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Who Killed Det. Sean Suiter? 183 Days and Counting May 19, 2018 - May 19, 2018, The Afro-American

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MAY 19, 2018 - MAY 25, 2018 Howard University’s 150th commencement was a tribute to Black excellence.

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Bishop Michael Curry to Speak at Royal Wedding In England

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A former Baltimore rector will speak at the royal wedding at Windsor Castle in England on Saturday.

Michael Bruce Curry, Primate and Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, served 12 years as rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Baltimore, from 1988 to 2000.

Born 1953 in Chicago, Illinois, Curry attended public schools in Buffalo, New York.

He attained a Masters in Divinity from Yale; going on

to study at Princeton, Wake Forest and the Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore.

He was ordained a priest in 1978, ministering to St. Stephens, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 1982, he became rector of St. Simon in Cyrene, Lincoln Heights, Ohio.

A St. James delegation traveled to Ohio in search of a new rector to replace Rev. Donald Wilson, who had retired in 1986.

“We were in awe,” senior warden Dr. Charlene Griffin told the AFRO. She and

her companion, Candace Simms, returned to Baltimore resolved.

“On the way back, between the two of us, we were trying to determine how could we get the members of St. James to understand that this is the person that we need as our rector,” Griffin said. “It was just that tremendous, in hearing him.”

Curry’s distinction at the time was his evangelical style.

“He came down from the altar, he walked the floor as he talked to us, he wore his microphone, he was enthusiastic about

Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.).

Richmond disputed the Trump The Congressional Black Caucus, administration’s spin on low Black along with National Urban League unemployment. “President Trump President Marc Morial, released one and the Republican Party he leads of its most forward-moving jobs bills would have you to believe that our in years. community is doing well because U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond (DAfrican-American unemployment is La.), chairman of the CBC, talked at a historic low, which is the result of policies and programs implemented by the Obama administration,” Richmond said. “But the African-American unemployment rate is not a good barometer of our community’s success.

When African Americans were slaves and -U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond sharecroppers, African American unemployment was zero percent.” about the “Jobs and Justice Act of Richmond said racism and 2018” at a May 10 news conference discrimination throughout the country at the Rayburn House Office Building hinders Blacks from full employment on Capitol Hill. Members of the CBC status and the federal government joining him included Reps. Barbara should do its part to put an end to Lee (D-Calif.), Sheila Jackson Lee those practices. The 1,300-page bill (D-Texas), Val Demings (D-Fla.), Continued on A3

By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com

Please join us every Monday and Friday at 5 p.m. EST for our new podcast, The AFRO First Edition w/Sean Yoes, on afro.com and the AFRO’s Facebook page.

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Top-Ranked High School Embroiled in Fraud Scandal

D1 The Episcopal Church via AP

The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry, the 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church, will speak at the wedding between Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle.

everything,” Griffin said.

“Everything he shared with us.”

Curry’s approachability also defined his moments between delivering the Gospel.

“There was no problem in getting to talk with him or having him show the interest Continued on A3

CBC Offers Ambitious Jobs Bill Mom of 10 Tortured Kids in Custody, Bail Almost $500,000

New Podcast!

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St. James Episcopal Church

By J. K. Schmid Special to the AFRO

Spike Lee Lambasts Trump Over White Supremacists

What Does De Sousa’s Exit Mean for Baltimore?

Wakanda Forever Howard Forever

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Baltimore

By The Associated Press Bail for a California mother of 10 children who officials say suffered long-term abuse was set at nearly $500,000 after the judge said she remains a danger to the kids.

Prosecutors charged Ina Rogers, 31, on May 16 in Solano Superior

Court with nine counts of felony child abuse, saying that she caused the children to be in a situation likely to produce great bodily injury and death.

Her husband, Jonathan Allen, faces multiple charges of torture and felony child abuse. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in Solano County Jail on

Continued on A3

“When African Americans were slaves and sharecroppers, African American unemployment was zero percent.”

Solano County Sheriff’s Office via AP

Jonathan Allen and his wife, Ina Rogers had 10 children removed from their squalid California home. Allen was charged with torture and their mother with neglect after an investigation revealed a lengthy period of severe physical and emotional abuse.

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WHAT’S TRENDING ON AFRO.COM Ohio Woman Now Oldest Person in US

By The Associated Press

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Photos of Lessie Brown rest on a chair in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She is believed to be the oldest person in the United States after the death of a 114-year-old Pennsylvania woman.

A 113-year-old woman living in suburban Cleveland is believed to be the oldest person in the United States after the death of a 114-year-old Pennsylvania woman.

Cleveland.com reports the 88-year-old daughter of Lessie Brown says her mother remarked, “that’s good� when told Friday she had become the country’s oldest person.

Daughter Verline Wilson says Brown spends much of her days sleeping.

Brown was born in 1904 in Atlanta and moved to Cleveland when she was 18. She married and had five children, three of whom are still living. The Cleveland Heights resident has more than 50 grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

Family members have attributed Brown’s long life to her eating a yam every day until she was 110.

Delphine Gibson was 114 when she died Wednesday in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.

Freed Death Row Inmate Back Behind Bars

By The Associated Press

Isaiah McCoy walked out of a Delaware prison a free man in January 2017, five years after being convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

A judge found him not guilty at a retrial, and McCoy soon began enjoying the limelight that came with his exoneration.

He reveled in speaking engagements before lawyers associations and anti-death penalty groups. “People were loving my story,� McCoy said.

But in less than a year, he went from death row in Delaware to giving speeches about wrongful convictions to back behind bars.

Now, he’s in a detention center in Hawaii, where he is charged with seven counts of sex trafficking.

He told The Associated Press from the Honolulu Federal Detention Center he’s again accused of a crime he didn’t commit, and he’ll use his knowledge of the law — learned

during years of incarceration — to represent himself at his upcoming trial.

Prosecutors aren’t impressed. They say McCoy became a pimp after moving to Hawaii and that he threatened and coerced young women into prostitution. They call his arguments for dropping the charges, including vindictive prosecution, “conclusory and baseless.�

At a May 15 hearing a judge rejected his motion to dismiss the case.

While working as a security guard for a Waikiki hotel in an area of the tourist mecca known for prostitution, McCoy started dating a woman who he says worked as a stripper and prostitute. He could relate to her, and she wasn’t judgmental about his time behind bars.

He said the woman is one of the seven alleged victims in the indictment against him.

McCoy said he and the woman had a falling out, and she went to Honolulu’s Susannah Wesley Community Center — a nonprofit human services association that helps trafficking victims — and lied about being afraid of McCoy in exchange for a plane ticket out of Hawaii. The other alleged victims did the same, he said. “All of these females were prostitutes before I met them,�

McCoy said. “Why would I have to force someone to do what they’re already doing?�

The center’s executive director, Ronald Higashi, declined to comment on McCoy’s claims.

Prosecutors say McCoy is so dangerous to his victims that they’ve gone to great lengths to ensure their names are not released.

McCoy’s Army soldier wife, Tawana Roberts, is a codefendant in the federal case. They wed six days after meeting at a Honolulu nightclub. She has pleaded not guilty and hasn’t responded to a request for an interview in the same detention center where her husband is held.

Roberts is charged with prostitution in a separate case in state court. According to police documents in that case, McCoy was actively pimping in Hawaii since December 2017.

The lawyers who represented McCoy in an appeal and at his retrial sent letters supporting him in the Hawaii case. So did Philip Primason, a private (Honolulu Police Department via AP) investigator who worked on Isaiah McCoy gave his Delaware defense team. “He wanted to become a speeches to innocence public speaker and advocate, projects, anti-death educating the public about penalty groups and the incarceration crisis, the lawyers associations. Now, enormous public risks of the he’s in a federal detention death penalty and to advocate for innocence,� Primason center in Honolulu, where wrote. “I was very pleased to prosecutors accuse him of see this become a reality.� sex trafficking.

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Curry Continued from A1 or having him show the interest that parishioners were interested in having, when they talked or were with their rector or their priest,” Griffin said.

In 2000, Curry was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina.

In 2015, he was elected in the first ballot to preside as bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. It will be as the leader of a territory of the Anglican Communion that spans across the United States, South and Central America, the Caribbean, Taiwan and Micronesia. Curry is the first Black presiding bishop and primate.

“I heard him say that when he got elected, he would be the ‘CEO of the Episcopal Church,’ and went on to say ‘Chief Evangelism Officer,’ said Father Charles Cloughen, an Episcopal priest and friend and colleague of Curry from seminary school. “But that’s how he was, he’s very big on evangelism, the Jesus Movement, and presenting a living Jesus Christ to the world around him.”

Curry’s unique charismatic style, emblematic of the Jesus Movement, likely stems from the Baptist and Episcopal traditions shared by his parents, Cloughen says.

“His presence is incredible,”

Cloughen told the AFRO. “I credit part of that to his Baptist grandmother.

His father was an Episcopal priest.

They went to a church in the South and Communion was to be done and the Episcopal Church would practice a common chalice. And his father was not Episcopalian, but his wife went up and took Communion and he thought they’ll

White. Curry’s mission and evangelism will cross the Atlantic in the coming days, but he has a history of crossing denominations here in the United States.

“The love that has brought and will bind Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle together has its source and origin in God, and is the key to life and happiness. And so we celebrate and pray for them today,” Curry said in a statement.

Upon assuming rectorship of St. James, Curry initiated a revival.

“The revivalist was from the AME church,” Griffin said. “It was Dr. John Bryant who came as the revivalist. That’s how open [Curry] was, that’s how involved he was in the community and we continued that even after he left.

