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8/7/2019 Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, March 19, 2011
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March 19, 2011 - March 19, 2011, The Afro-American A1
By Shernay Williams
AFRO Staf Writer
ANNAPOLIS Despite torrential rains
and frigid conditions, hundreds rallied outside
the Lawyers Mall in Annapolis last week
protesting proposed state cuts to education.
Impassioned Baltimore educators, students,
legislators and advocates assembled by the
Baltimore Education Coalition showed up
in yellow school buses and cars to swarm the
capitol.
Balancing umbrellas and large laminated
signs emblazoned with phrases such as
Our Children are Worth It and Save Our
By Shernay Williams
AFRO Staf Writer
A district court judge has
declined to give a Baltimorewoman a peace order against
former City Council President
Lawrence Bell III for lack ofevidence.
Shan Mabry, 49, claimsshe dated the ex-politician
for 20 years, but requested
peace orders against him lastSeptember and late last month
because he harassed her and
destroyed her property.In her petition for the
second peace order, she said
she willingly dismissed the
By Gregory Dale
AFRO Staf Writer
Kweisi Mfume, former
U.S. Congressman and
current chief executive
ofcer of the National
Medical Association
(NMA), recently announced
he was stepping down from
the position, effective in
June.
Ive had the
opportunity to work with
a great number of very
talented physicians and
scientists, as their chiefadministrator who runs the
ship day in and day out,
Mfume told the AFRO in
a recent interview. Ive
really enjoyed my time
working there.
The NMA is the
nations oldest and largest
medical association
representing the interests of
more than 30,000 African-
American physicians and
their patients.
Mfume, who also
once served as president
of the NAACP, notied
the NMAs board last
week of his departure
thats set to occur on
June 7. Despite his
imminent exit, hes
offered to stay longer in
the position to ensure
a smooth transition for
the organizations next
leader. Mfume said the
organization has not
announced a new leader.
He joined the NMAin 2010, and explained
that at the time of his
hire, he agreed to stay
in the position for a year
to try to help it reach its
goal of becoming more
effective among plethora
of healthcare and
medical organizations.
Quite frankly, I feel
like Ive been able to do
www.afro.comVolume 118 No. 32
Copyright 2011 by the Afro-American Company
afro.com
YourHistoryYourCommunityY
ourNews
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MARCH 19, 2011 - MARCH 25, 2011
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Sunday @ 8 p.m. on
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Voice of the Community.
Amplify Focuses and InformsBaltimore in Second Session
Famed PhotographerBrian Lanker Dies A2A4
Philly Teens Become FirstBlack Polo Champs B4
AFRO File Photo/Bill Tabron
Kweisi Mume, shown in this
AFRO fle photo, has announced
his plans to resign as president/CEO o the National Medical
Association.
By Shernay WilliamsAFRO Staf Writer
The developers of the West downtown
development project that would revitalize the
Superblock said this week that they will
preserve the exterior walls of Reads DrugStore and several other historical structures.
The project garnered attention recentlyas preservationists and community members
urged the city to halt development plans for
project to save the drug store, which was thesite of a civil rights sit-in orchestrated by
Morgan State University students in 1955.In a statement,
Mayor Stephanie
Rawlings-Blakesaid the buildings
interior which
is deteriorating has suffered from
decades of remodels
and ultimately itsabandonment.
She added that the developers, LexingtonSquare Partners LLC, have agreed to keepthe exterior walls intact and will release
further details in coming weeks. This is abig step toward a reasonable compromise on
this issue, Rawlings-Blake said in a written
statement. Honoring our history and buildingfor our future should not be mutually exclusive
goals.
The $150 million development projectwas scheduled to bulldoze at least 17 edices
classied as historic in the blighted corridor.
City ofcials said the partners will preserve 89percent of buildings on Lexington Street and
76 percent of edices on Howard Street.John Hopkins, director for the Baltimore
Heritage Inc., one of the preservation groups
that fought to conserve Superblocks historical
buildings, said the redevelopment plan wouldstill demolish several precious structures.
Reads is certainly a signature building, butit is a part of a block of buildings with civil
rights heritage, he told the AFRO. We would
like to see additional buildings preserved to tell
that story.Ofcials say the development will help
restore the block, which was once a bustlingretail destination and create employment
opportunities. According to the Baltimore
Development Corp., the project will generateupwards of 600 immediate construction jobs
and 750 permanent jobs. It will also stream in$18 million in sales
taxes and $2.3 million
in real estate taxes ayear.
Without new
housing and newretail, the Howard
street corridor
will suffer, withramications for
the greater Downtown area, Kirby Fowler,president of the Downtown Partnership ofBaltimore, said in a prepared statement.
The site, which would be called theLexington Square Project, will include 500,000
square feet of retail, residential, ofce and
parking space.Diane Bell-McKoy, president and CEO of
Associated Black Charities, said the project
could serve as employment on-ramps for thecitys unemployed residents, many of whom
are Black. The integration of celebrating
and preserving the history along with usingthe footprint to serve as a job pathway for
African Americans will create a win-win forBaltimore, she said.
Harold A. Dawson Jr., president of the
The recentlyannounced
compromisewill retain the
exterior walls o
the Reads DrugStore building
and several o the
other historicalstructures on the
Superblock.
Developers Vow to Preserve Reads Outer Walls
Honoring our history andbuilding for our future shouldnot be mutually exclusivegoals.
~ Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake Kweisi Mfume Stepping Down As
CEO National Medical Association
By Melissa Jones
Special to the AFRO
For more than 100
years, collecting groundrent on leased land had
been the right of ground
leaseholders or landlords inBaltimore City. During the
2007 session the MarylandGeneral Assembly changed
that provision of the realestate law, in part to correcta loophole that caused some
homeowners to be evicted
from their property. Some
ground leaseholders arecrying foul.
Prior to 2007,
throughout Baltimore Cityand in some surrounding
counties, homeowners were
required to pay ground renton the parcel of land below
their homes. The groundlease or monthly rent was
a xed amount determinedby the value of the landat the time the home was
Abolished Colonial LawFrees Many Homeowners
City Education Advocates Bear Heavy
Rains to Protest State Cuts
Photo by Courtney Bonaparte
Teachers and students from Baltimore City took to the streets of Annapolis
to protest the cuts to education. Many fear the cuts will undermine the
educational advancements students have been making recently.
Judge Removes Peace OrderAgainst Lawrence Bell
Courtesy Photo
District Court Judge
Halee Weinstein dropped
the peace order requestagainst Lawrence Bell on
March 15.
Continued on A7
Photo courtesy of Baltimore Heritage Inc.
8/7/2019 Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, March 19, 2011
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A2 The Afro-American, March 19, 2011 - March 25, 2011
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Chairman of the Board/Publisher - John J. Oliver, Jr.Executive Assistant - Takiea Hinton - 410-554-8222
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AFRO National BriefsFamed PhotographerBrian Lanker Dies
Pulitzer Prize-winningphotographer Brian Lankerdied March 13 at his home inEugene, Ore., the Register-Guardnewspaper reported.
He was 63.The photojournalists
images were featured in IDream a World: Portraits ofBlack Women Who ChangedAmerica and Track Town,USA.
Brian was a mastercraftsman who didnt needwords to communicate,Register-Guards editor andpublisher, Tony Baker, saidin an article posted on thenewspapers website. Hiscamera work alone made forextraordinary storytelling.He was a consummateprofessional, always preparedwhen on assignment forthe paper. He was a bigpersonality with a big-pictureview of life and of his craft.Brian made everyone aroundhim better at what they did.
