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Volume 123 No. 3
August 23, 2014 - August 23, 2014, The Afro-American A1 $1.00
AUGUST 23, 2014 - AUGUST 29, 2014
Civil Rights Leaders, Groups Issue Recommendations By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent On Aug. 19 a coalition of civil rights leaders and groups issued recommendations to address the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and to prevent future use of excessive force by law enforcement against unarmed African Americans. Brown, 18, was unarmed when he was shot and killed Aug. 9
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by Darren Wilson, a White officer in the Ferguson Police Department. His death is part of a broader problem, the leaders said. “The death of Michael Brown is a pattern. He is the end of a long trail of abuses,” said the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. during a press call with reporters. “He is Trayvon [Martin]. He is Amadou Diallo. He is Abner Louima. He is Eric Garner. He is Ezell Ford,” Jackson added, citing a list of Black men and teens who have been the victims of extrajudicial violence. “The shooting and killing of Michael Brown is a grim reminder that there are two kinds of policing in America today: One for White communities, aimed at serving and protecting them, and one for communities of color, devised to criminalize and control them,” added Jennifer Bellamy, of the American Civil Liberties Union. “To serve and protect is not a suggestion, it is a mandate that law enforcement must apply equally to all communities, otherwise, there will be more Fergusons.” Since Brown’s shooting and the days of violence and pandemonium that have engulfed the majority-Black city, the civil rights leaders said they have been working Continued on A3
Photo courtesy of the St. Louis American
At a rally in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 19, young protestors speak out against police brutality.
Baltimore Continues to Stand in Solidarity with Ferguson By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO Ferguson, Mo. remains a tinderbox almost two weeks after Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, was confronted by police officer Darren Wilson for walking in the street rather than the sidewalk and subsequently shot and killed. Baltimore has already seen some solidarity responses to the Brown killing, and a
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because we have experienced our own set of tragedies at the hands of the police here in Baltimore,” said Witherspoon. He then invoked the deaths of Anthony Anderson in 2012, Tyrone West in 2013, and George King earlier this year, all at the hands of Baltimore City police officers, in expressing concern about a lack of accountability on the part of police where the killing of Black men
Continued on A3
N.J. Man ‘Rides to Conquer Cancer’ and Honor of Grandmother By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO
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Photo courtesy of Naomi Haworth, Ride to Conquer spokeswoman
Christopher Warren with his grandmother and five-year breast cancer survivor Phyllis Isaacs.
Dunbar Brooks, 63, Leaves a Lifetime of Service By AFRO Staff
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number of community organizations and activists continue to organize events addressing the tragedy in Ferguson. Elder C.D. Witherspoon, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, has announced a solidarity march and rally to take place at City Hall in downtown Baltimore, 3 p.m., Aug. 23. “In Baltimore we can relate to the pain and anguish that the people in Ferguson are currently experiencing
Dunbar Brooks, the first African American president of the Baltimore County School board died Aug 17 at 63. Brooks also served as president of the Maryland State Board of Education from 2007-2008 and worked extensively with the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC), where he rose from a planner to the Director
Continued on A3 Dunbar Brooks
Christopher Warren was sitting in the library at Florida Coastal School of Law in August 2009 when he received a call from his mother informing him that his grandmother would be going in for surgery after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Warren’s grandmother, Phyllis Isaacs is now a five year cancer survivor, and Warren is training for a 150 mile charity bike ride to raise funds for cancer research and treatment in her honor. This marks the first year the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a global fundraising initiative that has collected over $240 million for cancer research since 2008, will be held in the capital region, according to Naomi Haworth, communications coordinator for the event. Proceeds collected from this year’s ride, which will stretch from Baltimore
to D.C., will benefit the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Sibley Memorial and Suburban Hospitals, going towards research and treatment. Nationally, cancer is second only to heart disease among causes of death for African Americans, according to the Center for Disease Control website. In the case of breast cancer, Black women are 10 percent less likely to be diagnosed with the disease than their White counterparts, but 40 percent more likely to die as a result, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. Five years after surgery, Isaacs is cancer free, having defeated a disease that has devastated countless households. Warren, who took up cycling one year ago at the behest of his Alpha Phi Alpha brethren, is now working to collect the minimum $2500 Continued on A4
Tyrone West’s Sister Still Fighting for Justice By Lisa Snowden-McCray Special to the AFRO Last July, Tyrone West died while Baltimore City police were placing him under arrest. The officers involved in the incident were never charged. A joint investigation by the State’s Attorney’s Office, the Baltimore Police Department and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner concluded that officers used reasonable force and that West’s death
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was caused by underlying health factors. However, the story doesn’t end there. Since then, West’s sister, Tawanda Jones, has launched a campaign against police brutality. She says there is not a day that goes by that she does not think about her brother, and that two recent incidents making national headlines – the death of Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown Continued on A4
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The Afro-American, August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014
NATION & WORLD Mo’Ne Davis Doesn’t Pitch but Hits RBI in Pennsylvania’s Taney Dragon’s Win over Texas
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Baltimore Office • Corporate Headquarters 2519 N. Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4602 410-554-8200 • Fax: 1-877-570-9297 www.afro.com Founded by John Henry Murphy Sr., August 13, 1892 Washington Publisher Emerita - Frances L. Murphy II Chairman of the Board/Publisher - John J. Oliver, Jr. President - Benjamin M. Phillips IV Executive Assistant - Takiea Hinton - 410-554-8222 Receptionist - Wanda Pearson - 410-554-8200 Director of Advertising Lenora Howze - 410-554-8271 - lhowze@afro.com Baltimore Advertising Manager Robert Blount - 410-554-8246 - rblount@afro.com Director of Finance - Jack Leister - 410-554-8242 Archivist - Ja-Zette Marshburn - 410-554-8265 Director, Community & Public Relations Diane W. Hocker - 410-554-8243 Editorial Editor - Dorothy Boulware News Editor - Gregory Dale Washington D.C. Editor - LaTrina Antoine Production Department - 410-554-8288 Baltimore Circulation/Distribution Manager Sammy Graham - 410-554-8266
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Thirteen-year-old pitching sensation Mo’Ne Davis didn’t pitch Aug, 17 during the Taney Dragon’s (Pennsylvania) matchup against Pearland East (Texas) in the 2014 Little League World Series tournament in Williamsport, Pa. Little League rules require pitchers to rest a full three days between pitching performances. But Davis’ absence from the mound didn’t stop her from making an impact in Taney’s 7-6 comeback win over Texas. Instead of pitching, Mo’Ne played shortstop on defense and contributed in the batting lineup Sunday night. She popped a RBI single near center field in the first inning to help her team take an early 2-0 lead, and was walked during her next at-bat in the bottom of the fourth inning. She later hit a ground ball and was quickly thrown out during her third and final at-bat in the fifth inning. With her RBI single, she became the sixth girl to record a hit in LLWS history and fourth to post an RBI. With Davis resting her arm, the team’s next best pitcher, 12-year-old Jared Sprague-Lott, started the game for Taney. Sprague-Lott threw eight strikeouts but also gave up two home runs and five earned runs total. Sprague-Lott was replaced in the fifth inning after giving up his second homer. Joe Richardson took over the pitching mound for Taney but gave up another run to push Texas ahead, 6-3, in the top of the fifth. Zion Spearman came up big for Taney with an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth and Kai Cummings added an RBI single to help cut the score to 6-5 heading into the sixth inning. Taney then clinched its comeback victory after Spearman smacked a RBI triple in the sixth inning to tie the score at 6, followed by a Texas throwing error on a walk-off single by Tai Shanahan to give Taney the 7-6 win over Texas. At AFRO press time, Taney (2-0) was scheduled to see its next LLWS action on Aug. 20. Mo’Ne Davis was scheduled to start the game as pitcher.
Ohio Baby Dies Mysteriously; Same Day, Mother Walks in Front of Truck
Omoyele Gonzalez, a 14-month-old baby, mysteriously died in bed at his residence. That same day, after hearing of her son’s death, the mother of Gonzalez, Kayelisa Martin, 20, committed suicide. According to NewsOne, Courtesy Photo Ohio police found Gonzalez Kayelisa Martin dead and a autopsy proved inconclusive. Gonzalez did not have any telltale signs of injuries, signs of trauma or any signs of recent or past abuse. Police were called after Martin talked about suicide to a relative. While her relative went to the fire station to tell them about Gonzalez, the police proceeded to her house where Martin was not in. Investigators and police searched high and low for Martin, but came up short. They then found out later that Martin had died in
a car accident, by walking in front of a moving semi-trailer on Interstate 77 in Canton, Ohio. According to NewsOne, Martin and Omoyele were involved in a car accident earlier that day. The police report that the steering wheel on Martin’s vehicle began to shake, and she could not control it. The vehicle reportedly hit a curb, struck a hydrant, shot across a yard, hitting shrubs and rocks, and then finally came to a stop at a parking lot. Investigators are not sure whether this had anything to do with the child’s subsequent death. Martin’s family has set up a fund-raising page to pay for her and her Gonzalez’s funeral services.
Ferguson: a Dramatic Picture of Black Community’s Distrust of Cops– Nationwide Sue Brown
The BLACK PIGS are just as BAD as the WHITE ONES…
Danay Lavon Parker
Police are the modern day Mafia…
Sarrha A Johnson
It’s not like they don’t give people a reason not to trust them because they do…So why trust a cop that is no different than the people that they arrest, murder and hide behind a badge/law etc!!!...
Jo El Dread
What’s new. We need a new order of protection…
Mo’Ne Davis Doesn’t Pitch but Hits RBI in Pennsylvania’s Taney Dragon’s Win over Texas JoAnn GodisGracious Ross Give that girl a scholarship...somebody!...
Kiera Trulyblessed Williams-Eaton This girl is a beast...I just love her...
John Craighead
Good game close but pulled it off from a wild throw to 1st...
Philip Jones
Gowan Gurl! Light up the ballpark...
Hans Pryor
She should be doing commercials. She’s cute and smart and has talent. How come no agents have gotten to her. Nike. Where are you...
Vivian E. Turner
Mo’Ne is unbelievable, but so is her team. They support each other. That makes them winners in the game of life...
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The Afro-American, August 23, 2014 - August 23, 2014
August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014, The Afro-American
Perspectives About Brown’s Death as Different as Black and White By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent Reactions to the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed African-American teen killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., and the protests that followed are as different as . . .Black and White. A new national poll by the Pew Research Center released this week shows that opinions about Brown’s shooting, the police response and the integrity and efficacy of the investigation fall starkly along racial lines. “People do react to things in different ways based on their experiences,� said Dr. Jules Harrell, professor of psychology at Howard University, about the divergent perspectives. The survey, conducted Aug. 14-17 among 1,000 adults, found that Blacks were much more likely – by a ratio of about 4-to-1 – to say the shooting in Ferguson raises important issues about race that merit further discussion. By contrast, Whites, by 47 percent to 37 percent, say the issue of race is getting more attention than it deserves. Similarly, while most African Americans (65 percent) say law enforcement has gone overboard in its response to the shooting’s aftermath, Whites are divided. One-third, 33 percent, agree that police have gone too far, 32 percent said the police response has been about right, while 35 percent offered no response. Whites were also three times more likely than Blacks – 52 percent
compared to 18 percent – to express some confidence in the shooting’s investigation. Roughly three-quarters of Blacks (76 percent) have little or no confidence in the investigations, with 45 percent saying they have no confidence at all. Ironically, some experts say, the differences in opinion, particularly on the question of whether race is a factor in the Ferguson situation, is fuelled mostly by . . . race. “We live in a country where there are polarized views as to what the reality of race and racism is,� said Darnell Hunt, an expert on race relations and director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. For African Americans, who have to deal with over-policing, racial profiling and police brutality, uneven political strength, unjust justice systems, and other forms of discrimination, “racism is very real,� Hunt said. Conversely, he added, “For most of White America, the whole bargain they struck with the election of President Barack Obama is that they get to forget race, and they get upset when it is raised.� The problems of racial inequality and injustice are very real in Ferguson. Though the city is 67 percent AfricanAmerican, its power structure is predominantly White: the mayor and police chief are White, six of the city’s seven council members are White, and a mere three of the police department’s 53-officer force are Black.