Probably because we were still thinking of the influence that he had on us.

Probably thinking, we wanted to make him proud of us, also.”

“He’s a truly spiritual leader, a gifted and person who clearly knows God,” Alice Pinderhughes, Chancellor of St. James told the AFRO. “He always was a very upright person and always concerned about people. He always put the church, always put St. James above everything else.”

Curry’s mission and evangelism will cross the Atlantic in the coming days, but he has a history of crossing denominations here in the United States. never give her the same chalice that White people are going to be drinking from.”

“His father sat there, and said ‘Oh my God, what’s gonna happen now?’

Cloughen continued, recounting Curry’s story of his father. “‘Will we be asked to leave? What’s going on?’ And the priest gave her the wine from the common chalice.”

Curry is one of several speakers at the May 19 wedding of Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle, whose mother is African American and father is

Tortured Continued from A1 $5.2 million bail.

Rogers did not enter a plea and she did not make a statement.

“Instead of taking care of them she has abused them, if not assisting her husband in torture,” said Veronica Juarez, Solano County’s deputy district attorney.

Judge William J. Pendergast agreed with the deputy district attorney’s request to set bail at $495,000, saying that “she may not be a danger to the public at large, but these charges make clear she is a danger to the children.”

Rogers was taken into custody after the hearing.

Her court-appointed attorney, Barry Newman, declined comment.

Rogers and Allen have said the allegations are false.

It’s still unclear whether any California government agencies had an opportunity to intervene in the years authorities claim the children were abused inside their home in suburban Fairfield, about 46 miles northeast of San Francisco. Their mother claimed social services interviewed the kids three years ago but nothing came of the visit.

Rogers told reporters that she had one prior interaction with child welfare officials when her mother “had mentioned something” that prompted a home visit.

Officials took pictures of the children and interviewed them individually, she said.

“Nothing was founded, my kids were placed back with me,” she said.

Solano County’s Child Welfare Services department officials did not immediately respond to requests Tuesday for details about the visit, or information about other interactions they may have had with members of the household.

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

The bathroom is strewn with feces at a home in Fairfield, Calif., Monday, May 14, 2018, where authorities removed 10 children and charged their father with torture and their mother with neglect.

Sheriff’s and prosecutors say the children were rescued from a filthy house in March and had suffered puncture wounds, burns, bruising and injuries consistent with being shot with a pellet gun.

Sharon Henry, the county’s chief deputy district attorney, said they were tortured “for sadistic purposes.”

Allen, 29, was arrested Friday and faces seven counts of torture and nine counts of felony child abuse. Allen denied the allegations in an interview with KCRA-TV on Tuesday, declaring “I am not an animal.”

“The truth is that it is a functioning household,” he said. “Everyone helped everyone. It was a complete circle — the older ones helped the little ones.”

Questions remain as to

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how the children and the alleged abuse went undetected for years until March 31, when police responding to a missing juvenile report entered the house.

They found a home filled with rotted food and human and animal waste, Fairfield Lt. Greg Hurlbut said. Police removed the children, ages 4 months to 12 years, and arrested Rogers on suspicion of neglect. She was released after posting $10,000 bail.

Stories about the alleged abuse came out gradually in interviews with the children over the past six weeks and eight of the children told professionals about incidents dating back several years, authorities said.

Rogers says she homeschooled the children, but the Fairfield home was not registered as a private school and neither were three prior addresses in Fairfield and Vallejo, according to the California Department of Education.

California law requires children to be enrolled in public school unless they meet specific exemptions, such as documented attendance at a private school.

Parents who teach their own

children can register as a private school, but the state does not approve, monitor or inspect them.

Rogers said she previously enrolled her two oldest children in school but decided to teach them herself because she didn’t think they were getting enough attention. She said her daughter failed to get on the school bus on her first day of kindergarten and was later found talking to a stranger and his dog at the school, she said.

“They were bullied and the teachers weren’t helping me with their education,” Rogers said. “So I said, ‘OK how am I going to do this with all these kids? I can’t do that.’ So I was like, ‘I’m the only one who cares enough’ so I started to homeschool them.”

At least one person suspected abuse: The children’s maternal grandmother. She called Allen a monster.

“He would take the baby and slap it in the face and put duct tape on the baby’s mouth to make it shut up,” Wanda Rogers told KNTV in San Francisco.

Rogers said the children slept in one bedroom because they were close. The home’s other rooms were used as a master bedroom, playroom and meditation room.

Rogers said she works as an EKG technician at a heart monitoring company and her husband is a tattoo artist.

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The Morgan State University Class of 1969 is attempting to locate classmates in preparation of its May 201950th Anniversary celebration.

Please visit www.morganstate1969.org or contact Jesse Bennett 443 286-5355 for details.

CBC Continued from A1 includes calling for a $15 an hour minimum wage; providing tax incentives for employers to hire young people, veterans, and the unemployed; emergency relief to address homelessness and increases in mortgages rates; expands access to New Market Tax Credits; $7.5 billion to upgrade water infrastructures; nationally banning the box for returning citizens and allowing them access to Pell Grants, TANF and SNAP. The bill also has such CBC initiatives as abolishing the death penalty, modernizing funding for Black colleges and universities, and eliminating mandatory minimums for federal drug offenses.

The bill has been embraced by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Morial said that the bill is ambitious and that the Trump administration should get its priorities straight. “We should be investing in getting jobs for people instead of investing in foreign cities and tax cuts for millionaires,” he said in his remarks.

Morial said the bill will have trouble getting through the Republican Congress. However, Scott, the ranking Democrat on the Committee on Education and the Workforce and Barbara Lee, who is a member of the powerful Committee on Appropriations, said they could use their committee perches to insert the bill’s programs into a congressional spending bill this year.

Mentioned was the District of Columbia’s low unemployment rate – 5.6 percent – according to D.C. Department of Employment Services statistics. However, the Black joblessness rate in the city is about 13 percent, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute.

“Our legislation supports a bunch of job training programs as well as banning the box,” Richmond told the AFRO to explain how the legislation will address the District’s booming economy. “Some people have to work two jobs to make ends meet and we address that also.”

Scott said the legislation funds apprenticeship programs that can elevate African Americans in the city who are in low skills jobs and programs to prepare for the work world.

Courtesy Photo

U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, recently laid out an expansive plan to deal with Black unemployment.

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The Afro-American, May 19, 2018 - May 25, 2018

COMMENTARY

Starbucks: From Boycott to Victory

If Howard Shultz wasn’t the founder of Starbucks, he would have been one of the boycott protesters with us. He said he was “embarrassed” and “ashamed” by the arrest of two Black men in a Starbucks Store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who were taken away by police and subsequently held for 9 hours in a Philadelphia jail for the crime of sitting in a Starbucks store and not ordering coffee.

Starbucks is widely known as a good operator and an overall good guy in American business circles with its clean stores, open meeting spaces, free Wi-Fi; strong community relations, and its great business model consisting of good jobs with fair benefits.

But the Starbucks decision to fix this public relations problem with “diversity training” is not the Howard Schultz or even the Starbucks way. Rather than work with the Black community towards a solution to this potentially international issue, Starbucks turned to themselves and created a program for diversity training that includes closing their stores for one day and hiring the highest-priced diversity trainers money can buy.

Phillip Jackson

The Black community wanted to know, “How will we, the Black community--aggrieved by this incident and aggrieved every day--how will we be better because of your “diversity training”? The only answer Starbucks could give was, after the training “You will be better because we will be better.” Sorry, not good enough.

The Black community wanted to know, “How will we, the Black community--aggrieved by this incident and aggrieved every day--how will we be better because of your “diversity training”? The only answer Starbucks could give was, after the training “You will be better because we will be better.” Sorry, not good enough.

Numerous studies by Harvard University, MIT, Tel Aviv University and others show that diversity training doesn’t work and can produce the opposite of intended outcomes. These studies conclude that decades of cultural, racial and environmental bias and prejudice cannot be eradicated with one or 50 or 100 “diversity trainings.” In fact, such “trainings” can cause those hard-wired feelings to become more deeply entrenched thus resulting in the opposite of the sought-after effect.

In Chicago, The Black Star Project organized a 12-store boycott of Starbucks. During the boycott, no anger was displayed. No one was arrested. No windows were broken. No stores were firebombed. Instead, there was plenty of dialogue.

Dialogue is the Starbucks way. There were reports of Starbucks’ employees offering the boycotters free coffee and standing with the protesters. Protesters held doors open for elderly customers who did not honor the boycott. One protester even offered to buy a Starbucks coffee for the sick father of a man who expressed guilt about violating the boycott, but explained that his dad could only drink one kind of coffee—only available at Starbucks. It seemed as though boycotters and boycottees had reached a human accord -- The Starbucks Way. The Chicago boycott organizers are now planning community forums at more than 300 Black-owned or managed coffee houses, as well as at faith-based and community-based organizations across the U.S., especially near the 12 Starbucks stores previously boycotted.

These community forums will serve as “Black Economic Empowerment Forums”, where attendees will develop plans to improve the economic vitality of their communities.

We wanted Starbucks to be part of this initiative. So far, they have said no. Starbucks is really one of the “good guys” in corporate America but working with the community will only

make them better. It’s important to understand that even with over 9,000 stores throughout America, Starbucks shops are really only guests in these communities.

Howard Schultz, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Starbucks Board of Directors does understand Starbucks culture and he understands America. He knows that the Starbucks success is tied to communities’ success. He is unafraid to try new ideas even though those ideas might fail. However, this seems not to be the Starbucks way today.

