As a gun debate rages at the national, state, and local levels, a Baltimore man with two previous felony convictions was sentenced on Feb. 19 to 15 years for unlawfully possessing ammunition. Local law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at the Baltimore home of Robert Hubbard, 37, after an informant purchased drugs from Hubbard […]
Author Archives: Krishana Davis
AFRO Staff Writers
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Family of Emmett Till Speaks Out Against Lil’ Wayne Lyric
New Orleans born rapper Lil’ Wayne has never shied away from controversial lyrics, but a recent line he contributed to rapper Future’s “Karate Chop (Remix)” has brought a new round of criticism. On the original version, Lil’ Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., compared rough sex to the 1955 murder of 14-year-old […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Md. Photographer Captures Black History Month with Photo Campaign
(Updated 2/24/2013)- Just three days before Black History Month rolled in, Bowie, Md.-based photographer Eunique Jones Gibson met with her business partner, Ashleigh Bing, about doing a photo project based on the celebration. The 29-year-old photographer and owner of Eunique Jones Photography specializes in capturing non-traditional love and “life moments” such as engagements, weddings and […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Prince George’s Trims Professional Firefighters From Four Stations
Four Prince George’s County fire stations are set to lose all their paid firefighters on March 4, as announced in early February by county Fire Chief Marc Bashoor. As part of a multi-step plan to combat redundancy, Seat Pleasant Station 808, Branchville Station 811, Boulevard Heights Station 817 and West Lanham Hills Station 828 will […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Six Prince George’s Students Slain This School Year
For the second time in less than 24 hours, students at Suitland High School are mourning the death of a classmate. Just after 5:30 p.m. Feb. 19 in Forestville, a double shooting in the 3700 block of Donnell Drive left an 18-year-old freshman dead and another 18-year-old dying The latest shooting victim was identified as […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Midwest Mother Wants African-American Girls to Bask in Their Image
After relocating to a Midwest suburban neighborhood in 2010, Sheri Crawley’s noticed a change in her bubbly, energetic and confident daughter Laila. Her daughter began attending kindergarten at predominantly White school and began longing for long, blonde hair like her classmates. Crawley, who has read several studies about skin bias such as the 1940s Doll […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Eartha Kitt Becomes Superhero in Comic Book Series
Almost half a century after playing the role of the black jumpsuit wearing, cat-like Bat-Villain, Kitt’s acting legacy has spawned her re-birth in the superhero fiction genre. This time, as herself, a surfing loving, superhero with feral-like agility. “How can Batgirl be the best anything when Catwoman is around,” questioned Eartha Kitt, as the villainous […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Will Baltimore Move Toward a New Urban Story?
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake heralded a “new urban story” in her annual State of the City (SOTC) address on Feb. 11, noting, “The narrative of post-industrial decline won’t be the growing narrative.” Rawlings-Blake said she planned to implement the city’s first 10-year financial plan for revitalization despite Baltimore losing more than one-third of its population in […]
Posted inHealth
Ala. Teacher Suspended for “Fat Butt Michelle Obama” Remark
An Alabama psychology teacher and head football coach faces a mandatory 10-day leave from his classroom at Lauderdale County High School after being suspended for making derogatory comments about First Lady Michelle Obama and homosexuals. During an in-class debate on Jan. 27, Bob Grisham told students “fat butt Michelle Obama” was behind the 600-calorie lunches […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Md. Man Convicted for Murder of North Carolina Honors Student Phylicia Barnes
A Baltimore jury convicted a local man of second-degree murder for the slaying North Carolina honors student Phylicia Barnes. Michael Maurice Johnson, the boyfriend of Barnes’ half-sister, was acquitted on a charge of first-degree murder but found guilty on the lesser charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Barnes’ disappearance in […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Rosa Parks Statue to be First of African-American Woman on Capitol Hill
Bravery, tenacity and maybe a little of her own stubbornness led Rosa Parks to refuse to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala. bus on a cold December day in 1955. Almost sixty years after Parks’ act became the leading edge of the Civil Rights movement, she will be honored with a statue of […]
Posted inNational News
U.S. Postal Service to Halt Letter Service on Saturdays
Anyone looking for that letter from grandma won’t find it in their mailbox—at least, not on a Saturday. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in early February announced plans to stop Saturday delivery service starting Aug. 5. Package deliveries will continue to run Monday through Saturday, as that service has increased in volume by 14 percent […]