The legendary father of Go-Go music, Chuck Brown

As previously reported by NewsOne, the master, affectionately known as “Chuck Baby” had been suffering with pneumonia since being admitted to John Hopkins University Hospital back on April 18.

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The always cool and gravelly sounding Brown, whose rhythmic sounds blended funk, soul and Latin music was born in Gaston, N.C.  Whereas he spent some time in jail as a young man, when he was released in 1962, he made the decision to pursue his love of music.  Washington D.C. served as Brown’s musical inspiration for most of his nearly five decades-plus musical career.  After kicking it around with some bands, Brown formed his group the Soul Searchers.

Brown’s first monster hit “Bustin’ Loose” punctuated the go-go sound, dominating the R&B singles chart in 1979. “Bustin’ Loose” was “the one record I had so much confidence in,” Mr. Brown told The Post in 2001. “I messed with it for two years, wrote a hundred lines of lyrics and only ended up using two lines. . . . It was the only time in my career that I felt like it’s going to be a hit.”

After recording more than 20 albums and selling 1.5 million of them, Brown’s biggest smash to date was the classic “Bustin’ Loose,” The back-in-the-day gold chart topper was sampled by rapper Nelly for his 2002 smash “Hot in Herre.”  “Bustin Loose” has also been copped by the Washington Nationals baseball team and used as their home run celebratory song.

In 1984 Brown released the smash single “We Need Some Money” a dance floor staple which truly exemplified what Go-Go music was all about, a call-and-response musical style which involves the audience, as well as beats that linked songs so continuously that bands would play long into the night.

Brown was a bandleader, singer, songwriter, producer, musician, who only last year was nominated for his first Grammy Award for his collaboration with songstress Jill Scott on the song “Love.”

Brown leaves behind two sons, Wiley and Nekos Brown.

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Robinson, 72, visited Duke Ellington School of the Arts, named for the jazz great whose music Robinson said was the first he heard in his life because it was always playing in his Detroit home.

With students standing nearby, Robinson said any of them could follow him as a singing sensation, because “everybody starts with a love for doing something creative.”

“If you see somebody and they are 15 and you say `Oh, there’s a new artist.’ No, they’ve been doing it since they were 6. Everybody starts with that love, so of course, some of these kids will do that,” Robinson said.

Robinson said he started singing the day he was born “according to my mom.” He sang in various bands in high school, including The Miracles. Just after high school, he connected with Berry Gordy, with whom he would later form the Motown label. The label’s first hit was Robinson’s “Shop Around.”

He went on to make hits such as “Cruisin’,” “You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me,” “Tracks of My Tears” and “Tears of A Clown.”

“I thank God for my life because as a baby when I was 3, and 4 and 5 years old I wanted to be a singer, but I grew up in the ‘hood in Detroit and I didn’t know if that was possible, so I am living my wildest childhood dream right now,” he said.

Robinson said he is working on a Christmas song and plans another in Spanish. Edward Ellington, son of Duke Ellington, said Robinson told him after they left the school that he is learning Spanish.

A news conference and appearance before a student assembly are part of the Ellington school’s 5-year-old Performance Series of Legends program.

Robinson also planned to perform on Saturday at a sold-out benefit concert for the school at the Kennedy Arts Center.

“I think it’s a shame that many of our schools have had to cut our arts programs and especially the inner-city schools,” said Robinson.

Previous legends program artists who have given benefit concerts for the school are comedian David Chapelle, a Duke Ellington school alumnus; mezzo soprano Denyce Graves; singer/musician Stevie Wonder and soul/funk band Earth, Wind and Fire.

Together they have raised $2 million for the school, which is about 80 percent African American, 12 percent white and 6 percent Latino, said Rory Pullens, the school’s chief executive. It has an annual budget of about $5.8 million.

Cornelius Williams, 17, was one of a handful of students who performed a song while Robinson waited to enter the news conference. He said he belongs to the school’s show choir, which has a “Smokey Robinson/Miracles-kind of group.”

“I feel like he definitely is an inspiration to me to keep doing what I’m doing, to keep learning,” Williams said.

Students shrieked and cheered when Robinson appeared onstage and the enthusiasm didn’t die down when he lectured them to make sure they didn’t neglect their other studies for their art or give in to peer pressure.

Robinson said he grew up in a house of 11 kids and was raised by his sister after his mother died. Some of his close friends were “gangsters,” he said. But he said he refused to join them, when they asked him to help rob a gas station.

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———————

Natalie and Derrica Wilson

Why they are local heroes: Tired of not hearing about missing persons cases involving people of color, Derrica Wilson and Natalie Wilson decided to do something about it. Using Derrica’s background in law enforcement and Natalie’s experience in public relations, they created the Black and Missing Foundation to bring attention to missing persons cases involving African Americans.

While Blacks only make up 13 percent of the country’s population, they make up more than 33 percent of those reported missing in the FBI’s database. Given the limited coverage that Black missing persons cases receive, though, one wouldn’t think that was the case. According to the National Crime Information Center, there were almost 30,000 active missing persons cases in the country. Blacks make up almost 12,000 of those cases or about 40 percent. Of the 173 Amber alerts in 2010, 30 percent were for African-American children.