In 2015, Starbucks tried to convene a ‘Race Together” dialogue through its stores. America was not ready then. In 2018, America is coming apart racially, socially and religiously. America is now ready for Howard Schultz’ ideas. But this effort cannot be owned by Starbucks alone.

Other corporations, government agencies at all levels, foundations, faith-based and civic organizations along with social institutions and others must partner with Starbucks to make America and the world better.

Mr. Schultz’ leadership style has been described as transformational. He does not think like a businessperson. He thinks like a person wanting to make the world a better place. But even he, super-rich, powerful, and well-intentioned, needs the help of the world to achieve this transformational vision and reality. Starbucks, well established in business history, now has a chance to establish itself in human history.

Schultz says that he knows the Starbucks chain “won’t bridge the racial divide on its own” and that a coffee company “can only do so much.” However, he hopes to keep pushing forward and pursue initiatives that matter to him with the “same vigor he pursues corporate profits.”

The Montgomery Bus Boycott that changed America forever lasted 381 days. The Starbucks Boycott is only 33 days old. Only 348 days to go.

Phillip Jackson is the founder and chairman of Chicago-based The Black Star Project.

Will Baltimore be the Next Flint, Michigan?

Maryland elected officials might be living in a secret world, like the mythical world of Wakanda; where the air and the waters are crystal-clear and clean, foods are natural and free from harmful pesticides and genetic alterations and where plant life is protected.

That’s not the case here in Maryland.

I attended the 2018 Maryland Environmental Recap Summit at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Headquarters in late April. I was in the company of environmental leaders and organizations, gathered for a strategy summit to better understand why many of the environmental bills presented to the House and Senate did not get much-needed attention from either chamber.

Many delegates and senators would not give us the time of day or comment on Community Healthy Act bills, that directly affects Maryland air quality, water and natural resources or bills that required environmental transparency from the Public Service Commission.

Bills such as these spotlighted here could prevent tragedies like Flint, Michigan from happening in Baltimore.

Cathy Allen

Pesticides Use of Chlorpyrifos in Maryland Agriculture (HB116/SB500) This bill would have banned chlorpyrifos in the state for agriculture use. Chlorpyrifos is already banned from residential use. The toxic nerve agent pesticide has been proven to cause brain damage in children and is known to harm the environment and wildlife. This bill, had life saving measures and health prevention written all over it, was withdrawn by its sponsors. Sponsored by: Delegate Stein and Senator Nathan-Pulliam Public Service Commission (PSC) Reform & Application for Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity – Public Notice and Hearing (HB0715) This bill was a community priority and would have required PSC to consider the health impact of proposed natural gas infrastructure development projects and the second bill would have improved transparency and communications between communities and PSC. Both bills were voted down in the House Economic Matters Committee.

Sponsored by: Delegate R. Lewis Community Healthy Air Act (HB0026/SB0133) This bill would have required the Maryland Department of Environment to conduct a onetime study that identifies air pollutants emitted by large animal feeding operations, such as chicken and dairy

farms, and assesses any potential pubic health risks. Sponsored by: Delegate R. Lewis/Senator Madaleno Forest Conservation – Technical Study and Programmatic Review (HB0766/SB0610) This bill would have the potential of being Maryland’s best tool for protecting Maryland forests. It was aimed at improving and updating current law; such as developers removing acres of forest for new construction and not paying enough taxes to replace the planting of trees. Currently, tax payers are picking up most of the cost in replacing those trees. Sponsored by: Delegate Healey/Senator Young If you are shaking your head, then its time for you to contact your elected officials’ and make some noise.

Cathy Allen is an award-winning urban environmentalist, the co-creator of G.R.A.S.S. (Growing Resources After Sowing Seed) as well as chair of the “Grow-It Eat It” campaign.

G.R.A.S.S. is an environmental entrepreneurial nonprofit program based on the fundamentals of gardening, agriculture and ecology. In conjunction with Baltimore City Public Schools, Allen’s campaign has planted over a half-million trees on the lawns of Baltimore City public schools.

Maryland’s Life Sentences Need to Change Maryland is one of three states that require the governor’s signature before men/women serving life sentences can be released on parole.

Thus far, no one has been released on parole in the past two decades. There are over 2,500 “lifers” in Maryland and climbing.

More than a decade ago former TV news reporter Michael O’Lesker conducted a state to state survey to see just how many years does the average “lifer” serve behind bars before they are released. The average “lifer” was serving a little over 17 years during that time. Maryland has “lifers” who have been behind bars 3040 years or more. There are geriatric prisoners in just about

James Wells

all institutions throughout Maryland and growing. Men and women over the age of 55 are costing tax payers in excess of $75,000 annually for housing and medical care.

With the drug epidemic exploding here in Maryland and so

deaths amongst our youth. In addition, this money could be used for after-school programs to keep our youth off the street and from being subjected to gang affiliation, housing for the homeless, battered women shelters, recreational centers etc.

The Maryland legislature passed a law that “lifers” who have served 25 years and have a good institutional adjustment will definitely be considered for release.

Absolutely no one has been released thus far.

With the drug epidemic exploding here in Maryland and so many young kids overdosing, the money spent to house “lifers” could be used to open up drug facilities to try and deter drug deaths amongst our youth. many young kids overdosing, the money spent to house “lifers” could be used to open up drug facilities to try and deter drug

James Wells is serving a life-sentence for first degree murder. While robbing a jewelry store in 1977 with his co-defendant, William Henry Jackson, an off-duty police officer shot and killed the hostage Wells and Jackson were holding.

The opinions on this page are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the AFRO. Send letters to The Afro-American • 1531 S. Edgewood St. • Baltimore, MD 21227 or fax to 1-877-570-9297 or e-mail to editor@afro.com

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The Afro-American, May 19, 2018 - May 25, 2018

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May 19, 2018 - May 25, 2018, The Afro-American

BALTIMORE-AREA

Race and Politics

`Ceasefire’s’ Bridgeford Laments De Sousa Resignation After a little more than two months in the chair, Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl Sean Yoes De Sousa Baltimore AFRO resigned Editor syoes@afro.com this week in the wake of three federal misdemeanor charges of not filing income taxes in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

However, it seems abundantly clear to many that there is much more connected to De Sousa’s departure from the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), than taxes.

Baltimore AFRO reporter Stephen Janis writes this week: “WBAL-TV reported May 15 that federal prosecutors had issued subpoenas to the city finance department for records related to De Sousa’s work history going back almost a decade. The documents sought pay stubs, travel records, personnel files and internal investigations...

There are concerns that the subpoenas coupled with the motions filed by prosecutors stating that De Sousa was

Is There More to the De Sousa Exit Than Taxes?

agent.

“That’s not the type of charge federal prosecutors On the surface, the usually pursue,” said former resignation of Baltimore police FBI Agent and director of commissioner Darryl De Sousa the Homeland Security and seems like just another chapter Criminal Justice Institute of in the sullied history of the Anne Arundel Community Baltimore Police Department College, Dr. Tyrone Powers.

(BPD); the city’s top cop “I think they were trying to tarnished by charges that he squeeze him.” failed to file tax returns for The WBAL-TV reported three years stepping aside to May 15 that federal face federal criminal charges. prosecutors had issued But behind the scenes subpoenas to the city finance there are some who say what department for records is happening in public view related to De Sousa’s work only scratches the surface and history going back almost that De Sousa’s downfall is a a decade. The documents symptom of a deeply corrupt sought pay stubs, travel department that simply cannot records, personnel files and right itself, let alone fight internal investigations, WBAL crime. reported.

The AFRO interviewed half There are concerns that the a dozen city leaders about the subpoenas coupled with the Courtesy photo motions filed by prosecutors burgeoning scandal that has Darryl De Sousa, a 30-year veteran of the BPD, resigned now engulfed a former police stating that De Sousa was chief, who many felt possessed this week after a little more than two months on the job, under investigation for other after he was charged federally for failure to file taxes. the skills to manage both federal crimes, is a sign of the challenges of repairing other charges are forthcoming. community relations while tamping down violence. But, Particularly since the prosecutors handling De Sousa’s case are among them, there is not a consensus if the tax charges are just the same duo that brought down the Gun Trace Task Force. a personal lapse, or the sign that the ongoing series of scandals “I think it has something to do with the (Gun Trace) Task that have embroiled the department will continue to result in Force, I really do,” BPD Sgt. Louis Hopson told the AFRO. new, damaging revelations.

Indeed, the ongoing “This is really another scandal over the actions of black eye for the department,” eight former officers of the said Baltimore City once elite gun unit continues Councilman Kristerfer Burnett to cast a long shadow over a (D-8). department currently under a – Kristerfer Burnett federal consent decree.

“It very much could be that there is more we will find out.”

The disgraced former plain The three misdemeanors, clothes squad has either plead filed as part of criminal information by federal prosecutors, guilty or been convicted of dealing drugs, robbing residents, allege DeSousa failed to file returns in 2013,2014, and 2015. stealing overtime, and planting evidence. And it is that legacy It’s a crime that does not generally prompt charges let alone of rampant corruption that continues to elicit doubts and fuel prosecution by federal law enforcement said a former FBI Continued on B2

By Stephen Janis Special to the AFRO

“It very much could be that there is more we will find out.”

Multiple Shootings Leave One Dead, Several Injured

“When you show up at work, how well do you do your job? That’s what I care about.”

