District Chronicles V14 Issue 1 by District Chronicles

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Volume 14 Issue 1

Editorial

Stay alive, Black men, stay alive By T.J. Holmes The Root

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his is what I do whenever I see flashing lights in my rearview mirror: I put on my hazard lights and pull over as soon as safely possible. Then I put the car in park, roll down both front windows fully, turn off the engine, take the keys out of the ignition and dangle them high in the air out the driver’s side window before placing them on the roof of the car. Next, I cross my arms at the wrist, spread my fingers and display my empty hands out of the window and wait for the officer to come to the door to give me instructions. When the officer asks for my license and registration, I explain that they are in my pocket and my glove compartment, and I ask if it’s all right to move my hands in order to retrieve them. I don’t make any movement without first getting the officer’s blessing to do so. The last time I was pulled over, in the summer of 2012, the officer told me it was to make sure I “had insurance.” I was sure that wasn’t a legitimate reason for stopping me. I was furious. I wanted to curse. I wanted to get belligerent. I wanted to hurl accusations at the officer about his motivation for stopping me. I had done absolutely nothing wrong, and I knew it. But during that stop, the officer had no idea about the fury inside me. I was cooperative and answered him with only “Yes, sir,” and “No, sir.” I wonder what would have happened had I acted on my emotions. If I had gotten loud or animated. How would that officer have reacted? Immediately after the stop, I reached out to friends, including a couple of attorneys, one of them a black attorney from Birmingham, Ala. I was still fuming when I called him and detailed what had just happened. Instead of being sympathetic, he calmly responded, “Be glad you made it home.” He was sincere in telling me that I should be grateful for the ultimate outcome of my police in-

Howard University freshmen snap a photo to protest the death of unarmed Michael Brown by a police officer in an encounter in Missouri August 9.

teraction: I wasn’t dead. A subsequent investigation by the officer’s department determined that the officer was wrong to stop me. The department retrained him and other officers on traffic stops. I am now pleading with young brothers to abandon the idea of winning, fairness, vindication or satisfaction. The No. 1 goal has to be survival. Survive the situation. Just live. My parents and experience taught me that you don’t want that officer on edge, nervous or agitated. Stay calm. Don’t get animated. Don’t get loud. Don’t be a smart-ass. It doesn’t matter if you’re 100 percent innocent. Don’t give that officer an excuse to act on what he might already preconceive as a threat: a black man. At that moment, your pride or even your rights cannot be the priority. Your life is. We don’t know all the circumstances surrounding Michael Brown’s interaction with police that ended in his death. I’m not suggesting that he did anything wrong. He certainly didn’t do anything that warranted being gunned down. Not every cop out there is the

enemy. But how are we supposed to convince the community of that when we keep compiling stories of young, unarmed black men being gunned down by police? We are at a point where black men understandably feel that their lives are on the line with each police interaction. I can’t argue otherwise. And while we rightly teach our kids to respect authority, in the case of police, do we have to teach them to fear it as well? To my young brothers, I know what I’m saying is not what you want to hear right now. You’re outraged. You should be. But please, just survive the moment. I know it’s hard to be so deferential in a situation where you’re the one being harassed, profiled or targeted. I’ve been there. It’s demoralizing, dehumanizing and emasculating. It’s wrong. But I just want you to live. What I’m asking you to do doesn’t solve our bigger problems. It doesn’t solve anything. It’s not meant to. It’s just meant to get you home. T.J. Holmes is a journalist and TV personality. Formerly of CNN, he can currently be found at MSNBC, and his commentary can be found online. Follow him on Twitter.

Finance Willie Gary: the $24 billion super lawyer By Ron Harris Special to NNPA from The Atlanta Voice

he said. “But R.J. Reynolds told the jury, ‘Do you think $100 million is going to make us stop our ways of doing what we do?’ and I think that got the jurors upset.’” Fellow attorney Chestnut had his own thoughts on the verdict. “The environment today is completely different than it was in the ‘50s and ‘60s, when Robinson’s husband was alive,” Chestnut told USA Today. “Reynolds knew its product was addictive, but … the company lied and marketed cigarettes as safe.” Legal experts say the huge punitive verdict will probably be reduced upon appeal, and Gary said he is sure that R.J. Reynolds will appeal. “They appeal even when they win,” he joked. “But we are going to fight for our verdict.” The process could take another two years, unless R.J. Reynolds agrees to a settlement, “which is a good possibility,” he said. Gary certainly is no stranger to large verdicts. In 1995, a jury awarded his legal team $500 mil-

Courtesy photo

ATLANTA — He has been called many names: “The Giant Killer.” “Super Lawyer.” “Celebrity Attorney.” These days, they are calling him “The $24 Billion Man.” His name is Willie Gary, and his recent verdict against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., in the wrongful death of an addicted smoker has garnered the nation’s attention. For an attorney worth an estimated $100 million, one who has won over 150 multi-million dollar cases and oversees a practice of 35 lawyers and 125 staff, Stuart, Fla., attorney Gary has long been in the national and legal spotlight with stories about him in People magazine, Ebony, Forbes, The New York Times, Black Enterprise, on the “Today Show,” “60 Minutes,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show and CBS and ABC News. But after a Florida juror handed his client $16 million in compensa-

tory damages and also fined R. J. Reynolds $23.6 billion in punitive damages in the death of the husband of his client, Cynthia Robinson, his reputation has gotten just that much bigger. “It certainly doesn’t hurt,” Gary joked softly while reclining on a sofa in his 39th floor suite in a downtown Atlanta hotel. Gary was in Atlanta for the National Bar Association convention. Gary and his team, which included attorney Chris Chestnut of the Chestnut Firm in Atlanta, proved that R.J. Reynolds was negligent in informing consumers of the dangers of tobacco. Consequently, the jury ruled it caused the unnecessary and untimely death of Michael Johnson, Sr., who died from lung cancer after he became addicted to cigarettes and was unable to quit smoking, even though he apparently tried numerous times. Gary said the extremely large punitive award grew out of R.J. Reynolds’ arrogance. “I had suggested $100 million,”

