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Administration No. 2015 ADM 265

Administration No. 2014 ADM 1167

Register of Wills

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 September 26, 2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 26, 2015, 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:

Attorney Tresa R. Welch-Johnson, whose address is 3514 7th St., SE, Washington, DC 20032, was appointed Personal

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Representative of the estate of George W. Welch, Jr.,

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

who died on February 27, 2015 without a Will, and

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,

Joe T. Winston, whose address is 3318 Ames Street, NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Catherine Stancil aka Catherine Rone Stancil, who died on February 26, 2013

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 September 19, 2015. Claims against the decedent

2015, 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,

Date of first publication:

address and relationship.

April 2, 2015 Date of first publication: March 19, 2015

Tresa R. Welch-Johnson Personal Representative

Joe T. Winston Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY

Anne Meister

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Probate Division

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Administration No. 2015 ADM 288

Administration No. 2015 ADM 273

Fillmore A. Lucas, Sr.

Daniel P. Mosley aka Daniel P. Mosley, Jr.

Decedent

Decedent

Deborah D. Boddie, Esq.

Matthew F. Shannon, Esquire

1308 Ninth Street, NW, Suite 300

1420 N Street, NW, Suite 102

Washington, DC 20001

Washington, DC 20005

Attorney

Attorney

Richard Phillps, whose address is 301 Springgarden

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Rd., #80, Winslow, NJ 08095, was appointed Personal

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Fillmore A. Lucas, Jr., whose address is 3903 Terrett

Matthew S. Shannon, whose address is 1420 N Street,

on January 7, 2015 without a Will, and will serve without

Court, Alexandria, VA 22311, was appointed Personal

NW, Suite 102, Washington, DC 20005, was appointed

Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose

Representative of the estate of Fillmore A. Lucas, Sr.,

Personal Representative of the estate of Daniel P. Mosley

who died on April 29, 2014 without a Will, and will

aka Daniel P. Mosley, Jr., who died on with a Will, and

whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance

serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and

will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs

heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their

and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter

appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such

their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such

N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001,

appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills,

appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall

on or before September 26, 2015. Claims against the

on or before September 26, 2015. Claims against the

D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor

be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street,

decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a

decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a

Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 26,

N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001,

copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register

copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register

2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented

on or before September 26, 2015. Claims against the

to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills

decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a

of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before

or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the

copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register

undersigned, on or before September 26, 2015, or be

of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before

forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees

September 26, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons

of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice

believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do

of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills,

by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so

not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days

including name, address and relationship.

inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and

of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills,

relationship.

including name, address and relationship.

Date of first publication:

Date of first publication:

March 26, 2015

March 26, 2015

Fillmore A. Lucas, Jr.

Matthew S. Shannon

Personal Representative

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

TRUE TEST COPY

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Representative of the estate of Thelma Brown Harris, who died on April 22, 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,

of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 26, 2015, 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.

Register of Wills

Administration No. 2015 ADM 247 Egbert E. Wilson Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS David M. Wilson, whose address is 1831 Upshur Street, NE, Washington, DC 20018, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Egbert E. Wilson, who died

Date of first publication:

March 26, 2015

March 26, 2015

Denise Scott

Richard Phillips

Personal Representative

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

TRUE TEST COPY

Anne Meister

Anne Meister

Anne Meister

Anne Meister

Register of Wills

Register of Wills

Register of Wills

Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Washington Informer

Washington Informer

Washington Informer

42 Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

Greenbelt, MD 20770

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

with Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose

7731 Belle Point Dr.

Washington Informer

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

on September 11, 2014 without a Will, and will serve

c/o Robinson Kirlew & Associates, PC

Washington Informer

Decedent

Representative of the estate of Mary Ethel Berry, who died

Colline Silvera

Washington Informer

Thelma Brown Harris

Washington, DC 20002, was appointed Personal

Decedent

Decedent

Anne Meister

Decedent

Denise Scott, whose address is 520 23rd Place, NE,

Catherine Stancil aka Catherine Rone Stancil George W. Welch, Jr.

