By Sean Yoes, Baltimore AFRO Editor, syoes@afro.com As Pamela Curtis strides toward the front porch of the first group home she lived in during her childhood, much of which was spent in foster care, there does not seem to be a hint of anger, melancholy or anxiety on her face or in her spirit. In fact, there […]
Author Archives: Sean Yoes
AFRO Baltimore Editor
Posted inBaltimore News, NEWS
Joan Carter Conway: `She is Unmatched’
By Sean Yoes, Baltimore AFRO Editor, syoes@afro.com For the first time in more than 20 years, Joan Carter Conway will not be a member of the Senate during the upcoming 2019 legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly. There are many in and out of the political arena who see her as irreplaceable and I don’t see […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, National News, NEWS
After Attack on His Family, Shaun King’s Wife Speaks Out
By Sean Yoes, Baltimore AFRO Editor, syoes@afro.com Shaun King, the journalist and activist, published a series of tweets on Aug. 1, describing an alleged attack on his family by anonymous internet hoaxers. He posted the following regarding a disturbing visit to his home by officials from New York City’s Administration For Children’s Services (ACS): “Under no circumstances […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, TV and Film
Octavia Spencer and LeBron James to Produce `Madame CJ Walker’
By Sean Yoes, Baltimore AFRO Editor, syoes@afro.com Academy Award-winning actress Octavia Spencer is teaming up with NBA superstar and world champion LeBron James to bring the mythic life of Madame C.J. Walker to the small screen via Netflix. According to Variety, Spencer will star in an eight-episode series for Netflix, based on the book On Our Ground […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, National News
Grandfather Slaying Possible Hate Crime
By Sean Yoes, Baltimore AFRO Editor, syoes@afro.com It was supposed to be a joyous occasion; a family reunion at a Long Beach, California park. But, the family reunion turned into a family tragedy when Frederick Taft, 57, was shot to death inside a restroom at the Pan American Park where about 50 people, most of whom were […]
Posted inBaltimore News, NEWS
I Came Home for Jealous, So Should Black Dems for Hogan
By Sean Yoes, AFRO Baltimore Editor, syoes@afro.com I voted for Larry Hogan in 2014. However, I won’t be voting for him in 2018, because I am voting for Ben Jealous in November. Here’s why. I voted for Hogan over Rep. Anthony Brown (then Lt. Gov. Brown) and it wasn’t even a close call for me. I interviewed […]
Posted inBaltimore Community, Baltimore News, NEWS
More Than 100 Children Killed Since 2014
By Sean Yoes, AFRO Baltimore Editor, syoes@afro.com The death on July 19 of Taylor Hayes, the seven-year-old girl who courageously fought for her life for weeks after she was hit with bullets likely meant for somebody else while riding in the back seat of a car, has tormented many in a city all too familiar with wanton […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, Baltimore News, NEWS
City Council Continues Crackdown on Baltimore Police Overtime
By Sean Yoes, AFRO Baltimore Editor, syoes@afro.com The Baltimore City Council seems determined to increase its influence over the Baltimore Police Department’s (BPD) budget. According to a report by WBAL-TV, the Council’s Budget and Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to block an ordinance that provided $21 million in supplemental funding to the BPD. The committee’s chair, Brandon Scott […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, National News
Hard-Working College Student Rewarded with Car
By Sean Yoes, AFRO Baltimore Editor, syoes@afro.com The towering work ethic of a young man from Birmingham, Alabama was rewarded in a big way recently. Walter Carr, a student at Lawson State Community College in Birmingham, and a Marine hopeful, was so determined to make it to a new job, he didn’t let a busted automobile or […]
Posted inBaltimore Community, Baltimore News, NEWS
5 Years After Brother’s Death, Tawanda Jones Still Fights For Justice
By Sean Yoes, AFRO Baltimore Editor, syoes@afro.com When I first met Tawanda Jones and her family in December 2013, it had been 155 days since Tyrone West, her brother and their loved one had been killed while in police custody July 18, 2013. West was beaten with batons, punched, kicked, tasered and choked to death by up […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, Baltimore Community, Baltimore News, NEWS
Judge Casts Doubt on BPD Reform Efforts
By Sean Yoes, AFRO Baltimore Editor, syoes@afro.com The Baltimore Police Department (BPD), still mired in the aftermath of numerous misconduct scandals, four commissioners in three years and the mysterious death of Det. Sean Suiter, is federally mandated to implement sweeping reforms. However, the judge overseeing that process says he doubts the BPD has the capacity to implement […]
Posted inBaltimore Community, Baltimore News, NEWS
USA Today: Did BPD Stop Fighting Crime After Freddie Gray?
By Sean Yoes, AFRO Baltimore Editor, syoes@afro.com Less than six months after USA Today declared Baltimore “the nation’s most dangerous city,” the newspaper posted another front page story July 12 about the city’s pervasive violence. But, this article links Baltimore’s ongoing struggle with murder and mayhem with the death of Freddie Gray and the subsequent uprising of […]