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MY BROTHER’S KEEPER HITS NEW PHASE WITH ALLIANCE 7
Black unemployment rate dips to its lowest since the 2008 recession Page 3
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May 21 - May 27, 2015
Area County flag football league kicks off Page 12 www.districtchronicles.com
Volume 14 Issue 39
6
Editorial
Obama leads discussion on poverty By George E. Curry NNPA Columnist
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resident Obama recently participated in a long overdue panel discussion on poverty at Georgetown University. As regular readers of this column know, I have been complaining for years about the fixation this administration has had on helping the middle class while giving only passing mentions to race and poverty. I wrote in July 2013, “According to research conducted by Daniel Q. Gillion, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, in Obama’s first two years in office, the nation’s first Black president made fewer speeches and offered fewer executive policies on race than any Democratic president since 1961.” In addition, I stated, “Frederick C. Harris, director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University, noted that Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address was the first by any president since 1948 to not mention poverty or the poor.” So, I was not only delighted that Obama joined the Georgetown discussion on poverty, but elated that he candidly addressed the issues of poverty and race. In his 1964 State of the Union address, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared “unconditional war on poverty,” introducing Head Start, Upward Bound, and the Job Corps program, providing food stamps and nutritional programs for the poor, and expanding Social Security benefits Nearly two and a half decades later, President Ronald Reagan declared in his 1988 State of the Union remarks, “We fought a war on poverty, and poverty won.” Obama disagrees. “I think it is a mistake for us to suggest that somehow every effort we make has failed and we are powerless to address poverty,” he said at Georgetown University. “That’s just not true. First of all, just in absolute terms, the poverty rate when you take into account tax and transfer programs, has been reduced about 40 percent since 1967. “Now, that does not lessen our
President Barack Obama talks backstage with moderator E. J. Dionne, Jr. (left), Washington Post columnist and professor in Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy, before the a summit on Poverty, at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. last week.
concern about communities where poverty remains chronic. It does suggest, though, that we have been able to lessen poverty when we decide we want to do something about it.” The problem is Congress’ unwillingness to conduct more than a budgetary skirmish on poverty. President Obama explained, “Now, one other thing I’ve got to say about this is that even back in [fellow panelist’s] day that was also happening. It’s just it was happening to Black people. And so, in some ways, part of what’s changed is that those biases or those restrictions on who had access to resources that allowed them to climb out of poverty – who had access to the firefighters job, who had access to the assembly line job, the bluecollar job that paid well enough to be in the middle class and then got you to the suburbs, and then the next generation was suddenly office workers – all those things were foreclosed to a big chunk of the minority population in this country for decades. “ … And so over time, families frayed. Men who could not get jobs left. Mothers who are single are not able to read as much to their kids. So all that was happening
40 years ago to African Americans. And now what we’re seeing is that those same trends have accelerated and they’re spreading to the broader community.” President Obama called out Fox News for its distorted reporting on the poor, with various commentators saying such asinine things as if “they don’t want to be poor” they should get a job and “the rich suffered more.” Enough said about Fox. Obama thinks that this may be a unique time to finally unite around the issue of poverty. He said, “I think that we are at a moment – in part because of what’s happened in Baltimore and Ferguson and other places, but in part because a growing awareness of inequality in our society – where it may be possible not only to refocus attention on the issue of poverty, but also maybe to bridge some of the gaps that have existed and the ideological divides that have prevented us from making progress.” George E. Curry is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA) and BlackPressUSA.com. Follow him at on Twitter at @gurrygeorge.
Finance
Black unemployment rate dips below 10 percent
Freddie Allen/NNPA News Wire
Valerie Wilson, the director of the Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) speaks jobs and the economy in the Black community during an event at EPI.