Pa. Teen Accused o KillingMom over ConfscatedVideo Game
A Philadelphia teen isfacing murder charges afterhe allegedly killed his motherfor taking away his videogame console.
Kendall Anderson, 16,is being charged as an adultfor the alleged murder of hismother, 37-year-old Rashida
Anderson. Following aheated argument on Nov. 26concerning a laptop stolenfrom school, Andersonsmother confscated hisPlayStation video gameconsole.
I couldnt stand thearguing, Anderson saidin a confession read byhomicide Detective ThorstenLucke of the PhiladelphiaPolice Departmentduring a preliminaryhearing. According to ThePhiladelphia Inquirer, theteen deliberated for threehours before he decided tokill his mother.
In his confession,Anderson said he struck hismother with a claw hammer20 times while she slept. Thegruesome confession alsorevealed that he attempted tocremate her body. When hisattempts failed, he proceededto beat her head with achair and dispose of herbody in an alley behind theAndersons home. The bodywas discovered two dayslater, after family memberssuspicions led them to callthe police.
Anderson is chargedwith murder, possession ofan instrument of crime andabuse of a corpse.
If I could, I would notdo it again, Anderson saidin his confession, accordingto reports. I really miss mymom. . . She was the onlyperson who cared for me.
Similar video-gamerelated deaths have occurred
in the past few years. In2008, Tyrone Spellmanof Philadelphia murderedhis 17-month-old daughterafter she broke his Xbox. In2010, Alexandra Tobias ofJacksonville, Fla., pleadedguilty to second-degreemurder after shaking herbaby to death for disturbingher while she played popularFacebook game Farmville.
President Obama, FirstLady Call or United FrontAgainst Bullying
President Obama and frstlady Michelle Obama metwith more than 150 parents,teachers, non-proft leaders,advocates, and policymakersat a White House conferenceon March 10 in an effort toaddress the problem of youthbullying.
Those in attendance
discussed methods toachieve safer schoolsand communities for thenations students. One of theobjectives of the conferencewas to dismiss the idea thatbullying is a part of growingup.
Bullying can have
destructive consequencesfor our young people.And its not something wehave to accept. As parentsand students; teachers andcommunities, we can takesteps that will help preventbullying and create a climatein our schools in which all ofour children can feel safe,Obama said in a preparedstatement.
As parents, this issuereally hits home for us. Itbreaks our hearts to think thatany child feels afraid everyday in the classroom, on theplayground, or even online,the frst lady said. I hope
that all of youand everyonewatching onlinewill walkaway from this conferencewith new ideas and solutionsthat you can take backto your own schools andcommunities.
The conference alsohighlighted private, nonproft,and federal commitments toprevent bullying. MTV andFacebook were among theorganizations that unveiledinitiatives against bullying.
Courtesy Image
Brian Lankers work was
eatured in I Dream aWorld: Portraits of Black
Women Who Changed
America.
Courtesy Photo
Kendall Anderson
President Obama and his wie, Michelle Obama, broughtthe issue o bullying center stage during a recent WhiteHouse conerence on the issue.
Courtesy Photo
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A2 The Afro-American, March 19, 2011 - March 19, 2011
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By Hazel Trice EdneyTriceEdneyWire.com
Special to the AFRO
WASHINGTON
(TriceEdneyWire.com) On
the 184
th
birthday of theBlack Press, March 16, an
odd debacle is underway.
The NAACP, the nations
oldest and largest civil rights
organization, is under re
from Black newspapers
around the country over an
issue of economic injustice.
NAACP President and
CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous
admits that a grave mistake
was made right under his
nose when advertising inserts
were placed only in White
newspapers on the eve of the
organizations annual image
awards, which aired March 4.
Danny Bakewell, chairmanof the National Newspaper
Publishers Association
(NNPA), a federation of
more than 200 Black-owned
newspapers, is demanding
justice.
If the NAACP desires
to advertise with the
White press, they need to
understand and experience
the repercussions of going
outside of their house (The
Black Press). The NAACP
needs to know that by
ignoring the Black Press they
are cutting off their nose to
spite their face, Bakewell
said in a March 7 letter toNNPA publishers, obtained
by the Trice Edney News
Wire. We have marched side
by side with them and been
their voice in the African
American community. It is
truly disheartening to be on
the battleeld with someone
and not be able to share in the
spoils.
In his rst public response
to the issue, Jealous released
a statement on Sunday after
he was contacted by the Trice
Edney News Wire.
This years NAACP
annual Image Awards
television show was a greatsuccess, he wrote in the
statement. However, on
the eve of the show, a grave
mistake was made: circulars
that were supposed to appear
in both the mainstream
press and Black community
newspapers only appeared in
the mainstream press.
The advertising debacle
has sparked a restorm of
criticism from the Black Press
family of which Jealous has
long been a member. Jealous
is a former NNPA executive
director and a former editor
ofThe Jackson Advocate, an
NNPA newspaper. NAACPinsiders said he is set to
meet with NNPA leaders and
members this week during the
organizations annual trek to
Washington for Black Press
Week activities.
I am very sensitive to
the need to support Black
community newspapers.
They are the only way to
assure Black readers in a
given community that you
actually want your ads to
reach them directly. In the
past, I personally have both
sold and purchased ads in
Black community newspapers
across the country. Moreover,
I dedicated years of my life
to working for them directly,
Jealous said in the statement.
Notwithstanding, Black
newspapers across the nation
have long fought advertising
discrimination from mainly
White corporate communities
which ignore the economic
worth of their readers
Black consumers, who spend
billions on goods and services.
Therefore, Black publishers
have expressed shock atnding this kind of omission
associated with the 100-year-
old NAACP, which has a rich
history of ghting alongside
the Black Press for racial and
economic equality.
As a unied response to
the omission, Bakewell asked
NNPA members to refrain
from writing anything about
the Image Awards in the
weeks following its airing on
FOX.
Scathing articles and
editorials joined Bakewells
letter.
Robert W. Bogle,
publisher of the PhiladelphiaTribune, said in a March 3
Tribune story reprinted by
Target Market News: In
(Thursdays) Philadelphia
Daily News, the 42nd NAACP
Awards Magazine was
inserted and not one copy was
inserted in the Philadelphia
Tribune, Americas oldest
and Americas largest
daily newspaper serving
the African-American
community.
He continued, This
action is an insult to the men
and women who work at the
Philadelphia Tribune and
should be an insult to BlackAmericans in this country. The
very right of full inclusion
and participation of African
Americans has been denied by
the organization that purports
that African Americans should
be fairly included in all
aspects of American life.
New York Beacons
Publisher Walter Smith,
president of the 17-member
Northeast Publishers
Association, wrote in an
editorial, We credit our
leaders of the NAACP with
good sound judgment and
common sense at least. What
were they thinking when this
decision was made? Who
were they trying to attract, and
or who were they trying to
impress?Due to legalities, according
to the NAACP, Jealous
withheld the name of the
advertising agency, which
has distributed the guide for
ve years. But, his statement
sought to explain how the
omission occurred:
The advertising company
originally conceived the
guide and presented it as a
fundraiser to the NAACP.
It is solely responsible for
selling the ads and handling
the distribution. It pays the
NAACP a licensing royalty
which is used to support our
ongoing diversity efforts inHollywood, Jealous states.
Accordingly, I requested and
received assurance from the
advertising company that their
distribution plan included
Black community newspapers.
However, the advertising
company has failed to follow
through. This year, when the
guides came out, they did
not show up in any Black
community newspapers.
