U.S. Postal inspectors and D.C. police officers are investigating a brazen attack on a postal carrier as he went about his job in broad daylight Feb. 25 along a route where he has worked for years in Northeast Washington. It was about 4 p.m. and the carrier, whose name was not released because he is […]
Author Archives: Zachary Lester
AFRO Staff Writer
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C. Council Member Wants Marijuana Testing Banned from the Hiring Process
Mayoral candidate and Council member Vincent Orange (D-At-Large) wants to amend a measure currently under consideration by the D.C. Council to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana to prohibit testing for marijuana by potential employers. Orange has proposed an amendment to the “Simple Possession of Small Quantities Of Marijuana Decriminalization Amendment Act of 2013,” […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Conservative Black Pastors Want Atty. Gen. Holder Impeached for Same-Sex Marriage Stance
A group of Black pastors is admonishing President Obama and asking Congress to impeach U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder for allowing state prosecutors to refrain from enforcing bans on same-sex marriage in states that have laws against it. The group, the Coalition of African American Pastors (CAAP), as of 8 a.m. Feb. 27, had collected […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore Arts Standard Bearer Roy Crosse Succumbs to Cancer
During the holidays, many in the Baltimore arts community gathered at Nancy’s restaurant in the Station North Arts District for a jazz event and fundraiser for local arts supporter and artist Roy Crosse. Crosse’s group, the roycrosse Quintet, served up the entertainment. People ate and talked. There was lots of laughter. Crosse was in his […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Prince George’s County Officials Undertake Pothole Repair Project
After this winter’s episodes of snow and ice, county roads are marked with potholes deep enough to damage tires and, in some places, possibly cause or contribute to accidents. To correct the problem, the Department of Public Works & Transportation Feb. 20 began a pothole repair project. Dozens of repair teams converged on county roads […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Feb. 21 Marks 49th Anniversary of Assassination of Malcolm X
It’s been 49 years since Muslim Black rights activist Malcolm X was gunned down as he spoke before hundreds at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. In the years since his death, Malcolm X’s role as a freedom fighter has solidified, though he is not heralded to the same degree as civil rights martyrs such as […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
District Heroin Deaths Skyrocketing
Stanice Anderson remembers the sensation of floating that came after she injected heroin. She also remembers the agony of trying to quit—the stomach cramps, nausea, the feeling of desperation that she would never be free. “The rush is euphoric. It felt like I was really light,” Anderson, of the District, told the AFRO. “There were no […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Possible DMX Bout with George Zimmerman Draws Instant Reactions–Cancelled
(Updated 2/8/2014) Rapper DMX is in negotiations for a deal to step into the ring for a celebrity boxing match against George Zimmerman, the man who was acquitted last year in the killing of unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman recently announced that he had agreed to participate in a fight and planned to give […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Trial Begins for White Fla. Man Accused of Killing Black Teen over Loud Music
Testimony began Feb. 7 in the murder case of Michael Dunn, a Florida man accused of fatally shooting 17-year-old Jordan Davis after arguing with the Black youth about music playing in a car in which Davis was a passenger. Dunn, 47, who is White, shot Davis at a Jacksonville, Fla. convenience store in November 2012. […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Carter G. Woodson: Negro History Celebration Needed to Dispel Myths about Blacks
When Carter G. Woodson launched Negro History Week in Feb. 1926, the event was heralded in the AFRO. “Negro History Week is Observed in Public Schools,” a story dated Feb. 20, 1926 was headlined and underneath, ran the subhead: “School Heads Report City Wide Study of Achievements of Men and Women of Race.” The story […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Erotic Novelist and Publisher Zane Tops List of Maryland Tax Evaders
Entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author Kristina L. Roberts, known by the pen name Zane, owes the state of Maryland $340,833.58, earning her the number one spot on the state’s individual delinquent taxpayers list. State Comptroller Peter Franchot released the names of the top 25 individual and business tax scofflaws on Jan. 27. Together, […]
Posted inBaltimore News
After 109 Years, Baltimore’s Arch Social Club Still Serving the Area’s Gents
The year was 1905 and some of Baltimore’s prominent gentlemen were looking for a place to congregate together. When they were rejected from establishments catering to White men, they decided to start their own socialclub. That’s when the Arch Social Club was born and for more than a century, it has served the Black men […]