Baltimore Washington Afro11 24 2017

November 11, 2017 - November 11, 2017, The Afro-American A1 www.afro.com $2.00 $1.00

Volume Volume 127 123 No. No.17 20–22

NOVEMBER 25, 2017 - DECEMBER 1, 2017

Robert Mugabe Resigns

Inside

Washington

Could Trump Tax Cuts End Public Housing?

‘Mudbound’ Explores Unlikely Friendship

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Baltimore

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How to End the Opioid Epidemic

AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe seemed almost untouchable for much of his nearly four-decade rule. Shrewd and ruthless, he managed to stay in power despite advancing age, growing opposition, international sanctions and the dissolving economy of a once-prosperous African nation. Now, the abrupt end of the Mugabe era is launching Zimbabwe into the unknown. See story on page A2.

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Meet the Black Evangelicals Supporting Roy Moore

By Hamil R. Harris Special to the AFRO Minister Louis Farrakhan and members of the Nation

By J. K. Schmid Special to the AFRO

Several Black evangelical leaders and supporters are offering their support to the controversial candidacy of Roy Moore, Republican nominee for Facebook the Alabama Senate seat vacated earlier this year Pastor Stephen Broden and Alan Keyes

by Trump administration Attorney General Jeff spoke at a news conference in Alabama Sessions. in support of controversial Senate Pastor Stephen Broden, who is Black, of Fair candidate Roy Moore.

Park Bible Fellowship in Dallas, defended Moore at a Nov. 16 press conference attended by Moore, his wife and other spiritual leaders.

“We stand with Judge Roy Moore, I stand with Judge Roy Moore,” said Broden. “These accusations are unproven and are designed to derail an extraordinary and successful candidate who has done extraordinarily well in spite of the opposition that he has gotten.”

Continued on A3

Shop Black on Black Friday

– Ishmael Muhammad of Islam used the ballroom of the Watergate Hotel to offer a stinging rhetorical rebuke to President Donald J. Trump in regards to his domestic and

Aug. 23, 1969

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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By Vernon Scott

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This Black Friday, malls, department stores, car dealerships, and other retailers will be slashing prices on what is known as the biggest shopping day of the year. The AFRO is highlighting Black-owned businesses in Baltimore that will be offering sales.

• Open Works (1400 Greenmount Ave.) will be the site of the Shop Black: A Black Friday Pop Up sale. The sale will take place between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. This purpose of this pop up is to support and strength the local Black economy.

• St. Frances Academy (501 E. Chase St.) will be the site of the Ujamaa Marketplace. This marketplace of Black Continued on A3

the Million Man March as hundreds of men and women from the Nation of Islam gathered at the Watergate Continued on A3

Television star and singer Della Reese died on Nov. 19. In 1969 the AFRO sat down with her to talk about her new television talk show ‘Della’ and life after her previous marriages ended. Reese would go on to become most famous for her role in the religious television show ‘Touched by an Angel.’

Della Reese has rugged life as TV star, mother

By Jennifer Wright

international polices since entering the White House.

The event was billed as a press conference but the atmosphere felt more like

“The message to the President is that he is in a position to save America from her own destruction and the judgment of God.”

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Farrakhan Delivers Rebuke to Trump Over Foreign Policy

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Normalcy Returns After Det. Killed

HOLLYWOOD (UPI) Della Reese is the star of her own hour-long television series and works so hard during the week she spends weekends lying down.

Della is divorced and lives in the Hollywood Hills above the Sunset Strip.

Della did the decorating herself with little or no assistance from her daughter Deloreese, 9.

The family is rounded out by a poodle Continued on A3

Copyright © 2017 by the Afro-American Company

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The Afro-American, November 25, 2017 - December 1, 2017

NATION & WORLD

Your History • Your Community • Your News

Zimbabwe’s Mugabe Resigns after 37 Years

The Afro-American Newspapers

By The Associated Press

Baltimore Office • Corporate Headquarters 2519 N. Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4602 410-554-8200 • Fax: 1-877-570-9297 www.afro.com Founded by John Henry Murphy Sr., August 13, 1892 Chairman of the Board/Publisher - John J. Oliver, Jr. Executive Assistant - Sallie Brown - 410-554-8222 Receptionist - Wanda Pearson - 410-554-8200 Director of Advertising Lenora Howze - 410-554-8271 - lhowze@afro.com Advertising Account Executives Baltimore - Robert Blount - 410-554-8246 - rblount@afro.com Washington, D.C. - Vetta Ridgeway - 202-332-0080-ext. 1104 vridgeway@afro.com

(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Zimbabweans celebrate outside the parliament building immediately after hearing the news that President Robert Mugabe had resigned, in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe.

Director of Finance - Ronald W. Harrison - 410-554-8242

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe resigned Nov. 21, succumbing to a week of overwhelming pressure from the military that put him under house arrest, lawmakers from the ruling party and opposition who started impeachment proceedings and a population that surged into the streets to say 37 years in power was enough.

The capital, Harare, erupted in jubilation after news spread that the 93-year-old leader’s resignation letter was read out by the speaker of parliament, whose members had gathered to impeach Mugabe after he ignored escalating calls to quit since a military takeover. Cars honked and people danced and sang across the city in a spectacle of free expression that would have been impossible during his rule.

“Welcome to the new Zimbabwe,” people chanted outside a conference center where the lawmakers met.

Mugabe, who was the world’s oldest head of state, said in his letter that legal procedures should be followed to install a new president “no later than tomorrow.”

“My decision to resign is voluntary on my part and arises from my concern for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and my desire for a smooth, non-violent transfer of power,” Mugabe said in the message read out by parliamentary speaker Jacob Mudenda.

Recently fired Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa would take over as the country’s leader within 48 hours, said a ruling party official, Lovemore Matuke. Mnangagwa, who fled the country after his firing on Nov. 6, “is not far from here,” Matuke said.

Mugabe can participate in a formal handover of power “so that Mnangagwa moves with speed to work for the country,” Matuke said.

Assistant Archivist - Shelia Scott - 410-554-8265 Director, Community & Public Relations Diane W. Hocker - 410-554-8243 Editorial Managing Editor - Kamau High Baltimore Editor - Sean Yoes Washington, D.C. Editor - LaTrina Antoine Editorial Assistant - Takiea Hinton Production Department - 410-554-8288 Baltimore Circulation/Distribution Manager Clarence Massey - 410-554-8232

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Trump Administration Ending Temporary Permits for Almost 60,000 Haitians T:11”

Billing Inquiries: 410-554-8226 Nights and Weekends: 410-554-8282

Reverses Another Series of Important Obama Actions S:10.5”

The Trump administration said Nov. 21 it is ending a

temporary residency permit program that has allowed almost 60,000 citizens from Haiti to live and work in the United States since a 2010 powerful earthquake shook the Caribbean nation.

The Homeland Security Department said conditions in Haiti have improved significantly, so the benefit will be extended one last time — until July 2019 — to give Haitians time to prepare to return home.

Advocates and members of Congress from both parties had asked the Trump administration for an 18-month extension of the program, known as Temporary Protected Status. Haitian President Jovenel Moise’s government also requested the extension.

Advocates for Haitians quickly criticized the decision, arguing the conditions in the island nation haven’t improved nearly enough for Haitians to be deported.

Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart expressed his “strong opposition” to the measure and urged the administration to reconsider.

“Forcing them to leave the United States would be detrimental,” he said in a press release. “Almost eight years later, Haiti remains in total disarray and still requires much rebuilding.”

While Haiti has made advances spurred by international aid since the quake, the Caribbean nation remains one of the poorest in the world. More than 2.5 million people, roughly a quarter of the population, live on less than $1.23 a day, which authorities there consider extreme poverty.

Since taking office, Trump has ended temporary permit programs for Sudan and Nicaragua. He postponed until next July a decision on how to deal with a similar program for 86,000 residents from Honduras.

U.S. officials have said conditions in Haiti have significantly improved since the disaster. But advocates for Haitians say a persistent cholera epidemic and damages caused by three hurricanes since 2016 exacerbate the difficulty for returning Haitians.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Pierrot Mervilier, center rear, hugs a girl that did not wish to be identified, living in the U.S. with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) after she and her family spoke to members of the media in Miami.

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The Afro-American, November 11, 2017 - November 11, 2017

Shop Black

November 25, 2017 - December 1, 2017, The Afro-American

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Della Reese

Continued from A1

Continued from A1

owned business offering reasonably priced items will take place between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Spend the entire day here as the family-friendly event will include a drum circle, ujamaa education, musical performances, kids activities, qigong health demonstrations, food and more. The event is free.

• Greater Baltimore Urban League (512 Orchard St.) will be the site of the Blacktivity Black Friday Pop Up Sale. This sale will take place between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. This event will offer quality products from various Black owned businesses as well as food trucks on location. Participants must register through Eventbrite.

• Tightfisted Fashion (2114 N. Charles St.) will be the site of a Black Friday Pop Up Party. The consignment shop will feature local artists and vendors. The event will take place between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

named, simply, Dog. Deloreese and Dog spend hours climbing the hillsides while Miss Reese is working at the studio on Vine Street, a 10-minute ride from home.

Usually Della is up at 6:30 and works until 7:30 p.m.—a 13hour day. She begins rehearsals at 8:30 in the morning and tapes the show from 12:45 to 1:45 with a live audience out front.

Thereafter the star finds time for a bite to eat before tackling business affairs, answering mail and planning the next day’s show.

In the summer months Deloreese earns her allowance by joining her mother at the studio to run errands. Her mother works hard at giving her daughter the impression she is indispensible to the show.

Because Della’s schedule is crowded and long, her social life is almost nil. She tumbles into bed after dinner, too tired to watch television or read.

On weekends she sleeps from 10-12 hours a night. She

rarely leaves the house on Saturdays and Sundays.

“I don’t have time for tennis or the beach like some other television people do,” she says. “All I want to do in my free time is recharge my batteries.”

Like most women, Della loves shopping in exclusive dress shops and department stores. But she hasn’t much time for shopping either.

“I need some shoes and new clothes, but I can’t get away from work,” she complains. “Once in a while I’ll dash into a store, but not often.”

Della has been single for eight years, but isn’t considering marriage in the near future, “because nobody has asked me.

Men feel like a working girl like me might overpower them.”

The hard-working performer says she would like to marry again, but her husband would have to be a man who would let her continue working.

“It’s what I like best,” Della says.

Farrakhan Continued from A1

Hotel in Northwest, D.C. to hear their 84-year-old leader deliver a speech that he called “a final warning to the government of the United States and the people of America.”

In his unique style Farrakhan sounded like a gospel preacher as he talked about how he loved Jesus and the Jewish people even though for decades he has been accused of being anti-Semitic. “To the Jewish community, Louis Farrakhan is not your enemy. You act as it is a sin to critique you…I

admire Jewish people to this day,” he said.

