Washington Afro American Newspaper September 13 2014 by AFRO News

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July 5, 2014 - July 5, 2014, The Afro-American

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014 - SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

D.C. Candidates Empathize with Working Class By James Wright Special to the AFRO

When Muriel Bowser, D.C. Councilmember and Democratic mayoral candidate, put on a maid’s

Dr. Jazz at Jericho A4 and A5

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uniform Sept. 2 and worked half of a day in the Marriott Marquis hotel, she said she learned a lot about the struggles of domestic workers and what she wants to do to help. “[As mayor] I will institute real programs for residents that will help create good paying jobs for our workers,” she said. Bowser accepted an invitation by members of the UNITE HERE Local 25, who represents hotel workers, to see how domestics work for a day. The Ward 4 lawmaker said she was serious about the assignment. “I do not do stunts,” Bowser said Sept. 6. “I was asked by a group of women who work as maids to see how their lives are. I now understand the challenges that they face on a daily basis as they try to do their jobs and raise their families.” Bowser listened intently

Ravens Fire Rice By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent

AFRO File Photo

Muriel Bowser said she will institute programs that will help create good paying jobs for residents. to the women talk about their lives as she worked alongside them. She heard about how their wages force them to manage thriftily their personal and household budgets. They also told her of the physical toll that the job takes on them and that after work; they have Continued on A3

The Baltimore Ravens fired Ray Rice Sept. 8 after the emergence of additional video showing the running back punching his thenfiancée in an Atlantic City casino elevator on Feb. 15. The Ravens threw their support behind Rice when the incident became public earlier in the year. But the surveillance footage released by TMZ Sports early Monday morning, which shows graphic details of the domestic violence incident between Rice and his nowwife Janay Palmer, undercut that support. In the one-minute-plus video, Rice and Palmer enter the hotel elevator and appear to be involved in an argument, which quickly

Report Shows Racial Discrimination Surrounding Washington’s NFL Team By Adina R. Young Special to the AFRO

The National Black Players Coalition (NBPC) announced the upcoming release of a special report on the discriminatory practices of the NCAA and NFL, according to a press release. The report is a culmination of years of research with a focus on the Washington Redskins. This announcement came on the heels of questionable comments by commentator and former Washington quarterback Joe

Theismann during a broadcast of the team’s preseason football game against the Ravens Aug. 23. Theismann, according to the Washington Post, said, “”Kirk Cousins has played much better at the quarterback position than Robert Griffin III has. Now, Robert is learning to work out of a pocket. He doesn’t look as smooth or as comfortable throwing the football. I mean, your eyes will tell you everything you need to know. “. . . Now, if there was a quarterback competition, it wouldn’t be a competition. Kirk Cousins would be the man I believe he Continued on A3

MarvelUniverse Live! Supports Local Youth

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MarvelUniverse LIVE! held a special presentation at the Boys and Girls Club in Northeast D.C. By Christina Sturdivant Special to the AFRO

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MarvelUniverse LIVE! held a special presentation at the Boys and Girls Club in Northeast D.C. to show the youth support, a local performer in the show said Sept. 3. “We wanted to help support the kids with something positive,” said Kirk Jenkins, a native of Faulkner, Va., who is thrilled when the audience screams for his character – Wolverine. The event at the Boys and Girls Club allowed performers to get active in the community and celebrate the arrival of MarvelUniverse LIVE! in the D.C. area. The show will have performances at the Patriot Center from Sept. 12 – 21. After a long, hard day in the books, over 50 kids unwound with an after-school super hero workout, Sept. 4, at the Richard England Clubhouse, Boys and Girls Club in Northeast, D.C. “We thought it would be fun to come out and do obstacle courses with the kids and

Photo Courtesy of Feld Entertainment

have them be super heroes for the day,” said Jennifer Rubin, tour manager for MarvelUniverse LIVE! Young participants learned special stunts from the show, and after receiving a sticker with an image of a superhero to embody, they performed a series of challenges. Their strength was tested at the Thor’s Hammer striker; their fear of heights overcome at the Spider-Man climbing wall, and their speed pushed to the max at the Hulk-sized endurance challenge. Participants also practiced life. “Self-control is the first step to being a superhero,” Moe Alagrangy, who plays Spiderman in the show, told the kids. Leading by example and espousing – Jennifer Rubin an indomitable spirit, are also key, Alagrangy continued. Marvel Universe LIVE! is an original story bringing together more than 25 Marvel characters on an epic quest. Superhero favorites including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and Wolverine battle against arch enemies including Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Red Skull, Madame Hydra, Aldrich Killian, and Electro for world domination.

“We thought it would be fun to come out and do obstacle courses with the kids and have them be super heroes for the day.”

The Baltimore Ravens fired Ray Rice Sept. 8. turned physical. Rice appears to hit Palmer with a left cross to the face, knocking her out cold. He then stands over her unconscious body and drags

AP File Photo

her out when the elevator doors open. The video spurred outrage within the NFL and beyond, Continued on A3

Upward Bound Program Still Relevant Today

Photo by Lauren E. Williams

Author Wil Haygood interviews three college presidents about their experience with Upward Bound at an opening plenary session on Sep. 7. By Lauren E. Williams Special to the AFRO When a poor D.C. native from Trinidad participated in a federal program during the tumultuous ‘60s, no one knew he would attend college and become a college president. The same is true for a young Black male from a desolate area of Ohio, who, after completing the program, became a Pulitzer Prize-nominee and author of a book that served as the basis of an Oscar-nominated film. The D.C. native is Dr. Everette Freeman, president of the Community College of Denver, and the Ohioan is Wil Haygood, award-winning author of {The Butler}. The program is Upward Bound. The men joined other Upward Bound alums for the opening panel of the 33rd Annual Conference of the Council for Educational Opportunity (COE) on Sep. 7. The discussion kicked off a three-day event focused on poverty, educational opportunities, and academic achievement at the Washington

“I wish Michael Brown was an Upward Bound student.” – Wil Haygood Marriott Wardman Park in Northwest D.C. Larry Anderson, president of the Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community College and Carlos Colon Ramos, chancellor of the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico - Guayama Campus were also on the panel. “I am convinced that if it wasn’t for Upward Bound, I would not be sitting on this stage today,” said Freeman, a graduate of Eastern High School in Northeast D.C. Other speakers agreed. “That’s the magic of the Upward Bound program,” said Haygood, the program’s moderator. “It opens doors that have previously been closed.” Upward Bound is the first of the TRIO programs, a group of federal programs established as a part of former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” It is the first in history of American education to focus solely on helping lowincome students go to college. Today, 790,000 low-income,

Continued on A5

The Afro-American, September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014

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Atlanta Police Officer Charged with Murder of Woman He Met Online

An Atlanta police officer is accused of murdering a woman he met on Craigslist, and shooting her multiple times before lighting her body on fire. Atlanta police officer Tahreem Zeus Rana, 23, was arrested Aug. 28 at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport while attempting to escape to Mexico after allegedly murdering Vernicia Woodard, 26, according to Atlanta CBS affiliate WGCL. Police said a city employee found the body of a woman on fire at the end of Elm Street in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville on Aug. 22. Rana and Woodard initially met on Craigslist for a “romantic exchange” according to the television station, and met in person the same night Woodard was killed. “First he took her to a secluded area to do the crime and then after killing her, he used some kind of fuel to light the body on fire in order to cover up any type of evidence that may be there,” Hapeville Police Detective Stephen Cushing told WGCL. Rana worked as an Atlanta Police Department officer for three years. According to personnel records obtained by The Atlanta JournalConstitution, he had no major disciplinary problems in that time. Cushing told Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB-TV that Rana Photos courtesy of the Hapeville Police Department was a native of Hapeville and several local officers have (Left) Tahreem Zeus Rana, known Rana since he was a 23 and (right) Vernicia child. Woodard, 26 “I’ve been a police officer in the city of Hapeville for 15 years and actually saw this young man grow up and heard him say, ‘When I grow up, I want to be a police officer,” Cushing told the television station. Atlanta police quickly moved to strip Rana of his position. “We are shocked and saddened by these developments. The officer has been relieved from duty, and is in a non-enforcement status,” Atlanta Police Department Public Affairs Director Carlos Campos told WGCL. “We must allow the justice system to run its course. But these clearly are very disturbing allegations that are not in line with the expectations we have for our officers, and will be immediately dealt with.”

