Afro e-Edition 05-31-2024

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White House celebrates Kenyan President William Ruto

Essence Magazine CEO Caroline Wanga were two of the distinguished

President William Ruto by

Ryan-Ewing, AFRO CEO and publisher, Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper, and AFRO Director of Operations, Andre Draper.

By DaQuan Lawrence AFRO International Writer DLawrence@afro.com

On May 23, the White House and Biden administration held a state dinner in honor of Kenyan President William Ruto and Her Excellency Rachel Ruto, who visited the U.S. during a recent trip in the interest of diplomacy.

The occasion featured a dynamic ambiance with magnetic views of the nation’s capital, celebrity and political A-listers as well as a splendid menu, designed in the interest of the East African guests of honor.

The dinner highlighted bilateral relations among Kenya and the U.S. and the 60-year partnership among

the two countries as the world has developed from the cold war era into a multipolar, geopolitical landscape that features multiple nations, such as the U.S., Russia and China, vying for global dominance.

“Mr. President, six decades ago, when Kenya declared its independence, President Lyndon B. Johnson wrote a letter from our nation to yours. And he said, ‘May the responsibilities of freedom

wake the best that is in you,’” said President Biden, during a joint press conference held in the East Room of the White House.

“Today, we mark 60 years of partnership between our democracies, and we’re fulfilling that wish together…Not only in Kenya and America but around the world, it’s had [a] positive impact,” Biden continued.

Throughout his remarks, Biden

mentioned Kenya’s role in joint counterterrorism operations that have diminished the influence of ISIS and al-Shabab across East Africa, the nation’s work in Haiti via the Multinational Security Support Mission, as well as upcoming economic cooperation initiatives.

“Today, we’re launching what we’re calling the NairobiWashington Vision. This initiative is going to bring together international

financial institutions and nations from all around the world to mobilize more resources for countries saddled with debt,” Biden said.

The goals of the new initiative include creating more opportunities for private-sector financing and promoting transparent, sustainable and affordable lending practices for developing nations.

President Biden also announced

Marilyn Mosby avoids prison, sentenced to one year home detention for mortgage fraud, perjury

By Tashi McQueen AFRO Political Writer tmcqueen@afro.com

On May 23, Former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby was sentenced to three years of supervised release and 12 months of home detention for mortgage fraud and perjury. She must also complete 100 hours of community service. Mosby was facing up to 40 years for her convictions.

“I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for the fight, ” said Mosby to a crowd of her supporters after the sentencing. “This is not over. God was here today. He touched the heart of this judge and has allowed me to go home to my babies.”

During the proceedings, Mosby’s defense team said they plan to appeal the convictions.

“Victory! She gets to go home,” said Josephine Mourning, president of the Prince George’s County, Md. chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, in reaction to the sentence. “We will settle for this for right now, because we know the appeal is coming.”

Mosby’s supporters came out in droves by car

and bus. The courts made available overflow rooms in Greenbelt, Md., where the proceedings occurred, and in Baltimore.

Supporters walked up to Mosby, giving her hugs as they filed into the Greenbelt, Md., courtroom. Mosby looked tearful as the proceedings were set to begin.

Around 13 other people spoke at her sentencing, speaking to Mosby’s character and the need for her to return home with her family and children, instead of prison.

Well-known civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump was one.

“The conviction should only be classified as a

Biden administration secures recordlevel funding for HBCUs

By Tashi McQueen AFRO Political Writer tmcqueen@afro.com

The Biden-Harris administration recently announced record funding of more than $16 billion for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) within fiscal years (FY) 2021 to 2024. This investment

amount is up from the $7 billion announced in September 2023.

“This is only a snapshot of what this administration has delivered as President Biden and Vice President Harris have leveraged the full force of the federal government to advance racial justice and build economic opportunity,” said Stephan Benjamin, director of the Office of Public Engagement, in a White House press briefing on May 16. “Today’s announcement of $16 billion for HBCUs is a big leap forward, but the everyday struggles – that’s the hard work. That’s the hard work that this president has decided he’s going to lean into every single day.” The over $16 billion

Left and right photos courtesy of Vashti Jasmine McKenzie / Middle photo - AP Photo / Susan Walsh

Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie (left) and

guests at the May 23 state dinner, hosted in honor of Her Excellency Rachel Ruto (center, left) and Kenyan

U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. More than 500 guests arrived to celebrate the relationship between Kenya and the United States, and the 60th anniversary of the African nation’s declaration of independence. The guest list also included James Ewing and his wife, veteran journalist April

AP Photo / Julio Cortez

Former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is sentenced to three years supervised release and 12 months of home confinement from her mortgage fraud and perjury convictions on May 23.

WHAT’S TRENDING ON AFRO.COM

Harris announces plans to help 80 percent of Africa gain access to the internet, up from 40 percent now

By Josh Boak The Associated Press

Vice President Kamala Harris announced May 24 the formation of a new partnership to help provide internet access to 80 percent of Africa by 2030, up from roughly 40 percent now.

The announcement comes as follow-through on Harris’ visit to the continent last year and in conjunction with this week’s visit to Washington by Kenyan President William Ruto. Harris and the Kenyan leader had a public chat on May 24 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about how public-private partnerships can increase economic growth.

“Many could rightly argue that the future is on

the continent of Africa,” said Harris, noting that the median age in Africa is 19, a sign of the potential for economic

growth. “It is not about, and simply about aid, but about investment and understanding the capacity that exists.”

Africa has struggled to obtain the capital needed to build up its industrial and technological sectors.

The United Nations

reported last year that foreign direct investment in the continent fell to $45 billion in 2022, from a record high $80 billion in 2021. Africa accounted for only 3.5 percent of foreign direct investment worldwide, even though it makes up roughly 18 percent of the global population.

Besides launching the nonprofit Partnership for Digital Access in Africa, Harris announced an initiative geared toward giving 100 million African people and businesses in the agricultural sector access to the digital economy.

The African Development Bank Group along with Mastercard, among other organizations, will help form the Mobilizing

Access to the Digital Economy Alliance, or MADE. The alliance will start a pilot program to give digital access to 3 million farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria, before expanding elsewhere.

Harris, a Democrat and the first female U.S. vice president, also announced that the Women in the Digital Economy efforts to address the gender divide in technology access have now generated more than $1 billion in public and private commitments, with some federal commitments pending congressional approval.

This article was originally published by the Associated Press.

High court upholds South Carolina redistricting, displacing Black voters

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire

The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated South Carolina’s redrawn congressional map, declaring it was not unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. Justice Samuel Alito authored the 6-3 opinion, which overturned a lower court’s

finding that the map had illegally removed 30,000 Black voters to favor a White Republican candidate in the 1st Congressional District. The decision has prompted strong reactions, including from Devon Ombres, senior director for Courts and Legal Policy at the Center for American Progress.

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“This ruling allows South Carolina to strip power away from Black voters and implement a congressional map that is clearly racially gerrymandered,” Ombres stated. “The majority cherry-picked evidence disregarded inconvenient proof of racial gerrymandering and substituted its own judgment of the facts instead of deferring to the court below. Worse, the majority makes it clear that, in the future, it will be more difficult to challenge unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.”

The case, Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the N.A.A.C.P., No. 22-807, presented a complex challenge of distinguishing the roles of race and partisanship in drawing voting maps, especially as Black voters predominantly support Democrats. A unanimous three-judge panel of the Federal District Court in Columbia, S.C., had ruled in early 2023 that the

state’s First Congressional District, drawn after the 2020 census, violated the Constitution by prioritizing race. However, the Supreme Court’s ruling now overturns that decision.

The lower court had held its decision while Republican lawmakers appealed to the Supreme Court, with the parties urging a resolution by Jan. 1. After the deadline passed, the panel ruled in March that the 2024 election would proceed under the contested map, acknowledging practical constraints. “With the primary election procedures rapidly approaching, the appeal before the Supreme Court still pending and no remedial plan in place,” the panel wrote, “the ideal must bend to the practical.”

The disputed district, centered in Charleston, has been a Republican stronghold since 1980, except for in 2018. The 2020 race was notably close, leading Republican

lawmakers to strengthen the district’s Republican tilt post-census. The state judges ruled that this goal was achieved by “bleaching African American voters out of the Charleston County portion of Congressional District No. 1,” moving 62 percent of Black voters to the Sixth District, represented by James E. Clyburn, a Black Democrat.

Republican lawmakers admitted that the district was redrawn for partisan gains, but challengers, represented by the ACLU and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, argued that race was the primary factor.

“That predominant reliance on race is impermissible even if mapmakers used race as a proxy for politics,” their brief stated.

Justice Elena Kagan, joined by the court’s other liberal justices, dissented. Kagan contended that the ruling encourages state lawmakers to use race as a proxy for partisan objectives.

“Go right ahead, this Court says to States today. Go ahead, though you have no recognized justification for using race, such as to comply with statutes ensuring equal voting rights,” Kagan wrote. “Go ahead, though you are (at best) using race as a shortcut to bring about partisan gains—to elect more Republicans in one case, more Democrats in another.” Due to the South Carolina case’s reliance on the equal protection clause of the Constitution, it differs from a comparable Alabama case that is subject to the Voting Rights Act. Ombres underscored the broader implications, stating, “Congress must pass legislation to revitalize the Voting Rights Act to ensure that the will of American voters matters— not just the will of those already in power.”

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Kenya’s President William Ruto, left, and Vice President Kamala Harris shake hands after participating in a discussion at the U.S.-Kenya Business Forum at the Chamber of Commerce in Washington.

A recent court ruling has upheld a contested congressional map in South Carolina, which voting rights advocates say illegally removed 30,000 Black voters to favor a White Republican candidate in the state’s 1st Congressional District.

Courtesy photo/NNPA Newswire

Honoring the Black, buried, and missing at Normandy American Cemetery

By Col. (Ret.) Edna W. Cummings Special to the AFRO

“All last night, guns shook on the ground on which I slept. Our long toms slugged it out with German 88s in a duel that has no end.”

—Ollie Stewart, AFRO American Newspaper correspondent with Invasion Forces France, July 15, 1944

Eighty years ago, the most heralded battle of World War II, June 6, 1944, or D-Day, consisted of Allied Forces landing along the 50 mile stretch of beaches along the coast of Normandy, France.

The beaches held codenames of “Utah,” “Omaha,” “Gold,” “June” and “Sword.”

Approximately 2,000 Black troops participated in Operation Overlord and the full Battle of Normandy that lasted until August 1944. Relegated to service units, they moved supplies (e.g., Red Ball Express), built bridges and dug graves for the fallen.

Of the 9,387 military personnel laid to rest at Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, 135 are African-Americans men, three are women and five are listed on the Wall of the Missing.

Only one Black combat unit, the 621 member 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, landed on D-Day at Omaha and Utah Beaches. Three soldiers from that unit died on June 6: Cpls. Brooks Stith from North Carolina, Henry Harris originally from Pennsylvania, and Private James L. Simmons, of Upper Marlboro, Md.

Brooks and Stith are buried at Normandy and Simmons is buried at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Upper Marlboro.

A July 1944 edition of the AFRO American Newspaper reported on the death of Simmons, who arrived in France in December 1943. Three days before he died, he wrote to his family, “The way things are going now, it won’t be long before I’ll be going home.”

At 22 years old, Sgt. Willie Leroy Collins from Macon, Ga., also died on June 6, 1944. He served with the 490th Port Battalion. He was killed by German artillery while unloading cargo onto Utah Beach. He was the only reported D-Day casualty from his unit.

Beyond D-Day

Planning for the catalytic D-Day battle began several years prior, and in December 1943 the engagement strategy developed into Operation Overlord that lasted until June 30, 1944. However, the full Battle of Normandy did not end until August 1944, with the liberation of Paris.

The war in the European Theater of Operations ended

minor white-collar crime in which many others have been convicted of and faced a sentence that amounted to a slap on the wrist,” said Crump. “What is different here today, is that underneath that white collar is the neck of a Black woman, who dares to challenge the status quo.”

During sentencing, the prosecution argued that Mosby should be incarcerated–not given probation.

Federal Public Defender James Wyda pressed that, “no one is going to say ‘look at what she got away with,’ in light of these circumstances.” Wyda made a point that her dissolved marriage with Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby, loss of money due to legal fees and hampered career are sufficient punishments for her actions.

In November 2023, Mosby was convicted on two counts of perjury for falsely claiming she experienced financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to withdraw funds.

In February, a federal jury found Mosby guilty on one of two counts of mortgage fraud in coordination with the purchase of a property in Longboat Key, Fla.

Though she had many supporters celebrating the fact that she received no jail time, others were uncertain how to feel.

“I don’t know whether to say congratulations or not–because a conviction is still a conviction,” said Will Hanna, a Baltimore native and former DOJ analyst. “I respect her. I think she fought the way she needed to fight and she got her desired result. Whether it’s fair or whether people think it’s fair or not–it was left up to a judge and jury.”

Mosby could be seen entering the courthouse with her head held high alongside her daughters, Aniyah and Nylyn, in matching white outfits. Her ex-husband came in a little bit afterward in a blue suit.

“I’m proud of Marilyn [and] the way she’s carried herself the entire time,” said former husband, Nick Mosby, briefly after the sentencing.

In the days and weeks leading up to the sentencing, Mosby pushed for a presidential pardon, which has not yet been answered.

As of May 23, Mosby’s online petition for a presidential pardon from Biden received more than 80,000 signatures, gaining about 19,000 in three days.

Tashi McQueen is a Report For America corps member.

National Archives

According to the National Archives, “these drivers of the 666th Quartermaster Truck Company, 82nd Airborne Division, chalked up 20,000 miles each without an accident,” once they arrived in the European Theater of Operations.”

with Germany’s surrender on May 8, 1945. According to the Department of Defense, between June 1944 and May 8, 1945, there were 552,117 U.S. casualties in the European Theater of Operations with 104,812 killed in action. Some of these deaths occurred in segregated units that constructed and repaired roads, airfields and bridges.

The 364th Engineer Service Regiment has five members buried at Normandy who died from July-August 1944: PFC Earlie Carothers, 25, of Mississippi, July 7; Sgt. Melvin Jones, 22, of Georgia, July 8; PFC William L. Ryerson, 24, of New York, July 7; Cpl. General U. Walker, 25, of Florida, July 7; and Master Sgt. James W. Kersh, of Tennessee, Aug. 11.

The only Black officer buried at Normandy is Second Lt. Eddie May. He was originally from Mississippi and joined the Army in Wisconsin and served with the 1349th General Service Regiment. In 1942 he graduated from Beloit College and Beloit refers to him as one of the finest athletes in World War II. In 1964 Beloit inducted him into the Hall of Honor.

Also buried at Normandy is one Black Merchant Marine,

Kenyan president

that in addition to the U.S.’ $250 million investment for crisis-response, the nation will be providing an additional $21 billion available to the International Monetary Fund and up to $250 billion in new lending capacity from multilateral development banks to invest in lowerincome nations.

In addition to President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, the event involved an extensive guest list which featured over 500 esteemed attendees, including 42nd U.S. President Bill Clinton and his wife, the 67th U.S. Secretary of State the Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton. Barack Obama, who served as the United States’ 44th president, attended the event as well.

Leaders such as AFRO CEO and publisher, Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper, were also in attendance with AFRO Director of Operations, Andre Draper.

“It was a once in a lifetime experience,” said Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper. “Every single detail was addressed and no expense was spared but–most importantly– it was an honor to be in the same room as the President of Kenya, President Rudo; his wife, Her Excellency Rachel Ruto; President Joe Biden and the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden.”

Draper noted that, before May 23, a Kenyan leader hadn’t been honored with a White House state dinner since 2003. In addition, the event was significant because

investment includes about $11.4 billion between FY21 and FY23 through contracting awards, federal grants and debt relief for HBCUs; more than $4 billion between FY21 and FY23 for HBCU-enrolled students through federal financial aid and veteran educational benefits; and in FY24 thus far, over $900 million has been secured for Department of Education programs that aim to strengthen HBCUs.

