PG County 6-29-2018 by AFRO News

Who Killed Det. Sean Suiter? 225 Days and Counting

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION

Volume 127 No. 47

JUNE 30, 2018 - JULY 6, 2018

Inside Listen to the Poor and Disenfranchised

Natalie Gillard Uses Her DIY Talents to Promote Inclusion

Prince Georges’ County

Alsobrooks Makes History with Democratic Nomination for County Executive

Changes Coming in Next School Year

Angela Alsobrooks, State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, made history as the first woman poised to be Prince George’s County Executive.

Following Defeat, Baker Graciously Concedes to Jealous

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By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks made history on June 26 when county Democratic voters made her their choice to be the next county executive. As a result of her 62 percent victory, Alsobrooks becomes the first woman poised to be the chief administrative manager and political leader of Prince George’s County. She faced

major opponents such as former U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards and outgoing Maryland State Sen. C. Anthony Muse for the Democratic nomination. “The voters of Prince George’s County made it loud and clear to me,” Alsobrooks told the AFRO at her victory party at The Hotel at the University of Maryland in College Park on June 26. “They want good government and they want me to listen to them. They want a good school system and a better quality of life.” Continued on D2

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Washington

(Courtesy Photo)

Rushern Baker III is the outgoing county executive for Prince George’s County. By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com

By Hamil R. Harris Special to the AFRO Traveling along the BaltimoreWashington Parkway and I-270 could come with a toll if President Donald Trump and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan have their way. The U.S. Department of the Interior and the Governor have signed an agreement to consider transferring ownership of the BW-Parkway from Uncle Sam to the state of Maryland or install toll lanes but such an agreement would have to be approved by Congress. Completed in 1954, the 29-mile federal highway is a road, park and monument all in one. The parkway, which is lined with trees and prohibits big trucks, is dedicated to former Prince George’s County lawmaker and Congresswoman Gladys Noon Spellman

(Courtesy Photo)

A photo for the exit to the Baltimore Washington Parkway

Continued on A2

Bryson’s Passion Keeps P.G. County’s Spring Sports Awards Swinging By Mark F. Gray Special to the AFRO

Dr. Rick Bryson has a passion for baseball, kids and athletes. The Prince George’s County based podiatrist has worked tirelessly to bring attention to swing sports with little support. Nonetheless, Bryson continues to spend his time and his money to bring attention to high school baseball and softball in a county where those sports have become an afterthought. The Prince George’s County High School Baseball/ Softball Awards celebrated its fourth anniversary at Kentland Community Center in Landover honoring the top “swing

sports” athletes throughout the county. Thirty-five players representing public and private schools were recognized for their accomplishments on the diamond, in the classroom and community service. When he started the unsanctioned event in 2014, Bryson was hoping to bring baseball and softball out from the shadows of more popular sports in Prince George’s County. Football and basketball garner more attention, since the area is heavily recruited and many players leave to become accomplished college athletes and ultimately NBA and NFL stars; as a result baseball and softball athletes are given little recognition. “Programs like this capture something that showcases

Continued on A2

Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker III lost to former NAACP president Ben Jealous to secure the Democratic nomination to challenge Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in the November 6 general election. Baker received 29 percent of the vote while Jealous had 39 percent. Baker was gracious in his concession to Jealous. “I congratulate Mr. Jealous on a hard fought campaign,” Baker said with 70 people at the College Park Marriott & Convention Center in College Park, Md., on June 26. “It is important that a Democrat win the governorship.” Baker thanked his supporters and campaign staff as well as members of his family. He promised that he would work hard to make the transition for the next county executive smooth. Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks won the Democratic nomination to replace Baker. Baker is the second African American politician from Prince George’s County to seek the Democratic nomination for governor, with Continued on A2

The Afro-American, June 30, 2018 - July 6, 2018

Allsbrook Continued from A1

Alsobrooks is a native Prince Georgian and holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Duke University and a juris doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Law. She has served as the executive director of the Prince George’s County Revenue Authority and has been county’s top prosecutor from 2010 to the present. Alsobrooks faces Republican Jerry Mathis in

the Nov. 6 general election. She has a tremendous advantage over Mathis because Democrats outnumber Republicans in Prince George’s County, 3 to 1. Replacing Alsobrooks as state’s attorney is former Maryland Del. Aisha Braveboy. Braveboy told the AFRO that she will take time to reflect on her win and down the road, talk to employees of the state’s attorney office and ponder its future. Voters also retained Melvin High as the sheriff.

Brown

Continued from A1 U.S. Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) as the first in 2014. Hogan ran unopposed in his bid for a second term. Baker served in the Maryland General Assembly as a member of the House of Delegates representing district 22B in Prince George’s County from 1994-2003. He was a candidate for Prince George’s County Executive in 2002 and 2006 but came up short. Baker was elected to the county executive in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. Baker had the support of many so-called

Aisha Braveboy won over 62 percent of the vote for State’s Attorney in the Democratic Primary on June 26. The winners of the county council at-large

establishment politicians during the primary campaign such as U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Montgomery County Executive Isaiah Leggett (D). He has been credited for the economic revival of Prince George’s County with projects at the New Carrollton Metro Station and Westphalia along with additions such as MGM Grand that is near the National Harbor. However, the ongoing troubles with the county’s school system have been blamed on Baker because of his decision to stand by the now departed CEO Dr. Kevin Maxwell.

“It is important that a Democrat win the governorship.”-Rushern Baker III.

races were Prince George’s County Council member Mel Franklin (D-District 9) and political operative Calvin Hawkins. Hawkins told the AFRO that he will “listen to the people of Prince George’s County and be their servant.” Former Maryland delegate Jolene Ivey won the District 5 County Council seat while in District 7 voters had a dilemma with Karen Anderson, Rodney Streeter

and Kathy Oriadha, still fighting for the seat at AFRO press time. Monique Anderson-Walker won the District 8 county council seat. Walker is the wife of

Benson was re-elected along with Maryland Del. Erek Barron and Maryland Del. Jazz Lewis was elected to his first full term with Andrea Harrison. In Maryland Legislative District 25, Melony Griffith won the Senate seat along with newcomer Nick Charles and incumbents Dereck Davis and Darryl Barnes. Cereta Lee retained her seat as the registrar of wills.

“The voters of Prince George’s County made it loud and clear to me.”-Angela Alsobrooks. Maryland Del. Jay Walker (D-District 26), who was also re-elected. In Maryland Legislative District 24, Sen. Joanne

Parkway

Continued from A1 and it ferries thousands of cars between Washington D.C. and Baltimore daily. But in recent years, the aging roadway is better known for its many accidents and interminable backups. Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke signed the agreement earlier this month to consider the transfer to Maryland. Governor Hogan signed the document June 22 that calls for a study to determine if installing tolls or transferring the roadway would be “an appropriate use of this Federal resource.” While Hogan has enjoyed support from Democrats, this move couldn’t have come at a worst time. He is certain to be challenged on the proposal by Rep. Steny Hoyer (DMd.). The Hogan administration has promised to work with Maryland’s Congressional delegation on a bill that would transfer control of the parkway to the state either as part of a sale or trade of property to the Maryland Transportation Authority. The Baltimore-Washington Parkway is part of a $9 billion effort proposed by Governor Hogan to install toll lanes around the state.

