District Chronicles V14 Issue 30 by District Chronicles

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP ANIMALS AT NATIONAL ZOO 4

Good Food Markets opens in Northeast community, offers good prices, too Page 12

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March 19 - March 25, 2015

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Volume 14 Issue 30

Editorial

Selma anniversary shows struggle is not over. By Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. NNPA Columnist

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Pete Souza/whitehouse.gov

monitorin

resident Obama marked the 50th anniversary of Selma by celebrating the ordinary heroes who sacrificed so much to make America better. Noting that nearly 100 members of Congress were in the audience, he urged them to return to Washington to strengthen the Voting Rights Act, weakened by the ill-considered decision of five conservative Supreme Court Justices in Shelby County v. Holder. Today, 50 years after Selma, states are moving once more to make voting harder rather than easier. Reviving the Voting Rights Act is essential, but it is not sufficient. The marchers in Selma were marching not just for the right to vote, but also for jobs and justice. And today, Selma itself reveals how far we have to go. Much attention was rightly paid to the 103-year-old Amelia Boynton Robinson. In 1965, she was a leader in planning the Selma demonstrations and her home was the site for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and legislators to gather as they wrote the first draft of the Voting Rights Act. Earlier this month, 50 years later, she joined President Obama on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, sitting tall in her wheelchair. Yet, her home – which ought to be a national memorial – now sits boarded up, joining other vacant and foreclosed homes in her neighborhood. Selma is now 80 percent Black. Dallas County, where it sits, suffers the highest unemployment in the state at 10.2 percent. The official figure doesn’t count the many who have simply given up trying to find a job. USA Today quoted David Garrow, the author of “Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,” who warned against “reducing history to a photo op.” The focus, Garrow argued, “should be on investment and economic development in places like Selma. The focus should be on what we can do for Selma, not what Selma can do for us.”

Obama greets Selma Civil Rights foot soldier Amelia Boynton Robinson at the 50th anniversary of the March from Selma to Montgomery. Her former house where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed remains boarded, a sign of economic woes in the city.

African-American unemployment remains at more than twice the level of White unemployment. Only 60 percent of all AfricanAmerican men have a job of any kind, with only one in five African Americans ages 16-19 employed. We lock up more people – mostly people of color – than any other nation in the world. The Justice Department’s investigation of Ferguson, Missouri, showed a destructive racial bias still stains our criminal justice system. Our schools in poor communities still suffer a savage inequality in resources and capacity. Yes, great progress has been made, and it is important to recognize and remember the courage and costs of those who sacrificed to make America better. But the commemoration must be a call to action. We should be protesting in Selma, not celebrating. The Civil Rights struggle was in some respect a movement that had three parts: the first was ending legal segregation. The second was guaranteeing the right to vote. The third, the one Dr. King knew would be the most difficult, was to guarantee economic justice, equal

opportunity and a fair start for all. That part has yet to be achieved. President Obama was right. It’s great to see 100 legislators at the demonstration, but we need them to legislate, not demonstrate. We need them to return to Washington and raise the minimum wage. We need a jobs program for young people in urban America. We need to fulfill the easy rhetoric about education as an answer, by investing the most in those who need it the most – the sons and daughters of the poor and low wage families. President Obama called out to the young to lead once more: “It is you, the young and fearless at heart, the most diverse and educated generation in our history, who the nation is waiting to follow.” We’ve seen the stirrings in the “Black Lives Matter” demonstrations across the country. What Selma reminds us is that to make America better will take much more action to demand what could be, and much less acceptance of what is. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. is founder and president of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Consumer complaints lead to $1.6 billion in relief