Earlier in 2024, the Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) held its STEM conference in Baltimore, which, in part, highlighted STEM research funding available for HBCUs. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

“We have a huge document, about 230 pages. We refer to it as the ‘PAPPG’,” said Dr. Carleitta Paige-Anderson, lead program director of the HBCUs undergraduate program at the National Science Foundation (NSF). “Chapter two of the PAPPG outlines 13 other funding opportunities available to the entire community that have no deadlines. Included in them are planning proposals. Maybe you’re not quite situated to engage in the work you’d like to do, but you have some meetings you want to attend. You have some people that you need to talk to. No deadline. It’s available to you up to $100,000 a year for two years.”

Edward Lee, program coordinator of the Air Force Research Laboratory, outlined his current budget.

Mess Steward Earlie J. Gabriel, and several Navy personnel. Two days after D-Day, Clarence N. Copeland was killed. He was a Navy Steward’s Mate Second Class from Jersey City, Hudson County, N.J. Copeland was assigned to the USS Rich that sank from hitting an underwater mine and a follow-on attack by the Germans.

In July, 1945, three Black women from the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion lost their lives in a vehicular accident, Sgt. Delores Brown and Private Mary Barlow, of Connecticut, and Private Mary Bankston, of New York. Barlow and Bankston were members of the 6888th’s entertainment troupe that performed two months earlier at a show hosted by the Birmingham, England Hospitality Committee. Unlike other troops buried at Normandy under combat conditions (i.e., mattress covers, parachutes, tentage or similar materials), these women were buried in their military service dress uniforms. The 6888th’s commander, Maj. Charity Adams collected funds to ensure burial in a casket built by German prisoners. Like other wartime interments, initially, the women were buried at another location, and with their families’ consent, relocated to Normandy American Cemetery in 1948.

On March 14, 2022, President Biden recognized the 6888th’s service with the nation’s highest honor, a Congressional Gold Medal.

Normandy’s Wall of the Missing bears 1,557 names, and three are from the segregated 364th Engineer Service Regiment: PFC Sylvester D. Haggins, of New York; PFC Mack Homer, of Georgia and Tech 5 Daniel Wyatt, of Louisiana. They died on July 7, 1944.

Two other names of Black troops appear on the wall: Tech 5 Reese G. Boone from North Carolina, 514th Port Battalion and TSGT Raymond Heads, from Texas and of the 3688th Quartermaster Truck Company.

As we honor the fallen on Memorial Day and commemorate the 80th Anniversary of D-day, I hope that we continue to honor the service and sacrifice of the thousands of troops who are missing or resting in hallowed grounds away from their loved ones.

there have been no state dinners in honor of an African country and its leader since 2008, when President George W. Bush hosted Ghanaian President John Kufuor.

“We were honored to be there,” said Draper. “It was good to see the president standing strong. Many people have commented about his age– but he is the president of the country and he and Dr. Jill Biden represented us well.”

Aside from the “exquisite” food, Draper said she also enjoyed performances by country star Brad Paisley and the Howard University Gospel Choir. Leaders from various industries and prominent civil rights leaders, such as Rev. Al Sharpton, could be seen enjoying the event’s

“Right now, I have a $5.5 million budget for HBCUs,” said Lee. “Those funding opportunities that I have range from $50,000 up to $200,000.”

Since states were discovered to have underfunded HBCUs between 1987 and 2020, resulting in funding gaps from $172 million to $2.1 billion, knowing where investments like these are, how to secure them and who to speak to remains crucial.

Lee highlighted the Air Force Research Laboratory’s National Science Program, which supplies three funding categories for HBCUs.

“Quantum computing, unique advantages to biological base materials for space and the third is ferromagnetic electronics,” said Lee. “I’m always looking to expand and support

festivities.

The state dinner was attended by a large group of dignitaries, diplomats and state and municipal leaders from around the nation. U.S. Senator Cory Booker was present, along with Governor of New Mexico Michelle Lujan Grisham, Governor of Massachusetts Maura Healey, Governor of Maine Janet T. Mills and many others. At least six leaders of prominent U.S. cities were also in attendance, including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens; Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix; Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago; Mayor of Augusta, Ga, Garnett Johnson; Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Mayor of Charlotte, Vi Lyles.

opportunities for HBCUs that are doing space-related research.”

Michael Caccuitto, branch chief at the U.S. Army Research Office (ARO) in Durham, N.C., and Anthony Smith, director of the Department of Navy’s HBCU/Minority Institutions program, mentioned similar funding opportunities at their organizations.

Paige-Anderson suggested all HBCUs take advantage of the research funding available.

“You are 100 percent likely not to get funded for the proposals you do not submit,” said Paige-Anderson. “We invite you to consider all of the funding mechanisms at NSF.”

Tashi McQueen is a Report For America corps member.

Unsplash / Charles DeLoye

HBCUs

Biden-Harris Administration’s focus on funding the historically underserved institutions.

COMMENTARY

Biden’s anti-NAFTA moment is here

By Ben Jealous

The Biden-Harris administration is making bold moves to ensure America leads the global clean energy economy of the 21st century.

We are at the crossroads of our country’s next major shift in trade policy and domestic manufacturing that will define our economy for decades. The last time we were here was more than 30 years ago. I was helping to organize the movement to stop the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The framework being put forward this time, by the current administration, is the antiNAFTA moment American workers have been waiting for. I am organizing in support of it.

The tariffs announced this month on electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels, batteries, semiconductors and materials like aluminum and steel are part of a broader regime of policies and investments creating the foundation for America’s leadership in the next economy.

These tariffs are part of a smart, targeted approach that stands at odds with the flailing, nonstrategic approach of his predecessor. They show the president understands the threats posed by China and has the courage to take them on in a real and impactful way.

And the administration gets that tariffs are just one piece of the puzzle. In his remarks at the signing ceremony for

the tariffs, Biden highlighted his bipartisan infrastructure law’s investment in building 500,000 EV charging stations nationwide and the “thousands and thousands of [International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers] jobs” it would create. The tariffs will help ensure the aluminum, steel, solar panels, and other components and materials for these charging stations are American-made. And that means even more good American jobs.

NAFTA cost our country hundreds of thousands of jobs and devastated America’s manufacturing sector. By contrast, Biden’s trade policies, coupled with other policies and investments, have the power to create a green jobs boom and birth a new manufacturing renaissance. Companies have already announced over $825 billion in private sector investments in US manufacturing and clean energy since Biden took office. All of this is key not only to long-term job creation, but to stopping China’s domination of the next economy.

A future in which China holds all the economic cards is one in which climate change is allowed to run rampant. Even though manufacturing in the United States is 3.2 times more carbon efficient than manufacturing in China, China has a grip on more than 80 percent of the world’s solar manufacturing. China produces

Ben Jealous is the executive director of the Sierra Club and a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania. This week he discusses America’s ability to lead the clean energy revolution. Courtesy photo

58 percent of all new electric vehicles sold worldwide. In 2022, China accounted for about 59 percent of global primary aluminum production and 54 percent of the world’s crude steel production.

All that manufacturing is energy intensive, especially for steel and aluminum. And in China that energy comes primarily from coal – the dirtiest energy source there is.

China is the world’s largest consumer of coal – with 56 percent of global consumption in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency. That coal reliance makes carbon emissions from Chinese steel production as much as double that from American steel. It

adds to the urgency of seizing market share from China and using our own domestic manufacturing to help expand the market. And it is why the president paired his tariffs on Chinese solar with tariffs on aluminum and a $500 million investment in the first aluminum smelter in the US in 45 years. Imagine that new aluminum plant being built with modern protections against pollution and powered by Americanproduced solar panels made with the plant’s own aluminum.

That is what President Biden

imagined. And he is making it happen.

The Chinese government has not played fair. It overproduces in order to flood global markets. It has leaned on exports of “bifacial” (basically, twosided) solar panels, which were foolishly exempt under the Trump-era solar tariffs – with 98 percent of Chinese solar panel imports to our country now being bifacial. And the Commerce Department is now investigating how China has allegedly used countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand as pass-throughs to route solar products to the US and evade tariffs. The Biden administration’s trade policy in this area can help make China more of an honest broker. But even that is no substitute for owning the manufacturing and supply chains of the staple goods that will power our next economy. And let us not forget the national pride Americans once felt in the products invented and built by American hands.

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Stop asking Black student-athletes to fix America’s DEI mess

By John Celestand

Back in early March, in a statement released on social media, legendary Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith blasted his alma mater, the University of Florida, for eliminating its diversity, equity, and inclusion program. Smith warned minority athletes at Florida to “please be aware and vocal” about the decision the university was making, which in essence meant closing the doors on students of color.

A few days later, NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson asked “current and prospective” student-athletes to “reconsider any potential decision to attend, and compete at a predominantly white institution in the state of Florida.” He pointed out that “these institutions reap considerable financial benefits from the very individuals they fail to stand by in matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion.” So, should Black athletes refuse to attend schools that defund DEI?

After all, today’s athletes command major coin when it comes to NIL (name, image, and likeness) dollars. Their ability to enter the portal and transfer to other universities without repercussion could, if leveraged correctly, have a tremendous influence on how universities handle DEI.

The question came up again this week for me after news broke that the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, plans to divert the school’s entire $2.3M DEI budget toward public safety and policing.

Basically, UNC “said that the opposite of funding DEI programming is funding police,” writer, researcher, and Harvard Kennedy fellow Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman wrote on X this week.

North Carolina brought in nearly $123 million in revenue from athletics in 2022. If every Black athlete at the school refused to play until the DEI budget was restored, that would undoubtedly put pressure on the school.

But even though today’s

college athletes are in a prime position to effect change around DEI at universities because of their platforms, power, and heavy influence, is this really their responsibility?

Who should stand up for DEI?

“I don’t think it is their responsibility” says Leashia Lewis, assistant athletic director for diversity equity and inclusion at Villanova University.“They have an opportunity to use their platform and voices to make change, but it is also the responsibility of athletic departments to support them in doing that.

My question would be, are athletic departments willing to or in a position to support student-athletes when they have something to say or want to fight for change?”

There’s also the reality that Black athletes of the past were fighting for basic civil rights, which made it easier to think from a collective standpoint.

“The risk of being a social justice activist and using your platform is different now. Many

Cracking the code on ground rent:

By Aja’ Mallory

Maryland law requires that ground rent holders register ground rent leases on the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation’s (SDAT) Ground Rent Registry to be able to legally collect them. Ground rent deeds are filed in the land records of the Circuit Court in the county where the property sits. A deed for multiple ground rents owned by one owner is the typical way that the deed will be written. If you are unsure that your property has a ground rent, you can search for a ground registration here: https://sdat. dat.maryland.gov/RealProperty/ Pages/default.aspx.

If you discover that there is no ground rent registered on your property, then there is nothing left for you to do. If you are contacted by a business claiming that you owe them ground rent payments, please

contact Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service or any other legal service agency to help you. Why? This could potentially be a scam or the ground rent holder is attempting to illegally collect monies to which they are not entitled.

Maryland law requires ground rent holders to register their ground rents. If a ground rent lease is not registered, the holder cannot (1) collect ground rent; (2) bring a civil action to enforce any rights under the ground rent lease; or (3) bring an ejection action against the homeowner.

If you discover that your property has ground rent. You should contact the owner listed on the registration form to determine how much the ground rent will be yearly or inform the owner that you would like to redeem your ground rent.

student-athletes are not willing to take the risk,” Lewis says.

“The risk is playing time, reputation, belief that your coach may see you as an outcast —, especially if you are not the superstar. There is also their personal branding, and NIL deals they may not want to risk. Especially for football and basketball players who have the highest platforms. Some of them are not prepared to take that risk.”

How did we get here?

The murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, opened a floodgate of pledges to support DEI across corporate America and beyond. Companies and universities jostled to be first in line to beat their chests and voice their support and commitment to increasing opportunities to hire, accept, and retain people from underrepresented, underprivileged, and less advantaged communities.

I was always skeptical. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. And now it has — falling harder than Humpty Dumpty

What happens if I do not pay my ground rent or fall behind?

If you fall behind on your payments, the ground rent holder can sue to collect up to three years of outstanding payments and foreclose on your home. But they first must send you notices indicating the amount due and where to send the payment. If the ground rent holder obtains a ruling for possession, you have six months to pay what’s due, including late fees, interest, collection costs and expenses.

What does it mean to “redeem” ground rent?

To “redeem” ground rent is to purchase the land (“ground”) your home sits on from the ground rent holder. You can

ever did.

In 2023, Florida, under the leadership of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, became one of the first states to enact a law restricting DEI efforts. It banned the state’s public universities from spending money on DEI initiatives and placed restrictions on how educators could discuss discrimination in mandatory courses. Texas, North Carolina, and North Dakota passed similar bills later in the year. So far in 2024, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Alabama have passed bills that are set to go into effect July 1.

The University of Texas and Alabama are both ranked in the top five of the AP Top 25 College Football Poll. According to USA Today’s tracking, in 2022, these schools brought in over $239 million and $214 million, respectively.

Translation: Athletes most definitely have some pull.

Athletes have always been on the frontlines.

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redeem your ground rent unless a ground rent lease was executed before April 9, 1884, and the ground rent holder recorded a “Notice of Intention to Preserve Irredeemability” within the last 10 years.

How much does it cost to redeem ground rent?

The Maryland General Assembly determines this cost. So, you should not receive an arbitrary amount from the ground rent holder.

An example of how ground rent is calculated is based on the legal formula below.

What steps should you take to redeem ground rent?

First, determine if the ground rent exists and whether it is redeemable/irredeemable.

John Celestand is the

Notify the ground rent holder so they can either provide you with the redemption amount and next steps or direct you to complete the application for redemption through SDAT.

program director of the Knight x LMA BloomLab, a $3.2 million initiative that supports the advancement and sustainability of local Blackowned news publications. He is a former freelance sports broadcaster and writer who covered the NBA and college basketball for multiple networks such as ESPN Regional Television, SNY, and Comcast

Aja’ Mallory is a staff attorney at the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. Her practice focuses on housing and consumer issues for Marylanders of limited means. This week, she discusses ground rent.

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

Willie Earl Vereen, valiant freedom fighter, dies at age 70

By Catherine Pugh Special to the AFRO

Willie Earl Vereen, a member of the “Wilmington Ten” died on May 25, at the age of 70.

Vereen is noted for being a part of the The Wilmington Ten, a group of young civil rights leaders who became political prisoners after being convicted in the arson and firebombing of a grocery store in Wilmington, N.C.

The year was 1971. The members of the group, sentenced to decades in prison, served ten years before receiving a pardon and compensation for a wrongful conviction in December 2012.

The Wilmington Ten consisted of eight high school students, including Willie Earl Vereen, one White woman, Ann Shepard, an anti-poverty worker and Ben Chavis, who now serves as CEO and President of the National Newspaper Publishers Association.

“Willie Earl Vereen, at the age of 17, was one of the youngest members of the Wilmington Ten, yet he was a gifted and talented young freedom fighter for equal, quality education for Black public-school students. Vereen was an accomplished musician and drummer who dedicated his cultural genius to proclaim freedom, justice and equality for all,” said Chavis. According to several news reports from 1971, armed White supremacy groups–including Ku Klux Klan members–patrolled

Unsplash/Patreek Gautam

Friends and family members of legendary civil rights leader Willie Earl Vereen are mourning his May 25 death at age 70.

the streets of Wilmington and participated in violence that resulted in the firebombings across the city. At least 20 buildings were destroyed.

“Willie Earl Vereen, at the age of 17, was one of the youngest members of the Wilmington Ten, yet he was a gifted and talented young freedom fighter for equal, quality education for Black public-school students.”

Instead of being held responsible, The Wilmington Ten were tried in state court and received a combined sentence of 232 years. Willie Earl Vereen received a 29-year sentence. The longest sentence, of 35 years, was given to Ben Chavis.