By Freddie Allen NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent (NNPA) – The Black unemployment rate fell to 9.6 percent in April, the first time it has been in single digits since President Barack Obama was elected in 2008. As the economic recovery in the United States continued its slow, uneven climb, in April there were still clear disparities. Despite the improvement, the Black unemployment rate is still double that of White workers, which has remained at 4.7 percent since February. Valerie Wilson, director of the Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy at the Economic Policy Institute, said that the gradual decline in the Black unemployment rate is the result of strong job growth over the past year. According to Wilson, since December Black men have enjoyed most of the larger employment gains compared to Black women. The unemployment rate for Black men over age 20 was 11 percent in December 2014 and 9.2 percent in April 2015, while the unemployment rate for Black women increased 0.6 percent over the same period. Since last April, the labor force participation rate, which is the share of the population that is either employed or looking for work, increased from 66.5 percent to 68.7 percent in April 2015 among Black men. The labor force rate for Black women only increased 0.7 percent
since April 2014. Wilson said that a renewed focus on targeted jobs programs and infrastructure investments would enable the economy to get closer to full employment, but cuts to public sector employment, especially at the state and local levels, may prolong the sluggish recovery. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy group that designs policies aimed at reducing poverty and inequality, the economy has shed nearly 570,000 government jobs, more than 360,000 jobs in local government alone, since February 2010. According to the Labor Department, average hourly earnings have only increased 2.2 percent since April 2014. During recoveries in the past, falling unemployment rates meant that companies were forced to raise wages to compete for available workers. This recovery is different, said Wilson, in part because there’s still a decent amount of slack in the labor market. In a state-by-state analysis of the unemployment rates, Wilson found that the African-American unemployment rate was “lowest in Virginia (7.4 percent) and highest in the District of Columbia (15.8 percent) in the first quarter of 2015, surpassing Michigan, which had the highest Black unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2014. Wilson also noted that, “although 7.4 percent is the lowest
Black unemployment rate in the country, it is still over one percentage point above the highest White unemployment rate (Tennessee). Virginia was one of only eight states where the African-American unemployment rate was below 10 percent in the first quarter of 2015.” Wilson’s research also revealed that the Black unemployment rate, “is at or below its pre-recession level in six states: Connecticut, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee. But this numerical recovery must be put in proper context because each of these states also had Black unemployment rates that were among the highest in the nation before the recession.” The national unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in April, down from 5.5 percent in March, and the economy added 223,000 jobs in April for a three-month average of 191,000 jobs per month. In a recent blog post for EPI, Josh Bivens, the research and policy director at EPI, wrote that returning the labor market to pre-Great Recession levels is too unambitious a goal. “Instead, we need to target the kind of high-pressure labor market that we haven’t seen since the late 1990s. Anything less than this will leave the majority of American workers frozen out of sharing in economic growth through wage gains,” said Bivens. Follow Freddie Allen on Twitter at @freddieallenjr.
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Neighborhood
Despite objections, Stadium Club retains license
NBC Washington
The troubled gentleman’s club venue was reopened despite concerns and objections from residents, city officials.
By Imani Tibbs Howard University News Service
D
espite objections from local residents and one District City Councilman, the Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) renewed the liquor license for a hip-hop strip club that had been closed and reopened repeatedly due to shootings and stabbings over the past two years. ABRA renewed the license for the Stadium Club earlier this month following a sixmonth review. The club, now under new management, had met with opposition from Langdon-Woodridge neighborhood residents who said they were tired of the noise, trash, and crime the club produced. ABRA held a formal hearing where residents expressed their concerns about the club and Stadium’s management said that it had corrected the previous problems and would be a better neighbor. After examining a petition signed by 98 residents, a letter
not entirely related to the issues of the neighborhood, but speak to the management’s desire to update the club’s atmosphere. “We, of course, consider the shortcomings of the previous management and the affect they had on the community, but we walked in prepared to change things,” said Morse. “It’s a win-win.” Residents, however, don’t share the same sentiments. Karla Butler, former member of the local ANC, represented the LangdonWo o d r i d g e with – Karla Butler, former ANC 5C02 member residents the help of an attorney durtablishment, Thomas has hired a ing the three-hour hearing. new operating staff, doubled its “It saddens me that the board security, and enforced a new, more decided to exclude how the comelevated, dress code. Thomas pre- munity continues to be barraged sented these changes to ABRA to with dangerous incidents,” said defend their case and to help alle- Butler. “Of course, the residents are viate the concerns of their neigh- frustrated, but we respect the government’s decision.” bors. “This is a new Stadium,” said It will be three years before the manager Anthony Morse. “We’re club’s liquor license comes up for committed to entertainment, yes, review again. but we’re also committed to up- “In the meantime, we can only hope and pray for everyone’s safeholding a standard of excellence.” Morse said that the changes are ty,” she said. from a local Advisory Neighborhood Commission member, another from Councilman Kenyan R. McDuffie, live testimonies, and the nightclub’s previous history, ABRA said while the list of grievances was valid, they could not be attributed to the new management. Current owner, Rudolph Thomas, obtained Stadium last year after its previous owners defaulted on their loan. Since acquiring the es-
Of course, the residents are frustrated ...