He concludes, The
NAACP does not condonethe agencys decision to
exclude Black community
newspapers. It is contrary to
our explicit instruction, and
we were not aware of the
agencys decision until after
the guides hit the papers,
he said. Nonetheless, it was
made for a publication that
bears our name, and as CEO
I take ultimate responsibility
for it. For that reason, I have
apologized to the NNPA and
promised their leadership thiswill not happen again.
Jealous added that the
distribution will be put out for
bids next year with assurance
that Black newspapers will be
included.
We have also let the
agency know that we will
not tolerate their abuse of thetrust the NAACP has placed
in them, nor that which Black
community newspapers place
in the NAACP, Jealous
wrote. If this company
wants to do business with
the NAACP again, they will
need to make things right with
Black community newspapers
in the markets where the guide
was distributed, and convince
us they are capable of keeping
their word.
Whether his explanation
will end the controversy
remains to be seen. Smith,
who is also NNPAs budget
director, concludes hiseditorial, Stay tuned, theres
much more to come.
"If this company wants to do businesswith the NAACP again, they will need tomake things right with Black communitynewspapers in the markets where theguide was distributed, and convince usthey are capable of keeping their word."
Ben JealousPhoto courtesy of TriceEdneyWire.com
Ben Jealous, NAACP
president and CEO, admits
a grave mistake was
made. He is working to
ensure it does not happen
again.
March 19, 2011 - March 25, 2011 The Afro-American A3
Black Press Rebukes NAACP in Image Awards Advertising DebacleBen Jealous Admits Grave Mistake
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March 19, 2011 - March 19, 2011, The Afro-American A3
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A4 The Afro-American, March 19, 2011 - March 25, 2011
by Shernay WilliamsAFRO Staf Writer
Last weekend, a small
but fervent crowd came out
for the second quarter of
Amplify Baltimore, a series of
community conversations that
relay important issues to city
residents.
The day of panel
discussions included
testimonies from leaders in
public education, workforce
and economic development
and nancial literacy. Roughly
150 persons trickled in and
out throughout the day, but
in most sessions, the large
auditorium at the Maryland
Institute College of Art
seemed to swallow the tiny
crowd.
April Garrett, the
Baltimore-born mastermind
behind Amplify Baltimore,
said although the turnout
was low, she was pleased
Baltimoreans from all walks
of life checked in to confer
on how to improve the city.
She told the AFRO that
attendance in Baltimore trails
other cities such as Boston and
New York, where she hosts
similar forums through her
non-prot Civic Frame. At
the end of the day, people have
to make a choice to be agents
of change in Baltimore,
she said, adding that the
conversations are critical to
Baltimores vitality because
they link residents with
innovators and activists.
Baltimore is not short
on brilliant people committed
to doing the work; we have a
shortage of community people
committed to change, Garrett
contended.
She invited two dozen
heavyweight leaders to prove
it.
Charter school founders,
high-ranking city school
ofcials and public school
principals discussed the state
of the citys education. The
talks touched on a host of
issues including the benets
of charters, the next phases
to improve city schools and
the ineffectiveness of student
assessments.
Jack J. Pannell Jr., founder
of the Baltimore Collegiate
School for Boys that is set
to open next fall, said its
imperative for instructors
to set high expectations for
young Black males to ensure
their social and intellectual
well being.
Chief academic ofcer for
city schools, Sonja Brookins
Santelises, urged Baltimore
residents to claim ownership
of their schools. If we
continue to answer questions
by waiting for someone, we
will never move forward, she
said.
The panel members
seemed to agree that
effective teachers and
parental involvement have
direct correlations to student
achievement.
About a dozen seventh
and eighth graders from
Hampstead Hill Academy
attended the session and said
they would like to see more
creative curriculum and high
school choices.
Walter G. Amprey, city
schools superintendent from
1991-1997, asserted that in
order for Baltimore to return
to its status as the premiere
city in the state for education,
this is the kind of forum that
has to take place around our
community to change this.
While moderating the
discussion, Garrett said
,Weve got to change the
mentality and working as it
relates to education.
A second panel addressed
the complexity of helping
ex-offenders transition from
prison to the work place,
growing workforce demands
and employee-employer
relationships.
Ralph E. Moore Jr.,
director of the St. Frances
Academy Community Center,
estimated that about 1/3 of the
citys population or 200,000
residents are unemployed. He
noted that about half of Black
Baltimoreans are unemployed
or underemployed.
What were assets
are preliminaries now,
Karen L. Sitnick, director
of the Mayors Ofce of
Employment Development,
said, referencing the
importance of computer skills
and some college experience
in the evolving job market.
Jason Perkins-Cohen,
executive director of the Job
Opportunities Task Force,
contended that employers
should treat their workers
as assets and create more
inspiring work environments.
David Troy, another
executive, said Baltimore has
not enacted a real economic
development strategy since the
1970s.
Lori Fagan heads the
Bon Secours Family Support
Center, which helps low-
income women with children
become better mothers, earn
their GEDs and prepare for
careers. She said state funding
for the program is threatened.
If they cut these programs,
we will continue to have a
population that believes they
dont have to work because
they can get help from the
government.
A nal forum on
nancial literacy discussed
the importance of money
management. Comptroller
Joan M. Pratt discussed the
ends and outs of maintaining
the states money ow and
the executive director of the
Baltimore Green Currency
Association, outlined his
efforts to pitch a local
currency called B-note in
Baltimore. Other speakers
included a student teller
at MECU and the director
from the Maryland CASH
campaign.
One Amplify Baltimore
attendee said hes supported
several of Garretts events
and appreciates her work but
encouraged her to take the
conversations out to churches
and community events where
the common folk are.
John Daley, a Morgan State
University student suggested
Garrett get club promoters to
buy into the plan, which he
said would garner the attention
of more young people.
I like that this is
positive, said community
organizer Lanitra Jackson.
You can turn on the news,
turn on the internet and see the
negative. Who is going to talk
about the positive.
Succeeding installments
of Amplify Baltimore will
address neighborhoods,
food access, public and
environmental health,
public transportation and
other matters in June and
September. The inaugural
event was held in January.
Watch footage from all
Amplify Baltimore events by
visiting www.civicfame.org.
Amplify Focuses and Informs Baltimore in Second Session
Harold A. Dawson Co., one
of a cluster of out-of-state
development rms that make
up the Partners in Lexington
Square Partners, agreed.
Fighting for and supporting
equality and opportunity for
all people have been the basis
of success for the company
my father built, the younger
Dawson said in a statement.
In documents, thecompany has vowed to create
access to opportunities for
minority and women-owned
businesses and provide
worker and entrepreneurial
training.
The predominately Black
Dawson company has recently
come to the forefront to
represent Lexington Square
Partners, a move some
Baltimore insiders suspect
was to dampen complaints
that White executives wereattempting to destroy civil
rights history.
Developers VowContinued from A1
just that, working with board
and committee members to
create a more efcient scal
operation, Mfume said.
After working so hard, Im
just going to take a break and
try to recharge my engines
for whatever my next stepor endeavor might be. Im
not even in a rush to try to
come up with solid plans [for
my next step], but Im sure
something will present itself.
Mfume added that some
of the highlights during
his tenure at NMA include
helping to reshape it to further
cater to its physicians and
patients needs.
The biggest thing
has been to work with the
physicians there in breathing
a whole new sense of life
back into the association
and having an opportunity
to make it much more of anadvocacy organization on
behalf of physicians around
the country, Mfume said.
