By Shernay WilliamsWord in Black From food deserts to chronic, diet-related disease, Black communities face some of the nation’s most persistent food inequities. During this live virtual event, the first in a two-part series, Word In Black will examine how policies and corporate practices shape what foods Black Americans can access, afford, and eat. We […]
Author Archives: Shernay Williams
Special to the AFRO
Posted inWord In Black
EVENT: The action plan to get Black women back to work
By Shernay WilliamsWord In Black It’s been a year since economic reports started to reveal that as many as 600,000 Black women – many of them highly educated professionals – are out of work. So what now? Join a virtual planning session produced by Word In Black featuring entrepreneurs, community organizers and economic strategists who […]
Posted inBaltimore News, Freddie Gray—Arrest-Death-Police Prosecution
The Young Come Out in Droves for Gray
Tavon Cotton, a cousin of Freddie Gray, honors Freddie’s memory. (Photos by Shernay Williams) Young people peppered the mass of supporters who flooded New Shiloh Baptist Church April 27 to help lay Freddie Gray, the African-American man who recently died in police custody, to rest. Twenty-somethings, teenagers, and even infants stood in the long lines […]
Posted inNational News
Miss. Hate Crime Case Postponed
A White teenager charged with intentionally running over a Black man with his pickup truck in Jackson, Miss. last summer, is fighting to have his trial moved to a predominately non-Black county. A hearing to determine where Deryl Dedmond, 19, will be tried has been pushed back at least once; it’s now set for Feb. […]
Posted inBaltimore News
“Cutting” to Give Access
Barbershops have long been cornerstones of the Black community. In 2001, Robert Cradle, a Baltimore-born barber, decided to open up his hub to people even if they couldn’t afford his services. He reached out to a homeless shelter near his barbershop in Fort Meade. “I realized that the residents mostly women and children, couldn’t afford […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
PR Professional Named “Drum Major for Justice”
As a young journalist, Gwen McKinney was inspired by social justice. For four years, she reported for the Philadelphia Tribune, the city’s Black newspaper. Later, she moved to Washington D.C. and became a Capitol Hill correspondent. “There is no such thing as objective journalism,” McKinney said in a phone interview with the AFRO. “So much […]
Posted inBaltimore News
The Anatomy of a “Hack”
Two women in hoodies and boots stood on the corner of Broadway and Eager Street in East Baltimore. One stuck out a hand and feverishly waved an extended index finger at cars driving down the road. A burgundy Honda came to a stop in front of her and she and her friend hopped inside. “Hacking” […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Johnson Launches 9th District Write-in Campaign
Community activist Michael Eugene Johnson, who lost a 9th district City Council bid last month, is preparing to mount a write-in campaign to unseat the winning nominee William “Pete” Welch. Welch, who won the Sep. 13th Primary with 1,721 votes, has represented Southwest Baltimore’s ninth district for nine months, following his mother’s resignation from the […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Redistricting Map Emerges
A new congressional map proposed by the governor’s redistricting panel would seemingly not only cement Democratic domination but shore up Black voting strength in Maryland. The map — presented to the General Assembly this week — keeps Baltimore area districts intact with only slight changes. Most notably, the city would keep its three members of […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Turning Around the Voter Turnout
City leaders say it will take voter mobilization and education, not just registration to boost voter turnout for Baltimore’s General Election. Interest in the city’s elected offices is at a record low. Many Baltimore area pundits and residents have reasoned why—minimal election coverage, few contested races, not enough captivating candidates, lack of confidence in government […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Mosby Unseats Conaway
One of the “baby bears” in the Baltimore City political dynasty known as the Conaways has fallen. During primary elections this week, Councilwoman Belinda K. Conaway of the seventh district was unseated in a tight race against Verizon network engineer Nick Mosby. Preliminary tallies show Mosby won by 648 votes. Conaway —a veteran Baltimore City […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Voter Turnout Stifled by Apathy
Although incumbent Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake topped her challengers with over 50 percent of the vote in Baltimore City’s mayoral primary, some say the win “doesn’t mean much” since less than 25 percent of registered voters showed up. Just 22 percent of eligible Baltimore residents took to the polls in what was presumably the worst voter […]