www.afro.com
Volume 122 No. 23
$1.00
JANUARY 11, 2014 - JANUARY 17, 2014
Nobel Peace Prize Vindicated Martin Luther King Jr. for Stand on Non-Violence By Zachary Lester AFRO Staff Writer When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 at age 35, he was the youngest person to ever be presented the prestigious honor. He was the third Black recipient and the second African American, following Ralph Bunche, the famed political scientist and diplomat who was honored for his mediation work in Palestine. Besides the personal honor, though, historians said the award gave credence to his approach of meeting violence with peaceful resistance.
In a story that ran on the front page of the AFRO on Oct. 24, 1964, King called the award “vindication” for his work. The story was written by reporter James D. Williams after he interviewed King in an Atlanta hospital where he had checked in for a
INSIDE A4
District Man Headed to Prison for Stabbing A Man Over $20
B3
Juanita Moore Dead at 99
12-12-64 AFRO
10-24-64 AFRO
INSERT • Walmart
AFRO Archives
physical and rest. “This has given me new courage to carry on and I am convinced that is more than an honor to me personally, but a great tribute to the colored people,” King told Williams.” He was 35 when he received the prize in a ceremony in December 1964 at Oslo University in Norway. According to a UPI story that ran on the front page of the AFRO on Dec. 19, 1964, he was selected “for championing the principle of non-violence in the struggle to achieve racial equality.” King was presented a diploma, a gold medal and a check for $54,600. In his acceptance speech, King called the award “profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time—the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression.” Continued on A4
African Walk on Water Failure—A Myth That Won’t Die
afro.com
Your History • Your Community • Your News
By Zenitha Prince AFRO Senior Correspondent
47105 21847
Heard the story about the West African pastor who drowned while trying to recreate Jesus’ miracle of walking on water before his congregation? If you haven’t, you may be the only one. Since the story of the alleged physics-defying attempt was posted Dec. 28 by MJ Celebrity Magazine it has gone viral, eliciting more than 100,000 shares, likes and comments across the social media spectrum. For example, according to Topsy. com, a social media analytics tool, the subject was tweeted over 600 times in the past seven days. Still, repetition cannot transform a lie into a truth, as President Roosevelt realized, and this “news story” has been uncovered as a tenacious Internet hoax, The Christian Post alleges. The details of the much reported “story” remains virtually unchanged: Pastor Franck Kabele, 35, leader of a church on the West Coast of Africa, told his congregation he could literally
Continued on A4
Union Temple to Host Meeting for Mayoral Hopeful Andy Shallal Actor/Activist Danny Glover to Accompany Candidate By Avis Thomas-Lester AFRO Executive Editor D.C. restaurant owner Andy Shallal is scheduled to appear at a town hall meeting at Union Temple Baptist Church on Jan. 11 to outline his vision for the city if he is elected mayor. Shallal, owner of the Eatonville and Busboys and Poets restaurants, will visit the influential Southeast Washington house of worship with actor/activist Danny Glover, his avid supporter. The event will take place on the same day D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray formally kicks off his campaign for reelection. In an interview, the Rev. Willie Wilson, pastor of Union Temple, said he has not endorsed Shallal. He said, however, that he is “intrigued with some of the things that he is saying.” Wilson said both Shallal and Glover will address his Continued on A3
psbible.blogspot.com
Kerry Washington’s November 2013 appearance on Saturday Night Live – during Sasheer Zamata which she assumed catehellman.com the role of every Black woman in every script – highlighted the absence of Black women comedians on the cast. Well, SNL producers handily admitted the faux pas and added Sasheer Zamata, who will make her first appearance on the Jan. 18 show. And AFRO Facebook followers have had much to say about the situation. “Wow Saturday Night Live still comes on????” asked Andy Bailey. Jacki Billings quipped, “SNL had to get embarrassed before Continued on A4
Metro Unveils Next Generation of Rail Cars By Courtney Jacobs AFRO Staff Writer
2
Join the AFRO on Twitter and Facebook
Photo by Courtney Jacobs
By AFRO Staff
06
7
Danny Glover
Andy Shallal announcing his mayoral bid Nov. 8, 2013.
SNL Finally Hires a Black Woman
Failed Miracles
Hear the AFRO on The Daily Drum, Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Wikimedia Commons
Nation to Celebrate MLK’s 85th Birthday Jan. 20
“We now see our nearly 50-year-old system becoming a system of this century,” said Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.).
D.C. and Maryland officials braved a frigid January morning on the wind whipped platform at the Greenbelt Metro Station as the regional transit authority unveiled its latest hardware. Its silver-like coating gleaming, the Continued on A3
Copyright © 2014 by the Afro-American Company