The industry is changing
so rapidly and so many of
those physicians have been
really working hard to ght
those disparities that exist in
our communities like cancer,
cardio vascular disease ...
hypertension and AIDS.
Additionally, he explained
that hes fought to ensure the
organizations mandate and
concerns were heard among
ofcials on Capitol Hill.
Mfume also worked
closely with the StudentNational Medical Association,
a subdivision of the
organization, to provide more
mentorship opportunities to
help them successfully lead
the organization into a new
era.
Ive made a big push my
whole time there as I did at
the NAACP, to make sure
that the younger aspect of the
movement is not left out,
Mfume said. We ought to be
prepared to help them lead the
way into the future.
MfumeContinued from A1
April Yvonne
Garrett, Founder
of Civic Fame, Inc.and organizer of
Amplify Baltimore,
moderates a paneldiscussion on
public education
during the secondquarter of the
Amplify Baltimoreevent at Maryland
Institute College
of Art on March12.
Baltimore is not short of brilliant people committed to doing the work;we have a shortage of community people committed to change.
~ April Garrett
Photo by Bill Taborn
8/7/2019 Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, March 19, 2011
5/20
March 19, 2011 - March 25, 2011, The Afro-American A5
By Courtney A. Bonaparte
Special to the AFRO
As the recession creeps on, the Baltimore County
Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (BCAC)
offers an event that will provide the community with valuable
information and resources for seeking better employment and
creating a small business. On March 26, the ladies of Delta
Sigma Theta will host their third annual Entrepreneurship
Expo and Employment Readiness Fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
BCAC hopes that the [fair] will give people the incentive
and information on how to start their own business. We also
are providing a network for business owners to network by
sharing their successes with others. The knowledge gained at
this event will demonstrate that things you may be passionate
about can lead to a successful business idea, said Barbara
Crawley, chapter president, in an e-mailed statement.
This free event will include two information sessions
geared towards those seeking employment. This rst
session begins at 9 a.m. and will allow the attendees to have
their rsums assessed and reviewed by human resources
professionals. The second session, beginning at 10 a.m., will
be an information session on how to complete the KSAs
(Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities) section of federal job
applications.
The events and sessions for those who are interested in
starting a business or are already entrepreneurs takes place
from 10 a.m. 2 p.m. Attendees have the opportunity to
network with over 20 entrepreneurs, showcasing a wide
range of businesses. Information sessions feature U.S. Small
Business Administration, Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore
(WEB), and other entrepreneur assistance organizations andwill also include a Q & A session with successful business
owners.
The event takes place Saturday, March 26 at Randallstown
Community Center located at 3505 Resource Drive,
Randallstown, Md., from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Community
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Knee Pain Seminar
Total Joint Tuesday
Is your active lifestyle taking its toll on your knees? Are conservative treatment methods notenough to ease your pain? Join Dr. James E. Wood Jr., Harbor Hospital chief
of orthopaedics, for an informative discussion on innovative surgical treatmentoptions for your aching knees. Registration is required; light refreshments willbe served. To register for this free seminar, visit harborhospital.org/totaljoint or call410-350-2563.
James E. Wood Jr., M.D., is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon. He is one of the leadingknee replacement surgeons in the region, and was a fellow in sports medicine, working with theteam physicians for the Los Angeles Lakers, Dodgers, Angels, Rams and Kings.
Tuesday, March 22
5:30 p.m. refreshments 6 p.m. seminar
Harbor HospitalsWaterfront Baum Auditorium
3001 South Hanover Street Baltimore, MD 21225
Local Delta Chapter Hosts Employment Readiness Fair
By AFRO Sta
On March 20, Ritas Italian Ice will
say goodbye to winter weather with their
annual First Day of Spring Giveaway,
offering visitors free cups of their
famous Italian Ice.
This year, over 45 participating Ritas
locations in the Baltimore area will serve
attendees one free regular size cup of their Italian Ice in the avor
of their choice. Visitors will also get a chance to purchase the
companys other famed treats including their signature layered
Gelati, Old Fashioned Frozen Custard and Misto creations.
Now approaching its 19th year, Ritas annual spring
giveaway has exploded in popularity throughout many states
across the U.S. In previous years, the company reported serving
enough Italian Ice to ll over 13 tanker trucks. Ritas expects
this years event to be bigger than ever, estimating to give
away over 1 million cups nationwide.
For 19 years weve planned this annual, free event as
a way to generate excitement for the season and to say
thank you to our loyal Ritas Italian Ice lovers and the
communities that support us year in and year out, Jim
Rudolph, Ritas chairman of the board and chief executive
ofcer said in a statement.
The First Day of Spring Giveaway will take place on
March 20 from 12 to 9 p.m., at more than 550 Ritas Italian Ice
locations across the country.
For more information and to
nd participating locations, visit
www.ritasice.com.
Ritas Italian Ice to Welcome Spring with Annual Giveaway
Courtesy Photo/BCAC Deltas
Members of the Baltimore County Alumnae Chapter,
Delta Sigma Theta, will host an entrepreneurship and job
readiness fair on March 26 in Randallstown.
By AFRO Sta
Messages of encouragement and wisdom will come alive
in the staged reading ofGo, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First
Lady, premiering at Coppin State Universitys James Weldon
Johnson Auditorium on March 18.
Drawn from the book Go, Tell Michelle: African American
Women Write to the New First Lady, the performance will be a
presentation of poems and letters of support, written by women
from all across the country and addressed to Michelle Obama
following her husbands election to presidency. The book was
penned by Baltimore native Peggy Brooks-Bertram and Dr.
Barbara Seals Nevergold.
The performance at Coppin will mark the second
professional presentation of the production, as it rst premiered
in San Diego, Calif., in February.
Bertram, now a resident of Buffalo, N.Y., received her early
education at Baltimore City public schools. She completed her
undergraduate studies at Goucher College and later received
a masters and doctorate in public health from Johns Hopkins
University.
In 2003, she co-authored the book series, Uncrowned
Queens: African American Women Community Builders of
Western New York and the State of Oklahoma. Bertram is
currently working on a sequel to Go, Tell Michelle and a
biography of her life growing up in East Baltimore.
Go, Tell Michelle, Letters to the First Lady, will premiere
at Coppin State Univers itys James Weldon Johnson Auditorium
on March 18 at 7 p.m. For more information and to purchase
tickets, visit: http://www.msbcoc.org/michelle/.
Baltimore Native to Premiere Staged Readingof Letters Addressed To U.S. First Lady
Karima Amin, Barbara A. Seals Nevergold, Ph.D. andPeggy Brooks-Bertram, Dr. P.H., Ph.D. Courtesy Photo
More Community on A6
8/7/2019 Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, March 19, 2011
6/20
A6 The Afro-American, March 19, 2011 - March 25, 2011
A federal drug trafcking
sting which netted 64 arrestsin Baltimore was lauded
by federal ofcials but has
introduced new argumentsquestioning the effectiveness
of Americas war on drugs.
Wherever criminal gangsbring violence to our streets,
that is where we will direct the
resources needed to send themto prison, Baltimore U.S.
Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein
said in a statement. We mustpersist in this coordinated
effort, because every American
deserves to live in a safeneighborhood.
A total of 40 people were
charged by the state while24 were charged federally.
Authorities also seized
marijuana, heroin, guns and$69,000 in cash.
Among those charged was
Felicia Snoop Pearson,30, a former actress on
HBOs The Wire, whose
involvement made the caseespecially newsworthy.
Pearsons difcult upbringing
led her to prior brushes withthe law, including a murder
conviction in 1996.
