As George Zimmerman’s legal team tries to win his battle in the court of public opinion, disparaging remarks he made about Mexicans on an old MySpace page have handed the team a setback. Zimmerman has admitted to killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla. on Feb. 26, saying he did so in self-defense and is […]
Author Archives: AFRO Staff
Posted inAfro Briefs
Prince George’s County, Md. Students Fair Well at History Day Competition
Two brothers were among the eight Prince George’s County, Md. students honored at the 2012 Maryland History Day Competition. Vishnu Rachakonda, a student at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, and his younger brother, Vinaichandra Rachakonda, a student at Kenmoor Middle School, will advance to the national competition in the paper category. Vishnu received first place for […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Former Washington D.C. Councilman Thomas Sentenced to 38 Months in Fraud Case
Former D.C. Council Member Harry Thomas Jr. was sentenced by a federal judge May 3 to 38 months in prison for stealing more than $350,000 in taxpayer funds. Thomas pleaded guilty in January to using nearly $350,000 from a nonprofit with which he was affiliated. He used the funds, originally intended for youth sports programs, […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Journalists Acknowledge Mistakes in Race Reporting
The U.S. media failed in its coverage of the Trayvon Martin case and many other race-related events and issues, a panel of journalists recently acknowledged at a W.K. Kellogg Foundation gathering. Roberto Lovato, co-founder of Presente.org, said the mainstream media “is just ill-equipped” to report on many complicated race-related factors in our society. “It’s embarrassing […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Homeless Kids Lead Gospel Flash Mob at Budget Support Act Hearing
In the wake of Mayor Vincent Gray’s proposed budget cuts to critical housing, homelessness, and family support services, sixty homeless children and parents interrupted the Budget Support Act hearing. April 30, and handed their city representatives hand-painted houses with the message “Kids Need Homes” written on them, as a young man sang a gospel song. […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Toni Morrison to Receive 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom
Toni Morrison, renowned author of “Sula” and “Beloved,” was named by the White House as one of this year’s Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients. The award, the nation’s highest civilian honor, is presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace or […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
New Md. Laws Protect Workers, Restrict Guns
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley signed four bills into law May 2 that provide protections to workers serving jury duty, tighten regulations on gun ownership, protect asbestos workers and make impersonating a transit police officer illegal. Under Maryland law (SB640), ex-offenders who committed a violent crime in or have a drug-related felony from another state now […]
Posted inSports
Minnesota Vikings Cut Caleb King after Arrest
The Minnesota Vikings gave running back Caleb King the boot just days after the athlete was arrested for brutally beating a man at a friend’s birthday party. According to Fox News Minneapolis affiliate KMSP, King, 24, was arrested in the early morning hours of April 28 in Oak Grove, Minn. A police report claimed that […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Tyler Perry’s Atlanta Film Studio Damaged by Massive Blaze
Tyler Perry Studios was struck by a four-alarm blaze that damaged a portion of the Atlanta building’s sound stages, according to city fire officials. No one was hurt in the fire. According to the Associated Press, the fire started just before 9 p.m. May 1, and was extinguished about an hour later. Atlanta Fire Chief […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Crowning of First “Miss Black France” Ignites Controversy
Mbathio Beye was crowned the first “Miss Black France” April 28 under a heavy cloud of controversy in the still racially-charged city of Paris. The exclusive contest was created to celebrate Black beauty in a way traditional beauty contests failed to do, one organizer said. “The Traditional Miss France contest is not representing today’s French […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Ward 8’s Marvelous School, Dream Machine
Achievement Preparatory Academy (Achievement Prep), a public charter school serving 210 scholars east of the Anacostia River, is among the highest performing public schools in the city, according to 2011 DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS) scores. “Over eighty percent of our students come from low-income homes, 100 percent are African American and they are outperforming […]