Baltimore Washington 3-9-2018 by AFRO News

Volume Volume 127 123 No. No.31 20–22

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Exclusive: Combating Violence at the Grassroots

Paris Jackson is Fed-Up with People Altering Her Complexion

If You Need Inspiration, Look to Selma

Washington

All Hail the Queen Courtesy photo

Parker Curry took the internet by storm last week when she was photographed gazing at Michelle Obama’s portrait at Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Obama reached out to the 2-year-old’s family and set up a meeting. The former first lady danced and played with Curry and then posted this photo to Instagram.

Ava DuVernay’s Journey to ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ By The Associated Press

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Ava DuVernay didn’t pick up a camera until the age of 32. It’s an extraordinary fact, considering the trajectories of most Hollywood directors. Orson Welles filmed “Citizen Kane” at 25. Steven Spielberg was 27 when he made “Jaws.” A 23-year-old John Singleton directed “Boyz N the Hood.” It was already doubtful that DuVernay could jump from a career in film marketing and publicity so late and without even a film

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Frankie Muse Freeman, a civil rights attorney and the 14th national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, died earlier this year at the age of 101. Her Omega Omega sevice, the last ritual performed for a deceased member of the sorority, will held in Washington, D.C. March 11. Freeman made history as an attorney when she won Davis et al. v. The St. Louis Housing Authority in 1954. The case outlawed discrimination in public

Ministers’ Conference of Baltimore and Vicinity Celebrates 110 Years By Tilesha Brown Special to the AFRO

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By Kamau High AFRO Managing Editor khigh@afro.com

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

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the documentary “The 13th”), a historic Golden Ava DuVernay’s Globe nomination (for ‘A Wrinkle in “Selma” she was the first Time’ opens Black female director to get that recognition) and March 9. has also become the first woman of color to get over $100 million to make a liveaction movie. That film, “A Wrinkle in Time,” with its $103 million production budget, opens nationwide Friday. The Walt Disney Co. acquired the rights to Madeleine L’Engle’s Continued on A3

Omega Omega Service for Frankie Muse Freeman, Former Delta Sigma Theta President, Saturday

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degree to back her up. That she is also a Black woman made it even more unlikely. But in just 13 years, DuVernay has successfully and improbably risen to the upper echelons of the entertainment industry, as a filmmaker, producer and agent of change, breaking down barriers and smashing ceilings wherever she sets her sights. Now, at 45, she has an Oscarnomination (for

Rev. Dr. ACD Vaughn, eight-time president of the Ministers Conference, spoke at the event.

The Ministers’ Conference of Baltimore and Vicinity kicked off its 110th Anniversary celebration with song, prayer and the word on Monday, March 5. Over 100 members of the conference sat inside New Shiloh Baptist Church, their regular meeting place, in West Baltimore to honor the past, celebrate the present and envision the future of the conference. President Bishop J.L. Carter addressed the audience. “In this room, there is a true spirit of excellence,” he said, before Rev. Cameron Carter began his sermon. Dr. A.C.D. Vaughn, past president of the

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housing in St. Louis. In 1964 she became the first woman appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, where she served under four U.S. presidents. Freeman started her own law firm because law firms, Black and White, in St. Louis at the time wanted her to be a secretary instead of a litigator. “The only other Black woman lawyer was Margaret Bush Wilson [former head of the NAACP board of directors], and she and her husband had a practice together. Oh, they all would have let me do the typing, but I wanted to be a trial lawyer. There wasn’t anything not cordial; I made the decision. No, thank you,” she told St. Louis Magazine in 2013. “It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our 14th National President Frankie Muse Freeman. She was a formidable woman Continued on A3

Mayor for Life Permanently Memorialized

Inspiration for ‘Hidden Figures’ Gets Own Barbie By Tilesha Brown Special to the AFRO Mattel unveiled a Barbie doll featuring the likeness of Katherine Johnson as part of its “Shero” series in honor of International Women’s Day on Tuesday. One of the inspirations for Oscarnominated film “Hidden Figures,” Johnson is now part of a doll collection that showcases women who have

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Help the AFRO Celebrate Amazing Black Women The AFRO is excited to join the nationwide celebration of women this March in recognition of this year’s National Women’s History Month. From now until April 21st, we will be highlighting prominent AfricanAmerican women who have contributed to significant events in history and continue to do so in their respective fields. We invite you to share your stories, Continued on A3

Courtesy Photo

Katherine Johnson, whose life story was depicted in ‘Hidden Figures,’ is now a Barbie doll.

The Afro-American, March 10, 2018 - March 16, 2018

WHAT’S TRENDING ON AFRO.COM “Black Panther” is Box-Office King for Third Straight Week By The Associated Press

“Black Panther” reigned over the box office for a third straight week, taking in $65.7 million to top the $500 million mark in domestic gross revenue. (Matt Kennedy/ Marvel Studios-Disney via AP)

Wakanda’s reign shows no signs of waning. “Black Panther” is king of the box office for the third straight weekend. The release from Marvel and Disney brought in $65.7 million domestically this weekend, easily outpacing new releases “Red Sparrow” and “Death Wish,” according to studio estimates Sunday. “Black Panther” has now grossed $500 million domestically after three weeks of release. It’s the third fastest film to reach the $500 million plateau. “Disney is clearly on a roll with ‘Black Panther’ showing incredible strength as it posts the third

biggest third-weekend gross of all time,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore, “and most notably becomes the 10th highest grossing movie of all time in North America after just 17 days in theaters.” “Black Panther,” directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, has become a groundbreaking cinematic phenomenon, giving unprecedented representation for a film of its kind to Africans and AfricanAmericans while winning over every corner of the culture. It should soon shoot past the billion-dollar mark worldwide. Wakanda’s king may finally be knocked from his box-office throne next weekend with the release of director Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time,” another Disney film that gives groundbreaking representation to African-Americans on both sides of the camera. “Disney wins no matter how you slice it with that film expected to have a strong debut as ‘Black Panther’ continues to draw big crowds,” Dergarabedian said.

Baltimore Students March Against Gun Violence By Sean Yoes AFRO Baltimore Editor syoes@afro.com

Hundreds of students from area high schools

walked out of their classrooms today and took to the streets of East Baltimore to protest gun violence March 6. Students from schools including Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute marched down Fayette St., to City Hall in the spirit of the protests that have erupted around the country in wake of the massacre of 17 students and teachers at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, Feb. 14. “End the silence, stop gun violence,” was the theme of the protest, demanding safer schools and better gun laws to prevent violent acts.

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The Women of Hip-Hop Get Congressional Recognition Female Hip Hop artists aren’t getting the recognition their male counterparts normally get and one member of the Congressional Black Caucus is working in his own way to change that. “In every field of human endeavor, women excel when given a fair shot,” U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said. “It’s true in politics, business, science, academia, and Hip Hop. In honor of Women’s History Month, I will drop my ‘Top 10 List’ of the best female rap lyrical collaboration of all time. Jeffries announced on Feb. 28 his project to highlight female Hip Hop artists. The representative said that the Hip Hop artists and women in the industry in general deserve to be celebrated for their contributions. At AFRO press time, Jeffries honored EVE and her song “My Chick Bad” on March 1; Monie Love – “My Buddy” on March 2; Missy Elliott – “Hot Boyz” on March 3; Remy Ma – “Ante Up” on March 4; and Lauryn Hill – “Ready or Not” on March 5. The honorees are listed on Jeffries’ Twitter and Facebook pages with a small write-up about why he choose them.

Courtesy photo

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

Female Hip Hop Artist Missy Elliot was honored on the U.S. House of Representatives floor. “The women on this list are legends in their own right,” Jeffries said. “They defied artistic convention and lyrically elbowed their way to the top of rap’s male-dominated mountain top. In fighting for intellectual property protection, branding rights, and

licensing deals many of these MCs helped pave the way for others to thrive as artists and entrepreneurs.” Jeffries is no stranger to the Hip Hop industry. He represents a large part of Brooklyn and a part of Queens, two boroughs

in New York City that many music experts and historians say gave the birth to Hip Hop. Hip Hops’ biggest stars such as Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs are New York natives. Jeffries was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 and prior to that served as a member of the New York General Assembly from 2007-2012. A native of Crown Heights in Brooklyn, he holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Binghamton University, a juris doctorate from the New York University School of Law, and a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University. Last year, Jeffries raised eyebrows when he rapped The Notorious B.I.G.’s song “Juicy” on the House floor. This was a break with tradition because it is not customary for a representative to sing a song on the floor. Joseph Goings is a District of Columbia native who is considered an expert on Hip Hop. Goings has followed the trends of the industry for 25 years and is the co-host of a popular local Internet radio show “Breakout Kings” that airs on Mondays. “I think it is fantastic what he is doing for Hip Hop culture,” Goings told the AFRO. “Women are not as celebrated as men and yet they have made huge contributions as artists and mothers of the culture.”

