By Alexa Spencer, Word in Black The days of legal segregation in the U.S. are past us, but Black folks continue to feel the health effects of racist policies that took place when it was law. Practices such as “redlining” — where the federal government mass-produced housing subdivisions for White people in the 1930s and […]
Category: News
JUNETEENTH ACTIVITIES AROUND THE DMV
By H.R. Harris Let’s say you are looking for Juneteenth celebrations in the DMV but don’t want to go into the District of Columbia? Well look no more. Our Juneteenth activity scout has curated a short list of the best parades, marches, concerts, and ways to meet “kinfolk” during Juneteenth weekend in the Maryland communities […]
JPMorgan Chase invests $150,000 into D.C. and Baltimore summer youth employment programs
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com JPMorgan Chase recently announced a new $20 million commitment over five years to support summer youth employment programs across the country, two of which are located in the DMV area. This new effort expands on the firm’s previous summer youth employment investments. Serve […]
#WordinBlack: Texas native son talks Juneteenth: better late than never
By Patrick Washington, Word in Black The Texas-birthed holiday of Juneteenth is a very interesting holiday, to say the least. See, I, a native-born Texan, have two Yankee parents. As such, I’ve been able to hear both sides of the “idea” of Juneteenth and now, I am at a final resting place for my attitude […]
Historic Hosanna School Museum joins Smithsonian transcription project centered on the African American experience during the Reconstruction era
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com The Hosanna School Museum, a former Freedmen’s Bureau school located in Harford County, recently partnered with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture to participate in a transcription project of more than 1.5 million images files from the Freedmen’s Bureau […]
Alzheimer’s Association African American Town Hall on Memory Loss on June 22, 2022, at Reginald F. Lewis Museum
By The Alzheimer’s Association June 14, 2022, Towson, Md.—The Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore becomes a classroom on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, from 2 to 4 p.m., when the Alzheimer’s Association hosts the African American Town Hall on Memory Loss. The museum is located at 830 East Pratt Street. To encourage participation, registration is free. […]
D.C. Editor’s notebook: District’s favorite game of ‘haves and have-nots’ creeps into 2022 Mayoral Primaries let the people decide!
By Deborah Bailey, AFRO D.C. Editor We are less than two weeks away from a major primary election in the District of Columbia. Sadly, D.C.’s favorite age-old game of the “haves and have-nots” has seeped into the D.C. Mayoral campaign. The “have and have nots,” a staple of District culture, is on full display, compliments […]
Mayor Muriel Bowser: Will three terms be a charm?
By Cara Williams, Special to the AFRO D.C. has had two women mayors, Sharon Pratt Kelly (1991-1995) and the City’s current mayor, Muriel Bowser who has served the District of Columbia since 2015. Bowser is running for a third term, following in the footsteps of Marion Barry (1979-1991), the only Mayor who served the District […]
Public service is the vehicle to transform personal trauma for Trayvon White and others
By Cara Williams, Special to the AFRO Councilmember Trayon White Sr., 38, was born in Ward 8, where he serves today. White’s Southeast D.C. roots helped him appreciate both the beauty and the challenges faced by Ward 8 residents and prepared him to defend one of the city’s lowest wealth residents and neighborhoods. White, whose […]
James Butler – Trinidad neighbor community advocate and second time candidate for D.C. Mayor
By Deborah Bailey, D.C. Editor James Butler’s name is not always on the list of candidates for Mayor of Washington, D.C. He has not been included in some of the debates, interviews and media sources that have provided a voice for the candidates running for mayor of the nation’s capital. However, Butler is a verified […]
Jan Ernst Matzeliger’s invention revolutionized shoe manufacturing
By Tamara Shiloh, The Oakland Post (NNPA Newswire) – The craft of shoemaking was at one time difficult and manual work. But with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, cobblers and cordwainers cut, sewed, and tacked shoes with machines. The inner and outer soles were attached with machines and other devices were used to sew […]
Senate negotiators announce a deal on guns, breaking logjam
By Alan Fram, The Associated Press Senate bargainers announced a bipartisan framework June 12 that responds to last month’s mass shootings, a noteworthy though limited breakthrough offering modest gun curbs and bolstered efforts to improve school safety and mental health programs. The proposal falls far short of tougher steps long sought by President Joe Biden […]