4 | May 21 - May 27, 2015 | District Chronicles
Divine Intervention
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Pete Souza/White House
NEW YORK – The Rev. Martin Schlag is a trained economist as well as a Catholic moral theologian, and when he first read some of Pope Francis’ powerful critiques of the current free market system he had the same thought a lot of Americans did: “Just horrible.” But at a meeting last week at the Harvard Club, Schlag, an Austrian-born priest who teaches economics at an Opus Dei-run university in Rome, reassured a group of Catholics, many from the world of business and finance, that Francis’ views on capitalism aren’t actually as bad as he feared. “You can get the impression that the pope is against capitalism,” said Schlag, who heads the Markets, Culture and Ethics Research Centre at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, located near the Vatican. But he explained that what Francis – the first Latin American pope – understands as capitalism is, in fact, the “crony capitalism” that is found in the pontiff’s native Argentina and much of Latin America. Schlag defined “crony capitalism” as “a form of capitalism where people get rich not because of their work, but because of their friendships and political connections and the privileges they have.” That is quite different from the American system, he said. “Does the pope understand the United States? I think he doesn’t know the United States,” said Schlag, who is also an adviser to the Vatican department that deals with social and economic issues. Schlag’s view that Francis is conditioned by his Argentine experience is shared by many who seek to contextualize the pope’s criticisms, but it is not shared by all those who know the pope. “He knows the Americans and he knows the culture as well,” said Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, a senior adviser to Francis, who is also an outspoken critic of U.S.-style capitalism. Still, Schlag said he believes that the pontiff’s Sept. 22-27, visit to the U.S., his first to the country,
President Obama and Pope Francis bid farewell at the Vatican in March 2014. The Pope and Obama have similar views on tackling poverty in a capitalist society.
will be an opportunity for Francis to learn more about America and to appreciate the positive aspects of what Schlag said is the most successful economy in history. That would come as a relief to Catholic conservatives and big donors who have voiced serious concerns about the pope’s frequents blasts against wealth and capitalism. From the moment he was elected in March 2013, Francis has said he wants to make service to the poor and battling economic injustice a priority for the church, and in a landmark document published near the end of 2013, Francis ripped what he called “an economy of exclusion and inequality.” In that document, called an apostolic exhortation, Francis blamed ideologies that “defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation,” and he singled out for special scorn “trickle-down theories” that promote tax cuts for the wealthy and have been popular among U.S. Republicans. Because of those remarks, Francis has often been called a Marxist or a socialist – a label he rejects – even as he maintains his critiques of the free market, going so far as to accuse the large “idolatrous economies” that manufac-
ture weapons and foment wars to pad their bottom lines. Those comments, in June of last year, prompted a writer at The Economist magazine to charge Francis with being an “ultra-radical” who follows Vladimir Lenin, the founder of Soviet communism. Schlag rejected the idea that Francis is a Marxist, though he said the pope does favor “collectivist” or “corporatist” economic solutions and would prefer cooperatives and similar models — models that he said would obviously not work for a modern financial industry such as the one that powers the New York economy and much of the world. Schlag said one source of the concerns for economic conservatives can be chalked up to a failure to communicate — a matter of different cultures and even languages talking past each other. “The market is something fragile,” said Schlag. “It’s something which isn’t just an economic fact … but it is an ethical and cultural achievement which needs laws and needs ethics, and needs culture — a culture of thrift. And also it needs warmheartedness, which Pope Francis is trying to bring. Because otherwise it won’t be sustainable.”