Gary is dubbed ‘Super Lawyer’ for winning legal battles against large corporations.

lion against one of the world’s largest funeral chains. He won a $240 million jury verdict against the Walt Disney Corporation for his clients, who alleged that Disney stole their idea for a sports

theme park. In 2001, a jury awarded Gary a $139.6 million verdict against Anheuser Busch. That doesn’t include multimillion dollar verdicts against Motorola, Microsoft and Dell.

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Neighborhood

Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington Anne Arundel Political leaders announce antidomestic violence program

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aryland political leaders and domestic violence advocates announced Monday funding for a HospitalBased Domestic Violence Program at University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). The Bridge Project, which will serve incoming patients at both the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center and the UMMC Emergency Department, will be funded in part by a $50,000 grant from the federal Victims of Crime Act, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin said. They were joined by U.S. Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, health care representatives and state and local officials. UMMC has also received a $20,000 grant from Verizon to support the program. “With the opening of The Bridge Project at the University of Maryland Medical Center, our state’s tenth hospital-based domestic violence screening program, we’re taking another important step towards ending domestic violence in Baltimore and in neighborhoods throughout Maryland,” said Brown. “Although we’ve driven down violent crime to the lowest levels in three decades, domestic violence continues to impact thousands of families throughout our state, and we will not rest until every Marylander is safe in their home and in their community.” Sen. Mikulski agreed. “If you are beaten and abused, you should have somewhere to turn for help and a path to recovery,” she said Mikulski, who has championed passage of the Violence Against Women Act and, as Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee. “No woman in this country should live in fear that her hus-

Brown wants the funding to serve domestic violence patients at UMMC.

band or boyfriend will hurt or kill her or her kids. I will keep fighting for funds in the federal checkbook to combat domestic abuse, dating violence and sexual assault.” Sen. Cardin said that victims of domestic violence need immediate support, using all tools available to remove them from a dangerous situation, put them on a healing path and assist them in rebuilding their lives free from fear and violence. “I’m proud we have strong federal-state partnerships in place to support community based programs like this, Cardin said. Congressman Ruppersberger chimed in, adding, “When it comes to Marylanders who are seriously sick or injured, there is no better place to be than Shock Trauma. “Now, with the help of this federal grant, the talented doctors and nurses within the University of Maryland Medical Center will be better-equipped to identify patients who are victims of domestic violence and help place them in shelters, find legal aid and receive counseling.” The Verizon grant of $20,000, which began in January 2014, is being used for emergency housing, client needs, transportation, and some staff training. Both grants complement each other, allowing UMMC to run a comprehensive program such as the Bridge Project. “As a major employer and

corporate citizen in Maryland, Verizon cares deeply about the communities we serve,” said Tabb Bishop, Verizon’s vice president of state government affairs. “By supporting UMMC’s hospital-based domestic violence prevention program, we’re continuing to help raise awareness of the issue and improve the safety of families in our communities.” The UMMC program will be Maryland’s tenth hospital-based domestic violence program designed to meet the goals of the Governor’s 2010 Executive Order, “The Maryland Domestic Violence Health Care Screening and Response Initiative.” In four years, the Administration has doubled the number of hospital-based domestic violence programs in the state. As outlined by the Executive Order, the programs aim to identify victims at an early stage in the cycle of domestic violence and extend comprehensive services to prevent future physical and emotional injury. Similar programs are in place in the Baltimore region at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Howard County General Hospital in Columbia, Anne Arundel Medical Center, Mercy Medical Center, Sinai Hospital and Northwest Hospital, as well as Prince George’s Hospital Center and Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown and at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital in Leonardtown.

Divine Intervention

Someone tell Obama: Iraqi Christians are dying By Kirsten Powers USA Today

the Christians garnered a passing mention, while the religious minority of Yazidis seems to be what moved the president to act. An Iraqi Christian leader lamented to me that his people would have to convert to get the administration’s attention. The Yazidis deserve protection and humanitarian aid, but so do the Christians who number in the hundreds of thousands in Iraq. While the Yazidis received air drops of food and water, nothing has been dropped to the Christians who are homeless and in dire need of food and water. Each day that passes is a matter of life and death. Why the indifference from the administration? The disinterest in the suffering of Iraqi Christians has been a bipartisan travesty. During the Bush administration, nearly a million Christians fled Iraq in fear for their lives. Ironically, it was Sen. Barack Obama who sent the Bush State Department a letter in 2007 inquiring about this persecution.

