Vol. 55, No. 14 • January 16 - 22, 2020
Ulysses Currie, ‘Dean of Senators’ Laid to Rest
Step Afrika! Step Xplosion / Page 38
Debate Continues Over Impact, Relevance of ‘Just Mercy’ Smithsonian Screening, Discussion Shed Light on Biased Judicial System By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir Hundreds of area residents swarmed into the Smithsonian on Saturday, Jan. 11 anxious to be part of an evening both revelatory and painful with a screening of the powerful film, “Just Mercy” and a discussion between Black scholar, Dr. Henry Louis Gates and the author of the book on whose life the film is based, attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. The film does more than just address a specific injustice suffered by a Black man from
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5 The Rev. Tony Lee (right) hugs the Rev. Shirley Gravely-Currie during a funeral service for her husband, Sen. Ulysses Currie, at Allen Chapel AME Church in Southeast on Jan. 11. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill Gentle. Firm. Infectious smile. Racquetball phenom. Those are just a few words family, friends and former colleagues used to describe the late Maryland state Sen. Ulysses Currie on Saturday during a funeral service attended by hundreds at Allen Chapel AME Church in southeast D.C. Currie, 82, worked nearly 30 years in the Prince George’s County Public Schools system in Maryland as a teacher, principal and supervisor of the county’s Head Start program. He became affec-
tionately known as “Dean of Senators” during his more than 30 years as a state lawmaker. Former state Sen. Gloria Lawlah, who represented southern Prince George’s, said the son of a North Carolina sharecropper chose a key person in his life. “Thirty-five years ago, Ulysses Currie was a handsome, eligible bachelor… with lots of ladies in pursuit,” Lawlah said as laughter filled the church. “Ulysses Currie made a great decision. He proposed and married Shirley Gravely here at Allen Chapel.” Some former Senate colleagues that included Sen. Kathy Klausmeier (D-Baltimore County), who knew
Currie for more than 15 years, traveled outside the D.C. area to express their condolences. “I will always remember that smile,” she said about Currie. “He was respectful. Always willing to listen. He was a genuine article.” Currie, who died Dec. 27 at his home in Forestville, Maryland, instilled education as one of his main priorities. In one of Maryland lawmakers’ final votes in 2018 before Currie retired, they chose to rename the state’s Head Start program the “Ulysses Currie Head Start Program.”
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5 Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy, a true story, during a discussion and screening of the movie at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History and Culture on Saturday, Jan. 11. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)
Democrats Tackle Foreign Policy, Health Care and Impeachment in Iowa Debate
Warren Goes After Sanders for Allegedly Discounting Women as ‘Presidential’ By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia Maintaining a strong U.S. military presence in the Middle East and Iran, and the ongoing nuclear weapons threat from North Korea were at the center of the seventh Democratic Debate just ahead of the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday, January 14.
The candidates also tackled health care and impeachment during the debate. “I’d like to get our combat troops out,” stated Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whose position was echoed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. However, former Vice
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