Pg final 12 8 2016

November 12, 2016 - November 12, 2016, The Afro-American A1 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION

Volume 125 No. 19

DECEMBER 10, 2016 - DECEMBER 16, 2016

Inside

Prince George’s

• NAACP Officers Plan Ahead

‘I Am Not Your Negro’ Documentary

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Baltimore

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Commentary

By Rep Elijah Cummings

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Photo by Rob Roberts

For the last time in his term as Commander and Chief of the United States, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Sasha lit the 2016 National Christmas tree during a lighting ceremony on Dec. 1.

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

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• Pugh Takes Oath

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Black, Civil Rights Leaders Leery of Carson at HUD The nomination of Dr. Ben Carson as the next U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) doesn’t have strong support among Black members of the U.S. Congress or civil rights organizations.

On Dec. 5, President-elect Donald Trump announced Carson as his pick to run HUD, saying, “Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and

families within those communities.”

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the lone Black Republican in his chamber, supported Trump’s move by saying, “If you can get a brain surgeon that wants to run housing, that’s a good idea.”

U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond (DLa.), the newly elected chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus who will officially assume his duties in early January 2017, said picking Carson to run HUD wasn’t a wise move. “Access to affordable housing is one of the most basic building

Mistrial Declared in Walter Scott’s Fatal Shooting by White S.C. Officer Panel of 1 Black and 11 White South Carolina Jurors Deadlocked – Due to 1 Holdout

By Bruce Smith and Seanna Adcox The Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina judge declared a mistrial Monday after a jury deadlocked in the murder trial of a White former police officer charged in the shooting death of an unarmed Black motorist.

Defense attorneys Andy Savage, left, Don McCune, and Miller Shealy, right, sit around former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager at theCharleston County court in Charleston, S.C., Monday, Dec. 5, 2016. Judge Clifton Newman declared

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Courtesy photo

Our Movement for a Better America Continues

President-elect Trump nominated Dr. Ben Carson for HUD Secretary.

blocks of the American Dream,” Richmond tweeted on Dec. 5. “HUD plays a crucial role in expanding access. Not only is Ben Carson unqualified to run HUD, his ideas around fair housing are destructive to communities around the country.

“In an administration led by a known housing discriminator, HUD is more important than ever. Ben Carson is an unacceptable choice.”

While Richmond has voiced his concerns, the CBC hasn’t voted to oppose the Carson nomination at this Continued on A3

AFRO Archives

DID POLICE SHOOT SLEEPING HAMPTON? Dec. 20, 1969

AP Photo

Judy Scott, center, Walter Scott’s mother, is comforted by her son Rodney Scott after a mistrial was declared for the Michael Slager trial Dec. 5 in Charleston, S.C. Former patrolman, Slager, was charged with murder in the shooting death of Walter Scott last year.

CHICAGO - At least four probes are to look into the disputed Dec. 4 predawn killings by police of Black Panthers Fred Hampton, 21, Illinois chairman, and Mark Clark, 22, downstate leader.

Nothing since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has so shaken moderate and militant blacks who have been joined by concerned white officials and groups in demanding investigations into the raid on a Westside apartment by officers assigned to Cook County State’s Atty, Edward V. Hanrahan.

Hanrahan says his 14 officers were fired Continued on A4

How to Buy Black this Holiday Season

By Alexis Taylor Special to the AFRO The holiday season is in full swing, and with it comes an opportunity to pump life into the Black community both locally and nationwide.

“Buying Black” over the holidays doesn’t mean limited options- especially not in a time where Black business owners across the world are

literally at our fingertips. Black entrepreneurship is nothing new- and neither is the idea of a person spending most of their money in their own community.

Organizations like The Black Money Matters Project have completely eliminated the legwork in finding Black businesses with products available locally, nationally, and beyond. From toy dolls

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Copyright © 2016 by the Afro-American Company

It’s important for us to buy from each other because we are buying into our own story.”

– Nakia Drummund

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The Afro-American, December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016

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NATION & WORLD

More Minorities Getting ‘Strapped’ in Wake of Trump Election

by minorities whose permit-holding was increasing about 75 percent more than among Whites.

By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent zprince@afro.com

1994 Heisman Winner Rashaan Salaam Found Dead in Colorado Park

African Americans and other minorities are arming themselves, fearing a continued surge in hate crimes since the election of Donald Trump in November, according to NBC News.

Four times as many minorities are flocking to gun stores, firearm business owners told NBC News. Additionally, Black gun groups such as the National African American Gun Association say attendance has doubled since the election.

Minorities “feel that racists now feel like they can attack… just because the president is doing it,” Earl Curtis, the African-American owner of Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly, Va., told NBC News.

Racial tension in America had already been brewing: The election of President Obama in 2008 was met by cross burnings, racial epithets hurled at African Americans and scrawled on various surfaces, black figures hung on nooses, effigies of the president and the vitriolic rhetoric of the Tea Party. The racial temperature continued to rise as the unrepentant killing of unarmed Black men and boys by police was answered by nationwide protest and the sparking of the Black Lives Matter movement. Into that maelstrom stepped Trump, whose unabashed disparagement of Mexicans, Muslims, Blacks, women and others seemed to embolden those with bigoted agendas.

Since Trump swept into the White House on a tide of hate Nov. 8, the Southern Poverty Law Center has reported an uptick in haterelated incidents. Of the 701 reported so far, several include school children chanting “Build the Wall” to their Hispanic peers (referencing Trump’s promise to build a wall to prevent Mexicans from illegally entering the U.S.) or “White power;” swastikas emblazoned on minorities’ homes and public surfaces; minorities, LGBT or Muslim Americans being verbally or physically attacked and more. On Nov. 28, the Council on American-Islamic Relations also sent a letter to FBI Director James B. Comey asking for a formal investigation into a series of letters sent to mosques that threaten the genocide of Muslims across the nation and praises the president-elect.

Philip Smith, founder of the 14,000-member National African American Gun Association told NBC News that his members are buying a range of guns, from Glock handguns to AR-15 rifles to AK47 semi-automatic weapons to 9-millimeter pistols.

“Most folks are pretty nervous about what kind of America we’re going to see over the next 5-10 years,” he said, adding that fears include those of an “apocalyptic end result where there’s anarchy, jobs are gone, the economy is tipped in the wrong direction and everyone has to fend for themselves.”

The increase in gun purchases, among minorities, after Trump’s victory reflect an upswing that has been reflected over the past eight years, according to research.

According to a July 2016 research paper by John Lott Jr. of the Crime Prevention Research Center, the number of concealed handgun permits during President Obama’s tenure soared to 14.5 million, a 215 percent increase since 2007. The uptick, he noted, was largely driven

Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam was found dead Dec. 5 in a Boulder park less than two miles from Folsom Field, where he carved his name into the University of Colorado record books as one of the greatest players in the program’s history.

The Boulder County coroner’s office was still investigating the cause of the death of the 42-yearold Salaam, who won the Heisman in 1994. The body of the one-time running back was found at Eben G. Fine Park in Boulder. Police say foul play was not suspected.

Salaam’s death stunned the Colorado football community which this year celebrated a revival with a 10-3 record, an appearance in the Pac-12 championship game and the Buffaloes’ first bowl bid in AP Photo/Adam Nadel almost a decade.

In this Dec. 10, 1994, “You talk about a young photo, Colorado’s Rashaan man who was smart, handsome, talented. He was very, very Salaam poses with his gifted. He was humble. He was a 1994 Heisman Trophy at team guy,” Bill McCartney, who the Downtown Athletic coached Salaam from 1992-94, Club in New York. told The Associated Press.

McCartney remembered Salaam as a natural leader.

“His personality was infectious. He just had a warmth about him, a genuineness about him that was really contagious,” McCartney said.

“On the surface, he had everything. We thought he was a cut above, and he turned out to be.”

Former teammate Matt Russell, now the Denver Broncos director of player personnel, said Salaam was a “fiercely loyal friend,” the “ultimate teammate” and the very “definition of a winner.”

“He practiced hard, he played hard and he made our teams better,” Russell said. “… My heart goes out to Rashaan’s mother and his family. They have a lot to be proud of with the person that Rashaan was, the way he treated people and the friend he was to everyone he came across. He will be missed by so many.”

Salaam rushed for 2,055 yards and 24 touchdowns as a junior in 1994, leading the Buffaloes to an 11-1 record, a win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and a No. 3 finish in the final polls. He won the Heisman in a runaway.

The Chicago Bears made him a first-round draft pick in 1995, and he rushed for 1,074 yards and 10 touchdowns in wining NFC Rookie of the Year honors.

By The Associated Press

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The Afro-American, December 10, 2016 - December 10, 2016

Carson

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time. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Sen.-elect Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who will vote on Carson’s confirmation, haven’t expressed an opinion on the matter yet.

Carson is Trump’s first high profile Black selection to his Cabinet. Trump and Carson ran against each other for the Republican Party presidential nomination earlier this year and when

position of U.S. Surgeon General. He declined both offers and later parted with Obama at a National Prayer Breakfast speech on Feb. 7, 2013, criticizing the president’s health care policies.

Baltimore City Council member John Bullock (D-District 9) told the {AFRO} that he was surprised that Carson was selected to lead HUD. “He made it clear that he didn’t have the type of experience needed to run a government agency a few weeks ago,� Bullock said. “He doesn’t have a track record on housing and therefore he is unqualified for the job.�

Bullock said Trump’s selection of Carson because he – Rep. Cedric Richmond allegedly lived in public housing during his Carson withdrew from the race he youth is “racially insensitive.� Besides, immediately endorsed Trump. Even so, Bullock said, Carson would be better Trump’s offer is not the first time Carson suited for surgeon general or secretary of has been approached by U.S. presidents Health and Human Services because of for high-level government positions. his professional background.

Both President George W. Bush and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) is President Obama offered Carson the troubled by the Carson nomination,

“Not only is Ben Carson unqualified to run HUD, his ideas around fair housing are destructive to communities around the country.�

December 10, 2016 -December 16, 2016, The Afro-American

echoing Bullock’s sentiments. “During his time in Baltimore, Dr. Ben Carson was a phenomenal neurosurgeon but he has no experience developing housing policy affecting tens of millions of households or running a complex federal agency, as his own spokesman admitted last month,� Cummings said. “Mr. Trump said during the campaign he would support working-class Americans but his appointments made it clear he intends nothing of the sort.�

Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said on Dec. 6 that Carson’s nomination is “baffling and troubling to the civil and human rights community.� “He is on record for opposing recent housing desegregation efforts under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, one of the nation’s most important civil rights laws,� Henderson said. “The failure to ensure Fair Housing Act compliance was a major contributing factor to the 2008 housing crisis, and we are concerned that Dr. Carson will attempt to roll back, or allow Congress to roll back with even more lasting consequences, the important progress that has been made in recent years. We urge President-elect Trump to reconsider this nomination and to select a nominee who is dedicated to promoting fair, affordable, and sustainable housing

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free from discrimination.�

If confirmed, Carson would be the third Black Republican to be secretary of HUD after Samuel Pierce during the Reagan administration and Alphonso Jackson serving under George W. Bush. The first secretary to lead HUD was Robert Weaver, a Black man appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson and served from 1966-1968.

Scott

Continued from A1

a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a verdict.

Slager shot and killed a black motorist. (Grace Beahm/Post and Courier via AP, Pool) Defense attorneys Andy Savage, left, Don McCune, and Miller Shealy, right, sit around former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager at theCharleston County court in Charleston, S.C., Monday, Dec. 5, 2016. Judge Clifton Newman declared a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Slager shot and killed a black motorist.

(Grace Beahm/Post and Courier via AP, Pool) A panel of one Black and 11 White jurors — who had seemed close to a verdict to convict Friday, with apparently only one holdout — said Monday they were unable to reach a unanimous decision after deliberating more than 22 hours over four days. “We as a jury regret to inform the court that despite the best efforts of all parties we are unable to come to a unanimous decision,� said Circuit Judge Clifton Newman, reading a note from the jury before declaring a mistrial.

Former patrolman Michael Slager was charged with murder in the April 4, 2015, shooting death of 50-yearold Walter Scott. The judge had said the jury could also consider a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Outside the courtroom, Scott’s mother and brother said justice will eventually prevail. “I’m not sad, because I know justice will be served,�

Judy Scott said.