Then there are the other problems. A 2013 report showed a major racial disparity in police stops and searches, with African Americans being twice as likely as Whites to be searched and arrested. Add disproportionately high unemployment rates and other social ills, and the fact that at least three other unarmed Black males in other cities were killed within the last month, and you have a recipe for the civil unrest that has erupted in Ferguson, experts said. “The outrage is predictable,� Harrell said. “People are tired of the abominable conditions in their community.� The heavy-handed police response – firing rubber bullets and tear gas at protestors, even children; arresting journalists and locking down parts of the city; releasing a video that allegedly shows Brown robbing a convenience store, although authorities said officer Darren Wilson did not stop Brown in response to that alleged crime – has only deepened resentment and mistrust among the residents of the St. Louis suburb. The other side of this is a mostlyWhite backlash against the protests and support for the police, including Wilson, the officer who killed the unarmed 18-year-old. “The events in Ferguson, Mo. underscore how imperative it is for the White Race to band together in Brotherhood,� declared Frank Ancona, imperial wizard of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, on Twitter. Read more on afro.com.
Civil Rights Leaders Continued from A1
on the ground, trying to moderate the militarized policing of the protests, litigating and taking other steps to achieve transparency in the police investigation, and liaising with the Department of Justice and Gov. Jay Nixon to effect fair and just resolutions. “What we are seeing in Ferguson, Missouri, in terms of the uprising, is that many young people of color feel that their communities have become Constitution-free zones, where young Blacks can be arrested for nothing or shot down in the streets with impunity as was Michael Brown and many young Blacks every day of the year,� said the Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., president of the Hip Hop Caucus. He added, “Black lives and Black communities deserve respect . . . We don’t want justice in part; we want justice in whole. That is truly what will make our country a better country.� The list of recommendations is one step toward that goal, the coalition said. “We are here today to discuss long-term efforts that must occur in order to stop this cycle of violence against people of color, particularly our youth, across – Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. this country,� said Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “We are [firm] in our belief that a national movement must take place to focus this nation on the mass killings of people of color. This means we are prepared for a long-term battle to implement the recommended actions.� Those suggested actions were varied and include an thorough independent investigation of Brown’s death and all other police killings by the Department of Justice, the establishment of national standards on the use of force, comprehensive federal review and reporting of excessive use of force generally against minorities and of racially disproportionate policing, universal use of cameras in police cars and on officers’ bodies, and community-based policing. “We firmly believe that if these recommendations are implemented they would have a profound effect upon reducing violence and restoring confidence in law enforcement by communities of color,� Arnwine said.
We don’t want justice in part; we want justice in whole. That is truly what will make our country a better country.�
Baltimore Continues to Stand in Solidarity Continued from A1 is concerned. “We really believe that Tyrone West, and Anthony Anderson, and George King are Baltimore’s very own Michael Brown,� said Witherspoon. “And that Baltimore is essentially just one police murder away from being the next Ferguson.� The Baltimore branch of FIST, a national youth organization whose name stands for Fight Imperialism Stand Together, will be hosting another rally, 5:30 p.m., Aug. 25, along with the Baltimore People’s Power Assembly, a labor rights and social justice group. The rally, which is intentionally being held on the same day as Michael Brown’s funeral, will begin at McKeldin Square in downtown Baltimore and march toward Lexington Market if enough people attend the rally. Witherspoon has also committed to participating in this demonstration as well. “These issues that the folks are fighting for in Ferguson are universal,� said Colleen Davidson, one of founders of FIST and an organizer of Monday’s rally. “Police brutality and lack of accountability for the police is a national issue and it’s hurting so many people here in Baltimore, from the families of Tyrone West and Anthony Anderson to the young people who are getting hurt by the police on a daily basis.� ralejandro@afro.com
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Photo courtesy the St. Louis American
The family of Michael Brown leave a message on the street where he was gunned down.
Dunbar Brooks Continued from A1
of Data Development. “I am grateful for the opportunity to know Dunbar,� Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said. The two men met about 20 years ago, when Kamenetz was campaigning for the Baltimore County Council. Kamenetz said Dunbar was an advocate for the needs of African Americans and for the needs of Baltimore County’s children. He said that Dunbar always wanted to make sure that all children were challenged, and didn’t accept excuses. “He did not tolerate substandard expectations for any child. He was all
about performance and outcome and raising the bar. I was always struck by that as sending the appropriate signal,� he said. Kamenetz issued a statement, Aug. 19, reflecting on the contributions Brooks made to his community as well as ordering that the flag outside of the County courthouse be lowered to half mast. The memory I have most of him is his perseverance for kids and education,� said Larry Klimovitz, executive director of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council. “Trying to be a mentor and an advocate for education for kids in the Baltimore region.� “He always treated those around him with respect, which earned others’ respect, and he made decisions based on his high ethical standards throughout his life and career,� the BMC released in a statement. “He spent much of his long career gathering pertinent U.S. Census, population, household and employment data for the Cooperative Forecasting
Group to use in producing the travel demand model, economic research and for long-term transportation planning. “ He chaired a lot of committees and did a lot of work with the region’s elected officials according to Klimovitz. “He was an incredibly good natured, kind-hearted community-minded individual. A statesman by every definition of the world. If I had a flag, I’d fly it at half mast for him.� Brooks is survived by his wife of 37 years, Edythe, a daughter, Cheryl Renee Brooks of Dundalk; a stepson, Gary Arthur Young of Vienna, Va.; a stepdaughter, Tracey Young Williams of Dundalk and three grandchildren. Services for Dunbar will begin with a wake, 10 a.m., Aug. 26 at his home church, St. Matthew UM Church, 105 Main Street in Turners Station, followed by the funeral at 11 a.m. A memorial service will be held 6 p.m., Sept. 19 in the theater of the Community College of Baltimore County, Dundalk campus.
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The Afro-American, August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014
August 23, 2014 - August 23, 2014, The Afro-American
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Typical Casino Patrons Have Solid Careers, Better Education By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent The HorseShoe Casino Baltimore will stage its grand opening, Aug. 26, welcoming an estimated 10,000 guests through its doors. Over time, however, the casino’s patrons will not be distinguished so much by race but by income and education, experts said. “There is not much data on the racial breakdown of casino-goers,” said gambling expert James Karmel In terms of general gambling patterns, Whites are more frequent gamblers (92.5 percent), followed by African Americans (87.5 percent) and Hispanics (86.6 percent), according to a 2011 study by researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. However, when it comes to the subset
of casino gamblers, there are much clearer distinctions based on education and income, Karmel added. “Casino-goers tend to be slightly more educated that non-Casino-goers. And, typically, casino gambling is associated with income. For the vast majority of people, gambling at casinos is a recreational activity; they’re doing it with disposable income, money they can afford to spend,” Karmel, a professor of history at Harford Community College, said. “You just don’t find a lot of poor people in casinos,” he added. “People at lower income levels can’t afford to lose $50; they need that for food.” However, poorer Americans—who tend to prefer gambling closer to home—are more likely to spend their income on lottery games, as are African Americans.
“Lottery is more dependent on lowerincome people [and] African Americans are somewhat more likely to gamble on the lottery than Whites,” Karmel said. Those assertions were borne out in a 2010 study conducted by UMBC researchers. Published in The Journal of Gambling Business and Economics, the study titled “Who Pays for Maryland Lottery? Evidence from Point of Sale Data” married lottery terminal locations with Census tract data and examined the results using geographic information system maps to explore how racial and income groups contribute to state lottery revenues. The findings showed “the voluntary tax collected by the Maryland lottery comes disproportionately from census tracts populated by African Americans and low-income residents,” specifically those “with less than a
high school education, and people age 65 and older.” Again, with regards to casino gaming, even as city officials, casino owners and gambling aficionados welcome the new parlor, African Americans are more vulnerable to some of the ills of gambling. According to the 2011 UMBC study, “Gambling Prevalence in Maryland: A Baseline Analysis,” which was commissioned by Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, African Americans are 12.5 percent at risk of becoming problem gamblers and have a 4.9 percent rate of pathological gambling. Comparatively, Whites are less likely to be at risk of developing problem gambling at 8.2 percent, and experience a mere 2 percent of pathological gambling concerns.
Madison Park North Residents Search for New Housing By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO Last June, residents of the Madison Park North apartment complex were told the housing development would be closing, and that they would have to find new places to live. The housing authority would be providing residents receiving a public housing benefit, new housing vouchers and additional assistance for relocating. Three families and the pastor of a church that reside on the premises of the Madison Park North complex have agreed to keep the AFRO updated on their progress as they await their new vouchers and undertake the process of finding a new place to live. Residents tell us they have been asked to leave within four to five months. The Madison Park North complex sits on North Avenue just west of the Jones Falls Expressway, occupying part of Reservoir Hill’s southernmost border. It is a mix of predominantly housing units with commercial rental space. According to Carl Cleary, housing coordinator for the Reservoir Hill Improvement Council, the development is home to approximately 180 households who must now find new housing. Yolanda Pulley is the president of the tenant’s
A sign oriented toward North Avenue traffic hails a Madison Park’s unique residential and business community. After decades of high crime and violence, the City has announced the imminent closing and razing of the troubled housing complex.
The apartments at Madison Park association at Madison Park and has lived on the site for 23 years, currently residing in her fourth unit. She is also the lead plaintiff in a recently filed lawsuit against the Madison Park North Apartments Limited Partnership (MPNALP), the entity that owns the complex, and All-County Security Agency, the company contracted to provide security at the development, for failure to provide adequate living conditions as well as violating the civil rights of the tenants. Pulley tells the AFRO that the apartment complex was a difficult place to raise her four children, who live with her at Madison Park. “Basically, I sheltered my children in the house because of the area that we lived in,” said Pulley. “It was bad, it was real bad. When I first moved around here it was just bodies
dropping all over the place.” Pulley says that the complex is no longer as afflicted by violence, but that issues with violence and drug trafficking are nonetheless recurring. One benefit the development did offer, however, was convenience, with easy access to the bus stops and cabs on North Avenue, a lifeline to someone who, like Pulley, does not own a car. Pulley would like to find something with similar access to public modes of transportation as she begins her search for a new home and says she would like to remain in Baltimore. The City’s Housing Authority, organized under Baltimore Housing, has committed to assisting not only with new vouchers, but with various other expenses related to applying for housing as well as costs of moving.
Obituary
Ora Sterling King
October 15, 1931 to July 1, 2014
Ora Sterling King was born in Wedowee, Ala. to Mary and James Sterling and died at her home in Atlanta, Ga. of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. She was educated in the Tallapoosa, Ga. public school system where she excelled and went on to Spelman and later earned a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in College Park. She was also awarded the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship in 1985. At the apex of her career, Ora served in the
dual role of Dean of Education and Graduate Studies at Coppin State University in Baltimore. She married the love of her life, Lonnie C. King Jr., in 1993. They initially met in 1972 at a NAACP Freedom Fund dinner. In addition to her grieving husband, Lonnie C. King Jr., leaves her daughters, Sherrie Manear of Birmingham, Kimberly Forde and Margo Wright of Atlanta; son, Lonnie C. King III of Atlanta; brother, Willie Sterling of Atlanta. Ora’s memorial service will be held 6 p.m., Aug. 28, at Epworth United Methodist Chapel in Baltimore, Md.
Photos by Roberto Alejandro
“That’s what we fought for and they basically gave us what we wanted,” said Pulley. The next step is to sit for an interview to determine her eligibility for a voucher. Interviews for all residents of Madison Park begin Aug. 25. Ashley Smith has lived at the complex with her mother for the past eight years. She tells the AFRO that she does not spend much time out in
the complex, preferring to be indoors at home instead. Smith is not particularly concerned with the safety of the complex, but far more troubled by the lack of responsive maintenance management and leaking roof she has had to tolerate while living in Madison Park. Smith’s only request of the City is a simple one. “Help me move. That’s all I want from them, just to help me move,” said Smith. Smith says that her ideal landing place is Edmondson Village, but otherwise just wants something that will be her own, as she will now look for housing independent of her mother. Brittany Jones has lived at Madison Park for approximately six years. She had previously lived there with her mother but for the last five months has rented her own unit, where she lives with her younger brother.