Motion Picture Academy to Recognize Harry Belafonte in November

Harlem, received the nickname King of Calypso for his Caribbean music style. He first made a name for himself in the 1950s performing blues, folk, gospel and show tunes, and is best known for “The Banana Boat Song”. He later transitioned into film, starring in Odds Against Tomorrow, Carmen Jones, and Flesh and the Devil.

Ravens Fire Ray Rice, NFL Suspends Him Indefinitely Timothy Kelly The way he hit her and dragged her was like this was the ‘norm’ between them! He’s a fool for treating his woman like that and she’s a fool for staying with him! He could have killed her!! Maybe she’ll leave now when his money runs out! Perhaps that’s the only reason why she was with him in the first place.

Rochelle Moore I do not believe this is the first time he hit her!

Marcia Carey The men are always in the wrong. No man should [ever] hit a woman, but I notice that society supports the women when they hit the men. Nobody has the right to put their hand on anyone. I was taught if you don’t want nobody hitting you, then don’t hit anyone. Everyone has a right to defend themselves. Women wake up. If you don’t want a man hitting you, then don’t hit them regardless.

Gretna, La. Festival Cuts CeeLo Green Over Rape Remarks Bo Birdie

Harry Belafonte is among those who will be honored by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ board of governors later this fall. Belafonte, 87, will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the sixth annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 8, according to the Associated Press. The talented actor and singer will receive the award for his ongoing efforts to highlight racism and inequality worldwide, according to the AP. Belafonte, who grew up in

Loose lips sink ships. Sometimes one should keep certain sensitive comments to themselves.

Delorme Mckee-Stovall Alright, alright. We have shamed him for his mis-thought, jacked up speech and misdeeds. Let’s take a step back and see how and if he can redeem himself. Otherwise we are no better than we currently think he is with our repetitive rapacious gloating. Women and our allies are better than this.

Yaa Hargrove Good. Now he needs to get his soul straight and/or disappear. It would be nice for him to get a bunch more hits to his finances. That seems to be the only way these ppl understand their behavior will not be accepted.

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September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014, The Afro-American

Local Police Join Hope AME Church on Unity Walk

People who participated walked with banners and signs advocating peace in the communities. Maria Adebola AFRO Staff Writer More than a hundred residents from the District of Columbia and Prince George’s County gathered at the Eastover Shopping Center in Oxon Hill, Md. Sept. 6 for the Unity Walk. The event was organized by the Community of Hope AME Church in conjunction with the Prince George’s County Police Department and Washington Metropolitan Police Department. The walk, dubbed “Unity in the Community,” was to show the unity and collaboration within D.C. and Prince George’s

“Partnerships like this opens door for us and gives us a better sense of how to communicate with residents.” – Diane Groomes County law enforcement and community leaders in the effort to curb crime in the area. In the scorching heat, men, women, and young boys and girls, with banners above their heads – most calling for an end to violence within the community – walked alongside police officers towards their anticipated destination, Oxon Run Park, located in Southeast D.C. According to Prince George’s Chief of Police Mark Magaw, unity walks have taken place annually for the last four years and foster a sense of trust within the community. “From a police officer standpoint, participating in events like this helps to build relationships with the community while getting to know what the issues are from a community perspective, so that we can [more]

Photo by Maria Adebola

effectively deal with them,” Magaw said. “We want to send a message to the community that the Metropolitan Police Department and Prince George Police Department work together every day with the community to solve the issues that are affecting our communities.” Magaw boasts that one of the reasons why Prince George’s County has had a substantial reduction in crime over the last four years is because of the joint efforts of the community from both sides understanding that “what affects them, affects us as well.” A report released earlier this year by the Prince George’s County Police Department shows that crimes such as robberies, assaults, and theft have plummeted in the last four years. According to the report, between 2010 and 2013, the overall crime rate in Prince George’s County dropped 27 percent. Assistant Chief of Police for the District of Columbia, Diane Groomes echoed Magaw’s comment by acknowledging the importance of working with the faith-based community and local organizations to raise awareness on reducing violence. Though the District also has documented a slight reduction in violent crimes, Groomes concedes D.C. police have more work to do in gaining trust. “Partnerships like this opens doors for us and gives us a better sense of how to communicate with residents,” she said. “Instead of us just being law enforcers, we want residents to see us as the peacemakers who are also part of their community.” Community of Hope AME Church’s founding Pastor Tony Lee said, “This is just a portion of what we do to symbolize a larger partnership we’re already doing with Prince George’s County and D.C. [law enforcement]. In this community, we’ve been blessed to be able to walk a journey with each other, so it has not just been the police trying to make the community better; it’s all of us helping to make neighborhoods better.”

D.C. Candidates

Continued from A1

At-Large D.C. Council candidate Khalid Pitts lived on minimum wage recently. AFRO File Photo

to devote substantial energy to their personal lives also. Bowser said the experience sensitized her to the needs of the maids. She said that as mayor, she would focus on city’s economic development and its benefits for residents. “The hotel where I worked has generated hundreds of new jobs for District residents since it opened and I will continue to bring those types of [jobsgenerating] projects to the city,” Bowser said. Bowser is not the only political candidate trying to show sensitivity toward working-class Washingtonians. NonDemocratic at-large candidates Michael Brown, Wendell Felder, the Rev. Graylan Hagler, Khalid Pitts, Eugene Puryear, Elissa Silverman, Courtney Snowden, and Robert White participated in an OurDC-sponsored event. OurDC is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of struggling District residents. The at-large candidates agreed to live on a minimum-wage salary for the week of Sept. 1-7. Bowser, independent mayoral candidates David Catania and Carol Schwartz as well as D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At Large), running for reelection, declined to participate in the OurDC project.

Ravens Fire Rice

Continued from A1

with many decrying the leniency given to Rice by law enforcement and the NFL. Initially, both Rice and Palmer were charged with simple assault stemming from the incident. However the charges against Palmer were later dropped. In May, Rice resolved his third-degree aggravated assault charge in the incident – avoiding prosecution and three-five imprisonment – by entering into a pretrial

Now, many are calling for 27-year-old player to face more severe repercussions. “This video makes me sick to my stomach,” tweeted Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton. “If there’s anyway [sic] to open that case up and give this guy the punishment he deserves, it NEEDS to be done. That man should be thrown out the [NFL] and thrown into jail. Shame on those deciding his punishment.” Ravens and NFL officials

In the wake of Rice’s suspension, Goodell announced sweeping changes to the personal conduct policy concerning domestic violence cases. Violations regarding assault, battery, domestic violence or sexual assault that involve physical force “will be subject to a suspension without pay of six games for a first offense.” A second offense will result in banishment from the NFL for at least one year.”

“The Ravens made the right decision today. No family is immune from the horror of domestic violence and we should never turn a blind eye – regardless of whether the abuser is famous or lives across the street.” – Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown intervention program. If Rice defended their previous Maryland gubernatorial successfully completes the stances, with the NFL saying candidate Anthony Brown, program, intended for firstit had not seen the video who has suffered a loss time offenders, his record will before imposing the two-game because of domestic violence, be expunged. suspension. “We requested spoke in support of the On July 24, NFL from law enforcement any NFL and Ravens’ decision. Commissioner Roger Goodell and all information about the “The Ravens made the right announced Rice would be incident, including the video decision today. No family is suspended for two games from inside the elevator,” the immune from the horror of and fined an additional league said in a statement domestic violence and we game check for violating the released to NFL Media should never turn a blind league’s personal conduct Insider Ian Rapoport. “That eye – regardless of whether policy. “The league is an video was not made available the abuser is famous or lives entity that depends on to us and no one in our office across the street. Our families integrity and in the confidence has seen it until today.” and communities will be of the public and we simply Now, the commissioner stronger when all of our cannot tolerate conduct that has taken it a step further. wives, mothers, daughters, endangers others or reflects “Roger Goodell has and friends can live free from negatively on our game. announced that based on the fear of domestic violence[. This is particularly true with new video evidence that T]hat’s why we must continue respect to domestic violence became available today he has working to implement serious and other forms of violence indefinitely suspended Ray consequences for abusers against women,” Goodell said Rice,” an NFL spokesman while strengthening support Afro 5.68x10_GSUSA Fall ad #1 Washington Afro 4:37 PM Page 1 inGSUSA a letterFall toad#3 RiceWashington at the time. said via Twitter. for5.68x10 victims9/5/14 and survivors.”

GET REAL CLASSY THIS FALL.