Farrakhan said that he chose to remain a private person until Rev. Jesse Jackson asked him to get involved when he ran for President in 1984. It was during this period that Jackson was criticized for calling New York City “Hymietown,” and when he came to Jackson’s defense was when he ran into problems.

“I wasn’t anti-Semitic I was pro-Jesse.

We were pushing Jesse. He was in our self interest,” said Farrakhan referring to the

Alabama Senate Race Continued from A1 Moore, running in a state that President Trump won by 28 points, had a dominating lead in the polls until allegations of sexual assault and impropriety with underage girls were aired in early November. Now Moore, who has denied all allegations, and his opponent, Democrat Doug Jones, are in a dead heat as of Monday polling. On Nov. 21, Trump said, “If you look at all the things that have happened over the last 48 hours. He totally denies it. He says it didn’t happen.

And look, you have to look at him also.”

“Forty years of public service, proves the integrity and character of Judge Moore,” said Broden. “It is clear to most fair-minded Americans that these are evil wicked tactics to destroy a good man and we will not quietly stand while this evil lot runs roughshod over a Christian man and Christian women across this nation.”

Alan Keyes, perennial Republican presidential candidate, also spoke in support of Moore at the news conference. “I want every American and every voter in Alabama to understand that they’re trying to tell you this is about Roy Moore,” said Keyes. “But, in fact, it is about stripping you of the presumption of innocence.”

– Stephen Broden Moore, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, finished his last term under a suspension that finally ended in April of this year. While linked previously to neo-Confederate and White nationalist figures and movements, and a theorizer that former President Barack Obama was both a non-U.S. citizen and a secret Muslim, several Black evangelicals continue to support him, even after the recent allegations of criminal and improper sexual conduct with underage and of-age girls. Eight women told the {Washington Post} that Moore had behaved inappropriately with them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.

Moore has been suspended from the Alabama Judiciary twice, first when he refused a superior court order to remove a two-and-a-half ton monument to the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Supreme courthouse. He was suspended a second time when he defied the ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage.

Moore has denied criminal sexual contact with underage girls and stated he “generally” has had appropriate contact young women.

“We have seen this tactic before,” said Broden. “The alt-left has employed these tactics against Herman Cain, and against the President in recent elections. The power elite, the fake news lackeys, the political establishment and the globalists are running scared and are using every dirty trick in the book to stop the will of the people of Alabama and of America.”

Not all Black Evangelicals support Moore. Tijuanna Adetunji, whose name originally appeared on a list of 50 pastors supporting Moore, asked that her name, along with that of her husband, Bishop Fred Adetunji, be removed from the list after the allegations came out.

The Alabama special election is scheduled for Dec. 12.

“Forty years of public service, proves the integrity and character of Judge Moore.”

Assault on the Black Man, Black Manhood and Black Masculinity.”

In terms of Trump, Farrakhan said “He’s an anomaly you can’t make to what you want him to be so you can say that’s my President,” but, he said, what has him concerned is Trump’s foreign policy.

Ishmael Muhammad, the son Elijah Muhammad and spokesman for Farrakhan told the AFRO the purpose of the Photo by Hamil Harris minister’s speech was simple.

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan delivered “The message to the President a warning to Trump and American citizens at the is that he is in a position to Watergate Hotel Nov. 17. save America from her own destruction and the judgment of veteran Civil Rights leader who announced God,” he said. on Nov. 17 that he was diagnosed with In terms of growth, Muhammad said the Parkinson’s disease. Despite his illness Nation is in 120 cities and many foreign Jackson still held a press conference on countries and Farrakhan’s message is Capitol Hill that was attended by several important especially as it relates to Black hundred ministers. youth. “It is important for them to here the Farrakhan stood on a stage flanked by two minister because it puts their struggle into books, “The Secret Relationship Between perspective and challenges them to face and Blacks and Jews,” and “Understanding the redirect their anger to do something positive.”

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The Afro-American, November 25, 2017 - December 1, 2017

COMMENTARY

How to End the Opioid Epidemic

Our state is in crisis. Countless families have been torn apart and thousands of lives have been lost due to the opioid epidemic that has taken a devastating toll on our communities. Last year, over 1,200 Marylanders died from overdoses related to heroin, twice the number that died in 2014, while over 1,100 died with fentanyl in their system – more than six times the deaths in 2014.

And the problem is only getting worse. In Baltimore, the life-saving drug, Naloxone, is being rationed due to shortages. Addicts aren’t able to access the care they need in a timely manner and are being placed in prisons instead of rehab. To end this epidemic, Maryland must change its mindset and recognize that we cannot incarcerate our way out of an addiction crisis. Incarceration is the least effective and most expensive way to fix a public health emergency.

As a candidate for governor, I recently announced a comprehensive plan to fight back and stop this public health disaster. You can read my full plan, Enough is Enough, on my website.

First, in the short term, we must do everything we can to save lives and reduce the number of fatal overdoses and ensure that places like Baltimore no longer have to ration life-saving drugs. This starts with expanding the availability of Naloxone. As prices skyrocket, I will use the state’s bargaining power to help jurisdictions acquire as many Naloxone doses as possible at more affordable prices. And I’ll devote an additional $2 million in state funding to stock Naloxone in public spaces, enough for 25,000 more doses.

I will also increase the number of 24/7 crisis centers in the most at-risk areas to ensure that anyone can get help when they need it. We need to create and fund Overdose Outreach Teams to go into our communities to fight back against overdose deaths whenever and wherever they are needed. We will also increase the urgency and quality of data sharing across the state so that public health officials can quickly and accurately respond to the situation on the ground.

Second, we need to begin shifting our focus from more incarceration to more rehab for low-level addicts so that we are finally treating this as a public health crisis instead of a law enforcement concern.

We can do this by ensuring that anyone can get the treatment they need without fear of jail. By expanding public health resources that seek to treat addiction rather than punish it, we can get to the root of the problem instead of funneling millions of dollars into punitive measures.

We’re going to build on the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Program currently being tried in Baltimore City. Initiatives like this one give people arrested for possession of small amounts of drugs and who have no felony convictions the option of participating in recovery programs instead of being criminally charged. They’ve been hugely successful in reducing recidivism rates and helping nonviolent, low-level offenders get on the road to recovery which is a massive boon to public safety.

For those already in correctional facilities, we need to improve and expand treatment options available to them. When we toss individuals suffering from addiction into jail and spit them back out onto the street, we let the underlying issue of addiction go untreated and unaddressed. Too often these individuals end up back in the system or die from overdose after being released. The cost of letting them slip through the cracks adds to our public health crisis and undermines public safety.

Thirdly, we will hold those who played a role in creating and perpetuating this epidemic accountable.

For decades manufacturers and distributers pushed increasing amounts of prescription painkillers.

Hundreds of millions of doses for millions of Americans. In total, 97.5 million Americans took painkillers in 2015, while 12.5 million misused them. And the pharmaceutical companies have walked away with exorbitant profits as a result.

All across the country, states, local jurisdictions, and even the Department of Justice have filed lawsuits against the companies responsible. I want Maryland to join these efforts on the state level. Currently, Attorney General Brian Frosh has taken productive steps, joining a coalition of 41 states investigating the role major drug manufacturers played in creating the crisis. I will continue to work with the Attorney General to make sure that Maryland is on the forefront of these legal battles and the settlements the state receives will go towards ending this crisis.

The manufacturers aren’t the only ones at fault, however. My plan also takes steps towards cracking

Ben Jealous

down on pill mills and doctors abusing their prescriptive powers. We need policy change that will root out non-medically necessary opioid prescriptions and encourage the use of alternative, non-addictive pain treatment options within our public health system.

Finally, we need to lay the groundwork for long-term solutions that will ultimately end this epidemic and prevent new ones from occurring. We’ll create a new state Office of Pain Management, Addiction, and Recovery, which will seek to function as a centralized point overseeing treatment and recovery efforts and place our state on a healthier and more sustainable approach to pain management.

Putting an end to the opioid crisis is not an easy task. But it’s one that families all across Maryland suffering from the heartbreaking consequences of this crisis have been calling out for our leaders to take on.

I promise that I will always remain laser focused on supporting the victims suffering from opioid dependency, the families who often bear the brunt of addiction, and the heroic public health professionals and first responders working hard every day against long odds to save lives and turn the tide of this epidemic.

Now let’s get to work.

Ben Jealous is the former president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, former CEO and president of the NAACP and is currently running for governor of Maryland.

Opening the Road to Learning & Success

Most Americans are aware that, in the 21st Century, education is an essential key to financial success.

By supplementing a high school diploma with a college degree, our people can add $15,000-$20,000 per year to their lifetime earnings enough to move a family from subsistence to the middle class.

In social terms, moreover, assuring universal educational opportunity is critical to our continued freedom as a people. After centuries of struggle, what our children know can finally determine the course of their lives more dramatically than whom they know.

Yet, whether all of our people actually benefit from this advance in our humanity and technology depends upon us.

Although access to college is no longer restricted to a select few (or only to young people, for that matter), paying for educational opportunity remains a challenge for most American families.

I know this from the experience of my own life.

Like so many others in our community, the power of a good education moved me forward on the road to a measure of success.

Yet, I also know that I could never have completed my own journey without the support of financial aid.

This is why, each year, my congressional staff and I host a free evening seminar that brings together financial aid experts, college representatives and our community to learn how to pay for college while accumulating as little debt as possible.

We will be hosting our 21st free, annual “How to Pay for College” session on Dec. 4, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Maryland Institute College of Art Brown Center, 1301 West Mount Royal Avenue in Baltimore.

I mention this date because I hope that each person reading this message will encourage everyone they know to attend our free

Elijah Cummings

seminar and be empowered to begin their own journey to success.

We all have been taught that “the truth shall make you free.” Here is a brief introduction to some of the truth about higher education in America that should encourage you and those you know to participate in our Dec. 4 seminar.

During the last two decades, more than 10,000 of our neighbors who have attended our free financial aid seminars have been taught about the college aid that is available to all of us – a realization that is one of my greatest satisfactions in life.

Their success stories are living proof of the financial benefits of advanced education.

Annual earnings for Americans with bachelor’s degrees are about 60 percent higher than the incomes of those with a high school diploma – and, over a lifetime, those additional earnings can exceed $1,000,000.

Although advanced education is a critical investment in our future, we also realize that very few American families can afford to send themselves or their children to college or technical training without receiving some help.

This is why, each year, approximately 13 million Americans take advantage of the federal financial aid programs that Maryland’s congressional delegation has fought to sustain and expand.

The core help, called Pell Grants, are based upon each person’s financial need. The application for these federal education grants is also free, but it must be completed to receive this help.

The FAFSA application process is the critical first step toward receiving a share of the more than $120 billion in federal grants, loans and work-study funding that are available. We have worked to make that application process as manageable as possible – as participants will learn at our Dec. 4 seminar [and can see at studentaid.ed.gov/sa/ types].