‘Rides to Conquer Cancer’ Continued from A1
in donations to participate in this year’s Ride to Conquer Cancer. “When I found out about [my grandmother’s diagnosis], I can’t even really describe how I felt, I just knew I had to get there as soon as possible,” Warren said. Warren was entering his third year of law school when he received the news, and immediately left the library and booked a plane ticket to Maryland, where Isaacs had moved around 2008. “I surprised my grandmother the next morning. When she woke up, I was lying on the couch,” he said. “I was just happy that I was there to support her.” Isaacs would go on to recover from her bout with cancer, and Warren would complete his law degree in 2010. Now an attorney in Morristown, N.J., Warren is actively training for the charity ride that will take place over
“Not happy with the neighborhood,” said Jones of her impressions of the development. “There’s a lot of drug activity. And when I first moved around here, the first couple of months, there were shootings in broad daylight. I was so scared.” Jones says that Madison Park feels safer now, but that there is still drug activity occurring out of some units. Otherwise, her biggest complaints were the pest problems suffered in the apartments. “Water bugs. Spiders. Too much for me,” said Jones. Jones says that she would like the City to pick up the pace a bit as they seek to assist residents with the transition. Otherwise, Jones says, “I just want to find a nice neighborhood for me and my little brother.” ralejandro@afro.com See more on afro.com
the course of two days, Sept. 13-14; going to the gym three days a week and cycling on weekends. He is also raising funds towards the $2500 minimum to participate. “Everything that I raise goes to fighting cancer, so even if I don’t meet the minimum to participate in the actual ride, I’m still happy that I was involved in this event because everything I raise goes to fighting this disease, which is the whole purpose of it,” said Warren. Anyone interested in signing up to participate in the charity ride may do so at www.ridetovictory.org. Organizers stress the event is not a race, and that no one should be dissuaded from participating on that account. Donations may be made directly to Warren by clicking on the ‘Donate’ option under the ‘Join The Conquest’ tab on the event’s home page and searching for Warren by his full name (Christopher Warren). “I would love to participate in the ride and have my grandma cheering for me at the finish line because I know she’ll be there,” said Warren. ralejandro@afro.com
event called West Wednesdays, weekly walks in the city to peacefully protest brutality, and to inform the community of their rights. Jones Continued from A1 tells young men and women to be careful in Missouri, let her know there is still much in their interactions with police, and to call work to be done. for backup if they feel they are in an unsafe “It just touched my heart,” she said about situation. hearing of Michael Brown’s Aug. 9 shooting “If you feel unsafe, call for backup,” she death. “This is not an isolated incident, it’s says. “My brother didn’t have that chance.” a systemic incident. The first thing that I Jones was also on hand when hundreds thought was ‘Oh my God, now converged on downtown we got a young man who will Baltimore, Aug. 14, to peacefully never get to fulfill his dreams.’” protest police brutality. She said Jones says she was just as the event gave her an opportunity emotional when she heard about to connect with others who also Garner’s death, which has been feel they have been victimized by ruled a homicide. the police. Meanwhile, she is still “I got so many people here in mourning her brother, who she our city who are suffering,” she remembers as a gifted artist and said. loving uncle and father. But, it was also positive – full “My love and passion for of poetry and speeches from my brother is the only thing people of all races and all walks Tyrone West that keeps me going,” she said. of life. “It was so beautiful.” “They took my brother away. She will be traveling to New It’s tearing my family up. I go York soon to protest with Garner’s family. She through restless nights. My body don’t even has also reached out to people who witnessed shut down. I wouldn’t wish this kind of pain Brown’s shooting via Facebook, offering to on nobody’s family.” provide support. The family has launched a multi-million “I always loved the community but I never dollar lawsuit against the Baltimore City thought I’d be in this predicament,” she says. Police Department. They, along with the “I never thought I’d be fighting against for activist group Baltimore Bloc, also host an police brutality.”
Tyrone West
August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014, The Afro-American
A5
TECHNOLOGY
Blacks Lead Social Justice Charge on Social Media By Jazelle Hunt NNPA Columnist WASHINGTON (NNPA) – What do “Bring Back Our Girls,” “Justice for Trayvon” and “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” have in common? They’re all rallying cries that began on social media. And when big things happen through social media, Black people usually lead the charge. Internet activism, also called “hashtag activism,” is an emerging side effect of the digital age, as ordinary people take to social media websites to organize and agitate. Today, Black people use sites such as Twitter and Facebook at higher rates than other groups. Last year, the Pew Research Center found that 29 percent of all Black Americans who are online use Twitter, and 76 percent use Facebook, compared to 16 percent and 71 percent of Whites, respectively. On Twitter, the trend has led to the term “Black Twitter,” in which a conversation among African American users can and often does become the dominant conversation on the site. And Black people are using this ability to dominate to drive awareness to racial issues and spur action. Twitter is a website that allows users all over the world to send and respond to public messages, or Tweets, in real time. Users can also create and use hashtags, denoted by the pound sign (“#”). Hashtags communicate an idea, and allow Tweets to be grouped together, creating a global, real-time public conversation around that idea. “Twitter is the Internet’s answer to the telephone tree,” says Mikki Kendall, who uses Twitter to chat with the more than 23,500 “followers” who opt to include her Tweets in their tailored stream of conversations. She Tweets under the username @Karnythia; on Twitter, usernames are called “handles.” Almost exactly a year ago, Kendall created the hashtag, #SolidarityisforWhiteWomen to highlight White feminists’ lack of support for women of color. The hashtag drew millions of Tweets on the topic and generated feminist forums and events around the country on the topic. Media outlets such as NPR, Huffington Post, The Root, even The Guardian and Al Jazeera, penned articles on Kendall’s hashtag and the questions it raised. Twitter users still use and discuss it today. “I’ve since heard from a lot of people about how educational that [hash]tag was, and how it informed some people’s work.” says Kendall. “You look on Twitter and see people in Egypt and Palestine explaining to people in Ferguson how to handle tear gas and dog bites. Even as police push media out—you can push media out but can’t push out the people who live there and have a smart phone.” In 2012, Black Twitter produced #JusticeforTrayvon to discuss and spotlight the murder of Trayvon Martin, and the lack of law enforcement attention on his assailant, George Zimmerman. The hashtag grew into an online petition calling for Zimmerman’s arrest, then spilled into the real world to become the rallying cry. The mobilization around #JusticeforTrayvon eventually led to Zimmerman’s arrest, two months after the shooting. In the days following Zimmerman’s acquittal, Black Twitter got wind of the news that Juror B37 had secured a literary agent and book deal for her involvement with the trial. Genie Lauren, Twitter handle @MoreAndAgain, found the agent’s professional contact information
Courtesy photo
C.J. Lawrence took to Twitter to pose the question: “Which photo does the media use if the police shot me down?” His accompanying hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown goes viral.
online and Tweeted it to her estimated 3,000 followers. “[Black Twitter users] knew we could stop this book. We’d gotten Paula Deen kicked off her TV show, we’d gotten published pieces taken [offline] for being offensive,” Lauren says. After suggesting that her followers contact the agent, Lauren also launched an online petition to pull the plug on the book deal. Within an hour, the petition had more than 1,000 signatures. Shortly after, the agent contacted Lauren to say she would no longer represent Juror B37. By the time Lauren shut down the petition, it had 1,343 signatures, and she had attracted approximately 6,000 new followers. “I have a love-hate relationship with the term [Black Twitter]. It’s a thing, but at the same time it’s not a thing – it’s just Black people on Twitter,” she says. “Black people find each other no matter where we are, especially if we don’t own the space. And just like in real life, we’re not a monolithic group. There are lots of different circles making up the group.” Lauren explains that Black people have always been trendsetters, and the rise of Black Twitter and Black-led hashtag activism is not surprising to her. But it seems to have surprised others, particularly media outlets that occasionally put the activity and trends among Black users under the microscope. Major media outlets, advertising and marketing companies, and
the Pew Research Center have examined and discussed the way Black people operate on social media sites. In May 2013, The Root got ahead of external chatter by launching The Chatterati, a hub for all the top topics of the day among Black social media users. “I think [Black Twitter] became such a thing because via Twitter, a previously silenced group now has the opportunity to broadcast their thoughts and voices themselves, without having to go through a middle man that may or may not give them the stage,” says Tracy Clayton the former editor of The Chatterati. “With sites like Twitter, marginalized people can speak for themselves and drive their own narratives.” The subject of social media organizing often begs the question: What good does this do offline? There’s a bit of debate about whether hashtag activism is activism. Yesha Callahan, current editor of The Chatterati, points out that social media can be the springboard, but should not be the final destination. “I can see both sides. It speaks upon what [a person] finds important. If they think hashtagging is more important than volunteering…what’s the point?” Callahan says. “At the same time, I know a woman who is handicapped and can’t be in the streets, but what she does online is organize. For people who have no excuse, I question their motives.” Kendall agrees that activism should not start and end on computers. “People like to say it’s hashtag activism…and that doesn’t make it real,” she says. “But now you know what’s happening, you know where you’re needed, and that matters in real life. When you think about Freedom Summer, the marches, the sit-ins…we forget how things got organized. This is just another aspect of that.” When done well, a Twitter hashtag sparks a sprawling national or international conversation, then inspires offline action. A recent example is the hashtag, #IfTheyGunnedMeDown. C.J. Lawrence, posed the question, “Which photo does the media use if the police shot me down?” With it, juxtaposes two photos of himself: one in which he is a commencement speaker at his graduation, with Bill Clinton and other notables in the background laughing at a joke he’s made; and other with him dressed in all Black and posing with a bottle of liquor. “What most people wouldn’t realize, if they just grabbed the second photo of me, is that it’s me at a Halloween party, pretending to be Kanye West at the [Video Music Awards]. Neither [depictions] deserve to die,” says James, who Tweets as @CJ_musick_lawya. “I was trying to highlight that no matter your education, class, or fashion sense, nobody deserves to die in the street that way. And you can’t capture the essence of a person in one photo, one quote.” Before #IfTheyGunnedMeDown, most media outlets had been reporting on the police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. using an unsmiling photo of Brown in a basketball jersey, with his thumb, index, and middle fingers up. After the hashtag took over Twitter, with other users posting their own dichotomous photos, media began to report on the conversation. “I didn’t have the slightest inclination it would take off as much as it did. The power of social media forced mass media to question itself,” James says. “It caused media to have to talk about it, how it represents us, and how it will continue to moving forward.”
EPA to Require Air Pollution Measurements in Black Communities By Jazelle Hunt NNPA Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON – For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency may require oil refineries to regularly measure the air quality at their perimeters. These fence line measurements will give surrounding communities – largely low-income communities of color – data on the level of pollution they are exposed to each day. The EPA’s proposed rule changes are the result of a lawsuit brought against them by environmental advocacy nonprofit, Earthjustice and a few grassroots groups around the country, including the Community In-Power Development Association. The group is based in Port Arthur, Texas, a historically Black neighborhood turned fence line community surrounded by four oil refineries, six chemical plants, one international incineration facility, and one pet coke facility. Pet coke is both a refining byproduct and a fuel source that, when burned, emits more carbon dioxide than coal. Hilton Kelley founded the association in 2000. He says the lawsuit was years in the making. “For almost 20 years, the EPA has done nothing to revisit their guidelines and say, wait a minute…it’s time to push these guys to upgrade and use better technology to protect human health,” Kelley explains. “We’ve been asking for at least six or seven years to get them to revisit these guidelines and take look at the possibility of updating them. I think it’s every five years or so, they’re supposed to look at ways they can increase protection of citizens who live next to these kinds of facilities.” The civil suit was filed in federal district court last year. In February of this year, the EPA settled and a consent decree was signed for the agency to begin the process of updating its rules for petroleum refineries. In addition to the fence line data, the proposed rules include caps on emissions from storage tanks and incinerating gases through a process called flaring, which releases billowing black smoke into the air for hours at a time. They also propose mandatory updates to monitoring equipment and public health procedures. “To its credit, the EPA realized it had a responsibility to people. The case was resolved amicably to avoid unnecessary litigation,” says Emma Cheuse, senior associate attorney at Earthjustice. “Some communities are bearing the brunt of pollution more than others, and that burden is falling too much on communities of color, and low-income communities.” Oil refineries in particular release tens of thousands of tons of toxins into the air annually, including a known carcinogen called benzene. Places such as Richmond, California; Dearborn, Michigan; Port Arthur, Texas; Northeast Philadelphia, and many more, literally host and neighbor hundreds of the nation’s industrial plants.