Finance

By Charlene Crowell NNPA Columnist (NNPA) – Financial stress can feel like a lonely struggle. But according to a new report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 460,700 consumers shared many of the same financial concerns and contacted the agency for help in just six months last year. During this period, the bureau related investigations and enforcement actions on a range of financial concerns from discriminatory credit card practices to violations of federal laws to protect military service members and more brought $1.6 billion in relief to consumers. Since its inception in 2011, the bureau has helped more than 15 million consumers nationwide and cumulatively recovered more than $5.3 billion in relief. Some could say that returning monies to consumers is just a case of the squeaky wheel getting the grease. However, Bureau Director Richard Cordray takes another view. “Through fair rules, consistent oversight, appropriate enforcement of the law, and broad-based consumer engagement, the Bureau is helping to restore American families’ trust in consumer financial markets, protect consumers from improper conduct, and ensure access to fair, competitive and transparent markets,” said Cordray. Created in the aftermath of the worst recession of this generation, the bureau became the cornerstone of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act and the nation’s first federal agency with the sole focus of protecting consumers in the financial marketplace. For communities of color, who became targets for predatory loans, the bureau’s enforcement authority provides a two-pronged government action: financially penalizing lenders that violate fair lending laws and then compensating affected consumers. Another Dodd-Frank provision requires that the bureau make semi-annual reports to Congress detailing its actions, rule making and efforts to ensure that all financial markets observe fair, competitive and transparent transactions.

According to CFPB, debt collection was a number one concern by consumers last year.

Of all the complaints filed during the reporting period of April 1Sept. 30, 2014, debt collection was the number one concern measured by consumer complaints at 36 percent. Among military service members, debt collection was an even larger concern at 53 percent. Right now, the bureau is also continuing investigations of major debt collection firms regarding collections practices. The bureau’s analysis of complaints reveals the most troublesome practices are collectors pursuing them for debts not currently owed. Consumers cited how collections continued despite identity theft, bankruptcy discharges or even debts owed by other consumers. “The volume and types of debt collection complaints underscore many of the problems that exist in the debt collection and debt buying industry today,” said Lisa Stifler, policy counsel with the Center for Responsible Lending. “These problems, such as questionable and incomplete information about debts and consumers, often result in the abusive and harassing behavior about which individuals complain. Fortunately, the bureau’s rulemaking, oversight and enforcement activity should help to address many of the most harmful debt collection practices.” In mortgage lending, more than 80 percent of the issues were about two specific problem areas:

inability to pay and problems with loan servicers or escrow accounts when payments were being made. Borrowers facing foreclosure have told the bureau their concerns with fees charged as part of the foreclosure process. According to complaints, the fees pose a substantial obstacle to avoiding foreclosure, as many servicers do not roll them into the loan balance. In other instances, consumers never receive an itemization of fees assessed, but are given a one lineitem reinstatement quote. If you or someone you know believes he/she is troubled by a consumer lending issue, the center accepts online comments or complaints on auto loan or lease, bank account services, credit cards, credit reporting, debt collection, mortgages, student and payday loans. Complaints can also be filed by phone at 1-855-411-2373. Mailed and faxed complaints are also accepted. Director Cordray told the House Financial Services Committee, “The premise at the heart of our mission is that consumers deserve to be treated fairly in the financial marketplace, and they should have someone stand on their side when that does not happen.” Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending. org.

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Neighborhood

Bathing zoo elephants is fun

The National Zoo has volunteers from the area help with it’s upkeep, saving millions annually.

By Caylon Thomas Howard University News Service WASHINGTON – Angela Thomas is a nurse tending to needy patients, most of her time. Every so often, however, she finds herself surrounded by straw, covered in sweat and shoving elephant poop. And, the 32-year-old Arlington, Virginia, resident said, she loves it. “I can’t explain to you how happy I am to be able to help save the zoo and the city money,” said Thomas. Thomas is one of approximately 1,500 Washington-area residents who volunteer at the National Zoo, which is part of the Smithsonian Institutions. Volunteers dedicate 90,000 hours or service each year and save the zoo about $4 million annually. The zoo offers scores of programs for volunteers, who work with over 300 species of animals.

after the elephants, feed them, bathe them and also give them treats. She said she doesn’t necessarily enjoy cleaning up after elephants, but it is her duty as a volunteer. “Whenever I come to the zoo, I know what I’m expected to do and when I have to something that’s kind of different, I’ll do anyway because it’s what I signed up for.” Volunteers are awarded discounted food, zoo passes, and an opportunity to work with endangered and rare species. – Angela Thomas, National Zoo Volunteer teers at Volunthe zoo year has loved animals since she got primary work behind the scenes. They assist office staff, gardeners her first dog at the age of 10. “I named him Charlie, because and animal keepers, collecting beCharlie Brown and the peanut gang havioral data, painting, building was one of my favorite cartoons at and doing other work. The minimum age is 18. that time,” she said. Thomas comes to the zoo ev- To find out about volunteer opery other week to work with the portunities, visit http://nationalzoo. elephants, which are her favorite si.edu/Support/Volunteer/recruitanimals. Her main job is to clean up ing.cfm. Joane Little, 54, another volunteer shares the same sentiments as Thomas. “The National Zoo’s volunteer program taught me so much about animals,” Little, a Washington resident, said, “how to care for them, feed them, bathe them. I love volunteering at the zoo.” Little said she has been volunteering at the zoo for more than a

I can’t explain to you how happy I am ... to help.