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Cover
Black leaders push for nationwide police reform
By Freddie Allen NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent
NAACP
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – In the wake of the tragic death of Freddie Gray and the protests that followed in Baltimore, Black civic leaders continue to call for wholesale changes in policing and an end to police brutality in urban and predominately Black communities across the nation. Barbara Arnwine, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan group that works to end racial discrimination and inequality, said that when the Civil Rights Coalition on Police Reform was formed, American society was long overdue for a concerted push to restructure policing in America and to prevent the killing of unarmed African Americans. “We have been reactive, but we have also been proactively advancing a platform of policy reforms and recommendations for change,” said Arnwine. Those recommendations include the passage of the “End Racial Profiling Act,” the mandatory use of police body cameras, better accountability of the use and distribution of federal military weapons and equipment to local law enforcement and reform to grand jury process. Cornell Brooks, the president and CEO of the NAACP, said that the conversations happening around police killings in Baltimore, Ferguson, Missouri, and beyond are painful reminders of how this whole issue hits home. The NAACP is headquartered
in Baltimore and Thurgood Marshall, “one of our greatest heroes,” lived in the Sandtown-Winchester community where Gray was arrested, said Brooks. “We know that when an African-American man is 21 times more likely to lose his life at the hands of police than his White counterpart, this is a reason to be fearful and a reason to think about running, but it is certainly not a crime,” said Brooks. “Freddie Gray is not just one victim. He stands in a long tragic line of victims that stretches across the length and the breadth of this country.” Brooks expressed confidence in Marilyn Mosby, the Baltimore state’s attorney who filed formal charges against six police officers who were involved in Gray’s arrest and transport to Baltimore’s Western District police station. “She did not punt this to a grand jury, which she could have NAACP president and CEO Cornell Brooks is among the Black leaders that are working to see policing reform across the country. done, but she chose instead as the prosecutor to take responsibility in the kind of brutality that many res- a record of the encounter still ex- alerts to notify others users nearby so that they can come to the scene bringing these charges which pros- idents of this country live with in ists. ecutors in jurisdictions all over this terms of their relationship with the The Missouri branch of the and record the interaction. nonprofit group that defends con- On May 8, Attorney General country are quite able to do, but police.” too often are unwilling to do,” said The American Civil Liberties stitutional rights of individuals and Loretta Lynch opened a civil patSherrilyn Ifill, the president and di- Union (ACLU) has made it harder organizations in the U.S. released tern or practice investigation into the iPhone app Baltimore Police Department (BPD) rector-counsel, that enables at the request of Mayor Stephanie NAACP Legal users to record Rawlings-Blake. Defense and “ e x c h a n g e s “ … I encourage other cities to Educational between police study our past recommendations Fund, Inc., a leofficers and and see whether they can be apgal group that themselves or plied in their own communities,” fights for racial – Sherrilyn Ifill, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund other commu- said Lynch. “Ultimately, this projustice and raisnity members cess is meant to ensure that officers es awareness of disparities. “This is a beginning, for police to suppress the record of in audio and video files that are are being provided with the tools that brutality by offering a free soft- automatically sent to the ACLU of they need – including training, polthis is not a conviction.” “This year the tide has shifted,” ware application for smartphones Missouri,” according to a press re- icy guidance and equipment – to be more effective, to partner with said Ifill. “Why has it shifted? It has that allows users to save video files lease about the software. shifted, because cell phone videos remotely, so that even if the file is The software, called “Mobile civilians, and to strengthen public have shown the entire the country deleted or their phone is destroyed, Justice,” also lets users send out safety.”
This is the beginning, this is not a conviction.
Submit
your story ideas, stories and commentaries to lkaggwa@howard.edu
6 | May 21 - May 27, 2015 | District Chronicles
Politics Obama: My Brother’s Keeper enters new phase By Freddie Allen NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent
justice system. Leroy Hughes, Jr., interim executive director of Concerned Black Men National, a group that provides mentoring programs and supports career and academic achievement for young boys of color, asserts that a solution has to be more involved than just throwing funding at the issue. By building a strong foundation through the initiative, defining the problems and likely solutions in two separate reports and issuing the community challenge last year, a long-term strategy was created. Hughes said that launching the Alliance puts the onus on the community to become proactively engaged, and reaching out to corporate America and those in the philanthropic sector speaks to the Obama administration’s effort to get all of us to buy in to the program. “Too often, young men of color are forced to overcome impossible odds in the face of low expectations,” said Sammie Dow, the youth and college director of the NAACP. “Our hope is that the newly announced Alliance will create an abundance of educational and professional opportunities for young men of color throughout
Freddie Allen/NNPA News Wire
(NNPA) – While political pundits rush ahead to the 2016 presidential election, President Barack Obama is working to secure the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Initiative so that it lives past his second term in office. With the support of privatesector, philanthropic and community leaders, the initiative will live on as the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance. During the launch ceremony of the Alliance at Lehman College in West Bronx, N.Y., Obama said that the group aims to double the percentage of boys and young men of color who read at grade level by the third grade, increase their high school graduation rates by 20 percent and get 50,000 young men into college or post-high school training. “I notice we don’t always get a lot of reporting on this issue when there’s not a crisis in some neighborhood. But we’re just going to keep on plugging away,” said Obama. “And this will remain a mission for me and for Michelle not just for the rest of my presidency, but for the rest of my life.”