He also wants to install tolls on the Capital Beltway in Maryland and on Interstate 270 up to Gaithersburg. The tolls would pay for the multi-billion dollar expansion. In what could be a traffic nightmare on a corridor often plagued by accidents, Hogan also wants to widen the road with additional lanes in each direction. Maryland officials have crafted plans to add privately operated toll lanes on the parkway and 270. The public has several opportunities to weigh in on the BW Parkway and I-270 proposals: July 17 Eleanor Roosevelt High School. 7601 Hanover Parkway Greenbelt, MD 20770. July 24 Central High School 200 Cabin Branch Road Capitol Heights, MD 20743. July 25 Thomas W. Pyle Middle School 6311 Wilson Lane Bethesda, MD 20817

Sports Award Continued from A1

(Courtesy Photo)

Prince George’s County baseball and softball players are joined by community leaders after the 2018 Awards Banquet at Kentland Community Center in Landover. told the AFRO. “Most parents aren’t used to seeing this kind of exposure for their softball or baseball player.” This event was from the days where Bryson was actively involved with a barnstorming traveling youth baseball team that participated in tournaments throughout the mid-Atlantic region based at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Fort Washington. The team was a collection of players who were passionate about the game and were looking for a chance to compete on an organized team that traveled like AAU basketball or track teams summer programs. His son Blake couldn’t play at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria and didn’t have his dad’s passion for basketball so he had to make the sacrifice during the late spring and summer to satisfy his enthusiasm for baseball. “Most parents rely on high schools to provide athletes with a platform to compete in sports but if there’s not an opportunity you’ve got to make it happen,” Bryson adds. The awards banquet has grown without the benefit of major sponsorship or the official sanctioning of the Prince George’s County Athletic Association. While Dr. Bryson’s tenacity and advertisements by elected officials in the souvenir program provide the budget, the banquet may not have survived had it not been for the Bowie Baysox. The Baltimore Orioles

AA affiliate legitimized the event by giving it a venue for two previous years that projected credibility to the County’s athletic community. More coaches have become involved in the process of selecting honorees and parents now see value in exposing their kids to America’s national pastime. “The event works because of the interaction with other entities in the community with the intention of preparing our kids in Prince George’s County for success,” said Bryson. “Our growth has been helped by getting more support from the coaches as well. We are proving that.” This year’s keynote speaker was Jim Coleman, the president and CEO of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation. Coleman, author of the book Cut the Crap and Close the Gap, used that as the basis for challenging this year’s group of honorees to return home from college with degrees and make a lasting impact on the future of the County. His challenge was for them to think about becoming millionaires in the most affluent African American county in the United States. “Our success is a function of interaction with other entities in the community with the mission of preparing [Prince George’s County] kids for success,” said Bryson.

The Afro-American, June 30, 2018 - July 6, 2018

The D.C. office of the AFRO hosted its inaugural High Tea at the Thurgood Marshall Center, in Northwest, Washington, D.C. on June 24. Following the theme of the tea, We Too Support #MeToo, the program empowered women to stand up for what they believe in, tap into their strength and encourage others to be their “sisters’ keepers.” Honorees included Co-founder of Ben’s Chili Bowl Virginia Ali, Dr. Kimberly L. Jeffries Leonard of the Links Incorporated and Andrea Roane, longtime journalist and WUSA 9 anchor. Keynote speakers included L.Y. Marlow of Saving Promise, Dr. Hattie Washington, author and founder of Aunt Hattie’s Place and motivational speaker and inner confidence strategist Regina Robinson. Radio One Senior Correspondent Ebony McMorris served as Mistress of Ceremonies.

AFRO General Manager Edgar Brookins, WUSA 9 Anchor Andrea Roane, Co-founder of Ben’s Chili Bowl Virginia Ali, Mistress of Ceremonies and Radio One Senior Correspondent Ebony McMorris, AFRO Publisher Frances M. Draper and AFRO Washington, D.C. Editor Micha Green

A screen grab from the video of Dr. Kimberly L. Jeffries accepting her AFRO Woman of Excellence Award

Thomasina Yearwood, President of the Thurgood Marshall Center Trust

Co-founder of Ben’s Chili Bowl and Honoree Virginia Ali accepting her award

Honoree and WUSA 9 anchor Andrea Roane accepts her award Keynote Speaker, L.Y. Marlow, Saving Promise

Mistress of Ceremonies and Radio One Senior Correspondent Ebony McMorris Guests chat before the tea begins

Singer Bernetta Townsend

AFRO Board Member Lynn Murphy Michalopoulos and Michelle Bailey Keynote Speaker, Dr. Hattie Washington, Author, Aunt Hattie’s House

Guests pose

Rev. Dr. E. Gail Anderson Holness

Vida Ali and Virginia Ali of Ben’s Chili Bowl

Keynote Speaker Regina Robinson, Author, Motivational Speaker

Michelle Drummond, Michelle Bailey and Candice Adkins

Guests

Cellist Benjamin Gates

Photos by Rob Roberts

Danyell Smith(standing) and AFRO columnist Valerie Frailing

June 30, 2018 - July 6, 2018, The Afro-American

NATIONAL NEWS

Inside

Washington

Natalie Gillard Uses Her DIY Talents to Promote Inclusion

Following Graduation Scandal, Changes Coming in Next School Year

Listen to the Poor and Disenfranchised

DC AFRO High Tea Redefines #MeToo Movement Photo by Rob Roberts

AFRO General Manager Edgar Brookins, AFRO Board member Lynn Murphy Michalopoulos, WUSA 9 Anchor Andrea Roane, Co-founder of Ben’s Chili Bowl Virginia Ali, Michelle Bailey, Mistress of Ceremonies and Radio One Senior Correspondent Ebony McMorris, and AFRO Washington, D.C. Editor Micha Green were part of the AFRO’s High Tea in Washington, D.C. supporting the #MeToo movement.

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The inaugural AFRO High Tea in D.C. on June 24 celebrated and supported women while giving women a platform to rip the covers off domestic violence in their families that goes back several generations. In doing so, they brought the #MeToo campaign back to its original audience — as a campaign focused on

centering African-American women’s stories about pain and violence. At the same time, the 125-yearold newspaper honored three local leaders with its “Women in Excellence Reaching Higher” award for their contributions in the community. The honorees were: Virginia Ali, cofounder, owner and operator of Ben’s Chili Bowl, which turns 60 this year; Dr. Kimberly L. Jeffries Leonard, national vice president of The Links and The

Links Foundation and Andrea Roane, a news anchor and Emmy award-winning journalist at WUSA Channel 9 since 1981. “It’s a pleasure to be here and I’m deeply honored to be recognized by our Washington AFRO ,” Ali told the crowd, pointing out that the newspaper, along with the Industrial Bank and Lee’s Flower Shop, are three Black-owned businesses that have stood the test of

Continued on B3

The Day (and Night) Ben Jealous Won the Democratic Gov. Primary By J. K. Schmid Special to the AFRO

Photo by J.K. Schmid

Ben Jealous and supporters at the Barack Obama Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

What follows is an intimate account of Ben Jealous’ final day of campaigning before his decisive primary win. Polls are open at Barack Obama Elementary School June 26 at 7 a.m. Ben Jealous’ boosters are already out in force, waving signs, waving to voters, and waving down cars to thank them for voting. The school behind them is a massive campus of brick and steel and glass, its atrium reflects the blue sky and thin clouds of early morning. The candidate arrives

Continued on B3

Say Hello to New AFRO Intern, Ty’rique Sims

By Matthew Ritchie Special to the AFRO

The Baltimore office of the AFRO has a couple of new interns (myself included) who are fully prepared to grow and gain experience at the storied newspaper. This article is a chance to meet the other intern with whom I work with, Ty’rique Sims. Sims is a senior at Morgan State University in Baltimore, in addition to his internship. He has grown accustomed to the city during his

time at Morgan. Baltimore is a stark departure for Sims because he hails from Somers Point, New Jersey, which he describes as “a small shore town.” Somers Point has a population of roughly 10,000 people. He left New Jersey to come to Morgan to pursue a degree in journalism. When asked why he chose this major, Ty’rique said, “My overall goal is to become a sports journalist. My love of sports led me to want to pursue a career in journalism.” Continued on B3

Photo by Matthew Ritchie

Ty’rique Sims is one of the AFRO’s latest interns. He is majoring in journalism at Morgan State University.

