By Kimberly Perry and Rev. Wendy Hamilton Mayor Bowser has proposed $750,000 to retrofit underused basketball and tennis courts for pickleball in her 2024 fiscal year budget. She has also boosted funding for recreational facilities and programs throughout the city–significantly so in Ward Eight. At face value, that’s excellent news. However, shockingly wide disparities currently […]
Category: NEWS
Posted inCoronavirus
Biden signs bipartisan congressional resolution, ends COVID-19 national emergency
By Zeke Miller, The Associated Press The U.S. national emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic ended on April 10 as President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan congressional resolution to bring it to a close after three years — weeks before it was set to expire alongside a separate public health emergency. The national emergency […]
Posted inHealth
Light pollution has far-reaching effects on environment and human health
By Hunter Savery, Capital News Service It’s becoming more and more difficult to see the stars every year. This will come as no surprise to residents of cities like Washington and Baltimore, where it is often difficult to see more than the moon. Although it may not garner the same popular attention as other forms […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Black inmate stuck on US death row despite vacated death sentence
By Michael Tarm, AP Legal Affairs Writer When the U.S. prisons director visited the penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, this past week, she stopped by the federal death row where Bruce Webster is in a solitary, 12-by-7 foot cell, 23 hours a day. Webster’s not supposed to be there. A federal judge in Indiana ruled […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Free Spring Break activities for D.C. teens and youth
By Ashleigh Fields, AFRO Assistant Editor Due to the recent rise in juvenile violent crime, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has pushed for more free recreational activities for teens and youth in the District. As a result, The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) centers are offering music classes, volleyball clinics and video gaming over the […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Founders First CDC announces third annual grant for mompreneurs
By Aria Brent, AFRO Staff Sixty-two percent of women entrepreneurs have noted that their businesses as their primary source of income. Statistics like this help establish the idea that women owning and starting businesses is a serious matter. No longer to be thought of as a casual hobby for women. Founders First recognizes just how […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
How the Washington Wizards franchise got its start in Charm City
By Timothy Cox, Special to the AFRO On April 4 close to 20,000 people filled the seats at the Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C. to near capacity, as the Milwaukee Bucks soundly defeated the hometown Washington Wizards by a score of 140 to 128. While a significant number of the fans inside the […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Mayor Scott sets curfew to stem youth violence
By Ron Taylor, Special to the AFRO Mayor Brandon Scott has a focus on street violence and Baltimore youth which inspired him to revive a curfew beginning this spring aimed at keeping city minors off the streets after dark. “We are going back to the old days,” said Scott on April 10. The mayor unveiled […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Funktopia’s newest production ‘The Dark Tower’ honors Harlem Renaissance pioneer A’Lelia Walker
By Aria Brent, AFRO Staff Three words to describe Baltimore theater group “Funktopia” are intentional, unapologetic and charismatic! With a heavy focus on honoring those who have come before them, Funktopia is continuing to uphold this tradition with their latest production “The Dark Tower.” Based on A’Lelia Walker and the salons she held at her […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Black Men Unifying Black Men: how one organization is working to positively impact Baltimore
By Reginald Williams, Special to the AFRO Black Men Unifying Black Men (BMUBM) is an independent, non-political Baltimore-based group of Black men who meet monthly to engage in discussion. Their charge is to effect life-altering changes in the lives of Black men and boys throughout Baltimore. “We are a hub for bringing Black men together […]
Posted inBaltimore News
The Moore Report: In case you missed it: two months ago the all-time top scoring record was ‘passed to a new generation’
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO It was on April 5, 1984, that Kareem Abdul Jabbar scored point number 31,420 of his career, breaking the NBA’s all-time scoring record. The record had been held by Wilt Chamberlain before Jabbar broke it in front of 18,000 fans gathered at the University of Nevada’s gym […]
Posted inBaltimore News
United Way and Reginald F. Lewis Museum host Maryland governor with ‘In Their Own Words’ event
By Reuben Greene, Special to the AFRO The Reginald F. Lewis Museum was teeming with service providers and supporters of Gov. Wes Moore. The speaker series entitled “In Their Own Words” was hosted by non-profit United Way of Central Maryland and sponsored by DLA Piper Law Firm. The event served as an opportunity to hear […]