Asked whether he could forgive Slager, Anthony Scott said he could eventually “find the peace� to forgive the exofficer but not before justice

is served. “He gets to spend Christmas with his family,� he said of Slager.

Cellphone video taken by a bystander that showed Scott being shot in the back five times was shown widely in the media and on the internet and shocked the country, inflaming the national debate about how Blacks are treated by law enforcement officers.

After the video went public, Slager was fired by the police department and charged with murder. Scott’s family called for peace in the North Charleston community.

Their calls for calm are believed to have helped

defense lawyers as they left the courtroom. She did not respond when reporters asked if she wanted to comment.

One female juror wiped away tears with her hands and a tissue as the attorneys addressed them and thanked them for their hours of work.

There were no outbursts in the courtroom. Slager’s lawyer, Andy Savage, did not comment.

Scott’s family again called for peaceful protests. “We’re not going to tear up this city,� Anthony Scott said. “We’re not happy. But we’re not sad.�

Solicitor Scarlett Wilson praised Scott’s family for their

contended there was no way the officer could tell if Scott was unarmed.

Last year, the city of North Charleston reached a $6.5 million civil settlement with Scott’s family. In the wake of the shooting, the city also asked that the U.S. Justice Department conduct a review of its police department policies with an eye toward how the department can improve its relationship with residents.

New high-speed train study getting underway...

“I’m not sad, because I know justice will be served.�

–Judy Scott

prevent the kind of violence that erupted elsewhere when black men were killed in encounters with law enforcement.

It’s the second time in recent weeks a jury has deadlocked in an officerinvolved shooting. A mistrial was declared Nov. 12 when a jury in Cincinnati couldn’t reach a verdict in the case of a former campus police officer who was also charged with shooting a Black motorist.

The video in the Scott slaying renewed debate about how blacks are treated by white law officers. There have been similar debates over race and policing in places from New York to Ferguson, Missouri, and from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to North Carolina.

Police Officer Fatal Shooting Slager’s wife, Jamie, cried after the jurors were dismissed and briefly put her head on the bench in front of her. She said “thank you for everything� to the

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patience and understanding. “They have not received the credit they deserve in their calm leadership for the community,� she said in a statement. “The Scotts have been a sterling example of dignity and grace in extraordinary circumstances.�

Slager also faces trial next year in federal court on charges of depriving Scott of his civil rights.

Gov. Nikki Haley said that she understood there will be “a new trial where the Scott family and all of South Carolina will hopefully receive the closure that a verdict brings. Justice is not always immediate, but we must all have faith that it will be served I certainly do.�

While Slager is White and Scott was Black, the video, not the races of the men, dominated the trial.

Scott was pulled over in North Charleston for having a broken taillight on his 1990 Mercedes and then fled the car, running into a vacant lot.

Family members have said he may have run because he was worried about going to jail because he was $18,000 behind on child support.

The prosecution argued that the 35-year-old Slager let his sense of authority get the better of him.

The defense maintained that the two men wrestled on the ground, that Scott got control of Slager’s stun gun and then pointed the weapon at the officer before the shooting. The defense also

Join us at one of our open houses!

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) are preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential impacts of constructing and operating a high-speed superconducting magnetic levitation (SCMAGLEV) system proposed by the private company, Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail (BWRR), between Washington, DC, and Baltimore, Maryland, with an intermediate stop at BWI Airport.

The FRA and MDOT will hold a series of Open Houses on the SCMAGLEV project. You are invited to attend an Open House anytime between the hours listed. No formal presentation will be given. At the Open House you can:

December 10 (10:00 am - 12:00 pm)

Lindale Middle School 415 Andover Rd, Linthicum, MD 21090

December 12 (5:00 pm - 7:00 pm)

Arundel Middle School 1179 Hammond Ln, Odenton, MD 21113

December 13 (5:00 pm - 7:00 pm)

Coppermine Du Burns Arena, Harbor Side Hall 3100 Boston St, Baltimore, MD 21224

December 14 (5:00 pm - 7:00 pm)

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library 901 G St NW, Washington, DC 20001

December 15 (5:00 pm - 7:00 pm)

West Lanham Hills Fire Hall 8501 Good Luck Rd., Lanham, MD 20706

• Meet the project team • Learn about the project • Provide comments on the scope of the EIS • Share ideas and ask questions Can’t attend?

Meeting materials also will be posted on our website: baltimorewashingtonscmaglevproject.com

Locations are accessible for people with disabilities. Please contact the department listed below to make arrangements for: special assistance or additional accommodations; printed material in an alternate format or translated; hearing impaired persons; and persons requesting an interpreter. All requests must be received one week in advance.

Los sitios tienen acceso para personas con discapacidades. Por favor comunĂ­quese con el departamento listado a continuaciĂłn para concertar arreglos para: ayuda especial o adaptaciones adicionales; material impreso en un formato alternativo o traducido; personas sordas y personas que solicitan un(a) intĂŠrprete. Todas las solicitudes deben ser recibidas con una semana de antelaciĂłn. ! * #! ) #$%! . - # " ) + #$. % #$ " $ $ #, $ %! . %$+ )$ + !" .$, "+ . #! ( , ! * ! $ , +' # # ! %) . ! ) $ +' $ " # & " $ "% ' . + ' ! * - . # # + # %' ! * ! " ) # !" #+ + +$, !" #$ + " ) % - c< gOZ6 gVd<9 j2t Q fR78 U@Z 3h; IMZ ]>rSX g Vd pH m_ =6 I/ SN 8B WTc5 YXA k1:6 dPD n0gVd F o\K/ q^s Jb `v ^nrS3 G?78 L3 Ku<a ele i4m EC ^nr[ lS3 G?78

MTA Office of Customer and Community Relations: 410-767-3999 â&#x20AC;˘ 866-743-3682 â&#x20AC;˘ TTY 410-539-3497

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The Afro-American, December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016

Hampton Continued from A1

upon first by Black Panthers when they sought to search the apartment, with a warrant, to confiscate weapons and ammunition found there.

The Black Panthers say police opened fire on them as part of a plot to assassinate and intimidate their members and their members and opened the shot-up apartment to the public so it could make up its own mind from which direction bullets were fired in the attack.

A shocker for the general public, which has been accustomed to routinely accepting police reports as true, came when an independent group of pathologists suggested that Hampton was shot at close range, possibly as he slept. This backed the Panthers view of the slayings.

The Afro-American Patrolmenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s League of Chicago, terming the police killings â&#x20AC;&#x153;obviously political assassinations,â&#x20AC;? launched its investigation with a bitter, terse statement that asked: â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the idea was to confiscate weapons, why was tear gas not used instead of bullets?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;If I was in a gunfight, I know I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be shooting from a bed, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where Hampton died,â&#x20AC;? a

league spokesman said.

Six black Congressman, Charles C. Diggs Jr., Augustus Hawkins, John Conyers, Mrs. Shirley Chisholm, Louis Stokes and William Clay announced they would hold an unofficial hearing in Chicago on Saturday, Dec 20.

There was keen interest in the black community to see what cooperation these congressmen would get from Illinois officials in this sensitive case.

Congressman Diggs, of Detroit, chairman of the investigating team; said the congressmen were acting in response to a request from State Sen. Charles Drew, Richard Newhouse, and Issac Sims, members of an ad hoc committee investigating police harassment in black communities.

The Civil Rights Department of the Justice Department, headed

by Asst. U.S. Atty. Gen. Jerris Leonard, who argued before the Supreme Court for a slowdown in school desegregation, announced in Washington it would make a preliminary investigation if any federal laws were violated by the police.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League, led by Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young, respectively, were among

December 10, 2016 - December 10, 2016, The Afro-American

organizations demanding a federal probe.

In Chicago it also was announced by County coroner Andrew J. Toman that a blue-ribbon coronerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s jury would be set up to look into the case.

Frank Greenberg, president of the Chicago Bar Association, had called for such a jury to present â&#x20AC;&#x153;full, honest disclosures in publicâ&#x20AC;? of the shootout.

There also were demands for probes by the U.S. Civil Rights Commision, the Senate Special Investigations Committee, the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights, the out-going Commission on Violence, and others.

Hanrahan, who has been rapped for having only whites at posts of authority in his office, also has been accused of misinforming the public as to what took place.

In a press conference last week, Hanrahan told newsmen his men used handguns only, in the raid.

Less than half an hour later, Sgt. Daniel Groth, who led the controversial raid, told newsmen the policemen carried two shotguns and a .45 caliber submachine gun.

Howard Saffold, a vice president of the patrolmenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s league, pointed out to newsmen that police last fall took a berserk gunman alive in the far Southside after he held

them at bay for six hours with hand grenades and machine guns resulting in a charge of killing two policemen.

Dr. Ralph Abernathy head of the Southern Christian leadership Conference, said in Chicago where he went to attend the funeral services: â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a movement in this country to eliminate these young black men who are standing up against the power structure by giving them long terms in jail, others are being murdered and killed off.â&#x20AC;?

In San Francisco, the general counsel of the Black Panthers labeled as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;smokescreenâ&#x20AC;?

Wednesday an announcement of the Justice Department that it may investigate police crackdown on the militantants. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s simply the start of a whitewash.. to give a halo to local police action in Chicago against the Panthers with the help of federal authorities,â&#x20AC;? said Charles Garry of San Francisco. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know why theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re trying to kid. I guess itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the silent majority.â&#x20AC;?

Garry also disputed a statement of the Justice Department that it has never had any policy of concerted activity with local police in order to harass any members of the Black

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Panther Party. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been FBI Agents in on every one of those arrests involving Black Panthers,â&#x20AC;? said Garry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nothing is done without the FBI being on it.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;They have tapped telephone wires at all Black Panther headquarters and at the homes of all Black Panthers and their attorneys.

All of their homes are being watched constantly.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The conduct of the Department of Justice is just as atrocious as any state or local police action,â&#x20AC;? added Garry.

Bobby Rush, deputy defense minister for the Illinois Panthers, said members involved in the shooting would agree to take lie detector test if their lawyers okayed it. Harahan said the police would do so if the Panthers did.

Four Panthers and two policemen were reportedly wounded in the raid.

Over the weekend it was learned that exiled Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver, in Algeria where he eventually went after leaving the U.Ss to avoid prosecution in a case involving a shootout with police April 6, 1968 in Oakland, has asked permission to return.

The State Department indicated he could request papers for a oneway trip to the United States.

Buy Black Continued from A1 and clothing to wine and time at the spa, Black businesses have shoppers covered for the perfect holiday gift.

Apparel

Black designers offer a wide array of fashionable digs for the Mr. and Mrs. Clause.

Melanin Apparel offers something for the whole family to wear when it comes to celebrating Black heritage in style. The Brooklyn Circus and City of Gods can help keep the men hip. Some designers focus on the Black Daddy Gang, while others like Blanc Blouse focus solely on mom.

Nakia Drummund, cofounder of Blanc Blouse with her mother Linette Ball, told the AFRO her Black business began in 2014 with hopes of helping women solve an age old question for the well endowed: Where do you find a trendy white shirt that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be pinned in the middle?â&#x20AC;?

Blanc Blouse offers diversely priced items for the special woman in your life, but also offers a unique opportunity to support Black women in business. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important for us to buy from each other because

we are buying into our own story,â&#x20AC;? said Drummund, who is also a 34-year-old educator. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In this climate, and with the change in presidency, cooperative economics has been very much on my mind. How do we build for ourselves and learn from times when we did have and did do for ourselves? We need to make some shifts. This is a way for us to be truly free.â&#x20AC;?

If unsure about the latest trends, a subscription to Dapper Black Box will cover several bases at once for him with a variety of items from Black-owned companies, and Adorably African Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Clothing makes sure that quality clothing for kids is checked off the list.

Accessories

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the perfect ensemble without accessories to match? Online stores like Etsy.com cut out the middleman and allow you to buy straight from Black business owners with products online. Liven up your wardrobe with earrings, bracelets, and rings from WCArtistry

back away from the MAC counter.