D.C. Residents Prominent In Poor People’s Campaign Rally

New Bill Seeks to Help Returning Citizens By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com On May 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill, “The Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed, Safely Transitioning Every Person Act” (FIRST STEP) by a bipartisan vote, 360-59. The bill was co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), a member of the CBC, and Doug Collins (R-Ga.). “The bill will transform lives by providing access to the mental health counseling, education and vocational services, and substance abuse treatment needed to help incarcerated individuals get back on their feet and become productive members of society,” he said. Jeffries said the FIRST STEP Act “is simply the end of the beginning on a journey undertaken to eradicate our mass incarceration epidemic in America.” President Trump supports the bill. Highlights of the bill include provisions that an inmate cannot be incarcerated more than 500 miles from their home, an identification card has to be provided upon release, release conditions relaxed, changing compassion release based on age from 65 to 60 and from 75 percent of sentence served to 66 percent done, more resources put into inmates who have significant mental and emotional challenges and increasing the number of good time credits served. Jeffries had the support of the majority of the CBC including its chairman, U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), but some of its House members such as Reps. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) voted against the bill saying it did nothing to reduce

Continued on B3

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The Afro-American, June 30, 2018 - July 6, 2018

WHAT’S TRENDING ON AFRO.COM Joe Jackson, Family Patriarch, Dies at 89 By The Associated Press

Charlottesville Driver Faces Federal Hate Crime Charges By The Associated Press

(AP Photo/Michael A. Mariant)

Joe Jackson (left), the patriarch of America’s most famous musical clan, has died.

Joseph Jackson, the strong, fearsome patriarch of the musical Jackson family, has died, according to a person close to the family. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not allowed to discuss the topic publicly, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he died but had no additional information. He was 89. The stage dad of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and their talented siblings took his family from poverty in Gary, Indiana, and launched a musical dynasty. Five of his boys — Michael, Jermaine, Marlon, Tito and Jackie — made the clan an instant sensation with the arrival of the Jackson 5 in 1969. Over the following decades, millions would listen to recordings by the Jacksons, and Michael would become one of the most popular entertainers in history before his death in 2009.

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(Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail via AP)

James Alex Fields Jr., accused of plowing a car into a crowd of people protesting a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., killing a woman and injuring dozens more, has been charged with federal hate crimes.

Federal hate crime charges were filed June 27 against a man accused of plowing a car into a crowd of people protesting a White nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing a woman and injuring dozens more. The Department of Justice announced that an indictment returned Wednesday charges 21-yearold James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, with 30 crimes, including one count of a hate crime resulting in the death of Heather Heyer, and 28 other hate crimes involving an attempt to kill other people who were injured. “Last summer’s violence in Charlottesville cut short a promising young life and shocked the nation,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. “Today’s indictment should send a clear message to every would-be criminal in America that we aggressively prosecute violent crimes of hate that threaten the core principles of our nation.” Authorities have said that Fields, described by a former teacher as having a keen interest in Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler, drove his speeding car into a group of people demonstrating against the “Unite the Right” rally that drew hundreds of white nationalists to the college town, where officials planned to remove a Confederate monument. The attack came after the rally had descended into chaos — with violent brawling between attendees and counterdemonstrators — and authorities had forced the crowd to disband. Fields had been photographed hours beforehand with a shield bearing the emblem of Vanguard America, one of the hate groups that took part, although the group denied any association with him. Fields already faces state charges including first-degree murder. He has been in custody since the rally.

Officer Charged with Homicide in Shooting of Antwon Rose By The Associated Press

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Antwon Rose’s funeral was held on June 25. The police officer who killed him was arrested and charged with criminal homicide.

A Pennsylvania police officer who shot an unarmed Black teenager has been charged with

criminal homicide. The charge against East Pittsburgh Officer Michael Rosfeld is included in court records obtained by media organizations. It wasn’t known June 27 if the 30-year-old Penn Hills resident has retained an attorney, and the district attorney’s office could not immediately be reached for comment. Rosfeld, who is White, is charged in the death of 17-year-old Antwon Rose Jr. on June 19. Authorities have said Rose and another teen arrested this week fled after being pulled over on suspicion they were involved in a drive-by shooting. Rose was shot three times, leading to daily protests around Pittsburgh. Rosfeld has been on administrative leave since the shooting occurred. The charge against him comes a day after authorities arrested another teenager in connection with the drive-by shooting that started the chain of events that led to Rose’s shooting. The teenager under arrest was with Rose the night Rosfeld shot Rose. Rosfeld, 30, had been sworn in just hours before the shooting but had been working at the police department for two to three weeks. He had worked at several other police departments, including at the University of Pittsburgh, during the last seven years.

Terry Crews Says Producer Threatened ‘Trouble’ By The Associated Press

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Terry Crews alleged a film producer offered him a role in “Expendables 4” if he dropped his sexual assault lawsuit against a Hollywood agent.

Terry Crews says a film producer said he could only return to the “Expendables” franchise if he dropped his sexual assault lawsuit against a Hollywood agent. The actor said it was an example of how “abusers protect abusers.” Crews made the allegation June 26 at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights, which establishes rights for survivors of sexual assault. Crews, who last year accused William Morris Endeavor talent agent Adam Venit of groping him at a party, was asked if there had been any retaliation for making the sexual assault allegation. He said “Expendables” producer Avi Lerner asked that the actor drop his case in order to appear in the fourth installment of the action film and warned of “troubles” if it wasn’t dropped. Crews has been in each of the previous films. “Abusers protect abusers — and this is one thing I had to decide, whether I was going to draw the line on. Am I going to be a part of this or am I gonna take a stand, and there are projects I had to turn down,” he said. An email seeking comment from Lerner’s Millennium Films was not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon. Millennium Films is being sued for sexual harassment and gender discrimination by a former employee. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office decided in March not to file charges against Venit, determining the allegations were not a felony. Crews has also filed a lawsuit against Venit.

The Afro-American, June 30, 2018 - June 30, 2018

June 30, 2018 - July 6, 2018, The Afro-American

AFRO Tea

Continued from B1

time in D.C. “The AFRO has been amazing in recording our news and our history for all these years. And I salute you and thank you.” The sold-out event, held at the Thurgood Marshall Center, attracted 200 guests dressed in their Sunday best and fancy hats to sip tea, eat delicate sandwiches and empower each other. Its theme was: We Too Support #MeToo. The term has its origins with African-American activist Tarana Burke, who coined “Me Too” in 2006, long before hashtags were a thing, to recognize women, especially women of color, who have survived sexual violence. Actress Alyssa Milano took the term and made it into a viral hashtag on Twitter last year, following media reports that Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein spent decades using

his position of power to sexually assault and harass young actresses. Milano’s action and the ensuing firestorm from the Weinstein exposés encouraged other women to reveal their own stories of abuse on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms about the abuse they suffered. #MeToo has evolved into an international movement against sexual harassment and assault, but its African-American origins and focus often get lost in the conversation. In April, the Baltimore office of the AFRO held its own We Too Support #MeToo high tea. “How many of us know that there’s more about ‘Me Too’ than just the sexual harassment that we all stand against?” AFRO Chief Executive Officer and Publisher Frances M. Draper said. “Because

I want to say — you know this already and I can say it in this room-- Black girls rock.” Motivational speaker Regina Robinson took it a step further. “I believe it is a movement that wants for us as women to connect, to collaborate and most importantly, to strengthen each other so we can stand on one another’s shoulders,” she said, noting that Maya Angelou, Michelle Obama, Harriet Tubman and Oprah Winfrey are role models for Black women. “Will you share your story? Because it’s not for you.” Reading from her book “Driven To Succeed,” author and educator Hattie Washington cried when she recounted the abuse her grandfather inflicted on his wife and children — a story her great aunt did not reveal until she turned 90. He not only used to beat his

children with branches, cords and anything he could get his hands on, but he also punched, kicked and slapped Washington’s grandmother, sometimes chasing her around the house with a loaded gun, Washington said. She noted that her great aunt, who recently died at the age of 94, still had nightmares about the abuse and never told a soul about what she endured until Washington interviewed her for the book. “That made me start thinking: how many people have been abused, even in this room, and they haven’t talked about it?” she said. “They have these issues and I am sure they have nightmares and dreams as if it were yesterday and then it passes onto another generation because you know the saying hurt people, hurt people.” L.Y. Marlow, founder and chief

executive officer of Saving Promise, a nonprofit that has partnered with the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health to study domestic violence, named the organization after her grandchild. The domestic abuse in Marlow’s family goes back more than 60 years and affected her grandmother, her mother and her daughter. She’s adamant on making sure the abuse doesn’t continue with her granddaughter, who was six months old when her mother’s boyfriend tried to kill her mother and threatened to end the little girl’s life. “I thought, ‘No. Not again. Not Promise,’” Marlow said. The AFRO donated a portion of the proceeds to Final Salute, a D.C. nonprofit that supports homeless women veterans and offers domestic violence counseling.