DuVernay Continued from A1 Newbery Medal-winning 1962 novel in 2010, and it went through various writers and budget points. The story about an awkward 13-yearold girl, Meg Murry, who travels through time and space, was a notoriously unwieldy one that carried the dreaded “un-filmable” stigma. “I was shocked that they called me,” says DuVernay. “I’d done ‘Selma’ and ‘The 13th.’ How did they even think that would work? But they did. And when they said I could make her a girl of color, it just grabbed my whole heart.” DuVernay set off to do the impossible — make a big budget, kids-targeted sci-fi blockbuster with an unknown 13-year-old Black actress (Storm Reid, now 14) as the lead. “I think it’s incredible that Disney made the decision to hire Ava on this and gave her the creative control to cast whoever she wanted,” says Reese Witherspoon, who costars in the film as one of the mystical “Mrs.” alongside Oprah Winfrey and Mindy Kaling. Winfrey, Witherspoon and Kaling, all hardworking multi-hyphenates themselves, marveled at DuVernay’s

tireless work ethic and attention to detail. Once she even sent costume designer Paco Delgado back to hand paint hundreds of eyes on

are those?’ And he was like, ‘Well this looks good too.’ And I’m like, ‘Well let’s go take a look at that anyway.” Asking for what she

“I just feel like I have a short window in this industry. There is no precedent for a Black woman making films consistently. There are beautiful Black women directors but there are seven-year, six-year gaps between them.” -Ava DuVernay one of Winfrey’s costumes because that’s what she had seen in the concept drawing. “I was like, ‘I think it’s fine without the eyes? I think it’s ok!’ Winfrey recalled. DuVernay laughed that Winfrey recounted that moment. “She came out and everyone applauded for the dress and it was extraordinary,” DuVernay explains. “But I looked and I said, ‘Well on the sketch there were little eyes. Where

Celebrate Black Women Continued from A1 your achievements and your perspective on the pioneering role women have played in American history. If you, or someone you know, holds a leadership role and deserves to be celebrated this month for their contributions to American history, please submit the following information to our editorial team: -Candidate’s Name -Candidate’s role in the organization -Candidate’s contact information -A short summary of the candidate’s historic achievements (200 words or less) -Headshot of candidate Submissions will be reviewed and chosen for publication by the AFRO based on the significance of each candidates’ contributions. All choices are at the discretion of the AFRO. Send submissions to tips@afro.com

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needs, and wants, is something DuVernay has learned as she’s gotten older. “Film is forever,” she says. “It’s cemented. You’ve got to do it right now and it’s got to be the best it can be. So, let’s go back and put the eyes on the dress.” Witherspoon says she has never met a director who spends so much time talking about others: Acknowledging everyone’s contributions in a cast and crew of hundreds, and then spending weekends talking about other people’s work too, from Patty Jenkins to Ryan Coogler. DuVernay always has something in the works. She’s afraid if she slows down, it might all go away. “I just feel like I have a short window in this industry. There is no precedent for a Black woman making films consistently. There are beautiful Black women directors but there are sevenyear, six-year gaps between them,” she says. “Even though people tell me it’s ok, I think it’s all going to stop tomorrow. I want to do as much as I can do when I can. It’s not unreasonable, you know? Tomorrow they can say, ‘No we don’t want you to make movies anymore.’” And indeed there is still that idea that female filmmakers are not given second chances, even when they succeed. It’s something DuVernay thinks about often. “I look at Guy Ritchie. That guy is bulletproof,” she says. “He can make something that doesn’t work. The next week he’s the director of another thing. I look at him and I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s fantastic.’ But

that wouldn’t have been Patty Jenkins and it won’t be me.” Initial tracking suggests that “A Wrinkle in Time” may open in the mid-$30 million range, which might not even be enough to unseat Disney’s “Black Panther” (which DuVernay passed on directing) from the No. 1 spot. “Wrinkle,” however, is film that is first and foremost for children ages 8 to 12, DuVernay says. Before a screening she asked the audience to try to watch it through the eyes of a child — an unusual request for something from an already very kid-friendly studio like

Disney which makes films for the younger set that nonetheless appeal to a wide swath of ages. Critics reviews are under embargo until Wednesday, and social media reactions so far have been unusually sparse for a film this big. DuVernay says of the critics that, “Some of them will see what we tried to do. Some of them, it’s not (going to be) for them. It is what it is.” And it’s the film she wanted to make, for the 12-year-old her, and for someone like Kaling, who says that she always loved sci-fi but that it never loved her back.

“I’ll always direct things but who knows if that price point ever comes again. I’m ok with that. This is a big swing,” DuVernay says. “But the chance to put a Black girl in flight? I will risk it. I risk it for those images. It may not hit now, but somewhere a Mindy Kaling, a chubby girl with glasses and brown skin will see it and it will mean something. Or, a Caucasian boy will see how a Black girl says, ‘Do you trust me’ and the Caucasian boy says, ‘I trust you,’ and he follows her. Just to plant that seed and say that’s ok, you can follow a girl? Those images? I’ll risk it. I’ll risk it for that.”

Freeman Continued from A1 who championed the rights of our community. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and the sisters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc,” the Miami Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta tweeted in Jan.

The Omega Omega service will be held on March 11 at 8 a.m. in the International Ballroom of the Washington Hilton Hotel, 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20009.

AFRO file photo

Frankie Muse Freeman, center, after delivering the keynote address at the 1971 Founders’ Day in Albany, New York.

The Afro-American, March 10, 2018 - March 16, 2018

March 10, 2018 - March 10, 2018, The Afro-American

Remembering Lerone Bennett, Black Press Giant By Kamau High AFRO Managing Editor khigh@afro.com Lerone Bennett Jr., a long time editor at Ebony magazine, died earlier this year. Bennett, who wrote numerous books on African American history, such as “Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America” and “Great Moments in Black History: Wade in the Water” was remembered for his passion and advocacy of the importance of Black History. “A classmate & biographer of Dr. King, during the turbulent 60’s, his was a pen that mattered. As historian, author of ‘Before the Mayflower,’ editor of Ebony magazine, the most read voice of the freedom struggle, his impact will long be felt and remembered. #RIP #LeroneBennettJr,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson wrote on Twitter. Bennett, who died at the age of 89 from vascular dementia in Feb., was born in Mississippi and graduated from Morehouse College. In a statement the school noted, “He honed his journalistic talent at Morehouse College, where he developed a passion for writing, research, and intellectual debate. Bennett served as an apprentice on the Maroon Tiger school newspaper in the 1940s. He was on staff when early writings by Martin Luther King Jr.’48 were published in the Maroon Tiger. Bennett also served as an editor for the newspaper.” After starting out at the Atlanta Daily World Bennett became the city editor for Jet Magazine and then moved to its sister publication Ebony, where he was an editor for nearly 40 years. “Lerone worked side by side with my father in establishing EBONY’s voice,” Ebony CEO Linda Johnson Rice told the publication. “He was the guiding light for the editorial vision of EBONY. Lerone was not just essential in the formation of EBONY’s

US National Archive

Bennett at work at Ebony Magazine. historic trajectory, he was a pillar in the Black community. His legacy will continue to serve his successors in academia and beyond.”

To get an idea of the power of his ideas, watch this speech he gave at Cornell University in 2012 on Lincoln, the Gettysburg Address and Race.

Barbie

Ministers’ Conference

Continued from A1

broken boundaries in their fields. “As a brand that inspires the limitless potential in girls, Barbie will be honoring its largest line up of role models timed to International Women’s Day, because we know that you can’t be what you can’t see,” Lisa McKnight, the senior vice president and general manager of Barbie, said in a statement. Johnson is known as the mathematician that broke through the glass ceiling for Black women in mathematics by calculating complex trajectories for NASA. Her story was told in the 2016 film, “Hidden Figures.”

Taraji P. Henson, who played Katherine Johnson in the film, wrote on Instagram, “…I WISH I had this option

told the AFRO, “The decision to launch a Katherine Johnson Barbie doll means that now, even the youngest girls will get exposure to a role model who made her mark in the world by virtue of her brilliance and character. I think it’s a great way to commemorate International – Taraji P. Henson Women’s Day, and to celebrate how Mrs. Johnson and women like her have changed the world.” as a little girl!!!” Other women previously depicted Margot Shetterly, author of the best- in the series include artist Frida Kahlo selling book that the film is based on, and aviator Amelia Earhart.

“…I WISH I had this option as a little girl!!!”

Ministers’ Conference and pastor at Baltimore’s Sharon Baptist Church, took the microphone later in the program to remind attendees of conference’s rich history. Vaughn detailed the conference’s beginnings under Dr. G.R. Waller of the Trinity Baptist Church and its early mission to support education. President Carter gave the benediction and promised more events in the near future. This is the first event of at least three to precede the conference’s 110th Anniversary Banquet Celebration on Sept. 20. For more information contact Dr. Sandra Conner at REVDRCONNER@GMAIL.COM.

March 10, 2018 - March 16, 2018, The Afro-American

COMMENTARY

If You Need Inspiration, Look to Selma

U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris delivered the following remarks at the Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast in Selma, Alabama, as a part of the 25th Annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee on March 4. They have been lightly edited for clarity. This is the 53rdAnniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery March, and this year also marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Kamala Harris

From all of that history, past and present, what is clear to me is that Selma laid a blueprint. The Selma marchers showed us that while they crossed that bridge, they also built a bridge. They showed the power of coalitions when they brought together the SCLC [Southern Christian Leadership Conference] and SNCC [Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee], White marchers and Black marchers, rabbis next to ministers and people from across the country. They marched that bridge and they built bridges. Selma, it is true we are indeed living yet again in difficult times. And, indeed, sometimes we are weary. But to any of us who feels daunted, or discouraged, or dispirited, I say if you need inspiration? Look to Selma. When we are pulled back and feel dispirited by an unjust Department of Justice as they escalate the War on Drugs and reinvigorate mandatory minimums and incarcerate instead of rehabilitate, look to Selma for your inspiration. When it feels impossible to make progress for young immigrants who are being targeted and threatened with deportation from the only country they have known and called home, look to Selma for your inspiration. When we are weary as we read that Black unemployment, homeownership, and incarceration rates are the same or worse today than they were the days of Dr. King, I say look to Selma for our inspiration. And when we are faced with a powerful lobby that encourages immoral inaction which prevents all of our children from being safe from gun violence in a classroom and on the street, from suburbs to the cities, I say look to Selma for our inspiration. For Selma, you taught us – they taught us our power and they taught us how to use that power. And yes, the challenges right now are tough. And yes, the road can seem long. But I say let us remember those famous words which I will paraphrase of Coretta Scott King, who reminded us that the fight for justice, the fight for Civil Rights must be fought and won with each generation. Those marchers laid the foundation for the leaders of today. And we must carry on their work. They laid the foundation so that Hank Sanders could represent Selma for 35 years in the State Senate. And so Rose Sanders could become the first Black woman to be an Alabama judge. To carry on their work, to carry on that work. And they laid the foundation so that John

Lewis and Terri Sewell and Barbara Lee can serve in the United States Congress. To carry on the work. Those marchers laid the foundation so that Barack Obama would be elected President of the United States and then re-elected President of the United States. To carry on the work. And they laid the foundation so that I could become only the second Black woman elected to the United States Senate, and serve alongside Cory Booker and Tim Scott. They laid that foundation. And they laid the foundation so that this community, and I will say with a particular point of pride, and so that the Black women of this community could replace Jeff Sessions with the lawyer who brought to justice the Birmingham bombers, Doug Jones.

