The Office of National Drug Control Policy hosted a media briefing on Nov. 20, to highlight the Obama Administration’s unprecedented approaches to addressing drug addiction. Ben Tucker, deputy director for State, Local, and Tribal Affairs set the tone by giving stats about how costly criminalizing drug use has been. “The Department of Justice released new […]
Author Archives: Valencia Mohammed
Special to the AFRO
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Ward 4 Residents Honored for Commitment to Dems, Community
Three prominent Ward Four Democrats were honored at the Second Annual Ethel Delaney Lee Dinner on Nov. 18, in appreciation of their political and community activism. Former Democratic National Committeewoman for the District of Columbia, Barbara Lett Simmons, former president of the Ward Four Democrats, George Fenderson and former assistant to President Bill Clinton, John […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Jackson Salute: No Jesse, No Obama
Civil rights activists, Black historians and other notables gathered at Georgetown University to pay tribute to the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., 70, for a lifetime of human and civil rights achievement. Author, radio host and Georgetown sociology professor, Michael Eric Dyson, PhD, hosted the Nov. 7 event. The Rev. Al Sharpton opened the evening with […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Plastic Recycling Gets Local Re-launch
Deer Park Water, a popular bottled-water brand, launched a new campaign to promote plastic bottle recycling in this region. Following its Baltimore debut, the brand’s traveling exhibition, housed in a tractor trailer, visited various District locations, beginning with Georgetown and then local Safeway outlets, including the 6500 Piney Branch Road. The trailer was designed with […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
District Takes Statehood Message Global
Councilman Michael A. Brown (I–At Large), other DC leaders and activist groups kicked off a new website to promote DC Statehood efforts. Residents hope the new website, www.statehooddc.com will take the District’s statehood campaign global using today’s technology and social mediums. US Shadow Representative Michael Panetta (D-DC) agreed the new outreach campaign can dispel negative […]
Posted inNational News
Movie Gives Meaning to ‘Occupy’ Movement
A little-known movie is getting lots of attention lately because of its suggested strategies being used, knowingly or unknowingly, by participants in the ongoing Occupy Movement. The movie, Ghetto Physics, produced by William Arntz and E. Raymond Brown, author of Will the Real Pimps and Hos Please Stand Up said the Occupy Movement is an […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Activist Ron Moten Jumps to the Republican Party
A well-known community activist in the District publicly changed his political party recently sending a message to the local leaders that young Democrats are tired of the status quo. The outspoken activist, Ron Moten, 41, publicly announced his decision to switch from Democrat to Republican, which may impact next year’s council race. Moten called himself […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Freedom Possible for Thousands of Crack Offenders
A recent Supreme Court ruling may soon send home thousands of federal inmates convicted on crack cocaine charges. In 2007, it was reported in the AFRO that nationwide 19,500 federal crack offenders were eligible for reduced sentences. From that group only 269 federal inmates from the District would be eligible over the next 30 years. […]
Posted inNational News
Black Farmers Finally Getting Paid
The U.S. District Court approved a settlement in the ongoing saga between Black farmers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) providing an additional $1.2 billion for housands of plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit. The Black Farmers Discrimination Litigation, decided Oct. 27 by Judge Paul L. Friedman, was derived from a class action suit […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Unified Goal, But Different Approaches for DC Equality
D.C. statehood and voting rights activists took advantage of the Martin Luther King Jr. March for Jobs and Justice to present a variety of approaches to equal political representation for residents of the District. T-shirts, banners, chants and literature were highly visible as two factions of the D.C. equal rights movement pressed their cases at […]
Posted inMLK Memorial Special Coverage
Aleain WilliamsBrooklyn, NY
Aleain Williams, 80, Brooklyn, NY said she remembered meeting Dr. King make a speech at 116th Street in Harlem after the stabbing of a 26-year old civil rights activist. “Dr. King was so impressive. You could tell from the sincerity in his speech that he truly wanted to help us. He spoke like no other […]
Posted inMLK Memorial Special Coverage
Claudyne Jefferson, Nashville, TN
Claudyne Jefferson, 64, Nashville, TN said looking at the monument is like envisioning accomplishing a milestone. “This tribute to the works and life of Dr. King says that we are determined to obtain our full equal rights. It is breathtaking to see that Dr. King is memorialized on the National Mall with presidents. Many people […]