Jealous Continued from B1 around 7:15 a.m., he checks in with his boosters first, then campaigns alongside his volunteers, as well as posing for pictures. Jealous forgoes his usual look of a brawling titan of industry; no suit, no suspenders, no tie. Today, in jeans, blazers and leather shoes, it’s something more venture capital chic. There’s also no signature goatee. “It’s the bad luck of a dull razor,” Jealous told the AFRO. “The angle was off and because I was keeping it low, it just wiped away the beard. Then it started looking too theatrical, so I had to take it off. And then you can’t grow it back, because you can’t be looking scruffy. You need a good three or four days just to get it kind of going for you, so first real vacation, it comes back.” It’s a modest setback. “The last thing you want to do, is change your look in the middle of advertising on television,” Jealous said. Maybe so, but in Upper Marlboro, he’s easily recognizable. A man crosses the street to reminisce about a dinner he shared with Jealous and actor, Harry Lennix. “When he works with somebody, he invites you over to his house, you sit down and you break bread, and he gets you to buy into his vision,” Bob Ross, president of the NAACP Prince George’s County Branch told the AFRO. The NAACP does not endorse candidates, so Ross speaks for himself. “If he can do that for the state, get people to buy in, he’s good to go.” Jealous streams a get-outthe-vote message with Ross at Evangel Cathedral, the second stop of the day. It’s the last public stop in Upper Marlboro, Rushern Baker’s home turf. Baker, the Prince George’s County Executive, is roughly tied with Jealous in the polls.There’s no Baker boosters in sight, and no queue of voters, either. The sun’s still low, and the heat’s not on yet, as the campaign moves onto Takoma Park, Montgomery County. The television cameras

are ready at the Takoma Park Recreation Center, and Jealous goes into his feeling on the necessity of beating incumbent Larry Hogan, in order to implement his plans for improving healthcare for Maryland and the quality of life for Maryland’s seniors. The halting speech from the MPT debate, May 21, is gone. He’s fluent again, but still shuts his eyes for a moment before answering a question. For Jealous to win the Democratic primary for Governor, he’ll have to beat a number of Black candidates, a daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants, and an openly gay state senator; seemingly progressive stories all. “The voters have always wanted a set of candidates who are as diverse as the voters are, and we’ve come the closest to that that we’ve ever seen,” Jealous said. “And that’s really affirming about our state. I think it speaks to the future of politics south of the Mason-Dixon, that we can hasten the day when our leadership is more inclusive in every way. In fact, here in Maryland, we’re doing that and I’m proud to be part of that field. We have always focused on letting the best ideas win. And we’re fairly confident that that will happen today.” The sun’s getting higher, and Jealous is starting to turn red in the heat. It’s at this point he’ll take a break and turn to what a campaign communications rep would call a list of “private functions.” There’s no huge crush of voters at any of these first three polling sites, despite the massive spike in early voting this year. There’s fear that the failure of the MVA to transmit 80,000 voters’ updated information to the Board of Elections may depress turnout. It’s too early in the day for exit polling, and the early June polling from Gonzales, OpinionWorks and University of Maryland are all over the place. Jealous is either tied with Baker, or one of them has a lead within the margin of error. “We have succeeded in increasing the energy in this

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race and we have benefitted from that disproportionately,” Jealous said. “And it makes us very confident. It’s also a part of why we’re the only campaign that’s really confident about our ability to beat Larry Hogan. Because we know that we can pull in independents, to vote for me as a Democrat, that we can turn out democrats that don’t vote, and it’s precisely because we speak to working people and we fight for actual solutions to actual problems.” When he returns to the trail, it’s in Baltimore City. The last stop is Callaway Elementary School, CallawayGarrison. The difference between this school and Barack Obama Elementary is stark. Where each new clean

brick in Obama is almost as sharp as a knife edge at the corners, Callaway is a muddle of black a green stains on dark red, each brick weathered and blunted to the point that they’re almost round. Alice Brailey Torriente, an old friend of Jealous’ mother from Oxford Court, pulls over at the intersection of Ayredale Avenue and Ridgewood Avenue to say hello. Jealous’ mother is in town, so he puts the two of them on the phone together. From here, it’s down to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture to await the results. Jealous is hidden away, literally waiting in the wings, as the results come in. No one

in the crowd seems able to look away from the two large screens in the reception area. At least, not for long. Returns are delayed as the polls are kept open an additional hour until 9 p.m. A girl dances on the ballroom floor while most of the crowd talks over plates of cheese, fruits and crackers. Shortly after 9:15 p.m., the state board of elections releases data for 175 precincts. Jealous leads Baker 73,499 to 58,875. It snowballs from there, with the crowd getting increasingly impatient for the final word. Jealous gets off to a dominating lead. The campaign announces that Baker conceded and that Jealous declared victory close to 10:30 p.m. Jealous is preceded by Rep. Elijah

Cummings, another winner of the night; his cousin Rachelle Bland, owner of the business where Jealous announced his candidacy May 2017; and finally his mother and father. Ben Jealous announces his victory to the crowd of supporters at 11:34 p.m. The last words of his prepared speech are, “We have the opportunity to change the trajectory of our state. Instead of a slow consistent decline in one area after another, lowered expectations and accepting this as the new norm. Instead we can seize this moment create history so that Maryland can be all that it can be and ought to be. And with your help that is exactly what is going to happen. “

New Bill

Continued from B1 mandatory minimum sentences. U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), also CBC members, oppose the bill on the grounds that it doesn’t address sentencing reform. Christopher Hawthorne, an advisory neighborhood commissioner representing district 8E03 in Ward 8, represents a number of returning citizens. Hawthorne told the AFRO that the bill is only good if it benefits the returning citizens. “Laws are often the barriers for returning citizens,” he said. “They aspire to be in the working-class but the law makes it difficult for them to get a driver’s license, get caught up on child support, and many of their job skills have fallen into relapse. The FIRST STEP Act sounds ok but it is not enough.” Eric Weaver, the chairman of the

National Association of Returning Citizens, told the AFRO that some provisions of THE FIRST STEP Act are good, such as the having inmates 500 miles or less than away from their homes, but said other institutions may be in the way of returning citizens. “The prison population is definitely aging and the U.S. Parole Commission, in the case of D.C., has to change its ways,” Weaver said. “Bringing down the age requirement for consideration for parole from 65 to 60 is great but the parole board might not approve. In the job market, there is a world of difference between a 40-year-old coming home and a 60-year-old coming back to his family.” The Senate had not given any indication when the bill will be taken up at AFRO press time.

Courtesy Photo

Hakeem Jeffries’s (D-NY) bill would provide mental health care, among others, to prisoners and returning citizens.

Meet the Intern Continued from B1

Asked when he realized that being a journalist was the career for him, Sims said, “I realized journalism was something I wanted to do my senior year of high school. My English teacher said that I spoke and wrote well, and that I should think about a career in journalism.” This push from his English teacher, combined with his passion for sports, makes for an exciting concoction of drive and talent. Similar to me, he finds solace in the world of sports and wants to make it his career. “My love for sports and being an athlete growing up,” is part of the his motivation. Sims was a three sport athlete, playing basketball, football, and baseball. He wants to report on it as he does not play anymore, he stopped once he got to college, looking to contribute to the sports world using his writing talent. When asked why he chose to apply for the internship he said, “I wanted to continue to gain more experience and work in a real newsroom.” He chose the perfect place to gain valuable, journalistic experience. “The AFRO is a staple in Baltimore,” he said. “To have an opportunity to learn and grow in the profession and add to their legacy was a no-brainer for me.” “My favorite aspect of journalism is interviewing people,” Sims said. “Whether it is for a good or bad reason, their story needs to be told and bringing it to light through broadcast or print is something that really excites me.”