For the Kids

and Conscious Centers by Tiffany Freeman. Make your home a little more vibrant and woke with pillows from Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Sleep Interiors and artwork from artists like Saki Douglass.

Make-up

Department stores across the country will undoubtedly be packed with women clamoring to get new product for the perfectly beat face.

Melissa Butler is offering the

Holiday Collection at The Lip Bar that includes hot new shades of lipsticks from the ravishing â&#x20AC;&#x153;Brickhouseâ&#x20AC;? red to the spicy â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mochajitoâ&#x20AC;? brown, a gold that gives â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everything,â&#x20AC;? and a blue hue perfect for those feeling â&#x20AC;&#x153;Misfit.â&#x20AC;? Not to be outdone in flare or quality, Beauty Bakerie, DaLynn Cosmetics and Kaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;oir can help fill stockings with lipsticks, nail lacquers, lashes, and eyeshadows, while also making it a little easier to

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Black toy makers are kicking into high gear as the holiday season approaches.

Looking for the perfect doll of color? Look no further than the products offered by Ishababies and Sugarfoots Dolls, created by Howard alumna Barbara Ell. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like to think that I am spreading diversity everywhere,â&#x20AC;? said Ell, whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dolls are handmade in cocoa, ginger, and cinnamon skin tones. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to get space next to Barbie on that shelf because she has been the reigning queen forever, but picking up a doll and playing with something that reflects your skin tone is huge.â&#x20AC;?

Ell said that while the Sugarfoots Dolls are geared towards children of color, â&#x20AC;&#x153;all nationalities are drawn to the dolls because of their vibrant fabrics.â&#x20AC;?

Rest and Relaxation

If your significant otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s idea of a perfect Christmas includes primping and pampering fit for a king or queen, the Salamander Resort and Spa of Middleburg, Va. should be at the top of the list. This getaway is tucked away near the Blue Ridge Mountains and easily accessible by way of the Washington Dulles International Airport, which is just 30 minutes away. The establishment has a total of 14 spa rooms, along with an equestrian center, zip lining adventures, a golf course, a fitness center, and a pool.

Clear your head with a hike into the mountains, or grab a drink at the Gold Cup Wine Bar -- the possibilities for a good time are endless.

Other Black owned bed-and-breakfast retreats include Akwaaba, which boasts four different locations between New York City and Washington, D.C. And the Magnolia House Inn is sure to offer top-notch Southern hospitality.

December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016, The Afro-American

A5

Honoring the Past – The Medal of Honor for Dorie Miller?

By Marsha Joyner Special to the AFRO As the nation honors the past on the 75th commemoration of the dawn of World War II, I am requesting that you write to the President about awarding the Medal of Honor to World War II Messman Attendant Second Class Doris Miller for his acts of valor during the December 7th, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor which indeed made him a hero of epic proportions.

“But sometimes even the most extraordinary stories can get lost in the passage of time,’ President Obama told a group of about 60 that included Army family, military members and Medal of Honor recipients Nov. 6, 2014 . “This medal is a reminder that no matter how long it takes, it is never too late to do the right thing.”

Seventy four years is a very long time. Since April 19, 1942, thousands have requested that the U.S. Navy recommend Doris Miller for the Medal of Honor. It is never too late to do the right thing.

The president’s bold acknowledgement of the 24 Army veterans who deserved Medals of Honor but were denied them due to racism is part of President Obama’s broader effort to highlight racial injustice and cultural awareness.

President Obama made an effort to correct an historical act of discrimination when he awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest commendation for combat valor, to a group of Hispanic, Jewish and AfricanAmerican veterans who were passed over because of their racial or ethnic backgrounds.

The unusual presentation culminated a 12year Pentagon review ordered by Congress into past discrimination in the ranks and will hold a particular poignancy when conducted by the nation’s first African-American president.

Although the review predates Obama’s tenure, he has made great strides addressing discrimination in the military.

In 2002, Congress called for a review of war records from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to ensure that soldiers deserving the Medal of Honor were not denied because of prejudice.

The reassessment sent a host of candidates

Courtesy Photo

World War II Messman Attendant Second Class Doris Miller through the various service boards that decide on Medal of Honor recipients and then to the Joint Chiefs for approval. Two dozen veterans — all from the Army — emerged as worthy of an upgrade to the Medal of Honor.

The Navy did not forward Messman Doris (Dorie) Miller’s name.

No Blacks won the Medal of Honor during World War II until in 1997 President Clinton awarded it to seven black soldiers, all but one posthumously, who an Army study commission concluded were denied their due because of the Army’s “racial climate.”

In the last several Congresses, U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, with the support of the Congressional Black Caucus and members of both parties in Congress, has filed legislation to waive the statute of limitations so

that Miller could receive the Medal of Honor.

In a denial letter to my request “The Navy has concluded that the Navy Cross, the highest award that can be approved and awarded by the Secretary of the Navy, appropriately recognizes Petty Officer Miller’s heroic actions,” said Lt. Mike Kafka, a Navy spokesman. Kafka said those seeking to upgrade Miller’s award can offer new evidence or ask the Navy to look at the case anew, a request Johnson may make.

Absolutely we ask again! This is not new evidence. Racism is the Birth Defect of the United States of America.

First let me say, Lt. Mike Kafka apparently did not do any research. In 1941 NO Black Messman held the rank of Petty Officer. At the time of Doris Miller’s actions the Navy was totally segregated.

World War II African-American sailors were stripped of their dignity, their “somebodyness”.

Regardless of their education they were expected to be messmen, stewards and cabin boys, not trained for combat.

They did not even wear the traditional Naval Anchor on their uniforms. Secretary of the Navy (Colonel) Frank Knox, (former publisher of the Chicago Daily News and the 1936 G.O.P. vice-presidential nominee) wrote “The policy of not enlisting men of the colored races for any branch of the naval service but the messmen branch was adopted to meet the best interests of general ship efficiency.”

“Even as Hitler espoused the theory of the “Superior Ayrian Race”, the United States Military practiced the theory of “AfricanAmerican mental inferiority”. The Army War College study of 1940 described the AfroAmerican as having ‘less developed mental capacities.” The Navy was accepting AfricanAmericans on a limited basis as messmen/ stewards. The Marines were accepting NO African-Americans. According to Historian Duane B. Bradford, “during the first six months of 1940, the Army admitted 30 AfricanAmericans total into all of its schools.”

Doris Miller, a product of the segregated Military, never gave Jim Crow a thought as he braved strafing enemy planes to help remove his mortally wounded Captain Mervyn Bennioin to a place of safety.

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The lack of combat training did not stop Miller. This noble spirit, running between the flames and crashing metal, taking the machine guns in hand as his ship mates were dying all around him on the blood soaked deck of the battleship West Virginia. He shot down 5 of the 29 downed Japanese planes that rained bombs from the sky on the December “day that will live in infamy”.

How can the Navy state that Doris Miller’s denial of the Medal of Honor was not racist?

America at this time was deluged with atrocities . . . lynching of Negroes, drowning of “Coolies,” downright genocide of Native American Indians, bombing of synagogues, and women were chattel & mortgage.

BENNION, MERVYN SHARP (posthumous), Captain, U.S. Navy, USS West Virginia, Pearl Harbor, T.H., 07 December 1941. This is the man Dorie Miller attempted to move on the deck of the USS West Virginia.

Captain Bennion received the Medal of Honor and the Navy says there is no reason to upgrade Dorie’s Medal.

From December 7, 1941 until August 9, 1945, The Pacific War was a Navy War. The Navy only awarded 52 Medals of Honor during WWII and only 14 were enlisted men. That shows the Navy’s level of discrimination was not only based on race but also on rank.

Of the 111,606 causalities, 252,142 wounded and 21, 580 POWs, the Navy only awarded 66 Medals of Honor.

The story of the Navy’s institutional racism is not something I read in a book or saw in the movies, I have spent the past 40 years with my husband who is a retired Submariner. While I was not an eye witness to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, I was privileged to know men who were on the West Virginia with Doris Miller. I know the story of Dorie Miller and hundreds of men like him.

Doris Miller will always be gratefully remembered by Americans. To his heroism and the heroes of others like him, white and black, we owe our lives and our nation. While the official Navy records still do not credit Miller as having shot down any enemy aircraft. Miller’s heroism helped to call worldwide attention to the evil practice of segregation in the military.

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The Afro-American, December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016

COMMENTARY

Our Movement for a Better America Continues

Elijah Cummings

If anyone thought that our battle for a better, more prosperous and more inclusive America would be won on Election Day, they now realize that our fight has just begun.

During the lead up to November 8, President Obama reminded us that hope would be on the ballot this year — and fear would be on the ballot, too. America listened, and more Americans chose the presidential candidate of hope this year than chose the candidate of anger and fear.

This is a truth that we must not forget, although, because of our electoral system, the candidate who ran on anger and fear will become the President next January.

Whether he becomes our President, earning our trust and support, will be up to him. The trust and support of the American people are not the byproducts of hopeful words. They must be earned.

Thus far, however, Mr. Trump is not meeting that challenge.

Although he has declared that he wants to be a President for all Americans, Donald Trump’s initial appointments have raised

both consternation and alarm.

He is acting as if he has a mandate that he has not earned. However, when polled by the Washington Post, less than one in three Americans (29 percent) responded that Donald Trump has a “mandate” to carry out the agenda that he presented in his presidential campaign.

Mr. Trump will become the Chief Executive of a nation united in our values and aspirations — but deeply divided on how best to fulfill those shared goals. Nearly a super-majority in that same Washington Post poll (59 percent) concluded that he should be willing to compromise in order to bridge these national divides.

His failure to gain majority support should evoke caution and humility, not hubris. Yet, it remains to be seen whether Donald Trump will learn that compromise is an absolutely necessary element of our system of government — and not a sign of weakness or lack of resolve.

Only the future will tell us whether Donald Trump will grow in the presidency or whether the displays of arrogance, ignorance, prejudice and personal conceit that we have witnessed during his campaign will continue to endanger our nation and cripple his ability to bring about constructive change.

What is already clear is that his campaign of anger and abuse has deeply injured our nation and created widespread uncertainty and fear, both here at home and abroad. The American People need to be reassured that we remain a nation that is far better in spirit and far more committed to justice and fairness, respect and inclusion, than the political campaign that we have just endured.

To any and all who are feeling threatened or abandoned in this time of national uncertainty, I can assure you that you will have strong allies in the days ahead.

I remind you that our commitment to the civil and human rights of every person is unshakable and absolute. We will fight together against bigotry and injustice wherever they seek to attack our humanity, whether in the workplace, on the street corner or in the government of our great nation.

In the words of my heroine, former Congressman Barbara Jordan, “My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total.” My faith in the wisdom and ultimate goodness of the American people is just as strong.

This is why, despite our very real and justified concerns, I remain confident that our

progressive movement will overcome this time of challenge and peril, just as we have overcome other perils in our past.

We Democrats are already hard at work laying the foundation for those better days. We have adopted the most progressive agenda for constructive change in our nation’s history — an American Agenda that is a comprehensive strategy for economic and social change.

To those who are suffering disillusionment or economic pain, this is our pledge. We will push for our American Agenda’s enactment into law for as long as it takes.

Along with Senators like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, we progressives who serve in the House will continue to oppose the Republican’s failed “trickle-down,” supply-side economic policies that have deprived far too many working families of their hard-earned gains.

In their place, we will continue to advance consumer-driven “demand-side” initiatives like job-creating public investment, debt-free higher education, a guaranteed living wage and true collective bargaining.

We will continue to fight for more affordable healthcare and the cleaner, more sustainable environment that our survival requires.

The candidate of hope did not win on November 8, but the movement for a better America and better world continues.

We will continue to stand up and fight for the people we serve and the generations of Americans yet to be born.

Congressman Elijah Cummings represents Maryland’s 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.

Trump Stance on the Environment is a Disgrace Cathy Allen

For years now I have been spreading the message to protect, preserve, and to give honor to the very being that all

life resides upon, EARTH. Our newly-elected president, Donald Trump has a very different message. His stance is to protect, preserve and to give honor to businesses only. Forgetting and dismissing the environment issues that will eventually be our nations’ and plant demise.