This federal financial assistance, as well as additional student aid from state and non-profit sources, is especially important in an era when the cost of advanced education has been increasing. Covering these costs is one of our greatest educational challenges.

I have the honor of serving on the Board of Regents of Morgan State University, where we were able to limit tuition and fees for the Fall 2017 semester to $3,884 for Maryland residents. Although these costs at Morgan State are relatively affordable, compared to other universities, they are beyond the ability of far too many deserving families.

Despite our best efforts, we continue to witness some students leaving school before obtaining their degrees because they no longer can afford the cost. Each of these departures is a tragedy, both personally and for our community, a tragedy that we all should be doing everything in our power to avoid.

This is another reason why we will be bringing together federal and state financial aid experts to share their knowledge about the assistance that is available to students from our community – as well as their advice about how best to qualify – at our seminar on December 4.

These experts will be joined by representatives from 29 colleges and universities and scholarship organizations, who will educate us about all that their schools have to offer and their admission process.

Young and young-at-heart alike, I hope that you will join us at Maryland Institute College of Art on Dec. 4. The road to success should be open and available to us all.

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings represents Maryland’s Seventh Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.

The Inhumane Decision to Cancel Haitian TPS On Nov. 21 the Department of Homeland Security announced its inhumane decision to end Temporary Protected Status for nearly 60,000 Haitian immigrants, putting people who have lived legally in the United States for years— and sometimes decades—at risk to be detained and deported. On the eve of Thanksgiving, the Trump Administration has decided to contravene basic humanitarianism in favor of an immigration agenda that is drenched in racism, nativism, and xenophobia.

Over 300,000 immigrants from 10 countries have been granted Temporary Protected Status, also known as TPS. It gives people permission to legally live and work in the U.S. who come from countries where environmental disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary circumstances would place them in danger if they had to return. Several countries still meet these criteria, including Sudan

Opal Tometi

and Nicaragua, but the administration decided to ignore the evidence and cancel their TPS. Haitian immigrants were first granted TPS in 2010 after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated the island, killing 230,000 residents and displacing nearly 3 million. Conditions on the island worsened with a cholera outbreak caused by United Nations officers, and more recently, this crisis was further exacerbated by Hurricanes Matthew, Irma and Maria, all Category 5 storms. Collectively, these storms caused significant loss of life, prolonged power outages, food and water insecurity, loss of crops, and millions of dollars in property damage. While the Haitian government continues to rebuild despite these many setbacks, it struggles to find adequate shelter, food and jobs for its current residents.

DHS refuses to acknowledge the impact of these ongoing disasters and public health crises on the recovery process in Haiti.

The administration also turned a blind eye to all the economic

contributions of people who provide for their families on the island— and here in the U.S.—because TPS enabled them to get work permits.

So, what can you do to change this situation?

Call and visit your representative in Congress, to urge them to enact legislation that provides a more permanent, humane, holistic solution for Haitians and other TPS holders. You can also join or follow the Black Immigration Network (BlackImmigration.Net)—a national alliance of more than 50 Black-led organizations and community groups that promotes just migration policies rooted in racial equity and serves to strengthen solidarity among all people of African descent.

Opal Tometi is the Executive Director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, and Co-Founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network.

The opinions on this page are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the AFRO.

Send letters to The Afro-American • 2519 N. Charles St. • Baltimore, MD 21218 or fax to 1-877-570-9297 or e-mail to editor@afro.com

November November11, 25,2017 2017- November - December11, 1, 2017, 2017, The The Afro-American

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Program Aims to Raise Awareness of Lupus Among Blacks

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com A new Lupus Education & Awareness for Patients, Professionals & Providers program (LEAP) has been designed to improve diagnoses and treatment of Blacks, according to researchers. For Black women, whose rates of diagnosis chart three to four times more often than others, LEAP has the potential to drastically improve the quality of life for both lupus sufferers and their families. The program, spearheaded by Directors of Health Promotion and Education, is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Characterized by its ability to mimic other conditions, lupus is a chronic disease that can impact any system within the body and triggers excessive immune system activation, causing inflammation and both tissue and organ damage. Because lupus symptoms imitate many other disorders, it is a diagnostic dilemma for physicians and healthcare providers.

Currently, 73 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 have either not heard about lupus or know little about the disease beyond the name; yet as many as 1 in 537 Black women suffer from the condition. “To improve the outcomes of African-American women living with lupus and their families, the Lupus Education Awareness Program (LEAP) employs strategies to educate and increase health professionals’ ability to diagnose and treat lupus,” Dr. Steven Owens, project director, Lupus Education Awareness Program, told the AFRO. “Training African-American physicians and nurses in recognizing the signs and symptoms of lupus could contribute to improved health outcomes for women of color with lupus.”

According to Owens, one of the ways LEAP seeks to increase awareness, knowledge, and recognition of lupus signs and symptoms within Black communities is to use lupus symptom trackers forms to assist with early diagnosis and management of lupus. That early diagnosis becomes pivotal in improving healthcare for lupus sufferers, as many

report going through up to six years of symptom evaluations to gain a proper diagnosis.

“Lupus can be difficult to diagnose because many of the signs and symptoms are similar to other diseases, can be interpreted as connectivetissue diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, lymphoproliferative disorders, and chronic infections like HIV, hepatitis and Lyme disease, Owens said.

“Many lupus patients report being misdiagnosed and treated for diseases/conditions for years prior to a confirmatory diagnosis of lupus.

This is often because primary care providers may not connect the reported signs and symptoms to lupus and, in addition, may not be as aware of the additional sub-laboratory tests they can order to diagnose lupus.”

Ward 7 resident Tonya Spanner, who has spent the last 16 years living with lupus, believes that while the LEAP platform came too late to help with her diagnosis, it could prove critical in diagnosis and treatment for Black women in the District. “So often we talk about Black women having it all, but when it comes to health diagnoses and outcomes, we are often screened late, making the severity of conditions greater,” Spanner told the AFRO. “As we continue to advance in areas of family, education and careers, we have to make our own healthcare a priority – especially with a condition as volatile as lupus.”

LEAP’s establishment comes amid growing concerns about the detection and treatment of lupus among researchers, including the Lupus Foundation of America, which announced Nov. 16 a $3.8 million funding provision over the next five years to support the first-of-its-kind clinical trials.

“Research and funding is only one half of the story, because without a clear diagnosis, Black women would still be unable to take advantage of trials and treatment protocols,” Spanner said. “LEAP gets us on an even playing

field.”

The current research cycle and award will work to determine if mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy diminishes the debilitating long-term side effects of lupus, reduces the need for medications like steroids, and stops damage to vital organs.

– Tonya Spanner The therapy uses multipotent cells for treating a variety of immune-mediated diseases, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“Through empowering women of color and educating providers, we hope to decrease the timeframe for a lupus diagnosis and get people into treatment sooner to prevent tissue and organ damage, and even early death from lupus,” Owens told the AFRO.

“Research and funding is only one half of the story, because without a clear diagnosis, Black women would still be unable to take advantage of trials and treatment protocols.”

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The Afro-American, November 25, 2017 - December 1, 2017

November 25, 2017 - December 1, 2017, The Afro-American

B1

WASHINGTON-AREA

Could Trump Tax Cuts Spell End to Public Housing?

D.C. Org. Keeps Students Warm During the Winter

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com Amid an unprecedented affordable housing crisis, District officials are bracing for a potential fall-out from the loss of tax incentives to developers under a tax cut proposed by President Donald J. Trump and amended by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The House Republican Tax Reform Bill, H.R. 1, which proposes to reduce corporate and individual income taxes, could, according to opponents including D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), lead to the ruin of funding for affordable housing. Bowser and Norton held a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, Nov. 13, to make their concerns over the tax reform bill public. Bowser reiterated her concerns again, during a ribbon cutting for a 190-unit affordable housing structure days later.

“Under the current House tax reform bill, affordable housing projects like Archer Park would not be possible.

It is unconscionable for any member of Congress to consider passing a tax reform bill that makes it more difficult for Americans to access affordable housing,” Bowser told attendees at the ribbon cutting.

Continued on B2

Legendary Black actress Jenifer Lewis, known as the “Mother of Black Hollywood,” recently spoke to young aspiring performers at a high school in Northwest Washington, D.C. On Nov. 17, Lewis, 60, visited Duke Ellington School of the Arts during a tour for her new book, The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir.

The book was released on Nov. 14. While Lewis was signing books and taking photos with a crowd of nearly 400 people, the actress took a moment to speak to about 15 students at Duke Ellington about her life and the lessons she has learned in show business.

“What can I tell you? I roll like a roll. I’m a happy girl. I came from poverty.

Black Girl Starts Club to Strengthen U.S.-China Relations

By Lenore T. Adkins Special to the AFRO Rachel Powell-Young, a sophomore at D.C. International School in the Northwest quadrant of the city, has fused her leadership skills and knowledge of Chinese to start a school club that focuses on warmer U.S.– China relations.

Over the summer, Powell-Young won the Project Pengyou Leadership Fellowship, which allowed

Photos by Brianna Rhodes

Students try on and choose their coats with the help of Hollister Co. volunteers in the gymnasium of Marie Reed Elementary School in Northwest D.C.

By Brianna Rhodes Special to the AFRO Warm hearts and warm coats filled the gymnasium of Marie Reed Elementary School in Northwest, Washington, D.C. on Nov. 17. Operation Warm is a nonprofit organization partnered with clothing seller Hollister Co. to provide students with coats of their choice for the winter season.

Fifty Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Hollister employees ranging from the district manager to parttime associates volunteered at the event to help 429 kids from grades pre-K to 5th grade choose and write their names on their coat, and take pictures.

Two Operation Warm staff members; Kirsten Bradley, associate director of partnerships; Lauren Holloway, public relations coordinator and four faculty members: Marie Reed Principal Katie Lundgren, Leticia Manoel, school social

worker, Phallon Lattimore, director of strategy and logistics, and Eloisa Moreno, assistant of strategy and logistics helped put together the event.

“It’s super exciting,” Manoel said. “It’s really great to see that every one of them [students] get a new coat. They were happy. They were grateful to be greeted by each one of those volunteers and then get a coat that really fits them. We’re just very excited to have this opportunity.”

More than one in four children in D.C. live with families with incomes below the federal poverty line.

“The national percentage of children who live below the – Leticia Manoel poverty line is 22 percent,” Kirsten Bradley, the associate director of partnerships of Operation Warm said. “D.C. is about 26 to 27 percent.”

When D.C. was chosen as one of locations, the percentage of children who attend the school that receive free and

“It’s really great to see that every one of them [students] get a new coat.

They were happy.”