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The disparity in media coverage between Tamika Houston, a young Black woman from Spartanburg, S.C., and Natalie Holloway, a young White woman who went missing in Aruba, is what really motivated the sisters-in-law duo to found their foundation.

Derrica watched Houston’s family fight for media attention while Holloway, though missing in another country, dominated the national airwaves for hours at a time.

“The Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. was born out of necessity,” Derrica Wilson told NewsOne. “The public is mislead in believing that the victims of kidnappings and abductions are blond, blue-eyed and female. In actuality, 40 percent of all persons missing in the United States are of color.”

In a few short years, the pair has been able to create a resource that is helping to make a difference.

“Black and Missing Foundation provides much needed platforms to bring awareness to missing persons of color,” says Natalie,” which is essential in ensuring the safe return of the missing individual or closure for the families. We are committed to providing an equal opportunity for all missing persons.”

In addition to working with the show “Find Our Missing” with TV One and NewsOne, the Black and Missing Foundation has also partnered with radio personality Michael Baisden to feature missing persons of color on his nationally syndicated show, and newswoman Jacque Reid is now the national spokesperson for the foundation.

So far, the Black and Missing Foundation has helped to facilitate 72 reunifications or closures for families. One of the most recent was that of Stacey Nicole English, a bank teller whose body was found in January in southeast Atlanta. Black and Missing worked with English’s family throughout the ordeal.

But that’s not nearly enough for Derrica or Natalie.

“That is a good number,” says Natalie, “because we started out wanting to help just one family. But there are so many more families that need help. That is what we are focused on doing.”

Game Changers 2012

Start Gallery

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Of course, you can attend a local parade today.

However, there are also concerts, special movie screenings, prayer services and many other volunteer efforts to join so you can add an educational, service and even spiritual element to however you’re planning to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy.

If you’re looking for ways to make today more than just a day off work, we’ve compiled a list of some of what’s happening in 13 major markets.

1. ATLANTA

If you’re in the Peachtree city, you can attend the King Holiday March and Rally. The march is held on Auburn Avenue from Peachtree Street to Jackson Street while the rally is held on Auburn Avenue in the King National Park Area. The areas of concern are education, technology, medical, investment, transportation, housing environmental justice, job creation, conflict resolution, interfaith, cultural exchange, peace, justice and voter registration. 1:15 p.m. Jan. 16. Sweet Auburn District, Auburn Ave N.E., Atlanta. 404-614-3233. In addition, poet Nikki Giovanni will speak and do a free book signing at 2 p.m., as part of Kennesaw State University’s annual MLK Day event at the Bailey Performance Center, 1000 Chastain Road N.W, Kennesaw. 770-423-6650. Visit the official King Week at Emory website for a full list of the school’s King Week activities.

2. BIRMINGHAM

In the Birmingham area, locals can attend the Wreath Laying Ceremony at Dr. King’s Statue at Kelly Ingram Park at 10 a.m. There’s a Martin Luther King Day Parade in Montevallo that starts at 11 a.m. at Montevallo City Hall and will end at Shiloh Baptist Church. Homeless and senior citizens can visit Boutwell Auditorium for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Love Feast at 2:30 p.m. Plus, folks in the area can participate in Hands on Birmingham’s 12th annual MLK Day of Service.Over 35 projects take place around the city from clean-ups, socializing with the elderly, and more. Various locations and times. And there’s free admission all day from 9 to 5 p.m. at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute located at 520 16th Street North.

3. BOSTON

Since King was a former Boston University student, the school will hold its annual remembrance ceremony commemorating his birthday. The event, titled “Manifest Our Destiny,” routinely draws more than 1,000 people from the area. This year’s ceremony will explore “how one person’s passion can transform the world” and will include a lineup of speakers and a jazz performance from BU students. The celebration, which will be broadcast live using BU’s channel on UStream, is open to the public, and will take place at 1 p.m. on Jan. 16 in the George Sherman Union Metcalf Ballroom.

4. CHICAGO

If you’re in the Windy City, Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet is offering an African dance class in commemoration of the holiday and the Bronzeville Children’s Museum in Chicago will have a program featuring crafts. Plus, Chicagoans can get up to speed on the “Rev. Martin Luther King’s pacifist principles” by taking a free daylong course (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) taught by certified Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies members. For more information, visit evanstonhistorycenter.org. Evanston History Center, Charles Gates Dawes House, 225 Greenwood St (847-475-3410).

5. DETROIT

Over in Detroit, there’s the 2012 Detroit MLK Day  Rally and March: Jobs, Peace & Justice. The event is a tribute to the women of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) that starts at noon at Central United Methodist Church. A march through downtown Detroit follows, with a celebration culminating in the church’s second floor at 23 E. Adams and Woodward. The University of Michigan-Detroit Center (3663 Woodward Ave., Suite 150) is hosting “It’s Going On in the Hood,” a panel discussion from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m focusing on efforts to aid Detroit’s neighborhoods. For more information, visit detroitcenter.umich.edu or call the Detroit Center at (313) 593-3584.