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The Afro-American, June 30, 2018 - July 6, 2018

COMMENTARY

Listen to the Poor and Disenfranchised

The Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis spoke on a panel June 26 on poverty in the U.S. with UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty Philip Alston. Following the panel, Theoharis and the Rev. William Barber II delivered the following letter to the UN Human Rights Council requesting a hearing on extreme poverty across the 50 states. It has been lightly edited for clarity. We, the leaders of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, request to convene a hearing before the U.N. Human Rights Council on the state of poverty in our nation. After more than three years of traveling across the U.S., meeting with poor communities from El Paso to Aberdeen to Detroit to Selma, Harlan County, Marks and Memphis, we have just completed 40 days of nonviolent moral fusion direct action with more than 3,000 poor people, clergy and other activists presenting themselves for nonviolent civil disobedience, culminating in a call to action rally and march of tens of thousands of people putting a face on the facts, demanding an end to abandonment in the midst of abundance. We write with a sense of urgency. Just last week, the U.S. doubled down on its commitment to inflicting policy violence against children and families by pulling out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Days later, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley responded to a report from the U.N.’s special rapporteur on poverty by saying, “It is patently ridiculous for the United Nations to examine poverty in America.” Here is what is patently ridiculous: Today, despite substantial economic growth, a full 60 percent more Americans live below the poverty line than in 1968, and 43 percent of all U.S. children live below the minimum income level considered necessary to meet basic family needs. Fifty-three cents of every federal discretionary dollar goes to military spending, while only 15 cents is spent on anti-poverty programs. An alarming 13.8 million U.S. households cannot afford water, and a quarter million people die in the U.S. each year from poverty and related issues. And 23 states have enacted voter suppression laws since 2010, leaving the U.S. with fewer voting rights than we had 50 years. In recent weeks it has been brought to the public’s attention that brown children have been systematically separated from their families at the border. Inside our borders, families of all races are separated from health care, food stamps and a living wage, and with widespread voter suppression and racist gerrymandering, millions of people have been separated from the ballot box. Hundreds of thousands of children are taken away from their parents because of their poverty; we hear the cries of the people “take away our poverty, not our children; take away unjust policies, not our children.” Our democracy is impoverished. Policies serve the few at the expense of the many, while leaders spread lies to divide people against each other. To be clear: poverty is a moral and political crisis, one that this administration and Congress is inflaming instead of solving. Every policy decision is a moral one, but choices being made by our leaders have been overwhelmingly immoral. We need to reshape the heart and conscience of this nation, starting from the ground up. We need immediate and major changes to address systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy and our distorted moral narrative. Seventy-one years ago, W.E.B. DuBois submitted a petition to the United Nations about the unequal treatment of Black Americans. More than 50 years ago, Malcolm X approached the U.N. with a similar message, charging the United States with being, “either unable or unwilling to protect the lives and property of your 22 million African American brothers and sisters.” Both

William Barber II and Liz Theoharis

human rights leaders and countless others including welfare rights activists, indigenous leaders, women and other marginalized groups, addressed the U.N. at times when the US government failed to bring forth solutions to moral and political crises. Since our government is committing policy violence against its citizens, and exacerbating poverty instead of alleviating it, we urge the U.N. Human Rights Council to hear directly from the poor and dispossessed of the United States. We call on you to listen to the Alabama woman whose daughter died in her arms because the state refused to expand Medicaid; to the undocumented California woman struggling to raise a family; to the Kansas City McDonald’s worker battling to raise three young girls on $9/hour; and to the Flint woman who is fighting for clean water in her community still four years after it became public that public officials had knowingly poisoned the whole city. We know you’ve heard from the special rapporteur on the conditions; now we ask you hear directly from those impacted by America’s policy violence. As W.E.B. DuBois, Malcolm X and other human rights activists requested decades ago, we request an audience with you because our government seems unwilling or incapable of doing the right thing. The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis are the national co-chairs, Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.

GOP Scheming Under Obama Led to Travel Ban The following is taken from a statement from U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) on the Supreme Court upholding the Trump administration ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries. It has been lightly edited for clarity. This decision is a major blow to American values, the rule of law, and our country’s standing as leader of the free world. Essentially, the Court has said that a religious litmus test can now be used for granting or denying foreigners the ability to travel to our country. The ramifications are spine-chilling and

Ben Cardin

further dim the lights of the ‘city on a hill.’ Then-candidate-Donald Trump stated as plain as day his desire to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. Today, a majority on the Supreme Court saw fit to fulfill the President’s campaign promise and xenophobic desire. The decision is inexplicable and deeply disturbing, and is perfectly suited to serve as a recruitment tool for terrorists. It should be lost on no one that Republicans in Congress have schemed shamelessly with President Trump to pack the courts with activist judges seemingly bent on rolling back decades of progress on civil rights and universal freedoms.

This latest decision can be directly blamed on blatant obstruction by Senate Republicans who refused to give President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland a hearing despite a vacancy that spanned over a year and left our highest court deadlocked on critical issues. Veering down this dangerous path has inflicted lasting damage on the Supreme Court and the independence of the federal judiciary while diminishing the powers and duties of the Senate. Ben Cardin is a U.S. Senator who represents Maryland.

An Innovative Approach to Infrastructure Needs

Forty-six million Americans live in poverty. From distressed inner-cities, to poor rural towns, millions of people live in areas with substandard housing, crumbling infrastructure and where economic opportunity is scarce. While these citizens are from different racial backgrounds, geographies, and political parties, they share a common experience and need for jobs and affordable housing. Although we share a belief in economic opportunity and fairness, as the owner of an investment banking firm, and as a former quasi-state agency official, we sometimes disagree. However, we agree that more must be done to rebuild our most impoverished communities, especially African-American communities. While many problems cannot be cured by government, leaders can shift resources back to communities that truly need assistance, like Baltimore, Gary, Indiana, Youngstown, Ohio, Redding, California, and Albany, Georgia. For example, homeownership rates, and the associated wealth building opportunities, in African American communities are well below rates in majority communities. In no state, metropolitan area, or county can a worker earning minimum wage afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment, according to a recent report. We need more innovative solutions to address these, and other, employment and infrastructure

Robbi Jones and Eric Chatman

challenges. For this reason, we commend the bi-partisan collaboration between Congressional Black Caucus Member, Representative William “Lacy” Clay, Jr. (D-Missouri), and conservative Republicans Representative Mike Kelly (R–Pennsylvania), and Representative Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), and their recently introduced legislation. The Generating American Income and Infrastructure Now (GAIIN) Act will fund needed infrastructure investments without new taxes. The Act requires the Department of Agriculture to sell distressed assets, with 50% of the proceeds going to infrastructure projects in poor communities and 50% going to reduce the national debt. As currently written, the Act also includes protections for existing debtors and states that local residents are employed on these projects. The legislation will provide substantial resources to support affordable housing and other infrastructure needs, while creating jobs in chronically high unemployment areas. If successful, the pilot could expand to all federal agencies, representing more than $2 trillion in assets. In 1986, President Reagan and the Democratic-controlled Congress faced a similar dilemma when they passed his historic tax overhaul. At that time, Congress turned to a bipartisan plan that required federal agencies to monetize their debt to reduce the federal deficit. The core model is viable today and provides an opportunity for all people to come together and deliver

results for working class Americans, regardless of their political or racial backgrounds. While there are philosophical differences regarding the size and scope of government, any proposal to build an economy that creates wealth and opportunity for all Americans must start with state-of-the-art infrastructure, including affordable housing, world-class airports, broadband, highways, and railways. By creating housing, highways and byways near factories, farms and the inner cities, we can begin the process of ensuring that all Americans are given an opportunity to succeed. Through the collaboration shown by Representatives Clay, Kelley, and Budd, as well as the tireless efforts by the firm, United by Interest, we now have another opportunity to put away our political differences for the forgotten men, women, and children who have been ignored for too long. Robbi Jones is the founder and President of Kipling Jones & Co., an investment banking firm specializing in public finance. Eric Chatman is CFO of an affordable housing social enterprise collaborative and former senior official at the Iowa Finance and Connecticut Housing Finance Authorities. They are both graduates of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

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

June 30, 2018 - July 6, 2018, The Afro-American

SENIOR LIVING

Following Death of Pioneering Founder of Flair Studio, Willia Montague Carries On Legacy By Lisa Snowden-McCray Special to the AFRO When Willia Bland decided to start a school to teach Baltimore girls etiquette and self-esteem back in 1968, she was 43 and the nation was in turmoil. “She started her business after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, and she started it because she wanted to empower young girls in her community,” her granddaughter and namesake Willia Montague tells the AFRO. Montague, an accomplished dancer in her own right, is running the business now. Flair was at one time the only Black modeling agency in Maryland. In 1974, the studio expanded into Flair Studio of Dance and Modeling. The business went from Bland’s home, to the basement of Mondawmin Mall (I just thought everybody grew up in a mall,” Montague remembers), where they stayed for 20 years. Today they are based in Catonsville in Baltimore County. Bland died February 18, at the age of 92. She’d already been battling dementia and had contracted the flu. Bland was the spirit of Flair and a pioneer in her own right. Well into her advanced age, she could be spotted at the school and at recitals full of energy and joy – making sure that the dancers looked just so, and that things were running smoothly.

