PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY First Baptist Church of Highland Park’s Caravan Takes Issues Directly to Community By Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer Marion Jamison will never forget attending the 1963 March on Washington because, “I enjoyed doing that because there was such a meaning inside of me that said this is what you have to do.” But on Friday, 57 years later, Jamison and her 15-year-old granddaughter decorated the rear window of their car with “Black Lives Matter,” and the names of Freddie Gray, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and the names of
others who have been shot by the police. Their car was part of a caravan the church organized to make people aware of the issues, register to vote and encourage people to register for the census. “As a young person when I watch the news and I see my peers dying it really hurts because we are supposed to be a country with unity and we are supposed to be free but you can’t be free if you don’t have the same rights as everyone,” Tabitha Jamison. “I can’t breathe is so powerful because what possesses you to push so hard on someone’s
5 Marion Jamison (left) holds signs she created for a caravan with the First Baptist Church of Highland Park to bring attention to the lives lost to police and encourage people to participate in the census. (Hamil Harris/The Washington Informer)
neck until they couldn’t breathe. You have authority to protect, serve and help us but it doesn’t mean to kill us.” Rev. Henry P. Davis, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park, said, “World events have brought us to this point from the anniversary of Dr. King’s s dream and you realize that after 57 years you still have African Ameri-
cans living a nightmare. “I am glad that you have so many professional athletes who are saying that we are not going to entertain while on the flip side we are looking at all of the pain in the street,” Davis said. “How is it that we can see a man gunned down, shot seven times in the back and you can have a 17 year-old white boy who can walk with a gun and
Ideas Presented on Criminal Justice Reform By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill
5 Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Bravevboy (WI File Photo/ Robert R. Roberts)
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Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said mentorship and re-entry programs should be prepared for those incarcerated once a sentence gets imposed. “When people go away, they are still part of our community,” she said. “Even though that person may not physically be in Prince George’s County, we know their connections are likely to be in our county.” Braveboy joined three other lawmakers who represent Prince George’s during a virtual discussion Monday, Aug. 31. The discussion entitled “Maryland’s Disproportionate Incarceration of African Americans” led by Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform, People for Change Coalition and PFC Black Chamber had more than 110 people logged on.
One of the main items dealt with a report released in November by the Justice Policy Institute of Northwest that noted Maryland recorded the highest number of Blacks incarcerated in the nation at more than 70 percent of the state’s prison population. Young Black men ages 18 to 24 are incarcerated with the longest prison terms, according to the report. Olinda Moyd, a defense attorney and member of Maryland Alliance executive board, said Prince George’s receives about 400 returning citizens a year. That’s why at-large council members Mel Franklin and Calvin Hawkins are working on legislation to create financial incentives for businesses who hire returning citizens. In addition to getting a bill passed to create an advisory re-entry board, he said the county must build a stateof-the-art county jail to replace current one. “It’s old. It’s outdated. None of us
would want any of our family members in a place like that,” he said. Franklin said he’s contemplating proposed legislation to prohibit discrimination against returning citizens who apply for jobs with felony convictions at least five years old and misdemeanor offenses three years or older. Applicants would not have no other prior offenses. “That is a big impediment to a lot of our returning citizens staying on a pathway of straight and narrow,” he said. “We encounter many returning citizens who are very qualified to do work in the county but cannot get hired because once their background check is done…then you are knocked out of contention.” Del. Erek Barron (D-District 25) of Mitchellville said he will continue to try to change state laws that hurt low-income residents. One bill he sponsored that passed
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hold his hands in the air with no sense of concern. Instead of simply protesting, the members of First Baptist Church of Highland Park organized a carpool that went throughout the neighborhood to register people to vote. Davis said when church organizers did their homework, they learned the depth of the election problem. “We are going to take our car caravan to a specific community because we learned that only 30 percent of the people voted in the last election. Those kinds of things have to change,” Davis said. “We have to bridge the gap from dreams to reality.” Rev. Rachel Boyd, social justice minister at First Baptist Church of Highland Park, said, “Rev. Sharpton and the National Action Network [were] downtown celebrating the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington. Our effort is to make sure that people are informed of the issues and the options and to excite some sense of urgency regarding these matters and to allow everyone to play some role in making a change.” Todd Coogan, regional census manager for Maryland, said that the U.S. Census Bureau is in the phase of the census, which takes place every decade, of going house to house. “We have to try reach people the best way that we can through the month of September.” WI
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