By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com In a joyous celebration, Dr. Valerie Sheares Ashby, the first woman to lead the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), was formally inaugurated. “I am truly grateful to be a part of this beloved community,” said Sheares Ashby, during her inauguration on April 27. “Thank you for the
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com and Deborah Bailey, AFRO Contributing Editor, dbailey@afro.com Gov. Wes Moore has officially completed his first 100 days as chief executive for the state of Maryland. The first Black governor to lead the state took office on Jan. 18, alongside his wife, Dawn Moore and children, Mia and James.
by JAKE OFFENHARTZ, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The potential criminal charges against a U.S. Marine veteran who put Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold aboard a New York City subway train might depend on whether a “reasonable” New Yorker would have acted similarly. Neely, a locally-known Michael Jackson impersonator who friends say suffered from
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com Mayor Brandon M. Scott and community leaders recently convened to update the public on the Mayor’s Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Ecosystem. The meeting took place on April 25, was broadcast live on Charm City TV, and included the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), Safe Streets
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black For the past 70 years, American high school students who wanted to get a head start on higher education had one path forward: take an Advanced Placement (AP) course, and then score high enough on the corresponding AP exam to hopefully qualify for college credit. But, thanks to a
By Alexa Spencer, Word in Black “I don’t want to die.” That’s what a pregnant Black woman told Adriana Hawkins-Smith, a doula serving McComb, Miss. during a prenatal visit last year. The two met up over coffee to discuss birth plans when the mother’s fear bubbled to the surface. The expectant mom was afraid of
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com The AFRO held its third annual Black Business Matters Expo on April 27 at the media company’s headquarters in Downtown Baltimore. In-person attendees were joined at the event by more than 1,700 virtual participants, who all received information from a dynamic array of wealth coaches, c-suite executives and
By Margaret Henn Mayor Brandon Scott pledged to cancel the looming tax sale scheduled for May 15 for owner-occupied properties at Monday’s State of the City address. While this is a critical lifeline for many homeowners in tax sale right now, it is a band-aid on a much larger issue that the mayor still has
By Reginald Williams, Special to the AFRO If Congress acts quickly enough, Kevin Jackson just may survive the disease that is trying to suffocate him. Each month he has to come up with $3,000, his co-pay for a 90-day supply of nintedanib. The cost without insurance lands somewhere near $20,000. Sold under the name Ofev
By Frank Dexter Brown, Special to the AFRO What a year of global weather-related events it was in 2022, and now into 2023. The extreme weather witnessed during the summertime and fall of 2022 were soon followed by devastating weather conditions this winter. Historic freezing temperatures caused by what meteorologists referenced as “arctic blasts,” spread