Noted Actress Jenifer Lewis Shares Wisdom with D.C. Students

By Micha Green Special to the AFRO

Spotlight on D.C. Students

I was hungry. I became captain of the cheerleading squad, president of my class. I sang my first solo in church, the reaction of the congregation told me I was an entertainer, because I didn’t just sing, I sang! At fiveCourtesy photo years old, I took the Actress Jenifer Lewis shared stairs to success. I’m some of her life experiences with here to tell you the students at Duke Ellington School elevator to success of the Arts. is broken. [Take] one step at a time,” That’s what I did.”

Lewis said. “Feel it.

Lewis has spent almost Life is going to hurt. Nobody 40 years entertaining people promised you a rose garden. on stage and in front of There are thorns. Long the camera.

She has been painful sticky thorns. And seen in productions such as you’re going to touch one, “Dreamgirls,” “Think Like one day. That’s life. Don’t A Man,” “Baggage Claim,” think it’s going to be an easy “Black-ish” and others. ride. You got to work for it.

The Kinloch, Mo. native You got to dream… Stay on told the students that she that course to your dream. persevered through poverty, did shows on Broadway and went through several other obstacles to book her first gig in Hollywood.

“It’s cause I worked hard.

I didn’t let nobody get in my way, and don’t think people didn’t try,” she said. “It’s a – Jenifer Lewis Continued on B2

“Don’t think it’s going to be an easy ride. You got to work for it.

You got to dream…. That’s what I did.”

Continued on B3

“U.S and China relations are important because we may have to rely on China because they are a ‘superpower’ country too.”

– Rachel PowellYoung

her to spend four days in September with other American and Chinese children during a national summit at Harvard University.

“I was very surprised that I got picked to be a fellow out of all the other people and on Continued on B2

Rain Tax, Violence Dominate Ward 8 Community Meeting

of public policy of the Archdiocese of Washington, told 45 people attending the meeting that the assessment is outrageous.

“This rain tax is a burden on Washington, The leaders of places of worship in Ward 8 D.C. residents and business owners,” Muckle recently met to talk about concerns they have said. “What this is supposed to do is to build regarding the so-called “rain tax” and what a tunnel that would clean up the Anacostia will be done to combat violence in the ward.

River. This tax is supposed to stop in 2025 but On Nov. 11, Ward 8 Faith Leaders I sincerely doubt that.” organization met at The Lady of Perpetual The charge is a federal mandate to help Help Catholic Church to discuss a wide range clean up the country’s waterways and in of community issues. One the case of the District, the issue that generated a lot of Anacostia River. The tunnel, discussion was the rain tax, funded by the rain tax, would or impervious surface area keep sewage and stormwater charge, that most District from flooding waterways. of Columbia residents and Muckle said churches are businesses and places of being hit hard by the charges worship are assessed. because they are required The rain tax is based on an to have parking lots and impervious surface, which is those lots generate much of a man-made surface such as the water that flows into the rooftops, driveways, patios, city’s sewage and stormwater Courtesy photo parking lots and other paved system.

Craig Muckle, manager areas such as tennis courts, Rev. Thomas Frank, who of public policy of swimming pools and any other the Archdiocese of leads Our Lady of Perpetual path or walkway. The tax is Help, said that the charge is a Washington, said the rain set by the board of directors problem for his congregation. tax, which was initially for DC Water, the primary “We have to pay so much for created to clean up the provider of water services in our water bill,” he said.

Anacostia River, has the District.

There is a belief among become a burden to D.C. Customers in the District some Blacks in the District residents and business are assessed each month that there is an effort to get owners. through their water bill. When Black churches out of the city the tax started in 2009, the so that the land can be used for environmental residential unit (ERU) was commercial purposes. $1.24 per 1,000 square unit. It is now $25.95 However, Lisa Barton, who works for DC per ERU. Water, said: “Our board is looking into this but Craig Muckle, who is the manager Continued on B3

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

B2

The Afro-American, November 25, 2017 - December 1, 2017

Black Businesses

‘Waxing with Aggy’ Pulls Off the Strip in Silver Spring

By Lenore T. Adkins Special to the AFRO Agnes Gilson, a 28-year-old Haitian-American entrepreneur, said she loves that she’s known as the Brazilian waxing “beast” and fully embraces the nickname.

Gilson owns Waxing with Aggy in Silver Spring, Md., and says Brazilian waxes are her specialty. Another popular service she offers is the “manzilian” wax reserved for body-hair removal from sensitive areas for men.

She said she doesn’t flinch at the idea of being so close to other peoples’ body hair and says the waxing sessions feel more like a mini-therapy session.

“People don’t have a choice but to get comfortable with you,” Gilson told the AFRO. “They see you every month for the service and then… it’s like you become best friends in the room for the next 15-to20 minutes you’ll talk about everything.”

Gilson, who holds a psychology degree from Howard University, moved her business to a bigger location in Silver Spring because her previous location wasn’t large enough to handle the booming business.

Before getting into the waxing business, Gilson worked as a freelance makeup artist. The birth of her now 4-year-old son,

Marco Villatoro, convinced her to do something more stable, so she enrolled in esthetician school at the Aveda Institute in Washington, D.C. There she learned how to do facials and waxing.

“In order to get clients, you need to be able to offer more,” Gilson said.

After brief stints working in skin care at a department store, doing facials on her own and at a nail salon, Gilson drove past a vacant storefront in Silver Spring that was only charging $800 a month in rent.

That’s when she decided it was time to branch out on her own, and make more money. Waxing with Aggy opened in 2015, offering facials and waxes.

Six months later, Gilson dropped the facials and focused exclusively on waxing. She worked by herself the first year in the small space, then brought on one more employee.

“It started getting really busy with the waxing and because I only had the one room,” Gilson said. “It’s really hard to transition from a facial – Agnes Gilson to going into a waxing and the whole cleanup process of it.”

Business continued to boom, she said, prompting her to close that location and reopen on Georgia Avenue in March. Her new location has five waxing rooms, and more space for her employees — she has one

“In the beauty industry, we didn’t really have that much representation so a lot of people that come here, they’re like, ‘I didn’t even know Black people waxed.’”

Tax Cuts

Continued from B1 “I encourage every representative who is a massive tax cut bill that will leave District considering voting in favor of H.R.1 to come residents with the highest tax increase in the visit Archer Park and meet the families and nation,” Norton said in a prepared statement. individuals who are making a better life for “The House bill is a giveaway to corporations themselves here; then, they can see firsthand and the wealthiest 1 percent at the expense the devastating effects H.R.1 will have on of hardworking, everyday Americans. It is Americans across our country.” particularly insulting to D.C. residents, who Bowser told reporters at the Nov. 15 already pay the highest federal taxes per capita unveiling that since 2010 nearly 9,000 units in the United States. However, the District has of affordable housing had been built in the many allies in this fight. If enough of us, like District using so-called private activity our coalition at tomorrow’s press conference, bonds—tax exempt bonds issued by the work together, we can get a better product.” government for a private user such as real Additionally, according to Norton, estate developer. “I joined leaders from around homeowners in the District whose homes are the country in highlighting the devastating valued between $50,000 and $200,000 could effects H.R.1 will have on District residents face a tax increase of 28 percent under H.R.1. and Americans across the U.S.,” Bowser said “This increase could be catastrophic to during the groundbreaking ceremony for homeowners who are already struggling to Archer Park, an affordable housing complex in keep their homes. If it is approved, we would Southeast D.C. “State and Local Tax deduction be paying the highest increase in the nation,” will raise taxes on middle class homeowners Ward 8 resident Virgil Tatum told the AFRO. and families, and the elimination of Private “My home is small, comfortable and paid Activity off, but on a Bonds will fixed-income, worsen the the taxes affordable could cause housing crises me to lose it. happening Unfortunately, throughout I believe our country Trump is and make it punishing more difficult Bowser for for veterans, not bowing families, and to his –D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser immigration the elderly to meet their mandates; and basic needs.” the residents Residents as well, voiced concerns over the are paying the price.” impact the tax reform could have. “This could Norton and Bowser were joined by be devastating for the city’s most vulnerable Alexandria, Va. Mayor Allison Silverberg (D) residents – those who need public housing, not during their press conference. They said that in just affordable housing – which could mean addition to their concerns that District residents even those with $100,000-a year-salaries,” could potentially pay the highest per capita Ward 6 community activist Jennell Johnsonfederal tax in the nation under H.R.1, they Redd told the AFRO following a Ward 6 / SW would do so without representation in Congress.

Development and Planning Gathering, Nov. “I will continue to advocate against any tax 18, at the Southwest Library. “Public housing reform bill in the Senate that will raise taxes helps those with no income or living on fixed on the middle class, eliminate health care for incomes and those would be inextricably millions of Americans, or make it harder for impacted by these cuts.” cities and counties to meet the basic needs of According to Del. Norton, H.R.1, known their residents. Congress must go back to the as the {Tax Cuts and Jobs Act}, will hinder drawing board, listen to leaders and Americans local government support of community from around the country, and work across the improvement initiatives, schools, hospitals, aisle to develop a bill that will actually make it and job creation – especially for vulnerable easier for hardworking families to prosper, not populations like returning citizens. further burden them and their communities,” “House Republicans are rushing through Norton said.

“It is unconscionable for any member of Congress to consider passing a tax reform bill that makes it more difficult for Americans to access affordable housing.”

Photo by Influplexity PR

Agnes Gilson has a small business in Silver Spring that offers waxing services. esthetician and a receptionist, but she said she is looking to hire four more estheticians.

Gilson offers six types of waxes to accommodate multiple hair and skin types, because in her view, everyone won’t get a great wax from one type of wax.

“In the beauty industry, we didn’t really have that much representation so a lot of people that come here, they’re like, ‘I didn’t even know Black people waxed,’“ she said.

Black Girl Continued from B1

Photo courtesy of Rachel Powell-Young

Rachel Powell-Young (far left) attended Project Pengyou Leadership Fellowship at Harvard University in September. top of that being the youngest one was also a surprise,” Powell-Young told the AFRO. “Going to Harvard was very exciting and the students there were really fun to hang out with.”

The summit centered on improving relations between the United States and China – “Pengyou” is Mandarin for friend.

Project Pengyou, recruits young Americans and Chinese who have spent time in both countries to act as community leaders and influencers to promote friendly U.S.-China relations and help forge a peaceful, functional and robust future between them. The goal is bridging cultural gaps between the two countries that sometimes lead to tension, mistrust and fear, according to the organization’s website. Powell-Young was one of about 30 fellows this year and said the program taught her a bit about why U.S.-China ties are so crucial.

“U.S and China relations are important because we may have to rely on China because they are a ‘superpower’ country too,” Powell-Young said. “And if we don’t have that connection, then we have nobody to rely on for economic [stability] and safety across the world.”