6. HOUSTON

The 18th Annual MLK Grande Parade starts in Mid-Town at San Jacinto St and Elgin Street. For more information about the parade and pre event activities visit www.mlkgrandeparade.org. After the parade, enjoy a day of service with the Harlem Globetrotters at Root Memorial Square Park (1400 Clay Street, Houston. ) from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

7. LOS ANGELES

Instead of watching the Lakers or Clippers on TV, locals can attend this year’s Kingdom Day Parade. The parade’s theme is ”The Dream Continues to Live and Grow.” Plus, City Year Los Angeles also sponsors a day of service at Los Angeles Academy Middle School where Angelenos can build benches and paint murals. Find more volunteer opportunities at MLKDay.gov.

8. MIAMI

South Florida Urban Ministries celebrates and honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a day of community service. SFLUM staff and a team of AmeriCorps members and other volunteers spend the day beautifying Florida City through several painting and tree planting projects. Additionally, volunteers will help beautify and revitalize four homes in Florida City. Also includes open and closing ceremonies and lunch; 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Branches Florida City, 145 SW Fifth Ave., Florida City. Free. 305-442-8306.

9. NEW ORLEANS

In the Big Easy, locals can attend the 25th annual program of the Martin Luther King Jr. Task Force Inc. of Jefferson Parish which includes a 6:45 p.m. banquet at The Four Columns, 3711 West Bank Expressway, Harvey. The theme is “Remember! Celebrate! Act! A Day On … Not a Day Off!” Tickets are $40 per person, and organizers suggest you call soon to reserve seats. Call Clara T. Byes at 504.376.2130 or 504.368.5332.

10. NEW YORK

New Yorkers have lots of options too. Locals can visit “Picture the Dream,” a free exhibit that showcases collages that echo the message of Martin Luther King, Jr., created by children living in Brooklyn public housing. BAMcafé, 30 Lafayette Ave., btwn Ashland Pl. and St. Felix St., Brooklyn. For more info, 718-636-4111. Film buffs can watch a screening of Nothing But a Man, which is playing at the Museum of the Moving Image at 3 p.m. It’s free with $12 museum admission. The film honors the push for civil rights by Martin Luther King, Jr., as it focuses on a 1960s African American railroad worker and his family’s struggle against racism. 36-01 35 Ave., at 37th St., Astoria. For more info, 718-777-6888. And Harlemites can take the Civil Rights Multimedia Walking Tour sponsored by the Harlem Heritage & Cultural Center, 1 p.m. For $25, you can watch a video presentation of Dr. King, visit the hub of Manhattan’s African American community and explore sights related to Martin Luther King, Jr. and other important civil rights figures. 104 Malcolm X Blvd., btwn 115th and 116th sts.

11. OAKLAND

The Allen Temple Leadership Institute with Mayor Jean Quan and City Council President Larry Reid lead the “Green Clean Up Day,” a service event which will target 20 blocks in East Oakland for cleaning, graffiti removal and trash pick up. More than 200 volunteers are expected to participate in the cleanup, which is set to take place between 8:30 a.m. and noon, primarily along International Boulevard between 81st and 98th avenues.

12. SAN FRANCISCO

It’s all about service in San Francisco too. Volunteers plan to meet at the African American Art and Culture Complex today to clean up the Bernal Heights neighborhood. The Department of Public Works is providing transportation, and volunteers will be weeding, landscaping, and cleaning up the area. Volunteers also plan to build two picnic tables, construct and install four bulletin boards, improve the landscaping of a school garden and paint  school railings and lunch tables at John O’Connell High School on San Francisco’s Folsom Street.

13. WASHINGTON, DC

In the nation’s capitol, the must-see event is a performance by Grammy Award winner Bobby McFerrin and the Let Freedom Ring Choir who’ll sing “Let Freedom Ring,” a musical tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. Plus, Clarence Jones, former King attorney and speechwriter will receive the 10th annual John Thompson Legacy of a Dream Award at the Kennedy Center, Concert Hall, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are free to the 6 p.m. ceremony and are distributed, two per person, to those in line in the Hall of Nations starting a 5 p.m. Monday. 202-467-4600.

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Romanieo Sr. believes his son’s advanced knowledge of science is simply a process of cultivating talent that everybody is born with. Romaneo Sr. has already met with African American astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson and has produced videos showcasing his son’s knowledge of chemistry, physics and astronomy.

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The decline mirrors a nationwide trend of falling rates in major American cities. But it’s startling in a city that was ravaged by the crack epidemic two decades ago and where homicides totaled 479 in 1991. There were 108 homicides as of Thursday. He says the number hasn’t been that low since the early 1960s.

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray told The Associated Press on Thursday that people feel safer in the city. He attributes the continued declines in part to community policing and to strong leadership in the traditionally more violent neighborhoods of southeast Washington.

Gray and Police Chief Cathy Lanier plan to announce the progress at a news conference Friday.

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The ATF and D.C. police created a fictional rapper “Richie Valdez” and used a studio they called “Manic Enterprises” and reached out to the criminal underworld to catch criminals.

AllHipHop reports:

Over the course of the year, agents confiscated 161 firearms (including a rocket launcher), 29 assault weapons, 80 pounds of methamphetamine, 21 pounds of cocaine, 1.25 gallons of PCP, 24 pounds of marijuana, heroin and Ecstasy.

