When bombs went off at the Boston Marathon on April 15, three people, one an 8-year-old boy, were tragically killed and over 160 were wounded. As a result, there was an urgent need for a national emergency response of the federal government, Massachusetts state government, and local officials in Boston and surrounding cities. Almost immediately, […]
Author Archives: wpadmin
Posted inBaltimore News
Live Young Blood, A Raw Look at the Murderous Streets of Baltimore
Two Morgan State University graduates have produced an emotional documentary that features those affected by the senseless violence on Baltimore’s city streets. At a recent screening, participants in a recent panel discussed what should be done to address Baltimore’s urban youth problems. The documentary is scheduled for release later this year.
Posted inSports
Blacks in BaseballWhere are They?
In Baltimore and around the country spring marks the opening of baseball season. This week the season is also marked by the opening of the movie “42,” the story of Jackie Robinson’s historic entry into major league baseball. The late Afro sportswriter Sam Lacy is not in the movie, but he played an integral role […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Harlem Shake: Old, New, Disrespectful or Just Me?
(April 5, 2013)(Updated-4/11/2013) They are doing it on airplanes. They are doing it in locker rooms. It’s the Harlem Shake. Is it disrespectful or just the latest craze? It’s not entirely new, but as usual, young people have added their own twist.
Posted inAfro Briefs
Millennials, Generation YNewspapers: How Do ‘U’ Know– What?
Millennials, or Generation Y, are increasingly turning away from newspapers and even television and relying on the Internet and social media as their primary source of news and information. This generation knows nothing about newspaper boys yelling the latest headlines and they want their news faster than it can be printed. That’s why newspapers, including […]
Posted inCommentary
Death Penalty Flawed, Ineffective and Biased
A few years ago, Dereck Davis was walking home from work when some men came up, held a gun to his kidneys and robbed him. He held that anger inside for years. Years later, as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, when the issue of repealing the death penalty was introduced, Davis’s traumatic […]
Posted inCommentary
Let’s Honor The Civil Rights Movements Everyday Foot Soldiers
Who was James Armstrong? That’s a very important question, I recently learned. Now, I know, the theme for Black History Month this year revolves around President Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and Rev. Martin Luther King and the March on Washington in 1963. But then there is “the Barber of Birmingham.” Even though […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
One on One Interview with Marvin Sapp
Recently nominated for six Stellar awards and three Grammy awards, gospel superstar Marvin Sapp has blessed the world with his contemporary gospel hits such as “Never Would Have Made It” from the RIAA certified Gold Thirsty album (2007) and his latest gospel hit “My Testimony”, from the album I Win (2012). “Never Would Have Made […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Cameraman Seeks Women, Girls for Documentary on Gwynn Oak Park
Do you know these women and little girls? If so, I need to hear from you. For many years, I’ve been interested in the story of the desegregation of Gwynn Oak Amusement Park. As a news cameraman in Baltimore for more than a decade, I periodically ran across the story and began researching events surrounding […]
Posted inCommentary
Is Black History Month Still Necessary? Absolutely!
What better place to talk about emancipation and freedom than at church? Of course, it’s freedom from a different oppressor, but that’s exactly where I was on Saturday, Feb. 2, discussing the national Black History Month theme, “At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington.” The reason for even having the discussion […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Jamaica Embraces Controversial Super Bowl Ad
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP)—Jamaica is embracing a controversial Super Bowl commercial that depicts a white office worker from the U.S. Midwest feigning the Caribbean island’s lilting patois accent to display a cheerful, upbeat outlook. Some U.S. critics have described the pregame Super Bowl ad from Volkswagen of America as offensive and culturally insensitive, apparently seeing the […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Congressman Mervyn Dymally Remembered
Friends and loved ones of former Rep. Mervyn Dymally came together at the U.S. Capitol recently to celebrate his life and remember his ground-breaking work representing the Sunshine State. He died in Los Angeles on Oct. 7 at age 86. At a memorial service Dec. 12 in the Capitol’s Visitors Center in Washington D.C., Dymally […]