By Kate Seltzer, Hunter Savery, Destiny Herbers and Nolan Clancy, Capital News Service Maryland voters participating in the first major election since the Jan. 6 insurrection are expressing concerns about the state of American democracy, but what Democrats and Republicans worry about differs significantly. “I do believe that democracy is at stake. I think we’re […]
Category: Afro Briefs
Posted inAfro Briefs
Baltimore celebrates inaugural Emancipation Day Festival on grounds of former urban slave plantation
By Catherine Pugh, Special to the AFRO Speaker of the House of Delegates of Maryland Adrienne Jones said “It is always a humbling experience to receive an award, but this was special.” Speaker Jones received the Inaugural Great Emancipator Award alongside University of Maryland, Baltimore County Professor Emeritus, and author Acklyn Lynch, at the inaugural […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Residents of Hoes Heights fight off road closure, seek continued access to local landmark
By Catherine Pugh, Special to the AFRO On the evening of Nov. 6, a group of diverse women gathered around the dining room table of Quianna Cooke. Present that night in the Hoes Heights neighborhood were Betsy Heeney, Hana Morford, Jennifer Jarvis, Joanne Kent and Eleanor Matthews. They were not angry women. They seemed frustrated–more […]
Posted inHealth
Mental health professionals suggest more effective approach to stemming suicide
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer, mscatliffe@afro.com Mental health professionals say it’s time to screen more effectively to identify those at risk of committing suicide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide increased 30 percent between 2000 and 2018 in the U.S. While declining in 2019 and 2020, the rates […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Lyft provides free and discounted rides to remove transportation barriers for job seekers
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com For low-income communities, transportation is a significant barrier to employment. It’s generally impossible to secure a job and keep it without having the means to get there In Washington, D.C., the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent as of September 2022, according to the […]
Posted inReligion
Barbara Hatcher reflects on a lifetime of service
By Hamil R. Harris Barbara Hatcher was a registered nurse working on her nursing doctorate at George Mason University when she learned that the 115th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital of the D.C. National Guard was being mobilized for duty in the Persian Gulf. “When we were called up, I thought it would backfill and support the […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Marijuana ballot initiative passes in Maryland
By Deborah Bailey, Contributing Editor Maryland voters responded positively to a ballot measure on Nov. 8 that legalized recreational use of marijuana for residents 21 and over. The law reform will go into effect across the state starting July 1, 2023. The fourth Maryland ballot question was approved by slightly more than 65 percent of […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore City anti-gun activist, Tyree Colion Moorehead, shot to death by police
By Reginald Williams, Special to the AFRO Tyree Colion Moorehead, known for his anti-gun violence activism, died in a hail of violent gunfire on Nov. 6 around 3:40 p.m. Moorehead was fatally shot, by some accounts, roughly 13 times by law enforcement officers. Responding to a 911 call, multiple members of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Winning numbers for $2.04B Powerball drawn after delay
By SHAMEKA DUDLEY-LOWE and SCOTT McFETRIDGE DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The numbers for a record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot were drawn Tuesday morning after a nearly 10-hour delay and now players will have to wait a bit longer to find out if anyone has won the massive prize. The numbers for the drawing held […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Homeless Memorial Blanket Project puts a spotlight on housing insecurity
By Reginald Williams, Special to the AFRO The National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates that more than a half million persons who persistently experience homelessness in America. According to the Washington, D.C.-based organization, about 70 percent are single individuals. The remaining 100,000 are dominated by families with children. But in 2019, the U.S. Department of […]
Posted inNational News
New York to pay $25 million to two men falsely convicted of killing Malcolm X
By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor In 1965, Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam were wrongfully convicted of killing Malcolm X and spent over 20 years behind bars after being wrongfully convicted. Even though the Feb. 21, 1965 murder of Malcolm X at the Audubon Ballroom in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan was one […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Maryland counties, cities, residents provide free rides to polls
By TIMOTHY DASHIELL, Capital News Service ANNAPOLIS– With early voting scheduled to kick off in Maryland Thursday, Oct. 27, and continue through Nov 3, counties, organizations and even individuals across Maryland are mobilizing initiatives to get as many residents to the polls as they can. In some cases, they are using cars. In others, they […]