The MBK Alliance will also develop a guide to help mobilize private-sector leaders to address the myriad challenges facing young men of color. $7 million in grants will be provided to evidence-based programs, and another $15-$25 million will be used to support communities in building capacity for those programs and local infrastructure. In a letter to supporters and community stakeholders, Broderick Johnson, chair of the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force at the White House, said that he looked forward to the focus that the Alliance would bring to tearing down barriers facing underserved and at-risk youth. He said that the task force is working with the Education and Health and Human Services Departments to address the disproportionate impact of preschool suspensions on students of color, and with the Labor Department to help young people gain work-related skills. Johnson also noted that the Justice Department’s President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing is working to promote communityoriented policing practices and to improve life outcomes for young people that encounter the criminal
President Obama announcing his “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative.
the nation, and equip them with the training, resources and support they need to be high achievers.” CBM National recently announced that the group would open a satellite office in Baltimore in an effort to help the city heal in the wake of the unrest that followed the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. The group plans to open the office within the next two months.
“We know that as one organization, we can’t solve all of the problems in Baltimore, but we wanted to be a part of the solution,” said Hughes. “As a national community-based organization, [opening the office] is consistent with our mission. We had an obligation to go to Baltimore and we are excited to have the opportunity, because we know that we’re going to help change some lives.”
Texas puts up a fight against gay marriage By Rick Jervis USA Today (AUSTIN) – The U.S. Supreme Court is now weighing arguments in the April 28 same-sex marriage case that could lead to a landmark decision requiring all states to acknowledge the unions. But don’t count Texas out without a fight. State lawmakers are considering at least five bills designed to block same-sex marriages, which are currently illegal in the state, and some state leaders say they’ll battle to bar the unions regardless of any Supreme Court decision. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement reaffirming his opposition to same-sex marriage. He said, “Texans — not unelected federal judges — should decide this important issue for their state.” “The leap to assume that Texas moves with [a Supreme Court rul-
ing] is just that — a leap,” said state Rep. Cecil Bell, a Republican from suburban Houston who authored four of the five bills. “History is replete with cases where Supreme Court precedent isn’t immediately embraced and in some cases isn’t ever embraced.” Texas joins a handful of states, including Alabama, Michigan and Louisiana, that are considering legislation that would throw up roadblocks to gay marriage in apparent anticipation of the Supreme Court ruling. Indiana and Arkansas recently backed down on similar bills. In Louisiana, lawmakers are studying the “Marriage and Conscience Act,” which, if passed, would allow employers to deny same-sex spouses marriage benefits and give state contractors the right to refuse to hire gays and lesbians who marry. “As the fight for religious lib-
erty moves to Louisiana, I have a clear message for any corporation that contemplates bullying our state: Save your breath,” wrote Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, in The New York Times. In 2005, Texas voters passed a referendum banning same-sex marriages. A federal judge last year ruled the ban unconstitutional but issued a stay on his ruling as the issue moved through higher courts. The fact that the Supreme Court is considering cases from Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan and Kentucky but not Texas should preclude state officials here from automatically following any decision from the highest court, said Jonathan Saenz, president of Texas Values, which opposes same-sex marriages. “If you’re a government actor or official in the state of Texas, you should exercise extreme caution before making a decision based on
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a U.S. Supreme Court decision,” said Saenz. “States have the right to defend their laws.” Public opinion in Texas has been slowly shifting toward support of gay marriages, said Daniel Williams of Equality Texas, an advocacy group that backs the unions. He pointed to several polls in recent years that show Texas gaining ground on supporting same-sex marriage, though those backers are still in the minority. A University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll conducted in October found 42 percent of Texans in favor of same-sex couples being allowed to marry; 47 percent were opposed and 11 percent unsure. “Texans, like the rest of the nation, have evolved on the issue of marriage,” said Williams. “It’s really based on increased visibility and increased relationships. It’s a lot harder to deny the right to someone you know.”