“We were political prisoners together,” said Chavis. “May the spirit and legacy of Willie Earl Vereen live on for future generations.” Memorial Services for Willie Earl Vereen were held in Wilmington,N.C. on Wednesday, May 29, at noon inside of the Temple of Truth Light and Life, located at 2166 Kent Street.

Pastor Jamal Bryant announces engagement to Rev. Dr. Karri Turner

By Aria Brent AFRO Staff Writer abrent@afro.com

Congratulations are in order for Rev. Jamal Bryant and Rev. Dr. Karri Turner, as the two are now engaged to be married. The couple announced their engagement on social media via a video that was shot during Sunday service at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on May 26, where Bryant currently serves as senior pastor.

In the video, shared by Bryant on Instagram, he is seen explaining his decision to propose to Turner before bringing her out on stage.

“Sometimes your blessings will be right in front of your eyes and you don’t even know what God’s got for you. [She’s] an amazingly beautiful woman, an amazingly brilliant woman. Last year she graduated with her doctorate degree” he recalled. “As I saw her walk across that stage and get her degree the Lord said

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‘You big dummy, what are you waiting on?’”

Congregation members stood and cheered as Bryant continued to gush over his now fiance, noting how special she is to him.

“She makes me a better man. I wanted to marry her because I wanted her to be the moon, because I don’t want there to be a night that I don’t see her,” declared Bryant. “I wanted her to be the sun, to be a reminder that the dark season of my life is over. I wanted her to be a rainbow, just to be a reminder that God’s promise is still good for my life. I wanted her to be the rain to let me know that the harvest is coming.”

“For five years you’ve just had a pastor– but going forward for the rest of my days you’re going to have a first lady.”

Since December of 2018, Bryant has been the senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. He was previously married to reality television star Gizelle Bryant of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Potomac” from 2002 to 2009.

Beyond Rent: How Owning a Home Builds Equity and Financial Security

Beyond the tangible assets, homeownership encompasses a myriad of advantages, from financial stability to a sense of belonging and community engagement. Let’s delve into the key benefits that make homeownership a cornerstone of personal and financial well-being.

The AFRO & FitzGerald Financial Group will host a virtual homebuying workshop on June 13th on The AFRO’s Facebook page! Scan below to register!

Building Equity:

One of the most compelling reasons to own a home is the opportunity to build equity over time. Unlike renting, where monthly payments contribute solely to the landlord’s investment, homeownership allows individuals to invest in their future. With each mortgage payment, homeowners gradually increase their ownership stake in the property, building equity that can be leveraged for future endeavors, such as renovations, education expenses, or retirement funds.

Financial Benefits:

Owning a home brings a multitude of financial benefits, including the opportunity to build wealth through equity accumulation and leverage tax deductions on mortgage interest and property taxes. Unlike renting, where monthly payments are subject to fluctuations, homeownership offers the security of predictable monthly payments, particularly with a fixed-rate mortgage. Furthermore, homeownership acts as a safeguard against inflation, as property values typically appreciate over time, bolstering one’s financial portfolio in the long run..

Stability and Roots:

Owning a home provides both stability and roots, offering a sense of permanence and a place to establish lasting memories. For families, homeownership offers stability for children, providing a consistent environment for learning and growth. Additionally, owning a home fosters a deeper connection to the community, as homeowners are more likely to be invested in the well-being of their neighborhood and actively contribute to its improvement. This engagement extends to civic participation, as homeowners play an active role in local events and community initiatives, shaping the fabric of their neighborhoods and enriching the overall quality of life through social connections and networks.

Freedom and Flexibility:

While homeownership entails responsibilities, it also offers unparalleled freedom and flexibility. Homeowners have the autonomy to personalize their living space, whether through renovations, landscaping, or decor choices. Unlike renting, where restrictions may limit creativity

and individuality, owning a home allows individuals to tailor their environment to suit their preferences and lifestyles. Additionally, homeowners have the freedom to make decisions regarding their property without seeking approval from landlords, providing a greater sense of control and autonomy.

Sense of Achievement:

Buying a home is a huge deal! It’s a reward for all your hard work, saving, and discipline. It’s your own place – a space to grow, celebrate, and make memories. Whether it’s a first-time homebuyer stepping onto the property ladder or a seasoned homeowner upgrading to their dream home, the sense of accomplishment that comes with homeownership is unparalleled. It signifies a commitment to building a better future and creating a legacy for generations to come.

Long-Term Wealth Building: Perhaps the most compelling benefit of homeownership is its role in long-term wealth building. As property values appreciate over time, homeowners accumulate equity that can serve as a foundation for future financial

security. Additionally, homeownership provides a hedge against rising rental costs and offers a potential source of income through rental properties or home equity loans. By investing in real estate, individuals can diversify their investment portfolio and lay the groundwork for a prosperous future.

From building equity and financial stability to fostering a sense of community and achievement, homeownership offers unparalleled advantages that extend far beyond the confines of four walls. It’s not just about owning a piece of property; it’s about investing in oneself, building a legacy, and embracing the essence of the American dream.

Have more questions? Join us for a virtual homebuying workshop on June 13th on The AFRO’s Facebook page! Scan below to register!

Shirvan Joseph Diversity Manager/Loan Officer NMLSR# 188513 571-278-8351

Shirvan.joseph@fitzgeraldfinancial.net

FitzGerald Financial Group NMLS# 512138.

The information contained herein (including but not limited to any description of FitzGerald Financial Group, its affiliates and its lending programs and products, eligibility criteria, interest rates, fees and all other loan terms) is subject to change without notice. This article is for informational purposes only. This is not a commitment to lend.

Photo courtesy of Facebook / New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Rev. Jamal Bryant announces his engagement to fellow pastor Karri Turner on social media via a livestream of his sermon on May 26, 2024.

BALTIMORE-AREA

Commentary Empowering our future: The urgent need for driver education in public schools

By Sen. Cory McCray Special to the AFRO

As a father of four schoolaged children thriving in public schools, I see firsthand the incredible potential within our youth. However, I also witness the challenges they face due to a lack of essential resources and opportunities. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that each young scholar has the exposure and resources to reach their full potential. Investing in our young scholars is not just an educational imperative; it is a moral obligation and a cornerstone for the future prosperity of our community.

In January 2024, I had the honor of speaking at Career Day with Ms. Riddle’s class at Achievement Academy High School. While sharing my journey as an electrician, entrepreneur and Maryland State senator, I posed a question to the students: “If you were senator for a day, what would you change or implement?” Their responses highlighted the need for free driver’s education in public schools.

I left the discussion reflecting on a time when driver’s education was a standard part of the curriculum in Maryland schools and questioning why such an important resource was removed.

Schools serve as the beating heart of our neighborhoods. They are more than just places for academic learning– they are hubs of community engagement, support and growth. When we invest in our schools, we are investing in the very fabric of our communities. This investment must be comprehensive, encompassing not only traditional academic subjects

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Courtesy photo

Sen. Cory McCray is a Maryland State legislator representing the 45th District, which encompasses Northeast and East Baltimore City. A proud graduate of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 24, Sen. McCray is dedicated to empowering youth, advocating for equitable education and fostering strong communities.

Gov. Moore signs major public safety bills at fourth and final ceremony

By Tashi McQueen AFRO Political Writer tmcqueen@afro.com

At the fourth and final bill signing of the 2024 Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed several much anticipated and controversial public safety measures into law.

“When we entered office, we said that public safety was going to be our number one priority. In order to actually get the results we wanted it meant that we were going to have to move differently,” said Moore at the live-streamed bill signing on May 16. “Baltimore had endured over 300 homicides every year for eight straight years before we took office. The issue of public safety mattered too much to think

“When we entered office, we said that public safety was going to be our number one priority. In order to actually get the results we wanted it meant that we were going to have to move differently.”

that we could call on everyone else to take action without being willing to take action ourselves.”

That action includes passing several major public safety bills, including legislation to create the Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention, the Juvenile Law Reform, the Pava Marie LaPere Act and the Pava LaPere Legacy of Innovation Act of 2024.

“There was a challenging issue that we came into session [with] this year dealing with youth who have committed crimes. It was an issue that we heard from constituents, from law enforcement, from defense attorneys, from the Department of Juvenile Services, that the juvenile service

As Johnny O eyes Congressional seat,

By Tashi McQueen AFRO Political Writer tmcqueen@afro.com

As the last leg of Baltimore City’s Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget process gets underway, the city council hosted its annual Taxpayer’s Night on May 16, providing an opportunity for residents to have their say on what should be included in the budget.

“As a tenant advocate and organizer I not only hear but witness the unsafe and deplorable conditions that renters are subjected to live in here in Baltimore.”

Though not many were in attendance, residents who were there spoke passionately about what they wanted to see in the budget.

“My ask for the council is to adjust the operating budget under the public safety pillar to include a transparent line item with a dollar amount that is Baltimore residents push for investments in public safety and protections for renters at City Council Taxpayer’s Night

many

see Julian Jones as next Baltimore county executive

By Tashi McQueen AFRO Political Writer tmcqueen@afro.com

With Baltimore County Executive John “Johnny O” Olszewski securing the Democratic nomination for Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District, consideration has begun on who would finish the rest of his four-year term and potentially succeed him.

One potential candidate named is the previous chair of the council, Baltimore County Councilman Julian Jones (D-District 4). “I’m humbled and honored that people would consider me,” said Jones, emphasizing that there is no current vacancy, so his focus is not on the potential opening at this time. “Right

now, I’m just humbled and really focused on doing my job as being the best councilperson I can be for all the citizens of Baltimore County.”

The Charter of Baltimore County states that the county administrative officer would immediately be the interim county executive upon Olszewski’s resignation, but the County Council is left to make a definitive decision on who will finish his term.

“I’m confident that my colleagues, as well as myself, will do what’s best for Baltimore County,” said Jones.

The council’s current chairman, Izzy Patoka (D-District 2),

Photo courtesy of the Maryland Office of the Governor

Gov. Wes Moore (D) (left) and Sen. Bill Ferguson (D-Md.-46) sign public safety measures into law on May 16.

Courtesy photo Baltimore County Councilman Julian Jones (D-District 4), shown here, is being discussed as a possible successor to County Executive John “Johnny O” Olszewski, who is currently pursuing the senate seat in Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District.

Gov. Moore

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system was not working as effectively as possible,” said Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Md.-46). “This is probably one of the most controversial and hard issues that we have because, at the end of the day, what we’re talking about are kids.”

“I am very proud of the work that we are going to be putting into law today to create greater accountability, rehabilitation and coordination, or ARC, within the juvenile justice system,” said Ferguson.

The Juvenile Law Reform bill permits the juvenile court system expanded jurisdiction over 10 through

12-year-olds who have allegedly committed car theft, animal abuse, offenses involving firearms and thirddegree sexual offenses. The law previously stated that no child under 13 can be charged with a crime.

The two LaPere bills are in homage to Baltimore Tech CEO Pava La Pere, who was allegedly murdered in her downtown apartment by a convicted repeat sex offender in September 2023. “Pava was a friend. You never forget meeting Pava,” said Moore. “She was an entrepreneur– someone who had a brilliant mind, someone who committed herself to

Driver education

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but also essential life skills that prepare our children for the future.

One critical area that demands our attention is driver’s education. In Maryland, an individual must be 15 years and 9 months old to obtain a learner’s permit, yet many public schools do not offer driver’s education. This gap leaves many young people without the means to gain a driver’s license, which is crucial for their mobility and independence. A driver’s license opens up numerous opportunities for young people, giving them a head start even before graduation. It is a gateway to jobs, apprenticeships and broader participation in society.

As a strong advocate of apprenticeship programs and a proud graduate of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 24, I know the importance of having a driver’s license. Many apprenticeship programs require applicants to have a driver’s license as it is essential for job site access and work-related travel. This requirement is a frequent topic of discussion during the annual apprenticeship tours hosted by myself and the College Bound Foundation. By offering schools the option to partner with a non-profit to provide driver’s education, we not only prepare our students for the workforce but also equip them with a vital skill that enhances their independence and opportunities.

Inspired by the feedback from Ms. Riddle’s students, I sponsored Senate Bill 1081, which aims to establish the Driver Education in Public Schools Grant Program. This legislation provides $2 million in perpetual grants to assist public schools in offering driver education courses, particularly in schools with a concentration of poverty of 40 percent or higher. The

Taxpayer’s night

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dedicated to youth violence prevention,” said Agzja Carey, Baltimore resident and executive director of Crayons and Culture, a non-profit. “Specifically, with the focus on getting dollars to Black-led grassroots organizations.”

This will be the second year that city council members have the newly permitted ability to move allocated funds around in the budget. Last year, with that power,

“As a tenant advocate and organizer I hear [and] witness the unsafe and deplorable conditions that renters are subjected to in Baltimore.”

they moved $10 million around to fund better equipment for firefighters, violence prevention and finer facilities for laborers.

Detrese Dowridge, a member of Baltimore Renters United, a tenant advocacy organization, asked that $2.5 million be allocated in the FY25 budget to pay for additional housing inspectors and put $20 million towards rental assistance.

“As a tenant advocate and organizer I hear [and] witness the unsafe and deplorable conditions that renters are subjected to in

building a brighter and a better future for all of us.”

“These two bills in concert do two things, they both make sure that the tragedy that happened to Pava never happens again,” said Moore. “They also celebrate the light that Pava was and that she still is.”

The governor’s office also released a list of vetoed bills from this session, including legislation that would have modernized the state’s public notice requirements concerning estate administration and a bill that would have allowed out-of-state RV dealers to temporarily participate in

Maryland RV shows.

In a letter to House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Md.-10), Moore said he vetoed the public notice bill because it did not adequately address the multifaceted issue of the current requirement, which costs the state a lot of money but helps local news stay alive and thriving in a time when they are dwindling throughout the country.

In a letter to Ferguson, Moore said he vetoed the RV bill because it would take business away from Maryland-licensed RV dealers without affording them the same opportunity as

Jones

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public school and a non-profit organization will work in partnership to offer the course. This initiative is a direct response to the voices of our students and a significant step towards addressing their needs.

In March, Mrs. Riddle and a few of the students who championed this idea made their case in Annapolis, delivering testimony to the Education, Energy and the Environment Committee, chaired by Sen. Brian Feldman (D) and vice-chaired by Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D). Their efforts paid off when Gov. Moore signed this legislation on May 16, with the bill going into effect on July 1. This success story highlights the power of listening to our young scholars and taking decisive action based on their insights.

While the passage of Senate Bill 1081 is a significant milestone, it is just the beginning. Our public education system requires a comprehensive reassessment. We must address the disparities in funding and resources to ensure every child receives an education that equips them for the future. We need to look beyond mere survival in our educational institutions and aim for excellence that nurtures the full potential of our students.

Investing in our young scholars is not just about funding; it is about believing in their potential and providing them with the tools they need to succeed. By listening to our young scholars and addressing their needs, we can create a more equitable and effective educational system. It’s time to make good on the promise of a world-class education for all students because our children deserve nothing less. Let us stand together, invest boldly in our future and ensure that every young scholar has the opportunity to thrive.

the bill did for licensed outof-state RV dealers.

Moore also signed the fiscal year 2025 (FY25) budget into law. “By working together, we made significant investments in public safety, education, housing, child care,” said Moore.

Moore also highlighted that state officials and legislators made these investments without raising personal income tax, corporate income tax, sales tax or state property tax.

Legislators were at odds in addressing the $761 million projected deficit for FY25. House delegates

was also named by Council David Marks.

“Quite a few people have reached out to me and asked me to consider that and I will be making some sort of decision towards my future at the end of this year,” said Patoka.

Matthew Crenson, professor emeritus of political science at Johns Hopkins University, said Patoka and Jones both have been vocal on the council and are more likely to get reelected because they are Democrats.

“It’s critical that our next county executive continue to build on the foundational and transformative reforms we’ve put in place to open our government like never before, to further embed principles of equity and suitability into the culture of governing and to embrace data and innovation so that we can keep building a better Baltimore County for decades to come,” said Olszewski, when asked about his thoughts on who should succeed him.

believed in raising taxes and fees to close the gap, while the Senate and the governor opposed raising taxes. The House and Senate reconciled $257 million of revenues by increasing vehicle registration fees, generating a Transportation Network Company impact fee, an annual registration surcharge on owners of zeroemission and plug-in electric vehicles, raising the dealer processing charges and raising fines for speeding in work zones.

is a Report For America corps member.