Take Southwest Detroit, for example. When Theresa Landrum was a girl growing up there in the 1960s and 1970s, it was a pleasant place to be. Residents tended vegetable patches and fruitbearing trees. The land was rich, situated on mineral fields. Just beyond the rail lines, neighborhood kids ventured into wetlands to chase rabbits, salamanders, garden snakes, and other wildlife. The men in Landrum’s family made a decent living at the industrial plants in the area. Marathon Petroleum was the closest one, and at that time, she says, it was “just one building up on a hill.” Today, the Marathon Petroleum Detroit refinery stretches for miles along I-75, refining 123,000 barrels each day. In 2011, University of Michigan researchers found that Landrum’s
“For almost 20 years, the EPA has done nothing to revisit their guidelines and say, wait a minute...it’s time to push these guys to upgrade and use better technology to protect human health.” –Hilton Kelley
neighborhood, zip code 48217, was the most polluted area in Michigan. A few years prior, Marathon bought out and relocated neighboring Oakwood Heights – a predominantly White neighborhood – with intent to “preserve it as green space.” No such buyout materialized for Landrum’s community, although it is closer to the refinery. “Things started to not grow anymore,” Landrum says. “A lot of neighbors, friends, and family got sick – breathing problems, asthma, illnesses like COPD, sarcoidosis, all kinds of cancers, skin rashes. They just attributed it to our lifestyle, but a lot of people didn’t smoke or drink and ate healthy, from their garden.” Landrum lost both her parents to lung cancer, and is a cancer survivor herself. She’s part of a growing number of people and communities organizing to hold industrial companies and regulating agencies accountable for toxic emissions. On August 5, she and other community members, environmental organizations, and concerned parties from all over traveled to Houston to testify at an EPA hearing on the proposed
regulation updates. “The real game changer is the fence line rule,” says Saleem Chapman, environmental justice program manager at Clean Air Council, a mid-Atlantic advocacy organization based in Philadelphia. Chapman, a Philadelphia native, traveled to Houston to give testimony on behalf of the communities the council serves. “Philadelphia is one of the most polluted cities in the nation… and people are not currently aware. We can’t develop proper resources or the proper ways to keep people protected because we don’t have access to the data. We’re as much in the dark as the communities.” Regulations that are already in place to protect fence line communities aren’t being enforced, some say. Landrum, for example, cites local elected officials and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality as barriers to environmental justice efforts. “The MDEQ has been very lax in doing their jobs. They tell us we have to be their eyes and ears –if something happens, we have to call them to send an inspector. They’re very hesitant to issue violations, and they do not deny any permit,” she explains. “[Other parties] are concerned, but there’s power in money. Marathon is free to pass around money. Very few officials, politicians, and legislators are speaking against Marathon and industry in general.” Kelley echoes similar observations. “They just believe that since the nation or the world needs this product, that they can get away with doing whatever they have to do to produce it. And basically they have for many years,” he says. “Even though there’s laws on the books that govern these tasks within the Clean Air Act, these guys find it very economically suitable for them to just skate by.” Environmental justice and environmental racism are concepts that have been around for decades. The former aims to achieve equality for all in environmental decisions, procedures, and rules. The latter refers to the practice of establishing environmental hazards in or near communities of color and/or little means. The concepts are still unknown to many. But as climate change becomes a more critical issue, and as community organizers spotlight their homes on the frontlines, the concepts are gaining traction. The EPA will continue to solicit public comments on its rulemaking through October 28. The resulting rules will be issued next year. “I think because of work we’ve done over the years people are becoming more aware, but I find that a lot of folks are really shocked when they learn that communities… live so close to refineries and chemical plants,” Kelley explains. “We live within a stones throw of a chemical storage tank. It’s very taxing on one’s nerves to live in such a community, but [Port Arthur] is an area where the land is cheap and historically, it’s the only area Black people could live, back in the ‘40s and ‘50s. So it just became a way of life.”
A6
The Afro-American, August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014
HEALTH
Wellness Collective Seeks to Impart Healthier Living to City’s Youth By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO African Americans suffer from many chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, at rates far higher than those of their White counterparts. In Baltimore City, a fitness and wellness collective with a distinct approach to working out has developed a fitness and nutrition curriculum, known as DIPS, that aims to address the prevalence of chronic illnesses among Black people by imparting healthy habits at an early age. Tarahn Harris and Sean House are members of Team Autobars, a wellness collective operating in Baltimore City and founded by themselves and two others, Michael Young and Monte Jackson, in 2010. Harris has a background in social work, with degrees from Virginia State University and the University of Maryland, and over 18 years of hands-on experience delivering therapeutic services to children and families. House, who served in the Marines from 1991-2002, has been working with institutionalized youth and their families since 1994, first at the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School, a residential detention and treatment center for juvenile offenders in Baltimore, and more recently for Catholic Charities. Team Autobars focuses on overall wellness and their workouts at Lake Montebello drew a lot of attention for its impressive, pull-
up bar centered regimen involving tricks and moves more at home in a Cirque du Soleil performance than the average weight room. The team wanted to use the appeal of their workouts to stretch their message of wellness even further. “We were trying to come up with an idea that we could try to empower our community [with] overall,” said Harris in an interview with the AFRO. “The idea was to come up with a curriculum that we can incorporate what we were doing on the pull-up bar in regards to our calisthenics workout . . . how we could transfer that energy to the community by informing the community about better eating choices and about incorporating exercise and better nutrition into their diet on a regular basis.” The idea they came up with was DIPS, which stands for Discipline, Inspiration, Physical fitness and Structure. It is a 10 month curriculum designed to last the length of the school year and to impart knowledge about exercise and better nutrition, particularly to Black youth in Baltimore City. “We have a structured curriculum that is effective, and it’s evidence based, and it’s something that’s needed throughout the city, if not throughout the country, honestly, because we know that our children are experiencing obesity and continuing to consume the processed foods that long term are going to have effects on them,” said Harris.
Photo courtesy of Tarahn Harris
Team Autobars with staff from Arundel Elementary/Middle School: Tarahn Harris, left, Michael Young, Principal Rochelle Machado, Assistant Principal Lawanda Wilson, Sean House and Monte Jackson. Nationally, 25.7 percent of African-American children between the ages of 6 and 17 are obese, compared with 14.6 percent of White children, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health’s website. African-American adults are 70 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, 30 percent more likely to die from heart disease, and twice as likely to suffer a stroke as Whites. DIPS introduces kids to various drill-style and body weight based workouts, as well as practices like Yoga and plyometrics. It also includes a culinary component,
introducing city youth to foods like hummus and Mediterranean platters, as well as teaching them to make their own fruit infused water or fresh, homemade salsa dip. As the curriculum develops and grows, House wants to see families pulled in along with their children. “That’s going to be a key piece, a key component, getting the families involved and seeing some of the same things the kids are going to see and be exposed to so it becomes not only an individual thing, it becomes a collective thing,” said House. Team Autobars has been implementing its curriculum with youth at the Change House Youth
Center in Waverly for the last eight months. They have applied to become a vendor with the Baltimore City Public School System in order to be able to present their curriculum in the schools and expect a decision on their application within the next month and a half. For Harris, the sooner the DIPS curriculum can be implemented and healthy habits can be taught, the better. “We can start now versus waiting to say, ‘okay, now you have to stick a[n insulin] needle in you for the next 30 years of your life,’” said Harris. ralejandro@afro.com
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August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014 The Afro-American
COMMENTARY
A7
White Cops Kill at Least Two Blacks Each Week Occasionally, police officers behave in such a dastardly manner that it captures international attention. There was the 1997 famous video of four White LAPD officers taking turns clubbing and kicking Rodney King nearly beyond recognition after a high-speed automobile chase. In 1999, on the opposite coast, an unarmed, 23-year-old Amadou Diallo was killed after four policemen fired 41 times into his Bronx, N.Y. apartment, striking him 19 times. In New Orleans, Robert George Curry Davis, a retired elementary school teacher, was returning to his hometown after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to inspect the damaged family home. He went to the French Quarters to purchase some cigarettes. Four White officers, who suspected him of public drunkenness, accused Davis of resisting arrest and began beating him. An Associated Press producer filmed a video that showed no indication of resistance. Timothy Thomas, 19, was shot to death in Cincinnati in 2001 by Patrolman Stephen Roach. The officer said he thought Thomas was armed – he wasn’t. The shooting touched off the largest urban unrest in the U.S. since the L.A. uprising a decade earlier. And the list doesn’t stop there: Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Frank Jude, Jonathan Ferrell, Kathryn Johnson, Kendrec McDade, Timothy Standsbury Jr., Kenneth Chamberlain, and so many more. Three more names were added to the list in the past month: Eric Garner of Staten Island, N.Y.; Ezell Ford of Los Angeles, and now Michael Brown, the 18-year-old unarmed victim in Ferguson, Mo. Police kill African Americans more frequently than you may realize. According to stats compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice, an unarmed African American died at the hands of an armed White police officer at the rate of nearly two per week from 2005 to 2012. Over that 8-year period, 400 police killings were reported per year. White officers killed a Black person, on average, 96 times per year. Of those, 18 percent of the African Americans killed were under the age of 21, compared to 8.7 percent of Whites. As bad as those figures are, they grossly understate the problem. The FBI statistics are based on the voluntary reporting of local
law enforcement jurisdictions. Currently, approximately 750 of 17,000 law enforcement agencies regularly report their figures to the FBI. That means if the ratio holds true for all 17,000 agencies, the annual 96 Black deaths at the hands of White cops could be as high as 2,170 a year or almost 42 (41.73) per week – nearly six per day (5.94). To be conservative, let’s presume that the death rate for the non-reporting law enforcement agencies is only half of those now reporting. That would still be approximately three Blacks killed by a White police officer every day. According to Officer Down Memorial Page, which catalogues the deaths of all law enforcement officials, 416 cops were deliberately killed in the line of duty from 2005 to 2012, an average of 52 a year from 2005 to 2012. Using the most conservative data, Blacks are almost twice as likely to be killed by police as cops are likely to be murdered in the line of duty. In most of the high-profile cases of police killing unarmed Blacks, there was no justification for the use of deadly force. One case, Tennessee v. Garner, grew out of an incident in Memphis where a Black 8th grader was shot fleeing from a home burglary after stealing a purse. The judges said cops couldn’t shoot someone simply because they were escaping. In another case, Graham vs Connor, the judges said police have the duty to protect the public. Therefore, it’s okay to use force in apprehending violent offenders. But in the Memphis case, police would not be allowed to shoot at a non-violent offender even following the commission of a crime. Of course, personal prejudice enters the picture long before an officer pulls his or her gun. “When we ask police officers directly, ‘Who looks criminal?,’ they choose more Black faces than White faces. The more stereotypically Black a face appears, the more likely officers are to report that the face looks criminal,” according a study in Stanford’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
In addition, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that, “most White officers (95 percent) do not believe police are more likely to use physical force against Blacks and other minorities than against Whites in similar situations. The majority of Black and other minority officers (69.5 percent) believe persons who look like them are more likely to receive physical force from police.” But Blacks are treated differently from Whites – even when they are part of the law enforcement hierarchy. As Attorney General Eric Holder recounted before the NAACP convention last year, “I was stopped by a police officer while simply running to catch a movie, at night in Georgetown, in Washington, D.C. I was at the time of that last incident a federal prosecutor.” If that can happen to Eric Holder in Washington, you know what can happen to Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. George E. Curry is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA.) He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach.
