November 11, 2017 - November 11, 2017, The Afro-American A1 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION
Volume 127 No. 35
APRIL 7, 2018 - APRIL 13, 2018
Baltimore
Following Oaks’ Sudden Resignation, 41st District Senate Seat Up For Grabs
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Thousands of people from across the country came to Washington, D.C. to rally against racism and honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Clergy Fuel Rally Against Racism By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., some of the country’s most distinguished ministers rallied together to call on the American people to wake up, stand up and be part of the change in ending racial injustices. On April 4, a half-century after King’s assassination
in Memphis at the Lorraine Hotel, the National Council of Churches held an A.C. T. (Awaken, Confront, Transform) Rally Against
Vashti Murphy McKenzie, who presides over the denomination’s Tenth District. “I wrote a letter
“I am here to continue the walk towards equality while continuing my walk in faith.” -Kamron Redding Racism on the National Mall in the District of Columbia. The keynote speaker of the event was AME Bishop
recently to my toddler granddaughter,” McKenzie said to the crowd of thousands. “I said that I hope
Rally to End Racism Stirs Thousands By Tilesha Brown Special to the AFRO ACT Now. Take a stand. That was the order of the day. And as thousands converged onto the National Mall in Washington, D.C. April 4 to rally for the end of racism, the organizers of this movement had no problem getting its crowd up and out of their seats, ready to move toward finding solutions. As music acts like Yolanda Adams and Marvin Sapp lifted the program with song, and speakers like DeRay McKesson and Danny Glover took the stage one after the other to stir the crowd toward action, the mall came alive. The crowd even went wild for the famous White duo, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, as they reimagined their success story as
entrepreneurs in the ice cream business, placing themselves in the shoes of two Black men trying to live the American dream. Moving steadily for most of six hours, the event sustained its excitement from start to finish. Flanked on one side by the U.S. Capitol and the other by the Washington Monument, some stood while some sat on blankets, lawn chairs, and park benches in the fog, rain, and wind into the afternoon. Silent protesters walked around with signs speaking out against unemployment and systemic discrimination while the abundant sight of clergy collars alongside large congregations blended into a sea of more signs declaring support of Dr. King’s dream. Volunteers made their way through the crowd
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Thousands braved cold, wet weather to attend the Rally to End Racism.
she doesn’t inherit a U.S. so divided.” The rally was designed to ignite the dialogue on racism in the country. People from
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Colleague Remembers MLK
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Commentary
The Black Press and the Baltimore ’68 Riot Part 1 of 2 By E. R. Shipp Special to the AFRO Perhaps, as with the assessment of Martin Luther King Jr., an appreciation of the significance of the riot – or civil disturbance – of 1968 grows with time. It was certainly not the centerpiece of news coverage in the AFRO, which back then produced multiple editions that were distributed in Washington, Richmond, Philadelphia and other cities. With more recent anniversaries, including the 40th in 2008, the AFRO has devoted more space to the lasting impact the 1968 riot had on the city and its people. But back during what the now-defunct Baltimore NewsAmerican decried as the city’s “60 hours of shame” Continued on A4
Remembering the Chaos and Destruction of Baltimore ‘68 Riot By J. K. Schmid Special to the AFRO “My God, there’s going to be some action this summer,” the AFRO reported April 6, 1968. The quote is from an unnamed youth on Pennsylvania Avenue. The AFRO reporting of the immediate aftermath of the murder of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. describes a community almost physically struck or dazed at the news. “It don’t seem real, it just don’t seem real,” one youth stand on a Walbrook corner mumbled, his arms waving, pacing in front of two friends. Acts of arson were reported almost immediately,
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according to the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD) reports, but their record considers the first significant act of violence to have started at 12:38 a.m. It was a firebombing of Hoffman’s liquor store at Park Heights Avenue. The BPD was on the watch for anything, and marks the first signs of organized, or at least coalesced, unrest at Coppin State and Northwestern High School where students that Friday “refused to follow the regular academic routine.” “There was school Friday, although my mother wasn’t sure whether she wanted me Continued on A6