Our nation comes in the second place behind China when to comes to pollution, accounting for 16 percent of cumulative global greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, the decisions made by Trump and his Republican-controlled Congress on environment will be critical for future generations of people, plants, insects and animals. Trump has gone as far to say that climate change is a “myth” made up by China to make manufacturing non-competitive.

So, what could our America look like with a president that sees the plant as a mere resource for big business? Here’s a glimpse of what Trump’s administration plans for the environment.

Trump’s first order of business is to dismantle the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). In my last article, I highlighted what the agency does to protect the environment and people against businesses that polluted the air and water.

When Trump was interviewed by, Chris Wallace from ‘Fox News Sunday’ last month with the question, ‘who is going to

protect the environment?’ Trump said, “We’ll be fine with the environment…..we can leave a little, but you can’t destroy businesses’. Trump as gone as far as to appoint, Myron Ebell to head-up and dismantle the EPA, who the Financial Times calls, “one of America’s most prominent climate-change skeptics.” Ebell works has been funded by some of our nation’s worst environmental polluters, like Murray Energy the nation’s largest coal mining company. Ebell, also noted that he will be supporting more ‘big coal’, “so that we can combat the nonsense put out by the environmental movement.”

Second up, Trump and his administration has plans to Reopen Shuttered Coal Mines. What does that mean to the air our nation will be breathing? Among all fossil fuels, coal is the nastiest and dirties than oil, gasoline and natural gases. So, while Trump is boasting about putting America’s coal miners back to work. Under his plan, those coal miners, their families, their community and their states (West Virginia and Pennsylvania) will see an increase of dangerous levels of pollution in the very water that they drink and the air that they breath.

Third, Trump plan to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, pledging to cancel the agreement and withdraw all funding for climate-related United Nation programs. This action will surely tell the world that America does not care about global warming or climate-change.

Fourth up, Trump’s administration has plans to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project, which would transport crude oil from oil sands in Alberta, Canada, through Montana and into Nebraska. Under the Obama administration, the U.S. State

Department founded that it is likely that the proposed pipeline, which crosses thousands of rivers and streams including several major rivers like the Yellowstone and Platte will experience spills. Trump responds to these findings, “I want it built, but I want a piece of the profits, that how we’re going to make our country rich again.” Trump also is a financial stakeholder of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Lastly, Trump wants to reduce U.S. investment in Clean Energy options. Trump said last November in Newton, Iowa, “wind energy is a problem, a very expensive form of energy”.

On the contrary, Wind Energy in states like Texas and Iowa generates the highest amount of wind power as a percentage of its total energy portfolio, wind is cheaper and cleaner than coal or gas-powered energy.

As an environmentalist, I am hopefully, that all people across our nation will stand up against this newly-elected administration on environmental issue. After all, it’s the water that you drink and the air you breath.

Then when I figured out that anyone can write a poem and it should come from within I tried to become a more emotional, observant and questioning writer. Once I started telling myself that if I try harder, I will be a better writer. Then decided that I wanted to become a journalist. I will do that by going to college and majoring in journalism.

I’ve encountered a few poems and they have all left me thinking. Some poems I have read are “Phenomenal Woman” “I Taught Myself To Live Simply” “Be Glad Your Nose Is On Your Face” “Othello” and “Much Ado About Nothing”. Out of all five of these poems only three poems are nationally known, but all five of these poems send a similiar message, with some of the same connections throughout them. Reflecting on these poems the link I made between the poems, is to love and appreciate what you have and do not take it for granted.

Although when I write poems it’s not meant to be easy or

for me to have fun. I write because I want to escape. I enjoy writing poetry because it makes me feel different. I read poetry because it gives me another perspective.

One poem I’ve written is called I Am.

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

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

Poetry’s Impact on Me I’m a 16 year old girl.

I attend City Neighbors, a small charter school in East Baltimore. As a junior taking seven classes, honors English is my favorite. This is my favorite because in this class I have my most creative thoughts without being judged.

Growing up in the city of Baltimore, I realized that it’s all about fitting in and making sure your face and name are known whether its a good thing or a bad thing. At least that’s what the majority of my peers seem to think. I disagree because people who think like that are small-minded..

At City Neighbors, I’ve learned a large number of how to skills. Things like reading poetry with emotion and a open mind. When I first experienced poetry I was intrigued. So I began to look for strategies, to become a better writer.

Ziyah Lester

“I am whatever I say I say I am If I weren’t, would I say I am” There’s something special about me That special thing is that I am me I’m not just an ordinary I’m more of an extraordinary Who am I? Let’s just call me a visionary”

Ziyah Laster attends City Neighbors High School in Baltimore. She is an intern in the Baltimore office of the AFRO.

A8

The Afro-American, December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016

Magic City Birmingham “If it’s magic then, why can’t it be everlasting?”

By Gerald Taylor Special to the AFRO The question posed by the lyrics in Stevie Wonder’s classic tune, “If It’s Magic” could be asked of Birmingham, Ala. After incorporating as a city in 1871, Birmingham — named after one of England’s major industrial cities — grew into an industrial power, coining the nickname “Magic City.”

Jones County, where Birmingham is located, is the only place on earth that contains substantial quantities of coal, iron ore, and limestone all in close proximity to one another. The magic took an evil sorcerer’s sleight of hand in Birmingham’s early days when iron manufacturers exploited the prison population through an egregious convict leasing system.

The system sent prisoners, mostly young Black men, to work in the mines where they suffered deplorable, dangerous conditions.

Birmingham’s steelmakers could also access an endless supply of inexpensive labor from freedmen and poor southern whites looking to escape sharecropping and tenant farming legacies, while playing on racial

tensions to further divide and conquer.

The city’s inexhaustible supplies of raw materials and low cost labor, and an increasing national demand for iron and steel, led Magic City to become the largest iron and steel producer in the southern United States by 1907. The same year, Birmingham’s largest steel producer, Tennessee Coal Iron and Railroad, was acquired by U.S. Steel.

By 1910, Black workers made up 75 percent of the industrial workforce in Alabama. In 1928, Alabama outlawed its convict leasing program; the last state Courtesy photo to do so. The Great Migration threatened to cut into the area’s pool of Black workers as many headed north, so employers had to raise wages. Then the Great Depression hit, devastating Birmingham’s economy. Ultimately labor unions won some recognition battles, and Birmingham’s economy improved, along with its workers’ paychecks, as industries prepared for World War II. Meanwhile, company towns began springing up around Birmingham’s steel plants. Pratt, a widespread area just north of downtown, became the first boomtown, growing to become a working class community of steelworkers. The region also served as a base for Birmingham’s civil rights movement; Martin Luther King Jr.’s younger brother, A.D. King, pastored a church in the area.

The town of Ensley was annexed into Birmingham in 1910. Mills and plants opened rapidly, Ensley could barely build streets, sidewalks, schools, libraries and places of worship at a pace fast enough to keep up.

By 1925, Ensley had at least two banks, two funeral homes — one white and one black, jewelers, laundries, flower shops, pawn shops, fruit dealers, barber shops, tailors, an F.W. Woolworth, a Western Union, and a Singer sewing store. It bustled during the day and also became known for its spirited night life. Tuxedo Junction was the place to go for black music in the 1920s, garnered national fame after a hit song about it was recorded in 1939.

But during the middle of the century, Birmingham’s iron and steel industry began to decline when Germany and Japan exported iron to the United States, pricing it much lower than domestic producers. The decline continued into the early 1980s with the proliferation of cheap China-made steel overtaking the U.S. steel industry. For Ensley, the slide culminated in 1976 when U.S. Steel closed its Ensley Works. It had employed 30,000 people at its height. As the jobs went, so did the lively neighborhoods like Ensley and Pratt, now shadows of what was once there.

About 38,000 people remain employed in manufacturing in the Birmingham region, but struggles continue.

Ultimately, Birmingham’s sudden industrial prowess had less to do with hocus pocus, and more to do with geology. The city’s industrial decline was not magic, but math.

Infrastructure investment is a key solution to reverse the decline in urban centers created by industrial flight. Workforce development will put the nation on a path to success and U.S. trade policy must enforce rules on the books and not disadvantage U.S. workers to revive the once magic Birmingham.

METRO RIDERS FIND CURES. The world depends on Metro riders to tackle

the tough jobs. In turn, they depend on us. At

Metro, we recognize that we must first repair

our system in order to restore your trust. And our promise to the region is that we will bring

the same passion and commitment to our jobs

as our riders bring to theirs.

Follow our progress: WMATA.COM/BACK2GOOD

B a c k 2 G o o d

December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016, The Afro-American

B1

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY-AREA Prince George’s County

NAACP Officers Plan Ahead for New Administration

MGM National Harbor Opens

Check out AFRO’s Facebook Live to see videos of the grand opening!

Prince George’s County

New Affordable 3D Scholars Degree Program

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

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com

On Nov. 18, members of the Prince George’s County branch of the NAACP elected its 20162018 officers and executive committee. They are planning a year of aggressive and progressive action on issues pertinent to Black residents.

Bob Ross, branch president since 2011, was re-elected, with the first vice president as Eben Smith, Amity Pope as second vice president, Secretary Valerie Miller, Assistant Secretary Juanita Miller, Treasurer Leigh Williams and

University of Maryland University College (UMUC), Prince George’s Community College (PGCC), and Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS)launched a pilot scholarship program.

The Prince George’s 3D Scholars Program offers highachieving Prince George’s County high school students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree from UMUC for $10,000 or less.

The program has the potential of making college affordable for countless Black families with minimal debt.

Photos by Rob Roberts

The MGM National Harbor Casino is set to open to the general public on Dec. 8.

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com A touch of Las Vegas sits mere minutes from the nation’s capitol. After two years of construction and $1.4 billion, MGM National Harbor spent the week, prepping for a much-anticipated Dec. 8 opening that brings with its stellar branding and thousands of sustainable jobs to a region struggling to regain its economic stronghold.

Along with the construction of the establishment’s 308 room hotel, 3,000-seat theater, 125,000-square-foot casino, and 18,000 square feet of retail, MGM has hired or offered jobs to more than 3,800 people – 46 percent of the employees are Black and reside in Prince Georges County.

During a preview tour of the complex, Gordon M. Absher, vice president of Corporate Communications, said that the goal with hiring county residents was to ensure that their training would allow them to join an established industry and succeed

within it.

“MGM is a brand that matters and those who come to us, remember how they were treated – the smiles, the attention to detail, the overall positive experience – and we wanted to train new employees on how we do things,” Absher told the AFRO. “We also wanted to ensure our workforce thrives and grows within the organization.”

Absher said the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency issued roughly 1,500 casino-related licenses for the resort. And the employment center at the former Thomas Addison Elementary School on Oxon Hill Road trained residents as casino workers – Gordon M. Absher – including blackjack, poker and roulette workers.

The 24-story resort offers 15 restaurants – including famous Harlem chef Marcus Samuelsson’s 24-hour restaurant. Marcus, said the restaurant mirrors his Red Rooster brasserie, including live music and an outdoor dining area. Additionally, Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, originally from Frederick, Md., will open their first joint

“MGM is a brand that matters, and those who come to us remember how they were treated.”

Courtesy Photo

Bob Ross is the president of the Prince George’s County NAACP. Assistant Treasurer Jermaine Shoatz. With the election of the at-large members of the executive committee, Ross told the AFRO that the branch is ready to fight for the rights of Prince Georgians.

“With the new Trump administration coming to Washington next year, we want to see what the impact will be at the local level,” Ross said. “We want to see if his education secretary pick [Betsy DeVos] will try to mandate school choice and we are very concerned about his treasury secretary [Steven Mnuchin] who played a key role in the creation of the housing crisis of the last decade.”

The Prince George’s County branch was founded 81 years ago and played a key role in the

Continued on B2

Continued on B2

Maryland’s Casino Taxes Set to Change when MGM Opens

By The Associated Press Two Maryland casinos will keep a higher share of slot machine revenue when MGM National Harbor opens this week, in a deal state lawmakers made years ago to reduce their taxes once the added competition enters the market.

No one knows how Maryland’s gaming revenue will change once MGM opens, but lawmakers are hoping to collect more money overall for the state’s Education Trust Fund and other programs that benefit from this income.