4 | Mar. 19 - Mar. 25, 2015 | District Chronicles

Divine Intervention

Debate over gays in St. Patrick’s parades roils Irish on big day

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The decision to invite Virginia governor McAuliffe to grand marshal the Norfolk St. Patrick’s Parade stirred controversy.

By David Gibson Religion News Service NEW YORK (RNS) – St. Patrick’s Day is associated as much with Roman Catholicism as it is with Irish-Americans, but this year some of the faithful aren’t happy with the inclusion of gays and lesbians marching under their own banner for the first time in parades in Boston and New York. The Knights of Columbus of Massachusetts and a local Catholic school declined to take part in the Boston parade last weekend, after two LGBT groups – the military veterans service group OutVets – Rev. Dan and Boston Pride – were invited following decades of lobbying and court battles. “The saint’s venerable name should not be cheaply misappropriated by nominally Catholic politicians and anti-Catholic organizations with a same sex agenda,” said Catholic Action League head C.J. Doyle, a leader of the opposition. The New York parade marched down Fifth Avenue on Tuesday, the saint’s feast day, and Cardinal Timothy Dolan faced renewed calls from conservative Catholics to step down as grand marshal because an openly LGBT group was taking part for the first time.

sponsors,” New York City Council member Rosie Mendez said last month. “Until my Irish queer brothers and sisters can march in this parade, I will not be marching at all.” Mayor Bill de Blasio said earlier this month that he would boycott the parade if more gay groups were not included; de Blasio did not march last year either in protest. “We need something more for it to really feel like we’ve turned the corner. A lot of people feel – I think, rightfully – that that is too small a change to merit a lot of us participating,” said de Blasio. Meanwhile in Virginia, the pastor of a Catholic parin Norfolk Beeman on Gov. McAuliffe’s invitation to Va. Parade ish cut ties with a local council of ers of the 2015 New York City St. the Knights of Columbus after the Patrick’s Day parade. He must step group chose Virginia Gov. Terry down as Grand Marshal,” Matthew McAuliffe to be the grand marshal Hennessey wrote at the website of at its annual parade. McAuliffe is Crisis magazine, a conservative a Catholic who supports abortion rights and gay marriage. Catholic media outlet. “By personally leading the The Rev. Dan Beeman of Holy procession, he blesses the whole Trinity Catholic Church in Norfolk told parishioners on March 8 shameful affair,” he concluded. On the other side, gay and lesbi- that “it is dumbfounding how the an advocates and their supporters Knights could … decide to honor stepped up protests because they the [g]overnor.” said that more gay groups should Virginia’s two Catholic bishops, have been included in the Manhat- Bishop Francis DiLorenzo of Richmond and Bishop Paul Loverde of tan pageant. “It is clear that last year’s deci- Arlington, issued a joint statement sion was just to placate the parade backing Beeman’s actions. When it was first announced last September that an organization of LGBT employees at NBC – the network that broadcasts the popular event – would be marching, Dolan voiced support for the parade organizers and prayed “that the parade would continue to be a source of unity for all of us.” Critics ripped Dolan for his stance, and they ramped up their efforts as the day approached. “Now there can be no doubt – Timothy Cardinal Dolan has been played for a sucker by the organiz-

It’s dumbfounding ... to honor the governor.