Mike Brown’s Death is a Product of America’s Recurring Tragedy and We All Have A Role America’s one-sided race problem continues unabated. As “post racial” as we want to believe ourselves to be, we, as a society, continue to demonize young Black men and women, in ways that truncate their life opportunities and rob ourselves of their leadership, their business and workforce talent. America’s current tragedy is not just the murder of Mike Brown, or all the others killed by police, to the tune of one Black person every 28 hours, according to Operation Ghetto Storm. America’s tragedy is the Diane Bell-McKoy aftermath of Mike Brown’s murder even beyond and in addition to the looting and the police department’s war ready stance. America’s tragedy is the recurrence of what we do as Americans in situations that involve young Black men and women. It is America’s comfort at the demonization of young Black men and women− a societal default response in dealing with police-related deaths of young Black men – as if Mike Brown’s being a suspect in robbing a store somehow justified his death. It is the reality that his family and supporters have to constantly emphasize that he was a young man with hope and a desire for a positive future. And it is our insistence that if he has any negative behavior – proven or rumored – we are justified in dismissing him as a “thug,” whose death will not matter even though he was a young man who worked hard and
wanted more for himself and his future. That if he is dismissed and demonized as just a “thug,” it is ok to simply shoot him six times. He was just Black in America and disposable. America’s on-going tragedy is its willingness to stay close to the hypocrisy of its roots: its Declaration of Independence – which states that all men are created equal – signed by representatives of the 13 original colonies in which enslavement was legal. America’s tragedy is one of willful denial: a denial of the fact that with all its progress, it has not much strayed – culturally – from the roles its assigns African Americans in its national narrative and from the way it treats its African-American citizens. Too many Americans – too many Marylanders, too many Whites, and too many comfortable African Americans who have negotiated America’s racial caste system enough to feel that they have “made it” – look at the events in Ferguson with jaundiced eyes, blind to the reality of structural and institutional racism (and many don’t even know what this means) and blind to the fact that historically, racedbased privileges still exist. They are willfully blind to the fact that cities and suburbs alike in Maryland have their own Mike Brown stories. And no amount of data, anecdotes, or legalized and cultural patterns will convince them of this fact. Too many White citizens will not want to believe it and too many comfortable African-American citizens will be working overtime trying to disprove and/or justify these race-based realities in order to validate their own American success. Our ongoing American tragedy – playing not only in a city near you, like Ferguson, but in THIS region as well − means we are comfortable denying workforce and educational opportunities to the Mike Browns of OUR world because of where they live. Or it may be their names are too “ethnic,” according to the National Bureau of Economic Research or the fact that they do not “present” in a way
in which we as a white-acculturated society (and make no mistake, people of color –including African Americans−are white-acculturated, too) demand. When African-American citizens talk about being illegally stopped by police; when our youth talk about having their pants pulled down by policemen on public streets; when mothers of Black boys talk about “preparing their sons” to survive encounters with police; when we see statistics about the racial disparities in stops, arrests, convictions of Black men and women; instead of listening we immediately think they were doing something “wrong.” We brand THEM as being “wrong,” “broken,” “thug-like,” instead of examining systems and structures – OUR systems and structures – which have historically been proven to be racialized, wrong and broken. We prefer to believe in our rose-colored glass fiction of a “post-racial” reality when everything – statistics, social indicators, disparities – everything in this society confirms the opposite. America’s unwavering tragedy is not what is happening in Ferguson. It is the way in which we, nationally – black, white, brown, red, yellow – avert our heads from conversation of institutional and structural racism. And just as tragically, it is the way in which we do it here, and almost everywhere in America. What is happening in Ferguson is an outgrowth; a symptom of a larger problem, part and parcel of our American tragedy. But make no mistake: it is not THE problem. Our willful denial of the institutional and structural racism around us and our refusal to look at it, understand it and then take action to change it – THAT is THE problem. Our collective economic future depends upon us dealing with this reality. Diane Bell-McKoy is president and CEO of Associated Black Charities - Baltimore
Is it a Mistake When a Black Man is murdered by the Police? During Slavery in America, Blacks were considered threefifths of a person, and their life was controlled by an overseer and master. The overseer was authorized to punish slaves, and kill them if they refused to do the work. In 2014, many Black activists believe the police force is the new overseer in the African-American community, and they have forgotten that they are being paid to serve the residents. In the last week, the Ferguson Police Department in Missouri has terrorized the residents in a suburb of St Louis, which is 65 to 70 percent Black, with tear gas, rubber bullets and arrest. This incident was started when a police officer Darren Wilson, shot an unarmed 18 year old Black youth Michael Brown for walking in the street. There are eyewitnesses who say the Black youth raised his arms and said he did not have a gun, but he was still killed with numerous shots. For the past five days the city has been turned into a war zone, with the county SWAT team in riot gear and armored tanks. Police Chief Tom Jackson tried to justify the over-militarization of the treatment in the community, but on Thursday the governor turned the oversight of the situation to Captain Ron Johnson.
Roger Caldwell
Johnson, a Black man, has replaced riot gear and armored tanks, with state Highway Patrol walking side by side with protestors, and turned the situation from violent to peaceful. For five days the Ferguson police chief and the county police have treated the Ferguson community as thugs, criminals and the enemy. This over-policing of the residents shows that the police operate from an overseer mentality, and murdering Black men is part of the job. But on Saturday the town turned into a war zone again, when the governor implemented a curfew. In 2012, a study was done by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement that a Black man is killed every 28 hours by police. Many of these killing and murders are covered-up and very few are allowed to be publicized by the media. In 2014, Eric Garner was unarmed and a group of NYPD chocked this Black man to death. In North Carolina Jonathan Ferrell was unarmed and shot 10 times and died, and Jordon Baker, an unarmed Black man from Houston wearing a hoodie was shot and killed. In 2013, Trayvon Martin was killed for walking down the street and Jordan Davis, an unarmed Black youth, was shot sitting in his car, because a White man thought his music was too loud.
At this point, it appears to be open season on Black men by authority figures that carry guns. The police, security forces and licensed gun permit holders believe they are in a position to dispense law, and murdering Black men is no mistake. They tend to shoot first and ask questions later. In the majority of these cases the Black man is unarmed, and very few of the perpetrators are prosecuted for a crime. In the Ferguson incident there are two stories; one from the police, and one from eyewitnesses. The police department is saying that Michael Brown was the aggressor, and he was shot because the young man tried to take the policeman’s revolver. Michael Brown had no record; he was getting ready to start college, and it would not make sense to struggle with a policeman with a gun. In most cases in America, there is a cover-up and Darren Wilson will probably walk free. There is a raging fire just beneath the Black national consciousness and the over-policing and the militarization of the police departments makes for an explosive situation in the Black community. Roger Caldwell is CEO and owner of On Point Media Group.
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The Afro-American, August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014
COMMUNITY CONNECTION West Baltimore Clergy United Held 8th Annual Back To School Jam
sponsoring a Back to School Festival, noon to 4 p.m., at Security Square Mall in Baltimore County with the hopes of helping children focus on preparing for a new school year. The event, co-hosted by BCPS Superintendent Dr. Dallas Dance and Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz will feature educational games, free backpacks and school supplies, as well as live entertainment and free immunizations. This third annual Back to School Festival is an opportunity for school children of all ages to celebrate and prepare for the arrival of the new school year, which begins Aug. 27. The traditionally well-attended festival is open to all county students and will include a variety of community resources and children’s activities, as well as several surprise celebrity guests. For more information, visit http://www. lilesforbaltimore.org/.
West Baltimore Clergy United (WBCU) distributed school supplies and food to families during their Eighth Annual Back to School Jam, Aug. 16, on the campus of Coppin State University in Baltimore. An outreach by the WBCU to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the community, the event featured Christian performing artists; rappers Da Voice and Tornado 4:18, The Tabernacle Simms-Miller Family Reunion Praise Dancers, The Simms-Miller family reunion, celebrated singers Brian Aug. 16, marked 106 years at Druid Hill Park, Paul and Tiffany and is now branching into their sixth generation. Jeffers and poet/ As on every third Saturday in August, there was The Eighth Annual Back To School Jam featured rappers Word & face painting, soccer and football, table games, Christian performing artists. Rap. raffle, line dancing and music by DJ Zack. A In addition, proclamation from Northwest Mayor Stephanie Hospital, BGE, U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Rawlings Blake hailed Development, University of Maryland Medical Center and Simms Family Reunion Day the Baltimore City Department of Social Services provided in Baltimore City. Family information on community resources. members came from as far Held in partnership with Feed The Children International, away as Australia. the team gave food and toiletries to 400 families and school Family members include supplies to approximately 2,000 children in the community. internationally known More information can be found at The WBCU’s website Valerie Simpson of Ashford (www.unitedclergy.com) and their facebook page (www. & Simpson fame and the facebook.com/WBCUBackToSchoolJam.) internationally known
Back to School Festival for Baltimore County Students
Kevin Liles’ For A Better Baltimore Foundation is
Softones and the late musical duo and actors in Paris, John and Arthur Simms. A highlight of the event
The Simms-Miller family
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August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014, The Afro-American
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Felicia Murphy-Phillips and Edgar Brookins
Emcees Michael E. Cryor and Dr. OluwaTosin Adegbola
Jake Oliver, publisher/CEO AFRO-American newspaper, George Murphy III, Benjamin Murphy Phillips IV, president, AFRO -American newspaper and Lori Murphy Lee
On Aug. 15, the AFRO celebrated its 122-year anniversary with a black tie-optional gala at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in downtown Baltimore. On Aug. 13, 1892, John Henry Murphy Sr., a former slave who gained freedom following the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, built the AFRO when he combined his church publication, The Sunday School Helper with two other church publications, The Ledger and The Afro-American. By 1922, the newspaper had evolved from a one-page weekly church publication into the most widely circulated Black paper along the coastal Atlantic. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer, the African-American voter equality campaign that launched in Mississippi in June 1964. The AFRO, during its gala, paid tribute to the patriots of this movement including some of the AFRO’s own reporters and photographers. The newspaper also honored a particular group of people who played an integral role in establishing its legacy – AFRO paperboys and papergirls.
Tiffany Jones, Kisja Brown, Caryn York
Alan Maddox, Jeanne Toungara and Priscilla Chatman
Owen and Barbara Lee
Beverly Cooper, John Carter, Brenda Blount, Beverly Carter
Patricia Roberts, Sara Smalley and Landa McLaurin, president of the Baltimore Metropolitan Chapter of the National Coalition 100 Black Women
Erica F. Cryor and Edith GreeneJohnson
Dale Berry and Beverly Richards
Oscar Boulware and Rev. Dorothy Boulware, editor, AFRO American newspaper
Diane W. Hocker, AFRO Director, Community & Public Relations, Denise Dorsey, AFRO production manager and Dr.OluwaTosin Adegbola
Calvin Butler Jr., CEO, BGE, and wife, Sharon
Rev. Dr. Richard Adams
LaTrina Antoine, AFRO D.C. editor and Kimberleigh De Laine
Reginald Exum, Cheryl Leigh
David and Yvonne Rhone
Chief Judge Robert M. Bell (Ret.), Michael Cryor, Judge Marcella Holland
Ja-Zette Marshburn, AFRO archivist and Nasja Frazier-Griffin, AFRO intern
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The Afro-American, August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014
Chester Carlos Kay was surprised with a party, July 19, in celebration of his 50th birthday. The crowd at the Baltimore Rowing Club included friends and most of the Kay clan who always know how to have a good time. His wife, Denise and three daughters, Lauren, Erin and Camryn, kept the fun going along with his mother, Rev. Cora Kay Jones and sisters, Corliss Billups and Cathy Kay.