In addition to the seizures of drugs and weapons, police said many of the 70 suspects detained bragged about other crimes and reportedly stated they would kill police officers or other innocent people if necessary.

Read More At AllHipHop

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Simone dos Santos was breastfeeding her infant in a government building in Washington when she was asked to stop by security guards.

VIDEO:

‘I was shocked, upset and angry that by providing food for my son I was being treated like a criminal,’ Ms dos Santos wrote following for the Washington Post’s The Root DC.

Ms dos Santos, an attorney, says she was covering her 4-month old with a jacket in the Henry J. Daley building when she was approached by the two security guards asking her to stop.

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Last week, Williams, a longtime survivor of multiple sclerosis and advocate of medical marijuana, visited D.C.’s notorious Ward Five to petition neighbors, who, through Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, would be allowed to submit comments on the applications. Williams hopes to open two marijuana cultivation centers there, in a neighborhood adjacent to where one of the nation’s largest cocaine dealers, Rayful Edmonds, III, ran an open-air market in the 80’s.

“It’s a building that was burned out,” Williams told NBC 4 about one of the sites. “This building is now the perfect building to put together what we’re proposing, and that’s a greenhouse that could be an urban farm.”

He suggested that it would be a job creation opportunity. One ANC Commissioner contested Williams’ claim: “Tthey’re not required to hire in the city,” said Jackie Manning.

In 1998, 69 percent of D.C. voters passed a medical marijuana referendum. Congress, which has ultimate legislation over the city, implemented a ban, which was lifted in 2009. Red tape, however, has made a sticky situation of license approval. With this recent delay, announcements are not expected until January 2012. Treatment, it is estimated, will be available in May.

In addition to the two cultivation centers, Williams is also seeking to open a dispensary in another D.C. neighborhood. Previously, he partnered up for the successful opening of the Abatin Wellness Cooperative dispensary in Sacramento, and he’s lobbied to make medical marijuana legal in New York. He’s been known to smoke daily to alleviate what he says is otherwise intolerable pain associated with his MS.

Sixteen states and D.C. have legalized medical marijuana; 10 more states are currently considering it. The Federal government has not changed its position, and has threatened to shut down dispensaries in the budding industry’s most successful domestic outlet, California.

Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington and Gov. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island recently submitted a petition to remedy the State and Federal discrepancies by reclassifying the drug from Schedule I (no accepted medical use) to Schedule II (can be prescribed, administered, or dispensed with certain regulations) under the Controlled Substances Act.

“An ever-growing number of doctors now tell thousands of suffering patients they may find relief from the unique medicinal qualities of cannabis,” Gregoire said in a statement. “There is simply no question that pharmacists could safely and reliably dispense cannabis to patients.”

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The Huffington Post reports:

The SWAT team arrived at her home at 5:30 a.m., disturbing the attorney and her family members, including an 80-year-old relative, Arnwine said. They also did not seem to have a warrant and asked for the name of the homeowner and how to spell that name.

“If they had a warrant and were targeting any of us then how could they not know our names and know how to spell them,” Arnwine said to D.C radio station’s WPFW news anchor Askia Muhammad. “It looks like they were randomly looking, like they were on a fishing expedition. I honestly think they were looking for someone else. I honestly think they had the wrong address. I don’t think they had the right house but I’ll never know because I never saw a warrant.”

Read More At The Huffington Post

Cole opened Cole’s Cafe in 2002, which served as one of the few sit down soul food eateries in South East D.C. and her dishes were popular with the community and critics alike.

The Washington Post reports:

In 2007, Cole-Thompson’s husband, William Thompson, suffered a paralyzing stroke, and she fell behind on her bills for the restaurant. Her customers rallied to her support, and she got advice from a fellow restaurateur: “Stop giving so much away. You can’t make it like that.”

But she found it hard to tamp down her generosity, and Cole’s closed in 2008. Cole-Thompson continued to cater community events until stricken with cancer, Motley said.

Read More At The Washington Post

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“We found that cities with strong diversity supplier policies and which allow easy access to business-to-business and government contracts were the best environments for black-owned businesses,” Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, said in a prepared statement.

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A small group of activists plans to leave Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park at noon Wednesday. They hope to arrive Nov. 23, the deadline for a congressional committee to decide whether to keep President Barack Obama’s extension of Bush-era tax cuts. Protesters say the cuts benefit only rich Americans.

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Kelly Brannon is organizing the 240-mile march with a dozen others. They hope to pick up others along the way. They liken the effort long-distance walks led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights era.

They say they’ll overnight by camping or at volunteered accommodations.

David Crosby and Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young are performing at Zuccotti Park on Tuesday afternoon.

City officials in the District of Columbia are holding firm on immigration, daring the federal government to make them enforce what’s perceived as invasive immigration practices. Thumbing his nose at federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Mayor Vincent Gray signed an executive order instructing police officers and public service officials not to question the immigration status of persons with whom they have contact. The move makes the District stand out on the increasingly conservative national landscape over illegal immigration.

Washington, D.C.’s stance on illegal immigration is vastly different than that of some states including Georgia, Alabama, and Arizona. That’s not so surprising given the city’s dominant Democratic political machine and extremely liberal voting base, underscoring a local belief that they shouldn’t be conducting what they see as “witch-hunts” on immigrants. And the District rightfully lets federal officials handle the task that falls under their jurisdiction.