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Cover

GOP disrespect of President Obama disturbing

By George E. Curry NNPA Columnist

Pete Souza/whitehouse.gov

No United States president has been more disrespected than Barack Obama – and his family. The hatred for the nation’s first African-American president is so deep that all but seven Republicans in the U.S. Senate were willing to write a letter to Iran that amounted to treason on a grand scale. In an effort to derail talks that would limit Iran’s nuclear weapons, 47 Republican senators signed an“open letter” to Iran’s leaders claiming any deal they reach with the administration won’t last after Obama leaves office. In an issue that caused the Republican senators to be labeled traitors in a New York Daily News headline, an editorial stated: “Regardless of President Obama’s fecklessness in negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran, 47 Republican U.S. senators engaged in treachery by sending a letter to the mullahs aimed at cutting the legs out from under America’s commander-in-chief. We join GOP signatories in opposing the pact as outlined, but we strenuously condemn their betrayal of the U.S. constitutional system.” In case there is any doubt, the liberal political website PoliticusUSA stated, “According to the dictionary definition, a traitor is one who betrays a person, a principle,

or especially their country. It is of no consequence why someone, or a group, chooses to work in opposition to their nation, or fellow citizens’ well-being, because if their intent and result of their actions is to deliberately damage or cause harm to their country or fellow citizens, they are by definition traitors.” It wasn’t all that long ago that Democrats and Republicans observed the rule that while we might have our internal debates, when it comes for foreign policy, we speak with one voice – that of the president. House Republicans ignored that long-standing custom by inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress, knowing he would be critical of ongoing negotiations by the U.S. and its allies to freeze Iran’s nuclear weapons. The White House was not consulted on the invitation, a sharp departure from established protocol. The disrespect for Obama and the presidency itself has reached such a low point that a headline in the Washington Post summed it up this way: “Republicans are beginning to act as though Barack Obama isn’t even the president.” PoliticsUSA stated, “It is likely that throughout America’s short history, except for the traitorous Confederacy, no group of individuals has exhibited the characteristic be-

President Obama’s terms in office have seen increasing conservative GOP scorn of the White House.

trayal of a traitor more than conservatives in general, and Republicans in particular. What makes their actions all the more despicable is that their traitorous actions are founded on racial animus for one man; and allegiance to foreigners and one tiny segment of the population.” The attacks on Obama began when he first ran for president, with some conservatives openly questioning whether he was a U.S. citizen. Marilyn Davenport, a member of the Orange County Republican Party in California, e-mailed a cartoon in 2010 with the face of President Obama superimposed on a

chimpanzee. Also pictured were two older chimpanzees described as “parents.” The inscription on the cartoon read: “Now you know why – No birth certificate.” The New York Post went well over the line of respectability by publishing a cartoon in 2009, in the wake of Connecticut police shooting a pet chimpanzee, depicting the authors of the stimulus bill as a dead chimpanzee. And who could forget Rep. Joe Wilson [R-S.C.], interrupting a 2009 presidential address on health care to Congress in by shouting, “You, lie!” The personal attacks have not

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been limited to President Obama – his entire family has been attacked. Last week, Emmy-winning Univision host Rodner Figueroa was fired for saying, “Michelle Obama looks like she’s part of the cast of Planet of the Apes.” Michael O’Neal, Speaker of the Kansas House, circulated an email referring to the first lady as “Mrs. Yo’ Mama.” Even Sasha and Malia have been targets of conservatives. They have been upbraided from everything from taking their spring break in the Bahamas to the clothes they wore when their father pardoned a Thanksgiving turkey.

GOP education reform would hurt poor, Black students By Freddie Allen Senior Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) – As the Republican-led Congress prepares to update the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), civil rights groups, educators and student advocates fear that current proposals leave many poor and Black children behind. According to analysis by the Center for American Progress (CAP), a Washington, D.C. –based progressive think tank, the bill submitted by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), eliminates accountability for low-performing schools, lowers academic standards, and abolishes targeted, state-level graduation goals for students of color. A White House brief on the ESEA reauthorization bills said that the proposal being considered in the House of Representatives will cap spending on the ESEA for the next six years at $800 million lower than it was in 2012, eliminates “guarantees that education funding reaches classroom,” and “some especially high-poverty school districts would see cuts as large as 74 percent.” In her weekly column, Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund, said no ESEA bill would be better than the one now making its way through Congress. She wrote, “H.R. 5 also removes strong accountability provisions required to make sure the children who need help most will actually be helped. It is morally indefensible and extraordinarily expensive that we have 14.7 million poor children in our country – 6.5 million of them living at less than half the poverty level. All of these poor children exceed the combined residents in all 50 state capitals and the District of Columbia.” Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a network of more than 200 national research and advocacy groups, said that the ESEA reauthorization proposals currently pending in Congress would strip millions of students and their parents of the protections and resources that have