Baltimore Students Deserve to Feel Safe Last year a Baltimore school police officer pled guilty to assault charges for slapping and kicking a 16-year-old student. In 2015, another school police officer pled guilty to assault charges after walloping an unarmed middle school on the forehead with a baton and pepper spraying two other girls. These examples of excessive force demonstrate a larger problem for Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) where almost half of BCPS students believe police use excessive force to resolve conflicts. In response to these and other concerns BCPS will present new policies detailing the roles and responsibilities of school police to the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners March 20. The new policies must address excessive use of force, provide due process and formal mechanisms for students and their families to file complaints, as well as address concerns regarding the relationship between the Baltimore School Police Force (BSPF) and the Baltimore Police Department. All students deserve to learn in safe and supportive school environments. That is not always the reality for Baltimore students, especially those of color, who face heightened risk of being referred to law enforcement for typical school behaviors.

Monique Dixon and Nicole Dooley

During the 2013-14 school year—the most recent U.S. Department of Education data available —95% of students referred to law enforcement in BCPS were Black, even though they comprised 84% of the student population. Moreover, Maryland Office of the Public Defender data reveals that only about 17 percent of students arrested at Baltimore schools are ultimately found to be delinquent in juvenile court. In most cases, the facts leading to arrest are not sustained in court, suggesting that the incident could have been resolved without police. Fortunately, the BSPF is taking steps to avoid the use of excessive force and limit school-based arrests. Since taking the helm as Baltimore City Schools Police Chief in March 2016, Akil Hamm contributed to a reduction in school-based arrests and launched trainings for school police officers on how to work effectively with students. In the coming weeks we will see how Baltimore’s school police policies will promote more positive change. It is imperative that Chief Hamm, BCPS, and the education advocacy community collaborate and craft fair policies that protect the safety and civil rights of all students. To be effective, the new policies require a clearly delineated, limited role for school police. Policies must lay out what student behavior should and will be handled through school processes versus serious criminal misconduct that may result in police involvement.

Sound school policies must replace unwarranted arrests and excessive use of police force with effective deescalation techniques and effective programs. They also require a formal complaint process so that students, families, and school staff can hold school police accountable for abuse or misconduct. This entails school police improving data collection and public reporting of school-based referrals and arrests. Additionally, school officials must address the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) concerns about the agreement between school police and the Baltimore Police Department that allows school police to patrol city streets and make arrests off school campuses. Members of the school community should be alarmed, as the DOJ is, that the agreement fails to indicate which agency is in control of incidents and responsible for investigating any complaints when both agencies were involved. Baltimore City Public Schools officials have a duty to create safe and supportive learning environments for students. It is up to Baltimore parents, students and other school community members to review and comment on these new school police policies to ensure all students are treated fairly and feel safe in their schools. Monique Dixon and Nicole Dooley are attorneys with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

How Untreated Kidney Disease Can Destroy the Body African Americans make up about 13 percent of the population, but they account for 35 percent of people with kidney failure in the United States. According to the National Kidney Foundation, African Americans are nearly three times more likely than Whites to have kidney failure. Low income has also been linked to higher incidents of kidney disease. Kidney disease usually progresses to kidney failure. There may be no symptoms until the kidneys are severely damaged and dialysis or transplant are needed. Along with African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at greater risk for Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). The kidneys remove waste and excess fluid through the urine. Waste removal involves a highly complex process of excretion and re-absorption balance. The kidneys regulate, sodium, potassium and acid content. The kidneys produce hormones that affect other organ functions. One of these hormones stimulates red blood cell production. Another hormone helps regulate blood pressure and calcium breakdown for the body to use. High blood pressure and diabetes are the leading causes of kidney disease/failure among African Americans. High blood pressure increases the force against artery walls and damages the kidneys. When the body doesn’t make enough

Marcia Jackson

insulin or use normal amounts of insulin properly, high blood sugars damage the kidneys. Glomerulonephritis causes inflammation in the kidney’s filtering system. This inflammation may occur with the diagnosis of strep throat. Once resolved, kidney disease may develop slowly and cause progressive, irreversible kidney disease. Polycystic kidney disease is the most common inherited kidney disease. This disease is characterized by the formation of cysts on the kidneys that cause serious damage and possible kidney failure. Certain drugs may cause kidney disease. The longterm use of over the counter pain relievers, like Aleve and Ibuprofen, can damage the kidneys. Some prescription medications and street drugs like heroin and crack can lead kidney failure. Chronic kidney disease occurs when decreased kidney function occurs for more than three months. Early detection and treatment of CKD are vital to prevent disease progression and kidney failure. Detection of kidney disease includes testing the urine for protein. However, protein in the urine may also occur with fever or heavy exercise. An elevated blood creatinine level, age, race, gender and GFR (glomerular filtration rate) are used to diagnose kidney disease. Symptoms of CKD may include increased urination,

especially at night. Fatigue, weakness, difficult or painful urination, swelling of the face, puffy hands, feet or abdomen may indicate disease. An elevated blood creatinine and BUN also occur when kidney disease is present. There are five stages of CKD. The GFR value determines the stage of the disease and how well the kidneys are cleaning the blood. A normal GFR is between 90-120. In stage 5, ESRD (end stage renal disease), the GFR is less than 15 and dialysis or transplant are required. Fatigue associated with anemia, decreased appetite, nausea & vomiting, abnormal hormone levels, high blood pressure, swelling of body parts and shortness of breath are present. Dialysis- prescribed by a physician, is used to cleanse the body of unwanted toxins(poisons), waste products and excess body fluid. Dialysis replaces some kidney function and can help prolong life. Along with medication, dietary changes and proper care, an individual receiving dialysis can live a relatively normal life. The National Kidney Foundation at 1-800-622-9010 and Fresenius Medical Care at 1-800-377-4607 can provide additional information, resources and support about African Americans and kidney disease. Marcia Jackson Is a retired RN and educator living in the Baltimore area.

The Afro-American, March 10, 2018 - March 16, 2018

March 10, 2018 - March 16, 2018, The Afro-American

BALTIMORE-AREA

Race and Politics

Four Months Later, Murder of Det. Suiter Haunts City

In one week it will be four months since Baltimore Homicide Det. Sean Suiter was gunned down Sean Yoes in one of the Baltimore AFRO most violent Editor syoes@afro.com neighborhoods in West Baltimore, under incredibly dubious circumstances. His murder remains unsolved. The narrative put forth by the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), under the leadership of former Commissioner Kevin Davis is, Suiter, while investigating a triple homicide, approached a “suspicious” man in a vacant lot between row houses on Bennett Place, in the West Baltimore community of Harlem Park. A violent confrontation between the man and Suiter, led to the 18-year BPD veteran being shot in the head with his own gun, while Suiter’s partner allegedly ducked for cover across the street. Meanwhile, the suspect described only as, “a Black male,” wearing a hoodie with a stripe seemingly vanished into thin air. Further, Suiter was gunned down the day before he was scheduled to

Continued on B2

AFRO Exclusive (Pt. 2)

Combating Violence at the Grassroots

`Safe Streets’ Seeks Funds to Expand By Stephen Janis Special to the AFRO

Photo courtesy Mayor’s Office

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh engaging Baltimore residents, including grassroots leaders, during a “Call to Action,” meeting.

in Baltimore in 2007, under the umbrella of the Baltimore City Health Department, with a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, to replicate Chicago’s CeaseFire program. Now, Safe Streets will be housed within the Mayor’s House of Delegates Majority Whip Talmadge Branch Office of Criminal Justice. (D-45), is pushing a bill that would expand the Safe Streets Pugh has also moved to bring the Boston-based Roca antiviolence deterrent program, which has demonstrated violence program, which targets young people 17-24, who are strong success in the four Baltimore most vulnerable to violence and crime. communities where it has been It currently serves 21 communities in implemented: Cherry Hill, McElderry Massachusetts. Roca was founded by Park, Park Heights and SandtownMolly Baldwin (a Baltimore native), in Winchester. 1988, initially as a program for HIV/ The legislation, which passed the AIDS prevention. House last Friday by a vote of 125“So, before I came on board, there 13, would add 10 new sites for the were a lot of conversations about Roca program. The bill now moves to the being on board,” said Pugh. “There was Senate. a commitment from the philanthropic It is the type of grassroots program -Nneka Nnamdi community and the State and others to Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh get Roca moving here.” Pugh said the embraces; one that has produced program should be up and running fully empirical evidence that it works. in Baltimore by April or May. For the implementation of Roca “It is a program that works,” Pugh told the AFRO. “Instead in Baltimore the mayor emphasizes, “The executive director of being grant funded, we’re making it City funded. In fact, will be a local person, the staff will be all local,” Pugh said. they are celebrating 500 days with no murders in the areas that There is little dispute about the efficacy of Safe Streets or Safe Streets patrol.” The program was originally implemented Continued on B2 By Sean Yoes Baltimore AFRO Editor syoes@afro.com

After another year of record breaking violence in Baltimore, the annual legislative session in Annapolis is awash in competing ideas on how to address the problem. In lockstep with the gettough policies emerging from President Donald Trump’s’ Department of Justice, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has pushed legislation that would add mandatory minimum sentences for a person caught with a gun twice, and a ‘truth’ in sentencing law that he says will insure early release is all but impossible for violent offenders.

“Baltimore... needs to fund, support and spotlight the people on the ground doing the work.”

Mr. Washington Retires

Courtesy photo

House Majority Whip Talmadge Branch (D-45), has introduced legislation to increase funding for the Safe Streets violence prevention program.

Continued on B2

Historic Grace Memorial Destroyed By Fire

Courtesy photo

Tessa Hill-Aston, former president of the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP, is now running for a seat in the House of Delegates, to represent the 41st District.