asianews.it

(RNS) It’s starting to seem as if the Obama White House operates on a time delay. In the case of Iraq’s religious minorities, the results have been deadly. On June 10, the barbaric extremists called the Islamic State captured the city of Mosul. By mid-July, they issued an edict to the Christians who remained to “convert, leave or be killed.” The White House said nothing. Beginning on July 22, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), took to the House floor six times to plead for attention from the Obama administration as a genocide threatened Iraq. Not a word from the president. On July 24, a resolution sponsored by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) “condemning the severe persecution (of) Christians and other ethnic and religious minority commu-

nities … in Iraq” was introduced on the floor of the House. It called for the administration to “develop and implement an immediate, coordinated and sustained humanitarian intervention.” Crickets. On Aug. 1, the House of Representatives passed a resolution sponsored by Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), calling for protection of religious minorities in Iraq. It wasn’t until Aug. 5 that the administration acknowledged the crisis in Iraq. It was done in the form of a statement, condemning attacks on religious minorities, by the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power. By last week, the largely Christian towns of Qaraqosh, Tal Kayf, Bartella and Karamlesh had fallen to the Islamic State. Finally, later that night – and two full months after the crisis began – President Obama announced airstrikes in Iraq and for the first time acknowledged that Christians are being driven from the homeland of their faith. But

ISIS militants in Iraq are threatening Christians to convert or die.

Incredibly, the Bush administration denied there was a problem. Rep. Eshoo, a Chaldean Catholic whose father fled religious persecution in Iran, told me, “This issue has been viewed with a real Western eye and a lack of understanding and appreciation of who is there and how important these religious minorities are. In the case of the Christians, these are the old-

est Christians in the world. They represent part of the glue for a diverse society if there is to be one there. This whole issue represents an American value of diversity and protection of minorities.” Someone please tell the president. Kirsten Powers writes weekly for USA Today.

Ministries now support celibacy for gay Christians By Sarah Pulliam Bailey Religion News Service When Julie Rodgers came out as a lesbian at age 17, her mom responded by taking her to an exgay ministry in Dallas. Rodgers had grown up in a nondenominational evangelical church where she assumed being gay wasn’t an option. “With ex-gay ministries, it gave me the space to be honest about my sexuality,” said Rodgers, now 28. Yet that same honesty eventually led her away from ex-gay ministries. Rodgers spent several years in Exodus, the now-defunct exgay ministry, before deciding she couldn’t become straight after trying to date men. Instead, she has chosen celibacy. When Exodus shut down in 2013, some said it spelled the end of ex-gay ministries that encourage reparative or conversion therapy for gays to become straight. Ex-gay groups such as Restored Hope Network stepped in to the gap, but many religious leaders are now encouraging those with

same-sex orientation or attraction to consider a life of celibacy. For years, those who were gay or struggled with homosexuality felt like they had few good options: leave their faith, ignore their sexuality or try to change. But as groups like Exodus have become increasingly unpopular, Rodgers is among those who embrace a different model: celibate gay Christians, who seek to be true to both their sexuality and their faith. Straddling one of America’s deepest cultural divides, Vanessa Vitiello Urquhart wrote in a recent article for Slate that celibate gay Christians present a challenge to the tolerance of both their churches and the secular LGBT community. Those celibate gay Christians often find themselves trying to translate one side for the other. But frequently, neither side really understands what it’s hearing. “We can be easily misunderstood, to put it nicely, by both sides of the culture war,” said Rodgers. “For those who have a more affirming position, it’s as if

we’re repressed, self-hated homophobes, encouraging the church to stand in its position on sexuality. And conservative Christians think that those who shift on sexuality are being rebellious.” Moving from ex-gay Christians’ shift away from ex-gay therapy came amid larger cultural changes, including a wider societal acceptance of homosexuality and a rapid embrace of same-sex civil marriage. In 2009, the American Psychological Association adopted a resolution that mental health professionals should avoid telling clients that they can change their sexual orientation. Since then, California and New Jersey have passed laws banning conversion therapy for minors, and several other states have considered similar measures. Earlier this year, the 50,000member American Association of Christian Counselors amended its code of ethics to eliminate the promotion of reparative therapy, and encouraged celibacy instead.

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“Counselors acknowledge the client’s fundamental right to selfdetermination and further understand that deeply held religious values and beliefs may conflict with same-sex attraction and/ or behavior, resulting in anxiety, depression, stress, and inner turmoil,” the revised code says. A number of leaders of the exgay movement have renounced the very teachings they once embraced. John Paulk, who was once a poster boy for the ex-gay movement, apologized in 2013 for the reparative therapy he used to promote. Yvette Schneider, who formerly worked for groups such as the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America and Exodus, recently published a “coming out” interview with GLAAD calling for bans on reparative therapy. Earlier this month, nine former ex-gay leaders denounced conversion therapy. Mark Yarhouse, a Regent University psychology professor who has done research on ex-gay Christians, is just now beginning to study celibate gay Christians. “Evangelicals are so enamored

with marriage, it’s been hard for them to value singleness and celibacy,” he said. Rediscovering celibacy Eve Tushnet, a 35-year-old whose book “Gay and Catholic” comes out in October, is fast emerging as a significant voice on sexuality and Catholic teaching. “I felt like there’s a lot of things I don’t understand, but I can do my wrestling and doubting from within the church,” she said. Tushnet grew up somewhere between agnosticism and Judaism, and when she became a Catholic in 1998, she didn’t know of other openly gay Christians who were following the church’s teaching on sexuality. “Because marriage, the standard American solution to the problem of the human heart, is typically unavailable to gay Christians, we’ve had to confront loneliness earlier and more publicly than many of our peers,” she wrote in The American Conservative.