“My grandmother was a lady. Like, whatever the definition of a lady is, she was. You never heard her curse, you never heard her talk out of turn of another person.”

- Willia Montague

Montague remembers her grandmother as strong, powerful, and feminine. Montague remembers. “It didn’t matter whether you were her own natural child or just a child on the street, you were to carry yourself in her presence as if she gave birth to you herself. If a girl came into the studio with her shoulders slumped and gum in her mouth, she told them to turn right back around, spit that gum out, come back in here with your head up, and then we can talk.” Montague says she always knew that it would eventually be her job to run the business. “I just didn’t know when,” she says. “I knew there was going to be a day that my grandmother wasn’t going to be here, my mom wasn’t going to be there and it was all me.” Montague herself danced at Flair before going to the Baltimore School

Willia Bland was the pioneering founder of Maryland-based Flair Studio. She died in February. (Courtesy photo) for the Arts, and then leaving to attend the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. She danced in the Billy Joel musical “Movin’ Out,” and with the Philadelphia Dance Company. She just finished dancing in the Broadway hit “The Lion King” last August. Now, she is back home. Specifically, in the home her grandmother once lived in. Now, she says she feels echoes of here everywhere. “Sometimes when I’m in the studio late at night by myself and I’m mopping the floors or vacuuming or just going over things that need to happen, I just remember seeing my grandmother do this and never complaining, never saying ‘oh I just wish I could go home.’ She loved it and she instilled it, it’s a part of my makeup. It’s in my blood. Thank goodness I have her as a model.” She says now she’s focused on picking up where her grandmother left off and moving the studio forward. “We’re just in the midst of like recovering from my grandmother’s sudden death and just moving forward and keeping her legacy alive so we still have the dance and modeling program at Flair and we’re going to introduce drama into the program in the fall,” she says. Their 50th anniversary recital is June 30 at New Town High School in Owings Mills. It’s a lot of work. But, Montague says she keeps close to her a conversation she had with her grandmother shortly before her death. “When she was transitioning, I was like, ‘are you sure you want to go? Because Flair turns 50 this year.’ And she opened her eyes and she said ‘Fifty?’ I said ‘yeah,’ I was like, ‘isn’t that so great?’ She said ‘OK. Now we can stop. We did it. We made it to 50.’ I said ‘no! We have to continue!’ she said ‘no, no.’ I said, ‘well I’m going to continue it.’ And she said ‘OK.’”

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Conceptual rendering

Willia Montague, Willia Bland’s granddaugther, has taken over Flair Studio following founder. (Courtesy photo)

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The Afro-American, June 30, 2018 - July 6, 2018

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! ! " # ! Meadows, Clair Zamoiski Segal, Dorothy Wagner Wallis Charitable Trust, Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown, Eileen Harris Norton Foundation, Ilene and Michael Salcman, and Hauser & Wirth. Above: Whitten, Agia Galini, 1973.; Right: Jack Whitten. Detail, Homage to the Kri-Kri. 1985. Courtesy of the Artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Estate and Hauser & Wirth. Photography by Genevieve Hanson, NYC.

June 30, 2018 - July 6, 2018, The Afro-American

ARTS & CULTURE

Natalie Gillard Uses Her DIY Talents to Promote Inclusion By Nadine Matthews Special to the AFRO When most people think of DIY they think of furniture or household accessories, but Natalie Gillard, a passionate DIYer who routinely creates her own clothing and household items, took DIY to the next level when she created a board game. Not only did she create the board game but it is something integral to her work as Assistant Vice President of Multicultural Experience at Maryland’s Stevenson University. As a de facto ambassador of diversity and inclusion, Gillard travels to a wide range of colleges and universities and cultural events such as New York City’s Games for Change. A charged encounter with one colleague and an enlightening one with another served as impetus for creating her game Factuality. “There was a coworker,” Gillard tells the AFRO, “who was notorious for slighting everyone and she marched into my office one day telling me my training for her student leaders needed to ‘go below the surface.’” Gillard instinctively knew she wanted to incorporate a game into the process but wasn’t satisfied with what was out there. “I wanted,” she says, “a game that could incorporate a bunch of different intersections. Not just race but ability, lgbtq+, religion, everything.” Gillard had a Monopoly game in her office and remembered another colleague mentioning that the game was based on Atlantic City. “I found myself looking at the board and wondering what it would be like if people showed up as themselves as opposed to a hat or a car or wheelbarrow,” the game pieces used by players. “What happens if you bring yourself to this board and how would that impact how you could navigate it?” she wondered. Gillard, whose mother is West Indian and father is Black American says, “Being deeply immersed in cultural experiences has always been important to me.” She began immersing herself in the fundamentals of cultural diversity in high school and continued pursuing it through graduate school where she designed her own self guided interdisciplinary program in race and ethnic relations.

(Courtesy photo)

Natalie Gillard game uses a version of Monopoly to explain the differences between people. Diving into census data and sociological research when designing Factuality, Gillard decided to incorporate redlining into the game. “Redlining policies from a hundred years ago

Netflix ‘Strong Black Leads’ Recreates Famous Photo ‘A Great Day in Harlem’

largely impact Black and Brown communities, so Black and Brown players will have challenges navigating certain parts of that board.” Gillard has gone on to tour numerous colleges in the United States with it. “Reimagining what that game would look like if you’re bringing real life issues into a simulation, to the experience. The characters play according to income and gender constraints and they play in a particular order to demonstrate the impact that access has on marginalized identities. There are prisons on the board but they are only applicable to certain demographics, we get deep into redlining and gentrification and it is all done in ninety minutes.” Gillard moved to Maryland about six years ago and has been working at Stevenson University for almost two years. She grew up in Boston. There are certain things about her hometown she misses. “I miss the ability to be on one street and hear upwards of five different languages. Cultural diversity in Maryland seems to quickly get boiled down to Black and White whereas in Boston it’s so much about your ethnicity.” She also appreciates the cultural richness she finds in Maryland. “I enjoy what I consider a ‘better Black experience’ living down here. There’s a surplus of cultural experiences centered around Black culture in Maryland. It is much easier to find here than it was in Boston.” The urgency for the type of work Gillard is doing remains high. “A lot of things that are occurring are atrocities. Everything seems to repeats itself; the good and the bad. When I see these children being separated from their parents and placed in these harsh living conditions, I think about the parallels to slavery. It’s awful to see these things happen and understand these things happen over and over again because people don’t want to tackle the origins of issues.” Still, she remains hopeful for some final sense of peace or resolution between races and cultures because of what she observes in the workshops she conducts. “I’m really fortunate to run this game with young people who always impress me. I’m so hopeful about the younger generation and feel excited about what’s to come because I see how aware they are.”

SPORTS

University of Maryland

Evans Hiring as AD Is a Gamble By Mark F. Gray Special to the AFRO

(Courtesy photo)

The cast of the Strong Black Lead video by Netflix.

By Micha Green AFRO Washington, D.C. Editor mgreen@afro.com Harlem was a place of thriving Black artists and intellectuals, showcasing African American excellence far before the rest of the United States could ever appreciate or understand the true magic in melanin. Now Netflix is paying homage to the historic Black hub and Art Kane’s famed 1958 photo “A Great Day in Harlem”, in a new campaign called “Strong Black Leads.” “This is not a moment. This is a movement,” the video declares as the camera pans to famous Black actors and creators of Netflix series and narrated by Caleb McLaughlin, the young Black man who stars in “Stranger Things.” “This is a new day. Built from the ground, broken by legends. A day for our generation to see untold experiences of our Blackness,” McLaughlin says opening the video with the camera panning from filmmakers Ava DuVernay to Spike Lee.

