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DISTRICT CELEBRATES KWANZAA WITH COBAYA DANCE THEATER 4

Candidate Sanders tours Freddy Gray neighborhood, calls for action Page 11 December 17 - December 23, 2015

Page 12 www.districtchronicles.com

Volume 15 Issue 17

Robert Eubanks/District Chronicles

Area folks share love, food for the holidays

Editorial

Don’t be fooled by ‘Silent Clarence’ Thomas

By George E. Curry George Curry Media Columnist

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n arguably the most important civil rights case the U.S. Supreme Court will hear this term – a case that could ban or limit the consideration of race in public employment, government contracting and higher education – Clarence Thomas, the lone Black justice, was silent. Of the justices hearing the case, only Thomas did not utter a single syllable last week during one hour and 35 minutes of oral arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas-Austin. The University of Texas considers seven factors in its affirmative action program: demonstrated leadership qualities, extracurricular activities, honors and awards, essays, work experience, community service and special circumstances such as applicant’s socioeconomic status, family composition, special family responsibilities, socioeconomic status of applicant’s high school and race. Fisher sued over race, claiming that considering race, even with other factors, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. She sued even though the university said she was unqualified and would not have been admitted even if there had been no affirmative action program. She sued even though the 14th Amendment took effect in 1868 to protect newly-freed slaves, not unqualified Whites. Her attorneys conveniently ignored that universities – except in percentage plan cases where students are admitted based solely on their class rankings – look at a variety of factors when admitting an incoming class. In fact, one African American and four Hispanics with lower scores than Fisher were offered provisional admission under a UT summer program. So were 42 Whites. In addition, 168 AfricanAmerican and Hispanic applicants with scores identical to or higher than Fisher were denied admission to the summer program, according to a university brief. Yet, one of Fisher’s staunchest backers is “Silent Clarence” Thom-

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas stays quiet during civil rights hearing.

as, who is quiet on the bench, but has been a wrecking ball against affirmative action. In their book, “Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas,” Kevin Merida and Michael A. Fletcher, two colleagues at the Washington Post, wrote: “Every Thomas employer, from [former Missouri Sen. John] Danforth, who gave him his first job, to President George H.W. Bush, who nominated him to the Supreme Court, chose Thomas at least partly because he is [B]lack. Race is a central fact of his meteoric rise, and Thomas has alternately denied it and resented it – all the way to the top.” In every court case involving affirmative action, “Silent Clarence” has voted against it, including Texas v. Hopwood, Adarand v. Pena and Grutter v. Bollinger. Although Scalia is being roundly criticized over his recent remarks about Blacks needing to attend “lesser” colleges, it was the same position espoused by Thomas in 2003, when the court upheld the University of Michigan Law School affirmative action program. In his dissent, Thomas said, “ ... Nowhere in any of the filings in this Court is any evidence that the purported ‘beneficiaries’ of this racial discrimination prove themselves by performing at (or even near) the same level as those students who receive no preferences. “ ... The Law School tantalizes unprepared students with

the promise of a University of Michigan degree and all of the opportunities that it offers. These overmatched students take the bait, only to find that they cannot succeed in the cauldron of competition. And this mismatch crisis is not restricted to elite institutions.” Thomas wrote, “While these students may graduate with law degrees, there is no evidence that they have received a qualitatively better legal education (or become better lawyers) than if they had gone to a less ‘elite’ law school for which they were better prepared ... “ That’s quite a comment from someone who attended both Holy Cross College and Yale Law School under affirmative action. The late U.S. Appeals Court Judge Leon Higginbotham observed, “I have often pondered how is it that Justice Thomas, an African-American, could be so insensitive to the plight of the powerless. Why is he no different, or probably worse, than many of the most conservative Supreme Court justices of the century? I can only think of one Supreme Court justice during the century who was worse than Justice Clarence Thomas: James McReynolds, a [W]hite supremacist who referred to [B]lacks as ‘niggers.’” George E. Curry is President and CEO of George Curry Media, LLC. He can be reached through his Web site, georgecurry.com. Follow him at twitter.com/currygeorge.