Courtney Sturdivant and Chester
Elder Keisha Jones and her uncle, Chester
Chester Carlos Kay and his dad, Chester Kay Chrissy Bartee, Chester, Renee Garnes get busy on the dance floor
Chester and his daughters, Erin, Camryn, and Lauren Kay
Anita Stevens and Erica McNeill
Chester Kay, Sonja Boyd, Keisha Jones, Milton Garnes, Cathy Kay
K’Shawn Mulrain, Jahmeece Chase, DJ- Curtis Strong
Cathy Kay, Chester’s sister, and her daughter, Chrissy Bartee
Jackie Jackson, Renee Garnes, Sonja Boyd
Andre and Avis Singletary
Rev. Cora Jones and her granddaughter, Camryn Kay
Anita Stevens, Denise Kay, Chester’s wife; Monica Anthony
Belinda Priester
Rev. Jones and her granddaughter, Chrissy Bartee
Ericka and Wilton Pabon Corliss Billips, Chester’s sister, and her daughter, Keisha Jones
Joe Jackson and Crystal Jackson
Craig Jones, Terry Ferguson, Shay Jones, Whitney, Belinda Preister, Mia Wilkes Howard Winchester-Bey, Mary King, Melvin King, Antwann McNeill, William Anthony Chester with his sister, Corliss Billips and his mother, Cora Jones Courtesy Photos
August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014, The Afro-American
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ARTS & CULTURE
Russell Brown Gives Back Before Asking For Himself By Andrea “Aunni” Young Special to the AFRO Russell Brown, a veteran performer in Disney’s The Lion King, performed this summer at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The AFRO sat down with Brown for a one-on-one interview. AFRO: How long have you been performing in ‘The Lion King’? Russell Brown: I’ve been associated with the show since 2005. This is my third contract. I was on the West Coast tour from 2005 to 2008. In the summer of 2008, I was asked to go to Taiwan with the show, and we played the Taipei Convention Center for seven weeks. I joined the North American Tour in June 2010, and I’ve been here ever since. AFRO: How were you originally hired? Russell Brown: It’s really unbelievable how this job came about. It opened on Broadway in 1997. I started auditioning for the show in 1997, 1998, and 1999. In 1999, Disney paid me to take three weeks of classes to learn the South African languages that are used in the show. In 2000 and 2001, I’m still auditioning for the show but have not been hired, that’s 4 years of auditioning. I came in for Simba, for Mufasa, for Mufasa and Scar’s cover, I came in for Simba again. Four (more) years later, I get a call from Disney (2005). AFRO: How long have you studied dance? Acting? Singing? Russell Brown: I started studying classical ballet in the 4th grade. My sister was
a professional ballerina at Dance Theatre of Harlem, and I thought I was going to dance at DTH with her. I studied classical ballet for eight and half years, then I switched over to theatre and voice. AFRO: Where did you go to college? Russell Russell Brown poses with students at a lecture at the Community Folk Brown: I Art Center’s Creative Academy in Syracuse, N.Y. graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta. I finished in 1988 and worked in corporate America for three years before I moved – Russell Brown to New York to be an actor. have nine costume changes. In the Divine in New York for I’ve been a the opening I’m a wildebeest, professional actor since 1991, four very famous funerals: Arthur Ashe, Dizzy Gillespie, I have my fan plant, play a almost 23 years. hyena, I go back to being a Thurgood Marshall, and Cab wildebeest for the stampede. I Calloway. AFRO: As a career understudy the role of Mufasa performer, where do you get AFRO: What is your vocal your stamina from? range? Russell Brown: I’ve Russell Brown: I am a very meticulous about the bass baritone. I have all of way I care for my body and the low notes of the baritone especially for my voice. I eat but I also sing a “G” above properly and I’m usually in [middle] “C.” I sing all of the gym six days a week. At those notes every night in 50 years old, I have to stay Lion King. There are not a in shape so that I can prevent lot of basses that can sing that injuries. high, so you might say I have job security! (laughter) AFRO: What are some of the highlights of your career? AFRO: What characters Russell Brown: It would have to be singing a duet with do you play in the ‘Lion King’ the opera star Jessye Norman. ensemble? Russell Brown: I play a I also was the guest soloist lot of different characters and I at the Cathedral of St. John
“If I seek first to give of myself before I start asking of society, of God, of relationships, then everything is a whole lot easier for me when I start ‘asking.’”
Photos courtesy of the CFAC Creative Arts Academy
Brown teaches students Broadway choreography.
which is the Lion King in the first half. I’ve probably performed that role maybe 220 - 250 times. Not too many times! (laughter) When I first got hired, I was an understudy for Mufasa and Scar, the evil brother. AFRO: What are your future plans? Russell Brown: I’m on an open ended contract. My plan is to stay another five years and then open a school of musical theatre, probably in my hometown of Augusta,
Ga. I’m also looking into some distance learning where I can teach over the Internet across the world. AFRO: What is your life philosophy? Russell Brown: To give first and everything will be open to you. If I seek first to give of myself before I start asking of society, of God, of relationships, then everything is a whole lot easier for me when I start “asking.” We are Christians and we are called to give.
If I Stay Film Review
By Kam Williams Special to the AFRO Mia Hall (Chloe Grace Moretz) is a bright 17-year-old girl full of the bloom of youth. Between playing the cello purely for pleasure and dating the doting boy of her dreams (Jamie Blackley), the happy high school senior considers herself truly blessed. She is even lucky enough to have the perfect parents (Mireille Enos and Joshua Leonard) who support the idea of her majoring in classical music, whether she gets into Juilliard or simply sticks around Portland to attend Lewis & Clark College. Mia is also very close to her only sibling, Teddy (Jakob Davies), a cute kid who absolutely adores his big sister. However, fate intervenes, or so it seems, one snowy day during a family outing when a car coming in the opposite direction veers across the highway’s double lines. Right then, in the blink of an eye, their fortunes are irreversibly altered by an unavoidable head-on crash. By the time the ambulances and paramedics come to the rescue, all four are in grave condition, and there is a chance that none will survive the tragic accident. Mia, suffering a collapsed lung, broken leg, and internal bleeding, slips into a coma. In that instant, her spirit separates from her body, and she is suddenly able to observe situations and eavesdrop on conversations like a ghost. While a team of doctors struggle to stabilize her vital signs in the hospital, she watches a nurse (Aisha Hinds) lean over and whisper, “Living or dying is all up to you” into her ear. This suggests that Mia, ultimately, must
choose between ascending to heaven and returning to Earth to face a host of challenges on the road to recovery. And suspended in this state of limbo, she is afforded the unusual opportunity to reflect and reminisce during the critical next 24 hours before making a decision. That is the surreal setup of If I Stay, a bittersweet flashback flick based on Gayle Norman’s young adult novel of the same name. Although this unapologetically sentimental tearjerker will resonate with teens in the target demographic, the film’s surprisingly sophisticated, thought-provoking exploration of such themes as family, friendship, love, and spirituality ought to endear it to audiences in general. Directed by R.J. Forman, the movie revolves around introspective Mia’s contemplation of her future while factoring in her family’s grim prospects, nostalgia, and the bedside manner of visitors like her grandfather (Stacy Keach), boyfriend, and BFF (Liana Liberato). Although reminiscent of The Lovely Bones (disembodied teen narrator), The Notebook (love story with a syrupy finale), and Twilight (star-crossed romance set in the Pacific Northwest), If I Stay is nevertheless a unique adventure with a tale to share all its own. A poignant portrait of a life precipitously hanging in the balance that pushes all the right buttons to open the emotional floodgates. Excellent (4 stars) Rated PG-13 for sexuality and mature themes Running time: 106 minutes Distributor: Warner Brothers
AFRO AMERICAN
A Life Hangs in the Balance in Adaptation of Bittersweet Best-Seller
LEGENDARY PICTURES AND UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENT AEXECUTIVE LEGENDARY PICTURES/BROTHERS DOWDLE PRODUCTION “AS ABOVE/SO BELOW” PERDITA WEEKS PRODUCED BEN FELDMAN EDWIN HODGE MUSICBY KEEFUS CIANCIA BY THOMAS TULL JON JASHNI DREW DOWDLE PATRICK AIELLO PRODUCER ALEX HEDLUND DIRECTED WRITTEN A UNIVERSAL RELEASE BY JOHN ERICK DOWDLE BY JOHN ERICK DOWDLE & DREW DOWDLE © 2 014 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
STARTS FRIDAY, AUGUST 29
CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES
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The Afro-American, August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014
“THE TONY WILLIAMS JAZZ FESTIVAL; A JAZZ BARBEQUE”
Hello my dear friends! This month seems to have jazz music floating in the air. Everyone who loves live jazz music will get a real treat. Starting this weekend, my girl, Caprece, is featuring some of my favorite musicians, such as Brad Collins playing some mean saxophone, Benjie Porecki who can tickle the ivory on keyboards and a B-3 Hammond organ that will keep you out of your seat and the drummer is Mark Prince. Caprece Jackson-Garrett started a jazz series last year and has extended this year thru the summer months to bring the best of the best jazz musicians that Baltimore loves. As most of you know, I am never in Baltimore for Labor Day Weekend, at least for the past 24 years because I am at the Tony Williams Jazz Festival, which is the Brother to the Rosa Pryor Music Scholarship Fund. The festival gets better and better each year. It is like a “jazz barbeque of music.” I know many of you, your family and friends will be enjoying your cookouts, barbeques
Craig Alston, saxophonist will be performing at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum, Aug. 23. Take your lawn chairs, blanket and a good appetite for the food and beverages that will be provided by Island Quizine. Doors open at 5 p.m. For more information, call 410-887-1081.
INVITES YOU AND A GUEST TO A SPECIAL ADVANCE SCREENING
EMAIL: CUSTOMERSERVICE@AFRO.COM TO REGISTER TO WIN TICKETS! NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Supplies are limited. One pass per winner. Each pass admits two. Seating is not guaranteed and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Employees of all promotional partners and The Afro American are not eligible. All decisions are final.
IN THEATERS AUGUST 29
Tony Williams, saxophonist, recording artist spearheaded and the co-founder of the Tony Williams Scholarship Jazz Festival to provide college students who have studied music and participated in programs through the Mount Airy Cultural Center, in Philadelphia. The Festival is Labor Day weekend, Aug. 29 thru Sept. 1 at the Airport Embassy Suites 9000 Bartram Ave., in Philadelphia. For hotel reservations and tickets, call Thelma Anderson at 215-753-0232 or 215-365-4500 or go to www. tonywilliamsjazzfestival.org
Brad Collins, saxophonist and Benjie Porecki, organist and Mark Prince on drums, named the “Firm Roots Trio” will perform 6:30 p.m., Aug. 28 at the Walters Art Museum hosted by Lady Bonneau Caprece, founder of the Bonneau Caprece Jazz Series. For ticket information, call 443-695-9384.
and picnics in your backyards and the parks with the boom box jumping with your favorite music on CDs and that is okay! But honey child! When I go to Philadelphia, for the Tony Williams Scholarship Jazz Festival, they have a complete jazz and blues menu on their barbeque pit. The family, jazz lovers, friends and fans who attended this event in the past years were such artists as: the late John Blake, who passed away this week, who poured butter over the corn on the cob with his violin, the late “Fathead” Newman would rub the special source on the ribs with his sweet sax; then there were Claude “Fiddler” Williams, one of the greatest violinists, took a bit of the corn on the cob that Blake was holding with his bow. Then there were Houston Persons with the hotdogs mustard and onions falling from his sax and Etta Jones holding the rolls with her dreaming voice as the song “Don’t Go to Strangers” flowed from her lips. The renowned Walter Clark would stroll in with the hamburgers on his tenor and soprano sax. Now in came Bill Cosby, the comedian smelling up the place with the pig feet on the drums, the party had started, the grill was smoking, but we stilled needed some barbeque ribs, so Tony Williams who played the T-bone steaks on his sax, called Dave Posmontier, who brought in the baby back ribs on the keyboards. Girlfriend! The jazz barbeque was jumping up and down doing the “Jimmy McGriff Philadelphia Strut” for the whole Labor Day weekend. Now folks, this Festival will be a part 2 of the same! This year, the Tony Williams Jazz Festival will include: the Walter Clark’s Band, Kenny Gates Quartet, Ray Jones Ensemble, Wes & Chris Lowery’s Experience, The RH-Philly All Stars, Tommy Grice Sextet, Glen Williams, Dave Posmontier’s All Stars, Miss Justine’s Ensemble, the Youth Jazz Performances, Barbara Walker, Leon Jordan Quartet, Ronnie Waters Quartet and Bill Cosby, doing his standup comedy and playing drums with his “Reunion Band” just to name a few. So my friends, you know where I will be next weekend. Now, whatever you decide to do, have a safe, fun and happy weekend. I am truly out of space and time, so if you need me, call me at 410-8339474 or email me your flyers, photos, press releases and invites to rosapryor@aol.com. UNTIL THE NEXT TIME, I’M MUSICALLY YOURS.