Maryland Live! in Anne Arundel County will increase its share of slot machine proceeds from 41 percent to 49 percent.

Horseshoe Baltimore’s share will rise from 39 percent to 46 percent. They are the two Maryland casinos closest to MGM, which will get 44 percent of the slot machine revenue generated at National Harbor.

The larger share of slot machine revenues for Maryland Live! and the Horseshoe means less money from those two casinos for the trust fund, which supports pre-K through 12 public education, public school and higher-education construction, and capital improvements including community colleges. The trust fund will get 36 percent of slot machine money from Maryland Live!, instead of 43 percent. And

Photo by Rob Roberts

Maryland Casino taxes may change when MGM National Harbor opens. The state gets money from casinos through gaming revenue to support different programs such as the state’s Education Trust Fund. the fund will get 39 percent of slot revenue from the Horseshoe, rather than 45 percent.

Still, the fund stands to gain overall by getting a new boost from MGM’s casino next to the nation’s capital in Prince George’s County. The fund will receive 41 percent of MGM slot machine revenue.

In another change, 5 percent of table game revenues will now go toward local grants to mitigate the impact of casinos on surrounding communities. That reduces the share that goes to education to 15 percent. Casinos will still keep 80 percent of table-game revenues.

It’s not the first time Maryland has changed the tax rate set in 2008 when voters first approved a constitutional amendment

Continued on B3

Man Released from Hospital After Scuffle with Police

By The Associated Press

Frederick, Md. police say a Prince George’s County man has been released from the hospital after he became incoherent following a scuffle with officers.

Lt. Clark Pennington said Dec. 5 that 44-year-old Vincent Fong

of District Heights is charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, theft and robbery after an incident on the night of Dec. 4. He’s being held without bond pending a bond review.

Online court records do not list a defense attorney.

Pennington says officers were called around 9:30 p.m. to a beer-

and-wine shop where a threatening customer had stolen a six-pack of hard cider. Pennington says Fong approached a police cruiser and tried to smash its window with a bottle.

Pennington says Fong then tried to punch one of the officers before they took him to the ground and handcuffed him.

Courtesy Photo

Prince George’s Community College President Charlene M. Dukes is an advocate of the county’s 3D Scholarship program.

The initiative allows qualified high school students to earn dual credits toward an associate’s degree at PGCC, transfer to UMUC and earn a bachelor’s degree. The program was announced to the public on Nov. 15. The first cohort of scholars is expected to begin in the fall of 2017.

“I speak often about the different and affordable pathways that students in

“This program responds to the needs of our community, and we are proud to support such a unique opportunity.”

– Charlene M. Dukes the University System of Maryland can take toward completing their degree.

Initiatives such as this agreement between UMUC, Prince George’s Community College, and the Prince George’s school system are a primary example of this innovative approach, making a UMUC degree accessible for no more than $10,000,” Robert L. Caret, chancellor of the University System of Maryland said in a statement regarding the new program. “This program helps the University System Continued on B3

B2

The Afro-American, December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016

MGM National Harbor Continued from B1

restaurant, Steak House, and José Andrés is opening a themed, seafood-only restaurant called Fish within the same track.

“It is unique to cook food that guests will enjoy in their hotel rooms while lying in bed or sitting on a couch, instead of in a traditional restaurant setting. The cooking has to be even more personal,” said Samuelsson. “That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to create a special in-room experience that guests at MGM National Harbor will not soon forget.”

MGM National Harbor Vice President of Food and Beverage Operations Alison Bybee said, “We want MGM National Harbor to be a true culinary destination. Whether guests are dining at a restaurant, at a bar, or even in their room,

they are going to experience something spectacular. Chef Samuelsson’s oversight of our in-room dining menu not only elevates the standard of our food and beverage program, but continues to push the boundaries for culinary excellence within the Capital Region.”

For those with a sweet tooth, the pastry shop Bellagio Patisserie, located in the hotel’s conservatory, will house a running fountain of 4,000 pounds of dark, white, and milk chocolate, making it the world’s largest chocolate fountain.

For those with concerns about traffic – the resort is expected to bring an estimated 20,000 visitors into the area daily – officials urge visitors to consider using ride-share services such

as Uber or taxis, the new Oxon Hill Road extension (rather than 295), the Metro, or the new water taxi service, Potomac RiverBoat, which operates between Old Town Alexandria (right behind the Torpedo Factory) and National Harbor.

“After years of planning, designing, and developing, we are thrilled that the moment is almost upon us to share this very special resort with the community and visitors from around the world,” said Lorenzo Creighton, president of MGM National Harbor. “We are grateful to Prince George’s County, the state of Maryland, and all of the local designers, artisans, and businesses that have collaborated with us to deliver this international resort with very local roots.”

sure that the new county hospital is built,” she said.

“We will explore why there is no economic development around Metro stops in the county as well as affordable housing. We recently started a veterans committee to address their problems and we will demand real concessions from developers when they want to set up in the county.”

Ross said he is working to get young adults and college students more active in the branch. “We have a young first vice president Eben Smith and he works hard and is

the purpose is and [what] the mission of the NAACP is,” Grogan said. “The average Black person doesn’t know what the NAACP is doing.”

Joe Brice is the president of the Prince George’s County Civic Federation and said he’s not impressed with the branch’s activities, recently.

“To me, they are more flash than substance,” Brice told the AFRO. “I see them going after the wrong issues. For example, they will hold a press conference after an African American is shot by a policeman without doing their

NAACP

Continued from B1 settling of Blacks in the county during the 1960s-1990s. The branch helped to facilitate school desegregation in the 1970s and ‘80s and fought police brutality during that time as well.

“We are also going to be focused on local issues such as affordable housing, preventing foreclosures, improving the school system, and advocating for economic development,” Ross said.

June White Dillard, a former president of the branch and a member of its executive committee, told the AFRO that she constantly responds

to people who think that the NAACP’s time has passed.

“That is a myth, it is completely wrong,” Dillard said. “The election of Donald Trump as president and his picks for the cabinet indicate that every person of color should be ready to combat discrimination.”

Dillard is also active with the Maryland NAACP as the leader of its legal redress committee. She said that the branch will be concerned with issues more than individual civil rights matters.

“We will work to make

dedicated,” Ross said. “There are branches of the NAACP at Bowie State University and the University of Maryland, College Park, and we are working to get a branch at the Prince George’s Community College. We have to get young people active so we can move our branch forward.”

David Grogan is a new member of the branch and a life member of the NAACP. Grogan told the AFRO that the “NAACP is needed” but has concerns. “I think the leaders of the branch and the national office have to explain what

research. It may not be the prettiest thing but they need to research things to the end.”

Ross, like Dillard, has heard criticism that the branch and the national organization is out of touch or ineffective.

Ross said that type of criticism is counterproductive. “We as Blacks need to stop tearing each other down,” he said.

“That’s what happened in the 2014 governor’s race when Anthony Brown lost to Larry Hogan because Black people didn’t support him. We have to support our people and that is what the NAACP is about.”

Taxes

Continued from B1 allowing five slot machine casinos. At first, the tax on the first five casinos was one of the nation’s highest, as casinos were allowed to keep only 33 percent of the revenue. But lawmakers adjusted the rates when they expanded gambling to allow the MGM casino and table games like blackjack in 2012. Part of the agreement called for the state’s larger casinos to own the slot machines, an expense initially carried by the state.

The portion of revenues for the Rocky Gap Casino in western Maryland was bumped up from 33 percent to 50 percent, after the casino had trouble drawing a bidder. The share of slot machine revenue for the Casino at Ocean Downs, near Ocean City, was increased from 33 percent to 43 percent in 2012.

The state’s casinos generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year for state initiatives.

When MGM opens, the amount steered toward boosting horse racing purses will drop slightly from 7 percent to 6 percent at five casinos.

Local impact grants from the slot machine portion of revenues will remain 5.5 percent at five casinos and 2.75 percent at Rocky Gap. The amount directed to help small, minority and women-owned businesses will remain 1.5 percent at five casinos and 0.75 percent at Rocky Gap. A fund for to help restore horse racing tracks will remain 1 percent at five casinos, with Rocky Gap exempt.

Another 1 percent goes to pay for lottery operating expenses.

In 2019, Maryland Live!, Horseshoe Baltimore and Hollywood Casino Perryville will be able to seek an added portion of gambling revenue, if MGM’s impact on their businesses turns out to be larger than expected. The state’s lottery commission would have to approve further increases.

Maryland Live! could seek an extra 2 percent; the Horseshoe could request up to 3 percent more; and the Hollywood Casino could ask for up to 5 percent more.

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December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016, The Afro-American

3D Scholars Continued from B1

of Maryland maximize value to state taxpayers, by bringing together the resources of three prominent public education partners.”

Total student debt in the United States, at approximately $1.26 trillion, is the second largest consumer debt in the country after mortgages. The average debt of all U.S. college undergraduates, including those who did not take any student loans, is around $16,929 per student, according to new data from student loan news website the Student Loan Report.

Maryland college students currently graduate with an average debt of $14,744, with those students going on to earn median incomes. With roughly 56 percent of students taking out student loans, fewer than one in 10 indebted graduates in the state default on their loans within three years of leaving school, a smaller share than in most states. The 3D Program

“My wife and I are extremely excited about this program because it will help make college affordable within a quality academic setting.”

–Edward Roberts

promises to decrease that number.

“Students in the Prince George’s 3D Scholarship Program will begin an academic pathway that produces well-educated graduates, addresses college affordability, and supports a regional workforce,” Charlene M. Dukes, Ph.D., president, Prince George’s Community College, told the AFRO. “This program responds to the needs of our community, and we are proud to support such a unique opportunity.”

“My wife and I are extremely excited about this program because it will help make college affordable within a quality academic setting,” Silver Spring resident and father of high school freshman Edward Roberts told the AFRO. “It’s commendable that these various campuses would come together to create a positive platform to help young people matriculate through school responsibly.”

For more information about the Prince George’s 3D Scholars Program and the scholarship requirements, contact 3Dscholars@pgcps. org.

B3

WASHINGTON AREA

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS Upper Marlboro, Md.

First Baptist Church of Glenarden Christmas Play Worship Center, 600 Watkins Park Drive

The First Baptist Church of Glenarden will feature gospel artists Ruth La’Ontra and Brandon Gaines as Mary and Joseph along with Leah Clark Leach as the angel in – “The Uncut Coming of Christ,” – a dramatic and contemporary adaptation on the birth of Christ on Dec. 10 at the church’s Worship Center, 600 Watkins Park Drive. Doors are scheduled to open at 10 a.m. with questions and answers with the cast beginning at 10:30 a.m. The play is scheduled to begin at noon.

This play is free and a holiday favorite for all ages.

Washington, D.C. My School DC Hosts EdFEST D.C. Armory, 2001 East Capitol St., SE My School DC is

Look closer at your energy use.

scheduled to hold EdFEST 2016 on Dec. 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the D.C. Armory, 2001 East Capitol St SE. The event is free and will allow parents to explore the city’s many public school options (PK3-12) for their child.

Representatives from D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) and D.C. public charter schools will showcase their programs.

With the launch of the My School DC common lottery

application on Dec. 12, EdFEST is a timely event to help make informed school selections for the 2017-18 school year common lottery.

EdFEST will also feature free services and fun activities, including Flu shots for adults, health services for kids and teens, sports activities, information about DPR Fun Days, Winter and Spring Break Camps and more. Free parking is also available.

Homicide Count 2016 Total

90 Past Seven Days 3

Hunters Woods Fellowship House Waiting List Closing Hunters Woods Fellowship House (HWFH) is a government-assisted apartment complex located in Reston, Va., designed for low-income individuals who are over age 62 or are disabled. The estimated waiting period for most current applicants has reached more than 24 months.

Therefore, effective 2 p.m. on Thursday, December 29, 2016, HWFH will suspend the acceptance of applications for the Section 8 Housing Program.

The current waiting list will remain closed until further notice. A Public Notice will be posted when the waiting list is reopened in compliance with federal guidelines. We do not anticipate that this will occur within the next 18 months.