Powell-Young appears to be an ideal envoy for the program. She is almost fluent in Mandarin, the most spoken language in the world, with more than 1 billion speakers. Powell-Young has been studying it since she was a little girl, especially at YuYing Public Charter School, a Chinese immersion elementary school in Northeast D.C. She has also visited China three times so far. “Each time I went we had homestays so we stayed in some of the local people’s houses,” Powell-Young said. “Each family was really nice and I had a very good time with them. We went to their schools and made friends with the students there. I’m still in contact with some of them. We also taught some of the younger kids English.”

All of the fellows received training to start and lead a Project Pengyou Chapter at their schools to focus on improved U.S.-China relations. The one Powell-Young started held a school event Nov. 16 — as all of the chapters did — that showed people how to use chopsticks and matched Chinese words with their English meanings.

Both of Powell-Young’s parents work for the federal government in the healthcare sector.

With her background in diplomacy and Mandarin, though, a career at the U.S. Department of State isn’t something she’s considering at this time. “When I grow up I want to do something in the financial field,” Powell-Young said. “I think knowing how to speak Mandarin could really help me in the business world.”

Jenifer Lewis Continued from B1

lot of meanness out in the world, a lot of evil. But you ain’t got to get none on you. You keep it moving. You stay positive. Don’t be gossiping and judging other people. You be nice to people.

But you be careful who you give your heart to. You guys are living in another world. We didn’t come up in the digital age. Scam artists, con artists, but don’t be scared. You feel the fear, and do it anyway,” Lewis said.

Lewis said she knows about fear, adversity, and overcoming trials such as sex addiction and mental illness. She said it is because of the tribulations she faced, and the desire for people to learn from her experiences, that she wrote the book.

“I owe my story to you. Bi-polar disorder, sex addiction. Man came to my apartment and put a knife to my throat in New York. That was the greatest performance of my life. I talked myself out of it. You’ll read about it. No matter what I went through, I’m here. Don’t you dare let me go through what I go through and you not learn something from it. I came here for you all. I wrote that book for you, so that you would know, there is no fire that you can’t walk through,” she said.

“You get up. You find the way to your happiness. And don’t think you’re going to be happy once you get somewhere. That ain’t the way it works, you got to be happy on your way to happy,” the actress said.

November 25, 2017 - December 1, 2017, The Afro-American

D.C. Seniors Get Crash Course in Technology

By AFRO Staff Elderly residents learned how to surf the web and use and understand digital applications and devices on Nov. 9 at the FH Faunteroy Enrichment Center, in the Deanwood neighborhood in Northeast, Washington, D.C. The free event was sponsored by AT&T. About 25 residents attended the class at the center.

There are plans for the two entities to hold another class for seniors in 2018, according to a company representative. The class was part of AT&T’s Digital You initiative, which is designed to help wireless users of all ages use their devices safely and responsibly.

The Pew Research Center reports that 34 percent of older internet users have little to no confidence using devices to perform tasks online, and many more of them agree they usually need help setting up and figuring out the new applications or devices.

That’s why employees from AT&T locations in D.C., Maryland and Virginia along with other organizations joined together to show seniors how to use smartphones and tablets and also ways to safely navigate the web.

“As technology has become more integral to how we live, it is important that our seniors have the skills and tools to access it. Whether it is staying connected with their children and families, or accessing opportunities, partnerships like this one with AT&T will help our seniors successfully navigate a more technologically connected world,” D.C. Deputy Mayor Courtney Snowden said in a statement.

During the program seniors were given tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of online fraud and scams Tony Dixon, president of the Washington, D.C. chapter of The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) said learning the proper way to use

B3

AFRO

WASHINGTON AREA

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS Washington, D.C.

10th Street, NW and New York Avenue, NW 2017 CityCenter D.C. Holiday Tree Lighting CityCenterDC is scheduled to kick off the holiday season with an exciting evening of performances from the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. and the inspirational viral sensation Cardinal Shehan School Choir from Baltimore. The event is scheduled to be held on Nov. 25 from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. at The Park at CityCenter, 10th Street, NW and New York Avenue, NW. Washingtonians will be treated to joyful holiday music and an official lighting ceremony and countdown emceed

Homicide Count 2017 Total

104

Past Seven Days

4

Data as of Nov. 21

“As technology has become more integral to how we live, it is important that our seniors have the skills and tools to access it.”

– D.C. Deputy Mayor Courtney Snowden

by NBC4’s Eun Yang. Families will be entertained with balloon artists, face painters, holiday activities and more.

14th and V St., NW Busboys and Poets Books Presents: Not a Crime to Be Poor Busboys and Poets Books is scheduled to host author Peter Edelman of “Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America” at its 14th and V St., NW location Nov. 27 from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. In addition to exposing racially biased policing, the Justice Department’s Ferguson Report exposed to the world a system of fines and fees levied for minor crimes in Ferguson, Mo., that, when they proved too expensive for Ferguson’s largely poor, Black population, resulted in jail sentences for thousands of people. As former staffer to Robert F. Kennedy and current Georgetown law professor Peter Edelman explains in “Not a Crime to Be Poor,” that Ferguson is everywhere in America today. Books will be available for purchase before and after the event.

devices cuts down on the chances of being scammed.

“Wireless phones, tablets, and related technology give people access to more helpful information than ever before. However, when exploited, such technology can also expose individuals to harmful online scams,” Dixon said. “Events like the one organized by the Faunteroy Center and AT&T empower people with the tools and information they need to avoid these scams while educating them on how to protect themselves against becoming unwary victims of such crimes.”

Courtesy photos

Elderly residents in D.C. attended an event at the FH Faunteroy Enrichment Center in Ward 7 to learn about technology.

D.C. Org.

Rain Tax

reduced lunch was considered.

Claudia Mulligan, a fourth grade english and language arts teacher who teaches in the dual language program at Marie Reed, said having Operation Warm at the school was important because most of the students come from lowincome families.

“It makes me really happy to see this just because it’s one less thing the parents have to stress about,” Mulligan said.

“The kids grow so quickly so that means every season they have to get new clothes pretty much and coats in particular, you know, can be very expensive. It’s nice to see that this is one less burden for families during the holiday season.”

Operation Warm has partnered with Hollister for the past three years to provide coats for kids all across the country with company initiatives such as “Roundup at the Register” and “Buy a Coat, Give a Coat.” This year, Washington, D.C, Boston, New York City, Seattle and Denver were chosen.

“We did a round up for charity in 2015 just asking customers at the register to round up their change to the nearest dollar,” said Nicole Mcintyre, the district manager for Hollister. “In 2016 we did ‘Buy a Coat, Give a Coat’ so for every coat the we sold for the month of December we gave one away and that is what you’re seeing today. The coats that we sold last year. We’re actually giving away what we promised.”

Since Operation Warm began in 1998, the nonprofit has gifted more than 2 million coats and in the past years they have given away up to 300,000 coats a year, according to Bradley.

“I’m happy because now I don’t have to wear the big old giant puffy coat at home and now I can just wear this,” Laila Champion, a fifth grade student, said of her new coat.

remember that this charge is federally-mandated. We have met with the Archdiocese about their concerns and will try to help churches if we can. We aren’t trying to make money or to hurt people.”

Barton said the tax will end in 2030 and that not all churches are complaining about the situation.

“I am a member of Matthews Memorial Baptist Church and we are paying our water bills,” she said. “If the churches can’t pay the residents will have to pay.”

Matthews Memorial is located in Southeast D.C. On Nov. 14, Muckle and a number of activists attended a Rate Committee meeting of the board of directors of DC Water. The Rate Committee has the power to make recommendations to the general board of directors on changing the rates of the rain tax. Muckle told the AFRO that his party wasn’t allowed to address the committee but admitted that public comment

Continued from D1

Continued from B1 at the committee level is rare.

“Even though that is the case, we should have been allowed to say something,” he said.

Muckle said that he

White (D-Ward 8) told the group that he is committed to ending the gun violence in his ward. “We had 20 people shot in the ward last month,” he said. “That is

“This rain tax is a burden on Washington, D.C. residents and business owners.”

–Craig Muckle participated in a Nov. 17 meeting of the D.C. Council’s Committee on Transportation & The Environment that is chaired by D.C. Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3).

“The general topic of the public roundtable was water rates, but I and others were allowed to talk about the unfairness of the rain tax,” Muckle said.

In other activity, D.C. Council member Trayon

totally unacceptable and we have city leaders who say that crime is going down.”

White called on the faith community to get more involved in stopping gun violence. He noted that the Ballou High School teen, who was shot, is in critical condition and he has interacted with the teen’s family.

White said faith leaders can help Black men in the community get jobs and better

housing as well as “keep them off the streets.”

B4

The Afro-American, November 25, 2017 - December 1, 2017

Connie Samuel, Lisa Jones and Melanie Carter

Tameka Tunsil, chapter president, Pam HarrisStraughn and Antoinette Mann

Sherese Burgess Brown, Melissa Hinkson and Robin Phillips

The ladies of the Northern Virginia Alumnae Chapter (NOVAC), Delta Sigma Theta Sorority celebrated the 7th Annual Sisters Called to Serve Gospel-Jazz Brunch on Nov.11 at Hen Quarter Restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, Va. Funds raised will benefit NOVAC’s Scholarship and Community Service Zayin, Trinity, programs.

Shree and

Anna Carter, chair, Sisterhood Brunch

Michael Taylor

Kim Coleman, Fawn Coleman, Nishon and Pat Evans

Maura Ikharo, raffle winner

Shawnta Hollingsworth and Michelle Smith

Photos by Rob Roberts

The Ivy Foundation of Northern Virginia (IFNV), the charitable affiliate of Zeta Chi Omega Chapter (ZCO) welcomed more than 600 guests to its 59th Annual Cooley-Moore Scholarship Luncheon Fashion Show on Nov. 12 at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner Hotel in Mclean, Va. The theme of the event was “Style Adorned . . . Fashion Unleashed.”

This popular event raises funds for scholarships.

During the 2017 luncheon, nine students received scholarships: eight received continuing scholarships and one received a stipend.

Darlena Ricks, Zeta Chi Omega (left) makes a purchase from a vendor

(seated) Audrey Swann, president, Upsilon Omega chapter; Joyce Henderson, Mid-Atlantic regional director, AKA; and Rhonda Russ, president, Zeta Chi Omega Chapter; (standing) Ronny High, president, Lambda Gamma Omega Chapter; Marguerite Taylor, president, Omicron Chi Omega Chapter; Lynn Perry, president, Chi Beta Omega Chapter and Jennifer King Congleton, Mid-Atlantic Region exhibit chairman

Greg Kincaid; Stacey Kincaid, Fairfax County sheriff and Nelfred Blanding, Zeta Chi Omega chapter

Dayna Ward; Barbara Anderson and Clarice Crudup (right), Zeta Chi Omega

Quimari Mullins, scholarship recipient

Veronica Jackson, emcee

Hazel Cameron, chair, Ivy Foundation of Northern Virginia

Photos by Mark Mahoney

November 25, 2017 - December 1, 2017, The Afro-American

Film

ARTS & CULTURE

C1

Returning Vets Forge Unlikely Friendship in Searing Southern Saga

Mary J. Blige is one of the stars of the Netflix movie ‘Mudbound.’