Register of Wills

Mary Ethel Berry

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Administration No. 2013 ADM 741

Administration No. 2015 ADM 309

TRUE TEST COPY TRUE TEST COPY

Anne Meister

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

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,

September 26, 2015, 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

Date of first publication: March 26, 2015 David M. Wilson Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY

The Washington Informer

Anne Meister Register of Wills

Washington Informer

www.washingtoninformer.com

LEGAL NOTICES SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2009 ADM 818 Edward L. Young aka Robert Edward Lee Young, Jr. aka Edward Lee Robert Young aka Edward Young Decedent Brett Cohen 7910 Woodmont Avenue, suite 1430 Bethesda, MD 20814-7047 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

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AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Brett Cohen, whose address is 7910 Woodmaont Avenue, Suite 1430, Bethesda, MD 20814-7047, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Edward L. Young aka Robert Edward Lee Young, Jr. aka Edward Lee Robert Young aka Edward Young, who died on April 29, 2009 without a Will, and will serve with Court supervision.

All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding.

Objections to such appointment (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 September 26, 2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 26, 2015, 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:

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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 Administration No. 2015 ADM 000090 Siena M. Wilson Decedent Ronald Dixon Bynum & Jenkins 1010 Cameron Street Alexandria, VA 22314 Attorney 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 Siena M. Wilson, last address, 1905 Savannah Pl., SE, WDC, who died on August 9, 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 2, 2015. 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 2, 2015, 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 2, 2015 Ronald Dixon Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills

Washington Informer

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DANIELS from Page 28 and the individual ordinances of secession of each of the Confederate states – make clear its driving force was the maintenance and expansion of its slave empire. If states that have these revenue-generating vanity-plate programs must open them to Confederate sympathizers, must they also accept the requests of drivers who want plates bearing the flags of other systems of extraordinary evil – such as the Nazi flag, or the flag of ISIS — too?

Part of what’s bothering me is that when these controversies explode, I don’t see the fierce condemnation of the values of the wrongdoers – and their parents, neighborhoods and entire racial group that’s standard procedure whenever some black youth has

done something wrong. Instead, I see many free speech advocates rush right past any consideration of the pain the offensive words cause to loftily order the individual and the group targets of the hate speech to “ignore it” or “be better than” the bigots.

In doing so, they deliberately ignore the reality that the old saying “sticks and stones may break your bones but words can never hurt you” has always been only partially true black American history is replete with many tragic episodes of racist slurs used to provoke and sustain racist violence. And now, the virulent online expressions of hatred against women whom misogynists feel are too assertive underscore the fact that sometimes offensive speech isn’t just “expression.” Sometimes it’s used as a

weapon to intimidate its target into silence.

As I said, I’m a free speech advocate. But we ought to recognize that until a half-century ago, whites, in the North and South, united in using speech and other forms of expression to deprive Americans of color of their right to free speech and other markers of citizenship.

That schizophrenic stance that marked most whites’ attitudes toward freedom of expression speech then suggests we today should simultaneously both accept in general terms the value of freedom of expression and yet also be prepared to challenge the claim that all offensive speech automatically deserves protection under its shield. And, in order to shed the taint of hypocrisy, free speech advocates ought to more thoroughly expose the bigots

who hide behind that noble idea and discuss the damage their words do.WI Lee A. Daniels is a longtime journalist based in New York City. His essay, “Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Great Provocateur,” appears in “Af-

rica’s Peacemakers: Nobel Peace Laureates of African Descent” (2014), published by Zed Books.

His new collection of columns, “Race Forward: Facing America’s Racial Divide in 2014,” is available at www.amazon.com.

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EDELMAN from Page 28

Latino) compound the harm these unfair laws are inflicting on our children and communities.

Earlier this year, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo included recommendations from his Commission on Youth, Public Safety & Justice in his 2015-16 executive budget. His proposal raises the minimum age of juvenile jurisdiction from age 7 to 12 (age 10 in rare cases of homicide). It also raises the overall age of juvenile jurisdiction to 18 and broadens the list of eligible circumstances in which young offender status can be assigned to age 21. Importantly, this means that 16- and 17-year-olds would never again be housed with adult criminals. Instead, the justice system would focus on proven

CHAVIS from Page 28 18 times the median wealth of Latino American households.

Other research also documents that income inequality in the U.S. is today the highest of all Western democracies. And of course the racial income inequality gap throughout the country continues to widen. That is why I believe that the national alert that is being issued by Waters is so timely and crucial to understand.