David Simon, producerof The Wire, said her
arrest should be
enough to promptauthorities to take
a further look at
the war on drugs.In an essay published
in Time two years ago, the
writers of The Wire madethe argument that we believe
the war on drugs has devolvedinto a war on the underclass,
that in places like West and
East Baltimore, where thedrug economy is now the
only factory still hiring andwhere the educational system
is so crippled that the vast
majority of children aretrained only for the corners,
a legal campaign to imprison
our most vulnerable anddamaged citizens is little
more than amoral, he said in
a statement.He said that Pearsons
vastly different upbringingand environment from his
own is one that makes him
incapable of judgment.I, for one, do not qualify
as a peer to Felicia Pearson,he said. The opportunitiesand experiences of her life do
not correspond in any way
with my own, and her Americais different from my own.
Despite Simons opinion,authorities say the arrests
were necessary to further
eliminate the scourge of drugsand violence on Baltimores
streets.
These arrests arerepresentative of law
enforcements commitment
to keep this city safe fromthe violence and crimes
associated with drug
trafcking, DEA SpecialAgent in-charge Ava Cooper-
Davis said in a statement.
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OPEN A MACYS ACCOUNT FOR EXTRA 20% SAVINGS THE FIRST 2 DAYS WITH MORE REWARDS TO COME. Macys credit card is available subject to credit approval; new account savings valid the day your accountis opened and the next day; excludes services, select licensed departments, gift cards, restaurants, gourmet food and wine. On furniture, mattresses and rugs/floor coverings, the new account savings is limited to $100;application must qualify for immediate approval to receive extra savings; employees not eligible.
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Excludes: special purchases, specials, super buys, cosmetics/fragrances, mensstore electronics, apparel for boys, girls and infants, gift cards, jewelry trunkshows, previous purchases, special orders, selected licensed depts., macys.com,services. Cannot be combined with any savings pass/coupon, extra discount orcredit offer except opening a new Macys account. EXTRA SAVINGS % APPLIEDTO REDUCED PRICES.
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Baltimores Snoop Drug Sting Raises Questions About War on Drugs
Community continued from A5
Felicia Snoop PearsonCourtesy Photo
Applications are beingaccepted through May 6 for
Baltimore County PublicSchools Summer Instrumental
Music Camp.
The camp, to be held thisyear at Cockeysville Middle
School, 10401 Greenside
Drive, will take place June21-29 and is open to BCPS
students who will be entering
grades 6-12 in the 2011-2012school year and who are
enrolled in their schools bandor orchestra. No audition is
required. The camp operates
from 9 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. eachday.
During the camp, students
will play in a band ororchestra at the appropriate
grade level. In addition
to large group rehearsals,students will participate in
enrichment classes and will
receive instruction to enhanceinstrumental performance
skills.At the end of the camp,
all of the musical ensembles
will perform in a publicconcert in the outdoor
amphitheater at Oregon Ridge
Park, the summer home ofthe Baltimore Symphony
Orchestra on June 29.
Bus transportation will beavailable from the following
locations: Arbutus Middle,Catonsville Middle, Deep
Creek Middle, Deer Park
Middle, Dumbarton Middle,Dundalk High, Franklin
Middle, Golden Ring
Middle, Hereford Middle,Kenwood High, Loch Raven
High, Middle River Middle,
Parkville High, PatapscoHigh, Perry Hall Middle,
Pikesville Middle, Pine GroveMiddle, Ridgely Middle, and
Southwest Academy.
Camp information and
applications are availableonline at http://www.bcps.org/
ofces/elem_music/pdf/Music-
Camp-Registration-Form.pdf. A program fee of $200
covers all instruction and
transportation.
BCPS AcceptingApplications forSummer Music Camp
8/7/2019 Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, March 19, 2011
7/20
A4 The Afro-American, March 19, 2011 - March 19, 2011
The Quality of Mercy...for your personal OB/GYN
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Carmen Farrior, M.D., M.B.A., Jennifer Taylor, M.D.,
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March 19, 2011 - March 25, 2011 The Afro-American A7
built and was included in the
original deed. Many rents
were established as far back asthe late 1800s. Ground rents
were in place for 99 years and
perpetually renewable. Evenas ownership of the home
changed hands, the ground
leaseholder could remain the
same.After a series ofinvestigative news articles
published in 2006 exposed
investors that used anejectment clause in the
ground rent law to foreclose
on homeowners for backrent, lawmakers took action
with House Bill 580 and
Senate Bill 622. Under the2007 changes to sections
8-701 through 8-711 of theAnnotated Code of Maryland,
ground leaseholders had until
Sept. 30, 2010 to registertheir properties with the
Maryland State Department
of Assessments and Taxation(SDAT) in order to be eligible
to collect ground rent. If the
property was not registeredby the end of the specied
date, the ground rent would be
extinguished.Lee Barnstein, an attorney
with a practice in Pikesvilleand ground leaseholder for
multiple properties, claims
that the changes in the lawplace an undue burden on
ground leaseholders. I
estimate theres about 20,000people that lost their ground
rent and most of them are
individual people that have
one or two ground rents, saidBarnstein.Paul Anderson, chief legal
review ofcer for SDAT,
estimates that only 85,000
of the 115,000 to 130,000
properties in Baltimore Cityeligible for ground rent
collection were registered
with the department. Theground rent was extinguished
for the remaining 30,000
to 40,000 properties. The
only way to nd out if yourproperty was registered is todo a real property data search
[on SDATs website], said
Anderson.Say you lived in Florida
and you own one ground rent
and youre getting paid on it,would you want the state to
take it away from you? Who
ever heard of a law comingout that if youre getting paid
on something and you dontle a certain form, you lose
it, said Barnstein. There are
some pending court cases that
will hopefully overturn thislaw.
Anderson said one suchcase would be reviewed by
the Court of Appeals in June.
According to online courtrecords, Charles Muskin,
who represents the trust for
a deceased ground leaseholder in a suit against SDAT,
alleges the 2007 law violates
federal and state constitutions
by transferring propertyand contract rights to a thirdperson without compensation
and that the ground rent
statute process is unreasonably
harsh and costly.
To enforce ground rentpayments, the law required
the ground leaseholder to
pay a $10 registration fee forthe rst property and from
$3 to $5 for every property
thereafter, depending on
the date led. The law alsostipulated that no new groundrents could be created after
2007, putting an end to the
practice in existence sincecolonial times.
The 2007 law mandated
SDAT maintain a database ofregistered properties. To get
information regarding ground
rent registration for the landwhere a home is located,
conduct a real property searchthrough the SDAT website
at: http://sdatcert3.resiusa.
org/rp_rewrite/. The property
address, entered without streetname sufxes, is needed.
Once information regardingthe property is on the screen,
click on the Ground Rent
Registration link in theupper right hand corner of
the property record. This will
give ground rent registrationinformation. If the elds are
blank, the property was not
registered and any existing
ground rent relationshiphas been severed at leastuntil any pending lawsuits
regarding this statute change
are settled.
For homeowners whose
properties were registeredby the ground leaseholder,
the Maryland Department
of Housing and CommunityDevelopment offers low-
interest loans to help residents
who need assistance to
purchase their ground rent.For people making less than80 percent of the statewide
median income, we provide
deferred loans from about$1,500 to $3,000 to help the
individual purchase their
ground rent from the leaseholder, said Catherine
Spencer, a special loans
processor with the department.
This program has beengoing on for years and its
different than the redemption
program administered by theDepartment of Assessments,
but its a very low cost way to
buy out your ground rent.