District Chronicles | Aug. 21 - Aug. 27, 2014 | 5

Cover Black churches address mental illness, stigma By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service

Courtesy Photo

he death of beloved comedian Robin Williams has heightened awareness of suicide and its relationship to mental health problems. But many African-American churches quietly began educating members on the issue well before the Oscar winner’s death. “A lot of times in the past, African Americans have viewed severe depression and other mental illnesses as indicating a spiritual weakness,” said Tamara Warren Chinyani, an instructor with the “Mental Health First Aid” program. “We’re changing that paradigm around.” The National Council for Behavioral Health introduced the program in the U.S. in 2008, with the goal of helping people learn how to spot signs and symptoms of mental illness. The program began its focus on African-American churches this year. African Americans are 20 per-

cent more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to report instances of serious psychological stress, according to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health. And while more White teens commit suicide than their Black counterparts, more AfricanAmerican teens (8.3 percent) attempted suicide than their White peers (6.2 percent). Some of the people leading the effort to build awareness about mental illness have seen its most tragic consequences up close. Bishop William Young and his wife, Pastor Dianne Young, co-founded the National Suicide and the Black Church Conference about a decade ago after a member of their Memphis, Tenn., congregation shot and killed herself under a large cross on the church grounds. Fifty attended the first biennial meeting and about 500 attended the 2013 gathering, the Bishop said. “We’ve been silent on issues that have been right before us all the time,” said William Young.

Chinyani of Mental Health First Aid program strives to change the mental illness stigma in the Black community.

“Because of our mainly not having knowledge of these different types of issues we have avoided it.” In addition to the conference, the couple started “Emotional Fitness Centers” at 10 churches in Tennessee, in hopes they will increase access to services and reduce the stigma associated with therapeutic care. “People will come to the church when they won’t go to a mental health center,” said the bishop, who attended a July launch of a broader new initiative called the

Mental Health and Faith Community Partnership. Dianne Young, the centers’ director, said 722 people were screened during the most recent fiscal year and 300 followed through with the plans they were given, some of which included hospitalization. In Texas, the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health will begin an $850,000 grant program in October that will help 10 African-American churches educate congregants about mental health for the next three years. Program Officer Vicky Coffee-Fletcher said the foundation received an “overwhelming response” to the grant announcement. “To an increasing degree, African-American faith-based leaders are no longer content with being behind the curve on mental health issues,” she said. “Pastors are excited about the chance to spread awareness about mental health in a way that capitalizes on their strengths as standard bearers in

the community.” Experts say many African Americans have long been hesitant to pursue medical and mental assistance because of fears they may be discriminated against and because of recollections of notorious experiments on unsuspecting Black men in the mid-1900s. But the Rev. Frankey Grayton of Edgewood Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., which hosted Warren Chinyani’s recent training session, said it’s time for congregants and clergy to acknowledge their need to learn more and, when necessary, seek help. “Quite frankly, we felt unprepared,” said Grayton, who learned of the training from another pastor who had participated. “But I don’t think that we as a community can ignore it.” Now, his congregation is developing an action plan, which will range from offering in-house counseling to the bereaved, divorced and unemployed to determining when they need to call 911 or otherwise seek professional help.

Blacks suffer because of organ donor shortage By Jazelle Hunt Washington Correspondent

6 | Aug. 21 - Aug. 27, 2014 | District Chronicles

Signing up to be an organ-andtissue, or bone marrow donor are simple, but separate processes. To be a posthumous organ and tissue donor, one must sign up through the state’s department of motor vehicles, or using DonateLife.net. A wallet-sized donor card will be issued through the mail. To become a living organ or tissue donor one must register with the federal United Network for Organ Sharing, and undergo a full physical and psych evaluation. To join the marrow registry as a potential donor, one can request a cheek-swab DNA kit and application from BeTheMatch.org. Corey Franklin works in transplant support found himself on the other side of the desk. He had signed up to be a marrow donor during a drive at his church back in 2002. “I was already a registered organ donor. I just said, ‘Ok, I’ll sign up.’ I believe in helping people,” said Franklin. “I think like everyone, when you register you never imagine you’ll get called.” But the call came last year; he was identified as a potential match for a 10-year-old girl in Paris. Such

Everett Lee/Courtesy Photo

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – At the start of 2002, Everett Lee, 57 at the time, considered himself “healthier than all get out.” So when he found himself winded with the smallest tasks, he knew something was wrong. He scheduled a physical with his doctor as soon as possible, including blood work, EKG, and Xray. “[My doctor] said, ‘the blood has to go to the lab, I’ll give you a call back Friday.’ Well, he didn’t call Friday,” Lee says. “He called me Saturday morning at 9 a.m. – and you know that’s a bad sign – and said, ‘Everett you need to go to the hospital, right now.’” Lee received an emergency blood transfusion over the weekend, and by Tuesday, he had been diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia. He started chemotherapy the following day. Blood illnesses such as leukemia and sickle cell anemia can be cured through bone marrow transplants. But African Americans are