Report

Continued from A1 would have to go to, because of the efficiency with which he has run [the offense]. Coalition President and Founder Fred Outten told the AFRO these comments further exposed his racist temperament “against Black quarterbacks by automatically manufacturing a quarterback controversy that should not exist.” The coalition said Theismann has openly shown his distaste for other Black quarterbacks aside from Robert Griffin III. Theismann said the quarterback for Auburn University Cam Newton, did not deserve the No. 1 draft pick in 2011 for the Carolina Panthers. Cam Newton went on to became Rookie of the Year and, in his third year, was one of three Black quarterbacks fighting for a spot in the Super Bowl. “The Black quarterback is the most disrespected and scrutinized highest profile position in football, and maybe in all of sports,” said Outten. He added that every NFL team should have at least one black quarterback. The Redskins, referred to as the “Washington Football Team” by the NBPC, has only drafted two Black quarterbacks in its entire history; the

first came 72 years after the conception of the team (Jason Campbell in 2005) then in 2012 with RGIII. The Redskins were the last NFL team to hire a Black player. “No longer should the NFL be dominated by 32 white owners in a sport that has 70 percent black players,” Outten said. “What we have to do collectively is show our power and demand our equality; we aren’t asking for it, we are demanding it.” Black players are also less likely to be hired by the NFL after they retire, he said. “We are just gladiators in a Roman coliseum,” Otten said. “Once the fight is over, we get

nothing in return.” The special report, expected to be released during the 2014-15 NFL season, will include information on the unfair treatment of other Black NFL quarterbacks v. White quarterbacks; the disproportionate number of Black head coaches, general managers, and owners relative to their qualifications for these jobs; the lack of Black team owners, and the fact there has never been a Black NFL. “Now is the time to end racial discrimination in the NCAA and the NFL, beginning right here in the nation’s capital with the Washington Football team,” Outten said.

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The Afro-American, September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014

The Act of Consecration: Rev. Dr. Sculark kneels before Bishop T.D. Jakes (Left), The Presiding Bishop, The Homilist and Chief Consequator as he pours oil on her head, ears, fingers and soles of her feet while Rev. Dr. Charles Booth, Pastor John Jenkins and Archbishop Alfred Owens, Jr. encircle her

t took four days and a four hour service, Sept. 7, for Jericho City of Praise to thank God for their new pastor and to properly install the Rev. Jasmin “Jazz” Sculark in her official position as senior pastor. Worship leaders included Minister of Music VaShawn Mitchell, the Rev. Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook and Dr. Rita Twiggs. Supporting clergy included E. Dewey Smith Jr., House of Hope, Atlanta; Dr. Henry P. Davis, First Baptist Church, Highland Park and Bishop Walter Thomas of New Psalmist Baptist Church in Baltimore City. The Potter’s House pastor, BishopT.D. Jakes, presided and served as homilist and chief consecrator along with Archbishop Alfred Owens Jr, Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church; the Rev. Dr. Charles Booth, Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, Columbus, Ohio and the Rev. John K. Jenkins, First Baptist Church, Glenarden, Md.

The Installation Charge being given by Rev. Dr. Charles E. Booth to Rev. Dr. Sculark, Pastor-Elect (in the forefront)

Gifts being presented to Pastor Sculark from the congregation

Archbishop Alfred Owens, Pastor, Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church gives the invocation Pastor John Jenkins of First Baptist Church of Glenarden gives Charge of the Congragation

The Jericho dance ministry team performs Former Ambassador at-large for International Religious Freedom, Rev. Dr. Susan Johnson Cook

Bishop Jakes presents Jericho’s new pastor, Rev. Dr. Jasmin “Jazz” Sculark, in her white robe

Jericho parishioners in the spirit of the moment

The Music Ministry of Jericho performs And they shouted with joyfulness…

Photos by Rob Roberts

September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014, The Afro-American

Dr. Jazz at Jericho By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent

Part two of a two-part feature In 1997, Temple University history professor Bettye Collier-Thomas published Daughters of Thunder: Black Women Preachers and Their Sermons, a groundbreaking examination of the contributions of African-American women preachers to the church. Modern-day “Daughter of Thunder,” the Rev. Dr. Jasmin Sculark, said reading that text helped her understand her ministerial birthright, similar to what she inherited from the Apostle Betty Peebles at Jericho City of Praise, where she was recently inducted as senior pastor. “When I studied that book, when I looked at all those women, I realized that I am part of a rich legacy,” Sculark said in an interview with the AFRO. “The Apostle Betty Peebles was a … ‘Mother of Thunder.’ She wrote books, broke the glass ceiling, she dared to go where no other man would have gone.” Though burdened by the deaths of her husband and two sons, Peebles built Jericho, based in Landover, Md., into a megachurch that counts among its assets a 10,000-seat sanctuary, senior citizens’

complex, school, and other enterprises. Peebles is just one of Sculark’s “sheroes” and heroes in ministry. The Rev. Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook, a presidential advisor, pastor, theologian, author, activist, academic, and former United States ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom in the Obama administration is one of them. Susie C. Owens, co-pastor of Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church in Washington, D.C., and, according to Sculark, one of the only female preachers to “shut it down” at Bishop T.D. Jakes’ MegaFest is another. She also looks up to and relies on the counsel of the Rev. Dr. Charles Booth, her “father in ministry,” and pastor John K. Jenkins, of First Baptist Church of Glenarden. And then there are the Bible luminaries she admires: Esther, who, Sculark said, stepped forward when called upon instead of remaining in the relative safety of the sidelines; and Deborah, a respected female leader and a fighter, who, if she has to go down, will go down “swinging.” Then there’s Simon Peter, the imperfect disciple who became the rock upon which Christ built his church. “It helps keep you humble that you can be

solid as a rock but you’re not perfect, you also have some weaknesses. But even in the midst of Peter’s weaknesses, God used him. You know he preached one sermon, and

first-generation students and students with disabilities are served in numerous programs across the country. “Upward Bound exists in about 1,200 communities across the country,” Maureen Hoyler, president of the Council of Opportunity in Education, told the AFRO following the event. “I want people to know that these programs are as necessary today as they were 50 years ago.” Statistics reflect Hoyler’s comments. According to the council’s website, only 38 percent of low-income high school seniors go straight to college as compared to 81 percent of those in the highest income percentile. This pattern continues in college, where fewer lowincome students graduate.

[lived with] mental violence and mental abuse because I didn’t know who I am. And not knowing who you are – you know your identity plays a part in your destiny. So I want to equip, educate, and empower everyone, but particularly women, to let them know that greater is He that is in them than he that is in the world.” That is why the issue

action behind what they’re saying. And the Apostle Betty Peebles wanted a woman or man in an abusive relationship [that] needed a place to stay [have Jericho] provide that [place].” Apostle Peebles was not able to see the completion of that dream, Sculark said. “That’s one of the legacies I hope God will empower me to carry on.” Beyond that, Sculark

“It helps keep you humble that you can be solid as a rock but you’re not perfect, you also have some weaknesses.”

Photo by Rob Roberts

Bishop T. D. Jakes and Dr. Jasmin “Jazz” Sculark at her installation ceremony as new pastor of Jericho City of Praise 3,000 people got saved,” Sculark said. Like her ministerial heroes and heroines, Dr. Jazz said she has her share of weaknesses

Upward Bound

Continued from A1

and challenges, which she shares in her book, Dancing with Broken Bones. With beginnings in the poverty- and violence-stricken urban jungle of Laventille, Trinidad, bereft

Panelists compared Upward Bound’s relevance to recent events. “I wished that Michael Brown [slain unarmed Ferguson teen] was an Upward Bound student,” Haygood told the audience. “It is a great interventionist program that helps put youth back on the right path. As I reflect back on his life, I just hope he was dreaming as high as he could.” Unfortunately, federal funding does not reflect the program’s current need. Upward Bound programs are being cut in states across the nation, and program alums expressed that this action must be stopped. Imploring the audience to continue to push for the program’s support, Freeman said, “If we allow this program to be under-funded, we have made a mockery of education in this country.”

of both mother and father, Sculark had many issues to battle. But her experiences have helped shape her calling, she said. “I get to minister to everybody, but my passion is women. I believe in liberating and empowering women,”Dr. Jazz said. “That’s a passion that God has given me – to help liberate women – because for so many years I

of domestic violence – the incidence of which is high in the DMV area – will be on her agenda as she assumes the mantle of leadership at Jericho, Sculark said. [The Church] has not tapped into that at all, about uncovering the issue of domestic violence or even providing holistic ministry,” Dr. Jazz said. “One of the problems sometimes with the Church is that we deal with the symptoms and not the root of the issue. And until you get to the root of why this person is violent or abusive all you’re doing is dealing with the symptom.” And it may not be just about addressing the issue from the pulpit, she added. “The Apostle Betty Peebles had a desire to provide a shelter, a tangible way of providing for women and men in that situation [domestic violence], because you know sometimes churches talk a whole lot but they don’t put

hopes to shepherd Jericho’s parishioners and others through the perilous times facing them—a time of shifting values and social ills, like those raised by the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.—and to help the Church become a viable part of the solution. “The Church is living in challenging times, but it’s a great time. I think sometimes with the shifting of values and stuff, it’s an awakening for the Church,” she said. “Sometimes the Church falls asleep . . . we just go through the routines or [the church] buries its head in the sand” on certain issues. “I see it as a great opportunity for the Church to speak truth to power and to look at what they’re really doing—are they selfserving or are they societyand Christ-serving? And to examine what kind of gospel we’re actually sharing.”