By Kam Williams Dateline: Mississippi, 1946, which means many of the Magnolia State’s soldier native sons are making the adjustment back to civilian life after serving overseas during World War II. But the fighting isn’t over for Sergeant Ronsel Jackson (Jason Mitchell), a Black man reluctantly

returning to the repressive Jim Crow system of segregation.

After all, since he had been willing to die for his country, Ronsel figures it’s reasonable to expect equality and all the rights of citizenship, racist traditions notwithstanding. So, when he arrives home, he boldly enters the local general store through an entrance reserved for Whites.

But despite still wearing his Army dress uniform, the proud veteran is greeted with a hateful warning snarled by a seething customer. “You’re in Mississippi now, [N-word]! Use the back door, if you don’t want any trouble.” Ronsel grudgingly obliges, ostensibly less fearful of direct harm from the elderly White man than of the veiled threat leveled should he have the temerity to cross the color line again.

Ronsel can’t afford to take any chances, because the intimidating bigot is Pappy McAllan (Jonathan Banks), the patriarch of the family which owns the farm where his parents (Mary J. Blige and Rob Morgan) presently reside as sharecroppers. Pappy’s elder son, Henry (Jason Clarke), subsequently pays the Jacksons a visit, demanding an apology for the transgression.

The plot thickens when Pappy’s younger son, Jamie (Garrett Hedlund), a decorated Air Force pilot, comes back to the plantation with some new notions about race relations. He’s suddenly pro-integration after having fought alongside some brave Tuskegee Airmen.

Thus unfolds Mudbound, a searing Southern saga based on Hillary Jordan’s best-selling novel of the same name. The movie marks the sophomore offering from director Dee Rees who made her own impressive debut with ‘Pariah’ in 2011. Here, she coaxes a career performance out of Mary J. Blige, who might very well be remembered come awards season.

How did Nina Simone put it? ‘Mississippi Goddam!’

D.C. Professors’ New Book Examines City’s Racial Past

By Christina Sturdivant Special to the AFRO As one of a few 30-something professors at the University of the District of the Columbia in 2009, George Derek Musgrove and Chris Myers Asch instantly connected when they met on campus.

The two bonded over being husbands, fathers and D.C. history professors who thought the courses they taught needed an update.

“As we went in search of new and interesting ways to present the material, we kept saying we wished we had a really good, exciting, comprehensive book that really teased out some of the themes that our students are interested in,” Musgrove told the AFRO. In 2011, Asch drew up a proposal, suggesting they cowrite that dream D.C. history book. The professors released the six-year project “Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital” in November 2017.

The book is a fourcentury tale of race and politics in D.C. that focuses on issues such as slavery, segregation, civil rights, the drug war and gentrification, while highlighting residents and activists of all races in the city’s history.

While teaching at UDC, Musgrove found that students were excited to research the history of streets and how they changed over time. The authors framed “Chocolate City” so that each chapter begins with a place as it is today compared to an earlier time period.

“That’s a direct outgrowth our students’ eyes lighting up when we did that assignment,” Musgrove said.

Also important to how they tell the story is “our racial background and where we grew up,” he said.

Asch is a native Washingtonian who grew up in the Chevy Chase area of D.C. As a White kid in the 1980s D.C., he was a racial minority in many of his D.C. public school classrooms.

While Lafayette Elementary school was predominately White, he found himself among more students of color at Alice Deal Middle School and Woodrow Wilson High School in Northwest D.C. “It was a tremendous experience,” Asch told the AFRO. “In some ways, it was a crucible that turned me into who I am today and opened my eyes to some of the racial realities of this country—many White people have never been the only White person in a room or seen as a representative of their race.

I think that was really important for me to

experience at a young age—what it felt like to be a minority, what it felt like to sometimes be a powerless minority.”

Musgrove’s earliest D.C. memories took place at a downtown nightclub. A Black Baltimore native, he frequented the Ritz as a teenager. “It’s easily one of the best clubs in the history of D.C.,” he says.

Around 18 years old, Musgrove began going to a barber shop near Seaton Street in the Northwest quadrant of the city. It was a one block strip at the cusp of Adams Morgan and the U Street Corridor.

“I always felt the street was odd, cute, and sort of out of place—the houses looked like two story doll houses, they’re very neatly kept,” he said. When researching for the book, he discovered it was also the site of “probably one of the most important anti-gentrification struggles of the 1970s.”

The street became a focus of activists “who were pushing back against developers who were snatching up huge chunks of housing in the city and pushing poor people out so they can switch them for young professionals,” said Musgrove, who tells the residents’ triumphant story in “Chocolate City.”

The authors’ longtime love of history and work in freedom schools is also prevalent in the book’s comprehensive narrative of D.C. As a child, Musgrove lived next door to the famed Mitchell family of Baltimore. Parren James Mitchell became Maryland’s first Black congressman. His brother, Clarence Mitchell Jr., was a civil rights activist with nearly three decades of work for the NAACP. “They set forth the idea that studying and using what you’ve learned from those studies to benefit disadvantaged people was noble and important,” said Musgrove, who received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and his PhD in U.S. history from New York University. From 1994-1996, he trained interns in D.C. to work at freedom schools across the country for the Children’s Defense Fund. He’s currently an associate professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Even with so many similarities, co-writing a book together wasn’t easy, Asch said. “Not a lot of people try it because it can be really difficult—you start out as friends and you end up never talking to each other again.”

Asch and Musgrove’s journey to creating “Chocolate City” had its “bumps in the road,” Asch continues, “but we came out stronger in the end. For me, keeping that friendship strong through six years of hard work is just as important to me as writing a good book.”

Hampton Leaves MEAC for Big South

(Courtesy photo)

Hampton University is leaving the MEAC for the Big South Conference meaning their HBCU rivalries, such as with Howard, may be over.

By Mark G. Gray Special to the AFRO Hampton University sent seismic shockwaves through the HBCU sports world when they announced Nov. 16 their plans to leave the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for the Big South on July 1, 2018 season.

Their decision to forsake the historic Black college allegiance and take their talents to a predominately White conference prompted an array of emotions spanning the globe from “turning their back on their people” to “selling out HBCU’s” throughout the world of social media.

Skeptics questioned President Dr. William Harvey’s vision for his athletic program citing their leaving the comfort of the CIAA and Division II for the MEAC and Division I when they stepped up in 1995. They had a vision, made the financial investment in facilities and enjoyed an unprecedented level of championship success over the last 22 years.

The program gave HBCU basketball programs one shining moment to believe in when Tarvis Williams sank Iowa State during the first round of the NCAA Men’s Tournament in 2001. Hampton was the fourth 15 seed to eliminate a number two seed at the time. Center David Johnson’s hoisting of coach Steve Merfeld while triumphantly fist pumping at midcourt has become the personification of March Madness ranking as one of the iconic moments in American sports history.

Hampton legitimized itself as a mid-major Division I program by producing a diversified championship portfolio that improved the national credibility of the MEAC while forcing the program to expand its trophy case.

They won 87 conference championships, produced six Olympians who won four gold medals, and brought recognition to a conference whose national visibility has benefitted from their success as a member.

Not only was Hampton a leader with success on the field, the impact of Harvey’s

vision and leadership leveled the academic field. He helped author legislation and created programs that forced the NCAA to deal with the difficult challenges all mid-major and small institutions face to remain academically compliant despite institutional budgetary constraints.

Hampton’s relationship with the MEAC brought notoriety to the program and to the conference but, it didn’t advance their brand.

The Pirates competitive success never created passion in its alumni or resonated with the fans. Their fan base didn’t travel and the only time the Pirates sold out on campus events was for the homecoming game during football season.

Organizers of HBCU Classics enjoyed the cache of using the Hampton “brand” to invite them to play in marquee events but fans never responded. Their last two notable invites – to the Urban League classic in New York and to the Nation’s Classic in DC - failed partially because Hamptonians didn’t show up.

Hampton is not selling out or turning their back on HBCU sports. Instead it could be a signal of things to come. With programs searching for new revenue streams and ways to become fiscally responsible, Harvey’s vision appears to be ahead of the curve again.

This move to the Big South will shrink its conference travel budget because they no longer face competing between Delaware and Florida which saves money especially in nonrevenue generating sports. They are following Tennessee State’s Ohio Valley Conference model where they play teams in neighboring states (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) although they will travel to New Jersey, Georgia, and Alabama for football only.

Hampton’s impact on the MEAC remains while Dr. Dennis Thomas – their former athletic director – remains commissioner.

Thomas will need to tap into his old boss’s reservoir of vision to keep from an even greater purge that could be its demise.

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BALTIMORE-AREA

Race and Politics

From Edinburgh, Scotland to West Baltimore and Beyond When I entered Charmington’s coffee shop in Remington Nov. 20, Natalie Ibu looked like Sean Yoes a lot of the Baltimore AFRO progressive Black women Editor syoes@afro.com I know and consider allies; with her head wrapped and nose pierced, she rocked a t-shirt emblazoned with the images of iconic Black actresses Janet Hubert and Phylicia Rashad, a.k.a, “Auntie Viv,” and “Claire Huxtable.” So, she appeared to be one of those down Baltimore sisters.

However, when Ibu spoke, her rich Scottish brogue

Normalcy Returns to W. Baltimore Area Where Detective Was Gunned Down

Baltimore Ceasefire

Group Makes Site of Det. Suiter’s Murder a `Sacred Space’

By Jennifer Wright Special to the AFRO

Killer Still At Large

By Michelle Richardson Special to the AFRO The Harlem Park neighborhood in West Baltimore where Baltimore Police Det. Sean Suiter was shot and killed reopened over the weekend on Nov. 19.

Baltimore Police locked the West Baltimore neighborhood down last week during their investigation into who shot Suiter in the head Nov. 15.

He was pronounced dead Nov. 16. The reward for his killer’s capture has risen to $215,000, with Gov. Larry Hogan announcing that $100,000 of the reward money would come from the state. As of press time, police still had not released a description of the suspect and no arrests had been made.

“Please know this crime scene preservation has been necessary,” Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said via his personal Twitter account last weekend. “We will finish our exhaustive examination of the scene in the morning.”

Some residents were required to show ID as proof of residency in the neighborhood when approaching the barrier in order to get to their homes.

The American Civil Liberties Union

of Maryland said in a statement that it was “troubled” by the lockdown and questioned its constitutionality.

“While the search for a killer is, of course, a high priority for the police, the limits on lawful police behavior do not disappear even when engaged in that pursuit...We are also troubled by reports that some persons entering or leaving the area have been subject to pat down searches, and that nonresidents have been barred from entering the area,” said David Rocah, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Maryland, in a statement.