Former NAACP President Makes Bid for Elected Office By Deborah Bailey Special to the AFRO Tessa Hill-Aston, is planning a political comeback of sorts, running for one of three seats that will be up in the Maryland House of Delegates 41st district in West Baltimore. Hill-Aston, former president of the Baltimore branch of the NAACP who left the organization under dubious circumstances (she says she resigned, others say she was forced out) said the needs of the 41st district simply bring her back to her life-long roots of community activism. “When I started activism with the NAACP and other things, I started with committees that had to do

Photo by Sean Yoes

Historic Grace Memorial Baptist Church at 1100 N. Eden St., in East Baltimore, was destroyed by fire last Sunday. By Sean Yoes Baltimore AFRO Editor syoes@afro.com Photo by Michael Allen

Elijah Washington, who worked in maintenance and building security for the AFRO for 20 years, retired this week. A job well done Mr. Washington! with economic development. I worked with minorities to ensure we were getting our fair share,” Hill-Aston told the AFRO. Hill-Aston enters a crowded field of 11 registered candidates for the 41st district delegates’ race, including

incumbents Bilal Ali, Samuel “Sandy” Rosenberg and Angela Gibson. Both Ali and Gibson will be running for their first full elected terms after having been selected by the 41st district Democratic Central Committee to fill

Continued on B2

March 4 was a terrible Sunday for the members of venerable Grace Memorial Baptist Church in East Baltimore, when a catastrophic 2-alarm fire erupted at the church located at 1100 N. Eden St. Congregants had been attending Sunday School at the time of the blaze. No one was injured. Fire officials received calls about 10:30 a.m., about smoke coming from the roof of Grace Memorial, which was established in 1926 by Rev. Albert J. Greene and a few other members, who had been worshipping at each other’s homes. The church was first housed at the Star Theatre Auditorium on Monument St., before moving to the Eden St. xlocation. There is no word yet on where the church will relocate Data as of March 7 temporarily.

Past Seven Days

44 2018 Total

The Afro-American, March 10, 2018 - March 16, 2018

Former NAACP President

Safe Streets

vacancies in 2017. Ali made news recently when he suggested dismantling the Baltimore Police Department in the wake of the damning Department of Justice report and several police officer convictions for planting evidence and dealing drugs, among other things. Hill-Aston is concerned that more economic development is not flowing to the neighborhoods surrounding the current ShopRite grocery store in Howard Park. “If there is an anchor store, you also must lift-up the community surrounding that anchor,” Hill-Aston said in response to concerns about the development of commerce near the Howard Park ShopRite that

But a group of city is informed by personal delegates, including Majority tragedy. Whip Talmadge Branch, The veteran delegate’s are proposing less police 22-year old grandson Tyrone intensive alternatives, Ray was shot and killed in including a bill that would September 2017 in Northeast expand the Safe Streets Baltimore in broad daylight. program across the city by Ray, who was on crutches at establishing a permanent $3.6 the time of the shooting, was million funding stream. gunned down by two yet to Photo courtesy of Baltimore City Health Department be identified males. Police “Baltimore only has four locations now, but the numbers Members of the Safe Streets violence prevention program released video of the possible are ex-felons, who play a major role in mediating conflicts suspects, but no arrests have in violence reduction are phenomenal,” Branch told the before they escalate into violence or homicide. The programbeen made. AFRO. “This bill will add ten was formerly grant funded, now it is part of the City’s “If this works like it does in budget. additional sites.” other areas than my grandson’s Currently Safe Streets death will not be vain, this will operates in Cherry Hill, McElderry Park, Park Heights, and save many, many lives,” Branch said. Sandtown-Winchester. Branch’s bill will fund ten new sites at One of the critical components of the bill, Branch says, is to yet to be determined locations across the city. insure a steady stream of funding for the program, something Unlike law enforcement’s emphasis on jails and punishment Safe Streets has lacked in the past. after the fact, Safe Streets seeks to mediate disputes before During the administration of former Mayor Stephanie they escalate. Known as the ‘cure violence’ model, the program Rawlings-Blake, Safe Streets was funded primarily through employs residents from the neighborhood who were previously grants. As recently as the fiscal 2018 budget Mayor Catherine incarcerated. Pugh initially cut Safe Streets spending, agreeing to restore it A 2012 study by Johns Hopkins University and the Centers after pushback from the city council. for Disease Control found neighborhoods with a Safe Streets Now, with the launch of Pugh’s Violence Reduction site experienced an average of 56% reduction in killings and Initiative which features a daily convening of cabinet heads at 34% fewer shootings. Branch says this quantifiable success police headquarters, the mayor says she fully supports Branch’s supports the expansion he is proposing. legislation. “Safe Streets is a proven tool that communities can use to strengthen neighborhood efforts to address violence through outreach, public education, and by partnering with the faith community,” Pugh said in a statement. “Baltimore City is seeking to expand this successful model and expand from four sites to ten, and this bill will enable that expansion. I am extremely grateful to Del. Branch for leading this effort.” The change of the heart is not limited to the Mayor. Last month Branch said the Governor’s Department of Budget Management had initially opposed the bill. But Hogan spokeswoman Amelia Chase explained the initial opposition was the result of standing policy to reject any bill that proposes –Mayor Pugh mandatory spending. “The governor supports Senator Zirkin’s omnibus crime “These are the numbers safe streets produces, the programs bill, which includes funding for Baltimore City Safe Streets, works,“ he told the AFRO. The program is not without in addition to most initiatives from the governor’s crime controversy. Levar Mullen, a former Safe Streets volunteer, package,” Chase said in an email. was convicted of illegally possessing a firearm in 2014. Mullen That bill includes both the new mandatory minimums for was released from prison earlier this year after it was revealed gun possession as well as Safe Streets funding. Branch says he several members of the disgraced Gun Trace Task Force were has not reviewed the Senate bill, but says he feels confident the involved in his arrest. package will pass. Branch’s efforts to shepherd the bill through the legislature “I have been looking at the crime package bill, I do like it.”

Continued from D1

“People need good jobs and opportunities to participate in life and support their families.” –Tessa Hill-Aston opened in 2014. She said she is also eager to participate in planning the development of the businesses and neighborhoods surrounding the current Pimlico Race Track. “We not only need Pimlico to be redone, the whole strip needs to be redone,” Hill-Aston said. The first phase of a study by the Maryland Stadium Authority has determined that more than $300 million needs to be devoted toward renovation of the originally built in 1870. Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and leaders from the Canadian-based ownership group of Pimlico have called on Gov. Larry Hogan to make a major commitment to track overhaul. Hogan has not pledged funding for the project. Republican state Del. Pat McDonough has proposed moving the Preakness, which is held every year at Pimlico, to Baltimore County. Improving prospects for the business community surrounding Pimlico and other areas throughout the 41st district will be a key part of the agenda for the city’s state delegation in the coming election cycle. Hill-Aston is also concerned with reducing crime in her district and creating opportunities for young adults and women. “We need apprenticeship and mentoring programs. People need good jobs and opportunities to participate in life and support their families,” she said. She also wants to see health treatment, housing and opportunities for Baltimoreans who have been left behind. Hill-Aston said she is finally ready for the first time in many years, to advocate on her own behalf. “For the past 40 years, I have gone door-to-door for state and federal senate and delegate candidates. I have worked at the polling booth for years,” Hill-Aston said. “I have done it for other people but, now I’m going to do it for Tessa – I’m doing it for me.”

Continued from D1

“Safe Streets is a proven tool that communities can use to strengthen neighborhood efforts to address violence through outreach, public education, and by partnering with the faith community.”

Race and Politics Continued from D1

testify in a corruption case linked to the notorious Gun Trace Task Force. The homicide detectives Suiter worked side by side with for years seem to be no closer to discovering the murderer of their fallen brother than they were early on in the investigation. This despite the fact that there is a $215,000 bounty on the head of the person who killed Suiter, a husband and father of five. But, for many Baltimore residents, there is no mystery here; they believe Suiter was murdered by one of his own, a member of the police department he belonged to. And some former members of BPD have thrown dirt on the dead man’s name. During the recently concluded Gun Trace Task Force trial, disgraced former detective Momodu Gondo claimed he stole money with Suiter and other cops while on duty back in 2007. Also, the day after he was murdered, Suiter allegedly was going to testify about a case in 2010 involving another former detective and GTTF member, Sgt. Wayne Jenkins. AFRO reporter Stephen Janis reported in Feb., that Umar Burley was involved in a car chase with Suiter and Jenkins, which led to the death of a Baltimore police

officer’s father. Burley’s attorney Steven Silverman alleges Suiter was among a group of cops dressed in black, wearing face masks and not displaying badges and it was Suiter who rammed Burley’s car in an attempt to detain him and steal money from him. Subsequently, a federal drug conviction against Burley was vacated.

“Is there an unsolved murder of a police officer? They know what the hell happened...” – Steven Hersl According to the Associated Press, a family member of another rogue detective from the notorious GTTF, Daniel Hersl, publicly alleged BPD is behind Suiter’s death. After Hersl’s conviction in the GTTF corruption case, his brother Steven Hersl told a group of reporters outside the federal courthouse downtown, “Is there an unsolved murder of a police officer? They know what the hell happened...My

brother Danny Hersl knows what happened...And he’s going to do some talking.” Apparently, the Suiter case is so sordid the FBI refused to take over the investigation as requested by former Commissioner Davis back in Dec. One of the first official tasks of Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa, sworn in on Feb. 28, will allegedly be to bring in an independent review board to put fresh eyes on the Suiter murder. De Sousa, the highly respected 30 year veteran of BPD, seems determined to root out the rot of corruption within the department. Everybody who loves this city hopes he is successful. Still, the stench from the murder of Det. Suiter grows more pungent, as it festers in the pathology of corruption that has been far too pervasive, for far too long, within the BPD. Sean Yoes is the Baltimore editor of the AFRO and host and executive producer of the AFRO First Edition video podcast, which airs Monday and Friday at 5 p.m., on the AFRO’s Facebook page.

Combating Violence Continued from D1

Roca. However, there are individuals who have birthed organic organizations in Baltimore, that are doing vital, often life saving work, who also seek the City’s fiscal largesse. Some feel they have been systematically shut out of the non-profit funding process and these grassroots groups wither and sometimes die when little or no nonprofit resources trickle down. “I think there are a lot of issues with how the money trickles down or moves around,” said Nneka Nnamdi, founder of Fight Blight Bmore, an economic, environmental, and social justice initiative, informed by data to address the issue of

blight. “Those with political collateral or an established non-profit connection seem to get all the rhythm. But, some of the most effective ideas are being conceived by and implemented by those who have neither.” Other grassroots leaders suggest it is necessary to “revisit the bureaucracy around funding.” “Roka and Safe Streets have a history and track record that is healthier and more robust than ours,” said Letrice Gant, one of the co-founders of Baltimore Ceasefire 365, which asks Baltimore residents to not commit murder for 72 hours during Ceasefire weekends.