The Afro-American, September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014

COMMUNITY CONNECTION Washington, D.C.

Unity of Washington, DC Observes World Day of Prayer

Unity of Washington D.C. (Unity WDC) will join Silent Unity - an international, transdenominational 24/7 prayer ministry - and Unity churches around the world for the 21st annual Unity World Day of Prayer on Sept. 11. Unity created “World Day of Prayer” as a global effort to uplift the world in shared prayer consciousness. Residents in the Washington Metropolitan Area are invited to attend events being offered at Unity WDC, located at 1225 R Street, N.W. and Lafayette “President’s” Park.

Zion Baptist Church Continues 150th Anniversary Celebration

Zion Baptist Church located at 4850 Blagden Ave., N.W. will continue the celebration of its 150th anniversary with a special performance of “The Slabtown District Convention,” a one-act comedy featuring some of the most memorable characters performed by Zion’s own on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. The play, which is based on a group of missionaries attending their annual convention, is Free. For more information, call 202-722-4940.

AKA Community Shred Day

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Rho Mu Omega Chapter will hold its first community paper shred day Sept. 20 to help residents protect their identities. The sorority will only shred documents that are in ream sized boxes. All boxes, three at maximum, must be delivered by car to the University of the District of Columbia’s Community College Bertie Backus Campus, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at 5171 South Dakota Avenue N.E. . Walk ups will not be allowed. Plastic or metal items will not be shredded. The event is free.

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Homecoming Festival and Ministries Fair

“Change the World” is the theme for Asbury United Methodist Church’s 2014 Homecoming Festival and Ministries Fair Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Asbury will present an interactive ministry showcase, featuring the congregation’s nurture, outreach and witness programs. The event will include music, dance, food and fun activities for all ages. The Homecoming celebration will conclude Sept. 21 with a 10 a.m. worship service led by Marcus Matthews, resident Bishop of the Washington Episcopal Area and Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church. Asbury United Methodist Church is located at 926 11th Street, N.W. (between 11th & K). The event is free. For more information call 202-628-0009 or visit www.asburyumcdc.org.

Senior Classes Available Through Osher Lifelong Learning

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) offers a unique opportunity for seniors to continue learning at the university level. Subjects include: Politics, Law and Government; Visual Arts and Music; Literature and Language; Psychology, Sociology and Culture; Economics; Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Math; History and Geography; Philosophy and Religion. Classes are held in Northwest D.C. and Bethesda. Semesters are Fall and Spring and each semester is $275 which entitles a member to three (3) classes per semester. Osher is a volunteer organization. Classes are led by volunteers and fees cover the costs of staff, rental space, the catalog, the website and registration system. For more information, please visit the OLLI website at www. olli-dc.org or call 202-895-4860.

Fort Washington, Md.

Shalom Ministries Hosts Family and Friends Day

Shalom Ministries Christian Center will hold a family and friends day Sept. 21 for its 11 a.m. service. The service will include a guest psalmist, liturgical dancing and refreshments. The church is located at 515 Kerby Hill Road in Fort Washington. For more information, contact: Angie Edwards, 301-325-8890.

Alexandria, Va.

‘Three Sistahs’ Stage Play Comes to Metro Stage

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“Three Sistahs” is a musical about three women who reflect on the promise of the future, while revealing the pain of the present and their regrets of the past. The musical was written and directed by Thomas W. Jones II. It will run at the Metro Stage, located at 1201 North Royal St., Alexandria, Va. from Sept. 17 to Nov. 2. For tickets or more information, visit http://www.metrostage.org/three-sistahs.html#. VA7gpMJdWSo.

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September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014 The Afro-American

COMMENTARY

The Invisible Achievement Gap

Across the country it’s back to school time. I hope it is a year full of promise and not disappointment and added stress for all children, especially those most vulnerable. I also hope this school year begins with a renewed commitment by all teachers and school administrators to help every child succeed. Every year too many children don’t get the respect and extra help they need to reach their full potential. Children of color, poor children, English learners, Marian Wright and children with disabilities are Edelman especially likely to be left behind. NNPA Columnist And there is another group of children – those in foster care – whose special needs too often are ignored. Many school districts do not even know which students are in foster care and are not tracking their performance. So now I am grateful that in California findings about educational outcomes for public school students in foster care have been well documented in a 2013 study by The Center for the Future of Teaching & Learning at West Ed commissioned by the Stuart Foundation and a 2014 follow-up report by The Center and the California Child Welfare Indicators Project linking student outcomes to their foster care experiences. They found the odds against foster student success are worse than we thought and call this “The Invisible Achievement Gap.” While there has been a positive federal push to improve educational stability and success for children in foster care and some strong advocacy and good laws in California to protect them, these important data reports, a collaboration between California’s Departments of Education and Social Services, were the state’s first effort to examine and report educational outcomes for these students in every county. They found children in foster care: • Were more likely than other students to change schools during the school year. About 1 in 10 students in foster care attended three or more schools during the year compared to about 1 in 100 of the general student population and their “low socioeconomic status” peers (those eligible for free and reduced-priced lunch or whose parents have not received a high school diploma); • Were more likely than the general student population to attend the lowest performing schools. • Had the lowest participation rate in the statewide testing program, making it impossible to accurately determine how they are performing. • Fell into “below basic” and “far below basic” performance levels for English language arts and mathematics at twice the rate of

the statewide student population and performed worse than their low socioeconomic status peers. They performed similarly to English learners and students with disabilities in English, but did worse than all groups in math. • Had a lower graduation rate; 58 percent, compared to 84 percent for all students, 79 percent for low socioeconomic status students, 65 percent for students with disabilities, and 60 percent for English language learners. • Were clustered in a small number of districts. Two-thirds were enrolled in 10 percent of the state’s school districts. Identifying where these students are and targeting services there is critical to closing this achievement gap for California and the rest of the nation. Congress and the administration have acted to improve educational stability and success for children in foster care, but more is required. The bipartisan Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 requires all states to ensure children entering foster care remain in their original school if it’s in the child’s best interest. While states step up and do their part, local actions like the enhanced resources and supports for students in foster care in the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Stuart Foundation’s Education Equals Partnership initiative—a five-year demonstration effort in four California counties to improve educational outcomes for children in foster care from early childhood education through college—also are essential. The Kids in School Rule! Project in Hamilton County, Ohio, a collaboration between the county child welfare agency, the city schools, the juvenile court, and the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, is another strong local initiative. We must all work together to get child welfare and education agencies in more states—and eventually every state—gathering data on how children in foster care are doing in every school district and taking appropriate action to help them succeed. You can begin by

asking your own school district what they are doing to help children in foster care stay in one school, rather than moving from school to school as placements change, and help them get the extra support they need. Check with the American Bar Association’s Legal Center for Foster Care and Education to see what your state is doing to improve school stability and success in foster care and to link with others working on their behalf in your own state. We must not let any of our children remain invisible or go without the help they need to receive a quality education. Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children’s Defense Fund whose Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. For more information go to www. childrensdefense.org.