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ouston-based businessman Phillip Franshaw’s recent power move on the energy sector could create hundreds of jobs in one of Texas’ poorest communities. Franshaw is building Annova LNG, a multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas export facility, on the Brownsville Ship Channel along the Texas Gulf Coast. If successful, the project could support more than 650 construction-related jobs and another 165 permanent jobs once completed, providing an average salary of $70,000 a year or more. Franshaw is gambling on a process called “liquefaction,” which super-cools and converts natural gas into a liquid. This makes it easier to transport via tanker to utilities and other major consumers in Asia and Europe. This kind of technology requires the construction of an approximately $3 billion plant, a massive undertaking on many levels. A project that has been years in the making, Annova LNG was born as a two-man shop. President and founder David Chung asked Franshaw to help finance the facility. He got the name “Annova” from a twist on the word “innovate.” The duo took the project to market and soon began collaborating with Exelon Corporation, a major U.S. utility that operates one of America’s largest fleets of nuclear power stations. Exelon purchased a controlling interest in Annova in July 2014 and maintained Franshaw’s management team. “Having a quality sponsor of that magnitude has given us the leverage to aggressively approach the market and execute through the development phase of the project in a most effective way,” said Franshaw. Yet, Annova faces stiff competition. At least 50 companies have applied for federal permits to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas. Two other plants are headed for the Brownsville Ship Channel. The company distinguishes itself from these other ventures by

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Businessman Phillip Franshaw sponsors Annova, a natural gas company, that could bring millions in revenue for the state of Texas.

building a facility that can offer buyers more flexibility, according to Franshaw. “This approach decreases construction costs, limits risk, and can be scaled up if demand eventually grows,” he said. “We think the future of the market will be smallscale facilities, and that’s how we differentiate ourselves,” he said. Once running, Annova could yield state and local tax revenue that exceeds $60 million annually. More than half of those funds would support local governments in Cameron County, the southernmost in Texas. That $30 million could pay the starting wages for about 698 teachers, 850 cops or 1,029 firefighters every year, according to SalaryGenius.com. Franshaw’s enthusiasm and determination are evident when he speaks about the project and describes the values that have helped him succeed in business. “We all face a range of different challenges throughout our careers,” said Franshaw. “I think, fundamentally, one of the biggest challenges we face is credibility. Who are you? People want to know that.”

“Often, kids go to school and get a great education thinking that’s enough for them to sit in the captain’s chair and start making decisions,” he continued. “But everyone’s expected to pay their dues and learn the industry while developing a voice as well as credibility. It’s on that basis that people begin to trust you. Your track record is critical. It’s important that you buckle in, plan to pay your dues and grow.” Annova plans to have its first stage operational by 2020. One key hurdle is obtaining approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. After reviewing Annova’s initial 1,670page application, the commission will spend at least a year reviewing more detailed filings before it authorizes construction. While liquefied natural gas sales have climbed recently, the market five years from now is expected to be quite different. “There currently appears to be a glut of LNG in the market, and we think that while there is an oversupply now, much of that will be absorbed by 2020,” said Franshaw.

