East Baltimore Del. Cory McCray (D-45) had a copy of the late Marion Barry’s book, “Mayor For Life: The Incredible Story of Marion Barry, Jr.,” tucked under his arm as he sat down for an interview at the AFRO’s Baltimore headquarters recently. Perhaps McCray, who recently launched his bid to unseat Sen. Nathaniel McFadden (D-45), […]
Author Archives: Sean Yoes
AFRO Baltimore Editor
Baltimore Ceasefire: Choosing Life Over Death
There was about five hours left in the second Baltimore Ceasefire of 2017 and Ericka Bridgeford seemed exhilarated, when she probably should have been exhausted. Bridgeford, one of the Ceasefire organizers, was at the Real News Network downtown to participate in a panel discussion, following a screening of, “The Interrupters,” a documentary about the ceasefire […]
Why Do Some White Kids Dress Up Like `Ni–ers’ For Halloween?
For me, growing up in the 1970’s Halloween was a really big deal. We actually went trick or treating for days (not just on Oct. 31), often hauling away trash bags full of candy. In the early 1970’s my family moved to Baltimore County and back then there were very few Black families living in […]
Trump’s Savagery Seems to Know No Bounds
This is what it has come to in Donald Trump’s America. Myeshia Johnson, the young, grieving Gold Star widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, killed along with three other U.S. troops, in Niger in Northwest Africa while defending America, allegedly on Oct. 4, was called a liar by the President of the United States. Of […]
Sowing Seeds of Promise
I got a call from my friend, and fellow Walbrook Warrior, David Miller a couple of weeks ago. Miller has been educating and mentoring Black children, mainly Baltimore Black boys, for all of his adult life. Miller, a proud West Baltimorean, has been doing vital work in our community for decades. But, he is so […]
Ben Jealous, Van Jones Discuss Law Enforcement Reform
Ben Jealous is campaigning to be the next governor of Maryland, and one of the main planks of his candidacy is law enforcement reform in Baltimore, specifically. Ben Jealous (l), the former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was recently campaigning in Baltimore with Van Jones (r), host of […]
The NFL is Dead To Me
I officially ended my allegiance to the Baltimore Colts December 24, 1977, and I can tell you why in five words. The Ghost to the Post. For old school NFL fans of the league’s “golden age” (for my Generation X, it is the 1970’s) the phrase, “Ghost to the Post,” is a concise holy writ […]
W. Baltimore Native Smith Excels As Leader of BWI Marshall
Ricky Smith, the executive director and CEO of the Maryland Aviation Administration (MAA), who leads BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, has presided over record breaking growth at the airport during his tenure, which began in July 2015. But, he cites the good fortune of a relatively strong economy (at least by some metrics), as much as […]
Mosby Faces Relentless Racist Attacks
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby quickly became a prominent national symbol of the fight for law enforcement reform in America after she officially took the SA’s chair in January 2015. Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby discusses the almost non-stop racist attacks aimed at her since she indicted the six Baltimore police officers connected […]
Why Whupping Children Won’t Save Black America’
Recently I participated in the Holistic Parenting and Education Summit, an event organized by Kenyatta Macon-Moon, the founder of the Nsoroma Academy of Holistic Thought, Baltimore’s only African centered school. The event, at New Shiloh Baptist Church’s Family Life Center in West Baltimore, featured presentations and education workshops by Macon-Moon, my good brothers Changa Bell, […]
`More Egregious Than Freddie Gray’
A little more than a year ago, in the early morning hours of Sept. 18, 21 year-old Tawon Boyd knew he desperately needed help. Tawon Boyd, 21, called police to his home for assistance Sept. 18,2016. He was dead four days later after an encounter with Baltimore County Police and Baltimore County medical workers. “How […]
Why I Left WEAA
I signed off for the last time at WEAA as host and executive producer of First Edition, while I was on air September 22. However, if I’m real about it, I actually “dropped the mic” emphatically, yet, literally with love with MFSB’s “Love is the Message (the Larry Levan edit)” in the background and my […]