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SERVS./ MISC. Want a larger footprint in the marketplace consider advertising in the MDDC Display 2x2 or 2x4 Advertising Network. Reach 3.6 million readers every week by placing your ad in 82 newspapers in Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia. With just one phone call, your business and/ or product will be seen by 3.6 million readers HURRY....space is limited, CALL TODAY!! Call 1-855-721-6332 x 6 or email wsmith@ mddcpress.com or visit our website at www. mddcpress.com
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Become a Foster Parent! Treatment Foster Parents work from home, receive a tax-free stipend and professional 24 hour on-call support for providing shelter for a young person who has suffered abuse or neglect. For more information, call the CHOSEN Treatment Foster Care Program at 1-800-621-8834.
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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY Case No.: 24D14000900 IN THE MATTER OF Nigel Omar Jones FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO Nigel Omar Hinson ORDER FOR NOTICE BY PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to officially change the name of the petitioner from Nigel Omar Jones to Nigel Omar Hinson It is this 18th day of July, 2014 by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, ORDERED, that publication be given one time in a newspaper of general circulation in Baltimore City on or before the 18th day of August, 2014, which shall warn all interested persons to file an affidavit in opposition to the relief requested on or before the 2nd day of September, 2014. Frank M. Conaway Clerk 8/15
TYPESET: Wed Aug 06 14:35:28 EDT 2014
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY Case No.: 24D14001323 IN THE MATTER OF Evelyn Coreen Strong FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO Evelyn Coreene Haynes ORDER FOR NOTICE BY PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to officially change the name of the petitioner from Evelyn Coreen Strong to Evelyn Coreene Haynes It is this 13th day of August, 2014 by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, ORDERED, that publication be given one time in a newspaper of general circulation in Baltimore City on or before the 13th day of S e p t e m b e r, 2 0 1 4 , which shall warn all interested persons to file an affidavit in opposition to the relief requested on or before the 29th day of September, 2014 Frank M. Conaway Clerk 8/22/14
Sanitary Contract 918 - Improvements to the Headworks and Wet Weather Flow Equalization at the Back River WWTP - City of Baltimore Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson (JMT) is seeking proposals from Vendors for the supply of traveling bridge grit removal systems for Sanitary Contract 918. The Vendor’s proposal deemed to be responsible, responsive and best overall in terms of cost, technical approach, scope of supply and experience will be recommended for consideration as the pre-selected Vendor. Following the selection process, the pre-selected Vendor will assist JMT in finalizing the Contract Documents for SC 918. The pre-selected Vendor’s price, along with this Request for Proposal, and the Vendor’s proposal, will be made a part of the bid and contract documents for the construction of this project under SC 918. The City of Baltimore and JMT will not make an award or enter into a contract with the pre-selected Vendor, nor will the City of Baltimore and JMT guarantee the timing and/or the realization of this project. Four (4) complete bound hard-copies, and one (1) CD copy of the Proposal inclusive of all technical and cost information required in the RFP shall be submitted to: Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, ATTN: Mr. Ben Asavakarin, P.E., 72 Loveton Circle, Sparks, MD 21152. The Proposal will be received until 4:00 PM (EST) on Wednesday, September 17, 2014. Proposals received later than the time and date specified will not be accepted. Electronic copies of the Request for Proposal (RFP) are available without charge at the JMT office. Conditions and requirements of the RFP are found in the RFPAug package. TYPESET: Wed 13 13:54:30 EDT 2014 HOUSING AUTHORITY OF BALTIMORE CITY INVITATION FOR BIDS
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1 Col. Inch Up to TYPESET: Wed Aug 20 12:56:15 EDT 2014 TYPESET: Wed Aug 20 12:55:53 EDT 2014 LEGAL NOTICES 20 Words
Payment Policy for legal notice advertisements. Effective immediately, The Afro American Newspapers will require prepayment for publication of all legal notices. Payment will be accepted in the form of checks, credit card or money order. Any returned checks will be subject to a $25.00 processing fee and may result in the suspension of any future advertising at our discretion. TYPESET: Wed Aug 06 14:33:16 EDT 2014 FOSTER PARENT
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NAME: ________________________________________________ ADDRESS: _____________________________________________ PHONE NO.:____________________________________________ CLASSIFICATION: ______________________________________ (Room, Apt., House, etc.) INSERTION DATE:_________________
BALTIMORE AFRO-AMERICAN NEWSPAPER Legal Advertising Rates Effective October 1, 2008 PROBATE DIVISION (Estates) 202-332-0080 PROBATE NOTICES a. Order Nisi $ 60 per insertion b. Small Estates (single publication $ 60 per insertion c. Notice to Creditors 1. Domestic $ 60 per insertion 2. Foreign $ 60 per insertion d. Escheated Estates $ 60 per insertion e. Standard Probates
CIVIL NOTICES a. Name Changes 202-879-1133 b. Real Property
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READY-MIX CONCRETE IFB NUMBER: B-1769-14 The Housing Authority of Baltimore City (”HABC”) will issue an Invitation for Bids (”IFB”) for qualified and interested vendors to submit sealed bids to provide ready-mix concrete, on an as-needed basis, to various HABC owned properties throughout Baltimore City. BIDS WILL BE DUE no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, September 19, 2014.
LEGALEDT NOTICES TYPESET: Wed Aug 20 12:55:14 2014 ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS ALLEGANY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS CUMBERLAND, MARYLAND
BOWLING GREEN MOSS AVENUE FAIRGROUNDS AND WATER A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Wednesday, September PROJECT 514S 3, 2014 at 10:00 a.m., at the Charles L. Benton Building, 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 416, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202. Sealed bids will be received by the Allegany County Commissioners until 3:00 p.m., local time, Tuesday, September 23, 2014, in the County Office HABC has established a minimum goal of twenty percent (20%) of the total Complex, 701 Kelly Road, Suite 407, Cumberland, Maryland 21502 for the dollar amount of the proposed contract for Minority Business Enterprise BOWLING GREEN MOSS AVENUE PROJECT, Contract No. W-38 (”MBE”) utilization, applicable to all minority and non-minority businesses consisting of:_________________________________________ proposing to provide the requested services as the prime contractor. No _________________________________________________________goal has been established for participation of Women-owned businesses _________________________________________________________(”WBEs”), however, HABC strongly encourages and affirmatively promotes _________________________________________. Bids will then be the use of WBEs in all HABC contracts. opened at 3:00 p.m. by the Clerk in the Commissioners Meeting Room #100. Responders shall also comply with all applicable requirements of Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, 12 U.S.C. Section Copies of the Contract Specifications and Drawings may be obtained 1701u. between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. only, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, at the Allegany County Department of Public Works The IFB may be obtained on or after Monday, August 25, 2014, at the upon payment of $100.00 per set payable to the ”Allegany County Commisfollowing location: sioners.” An additional $20.00 per set will be charged for shipping and handling. Payment for Contract Documents is non-refundable. Housing Authority of Baltimore City Division of Fiscal Operations, Purchasing Department The Contract Documents may be examined at the Allegany County Depart417 E. Fayette Street, Room 414 ment of Public Works, 701 Kelly Road, Suite 300, Cumberland, Maryland Baltimore, Maryland 21202 and the Plans Room of Dodge Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland and Altoona Attention: John Airey, Chief of Contracting Services Builders Exchange, Altoona, Pennsylvania. Complete Advertisement for Tel: (410) 396-3261 Fax: (410) 962-1586 Bids and the Bidder’s List are available on the Allegany County website www.gov.allconet.org. Questions regarding the IFB should be directed in writing to the address and individual indicated above, and must include the reference: HABC RFP BIDDERS must purchase the contract documents directly from Allegany Number B-1769-14. County to submit a bid for consideration. Each bidder must furnish with his bid an acceptable bid bond or certified check as bid guarantee, in an amount not less than five (5) percent of the bid, payable to the Allegany County Commissioners.
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Separate Performance Bond and Payment Bonds each in the amount of the Contract Price will be required of the successful bidder. No bidder may withdraw his bid within ninety (90) days after the date of the bid opening. Any Bidder may, at his option, withdraw any bid prior to the actual bid opening. The project is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture - Rural Development, the Maryland Department of the Environment, and Community Development Block Grant. Bowlings Green Moss Avenue Project Contract No. W-38
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B6 The Afro-American, August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014 TYPESET: Wed Aug 20 12:54:53 2014 LEGALEDT NOTICES Notice of DRAFT Performance Report Update and Comment Period on the State of Maryland’s Consolidated Plan Notice is hereby given that the State of Maryland has opened a 30 day public comment period on the draft Consolidated Plan Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). The Consolidated Plan is a planning document required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and is prepared by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). It covers a five year period (July 1, 2010-June 30, 2015) and is designed to coordinate Federal, and to a lesser extent State, resources to provide decent housing, economic opportunities, and an acceptable living environment for Maryland?s citizens. The Plan is updated every year during the five year period through an Annual Action Plan, and includes a series of one year goals toward meeting the overall five year goals of the Plan. Maryland’s Consolidated Plan covers the state’s non-entitlement jurisdictions. Entitlement jurisdictions - those that receive funding directly from HUD, including Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, and the Cities of Annapolis, Baltimore, Bowie, Cumberland, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Hagerstown, and Salisbury prepare their own Consolidated Plans and are not covered by the State plan. As part of the Consolidated Planning process, the State submits a CAPER to HUD which describes the progress the State has made in carrying out the one-year goals contained in the five year Plan. DHCD has just completed the fourth year of the five year Plan that ended June 30, 2014, and the draft CAPER details the progress DHCD has made toward it housing and community development goals both in the last year and for the full five years of the Plan. DHCD has generally been successful in meeting the goals of its Five Year Plan. We exceeded our rental housing and rental subsidy goals, as well as our Special Loans goals for the year, and are on track to meet our five year Plan goals. In addition, we continue to meet our goals in revitalizing communities. We do not expect to meet our homeownership goals under the five year Plan, although the homeownership market continues to recover. DHCD is interested in public input and comment on the draft CAPER. We will take written comments (via either email or standard post) on the report through COB Wednesday, September 17, 2014 at the address listed below. In addition, we will hold a series of public meetings on the CAPER at the following dates, times, and places: Tuesday, September 2, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. Caroline County Central Library 100 Market Street Small Meeting Room Denton, Maryland Wednesday, September 3, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development First Floor Meeting Room 100 Community Place Crownsville, Maryland Thursday, September 4, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. Fairview Branch Library Small Meeting Room Rt. 4 and Chaneyville Road Owings, Maryland Friday, September 5, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. Allegany County Office Complex Room 212 701 Kelly Road Cumberland, Maryland All of the hearing rooms are accessible to persons with disabilities. Persons requiring a translator should request one at least three days prior to the hearing they plan to attend. The draft Performance Report may be found on DHCD’s website at www. dhcd.state.md.us. under the title ”About DHCD” in the Publications link on the left side of our Home Page. Hard copies of these documents may also be found at the following regional lending libraries: the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, the Washington County Free Library in Hagerstown, the Lewis J. Ort Library in Frostburg, the Frederick Douglas Library in Princess Anne, the Blackwell Library in Salisbury and the Southern Maryland Regional Library in Charlotte Hall. A large print version of the document is also available at the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in Baltimore. Last but not least, you may also obtain a copy of this document by calling, writing, or e-mailing John M. Greiner at the address and phone numbers listed below. Written comments should be directed to Mr. Greiner at this address and email as well: Mr. John M. Greiner Housing Policy Officer Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development 100 Community Place Crownsville, Maryland 21032-2023 (410) 514-7191 Maryland Relay for the Deaf at 1 (800) 735-2258 greiner@dhcd.state.md.us. TYPESET: Wed Aug 13 13:53:56 EDT 2014 HOUSING AUTHORITY OF BALTIMORE CITY INVITATION FOR BIDS BROOKLYN HOMES WINDOW REPLACEMENT IFB NUMBER: B-1767-14 The Housing Authority of Baltimore City (”HABC”) will issue an Invitation for Bids (”IFB”) for interested and qualified vendors to submit sealed bids to remove and replace existing windows with Energy Star rated, double hung, vinyl replacement windows at fifty-seven (57) 2-story apartment buildings at Brooklyn Homes, located at 4140 Tenth Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21225. BIDS WILL BE DUE no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, September 12, 2014. A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at 10:00 a.m., at the Charles L. Benton Building, 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 416, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202. HABC has established a minimum goal of twenty percent (20%) of the total dollar amount of the proposed contract for Minority Business Enterprise (”MBE”) utilization, applicable to all minority and non-minority businesses proposing to provide the requested services as the prime contractor. No goal has been established for participation of Women-owned businesses (”WBEs”), however, HABC strongly encourages and affirmatively promotes the use of WBEs in all HABC contracts. Responders shall also comply with all applicable requirements of Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, 12 U.S.C. Section 1701u. The IFB may be obtained on or after Monday, August 18, 2014, at the following location: Housing Authority of Baltimore City Division of Fiscal Operations, Purchasing Department 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 414 Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Attention: John Airey, Chief of Contracting Services Tel: (410) 396-3261 Fax: (410) 962-1586 Questions regarding the IFB should be directed in writing to the address and individual indicated above, and must include the reference: HABC IFB Number B-1767-14.