“caretaker” to carry out the rest of the county executive’s term.

“If you follow what happened in 2018, when County Executive Kamenetz passed away, the council’s impulse was to appoint a caretaker who would serve until the next election,” said Marks. “I have a feeling that’s probably the direction the council is going to go.”

“I’m humbled and honored that people would consider me.”

According to the Maryland State Board of Elections’ 2020 list of eligible active voters in Baltimore County, of the 566,408 people listed, 55 percent were registered as Democrats and 25 percent were Republicans. Currently, on the County Council, there are four Democrats and three Republicans.

County Councilman David Marks (R-District 5) revealed the names of a few more potential persons that may run based on the county’s ability to either select a council member for the position or choose a

Marks said Barry Williams, former Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks director and State Senator Kathy Klausmeier (D-Md.-08) are among the names of potentially interested “caretakers.” Williams worked for 16 years in the Baltimore County Government. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Maryland State Fair and Agricultural Society and the Pikesville Armory Foundation. He has also worked in several overseeing positions in the Baltimore City and Baltimore County school systems.

Klausmeier has been a state senator for 21 years, during which she has co-led legislation to create the nation’s first Prescription Drug Affordability Board and a bill in 2018 to prohibit the use of gag clauses which prevent pharmacists from discussing lower drug prices with customers.

Tashi McQueen is a Report For America corps member.

The

Baltimore,” said Dowridge. “I would also like our city leaders to do better with speaking with and seeking input from organizers who are on the ground doing the work to make the city a better place.”

Unsplash/Sincerely Media

Mayor Brandon M. Scott unveiled his $4.06 billion preliminary FY25 budget in April, amidst Key Bridge collapse recovery efforts. At the budget unveiling, Scott said no funding is included for the Key Bridge in his proposed FY25 budget because the city does not yet know what financial impact the collapse will have.

The budget includes $19 million in funding for school construction, $3.5 million for building enhancements at the southern and eastern police district stations and $14.2 million to modernize several citywide software systems. Next, the city council will hold budget hearings with city agencies starting May 23 and continuing through June 6 in order to come to a consensus and pass the budget by June 26, per the Charter of Baltimore City.

The need for housing inspectors was discussed in a March Baltimore City Council meeting on a bill that aims to strengthen renter safety. During the meeting, a representative of the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) explained that part of the issue is that inspectors have to go into unsafe environments with little to no protection, which can be a hindrance to DHCD’s ability to employ and retain inspectors.

Tashi McQueen is a Report For America corps member.

Tashi McQueen

city council is holding budget hearings with city agencies through June 6 to debate, amend and pass the budget by June 26.

Will Maryland’s Blueprint for education work? An oversight board — and district officials — will be watching

By Lizzy Alspach and Apurva Mahajan

By Capital News Service

Maryland plans to spend $16.6 billion through 2029, along with billions more after that, to improve its public schools.

But will it work?

State legislators created a seven-member oversight board to ensure it would.

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a transformative education law passed in 2021, aims to boost student performance and education quality throughout Maryland schools. It outlines these goals in five pillars: the expansion of prekindergarten, the hiring and retention of high-quality and diverse teachers and leaders, college and career readiness, additional resources, and accountability and governance.

Lawmakers established the Blueprint’s Accountability and Implementation Board to monitor the Blueprint’s progress. The board oversees funding and initiative implementation while providing guidance to school districts, all with the intention of improving academic performance in Maryland.

“I think part of it is just understanding that we can do better, we need to do better and we’re going to do better,” said Rachel Hise, executive director of the accountability board.

“That’s the promise of the Blueprint.”

School leaders across the state tend to agree — but they said the Blueprint comes with complications that go beyond the financial challenges it poses to the state and its 24 public school districts. Educators said they’re concerned about the Blueprint’s deadlines, a lack of detailed procedural information and the plan’s overall place in the educational system.

“Implementing a law as comprehensive as the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is going to be a herculean effort under the best of circumstances,” Baltimore City Public Schools officials wrote in their May 1 report to the accountability board. “But combined with the added complexities of pandemic recovery, delays that resulted in extremely limited preimplementation planning time for districts, and the slow pace of regulations and guidance pertaining to the Blueprint, the challenges are amplified.”

Assessing the Blueprint

The Accountability and Implementation Board will oversee the progress of each public school system in implementing Blueprint initiatives.

The board is by law required to:

• Develop a plan to fully implement the Blueprint in public school systems, complete with timelines and deadlines.

• Monitor the progress school districts and the state are making regarding the Blueprint by reporting annually on 92 data measures, which collect information on student performance, by Blueprint funding.

• Determine if changes need to be made to the plan to achieve the plan’s original goals.

• Ensure “Expert Review Teams” of teachers, faculty and staff observe schools and understand how to make recommendations about changing how the plan is implemented.

• Release about a quarter of Blueprint funds each year to school systems that are implementing inititives properly.

• Hire an independent contractor to evaluate the Blueprint’s success.

• Ensure school systems demonstrate at least 75 percent of funding received per student follows the students to their school.

Under the law, the accountability board can withhold funding from school systems that fail to implement Blueprint initiatives or show significant student progress.

The board holds routine meetings to hear from Marylanders. It also has a series of advisory groups to gather feedback from teachers, parents, students and other stakeholders, according to Laura Stapleton, a board member and chair of the University of Maryland’s Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology.

“There’s so many moving parts,” Stapleton said. “Many different stakeholders are needed to implement all the various parts of the Blueprint.” Stretching deadlines

Every Maryland public school district is responsible for rolling out Blueprint initiatives and collecting each of the 92 different data measures for the Accountability and Implementation Board to evaluate, Stapleton said.

But school district officials said none of that is easy.

“With educational reform of this scale, it is difficult to keep up with the constant changes, timelines and work of each pillar,” Carroll

County school district leaders said in their May 1 submission to the accountability board.

Janine Bacquie, Montgomery County Public Schools’ Blueprint implementation coordinator, said her district is straining to properly gather data and implement Blueprint initiatives within allocated deadlines.

“We’re struggling to get the guidance that we need to do the work that we need to do with a short timeline,” Bacquie said. “If we had

“I think part of it is just understanding that we can do better, we need to do better and we’re going to do better. That’s the promise of the Blueprint.”

another year or two, it’d certainly take some of

about a need for more details about the Blueprint.

“There’s a lot of information that definitely needs to be clarified,” Jefferson said. “I think it needs to be disseminated in a clear, concise manner where of course our principals are able to understand — and understand the impact that it has for each school.”

Members of the accountability board encourage community members to provide feedback. Principals, parents and teachers are urged to reach out about the Blueprint, Rachel Amstutz, the accountability board’s policy director, said at a principals conference late last year.

“We need to hear from the local level what’s happening and what you need,” Amstutz said. “We need to hear from our parents what’s working for their kids and what isn’t.”

Lingering concerns

Implementing the Blueprint hasn’t gone exactly as planned so far. Deadlines for criteria and implementation plans have been extended

at least three times. And in district-level Blueprint plans submitted this spring, school officials across the state expressed a variety of concerns.

“From funding uncertainties to staffing shortages and delays in receiving critical guidance, the district must navigate various obstacles to ensure the successful execution of Blueprint initiatives,” Caroline County school officials said in their March submission to the accountability board.

Meanwhile, school officials in Allegany County said workforce issues make implementing the Blueprint a challenge. “Sustaining district-level initiatives across all schools is difficult because of staff retirements and turnover rates,” officials wrote in their May 1 report.

In their Blueprint update, St. Mary’s County school officials said they are concerned about all the elements of public education the Blueprint ignores. Other crucial parts of the learning experience could see funding cuts as the district strives to meet the Blueprint’s mandates, they said.

“The ubiquitous challenge inherent in meeting Blueprint goals is in the fact that the Blueprint is silent on supporting all else, i.e., the arts, athletics, enrichment and after-school programming, transportation, facilities, health care, etc.,” St. Mary’s County school officials wrote. “These elements of school are necessary and imperative in supporting the whole child.”

Amid all the concerns, Bacquie, Montgomery County’s Blueprint coordinator, said further delays may be necessary. The rush to complete various measures in the Blueprint could render the plan to reinvent Maryland’s public schools less effective than it could otherwise be, she said.

“It’s not something where you just come in and say something’s going to change overnight,” Bacquie said. “You’re changing hearts, thoughts, minds, strategies.”

This article was originally published by Capital News Service. Local News Network Director Jerry Zremski contributed to this report. SATURDAY JUNE 8, 2024

“Because the implementation of Blueprint is massive and encompasses the entire district, one of the biggest challenges is communicating with employees the ways in which their work already aligns with the Blueprint,” Prince George’s County school officials said in their March 2024 submission to the accountability board.

The Accountability and Implementation Board holds regular meetings on Zoom for anyone to attend. All meetings are held online and published in an online archive for anyone to view.

But Javier Valera, a math content specialist at a public middle school in Montgomery County, said he and other teachers have no clue about the depth of information in the Blueprint.

He said the state should work harder to keep teachers informed.

Changes are coming next year, “and we don’t even know anything about it,” Valera said. “It is concerning, because we are going to be the ones implementing the plan. … There should be more transparency and they need to talk with us and let us know what is this about.”

Sparkle Jefferson, an assistant principal at Flintstone Elementary School in Prince George’s County, echoed Valera’s sentiments

Unsplash / La-Rel Easter

the education system via the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future through 2029.

Months after costly civil lawsuit settlement, Baltimore City’s rivers still polluting

By Brennan Stewart Capital News Service

In one of his most viral videos to date, with over three million views on Instagram and close to a million views on TikTok, Baltimore crabber and social media influencer Luke McFadden addresses the camera while standing on his boat in the Chesapeake Bay.

“Every time it rains in Maryland, at least where I’m at, we have garbage like this tire that washes down from places like the Conowingo Dam,” McFadden says.

Using his reach pole, he hoists a massive rubber tire from the water and brings it aboard.

“In addition to the trash, we get this lovely brown, foamy slime on the top, which happens to be raw sewage that dumps out from the Baltimore City wastewater treatment plants,” he says.

McFadden then gestures toward the water, where there is indeed a dark layer of sludge instead of a pale blue hue that most would expect.

“The issue we have here in the Chesapeake Bay is a water quality issue,” he says. “You can catch and throw back as many of whatever it is you want, but nothing is gonna live in a stagnant puddle — not one that gets sewage dumped in it every time it rains.”

Posted to Instagram and TikTok just two months after Baltimore City settled a $4.75 million lawsuit for violations at each of its two wastewater treatment plants, the Jan. 21 video combined for over 4500 comments on both platforms.

“Your city tax dollars at work,” one comment read.

“It does stink at the harbor when it rains,” said another.

But the reality is, sewage is supposed to enter the Chesapeake Bay through the Back and Patapsco Rivers only after it’s been properly treated by the plants which happen to be the largest in Maryland.

And as for “raw sewage,” experts say that’s not exactly the case.

“That’s kind of a misconception - it’s still sewage, but it’s partially treated a lot of

times because there is such an influx of rain,”

Desiree Greaver, project manager for the Back River Restoration Committee (BRRC), told Capital News Service. “We have these rain events where there’s tons of rain, and the plant can’t handle it so they’ll skip certain steps.”

For Greaver, the effects that skipping steps has had on the bay were not made clear until March 2021 when the BRRC received a call from a concerned city resident.

“We got a call on a Friday evening from a gentleman that said ‘you’re not going to believe the stuff I see. There is solid waste all over the river,’” Greaver said. “The only thing I knew was to call Alice (Volpitta) that evening.”

Alice Volpitta is the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper for Blue Water Baltimore, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring the quality of the city’s rivers, streams and harbor.

As one of 17 waterkeepers in the Chesapeake Bay region, Volpitta’s role is to advocate for clean water in the city’s two rivers and amplify the voices of citizens who live near them. It’s a job she has held for 10 years since leaving the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in 2014.

“There’s one facility in the Patapsco River and there’s one in the Back River and both of them failed at the same time. So it was kind of like a perfect storm specifically for a waterkeeper to get involved here,” Volpitta said.

Volpitta said that in a perfect situation, the wastewater treatment plants would only be treating sewage and not rainwater, but the sewer pipes themselves are old and leaky. Because of this, rainwater infiltrates and creates an excess volume at the plants, and this same phenomenon has caused sewage to rise up from city manholes and through resident’s basements and toilets.

Flash forward to May 2021. Blue Water Baltimore twice detected high levels of bacteria at the Patapsco plant’s discharge pipe, prompting Volpitta to immediately notify the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).

In the following days, inspections by

MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

MARYLAND TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION (MTA)

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS

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MTA gives notice of two virtual public hearings regarding proposed changes to Local Bus service. The proposal includes service changes to CityLink Lime and Silver; LocalLink 59, 62, 63, 65, 67, 71, 73, and 85; QuickLink 40; and Express BusLink 105, 160, and 163. The proposed service changes would become effective on Sunday, August 25, 2024.

Complete details of the proposed service changes are available for public review in the Transit Store and the lobby of the William Donald Schaefer Building at 6 St. Paul Street in Baltimore and online at mta.maryland.gov/servicechanges/fall2024.

Individuals and organizations are invited to provide testimony during the public hearings via online or by phone.

Two Virtual Public Hearings

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

4:00 PM – 7:00 PM Meeting ID: 878 1916 2010

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12:00 PM – 2:00 PM Meeting ID: 823 8430 9572

Virtual Participation:

Online via Zoom and by Phone.

• Testimony will be provided via audio only. Advance registration is not offered.

• To join via Zoom visit mta.maryland.gov/servicechanges/fall2024 and click the link to the hearing session.

Access by Phone - at 301-715-8592 and enter the meeting ID for the hearing session.

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Written comments may be submitted via email to HearingComments@mdot.maryland.gov with “Local Bus Testimony” as the subject heading. Comments may also be mailed to MTA Office of Customer Relations, 6 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. Written comments will be accepted for the official public hearing record through Monday, July 8, 2024.

Please contact the department listed below to request assistance with hearing or speech difficulties, a language interpreter, or printed material in an alternate format or translated. All requests must be received one week in advance.

Por favor comuníquese con el departamento que se indica a continuación para solicitar ayuda con las dificultades auditivas o del habla, un intérprete de idiomas o material impreso en un formato alternativo o traducido. Todas las solicitudes deben ser recibidas con una semana de antelación.

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officials from MDE found a large fish kill in the bay, as well as trees growing in the plants’ outdoor settling tanks that are designed to reduce overflow during large rain events.

How do they reduce overflow? By holding the excess water.

“Those trees don’t just happen, which is a big concern,” Greaver said. “Those trees had root systems that took far longer than seven months to develop.”

Failing its inspection, the Patapsco plant was cited for having “insufficient maintenance and operational staff” and several “equipment failures.” A system that was installed to remove nitrogen was being bypassed altogether, and MDE found floating solids near the discharge pipe to be a result of several procedural violations.

MDE also determined that the plant exceeded its permitted limit on nitrogen and phosphorus releases in 2020, and also failed to comply with a 2016 consent order that aimed at reducing outputs of fats and oils.

Three months later, at the end of August 2021, the Back River treatment plant failed an MDE inspection that was prompted by the findings at the Patapsco plant. Finding similar operational and maintenance issues, MDE was authorized by state law to assess fines of up to $10,000 per day.

For Blue Water Baltimore, the next step was to file a $4.75 million lawsuit in December 2021 against the city with the Chesapeake Legal Alliance.

The Clean Water Act requires a 60-day notice period, allowing time for the plants to come into compliance and avoid litigation. The facilities failed to do so.

The city did not settle the lawsuit until last November, only after the Maryland Environmental Service (MES) temporarily assumed control of supervisory operations at the Back River treatment plant under orders by then-Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles.