We know that homeownership is a major factor that provides the foundation for fundamental wealth building. We know that Black Americans disproportionately were injured during the last

services and interventions that the most current research has demonstrated result in better outcomes for youths, reduce recidivism, and keep communities safer from violent crime.

CDF’s work to raise the age in New York builds on our early work to keep children out of adult jails — recognizing inhumane conditions and great harms to children. In the foreword to our 1976 report Children in Adult Jails, Judge Justine Wise Polier, New York State’s first woman judge, who presided in New York City’s Family Court for 38 years, and at the time was director of CDF’s Juvenile Justice Division, chided states that continued to prosecute and jail children in the adult criminal justice system: “It has been over three-quarters of a century since

states began to legislate that children should be treated as children.”

Today New York and North Carolina are the only two states left that automatically treat children as adult criminals, but how pleased Judge Polier would be that Gov. Cuomo has put forward a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to juvenile justice reform that would change that. Now is the time for the New York state legislature to join him by adopting this important, long overdue change. Then North Carolina, as the last outlier, should join the rest of the states in seeking justice for children. WI Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children’s Defense Fund.

Melanie Hartzog is executive director of CDF-New York.

economic recession and housing crisis. Home foreclosures since 2008 have wrecked financial havoc for Black America and our communities still have not recovered from that economic crisis. All of these financial challenges are confronting Black America at a time when there appears to be a resurgence of predatory lending and racial discrimination in the housing sector of the economy.

The “Wealth Gap Resolution” thus far has attracted more than 50 co-sponsors that include members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Progressive Caucus. Waters concluded, “Members of Congress

on both sides of the aisle have acknowledged just how harmful inequality and the wealth gap are for many middle class families.

The time is now to meet words with actions. We have a moral obligation to address this crisis with substantive solutions.”

We thank Maxine Waters for her leadership on this issue. It is time for us to wake up and to take the necessary steps to close the wealth gap in our communities. We must not relent. We cannot afford to stay mired in poverty. Instead of generational poverty, we all should be creating generational wealth. The future is in our own hands. Let’s all work together to close the wealth gap.WI

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CURRY from Page 29 el, all rolled into one. I can’t think of a time I did not know Wade. Nor can I think of a time when he was so busy that he didn’t immediately stop what he was doing to talk to me and any other kid who sought his advice.

Wade didn’t just offer us words, he provided the example of how to live a moral, blemish-free, admirable

life.

As I reflect on his life, I am amazed about how many times Wade encouraged me even after I became an adult. When Charles Steele, a childhood friend, first became president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he presented us with a president’s award. I was honored just to have my name mentioned in the same

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breath as Wade’s. When I gave a commencement address at Alabama A&M University, where he attended and roomed with future civil rights icon Joseph Lowery, Wade was one of the first persons to greet me when I exited the stage.

One time I was back in Tuscaloosa and had just completed an interview at WTUG, the local Black radio station. When I left the studio, there waiting for me was Wade. Yes, I was one of his boys and as one of his boys, you never wanted to disappoint him. Instead, you wanted to make him proud, you wanted him to know that all of the time and wisdom that he shared with you was not a waste of time.

When I listened to others at Weeping Mary Missionary Baptist Church share memories of this impressive man, his accomplishments were remarkable in breath. For me, his greatest contribution was the impact he had on young African-Americans, especially boys, during an era of racial segregation. When so many people in society were telling us we couldn’t accomplish anything because we were black, Wade convinced us that we could do anything that we could imagine. He reminded us that we would have to work twice as hard to get half the recognition, but we could beat the odds and take our rightful place in the world.

Wade has left us physically, but a

part of him remains buried deep in our hearts. He was our shining example. And just like we didn’t want to disappoint him in life, we won’t disappoint him in death, either. WI

DANIELS from Page 29

Key findings from the Education Index include: The smallest gaps were commonly found in states with relatively small minority populations and where test scores were relatively low for each group – White, Black or Hispanic.

Higher graduation rates for Black and Latino students were also found in states where these groups are a smaller share of the population.

On average, larger gaps were found in states with large urban areas home to large populations of people of color living in highly segregated neighborhoods with high rates of concentrated high poverty.

With inequitable resourcing and the disproportionate impact of factors such as poverty and teacher quality, African-American and Latino children consistently fair worse in reading/math proficiency.

