Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, March 19, 2011

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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Join Host Sean Yoes

Sunday @ 8 p.m. on

88.9 WEAA FM, the

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.


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A2 The Afro-American, March 19, 2011 - March 25, 2011

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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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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


4/20


Balanced.Morally centered.Responsive.Coeducational.

Join us for

Lunch and Learnwith the Head of School

Observe classes, speak

with students,

meet faculty and

administrators.

Next session: April 14.

Visit friendsbalt.org or

call 410.649.3211

to register.

Johari Frasier 09

M.I.T. 13

Majoring in physics

Hopes to be a professor

Teaches a voice actingseminar to Boston-area

high school students

FS Wind

Ensemble,

trumpeter

Sarah Lewin 09

Brown University 13

Majoring in math

Member of an

improvisationaltheater company

Research assistant,

Johns Hopkins

School of Engineering

(Summers 2007-09)

2009 FS Mixed

Chorus Award


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


5/20


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


6/20


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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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


7/20


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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


8/20


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


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


9/20


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

Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, March 19, 2011

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