In the executive order, Gray promises that the city will not enforce ICE detainers or warrants stemming specifically from immigration violations. They are leaving those processes up to the FBI.

“In the spirit of ‘One City,’ and assuring the equal treatment of citizens and non-citizens alike, I am delighted to sign this,” the mayor said.

Recent arguments to crack down on illegal immigration have come primarily from conservatives seeking to slow or completely stop the flow of undocumented workers into the U.S. Politicians have played into voter fears, many of whom are struggling in the down economy, suggesting illegals are a primary reason for their problems.

Read more…

Did you know: Maryland (11^th) and the District of Columbia (15^th) are among the top 20 states with the most expensive wireless services?

A special report released by Tax Analysts, a non-profit provider of tax news and analysis, offers a detailed picture of the problem. If you live in Maryland, the combined federal-state local tax rate on your wireless services is 17.28% – and in D.C. the combined rate is 16.63% (as of July 2010). Wireless taxes in Maryland are about 6.3% higher than the national average and in D.C. about 2.3% higher.

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Low-Income Americans Disproportionately Hurt by Wireless Services Taxes

According to the most recent CTIA report, the average U.S. mobile subscriber bill is $47.23 (2011). Someone living in the state of Maryland, spending the U.S. average on wireless service, pays about $8.16 in taxes, fees, and government surcharges; and in DC about $7.85 per month. The issue of wireless services taxation is important to everyone, not only because of its influence on individual cell phone bills, but also because of its impact on the economy and the most vulnerable members of our society.

Maryland is a strong case in point because of it’s massive African American population. The largest county in the state, Prince George, is over 70% Black. It’s also ground zero for the state’s foreclosure explosion.

Wireless service taxes are discriminatory against the socio-economically disadvantaged in the U.S. since low-income Americans rely more heavily on wireless technology. While state-local governments like Maryland are using the wireless sector to shore-up state and city deficits…

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The exchange of talking points would show that Sulaimon Brown and Gray worked closely together during last year’s Democratic primary, though authorities would have to verify that Gray authored the document or handed it off. The document would also bolster Brown’s claim that the Gray campaign essentially employed him to spout anti-Fenty rhetoric so that Gray could focus on his positive vision for the city.

Though the document by itself wouldn’t constitute a crime, its existence would paint an unflattering portrait of back-room deal-making in the nation’s capital.

Federal authorities are investigating Brown’s allegations that members of Gray’s campaign staff paid him thousands of dollars to stay in the race and promised him a job in the Gray administration if he won.

Gray has denied wrongdoing and has said he knows nothing about cash and money orders given to Brown. His lawyer, Robert Bennett, called Brown’s talking points allegation “absolute nonsense” and fictional. Gray’s spokeswoman, Linda Wharton Boyd, had no immediate comment.

“He never gave him anything,” Bennett said.

Gray won last September’s Democratic primary in surprisingly lopsided fashion, given Fenty’s reputation outside the district as a hard-charging reformer who had improved local public schools with the help of his hand-picked schools chancellor. Then chairman of the D.C. Council, Gray portrayed himself as more ethical and collaborative than Fenty, who fell out of favor locally for his perceived aloof demeanor and for steering government contracts to his fraternity brothers.

Brown, a political novice, frequently disparaged Fenty during the campaign with personal attacks. He has told representatives of the U.S. attorney’s office that Gray handed him a list of talking points to bolster his rhetoric, and the document is among hundreds he has provided to prosecutors in hopes of substantiating his allegations against Gray’s campaign, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press. The person requested anonymity because a grand jury is weighing Brown’s allegations.

Ronald Machen, the U.S Attorney for the district, declined through a spokesman to comment on the investigation. The government does not publicly discuss grand jury investigations.

The grand jury is also looking into campaign finance irregularities in Gray’s campaign, according to people familiar with the probe, although it’s not clear what charges, if any, could be brought. Those people have also asked not to be named because of the secret nature of grand jury investigations.

Gray has said that he has not appeared before the grand jury or been questioned by prosecutors.

Gray tapped into widespread dissatisfaction with Fenty – especially in the city’s poorer, majority-black wards – to oust the first-term mayor by more than 13,000 votes, or 10 percentage points. Brown received 209 votes in the primary out of nearly 134,000. He used the catchphrase, “Go Brown, go Gray, go any color but Fenty.”

Fenty did not return a call seeking comment Thursday.

Brown handed over the document this summer in a meeting with members of the U.S. Attorney’s office, according to the person who spoke to the AP. Brown declined to comment on the document. It was not immediately clear who authored the talking points, or precisely what anti-Fenty message they conveyed.

After Gray took office in January, Brown was hired for a $110,000-a-year job in the district’s Department of Health Care Finance despite questions about his background, which includes an attempted murder charge as a teenager – he was acquitted – a poor credit history and a spotty resume. He was fired less than a month later, with administration officials citing inappropriate office behavior.

Brown then went public with his allegations that he was paid by members of Gray’s campaign chairwoman, Lorraine Green, and her friend, Howard Brooks, who handled financial matters for the campaign. Brown said Gray was aware of the payments, but he has not accused the mayor of handing him cash.