We have also included essays that feature commentary from leading fig-

ures and thought leaders in politics, the corporate arena, NGOs, academia and popular culture. This year’s contributing authors who highlight education include Sacramento Mayor and President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Kevin Johnson, NEA President Lily Eskelsen García and best-selling authors “The Three Doctors” (Dr. Sampson Davis, Dr. Rameck Hunt and Dr. George Jenkins).

This report is more important than ever. It is important because armed with data, we can all go back to our cities and create relevant plans to address stubborn problems. It is important because we, as a nation, cannot expect to sustain growth and compete globally while millions of our citizens are denied the opportunity to become productive citizens because of misguided policies or neglect. It is important because America can only be as good as its promise if that promise is kept to all Americans.WI

sional, arch-conservative Republicans dragging their party into the gutter of jingoistic politics.

Brilliant Black neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson appears to have brain damage if he believes that he can ever be president of this country after the race-hate that has been heaped on President Barack Obama. This, without a shred of support from potential Black voters who, combined with the minority of White liberal voters, made Obama’s election possible.

No, the GOP seems deadset on shifting its locus farther and farther to the right, as if their voting base—older White males—are getting larger, not smaller, and as if the proportion of Black and Brown voters who reject xenophobic, White, nationalistic policies is getting smaller.

The proportion of the White voting-age population will be smaller in 2016 than it was in 2014, when the GOP overdosed

itself on ultra-conservative Tea Party philosophy. The percentage of Black and Brown voters will be at least 2 percent larger in 2016 than it was in 2014. There will be way more vulnerable, first-term Republican senators up for reelection in 2016; much like the large number of vulnerable Democrats who got picked off in the 2014 election.

The danger is that the GOP— by tilting farther and farther to the right—is less likely to win the presidency in 2016, and could very well lose their majority control of the Senate, after just two years of what so far has proven to be an inability to effectively govern.

But who am I to offer advice for Republicans to heed? March on Tea Party! March on GOP! In this 150th anniversary year of their Civil War defeat, the White Supremacists are heading off to fight another “Lost Cause.” WI

is far too often dependent on their zip code or how much money their parents make. Without a new formula for school funding that puts the dollars where the need is greatest, the education achievement gap will grow to the detriment of our nation as we educate a workforce incapable of meeting the challenges of tomorrow.

To underscore the National Urban League’s commitment to education and our belief that quality education is a key driver to opportunity, for the first time in the report’s history, we have included a state-by-state Education Equality Index™ and ranking. This index examines state-level racial and ethnic disparities in K-12 education, documenting Black and Hispanic achievement gaps in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in comparison to White students.

MUHAMMAD from Page 29

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James Chaney, Andy Goodman and Michael Schwerner. Liberty is a conservative college in Lynchburg, Va., founded by would-be right-wing kingmaker Jerry Falwell, with a population 1,400 students. My high school had more pupils.

The message has been sent.

Cruz, who was born in Canada (not the U.S.) to a Cuban father and Irish-American mother, barely, if at all, meets the socalled “birther” standard of Constitutional eligibility to be president. He is a ball of contradictions. After his wife lost her Wall Street, designer, health coverage, he unashamedly announced that he would apply for coverage under the Affordable Care Act—Obamacare— which he led a filibuster against and a government shutdown to destroy. No shame. What a hypocrite.

There are other equally deluThe Washington Informer

George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service and BlackPressUSA.com. He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reached through his website, www.georgecurry. com. You can also follow him at www. twitter.com/currygeorge and George E. Curry Fan Page on Facebook.

See previous columns at http://www. georgecurry.com/columns.

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PEPCO AND EXELON:

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We believe the proposed merger of Pepco and Exelon will benefit the District’s residents, communities, civic life and business environment.

If approved, this merger will create savings that will be passed on in customers’ utility bills, saving families and businesses more of their hard-earned money every month. It means honoring and maintaining Pepco’s strong commitment to workforce-and supplier-diversity programs. It means more jobs for District workers.

That’s good for families, local businesses, and the District’s workforce.

It means millions of dollars more that could be used for programs such as bill credits, low-income assistance and energy efficiency programs through a $33.75 million Customer Investment Fund.

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WE SUPPORT THE PROPOSED PEPCO AND EXELON MERGER.

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48 Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2015

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