By Ralph E. Moore Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a middle child in the birth order of children from the union of Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. King, Jr.’s older sister, Christine King Farris, died on June 29, 2023, in the city of their birth, Atlanta, Georgia. In some ways she […]
Author Archives: Ralph E. Moore Jr.
Posted inBaltimore News
The Moore Report: Happenings around Baltimore: the good, the bad and the ugly
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO The past 14 days have been good and bad in Baltimore City. First the bad news: a series of fires have been set at playgrounds around the city. Started by whom? And why? Burning questions (pun intended) still surround the crimes. Children love the slides, the […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Black Music Month: a salute to the Black church
By Ralph E. Moore JrSpecial to the AFRO Black entertainers may be varied in genre and style, but from Aretha Franklin to Marvin Gaye, many have a shared background of growing up and honing their skills in the Black church. The most powerful soul singers to walk this Earth started out singing in houses of […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Black folks and swimming don’t always go together–now is the time to learn this lifesaving skill
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO Recreational swimming in Baltimore has traditionally been a complicated subject: in the past there was a nominal fee per swim, pools opened late, there was nothing to sit on poolside and staffing for lifeguards was uncertain, all in the old days. Swimming is now free of […]
Posted inBaltimore News
The Moore Report: Remembering the miraculous Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, my fourth grade teacher in Baltimore
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO Sister Mary Wilhelmina Lancaster, of Gower, Mo., is still causing a bit of a stir these days– even in death. She passed away in 2019 but her body, now exhumed, has been discovered with little decay, despite the deterioration of her casket in the moist clay […]
Posted inBaltimore News
The Moore Report: It’s time to honor those who dedicated their lives to ending war and conflict
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO With the observance of Memorial Day, Americans honor those who have died in wars since the beginning of the nation. According to the American Battlefield Trust, a Washington, D.C. non-profit organization that preserves battlefields, 6,800 soldiers died were killed in action in the Revolutionary War, 650,000 […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. – why aren’t both leaders celebrated at the same level?
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO In case you missed it, May 19 of this year marked the day that Malcolm X would have celebrated turning 98 years old. Did you see a big parade downtown? Was that day a holiday anywhere? Was there at least a Malcolm X Day sale at […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Courageous and committed educators: Baltimore’s Mother Mary Lange and the Oblate Sisters of Providence
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO Although she went to her heavenly reward 141 years ago, Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, founder of the first order of religious women of African descent, has yet to be properly appreciated for who she was and what she did for others in education, social services and […]
Posted inBaltimore News
The Moore Report: Is America over? Asking for the children’s sake
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO “Mercy, mercy me. Things ain’t what they used to be…” The 1971 song lyrics Marvin Gaye intoned on his classic album, “What’s Going On?” are ringing louder than ever. The words are even more relevant, if not prophetic, today. The news is filled with weekly mass […]
Posted inBaltimore News
The Moore Report: The time is now: everyone should celebrate the men of Negro Leagues Baseball
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO Here is an item to take special note of: Quiet as it’s kept, May 13 will be Negro Leagues Day in our great state. Since 2009, the second Saturday in May has been designated as Negro Leagues Day in Maryland. The state legislature passed, and Governor Martin O’Malley […]
Posted inBaltimore News
The Moore Report: Vinny Quayle: a homeownership champion for Black folks in Baltimore
By Ralph E. Moore Jr. Vincent P. Quayle helped scores of Black people get decent, affordable homes in Baltimore. Quayle and I met by chance standing in front of St. Frances Academy decades ago. He was a Jesuit priest, dressed in Black, as they do. We said “hello,” not knowing he would one day be […]
Posted inBaltimore News
The Moore Report: Billie Holiday sang: “Them That’s Got, Shall Have, Them That’s Not, Shall Lose”
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., The Moore Report Wealth and its distribution in the United States is a fascinating study. From wealth gained during centuries of free slave labor to debates over minimum wage law, there’s a lot to discuss and fairness has nothing to do it. The poet Nikki Giovanni once said in her […]