By Deborah Bailey, AFRO D.C. News Editor Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, Ph.D is a living example of what civic engagement looks like in action. Jeffries Leonard, national president of the Links and The Links Foundation, is a 2022 recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Lifetime Award. The honor was bestowed on her this spring at the […]
Category: News
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Community violence interrupters: does the concept work?
By Samuel Williams, Jr., Special to the AFRO Last week, the AFRO introduced the concept of violence interrupters in Washington, D.C.’s peacemakers, serving as frontline workers in D.C. neighborhoods with the highest rates of violence using a public health approach to reduce shootings and homicides. A pilot program started in 2019 by the name “Cure […]
Posted inNational News
The 2022 Gay Pride March, New York City: a reporter’s reflection
By Cara Williams, Special to the AFRO I became an ally today. It started slowly. I walked through flamboyant floats, outrageous outfits, and striking men dressed in drag. I wondered to myself: “Is that what Pride is all about.” I learned today, it is so much more. Though I am not gay, people may assume […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Howard Summer Multi-Media Institute participants witness historic Supreme Court activity during two week session
By HR Harris, Special to the AFRO We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness… (preamble to the U.S. Declaration of Independence) Thirty-five high school graduates of Howard […]
Posted inNational News
Social Media protests planned on July 4 in response to Supreme Court abortion decision – Wear blackÂ
By Deborah Bailey, AFRO D.C. Editor While the Federal and District Governments are planning fireworks and parades for downtown Washington D.C., others are preparing to wear black on 4 July in protest of the U.S. Supreme Court’s July 25 decision overturning Roe V. Wade and the right to abortion. A movement on social media has […]
Posted inBaltimore News
BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Prepared for Busy Summer Travel Season
Airport Sees Growing Passenger Traffic Ahead of Holiday Weekend The peak summer travel season is underway, and a busy weekend is expected over the Fourth of July holiday at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Air service and passenger traffic continue to grow, with new airlines and the return of several domestic and international routes. “There […]
Posted inBaltimore News
President Freeman Hrabowski prepares for retirement after turning UMBC into the top producer of Black M.D., Ph.D. graduates
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com President Freeman Hrabowski III has led the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), since 1992. After decades of revolutionary leadership, the giant of higher education announced his retirement. In spite of his profound adoration for the school and its students, Hrabowski is ready […]
Posted inNEWS
Hampton Minister’s Conference names Reverend Harold Carter, Jr. as vice president
By Kara Thompson, MDDC Intern Rev. Harold Carter, Jr. was made vice president of the Hampton Ministers’ Conference at their annual conference that took place in June. There, he had previously served as the assistant secretary. Carter said he accepts the position “very humbly,” and is looking forward to being able to “pour back into […]
Posted inNational News
AFRO wins big at NNPA awards ceremony during annual convention
By Kara Thompson, MDDC Intern The AFRO American Newspapers won big at the National Newspapers Publishers Association’s (NNPA) Messenger Awards this year. The publication, which began in 1892, was one of many newspapers recognized for their outstanding work in the Black Press. Among the eight awards won by the AFRO, the most notable was the […]
Posted inNational News
Jackson sworn in, becomes 1st Black woman on Supreme Court
By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in to the Supreme Court on Thursday, shattering a glass ceiling as the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court. The 51-year-old Jackson is the court’s 116th justice, and she took the place of the justice she once worked for. Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement was effective at noon. Moments […]
Posted inPolitics
House of Representatives passes bill calling for immediate release of Brittany Griner, WNBA star still in Russian custody
By Tashi McQueen, Report For America Corps Member, Political Writer for The AFRO Black woman and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star, Brittany Griner has been detained in Russia for carrying an illegal substance into the Moscow Airport. On Friday, the US House of Representatives came to an agreement on the Griner Resolution that would […]
Posted inNEWS
Former White House aide drops bombshell testimony in surprise Jan. 6 hearing
By Tashi McQueen, Political Writer for The AFRO, Report For America Corps Member Cassidy Hutchinson, former White House aide to Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, testified on June 28 in a surprise hearing announced just the day before. Hutchinson testified that she overheard several key conversations related to Jan.6 because of how close she was […]