Politics

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Critics of the House proposal worry of it’s impact on high poverty school districts.

helped them to hold their schools accountable for equitable funding and treatment. Chanelle Hardy, the executive director and senior vice president for policy at the National Urban League, said that the legacy of the Black community’s commitment to education stems from the days of slavery when Blacks learned to read in secret and at risk to their own lives. “This is not a conversation about how we need to convince our community to care about achievement,” said Hardy. “This is about our nation’s commitment to a system of education that prepares every child for college work and life. This is a fundamental civil rights principle and a fundamental principle of justice.” He said that 98 percent of the students at his school are African American, 100 percent qualify for free lunch and 28 percent receive special education services. Researchers at CAP found that school districts spent $733 less at schools that were 90 percent minority compared to schools that were 90 percent White. That money could be spent on veteran teachers, school counselors and laptop computers. “It’s no secret that more than 50 years after Brown, our communities and schools are still very much segregated however the concentration of poverty has become more

exacerbated as affluent families of color have left our communities to go elsewhere,” said Hayes. Nancy Zirkin, the executive vice president of the Leadership Conference, said that no one can deny that NCLB has room for improvement, “but the proposals in front of Congress now throw the baby out with the bath water.” Zirkin explained, “These proposals bend over backwards to accommodate state and local entities that have both failed our children and avoided any real accountability for their failures.” NCLB was characterized by high stakes testing that led some school districts to trim physical education and arts programs to make room for more rigorous reading and math course work. Educators railed against “teaching to the test” and questioned the need for multiple assessments throughout the school year. “As a school leader I can’t imagine a time where my administrative team could ever see a problem with our students and say to teachers, ‘It didn’t work so I’m just going to let you figure it out by yourselves,’” said Hayes. But in the eyes of some educators and civil rights leaders that’s exactly what the Republican proposals do. “We can’t go back to a time when these schools were ignored,” said Zirkin.

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Student Life

Blacks now finishing high school at record levels

By Jazelle Hunt NNPA Washington Correspondent (NNPA) – After 30 years of little to no progress, Black youth are completing high school at the highest rates in history. This is the finding in a new issue brief titled, “Young Black America Part One: High School Completion Rates are at their Highest Ever,” published by the Center for Economic Policy Research, a Washington-based thinktank. The report examines Census Bureau data for 20 to 24 year-olds and compares high school completion rates around the country over the past 30 to 40 years. “All in all, young Blacks have experienced significant gains in high school completion rates during the past 13 years,” the report states. “Given the importance of educational attainment in determining future wages, higher completion rates should, in theory, translate to higher wages.” In 1975, Black Americans finished high school at a 75 percent rate, compared to 88 percent for Whites and the overall 86 percent rate. In 2000, Blacks completed high school at a 14 percent lower rate than their White counterparts. However, by 2013 the Black com-

pletion rate rose to 86 percent, its highest-ever level, shrinking the Black-White gap to less than 7 percent. “I’m a young Black woman and I wanted to answer the question of what’s going on with young Blacks in America,” said Cherrie Bucknor, a Center for Economic Policy Research assistant and author of the report. “Sometimes there are too many negative portrayals and negative stereotypes on young Blacks, and I like the fact this was something positive to focus on.” The gender breakdown also shows a noteworthy trajectory. In addition to slightly outpacing the rate for Black boys, the completion rate for Black girls is 89 percent, only five points lower than the rate for White girls. While the gains of Black girls were more gradual, Black boys have experienced a rocky road to improvement in helping close the Black-White high school completion gap. “The completion rate for Black males followed the same trajectory, but 3 to 8 percentage points lower. Although Black males experienced noticeable gains in completion rates during this century (an increase of 18.1 percent since 2000), their gains were not enough

to offset the gains of other groups, leaving noticeable gaps in completion rates between Black males and other groups,” stated the report. “In 2013, the completion rate for Black males (83.5 percent) was 5.9 percentage points lower than Black females and 8.8 percentage points lower than White males.” Regional analysis also shows a different trend. At 10 percent higher than the national rate for Black students, the West has held the most promise for Black students since 1975. However, the other regions have caught up in recent years. As of 2013, Black students in both the Northeast and the West have the highest completion rates (88.2 and 88.1 percent, respectively). Further, all of the regions now have comparable rates for Black students, all within three percentage points of one another. Although the report does not examine or speculate on causes for this breaks in these trends, Bucknor has a few theories. “One factor that might be in play is increasing the graduation requirements for students in general, which makes the decision to drop out or stay in school a little bit different than before then,” said Bucknor. adding that test scores for entering freshmen have also been