Courtesy photo

Det. Sean Suiter was gunned down last week in the Harlem Park neighborhood in West Baltimore. The reward for his killer is at $215,000.

thoroughness of our investigation and our capacity to recover forensic, physical and other evidence.”

Although the neighborhood is not in an official state of lockdown any longer, police still have a barrier set up with one police cruiser and a police van in hopes of gathering –BPD tips and finding more evidence.

According to police, Suiter was in the 900 block of Bennett Place, an area notorious for violence, while investigating a 2016 triple homicide, when he approached a man in an alleyway who was allegedly exhibiting “suspicious behavior.”

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“We appreciate the support and sensitivity from our community during this difficult time.”

The BPD thanked residents for their patience during the arduous investigation.“We appreciate the support and sensitivity from our community during this difficult time,” BPD said in a statement. “Our efforts to identify and arrest the perpetrator rely on the

Young Celebrates 68th Birthday

By Baltimore AFRO Staff

Photo Credit: Sean Yoes

Natalie Ibu, artistic director of the Tiata Fahodzi Theatre in London, recently stopped in Baltimore to record stories of people from the African diaspora.

Ibu’s four week odyssey also includes: Oslo, Norway, Johannesburg, South Africa, New York and Los Angeles. revealed another narrative.

Ibu is artistic director and chief executive of the Tiata Fahodzi Performance Art Theatre in Watford, U.K., just outside of London. The theatre, founded in 1997 is, “Britain’s leading African theatre company, producing world-class theatre that reflects the changing African diaspora in contemporary Britain,” according to its web site.

In the spirit of reporting on the evolving African diaspora, Ibu, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, is traversing (over the course of four weeks) a huge swath of the globe: Oslo, Norway; Johannesburg, South Africa, Los Angeles, New York and Baltimore. During her trip, which is supported by the

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On Nov. 16 more than 262 listeners of The Larry Young Morning Show (LYMS), which airs on WOLB 1010 AM, came out to celebrate LYMS Appreciation Day and a pre-birthday celebration for Young, who many of his followers still refer to as, “Senator.”

The event took place at the Arena Players, which is celebrating its 64th theatrical season.

Young will officially celebrate his 68th birthday Nov. 25,

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along with 19 years as a Radio One talk host. Add his 23 years in the Maryland Legislature and Young has provided 42 years of public service, and counting to the community.

Photo Credit: Anderson Ward

Larry Young, host of the Larry Young Morning Show, celebrated his 68th birthday at the historic Arena Players playhouse.

Education

Kirwan Commission Report Delayed

By Deborah Bailey Special to the AFRO News that the Maryland Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, better known as the Kirwan Commission, will delay issuing their long-awaited report on school funding until Spring 2018, was met with displeasure in Baltimore. Mayor Catherine Pugh and local education interested parties were annoyed to learn the New Year will begin without recommended changes for the inadequately funded Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS).

“The decision to delay the Kirwan Commission recommendations is disappointing to Baltimore City, however, we are grateful to the Kirwan Commission members for their hard work and we eagerly await a funding formula that is equitable and adequate for the students of Baltimore City and the State of Maryland,” Pugh told the AFRO. The Commission was initially given a Dec. 2017 deadline by the Maryland General Assembly to recommend a new school funding formula for state lawmakers to consider when the 2018 Session convened in Annapolis this coming January. The current state school funding formula was created in 2002 by the Thornton Commission. There is broad consensus that the formula no longer reflects the reality of many of Maryland’s school districts.

Brit Kirwan, chancellor emeritus of the University System of Maryland (USM), and chair of the Kirwan Commission, said that while most members of the commission agree on education practices that need to be adopted throughout the state, such as universal Pre-k, more fairly distributed education funding, and changing teacher pay structure, the commission is not ready to recommend specific dollar amounts for these and other proposed educational policies.

“It will take more time to do our work completely and accurately,” Kirwan said to members of the commission during their recent November meeting.

While Pugh was diplomatic, others were more direct in expressing discontent with a delay Continued on D2

At 7 p.m. on Nov. 20, four days after Det. Sean Suiter died after being shot in the head in the line of duty, a group led by Erricka Bridgeford and other members from the Baltimore Ceasefire Movement came as close as they could to the site where he was gunned down to pay their respects. Their goal was to make the location and the neighborhood of Harlem Park a “sacred space.”

The practice started during Ceasefire Weekend after Washington, D.C. police officer Tony Mason, Jr. was fatally shot on Elgin Avenue Nov. 4. Bridgeford said she felt compelled to sit on that space.

Tiffany Hughes and other community members, were ‘saging’ across the doors and alleyways of the neighborhood, while others stood in silence or sat on the ground to pay their respects.

Saging is a spiritual practice of some indigenous cultures that uses burning sage to

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Baltimore City Council

Is Brandon Scott Running for Mayor?

By Stephen Janis Special to the AFRO Had the city of Baltimore not been in the throes of another record wave of violence, 2nd District Councilman Brandon Scott’s appearance at the Idlewood community association meeting last month in the 4th district would have been unremarkable.

But his talk to a group of residents outside his constituency on how best to address another seemingly unrelenting stretch of violence has some saying Scott is laying the groundwork for a run against Mayor Catherine Pugh in 2020.

“I knew why he was there,” said a political observer who attended the meeting but did not wish to be named. “I don’t know if anyone else did, but it was pretty obvious.”

Perhaps Scott’s desire to be the city’s next mayor is obvious to some. However, the 32-year old councilman, Courtesy photo who won his second term to 2nd District Councilman serve the 2nd district in 2016 Brandon Scott says his appearance was the result of an invitation, not a sign of higher ambitions.

“I have been going to meetings in other areas when asked my entire elected life,” Scott told the AFRO. “Right now, the violence is the focus, I’m not afforded time to play politics three years into the future. “ Continued on D2

4

Past Seven Days

309 2017 Total

Data as of Nov. 21

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The Afro-American, November 25, 2017 - December 1, 2017

Race and Politics Continued from D1

Arts Council and British Council’s Artist International Development Fund, she is unearthing the stories of artist and non-artist, typically over coffee about, “...what it means to be of the African diaspora, where is home…”

Ibu was brought to Baltimore specifically because of her friendship with Kwame Kwei-Armah, the immensely talented artistic director of Center Stage (a man I dubbed, “Soul Brother Number One,” the first time I met him). Kwei-Armah, who is leaving Center Stage in 2018 for new adventures (a massive loss for Baltimore’s arts community) connected Ibu to me.

I’ve interviewed thousands of people during my career and I’ve been the subject of interviews on several occasions as well. But, I’ve never been asked more holistic questions about where I’m from and how it connects to who I am than during my conversation with Ibu. And it became even more clear to me as we chatted that although I’ve lived in Los Angeles and Detroit, have traveled across more than 30 states and overseas, all that I am is inextricably rooted in West Baltimore.

Of course I have other roots in L.A., Motown, North Carolina, New Orleans, Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Delaware and Pennsylvania. And speaking with Ibu has triggered more urgency to explore how those other roots inform me too. She asks the foundational question: “Where are you a local?” As opposed to simply asking, “Where are you from?” The former forces us to dig deeper.

“As a mixed-race African (I thought it was ½ Nigerian, ¼ Cameroonian, ¼ White British, but

ancestry.com had something to say about that), born and bred in Edinburgh in Scotland, educated in East Midlands, working in London and living Hertfordshire, touring work nationally-- my own concept of home is a fluid and mobile notion,” Ibu said in her blog that chronicles her travels this month. “In 2014, I moved cities three times for work and didn’t think twice about it. My personal geography spans Nigeria, Cameroon, Edinburgh, Carnoustie, Glasgow, Leicester, Mansfield, Nottingham, Manchester, London, Derby, Watford, Harlem. I would say I’m local in Edinburgh, –Natalie Ibu London, New York and Watford.”

In this time that seems surreal to so many people of color and children of the African diaspora, with White nationalists movements that disparage us (and even want to destroy us) taking hold globally (including America), Ibu’s trip in search of the familiar amongst people of the African diaspora seems particularly ironic to me.

“I think back about the struggles of the past and the progress of the past and think about what guidance we might be able to take from the amazing sacrifices and progress of our brothers and sisters of the past,” Ibu said, reflecting on some of the lessons of her odyssey.

“So I’m hopeful, but I appreciate that I have distance (from that past) on my side.”

“…my own concept of home is a fluid and mobile notion.”

Sean Yoes is Baltimore Editor of the AFRO, and host and executive producer of the AFRO First Edition video podcast, which airs Monday and Friday on the AFRO’s Facebook page.

Kirwan Commission Continued from D1

that will impact Baltimore’s 83,000 public school students.

Kevin Griffin Moreno, director of community investment of the Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF), said that it was time for the Kirwan Commission and the Maryland General Assembly to transcend a colorblind approach to public school funding and recognize specific needs facing distinct communities in Baltimore.

BCF has been a key advocate

for state-funded universal prekindergarten.

“Maryland’s schools, and particularly Baltimore City schools, are not adequately funded. We urge all those working on the question of school funding to take a race-informed approach to this work; to look at racedisaggregated data and to listen to communities of color, “Moreno said. “But especially we remind our policy makers that this is an urgent need—

Normalcy

Brandon Scott

It remains unclear if Suiter, whose service weapon had been fired, was killed with his own weapon or another weapon.

As the search for the killer continues, the family has set up a GoFundMe account which had raised $38,450

by Nov. 21. “I must say @ GoFundMe support has been amazing. Of great assistance every step of the way. Thank you,” said T.J. Smith, chief spokesman for the BPD via Twitter, Nov. 19.

But the community meeting in Idlewood is not the only high profile move

by Scott in recent months.

A series of well publicized maneuvers that seemed in part aimed at raising his profile, if not his odds of winning a city-wide election.

Just before Halloween the second term councilman declared a crime emergency, summoning police commanders and other public safety officials to council chambers with little advance

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“Maryland’s schools, and particularly Baltimore City schools, are not adequately funded.”

– Karen Webber our schools and our students can’t wait.”

Karen Webber, director of the Open Society Institute’s

Education and Youth Development program and former executive director of BCPS’ Office of Student

notice for an afternoon briefing before the Public Safety Committee, which he chairs.

“This was a reopening of a hearing we ended in July because they had not presented a plan,” Scott explained. “We recalled it at that time because of increasing violence.”

The police department pushed back. Commissioner Kevin Davis refused to attend, citing preparations for the sometimes raucous Halloween celebration in the city.

“The response was disappointing and unacceptable,” Scott said via text message. “We followed the rules of the council and city charter so all agencies should have been there.”

If indeed his recent moves presage a run for mayor, Scott is perfectly positioned to make his case.

Along with his high-profile chairmanship of the council’s public safety committee, Scott has been outspoken on the issue of policing strategy for years. In fact, several

months ago Scott and his fellow committee members released their own crime plan called “Live to Bmore,” a comprehensive blueprint for reducing violence that called for a crackdown on truancy, increasing job training, and focus on guns and repeat violent offenders.