Grumbles in March 2022 had issued a previous order for the treatment plants to prevent all illegal discharge from entering the rivers, which is a direct violation of the Clean Water Act.

It took the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) just 72 hours to fail to comply, but the city agency said it had requested MES to get involved: “The Department of Public Works has always had supervisory control of operations at the plant,” a department spokesperson told CNS on Friday.

“DPW contracted Maryland Environmental Service to manage two construction improvement projects at the plant,” the spokesperson said.

Forty percent of the city’s lawsuit settlement, which totaled $1.9 million, was diverted to the Chesapeake Bay Trust, which is responsible for awarding those funds to grant projects aimed at restoring the Back River and Patapsco watersheds.

But awarding grant money isn’t a simple process, according to Chesapeake Bay Trust President Jana Davis. Grant recipients are selected from a lengthy list of applicants by a review committee, and the selection process takes months.

“We use principles of participatory

thinking, which is just a fancy term for working with communities to really understand what they need before we say ‘Hey, here’s this project in your community,’” Davis told CNS. “Communities that have been impacted by events like this don’t always have a say in how money gets reinvested back to them.”

Davis said the Chesapeake Bay Trust aims to finalize its grant recipients by late fall of this year. As for the projects themselves, many are expected to start being implemented right away, but others may have to be postponed until next spring.

“We hope that all of the grantees will be well on their way to sort of completing a project within a two-year period from fall 2024 to, say, fall 2026,” Davis said.

Greaver’s Back River Restoration Committee is one of many environmental organizations applying to use a portion of the $1.9 million. As for when the effects from the wastewater treatment plants will be completely reversed, that’s something Greaver thinks will take time.

“I hope that happens before I’m no longer on this Earth,” she said. “That’s the most optimistic I can be given how there seems to be a lack of concern from the folks that own and operate the plants. Unless there’s a real change in Baltimore City, it just seems like it’s one of those things that gets brushed under the rug.”

Baltimore City is now under two separate consent decrees to prevent future sewage overflows.

The 2002 Sanitary Sewer Consent Decree was a result of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and MDE suing Baltimore City for discharging sewage into local waterways. Because sewage overflows were still happening at the decree’s original expiration in

“Every

time it rains in

Maryland, at least where I’m

at,

we have

garbage like this tire that washes down from places like the Conowingo Dam. In addition to the trash, we get this lovely brown, foamy slime on the top, which happens to be raw sewage that dumps out from the Baltimore City wastewater treatment plants.”

2016, a renegotiation now gives the city until 2030 to prevent all sewage overflows from occurring.

This renegotiation birthed Baltimore City’s “Headworks Project,” a $430 million investment that aims to increase holding capacity at the treatment plants while also relining sewer pipes to increase water velocity. This prevents solids from settling in the sewers.

A second consent decree approved last fall is focusing on the wastewater facilities themselves, ensuring that both are in compliance with MDE regulations and are functioning normally.

The Baltimore DPW is responsible for making the required changes. That agency only regained control of the Dundalk plant on May 1 of last year after MES relinquished responsibility for supervisory operations under direction from the Baltimore City Board of Estimates.

“Until that plant is holding every single person and every single manager and every single department and every single contractor in the fire, I feel like we’re just going to keep coming right back here,” Greaver said.

Photo courtesy of TikTok

Baltimore crabber and social media influencer Luke McFadden with his hook, which he uses to fish items from rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.

Black small businesses point to sales boosts as potential TikTok ban looms in the distance

By Megan Sayles AFRO Business Writer msayles@afro.com

A recent report from Oxford Economics discovered that U.S. small- and midsizebusinesses (SMBs) generated $14.7 billion in revenue through advertising on TikTok in 2023. The enterprises spanned industries, including food and beverage, health and wellness, automotive, business services, tourism and real estate.

In particular, Black-owned businesses have created more than 1.5 million videos, amassing more than 3.3 billion views. Eightythree percent of them say they’ve experienced sales increases after promoting on TikTok, according to the report.

“TikTok provides a new path to business growth for SMBs,” wrote Oxford Economics. “These organizations use TikTok’s wide reach and high engagement to promote their brand, create awareness of products and services and track the success of business initiatives in the app.”

Fifty-seven percent of Black businesses said TikTok is critical to their existence. Not only has the platform boosted their sales, it’s helped them to scale. Fifty-nine percent of Black SMBs have used the app to hire a new employee, and 76 percent have been able to secure a new investor with the help of the platform.

In April, President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that made way for a potential ban of TikTok. U.S. lawmakers have argued that the app poses a national security risk as it’s owned by China-based company, ByteDance. The technology company has a year to sell its stake in the app before it’s shut down.

Some Black SMBs worry a ban could harm their businesses.

Jackson is a mother of three and former healthcare professional from Chattanooga, Tenn. In 2002, during a family outing, her 2-year-old son began choking. Although she was CPRcertified, Jackson froze out of sheer panic.

Her husband thankfully stepped in to save their child, but Jackson couldn’t shake the fact that she was unable to take action. This inspired her to create CPRWrap, a portable first aid tool for resuscitation.

The kit provides a template with simple CPR instructions that can be placed over a person undergoing a cardiac emergency. The product hit the market in 2018.

“When I first saw TikTok, I didn’t think promoting my business was something that was feasible because my daughter was on it a lot and she used it for dancing,” said Jackson. “I thought it was entertainment only and that my business would not fit on the platform at all.”

“This potential ban is concerning for minority companies like myself because TikTok is more than just a social media platform. It’s a lifeline.”

“This potential ban is concerning for minority companies like myself because TikTok is more than just a social media platform. It’s a lifeline,” said Felicia Jackson, founder of CPRWrap. “It saved the life of my business, and because other people were able to see it, it saved the lives of people out there in the world.”

It was a disheartening conversation with a mentor that finally pushed Jackson to take to the app. The mentor told Jackson she should make a White person the face of her company, implying that would be the only avenue for growth.

She posted about the experience in February 2022 and went viral, garnering more than 754,000 views and 137,000 likes. TikTok users flooded the comment section with questions about Jackson’s invention, and she posted another video introducing the life-saving tool.

Nearly 1.4 million people saw the clip.

“We made almost $600,000 dollars from that one video, and I was able to keep my doors open,” said Jackson. “I was able to hire, pay myself and buy inventory.”

Jackson’s growth on TikTok has also

spurred more followers on her other social media pages. For her, the platform was the key to overcoming an obstacle that many minority businesses face, a lack of visibility.

“Could a ban jeopardize my livelihood? Yes, there’s a possibility it could,” said Jackson. “It’s disheartening to see.”

Stormi Steele, CEO and founder of Canvas Beauty, said while she’s been thinking about the potential ban, she hasn’t allowed it to consume her.

“When the time comes, I hope that people and brands like mine on TikTok can be a voice for not seeing it go away because to me it does more good than bad as of right now,” said Steele.

The small-town Mississpi native created her first product, the Canvas Hair Blossom Serum, in 2015 while working as a hairstylist. Soon after, she decided to quit her day job and start selling the hair product online.

In her first year, Steele generated $1 million in sales. The brand continued to rapidly grow, hitting the $20-million mark in 2020.

But, Steele almost went bankrupt.

“I grew so fast, and I just didn’t know a lot or how to properly vet people who wouldn’t take advantage of me,” said Steele. “In 2023,

we launched a new product called Body Glaze, and it did moderately decent numbers on the website, considering we had been in business before. But, when we got TikTok, we saw this tremendous boom.”

She posted her first viral video last August. It follows Steele as she prepares Body Glaze orders. In the same month, Canvas Beauty joined TikTok Shop, which enables brands to sell directly through content on the app. By December, Steele secured a new 30,000 square-foot warehouse for the business, which she moved into in March. She’s also been able to grow her staff from 10 to 60 employees. The brand captured about $5 million in sales in March alone—the vast majority of which came from TikTok.

Though Steele isn’t allowing the potential TikTok ban to intimidate her, she is conceiving courses of actions if the app is prohibited.

“As of right now, I’m focused on the dayto-day of it all and trying not to make myself afraid of what the future may be,” said Steele. “I’m also intentionally putting measures in place if the worst was to happen.”

Megan Sayles is a Report for America Corps member.

Maryland Tax Connect: Revolutionizing state tax payments with a modern, user-friendly portal

By Imuetinyan Ugiagbe Special to the AFRO

The Maryland comptroller’s office has launched a multiphase effort to modernize the state’s 30-year-old tax system. The Maryland Tax Connect portal, introduced in February 2024 by Comptroller Brooke Lierman, the first woman to hold this position, is designed to simplify the tax filing process.

Lierman, Maryland’s 34th comptroller, is committed to transforming the office into an innovative, accessible and transparent state agency. She explains that the Maryland Tax Connect online portal allows businesses to make payments, track payments and refunds, obtain business licenses and more. The secure, cloud-based portal is designed to be more efficient.

While other states have updated their business portals, Maryland was among the few still using outdated technology. This upgrade is significantly easing the lives of business owners.

Emmalyne Head, the owner of Southern Belle Cleaners, started her business during the COVID-19

pandemic. “After an eight-year career in the automotive industry, I saw COVID sweeping the country and knew there was a need for quality janitorial services. So, after debating whether to purchase a franchise, I decided to start my own cleaning business.”

Southern Belle Cleaners provides commercial janitorial services for office buildings and post-construction sites and helps individuals declutter their homes to create healthier living environments.

Head met a representative from the comptroller’s office at a business

expo. Before using the online portal, she had questions about business tax filing. The representative connected her to the Greenbelt office, where she was introduced to Maryland Tax Connect. She describes the portal as an “easy and secure method to handle my taxes.” She also uses the hotline and user guides to assist with the filing process.

Kimberly Royster, an accounting professional with over 20 years of experience, says the Maryland Tax Connect portal is a one-stop shop for many state tax payments. “I have seen many businesses thrive

and many millionaires, but very few were minorities, and very few small businesses thrive beyond $1 million and beyond three years. With this data, I started working with small businesses to support them in growth and compliance through finances.”

Her six-year-old business, Kimberly Services LLC, offers services such as sales and use tax processing, payroll tax processing, W2 processing, registering new tax accounts, and quarterly estimated

“Maryland Tax Connect portal is a one-stop shop for many state tax payments.”

taxes for minority small businesses.

Royster, who is part of Comptroller Lierman’s Board Advisory Work Group, was excited to learn how the new software would address some of the business owners’ concerns. Before utilizing the online software, Royster had difficulties with reporting, tracking data and managing payments. She says the online platform “makes it easier to locate the information needed and provides great backup. There is one place to locate all of the processing.”

Businesses do not need to be licensed to access the portal, and there are numerous resources for those interested in using the services. Comptroller Lierman encourages business owners to visit the comptroller’s office website to learn about the different business resources available. “We’re also trying to make sure people know how to use the system. So, we have personalized call center assistance, and business taxpayers can schedule an appointment to have a representative of our office call them and work with them to address questions and assist with tax filings. We also offer webinars where Maryland businesses can sign up to learn about the functions of Maryland Tax Connect.” Comptroller Lierman aims to enable all Maryland taxpayers to pay their state taxes through the Maryland Tax Connect portal by 2026.

AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey

Many Americans do not agree with congressional efforts to ban TikTok in the U.S. if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake. Black small business owners in particular say Tik Tok is an invaluable tool in boosting their businesses.

Are Christian values in sync with those of the Divine Nine, or not?

By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware Word in Black

Choosing which sorority or fraternity to pledge is a decision often made before college students arrive on campus — usually based on chosen occupation, what your friends may be doing, and which group offers the most prestige for their future. And, of course, if legacy plays a part, it’s really decided.

Every now and then, however, the issue arises as to whether the values of the Divine Nine — historically Black fraternities and sororities — are in sync with students’ personal Christian values.

Such was the case on May 20 when Howard University rising senior Zora Sanders posted an open letter to Instagram that said she was renouncing her membership in one of these Black Greek Letter Organizations.

“I am a Spring 2024 Initiate of Alpha Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

I am writing this letter to inform Nationals that I have officially renounced and denounced membership in this organization,” Sanders wrote.

Sanders said that she’d done her due diligence in researching her chosen sorority, but “despite all the research and information I had gathered, I was not aware of the specific requirements.”

She then detailed what she now considers to be ritual parts of the Delta initiation that she felt betrayed her faith.

“In order to become a member, I had to make a pledge,

swear an oath of allegiance, and perform a ritual ceremony that involved kneeling/bowing at an altar,” Sanders wrote. Ultimately, she concluded the process of crossing over to become a Delta involved “idolatry, a sin that costs eternal life.”

Going public in this manner sparked a firestorm of reactions across social media platforms, with many folks upset that Sanders denounced her membership in the Alpha chapter — the first chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Folks pointed out that she may have taken the spot of another woman who wanted to be in the sorority. Other folks were upset that Sanders shared private information about the initiation process in a public forum. But most of all, folks took issue with the insinuation that BGLOs are in some way cultish or satanic.

Dr. Karsonya (Kaye) Whitehead, host of WEAA’s

“Today with Dr. Kaye” show in Baltimore, has been a Delta since 1989. She finds Sanders’ assertion surprising and thinks it’s just TikTok fodder, where everything is done publicly for likes and monetization.

“I am a Christian, a pastor’s kid, and a Delta. I am what people call a crib Baptist, in that I was stuffed with the word when I was in the crib. There has never been a moment when I felt that my faith conflicted with my sorority values,” Whitehead says.

“We pray together, attend church together, and lift each up,” Whitehead says of her

fellow Deltas. “We have a large number of members active in their local churches — from deaconesses to pastors to ministers to bishops to prayer warriors.”

Poet, theologian, and educator Ajanaé Dawkins, a fourth-generation member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she was once “deep in a toxic religious space that almost convinced” her to denounce her membership.

“Theologies that isolate you, demonize the world around you, & demand allegiance to God through public performance creep slowly.”

Dawkins wrote that initially, her membership in AKA wasn’t an issue in her faith community. But the idea of denouncing her membership “was introduced slowly until one day it was

being demanded in altar calls.”

And in an op-ed he wrote in February, Rev. Keith Magee, chair and professor of practice in social justice at Newcastle University noted that “some Christians have denounced their BGLOs, publicly attacking them for being ‘idolatrous’ in their use of symbolic Greek letters and for causing members to put loyalty to their organization above loyalty to their faith.”

Magee is convinced “that through the story of Jesus’ life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and soon-to-come return, the message He is sending us, in His wisdom, is one of love. I try to embody that message in everything I do.”

He also said he’s “a proud member of two Black fraternities, Kappa Alpha Psi (one of the Divine Nine collegiate BGLOs) and Sigma Pi Phi (for professionals). Kappa was founded by 10 principled Christian men. With Kappa, I was younger when I crossed and not quite as knowledgeable as I am now about my faith. Nevertheless, at no point in my life have I ever entered into an unorthodox, uninformed, or ungodly alliance with a Greek deity. Nor have I ever sworn an oath that would in any way hinder, absolve, or negate my Christian beliefs.”

The Rev. Dr. Danielle L. Brown, senior pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Plainfield, New Jersey, encouraged some of the upset commenters on social media to leave Sanders alone. She also raised the issue of

whether denouncing has become a trendy thing to do.

“Unfortunately she represents a generation where social media is an idol,” Brown wrote in a comment on Instagram about Sanders. “Denouncing is the latest trend. If this was done out of a new found desire to represent the Lord loudly, let’s just pray it goes beyond this one post. Nothing else on this page suggests such devotion, so perhaps it’s new.”

Brown also wondered if what Sanders “considers idolatry extends beyond an organization. Ultimately, her money, her choice, and wasted time.”

And, as Dawkins warned folks on X, “If you’re a Black woman or Black queer person being swept up by neoconservative/harmful theologies, you aren’t the first or last. Avoid echo chambers. Question everything. Learn the difference between man made shame & the voice of God.”

This article was originally published by WordinBlack.com.