D.C.’s Public Charter School Students Deserve Funding Equality

Recently, the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools, Eagle Academy Public Charter School and Washington Latin Public Charter School filed in court to require the District of Columbia government to end its practice of underfunding charter school students. For the past eight years, DC has deprived its public charter school students—44 percent of D.C. students enrolled in public school—of between $2,600 and $1,600 per student per year. Those are city dollars, which their peers in DCPS received, but District public charter school students did not. The inequity is illegal. This lawsuit follows years of advocacy by the District’s public charter school community to try to persuade the D.C. government to follow the law, which demands that DCPS and D.C. charter students be funded according to the same criteria. Two government-sponsored reports during the past three years have publicly acknowledged the inequity and one has specifically cited the illegality of current funding disparities. Charters are public schools that offer a tuition-free education to District-resident children. Charters must accept all applicants without screening, provided they have the places to seat them. These public schools also are required to fully accommodate special education students and those for whom English is a

Ramona Edelin

second language. Additionally, public charter schools must obey all health and safety regulations, and civil rights laws. Public charter schools are free to offer their own school culture and curriculum, while being held accountable for improved student performance by the D.C. Public Charter School Board, whose members are appointed by D.C.’s mayor. They are performing well, and meeting the City’s mandate to close the achievement gap between students of color and White students in DC. They should be rewarded for their success – not punished! These public schools’ biggest impact has been made east of the Anacostia River, where public charter students outperform their peers enrolled in D.C. Public Schools, the traditional system, in Wards Seven and Eight by 19 and 28 percentage points respectively. Charter high school graduation rates are 21 percentage points higher than those of their DCPS equivalents, ensuring that a higher share of charter students are accepted to, and can graduate from, college. This illegal funding inequity adversely impacts some of our city’s poorest and most at-risk students. Of the charter students whom the District government underfunds, 78 percent are African-American, compared to 68 percent in DCPS; and 12 percent of DCPS students, but only five percent of charter students, are White. Some 80 percent of District public

Rescued from America’s Gulag Archipelago

When a North Carolina judge last week vacated the prison sentences of 50-year-old Henry Lee McCollum, who had spent nearly 30 years on the state’s death row, and his 46-yearold half-brother, Leon Brown, sentenced to life in prison, for a heinous rape and murder DNA evidence had finally proved they had not committed, the court room resounded with cries of relief and “Thank you, Jesus!” from their families and friends But it’s vitally important to note the reaction in another Lee A. Daniels quarter to this latest piercing NNPA Columnist evidence of how broken America’s criminal justice system is: the profound silence from those who continue to assert the death penalty is justified as a moral and effective tool for fighting crime and punishing those convicted of committing murder. If America’s death-penalty advocates had had their way, Henry Lee McCollum would today have been dead for at least 20 years and Leon Brown would be locked away from society and forgotten for the crime neither of them committed. Indeed, in two unrelated death-penalty cases that came before the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia cited McCollum by name as especially worthy of being executed. At press time, Justice Scalia was still silent.

We should no longer pretend that the injustice these men and their families and friends endured is an “exception.” Instead, we ought to regard the nation’s criminal justice system – its four-decade long war on drugs having given America the largest prison population in the world – as a distant cousin of the former Soviet Union’s infamous gulag archipelago. That was the name the great Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn gave to the network of prison camps and colonies –describing them as “a chain of islands”— scattered across the USSR’s vast territory and the administrative system that over nearly a half century consumed millions and millions of ordinary criminals, prisoners of war, and political prisoners alike. In 1973, Solzhenitsyn, who himself had been imprisoned for 11 years, published his stunning description of that system, The Gulag Archipelago—a monument in words to both the cruelty human beings can inflict on one another and the resilience of the human spirit. The tragedy that befell Henry Lee McCollum and Leon Brown, both of whom are mentally disabled, certainly exemplifies the former. The details of how the police coerced the two, then teenagers of 19 and 15 whose mental disability was obvious, into confessing, and how the state’s judicial system then failed to protect them are horrifying. As Dahlia Lithwick wrote in Slate.com last week, “This case highlights the same well-known and extensively documented problems that can lead to false arrests and convictions: Police who are incentivized to find a suspect quickly, rather than the right one carefully; false confessions elicited after improper questioning; exculpatory evidence never turned over; the prosecution of vulnerable, mentally ill, or very young suspects in ways that take advantage of their innocence rather than protecting it; prosecutorial zeal that has far

charter school students are eligible for federal school lunch subsidies—a higher percentage than those attending DCPS who are similarly disadvantaged. The Uniform Per Student Funding Formula law, passed by the D.C. Council, was designed to ensure equal resources from the government for all public school students. For example, under the formula, every third-grader needing level one special education services receives the same local public funding, whether she or he attends a DCPS or a D.C. public charter school. To uphold the basic fairness enshrined in the law, we have gone to court because as the government continues to underfund its public charter school students, those students lose between $130 and $75 million annually. In fact, over the past eight years, the underfunding amounts to over $770 million—a huge amount. The District’s public charter schools have helped build a lifeline through high school and college to professional careers for many of our most disadvantaged students. Will the DC government invest in this tremendous, life-altering success and treat all public school students equally? Ramona Edelin is executive director of the D.C. Association of Chartered Public School and a longtime civil rights activist.

more to do with the pursuit of victories than the pursuit of truth; and a death penalty appeals system that treats this screwed-up process of investigation and conviction as both conclusive and unreviewable.” The saving grace of this case, as with many of the cases of the unjustly convicted who finally receive justice, is the resilience they display. One can witness that in the words Leon Brown spoken in a videotaped interview when his release was imminent. “I have never stopped believing that one day I’d be able to walk out that door,” he said. “A long time ago, I wanted to find me a good wife. I wanted to raise a family; I wanted to have my own business and everything. I never got the chance to realize those dreams. Now I believe that God is going to bless me to get back out there.” It’s impossible to say this is the most horrific of the nation’s 317 post-conviction DNA exonerations that have been cataloged by The Innocence Project, a national litigation and public policy organization that investigates claims of innocence made by prisoners’ convicted of rape and murder. It’s certainly believable that some of those have executed over the long history of the death penalty in the US were innocent. And it’s certainly believable that there are many more men, women and juveniles now locked away in America’s own gulag archipelago who are innocent or were convicted by fundamentally flawed police, prosecutorial, or judicial processes. America’s pledge of allegiance promises a society “with liberty and justice for all.” More and more, our criminal justice system is proving that there remains a vast gap between that rhetoric and the reality. Lee A. Daniels is a longtime journalist based in New York City. His latest book is ‘Last Chance: The Political Threat to Black America.’

The Afro-American, September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014

We are a collection of smalls. Homes, main streets and communities. They’re our foundation. Our building blocks. Brick by brick, they make our whole greater. They’re why Wells Fargo invests in our communities a little differently. Because small, personal measures offer huge meaning for the people and communities we serve. And with every business, neighborhood and community supported, you’d be surprised how it all adds up to something bigger. Sometimes a single kitchen can kick-start a local economy with new businesses. A handful of seeds can sow a community garden of well-being. A single job can support thousands more. And the list goes on from there. Last year we worked with over 18,500 non-profits and schools from the San Francisco Bay Area to Tampa Bay, donations that totaled more than $275 million. But offering a helping hand can also mean lending your own hand to a cause. So Wells Fargo Team Members volunteered nearly 1.7 million hours in their local communities last year. Little by little we can do a lot. Because small is huge. Visit www.wellsfargo.com/stories to see how big small can be.

September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014, The Afro-American

had the crowd swaying and applauding loudly as they soaked in the R&B sounds. Other special The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), held it’s 56th National Convention Aug. 20 – 23 at guests and presenters included former US Secretary of Labor, Alexis Herman and Harry Johnson the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. of the MLK Memorial Foundation. under the leadership of Ingrid Saunders Jones with Co-Chairs, Dr. Paulette Walker and Paulette Norvel Lewis. A major highlight of the convention was the 13th UNCOMMON HEIGHT Awards Gala where U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, President of Morehouse School of Medicine were honored. Gala co-chairs were Lori George Billingsley and Dr. Thelma Daley. The event's special musical guest was Valerie Simpson of the famed musical duo, Ashford and Simpson. She Special performance by R&B Dr. Paulette Walker, Paulette Norvel Lewis, Ingrid Saunders Jones, Lori Billingsley belted out some of the duo’s mega hits and singer Valerie Simpson with and Dr. Thelma Daley.