All of this activity comes amid another record year of violence, with homicides up 13 percent this year alone.

As of Nov. 21, there were 309 homicides recorded in Baltimore. Add a wellpublicized rash of violent juvenile crimes and some say Scott is simply taking the lead on an issue that needs fresh ideas.

“I think he’s been a bold leader on the issue,” said Councilman Kristerfer Burnett, vice-chair of the Council’s Public Safety Committee.

Focusing on crime as a path to the city’s top job is not without precedent.

In 1999, then councilman Martin O’Malley promised

Support and Safety argued that many Baltimore City students live in conditions that necessitate more urgency on the part of the commission and State lawmakers.

“In Baltimore City particularly, we have a crisis in our murder rate right now. Students who live in neighborhoods where the murders are occurring bring that trauma into the classroom with them,” Webber said.

Baltimore homicides are up

13 percent this year, with 309 being recorded as of Nov. 21.

“Our district has not been made whole in terms of its public funding formula.

We need the extra that is commensurate with a population that has suffered vicarious and direct trauma.

We don’t have time to waste.

Yes, we want to get it right, but we need to get it right now,” she said.

The Kirwan Commission is set to expire on May 31, 2018.

to cut the city’s homicide roughly in half if elected.

A goal he tried, but failed to achieve through a controversial policy called zero tolerance which led to the illegal arrest of tens of thousands of AfricanAmerican residents.

But supporters note that Scott’s policy initiatives are

more focused on alleviating long festering social ills, not just punishment.

“He’s been looking for long term solutions,” Burnett said.

As for the possibility that Scott may seek higher office, Burnett says it’s news to him too.

“That’s not a conversation we’ve ever had.”

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Sacred Space Continued from D1 purify the air around you.

“Going to the scene where people have lost their lives and trying to clear the energy,” Hughes said.

“Initially I just wanted to come…but when I got here and saw all the police activity still here, I decided

Photo credit: Jennifer Wright

Ericka Bridgeford of the Baltimore Ceasefire Movement honors the memory of Det. Sean Suiter, who was gunned down in the line of duty in West Baltimore last week. that I needed to clear the air, not just for the officer who lost his life, but for the other officers and the community at large.”

Although the group was not allowed to go directly in the crime scene, Bridgeford said she made sure to send out more “potent energy” to the area. “What I’m doing is an alchemy,” she said. “I’m purposefully taking that energy and pouring light and love into it. I’m cycling it through the pain…and pouring light and love intentionally through that pain.”

Bridgeford said murder cannot be the last memory and the last energy that goes through the area. “We have to purposefully restore it with something else, not that people can un-remember; we can’t take away what happened, but we absolutely can help transform the energy in an atmosphere.”

November 25, 2017 - December 1, 2017, The Afro-American

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to the Salvation Army. Bring toys, gloves, scarves, anything for young people this season.

This event will take place on Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the Carroll Arts Center, 91 West Main Street, Westminster, Md. For more information email motownmore@gmail.com.

Before I leave you, I want to extend a happy birthday to some special people in my life: to my son and daughter, Kelvin and Karen Atkinson; Dr. Elaine Simon, Greg Hatza, Big Jim, Robert Shahid, Milton Dugger, Eleanor Massie and Charles Faison. And if I did not mention you, it is only because I didn’t remember, due to the fact it is my birthday too and I will be 74 years old on Nov. 27, and the memory is not as good as it use to be. So on that note, I got to go. But, remember if you need me, call me at 410-833-9474 or email me at rosapror@aol.com. Until the next time, I’m musically yours.

Happy Gobble Day to All

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you with much love. I hope your Thanksgiving Day and weekend will be all you want it to be. I know after Thanksgiving Day we will all still be eating turkey. It is going to be leftovers for turkey salad, turkey sandwich, turkey casserole, turkey stew, turkey soup and if anything is left, just freeze the damn thing.

Now that you have stuffed your face with turkey and all the trimmings, it is time to go out and dance the calories off at a good dance party. We are going to start off with an “Old School Black Friday Extravaganza” hosted by four fantastic guys I know: DJ Sugar Chris, DJ Mike Jones, DJ Diamond and who else but, Tee Shirt Brian. The event The Banderleros Motorcycle Club of Baltimore Md., is hosting their anniversary party on Nov. 25, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. will take place at the Patapsco at the Supreme Ballroom restaurant and banquet hall, 7830 Philadelphia Road in Rosedale, Maryland; music by Arena, 3301 Annapolis Road DJ Mike Jones and free food. For ticket information call Kendell at 443-383-1225. Tell him I told you. on Nov. 24, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. It is BYOF (bring your own food, 5016. more, an event appropriately picnic style) but, it is a cash bar. For ticket You can get things started every called, “Motown and More.” information, call 410-262-6604 or 443-525Thursday by going to The celebration will return to the American Legion Westminster, Md., with a full Hall, 4424 Painters Mill evening of holiday cheer, gift Road in Owings Mills, shopping, holiday snacks, a Md. They are calling wreath display and auction. it Thirsty Thursdays Also classic Motown tunes live Happy Hour. There is on stage honoring such artists no cover and the drinks as: The Temptations’ “Rudolph are cheeeeeeeeeaaap! the Red Nosed Reindeer,” And they are serving Stevie Wonder’s “Someday at hot steamed crabs with Christmas,” Nat King Cole’s DJ Mike Jones playing “The Christmas Song” and John and Eartha Lamkin with the John Lamkin Sacred the music. Honey child, Eartha Kitt’s, “Santa Baby,” Jazz Sextet will perform on Nov. 26, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. at behave yourself! just to name a few.Take a new DJ Sugar Chris and DJ Mike Jones, Baltimore’s premiere, “An Die Musik,” a beautiful night club located at 409 N. Now, if you prefer unwrapped item for donation famous and in high demand DJ’s, are doing their thing this Charles Street in Baltimore. your entertainment a little weekend for two big events. They are the best of the best more low key (no line (see column for details). dancing), then check out The John Lamkin Sacred Jazz Sextet, featuring Eartha Lamkin and the Lamkin Voices. Also featuring: John Lamkin II on trumpet and Flugelhorn, Craig Alston on Saxophones, Martin Lamkin on Trombone, Todd Simon on piano, Kris Fun on bass, John Lamkin III on drums. The Lamkin musical experience also features: Lillian Dupree, Lynda Harris, Christina Lamkin and Lolitta Lamkin.

My goodness gracious! It sounds like a family affair in music to me. You got to go and check this out on Nov. 26, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. at An Die Musik, 409 N. Charles Street.

There is one more thing In memory of a fine young man, Sgt. Kendell K. I want to tell you about Frederick, who was barely 21, died serving his country before I send out my birthday and received a Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his wishes; there will be a big service during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The family holiday celebration with many hosted a bridge dedication ceremony in his memory artists playing Motown and this week. God bless him and his family.

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The Afro-American, November 25, 2017 - December 1, 2017

Mayor Catherine Pugh with Sonya Sohn, Baltimore Rising

Sonya Sohn, producer, Baltimore Rising with daughters Kira and Sophia Wang

Roslyn Smith, Jason Murphy, Robyn Murphy

Councilman Leon Pinkett, Marika Pinkett

Susan Smallwood, Greg Jones

Kwame Rose’s family, Tamara Blackmon, Danyelle Rosebrough, Rev. Jamal Byrant, Dan Rosebrough Catalina Byrd, Lyn Twyman

Photos by Dr. A. Lois De Laine

A red carpet event was held Nov. 16, to celebrate the Baltimore premiere of “Baltimore Rising,” the documentary about the Baltimore uprising following the death of Freddie Gray in Nov. 2015, with a screening at the Charles Theatre.

The standing room crowd that gathered included Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-7th), Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, Dr. Sonja Santelises, Baltimore City Public Schools CEO, additional city officials, community leaders and others.

Makeup artist for The Sonja Sohn (Det. Kima Greggs of “The Wire”), Wire, Debi Young with directed the 95-minute documentary, which follows husband Gerard Young activists, police and community leaders in the immediate aftermath of the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old Baltimore man who died after being transported in a police van. His death on April 19, 2015, sparked riots across the city, and the day later brought charges against six police officers.

After the screening, a lively Q and A session followed.

Aaron Brown, Candace Baltimore Rising officially Williams, Brittany Gilliam, premiered Nov. 20 on HBO. Makayla Gilliam-Price Audrey Bentley, pres. of the Baltimore chapter of Kappa Silhouettes Jackie Brock, Karen Brice, Almie McIntyre, Tarsha Fitzgerald, Lonnie Spruill Jr. and Tanya Williams-Harris

The annual scholarship event sponsored by the wives of the members of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, was held on Nov. 18, at the Forum Caterers. The event raises money for scholarships and donates to the AFRO’s Mrs. Santa Toy Drive. Musical entertainment was provided by The Spindles band. Mrs. Santa (the AFRO’s Diane Hocker) was on hand for the toy donations

Mrs. Santa, Diane Hocker Former Mayor Sheila Dixon

Former Kappa Int. Grand Polemarch Howard L. Tutman Jr. and Lonnie Spruill Jr. ,Iota Phi Theta Founder

Teresa Payne-Nunn and “Coach” Butch McAdams (WOLB Radio) Baltimore Chapter Kappa Silhouettes

Alexis Boone and Silhouette Freddi Vaughn

Mildred Tharps with great grand children

Photos by Anderson R. Ward

Raymond Dickens, Leola Davis, Madison Burns and Larry Dickens

On Nov. 4, the family of Mildred Tharps honored her with a Celebration of Life luncheon, held at The Olive Grove restaurant in Linthicum, Md., near BWI Marshall Airport. Mrs.Tharps was honored with a citation presented by State Sen. Shirley Nathan Pulliam (D-44), and was also awarded a citation by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-7th), presented to her by Morris Tharps, her son. Mildred Tharps enjoyed a special slice of birthday cake April Lockley, Mildred Tharps from the Olive Grove and Vanessa Lockley Restaurant, many Mildred Tharps with grand children gifts and a lot of love.

Happy 100th Birthday Mildred Tharps compliments of The Olive Grove Restaurant

Sinoria Baker, N. Racks, Crystal Cook, Michael Cook, Kristian Cook, Janice Burrus and Terry Burrus

Mrs. Tharps’ children, Vanessa Lockley, Norris Tharps , Mildred Tharps, Quincy Tharps,(daughter-in-law) Marie Dickens and Raymond Dickens(son - in - law)

Patricia Johnson, Debbie Mitchell, Vernon Mitchell, Gail Parrish, Pamela Moon, Denise Ballard, Bernetta Winborne and Cleo Johnson

Mildred Tharps with Timeka Burns, Carlton Burns lV, Senator Shirley Madison Burns and Carlton Burns lll Nathan Pulliam (standing)

Photos by Devone Marshall