After George Floyd’s murder, a Minneapolis church builds community

By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware Word in Black

May 25, 2024, marks four years since George Floyd was murdered — on May 25, 2020 — by White former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin, who was found guilty of seconddegree murder in April 2021, rested his body weight on Floyd’s neck as Floyd cried out, “I can’t breathe.” Chauvin stayed there for 9 ½ minutes until Floyd died.

Floyd’s murder happened outside the Cup Food Store at East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood of Minneapolis. Just a block away, at 39th Street and Chicago Avenue, stands Calvary Lutheran Church, whose pastor is Hans Lee.

Little did the congregation know how this moment in history would catapult them into a central role in the transformation of their neighborhood.

Word in Black spoke with Shari Seifert, a member of Calvary who allowed herself to be swept up into the emerging community that has become George Floyd Square, a gathering place for comfort, sustenance and the assurance that one need not be alone. She told her story in her book, “Ashes to Action,” and shared some of her experiences with Word in Black.

Word In Black: How did you first learn of George Floyd’s murder?

Shari Seifert: I received a video in the middle of the night. The same night. That was how I found out. And the video was the first I’d heard of his murder.

WIB: What did you do after seeing the video?

SS: I tried to go back to sleep, but I was horrified. And then this person reached out to me and we talked about doing a protest march. So I called — it was the first of many calls to my pastor — to say, ‘Hey, Pastor Hans, can we launch this march out of our parking lot?’ He agreed, so we just jumped into action and did that. Of course, it was huge. And honestly we had many members that joined the march.

I didn’t join in. I’m not sure why. But I stayed back at

“Ashes

the church, and I made sure everyone got home. You know, it was COVID and people weren’t sharing rides together. But we figured out how to get everyone home from the Third Precinct building. And I thought that was going to be it. Because Philando Castile had been killed not that long ago, and it was on video, and nothing happened.

WIB: What happened the next day?

SS: I belong to a group called the European Descent Lutheran Association for Racial Justice. We got together, and we made a statement about the brutality, including the murders of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. People were streaming into

the Square to pay respects. And some people were driving crazy. And so just regular neighbors put up barricades with whatever they could find to slow down the traffic so people wouldn’t be hurt. And people began to bring stuff, like it’s a funeral. They brought food and water, masks and all kinds of stuff that we shoved into the narthex of the church.

WIB: What did you do with it all?

SS: We started what we eventually called the community table. So we just had a table on the corner with food and water and snacks and all kinds of drinks. We kind of laughed about it, but it was a serious need. We called it the “ministry of bathroom” because we would let people come in and use our bathroom. Now we have porta potties in the square because that’s just what the community does.

WIB: What was going on beyond the square?

SS: Within a few days, all the grocery stores were burned down. We didn’t have public transportation. The pharmacies were burned down. The post office was burned down. It was kind of a mess. My wife was running the food shelf, which went from serving 25 families a week to serving 177 families a week. There was a lot of need, so we were scrambling.

This article was originally published by Word In Black. See more on

Shari Seifert, a member of Calvary Lutheran Church, speaks on the aftermath of the George Floyd murder in her book, titled

to Action.”

Courtesy photo

Members of the Black community are tangled in a debate about Greek life and religion after a Howard University student denounced her sorority, claiming “idolatry, [is] a sin that costs eternal life.”

Photo / Aaron Burden

Calvary Lutheran Church in Minneapolis the church that sits in the center of what is now known as George Floyd Square.

U.S. pediatricians reverse decades-old advice against HIV-positive mothers breastfeeding

By Jonel Aleccia

The Associated Press

People with HIV can breastfeed their babies, as long as they are taking medications that effectively suppress the virus that causes AIDS, a top U.S. pediatricians’ group said May 27 in a sharp policy change.

The new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics reverses recommendations it had in place since the start of the HIV epidemic in the 1980s.

It recognizes that routinely prescribed drugs can reduce the risk of transmitting HIV via breast milk to less than 1 percent, said Dr. Lisa Abuogi, a pediatric HIV expert at the University of Colorado and lead author of the report.

“The medications are so good now and the benefits for mom and baby are so important that we are at a point where it is important to engage in shared decision-making,” Abuogi said.

The drugs, known as antiretroviral therapy, don’t eliminate all risk of transmitting HIV through breast milk. Avoiding breastfeeding is the only certain way to prevent spreading the virus, Abuogi said.

In addition, parents must breastfeed exclusively for the babies’ first six months because research shows that switching between breastmilk and formula can disrupt an infant’s gut in ways that increase the risk of HIV infection.

About 5,000 people who have HIV give birth in the U.S. each year. Nearly all take drugs to suppress the virus to very low levels, Abuogi said, though viral levels can rebound if they don’t stay on them.

Before the medications became widely available starting a decade ago, about 30 percent of HIV infections transmitted from moms to babies occurred during breastfeeding, said Dr. Lynne Mofenson, an adviser to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. In the early 1990s, about 2,000 infections occurred

in U.S. infants each year. Today, it’s fewer than 30.

The AAP policy comes more than a year after the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

“The medications are so good now and the benefits for mom and baby are so important that we are at a point where it is important to engage in shared decision-making.”

reversed long standing recommendations against breastfeeding by people with HIV.

That guidance said people who have consistent viral suppression should be counseled on

their options. It also emphasizes that health care providers shouldn’t alert child protective services agencies if a parent with HIV seeks to breastfeed.

The goal is listening to patients “and not blaming or shaming them,” said Dr. Lynn Yee, a Northwestern University professor of obstetrics and gynecology who helped draft the NIH guidance.

Breastfeeding provides ideal nutrition for babies and protects them against illnesses and conditions such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes, research shows. Nursing also reduces the mother’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.

The World Health Organization has recommended since 2010 that women with HIV in developing countries breastfeed their infants and have access to antiretroviral therapy. The guidance weighed the risk of infants acquiring HIV through breastfeeding and the risk of babies dying from malnutrition, diarrhea and

pneumonia in places where safe replacements for breast milk aren’t available.

In developed nations, however, experts had recommended against breastfeeding because the wide availability of safe water, formula and human donor milk could eliminate the risk of HIV transmission, Yee said.

That frustrated people with HIV who were flatly refused the option of nursing.

Ci Ci Covin, 36, of Philadelphia, said she was diagnosed with HIV at age 20 and not permitted to breastfeed her first child, Zion, now 13.

“I couldn’t understand how come my sister that lives in a place like Kenya, who looks just like me with the same color brown skin, was given the option to breastfeed and how my option was starkly no,” she said.

Not being able to nurse her son sent Covin into a spiral of postpartum depression, she said. When she became pregnant with her now 2-yearold daughter, Zuri, her health care team helped her successfully breastfeed for seven months. Covin took her prescriptions as directed and also gave the baby drugs to prevent infection.

“Breast milk has everything in it that my baby would need,” Covin said. “That’s a beautiful thing.”

Abuogi said the AAP report provides crucial guidance for pediatricians, nurses and lactation specialists who work directly with children and families.

Some providers were already helping people treated for HIV to nurse their babies, despite the earlier recommendations. The new guidance should expand the practice, hopefully quickly, Abuogi said.

“This is a unique situation because it’s not just doctors and providers who are changing,” Abuogi said. “Our patients are pushing this as well.”

This article was originally published by The Associated Press. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Price of popular diabetes drugs denies low-income folks access to treatment

By Renuka Rayasam Word in Black

For the past year and a half, Tandra Cooper Harris and her husband, Marcus, who both have diabetes, have struggled to fill their prescriptions for the medications they need to control their blood sugar.

Without Ozempic or a similar drug, Cooper Harris suffers blackouts, becomes too tired to watch her grandchildren, and struggles to earn extra money braiding hair. Marcus Harris, who works as a Waffle House cook, needs Trulicity to keep his legs and feet from swelling and bruising.

The couple’s doctor has tried prescribing similar drugs, which mimic a hormone that suppresses appetite and controls blood sugar by boosting insulin production. But those, too, are often out of stock. Other times, their insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace burdens the couple with a lengthy approval process or an out-of-pocket cost they can’t afford.

“It’s like, I’m having to jump through hoops to live,” said Cooper Harris, 46, a resident of Covington, Georgia, east of Atlanta.

Supply shortages and insurance hurdles for this powerful class of drugs, called GLP-1 agonists, have left many people who are suffering from diabetes and obesity without the medicines they need to stay healthy.

One root of the problem is the very high prices set by drugmakers. About 54 percent of adults who had taken a GLP-1 drug, including those with insurance, said the cost was “difficult” to afford, according to KFF poll results released this month. But it is patients with the lowest disposable incomes who are being hit the hardest. These are people with few resources who struggle to see doctors and buy healthy foods.

In the United States, Novo

Nordisk charges about $1,000 for a month’s supply of Ozempic, and Eli Lilly charges a similar amount for Mounjaro. Prices for a month’s supply of different GLP-1 drugs range from $936 to $1,349 before insurance coverage, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. Medicare spending for three popular diabetes and weight loss drugs — Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Mounjaro — reached $5.7 billion in 2022, up from $57 million in 2018, according to research by KFF.

The “outrageously high” price has “the potential to bankrupt Medicare, Medicaid, and our entire health care system,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who chairs the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, wrote in a letter to Novo Nordisk in April.

The high prices also mean that not everyone who needs the drugs can get them. “They’re kind of disadvantaged in multiple ways already, and this is just one more way,” said Wedad Rahman, an endocrinologist with Piedmont Healthcare in Conyers, Georgia. Many of Rahman’s patients,

has gone unmanaged for years, and they’re suffering from severe complications like foot wounds or blindness. “And that’s the end of the road,” Rahman said. “I have to pick something else that’s more affordable and isn’t as good for them.”

GLP-1 agonists — the category of drugs that includes Ozempic, Trulicity, and Mounjaro — were

estimated. As more patients try to get prescriptions for GLP-1 agonists, drugmakers struggle to make enough doses.

Eli Lilly is urging people to avoid using its drug Mounjaro for cosmetic weight loss to ensure enough supplies for people with medical conditions. But the drugs’ popularity continues

“It’s like, I’m having to jump through hoops to live.”

including Cooper Harris, are underserved, have high-deductible health plans, or are on public assistance programs like Medicaid or Medicare.

Many drugmakers have programs that help patients get started and stay on medicines for little or no cost. But those programs have not been reliable for medicines like Ozempic and Trulicity because of the supply shortages. And many insurers’ requirements that patients receive prior authorization or first try less expensive drugs add to delays in care.

By the time many of Rahman’s patients see her, their diabetes

first approved to treat diabetes. In the last three years, the Food and Drug Administration has approved rebranded versions of Mounjaro and Ozempic for weight loss, leading demand to skyrocket. And demand is only growing as more of the drugs’ benefits become apparent.

In March, the FDA approved the weight loss drug Wegovy, a version of Ozempic, to treat heart problems, which will likely increase demand, and spending. Up to 30 million Americans, or 9 percent of the U.S. population, are expected to be on a GLP-1 agonist by 2030, the financial services company J.P. Morgan

to grow despite side effects such as nausea and constipation, driven by their effectiveness and celebrity endorsements. In March, Oprah Winfrey released an hour long special on the medicines’ ability to help with weight loss.

It can seem like everyone in the world is taking this class of medication, said Jody Dushay, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an endocrinologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “But it’s kind of not as many people as you think,” she said. “There just isn’t any.”

Even when the drugs are in stock, insurers are clamping down, leaving patients and health care providers to navigate a thicket of ever-changing coverage rules. State Medicaid plans vary in their coverage of the drugs for weight loss. Medicare won’t cover the drugs if they are prescribed for obesity. And commercial insurers are tightening access due to the drugs’ cost.

Health care providers are cobbling together care plans based on what’s available and what patients can afford. For example, Cooper Harris’ insurer covers Trulicity but not Ozempic, which she said she prefers because it has fewer side effects. When her pharmacy was out of Trulicity, she had to rely more on insulin instead of switching to Ozempic, Rahman said.

One day in March, Brandi Addison, an endocrinologist in Corpus Christi, Texas, had to adjust the prescriptions for all 18 of the patients she saw because of issues with drug availability and cost, she said. One patient, insured through a teacher retirement health plan with a high deductible, couldn’t afford to be on a GLP-1 agonist, Addison said.

“Until she reaches that deductible, that’s just not a medication she can use,” Addison said. Instead, she put her patient on insulin, whose price is capped at a fraction of the cost of Ozempic, but which doesn’t have the same benefits.

“Those patients who have a fixed income are going to be our more vulnerable patients,” Addison said.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF. Subscribe to KFF Health News’ free Morning Briefing.

Unsplash/ Omar Lopez

Doctors now say that breastfeeding is an option for mothers who are HIV-positive, as long as they are routinely taking prescribed drugs to suppress the virus and chances of transmission from mother to child.

AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Barriers to getting Ozempic and similar drugs have left many people who are suffering from diabetes and obesity without the medicine.

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

PROBATE DIVISION

ADMINISTRATION NO. 2024ADM000568

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION ADMINISTRATION NO. 2024ADM000467 NELBA MCCLENON Name of Decedent Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs

ANITA ERNELL MCCLENON, whose address is 761

NICHOLSON ST NE WASHINGTON, DC 20011 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of NELBA MCCLENON, who died on JANUARY 11, 2022 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 shall be filed With the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before NOVEMBER 17, 2024. 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 NOVEMBER 17, 2024 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 publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of first publication: MAY 17, 2024 Name of newspaper and/or periodical: Daily Washington Law Reporter AFRO American Newspapers

ANITA ERNELL MCCLENON Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 5/17, 5/24, 5/31/24

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION ADMINISTRATION NO. 2023ADM146

WILLIE MAE CASTLE Name of Decedent

CECILIA R. JONES, ESQ. 5335 WISCONSIN AVE., N.W. #440 WASHINGTON, DC 20015

Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs PRESTON JACKSON, whose address is 2023 FIRST ST., NW WASHINGTON DC 20001 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of WILLIE MAE CASTLE, who died on MAY 9, 1994 without a Will. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance In this proceeding. Objections to such, appointment shall be filed With the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before NOVEMBER 17, 2024. 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 NOVEMBER 17, 2024 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 publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

LILLIAN C. POWELL Name of Decedent Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs

LINDA POWELL RIGGINS, whose address is 8336

QUILL POINT DRIVE, BOWIE MD 20720 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of LILLIAN C. POWELL, who died on FEBRUARY 20, 2024 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 shall be filed With the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before NOVEMBER 24, 2024. 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 NOVEMBER 24, 2024 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 publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of first publication: MAY 24, 2024

Name of newspaper and/or periodical: Daily Washington Law Reporter AFRO American Newspapers

LINDA POWELL RIGGINS Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 5/24, 5/31, 6/07/24

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION ADMINISTRATION NO. 2024ADM000565

MARGIE MARIE OLLIVIERRE AKA MARGIE M OLLIVIERRE Name of Decedent Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs

DIANA MARIE OLLIVIERRE, whose address is 3326 ALDEN PL NE, WASHINGTON DC 20019 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of MARGIE MARIE OLLIVIERRE AKA MARGIE M OLLIVIERRE, who died on JANUARY 2 , 2024 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 shall be filed With the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before NOVEMBER 24, 2024. 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 NOVEMBER 24, 2024 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 publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of first publication: MAY 24, 2024 Name of newspaper and/or periodical: Daily Washington Law Reporter AFRO American Newspapers

DIANA MARIE OLLIVIERRE Personal Representative

FLOOR WASHINGTON

20003 Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to

Law Reporter AFRO American Newspapers

EDWARD FLETCHER Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 5/17, 5/24, 5/31/24

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION ADMINISTRATION NO. 2024ADM00047 MICHAEL E SHELL Name of Decedent Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs LINDA B SHELL, whose address is 618 UPSHUR ST NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20011 was appointed Personal Representative of the

Date of first publication: MAY 17, 2024 Name of newspaper and/or periodical: Daily Washington Law Reporter AFRO American Newspapers

PRESTON JACKSON Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 5/17, 5/24, 5/31/24

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION ADMINISTRATION NO. 2024ADM000523

