Category: Portfolio.

Racial Bias Shadows Bike Share Program

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Baltimore residents gather for a “bike party.” (Bikemore)
Baltimore residents gather for a “bike party.” (Bikemore)

Baltimore’s recently implemented Bike Share program boasts of being the largest electric-assist bicycle fleet in North America. But, as the city has seen with much of the biking infrastructure, Baltimore Bike Share has been met with criticism of its inequity.

A series of maps composed by blogger Ellen Worthing show bike rack locations, bike lanes and bike share stations concentrated in the city’s “White L,” the L-shaped area of Baltimore of primarily White neighborhoods such as Hampden, Federal Hill and Locust Point. Melody Hoffman, author of the book “Bike Lanes are White Lanes,” said that this has been the case in major cities all over the country.

“Baltimore just made a nonverbal statement that Bike Share is for tourists and downtown business people,” Hoffman said. “When they try to expand it, they’re going to have a really hard time getting other people on those bikes because it’s going to seem like it’s not for them because it wasn’t for them in the first place.”

The launch of Baltimore Bike Share is still relatively new with limited stations and 500 bikes, but this is similar to Bike Share launches in other cities. There are plans to have 50 stations by the end of this spring and continued growth after that. There is a call for the Bike Share to expand to lower income neighborhoods, and this Bike Shares, like New York’s similar Citibike program, is facing the same criticism.

Philadelphia’s Bike Share program Indego, Hoffman said, started from an equitable framework which is more effective than trying to “retrofit equity” as many Bike Shares across the country would have to do.

“Bike Share itself is maybe not designed for the needs of lower income people who don’t bike all the time,” Hoffman said. “And so, the discussion could also be, ‘is Bike Share really the answer to the transportation inequity issues in Baltimore?’”

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The Afro-American

Baltimore Residents Festive and Reverent at MLK Day Parade

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A woman on stilts waves to the crowd during the 17th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade. (Photo by Briahnna Brown)

A woman on stilts waves to the crowd during the 17th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade. (Photo by Briahnna Brown)

The people of Baltimore came out in droves to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the 17th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade.

The procession marched down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from Eutaw Street to Baltimore Street. Many in attendance said they were thankful that it was not as cold as it was during last year’s celebration.

The crowd cheered and waved for Mayor Catherine Pugh, who was at the front of the procession, and State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. The parade’s grand marshal this year was Baltimore native singer/songwriter Brave Williams, known for her appearances on “Making The Band” and “R&B Divas L.A.”

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The Afro-American

GIVING BABY BISON THE ‘TOOLS OF THE UNIVERSE’

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Romanieo Jr. plays piano for his parents. He enjoys the drums also, and spoke of his favorite musician. “Max Roach, of course, because he’s the best drummer I’ve heard of.”
Romanieo Jr. plays piano for his parents. He enjoys the drums also, and spoke of his favorite musician. “Max Roach, of course, because he’s the best drummer I’ve heard of.” Photo via Howard Magazine

Howard University has produced some of the greatest names in STEM, many of them the first African Americans to achieve these feats. From the famed Kenneth Clark (B.A. ’35; M.A. ’36) and Mamie Clark (B.S. ’38; M.A. ’39)to Patricia Bath (M.D. ’68), the first Black female doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention, the list goes on and on.

Another such great in the STEM field, Harley Flack Sr., worked his way to become the founding dean and professor at the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences. One of his sons, Christopher Flack (B.A., ’95)worked in D.C. government and had a hand in converting the Ecology building on Howard’s campus to what is now the Howard University Middle School of Math and Science, more commonly known as (MS)2. Christopher Flack’s son, Malachi, recently finished 8th grade at the middle school, and his family expects “great things” from the third-generation Flack.

“I always love the fact that, when they came up with the concept of the charter school, math and science were put out front as key to their curriculum,” Christopher Flack said. “Of course, when it came time for Malachi to complete 8th grade, we sent him to the charter school. I guess the legacy had come full circle from my father to Malachi.”

Howard alumni around the world are creating lineages of brilliant minds, and in a world where careers in STEM fields are increasingly in demand, industry leaders and policymakers have been calling for improvements in K-12 math and science education as well as an increase in production of STEM undergrads over the last few years.

Cheri Philip (B.S. ’00) and Romaneio Golphin Sr., who attended Howard University for a year, have gone above and beyond in answering that call in their own way. They posted a video that went viral a few years back that showed their 2-year-old son, Romanieo Jr., answering questions about chemistry and physics while eating his Cheerios. The video was created in part to demonstrate some of the learning tools they’ve utilized to cultivate the nurturing learning environment that viewers saw Romanieo Jr. flourishing in at such a young age.

“We early on saw that he was very curious about the world around him, as every child is,” Philip said. “It’s not so much that Romanieo Jr. is so unique and exceptional as many have often asked or said of him, it’s really about the amount of time we put into understanding where he is and where he can go because of his interests.”

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Tessa Hill-Aston Wins Highly Contested Baltimore NAACP Election

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NAACP 5&6: Voter turnout was high on Tuesday night as NAACP members stood in line for hours to cast their vote for branch president. (AFRO/Photo by Briahnna Brown)

Voter turnout was high on Tuesday night as NAACP members stood in line for hours to cast their vote for branch president. (AFRO/Photo by Briahnna Brown)

Tessa Hill-Aston will retain her presidency of the Baltimore City Branch of the NAACP after being re-elected to a fourth term Tuesday night over newcomer Cortly “C.D.” Witherspoon.

“I will continue to do the things that I’m doing with the good group of people that I have working with me,” Hill-Aston said.

Hill-Aston also said she looks forward to continuing her work in the areas of economic development, private sector, housing, landlords, the courts, and bridging the gap for those leaving foster care.