A spokesman for BaltimoreCity Council PresidentBernard Jack Young told
the AFRO that Young has
not received any feedbackfrom city residents negatively
impacted by the 2007 law.
Barnstein and other groundlease holders affected by the
law believe no one will truly
benet from the change.
Heres one thing the Statedid not gure on and this is
probably going to hurt thepeople that own the houses.
If you own a house with
a $3,000 ground rent andbecause the [leaseholder] did
not register it, you now own
the ground rent basically. Youown the house fee simple,
said Barnstein. Someone
ought to notify the InternalRevenue that ought to be a
taxable event. Everybody that
gets a fee simple propertyshould probably pay income
tax on that $3,000 because theState of Maryland is basically
giving them a $3,000 ground
rent for nothing.
Lawrence BellContinued from A1
Abolished Colonial Law Frees Many HomeownersContinued from A1
rst case against Bell, 49, because he wasrunning for elected ofce, but asserted he
continued to cyber-stalk her and tap into herphone conversations.
Mabry was granted a temporary peace
order against Bell March 1 and March 8, butat a nal hearing March 15, District Court
Judge Halee Weinstein chose not to grant an
extended peace order that would have lasted
six months because the petitioner could notmeet required burden of proof, according to
court records.
Bell still faces third-degree criminalcharges of burglary, stalking, theft of less than
$1,000 and excessive telephone calls related to
the case. That trial is set for April 7.Natalie T. Collins, Bells attorney, told
the AFRO she believes the criminal case willbe dismissed. Her story is not credible. We
have reason to believe that Ms. Mabry is in
need of psychiatric care, she said, adding thatBell had not seen Mabry in years prior to the
hearings. He was never in a relationship with
her ... He would consider them friends on an
acquaintance level.In a recent interview, Bell expressed similar
sentiments. I think it will become apparentto anyone with ordinary judgment that the
allegations defy common sense, he said.Mabry declined to comment when
approached by the AFRO.
Bell served 12 years on the city councilbefore launching an unsuccessful mayoral
bid against Gov. Martin OMalley in 1999,
a campaign which brought to light Bellsunattering personal and nancial woes. He
dropped out of public view and moved to
Atlanta before resurfacing in Baltimore in2006 for a state senate race, eventually won by
Catherine Pugh, D-40.
By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware
Special to the AFRO
While the thought of more than
10,000 elementary school-aged
children moving at the same timemight seem a tad foreboding, the
March 24 simultaneous exercise
event in 26 Maryland schools isbeing carefully orchestrated and is
just what the doctor ordered for15 minutes, that is.
The event is simply the way the
American Diabetes Association,in partnership with Playworks and
Baltimore City Public Schools, has
chosen to remind the communitythat everyone needs to get moving,
children included, to stave off
the epidemic of obesity that has
plunged one in four African-American children into type II
diabetes, a category formerly
reserved for overweight adults.
Today, almost one in every
three children in the nationis overweight or obese. The
number rises to 40 percent in
African-American and Hispaniccommunities, according to the
Lets Move Campaign website.
Stop Diabetes is both theintent and the mantra of the ADAs
2011 campaign to begin March 22with a week of activities starting
with a rally in Annapolis and a
meeting to encourage Marylandlegislators to do their part in
mandating, as much as possible,
healthier habits in state schools.Our intent is to raise the level
of awareness about the seriousness
of diabetes in our community and
the need to look at systems andpolicies that can improve the lives
of those living with diabetes and
also to prevent diabetes, said
Shawn McIntosh, ADA director of
programs and advocacy.Our specic bill is HB 168,
which has been stuck in the House
Ways and Means Committee for
six years now, and we need to getit out of committee so the entire
House can vote on it.
House Bill 168 was introduced
six years ago by former NFLplayer and current state delegate,
Jay Walker (D-Dist. 26), to make
a place in every Maryland school
for physical education, much of
which succumbed to ongoingbudget woes. Many parents do
not realize that PE was taken out
of many school systems. Parentsoften say we had PE every day,
said Walker, who represents Prince
Georges County. Well in someschool systems students participate
in PE only once a week. This isunacceptable and we are doing a
tremendous disservice to our kids.
The bill requires that a publicschool student in elementary
school be provided a daily program
of physical activity totaling at least150 minutes of physical activity
each week, including at least 90
minutes of physical education; that
the program of physical activityfor a specied category of student
be consistent with a specied plan
for the student; public elementaryschools to designate a specied
group to plan and coordinatespecied activities, according to
the legislative website synopsis.
One in every three childrenborn after 2000 will develop
diabetes, McIntosh said. We
need people to get involved, tojoin the Stop Diabetes movement
they can take the risk test on our
website, attend workshops andtake control of their own lifestyle
behavior changes.
She said people can alsovolunteer to help ADA spread the
word.The week of activities abounds
with opportunities for health
information on diabetes and otherconditions, instruction on healthy
cooking, a workout with Ravens
tness trainer Monte Sanders and aSpin-A-Thon at Golds Gym.
For more information on Stop
Diabetes Rally Week activities
visit https://sites.google.com/site/
stopdiabetesmaryland or to take
the risk test, visit diabetes.org orcall the Baltimore ofce at 410-
265-0075.
Stop Diabetes!Share. Act. Learn. Give
I think it will become apparent toanyone with ordinary judgmentthat the allegations defy commonsense.
~Lawrence Bell
Many parents do not
realize that PE was taken
out of many school
systems.
~Jay Walker, D-Dist. 26
The only way to nd out if your property wasregistered [or not] is to do a real proper ty data
search.~ Paul Anderson, chief legal review ocer for SDAT
8/7/2019 Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, March 19, 2011
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March 19, 2011 - March 19, 2011, The Afro-American A5
Reginald F. Lewis Museumof Maryland African American History & Culture
830 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202443-263-1800
www.AfricanAmericanCulture.org
Saturday, March 19, 1 p.m.Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a ormer Universityo Caliornia Presidents Postdoctoral Fellow
and graduate o Harvard. Wench is her frst
novel.
Saturday, April 16, 1 p.m.Wendy Coakley-Thompson is the author oTriptych, Back to Life (2004 Romantic Times Award
nominee) Coakley-Thompson also covers thepublishing industry or Examiner.com.
Saturday, May 21, 1 p.m.(Mother/Daughter discussion)
Jewell Parker Rhodes is an award-winningauthor o fction and nonfction. Her bookNinth
Ward is a winner o the Coretta Scot King Award.
Saturday, June 18, 1 p.m.Charlene Davis, MSW frst book is Pay Attention tothe Red Flag. She is inspired by John Grisham, Eric
Jerome Dickey, T.D. Jakes, and Oprah Winrey.
Author Appearances and Booksignings | Free Program
Attendees are asked to register by calling: 443-263-1827
A8 The Afro-American, March 19, 2011 - March 25, 2011
Schools, the energetic crowd
urged state legislators to
Keep the Promise.
It was the education
coalitions second protest to
preserve state funding. On
Feb. 28, dozens of teachers,
students, parents and school
supporters took to Annapolis
to testify against slashes to
education.
In his state budget
proposal, Gov. Martin
OMalley purports to keepeducation funding at, but
the even stream of cash
wont pay for increased
student enrollment or chartadjustments for ination.
The result is $15 million
worth of cuts to Baltimore
City Schools and $94 million
statewide. OMalleys
spending plan limits funding
growth to 1 percent a year and
chops the states contribution
to teachers retirement and
pensions by $2 million.
For Baltimore City, the
cuts equate to $250 less
per pupil or a 10 percent
reduction, according to
Baltimore Education
Coalition memos.