– Erricka Bridgeford under investigation for other federal crimes, is a sign of other charges are forthcoming. Particularly since the prosecutors handling De Sousa’s case are the same duo that brought down the Gun Trace Task Force.”

Ultimately, whether the 30 year veteran of the BPD was forced to resign because of taxes, or something far more insidious, the bottom line is De Sousa, the eighth BPD commissioner in 18 years, is out.

Erricka Bridgeford, the leader and co-founder of the Baltimore Ceasefire 365, the grassroots anti-violence movement, is not happy about De Sousa’s exit.

“I’m disappointed that the commissioner resigned. In relation to your job: I don’t care if you are unorganized in your own finances. It’s not my business if you cheat on your wife. When you show up at work, how well do you do your job? That’s what I care about,” wrote Bridgeford in a Facebook post on May 16.

“I want a world where our Continued on B2

Facebook Photo

Centenarians Celebrated at Martin’s West

By AFRO Staff

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh was the keynote speaker for the 26th annual Maryland Centenarians Recognition Luncheon, May 11 at Martin’s West in Woodlawn. Proclamations honoring the more than 100 centenarians gathered (including Beatrice Yoes, 101, pictured with her grandson Baltimore AFRO editor Sean Yoes) were made by several prominent Beatrice Yoes and grandson Sean Yoes, Baltimore AFRO Editor

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Maryland’s Black Candidates 2018

Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Race Heats Up

By Sean Yoes Baltimore AFRO Editor syoes@afro.com Ivan Bates, the defense attorney, former prosecutor and candidate for Baltimore City State’s Attorney, has been on the campaign stump incessantly attacking State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and her record. Mosby says her office’s 92 percent felony conviction rate speaks volumes about her record.

Mosby, Bates and former Maryland Deputy Attorney General Thiru Vignarajah, another candidate for the State’s Attorney’s Office, will have at least three opportunities in person to debate the pressing issues confronting the SA’s Office and the city.

Last week, Mosby’s office said she will participate in three debates. The first debate will be at WYPR and the Midday show hosted by Tom Hall (the specific date in May or June has not been announced yet). On June 7, Mosby will also participate in the Baltimore Sun/WJZ debate and on June 13, Mosby will take part in the WOLB debate on the Larry Young Morning Show.

Marilyn Mosby Mosby graduated magna cum laude from Tuskegee University and obtained her law degree from Boston University. While in law school, she clerked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston

By Michelle Richardson Special to the AFRO One man is dead and several others were injured after multiple shootings in Baltimore May 15.

According to the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), 48-year old Antonio Jones, of the 3700 block of Saint Margaret St., was shot in the stomach in South Baltimore’s Brooklyn neighborhood around 4:00pm.

Jones was transported to an area hospital where he died from his injuries.

Prior to Jones being gunned down, another man was shot earlier in the day in South Baltimore’s Pigtown community. Police responded to a call for shots fired in the

Continued on B2

Facebook Photo

and Washington, D.C., as well as the Homicide Unit of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in Boston.

A native of Boston, and a resident of the Reservoir Hill neighborhood of West Baltimore, Mosby was sworn in as Baltimore’s 25th State’s Attorney January 8, 2015, after what many characterize as a surprising almost 10 point victory over incumbent Gregg Bernstein.

In the wake of the homicide of Freddie Gray April 19, 2015 and the

Continued on B2

Photo: Kenyatta Macon-Moon

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh was the keynote speaker.

Facebook Photo

Maryland politicians including Pugh, Rep. Elijah Cummings, Rep. John Sarbanes, the Baltimore City Council, Comptroller Joan Pratt and Baltimore County Sen. Delores Kelly.

5

Past Seven Days

104 2018 Total

Data as of May 16

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The Afro-American, May 19, 2018 - May 25, 2018

Race and Politics Continued from D1

current system of policing is dismantled and rebuilt, based on “power with” the community. But, in the meantime, we need people in BPD who really do their best, given the effed up system.”

Some may disagree with Bridgeford’s assertion that she doesn’t “care if you are unorganized in your own finances.”

And they may take issue with her not caring whether or not the police commissioner, or any other public servant, cheats on their spouse. But, I would take issue with anybody who doesn’t believe Baltimore’s criminal justice system and specifically, the Baltimore Police Department is “effed up.” And I think there is consensus that we want our leaders to “do their best.” And Bridgeford believes De Sousa was doing his best confronted with a dire situation within the BPD and our city.

“Up close, I saw what Darryl De Sousa was doing. I saw

him be more transparent with grassroots leaders than any previous commissioner. I saw him work with grassroots leaders to help keep people from getting killed, in some of Baltimore’s

State’s Attorney

De Sousa

Continued from B1 subsequent uprising, Mosby charged the six officers connected to Gray’s death on a variety of charges on May 1, 2015 (the officers were officially indicted by a grand jury May 21, 2015). The move sparked the ire of many law enforcement agencies across the nation and the praise of law enforcement reform advocates and people who have been victims of police misconduct around the country and the world (The first trial, William Porter was declared a mistrial, Brian Rice, Caesar Goodson and Edward Nero were found not guilty by bench trial, and all charges against Alicia White, Garrett Miller and Porter were dropped). Beyond the 92 percent felony conviction rate touted by Mosby, her office also argues it has convicted every public enemy number one brought to trial since 2015.

Mosby is married to Baltimore City Delegate Nick Mosby (D-40).

Ivan Bates Bates graduated with honors from Howard University and subsequently obtained his law degree from William and Mary. After law school, Bates clerked for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. After moving to Baltimore in 1995, Bates also clerked for the Hon. David B. Mitchell in the Circuit Court of Baltimore City. He is a U.S. Army veteran who served in the 32nd Air Defense Artillery unit.

A veteran trial attorney, Bates has worked as a prosecutor in the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office led by Patricia Jessamy, in the Juvenile Crime Division and later in the Homicide Division, where he says he never lost a murder trial.

Bates is a former president of the Monumental Bar Twitter Photo Association. He is a senior partner at the law firm of Bates and Garcia, which he started in 2006.

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… I think there is consensus that we want our leaders to “do their best.” darkest hours in the last month. I saw him care about Baltimore, not just with his words, but with his actions. I saw him be open to feedback. I saw him be responsive to residents and help with things they needed,” Bridgeford added.

“Nobody is perfect. If the places I fail in my personal life

ever became public information, people would be out here hunting for my head...regardless of how good I am at what I do.

I’m not saying I agree with De Sousa’s every strategy...because I disagree with a lot of policing strategies. But, given what the policing system currently is, the man was doing his best. He was someone I trusted in that position.”

And I trust Bridgeford’s opinion and her leadership on this and she’s not the only person whose opinion I trust who backs the former commissioner.

Baltimore took a big loss this week, now that De Sousa is out of the chair.

Sean Yoes is the Baltimore editor of the AFRO and host and executive producer of the AFRO First Edition, which airs Monday and Friday at 5 p.m. on the AFRO’s Facebook page.

Continued from B1 speculation that a string of federal indictments, which have exposed deep rooted corruption are far from over, DeSousa’s case included.

“It’s not a simple tax thing, if that’s it you’d have to prosecute half the city,” Hopson said. “I think there is more to it.”

After the tax charges against De Sousa were announced May 10, Mayor Catherine Pugh initially expressed support for her pick to lead the department.

The next day the mayor suspended him and just a few days later De Sousa resigned. It’s a sequence of events Hopson says implies federal authorities have communicated with Pugh.

“I think the feds finally told the mayor what’s going on,” Hopson said.

Some who advise Pugh say the decision to suspend De Sousa was difficult for the mayor.

“I know she believes he was the best person to address the relationship between the department and community and reduce crime at the same time,” Powers said. “She is devastated by this.”

A spokesman for the

Bentley previously served as the AFRO’s associate editor.

“She deliberated further with all of the facts and with further discussion with Commissioner De Sousa, as well as with the City Solicitor and senior staff to arrive at the

mayor said she made the decision to seek De Sousa’s resignation gradually after conferring with other city officials.

“The Mayor was informed of this matter Thursday afternoon, as most others learned of it,” her spokesman James Bentley said in an email. Full disclosure:

decision she announced on Friday.”

When asked specifically if the mayor had conferred with federal prosecutors, Bentley said no.

Some argue the mayor’s unilateral control over the BPD, coupled with the inability of a succession of city leaders to hold top

commanders accountable, may have foreshadowed De Sousa’s downfall, especially for a department that was subject of a scathing justice department report which found systemic use of unconstitutional tactics targeted primarily against African-Americans.

“This should spark the conversation of local control of the BPD,” said Baltimore City Councilman Brandon Scott (D-2), who is also running for lieutenant governor.

In the past Scott has consistently touted civilian oversight of police. He has also sought legislation that would change the department from a state agency to city controlled. A move he said is needed now more than ever.

“There is not much the council can do to hold the department accountable from our perspective,” Scott said.

“We’re literally handcuffed.”

2200 block of Ramsay St., also in South Baltimore, but officers found him in the 300 block of S. Stricker St. BPD did not disclose information on how the man got to another location and why he didn’t seek treatment after he was shot.

About two hours later at 7:30 p.m, officers responded to reports of gunfire in the 4700 block of York Rd., in Northeast Baltimore

community of Kernewood.

Officers found a 32-year old man suffering from gunshot wounds and transported him to a local hospital.

Also on May 15, at 10:30 p.m. BPD found two adult males, both aged 22, in a car that had crashed in East Baltimore in the 3400 block of Madison St. Officers were initially responding to a call for gunshots almost three miles away in the 5500 block

of Bowleys Lane.