Data shows the gap between Black high school graduation rates and others has dropped.

improving. “And since 2000, some of the plausible factors that I’ve read about include declining teenage birth rates … [which] makes them more likely to be in school.” The teenage birth rate is also at a historic low, particularly for Black teens. According to 2012 data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the maternity rate for Black girls age 15 to 17 has dropped 45 percent since 2000. For 18 and 19-year olds it has dropped

30 percent. This report is the first part in a series that explores measures of success (or lack thereof) among Black people under 40. “I feel like there’s a lot of attention on Blacks in general, but I wanted to focus on young Blacks like me,” said Bucknor. “So I’m hoping to look at several issues related to education, jobs, and inequality as a way to answer that question.”

Black males in colleges vs. cellblocks myth debunked Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Louisiana Weekly (TriceEdneyWire.com) – In a 2013 column for The Root, Howard University professor and Congressional Black Caucus Foundational analyst Ivory A. Toldson said that the myth about there being more Black men in prison than in college is “the most frequently quoted statistic about Black men in the United States.” An article in the Feb. 12 edition of Vox.com talked about the myth’s source, its impact on communities of color and evidence that clearly prove its fallacy. Over the years, the myth has taken on a life of its own, being cited by everyone from civil rights leaders to Black scholars and local community leaders. Its origins have been traced back to a 2002 report from the Justice Policy Institute entitled “Cellblocks or Classrooms: The

Funding of Higher Education and Corrections and Its Impact on African-American Men.” The report asserted that “[n]early a third more African-American men are incarcerated than in higher education,” an observation that both sent shockwaves across America and resonated with groups striving to boost Black male academic achievement and college enrollment. Vox.com pointed out that the statistic’s sobering ramifications were not lost on Barack Obama, who mentioned it during a 2007 NAACP forum saying, “We have more work to do when more young Black men languish in prison than attend colleges and universities across America.” The stat was so widely accepted that many Blacks began referring to jails and prisons as “the Black man’s university,” a thinly veiled reference to Black nationalist lead-

8 | Mar. 19 - Mar. 25, 2015 | District Chronicles

er Malcolm X’s years behind bars. Despite the wide acceptance of the myth, the numbers don’t add up. According to the U.S. Census, about 18,508,926 people in the U.S. population are Black males, of all ages. In 2013, 1,437,363 were enrolled in college, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Prisoner Statistics Program, as of the middle of 2013, there were 219,660 Black males in local jails and 526,000 Black males were in state or federal prison, totaling about 745,000 behind bars. Toldson believes that the 2002 report was based on incomplete data, adding that, in addition to being inaccurate, the 13-year-old data is now outdated. “I pulled the data from 2001 that the Justice Policy Institute used [for the ‘Cellblocks of Class–

rooms ‘report] and I noticed that at least 1,000 colleges weren’t reporting their head count of Black males then,” Toldson told NPR in 2013. “And I also noticed that a lot of colleges that didn’t report any numbers, when the Justice Policy Institute wrote their report, were historically Black universities. They were big, state universities that I’m pretty sure had some Black males present at the time.” Essentially, the number of Black males enrolled in college was undercounted, providing an inaccurate view of the state of Black males in the U.S. While the college numbers are not as dire as the 2002 report suggested, the recent nationwide protests show that there is still a great deal of room for improvement in the lives of Black males. A wide assortment of programs aimed at improving academic performance among Black males

are yielding positive results with statistics showing that the enrollment of Black males in college rose from 693,044 in 2001 to 1,437,363 in 2013. While the “Black men in prison” myth has been used by policymakers, community organizers and leaders with the best of intentions, because it is a falsehood it has proven to be harmful to communities of color, it paints a negative picture of Black male academic achievement and feeds into the stereotype that Black males are predisposed to crime and violence. Toldson summoned up the perils that come with allowing this myth to thrive: “[W]e will not sufficiently support Black male college students – nor college-bound students – if we simply keep perpetuating the myth that juxtaposes their needs with those of Black males in the criminal-justice system.”

