By Aaron Allen, Word in Black If you’ve ever had a goal and had trouble sticking to it, you’ve probably gotten advice like this: find someone to hold you accountable. Trying to exercise more? Get a workout buddy. Want to eat better? Involve your family in planning healthy meals. The same advice works for another […]
Category: NEWS
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C. housing chief pushes back against critics, pledges reversal of DCHA problems
By Ron Taylor, Special to the AFRO D.C. Housing Authority chief Brenda Donald says that the scandal-plagued agency is reversing its troubled course by following a “zero-tolerance policy for fraud, waste and abuse.” Her statements come as the agency faces federal scrutiny on a housing voucher program for low-income residents. Donald is now on the […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Prince George’s County to pay family of Demonte Ward-Blake $7.5 million in settlement for civil rights lawsuit
By Deborah Bailey, Contributing Editor Prince George’s County will pay Rena Ward, mother of Demonte Ward-Blake, a $7.5 million settlement in connection with a 2019 police traffic stop that left Ward-Blake paralyzed in 2019. At Greenbelt Federal Courthouse on March 31, Rena Ward, along with attorney’s Billy Murphy and Malcolm Ruff, announced the settlement. The […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
A closer look: inside the plan to expand eligibility for early child care subsidies in the District
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Mayor Muriel Bowser announced new investments in her proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Fair Shot Budget to support high-quality, early child care and early childhood education in D.C. on March 27. The District’s Child Care Subsidy Program could expand eligibility to more D.C. families, raising the income cap […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Mayor Bowser proposes $19.7 billion budget for 2024 Fiscal Year
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com Mayor Muriel Bowser recently announced her Fiscal Year 2024 Budget proposal to the D.C. Council. The $19.7 billion budget includes a $90 million bailout for medical debt, $3.4 million for the D.C. small business fund and $6.8 million for special education enhancement. “This budget reflects many tough choices, […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Meet the organization fighting hunger in the District after termination of emergency SNAP benefits
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com When the COVID-19 pandemic created and increased financial hardship for families across the country, the federal government stepped in to temporarily increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits with emergency allotments. In March, the extra benefits came to an end with the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore leaders call for Black Marylanders to attend the State of the Black World Conference V
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com Members of the Baltimore NAACP joined Ron Daniels, president of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW) and Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott to raise awareness about the State of the Black World Conference V. “I’m asking all of Baltimore to come out and attend a […]
Posted inOpinion
Angel Reese and why we don’t go high anymore
By Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead There are always moments that serve as reminders that for all of the talking that America has done about racism and sexism, it still exists. We host conferences on race and lead workshops on anti-racism. We write articles and publish books about sexism; still, there are moments when it feels […]
Posted inNational News
George E. Barbour, pioneering journalist who covered Selma March, dies at 96
By Rob Taylor Jr. – Courier Staff Writer “There’s one of them. He’s alone. Let’s get him.” At that exact moment in time, March of 1965, just a few months shy of his 39th birthday, George Barbour was, in fact, alone. The former Pittsburgh Courier city editor, who later became the first Black reporter for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Irvo Otieno autopsy reveals asphyxia as cause of death
By Sarah Rankin, The Associated Press Irvo Otieno, a 28-year-old Black man whose death last month at a Virginia mental hospital has sparked outrage and led to second-degree murder charges against 10 defendants, died of “positional and mechanical asphyxia with restraints,” a medical examiner’s office said Monday. Arkuie Williams, the administrative deputy in the state […]
Posted in#FaithWorks, Baltimore News, News, NEWS, Religion
Funeral service for Rev. Dr. Alfred C.D. Vaughn draws elected officials, faith leaders and friends from around the country
By Aria Brent, AFRO Staff Hundreds packed into West Baltimore’s Sharon Baptist Church on the corner of Presstman and Stricker streets on April 1 to honor the life and legacy of the Baltimore legend, the Rev. Dr. Alfred C.D. Vaughn. “Don’t you hear the bells ringing? Don’t you hear the angels singing ‘Glory, Hallelujah? Jubilee!’ […]
Posted inNational News
Two Black Democrats expelled from Tenn. house over gun control protest
By AFRO Staff President Joe Biden echoed the dismay voiced by elected officials and thought leaders around the country who condemned the April 6 expulsion of two Black Democrat members from the Republican-controlled Tennessee state House of Representatives over an anti-gun demonstration in the chamber last week. “Today’s expulsion of lawmakers who engaged in peaceful […]