BOBBY DONALDSON Name of Decedent LAW OFFICES OF AARON E. PRICE, SR. ESQ. 717 D ST., NW #300 WASHINGTON DC 20004 Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs

SOTURA DONALDSON, whose address is 7005

DUNNIGAN DR. CLINTON MD 20735 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of BOBBY DONALDSON, who died on MARCH 2, 2024 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 shall be filed With the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before NOVEMBER 24, 2024. 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 NOVEMBER 24, 2024 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 publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of first publication: MAY 24, 2024

Name of newspaper and/or periodical: Daily Washington Law Reporter AFRO American Newspapers

SOTURA DONALDSON Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 5/24, 5/31, 6/07/24

TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 5/24, 5/31,6/07/24

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

PROBATE DIVISION ADMINISTRATION NO. 2024ADM000564

RODNEY B MACKEY SR Name of Decedent Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs

BRIANNA DAVIS, whose address is 3937 S ST SEWASHINGTON DC 20020 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of RODNEY B MACKEY SR, who died on FEBRUARY 29, 2024 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 shall be filed With the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before NOVEMBER 24, 2024. 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 NOVEMBER 24, 2024 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 publication shall so inform the Register of Wills,

Heirs SHAWN REAVES, whose address is 1302 HIDDEN TRACE CROFTON MD 21114 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of HELENA M. REAVES, who died on SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 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 shall be filed With the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before DECEMBER 1, 2024. 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 DECEMBER 1, 2024 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 publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of first publication: MAY 31, 2024 Name of newspaper and/or periodical: Daily Washington Law Reporter AFRO American Newspapers

SHAWN REAVES Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 5/31, 6/07, 6/14/24

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION ADMINISTRATION NO. 2024ADM611

JOYCE W. MICHAUX AKA JOYCE WINSTON MICHAUX Name of Decedent

JOCELYN WINSTON 3219 SUTTON PLACE, NW UNIT D WASHINGTON DC 20016 Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs

JOCELYN WINSTON, whose address is 3219-D SUTTON PLACE NW, WASHINGTON DC 20016 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of JOYCE W. MICHAUX AKA JOYCE WINSTON MICHAUX, who died on MAY 27, 2022 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 shall be filed With the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before DECEMBER 1, 2024. 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 DECEMBER 1, 2024 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 publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of first publication: MAY 31, 2024

Name of newspaper and/or periodical: Daily Washington Law Reporter AFRO American Newspapers

JOCELYN WINSTON Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 5/31, 6/07, 6/14/24

2024ADM000539 SONIA BROWN Name of Decedent Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs

MARKETTA ANDERSON, whose address is 4842 KENMORE AVE, #103 ALEXANDRIA, VA 22304 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of SONIA BROWN, who died on APRIL 5, 2024 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 shall be filed With the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before DECEMBER 1, 2024. 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 DECEMBER 1, 2024 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 publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of first publication: MAY 31, 2024 Name of newspaper and/or periodical: Daily Washington Law Reporter AFRO American Newspapers

MARKETTA ANDERSON Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

Josh Gibson becomes MLB career and season batting leader as Negro Leagues statistics incorporated

By Ronald Blum

The Associated Press

Josh Gibson became Major League Baseball’s career leader with a .372 batting average, surpassing Ty Cobb’s .367, when Negro Leagues records for more than 2,300 players were incorporated May 28 after a three-year research project.

Gibson’s .466 average for the 1943 Homestead Grays became the season standard, followed by Charlie “Chino” Smith’s .451 for the 1929 New York Lincoln Giants. They overtook the .440 by Hugh Duffy for the National League’s Boston team in 1894.

Gibson also became the career leader in slugging percentage (.718) and OPS (1.177), moving ahead of Babe Ruth (.690 and 1.164).

“It’s a show of respect for great players who performed in the Negro Leagues due to circumstances beyond their control and once those circumstances changed demonstrated that they were truly major leaguers,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said May 29 in an interview with The Associated Press. “Maybe the single biggest factor was the success of players who played in the Negro Leagues and then came to the big leagues.”

A special committee on baseball records decided in 1969 to recognize six major leagues dating to 1876: the National (which launched in 1876), the American (1901), the American Association (1882-1891), Union Association (1884), Players’ League (1890) and Federal League (19141915). It excluded the National Association (1871-75), citing an “erratic schedule and procedures.”

MLB announced in December 2020 that it would be “correcting a longtime oversight” and would add the Negro Leagues. John Thorn, MLB’s official historian, chaired a 17-person committee that included Negro Leagues experts and statisticians.

“The condensed 60-game season for the 2020 calendar year for the National League and American League prompted us to think that maybe the shortened Negro League seasons could come under the MLB umbrella, after all,” Thorn said.

An updated version of MLB’s database will become public before the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants play a tribute game to the Negro Leagues on June 20 at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala.

Baseball Hall of Fame President Josh Rawitch said statistics on Cooperstown plaques will remain the same because they reflect the information available at the time of a player’s induction.

Standards for season leaders is the same for Negro Leagues as the other leagues: 3.1 plate appearances or one inning for each game played by a player’s team.

Cobb’s .367, when records of the Negro Leagues for more than 2,300 players were incorporated in May after a three-year research project.

Gibson’s .974 slugging percentage in 1937 became the season record, and Barry Bonds’ .863 in 2001 dropped to fifth, also trailing Mules Suttles’ .877 in 1926, Gibson’s .871 in 1943 and Smith’s .870 in 1929.

Bond’s prior OPS record of 1.421 in 2004 dropped to third behind Gibson’s 1.474 in 1937 and 1.435 in 1943.

Willie Mays gained 10 hits from the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons, increasing his total to 3,293. Minnie Minoso surpassed 2,000 hits, credited with 150 for the New York Cubans from 1946-1948 that boosted his total to 2,113.

Jackie Robinson, who broke MLB’s color barrier with the 1947 Dodgers, was credited with 49 hits with the 1945 Kansas City Monarchs that increased his total to 1,567.

Among pitchers, Satchel Paige gained 28 wins that raised his total to 125.

The committee met six times and dealt with issues such as when compiled league statistics didn’t make sense, such

as a league having more wins than losses and walks that were missing. Researchers had to identify whether players with the same name were one person or separate, tracking dates of birth, and identify people listed by nicknames.

“It’s a show of respect for great players who performed in the Negro Leagues due to circumstances beyond their control and once those circumstances changed demonstrated that they were truly major leaguers.”

Documenting transactions and identifying ballparks in a time when neutral sites often were used is ongoing, along with uncovering statistics for independent teams.

“We made the decision at a point in time that we became convinced that it was possible to get accurate statistics that could be appropriately integrated into our record books,” Manfred said.

Kevin Johnson and Gary Ashwill, researchers who had spent nearly two decades helping assemble the Seamheads Negro Leagues Database, were included in the project.

Thorn estimated 72 percent of Negro Leagues records from 1920-1948 are included and additional research might lead to future modifications. Thorn said a four-homer game by Gibson in 1938 and a home run by Mays in August 1948 could not be included because complete game accounts have not been found.

“Without a box score, we can’t really balance the statistics,” Johnson said. “Those games are kind of in limbo at the moment.”

Records include the first Negro National League (192031), Eastern Colored League (1923-28), American Negro League (1929), East-West League (1932), Negro Southern League (1932), second Negro National League (1933-48) and Negro American League (1937-48). Barnstorming exhibition games are not included.

Some game details were obtained from newspapers that covered the Black communities. Johnson said while complete accounts were found for about 95 percent of games in the 1920s, coverage dropped off during the Great Depression in the 1930s and never fully recovered.

This article was originally published by The Associated Press.

Football legend O.J. Simpson dies, but the obsession remains alive

By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire

O.J. Simpson died on April 10, 2024. But the obsession around the former football legend widely suspected of murdering his second wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman on June 12, 1994, continues.

Simpson was found not guilty on Oct. 3, 1995, after a jury acquitted him. A 1997 civil trial found O.J. Simpson was liable for the deaths of Nicole Simpson and Goldman, and he was ordered to pay over $33 million in damages. Over 150 million watched the trial live. At first, networks were reluctant to give the Simpson case major news attention. That changed when viewers tuned in in record numbers.

“He asserted his innocence from the very beginning,” said Alan Dershowitz, one of Simpson’s attorneys, on Piers Morgan Uncensored on April 16. Dershowitz also added that there was proven tampering with evidence.

“The prosecution messed the case up in every way… this was the American justice system working,” he added.

“The prosecution messed the case up in every way… this was the American justice system working.”

The trial was televised, turning it into an obsession that riveted the nation over weeks. O.J. Simpson’s legal team was legendary and a key reason for why he was able to win a case over public prosecutors. Simpson’s team included Barry Scheck, F. Lee Bailey, Robert Kardashian, and–perhaps most notably– famed defense attorney, Johnnie Cochran.

A pivotal point in the Simpson trial came with the realization that one of the Detectives in the Simpson case had made racist statements in the past. Los Angeles Police Detective Mark Fuhrman, now a former detective of the Los Angeles Police Department, was a central figure in the 1995 trial.

On Fox News, where Fuhrman was an on-air contributor, Jeanine Pirro and Richard Fowler pointed out that tapes that included racist comments by then-police detective Mark Fuhrman screwed up the prosecution’s murder case against O.J. Simpson. They left out that Fuhrman has worked for Fox News for years. Fuhrman took the fifth when asked if he planted evidence.

So much of the analysis around the Simpson case ignores the general context of the criminal justice system’s treatment of Black men. Black men in America are disproportionately incarcerated and given longer sentences than White males. Because

of Simpson’s wealth, he was able to do something most defendants cannot do: Hire the best multi-expert legal team available. The reality of a Black man being acquitted in the murders of a White woman and man was clearly jarring to many commentators.

The family of O.J. Simpson will not be allowing his brain to be analyzed for any possible issues around Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The brain disorder, which scientists have concluded is likely caused by repeated head injuries, is also related to suicides in NFL players and violence after their playing days come to an end.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the publisher of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears regularly on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and speaks on Crisis Comms on YouTube @ LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke.

Though former athlete and actor O.J. Simpson died on April 10, many are still obsessed with him and the case that ensued after the tragic June 12 murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, and a friend, Ronald Goldman.

Courtesy Photo

Baseball catcher Josh Gibson is shown here in an undated photo. Gibson became Major League Baseball’s career leader with a .372 batting average, surpassing Ty

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WASHINGTON-AREA

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee reintroduces

George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

By Ashlee Banks Special to the AFRO

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, (D-Tx), reintroduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to honor the fourth anniversary of George Floyd’s death.

On May 25, 2020, former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, as Floyd cried out “I can’t breathe.” The 46-year-old was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital shortly after the incident took place. Floyd’s death sparked protests across the world and reignited the conversation around the need for police reform.

On May 23, Lee was joined by members of Congress; civil rights groups; Philonise and Keeta Floyd, George Floyd’s relatives; Allisa CharlesFindley, the sister of Botham Jean; and Wanda Jones-Aubery, the mother of Ahmaud Aubery to discuss her efforts to combat police brutality.

“As a Member of Congress, I have long advocated for equal justice for all that encounter law enforcement in the United States,” she said in a statement. “This is why I have introduced H.R. 8525, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.”

She added, “This bill will finally hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct and separate them from the majority of those endowed with the ethic of just and equitable public safety.”

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act also aims to repair the relationship between law enforcement and communities nationwide by improving training practices and transparency.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), told the AFRO that he has backed this bill since it was first introduced in 2021 following Floyd’s death.

“I hope that we can find a way to have a bipartisan conversation about strengthening the relationship between the police and the community for the good of everyone,” said Jeffries.

U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), a cosponsor of the bill, told the AFRO that the U.S. House of Representatives needs to pass the statute “immediately.”

“I am worried that this is one of those bills that will be reintroduced for like 30 years in a row and never move, just like H.R.

Hometown hero ‘Mama’ Wanda Durant inspires Bowie State University grads

By Deborah Bailey AFRO Contributing Editor

Bowie State University’s 659 spring graduates got a relatable boost of encouragement from hometown heroine and philanthropic champion for underserved communities, Wanda Durant during commencement ceremonies, May 24.

Known affectionately as “Mama” Durant, she serves as president of the Durant Family Charitable Foundation and is the mother of Phoenix Suns basketball star Kevin Durant. Mama Durant treated the audience to a heartfelt exchange, sharing passages from her life’s journey.

“OK. Let me just be Mama Durant,” she said after pausing from prepared remarks and transitioning flawlessly to an extemporaneous, transparent conversation with Bowie’s graduates.

The audience roared its approval as Durant spent the next 10 minutes in an unscripted dialogue about life as a young single mother, and her raw determination to create a life for her sons that would support success.

“When I stand here and look at you graduates, I see myself, I see my sons,” Durant said.

“See, I know what it takes to persevere. I came from the streets of Capitol Heights, Maryland. At the time it was the drug capital of the world,” she said to cheering members of the audience, referencing the small Maryland community bordering northeast and southeast D.C. where she raised her children.

“I had to raise two sons on my own when I was fearful and not knowing who I was or what I had to offer the world. I had to do what you did and continue to strive on,” Durant said. “I made a promise to them that we were going to have a plan. Not just dreams but a plan attached to them.”

Durant then transitioned from her family’s story to admonish graduates to live for more than their own success.

“All your success is not just for your glory. It’s for you to look back to those coming behind you. Continue to pave the

way for them” Durant said.

Liera Ford from Suitland, Maryland, reflected on her own parents as Durant spoke about the determination needed to encourage her children to succeed.

“I totally connect with Ms. Durant,” said the newly minted business management bachelor’s degree recipient.

“I know what it feels like to receive that level of support from your parents. My mom and dad stood up for me every step of the way. I was due to graduate last year, but here I am today and my parents and siblings are here with me. This is a big milestone for me,” said Ford with tears in her eyes.

Small but significant touches make HBCU graduations unique events. Bowie State graduates were treated to congratulatory messages by both Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Wes Moore.

Finally, someone was there to make sure graduates were camera ready for their walk across the stage. At Bowie State, that person was Shinzira Shomade, College of Education retention coordinator and double Bowie State University graduate.

Shomade straightened collars, buttoned shirts and told graduates to lift their heads high just before they walked on stage to receive their degrees from President Aminta H. Breaux and University Provost Guy Alain Ammousou.

“It brings me immense pleasure, honor and gratification to participate in the commencement ceremony, preparing our visionaries and change agents for this exciting moment,” Shomade said.

Breaux announced several major initiatives, scholarships and recognitions received by the campus, including a ribbon cutting this summer of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Communication Arts & Humanities Building. The $159 million facility is scheduled to replace a 50-year-old academic building that currently bears the civil rights leader’s name.

“If you don’t remember anything else this president said, go out and vote,” Breaux said emphatically. “Go out and vote.”

By

U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, (D-Ga-4) and other members of Congress have launched the “Court Reform Now Task Force” to restore balance and fairness to the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. Reps. Johnson stated that he, Jasmine Crockett, (D-Texas-30), Madeleine Dean, (D-Pa4), and Jamie Raskin (DMd.), launched this task force to bring “awareness, educate members and

“We need

to unpack this court. This

court is poised to do major damage to our freedom and liberty with rulings that are pending as we speak.”

staff and elevate debate around key pieces of court reform legislation to fix and rebalance the court.”

The House Democrats aim to introduce multiple pieces of legislation. The Judiciary Act would expand the number of justices appointed to the bench. The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act (SCERT) aims to

President Biden provides benefits for veterans who sustained injuries and illnesses while serving in the U.S. military House Democrats aim to restore balance and fairness to the U.S. Supreme Court

By Ashlee Banks Special to the AFRO

President Joe Biden recently announced that due to the PACT Act, nearly 900 thousand veterans and survivors who were exposed to toxins while serving in the U.S. military have received disability benefits over the last two years.

In Aug. 2022, Biden signed the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act into law, which has provided benefits for more than 888,000 veterans and survivors who sustained injuries and illnesses while serving in the U.S.

