VOL. 54, NO. 32 • MAY 23 - 29, 2019
Take a Moment on Memorial Day for Vets Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice
VA Coast Pipeline Opponents Page 22
Lawmakers Propose Commission on Social Status of Black Males Morehouse
Grads Euphoric over Generous Student Loan Gift
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia Wearing their signature red ties with images of black handprints, leaders and members of 5,000 Role Models of Excellence Project, a decades-old mentoring program in four Florida counties for Black boys founded by Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson, joined a Capitol Hill news conference Wednesday, May 15 as lawmakers formally announced the introduction of House Resolution 1636 — the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys. The underlying goal of the proposal is to better understand and eventually eliminate the educational and social chasms that have made it extraordinarily difficult for Black males to become upward mobile. House Resolution 1636 would establish a bipartisan 19-member commission to study social prob-
BLACK MEN Page 37
By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill Brandon Manor recalled when he first walked onto the Morehouse College campus in Atlanta four years ago on academic probation after he graduated from Dr. Henry Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro. Today, the 21-year-old college graduate joins nearly 400 Morehouse “brothers” in the Class of 2019 who will have existing student debt erased thanks to the family of billionaire and philanthropist Robert F. Smith. Manor said he accrued more than $100,000 in student loans. “I screamed, I stood up, I smiled,” 5 Tracy Martin (center), father of slain youth Trayvon Martin, speaks during a press conference May 15 on Capitol Hill to said Manor, who garnered a bachannounce a bill calling for the creation of the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys. (Anthony Tilghman/ elor’s degree in psychology. “It was The Washington Informer) just an emotional moment for everyone. It’s kind of indescribable. It swept me off my feet.” Smith, who donated $1.5 million to the college earlier this year, served as the all-male college’s commencement speaker Sunday, May 19. Near the end of his 35-minute speech, he where thousands more raised signs said his family promised to eliminate and voices, adamant in their refusal to an estimated $40 million in student allow state legislators to turn back the loans for the graduates. It equates to clock on women’s reproductive rights. about $100,000 per student. Tuesday’s national day of protest Smith’s announcement sparked featured more than 50 organizations an explosion on social media, inincluding Planned Parenthood and cluding a tweet from Bernice King, the American Civil Liberties Union daughter of the late civil rights icon who took the lead in developing the Martin Luther King Jr., himself a rallies. Morehouse alum. President Donald Trump, rarely at “Wow. What a love-power move a loss for words, has attempted to dis- 5 Democratic Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) joins supporters of Planned Partance himself from the controversial, enthood in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Northeast on Tuesday, May 21. Rallies were by Robert Smith. I believe it’s the similarly-restrictive legislation recently planned across the U.S for abortion rights. The “Day of Action” rally comes after the state of start of something major. I’m grate-
Alabama’s New Abortion Law Most Restrictive in U.S. Protests Waged Across the Country; Black Participants Few in Number By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir From Mobile to Montgomery, throngs of Alabamians gathered Sunday, May 19 expressing discontent with the state’s new abortion law – widely-considered to be the most restrictive in the U.S. Evidence of increased outrage and frustration dominated the scene two days later on May 21, as #StopTheBans demonstrations kicked off around noon at over 500 statehouses and courthouses in all 50 states – even on the steps of the Supreme Court
ABORTION Page 31
Alabama passed the most restrictive abortion ban, making abortions illegal and punishable with up to 99 years in prison. (Michael A. McCoy/The Washington Informer)
MOREHOUSE Page 8
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