During the first one, in August 2017, there were two homicides. During the second, in November 2017, there was one homicide and during the third, in February, there were no murders. “I honestly don’t know what goes into deciding who and what to fund, so I don’t think I could make an educated statement about that part of the process. I can say that there are grassroots efforts who have the attention and the respect of the people they serve and they deserve funding to support and amplify their efforts” Others argue relationships, perhaps more than results, determines where non-profit

funds flow in Baltimore. “It’s who is in proximity? What do they look like?” said Maurissa Stone-Bass, director of innovation at The Living Well, a center for social and economic vibrancy in Baltimore. “What keeps the grassroots out is, we typically do not meet the threshold criteria for funding...it is one of the real issues around funding.” However, there is consensus among the grassroots, fund what works. “Baltimore...needs to fund, support and spotlight the people on the ground doing the work,” said Nnamdi. “Fund what the people support and rally around.

It doesn’t have to be Ceasefire. There are plenty of organizations and movements that the streets and their clientele co-sign,” said Gant. Ultimately, Pugh said she is driven by results that translate to saving lives and reducing violence when it comes to funding programs in Baltimore. “It is a program people across the city are asking for to be in their neighborhoods and their communities. Something that proves that it reduces violence...that is data driven,” Pugh said. “No one individual group or organization can take credit for reducing violence in this city, because all of us are working together.”

March 10, 2018 - March 16, 2018, The Afro-American

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world… There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you… and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson From the day God created Eve, women have become change agents in a world of change. In honor of National Woman’s History month, it is our pleasure to acknowledge women who made a difference nationally and internationally. Women like Mae Jemison, Shirley Chisholm, Queen Elizabeth, Hattie McDaniels, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Dorothy Height, Lena Horne, Toni Morrison, Gayle King, Diahann Carroll, Golda Meir, and Margaret Thatcher. “And ain’t I a woman... If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them” Sojourner Truth Let’s look within our city at powerful and dynamic women like: my mother Rev. Pauline Wilkins, Birdie Mae Leverette, Betty Holland Hines, Sheila Dixon, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Catherine Pugh, Cheryl Glenn, Joan Conway, Angela Gibson, Mary Pat Clark, Jill Carter, Dr. Pat Schmoke, Anne Parker, Veris Lee, Dr. Geraldine Waters, Sharon Pinder, Nancy Grasmick, Alice Pinderhughes, Judge Vicki Ballou-Watts, Judge Yvonne Holt-Stone, Dr. Marie Washington, Karmen Brown, Leyla “Gigi” Coleman, Candes Daniels, Dr. Greta Burnett, First Lady Patricia Thomas, Ernestine Jones-Jolivet, Catherine Orange, Alice Torrente, Jackie Washington, Zoey Washington-Sheff, Verna Jones-Rodwell, Marilyn

Mosby, Agnes Welch, Rev. Cecelia Bryant, Rhonda Wimbush, Mildred Harper, Adrienne Jones, Shirley Nathan-Pulliam, Shelly Hettleman, Valerie Ervin, Delores Kelly, Clara Adams, Marcella Holland, Beverly Carter, Minnie Carter, Ursula Battle, Ruth Sheffey, the AFRO’s Takiea Hinton, former AFRO editor Dorothy Boulware, Helen McDonald and Nikita Haysbert. These women make a difference in our lives in the ministry, politics, law, education, entertainment, arts, business, medicine, community activism, and socially, they are the fabrics of our lives. Happy birthday Winfield Kelly Clayton Tucker, Leslie Weems, Hassan Giordano, LaTonya Cobb-Queen, Diane Tunstall, Sheila Wise, Kendrick Tilghman and a special happy 50th birthday Yale Madison. My heart swelled when my youngest son Michael asked me to go to CineBistro with him on his birthday to see Black Panther. An avid moviegoer, he laughed when I said the last time I was at the movies was to see Get On Up. CineBistro is the ideal place for dinner and a movie. Unlike me, my three children are very low key when it comes to celebrations. “Neither rain nor snow…” stopped family and friends from celebrating Dr. Heyward Burrell and Natalie Grady’s birthday at Linwood’s in Pikesville. Guests enjoying delicious food selections from the menu including crabcakes, lobster tempura and liver and onions were: Felicia Colbert, Tammy Colbert, Lauren BrooksJackson, Eugene Smith,

his daughter Jackie Burrell Brown and his wife Katie Burrell. “I’m as restless as a willow in a windstorm. I’m as jumpy as puppet on a string. I’d say that I had spring fever, but I know it isn’t spring. I am starry eyed and vaguely discontented, like a nightingale without a song to sing. O why should I have spring fever. When it isn’t even spring… I haven’t seen a crocus, a rosebud, or a robin on the wing. But, I feel so gay in a melancholy way that it might as well be spring.” Frank Sinatra The March winds did not stop Bishop Josephine and Tommy Ridgley, and me from venturing to Harbor East for dinner at Flemings Restaurant to celebrate their birthday and our friendship. My 50 plus year friend Dr. Marie Washington and Jackie Washington joined us for a fun evening of good food and great conversation. The staff, and manager Mr. Hawkins at Flemings is superb, whether you stop in for dinner or cocktails you get the same attentive service. It was great visiting with retired educator and former school board member Jerrelle Francois, as she continues to recuperate at the beautiful Stadium Place 1010 E. Greenmount Avenue, Suite 108 Baltimore Maryland 21218. Jerrelle is overwhelmed with the love, prayers and cards she has received. “A ministering angel shall my sister be.” William Shakespeare Great seeing my friend Selena Redd who is at the

hospital everyday with her sister Jerrelle. “Ring my bell, yeah ring my bell” Anita Ward Congratulations Trena Taylor Brown on your victory and ringing the bell. Sending bunches of flowers to Tanya Dennis, Donald Abrams and AFRO columnist Rosa Pryor Trusty as they continue to recuperate. Sending our prayers to the family of fashion and etiquette trailblazer Willia Bland, golf pro Tai Mitchell, the Abrams family on the death of Lauretta Walden, Joanne Edwards on her mother’s death and to Brenda Baker and LaVerne Naesea on the death of their father music prodigy and historian, Liston George. What’s happening? Ms. Maybelle and Company present the 11th

annual full figured fashion show, March 18, catered by Forum Caterers at the Patapsco Arena. For tickets, call 443-226-8895. Calling all Poets and friends, the Dunbar Alumni Association bull and oyster roast is, April 14 at the UAW Hall, 1010 Oldham Street. For tickets, contact your favorite Poet. The Howard County

Chapter, Morgan State University Alumni Association, will have their 31st annual Caribbean cabaret- style day party on April 21, for tickets and vendor opportunities, contact Clarence Jeffers at TJ725301@aol.com. “I’ll be seeing you” Valerie and the Friday Night Bunch

March 10, 2018 – March 16, 2018, The Afro-American

The Pi Omega Foundation of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, celebrated their 67th Annual Mardi Gras at the Hilton Hotel Pratt Street downtown on Feb. 24. In the spirit of

Dr. Maria Thompson (CSU Pres.), Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh, Artist Larry “Poncho” Brown (Project Chair.)

Coppin State University (CSU) was selected to receive a limited edition bronze bust of former President Barack Obama. Attendees The dedication ceremony took place in the Parlett L. Moore Library at CSU on Feb. 19. The original sculpture was created by Santa Fe, NM. artist Matthew Gonzalez. CSU was selected to receive the sculpture through the efforts of Baltimore artist Larry “Poncho” Brown, along with the help of philanthropists Joe Ford, James “Winky” Camphor (CSU Alumni), Florine “Peaches” Camphor and the CSU Development Foundation. CSU President Dr. Maria Thompson gave the occasion opening speech. CSU student Mercy Rufai talked about the significance CSU student of the gift. Baltimore Mercy Rufai Mayor Catherine E. Pugh, Robert Caret (Chancellor University Sys. Of MD.), Will Shorter (Student Regent James “Winky” University Sys. of Md.) and other Camphor (CSU Joe Ford Alumni Assoc.) (Project officials attended the unveiling. Committee) Photos by Anderson R. Ward

New Orleans, the 800 or more guests at the MasQUErade Party were entertained with live music, jubilant dancing, and enjoyed an assortment of delicious Creole food

choices for a scrumptious meal. The banquet room was filled with guests who were dressed with masks and beads and colorful costumes.

Foundation Board Members Russell Hopewell, Charles Summers, president, Jon White VP, Melvin Burley, Clarence “JJ” Jeffers, Otho Thompson, president emeritus

Neal Janey Jr., Albert Wylie, Eric Brown

Jo Ann Otis, Patricia Waddy, Robin S.Ott, Dr. Florence Marcus Ramsey

Senator Verna Jones, Joan M. Pratt, Baltimore City Solicitor, Hon. Catherine Pugh, Baltimore Mayor, Angela C. Gaitjer Scott, Denise Smith

Lydia Colbert, Arthur Colbert

Naomi Overstreet, Mary Bennett, Gloria Sinkler

Many gathered at Martin’s West on Feb. 24, to support the League’s benefit. The mission of Ray and Elaine the Greater Baltimore Urban League Guild is Hairston to stimulate, develop and promote volunteer participation and leadership consistent with the goals and objectives of the GBUL A silent auction and a raffle were held. Johnny Graham and the Marvin Edwards, Melanie York, Groove Band Keith Pereira, Courtney Smith and Tom Urbanski provided the music.