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In the Neighborhood

Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington District of Columbia Mayor Bowser increases schools budget to support new positions

Transforming Neighborhood High Schools DCPS will invest $13 million in new funds to support high school students and improve neighborhood high schools. In the upcoming school year, every neighborhood high school will offer at least six Advanced Placement courses. Every neighborhood high school will also offer at least 20 elective courses including choir, marching band, yearbook, debate, AfricanAmerican literature, accounting and SAT preparation. Currently, some neighborhood high schools offer no electives. Increase Equity and Increase Expectations for All Students Implementation of the district’s high-quality curriculum and instruction is still uneven across the city. To address this in the upcoming school year, DCPS will provide every teacher, in every ward, with cornerstone lessons aligned to the rigorous standards. The high quality, teacher-developed supports will range from lessons that provide a unique approach to a math problem to a weeklong instructional program around a great novel or text to a field trip tied a particular part of the curriculum. Empowering Males of Color As Chancellor Henderson and

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n the 2015-2016 school year, District of Columbia Public Schools will create over 200 new school-based positions and focus on: strengthening neighborhood high schools, providing targeted resources and opportunities to male students of color, and improving equity across all eight wards. Delivering on a promise made three years ago, every DC public school in the upcoming school year will offer art, music, world language, physical education and library programming, as well as increased social and emotional supports, and opportunities to increase student interest and engagement in school. Chancellor Kaya Henderson shared spending details about school budgets, following a more engaging and inclusive budget process than ever before. It included a series of meetings where students, families, school leaders, community members, and other stakeholders shared feedback, ideas and insight. “Our budget process this year started with strong input from our community and included honest conversations and hard decisions. This has allowed us to set a higher bar and higher expectations for our students and our schools,” said Chancellor Henderson. “Together, this budget will allow us to continue to transform DCPS into the best urban school district in the country, and the school district we all want for our children.” Mayor Muriel Bowser made education a priority by maintaining the student funding formula which is an increase in local funds of $25 million for a total local budget of $726 million. This represents a 3.4 percent increase over the FY 2015 funding level of $701 million, providing nearly every penny of the increase to schools.

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DC Mayor Bowser increased the student funding level, making education priority.

Mayor Bowser announced earlier this year, DCPS will focus on providing strategic resources to Black and Latino male students. Hundreds of community members have signed up as volunteer mentors and tutors, responding to the call to action in January. DCPS will train 500 mentors to work with students to build much-needed literacy skills. Continuing to Innovate and Help Students Love School For the first time, DCPS has created a per student funding model to support a library “refresh,” as well as library programming and materials. Every school will receive a $20 per student allocation and schools with at-risk students will receive up to an additional $15 per student. Other new per student allocation funding streams include specifics for art supplies, science materials and physical education equipment. Budget Next Steps All the investments in the highestneed schools were made through significant reductions to central office funds by 25 percent. While these reductions are necessary to drive as many resources as possible to schools, they will impact the services schools receive and DCPS will plan accordingly to ensure schools are prepared for the transition.

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District Chronicles | Mar. 19 - Mar. 25, 2015 | 11

In the Neighborhood Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington District of Columbia ACLU-NCA urges Congress to pass DC Anti-discrimination legislation

he ACLU of the Nation’s Capital has urged Congress to pass the District’s Human Rights Amendment Act of 2014 and Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014, which the D.C. Council transmitted to Congress on March 6, to begin the congressional review period. These two critical pieces of legislation prohibit discriminatory treatment of District employees and students, based on reproductive health decisions or sexual ori-

entation. The first bill, the Human Rights Amendment Act of 2014, repeals a current exemption that allows religiously affiliate educational institutions to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. The District has a substantial and compelling interest in ensuring that educational institutions in the District afford all students equal access to school facilities and services. The second bill, the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014, protects employees from discrimination by an employer, employment agency, or labor organization, based on an individual’s or dependent’s reproductive health decisions. This will ensure that employees and their families can make their own private health decisions.

It is imperative that these measures survive the congressional review period and become law, said Monica Hopkins-Maxwell, executive director of the ACLU-NCA. “Our District employees and students must be able to count on being protected from discrimination,” said Hopkins-Maxwell. “We will not stand by and watch as opponents call on Congress to violate the spirit of the Home Rule Act – the District must be allowed to exercise its power of self-governance without undue interference.”

