Volume Volume 125 123 No. No.42 20–22
May 20, 2017 - May 20, 2017, The Afro-American A1 $2.00
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MAY 20, 2017 - MAY 26, 2017
Inside
A statue of Confederate general P.G.T. Beauregard is removed just after 3 a.m. on May 17 from the entrance to City Park in New Orleans. The removal of the statue comes after the city has already taken down a statue of Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy’s only president, and a memorial to a White rebellion against a biracial Reconstructionera government in the city.
Commentary
It’s Time to Fight Not a War on Drugs but a War on Drug Addiction By Kamala D. Harrisl
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Baltimore • Massive Number
of Cases Dropped Following Police Indictments
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Washington
Good Riddance Shonda Rhimes’ ‘Still Star Crossed’ Highlights Diversity
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AP Photo/Scott Threlkeld
Calls for Sessions’ Resignation Follow Amped-Up Drug Sentencing Memo By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com Toting signs that read: “No More Drug Wars” and “Drug Wars Destroy Families,” several dozen activists protested outside the U.S. Department of Justice May 16 calling for an immediate challenge to new federal drug sentencing policies handed down by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a recent memorandum. Noting the failures of heavy-handed drug sentencing on predominantly Black and Latino communities, protestors insist the memo encourages a return to pre-Civil Rights racial bias
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Rep. Lewis’ Fight for Civil Rights By Gregory Clay Special to the AFRO Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) still stands as an iconic beacon of the civil rights movement in the 21st Century. “John Lewis is so popular and in such demand that he is unable to join us this evening.
Listen to Afro’s “First Edition” Join Host Sean Yoes Monday-Friday 5-7 p.m. on 88.9 WEAA FM, the Voice of the Community. 09
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Photo by Shantella Y. Sherman
Several dozen protestors assembled on the grounds of the U.S. Department of Justice to demand the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions .
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But he was able to send us a film. John is like manure . . . He’s all over the place,” said Ernest “Rip” Patton, a fellow Freedom Rider from the 1960s, who let the imagery rip as his down-home, southernstyle quip drew a hearty laugh from 500 attendees at the second annual Newseum Free
Expression Awards gala at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. on April 18. Lewis,
within the judicial system. The reinstatement of federal drug sentencing policies according to Jasmine Tyler of the Open Society Foundations, have played a significant role in perpetuating mass incarceration, the schoolto-prison pipeline, and the destruction of families. Of particular concern, for Tyler, is the memo’s push for federal prosecutors to seek the “most substantial sentence” for drug crimes, even those deemed low-level, nonviolent offenses. “These guidance that has not just rolled back Obama policies, but is ignoring the science and data and families and stories who have suffered every [expletive] day because of unfair drug wars. Fortyfive years later, we are still fighting and escalating a drug war that has failed,” Tyler told the crowd. “Failed on
Continued on A5
Continued on A3
AFRO Archived History
NOT EASY TO LOVE MAN WHO BEATS YOU
By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com
Freedom Rider Passes the Test
The nation’s largest organization of Black legal professionals has taken the stance that the Trump administration’s position on civil rights is wrong and is working to overturn actions the group considers hurtful to minorities. Keith Perry, executive director of the National Bar Association (NBA), said, in an exclusive interview with the AFR}, the Trump
By Moses J. Newson
May 20, 1961
Continued on A3
Keith Perry, executive director of the National Bar Association, says the Trump administration has shown contempt for civil rights.
to Amend D.C. Housing Plan
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Cummings Willing to Work with, Oppose Trump When Necessary By Hamil R. Harris Special to the AFRO At one moment U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) is meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House over an affordable prescription plan with the president of John Hopkins University. At another he is rebuking Trump for spilling classified secrets to the Russians. Such is the life of Maryland’s long-serving member representing the 7th District. Cummings says he is one of the few leaders on Capitol Hill who actually has the power to challenge President Trump. Continued on A3
Earlier this year, Rep. John R. Lewis received the Free Expression Lifetime Achievement Award from the Newseum in Washington, D.C. (see story on front page). He was honored, in part, for his actions as a Freedom Rider in 1961. Below is AFRO star civil rights reporter Moses J. Newson’s coverage of the Freedom Riders being beaten in South Carolina simply for registering African Americans to vote.
Black Bar Association Gears Up to Battle Trump on Civil Rights
Courtesy Photo-NBA
• Residents Work
Rock Hill, S.C. –Freedom Rider Albert Bigelow looked violence square in the face her and kept trying to show love to his attacker. The 55-year-old Connecticut artistsarchitecht was one of three of CORE’s 1961 Freedom Riders in the first outbreak of violence on the bus tour. Other victims were John R. Lewis, 21, Continued on A3
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