Authorities stated that the men were shot in the Bowleys Lane location where they were originally dispatched, and drove to Madison street where they crashed.

There are no suspects in any of the shootings.

Police are urging anyone with any information to call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup or detectives at 410-396-2221.

“It’s not a simple tax thing, if that’s it you’d have to prosecute half the city.”

– BPD Sgt. Louis Hopson

Shootings Continued from D1

1200 block of Sargeant St., around 12:15 p.m. but found no victim.

A short time later, a 38-year-old man walked into an area hospital and police were called. The man told police he had been shot on Sargeant St. His injuries are non-life threatening and he’s expected to survive.

Around 5:15 p.m. on May 15, a 28-year old man was shot in the lower body in the

May 19, 2018 - May 25, 2018, The Afro-American “I see trees of green, red roses too, I see them bloom for me and you and I think to myself what a wonderful world. I see skies of blue and clouds of white the brightblessed day, the dark sacred night. And, I think to myself what a wonderful world. The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. I see friends shaking hands, saying “How do you do? They’re really saying I love you. I hear babies crying, I watch them grow. They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know” Louis Armstrong Sometimes when we watch the news or read the newspaper, it is hard to imagine “what a wonderful world” we live in. If Louis Armstrong envisioned a wonderful world growing up in his era so should we. With spring in full bloom, let us look at the things that make this a wonderful world, not a perfect world, but a world where we can make a difference one day at a time. Give someone your smile. You won’t lose anything when you pass someone and say hello, even if they don’t respond.

“Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you if you’re young at heart. For it’s hard, you will find, to be narrow of mind if you’re young at heart. You can go to extremes with impossible schemes. You can laugh when your dreams fall apart at the seams, and life gets more exciting with each passing day. And love is either in your heart, or on its way.

Don’t you know that it’s worth every treasure on earth to be young at heart. For as rich as you are, it’s much better by far to be young at heart.” Frank Sinatra How many of you remember dreaming about marrying Prince Charming and living in a beautiful castle with a golden coach and six white horses? On May 19, the world will witness Megan Markle’s fairytale come true when she marries Prince Harry to become a real life princess.

As we witness this historic fairytale wedding unfold, Baltimoreans will be watching former St. James Episcopal priest Bishop Michael Curry become a part of history as he delivers the homily.

Life is an echo. What you send out comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get. What you see

‘‘

in others exists in you. Remember, life is an echo. It always gets back to you. So give goodness.” Chinese proverb It was a pleasure attending the Baltimore Maryland Chapter of the Links, new members induction and dinner celebration at The Center Club. Link E. Francine Stokes McElveen, Esq. was the mistress of ceremonies for this auspicious occasion with Link President Lynn Selby welcoming the guests to the induction ceremony. Vice President Link Darlene Wade Moss, introduced the new Link members, Dana Henson, Sheelagh M. Allston, Tracey M. Barbour Gillett, Kimberly Dawn Hewitt, Lisa Hodges-Hiken, Councilwoman Sharon Green Middleton, Jill E Owens, Alicia N. Ritchie and April Ryan. Link Paulette Burgess provided the blessing as guests enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner followed by a champagne toast by immediate past President Nikita Haysbert. There was also a presentation of chapter gifts by Link Faith Thomas, Esq. Guests attending the impressive induction were Dell and Dan Henson, Darren Henson, Glenn Middleton, Links Dr. Charlene Cooper- Boston, Judge Yvonne Holt-Stone, Betty

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Williams, Margaret Turner, Billie Gardner Brown, Sylvia Laws, Karenthia Barbour, Lydia McCargo Redd and Joy Owens.

“Ain’t no party like an old school party, cause an old school party don’t stop.” Eniquity Victor Green and Pat Crisps’ annual old school birthday party was without a doubt the hottest party this spring. The party at Diamonz Event Center was a standing room only event with guests shaking the tambourines, blowing whistles, wearing twinkling jewelry and eyeglasses, as they danced to the music of Slagz Band and deejay Sugar Chris. Victor, the original party animal did not disappoint the more than two hundred guests as he performed his signature “stand up in it” dance. Wishing Pat and Victor, many more years of partying like its 1999.

Happy birthday to Carol Turner, Ann Vicks, Clarissa Pritchett, Barbara Blount Armstrong, Karen Brookins and Dr. Marie Washington.

Sending get-well wishes to our friend Congressman Anthony Brown.

We continue to keep the families of Kevin Kamenetz and Rick Larry, as well as Sandi Matthews on the death of her husband Jerome “Jai” Matthews, in our prayers.

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The Afro-American, May 19, 2018 - May 25, 2018

College Signing Day is a national initiative created by former First Lady Michele Obama. In Baltimore, over 5,000 high school seniors attended the event held at the Royal Farms Arena on May 11, sponsored Aaron Maybin (Teacher and

by Mayor Pugh’s former NFL player) Office and Baltimore City Public

Volunteers cheering the students

Students from Western High School

Students from Baltimore City College H.S.

Baltimore Design School students

Photos by Anderson R. Ward

Craig Rivers, Principal Mergenthaler V.T.High School

Bro. V Whitmore

Little Bacon Bear

Jay Cee

Dr. Sonja Santelises (CEO BCPS) and Dr. David Wilson (MSU Pres.)

The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Rho Tau Lambda chapter, hosted their 2018 Young Scholars awards at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical (Mervo), High School in Northeast Baltimore.

Craig Rivers, Mervo’s principal, welcomed the guests and Dr. Russell Perkins introduced the guest speaker, Baltimore City Councilman, Brandon Scott, a graduate of Mervo.

Carol Foreman,Lynda Henderson wives of former members Award winners Nadiere Morales,Zachary Jeffers,Stacey Carver,Ade Ogunshina,Elijah Dukes,past winner Alexander Freeman Sheila Burden mother of winner Jemar Burden and members of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Rho Tau Lambda Chapter

President Bro. John Purnell, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Rho Tau Lambda Chapter

Photos by James Fields Sr.

Alta Morehead, honored Pinochle Bug Legend of the Year

Schools (BCPS). BCPS CEO Dr. Sonja B. Santelises, Mayor Pugh, Dr. David Wilson, Morgan St. University Pres., Del. Nick Mosby and Baltimore City State’s Attorney, Marilyn Mosby, were among those in attendance. All the students invited to the event have been accepted to college.

Virginia Jones, Baltimore County Chapter

Award winner Ade Ogunshina and Bro. Ovando Brown

Helen McDonald

Stacey Carver, Award winner and Bro. Ryan Penalver

Nadiere Morales, Award winner and Bro. John Johnson

Award winner Zachary Jeffers and Bro. Will Copeland

On Saturday April 28, the Baltimore County Pinochle Bugs Social and Civic Club, hosted their annual Legends event at Margret Davis the Pikesville Hilton and Vivian Ward in Pikesville, Md. The Pinochle Bugs consist of more than175 women, with chapters in 16 cities, who gather on a regular basis to play highly competitive games of Pinochle.

Rosemary Estes, Lois Bowe Laura Phillips Byrd, Elaine Estes, Sharron Dubose, and Cheryl Mackey Gloria Adderly

Brenda Wallace, (Nat.Treasure), Wanda Callands (Nat. Financial Sec.), Trina Stowe Hackett (Exec Secretary) Carolyn Wainwright (Nat. Vice President)and Donna Holiday Nat. President

Baltiimore City Councilman Brandon Scott, a candidate for Lt. Gov.

Photos by DeVone Marshall

Pinochle Bugs Baltimore County Chapter, Dorothy Short, Virginia Johns, Helen McDanald, Valerie Rubardson, Dr. Mabel Murray, President

Alexander Freeman, Morgan State University Past Scholarship winner

Dr. Mabel Murray President of Pinochle Bugs, Baltimore County

The AFRO’s Diane Hocker receives an award from the Pinochle Bugs.

Lois Bowe, Rosemary Estes, Elaine Estes (100 years old) Washington, DC Chapter

May 19, 2018 - May 25, 2018, The Afro-American

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ARTS & CULTURE

In Cannes, Spike Lee lambasts Trump Over White Supremacists Having already wrapped the film, Lee added the Charlottesville coda after the unrest In a passionate, expletive-ridden monologue last summer. at the Cannes Film Festival, director Spike Lee “Right away, I knew that this had to be the lambasted Donald Trump for the U.S. president’s coda for the film, but I had to do something response to last year’s violent White supremacist first,” said Lee. Before inserting footage protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. of the car that plowed through crowds in Lee spoke to reporters Tuesday after his Virginia, killing counter-protester Heather “BlacKkKlansman” premiered May 14 at Cannes to Heyer, Lee said he telephoned Heyer’s a rousing standing ovation. mother.

The 1979-set film, loosely based on a true story, “I was not going to put that murder scene is about Black police detective Ron Stallworth in the film without her blessing,” said Lee. (played by John David Washington, Denzel’s son) Lee called Charlottesville an “ugly, and a Jewish detective (Adam Driver) who together ugly, ugly blemish on America,” but he infiltrated a Ku Klux Klan cell in Colorado. Topher also repeatedly stressed to the international Grace plays former KKK leader David Duke.

Cannes media that the racism depicted in The 61-year-old filmmaker said that following “BlacKkKlansman” isn’t unique to the United the violence in Charlottesville, the U.S. president States. had the opportunity to denounce the Ku Klux “This right -wing (expletive) is not just Klan and the alt-right. But Trump instead chose America. It’s all over the world. And we to say there was “blame on both sides” in the have to wake up,” said Lee. “We can’t be unrest between the neo-Nazi groups and countersilent. It’s not black, white, or brown. It’s protesters. everybody. We all live on this planet, and this (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) guy in the White House has the nuclear code.