Felicia Collins on the guitar

Deborah Catching-Smith, Thelma Johnson and Bonita Herring Uncommon Height Award Honoree Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) receives award from Alexis Herman and Ingrid Saunders Jones

The emcee, comedian Jonathan Slocumb Alotta Taylor and Dr. Johnnetta Cole

The invocation by Dr. Skinner

Uncommon Height Award Honoree Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice (left) being presented by Ingrid Saunders Jones

Fran Jones, Dr. Thelma Daley, Lori Billingsley, Dr. Barbara Shaw and Alotta Taylor Photos by Rob Roberts

Cynthia McIntyre Butler (center) with friends A. Shaunise Washington and Harry Johnson

Mary Breaux Wright, International President, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and Bonita Herring, International President, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), Alexis Herman, Ingrid Saunders Jones, Chair, Board of Directors, NCNW, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice and Harry Johnson

Step Afrika, D.C.’s first and only cultural ambassador brought the energy and excitement of step and dance to DC Parks and Recreation’s (DCPR), Raymond Recreation Center with the second annual Step Xplosion! The free performances for community members, youth and seniors was a summer finale and kick-off for new the school year. The September show featured a dynamic Step Afrika performance and a showcase of the DMV’s best step teams that included: Dem Raider Boyz; KAOSS; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity; QuaDrew; Royal Diamonds and Lady ICONZ. This concluding Step Xplosion was part of a tour of several recreation centers that began on Aug. 8 at the Theodore Hagans Recreation Center. Excitement, passion and high energy were the watchwords as the tour wound its way though all 8 wards.

Stepping supporters like what they see The Qua Drew Step Team

The Lady Iconz Step Team take to the floor Step Afrika performs…

C.B. Williams, the founder of Step Afrika

The Grand Finale...all teams stepping together Photos by Rob Roberts

Omega Psi Phi Step Team

These ladies are stepping hard

Steppers reflecting major news story in the headlines

Everyone empties the bleachers and wobble baby wobble on the floor

The Afro-American, September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014

SPORTS

AFRO Sports Desk Faceoff

Could the Seattle Seahawks Repeat as Super Bowl Champs? By Perry Green and Stephen D. Riley AFRO Sports Writers History is against the chances of the Seattle Seahawks repeating their Super Bowl campaign of last year. The last champions, the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens, failed to even return to the playoffs in the following year. And for those prior champions that did manage to make it back to the playoffs, a Super Bowl winner hasn’t won a postseason game in the next season in eight years. But as they displayed in their opening night 36-16 thrashing of the Green Bay Packers, Seattle could be a different story. The Seahawks looked light years ahead of a Packers team that was well regarded entering this season. Although we’re not even a full weekend into the season, the question begs to be asked: could the Seattle Seahawks repeat? Perry Green and Stephen D. Riley of the AFRO Sports Desk debate the question. Riley: Seattle has an excellent opportunity to secure home field advantage again, courtesy of a weakened NFC West. They’re already the gold standard in the conference, and another two-week stretch in Seattle in late January will yield the same results as it did last year when the Seahawks were simply unbeatable on their home turf in the postseason. The loss of St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford and numerous defections and disciplinary problems among the San Francisco defense leaves both teams thin on paper. Arizona’s top runner Andre Ellington is currently dealing with a foot ailment, so the stars are aligned again for Seattle to rule the division. This team could easily get on a roll and storm its way to another championship. Remember, Seattle outscored its opponents by just a touchdown in conference postseason play before they dismembered the Denver Broncos in a 43-8 Super Bowl romp. The Seahawks’ roster returns largely intact and the team is still shockingly young—they were the second youngest team to ever win a Super Bowl. No one else in the NFC has drastically improved, and two AFC powers, Denver and New England, enter the season another year older. A repeat is guaranteed shy of injury.

Wikimedia Commons

Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch celebrate the Super Bowl XLVIII victory at the CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

Super Bowl champs. That’s why history has been so hard on title defenders. Week in and week out, you’re now some other team’s own personal Super Bowl matchup, and that can wear a team down fast. Their showing against Green Bay was impressive, but it also highlighted what a lot of teams will do this season—challenge boundary corner Byron Maxwell. The fourth year pro out of Clemson has played well, but he’s going to have to be elite to handle what’s headed his way as teams avoid Richard Sherman. The offense is an annual Percy Harvin-injury away from being devoid of playmakers. The Seahawks are a good team, but we can’t just pencil any team Green: Repeats are never guaranteed, Riley. Teams make T:7.446”in for anything at this point of the season. Opposing coaches have studied the tape and already crafted game plans for adjustments and coaches get every opportunity to study the Dhani Jones Sports Honoree (not shown) Iyanla Vanzant Inspirational Honoree

Kevin Liles Entertainment Honoree Henry Coaxum McDonald’s Owner/Operator Honoree Gabrielle Williams Community Choice Youth Honoree

Al Sharpton Humanitarian Honoree

Will Packer Arts & Entertainment Honoree

Seattle this year. It’s not going to be a piece of cake. Riley: I can’t understand why it won’t be easy. Seattle is younger, faster and simply better than a large percentage of teams, and as long as they maintain their hunger, which they appear to be doing, then I can’t see who’s going to chop this team down. There might not be a more efficient quarterback than Russell Wilson and he’s still getting better. Seattle’s loaded and could probably flirt with an undefeated season if they were truly committed to the task. They’re that talented, they’re amazing at home and possess a talented roster with a great defense, great quarterback and excellent coach. I’m all in on the Seattle Seahawks. Green: You never know how the season will shape things, and I could easily envision a number of different teams holding the Lombardi Trophy when it’s all said and done. When the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2012, everyone thought New England was a sure bet to return to the championship game that year. When the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2011, everyone expected a red-hot Aaron Rodgers and Packers to return to the big game. Point is, there are a lot of good teams out there that will challenge Seattle for the title. Let’s not write off the rest of the top teams in the league just yet.

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September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014, The Afro-American

ARTS & CULTURE Hip Hop Corner

50 Cents Worth of Reading By Jineea Butler NNPA Columnist “Pretty Boy” Floyd hit the scene with the loud, over-zealous crooners anticipating his ascension in 1993. He was handsome, he was sharp; he had young boy’s swag. I wondered who he would become. Floyd is now the highest paid athlete of all times. At times even I questioned his ability as the greatest fighter, probably because some of his antics made me dislike him but if you watch him carefully he has mastered the art of boxing. Floyd’s flashy image, large entourage and excessive partying lead the way for the Money Team to brand his lavish spending habits and lifestyle choices. Jineea Butler During the ALS Ice Bucket challenge frenzy, 50 Cent decided to change the challenge and call out his former BFF Floyd Mayweather Jr. to read a full page of a Harry Potter book and 50 Cent pledged to give $750,000 to the charity of Floyd’s choice. Obviously, 50 Cent knew Floyd had trouble reading and this was just another ploy to publicly humiliate Floyd with 50’s attention grabbing shenanigans. Charlemagne Tha God, a popular radio personality on NY’s Hot 97 Breakfast Club, took it a step further and released audio of Floyd stumbling through a PSA in the studio. The audio definitely exposed Floyd’s reading challenges. Floyd responded with pictures of his last two checks from Golden Boy Promotions and captioned it. ‘Read this.’ Fifty further insulted Floyd by challenging him to read ‘The Cat in the Hat’ on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The back and forth continued with an offer for 50 Cent to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas but Floyd took the high road and challenged 50 Cent to give $750,000 to the family of Michael Brown, the slain Ferguson, Mo. youth. We have yet to hear back from 50 Cent on that one. While 50 Cent has spent most of his career clowning Ja Rule, Mobb Deep and a list of others, he always seems to hit them where it hurts. We heard Floyd say on numerous occasions that he came from nothing. We heard him say he raised himself. His father was locked up in his most impressionable

years and his mother was on drugs; yet he managed to become the world’s greatest boxer and highest paid athlete. There has got to be some merit in that. So why is Floyd, the man we all love to hate? Why are we not applauding him with the same reverence of Jay Z, who sold drugs as an alternative to going to school? For a while, I did not know what to make of Floyd. His arrogance, his constant boasting and throwing money around seemed childish. And that is exactly what he is, a child who willed himself to greatness in spite of ill-fated conditions he grew up around. His public rants are only defense mechanisms that developed from his lack of education and abundance of success. Now I get where Floyd feels the need to flaunt himself to the world. He is a walking dream. He feels the only thing that got him to the position he is in is his heart and determination to succeed. Floyd chose a path that did not require him to read to make a living. Therefore, his reading comprehension and communication skills suffered as a result. You could never convince him that somewhere along the way he should have interrupted his training schedule to learn to read more efficiently. I am sure he has many people around who have no problem reading for him. So the issue really becomes does Floyd Mayweather Jr. think it is important for him to be able to read and write proficiently and understandably? I would like to see him take on the challenge of becoming a fluent reader, even finishing his GED. This is a great opportunity to show that education is always available no matter what your age. Floyd is obviously a man who is very disciplined; he does not drink or smoke and maintains a healthy diet to remain the best in his class. He could inspire millions of young men and women to get their GED, to stay in school and to never stop learning. Even Muhammad Ali had difficulty reading and he started a program called “Go the Distance.” Let’s hope 50 Cent’s sick intent really helps Floyd stop avoiding and hiding from the inevitable task of learning to read for himself. We all have a part in making sure the people in our community become the best they can be no matter what the circumstances. Jineea Butler, founder of the Social Services of Hip Hop and the Hip Hop Union is a Hip hop analyst who investigates the trends and behaviors of the community and delivers programming that solves the Hip hop dilemma. She can be reached at jineea@gmail.com or Tweet her at @flygirlladyjay