least likely of all racial groups to find a viable donor, according to the National Marrow Donor Program. The nonprofit runs the world’s largest blood-cell database, known as the Be The Match Registry. The dearth of donors of color affects all transplants, from bloodrelated procedures, to tissues such as corneas, to organs such as skin and kidneys. In fact, more than 37,000 Black patients are awaiting organ transplants today – that’s 30 percent of the national organ transplant wait list, according to the federal Organ Procurement and Transplant Network. There are only 16,014 stillliving and still-registered African Americans who have donated an organ over the last 26 years. Last year, only 17 percent of posthumous donors were Black. The organ and tissue donor registry is both federal and state based. Every state has its own registry, usually via the motor vehicle department. The Network keeps track of all of the donors registered nationally, and helps states coordinate matching, donation, organ transport, and transplant.

Everett Lee (right) like many Blacks was in need of a donor.

calls begin a four-to-six week process in which potential donors undergo tests to see if they have more matching markers and to verify their overall health. “I think a few days after my donation, the epiphany hit me that I really did something. Not everyone can say ‘I saved someone’s life,’” said Franklin. Ideal marrow donors are healthy people between 18 and 44, but people of color are particularly needed. Jasmon Augustine, a senior at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, is learning this through her involvement with the campus’ chapter of Be The Match. “I think if people hear from someone who looks like them,

someone who is involved not just saying for them to get involved, and showing the benefits of what they would be doing,” explained Augustine, “then that helps it sink in more.” Dr. Clive Callender, surgeon and founder of the Howard University Hospital Transplant Center, came to similar conclusion. To raise awareness he launched a grassroots effort in Black communities. With the success of this pilot, Dr. Callender founded the Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program to expand the effort to all people of color. At first, the program’s mission was simply to build a more diverse donor pool through education on the issue.

Politics U.S. tries to catch up with China in Africa By George E. Curry NNPA Columnist

political recognition and legitimacy and to contribute to their economic development through aid, investment, infrastructure development, and trade. To some degree, many African leaders hope that China will interact with them in ways that the United States and other Western governments do not – by engaging economically without condescendingly preaching about good governance, for example, or by investing in high-risk projects or in remote regions that are not appealing to Western governments or companies. Some Africans aspire to replicate China’s rapid economic development and believe that their nations can benefit from China’s recent experience in lifting itself out of poverty.” U.S. condescension was centerstage throughout the US-Africa Summit. Not everyone is pleased with the way China conducts business in Africa, comparing it to a neo-colonial relationship in which China has access to oil, gas and other natural resources in Africa. At the same time, China gains a large market for its goods and services. Many feel increased attention from the U.S. will be good for Africa. “While the United States and

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lthough the continent of Africa has 54 countries, the nation that received the most attention at the recent U.S.-Africa Summit in Washington, D.C., was China. That’s because the U.S. is trying to catch up with and surpass the Asian superpower. Africa has six of the top 10 fastest-growing economies: Angola, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Chad, Mozambique, and Rwanda. From 20112015, Africa is expected to hold seven of the top 10 spots: Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Congo, Ghana, Zambia and Nigeria. Suddenly, instead of being viewed through the outdated prism of stereotypes – war, famine, disease, corruption – Africa is an attractive place to do business. That was evident when President Obama announced $33 billion in government and private sector investment in Africa – $12 billion in new commitments. In a speech to nearly 50 African heads of state and top officials at the U.S.-Africa Summit, Obama said: “As president, I’ve made it clear that the United States is determined to be a partner in Africa’s success – a good partner, an equal partner,

and a partner for the long term.” The problem is that Africa already has a long-term partner – China. While the U.S.-Africa Summit was the first such gathering of African leaders on U.S. soil, China held its fifth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing in 2012. At that conference of African leaders, China pledged to provide $20 billion a year over three years in foreign aid to deepen the SinoAfrican connection. China is not a newcomer to Africa. As I wrote last year in a series on China, the first trade exchanges between China and Africa are believed to have taken place during the Tang Danasty [618-907]. China supported many African liberation movements in the 1960s and 1970s. It was sympathetic to and hosted such prominent African Americans as W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Robeson, Langston Hughes, Malcolm X and Black nationalists Robert F. Williams, Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, Angela Davis, and H. Rap Brown. A report by the Rand Corporation titled, “China in Africa: Implications of a Deepening Relationship” explained, “African governments look to China to provide

China has been trading and developing partnerships in Africa for a while.

China may not be strategic rivals in Africa, the two countries could increasingly compete commercially if American businesses become more engaged in African markets … ” the Rand report stated. “ … Such business competition would benefit African countries and advance U.S. interests. African governments might be able to negotiate more favorable commercial terms if they are not beholden to Chinese financing. African communities would benefit, as American companies are more likely than their Chinese counterparts to hire local laborers for skilled and unskilled positions,

transfer industrial technologies to local partners, require humane working conditions, and contribute to initiatives that promote the health and welfare of their workforce. Such business practices would likely encourage Chinese enterprises to do the same so as to secure deals, compete in local labor and consumer markets, and enhance China’s image in Africa.” George E. Curry is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA) and BlackPressUSA.com. Follow him on Twitter at @currygeorge.