He said Trump — whom he refused to call by Director Spike Lee showed his new film ‘BlacKkKlansman’ at the 71st international film I go to bed thinking about it.” name — had “a chance to say we are about love festival, Cannes, southern France. and not hate,” and sharply criticized him for not At the premiere Monday, Lee was outfitted denouncing the KKK. in a shiny purple-and-orange tuxedo and “It was a defining moment and he could have wore one ring declaring “love” on one hand, said to the United States and the world that we’re better than that,” said Lee. and “hate” on the other, paying homage to the jewelry won by the character Radio Raheem in “BlacKkKlansman,” produced by Jordan Peele (director of “Get Out”), concludes by his previous film “Do the Right Thing.” He bounced into the premiere at the Palais announcing: connecting the period tale with today. It ends with actual footage from Charlottesville, as well as “Brooklyn’s in the house!”

Trump’s televised response. The final image is an upside-down American flag that fades to black Lee has frequently debuted films at Cannes, including “Do the Right Thing” in 1989. and white.

He hopes “BlacKkKlansman” ‘’shakes people from their slumber.”

Focus Features will release the film in August, on the year anniversary of Charlottesville.

“I know it in my heart,” said Lee. “We’re on the right side of history with this film.”

By The Associated Press

Gayle King Blabbed About Her Bestie Oprah’s Alleged Weed Habit

SPORTS

Did ESPN Hire Conservative Commentator Sage Steele to Appease Racist Viewers?

(Screenshot)

Sage Steele gets her hair tousled live on the air.

(Instagram)

Gayle King told a television interviewer Oprah Winfrey occasionally likes to get high.

By Micha Green AFRO Washington, D.C. Editor mgreen@afro.com Although she’s been successful in her own right, whenever Gayle King, CBS This Morning anchor and official best friend to Oprah Winfrey, gets interviewed, she often is expected to spill some tea about her BFF. However, on the May 8 episode of The Ellen Show, King may have spilled more tea than she perhaps intended to serve when she shared that while she has never been interested or partaken in marijuana, her media mogul bestie has.

“Oprah has also smoked a little marijuana, too, I don’t mind saying… I’m not telling tales out of school,” King told Ellen.

Except right after that statement, King did seem to mind what she had just divulged on national television.

“I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate her… It’s not something that happens on a regular- I’m going to change the subject,” King said.

While Winfrey is a big time billionaire boss with her own enterprises, she is a spokeswoman for companies such as Weight Watchers, and as, The Root Senior editor Stephen A. Crockett Jr., said, “if anything goes against dieting it’s blowing out clouds of OG Marion Bush Kush Monster.”

Vanity Fair created an entire utopic scene surrounding Winfrey smoking weed.

“The fact that King just shared this information isn’t exactly scandalous; marijuana is legal in California, where Winfrey lives. Actually, it kind of makes a whole lot of sense. If you were Oprah Winfrey, and you lived in a home where you were surrounded by what Vogue once described as ‘stacks of gardening books, and voluminous green wicker sofas and chairs,’ you too might take a hit or two before climbing into your custom-made bathtub for an evening, pre-bed soak.”

For some, the businesswoman partaking in ganja may not come as a surprise as Winfrey herself said she had when she was on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in 2013.

According to the Huffington Post Cohen asked about the last time Winfrey smoked marijuana.

“Uh… 19… 82,” she replied.

“Let’s hang out after the show,” Cohen joked, implying Winfrey should try to smoke again after her over 30-year hiatus.

“Okay. I hear it’s gotten better,” she said laughing.

While the world may never know whether or not Winfrey ever shared a joint with Cohen after that show, King’s tattling on The Ellen Show definitely reemphasized Winfrey’s history with weed.

By Perry Green AFRO Sports Editor pgreen@afro.com ESPN announced over the weekend that it will be hiring Sage Steele and Kevin Negandhi as the new lead anchors for the 6 p.m. edition of its SportsCenter show.

Steele and Negandhi will serve as the permanent replacements for former SportsCenter anchors Jemele Hill and Michael Smith, who both left the airwaves earlier this year following controversial tweets from Hill criticizing President Donald Trump.

The hiring of Steele and Negandhi allows ESPN to keep both anchor spots filled with talent of minority descent; Negandhi is the first ever Indian-American anchor to lead a national sports network in American history, and Steele is mixed with African-American, Irish and Italian.

But some folks are speculating if Sage’s hire was done to appease conservative viewers who support Trump.

Unlike Hill (who criticized Trump in a series of tweets last September, calling him a “white supremacist” that’s “unqualified and unfit to be President”), Steele hasn’t pissed off the large portion of White America that supports our racially offensive President. Instead, Steele has caught criticism from within the Black community for her stance against athletes who chose to protest police brutality and racism by kneeling during the playing of the National anthem.

Steele slammed Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans last November after he took a knee in protest of Trump winning the election.

“Hey @MikeEvans13_ look up the definition of the word DEMOCRACY & remember this pic while kneeling/exercise your right to protest #perspective,” Sage tweeted in 2016.

The 45-year-old sports anchor also caught fire from the African-American community for allowing a White man to freely touch her hair live on national TV, and she was also criticized for claiming that she’s received more racism from Black folks than Whites.

“The worst racism that I have received [as a biracial woman married to a White man] and I mean thousands and thousands over the years, is from Black peoples, who in my mind thought would be most accepting because there has been that experience,” Steele said during Under Our Skin, a discussion forum on race last year.

Several Black people have used social media to express their displeasure with Steele’s hiring.

Brian Jones, a sports podcast host out of Kansas City, tweeted that he was done with Sage “after she complained over her flight being delayed and blaming airport protesters for it happening.”

“Sage Steele really let a white man basically pet her on live TV. I’m STILL shocked,” tweeted BBallBreakdown podcaster Nekias Duncan.

But if her hiring truly was to satisfy right wing supporters, ESPN certainly found the right woman for the job.

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WASHINGTON-AREA

Top-Ranked High School Embroiled in Fraud Scandal

Chadwick Boseman Honors Howard Graduates

By Lenore T. Adkins Special to the AFRO An audit from the Office of the State Superintendent for Education released May 11 has found that nearly a third of the students enrolled at the acclaimed Duke Ellington School of the Performing Arts were not residents of the District of Columbia and were not paying the tuition they should have forked over as nonresidents.

The probe found that 164 students at the premier performing arts high school were non-residents who either lacked sufficient

Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman received an honorary degree and delivered the graduation address at the 150th Howard University Commencement on May 12. Behind Boseman is Howard University president Wayne A.I. Frederick.

See more photos on D4

Chadwick Boseman strolled onto Howard University’s campus as a bankable box-office star and walked away with another title on graduation day – doctor.

The Howard alumnus and star of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther returned to his alma mater May 12 to receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters and deliver the keynote address at the 150th commencement. Thousands of people clung to his every word.

Howard awarded 2,217 degrees to the class of 2018, including 343 master’s degrees and 90 Ph.Ds. It also paid tribute to the class of 1968, allowing them to march on the red

carpet along with the other graduates.

Boseman, 40, called Howard a “magical place” and congratulated the class of 2018 for overcoming academic, financial, and other obstacles to reach graduation day. He pushed graduates of “Wakanda University” to savor their triumphs in life, to chase their purpose instead of money, and to rise above adversity.

“I don’t know what your future is, but if you’re willing to take the harder way, the more complicated one, the one with more failures at first than successes, the one that has ultimately proven to have more meaning, more victory, more glory, then you will not regret it,” Boseman told graduates.

He credits his Howard education with preparing him for his Continued on D3

“When God has something for you, it doesn’t matter who stands against it.”

Britain’s Hidden Black Royalty

By Aya Elamroussi Special to the AFRO The royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has been making headlines as the big day approaches this Saturday,

Washingtonian Magazine Ad Campaign Includes Zero Blacks

By Micha Green AFRO Washington, D.C. Editor mgreen@afro.com

By Lenore T. Adkins Special to the AFRO

Duke Ellington School of the Arts, located in Georgetown, is under investigation after almost a third of the student body were found to be nonDistrict residents.

Continued on D2

What Happened to Chocolate City?

May 19.

But May 19 is also special because it’s the birthday of the first biracial royal queen of England, Queen Sophia Charlotte.

“The royal family looked all over Europe for a young

An 18th century cartoon showing Queen Charlotte, middle, supporting the Saccharine Campaign against slavery.

Continued on D3

DC Embraces Poor People’s Campaign

lady to be [King George III’s] wife, and Charlotte rose to the top because she was so smart,” Dr. Stephanie E. Myers told the AFRO. Myers wrote the book Invisible Queen, which examines Charlotte’s

By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com

lineage and her history, after accidently seeing a picture of the queen on the internet captioned, “queen of England for 57 years.” After much research, Myers found that the queen had African Moorish descent. The book is exclusively sold on Myer’s website, myerspublishing. com.

A PBS report also says that Queen Charlotte was directly descended from Margarita de Castro y Sousa, a black branch of the Portuguese Royal House.

Born in Germany in a noble family, Queen Charlotte was recruited to marry Courtesy Photo

Although White residents may now make up 44 percent of the District’s population, Washington, D.C., once coined “Chocolate City”, still is majority African American with 47.7 percent of residents identifying as Black according to the U.S. Census.

