When civil rights activist and Washington D.C. statehood advocate Lawrence Guyot died Nov. 23, he left behind a legacy of activism that spanned more than 50 years. Friends described Guyot, 73, as a “fearless” crusader for voting rights, human rights and statehood. “He was a bright-eyed, feisty and tireless civil rights worker who spoke what […]
Author Archives: Avis Thomas-Lester
AFRO Executive Editor
Posted inNational News
Civil Rights Activist Lawrence Guyot Succumbs at 73
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Lawrence Guyot, the scion of the Civil Rights Movement who later turned his efforts to statehood for the District of Columbia died Nov. 23. He was 73. Guyot died at home after a long battle with diabetes and heart disease. Friends who had spoken with him in recent weeks said he was elated […]
Posted inBaltimore News
New Book on Thurgood Marshall Details Early Life
An unusual testament to the quality of the new biography of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall by Baltimore attorney and University of Maryland law school professor Larry S. Gibson is cited on the back cover. “The most accurate book ever published about my husband,” Marshall’s widow, Cecelia S. Marshall, wrote about Young Thurgood: […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore Residents Live Long or Die Young Based on Neighborhood
The place where 3-year-old Antoine Graves grows into adulthood is likely to determine whether he lives to be very old or dies young, according to a new study. According to a new report entitled “Place Matters for Health in Baltimore: Ensuring Opportunities for Good Health for All,” which contains research on health inequities in the […]
Posted inNational News
The Nation Reaffirms President Obama
President Obama, the nation’s first African-American commander-in-chief, won re-election on Nov. 6 from an electorate that had been battered by one of the most contentious presidential campaigns in recent history. As he stood before a crowd of 10,000 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Lakeside Center, Obama spoke confidently and proudly about the nation and its people. “Tonight, more […]
Posted inCommentary
Vote for Another Four Years of Progress for U.S.
In a few days, many Americans who haven’t already voted will head to the polls to elect the next president of the United States. But some will not. There are still many, including legions of Blacks, who have no plans to vote. The reasons vary—no time, their choice won’t matter, they don’t care who wins […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Mfume Refutes Sobhani Ad Endorsement Inference “That is a Lie.”
Businessman Rob Sobhani, an Independent who is challenging Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) for the seat he has held since 2006, pulled a campaign ad that he was running featuring former Rep. Kweisi Mfume criticizing Cardin. He made the move after protests from Mfume and the Maryland Democratic Party, but later replaced it with a similar […]
Posted inEditorial
Failing to Vote Dishonors Those Who Fought and Died for the Right
Vernon Dahmer would want you to vote on Nov. 6 and in every election day for the rest of your life. He would want you to teach your children to vote. He would want you to urge your friends, neighbors and co-workers to vote. So would Rev. George Lee, Lamar Smith, Herbert Lee, Medgar Evers […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
County Exec Baker Schmoozes for Prince George’s at CBC
Prince George’s County was in the house for the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference last week at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the District. While revelers from Michigan celebrated at the Arena Stage and politicians and business leaders socialized over drinks at bars all over the city, County Executive Rushern L. Baker […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington Descendant Finds His Ancestral Calling
From the time he was a very young child, the portrait made Kenneth B. Morris Jr. uncomfortable. The piercing eyes of the handsome African American man with the shock of gray hair that hung over the staircase of his great-grandmother’s Capitol Hill townhouse seemed to follow him. “It was as if I could hear this […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
New Joint from Spike Lee
The summer of 2012 will go down as the time when the U.S. dominated at the Olympic Games in London and maverick Black filmmaker Spike Lee released Red Hook Summer, his first offering at the box office since his World War II pic Miracle at St. Anna and the latest in his Chronicles of Brooklyn […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Adams Morgan Eatery Accused of Racism
Three days after the incident, Damon and Kim Hall seem visibly shaken to discuss it. “I have never had anything like that to happen to me,” said Kim Hall, 36, an attorney for the federal government. “I’ve had, you know, small racist things that people say, but never anything like this. She was yelling racial […]