TYPESET: Wed Aug 13 13:54:46 2014 LEGALEDT NOTICES directed to Mr. Greiner at this address and email as well: HOUSING AUTHORITY OF BALTIMORE CITY Mr. John M. Greiner INVITATION FOR BIDS Housing Policy Officer Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development BROOKLYN HOMES ASPHALT SHINGLE INSTALLATION 100 Community Place Crownsville, Maryland 21032-2023 IFB NUMBER: B-1768-14 (410) 514-7191 Maryland Relay for theof Deaf at 1 (800) The Housing Authority Baltimore City735-2258 (”HABC”) will issue an Invitation greiner@dhcd.state.md.us. for Bids (”IFB”) for interested and qualified vendors to submit sealed bids to install shingle roofing system with new 25-year shingles including flashing, new vent boots and ridge vents with cap shingles.
BIDS WILL BE DUE no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, September 12, 2014. A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 10:00 a.m., at the Charles L. Benton Building, 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 416, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202. HABC has established a minimum goal of twenty percent (20%) of the total dollar amount of the proposed contract for Minority Business Enterprise (”MBE”) utilization, applicable to all minority and non-minority businesses proposing to provide the requested services as the prime contractor. No goal has been established for participation of Women-owned businesses (”WBEs”), however, HABC strongly encourages and affirmatively promotes the use of WBEs in all HABC contracts. Responders shall also comply with all applicable requirements of Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, 12 U.S.C. Section 1701u. The IFB may be obtained on or after Monday, August 18, 2014, at the following location: Housing Authority of Baltimore City Division of Fiscal Operations, Purchasing Department 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 414 Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Attention: John Airey, Chief of Contracting Services Tel: (410) 396-3261 Fax: (410) 962-1586 Questions regarding the IFB should be directed in writing to the address and individual indicated above, and must include the reference: HABC IFB Number B-1768-14.
LEGAL NOTICES
August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014 LEGAL NOTICES
TYPESET: Wed Aug 20 15:57:30 2014 LEGALEDT NOTICES HOUSING AUTHORITY OF BALTIMORE CITY INVITATION FOR BIDS PLEASANT VIEW GARDENS DAYCARE CENTER ROOF REPLACEMENT IFB NUMBER: B-1770-14 The Housing Authority of Baltimore City (”HABC”) will issue an Invitation for Bids (”IFB”) for interested and qualified vendors to submit sealed bids to remove an existing asphalt/modified roofing system and replace with a new modified bitumen flat roofing system, polyisocyanurate tapered insulation and metal flashings, warranted for 20 years, on the Pleasant View Gardens Daycare Center located at 1116 E. Fayette St. in Baltimore, MD 21202.
TYPESET: Wed Aug 20 12:53:29 EDT 2014
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Responders shall also comply with all applicable requirements of Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, 12 U.S.C. Section 1701u. The IFB may be obtained on or after Monday, Tuesday, September 2, 2014, at the following location: Housing Authority of Baltimore City Division of Fiscal Operations, Purchasing Department 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 414 Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Attention: John Airey, Chief of Contracting Services Tel: (410) 396-3261 Fax: (410) 962-1586 Questions regarding the IFB should be directed in writing to the address and individual indicated above, and must include the reference: HABC IFB Number B-1770-14.
Addictions Specialist Director of Information & Assistance Home & Community Based Older Adults Waiver Program Specialist Management Assistant II Meter Technician I, II & III Office Support Assistant II Vacuum/Rodder Operator Visit our website at www.aacounty.org for additional information and to apply on-line. You may use the Internet at any Anne Arundel County library, or visit our office at 2660 Riva Road in Annapolis. Deadlines to apply posted on website. AEO/DF/SFE
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HABC has established a minimum goal of twenty percent (20%) of the total dollar amount of the proposed contract for Minority Business Enterprise (”MBE”) utilization, applicable to all minority and non-minority businesses proposing to provide the requested services as the prime contractor. No goal has been established for participation of Women-owned businesses (”WBEs”), however, HABC strongly encourages and affirmatively promotes the use of WBEs in all HABC contracts.
INSIDE SALES ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXADVERTISING ECUTIVEACCOUNT
NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS BALTIMORE CITY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS ANTICIPATED TO BE BID JULY 2014 TO DECEMBER 2014 Pursuant to 23 CFR 635.110, Subpart A (regarding the timeliness of advertisement for federal-aid construction projects relative to the City’s contractor prequalification process), the City’s Department of Transportation, hereby notifies interested parties of the following projects which may be advertised for construction during the period from July 2014 to December 2014. Prime Contractors, interested in bidding on any of the projects below, must be prequalified by the Baltimore City Office of Boards and Commission in order to submit a Bid. Subcontractors must be prequalified prior to beginning work on the Project. Potential bidders are advised that the prequalification process may take up to 90 days to complete. For further information, please contact the Commission at 410-396-6883 or michael.augins@baltilmorecity.gov.
PROJECT
City of Baltimore Department of Finance Bureau of Purchases Sealed proposals addressed to the Board of Estimates of Baltimore, will be received until, but not later than 11:00 a.m. local time on the following date(s) for the stated requirements: AUGUST 27, 2014 *O.E.M. PARTS & SERVICE FOR HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLES B50003710 SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 *PROVIDE DRIVER MOTOR VEHICLE INFORMATION B50003696 SEPTEMBER 10, 2014 *FUEL SYSTEM TESTING AND INSPECTION OF FUEL FACILITIES B50003617 *REGULAR CAB DUMP TRUCK B50003711 *SPRINTER CARGO VANB50003705 *BRUSH CHIPPERB50003704 *PROVIDE PLASTIC METER BOXES B50003692 SEPTEMBER 17, 2014 *SULFUR DIOXIDE LIQUID IN ONE-TON CONTAINERS B50003714 SEPTEMBER 24, 2014 *SCALEHOUSE SOFTWARE B50003687 THE ENTIRE SOLICITATION DOCUMENT CAN BE VIEWED AND DOWN LOADED BY VISITING THE CITYS WEB SITE: www.baltimorecitibuy.org
SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
TYPESET: Wed Aug 20 12:55:34 EDT 2014
afro.com • Your History • Your Community • Your News
PREQUALIFICATION CATEGORIES
COST RANGE
Haven Street Resurfacing/ Rehabilitation
A02602 – Bituminous Concrete
$1,000,000 $2,000,000
Preston Gardens
A02602 – Bituminous Concrete Paving D02620 – Curbs, Gutters, Side walks
$ 4,000,000 – $ 5,000,000
Edison Highway Bridge over AMTRAK
C03300 – Concrete Construction D02620 – Curbs, Gutters, Side walks
$500,000 $1,000,000
Geometric Safety Improvements – Loch Raven Blvd and 33rd St Intersection
A02602 – Bituminous Concrete Paving D02620 – Curbs, Gutters, Side walks
$1,000,000 $2,000,000
Edmondson Avenue Bridge Replacement
C03300 – Concrete G90009 – Foundations, Under pinning, Drilled-in Caissons
$30,000,000 – $40,000,000
Central Avenue Bridge and Reconstruction from Harbor Point to Baltimore Street (Design Build)
A02602 – Bituminous Concrete Paving C03300 – Concrete Construction D02620 – Curbs, Gutters, Side Walks
$ 40,000,000 – $50,000,000
East Baltimore Development – EBDI, 2A
A02602 – Bituminous Concrete Paving D02620 – Curbs, Gutters, Sidewalks
$3,000,000 $4,000,000
East Baltimore Development – EBDI, 1-DB
A02602 – Bituminous Concrete Paving D02620 – Curbs, Gutters, Sidewalks
$2,000,000 $3,000,000
Reconstruct North Avenue - Aisquith St. to Washington St.
A02602 – Bituminous Concrete Paving D02620 – Curbs, Gutters, Sidewalks
$5,000,000 $10,000,000
Replacement of Bridge BC 6523 – Spooks Hill Road Over Cooper’s Run
C03300 – Concrete Construction
$1,000,000$2,000,000
Harford Road Bridge Replacement
C03300 – Concrete G90009 – Foundations, Underpinning, Drilled-In Caissons
$20,000,000 $30,000,000
Paving D02620 – Curbs, Gutters, Side walks
B7
CAREER CORNER
BIDS WILL BE DUE no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, September 19, 2014. A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Friday, September 5, 2014 at 10:00 a.m., at the Charles L. Benton Building, 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 416, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202.
The Afro-American
EXECUTIVE Advertising Sales Professional needed forAdvertising the AFRO-AmerEntry-Level Sales Rep ican Newspapers, Washingneeded for the AFRO-American ton, D.C. or Baltimore office. Newspapers, Baltimore, M.D. Position provides: • Competitive Position provides:compensation package • Competitive compensation package Salary and commission • • Salary and commission plan plan • Full benefits after trial period • Full benefits after trial • Opportunity for fast track period • advancement Opportunity for fast track advancement Candidates should possess: should be: Good typing/data entry skills • Candidates Self starters • • Excellent customer service skills Money motivated • • Previous telephone sales experience • Goal-oriented • Excellent written and verbal • Experienced in online/ communication skills digital sales • Confident in ability to Pleasestrong email your resume to: build territory lhowze@afro.com or mail to • Previous sales experience AFRO-American Newspapers, Diane W. preferred Hocker, Director of Human Resources, 2519 N. Charles Street, Please email your resume to: Baltimore, MD 21218 dhocker@afro.
com or mail to: Afro-American Newspapers Diane W. Hocker, Director of Human Resources 2519 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218
YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN THE KNOW... WHEN YOU READ THE AFRO
TYPESET: Wed Aug 13 13:57:23 EDT 2014
Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) HCD Community Program Administrator II Program Officer Recruitment#: 14-001207-002 Filing Deadline: September 4 , 2014 11:59 pm Salary: $45,938-$73,541 annually Work that matters. DHCD is a national leader in community development and affordable housing. The Division of Neighborhood Revitalization is seeking a highly organized team player with knowledge of trends in areas related to the delivery of services to low and moderate income populations and potentially homeless populations. Please visit www. jobaps.com/md to view the minimum qualifications, read a more detailed description and to submit an online application. EOE
To advertise Call 410-554-8200
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The Afro-American, August 23, 2014 - August 29, 2014