Despite city statistics Washingtonian Magazine completely disregarded the District’s majority population in a recently launched social media campaign. In a series of photos located in various places around the city, people are seen wearing shirts that read, “I’M NOT A TOURIST. I LIVE HERE.” Every single person featured in the campaign- a campaign about living in a predominantly Black city- is White.

As soon as the campaign dropped, Black Twitter and Washingtonians immediately chastised the magazine and its tone deaf marketing.

Continued on D2

There are many activities surrounding the call for the “Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival” launched by former North Carolina NAACP President the Rev. William Barber II. The District of Columbia will play a key part in the events.

The Rev. Wanda Thompson, pastor of the Ambassador Baptist Church, is one of the leaders of the District’s contingent leading the Poor People’ Campaign.

Thompson spoke about the campaign and the need for District residents to get involved at the May 12 Ward Courtesy Photo 8 Clergy and Faith Leaders The Rev. Graylan Hagler Breakfast Meeting at the is a co-chair of D.C. effort America’s Islamic Heritage with the Poor People’s Museum.

Campaign, which began “This is a national taking place in D.C. and movement,” Thompson said to around the nation May 13. the 30 people at the event. “We are calling for direct action across state capitals because our lawmakers must know that we will not tolerate poverty and discrimination in this country.”

Since President Trump took office last year, Barber has Continued on D2

‘Soul Tent’ To Be On Display in DC Public Libraries

By Brianna Rhodes Special to the AFRO 1968 was a monumental year for Black people in America.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of many events such as the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the six-week occupation by King’s Poor People’s campaign on the National Mall in D.C. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the campaign that began on May 12, 1968, D.C. Public Library is recreating Resurrection City’s “Soul Tent.” Resurrection City was created by thousands of people who came together

for the occupation.

The “Soul Tent” also known as the “Many Races Soul Center” was a place where people from all over the country shared their struggles through cultural exchanges and music.

The “Soul Tent” not only provided tents for people to sleep, but tents were also used for healthcare, learning and art.

“The Soul Tent was the site where all were invited to come, and they treated it as a space for cultural exchange.

They taught each other traditional music and compared experiences of poverty,” Nicholas Petr, a curatorial consultant for the D.C. Public Library, told Washington City Continued on D2

Courtesy Photo/ Flickr

Washington Area Park

D2

The Afro-American, May 19, 2018 - May 25, 2018

Poor People’s Campaign Continued from B1

criticized the White House and the Republican Congress on its inaction dealing with poverty, hunger, economic distress and systemic racism.

Barber delivered a stirring message on fighting for the principles of the campaign on May 6 at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Thompson said, and District residents should pick up the mantle.

“It has been calculated that 70 percent of every dollar circulated in the U.S. goes to war efforts and only 12 percent goes to social services,” she said. “This is not right. Many people in this country are living paycheck to paycheck and can be wiped out by a medical crisis.”

Thompson outlined events to take place in the District, and around the country, dealing with specific issues. May 1319 will deal with “Somebody’s Hurting Our People: Child Poverty, Women and People with Disabilities” and there will be weekly themes until a mass rally on June 23 in the District.

Also in the District, there will be weekly Moral Mondays with a rally at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. action at the U.S. Capitol.

“We are focusing on the Capitol because we know that D.C. laws are made there, in spite of the city council,” Thompson said.

Thompson encouraged the ministers to get their congregations involved. In response to a question by the AFRO, she said the NAACP has embraced the campaign but wasn’t clear about other national Black organizations such as the Congressional Black Caucus, the National Urban League,

“We are calling for direct action across state capitals because our lawmakers must know that we will not tolerate poverty and discrimination in this country.”

– Rev. Wanda Thompson

and SCLC. The AFRO did not receive any word from the Congressional Black Caucus, the National Urban League and SCLC at press time.

“This is a grassroots movement,” she said. “We are organizing from the ground up and not by organization.”

The co-chairs in the District are the Rev. Graylan Hagler of the Plymouth Congregational UCC, and the Rev. Terrence Mayo.

Ambrose Lane Jr., a candidate for the at-large independent seat on the D.C. Council, supports the aims of the campaign, but has a concern. “One of the things Dr. King talked about was guaranteed jobs,” Lane told the AFRO. “But I checked the website of this campaign and there is no mention of that. I think that should be included.”

Thompson responded to Lane by telling him “to get involved” and make his feelings known. “We need people to say things like we need guaranteed jobs,” she said. “This is not a one-time thing, it is a sustained effort and we need everybody to get involved.”

High School Continued from D1

documentation to prove their residency or were labeled as non-residents by state superintendent’s office following the preliminary investigation, according to the report. Non-District residents may attend Ellington if accepted, but are required to pay tuition; tuition was $12,800 last school year, according to Ellington’s website. Those 164 students have not been paying tuition.

The state superintendent’s office is referring the 164 findings of non-residency cases to the D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine to resolve their issues with his office for a limited time.

While the state superintendent’s office isn’t ordering families to pull their students out of Ellington right away, every student has to prove his or her residency annually to re-enroll in District schools. Non-residents must pay all uncollected tuition by July 15, 2018.

In some of the non-resident findings, students provided residency documents that at first glance appeared to be sufficient and adequate documentation of actual District residency. But upon deeper investigation, they were shown to be insufficient or fraudulent.

The state superintendent’s office is investigating another 56 Ellington students because their information proved to be inconclusive following the probe, and those families have one last chance to prove they live in the District. All told, the probe has entangled 220 of 570 students enrolled at the coveted school near Georgetown.

In a statement, State Superintendent Hanseul Kang said she has directed Ellington and D.C. Public Schools to bring in additional personnel, resources and training to make sure all schools follow proper residency verification procedures and that D.C families get first crack at D.C. schools. Parents or guardians found to have falsified their records will not be

allowed to re-enroll their students at the school next year unless DCPS has allowed them to do so under the auspices of paying non-resident tuition.

“We take residency fraud seriously,” Kang said in the statement. “While we want to be sensitive to complex family

“These cases from Duke Ellington School of the Arts cause significant concern and represent a serious lapse in oversight at the school level and at D.C. Public Schools.” situations that may make it more challenging to provide residency documentation, these cases from Duke Ellington School of the Arts cause significant concern and represent a serious lapse in oversight at the school level and at D.C. Public Schools.”

Non-compliance with residency rules is illegal, robs the DC government of needed revenue and deprives deserving District residents of the opportunity to study at award-winning schools like Duke Ellington, the school’s chief executive officer, Tia Powell Harris, wrote in a letter to parents following the results.

The audit’s results are a blow to the premier performing arts high school founded in 1974 that counts comedian Dave Chappelle and other notables as alumni.

‘Soul Tent’

Black Royalty

Continued from D1

Paper. “It was a really amazing setting, and a history that is often forgotten,” said Petr, who was instrumental in putting the project together. .

D.C. Public Library partnered with the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and will be using original recordings at Resurrection City from the Bruce Jackson collection. The tent structure includes visual and audio displays, community storytelling and musical

It also comes at a time when the D.C. Public Schools system is reeling from scandal, following inflated graduation rates and the resignation of the previous chancellor who stepped down after it was revealed he bypassed residency rules and a waiting list to enroll his daughter in a competitive public high school.

The Washington Post reported that the D.C. Office of the Inspector General is investigating Ellington to determine whether staff members were in on the residency scandal. Jaime Yarussi, deputy inspector general for business management, told the AFRO that the office does not comment on ongoing matters.

When asked whether any staff members have faced disciplinary action in the wake of the probe, Harris told the AFRO over email that school officials will be thoroughly reviewing and considering the state superintendent’s findings.

She added that they had been working to improve the school’s residency verification process ever since the superintendent’s office launched its investigation.

“At this point, we have no indication of any wrongdoing by our small, but dedicated administrative team,” Harris wrote in the email.

The state superintendent raised “no material residency concerns” when it ran audits in the past five years, Harris said in the letter. But this year, in light of increased systemwide scrutiny, the state superintendent cracked down on residency enforcement and implemented new policies for auditing school records.

Because the state superintendent found “troubling indications of potential residency fraud” at Ellington during the 2017 enrollment audit, it took the unprecedented step of seizing all of the school’s residency files to conduct an in-depth investigation of all its paperwork.

Continued from D1

performances. The project also includes listening sessions of speeches and music from Resurrection City and poster-making workshops, according to dclibary.org.

“The Soul Tent” will be on display at four D.C. public libraries this summer. It is currently at Mt. Pleasant Library until May 20. It will be on display at Anacostia Library from June 4-9, Woodridge Library from June 10-17 and Benning Library from June 18-23.

English King George III in the 1700s. Married at 17, she had 15 children, 2 of whom died in infancy, according to Myers.

In the 1700s, Myers spoke four languages, read extensively and had what is equivalent to today’s high school education.

Queen Charlotte was also an anti-slavery activist and an abolitionist, according to Myers. She protested the sugar plantation that thrived off the free labor of African slaves in the anti-Saccharine Movement in the late 1700s, according to Myers.

“She had Moorish Black heritage, and she was the Queen of England-- the most powerful country in the world at that time,” Myers said. “It’s important that Black people understand that we have played a role in world

history. A role larger than being people [who] were seized, kidnapped and put in slavery in America.”

Myers also said that Queen Charlotte helped establish the first hospital for poor women to birth their babies, provided support to orphans, she supported the inventor of the smallpox vaccine and was one of the first people to recognize Mozart’s talent as a composer.

“Public service was a part of her personality.”

Myers said that Markle has also shown she’s dedicated to public service.