For additional information, or if you have special needs to be accommodated, or have Limited English Proficiency, please call 703-620-4450, TDD 1-800-828-1120, or visit our website at www.fellowshipsquare.org.

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DCL1238 | Community Pubs | Lucky for Life | Afro-American News | BW | 5.42x10.5

B4

The Afro-American, December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016

In commemoration of the second anniversary of D.C. “Mayor for Life” Marion Barry, District dignitaries and politicians attended a private ceremony Nov. 23 to unveil his renovated tombstone at the Congressional Cemetery in Southeast. In honor of his legacy a “Blues and Barbeque” Luncheon was held after the ceremony at the Washington Convention Center.

D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson

Former D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly, first woman elected as Mayor of Washington, D.C.

Bishop Glen A. Staples

Rev. Willie F. Wilson Bishop Thomas A. Masters, New Macedonia Baptist

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Cora Masters Barry Raymone K. Bain, Sheba Haley , A. Scott Bolden, Cora Masters Barry and Charles J. Moreland

Rev. Leah Daughtry, The House of the Lord Church

Pat Lattimore, Lorrain Green, Leslie Green and Don Baker

Vanessa Weaver and Joe Coleman Photos by Rob Roberts

Darien Hennington, Mygvis Levels-Morgan, Erik M. Causey and Montell D. Brown

Ian Johnson, Chie Fred Awumalr, Alana Stevenson, Ackien Fendjio and Jermaine Elijah Cherry

V. Bozeman, singer

Peabo Bryson, (right) and guest

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) hosted its 28th Annual Awards Gala Nov. 21, themed “Developing Minds…Delivering Dreams,” to celebrate the achievements of the nation’s foremost visionaries who have used their status to positively impact the lives of students and publicly-supported HBCUs. Honorees included: Thurgood Marshall Legacy Award Recipient Benjamin F. Wilson; International Humanitarian Award Recipient Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture; CEO of the Year Award Recipient Jack Dorsey; and Education Leadership Award Recipient Shelley Broderick.

Photos by Rob Roberts

Acocia Hines, Duniele Bwamba, Shantel Chung, Emani Terry, Chiegeshiuka Agn, Crystal Maye , Erin Cagler and Cortn Mckenzie

Photos by Rob Roberts

Joyce Payne,TMCF founder, (right) and guest

The Zeta Chi Omega chapter of the AKA’s hosted their 58th Annual Cooley-Moore Scholarship Luncheon Fashion Show on Nov. 13 at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner hotel in Virginia.

Jennifer Hansborough, chair, Luncheon

Recipient of The Johnny C. Taylor, Thurgood Marshall Legacy Award, Benjamin president & CEO, TMCF F. Wilson, managing principal Beveridge & Diamond, P.C

Debra L. Lee, BET CEO

Tobias Truvillion and Traci Braxton-Surratt

Samuel Sarkodie, 2016 scholarship recipient

Talk Show host Wendy Williams

Gregory Jones , United Airlines chief diversity officer, TMCF Board Member

Kym Whitley, comedian and actress

Bling Queen Dival, Marcy Jessup, Diane Burns and Dorothy Gillem

Fashion Show, Hazel Cameron, chair, Ivy Foundation of Northern Virginia and Rhonda Luss, chapter president

Yvette Darnaby, luncheon vendor coordinator and Marie Quick

Barbara Bellemy Waver, Shavannia Williams, Lucretia McClenney, Arlene Skinner, Rhonda Luss and Mavguerite Taylor

The Sherion Cosby Dancers

Darhyl Jasper, Mary Gilmore and Regina Crawley

Lynette Drake, Chris Burrell, Lula Hicks, Adria Hicks, April Hicks, Carla Welburn, Madison Welburn and Kelly Garner(standing)

To purchase this digital photo page contact Takiea Hinton: thinton@afro.com or 410.554.8277.

December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016, The Afro-American

C1

ARTS & CULTURE

10 Year Anniversary

Baltimore Crown Awards Celebrate Local Artists

By Nakia Brown Special to the AFRO Brown hands hit Djembe drums as three women fervidly dance in front of the stage.

Their bodies -- hips, arms, and feet -- move in devotion as Baltimore musicians, poets, producers, DJs, emcees, visual artists and more pack into the vicinity. Chatter, laughter, music and love spill from every angle. It is a night of recognition and reunion -- The Baltimore Crown Awards.

Many may not notice the dozens of artists releasing innovative projects, touring nationwide and receiving international acclaim, but that is the mission of the 10th Annual Baltimore Crown Awards scheduled for Dec.10 at the Impact Hub -- to “connect the underground.” The event attracts more than 150 attendees each year.

“The underground is where the power is,” said Chin-Yer Wright, director of The Baltimore Scene, the organization that hosts the awards show. “It’s a celebration of the authenticity and freedom that comes with being independent. By ‘underground’, it’s a compliment. It’s rebellious.”

Since 2007, The Baltimore Crown Awards have given more than 200 awards to the city’s most promising artists and community workers, such as local rap group Team Kreamate who won Group of the Year and Best Underground Release in 2015.

Acquiring an award is a lengthy and deliberate process. Online voting happens several months before the event and requires in-depth reasoning for each vote casted. This

Baltimore Crown Awards 2013 Legend Award winners. year, 35 awards in 27 categories, including hip hop, artist management, poetry, graphic design, clothing lines and community service, will be awarded.

The Baltimore Crown Awards celebrates each level of what makes an artist from the studios, managers, videographers and even supporters. The “Supporter of the Year” award is given to a person who consistently supports the live performance arts scene.

People are not just coming to witness the passing of awards and hear heartfelt acceptance speeches; The Baltimore

Documentary

‘I Am Not Your Negro’ Draws Comparisons to Modern Day Race Tensions Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com In writer and social activist James Baldwin’s documentary, “I Am Not Your Negro,” Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck, not only offers a rare glimpse into the private life of Baldwin, using the author’s final and unfinished work, “Remember This House,” but also depicts him as a pundit of human equality and a race representative.

“The future of the negro in this country is precisely as bright or as dark as the future of the country. It is entirely up the American people if they are going to try to find out in their own hearts why it was necessary to have a nigger in the first place. Well, I’m not a nigger; I’m a man. But if you think I’m a nigger it’s because you need it. And you’ve got to find out why.

And the future of the country depends on that,” Baldwin says, almost prophetically, as the documentary opens.

In an advanced screening, Peck said the power of the documentary rests in hearing and gaining a clear understanding of Baldwin and the race issues continuing to permeate American life without the filters of actors, narrations, or scripted lines.

“I didn’t want any talking heads or anyone interrupting him; I wanted the dialogue to be from within his head. I wanted

to rely solely on those words and give them life, of course, find the right footage and the right image and pull them together with the text,” Peck told the AFRO. “I know that Baldwin is a very controversial personality and for me it was not about that, it was about his words: how impactful and important those words were – and are today.”

“Remember This House” was to be a masterpiece of

Prolific writer and statesman, James Baldwin’s final work is examined through a new documentary

by Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck.

Courtesy photos

sorts for Baldwin, who was to use it as an analysis of the lives of three powerful Black men: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Grappling with the assassinations of these men, Baldwin casts the shadow of race at the feet of Whites demanding both allegiance and participation from Blacks, but also second-class citizenship and segregation. On one clip, Baldwin says that racism was a question of apathy and ignorance and the price Whites pay for segregation.

Theater-goers quickly drew a comparison between the racial divisiveness Baldwin speaks of with present day society.

“I was only recently introduced to the works of James Baldwin and found Peck’s documentary helpful in bringing so much of the anxiety of Trump’s America into focus,” University of the District of Columbia junior Samuel Ofori told the AFRO. “Baldwin’s in-your-face truths helped me understand, I am not responsible for White fears and microaggressions. No Black person is.”

Celebrated as a bold and innovative work, “I Am Not Your Negro” also offers an opportunity for Peck to recast the gaze of America into reality-driven art.

“Around me, people don’t see the world, they don’t understand the world. My job as a filmmaker is to make sure the world is seen, as it is. As a Black man, I don’t see myself or my world on the screen.

I have to make sure that that world exists and we are confronted with it,” Peck said.

The documentary is scheduled to be in theaters on Feb. 3, 2017.

Courtesy photo

Crown Awards will offer a lively line-up of contemporary and legendary artists. The 2016 show, hosted by Ogun, a local artist and advocate, will feature performances from Hippie Control House Band, Why Lie Band, Bangledesh Project, youth and adult poetry slam teams, a Prince themed producer showcase, a cypher of women emcees and a live band.

The Baltimore Scene started in 2006 and hosts some of the city’s most popular competitions: “The Masters Multi Skill MC Battle,” “Word War,” “Rap God,” “You Should Be Famous Talent Competition,” and “Producer Beat Battles.” Since the organization’s inception, the events have given more than $15,000 in prize money to

local artists.

“Competition is a quick way to show the youth that art can pay bills. Art can be a profession,” Wright told the AFRO. “It has provided a platform for artists’ growth. It has been a rite of passage for many,” Wright said.

Two highly revered awards at the event will be the “Derrick ‘OOH’ Jones Service Award” named after the Baltimore rapper and teacher who passed in 2014 and “The Baltimore Legend” award. Jones was the last to receive the service award in 2013 before it was renamed after him and each year the service award is presented by his family. The Baltimore Legend award honors community leaders and pioneers whose contributions shaped their field. Last year, Squirrel Wyde of local Baltimore radio station 92Q was inducted into the Baltimore Legend Hall of Fame joining a list of more than 30 inductees.

Over the years, The Baltimore Crown Awards had many homes. After packing local club Five Seasons from 2007-2014, the award show grew and had to move to Baltimore SoundStage in 2015. This year, the award show moved to Impact Hub Baltimore in Station North Arts and Entertainment District, adding to the creative hub that is forming on North Ave. The award show doesn’t shy away from any type of art. It has featured Brazilian bands, belly dancers and live body painters. Beyond the festive performances, the award show has been affectionately called “Baltimore’s family reunion” by locals.

“This is Baltimore. This beautiful, thriving art scene. A community of people that celebrate each other,” Wright said. “When people leave...I want it to revitalize the Baltimore scene. I want people to be inspired to create and produce for the next year.”

Photo by Kiirstn Pagen

Dawn Ursula as Shelly and Sharon Hope as Dotty in “Dot” at the Everyman Theatre.

‘Dot’ Brings Funny Family Holiday Drama to the Stage

By Briahnna Brown Special to the AFRO Just in time for the holiday season and fresh off its New York run, the comedic new play “Dot” is scheduled to run at the Everyman Theatre in Downtown Baltimore from Dec. 7 through Jan. 9.

Written by actor/playwright Colman Domingo—currently starring in AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead”—and directed by Vincent M. Lancisi, “Dot” tells the story of a Black family in West Philadelphia whose matriarch, named Dotty, has begun to show signs of memory loss. Dotty’s three adult children, Shelly, Donnie and Averie, are home for the holidays and need to find a way to overcome their differences for their mother while dealing with their own different crises.

During its run, special events, including an in-depth panel discussion on the play’s themes -- Dec. 17 -- and a moderated discussion with the cast -- Dec. 30 -- are scheduled to be held at the theatre.

Sharon Hope, who stars as Dotty, said that it is a stretch as an actor to play a woman losing her memory, and that this play offers an inside look at what it takes to

unite a family facing the issue.

“One of the things we see is the pain of being a caregiver and watching the person decline,” Hope said. “It really shows the audience a lot of times what caregivers have to go through, and how members of the family have to come together and issues that they have to deal with inside the family.”

Dawn Ursula, Everyman Theatre’s resident company actress, stars as Dotty’s eldest daughter Shelly, who takes on the responsibility of caring for her ailing mother.

She says that the story is very relatable, and that Coleman found a way to discuss a heavy topic with hilarious dialogue and repartee.

“He writes this kind of new coming of age story, set in the holidays, with these incredibly smart, funny, witty people who are in a challenging situation, but they find all of this amazing humor and love in which to navigate it,” Ursula said. “Although the issues are tough, Coleman has found a way for us to live through it the way that we actually do live through it sometimes.”

Tickets for “Dot” are between $10 and $64 with group and student discounts available, and can be purchased at the box office or online at everymantheatre.org.