Despite the popular sentiment, Texas will have to abide by a Supreme Court ruling if the justices declare same-sex marrying a constitutional right, said Meg Penrose, a law professor at Texas A&M University. “That’s a huge if.” Bell, the state lawmaker, is not so sure. He asserts that the people’s will, proved through the 2005 referendum, outweighs any decisions by a federal court. One of his bills would bar public funding to license or recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples, regardless of any Supreme Court ruling. As of May 11, the bill appeared to have a majority of support in the state House. “The sovereignty of states is not something to be taken lightly,” said Bell. “It’s something intended by the framers of our Constitution.” Rick Jervis writes for USA Today.
District Chronicles | May 21 - May 27, 2015 | 7
Student Life
Rep. John Lewis to Hampton Graduates: ‘Get in the Way’
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8 | May 21 - May 27, 2015 | District Chronicles
Congressman John Lewis tells Hampton graduates to “find a way to get in the way.”
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Hampton University (TriceEdneyWire.com) - U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) has told 847 Hampton University graduates that it’s their moral obligation to do what they can to bring about positive change in the world. “You have to find a way to get in the way. Get in good trouble. Use it to bring about a non-violent revolution,” Lewis said. The 29year veteran congressman and iconic civil rights leader has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties and building what he calls the “The Beloved Community in America.” He pulled from his own background in youth activism. A leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, at 25 Lewis was among those attacked and injured
Lewis. There were also four HU alumni honored during the ceremony. Harvey presented the alumnus-at-large award to University of Maryland Baltimore County President Dr. Freeman Hrabowski and his wife community activist Mrs. Jacqueline Hrabowski. The Outstanding 20-year Alumnus award was presented to Jenifer P. Abubakari and Dr. Sonya J. Snedecor. The Valedictorian of the HU Class of 2015 was Symone Alexander Gyles. Gyles is a marine environmental science major from Springfield, Va. salutatori– Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga) The an was Nehanda Akwasiba Armstrong Stadium in Hampton, Ase Khemet, a psychology major Va. was bathed with sunny skies from Sacramento, California. and wide smiles for the Universi- Harvey charged the graduates ty’s 145th Annual Commencement to serve themselves and their alma mater well. “Let your education at May 10. HU President Dr. William R. Hampton University serve as your Harvey also conferred an Hon- foundation as you build your caorary Degree Doctor of Laws on reers.” by Georgia state troopers as he led the historic March 7, 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. At age 23, he was also the youngest keynote speaker at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963. Lewis urged the HU Class of 2015 to go out and help those who are left behind. “You have a mission, a mandate and a moral obligation to do what you can.” The ceremony at Hampton’s
Get in good trouble. Use it to bring ... revolution.
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Notice is hereby given that the following vessel has apparently been abandoned for 25 years on the property of Lessie Landry, 6708 Dower House Road Upper Marlboro, MD, 301 599-0337. The vessel is described as: 7395H, 64W12202, 1964 Sea King, 15 ft. white. Application for title will be made in accordance with Section 8-722 of the Annotated Code of Maryland, Natural Resources Article if the vessel is not claimed and removed from the above property within 30 days of this notice.