The D.C. Council conducted a lengthy fact-finding probe of Brown’s allegations and concluded that Brown was paid at least $1,160 by Brooks and was promised a job in the administration.

Brown told the Council that on one occasion, Gray told him, “Howard has something for you,” and that Brooks then handed him an envelope with cash inside. Gray has denied that allegation, and the Council found that Brown’s claims that Gray was aware of the payments were “not credible.”

Bennett, Gray’s attorney, said Brown’s allegation about the talking points must be relatively new since Brown did not make the accusation in the initial flurry of interviews he gave shortly after his firing or at his appearance before the Council.

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Various confrontations between area youth sparked the gunfire which started in the Georgetown neighborhood.

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According to WJLA-TV/ABC7, a confrontation started between two groups of people at Wisconsin Avenue and M Street NW then spilled eastwardtoward 28th Street NW, where “[a] witness says a man across the street started firing shots at the group and one victim fell to the ground.”

The shooting occurred shortly before 11 p.m., and the victim’s injuries, WJLA reports, are life threatening.

Read more at HuffingtonPost

Buchanan said that regulating immigration, where 13% of the population is foreign born, will help the native born African American population find jobs.

Pat Buchanan: Black Voters Bought Liberal Propaganda On Plantation

Racist? Pat Buchanan Calls Obama “Your Boy” On Sharpton’s Show

WAMU reports:

D.C.’s unemployment rate is 11.1 percent, which is higher than the national rate of 9.1 percent, but still lower than some of the hardest-hit states, such as Nevada. The District is also home to extreme poverty. Some nearly all-black wards of the city face Depression-era unemployment levels. Buchanan suggested a solution to the disproportionately high national unemployment rate among African Americans, now at 16 percent:

“One thing I would do is stop immigration into the country until all unemployment is down to 6 percent,” he said. “We’ve got to start putting our own people first.”

Read More At WAMU

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On May 19, Dwight Harris was drinking in public and resisted arrest outside a Metro Station, according to police reports.

VIDEO:

The U.S. Department of Justice reviewed training records, video and medical reports and interviewed witness extensively and found insufficient evidence to charge the officers, saying there wasn’t evidence that the officers intentionally tried to deprive Harris of a constitutional right.

Read more at theGrio.com

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The Home Affordable Refinance Program: What You Need To Know

Thousands of D.C. metro area students attended a recent college fair where they had access to readiness tips and admissions information from hundreds of the nation’s college and university representatives.

It’s not the first time the fair took place. Held annually and sponsored by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, along with D.C.’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education, the event is a massive collage of universities and colleges attempting to brand themselves as the best academic destinations. This year middle school students were welcomed in addition to high-schoolers.

Emily Durso, Assistant Superintendent for Post-Secondary Education and Workforce Readiness at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, said that the message she was imparting to students during the fair was that college is a necessity and that preparation is important.

“First of all I want them to realize they have to go to college. Number two … there are a variety of colleges here because they want them … these colleges all came here and bought booths because they want our kids,” said Durso. “They need to start getting focused on going to college young, which is why this year for the first time we have middle school students. We want to focus them earlier and earlier and earlier so that they realize that if they want to go to these schools they’ve got to stay with the program.”

But, while Durso is stressing college as a mandatory life path, others are saying they can barely afford it.  Many at the fair cited cost as a potential barrier to attending college.

Read more…

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CBC Launches Job Fair To Help Bring Blacks Back To Work

Click or print the map below for details!

Check out more of our MLK Memorial coverage here:

• Top 5 MLK Speeches of All-Time
• Get Empowered: Books authored by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=212860322494403161006.0004ab5438f0a76e077db&ie=UTF8&vpsrc=6&ll=38.907732,-77.0327&spn=0.046753,0.104713&z=13&output=embed
View NewsOne’s Guide To DC For MLK Memorial Dedication in a larger map

Ben’s Chili Bowl & Ben’s Next Door  (1213 U St. NW)

Ben’s Chili Bowl is a long time local landmark that has built in rabid cult following including famed notables such as Bill Cosby and President Obama, who are such huge fans of Ben’s chili half smokes that the eatery hung a sign that said that nobody but them can eat for free.

Outside of its world renowned chili half smokes, Ben’s standing as an iconic Black-owned institution came about in the late 1960s. After Dr. King’s assassination in 1968, while the U St. neighborhood around Ben’s was being burned to the ground from rioting the diner’s owner Ben Ali kept its door’s opened to the community. It was left untouched.

Bus Boys and Poets (2021 14th St. NW)

Busboys and Poets, traditionally a community gathering place for the area’s progressive types, draws on Langston Hughes’ budding days working as a busboy in DC prior to becoming a historically important poet.

Eatonville (2121 14th St. NW)

Eatonville was opened in 2009 by the same guy who founded Bus Boys and Poets and it sits directly across the street to its sister property. Even though some may think that Eatonville’s name sprang up in the annals of a lazy name search involving the word “eat”, it’s actually inspired by another great Black writer, Zora Neale Hurston. The restaurant is actually named after her Florida hometown and thus becomes the perfect moniker for southern cuisine.

