Education

Aaron Allen

Over the past few weeks, many people around the world have been given a crash course on alopecia. Alopecia areata, also known as spot baldness, is a condition in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body.

Often, it results in a few bald spots on the scalp, each about the size of a coin. Psychological stress and illness are possible factors in bringing on alopecia areata in individuals at risk, but in most cases, there is no obvious trigger, as people are generally otherwise healthy. In a few cases, all the hair on the scalp is lost (alopecia totalis), or all body hair is lost (alopecia universalis), and the loss can be permanent. It is distinctive from pattern hair loss, which is common among males.

Alopecia areata is believed to be an autoimmune disease resulting from a breach in the immune privilege of the hair follicles.

The recent incident at the Oscar’s between Chris Rock, Will Smith, and Jada Pinkett-Smith may have shed light on the issue, but the reality is that alopecia is more common than people think and the personal struggles and mental health issues of people living with alopecia is something that we should all be concerned about.

Jamie Elmore, a licensed hairstylist and salon owner in Seattle for over 30 years, knows first-hand the struggles of dealing with alopecia. The founder of a national alopecia support group, Elmore, who was first diagnosed with alopecia in 2004, is currently dealing with the agony of one of her mentees who recently took her own life. The 12-year-old girl from the Midwest had recently found out that she had alopecia and could no longer deal with the stress of being teased and bullied by her fellow students.

Elmore says that hearing the news that one of her mentees had given up on life shook her to the core.

“The mental health aspect should be addressed when it comes to alopecia because in the alopecia community there is a high rate of suicide,” says Elmore. “Just recently we buried one of our babies, 12-years-old, the kids were bullying, they were taking off her wig, tormenting this little girl. Within a three-week period, this baby committed suicide.”

Elmore, who discovered her first bald spot in 1998, has turned her struggle into an international move-

HEALTH

Alopecia Support Advocate: There Is a High Rate of Suicide in the

Alopecia Community ment helping others all over the Bald Life, to tell the stories of people world inflicted with alopecia, learn overcoming the mental struggles of the nature of the disease and how to having alopecia and to celebrate the overcome its physical and emotional inner and outer beauty of women who effects. have lost their hair. She also founded “After the birth of my daughter the Bald Boss Community to support and her herself having health chal- men, women, and children with all lenges, I didn’t realize the amount of forms of alopecia; and the Alopecia stress going on my life, so in turn, my Support Group, a non-profit that probody started responding and I start- vides aid, programs, and innovative ed losing my hair,” recalls Elmore. therapeutic methods that are vital in “Fast-forward and my journey was the healing process for survivors who interesting because I had never seen are experiencing Alopecia and/or hair alopecia before and being a hairstyl- loss. ist, I’d never seen it, never heard of it, “Acceptance looks different to so until it happened to me.” many people,” says Elmore. “But “It took a long time for me to ac- I got to the point where I accepted cept this,” she continued. “I would enough to where I made a decision say that I began to accept it around that I was not going to wear wigs any 2015 and I would say it still has been longer, I was not going to cover up, a journey. Acceptance to me was ac- it was going to be more of a choice, cepting the fact that I had lost my more of an accessory as far as if I Photograph courtesy of Andrea hair. Accepting the fact that I did not chose to wear a hat or a scarf.” Picquadio/Pexels. look like the Jamie I knew. Accepting Gabriel Carter, a graphic and the fact this was out of my control, brand designer in Baltimore, discovaccepting the fact that my femininity ered he had alopecia at a very young had been stripped from me. age and endured bullying and teasing Since the time of her acceptance, since the age of seven. But just like Elmore has transformed herself from Elmore, Carter learned to overcome being a potential victim into a nation- and transformed the negativity into wide advocate and has used her per- a leadership role within the alopecia sonal story and leadership to enlighten community. WI and enrich the lives of those suffering For the full story go to from alopecia. She started a magazine, wordinblack.com

THOMAS from Page 8

Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and Thomas himself.

According to dozens of messages to Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Ginni Thonas worked tirelessly after the presidential election in 2020 to overturn the thoroughly vetted defeat of Trump (who has still not conceded). Moreover, the couple has long had questions raised about Thomas’ ethics in cases in the past where she has been an active advocate. He has continued to refuse to answer those questions appropriately.

A report in the New York Times Magazine in March 2022 said that they have appeared for years together at highly political events hosted by advocates hoping to sway the court. While it is possible that married people can have independent views and careers, the Thomases have gone way beyond what is considered ethically proper behavior, particularly because they brag about how they are fused “into one being” in their marriage and their politics.

Although Thomas is protected from a code of judicial ethics as a Supreme Court justice — a code that applies to all other federal judges — he continues to use that special dispensation to ignore any sense of duty to avoid what Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the “stink” of partisanship.

This adds weight to calls for him to leave the court to make room for someone who accepts their responsibility to protect the highest court in the country’s credibility and reputation. In the difference to the two other branches of the federal government, the Supreme Court depends largely on public trust to maintain its influence and authority. Thomas has repeatedly betrayed that trust and therefore undermined the democracy and freedom he claims to revere.

In conclusion, let’s turn to the last words back in the 16th century of William Shakespeare, “Live in thy shame, but die not shame with thee.”