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AFRO American

Family of Korryn Gaines Disappointed in Lack of Charges Against Officers

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Rhanda Dormeus, mother of Korryn Gaines, stands with family attorney J. Wyndal Gordon, seen wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey under his jacket, at a press conference Sept. 21. ( Photo by Briahnna Brown)

Rhanda Dormeus, mother of Korryn Gaines, stands with family attorney J. Wyndal Gordon, seen wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey under his jacket, at a press conference Sept. 21. ( Photo by Briahnna Brown)

Lawyers for Korryn Gaines’ family confirmed that the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office will not file charges against the officers involved in the death of 23-year-old Korryn Gaines.

Wyndal Gordon, along with the Gaines family and their attorneys, met with State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger on Sept. 21 to discuss the case. He revealed that according to Shellenburger, Officer First Class Ruby shot Gaines from the hallway outside of her apartment, and did not fear for his own life, but for the life of his partner who “wasn’t even in the field of view of Korryn Gaines” when Ruby shot her.

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AFRO American

Protesters Mount March on Last Day of RNC

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RNC STAT March
Many protesters at the Stand Together Against Trump march during the last day of the RNC wore yellow to show solidarity and carried signs with slogans denouncing Donald Trump. Briahnna Brown

CLEVELAND–Lloyd Fraser, 35, is not normally a protester, but the Cleveland resident came out Thursdy in the more than 90-degree weather to make a statement against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump using the Republican National Convention (RNC) as a backdrop, because he said that he thinks people need to do more than vote.

“[We’re] just standing against Trump, standing against hate and fear and all that he represents,” Fraser said as he and other demonstrators walked to promote their cause.  “I think it will change the perspective of some people to know that there are so many people out here who believe so strongly about it.”

Fraser was one of the more than 200 protesters participating in a march on Hope Memorial Bridge in downtown Cleveland during the RNC. Organized by Stand Together Against Trump (STAT), the anti-Donald Trump group of Cleveland and other Midwest area doctors and young professionals.

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Chicago Defender

Fighting Religious Bigotry with Comedy at the RNC

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IMG_1115
Courtesy photo. Comedian Dean Obeidallah, right, was one of three comedians headlining the “BANNED” comedy show in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention.

CLEVELAND – Republican Donald Trump and his supporters have said things about Muslims that even his own party members have condemned.  They should be banned from the country, they said.  They can never be president, they said.  There should be a national directory for them, they added.

At the 2016 Republican National Convention, a leading Arab American organization decided it was a time to fight back, and it did — with a comedy show.

Yes, as banners and signs condemned their religion in photos and words, the Arab American Institute put on a comedy show.

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Chicago Defender

RNC Protesters met with Heavy Police Presence

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CLEVELAND – Nearly everywhere you look in downtown Cleveland during the Republican National Convention, there are cops – tall cops, short cops, fat cops, buff cops, young cops and old cops.

There are beat cops, cops on horses, cops in riot gear, cops in neon vests directing traffic and bicycle cops with body cams atop their helmets. There are cops from Illinois and Michigan and California and Austin, Texas, and Louisville, Ky.  There are cops from Georgia and Florida and Wisconsin and Delaware and even Maine.  In fact, the city asked every state to provide additional law enforcement, and it seems like nearly every state did.

There are noticeably very, very few female or black cops, and most of the black cops are from Cleveland.

Still, the massive law enforcement presence seems to have paid off.  There have been some hectic protests, including a flag-burning protest Wednesday that led to 17 arrests and resulted in charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.

There have been some tense moments, like the standoff that police broke up between immigration activists and Trump supporters Tuesday on Euclid Avenue, Cleveland’s equivalent of a Main Street, right at rush hour. And the guys openly carrying assault weapons Monday had many people, especially police, anxious.

Most of the numerous protests that have taken place in downtown Cleveland have been relatively peaceful. The city has not needed the nearly 1,000 jail cells it made available, nor the 20-hour open court it set up to handle offenders.

Make no mistake, though, the protesters are here.

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Chicago Defender

Youth Baseball League Aims to Bridge Gap Between Police and Community

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baseball

It was a bright and sunny afternoon during the opening day game of the North Lawndale Police Youth Baseball League at Franklin Park. Funded by Get IN Chicago, the league aims to create trust between police and the community while helping the children build leadership, sportsmanship, teamwork and conflict resolution skills.

“We started this last year in Englewood and it was such an unexpected success,” said Toni Irving, executive director of Get IN Chicago. “Generally speaking, [with] young African American boys and girls people think basketball [and] football. It was a lot of work to really rally the people.”

Irving said that after two weeks, the community response and support for the kids playing baseball was huge and cited surveys the organization had done before and after the program that showed an improvement in feelings of self and collective efficacy in the children.

“Every week there’s some other piece that’s added to it that are giving them the building blocks to be more successful throughout their lives,” Irving said. “And so, at the core of it there’s a kind of resiliency that becomes transferred through the Little League process.”

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Chicago Defender

Meet the Dance Instructor Bringing ‘Hiplet’ to the World

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By Briahnna Brown, McKenzie Marshall

Chicago Multicultural Dance Center

Earlier this year, a video of Black ballerinas dancing to hip-hop on pointe went viral. Those girls study “Hiplet” under instructor Homer Bryant at The Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center. Even though Bryant and the dancers have just recently gained national attention, Bryant has been instructing dancers of all ethnicities at the school for decades.

“Everybody’s talking about the school and all of a sudden we’re an overnight success,” Bryant said. “But that took 26 years—26 years of hard work, focus, discipline and determination because as an African-American man with classical ballet training school, people would say, ‘you’re not going to make it.’”

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Chicago Defender.