According to people who knew him, Rudy Bell Sr. never caused anybody any trouble. A homeless veteran in his mid 60s who suffered from schizophrenia, he spent his days and nights sheltering in an abandoned row house that neighbors say he only left occasionally. It was in this vacant home in the 1600 block of […]
Author Archives: Alexis Taylor
AFRO Staff Writer
Posted inBaltimore News
Cummings: Know Voter Law Reforms Before Election Day
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) gathered with clergy, council members, civil rights organizations and Maryland Board of Election officials Aug. 29 to discuss the waves of voter law reforms that have popped up in states across America. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, these new changes stand to disenfranchise nearly five million American citizens at […]
Posted inHealth
West Nile Virus Claims First Victims of 2012
West Nile Virus is quickly spreading throughout the United States at a speed unseen in previous years, health care officials said. The victims have come from as far west as California, as far east as North Carolina, and almost every state in between. “Thus far in 2012, 47 states have reported West Nile virus infections […]
Posted inHealth
“Fever Phobia” Often Cause of Unnecessary Emergency Room Visits, Overmedication of Children
It’s the middle of the night and your baby is screaming at the top of its lungs. The diaper is dry. The feeding attempts are useless. Only one thing seems off: your bundle of joy is burning up. You quickly rush your child to the hospital and upon arrival; you become one of thousands sitting […]
Posted inHealth
Court Ruling Backs Texas Ban on Funding Planned Parenthood and Affiliate Clinics
Planned Parenthood and its affiliate clinics will not receive funding from the Women’s Health Program while the organization challenges a 2005 ban preventing Texas state funds from going to organizations that provide or associate with clinics that offer abortions. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of New Orleans unanimously agreed Aug. 21 to reverse […]
Posted inBaltimore News
New Black-Owned Bakery Opens on Pennsylvania Avenue
For the past year The Avenue Bakery has been adding a little flavor to the mix of businesses that line Pennsylvania Avenue. A historic corridor of Black life in the city, the avenue celebrated on Aug. 15 as baker James W. “Jim” Hamlin counted his 365th day in operation along with community leaders, residents of […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Photo Exhibit Underscores Black on Black Violence
The concept is simple: 28 women holding pictures of their deceased loved ones. The pose has been seen time and time again but somehow this resonates. These are Genocide Moms, the latest chapter in an ongoing series by freelance photographer, Tobechi Tobechukwu. Each one of them has lost a child, sometimes two, sometimes three, to […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Jared Shanklin Releases New EP “Christmas in July”
Severn, Md. native Jared Shanklin beat Santa to the punch this year, bringing gifts to Baltimore in the height of summer with his new extended play disc (EP), Christmas in July. The 23-year-old held an album release party and live performance showcase at the popular Five Seasons on Guilford Avenue last week, and presented his […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
“Sparkle”–Whitney Houston Returns
Whitney Houston fans have one last chance to see the late superstar in her silver screen curtain call, as Sparkle, her final film, was released Aug. 17. Eight days after what would have been the queen of the love ballad’s 49th birthday, the 2012 remake of the 36 year-old film, premiered in North American theaters. […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Zimmerman to Use Self-Defense Stance, Not Stand-Your-Ground
George Zimmerman’s lawyer will use self-defense, not Florida’s “stand your ground” law, to answer murder charges the neighborhood watch volunteer faces for shooting 17 year-old Trayvon Martin. The facts surrounding the Feb. 26 encounter between the Sanford, Fla. neighborhood watch volunteer and the teenager “don’t seem to support a ‘stand your ground’ defense,” Mark O’Mara, […]
Posted inBaltimore News
20 Years on the Black Side of Vinyl
House music thumps on a record player. The lights are low. There are records everywhere. They are pasted to the ceiling. They line shelves by the thousands. They are piled on the staircase. They decorate hats and T-shirt available for sale. Larry Jeter sits on a stool behind the counter greeting by first name most […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Authorities: Wisc. Sikh Temple Shooter Died From Self-Inflicted Wound, Not Police Bullet
The shooter who killed six people at a Sikh temple outside Milwaukee Aug. 5 died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, not a round fired by police as authorities initially claimed. Authorities now allege that Wade Michael Page shot himself after shooting multiple people while members were preparing for worship, a mass attack that has shocked […]