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wanzaa 2015 celebrations begin Saturday, Dec. 26, but the Coyaba Dance Theater and Academy couldn’t wait. They and special guests put on a show of Kwanzaa celebration through spectacular drumming, dancing, singing, acting and spoken word last weekend at Dance Place in Brookland, D.C. More than 140 people, from toddlers to elders, got a peek of Kwanzaa, a week-long celebration in America and the African diaspora, which starts December 26 to January 1. The celebration, first observed in 1966 to 1967, honors African heritage and African American culture. Director Sylvia Soumah started the Coyaba Dance Theater in 1997. Its mission is to “present traditional and contemporary West African dance and music focusing on the diverse ethnic groups and various humanitarian themes of West African culture.” Shanae Adams, 24, came from Denver to watch her friends perform, but also because of her love for the holiday. “I loved the show; it was awesome,” said Adams. “I enjoy West African dance since I lived in Rwanda for a year and I was exposed to a lot, especially the culture. So, I started to celebrate Kwanzaa as well.” Kwanzaa is celebrated over seven days, each day showcasing one of seven principles: Umoja (Unity), Kuichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith). Each principle stands to help African Americans unify and reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage. Last Saturday’s extravaganza sought to portray each of those principles. The first performance began with the stage lit blue and a woman beating a talking drum with a man telling a “tale of the twisted stick” about a magical snake and village leader. The tale focused on two of the main principles of Kwanzaa:

Coyaba Dancers celebrated Kwanzaa early, performing the seven principles of Kwanzaa at Dance Place in Brookland, D.C.

striving and maintaining unity in the family, community, nation and race (umoja), and building and maintaining the community to make everyone solve their problems together (ujima). In the middle of the story, five dancers dressed in all white broke out into an interpretive West African dance with smiles on their faces and the stage lit red as men drummed in front of a painted background of a red sunset and bare trees. The storyteller returned to conclude the story with audience interaction. At the end of the story, 30 little girls in grass skirts stepped on the stage with a few women dressed in different patterns and colors, dancing fluidly to the drums. The next performance began with several young girls with drums and large wooden sticks, dancing to the drums six older women in kente cloth. Dimmed lights showing a projection of African Americans who died at the hands of the police such as Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice opened the second half of the show to the tune of Hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright.” The screen also projected images of protests against police brutality that occurred around the na-

tion throughout the year. Silence filled the theater as two teenage girls separately performed spoken word, focusing on what it means to be Black in America and the American justice system. Interpretive dancing by the men, women and children of Coyaba celebrated each other’s differences, representing the principle of Umoja. Sunmolu Hamilton, a 2008 member of the Coyaba Dance Theater and Academy, came to watch her daughter dance for the academy and to reminisce on the dances she once had to perform. “It was a good show,” said Hamilton, 32, from Washington, D.C. “I really enjoyed it. I’ve done those dances in the past and I like that it’s so communal and familiar. To see the things that I’ve done even down to the costumes; it’s very moving.” Soumah was ecstatic, too. As director of Dance Place, she’d prepared for the show since October a day each week. “I believe in the seven principles of Kwanza and live them every day,” said Soumah. “Kwanzaa is not commercial because you have to make things instead of buying gifts. It’s about faith and family. I wanted to make the community aware of what Kwanzaa really is.”

Divine Intervention

Pastors push signs promoting ‘Christmas is all about Jesus’

religionnews.com

Tennessee Pastors want to spread their message, through yard signs, that the whole month of December is dedicated to Jesus.

By Tony Centonze USA Today Network

astor Jimmy Terry of Tabernacle Baptist Church continues his mission to make the entire month of December a celebration of Jesus. He has printed thousands more yard signs that read “Christmas is all about Jesus,” and he plans to distribute them across all of Tennessee’s 95 counties. Terry was joined earlier this month by Pastor Bobby Kail of Fairview Baptist Church, Pastor James Shepherd of New Faith Baptist Church in Palmyra and Dwight Dickson, a deacon at First Baptist Church in Clarksville, for a discussion on the importance of this mission. “This year we are asking Christians throughout the state of Tennessee to help us spread our message across the state,” said Terry. “Next year, we’re hoping that this movement in Tennessee can influence the rest of the nation. We are praying for such an impact this year that we can start to influence others around the country.” Terry believes that the way the broader culture celebrates Christmas and Easter is inappropriate. “The two holiest days in human history have been desecrated. At Christmas, we have given our children a man in a red suit, and at