Georgia Brown’s (950 15th St. NW)

If you’re in the mood for high-end Southern low-country cuisine in downtown DC you may want to check out Georgia Brown’s, a favorite of the K Street crowd. The menu is pricey but the portions are full and the food is down right good.

B. Smiths (50 Massachusetts Ave. NW)

Union Station is home to one of restaurateur and television host B. Smith’s three award-winning soul food restaurants. If fact, the dining is undeniably one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the country.

African American Civil War Memorial & Museum (1925 Vermont Ave. NW)

After memorializing the legacy of the man who marched for freedom in civil rights visit the memorial of the 200,000 selfless African-American soldiers and sailors who fought for freedom during the Civil War. The African-American Civil War Museum recently opened a bigger, better location directly across from the stunning memorial that sits on U Street.

Bohemian Caverns (2001 11th St. NW)

Once a landmark lounge known for hosting the great jazz icons such as Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and DC’s own Duke Ellington. Today, you can catch great food, live music and open mic poetry sessions.

Frederick Douglass National Historic Site  (1411 W St. SE)

You can’t visit Washington without visiting the home and estate of Frederick Douglass, one of the country’s first great Black leaders. Southeast D.C. is home to the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, which is administered by the National Park Service as a National Historic Site.

According to the National Park Service, “Douglass lived in this house, which he named Cedar Hill, from 1877 until his death in 1895. Perched high on a hilltop, the site also offers a sweeping view of the U.S. Capitol  and the Washington D.C. skyline.”

Howard University (2400 Sixth St. NW)

Howard University, one of the preeminent HBCUs in the country, is founding campus of many of the Divine 9 Black Greek organizations including fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, which counts Dr. King as a member, the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, to which Coretta Scott King is a honorary member. Among Howard University’s many very distinguished alumni are Civil Rights greats such as Stokely Carmichael, who spearheaded the student led “freedom rides”, and Thurgood Marshall, who’s prolific work led to the desegregation in public schools.

Malcolm X/ Meridian Hill Park (2500 16th St. NW)

Meridian Hill Park, also known as Malcolm X Park, is one of the most beautiful sights in DC. The long held Drum Circle and a number of civil rights marches have originated in the nationally historic park that features a 13 basin cascading waterfall.

Lincoln Theater (1215 U St. NW)

Lincoln Theater was known as the “jewel of Black Broadway” in its hey day. The iconic theater was the center piece of America’s Black cultural movement, which was centralized in DC and predated Harlem. It hosted regular performances from the jazz era’s most noted entertainers including Washington natives Duke Ellington and Pearl Bailey as well Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Nat King Cole, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, and Sarah Vaughn.

The Park At Fourteenth (920 14th St. NW)

The Park At Fourteenth is the latest venture by DC’s most successful nightlife promoter Marc Barnes. The man responsible for revitalizing the city’s nightlife with previous iconic nightclubs such as Republic Gardens and Love has done it again with a classy four-story restaurant and lounge that shifts the epicenter of DC nightlife to the downtown.

P.O.V. Lounge at W Hotel (515 15th St. NW)

If you want to see Washington in a new perspective head across the street from the White House to the roof terrace of the W Hotel’s Point of View Bar and look down. Have a drink while peering into the Obama residence while  seemingly being an arms length away from the top of the Washington monument. Be prepared to RSVP on OpenTable.com.

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (1001 F St. NW)

Meet wax replicas of Martin Luther King, Barack Obama and other historical figures.

The White House (1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW)

Martin Luther King marched so Barack Obama could run. No visit to Martin Luther King’s memorial would be complete without a visit to the White House while the nation’s first Black president is still sitting in office.

The Lincoln Memorial (The National Mall)

Stand in the very spot where Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have A Dream” speech during the 1963 March on Washington.

NCNW Building (633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW)

National Council of Negro Women building on Pennsylvania Avenue is the only black-owned building in the nation’s “corridor of power.” The organization’s long time leader Dorothy Height, often considered the “godmother of the women’s movement” and mentor to both Dr. King and President Obama, laid in repose after her death in 2010.

Martin Luther King, Jr National Memorial (The National Mall)

Dedication festivities from 8:30a to 4p, August 28, 2011

Washington Convention Center (801 Mt Vernon Pl NW)

Where many of the MLK Memorial dedication festivities will be held. See  www.dedicatethedream.org for details

OTHER IMPORTANT WASHINGTON LINKS:

Metro – DC Transit

Washington.org – Official Tourism Site of Washington, DC

Martin Luther King Memorial Official Festivities Schedule

Ashley simultaneously played 3o students from the U.S. Chess Center in Washington D.C.

12-Year-Old Chess Whiz Could Become Youngest Grandmaster

The Washington Post reports:

“It’s great to see these kids who think they have a chance,” he said before heading in to face anxious students in school uniforms lined up in front of checkered boards. More and more kids do, he said. “I don’t give them any games, though. They have to beat me.”

As Ashley circled the rows of chessboards, exchanging moves with one student at a time, the hushed crowd could hear only the tap of chess pieces. The children stared into their boards, foreheads creased, chins cupped in hands, fingers pressed against temples.