Marsha Lewis, Ben Lewis Tammy Moore Flowers, Alonzo Chester Sr

Kizziah Wilson, Leonard Morgan, Lenny Rogers, Peggy Rogers, Betty Pierce, Ann Reese, Jerdell Adair and Stacia Mobley

Renita Fulton and Dennis Fulton

Alicia Jackson, Marc Boles, Debbie Allen, Sheryl Deer and Cheryl Crawford Angela Michele, Barbara Redman (Guild Pres.) and Lily McElveen

Photos by Dr. A. Lois De Laine

Photos by Anderson R. Ward

Vincent Green, Susan Brown, Sheila Jones and Walter Robinson

March 10, 2018 - March 16, 2018, The Afro-American

ARTS & CULTURE

Paris Jackson is Fed-Up with People Altering Her Complexion 2013 during the trial against concert promoter, AEG Live, to determine if they contributed to Jackson’s death because they hired Dr. Conrad Murray. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the case of Jackson’s death in 2011, but AEG Live was eventually found to be not liable. While her father’s complexion was a hot topic during his lifetime, the 19-year-old Jackson’s tweet was a confession of previous struggles about her skin tone and a plea to put a stop to altering it images. “[I] am what [I] am. [I’m] aware of what [I] look lie and [I’m] finally happy with it,” Jackson wrote. Thousands of fans replied to Jackson’s demand to keep her skin tone as is. Many people were very supportive of Jackson’s request. “[I’m] so sorry [Paris]. [I] have never understood why someone would want to chance some[one] else’s skin [color]. [It’s] really upsetting that you even have to point this out,” Jackson fan, Chanel Mercadante wrote on Twitter. “[You’re] beautiful the way you were made! It’s so sad we live in a society where people have to edit things to satisfy their description of what is acceptable to fit into society or what they think society want to see. Never change, stand strong! [You’re] beautiful,” Lainee Cummings, wrote in reply to Jackson’s Wednesday morning tweet.

By Micha Green Washington, D.C. Editor mgreen@afro.com Paris Jackson, daughter of legendary music icon, Michael Jackson, said she has had enough of fans changing her skin complexion to make it appear lighter or darker in photos. “[I] appreciate everything y’all make for me, [I] enjoy every single edit [I] see. [But] please stop lightening my skin to make me look more white. [And] please stop darkening my skin to make me look more mixed,” Jackson tweeted March 7. When a commenter inquired about Jackson’s mentioning of looking ‘mixed’ she replied, “sometimes people say [I] ‘don’t look mixed enough to be bi-racial’,”. Jackson’s father appeared significantly lighter over time than the brown-toned child star who led the Jackson 5, which he attributed to vitiligo, a condition that causes skin to lose its natural color. Throughout his adult life, many people accused the pop superstar of bleaching his skin, yet, after his death in 2009, the autopsy confirmed that he did have vitiligo, according to CNN. “So some areas of the skin appear light and others appear dark,” said coroner, Dr. Christopher Rogers, in

Baltimore Beat’s Short Run Ends

SPORTS

By Sean Yoes Baltimore AFRO Editor syoes@afro.com

The short run of the Baltimore Beat, an alternative weekly newspaper, is over. “Ugh terrible stupid news. Our publisher has decided to stop publishing the Baltimore Beat. The paper is over,” Brandon Soderberg, the newspaper’s managing editor said Tuesday on Twitter. “We launched the Baltimore Beat in November 2017 in an effort to provide a new alternative, independent journalistic voice to the city. We’re proud of the work we’ve done but, unfortunately, advertising support hasn’t been (Twitter) sufficient to sustain us,” said Lisa Snowden-McCray was the editor-in-chief of The the Beat in a statement. “As Baltimore Beat, which is shutting down immediately a result, we are closing the after just a four-month run. Beat effective immediately. Thank you to our readers and advertisers and all those who reached out to help. We’re grateful for the opportunity and regret that we are unable to continue.” Baltimore resident Kevin Naff, of Brown, Naff Pitts Omnimedia, which publishes the Washington Blade, the oldest LGBT newspaper in the country, published the Beat. Lisa Snowden-McCray was the Beat’s editor-in-chief, she along with several other former members of Baltimore City Paper, the alternative weekly, which shuttered after 40 years in Nov. 2017.. “We did really great work in a short time with limited resources,” Snowden-McCray, who was previously a freelance reporter for the AFRO, wrote on Twitter. During an interview with Baltimore Magazine in Jan., Snowden-McCray laid out her vision for the short-lived weekly newspaper. “What is a priority to me, is to keep pushing to get new voices into the paper, and give people a platform for stories that aren’t being told anywhere else,” Snowden-McCray said.

Moore Becomes Latest Terp to Shine at NFL Combine By Mark F. Gray Special to the AFRO Maryland wide receiver D.J. Moore was one of the stars of the 2018 NFL Combine. Most NFL analysts feel Moore became a top five receiver who could be the first player drafted at his position after reportedly being told by the league’s college advisory board to stay in school following the week in Indianapolis that concluded (AP Photo/Gregory Payan) March 5. Maryland wide receiver D.J. Moore turned analysts’ heads Moore defied football with his performance at the recent NFL Combine. logic during his final year in College Park. He was the Big Ten Conference Receiver of the Year after catching passes from four different quarterbacks. He was the entire offense and opposing defenses built their game plans to stop him. But they couldn’t. “He was the offense no matter who the quarterback was,” former Maryland running back and radio analyst LaMont Jordan told the {AFRO}. “What he does after the catch is dangerous.” Moore was every option in Maryland’s spread offense and his statistics were extraordinary. He caught 80 passes for 1,033 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. He ran tough as an extension of the ground attack with touches from the backfield. Moore was physical and scored a rushing touchdown but wasn’t afraid to block either. Despite the tangibles that stand out on video, Moore still had to prove himself in Indianapolis during the NFL’s spandex games. His measurables were better than advertised. After being listed at 5-11 215 pounds in Maryland’s Football media guide he measured 6’0’’, 210 pounds at the combine. Moore then ran his 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds and went from question mark to prototype NFL receiver. He now is officially on the radar of every team in the league. “There are certain teams that if he lands with he could change the game,” said Jordan. “If I’m the NFL, I don’t want to see D.J. Moore land in New England. If he’s drafted by [Washington] he immediately becomes their best receiver. He could go to Dallas and be better than Dez [Bryant] right now.” Moore couldn’t have picked a better time to have a big college season and an impressive combine when leaving Maryland. It has been a great year all around for past and present Terps receivers. His exploits follow those of former Terps receivers Stefon Diggs and Torrey Smith who were major factors in the NFL Playoffs. Smith, who was a part of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl XLVII win over the San Francisco 49’ers, won his second Super Bowl as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. He scored on a 41-yard touchdown pass which broke the NFC championship game open against Diggs’ Minnesota Vikings. A week earlier Diggs sent the Vikings to the conference title game with one of the defining moments of NFL post season history. His 61-yard walk off touchdown gave the Minnesota Vikings a 29-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints in a play known as the “The Miracle in Minneapolis.” It capped a breakout season for Diggs where he became where many think he should’ve been an all pro. Moore is far from a polished receiver but may have greater potential at this stage than his fellow Maryland alumni. His speed is comparable to Smith who has made a name for himself as one of the NFL’s best deep threats. Diggs has polished his route running, gets deep, and plays a bigger role in Minnesota’s offense than Smith for Philadelphia. Jordan, who played with four teams during his nine-year NFL career, said Moore could get better as a pro. “It comes down to his ability to recognize coverages and run routes,” said Jordan. “Because of the injuries [at Maryland] we haven’t seen him play with a real quarterback.”

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Jussie Smollett Finds His Voice What Is Going On at ESPN? and Builds His Own Empire By Perry Green AFRO Sports Editor pgreen@afro.com

By The Associated Press Jussie Smollett marked a breakthrough in 2015 when the TV series “Empire” debuted, launching his career after working in the industry for years, earning Emmy and Grammy nominations, and even getting a record deal with Columbia Records. The anticipation had built around Smollett and his fame, with feverish fans constantly wondering when he would release music apart from his Jamal Lyon persona. (Photo by Victoria Will/Invision/AP) But the songs never Actor-singer Jussie Smollett, from the Fox series, came, and Smollett said he “Empire,” poses for a portrait on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, had to break away from the in New York. Sony label to finally have his voice heard. was like, ‘I gotta go, I gotta go.’ And I asked “I was sitting in a room Fox to take my contract back and they did. full of old straight White men, playing them And that was that.” the stuff that I’d put my heart and soul and Last week Smollett finally put out his my pain and my joy in and they’re telling debut album, “Sum of My Music,” releasing me what piece of that should be heard by the the 10-track set independently on his own people that it actually was created for. I’m label, Music of Sound. like, ‘Well that doesn’t feel like freedom,’” “This is a marathon not a sprint,” he Smollett recalled in an interview with The said, sipping tea with honey comfortably Associated Press March 6. propped on a bed at a hotel in New York City. “And it was in that meeting that I literally “There’s no huge company behind me. ... Every single cent that’s going into this is mine.”