The cuts come as the
state must close a $1.3
billion budget gap, and state
ofcials say it promotes scal
responsibility.In an open letter to the
public school community
dated Feb. 15, Baltimore
city schools CEO AndresA. Alonso said the aid
reductions would foil his
administrations attempts
to turn around city schools.
Any change in the state
method for funding education
that reduces our funding at a
time of growing enrollment
is a grave risk to the progress
and momentum that is now
underway in City Schools,
he wrote.
Alonso said the fresh
round of cuts would surely
lead to fewer teachers and
increased class sizes, or fewer
career, technical, art, music
or after school programs.
It could also halt efforts to
restore deteriorating school
structures.Baltimore City Schools
depends on the state for
nearly 70 percent of their
budget.
The spending proposal
undercuts the Thornton
funding formula, which in
2002 afxed a per-pupil
benchmark for state aid.
The legislature has at lined
school funding for the last
three years without ination
adjustments, which city
school ofcials assert led to
$250 million less aid than
mandated under Thornton.
Whats worse, enrollment
is expected to increase by 800students next year.
I think that if budget cuts
take place, we wont be able
to be educated as much as we
are now, Lashia Daniels, a
Baltimore City College High
student said in a video posted
on the Baltimore City Public
Schools website. If we have
more funding we will be
able to have different after
school programs and it will
distract us from being out on
the streets and making bad
decisions and I think that is
very important to keep our
minds focused.
Sharon Wheaton, aBaltimore pre-K teacher said
she attended last weeks rally
to evoke change. We see a
wrong and we want to make it
right, she said.
At the protest, several
Baltimore City legislators
asserted their opposition of
the bill. Del. Curt Anderson
said the Baltimore delegation
which he chairs has
backed up $800 million in
education aid and are going
for more.
Del. Keiffer Mitchell Jr.
added that he has a vested
interest in education funding
because his two childrenattend Baltimore City Public
Schools.
Baltimore Democrat Del.
Jill P. Carter has said one of
the reasons she attempted to
scuttle the now-stalled same-
sex marriage bill earlier this
month was to push forward
debate about school funding.
State legislators are
scheduled to vote on the
budget, with the rst round of
votes scheduled before March
19.
City Education AdvocatesContinued from A1
PGCC Communication & Theatre Department
Veteran Actor Directs Wilsons Two Trains RunningBy George Barnette
AFRO Staf Writer
The Prince Georges
Community College
Communication and TheatreDepartment is currently in
rehearsals of August Wilsons
play, Two Trains Running,
a story about civil rights era
Pittsburgh.
August Wilson didnt
write about famous people,
said Charles Weldon, the
director of the play. He
wrote about people youve
never heard of, who live in
the house next door or the
house down the street, and
their struggles.
Weldon is a veteran
actor who has acted in a
production ofTwo Trains
Running himself. Weldonscareer includes working
in lms such as Stir Crazy
and Malcolm Xas well as
appearing on primetime
television shows, Law
and Order and New York
Undercover.
Hes brought years of
experience to the play so its
only natural that hes using
that experience to teach the
students at PGCC a process
he said is coming along
slowly but surely.
I used to teach acting
a lot and thats what I nd
myself doing, Weldon said.
At this point Im doing moreteaching than directing.
At the same time you
want to push [the students]
to where they can get to the
point to where they can start
creating on their own, he
continued. Some of them
are getting there and doing
that and I really appreciate
that.
Weldon is very hands-
on with the students and
actors. He doesnt mind
stopping a scene or changing
a detail here and there to
have the play make more
sense. Hell even talk to an
actor in the middle of scene,something that PGCC acting
teacher Gina Alvarado-Otero
appreciates.
I love when he just goes
and whispers advice in their
ears, she said. Some people
may get ustered but the
kids hear the advice and then
theyre ne.
Weldon said there are
some distinct challenges
with working with a school,
however. He said that after
a month of rehearsals with a
professional acting company,
a play would be ready for
open. But with students, who
have to worry about school
and other time restrictions,
its more difcult to get this
play perfected.
I know these kids cantcome to rehearsal until they
get out of school, he said.
You cant rehearse more than
four hours, which is totally
different than professionals
because then you can rehearse
seven working hours.
Weldon is also concerned
with his other job as artistic
director of the Negro
Ensemble Company in
Harlem, whose alumni list
includes Phylicia Rashad,
Denzel Washington and
Samuel L. Jackson.
Weldon said he didnt
mind taking the job, although
he knew the school wouldnt
be able to pay him much.
All I say is help me so that
I dont lose money, Weldon
said. My staff is always onethe phone with me and when
I woke up this morning I had
a lot of messages. The natives
are getting restless.
Despite the challenges,
the play is coming along
and will be ready to open
on March 31. Weldon says
the experience has been
invaluable to him.
This is a good place to
start directing, he said. The
kids are trying. Its good for
me to go through this part of
it because I plan to do a lot
more of it.
Photo by George Barnette
Charles Weldon works with two students during rehearsals ofTwo Trains Running.
Any change in the state method forfunding education that reduces ourfunding at a time of growing enrollment isa grave risk to the progress andmomentum that is now underway in CitySchools.
- Baltimore city schools CEO Andres A. Alonso
8/7/2019 Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, March 19, 2011
9/20
March 19, 2011 - March 25, 2011, The Afro-American A9
During the most difculteconomic period in severalgenerations, I count myselffortunate. In addition to
the blessings of family andreasonably good health, Irepresent a true communityof conscience in the Congressof the United States.
Here in the Baltimoreregion, we devoteconsiderable attention toour shortcomings. We alsoshould recognize the cultureof caring about others thatdoes so much to sustainour community. This is an
element of the truth about ourselves that so pervades our dailylives that it may go unnoticed. It should not.
Here in our community, heroes and heroines are respondingto their own struggles in life, not by taking from others, butby giving. Despite the challenges on our streets, at our jobsand in our schools, they have never lost the vision and will to
overcome. I share these reections to give credit where creditis due and I have another, even more compelling motivationas well.
All too often, when I go to work in Washington, I encountera more self-centered, less generous vision for our country.
We all should be clear. The political arguments aboutbudgets in Washington and our state legislatures haveimplications far beyond the appropriate role of government inour lives. At their heart, these legislative struggles are aboutthe quality of life that we, as Americans, are committed toproviding for our children and the generations yet unborn.
Our governments at every level face nancial decitsthat must be addressed. Yet, underlying many of the argumentsabout balancing our public accounts is a more fundamentalmoral challenge.
When 220,000 Marylanders and more than 13,000,000 otherAmericans are taking the early bus each day in a struggle tond jobs, proposals to cut job training and referral programs areimmoral, as well as scally unwise.
When we know that modest amounts invested now infederal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) funding can savetens of thousands of lives (and billions of dollars) in the yearsto come, efforts to cut this vital funding are totally inconsistentwith the value our nation places upon human life.
When those who applaud educational achievement vote tocut 10,000 teachers, tutors and aides from low-income, Title Ipublic schools nationwide and to cut federal nancial aid formore than 10 million deserving college students how can theydefend themselves against charges of hypocrisy?
I wish that I could assure my neighbors that the RepublicanTea Party attack upon our future as a great nation is limited tothe examples that I have noted.
It is not. Even a perfunctory review of H.R. 1, passed bythe House (235-189) by a Republican party-line vote, reveals a
lock-step, ideological disregard for Americas safety net, ourprosperity, our public health, our environment, and our security.
Perhaps even more profound, we are facing a seriouschallenge to the moral sensibilities that are the foundation ofour national unity.