Easter, a bunny and some eggs.” He also wonders why so many issues have an entire month devoted to their cause, but the birth and resurrection of Jesus get only one day each. Dickson said Christmas has become more about shopping than celebrating the birth of Christ. “We have let these holy days become commercial holidays,” said Dickson. “It has just turned into a way for merchants to make money; we have lost the meaning of Christmas.” America should be a Christian nation, said Terry, and America should reflect Christianity the way Muslim nations reflect Islam. “When then-Senator Obama was asked if the United States is a Christian nation, his answer was, ‘No, it’s a nation of many religions.’ That didn’t sit well with me. But, after some thought I realized, that is the answer that the Christians in America have given him. “If you were in Afghanistan, it would be ignorant to ask someone, ‘Is this a Muslim country?’ Everywhere you look you will see signs of their religion, and who they worship. But, how far do you have to go from your house every day before you see the name of Jesus? It’s our fault. The Bible says ‘Awake thou that sleepest.’ That is what we are here to do.” Terry’s goal is to put 100 signs

in each of Tennessee’s 95 counties. The signs are free, but donations are welcome. He has help in about 20 counties so far, and he urges his supporters to help him make this program known to their Christian friends across the state. “I attribute the decline to our church leaders, and I am one of them,” said Terry. “As Christians, we must lift up the name of Jesus, We cannot be timid. We can’t be bothered with political correctness. We can’t be afraid. We must be bold when we talk about Jesus.” “Christians in America, we send our children to secular schools to be indoctrinated,” said Terry. ”Christians should be building Christian schools. Public schools say, ‘We don’t want God in here, we don’t want the Bible in here.’ That has become our job.” To do that job, Terry said that Christians should recite the Christmas story in as many ways and as many times as they can during December. “We must share this story,” said Terry. “We need pastors, deacons and Sunday school teachers to help us carry this message across the state. This is Jesus’ birthday we’re celebrating. On Dec. 25, we should have fireworks going off across this entire nation.” This story first appeared in the LeafChronicle, Clarksville, Tennessee.

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District Chronicles | Dec. 17 - Dec. 23, 2015 | 5

Cover

Muhammad Ali, local Muslim leaders take on Trump

By Janelle Berry Howard University News Service

6 | Dec. 17 - Dec. 23, 2015 | District Chronicles

Robert Eubanks/District Chronicles

OP presidential nominee candidate Donald Trump thinks the ultimate solution to keeping the United States safe from ISIS-sponsored terrorism is banning all Muslims from entering the country. His admirers think so, too. But boxing icon Muhammad Ali and D.C. Muslim leaders are dismayed at Trump’s proposal and are calling on Muslims to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their political agenda. “I am a Muslim, and there is nothing Islamic about killing innocent people in Paris, San Bernardino or anywhere else in the world,” said Ali in a statement he issued to the press last week. “True Muslims know the ruthless violence of so-called Islamic Jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion. We, as Muslims, have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda. “They have alienated many

from learning about Islam. True Muslims know or should know that it goes against our religion to try and force Islam on anybody. I believe that our political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people’s views on what Islam really is.” Born Cassius Clay, Ali converted to Islam and changed his name in 1964. Since the recent global terrorism attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Ca., the Muslim community in America is being targeted just as they once were after the Sep. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which struck fear in the nation, according to Muslims across the nation. “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on,” said Trump at a political rally in North Carolina

CAIR’s Ibrahim Hooper, local Islamic leaders join chorus of those condemning Presidential candidate Trump’s plan.