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Ex-ESPN host Adrienne Lawrence recently filed a sexual harassment suit against her former employer, alleging that the network was a hostile environment “rife with misogyny.” Lawrence named several high-profiled employees in her suit, including former legendary sports anchor Chris Berman, who she claimed sent a “racially disparaging” voicemail to her former colleague, Jemele Hill. (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP) Hill responded quickly, calling Lawrence’s Former ESPN anchor Jemele Hill was claim “dangerously inaccurate,” denying named as being a victim of sexual any truth to the accusation involving her and harassment at ESPN by ex-ESPN host Berman. Adrienne Lawrence. Hill denies the claim. “A few years ago, I had a personal conflict with Chris Berman, but the way this conflict release the voicemail to prove the truth. has been characterized is dangerously “I’ll be damned if anyone says this inaccurate,” Hill stated in a letter she posted is for my personal gain,” Lawrence told from her personal Twitter account March ThinkProgress. “Play the voicemail then, 5. “Chris never left any racially disparaging the one that you kept. Play it, I know you remarks on my voicemail and our conflict have it. I’ve never heard it. I went off of her was handled swiftly and with the utmost description of it.” professionalism. I felt as if my concerns Lawrence said her lawsuit, which were taken seriously by ESPN and addressed primarily details her claims of sexual in a way that made me feel like a valued harassment she suffered from Sports Center employee.” anchor John Buccigross, isn’t about personal Hill, 42, continued in her letter, gain and that she debated with herself over if insinuating that she should include Lawrence may be acts of harassment twisting a private that other women conversation Hill had at ESPN suffered with her for her own from, knowing that personal gain. was their private “Frankly, I’m more business. But she disappointed that decided it had to someone I considered be done to spark to be a friend at the culture change one point would needed. misrepresent and relay “It wasn’t easy a private conversation sharing what others without my knowledge — in which I simply had confided in me, but someone has to speak attempted to be a sounding board — for up if anything is to change. These are things personal gain.” people came to me and told me about, and Hill followed up her statement with a they weren’t right. If you don’t bring things tweet stating that her comments defending to light they won’t get better,” Lawrence told Berman were of her own and she was not forced by ESPN or anyone else to make them. ThinkProgress. “This isn’t about me. It’s for the women But speculation has already begun as some there who I left behind that would come to folks have questioned if she’s being forced me and ask me for my help. There are women to come to the defense of her employer. Hill that are scared, there are women trying to left her position as co-anchor of ESPN’s get into this business, and they’re siloed in SportsCenter back in January, saying she silence,” Lawrence continued. wanted to get back to what she was most to “I couldn’t just take a paycheck and be passionate about, which was writing. She silenced, and it’s disappointing that others now writes for The Undefeated, a sports can. It’s really disappointing to see all of and culture news website run by Africanthese women who have the power to say American sports journalists. ESPN owns The something, and yet they will do anything to Undefeated. protect the shield. The shield abused them Lawrence, who is also an AfricanAmerican journalist, stood by her accusations when they were on the way up, and it will abuse them on their way down.” after Hill’s denial and challenged her to

“A few years ago, I had a personal conflict with Chris Berman, but the way this conflict has been characterized is dangerously inaccurate.”-Jemele Hill

Send your news tips to tips@afro.com.

March 10, 2018 - March 16, 2018, The Afro-American

WASHINGTON-AREA

D.C. Residents Fight High Water Bills By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com

Mayor for Life Permanently Memorialized

District of Columbia residents and leaders of African American churches are fed up with having to pay exorbitant water bills and have organized to put a stop to the practice. Two hundred residents and faith leaders convened at the Union Temple Baptist Church in Southeast Washington on March 1 to decide a plan of action to fight the high water bills. The Rev. Willie Wilson, co-pastor of the church, said the problem that Black residents and churches face dealing with their water bills is part of a larger scheme by some forces to get African Americans out of the city. “This water problem connects with gentrification,” Wilson said. “The policies of the District of Columbia government have created the condition we are in.” The District is mandated by federal law to pay $2.9 billion for state-of-the-art tunnels that will keep sewage

Black Business

Calabash Tea & Tonic Sets Table for Expansion By Lenore T. Adkins Special to the AFRO “Hard earned and hard won” is a phrase D.C. herbalist Sunyatta Amen often uses to describe how she found success at Calabash Tea & Tonic, a sanctuary offering dozens of teas and tonic shots purporting to boost sexual performance, make you fall in love, ease anxiety and more. After nearly three years of tending to Shaw’s needs at 1847 7th Street NW, the fifth-generation herbalist is opening a second teashop in Brookland, hopefully by May 8, a day marking her birthday and the Shaw shop’s third anniversary. Amen sees herself as offering a third option to people who consume legal addictive stimulants in the morning and legal addictive depressants at night. “So it’s coffee in the morning, liquor at night,” said Amen, who lives in Brookland. “And we want

The statue of the late Marion S. Barry is in the northeastern section of the John A. Wilson Building. Photo by Rob Roberts

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

District residents are paying higher water bills to clean up the Anacostia River. and groundwater from flooding the area’s rivers. In order to pay for the tunnels, a plan was approved by DC Water’s board in 2009 that would assess a charge of $1.24 per square feet of concrete where water builds up and goes into the sewage system. This is known as the Clean Rivers Impervious Area Charge (IAC). Some District Black churches have high IACs because they have large parking lots attached to their sanctuaries and business

“I want to know what the city council is doing about this. I want to ask them ‘why did you sell us out?’” – Kim Mitchell offices. For example, Union Temple would have high water bills because its large parking lot is right outside of the church whereas Asbury United Methodist Church on 11th Street. N.W. doesn’t have big water assessments because its parking lot is underground and there is Continued on D2

Thousands of District of Columbia residents braved windy weather on March 3 to see the unveiling of a statue of the late Marion S. Barry. The bronze statute is located in the northeastern section of the John A. Wilson Building, the District’s city hall. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) was a driving force in seeing the statue become a reality. “Sometime after Martin had a dream and before President Obama gave us hope, Marion Barry provided opportunity,” the mayor said. “Mr. Barry was a larger than life figure – a

man who could both lead the protest as an activist and engage the protest as mayor. He gave hope to those who had lost it and created access to the middle class for Washingtonians who, for years, had been locked out of power and prosperity. With this statue, we are preserving a tremendous part of Washington, D.C. history and honoring our mayor for life, Marion Barry.” Barry served four terms as the District’s mayor from 19791991 and from 1995-1999. Before he was mayor he served on the D.C. School Board, becoming its president at one point, from 1971-1974 and was elected to the first D.C. Council as an at-large member in 1974. After returning from a sixmonth prison term for drug – Kenny Ford Continued on D2

“Marion Barry was simply an amazing man.”

Sunyatta Amen is founder and owner of Calabash Tea & Tonic in Shaw and is preparing to open a new location in Brookland. Continued on D2

Smithsonian Scholar Takes DC Kids Inside the Fascinating World of Cell Phones By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com Joshua Bell, a cultural anthropologist with the Smithsonian Institution, recently talked to students at a District of Columbia charter school about an everyday gadget that most people in the world use and how it has shaped lives. On Feb. 28, Bell talked to 19 students in the library of Thurgood Marshall Academy in Southeast, D.C. on the topic: “Unseen Connections: The Global Connections of Photo by J. Wright Your Cellphones.” Joshua Bell talks to Bell’s presentation is students at Thurgood part of the USA Science & Marshall Academy. Engineering Festival’s “Nifty Fifty Program” which sends over 200 top scientists and engineers into schools around the country to ignite students’ passion for science and engineering. The festival will be held in the District on April 7-8 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Continued on D3

Shelly Bell, Takia Ross, Shay Johnson, and moderator, Deloris Wilson, at the DC Founder’s Stories dialogue, at the Circular Summit in Washington, D.C.

Black Business Owners Share Hard Won Experiences By Hamzat Sani Special to the AFRO

On March 1st, the city showcased some of its entrepreneurial talent as part of the Circular Summit put on by Hello Alice—a platform bringing together

entrepreneurs, investors, supporters and partners to “build a more inclusive entrepreneurial world together.” The event’s DC Founder’s Stories dialogue, moderated by Inclusive Innovation Fellow at Beacon DC,

Deloris Wilson, gave the floor to some of the women shifting the sands in the District. While getting her law degree at Harvard, Shay Johnson had an idea to solve a problem that was universal Continued on D3

The Afro-American, March 10, 2018 - March 16, 2018

Water Bills Continued from D1

ample parking on the street that is not assessed against the church. When the charge first started in 2009, it was small but now churches can be assessed tens of thousands of dollars that are based on aerial shots of all D.C. properties that have outside concrete. DC Water regulates IAC rates. District Black places of worship such as Imani Temple, Rock Creek Baptist Church and Metropolitan Baptist Church have left the city for Prince George’s County for several reasons, some of which include high water bills. Kim Mitchell is a resident who is also fighting her high water bills. In her testimonial before the gathering, she said she wanted to be a homeowner and achieved her dream but now it is in trouble. “I can’t believe that I will lose my home over a water bill?” Mitchell said. “I want to know what the city council is doing about this. I want to ask them ‘why did you sell us out?’

“I want to tell those Uncle Toms on the city council that has no backbone that it is time for you to go.” A classic example of how high water bills have affected churches is the St. Paul’s Rock Creek Church in Northwest

“There is obviously something wrong and we need something to be done about it soon.” – Cecily Thorne Washington. The church has a parking lot and a large cemetery. Before the IAC program, water bills averaged $400 a month, Cecily Thorne, the church’s director of operations, told the gathering.

“But now our water bills are $19,000 a month,” she said. “We looked closely at the bill and saw that only $1500 was for water use. We have a cemetery that has been in the city since the 1700s. “There is obviously something wrong and we need something to be done about it soon,” Thorne said. A number of leaders pledged at the meeting to work together to create an ad hoc civic and political engagement organization that will fight the exorbitant water bills. Some of the members it include the Rev. Graylan Hagler of the Plymouth Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ, Rev. Keith Byrd of Zion Baptist Church, health care activist Ambrose Lane, Ed Lazere, candidate for chairman of the D.C. Council, and solar power activist Robert Robinson. After the meeting, residents signed up for various committees such as phone banking and community outreach.

Mayor for Life Continued from B1

possession in 1992, Barry ran for the Ward 8 D.C. Council position and was elected overwhelming that year and served in the District’s legislative body until he was

of ceremonies was popular radio disc jockey Donnie Simpson. The “Star Spangled Banner” was sung by vocalist John Lesane. Bishop Glen A. Staples of the Temple of

“The people of the District identified with him and his struggles.” – Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton re-elected mayor in 1995. Barry died on Nov. 23, 2014. The ceremony was held in front of the Wilson Building on Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. with the overflow on Freedom Plaza. The master

Praise church delivered the invocation. The Eastern High Marching Band performed. Former U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman; Ben’s Chili Bowl co-founder Virginia Ali; former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame

Brown; former council members Michael Brown, Harold Brazile and Harry Thomas Jr.; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, the former president of Bennett College for Women; and D.C. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Chairwoman Marie Johns were among the notable guests in the audience. Michael A. Rogers, chairman of The Commission to Commemorate and Recognize the Honorable Marion Barry Jr., said while members of the commission had different ideas on how to honor the late former mayor, one idea resonated with all. “There was a pretty common sentiment that there should be a statue on Pennsylvania Avenue,” Rogers said. The commission

Photo by Hamil Harris

A District resident honored Marion Barry by holding a sign about Ward 8, the ward he represented until his passing in 2014 . also decided to honor Barry with the re-naming of Ballou High School, a major street, and the new University of the District of Columbia student center. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes

Norton (D) told the gathering that Barry was an uncommon political actor. “I am here to deliver a rare tribute to a politician who people in the District not merely voted for but whom they loved,”

Norton said. “The people of the District identified with him and his struggles.” Norton said the statue is a “loving memorial from his city.” Barry’s wife, Cora, was greeted with long applause and a standing ovation. She said her husband was relentless in reaching his goals and encouraged others to follow that legacy. “He said never stop, never quit,” she said. “If you get knocked down, you need to get back all the way up.” The men of Alpha Phi Alpha, the college fraternity that Barry joined, sang while surrounding the statue. Former D.C. Council member Yvette Alexander told the AFRO that a statue to Barry is fitting. “I am here to honor a D.C. legend. He served four terms as mayor and I don’t see anyone doing that in my lifetime,” she said.