Author’s Corner Title: Bruh Beaver and Bruh Rabbit on the Road to Animal Town Author: Dawn & Dellaphine Chitty [Photo by Juanita Turner] Release Date: October 2014

we had writing these stories down. How difficult it is to publish children’s picture books, everyone is looking for the next Harry Potter but we forget everyone starts with “The Cat in the Hat” before they progress to Harry Potter type books. Dawn: How many details are in each phase of the publication process from wording to illustration. For what audience is your book written? K-3rd grade and the adults who are children at heart.

Dawn Chitty Raised in South Carolina Dawn, felt inspired to honor her familial roots by Dawn and Dellaphine Chitty sharing these timeless tales she has listened to her entire life. “Bruh Beaver, Bruh Rabbit and the Man in the Moon,” is Dawn’s literary debut, but is one of many folktales which have been shared in her family for over five generations. Currently the Director of Education at the African American Civil War Museum in Washington D.C., Dawn is an alumni of the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina and Kaplan University.

What one thing do you most want the reader to learn? To appreciate when someone does you a kindness. What did you learn during the writing process? Stay organized, persistence, and have fun.

“ THE

What’s next on the horizon for you? More books to write. List other books you’ve written. Bruh Beaver, Bruh Rabbit and the Man in the Moon

FIRST GREAT

THRILLER OF THE FALL.” Joel D. Amos, MOVIE FANATIC

“ENGROSSING

TERRIFYING Jeremy Smith, AIN’T IT COOL NEWS

Dellaphine Chitty A native of South Carolina, Dell, is the youngest of six children and she grew up hearing a verity of animal folktales from her mother and maternal grandmother. Many of these tales featured Bruh Beaver, Bruh Rabbit, Foxy Loxy, Chicken Li’l and the Old Wise Owl and the passion to share these stories became deep rooted at a young age when she first started sharing them with her own nieces and nephews. A graduate of South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Dell has been a professional in the field of Information Technology for the past 20+ years and is currently a Senior Consultant with Leidos Health, a healthcare consulting firm. Dell made her literary debut with “Bruh Beaver, Bruh Rabbit and the Man in the Moon,” in 2012. What was the impetus for writing this book? This story has a light hearted appreciation for hard work and gratitude. We thought this was an important lesson for children to learn. These types of folktales have been shared orally in our family for several generations and we wanted to share them with others. www.animalfolktales. com facebook twitter What surprised you about the development of the book? Dell: How much fun

AND

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UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND CROSS CREEK PICTURES PRESENT IN ASSOCIATION WITH EXCLUSIVE MEDIA AND ENDGAMEMUSICENTERTAINMENT A JERSEY FILMS/DOUBLE FEATUREEXECUTIVE FILMS PRODUCTION KERRY ORENT LIAM NEESON “A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES” DAN STEVENS DAVID HARBOUR BOYD PRODUCED HOLBROOK SUPERVISOR MARY RAMOS MUSICBY CARLOS RAFAEL RIVERA PRODUCERS ADI SHANKAR TRACY KROHN JOHN HYDE MARK MALLOUK LAUREN SELIG NIGELBASEDSINCLAION R BY DANNYWRITTEN DEVITOFORMITHECHAELSCREENSHAMBERG STACEY SHER TOBIN ARMBRUST BRIAN OLIVER A UNIVERSAL RELEASE THE NOVEL BY LAWRENCE BLOCK AND DIRECTED BY SCOTT FRANK © 2014 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES STARTS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 CHECK

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The Afro-American, September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014

September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014, The Afro-American

FAITH

Jericho City of Praise Welcomes “Daughter of Thunder”

Jasmin Sculark Installed as Senior Pastor By Shantella Sherman Special to the AFRO A 4-hour service Sept. 7 including praise team worship and dancing, led by Minister of Music VaShawn Mitchell, served as the finale of a four-day welcome celebration for Dr. Jasmin “Jazz” Sculark as Jericho City of Praise’s new senior pastor. Charged with officiating the ceremony, T.D. Jakes, lead Sculark through a cheering sanctuary packed to near capacity. There were also scripture readings from Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook ad Dr. Rita Twiggs, and well wishes from celebrated clergy, including E. Dewey Smith Jr. House of Hope Atlanta; Dr. Henry P. Davis of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park, Landover, Md.; and Bishop Walter Thomas, of New Psalmist, Baltimore, Md. For Sculark, who left Trinidad with $30 and a one-way ticket on American Airlines

“When [Dr. Jazz and I] came together at the moment of prophesy some time ago, I told her that God was going to open a big gate, but I had no idea it would be this. This is a big gate for real.”

– T.D. Jakes

20 years ago, the installation was viewed as the reaping of spiritual fruit. Jakes, in fact, recalled prophesying over Sculark several years earlier, “a gate or a door opening,” but said he could never have envisioned her meteoric ascension. Sculark had applied for a position as youth pastor at Jakes’ 30,000-member Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas in 1995. She did not get the job.

The New Pastor, Dr. Jasmin “Jazz” Sculark Photo by Rob Roberts

Calling it the mystery of God’s will, Jakes encouraged Sculark to trust in God, saying there was something she was called to do beyond that position. “There is a mystery to [God’s] will. Who would have thought that 20 years ago we would be here in this situation, or even 10 years ago? When [Dr. Jazz and I] came together at the moment of prophesy some time ago, I told her that God was going to open a big gate, but I had no idea it would be this. This is a big gate for real,” Jakes said. Jakes, along with Dr. Charles E. Booth, Pastor John K. Jenkins Sr., and Archbishop Alfred A. Owens Jr. presided over the installation. In addition to the anointing of Sculark’s head, finger, foot, and ear with oil, the laying on of hands, and the covering of her head with the Word of God, Jakes was led by the Holy Ghost to dance. The church erupted with joyous dancing and praise, officially welcoming Sculark into leadership. In a black suit emblazoned with gems and

a smile so bright it lit the night sky, Sculark addressed the jubilant congregation. “I want to build on the legacy of Betty Peebles. It feels like she just tagged me on the shoulder and said, ‘Tag, you’re it.’ What a night, what a night. The mystery of His will. Who would have thought a little girl from Trinidad . . . The mystery of His will,” an emotional Sculark said. “I’m just speechless. I thank Jakes for reminding me that [God’s will] is a mystery. Everyone is asking how I got to Jericho

because I was never a candidate; I never put in my resume, or was scripted or selected. The first time I took to this pulpit, it was to be installed as the preacher of this church.” Then, addressing her new membership, Sculark said, “In the past when people talked about Jericho City of Praise, they talked about some of their problems. People see problems; prophets see potential. And I love you all. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity and I will be able to give God the praise and glory.”

–– Advertorial ––

Ford Partners With Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. on Second Season of “Finding Your Roots” By: LaKara Person One show. Ten episodes. Thirty guests. As fall arrives and your favorite shows return to the small screen, there’s only one television show to watch to learn more about the heritage and ancestries of 30 of today’s leading entertainers, athletes, chefs and media personalities, including Hip Hop Superstar Nas and Actor Courtney B. Vance. Ford Motor Company has joined forces with PBS to bring the second season of “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, JR. back this fall. The 10-part series, finds Gates continuing on his quest to, as he says, “get into the DNA of American culture.” By weaving a group of celebrity stories together, each episode takes viewers on a journey through layers of ancestral history, uncovering familial secrets.” Ford, a company who has deep roots in the community, was thrilled at the opportunity to join forces on the series. “We are so excited to help play a role in bringing the second season of this program to life,” said Shawn Thompson, Ford manager, multicultural marketing. “The role that Professor Gates is undertaking to show how all Americans are connected is something that we as a company can stand by and are pleased to support.”