last week. Sheikh (an Islamic scholar) Mohamed Abdullahi, imam at the Muslim Community Center in DC, shares Ali’s worries that Islamic Jihadist terrorists have perverted many people’s understanding of Islam as a religion and its tenets. “If you kill one innocent, it’s

like you’re killing everyone,” said Abdullahi. “That’s a core value in Islamic faith and to be truthful and be just and fair. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the Paris bombing that killed at least 130 people in November and the San Bernardino attacks that killed 14 people on Dec. 2. The Muslim community has been under fire since the terrorists involved in these mass killings were Muslims. Just like not all Christians are terrorists because a mass killer is a Christian, not all Muslims are terrorists because those responsible for terrorist attacks are Muslims. Abdullahi is urging Trump and his admirers to learn more about Islam. “Trump is not realistic,” said Abdullahi. “He needs to read more if he’s running for the position of being the president, and he needs to do his homework first. The U.S. is the most diverse country in the world, and it would not be in the best interest of the country to ban Muslims.”

Abdullahi rejects the idea that extremists and fanatics, people who hate others because of their faith, know anything about Islam or practice it like true Muslims. He believes that in regards to Trump’s proposal, it is time for Muslims to speak out against the discrimination they have faced in the U.S. for over a decade. “Now is the time to come out of our comfort zones,” said Abdullahi. “We need to speak loudly, regardless of faith, race, color; it doesn’t matter. Now is the time.” Ibrahim Hooper, director and spokesperson for the Coalition of Islamic Relations, also agrees with Ali. He also condemned ISIS, calling it anti-Islam. He added that Muslims worldwide reject ISIS and their ideals. “I think that as one of the most respected figures, not only in sports but in the community, it’s a very powerful statement,” said Hooper. “People have been criticizing us on that for some time now, and I think Trump’s proposal is illegal, immoral, unconstitutional; you name it, we feel it.”

Has Donald Trump won over Black pastors? By Nicola A. Menzie Religion News Service

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onald Trump’s meeting two weeks ago with African-American Christian leaders appeared to suggest that he has the ear of an influential segment on the population that actively encourages its followers to vote. Ohio pastor Darrell Scott, who arranged Monday’s meeting and was present at a similar gathering with evangelical Christian leaders in September, insisted that Trump “is not the person that the media has depicted him to be.” “Everybody in that room likes Donald Trump,” said Scott, who stood next to the Republican presidential front-runner and real estate mogul at an impromptu press conference afterward. In addition to Scott’s backing, Trump got an endorsement from Richmond, Virginia, pastor Stephen A. Parson Sr.; though Parson has been embroiled in a lawsuit over his bankrupt church. And Durham, North Carolina, Bishop George G. Bloomer appeared to have endorsed Trump at an October rally, though he denied having given an endorsement two weeks ago. For his part, Trump said the closed-door meeting at his Trump Tower building in New York City was “amazing.” “I met some fantastic people,” he told reporters. But the Trump campaign declined to offer a list of either the ministers who attended or those who had endorsed him. And while 100 Black pastors were invited to the meeting, it appeared that far fewer showed up. Those who did said the private discussion was tough. Cindy Trimm, one of the pastors who appeared on camera after the meeting, suggested that Trump’s racially tinged comments were “addressed head-on.” An NBC reporter who covered the news conference was told the candidate “got an earful for his rhetoric.” Trump, who has shrugged off allegations of racism, maintained that his tone was not an issue in

GOP frontrunner Donald Trump receives endorsements from several Black pastors

the meeting. Earlier, the announcement of the gathering, which his campaign called an “endorsement,” drew a backlash from many other AfricanAmerican scholars and clergy. One group wrote an open letter in Ebony magazine reminding Trump’s potential guests of his “racially inaccurate, insensitive and incendiary rhetoric.” Baltimore pastor Jamal Bryant questioned how African-American ministers could rally around Trump – who suggested that a Black activist was physically attacked while being forcibly removed from one of his rallies. “We haven’t even had 100 White preachers do a press conference and endorsement of Donald Trump,” said Bryant in a video. He criticized the presidential candidate for offending Latinos, offending women and denying asylum for Syrian refugees – and Bryant insinuated that participating pastors were “prostitutes for Trump.” Georgia Pastor E. Dewey Smith Jr. was not at Monday’s meeting and said he was “very disturbed” by the “ecclesiastical grandstanding” that surrounded it. Smith explained that he declined the first invitation to meet with Trump because the Republican front-runner’s “political incor-