We can trust the Senate and our president to ght for usand the American values that H.R. 1 disregards. I also havefaith that our community and our nation will eventually rise toovercome the desperate challenge that we now face.
Yet that short-term victory (in all probability, one lledwith painful compromise) will not be the end of this challenge.
The more fundamental struggle, to be waged in the hearts andminds of 308 million Americans, is just beginning.
Those Tea-Party Republicans in the House ofRepresentatives are gasping from the growing federal debt.They may be surprised to learn that so am I. Yet I also ask themthis basic question: With the greatest economy in the world,why cant Americas elected representatives nd the resourcesneeded to accomplish our practical (and moral) nationalimperatives?
I ask this because I represent a community that has not lostits conscience. I represent a community that understands a basictruth about life in our country. The most crippling segregation
of all is the segregation from hope that is the inevitableconsequence of unrelieved poverty.
We must organize and work together to convince ourcountrymen and women of the wisdom and justice of our cause or we must relegate our children to the evolving economicserfdom of our time.
This struggle is about what kind of America we aredetermined to create.
Congressman Elijah Cummings represents Marylands7th Congressional District in the United States House of
Representatives.
I have recently been
shocked and appalled byads that I and other Black
publishers saw in several
major newspapers (The New
York Times, Chicago Tribune,
etc.) conrming that Toyota
spent hundreds of thousands
of dollars to advertise in
White mainstream daily
newspapers THANKING
their general market
consumers for their loyalty
and patronage to Toyota
during their time of major
controversy and concerns over the safety of Toyotas vehicles.
Thanking their customers is a smart move on Toyotas
behalf and one that I applaud. However, we cant overlook
the fact that Black people represent almost 10 percent of
Toyotas American market share, and with a $1.2 billion annual
advertising budget it is not unreasonable for the Black Press to
always expect to have a stake in Toyotas advertising (including
Black advertising agencies). Nevertheless, Black newspapers
were left off Toyotas latest marketing campaign, sending a
clear and direct message that the Black consumer is still being
taken for granted and Black people are still being disrespected
and undervalued. This is disappointing behavior from a
company who was all too eager to send us their press releases
and ask us to write stories and editorials to inuence Black
America to stay with them in their time of trouble. But now
that Toyotas pain has been essentially easedfor nowby
a report issued by the Federal Transportation Department and
NASA that found no faults with Toyotas electronic accelerator
controls, the Black press has once again been forgotten along
with the Black consumer.
Toyota should note that it is going to take more than apassing grade on a federal transportation report card to bring
back the consumer safety condence enjoyed for years by
Toyota from American consumers prior to one of the largest
vehicle recalls in U.S. history.
So when the decision was made to advertise in mainstream
newspapers from coast to coast thanking their customers for
their loyalty, where was Toyotas loyalty to the 10 percent of
African- American consumers? DONT WE ALSO DESERVE
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU?
Historically, there has always been an imbalance between
what goes out of the Black community and what comes into
the Black community relative to retail goods, services and
representation. Despite the fact that the buying power of
Americas Blacks is reported to be roughly $1 trillion this year.
And it is highly doubtful that Black-owned businesses will
report revenue numbers that are the same and/or reap any of
the benets proportionate to our buying power. However, the
question still remains, why is Toyota undervaluing the Black
consumer and showing our community such blatant disrespect?
Tried, true, and tested the NNPA (Black Press of America)
remains the gatekeeper for reaching the Black community.
Corporations and advertising agencies wanting and needing
to reach the African-American consumer must understand the
relationship of the Black Press with Black people. They must
remember to place their advertising messages on the pages of
Black newspapers throughout America, and Black consumers
will respond in kind (Black advertising agencies could help
them with this). The days of being silent and complainingamong ourselves regarding these unethical and immoral
business practices are over.
When Toyota wanted our help, it had no problem seeking all
200 Black newspapers in America to do just that. Their message
to Black people was, Please help us. We value your business.
We do not want Toyota to use us for editorial coverage and then
overlook us with their advertising dollars.
Black newspapers are not afraid to demand fair representation
and a seat to dine at Toyotas table, especially when their food
is purchased with approximately 10 percent of Black consumer
dollars. We are not interested in ghting with Toyota however,
Toyota has enjoyed healthy African-American consumer support,
and despite last years set back we have remained loyal. If you
want to thank Black consumers
for our loyalty and keep our
business, do it on the pages of
the Black newspapers that Black
people read, respect, trust and
own.
As chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers
Association, I represent 200 Black publishers throughout
America. I am challenging Toyotas chairman and CEO to do
the right thing and meet with me to discuss the future of their
relationship with Black consumers and whether or not we as
Black newspaper publishers should continue supporting Toyota
or should organize a campaign to take Black brand loyalty to
Toyota elsewhere. WE WILL NOT BUY WHERE WE ARE
DISRESPECTED.THAT IS A PROMISE!
Danny Bakewell Sr. is the chairman of the National
Newspaper Publishers Association, parent organization to more
than 200 independently owned Black newspapers.
What we witnessed March
10 on Capitol Hill duringhearings led by Rep. Peter
King (R-N.Y.), chairman of
the House Homeland SecurityCommittee, was a shameful
example of the excesses of
power. Claiming concernover the alleged radicalization
of Muslims in America, Rep.
King conducted nothingshort of a witch hunt, by
singling out a single groupof Americans as an internal
threat to the nations security
worthy of suspicion by theirfellow citizens. The insult was enough to bring Rep. Keith
Ellison (D-Minn.), one of two Muslims serving in Congress,
to tears as he defended American Muslims, and emotionally
described the sacrice that some Muslims made on Sept. 11,2001.
The arrogance of Rep. King was evident as he maintainedthat the threat of radical elements among the nations Muslim
population was extensive enough to warrant a McCarthy-likeprobe. This, despite the fact that Kings earlier claims that more
than 80 percent of imams in our country were radicalized has
never been substantiated and widely ridiculed. To add insult,and further fan the ames of hate toward Muslims, King had
pictures of the devastation of 9/11 on the walls of the hearing
room. It was one of the worst examples of the immorality ofpolitical leadership of recent memory.
Meanwhile, as King works to pin the scarlet letter of
terrorism on Muslims, and make Islam a dirty word in America,the suspect in the attempted bombing of the Martin Luther King
Day parade route in Spokane, Wash., Kevin William Harpham,
was a member of the neo-Nazi National Alliance according tothe Southern Poverty Law Center. Like Timothy McVeigh, he
is a former soldier in the U.S. Army, who sympathizes with
White supremacists. Had the bomb placed where it wasintended to do major damage detonated, the crowd would
have been sprayed with lead pellets coated with rat poison. Yet,
despite the very real existence and continued threat of Whitesupremacist groups and militias, Rep. King is invested in using
his ofce to harbor his personal prejudices.In Detroit, a family is grieving over the deaths of two
children, 8-year-old Alaya Cook and 10-year-old Lataya Cook,
who lost their lives in a re that investigators have deemedarson. The girls were too afraid to jump from a second-story
window at the urging of their father, who was injured in the
blaze. The home had been rebombed. While the perpetrator(s)
have yet to be caught, and the cause remains unknown, theincident is eerily similar to the tragic re that took the life of
a Baltimore family several years back. In that incident, drugdealers had set the house ablaze because the parents were
spoke out against the illegal drug activity occurring in theirneighborhood. Whether drug dealers or gangs are responsible
for the tragedy in Detroit, there is one thing that is certain:
Alaya and Lataya are just the latest victims of an epidemicof u