Members of the NAACP, the nation’s most revered civil rights organization, are declaring “We Shall Not Be Moved” as they gather for their 104th annual convention in Orlando, Fla. “The NAACP is still the most influential and relevant voice in the fight for social justice,” said NAACP Vice Chairman Leon Russell. “Our mission is to […]
Author Archives: Zenitha Prince
Special to the AFRO
Posted inAfro Briefs
Alice Walker Writings Draw Fresh Attack from Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League on June 18 derided Pulitzer Prize-winning author and essayist Alice Walker over the “fervently anti-Jewish ideas” that they say permeates her latest book. Walker’s The Cushion in the Road, a series of essays on varying topics, contains an 80-page “screed” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that uses “extremely vitriolic and hateful rhetoric” directed toward […]
Posted inBaltimore News
COGIC Convention to Bring Great Crowds of Witnesses
Thousands of visitors will converge on Baltimore, July 1-5, for the 2013 Church of God in Christ International AIM Convention, which returns to Charm City 10 years after its last visit. “We’re anticipating a very well-attended convention,” said the Rev. Carl Pierce Sr., pastor of Carter Memorial Church of God in Christ in Baltimore and […]
Posted inNational News
SCOTUS to Arizona: Voters Need Not Show Proof of Citizenship
States cannot preempt federal voting standards such as those set by the National Voter Registration Act, the Supreme Court decided June 17 in one of several high-profile cases the nation’s highest court is expected to rule on this term. The justices voted 7-2 in the case of Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, deciding […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Prince George’s County Mounts $1.2 Billion Clean Water Effort
Prince George’s County officials are touting a $1.2 billion retrofit plan to protect its waterways from urban pollution as required by the federal Clean Water Act. Last year, in response to the federal mandate, Gov. Martin O’Malley enacted the Watershed Protection and Restoration Program, which required the state’s major jurisdictions to devise a plan to […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Md. Appeals Court to Rule on Public Defender Access
Maryland officials, Sixth Amendment activists and other stakeholders are eagerly awaiting the Court of Appeals ruling on a case that could have far-reaching effects on indigent arrestees’ right to counsel. In January, the state’s highest court heard oral arguments in Paul DeWolfe Jr. et al v. Quinton Richmond Jr. et al on whether lower-income arrestees had […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
U.S. Minorities to Become Majority Faster than Predicted
The United States is on pace to become a minority-majority nation even faster than previously predicted, according to Census Bureau statistics on race and ethnicity released June 13. The percentage of non-Hispanic Whites in the U.S. population reached an all-time low of 63 percent during the year ending July 1. Numerically, that means there are […]
Posted inNational News
May Jobless Rate Remains UnchangedExcept for Blacks
The recently released jobs report for May 2013 signifies the “ongoing slog” in the U.S. labor market, economists say. According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report (http://bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm), 175,000 nonfarm jobs were added to the economy last month. However, the number of unemployed persons, 11.8 million, and the unemployment rate, 7.6 percent, […]
Posted inNational News
U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin to Retire in July
U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin has announced her plans to resign from her post as “America’s doctor” in July. During her four-year tenure, Dr. Benjamin focused her attention on disease prevention and the promotion of healthy lifestyles, particularly among minorities; and, like many other surgeon generals, preached on the ills of smoking. “I loved serving […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Former U.S. Rep Allen West Blasts Bill Cosby Over Comments Praising Black Muslims
Comedian-activist Bill Cosby is often the outspoken “uncle” whose sometimes-provocative comments, usually on Black parenting, are hotly debated, but eventually forgiven. But the recently defeated freshman Florida Republican Congressman Allen West seems unwilling to overlook the legendary entertainer’s recent comments on Muslims. The Tea Party favorite decried a recent opinion piece, titled “A Plague of […]
Posted inBaltimore News
State Center Project Stuck in Court by Lawsuit
Development of the $1.5 billion State Center in midtown Baltimore has been stymied by litigation since a group of downtown landlords and business owners, led by Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos, filed a lawsuit in December 2010 claiming the project would create unfair competition and impair downtown’s already hobbling economy. “The lawsuit has been disappointing” […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Pot Cultivation & Dispensary Locations Anger D.C.’s Ward 5 Residents
Ward 5 residents have had enough. With five medical marijuana cultivation centers and one dispensary already approved for location in their neighborhoods along the northeast edge of the city, the residents said they have accommodated their fair share. In the course of approving the first licenses, officials did not pay enough attention to residents’ concerns, […]