Read More At The Washington Post

The much-anticipated “State of the Congressional Workplace” report (see PDF) is an overview of the employment climate on Capitol Hill and its 30,000 employees. Included in the group are all congressional staffs and their counterparts in field offices throughout the U.S. during fiscal year 2010. The Architect of the Capitol and the U.S. Capitol Police teams are also in the tally.

We all know the turnover is already high – that comes naturally with every election cycle and is a core aspect of the job. But, according to the report, allegations of violations in workplace rights have increased when compared to five years ago. Many of the issues raised involve discrimination or harassment due to factors of race, age, sex, or disability. The report says that 105 new counseling requests were processed along with 86 mediation requests.

Read more…

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District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray has struggled with yet another issue with the residency of a potential nominee in his administration.

The mayor announced September 21 that he would place Robert L. Mallett on the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, effectively running the three-member panel. This news did not go over well with community activist and noted city government watchdog Dorothy Brizill. She raised questions about Mallett’s residency, since he recently moved from New York.

Two days later, the mayor withdrew Mallett’s nomination ahead of potential scrutiny from the city council, the media, and other observers. D.C. government has a strict rule that requires the mayor’s nominees to also be District residents for at least three consecutive years prior to assuming their position. Mallett moved to the District from New York City in 2010.

Mayor Gray’s spokeswoman had some brief words about the turn of events with Mallett.

“[Gray] is very disappointed that he is unable to send the nomination,” said Linda Wharton-Boyd, according to The Washington Post.

To read more, click here.

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A recent report revealed that the Washington, DC, metropolitan area has had one of the highest rent hikes in the nation. Bloomberg Business week assessed data from Axiometrics, a company  that measures performance in the rental apartment sector, and came up with a list of the top 25 American cities where rents have increased substantially in 2010.

The Washington, DC, Arlington and Alexandria region showed an average monthly rent of $1,473, up 7 percent from a year ago. The reason for the spike has to do with the fact that there is low unemployment, but high demand in that region.  Vacancies move fast.

Of the 88 metropolitan areas that Axiometrics surveyed, the only ones where rents decreased were…

To read more, click here.

As quickly as District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray welcomed his newest deputy chief of staff, he saw her exit amid controversy over her voting and past business efforts.

Andrea “Andi” Pringle joined Gray’s team along with new Chief of Staff Christopher Murphy earlier this month. The two were key hires for Gray, whose young administration has been mired in scandal, voter distrust and allegations of cronyism.

Pringle’s voting record in the District was called into question by Dorothy Brizill, one of the area’s most noted political watchdogs, on the website DCWatch.com. On September 2, Brizill filed a formal complaint with the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to challenge the status of Pringle’s residency when she last voted.

It was found that Pringle voted…

To read more click here.

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CBC Foundation Conference to focus on technology jobs

District of Columbia officials joined the Washington D.C. Chamber of Commerce and metro area business leaders to announce the creation of a voluntary hiring initiative to facilitate the employment of city residents by area employers.

The “One City-One Hire,” initiative is designed to provide wage subsidies, tax-incentives, and job training by the city government to businesses in the D.C. area who add a D.C. resident to their personnel rosters.

“While this is not a panacea, hopefully this will begin to connect the dots for lots of people,” said Mayor Vincent Gray (D), at a press conference announcing the plan.

According to the District’s Department of Employment Services, the hiring initiative was patterned after a similar one in Atlanta, Georgia. The Mayor’s office reports that almost 13,000 Atlanta residents were hired during the first six months of the program’s inception there.  The goal of ‘One City-One Hire” is to employ 10,000 D.C. residents in one year.

To read more, click here.

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CBC Foundation’s conference will focus on technology jobs

District of Columbia officials and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood say construction of the District’s 11^th Street Bridge Project shows how infrastructure investment produces jobs,  and demonstrates how President Barack Obama’s American Jobs Act could put people back to work.

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, D.C. City Councilman Marion Barry, Terry Bellamy, director of D.C.’s Department of Transportation, and LaHood gathered recently at the project along with contractors and workers.

For more of the story click here.

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D.C. Asks Area Businesses To Hire One City Resident Through New Initiative

Several of the nation’s leading entrepreneurs and venture capitalists and members of the African American technology community will gather September 23 in Washington for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 41st Annual Legislative Conference to discuss ways to increase African American participation in the high-growth technology industry.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, will host a forum, “African Americans: Joining the Leading Edge of the High Tech Boom,” at 10 a.m. EDT in room 144A of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on September 23, day three of the four-day conference.

To read more, click here.

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Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray has added some new and needed faces into the upper ranks of his office. He plans to restore the confidence of D.C. residents by bringing in District outsiders, a move that breaks with past traditions of local government.

Gray announced the appointment of Christopher Murphy as his new chief of staff. He is joined by incoming Deputy Chief of Staff Andrea Pringle. Both new hires were welcomed in a press conference Tuesday.

“I think you want some fresh faces, some fresh eyes on the business of government,” Gray said in an interview reported in The Washington Post.

“They’re not newcomers. They’re just newcomers to D.C. government,” Gray said.

Murphy joins Gray’s team from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where…

To read more, click here.

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Is Washington D.C. no longer the “Chocolate City?”