C2

The Afro-American, December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016

Maryland High School Football

SPORTS

Maryland’s Best and Brightest Compete at Crab Bowl Team Washington will be led by DeMatha quarterback Bo English.

English led the Stags to four The ninth Maryland Crab Bowl high consecutive Washington Catholic school all-star game slated for Dec. 18 Athletic Conference championships and boasts the best collection of prospects has already committed to the Air Force since its inception and has put the Academy. free state’s talent on a stage that has Defensively, Team Washington will gained national attention. The game and be anchored by Eleanor Roosevelt’s corresponding practices will be held on the Lawtez Rogers. Rogers, a defensive campus of Bowie State University. end, had approximately 25 scholarship “It’s not just about Texas and Florida offers including Virginia Tech, Rutgers, anymore,” said Lamar Smith, co-director and Wake Forest before making his of the Maryland Crab Bowl. “This region verbal commitment to Maryland. is now one of the areas that recruiters from St. Francis quarterback Isiah all over the country are paying attention to.

Robinson will lead the Baltimore This game features players who’ve already offense. Robinson was the catalyst made verbal commitments [to colleges] for their transformation from doormat and some players who haven’t but can use to championship. He led them from a this stage to land a scholarship offer”.

2-9 record in 2015 to a 10-2 record this (photo courtesy: Mid Atlantic Sports Foundation. year and the Maryland Interscholastic The alumni from this game has given it credibility as the signature talent exhibition The Maryland Crab Bowl is the state’s premiere high school football all star game and will Athletic Association conference be played at Bowie State on December 18. for high school talent in the state. Players championship. Though Robinson hasn’t such as Tavon Austin of the Los Angeles formally committed to Rams and Chicago Bears Kyle Fuller all debuted their talents on this stage before their post-secondary institution, college and ultimately NFL careers. Several of the major recruiting services including he does have an offer Rivals, Scout and 247 Sports - consider the Crab Bowl the top in-state all-star game in from Eastern Kentucky. the country.

Overlea wide receiver There are no guarantees on any given year’s roster but the quality of talent this B.J. Watson personifies year’s is deeper than it has ever been. Many of these all-stars played in the Grassroots what student athletes Youth Football League which has become the signature developmental organization aspire to be. Watson was for youth football in Maryland. Experts feel that since the inception of the Crab Bowl introduced to football at the improvement of training techniques with players in youth programs has made them the Overlea youth league better throughout the state. and carries a 3.96 GPA “Eighth and ninth grade players are ready to compete at a high level and have the and is a member of the grades as well,” said Chad Riccardo, president of the Maryland Crab Bowl selection National High School committee. “Youth coaches are doing a great job of getting kids prepared athletically Honor Society. He was and academically. These players are ready to become real student athletes”. recruited by Ivy League schools including: Dartmouth, Princeton, Columbia, and Yale The Game features Maryland’s top 90 players representing different regional teams. before ultimately signing with Harvard.

Team Washington consists of players from Montgomery, Prince George’s, Anne Bowie State will also benefit from staging the game and its practices on campus.

Arundel, Calvert, St. Mary’s, Charles counties, and the Eastern Shore. The Baltimore It gives them a chance to land another under recruited difference maker like Amir team features players from Howard, Baltimore County, Baltimore City. Frederick, Hall who was lightly recruited from Riverdale Baptist and led them to the CIAA T:11” Championship Game this year.

Washington, Allegheny, Cecil, Harford, Carroll, and Garrett counties.

By Mark F. Gray Special to the AFRO

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Drake Tops Spotify’s 2016 List with 4.7 Billion Streams

By The Associated Press

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Drake owned the year on Spotify: He’s the most streamed act on the platform with 4.7 billion streams.

The rapper has the most streamed album and song — “Views” (2.45 billion) and “One Dance” (970 million) — on Spotify this year, it was announced late Wednesday.

Justin Bieber, Rihanna, twenty one pilots and Kanye West round out the top five artists of the year. The top albums following “Views” are Bieber’s “Purpose,” Rihanna’s “Anti,” twenty one pilots’ “Blurryface” and The Weeknd’s “Beauty Behind the Madness.”

Mike Posner’s “I Took a Pill in Ibiza — Seeb Remix” came in second after Drake’s “One Dance” for top songs, followed by The Chainsmokers’ “Don’t Let Me Down,” Rihanna and Drake’s “Work” and Sia’s “Cheap Thrills.”

(Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File) Zayn, the former One Drake accepts the award for favorite album rap/hip-hop for “Views” at the American Direction member who Music Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 20.. Drake was the most streamed act on the released a solo album Spotify platform with 4.7 billion streams. The rapper has the most streamed album and this year, is Spotify’s top song, “Views” (2.45 billion) and “One Dance” (970 million). breakout artist.

Drake is the most streamed act of all-time on Spotify with 8.7 billion streams.

investing in

Good neighbors are always there to share their expertise. That’s why Johns Hopkins is a proud partner with Baltimore City Public Schools in P-TECH at Dunbar— Baltimore’s new school-to-industry pipeline at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.

Through P-TECH, students are preparing for their futures by taking college-level health sciences courses alongside their traditional core subjects. With community college degrees already in hand, graduates can embark on careers in tech, right here in Baltimore, or choose to go to four-year colleges. Helping prepare our city’s workforce for the jobs and careers of the future is important to us because when Baltimore thrives, we all do.

Johns Hopkins. Investing in our community.

Maria, Ms. Cutrona, Rodney, and Kyona, are building DNA strands in biology class at P-TECH at Dunbar.

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December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016, The Afro-American

D1

BALTIMORE-AREA

Race and Politics

Renaissance Academy: Don’t Shut It Down, Build It Up

On December 1, just before I went on the air for First Edition, to have a conversation Sean Yoes with two administrators Senior AFRO and two Contributor students from the beleaguered Renaissance Academy High School (BCPS is considering shutting the school down, again), I received a jarring text from Nikkia Rowe, the school’s principal. “We had another student fall to gun violence last night,” the text read.

Since 2015 Renaissance has lost four young Black men to violence in Baltimore.

Ananias Jolley, Darius Bardney and Daniel Jackson were killed last year and Jamal Stewart was the young man Rowe texted me about

Since 2015 Renaissance has lost four young Black men to violence in Baltimore. last week.

After the deaths of Jolley, Bardney and Jackson, then city schools CEO Gregory Thornton said he wanted to shut down Renaissance and relocate its students, but Thornton was fired and the school remained open. Now, new CEO Sonja Santelises is recommending Renaissance close altogether by the end of the current school year, unless a new location is found.

Of course I’m not privy to all the information that may be informing Santelises’ reasoning for closing Renaissance. But, I suspect Continued on B2

Baltimore Looks to Move Forward Under 50th Mayor

Morgan State University Awarded $2M Grant from UNCF

By Jordan Hawkins Special to the AFRO

AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh delivers an address during her inauguration ceremony inside the War Memorial Building in Baltimore, Dec. 6. Seated behind Mayor Pugh are outgoing Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Judge Shirley Watts of the Maryland Court of Appeals, 46th Mayor of Baltimore and President of University of Baltimore, Kurt L. Schmoke, Congressman John Sarbanes, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings and Governor Lawrence J. Hogan.

“I know first hand that Mayor Pugh is a fierce advocate for the people of this community,” said Hogan “Maryland is stronger when our state and local leaders work together.”

A cloudy overcast and partial rain couldn’t stop hundreds Harping on the inclement weather, U.S. Sen. Barbara A. from occupying the War Memorial Building for Mayor Catherine Mikulski lightened the mood with jokes, thanking Mayor Pugh E. Pugh’s Inaugural Ceremony. for moving the ceremony out of the rain.

Baltimore’s 46th Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke served as Master “She will be a fantastic mayor, she already made the of Ceremonies amongst a stage of accomplished individuals who executive decision to move this [Inaugural Ceremony] inside” have contributed to the progress of the state. said Mikulski to great laughter.

A conundrum of Several speakers, including harmonizing voices bellowed Baltimore House Del. Curt through the War Memorial S. Anderson and Baltimore building, as Morgan State City Council President University’s choir performed Bernard C. “Jack” Young gave the National Anthem. Rev. Dr. warm welcomes to the city’s Harold A. Carter Jr. of New incoming Mayor.

Shiloh Baptist Church led the Morgan State’s choir – Md. Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. returned room in a prayer, not only over to center stage for an the incoming mayor, but the encore performance. The choir city as a whole. opened with rapper Common “We’re believing that the city will move forward,” said Carter and signer John Legend’s “Glory” from the 2014 movie “Selma” Jr., as grunts of approval made dents in the silence of the prayer. soundtrack. The group closed with the timeless ode of “God The loud roar of the unified “Amen” at the conclusion of the Bless America.” prayer shook the flame perched atop the torch in the center of the Baltimore resident and Congressman Elijah Cummings room. shared warm memories and words of enlightenment. Cummings Maryland Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. received great cited the unrest in the city after the death of Freddie Gray in applause as he approached the podium to shout praises and show 2015. Cummings declared that Pugh sung the gospel hymn solidarity with Mayor Pugh.

“This Little Light of Mine” to the unruly crowd of teens at the Continued on D2

By Maliik Obee Special to the AFRO

“I know first hand that Mayor Pugh is a fierce advocate for the people of this community.”

After months of planning, Morgan State University made a joint announcement with the United Negro College Fund this week detailing the award of a five-year $2-million grant from the UNCF to create the UNCF® Career Pathways Initiative (CPI). The initiative is designed to assist and guide university graduates as they make their way into the real world and begin to look for jobs to jumpstart their careers. Morgan State is one of the 24 colleges and universities in the country currently awarded grants that reach a grand total of $35.3 million. Morgan State will also work alongside Norfolk State University and Tennessee State University in improving job outcomes for all their graduates.

The entire program is possible thanks to a grant from Lily Endowment Inc, the UNCF® Career Pathways Initiative is a unique pilot program for select historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominantly black institutions (PBIs) that is helping them enhance career readiness for their 54,000 enrolled students. Many of these students will be the first in their families to earn college degrees.

The majority of students are from low-to-moderate–income families and must receive federal financial aid to pursue their undergraduate studies.

Morgan State’s goal for the initiative is for students to readily attain academic success, Continued on D2

Baltimore City Police Announce Public Enemy #1

In Memoriam

Priscilla Gaines Lansey

By Terrence Smith Special to the AFRO

By Michelle Richardson Special to the AFRO

Priscilla Gaines Lansey passed away on Dec. 1 as a result of congestive heart failure. A native of Northwest Baltimore, Gaines was baptized at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church and graduated from Western Courtesy Photo High School in 1960. She attended Baltimore Junior College now known as Baltimore City Community College and Priscilla Gaines Lansey Morgan State College now known as Morgan State University.

Gaines moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 1965 and worked at the city’s public library. In 1967, Gaines returned to Baltimore to continue her education at Morgan State College as an Arts major where she received her Bachelor of Arts in 1970.

After graduating from Morgan, Gaines began her professional career as a kindergarten teacher at the Historic Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School. In 2010 she retired from Tench Tilghman Elementary school after 40 years of service in public education.

On Dec. 5, Baltimore City Police announced a new public enemy #1. The suspect is wanted in the stabbing death of a 73year old man in broad daylight.

The Public Enemy is identified as 19-year old Christopher Straham, of the 600 block of North East Street. He is 5-foot-7 and 145 pounds. Christopher has facial tattoo’s including a heart and the initials “CS.” Police say the victim has not yet been identified and may have been homeless. According to police, next of kin has been hard to identify and contact.

The attack happened near Pulaski Highway and N. Highland Avenue around 4 p.m. on Dec. 2. The crime was caught on surveillance video, and it shows the victim trying to fight the suspect off with his cane as he’s tackled and repeatedly stabbed.

Police believe the altercation started inside the Popeye’s restaurant. Investigators say Straham saw the victim had Baltimore City Police Department money and tried to rob him.

19-year old Christopher “If you see a guy with two Continued on D2 Straham.

