VOL. 54, NO. 42 • AUGUST 1 - 7, 2019
Children are Counting the Days Before School Bells Ring Once More
Capture the Moment Page 42
Pastors Defend Cummings, Baltimore from Trump Attacks Bulletproof
Sign Needed to Protect New Emmett Till Memorial
By Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer
Not since the funeral of Freddie Gray had there been so many cameras in the parking lot of the New Shiloh Baptist Church in West Baltimore. But in the wake of President Trump’s relentless attacks against Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), a previously planned bipartisan meeting of faith leaders that involved Rev. Al Sharpton and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele became national news. “Mr. President, come on down to the streets we are ready for you,” said Steele, Maryland’s former lieutenant governor of Maryland and the first black to chair the RNC. “Put down your tweet and come to Baltimore.” Steele joined more than 100 pastors for the Monday meeting in West Baltimore planned by Republican operatives that included officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Jimmy Kemp, son of former Congressman and HUD Secretary Jack Kemp. Steele, Sharpton, Republican strategist Elroy P. Sailor and officials from the NAACP and Rainbow Coalition were all part of the meeting that drew dozens of media organizations. Sharpton, who has also drawn Trump’s ire in the Baltimore dustup, said he wasn’t worried about the president’s attacks. “I have known him for 25 years and I not worried about him calling me a troublemaker,” he said. “I was a troublemaker against him with the Central Park 5. I was a troublemaker against him with the
BALTIMORE Page 39
But Lacking Similar Shields, Gunfire Overcomes the Innocent from CA to Philly By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir The heinous murder of 14-yearold Emmett Till, tortured by a tandem of whites in Mississippi in 1955, remains the preeminent example cited by Black parents in efforts to safeguard their children from falling prey to similar situations of racially-motivated hatred and violence. Yet despite its historical signifi5 Michael Steele, former RNC Chairman joins other Republicans and Democrats during a press conferenece sponsored by the Rev. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network colleagues in Baltimore on Monday, July 29. (WI photo)
BULLETS Page 37
Millennials Listen Intently as Candidates Debate the Issues
Bemoan Lack of Onstage Diversity and Limited Time for Views about Race and Flint By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill Camara Stokes Hudson raised her arms in the air and clapped when Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said the country should provide universal child care and universal pre-kindergarten, especially to help single-working mothers. Stokes Hudson, 24, who will attend law school at NYU this month, also heard and noticed
three items in Tuesday’s Democratic presidential debate that didn’t receive as much discussion: race, the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and all the people of color candidates who didn’t appear on stage. “This is one of the most diverse, presidential Democratic fields we’ve ever had. It would’ve been nice to see that diversity across the stage on both nights,” said Stokes Hudson, who graduated in 2013
DEBATES Page 52
5 Young people gathered at Halfsmoke in Northwest on Tuesday, July 30 to watch the first night of the second round of Democratic debates with members of #BlackYouthVote. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
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