Blacks must register to vote, show up at the polls By James Clingman NNPA Columnist This is a call for all eligible Black folks to register and vote in every election from now until eternity, so we can stop the rallies, marches, and demonstrations related to voting. Despite being the most party-loyal voters in history, and receiving the least for that loyalty (no quo for our quid), we continue to deal with voting-related issues. If everyone would vote, we could move on to the “weightier” matter of building our own communities again. So please, all Black folks who are eligible, get registered and vote. Let’s make quid pro quo a reality for Black voters. In 2012, Black folks turned out in a larger percentage than Whites and other groups for the first time in history. In 2008, Blacks voted 95 percent for Barack Obama.

Now, in 2014, we are still rallying folks around “voting” issues, voting rights, and voting procedures. As I said, we vote the most but receive the least. What will change this ridiculous scenario? I say, 100 percent registration and voter turnout; then we can finally stop spending such an inordinate amount of on those subjects. Booker T. Washington once said, “There are some Negroes who don’t want the patient to get well.” It is still true today with politics among Black folks. We have leading Blacks whose every move is centered on the political. For their personal economic prosperity, they do very well; but when it comes to a collective solution, you can’t find them with a search warrant. They keep Black folks “fired up and ready to go” to the polls, but not to the marketplace, where the real action and power reside.

Washington also said, “There are reports that in some sections, the Black man has difficulty in voting and having counted the little white ballot he has the privilege of depositing twice a year. But there is a little green ballot he can vote through the teller’s window 313 days each year and no one will throw it out or refuse to count it.” Since we don’t get it, I strongly suggest that until we achieve full participation in voting. There will always be someone who tries to keep the patient sick, dependent, and drunk on the fantasy that politics will save us. The only thing that does is wear out good shoe leather from marching so much. If you think the ballot is stronger than the dollar, then put the word out for everyone to register and vote. Black people have embraced the illusion of political power in exchange for a more important

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possession: economic power. For six decades, we have languished in political purgatory, thinking we would be all right if we could just get some Black people elected to public office. So why don’t we just establish a national goal of 100 percent registration and voting? Then we can move beyond this political charade and stop falling for the best head-fake in history. Our major conferences have become nothing but mini political conventions. We invite politicians to speak and, of course, keep the flock focused on their agendas. Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the NAACP convention and gave them all the political red meat they could handle as he concentrated on voting rights. “These moves to limit the ‘right to vote’ are nothing more than pure politics, masquerading as attempts to combat corruption where there is none,” said Biden. “Pure politics?” Really?

Cornell Brooks, the new president of the NAACP, said his plan is to focus on criminal justice issues, fight the rollback of the Voting Rights Act and diversify the NAACP’s membership. In his answer to Roland Martin’s question, “What is your top priority?” said Brooks. “Well, the top priority would be to listen and engage a membership which reaches hundreds of thousands of members, but certainly in audience and the coalition of inclusion that stretches across the country.” Say what? In my best James Brown impression, “Please! Please! Please!” All Black people register and vote so we, the “patients,” can finally spend our time getting well. Jim Clingman is founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached on www.blackonomics.com.

District Chronicles | Aug. 21 - Aug. 27, 2014 | 7

Student Life

NSU, VSU to enroll 400 to 500 fewer students

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8 | Aug. 21 - Aug. 27, 2014 | District Chronicles

vsu.edu

Messiah and Friends at G2 Lounge 10-21-11. See more photos at flickr.com/amgunited.

Norfolks State University and Virginia State University, both HBCUs, have declining student enrollments since 2012.

By Jeremy M. Lazarus Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Richmond Free Press

nrollment is continuing to decline at Virginia’s two historically Black state universities. Both Norfolk State and Virginia State are projecting additional reductions of 400 to 500 students when classes begin in a few weeks. The two schools hit their fall enrollment peak in 2012, according to the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia. That year, the Council data show Norfolk State University reported 7,100 students; Virginia State University, 6,208 students, fueling rosy plans for expansion. VSU, for example, prepared a master plan for developing the campus to accommodate the 10,000 students it expected by 2020. But that optimistic outlook is being shelved as the two schools struggle to fill their classrooms. The first sign of trouble appeared in the fall of 2013 when both schools reported enrolling about 400 students fewer than the previous year. Now, the additional drop in enrollment expected this fall will return both schools to student numbers of five years ago. The losses of students are beginning to bite into both schools’ budgets. Already there is talk of cutbacks in faculty, staff and programs from the two presidents,

Eddie N. Moore Jr. at NSU and Dr. Keith T. Miller at VSU. The two schools are hardly alone in dealing with falling student numbers. In Virginia, state data indicate enrollment is flat or declining at most colleges and universities, with private Liberty, Regents and Virginia Union universities among the few exceptions in reporting rising enrollment. The situations at NSU and VSU reflect the problems many HBCUs are facing in filling seats. First, higher costs are having an impact. These schools traditionally have served students from families that have fewer resources and need financial aid. An estimated 84 percent of students at HBCUs receive Pell Grants, which are federal, need-based funds awarded to low-income students. But Pell Grants do not cover all expenses. Many students still are hard pressed to cover the full price of tuition, room, board, books and other costs that now top $20,000 per year for in-state students -even at state-supported schools. Loans have become more difficult to get since the Great Recession. Stiffer federal credit standards imposed two years ago have left out thousands of would-be student borrowers and their parents. Shortcomings in education also have an impact on these schools that often accept a percentage of less prepared students with below

