By Deborah Bailey, Contributing Editor D.C. playwright and director Andy Evans wanted contemporary audiences to get reacquainted with the gifted comedic artistry of D.C. resident and international Black comedian, Jackie Moms Mabley. So he wrote a play about Mabley’s years at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. As Evans conceptualized the play about Mabley, who was […]
Author Archives: Dr. Deborah Bailey AFRO Contributing Editor
Posted inWashington D.C. News
DMV 48 Men of Power honor boxing great Rahman Ali
By Deborah Bailey, Contributing Editor Black History Month ends with a rousing knock out as the DMV 48 Men of Power honored boxing great Rahman Ali, only brother of Muhammed Ali at a festive and spirited ceremony Feb. 24. Program host, Dr. Renee Allen, welcomed DMV luminaries and fans from the corporate, philanthropic, sports, entertainment […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
V.P. Kamala Harris unveils move to reduce Black-White home ownership gap
By Deborah Bailey, AFRO Contributing Editor Bowie State University student Kiara Ebron was exuberant upon learning Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Wes Moore would be visiting her campus to encourage home ownership– specifically in the Black community. The 22 year-old MBA student also decided attending the Harris appearance would be a wonderful way to […]
Posted inNational News
St. Thomas University names law school after veteran Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump
By Deborah Bailey, AFRO Contributing Editor Ben Crump recently became the only practicing Black attorney to have a law school named after him when Miami’s St. Thomas University (STU) named its law school in his honor this month. STU President David A. Armstrong reflected on the common values the institution shared with the civil rights […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Black Philanthropic powerhouse Jack and Jill of America celebrates 85 years of fellowship and service
By Deborah Bailey, Contributing Editor Marion Turner Stubbs Thomas sought a place where her own children could bond with other Black children in Philadelphia’s rapidly expanding, early twentieth century, Black middle class community. So in 1938, Thomas did what any Black mother would do – she invited 20 women to her home for a strategy […]
Posted inU.S. Government
Biden highlights police reform agenda in State of the Union Address
By Deborah Bailey, Contributing Editor In the first fully in-person State of the Union address since the COVID-19 epidemic began, President Joe Biden didn’t mince words or shy away from hard topics. Biden placed the issue of police reform and alternatives to police intervention squarely on the American agenda during his Feb. 7 address. Biden’s […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Brooklyn O’Malley Boys and Girls Club: providing a calm refuge in the midst of Baltimore’s surge of youth violence
By Deborah Bailey, Contributing Editor Kids who find refuge at Brooklyn O’Malley Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore after school now have a new place to regroup and refocus with the launch of the organization’s Calming Center. The recent rash of January shootings involving Baltimore City Public school children has left many students and […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Biden warns MLK Breakfast attendees about Republican-led House of Representatives’ new legislation, cripples middle and low-wealth Americans
By Deborah Bailey, Contributing Editor President Joe Biden warned the audience who gathered for the National Action Network’s (NAN) annual MLK Day breakfast on Jan. 17, about the Republican-led House of Representatives. Their session began days ago with drastic plans that would negatively affect middle and low-income families in America. “I have your back, but we’ve […]
Posted inReligion
President Biden addresses Ebenezer Baptist Church for MLK Sunday morning service
By Deborah Bailey, Special to the AFRO As Rev. Raphael Warnock welcomed President Joe Biden to his pulpit on Jan. 15 – the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta – the historic moment was not lost on him. After all, it was Jan. 15, the actual birth date of the Rev. Dr. Martin L. […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Bowser sworn in to historic third term; top officials united on statehood for D.C.
By Deborah Bailey, Contributing Editor D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser took the oath of office for a third term Jan. 2, unveiling a goal to add thousands of residents to the city’s population by 2028. Bowser also pledged to listen closely to residents’“big ideas” and push relentlessly to make D.C. the 51st state. “We will explore every […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C.’s journalism and communications luminaries honored at Washington Association of Black Journalists’ tribute
By Deborah Bailey, Contributing Editor, Afro American Newspapers Washington D.C.’s black journalism and communications royalty gathered for a glorious reunion December 10. After a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, the Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ) gathered in downtown D.C. for a Special Honors Awards Gala, celebrating Black Excellence in Media. Multiple rounds of Covid-19 confined W.A.B.J’s membership […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries wants to succeed Nancy Pelosi as top House Democrat
By Deborah Bailey, Contributing Editor Congressman Hakeem Sekou Jeffries (D-NY) Jeffries said Nov. 18 he wants to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as the leader of House democrats. He would be the first Black member of Congress to hold a top leadership position in either chamber. His announcement came a day after Pelosi, House speaker […]