THE

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1 9 6 4 A LONG STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the act, highlights legal and legislative victories, and sheds light on individuals who shaped the civil rights movement.

Each hour long episode will highlight three celebrity guests bound together by an intimate, sometimes hidden link. With the help of a team of genealogists, Gates travels thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of today’s game changers. In addition, each episode will also feature a thirty-second spot that looks back at the history of Henry Ford and his visionary, family-owned company. For Gates, one of Ford’s lasting contributions was his willingness to pay a fair wage to black workers in his factories, which led Southern sharecroppers to Detroit as part of the early 20th century’s Great Migration. The series kicks off on Tuesday, September 24 at 8:00PM EST as Gates discovers the secrets of Stephen King, Nasir “Nas” Jones, Gloria Reuben and Courtney B. Vance. To find out when your favorite celebrity will be a guest on the show, visit http://www. pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/. Be sure to share your favorite celebrity stories, along with your own roots on Twitter using the hashtags #MyFordRoots and #FindingYourRoots.

A Library of Congress Exhibition SEPTEMBER 10, 2014—SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 Thomas Jefferson Building 10 First Street, SE Washington, DC 20540 HOURS:

Monday – Saturday 8:30 A.M. – 4:30 P.M.

www.loc.gov

The exhibition is made possible by a generous grant from Newman’s Own Foundation and with additional support from HISTORY ®.

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Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014ADM879 Victoria Rose Swilley Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Kenneth Darnell Swilley & Roger Mark Reynolds, whose address is 4219 Charlot Way, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 were appointed personal representatives of the estate of Victoria Rose Swilley, who died on January 22, 2014 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 03/05/2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 03/05/2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of Publication: 09/05/2014 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Kenneth Darnell Swilley & Roger Mark Reynolds Personal Representatives TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014ADM754 Walter Jackson Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Janice Osborne, whose address is 8106 Highland Meadows Drive, Clinton, MD 20735 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Walter Jackson, who died on May 11, 2014 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before March 1, 2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before March 1, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of Publication: August 29, 2014 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Janice Osborne Personal Representative

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014ADM822 Dorothy L. White Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Ve r n e s s a C . W h i t e , whose address is 7115 Pony Trail Ln, Hyattsville, MD 20782 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Dorothy L. White, who died on December 11, 1991 without a will.All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C . 20001, on or before March 1, 2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before March 15, 2015 or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of Publication: August 29, 2014 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Vernessa C. WhiteJackson Personal Representative

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014ADM894 Icelean D. Lowery Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Ta w a n a G a i l F o r d , whose address is 17 V Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002, was appointed personal representative of the estate of Icelean D. Lowery, who died on July 11, 2014 with a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C . 20001, on or before 03/05/2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 03/05/2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of Publication: 09/05/2014 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Tawana Gail Ford Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

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Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014ADM898 Mary B. Washington Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Norman C. Washington Jr., whose address is 6 1 0 7 4 t h S t N W, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed personal representative of the estate of Mary B. Washington, who died on May 25, 2014 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose where-abouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before March 12, 2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before March 12, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of Publication: September 12, 2014 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Norman C. Washington Jr. Personal Representative

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the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014ADM866 Merle Van Brooks Decedent Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Faith I. Jones, whose address is 3301 Acccokeek Road, was appointed personal representative of the estate of Merle Van Brooks, who died on February 4, 2010without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 03/05/2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 03/05/2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of Publication: 09/05/2015 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Faith I. Jones Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 09/05, 09/12 & 09/19/14

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B6 The Afro-American, September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE INSIDE SALES ADVERTISING ACCOUNT Advertising Sales Professional needed for the EXECUTIVE AFRO-American Newspapers, Washington, D.C. or Baltimore office. Entry-Level Advertising Sales Rep needed for the AFRO-American Position provides: Newspapers, Baltimore, M.D. • Competitive compensation package • Salary andprovides: commission plan Position benefits after trial period • • Full Competitive compensation package • • Opportunity Salary and commission plan for fast track advancement • Full benefits after trial period • Candidates Opportunity for fast track should be: advancement • Self starters

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September 13, 2014 - September 19, 2014 The Afro-American TYPESET: Sep 09 13:04:19 EDT 2014 TYPESET: Tue Sep 02 16:37:56 EDTTue 2014 TYPESET: Tue Sep 02 13:38:12 EDT 2014 TYPESET: Sep 09 13:04:41 EDTTue 2014 LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014ADM878 Elvira Jackson Decedent Moses V. Brown 10 G Street, NE, Suite 710 Washington, DC 20002 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Sharon Jackson-Day, whose address is 4701 Silverbrook Way, Bowie, MD 21117, wasappointed personal representative of the estate of Elvira Jackson, who died on June 18, 2011 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 03/05/2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 03/05/2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of Publication: 09/05/2014 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Sharon Jackson-Day Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014ADM896 Williemae Crenshaw AKA Willie Mae Crenshaw Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS F r a n c i s W. H o l m e s , whose address is 4819 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed personal representative of the estate of Williemae Crenshaw AKA Willie Mae Crenshaw, who died on July 22, 2014 witha will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C . 20001, on or before 03/05/2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 03/05/2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of Publication: 09/05/2014 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter Francis W. Holmes Personal Representative

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014ADM740 William Thomas Mickens Sr. Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS William Thomas Mickens Jr., whose address is 12112 Windbrook Dr Clinton, MD 20735, was appointed personal representative of the estate of William Thomas Mickens Sr., who died on April 10, 2014 without a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before March 12, 2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before March 12, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of Publication: September 12, 2014 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter William ThomasMickens Sr Personal Representative

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09/12, 09/19,9/26/14

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE WASHINGTON REGION´S PROPOSED 2014 UPDATE TO THE CONSTRAINED LONG-RANGE PLAN (CLRP), FINANCIAL PLAN, FY 2015-202 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (TIP),AND AIR QUALITYCONFORMITY ANALYSIS The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) will initiate a 30-day public comment period for the proposed 2014 update to the Constrained Long-Range Plan (CLRP) and FY 2015-2020 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), their accompanying air quality conformity analysis, and the CLRP Financial Plan, on September 11 at the TPB Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting. The CAC meets from 6 pm to 8 pm in the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) first floor conference center, 777 N. Capitol St. NE, Washington, DC 20002. This public comment period will extend through Saturday October 11, 2014. The TPB is scheduled to approve these submissions at its October 15, 2014 meeting. Members of the public are invited to review these draft documents on the COG website, www.mwcog.org/clrp/. These materials may also be reviewed at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), 777 N. Capitol St. NE, Washington, DC 20002. The CLRP shows the road, bridge, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV), transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects funded through the year 2040. The six-year TIP includes all projects, programs, and strategies that state and local transportation agencies plan to implement between 2015 and 2020. The air quality conformity analysis assesses the plan amendments and program with respect to the air quality requirements under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. The comment process on the TIP is being used to obtain comments on the region’s program of projects that are funded by the Federal Transit Administration (including projects funded by the Urbanized Area Formula Program) and the Federal Highway Administration. Members of the public are invited to submit comments on the draft documents on-line at www.mwcog.org/TPBcomment/. Written comments can also be mailed to TPB Chairman Patrick Wojahn, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), 777 N. Capitol St. NE, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20002. For additional information or for special assistance, please call (202) 962-3311 or (202) 962-3213 (TDD).

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TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS

Superior Court of the District of District of Columbia PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2014ADM719 Evelyn DeBoeck Decedent Norman Schneider Kamerow Law Firm, 5001 Seminary RD, Suite 210 Alexandria, VA 22311 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS April Land, whose address is 816 Hermosa Dr NE,Albuquerque New Mexico, 87110 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Evelyn DeBoeck, who died on June 16, 2014 with a will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C . 20001, on or before March 1, 2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before March 1, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of Publication: August 29, 2014 Name of newspaper: Afro-American Washington Law Reporter April Land Personal Representative

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TRUE TEST COPY REGISTER OF WILLS 09/12, 09/19, 09/26/14

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