rectness” about women, immigration and other issues represents “qualities and attributes and values that I don’t share.” Thabiti Anyabwile, a Washington, D.C., pastor, said he is concerned that Trump’s “style of acerbic directness” clashes with the Christian message. He acknowledged that “as citizens, clergy have all the same rights of other citizens” and “can endorse or vote for whomever they like as individual Americans.” But, Anyabwile added that the Bible discourages pastors from getting “entangled in civilian affairs.” “At best, endorsing Trump or any candidate as pastors is unwise. At its worst it entangles the church in the worldly affairs of politics and with a candidate who is more caustic and uncharitable as any I can remember,” said Anyabwile. Although Trump has expressed confidence that he can woo Black voters, a majority of whom are registered Democrats, a Quinnipiac University poll released in August showed that he is far from a hit with African Americans. Pitted against Democratic favorite Hillary Rodham Clinton in the general election, Trump received just three percent of the Black vote. Nicola A. Menzie is a contributor to RNS.

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Student Life

Scalia’s racist view of Black students worrisome By George E. Curry Editor-in-Chief George Curry Media

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8 | Dec. 17 - Dec. 23, 2015 | District Chronicles

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upreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s view that students of color are better matched at “a less advanced ... slower track” schools than at the nation’s top-tier universities is a myth that has been thoroughly debunked. Scalia touched off a firestorm last week as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas-Austin, a case brought by a rejected White student challenging the university’s affirmative action program. The university selects 75 percent of its freshmen class (some years it has been as much as 92 percent) through a process that guarantees admission to the top 10 percent of each high school graduating class. The remaining students are chosen through an individualized affirmative action program that considers such factors as demonstrated leadership qualities, extracurricular activities, honors and awards, essays, work experience, community service, and special circumstances such as applicant’s socioeconomic status, family composition, special family responsibilities, socioeconomic status of applicant’s high school and race. Even though to points are assigned to any category, Abigail Fisher decided to sue on the basis of race, saying the consideration of race violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. However, the university said she would not have been accepted even if no affirmative action program were in place. Scalia said, “There are there are those who contend that it does not benefit AfricanAmericans to – to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a less – a slower-track school where they do well. One of – one of the briefs pointed out that – that most of the – most of the Black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools

Antonin Scalia expresses racist remarks during University of Texas court hearing.

where they do not feel that they’re – that they’re being pushed ahead in –in classes that are too – too fast for them.” Scalia, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1986 by Ronald Reagan, shifted from the “some people” straw argument to express his deeply personal view, which many public figures have since condemned as blatantly racist. He said, “I’m just not impressed by the fact that – that the University of Texas may have fewer. Maybe it ought to have fewer. And maybe some – you know, when you take more, the number of blacks, really competent blacks admitted to lesser schools, turns out to be less. And – and, I –I don’t think it –it, it stands to reason that it’s a good thing for the University of Texas to admit as many blacks as possible.” To his credit, Gregory G. Garre, one of the attorneys representing the University of Texas, immediately challenged the core of Scalia’s argument. He replied, “ … If you look at the academic performance of holistic minority admits versus the top 10 percent admits, over time, they – they fare better. And, frankly, I don’t think the solution to the problems with student body diversity can be to set up a system in which not only are minorities going to separate schools, they’re going to inferior schools ... “ Al Sharpton told supporters on the steps of the Supreme Court