average SAT scores and less than stellar grades. Every year, a portion of the students lose access to federal aid and loans for failing to meet minimum standards for satisfactory academic progress, usually a 1.5 grade point average on a 4-point scale the first year. In addition, the competition for students has ratcheted up. HBCUs once were the only option for most Black students, who made up almost 100 percent of their enrollment. But the 1964 Civil Rights Act forced open once closed White schools doors. Today, only 11 percent of Black high school seniors choose an HBCU. Marybeth Gasman, an expert on HBCUs at the University of Pennsylvania, said predominantly Black schools have had a tougher time attracting a more diverse student body, though one in four students now are Latino, AsianAmerican, White or other ethnicity. In her view, the schools fill a need. Data show, she said, that these schools do the “lion’s share” of the work to provide an academic home for first-generation students who might be turned away elsewhere. “Historically Black colleges serve low income students, first generation students, adult learners, part-time students and students; these schools are still playing an important role for students of color,” said Gasman.

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In the Neighborhood

Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington Montgomery County Montgomery county recruiting voters to work at the polls on election day

ave you ever considered serving your community by working at the polls on Election Day? Montgomery County’s Board of Elections is seeking registered voters to manage polling places and provide customer service as an Election Judge on Tuesday, November 4. To serve in this paid position, an election judge must be registered to vote in the State of Maryland, must also be able to speak, read, and write the English language, and must not hold, or be a candidate for, public or party office. In addition, election judges may not serve as a campaign manager for a candidate or as treasurer for any campaign financial entity. The Montgomery County Board of Elections especially needs election judges who are bilingual in English and Spanish, and workers who are willing to travel to fill vacancies throughout the county. If

District of Columbia Children ages 6 to 13 sought to audition for ‘A Christmas Carol’

Arlington County Drive sober or get pulled over campaign The Arlington County Police Department will be cracking down on drunken motorists during the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign over the next few weeks. Joining fellow law enforcement agencies from August 15 through information and conflict sheets are also posted on the auditions page. The rehearsal and performance commitment dates for this year’s cast are November 4 to January 1. Rehearsals will be held from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Most Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are normal days off. Technical rehearsals begin November 15, and the span of day shifts from noon to 10 p.m. or noon to 11:30 p.m. All performances of A Christmas Carol will be held at Ford’s Theatre, located at 511 10th Street NW. Those interested in auditioning may sign up on site for an audition timeslot beginning at 8:30 a.m. Possible callbacks will be held on September 14. Those with conflicts during the show rehearsal and performance

September 1, 2014, Arlington County Police Department will take part in the nationwide campaign. This enforcement effort, called “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” is in support of U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration National crackdown program on drunk driving that focuses. The program focuses on combining high-visibility enforcement with heightened public awareness through advertising and publicity. As part of the campaign, officers will take part in saturation patrols and step up DUI enforcement efforts to detect and apprehend violators. “Although we have made progress in preventing drunk driving, too many people are still making the irresponsible decision to drive impaired,” says Chief of Police M. Douglas Scott. “Those who choose to drink, should always designate a sober driver or use alternative transportation.” The maximum penalty in Virginia for the first conviction for driving under the influence is 12 months in jail, a $2,500 fine and a 12-month suspension of driving privileges.

Scott Suchman/Fords Theatre

The Ford’s Theatre Society announced that they will be auditioning for children’s roles in their production of A Christmas Carol. The auditions will be held on September 13 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership, located at 514 Tenth Street NW. Children between the ages of 6 and 13 in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore must prepare a traditional Christmas song of their choice, and the scene materials for their specific age group, which are available for download on the Ford’s Theatre’s website. Children also should bring a photo and résumé to auditions. Detailed

you are interested, you will need to sign up early, because the application process requires both an online quiz and hands-on training before you can be assigned to a polling place. Pay varies based on the position. To apply online, or for more information, visit www.777vote.org. and select the Election Judges’ link. For other election information, call 240-777-VOTE, visit www.777vote. org, our mobile friendly website at m.montgomerycountymd. gov/elections, or the Maryland State Board of Elections’ website at http://elections.maryland.gov , or follow the Montgomery County Board of Elections on Facebook or Twitter.

Auditions for kid’s roles in Ford’s Theatre production A Christmas Carol occurs next month.

period should not attend the open auditions on September 13. Families will be notified if their child is requested for a callback.

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District Chronicles | Aug. 21 - Aug. 27, 2014 | 11

In the Neighborhood Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington District of Columbia DCPS promotes, hires 21 new principals

Montgomery County Preservation Hall Jazz Band to headline annual festival

Henderson, DCPS implemented a program to train educators into principals.

church that drew leadership talent from Illinois, California, Maryland, Virginia, and DC. “Recruiting great principals is critical to our success,” Chancellor Henderson said. “Our recruitment efforts rely on the same tools successful businesses use Chancellor Henderson on MJP fellowship trainees to seek top talent: networking and building reHearst Elementary School. lationships with proven leaders Other Leadership Changes and informing those leaders of the Besides these eight new princi- unique opportunities to positively pals, the DC school system hired impact student learning at DCPS.” 13 other principals from a national The 13 include Debra Bell,

Now we have eight new awesome principals ...

still in business and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band continues to tour the world. Since 1995, the band has brought in some younger players with fresh musical ideas and formed collaborations with groups and musicians from outside the New Orleans tradition. In recent years, the PHJB has performed and recorded with a wide array of musicians, including My Morning Jacket, Tom Waits, Merle Haggard, Pete Seeger and the Del McCoury Bluegrass Band. The culmination of this collaborative effort was the sellout 50th anniversary concert that the PHJB hosted at Carnegie Hall in January 2012 and the production of an album of eclectic original music entitled, “That’s It.” Homegrown star Marcus Johnson, an extraordinary jazz keyboardist and composer, will perform his own compositions, a blend of contemporary jazz stylings and hip-hop rhythms. He describes his music as “instrumental R&B with a D.C. bounce.” Marcus began playing the piano at age nine, and from there, he wanted to “create classics, not just hit songs.”