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District of Columbia Civil rights activist appointed to My Brother’s Keeper Alliance advisory board
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elanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, has been appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the advisory committee of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance. My Brother’s Keeper was first created in 2014 by the White House the wake of Trayvon Martin’s killing to address the lack of opportunity that young minority boys face across in often-poor neighborhoods across the country. The announcement of the s MBK Alliance comes as the nation continues the conversation on race relations, after the unrest in Baltimore following the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. In addition to Campbell, a highly regarded civil rights activist and social innovator, the alliance will include celebrities, athletes, CEOs and current and former government officials, including singer John Legend, former Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome Bettis, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former Secretary of State General Colin Powell, and Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. According to the alliance, the foundation will focus on key moments in a young man’s academic and professional life, targeting key, symbolic milestones for interven-
Montgomery County Opening of summer day programs pushed back by a day Summer day programs run by Montgomery County Recreation will start one day later to correspond with the extended Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) year. MCPS recently made
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Melanie Campbell will serve on the advisory committee of My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.
tion: when boys are entering grade school, in middle childhood, graduating from high school, finishing college and then entering the workforce. According to the alliance, the intervention would continue with the goal of reducing violence “throughout life.” Campbell’s appointment comes after the recent National Coalition’s Black Youth Vote program held Black Men & Boys Day on Capitol Hill which involved more than 200 black men and boys from several states who paid visits to their mem-
bers of Congress in April to discuss criminal justice, social and economic issues. The Coalition is also launching a “Gathering of Black Men “which will hold a series of events starting this spring with a conference in August. The objectives the “Gathering” events will, in part, mirror the goals of the MBK Alliance Foundation with a focus on civic participation. For more information go to www.ncbcp.org. Follow the National Coalition on Twitter at @ ncbcp.
the decision to extend the school year by one day to make up for days lost due to inclement weather. Montgomery County Recreation programs scheduled to begin on June 15 will shift to June 16 and programs scheduled to begin on June 16 will start on June 17. The Recreation Department works closely with MCPS to coordinate the opening of the department’s summer day programs to
ensure families have optimal opportunities for their children to participate in safe, supervised programs. Many programs are offered in public school buildings, which will not be available until June 17. Families currently registered in summer programs will receive a letter announcing the new start dates and a pro-rated refund for days missed due to the change. For more information, call 240.777.6840.
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District Chronicles | May 21 - May 27, 2015 | 11
In the Neighborhood Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington District of Columbia Norton introduces bill to enhance the National Mall experience
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ongresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) wants DC residents and federal and private workers to take advantage of 2015’s launch of Lunchtime Music on the Mall which started Tuesday, May 19, from noon – 1:00 p.m., on the National Mall at 7th Street and Jefferson Drive SW. Lunchtime Music on the Mall is produced in partnership with
the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, and the National Park Service, in conjunction with Norton’s office. The performances, which will take place every Tuesday and Thursday during lunchtime hours in the summer, will include local artists from a wide variety of genres. In honor of the lunchtime music on the Mall launch event, Norton introduced the National Mall Revitalization and Designation Act to both preserve and improve the National Mall for residents and tourists experience by expanding the
boundaries on which memorials and other commemorative works can be built. Norton’s bill would authorize the National Capital Planning Commission to expand the boundaries of the Mall where commemorative works may be located. “The National Mall is one of our country’s most treasured public spaces, yet today it still does not receive the adequate federal resources it deserves,” Norton said. “I commend the Trust for the National Mall for their outstanding work since 2007 in dramatically improving the National Mall, and its master plan will eventually transform it into a world-class site.
In the meantime, however, there is much that can be done to improve the experience of residents and visitors to our city, from defining the Mall’s official identity to providing low-cost basic amenities, such as tables and chairs in the shade for residents and visitors to eat lunch.” In 2003, Norton was a leader in getting Congress to amend the Commemorative Works Act to create a reserve area on the Mall where new memorials may not be built. This action was helpful in slowing some of the demand from groups for placement of commemorative works on the central Mall, but the Norton bill empowers NCPC to designate expansion of the Mall
area as envisioned by NCPC. Recognizing the need for more commemorative work sites, NCPC and the Commission on Fine Arts released a National Capital Framework Plan in 2009, which identifies sites near the Mall that are suitable for new commemorative works, including East Potomac Park, the Kennedy Center Plaza, and the new South Capitol gateway. Five new prestigious memorials are scheduled for such sites, including the Eisenhower Memorial and the U.S. Air Force Memorial. Norton’s bill gives NCPC authority to expand the boundaries of the Mall where commemorative works can be located.
Greenbelt Redskins fall to South Bowie Sharks 0 – 14 at Prince George’s Flag Football League opener.
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12 | May 21 - May 27, 2015 | District Chronicles