Continued on D2

The Entertainment Community Gives Back For The Holidays Hello my dear friends and fans. Happy Holidays to you. This is the season to give back to others who are less fortunate than you. I know that many communities leaders, organization, entertainers, promoters of music and night clubs are first in line every year to do just that. In the chance of repeating myself during this time of the year from Thanksgiving thru the Christmas Holidays are a special time of the year for individuals, groups and organizations to put together a program, do a fundraiser or as an individual go to the streets to help others such as the homeless, children whose parents have no jobs and are struggling to keep the roof over their family’s heads. This is the time of the year you can be grateful for what you

have, because so many people do not have a roof over their heads or know where their next meal is coming from. There are folks who are living on the streets, not by choice. Think of the people who are sick with disease and illnesses that are lying in the hospital and nursing homes unable to feed themselves, dress themselves or have the strength to pray. So if you are one of those people who are who always crying and complaining “woe is me” because you have a headache, your arthritis has flared up or you don’t have enough money to buy a new living room set, just get over it. Honestly my friend, you have nothing to complain about. Thank God for what you have. This is why I appreciate my entertainment community, organizations, foundations, nightclubs and my musicians

Continued on D2

10 296

Past Seven Days

2016 Total

Data as of Dec. 7

D2

The Afro-American, December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016

Mayor

Continued from D1 intersection of Pennsylvania and North Avenue.

“God has brought you at this moment to shine a light on our great city” said Cummings.

The Honorable Shirley M. Watts of the Maryland Court of Appeals approached the podium to swear in Mayor Pugh, as the flickering lights from cameras illuminated the stage. Journalists and residents alike live-streamed via Facebook to broadcast the iconic moment.

The crowd shared another bellowing laugh as Pugh mistakenly placed her left hand on the bible during the swearing in. Upon completion of the oath, the deafening combination of cheers and applause rang through the room. For more than five minutes, Pugh addressed the crowd. She began by thanking Gov. Hogan and discussing plans for the duo to take Baltimore’s issues national.

“I’ve already prepared my letter for you to go with me to Washington D.C., to deliver to the next President of the United States, Trump.”

Addressing concerns by the everyday citizens in attendance,

Pugh declared her full attention and devotion to change.

“We know that people choose cities for two specific reasons, they want great schools and low crime rates, and we are committed to doing that.” Said Pugh.

Pugh addressed representatives of Harford, Baltimore and Prince George’s County, showing solidarity in the bettering of the state of Maryland.

“We must continue to work together, because what happens to Baltimore happens to the rest of the state.”

Pugh thanked exiting Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, commending her for her service and progression of the city.

“I commit to you Stephanie Rawlings Blake, that the work that you’ve done will not be forgotten,” said Pugh “That when we talk about the 40,000 boarded up houses that were here when you got here and know that we are down to 15,000, which the city houses, that the city owns.”

Lastly, Pugh addressed her alma mater, Morgan State University to much applause, citing the “cheerleaders” seated front row.

“I was a cheerleader at Morgan State University, and I’ll be the greatest cheerleader that this city will ever have.” said Pugh.

Pugh closed by mocking President-Elect Donald Trump, declaring to “Make Baltimore Great Again.”

Pugh’s brother, James Crump, took time to reflect on the feeling of having his sister become Baltimore City’s 50th Mayor.

“We’re very proud of her, she’s worked tirelessly to do very much for Baltimore, the community, the streets and schools,” said Crump “I believe she will be a proven mayor in the future to come.”

Following the ceremony, officials and residents shared a light meal, while enjoying a performance from OrchKids- The Baltimore City Orchestra for Kids.

On Dec. 5, Mayor-Elect Pugh announced the first official appointments to her new administration. She appointed Tisha Edwards as Chief of Staff, Peter Hammen as Chief of Operations, Jim Smith as Chief of Strategic Alliances, Karen Stokes as Director of Government Relations and Anthony McCarthy as Director of Communications.

through Roland Park and see trash piled up in the gutter, you’re not going to see trash in front of Baltimore City College. When they talk about two Baltimores that is so legitimately so. In Upton and Sandtown and Cherry Hill... you have poor Black people that have been deliberately cut out of the American Dream for generations,” Rowe added.

“It’s bigger than Renaissance, it’s bigger. That has been my chant, that it’s bigger than Renaissance, because at what point are we turning our attention to our people to demand better? There will be no space for children like these or their parents or whoever is raising them. In the gentrification path there has to be a seat at the table for these children.”

But, perhaps the best evidence for why Renaissance should stay open is many of the students themselves,

most of their lives.

Race and Politics Continued from D1

the violent deaths of these four young men provides significant impetus in her decision making about the school’s future.

However, the violence that has traumatized the students, faculty and administrators at Renaissance is the precise reason the school should not only stay open, but the school (housed on the third floor of Booker T. Washington Middle School) should receive an infusion of resources, financial and otherwise.

The three young men killed in 2015, died in the midst of the most violent and murderous year (351 homicides) in the city’s inglorious history of violence and murder. The neighborhood where the school is located, Upton/ Druid Heights is the same neighborhood where Freddie Gray was lead poisoned when he was a little boy living

on N. Carey Street with his family. It is the neighborhood at the epicenter of 2015’s uprising, where a significant bulk of the city’s homicides took place last year, this year, and every year as far back as I can remember. So, we shouldn’t be astonished young people who attend Renaissance have been the victims of violence; violence permeates the neighborhood where they go to school and where the vast majority of them live. Their school, decrepit, drafty and rodent infested still is a refuge and a vital educational resource for so many.

Nikkia Rowe, has fought with ferocity and eloquence for her kids and to keep Renaissance in Upton/Druid Heights. She also advocates for the broader community.

“The disparity is in the community,” Rowe said.

“You’re not going to walk

including one of the young men I interviewed on First Edition, Christopher Streeter, who graphically, yet, poignantly made his case for his school to remain open.

“North Avenue… or whoever makes the decision to close these schools down has to understand… these mentors, these administrators, they are the ones who are going to have to deal with the bloodshed after they allow all of these schools to combine into one school and let kids from different parts of the city in,” Streeter explained.

“Trauma does start outside of school, but they are allowing it to come inside of the school...ya’ll (North Avenue) are the ones who are making that happen,” he added.

The last thing young brother Streeter and his classmates at Renaissance need is to be abandoned. It’s been a recurring theme in

200 years of innovation, and we’ve only just begun.

Sean Yoes is a senior contributor for the AFRO, and

host and executive producer of First Edition, which airs Monday through Friday, 5-7 p.m. on WEAA, 88.9.

Public Enemy #1 Continued from D1

Band-Aids on his face who looks like this, that could be our guy,” said T.J. Smith, Baltimore City Police spokesman at a press conference used to inform the public about the suspect.

People in the neighborhood have said that they’ve seen Straham in the area before.

Police want to find Straham before he hurts anyone else.

“Someone who does what he did is someone without a conscience and someone who will do it again,” BPD Commissioner Kevin Davis said at the press conference.

Police are urging anyone that knows Christopher Straham’s whereabouts to call police or call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-877-7 LOCKUP.

Morgan

Continued from D1 obtaining degrees on time and be prepared to fulfill the needs of future career opportunities. Morgan State University President David Wilson echoes that sentiment, in a statement he said “We are very pleased to have Morgan included as one of the select universities to participate in the implementation of the UNCF® Career Pathways Initiative, further expanding our value proposition as an institution dedicated not only to graduating our students with a high-quality education but also assisting their transition into sustainable careers afterwards.”

Lansey

Continued from D1 Gaines worked with the Marble Hill Community Association and was a volunteer with the city fair now known as ArtScape.

She was a member of the Ladies 12, The DuBois Circle and served on several committees and in various elected offices.

Priscilla Gaines Lansey leaves behind her sister Yvonne; two brothers, E. Gaines Jr. and Patrick Lansey; a niece Stephanie Yvonne Lansey-Delgado (husband Johnny); one great-nephew Justin Anderson and a host of other family and friends.

The viewing was held on Dec. 7, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Wylie Funeral Home on 701 N Mount Street in Baltimore, MD 21217. The services are Dec. 8 at Immaculate Conception on 1509 Druid Hill Ave in Baltimore, MD 21217. There will be a family hour from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. which is when the funeral mass will begin.

Rambling Rose Continued from D1

As BGE’s 200th anniversary year comes to a close, it has never been more clear to us that the innovations of America’s first gas utility have been—and will always be— centered on you, our valued customers. Moving smart energy forward with reliability, safety and a commitment to our community continues to be our purpose and our promise. In the same way that customers have counted on us to deliver through the years, you can be sure that BGE’s 3,200 employees are continuing to shape the future of energy here in central Maryland. Join us as we enter a new era of energy innovation, when BGE and our customers—together—will move smart energy forward with no less drive and passion than the generations before us.

CALVIN G. BUTLER JR. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

MOVING SMART ENERGY FORWARD SINCE 1816

who give fundraisers to help the needy and give back to the community. BRAVO TO YOU! The only way the entertainment community can help others is by you supporting them by getting tickets and attending the events. I personally would like to thank my readers and fans for going to many of the events I write about. My goodness I am getting emotional, let me pull myself together and tell you what is going on this week. *Live Music is back on the Avenue, The Arch Social Club on Pennsylvania and North Avenues on Dec., 11 from 5-9 p.m. and Dec. 17 from 5-9 p.m. For information, call Sozufe at 410-7464819. *Vulcan Blazers Hall located Advertiser: BGE 2811 Druid Park Drive is hosting Karaoke every Tuesday from 8 p.m. to 12 midnight and hand dancingPublication: is Fridays from 7-11Afro p.m.American with “Happy Hour”. *Dr. Walter “Wali” Gill penned his autobiography, “Yesterday’s Tomorrow”. book signing will10, be held at the Insertion Dates: ASaturday, Dec. 2016 Central Branch of the EnochSaturday, Pratt Free Dec. Library on Dec. 24, 2016 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the African American Department.

Okay faithful readers, it is about Admy Size: 7.28” x 10”that time, I am out of space, remember if you need me, call me at 410-833-9474 or email me at rosapryor@aol.com.

Also in closing Title: Calvin Open LetterI want you to say a prayer for my sister, Maxine Pryor and my family. She has been moved Iftoyou Hospice Gilchrest Center at 555 W. Towson Town haveatreceived this publication material Blvd. Thanks for all of your love and support.

I want to especially in error, or have any questions about it please thank my Pastor,the Rev.traffic Henrydept.

Turner, of Shandwick First Corinthians contact atpastor Weber Baptistat Church for faithfully visiting her several times a week for (410) 558 2100. the past several months. This has been very hard for me and our family. UNTIL THE NEXT TIME, I’M MUSICALLY YOURS.

D4

The Afro-American, December 10, 2016 - December 16, 2016

Sen. Nathaniel McFadden

Kurt L. Schmoke, the 46th Mayor of Baltimore and president of the University of Baltimore served as MC for the inauguration

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings and Del. Jay Jalisi

Del. Curt S. Anderson, Chair, Baltimore House Delegation

Judge Shirley Watts of the Maryland Court of Appeals issues the oath of office to Mayor Catherine E. Pugh as her brothers, James and Ardell Crump assist

Catherine E. Pugh, 50th Mayor of Baltimore

City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young

BSO OrchKids performed after the inauguration

Morgan’s Choir opened the ceremony It was a full house at the War Memorial building to see Catherine E. Pugh become the next Mayor of Baltimore

Photos by A. Lois DeLaine and Anderson Ward

Sen. Nathaniel McFadden, Valerie Fraling and Marsha Reeves-Jews

Kenny Brown, Wanda Simmons and Del. Benjamin Brooks

NAACP Balto. Chapter President Tessa Hill-Aston, BCPD Commissioner Kevin Davis and Ganesha Martin

Comptroller Joan Pratt, Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and Dr. Ruth Pratt

Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and Comptroller Joan Pratt dancing onstage with Panama Band

Pat Roberts, Denise DeLeaver, Greg Turnipseed and Diane Hocker, AFRO Director of Community & Public Relations

Coppin State University President Maria Thompson

The Panama Band provided the entertainment at the Inauguration Gala

Mayor Catherine E. Pugh with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Baltimore Alumni Chapter Pres. Monica Watkins (center next to Pugh) and sorority sisters

To purchase this digital photo page contact Takiea Hinton: thinton@afro.com or 410.554.8277.