Appropriations bill provides funding for key St. Elizabeths building The recent passage of a clean fiscal year 2015 Department of Home-

land Security appropriations bill will ensure the additional $48.6 million needed for DHS to move into the Center building complex at the DHS campus at St. Elizabeths in Ward 8, according to Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). The Center building will house the DHS secretary and top DHS officials, and a contractor already has been working on the building. The fiscal year 2015 omnibus appropriations bill, passed in December, included $144 million for DHS consolidation at St. Elizabeths. Norton has secured $1.7 billion for the DHS complex, including nearly $1.4 billion in stimulus funds for the complex’s first building, the Coast Guard headquarters, which was completed on time and on budget. “For the sake of our national security and our federal employ-

ees, I am relieved the House finally came to its senses and funded DHS through the remainder of the fiscal year,” said Norton. “For us in the District of Columbia, there was a special bonus—the funding we have needed for the most important federal construction project in the country and certainly in this city.” If DHS had shutdown, 30,000 employees nationwide would have been furloughed and 240,000 employees would have been forced to work without pay until a shutdown ended. DHS also would have stopped hiring and training programs. Grants for state and local governments, including Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster assistance grants and law enforcement grants, would have come to a halt.

Woodridge residents get new food market

By Jacquelyn Johnson Howard University News Service

rystal Spence, her two children, ages 6 and 5, in tow, had barely made it past the front doors of the new grocery market. She hadn’t squeezed an orange, eyed the price of the lettuce or tested a grape. Still, the facility had already met her approval. “Good Food Markets is already a Godsend for me,” said Spence, a lifelong resident of the northeast Washington neighborhood of Woodridge. “It used to take me 20 minutes on the bus to get to the grocery store and now it is only about a tenminute walk from my apartment.” Good Food opened to anxious residents this month. Live music, balloons and free coffee set the tone for the grand opening of the grocery store. Large groups of customers and a few local politicians, including Ward 5 Councilman Kenyan McDuffie, made their way around the 1000-square-foot facility in the 2000 block of Rhode Island Avenue. The store has set out to accommodate local residents like Spence, said Kristoffer Garkin, a managing partner. “One of our goals is to save people a trip to the supermarket while still providing well priced and quality items,” said Garin. Garin said he and his partners

have spent the last two years developing an accessible shopping option for a Woodridge community, which previously had no grocery locations within a mile. The result is Good Foods. Good Foods was one of 39 businesses that received part of a $1.3 million city grant, which helped the market get started, he said. The market, which is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, occupies a space that was previously a soul food restaurant. “The restaurant that was here before was an eyesore, but now this market is a place for people to shop and it’s easier on the eyes,” said customer Akua Ibrahim as he made his way through the shelves and rows of food. The residents who perused the store opening day said they were Musicians toot their horns on opening day at Good Food Markets, a much needed grocer in Woodbridge, Northeast D.C. excited to see what the local growith the non-profit DC Central desires, as well as eradicating the supermarket industry is a volume cery store has to offer. “I love it,” said Woodridge Kitchen, the store also offers a fresh possible misconception that the and cost efficient business. Grocery store is a specialty store, or that stores used to be a relationship resident Serena Flint said. “Its con- meals-to-go section. it is really ex- business. Our goal is to provide venient, cute, pensive, said strong value but to also bring the affordable relationship back in.” Garin. and above all, “ O n e No one is more excited about fresh. It is reof our goals is the presence of the new market ally nice to see to get shoppers than Spence. a store like this tell us what “More than anything, I think in the commu– Kristoffer Garkin, Managing Partner at Good Food Markets to they want to Good Food Markets being in Woonity.” see in the store, dridge shows that someone is pay The store has fresh and organic produce, The owners are eager to hear so that we can really be able to ing attention to the community’s meat and other grocery items, in- from the community to ensure they save them a trip to the larger gro- needs and most times, people don’t cluding a bakery. In partnership are providing what their clientele cery stores,” he said. “The modern feel like anyone is,” she said.

12 | Mar. 19 - Mar. 25, 2015 | District Chronicles

Grocery stores used to be a relationship business.