12 | Aug. 21 - Aug. 27, 2014 | District Chronicles

Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School; Carrie Broquard, Lafayette Elementary School; Mayra Canizales, Oyster-Adams Bilingual School; La’Mont Geddis, Malcolm X Elementary School; Jennifer Jo Huff , Plummer Elementary School; Carolyn Jackson-King, Orr Elementary School; Kemi Husbands, Langdon Education Campus; and Elizabeth Namba, Hyde-Addison Elementary School. Also joining the leadership team are John Payne, Duke Ellington School of the Arts; Yetunde Reeves, Ballou High School; Kim Spence, Simon Elementary School; Gary Washington, C.H.O.I.C.E. Academy; and Eugenia Young, Roosevelt STAY.

blueshouseproductions.com

The 11th Annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival will feature New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Band and an all-star jazz line-up on Saturday, September 6 from 3 to 10 p.m. The festival will be held at Veterans Plaza in front of the Silver Spring Civic Building on the corner of Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street. Joining the PHJB will be local popular favorite Marcus Johnson, funk and R&B performer Elliott Levine, world jazz style band David Bach Consort and an eclectic mix from Silver Spring’s Jazz Academy of Music. Preservation Hall was founded in 1961 to promote traditional New Orleans jazz in all its authenticity. Its original stars were legendary players like George Lewis, Kid Thomas Valentine and Sweet Emma Barrett, all rooted in the formative years of jazz. Although that generation is long gone, the Hall is

Fellows also serve one year, in two different school contexts, as Resident Principals, learning and leading alongside their high-performing mentor principals. The eight Mary Jane Patterson Fellows who will begin in the 20142015 school year as new principals are : Eric Bethel, Turner Elementary School; Lloyd Bryant, Anacostia High School; Charlette Butler, Hart Middle School; Donyale Butler , Savoy Elementary School; Heather Hairston, C.W. Harris Elementary School; Katie Larkin, H.D. Cooke Elementary School; Katie Lundgren, Marie Reed Elementary School; and Jennifer Thomas,

dcps.dc.gov

ight new leaders, trained through a leadership fellowship started by the District of Columbia Public School , have been appointed principals in the DC public school system for the 2014-2015 school year. These rising principals have spent the last 18 months in training and leadership roles at schools in the school system, preparing for a full-time principal job as part of the Mary Jane Patterson Fellowship. The fellowship is in its second year. “DCPS is filled with hardworking, focused, driven and passionate educators, many of whom we know would make great principals given the right training and support,” said DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson. “To capitalize on this pool of talent, we began a new fellowship to target and build the leadership skills of future school leaders and to keep them in DC, serving DCPS students. Now, we have eight new awesome principals

who are trained, ready and excited in their new roles.” To qualify for the MJP Fellowship, DCPS employees must have strong instructional expertise, an ability to analyze classroom- and school-level data to help teachers inform instruction, strong communication skills, and an ability to work collaboratively in a learning community, among other leadership qualities. The fellowship includes a series of learning sessions with professors from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, individualized leadership coaching, mentoring by high-performing DCPS principals, high-stakes performance assessments requiring Fellows to demonstrate their knowledge and develop– DCPS ing skill set, and working thoughtfully to build their professional network. MJP Fellows meet twice a week, investing approximately 25 hours of outside-of-school time monthly.

Local artist Marcus Johnson will join a host of others at the Silver Spring Jazz Festival in September.

Marcus, a founding member of the Silver Spring Jazz Festival, has done the amazing by launching both a record label and a popular wine label. David Bach is a versatile keyboardist and composer who has played keyboard for Janet Jackson’s “Everything but the Girl Tour” and toured with Enrique Iglesias. Bach currently has five CD’s featuring his unique world jazz style, “Otherworld,” which

charted on CMJ’s Top 40 Jazz Chart “LIVE,” “A Deep Breath,” “5 Thousand Words” and his first CD, “Window on the West.”The David Bach Consortwas the winner of the Jazz Discovery Showcase on BET and has performed at Jazzmatazz with B.B. King, as well as the KennedyCenter and the White House Correspondents Dinner. Elliot Levine has toured with Wilson Pickett and Heatwave and has opened for Brian McKnight,

Freddie Jackson, McCoy Tyner and Gerald Albright. In addition to a number one song on mp3.com, which received over one million downloads, Levine has multiple internationally released CDs which have received extensive airplay. He has headlined at Blues Alley and the Kennedy Center and in 2013 released his fifth CD, “347 Live.” For more information, call 240777-6821 or visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/rec.