“Now that Meghan is going to become a woman of mixed race heritage in the royal family, Meghan will stand on the shoulders of Queen Charlotte.”

May 19, 2018 - May 25, 2018, The Afro-American

Howard

D3

Magazine

Continued from B1

Continued from D1

Photo by Lenore Adkins

Students celebrate at the 150th Commencement exercises at Howard University on May 12.

groundbreaking Hollywood career, roles that have included Jackie Robinson in 42, James Brown in Get On Up, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, another Howard alumnus, in Marshall, and T’Challa in Black Panther, a role he reprised in Avengers: Infinity War. To date, the latter two movies have grossed nearly $3 billion around the world.

Howard President Wayne A. I. Frederick wanted Boseman to deliver the keynote address because the actor has portrayed African-American men in three biopics that “embody not just our history but our legacy.”

Boseman told the class of 2018 about the time he called on the cultural pride Howard instilled in him to question a soap opera role early in his career. He felt it was wrapped up in assumptions about Blacks and needed more depth. In Boseman’s telling, he was fired three episodes in after raising objections with producers, but said the setback didn’t keep him down for long.

“When I dared to challenge the system that would relegate us to victims and stereotypes with no clear historical backgrounds, no hopes and talents, when I questioned that method of portrayal, a different path opened up for me, the path to my destiny,” Boseman said. “When God has something for you, it doesn’t matter who stands against it.”

The graduation capped a tumultuous year at the university.

This included the nine-day student occupation of the school’s administration building over affordable housing, tuition hikes, and student safety, including mental health and the prevention of sexual assault.

Students had a list of nine demands and after negotiations, university officials agreed to seven. A financial aid scandal ignited the protests and left students calling for Frederick’s dismissal and urging the school board’s leadership to step aside.

Frederick acknowledged the demonstrators at the graduation, asking the seniors among them to rise so the audience could applaud them.

The actor praised the students for their sit-ins and the administrators for listening to students’ demands, saying the protests were accomplishments for both sides. “I didn’t come here to take sides,” said Boseman, who was part of a protest while at Howard. “My interest is what’s best for the school.”

During his years at Howard, Boseman, a 2000 alumnus, took part in an unsuccessful three-day protest with his classmates to stop the school from demoting the College of Fine Arts into the Department of Fine Arts.

Almost two decades later and Frederick and Boseman are now rectifying that controversial change.. They announced a campaign the actor will lead to reestablish the College of Fine Arts and to launch an Endowed College of Fine Arts Award.

“And so, fine arts forever.” Frederick said.

“PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT [Washingtonian Magazine’s] DEPICTION OF WHO ‘LIVES HERE’… NOT ONE BLACK FACE IN THE ENTIRE PIECE,” social media influencer and community activist, Tony Lewis Jr. wrote on Instagram and Twitter. Lewis wrote in all capital letters similarly to the campaign t-shirts.

“BLACK PEOPLE STILL MAKE UP [47 percent] OF THIS CITY. THIS IS DISRESPECTFUL, CARELESS, AND RACIST (YEAH I SAID IT, RACIST). THIS IS VERY REPRESENATIVE OF HOW WE FEEL IN OUR OWN CITY, THAT WE ARE INVISIBLE, THAT WE DON’T EXIST. THAT PEOPLE MOVE HERE HAVE MORE VALUE THAN THOSE BORN HERE. THAT WHEN WE DIE IN THE STREETS IT ISN’T IMPORTANT, THAT THE NEW RESTAURANT OR CONDO SUPERCEDES OUR EXISTENCE,” Lewis wrote.

He encouraged Washingtonians to not support the magazine.

“IF YOU ARE A WASHINGTONIAN (BLACK, WHITE, HISPANIC, OR ASIAN) NEVER BUY AN AD, DO AN INTERVIE W NOR PURCHASE A COPY OF THIS RACIST/ DIVISIVE MAGAZINE.” The controversy surrounding the shirts and campaign quickly escalated, prompting Washingtonian to delete the campaign apologize.

“As a native Washingtonian, I am very sorry that our latest

“We took down the initial post because it created an impression that was inconsistent with our values and standards.”

– Washingtonian Magazine CEO and president Catherine Merrill Williams

‘I Am Not A Tourist’ marketing campaign did not represent the wonderfully diverse city in which we live,” Washingtonian Magazine CEO and president Catherine Merrill Williams wrote in a statement.

“This was the very beginning of a campaign in which all intentions are to include the many communities that make up our city. We solicited pictures from a diverse group of people and put the pictures up in the order they came in. People who saw the initial gallery of pictures had no way of knowing that it was not, in fact, the entirety of the marketing campaign. We took down the initial post because it created an impression that was inconsistent with our values and standards. We’re confident that when the campaign is complete it will reflect the diversity of the readership that we serve,” she wrote.

Despite the apology some Washingtonians are still outraged.

In response to Washingtonian’s campaign, Lewis is putting together a photoshoot on May 20 at Union Market for residents “born, raised and educated” in D.C. “We will provide a counter narrative that there are still folks who were born, raised, and educated in this city still here. We will provide a counter image that not every person living in the city is a [White] millennial,” Lewis wrote on Instagram.

The dress code for the A screenshot of the from Tony Lewis Jr.’s Instagram account admonishing the photoshoot is all black.

Washingtonian Magazine campaign “I am Not A Tourist”.

D4

The Afro-American, May 19, 2018 - May 25, 2018

In honor of 150 years of African American collegiate excellence, Howard University held its sesquicentennial commencement on May 12 on the

yard of the institution. Howard University alum and “Black Panther” star, Chadwick Boseman, served as the commencement speaker in order

Students process into the 150th Howard University commencement

to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the graduation exercises and in celebration of his recent record breaking and history making film.

Chadwick Boseman doing the Wakanda symbol from the hit movie “Black Panther”

Student raises fist In agreement

Students at commencement

Students at Graduation TV Host Rock Newman

The crowd

Photos by Everette Wright

Inez Davis (Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient), Shirley G. Ali (Community Service Award Recipient), Vivian L. Smith (Leadership Award Recipient), and Dr. LeTea Perry (General Welfare Award Recipient)

Photos by Brigitte White

Gale Perry, Chair Spirit of Bethune, Student Section, Lori Hawkins, Jennifer Phillips Gibbs, Co-Founder and Dr. Beth Reeves, President of the Washington School for Girls (Community Partner Award Recipient), and Dr. Renee´ Starlyn Allen

On April 21, the Washington Section, National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), Inc. celebrated its 75th Anniversary “The Vision Lives On…” and hosted its 9th Annual Jazz Luncheon & Silent Auction at the College Park Marriott Hotel and Conference Center with over 430 guests in attendance.

This event provides funds for the Washington Section’s community service projects, advocacy partnerships, and scholarships. The” Community Woman Award” was presented to three people who provide exemplary service and leadership in the areas of:

Some of the many guests of Raynard Jackson

Shay Hawkins, Legislative Assistant to Sen. Tim Scott, Dr. Ben Chavis, President and CEO of NNPA, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Dorothy Leavell, Publisher of The Crusader Newspaper and Chairman of NNPA, and Raynard Jackson, President & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates

April Gaines-Jernigan, President, Xi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa, Alpha Sorority (Community Partner Philanthropy Award Recipient) Lori Hawkins

Constance L. Washington is presented with the “Woman in Action award”

by Rita Lewis

Shay Hawkins, Legislative Assistant to Sen. Tim Scott, and Raynard Jackson, President & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates

Maggie Harris, President & CEO, ESC

General Welfare, Leadership, and Community Service. A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to someone who demonstrated 25 years or more of sustained and outstanding service.” Community Partner and Community Partner Philantrophy Awards’” were presented to two organizations in the community that support the mission of NCNW, Inc.“Focused on My Future” scholarships were awarded to 2 minority high school seniors in the amount of $2,000 each. Entertainment was provided by the “Johnnie Steele & the Steele4 Real Band & Show.” Dr. Renee’ Starlyn Allen, host of the Renee’ Allen & Friends Show was the Mistress of Ceremonies.

Dr. LeTea Perry, Katrina Turner, “Focused on my Future” scholarship winner, Rita Lewis and Dr. Renee’ Starlyn Allen

Rita Lewis, President of the Washington section of NCNW, Inc, seated on the left, Lori Hawkins, 1st Vice President and Chairwoman, 75th Anniversary & 9th Annual Jazz Luncheon & Silent Auction seated on the right; Paula S.F. Marshall (Co-Chair)third from right on the front row; Tameka Farley (Co-Chair), fourth from right on the front row ; and members the Washington Section

Tim Scott (R-SC) hosted a policy discussion as a part of his continuing National Opportunities Tour on Wed. Apr 25 at The Washington Court Hotel in Northwest,

Washington. DC. The tour highlights the “Investing in Opportunity Act,” which was recently passed tax legislation back

in December 2017. He discussed how the tax bill could positively impact economically distressed neighborhoods across the country. The discussion was moderated by Raynard Jackson, President & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates & a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Raynard Jackson, President & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates

Dr. Ben Chavis, President and CEO of NNPA, Steve P. Munisteri, The White House Office of Public Liaison Deputy Assistant to the President/ Principal Deputy Director,Dorothy Leavell, Publisher of The Crusader Newspaper and Chairman of NNPA, and Raynard Jackson, President & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates

Aaron Manaigo, Partner, Potomac International Partners

Steve P. Munisteri, The White House Office of Public Liaison, Deputy Assistant to the President/ Principal Deputy Director

Photos by Mark Mahoney