VOL. 52, NO. 51 • OCTOBER 5- 11, 2017
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
Man the Block Page 37
March for Black Women Takes Over D.C. Streets
Poll: Most Blacks Lack Essential Facts about Sickle Cell Disease
By Tatyana Hopkins WI Staff Writer
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
Black women led two marches in D.C. and more than a dozen sister rallies and marches across the country Saturday, Sept. 30, railing against the inequalities Black people — particularly women — face. The March for Black Women and the March for Racial Justice drew a crowd of thousands to march in the streets of D.C. Though both marches held separate rallies in the morning, they joined each other in Lincoln Park on Capitol Hill before marching to the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters and then to the National Mall under the directive: "Let Black women lead!" Though racism and sexism are typically seen as separate issues, event organizers said the combination of the two marches highlighted the intersectional bias women of color often face. "[Black women] live at the intersections," said Trina Greene Brown, 33, who participated in the event. "Our gender and race are not separable." Brown traveled from Los Angeles to join the march because she believes Black women are not recognized for the work they do in many of the movements they participate in including the women's rights movement and movements for racial justice. "Black women deserve to be heard," she said, adding that she hopes it is not the last march centered specifically around Black
A new poll aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of sickle cell disease among African Americans has revealed that while the majority of respondents were familiar with the illness, only onethird – 36 percent – realized that it disproportionately affects people of African descent. The poll also helped to dispel a long-held myth that African Americans typically shun clinical trials. A partnership that includes Pfizer Inc., the National Newspaper Publishers Association and Howard
WOMEN'S MARCH Page 38
5 Supporters of the Blueprint for Black Women met at Seward Square and Black Women for Racial Justice met at
Lincoln Park in Southeast where they converged in a March for Black Women, walking to the Justice Department and ending on the National Mall Saturday, Sept. 30. The march was held 20 years after the Million Women March to bring attention to the injustices Black women face. /Photo by Shevry Lassiter
SICKEL CELL Page 11
Three Make Cases for Virginia Governor By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer Three candidates seeking to replace Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe this fall may not agree on much, but each said the economy is the biggest issue facing state residents. In a wide-ranging interview with The Informer, Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, Republican candidate Ed Gillespie and Libertarian Cliff Hyra stated their case for Virginia’s highest office. “As a doctor, you might imagine that I’m a pretty good listener,” said Northam, a former Army physician and senator who assumed his current office in 2014. “And I as travel the com-
5 Democrat Ralph Northam, Republican Ed Gillespie and Libertarian Cliff Hyra /Courtesy of WRIC monwealth on this campaign, the number one that I hear from folks is that they want a job they can support themselves
and their families on. “That’s not too much to ask for and it’s why I’m committed to ensuring that every
Virginian has access to economic opportunity, no matter who they are, no matter where they live,”
VIRGINIA Page 44
Celebrating 52 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area