Throughout the one-minute video, various artists are seen standing or sitting on the steps of the iconic Harlem brownstone, which originally showcased 57 of Harlem’s jazz greats in Kane’s 1958 photo. Sixty years later, Black Hollywood has more to share. “We’re not a genre, because there’s no one way to be Black. We’re writing while Black. Nuanced and complex. Resilient and strong,” the video affirms. “We are strong Black leads.” The last line of the one-minute video is, “Today is great day in Hollywood.” Beyond the magic of the melanin featured, journalist Britni Danielle shared more insight on the further importance this shoot was for the Black community. “The day felt like a family reunion. It was a hot afternoon, but EVERYBODY was in great spirits. Alfre Woodard even led the [Strong Black Lead] team in a rendition of ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’,” Danielle wrote.

Only history will judge whether the hiring of Damon Evans as the new athletic director was an act of desperation or sign of progress by the University of (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Maryland. That Chancellor Maryland athletic director Damon Evans hugs his Wallace Loh would hire the wife Kerri following an introductory news conference second Black man to succeed in College Park, Md. Evans, who joined the school in the first in Kevin Anderson – December 2014, replaces Kevin Anderson, who resigned who some say was forced to in April. resign while on sabbatical last April – is a sign that diversity Tournament Evans acumen for raising cash really does mean something makes this hire a no brainer for Maryland. So in College Park. It could also mean that the why did Chancellor Loh spend $120,000 with candidates they really coveted do fear the an outside firm to conduct a national search to turtle. find Anderson’s successor? Evans’ credentials are impeccable and One glaring stain on his sparking resume there is no doubt he has proven leadership does remain, however. Evans was caught in skills while previously running a major 2010 driving under the influence of alcohol college program. At the University of 70 miles away from the Athens campus in Georgia, he oversaw a program that was the Atlanta suburb of Roswell. He was with a blue blood in arguably the nation’s top a woman other than his wife – Courtney conference. However, for a school that has Fuhrman - whose red panties were in his lap, been reluctant to take chances on athletes according to published accounts of the police with a checkered past it is an incredible roll of the dice to name Evans as the leader of the reports in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Evans reportedly claimed that she had taken athletic department. them off as he was trying to take her home, He knows how to fill big shoes after but she was also charged with disorderly succeeding the legend that was Vince Dooley conduct after not complying with police at Georgia. Herschel Walker’s college orders to stay in the car. coach, who led the Bulldogs to the 1980 The irony was that the affable Evans had national championship, walks on water from just authored a new tougher policy for UGA Athens to Atlanta and groomed Evans to students regarding DUI charges that required be his successor as the athletic director. He them to miss 10 percent of their season if was successful until an unfortunate personal caught. hiccup. Evans has been the Executive Athletic Evans ran a department that won 13 Director since Anderson’s official departure national championships and 19 Southeastern and by all accounts has done a masterful job. Conference title during his six years at the He will be remembered for helping Maryland helm. He oversaw a program with an $85 million athletic budget featuring a staff of 250 navigate through investigating the death of people with 600 student-athletes. Evans was football player Jordan McNair and an FBI investigation into whether the basketball instrumental in Georgia’s fundraising efforts program was complicit in an alleged $14,000 as well. He added $56 million to its athletic payment to ex-player Diamond Stone. He reserve fund that marked an increase of nine also may have to make a critical hire if things million dollars over six years. don’t change for the basketball program, At a time when the athletic department perhaps as early as next year. continues hemorrhaging money because the Reports say that Evans was Loh’s choice football team hasn’t been major bowl eligible from the start. Time will tell if it was a good for over a decade and the men’s basketball one for both. program is hit or miss for the NCAA

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WASHINGTON-AREA

DCPS Wants All Teachers Certified Before School Begins

D.C. Residents Prominent In Poor People’s Campaign Rally

By Lauren E. Williams Special to the AFRO

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

Last week, Washingtonians heard concerning news about the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS): 1,000 current D.C. educators do not have the proper certification to teach in the classroom. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) uncovered this

After getting slammed for allowing students to graduate without completing graduation requirements, DCPS proposes new changes to regulations and policy.

DCPS

Following Graduation Scandal, Numerous Changes Coming in Next School Year By Aya Elamroussi Special to the AFRO

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Interim DCPS Chancellor Amanda Alexander. information late last year. Following recent reports of lower graduation rates this June, interim DCPS Chancellor Amanda Alexander finds herself under scrutiny again. But, according to a DCPS spokesperson, a teaching certification is not the only “assessment” the District’s teachers go through. “DCPS works hard to have a highly effective teacher in every classroom,” a DCPS spokesperson said in an email to the AFRO on June 26th. “Ensuring teachers have a license is one of many components we look at to determine whether teachers are meeting our high standards. We will continue to hold our teachers to high standards, and we are partnering with OSSE to ensure more teachers have active licenses or are in the process to obtain one before the start of the next school year.” In addition to a license, the DCPS selection process

Continued on D2

District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) seeks public feedback on its newly released draft of regulations and policies regarding attendance, student promotion, secondary grading and graduation. The revisions will go into effect in the 2018-2019 school year. “The proposed changes reflect the feedback of students, staff, and families, and will allow us to better support our

school communities.” Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement. “From the beginning, I said we would always put students first, stay focused on equity and excellence, and have the courage to improve; and over the past several months, that is what we have done,” Bowser added. Some of the changes include: * Increased flexibility with school schedules * The removal of automatic grade reductions and failures

Continued on D2

Hot Real Estate Market Leads to Changes at Deanwood Metro Station By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com The residents of Deanwood, one of the hottest neighborhoods in the District of Columbia in Northeast, are excited about the planned upgrading of its Metro Station. A hearing conducted by Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) leaders and staff on the plans for a joint development at the Deanwood Metro Station was held on

Continued on D2

The rally on the National Mall and the march to the U.S. Capitol by the 2018 Poor People’s Campaign had many District of Columbia residents participating. The rally and the march, on June 23, were designed to ignite a movement to replicate the Poor People’s Campaign, born in 1968, but faltered after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated that year. The co-founder of the rally and the march, the Rev. William Barber II of North Carolina, told a crowd of tens of thousands the movement is designed help all Americans be first-class citizens, regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, and

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The Deanwood Metro Station will lose its parking lot in favor of residential units and retail outlets, under the current plan.

Vintage Wishes Creates Vintage Queens, an all Female Cypher in DC By Charise Wallace Special to the AFRO

The rap industry may be dominated by males, but females continue to write their own history, which is why DMV based producer Ramone Messam is launching Vintage Wishes, a royal hip-hop gala that includes a fashion show and an all-female cypher, Vintage Queens. Messam originally introduced high school cyphers under his company Kno-Effort and now he’s taking on a new hip hop inspired venture. A group of eight females called Vintage Queens is his newest project. “I’m trying to create a whole new outlook when it comes to women,” said Messam to the AFRO. The D.C. artists include Annamaze, Sheila D Yeah, Chee-Chee the Motivator, JZL, Mia Sparrow, Dominiforelli and more. Two weeks leading up to the regal evening on July 15th at the Carnegie Institution of Science, each female will be given their own unique platform to put their lyrical skills to test in a cypher video. “They are completely in their own lane, it’s like night day,” said Messam. As Messam puts it, the “Femcees” will showcase their fashion sense and flow to stand out from the modern day icons like Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. “I tod them that I feel like right now in the industry it’s too many women that are not going back to the Lauryn Hill status,” he said. “I told them that we’re trying to push a new visual. We want to show young women that are doing their thing right now that you don’t have to be like a Cardi B or a Nicki Minaj. You can be a queen.” In the music video, the lyricists are wearing local designs by Sankara XT and Afrovelvet to name a few and their garments will be presented at the royal