WI

McKinley Tech Principal Search Raises Questions about Transparency, Workload

Sam P.K Collins WI Staff Writer

Since Dr. M. Louise Jones announced her resignation from McKinley Technology High School [MTHS] in the beginning of the calendar year, MTHS parents and community members have requested transparency and inclusion in the selection process for a new principal.

Months after writing a letter to DC Public Schools [DCPS] Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee and other officials, however, some community members said they haven’t received much information about the status of the selection process or whether DCPS central office has taken their requests into consideration.

Community members’ qualms center not only on inclusion and transparency but the STEM background of candidates and whether DCPS central office will ensure that Jones’ replacement would only be responsible for the affairs of MTHS and not the accompanying middle school, as had been the case during her tenure.

“We want to be at the table and see the criteria that we have requested to ensure certain cultural competencies are possessed by the candidates. It’s befitting that we get someone skilled and credentialed in STEM,” said Sherice Muhammad, a former MTHS Local School Advisory Team [LSAT] chair who’s been heavily involved in the efforts to gain clarity about the principal selection process.

“We also talked about someone who would understand the specific needs of students to nurture and engage the various demographics,” said Muhammad, who’s also a parent of a MTHS alumna.

“DCPS responded to thank us for the letter and said they wanted to make sure we’re part of the principal selection process but we’re still in the dark right now about the status,” she said.

BLUE LINE from Page 13

under contract through 2027. Morgan Boulevard, the closest station to the stadium, sits about a mile away.

“We’re not building a stadium for that team and I said, ‘good luck if they want to go to Virginia,’” Gov. Larry Hogan said last week while touting the project at Largo Town Center Metro station.

“[County Executive] Angela Alsobrooks and I came together and said, ‘We are going to do a lot to redevelop this community with or without the football team.’ That’s what we’ve done here,” he said.

Gregory Holmes, a business consultant of Upper Marlboro, said one major item state and local officials haven’t mentioned remains the inclusion of Black businesses on the project.

The state of Maryland’s goal for Minority Business Enterprise [MBE] firms to receive contracts on various projects remains at 29%.

“I don’t think meeting the 29% goal on this project is too lofty of a goal. Black businesses and Black developers should be a part of that success,” said Holmes, who launched and chairs Maryland Black Businesses Matter and plans to run for Maryland’s 4th Congressional District that includes FedEx Field.

“The dollars [state and county officials] are floating is taxpayer money,” he said. “You are going to give taxpayer money and not let the taxpayers benefit from our

5 McKinley Technology High School. (Courtesy photo)

OPPORTUNITIES ARISE TO ASK QUESTIONS

As recently as the 2019-2020 academic year, DCPS’ principal selection process included a performance task, in-person interview and chancellor interview. Applicants who make it beyond the chancellor interview become eligible for interviews with a community panel. That panel, composed of students, teachers, parents and community members, provides feedback about candidates’ strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the culture and needs of the school.

According to a document outlining the principal selection process, the community panel’s feedback plays a significant role in the chancellor’s final choice. However, community members said Jones, who started at MTHS in 2013, and her predecessor David Pinder had both been appointed by DCPS central office without community input.

On the evening of April 19, DCPS’ Office of School Improvement and Office of Engagement and Partnerships hosted a virtual meeting where MTHS community members learned more about the principal selection process and weighed in on the qualities they’re seeking in a principal.

The event also presented some guests an opportunity to, once again, highlight the need for a principal exclusively responsible for MTHS.

Despite demands for two principals at the McKinley campus, DCPS central office has been steadfast in maintaining the status quo. Weeks ago, during a D.C. Council Committee of the Whole education budget hearing, Ferebee defended the current setup, telling D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) that having one principal over two schools facilitates unity between the two campuses.

“We believe the model we have similar to Columbia Heights Education Campus where there’s an administrator who shares a middle and high school population can serve McKinley well,” Ferebee said. “There has been some disconnect between the middle school and high school but a leader would reconnect those schools. Respectfully, we see opportunities to better connect the schools.”

own money. That is an injustice if that is allowed to happen.”

COMMANDERS TO STAY OR GO?

Speculation continues on whether the Washington Commanders will remain in the county or if they will construct a new stadium across the Woodrow Wilson bridge in neighboring Virginia. The team’s headquarters and practice facility are located in Ashburn, Virginia.

The U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee continues to investigate the Commanders alleged “toxic workplace culture” led by team owner Daniel Snyder.

The committee sent a letter April 12 to the Federal Trade Commission that the team possibly committed financial improprieties by withholding up to $5 million in refunds from season ticket holders and concealed ticket sales not shared with the National Football League [NFL].

The allegations are made by Jason Friedman, a former sales executive who worked for the team for 24 years and who began as an intern under the late owner Jack Kent Cooke.

“Given the Federal Trade Commission’s [FTC] authority to investigate unfair or deceptive business practices, we are providing the information and documents uncovered by the Committee for your review, to determine if the

BLUE LINE Page 27

A PARENT TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY

Though MTHS and McKinley Middle School Parent-Teacher Organization president John Hassell took no issue with Jones’ leadership, he contested DCPS central office’s

TECH Page 39