By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com The well-loved Tommie Broadwater Jr., former Maryland senator, died at age 81 on July 11. “Tommie Broadwater had a lot of spunk,” Larry Young, former state senator for District 44, told the AFRO. “He was a businessman and a pioneer of Prince George’s County establishing a Black political […]
Author Archives: Tashi McQueen AFRO Staff Writer
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C. community leaders and residents fear new bill will increase mass incarceration
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com Black men are being jailed and killed at unusually high rates according to data reported by the Metropolitan police. Residents in predominantly Black areas including Ward 7 and 8 makeup more than 60 percent of victims of violent crime in the District. “We have a crisis of violence […]
Posted inBaltimore News
An AFRO update on Mayor Scott’s Squeegee Collaborative
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com For decades Baltimore community leaders have tried to solve the tension between squeegee workers on the corner and residents concerned about their safety. The situation escalated last year at the Inner Harbor, when a dispute with a teen squeegee worker led to the shooting death of 48-year-old Timothy […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore community leaders consider accountability of parents in juvenile crime crisis
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com Baltimore residents and leaders have grown concerned about the rate at which youth are dying due to street and gun violence. Since the beginning of 2023, several youth have been gunned down during or right after school hours. On Jan. 4, Deonta Dorsey was shot and killed at […]
Posted inMaryland Government
AFRO inside look: meet some of the contenders vying for the next open Maryland senate seat
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com By Deborah Bailey, AFRO Contributing Editor, Dbailey@afro.com Leaders from around the state of Maryland are vying for a senate seat set to be vacated by Sen. Ben Cardin next year. Cardin has served the community as a political figure for over 56 years. “I think we’ll see who […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Mayor Brandon Scott signs Baltimore City Budget
By Tashi McQueenAFRO Political Writer tmcqueen@afro.com On June 21, Mayor Brandon M. Scott signed the city’s $4.4 billion Fiscal Year 2024 budget, finalizing the process ahead of schedule. “By signing this fiscal budget, we’re delivering a statement to Baltimoreans in every neighborhood, on every single street, outlining what this city government will do for them in […]
Posted in!Front Page Maryland New
U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer recognized at MD Democratic Gala
By Tashi McQueenAFRO Political WriterTmcqueen@afro.com The Maryland Democratic Party Gala was a night of glitz and glam, joy and optimism for the state of the party. Attendees, including Baltimore City and County leaders, state legislators and national representatives, gathered at Martin’s West in Baltimore. A main staple of the night was Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.-05), […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison resigns
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael S. Harrison and Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced Harrison’s sudden departure on June 8. “Over the last few weeks – I’ve been in conversations with our mayor about my future and about the future of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD),” said Harrison, during a […]
Posted inMaryland Government
Maryland Governor holds first bipartisan meeting with federal legislators
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com Governor Wes Moore and leaders of Maryland recently met inside of the U.S. Capitol to discuss federal priorities for the 118th Congress, which included transportation, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and climate goals. “We’re excited to be able to work together transportation, regulation and identification. These […]
Posted inBaltimore Community
Telling our stories: The longstanding tradition of quilting
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com Throughout history, African Americans have been forcefully silenced from their natural inclination to express their culture, needs and desires. Quilting was and continues to be a way for Black people, Black women especially, to memorialize moments that are important to Black culture or a specific Black family. “Quilting […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Telling our story: the Black traditions of dance, song and theater
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com Historically, Black people have had to find ways to uplift one another and celebrate life— even in the face of racism and inhumane treatment. As the Black community celebrates Juneteenth, the AFRO is considering how African Americans and their ancestors have used their creativity to rebel, come together […]
Posted inNEWS
America can’t afford to pay Black people reparations– or can it?
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com For more than 100 years, Black Americans have been seeking reparations as compensation for centuries of free, Black labor. And while most are familiar with the 1865 initiative that gave slaves “forty acres and a mule,” what they might not know is that slave owners along the South […]