Continued on D2

Courtesy Photo

The Rev. Graylan Hagler, who was recently arrested for protesting at the Supreme Court, spoke at the June 23 Poor People’s Rally in Washington, D.C. gender identity. “We are laying the foundation for a movement today,” Barber said. “We can longer look to helicopter leadership or leadership on high, to save us. We are here to call the nation to action. This is not a rally but a campaign.” The Rev. Graylan Hagler, senior pastor of the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in the District, was arrested recently for protesting at the U.S. Supreme Court. “Democracy will not be protected by this court and the administration,” Hagler said. He said the court’s decisions are made in the District where residents pay federal taxes but don’t have voting representation in the U.S. Congress. He said recent Supreme Court decisions that justified Ohio purging its voter lists and a cake maker’s right to refuse service to same-sex couples based on religious views are troublesome. “The U.S. Supreme Court is preying on sacred ideals in this country and therefore we have to pray for the soul of the nation,” he said. Joslyn Williams is the retired president of the Metropolitan Washington Council of the AFL-CIO. Williams told the AFRO he came to the rally because

Continued on D2

The Afro-American, June 30, 2018 - July 6, 2018

Next School Year Continued from D1

(for 10 absences); * The grade appeals process will be streamlined The proposed revisions follow the harsh criticism school administrators faced after students at Ballou High School in Southeast D.C. received diplomas last year without completing graduation requirements. “When we first learned that our policies

were not being followed, we put a process in place to get to the bottom of what happened and fix what wasn’t working,” said Bowser, who is running for re-election in November. A report, commissioned by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, showed that nearly 90 percent of students at Ballou were chronically absent during the 2016-2017 school year. Yet, all seniors

walked the stage last year. Administrators at the Southeast high school pressured teachers to pass students despite their high rates of unexcused absences, a WAMU and NPR investigation found last year. “Creating clear standards all students must meet to graduate and holding all stakeholders accountable is key to ensuring our students graduate prepared for college,

career, and life,” DCPS Interim Chancellor Dr. Amanda Alexander said in a statement. DCPS is now seeking feedback from the public on its new proposal from June 22 to July 22, 2018. Public comment can be accessed via dcps.dc.gov. Residents will be given the opportunity to participate in two community forums on July 19 at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

of the education community - including parents, practitioners, and elected officials - have voiced concerns about the newest scandal in the District’s public school system.

whether we have the appropriate requirements in place for all school staff in both our traditional public and public charter schools,” Councilmember Grasso said in a June 21

Council returns from its recess in September.” The good news is plans are underway for all DCPS teachers to be certified. “We are working with the Washington Teacher’s Union to inform all current, unlicensed employees that they must have applied for an initial or standard credential with OSSE before the start of school year 2018-2019,” a DCPS spokesperson told the AFRO. “DCPS will also provide targeted supports to our educators in navigating the licensure process in collaboration with OSSE.“ New teachers will be held to similar standards. All new educators starting with DCPS in the next school year and beyond will be required to apply for a teaching credential with OSSE prior to their start date with DCPS.

Teacher Certified Continued from D1

includes a background check, an evaluation and professional development. Research also shows that a teaching certification may not be directly correlated with high academic outcomes. After studying the relationship among applicants in DCPS’ hiring process, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in 2016 found that selection using basic credentials such as certification and completion of graduate education is likely to yield few benefits. Further, the NBER found that “credentials have little or no power to explain variation in performance across teachers.” Despite what some may describe as a robust hiring process and research disputing some of the importance of licensure, members

“Ensuring teachers have a license is one of many components we look at to determine whether teachers are meeting our high standards.” Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large), chairperson of the Committee on Education, is one of the most prominent voices. “There remains a greater question about

statement, “The Committee on Education will be focused on that question over the summer as part of its work to improve school safety and will hold hearings on this matter once the

Deanwood Metro Continued from D1

June 20 at the Deanwood Recreation Center. Thirty people attended the hearing that was presided over by Clarence Crawford, who is a Metro board representative from Prince George’s County. Nina Albert, who is Metro’s managing director for real estate and parking, explained what is happening at the Deanwood Station. “We are proposing replacing the parking lot with a mixeduse development of retail and residential units,” Albert said. “Metro will select the developer and the developer will work with the public on a community vision of the project.” The Deanwood Metro Station has six bus bays, a Kiss & Ride lot, 194 parking spaces and averages 1,242 weekday Metro riders. The station has the third lowest ridership in the 91-station system. The plan, according to Albert is to have 160 residential units working with 10,000 square feet. There will be no changes in the bus bays, Kiss & Ride lot and Metro Station entrance. The survey revealed that 70 parkers used the station daily. The station is in one of the most desired real estate destination for new homebuyers in the country, according to the real estate firm Redfin. While Albert didn’t talk about the booming real estate market in Deanwood, she said that Metro

can help it come up. “The goal is to boost the ridership and we can do that through development,” she said. Antawan Holmes is the chairman of the 7C advisory

“I support this development because the parking lot has been under-utilized for years.” -Antawan Holmes neighborhood commission and approves of the development. “I support this development because the parking lot has been under-utilized for years,” Holmes said. Brenda Rothwell is a resident of Fairmount Heights, Md., and uses the Deanwood Station for her transportation needs and is supportive of the development. “The parking lot has had a lot of problems because of crime and carjacking,” Rothwell said. “That is why there has

been a reduction in its usage for several years. I think that the development is a wonderful idea because it will improve the area.” Jimell Sanders, a resident of Deanwood, said the development will bring needed entities to the community. “We lack amenities because we are a food and banking desert,” she said. “This development can bring those things that we need here and I hope it includes people of various incomes.” Christine Phillips said Sanders was right on the amenities. “We don’t want any Popeye’s, Wendy’s and liquor stores here,” Phillips said. “We have plenty of disposable income here. Plus, Deanwood and Ward 7 have enough low-income housing.” Albert explained the next steps in the approving of the project. She said in early August, there will be a draft and a Metro staff report prepared and at the end of August, the draft process will close. On Sept. 11, Albert said, the Metro staff will make a presentation to the board and on Sept. 27, the board is set to approve the staff’s recommendations. Albert also noted that the District of Columbia government will have to approve the project, too.

Poor People’s Rally Continued from D1

“Dr. King’s dream has been deferred.” “My presence here is to commit to do anything I can to stand up for justice,” he said. Vince Robertson brought his son, Marcus, to the rally. Robertson told the AFRO he wanted to educate his son Marcus on social change and how it takes place. “I am trying to get him to see how important it is for him to be engaged on social issues,” he said. “It is important that progressive people have control on issues of health, hunger, and religious freedom because if we don’t someone else will control our agenda.”

we were founded in 1913, one of our first actions was to participate in a women’s suffrage march in downtown D.C. This is a part of what it means to be a Delta.” The march to the U.S. Capitol took 30 minutes. – The Rev. William Barber II Participants left with a mission to take home. “We will launch, later this summer, a massive voter Vanessa Barksdale, who lives in Upper Marlboro, said her education campaign in the less wealthy areas of participation is driven by her sorority’s directive on activism. the country,” Barber said. “Our politicians are talking about “I am a member of Delta Sigma Theta and social action is an the middle class but no one is talking about helping the poor important part of us,” Barksdale told the AFRO. “Soon after and we intend to change that.”

“This is not a rally but a campaign.”

Vintage Wishes Continued from D1

celebration. “Females in this area are really tapping into their originality,” said Messam. “I don’t really meet too many women who have the same style.” Vintage Wishes is also the title of Messam’s retro boutique line that he will showcase at the event. “I wanted the whole theme of the project to cater to a vintage look,” he said. Not only does he want the artists to feel like royalty, but the audience as well. “Underrated and unknown artist get one lavish night to express themselves lyrically and

stylistically…treating artists and everyone invited like queens and kings.” Attendees are expected to wear white, gold and/or purple while they enjoy a night of music, entertainment, fashion, networking and Caribbean food. “People don’t know what to expect… they’re not even going to expect what’s coming,” he said. Watch the Vintage Queens trailer on YouTube and follow updates on the full release and ticket purchasing by following Messam’s Instagram @mistamone.

June 30, 2018 - July 6, 2018, The Afro-American

The Afro-American, June 30, 2018 - July 6, 2018

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