after the oral arguments, “Scalia says Blacks ought to go to schools that are not as hard as the University of Texas, that is not as fast for them. I didn’t know if I was in the Supreme Court or at a Donald Trump rally.” Matthew Chingos, a scholar at the Urban Institute, noted”[Scalia’s] remarks reference the so-called ‘mismatch hypothesis,’ which posits that minority students are harmed by policies that allow them to attend competitive colleges for which they lack adequate academic preparation. “Mismatch is possible in theory, but it presents an empirical question as to whether selective colleges admit students who would be better off at less challenging institutions,” said Chingos. “Straightforward comparisons of students with similar academic credentials who attended different colleges consistently find that students are more likely to graduate from more selective institutions.” A group of 11 experts in quantitative social science filed a brief urging to the court to ignore the mismatch theory because it “does not constitute credible evidence that affirmative action practices are harmful to minorities.” In short, they said, the research “is not good social science.” A friend-of-the-court brief filed in support of the University of Texas on behalf of 39 undergraduate and graduate student organizations in California thoroughly discredited Scalia’s position.

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In the Neighborhood

Presidential candidate tours site of Freddie Gray death

Cheriss May/Howard News Service

Sen. Bernie Sanders with Rev. Jamal Bryant (right) on a walking tour of the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood in Baltimore.

By Cheriss May Howard University News Service

Cheriss May/Howard News Service

n a cool, but sunny Tuesday morning, as residents waited at the bus stop and workers were busy on the reconstruction of the CVS at 2509 Pennsylvania Ave. that was burned down during Freddie Gray protests, the Rev. Jamal Bryant and a handful of community members lead presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on a tour of the neighorhood that erupted following Gray’ death. The group, dwarfed by the nearly 40 media members covering the event, walked through the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood where 25-year-old Gray had lived and protests took place even Residents out during Sen. Sanders tour of the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood. here,” he said. as a trial was “What are you taking place supposed to downtown feed your kids for the first of potato chips? six Baltimore The point bepolice officers it is very charged with – Bernie Sanders, 2016 Democratic Presidential candidate ing expensive to Gray’s death. be poor.” Sanders, After the tour, the group reBryant and the three others started called out their support to Sanders at the corner of the burned down and also called for better public turned to the Freddie Gray Empowerment Center, located blocks CVS, which was seen by millions housing conditions. Sanders remarked on the from the courtroom where a trial is of Americans on television as it was being looted, and made their dearth of restaurants and grocer- underway, for a roundtable discussion with Sanders to be followed way through about four blocks of ies in the neighborhood. “It probably costs more to eat by a press conference. the neighborhood. Some residents

The point being, it is very expensive to be poor.

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In the Neighborhood

Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington District fo Columbia

Council Chair Davis: County schools need much work

ounty schools need much work, said new Prince George’s County Council Chairman Derrick L Davis (District 6) in a statement on the state of the county school system, a week after his election, Davis said that educating county children to compete in a global economy remains a critical element

to the success of Prince George’s County. “While the recent results of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) indicate some progress in the performance of our schools, test scores also highlight the fact there is still much work ahead,” said Davis. “If Prince George’s County is to become the economic powerhouse we all desire, our education system must be first rate and remain a top priority for all of us.” Targeting the areas of improving student achievement, school construction, maintenance of

schools, and vocational education; this council fully supports our county’s public schools – including funding operational, formula and construction spending – within available county resources, said Davis. “As the county’s fiscal stewards, the council also looks forward to the outcome of the external Continuous Improvement Performance Audit of Prince George’s County Public Schools, the first in 18 years,” said Davis. “This study will provide performance oversight over multiple facets of the school system which the county funds in its annual

budget process, and offer another critical barometer for progress as we continue our work together

to build the foundation for the world-class school system our students deserve.”

District residents share holiday spirit, donate food at the Capital Area Food Bank in Northeast.

Robert Eubanks/District Chronicles

Robert Eubanks/DistrictChronicles

Robert Eubanks/District Chronicles

Robert Eubanks/DistrictChronicles

Robert Eubanks/District Chronicles

12 | Dec. 17 - Dec. 23, 2015 | District Chronicles