The legislation was named after Sergeant First

Roughly 900,000 veterans with illnesses or lasting injuries from their service in the U.S. military have experienced the positive benefits of the PACT Act, signed into law in Aug. 2022.

Class Heath Robinson, a combat medic who passed away from a rare form of lung cancer.

In a White House statement obtained by the AFRO Pres. Biden stated, “our nation has a sacred

obligation to properly prepare and equip the troops we send into harm’s way and to care for them and their families when they return home.”

“Sometimes military service can result in

increased health risks for our veterans, and some injuries and illnesses like asthma, cancer and others can take years to manifest,” he added.

Veterans sometimes run into challenges connecting their injuries and illnesses to their time served, therefore the president signed the PACT Act into law to help veterans establish a direct connection between the two.

“The PACT Act eliminated these barriers and ensures veterans get the care and service they deserve,” said Biden.

White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough recently held a press call to discuss the president’s bipartisan

Ashlee Banks Special to the AFRO

Wanda “Mama” Durant speaks to an audience at Bowie State University during spring 2024 commencement ceremonies on May 24.

Courtesy photo

Photo by Sir Manuel on Unsplash

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

Continued from D1

40 [Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for AfricanAmericans Act],” said Bowman.

The New York lawmaker added, “When I talk about the anti-Blackness in this place that’s kind of the thing I mean. This is definitely a bill that will move the country forward, hold police accountable [and] protect those who are doing the job the right way.”

On the contrary, some House Republicans oppose the legislation and say they do not believe that there is a problem with police brutality in the U.S.

“It’s always individuals and it’s a very small minority and so I think a lot of it has to do with this DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) stuff,” U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn), told the AFRO. “We have people who aren’t qualified because someone’s trying to check a box.”

He added, “Policemen and women are good people who are called on to do very tough jobs and do terrible things and they’re not paid much, so I tend to side with law enforcement.”

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl), told the AFRO that he would not vote for the legislation because he is not “for federal control over policing, I think policing is best done at the state and local level.

“I think we mess it up when we get a lot of state

and local entities addicted to the federal dollar and policing and I think there are features of the bill that would do it,” said Gaetz.

Although the conservative lawmaker opposes the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, he does agree with the bill’s provision that noknock warrants should be eliminated.

“I share the view of Sen.

President Biden

Continued from D1

PACT Act.

Tanden told reporters, the statute is “the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans in more than 30 years.”

“We owe them a debt

to better support veterans.”

The president is also working on other key legislation that supports veterans in every area of their lives, such as helping veterans find employment, ending homelessness and

“Sometimes military service can result in increased health risks for our veterans, and some injuries and illnesses like asthma, cancer and others can take years to manifest.”

that we can never repay,” she said. “Since taking office President Biden has enacted 30 bipartisan bills

protection for veterans to prevent them from becoming victims of scams.

Rand Paul that there is an equity, a life interest there to be vindicated,” said Gaetz.

The use of no-knock warrants were called into question following the death of Breonna Taylor.

On March 13, 2020, the

26-year-old was killed by law enforcement after officers obtained a noknock warrant and raided her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, as part of an investigation into a drug dealing operation.

House Democrats

Continued from D1

Lee told reporters that “far too many lives have been lost or forever changed due to unacceptable incidents of police brutality throughout our nation.”

She added, “We know and remember many of

their names: Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tyre Nichols, and there are far too many more that we do not know. It is time for Congress to act now.”

Jeffries told the AFRO that House GOP members will be the deciding factor in whether the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act will be enacted into law.

The House minority leader said that at this time, Republicans “don’t seem to have shown any interest in trying to strengthen the relationship in a meaningful way between the police and the community.”

Bowman believes that the legislation “won’t pass the House this time because Republicans control the House and are racist but, hopefully, we get the House back in November, pass it in the House and then we’ll see in the Senate.”

At this time, Republicans hold the majority in the House 217-213. Assuming all House Democrats vote for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, at least three Republicans would have to join them before passing it off to the Democratic-controlled Senate.

require the court to adopt a binding code of ethics and transparency. Finally, the TERM Act would limit the number of years that justices can serve. At this time, justices serve lifetime appointments.

“We need to unpack this court,” Johnson told the AFRO. “This court is poised to do major damage to our freedom and liberty with rulings that are pending as we speak.”

“We have to rebalance the court to take the edge off of this extremism that exists,” said Johnson, adding that the country needs to eliminate lifetime appointments “so that we have a system where

the justices” are held accountable for their actions.

This task force has come as the court’s credibility has been called into question in recent months.

In April 2023, it was revealed that Chief Justice John Robert’s wife raked in millions of dollars after assisting high-ranking lawyers who later brought their cases before the Supreme Court justices.

In April 2023, Justice Clarence Thomas came under fire for neglecting to disclose lavish gifts he received from Harlan Crow, a wealthy GOP donor over the course of his tenure as

a Supreme Court justice. Most recently Justice Samuel Alito faced scrutiny after pictures surfaced showing an American flag flying upside-down at his residence in Alexandria, VA. days before President Joe Biden’s inauguration in Jan. 2021. The upside-down flag is a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” movement which has been widely used by former President Donald Trump supporters after the Republican leader lost his bid for the oval office to Biden.

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, (R-Fla-19) told the AFRO that the U.S. Supreme Court does not

need to adopt a code of ethics. Donalds then went on to address the Justice Alito flag incident, stating, “First of all [Alito] didn’t do it, his wife did it.”

“The flag upside is a sign of duress. That’s what it mostly means,” said Donalds. “The court should not be investigated or adopt a code of ethics.”

Despite some opposition from Republican colleagues, Johnson and other House Democrats aim to introduce the court reform legislation this session and are hopeful that they will gain bipartisan support to pass the statutes into law.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, speaks to members of the press after meeting with the family of Hunter Brittain, an Arkansas teen who was shot and killed by police this June, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Brittain’s family came to Capitol Hill to advocate for the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades

Democratic lawmakers have come together to create a task force aimed at bringing reform to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Unsplash / Bill Mason

Jobs Not Guns Coalition hosts career-building workshop for youths in Wards 7 and 8

By Megan Sayles AFRO Business Writer msayles@afro.com

The Jobs Not Guns Coalition welcomed students from Wards 7 and 8 to a career-building workshop on May 15. The event was designed to expose youth to job opportunities, skills training, career advice and support services.

The coalition intentionally chose to focus on communities east of the Anacostia River as youth there tend to be associated with negative narratives that do not paint the full picture.

“We focus on the high schools and middle schools inside Wards 7 and 8 because that’s where the concentration of negativity is, and it’s a misnomer,” said Dottie Love Wade, event coordinator.

Conversations about Southeast D.C. are typically tied to high crime rates and concentrations of poverty without consideration for the area’s successes.

“They don’t recognize the outstanding accomplishments of the high school students or focus on the number of students who graduate and attend college,” said Wade. “They don’t focus on the fact that even though young people make errors they come back and

correct themselves.”

Two local employers that spoke at the workshop included Pepco and Busboys and Poets.

Brittny Pinto, workforce development manager at Pepco, highlighted the utility company’s participation in the D.C. Public Schools Career Bridge Program for high school seniors.

Through the program, Pepco prepares students for full-time positions in operations departments, including overhead and underground line work, transmission and substation, meters and fleet. Students interview with Pepco and its partner contractors at the close of the program.

“We just finished up our spring semester with a group of students this year. We’re hoping that all eight of them will be coming to work for us in the fall, straight out of high school. That’s pretty unheard of for a lot of jobs now,” said Pinto. “The jobs they’re getting hired for are not minimum wage jobs. These are jobs that you can come into making $85,000 to $90,000 within your first year.”

Ashley Bethel, director of events for Busboys and Poets, shared her

journey from starting as a host at the restaurant to transitioning to the corporate side of the business as a director.

“If we can get them to change their focus to a positive trajectory for their lives, we will be successful.”

She said the hospitality industry enables people to earn steady money while

working toward other passions.

“One of the beautiful things about the service industry is it allows you to pursue other dreams while bringing in money,” said Bethel. “You can come in for four or five hours, leave making $300 that day and go pursue some other opportunities.”

Busboys and Poets is also a part of the Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program. Through it, students can participate in marketing, information technology and social media internships.

“We look for people who have a vision or an idea, and we try to give them the support to pursue

that,” said Bethel.

Wade thinks experiences like the career workshop can be even more beneficial than classroom subjects as they equip students with possibilities—they have the opportunity to discover attainable career paths for themselves.

“The thing I hope they take away is that there

Cleaner energy options today. A more sustainable tomorrow.

By creating a climate ready energy grid and enabling cleaner affordable energy solutions, we’re powering the pathway to a healthier, more sustainable future. Learn more about this and other ways we’re delivering more value to our customers at pepco.com/MoreThanEnergy.

are options other than violence, outside of what they have been exposed to and outside of east of the river,” said Wade. “If we can get them to change their focus to a positive trajectory for their lives, we will be successful.”

Megan Sayles is a Report for America corps member.

D.C. Public Schools students from Wards 7 and 8 learn about employment and skills training opportunities during the Jobs Not Guns Coalition’s career-building workshop.

Photo by Megan Sayles

Dottie Love Wade is the event coordinator for the Jobs Not Guns Coalition, which encompasses leaders from the D.C. Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors, Inner Thoughts and D.C. Concerned Black Business Owners. The organization was established by Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2021 to help tackle gun violence in the District.

Photo by Megan Sayles

Black-owned startup in Prince George’s County, PerVista, aims to prevent active shooters

By James Matheson Capital News Service

A yellow bus filled with middle schoolers heading home slowed to a stop at the corner of Sutler Drive and Iverson Street in Prince George’s County. It was just before 5 p.m. on a spring Monday in May 2023.

Three young people hidden behind black facecoverings burst onto the bus, past the driver and the bus aide.

The masked juveniles held a handgun to the chest of the lone middle schooler who remained on the bus, according to Prince George’s County Police. The trigger was pulled, but the gun jammed three times. The assailants beat the boy and fled the scene.

Although disaster was averted that day, the incident weighed on Vennard Wright, a security and technology specialist who a few years earlier formed a cybersecurity firm called Wave Welcome.

As a native of Prince George’s county, Wright had seen enough gun violence and wanted to do something about it.

“Thankfully the gun jammed,” Wright said of that heartbreaking day last May. “But because of that, we developed a technology that uses AI to

“Our goal is to reduce the impact and number of active shooter events in schools, hospitals and other public places.”

detect firearms and notify police.”

Wright is among a growing number of African Americans who in recent years have formed companies in Prince George’s County, which has become the leading county in the state for the number of new businesses, according to data from the United States Census Bureau.

Wright’s newest company, which he founded last year with his wife Janelle, is called PerVista. It uses artificial intelligence to scan surveillance footage alongside a database of firearms. The system triggers an alert and sends the portion of video to public safety officials and police if anything from the footage matches the database.

The company hopes to sell its services to schools, shopping malls, sporting venues and office buildings.

Wright says the technology can detect firearms if any part of the gun is showing, but won’t alert police unless the gun is produced and can accurately be verified as a weapon.

The technology also utilizes a drone called

WatchWing to verify the software’s finding. Right now, PerVista does not target concealed carry and doesn’t scan the inside of backpacks.

“Our goal is to reduce the impact and number of active shooter events in schools, hospitals and other public places,” Wright said.

Janelle Wright is now CEO of Wave Welcome while Vennard Wright took the reins at PerVista, which has six full-time employees. The couple is committed to developing an artificial intelligence workforce in the county.

Wright, who graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in business administration, is

author of “Cracking the C-Code,” a book to help readers become C-level executives. He was also director of technology for Hillary Clinton during her successful re-election campaign for the U.S. Senate in New York in 2006 and her unsuccessful presidential run in 2008. He also served as Prince George’s County chief information officer from 2010 to 2017 and was honored as “Innovator of the Year” in 2023 by the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce.

This article was originally published by Capital

The Panda Party is back on as giant pandas will return to Washington’s National Zoo by year’s end

By Dino Hazell

Associated Press

The

Half a year after the nation’s capital bid an emotional farewell to its giant pandas, the National Zoo is expecting a renewed surge in panda-mania with the announcement that two more of the furry blackand-white icons will be coming to Washington.

The zoo announced May 29 that a fresh agreement had been struck with the Chinese government, and a pair of adult pandas would be arriving from China by the end of the year. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute said the incoming pair are Bao Li (pronounced BOW’-lee) and Qing Bao (chingBOW’).

“We’re thrilled to announce the next chapter of our breeding and conservation partnership begins by welcoming two new bears, including a descendent of our beloved panda family, to Washington, D.C.,” said Brandie Smith, the zoo’s director. “This historic moment is proof positive our collaboration with Chinese colleagues has made an irrefutable impact.”

Giant pandas are prized in Washington and around the nation and the world. The number of pandas in American zoos has dwindled as loan agreements lapsed

during diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and China that remain high over economic relations, technology, trade, Taiwan and even a spy balloon. Washington’s three pandas

“...the next chapter of our breeding and conservation partnership begins by welcoming two new bears, including a descendent of our beloved panda family, to Washington, D.C.”

returned to China last November.

For more than five decades, the institute has created and maintained one of the world’s foremost giant panda conservation programs, helping move the panda from “endangered” to “vulnerable” on the global list of species at risk of extinction.

Chinese President Xi Jinping had signaled during a trip in late 2023 that China would be sending new pandas to the United States. He called them “envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.”

The zoo accompanied the announcement with a light-hearted video featuring Smith, Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G.

Bunch III and first lady Jill Biden. The trio in the video are gathered to discuss protocol for a reception to welcome unnamed honored guests. When Biden asks about attire and menu, Smith dryly replies that the impending guests are “strict vegetarians” who are “partial to black and white.”

Last November, giant pandas Tian Tian and Mei Xiang and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji, went back to China, prompting a nationwide outpouring of farewell from millions of U.S. panda fans of all ages.

The trio’s departure left only one panda family remaining in American zoos, at Zoo Atlanta, and those remain scheduled to return to China later this year.

Zoo Atlanta is making

preparations to return panda parents Lun Lun and Yang Yang along with their American-born twins Ya Lun and Xi Lun, zoo officials said earlier this month.

It’s possible that America will welcome another new panda pair before the Atlanta bears depart. The San Diego Zoo said last month that staff members recently traveled to China to meet pandas Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, which could arrive in California as soon as this summer. A separate agreement was also announced to send a breeding pair of pandas to San Francisco as well.

Pandas have been a symbol of U.S.-China friendship since Beijing sent a pair to the National Zoo in 1972, ahead of the normalization of bilateral relations. Later, Beijing loaned pandas to other U.S. zoos, with proceeds going back to panda conservation programs.

When U.S-China relations began to sour in recent years, members of the Chinese public started to demand the return of giant pandas. Unproven allegations that U.S. zoos mistreated the pandas, known as China’s “national treasure,” flooded China’s social media.

The National Zoo said the pandas coming to Washington are:

• Bao Li, a twoyear-old male

whose name means “treasure” and “energetic.” He was born Aug. 4, 2021, at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan to father An An and mother Bao Bao. The zoo said Bao Li’s mother was born at the zoo in 2013, and his grandparents Tian Tian and Mei Xiang lived at the zoo from 2000 to 2023. It was Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, along with their cub Xiao Qi Ji, who left the zoo in November.

• Qing Bao, a twoyear-old female whose name means “green” and “treasure.” She was born Sept. 12, 2021.

A research and breeding agreement with the Chinese runs through April 2034 and, like previous ones, says any cubs born at the zoo will move to China by age four, according to the announcement. The zoo will pay a $1 million annual fee to the China Wildlife Conservation Association to support research and conservation efforts in China.

The Washington National Zoo is preparing for the arrival of two new panda bears, expected to arrive by the end of 2024.

AP Photo

News Service.

Vennard Wright, co-founder of PerVista and Wave Welcome, speaks shorty after launching his business.

Photo courtesy of Janelle Wright/Wave Welcome

PerVista is operated by a husband and wife team who began the business in 2023 as a way to use artificial intelligence to help fight gun violence.

Courtesy photo