For many low-income District of Columbia residents, check cashing and other money order vendors are the only forms of “banking” they know. But a new program recently announced by Mayor Adrian Fenty is poised to help some 10,000 of those residents get on a more solid financial footing by helping them sign up for a […]
Category: NEWS
New Database Closes Gap in Health Disparities
The National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing health disparities in the country, unveiled the new National Clinical Trials Atlas recently. The atlas will further assist the NMQF in improving physician and patient diversity. The CT Atlas is the nation’s first database that maps health statistics and clinical trial sites down […]
Former City Contracts Administrator Sues City
The District of Columbia and its Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi have been named the primary defendants in a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed by a former District government administrator, who claims to have been wrongfully terminated for failing to cancel a contract awarded to a firm co-owned by a friend of Mayor Adrian Fenty. The […]
Pioneering Civil Rights Reporter Evelyn Cunningham Dies at 94
In another sign of the passing of an era, noted civil rights reporter Evelyn Cunningham died April 28 in Manhattan. She was 94. “We keep losing people,” said fellow Black Press reporter Moses Newson, who covered civil rights and related stories such as the Little Rock Nine for the AFRO during the 1950s, ‘60s and […]
Governments, Sports Organizations to Boycott Arizona
Several governments and sports organizations nationwide are calling for boycotts of travel to and business with Arizona following that state’s passing of a tough immigration bill. Members of the city councils in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. both took steps during the week of April 26 to legislate boycotts of Arizona, while San Francisco Mayor […]
Arizona “Papers Please” Legislation Ignites Intense Activist Response
The state of Arizona was set to serve as the backdrop for a huge protest on the weekend of April 30 against a tough new state law aimed at identifying undocumented immigrants. The legislation, which is poised to take effect this summer, has been perceived as a racially insensitive attack on illegal immigrants and will […]
Oxon Hill Middle School Security Non-Existent
OXON HILL, Md. — Oxon Hill Middle School sits in the middle of a quiet, middle-class neighborhood in southern Prince George’s County. But its tranquil exterior belies chaos within its walls, parents claim. On April 22, concerned parents gathered in the school’s auditorium and expressed their frustrations over deteriorating safety in the school, saying their […]
Suit Against State Progresses
A lawsuit against the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) seeking parity between the state’s Black and White colleges is making progress, according to an attorney representing the plaintiffs. Prospective students, current students and alumni of three of the state’s four historically Black universities filed the suit to end alleged “state-sponsored discrimination,” claiming the MHEC has […]
Ousted UMCP Associate Provost Considering Virginia Move
COLLEGE PARK – A popular diversity officer at the University of Maryland is considering the presidency at a historically Black college in Virginia, nearly six months after the announcement that his position would be terminated amid budget cuts. The university publicized plans last November to replace associate provost for equity and diversity Cordell Black with […]
UDC ‘White-washed’ Ad Raises Ire
When Allen Sessoms, president of the University of the District of Columbia, began implementing his vision last year for a new and improved institution of higher learning, that also apparently meant presenting an updated pictorial of the historically Black campus. Since then, full-page advertisements detailing Sessoms’ vision have been published in major newspapers including the […]
Council Set for Final Vote on Medical Marijuana Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the time drawing for the District Columbia City Council’s final vote on a medical marijuana bill, At-large Councilman David Catania, head the committee overseeing the issue, is confident that it will pass. The Council has already taken two votes on “Initiative 59,” which has received overwhelming support of District residents. And, […]
For Same-Sex Couples, Cost of Marriage Recognition Remains Unclear
ANNAPOLIS – After 20 years and two children together, Silver Spring couple Ellen Kahn and Julie Drizin married in Washington in March, just days after the city began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Under a February legal opinion by Attorney General Douglas Gansler, Kahn and Drizin’s union is recognized in Maryland like any other […]