Calabash

Continued from D1

The future site of Calabash Tea & Tonic opening in Brookland. tobe that alternative, that third answer. It’s not A or B, it’s the third answer sometimes.” As the Northeast D.C. neighborhood continues to transition, Amen is getting into Brookland to offer the same programs to residents before the gentrification really ramps up. “What you have to do is install those beacons of light for people where they can come and decompress, where everyone is welcome, where people can pop in and feel better about their job, their mission, their life, take a breath,” Amen said. “We’ve had people come in (the Shaw shop) for their first dates and we’ve had people come in here after their houses have burned down.” The new space is 900 square feet, just 50 square feet larger than her Shaw location. But her Brookland digs will include a patio with a garden of medicinal plants and culinary herbs. Amen said she’ll continue developing her partnership with Cultivate the City, an organization that teaches kids how to grow herbs. She said she envisions children building planter boxes and inviting the community to a sip and plant. She expects to hire eight

employees, the same number of people working in her Shaw location. Amen said she will continue her commitment to hiring single moms, veterans and returning citizens. Amen will serve the Brookland community through programming that encourages women in shelters to take classes on tea, herb blending, natural skin and body care — a program she’ll continue maintaining at her Shaw location. Amen aims to reconnect people to their community and turn them into healers. “This is a thinly disguised apothecary in a community space,” Amen said of her business. “We want them to know that this is their neighborhood and that they belong here.” Amen’s tea blends are organic and rooted in her Cuban-Jamaican great-grandmother’s formulas. Her parents ran a store similar to her tonic shop near the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem —her shop in Shaw is just blocks away from the Howard Theater. The Brookland teahouse will be located at 2701 12th Street NE and it’ll be open from 9am to 8pm. Like the location in Shaw, it will offer coffee, baked goods, pastries and other small things to savor.

March 10, 2018 - March 16, 2018, The Afro-American

Cell Phones Continued from D1

Bell works at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in the Ethnology Division. Bell told the students that in his work, he has been to Papua New Guinea, Petra, Tunisia and Jordan. He said cell phones are used all over the world. “The cell phone is the perfect example of globalization,” he said. “It allows us to communicate and engage in our daily activities and it has changed the way we as humans interact.” Bell said 90 percent of the world’s population has a mobile phone and its creation and proliferation “is the fastest development in human history.” “There are probably 6.8 billion mobile phones in circulation,” he said. “It is surprising to find that of the countries and areas of the world with the most subscriptions

aren’t the United States but Russia and the Middle East.” Bell said the first cell phone was used by Marty Cooper on April 3, 1973 in New York City. Cooper is known as the “father of the cell phone” and helped it become commercialized in the

“The cell phone is the perfect example of globalization.” – Joshua Bell 1980s. Bell told the students that 95 percent of Americans have cell phones and 77 percent use smartphones. “The cell phone has become an indispensable thing,” he

said. “For example, if I leave my wallet at home I will be fine, but if I leave my cell phone I go back in the house and get it.” Bell answered questions from the students, all of whom owned a cell phone. He said, in response to one query, that in 10 years, it is quite possible cell phones could be implanted in human bodies. Bell said the radiation that cell phones tend to generate has health professionals and scholars researching how this affects the human body. He noted that the cell phone has components that make it a world-assembled product. “A typical cell phone has materials from Asia, California, South Korea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” Bell said. Bell also noted that of the 103 chemical elements “43 are in your cell phone.”

Black Business Owners Continued from B1

in the Black community, namely the diminishment of self worth and potential imposed on girls of color by society. Noting that girls of color were across the board underrepresented in professions requiring prolonged training and formal qualifications, she paired with three other Harvard students and alumna to enter the Harvard Innovation lab Incubator program. As part of that program, Johnson and her team became the first Harvard Law School team to win the Harvard’s Deans’ Cultural Entrepreneurship Challenge as the challenge’s first all-Black and all-female team. Since that historical win in 2016, Shay and the MAGIC team, most now graduates of Harvard, have hit the ground running with their Magic MakeHer platform. Magic creates products that cultivate career exploration, development and awareness within young girls. Their “Starter Box” and “Career Box” include items such as a “directly relatable” doll, books on career and self-image as well as role model cards highlighting successful women and career paths. In speaking to the audience Johnson said that despite her achievements, her business is not at a place where it can support her fully, making it necessary to have a full time job and a different perspective on the traditional work schedule. “I don’t do math very well... but there are over 140 hours during a week, presumably if you work 40 of those hours and cut down on sleep you can work two full time jobs. So essentially I just work around the clock.” To help find balance and time for self-care, Johnson works with her three other founders to delegate the operations of the company. On the question of getting access to capital in a challenging landscape for Black women founders, Johnson noted having to educate potential white male investors on the merit of her product line despite the anecdotal and researched evidence supporting it. Takia Ross, founder of Accessmatized , started small and local in her dining room, grew big enough to shift to her living room, and now, even with a stdio, temporarily occupies the homes of her growing clientele that are limited by factors that make it hard to get to a salon. Ross and her team bring their makeup artistry to clients through in-home sessions, their Pretty Mobile glam

bus or the recently opened Accessmatized Studio in Baltimore. “We grew from our home base with the idea that we are good, good girlfriends that if you sit in my chair, you are my good, good girlfriend and we are stuck together.” Her authentic and humanizing approach to empowering women through her makeup artistry has allowed her to grow a community of women that she calls her Fabglamazons, in turn empowering her to take on opportunities to grow

her business. Ross spoke about the difficulty of growing a team after being a solo act and ensuring that customers received the same amount of

“You have to realize that CEOs grow businesses, they don’t run them. You have to bring on people that are ready to rock out like you rock out. That

” You have to realize that CEOs grow businesses, they don’t run them.” –Takia Ross care, service and attention her unique personality provides.

are willing to work like you work. So when I close my eyes I know that my team

is treating my clients like I would do. And it’s like turning your first born baby to school for the first time, its hard.” Ross tackled the question of pitching funders by noting the importance of utilizing one’s boss alter ego - hers being “Kiki” - that enters the room not with the intention of asking for money but with the confidence that it will be given. “You have to pitch with your heart but also with the knowledge that if you give me money or not I’m going

to do it anyway.” Ross ended her time by noting the importance of female founders allowing themselves to space to make mistakes. “Ladies please allow yourselves grace and mercy. You allow other people in your life to make mistakes. You allow other people to fail and you push them forward... Remember that when you fail, when you don’t get it right, when it doesn’t work. Just remember grace and mercy and then get up and do it again tomorrow.”

March 10, 2018 – March 16, 2018, The Afro-American

Cadet Simone Askew, First Captain of the Corps of Cadets, West Point, Dr. James Dula, Maj., USAF, Ret.

In memory of 2Lt. Richard Collins, III

ASALH Honors Black Participation in War and African American Excellence The Association for the Study of African American Life and History(ASALH) led by national president, Dr. Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, held its 92nd Annual Black History Month Luncheon on Sat. Feb 24 at the Washington Renaissance Hotel in Northwest, Washington, DC, with 1,000 guests in attendance. Guests packed the grand ballroom for a program that centered around the national Black History Month theme: African Americans in Times of War. The afternoon lineup included lunch, a commemorative recognition of Vietnam War Veterans with the presentation of Lapel Pins, the unveiling of the United States Postal Service Black History Series Stamp of Lena Horne, a panel discussion of the national theme with panelists, the honoring of Dr. Bettye Collier-Thomas and Edgar Brookins, Afro American Newspaper and a check presentation of $20,000.00 to ASALH by the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and its Foundation.

Frances Johnson, Ms. Senior DC, Andrea Roane, anchor, WUSA9 News, the emcee, Cadet Simone Askew, Maj. Jaspen “Jas” Boothe, Maj. Ireka Sanders, Lt. Gen.(Ret.) William “Kip” Ward, and Shanel James, Miss US International

Unveiling of the Black Heritage Commemorative Stamp by Ronald A. Stroman, Deputy Postmaster General, USPS and Dr. Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham

Andrea Young interviewing Maj. Gen. Arnold Fields, USMC, retired representing the Vietnam War Commemoration

Amy Billingsley and author Dr. Andrew Billingsley with Malaak Shebazz(standing), Malcolm X’s daughter

Andrea Roane, anchor, WUSA9 News, emcee

Sylvia Cyrus, Sharon Harley, Executive Council Member, honoree Dr. Bettye Collier-Thomas, Dr. Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham and Dr. Sheila Flemming-Hunter. Dr. Stephanie Myers, author, Invisible Queen

Dr. Gladys Gary Vaughn, Luncheon Co-Chair

Members of the luncheon registration team headed by Ferial Bishop(3rd from the left)

Antonio Know, 40th Grand Basileus, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity(left) and Kenneth Brown, Chairman, Omega Life Membership Foundation(right) presenting checks totaling $20.000.00 to Dr. Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, ASALH President

Dr. Vernon A. Shannon, Dr. Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Dr. Frances Murphy Draper, Chairman of the Board/ Publisher, Afro American Newspaper, Edgar Brookins, General and Circulation Manager, Washington Afro American Newspaper, Andre Draper and Diane Hocker

Omega Men and the Grand Basileus, Antonio Knox(center) with Cadet Simone Askew.

Photos by Rob Roberts

Roy Lewis(center) receiving his Vietnam War Commemoration Lapel Pin

D.C. City Ward 4 Councilman Brandon Todd and guest