Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, December 18, 2010

December 18, 2010 - December 18, 2010, The Afro-American A1 By Valencia Mohammed Special to the AFRO While the recession continues to increase its number of casualties, the new faces of poverty in the region include the Black middle class, the elderly and youth. Ron Moten, 41, cofounder of Peacoholics, said needy, desperate and homeless youth have been around for over a decade. “They just didn’t come under the radar until now,” he said. When it comes to differences across class, it was expected that those who were in the lower class would remain poor. However, nonprots and government agencies are saying urgent calls for nancial assistance now come from individuals who have lost their jobs or homes that are accustomed to a lifestyle of comfort, even luxury. Tanya Robinson, 54, was a successful real estate saleswoman until the market hit at an all time low. Accustomed to the middle-class lifestyle, she lost her northwest Washi ngton, D.C. home and the business. Unable to nd work that could accommodate her lifestyle, eventually, Robinson became homeless. Too proud to sleep in shelters, Robinson adapted to a life of sleeping in abandoned homes and park benches, yet she still gets her nails and hair done regularly. “Do you know what it’s like to lose everything you own?” Robinson asked. “Most of my family members are struggling themselves and didn’t have room for me to stay with them. So I’m out in the street trying to make it,” she added. Unable to cope with her losses, Robinson slipped into a state of deep depression and began to self medicate herself by taking illegal drugs. Lewis Davis, 43, senior state director of communications at AARP , said according to the Capital Area Food Bank, one in three District seniors are at risk of or suffering from hunger. “That is a strong indicator of poverty in the D.C. area,” stated Davis. AARP states there are many factors contributing to poverty By Zenitha Prince Washington Bureau Chie The Congressional Black Caucus on Dec. 10 said its members overwhelmingly oppose the tax cuts compromise reached between the White House and congressional Republicans, saying it is “bad for African Americans” and other vulnerable communities. “You can’t give tax cuts away like you’re Oprah Winfrey or Santa Claus,” Virginia Democrat Rep. Bobby Scott, a member of the House Budget Committee, said during a Capitol Hill press conference. “Someone eventually has to pay for it.” And traditionally, it’s been communities of color that have had to pay, the Black lawmakers said. President Obama and the Republican leadership reached a deal that would extend Bush- era tax cuts in exchange for also extending unemployment benets and other programs favored by Obama. According to the Congressional Budget Ofce, the tax deal is projected to increase the national decit by almost $900 billion-a gure larger than the recent nancial stimulus measures-adding to an already towering debt. And to reduce that balance, Republicans will likely impose “draconian” cuts on programs important to minority communities such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and health care, CBC members said. “There are tough choices that will have to be made next year [and] we know what will happen- it’s going to be low-income communities, poor communities of color that are going to pay,” Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) told reporters. The Caucus offered its own plan, which is built on some elements of the existing deal: • A 13-month extension of unemployment insurance benets plus additional assistance for the chronically unemployed. • A payroll tax holiday with a Black Caucus Says ‘No’ to Obama Tax Deal “You can’t give tax cuts away like you’re Oprah Winfrey or Santa Claus.” www.afro.com Volume 119 No. 19 DECEMBER 18, 2010 - DECEMBER 24, 2010 a f r o . c o m Y o u r H i s t o r y • Y o u r C o m m u n i t y Y o u r N e w s Listen to “First Edition” Join Host Sean Yoes Sunday @ 8 p.m. on 88.9 WEAA FM, the Voice of the Community. Copyright © 2010 by the Afro-American Company Join the AFRO on Twitter and Facebook 75 CENTS B8 Curry says: ‘Used Up’ Michael Steele to Seek 2nd Term as GOP Head A11 • Black Pak INSERT Steele to Seek Re-election By Zenitha Prince Washington Bureau Chie In a move that seemed to surprise Washington insiders, beleaguered Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele announced his intention to run for re-election despite a rocky rst term. After weeks of silence – and a growing clamor for his ouster among allegations of nancial mismanagement and frequent verbal gaffes over the past two years – Steele alerted the 168-member Republican National Committee during an evening conference call Dec. 13 that he would run, according to an Associated Press report. “Yes, I have stumbled along the way, but have always accounted to you for such shortcomings. No excuses. No lies. No hidden agenda,” Steele told the committee, according to a text of his remarks he e-mailed to RNC members afterward. “Going forward, I ask for your support and your vote for a second term.” Republican strategist and pollster David E. Johnson, who worked for the Bob Dole campaign, said he was puzzled by the decision given the waning support for the RNC’s rst African-Amer ican chairman, who was chosen almost three months after Barack Obama was elected as the rst Black president. “But then nothing Steele does surprises me,” he said. Johnson then added about Steele’s possible motive, “He was angry at the growing chorus of people who wanted him to go and he gured this is the way to get back at everybody.” Black Republican strategist Raynard Jackson said he thought the former Maryland lieutenant governor would “fade into the sunset,” but said this re-election bid enlivens the January AP Photo Michael Steele surprised the Republican Party establishment with his announcement that he is running for re-election as head of the national party. Continued on A6 Impov erished Includes Black Middle Class and Seniors Continued on A4 Continued on A4 By Shernay Williams AFRO Staf Writer Six people died in a two-alarm house re in East Baltimore early Dec. 14. The incident continues a string of large res in Baltimore City over the last eight days. According to re ofcials, the blaze began just before 5 a.m. in the 2300 block of Homewood Avenue. Three children and three adults, all family members, succumbed to the re. Linda Smith, the grandmother of 3-year-old Darryon Faulkner, who died in the re, said the family is struggling to grapple with the incident. “Right now ... I am praying,” she said. The boy’s great-grandparents, mother and two sisters – just 9-years- old and 1-year-old – were also lost in the re. Faulkner’s mother would have celebrated her 28 th birthday six days after the re, say family friends. “People are in shock and saddened for the loss of this entire family,” said the Rev. Toni Draper, Photo by Webster Phillips III A Dec. 14 re in the 2300 block of Homewood Avenue left six dead – grandparents, a granddaughter and three great-grandchildren ages 9, 3 and 1 – and over 30 people displaced. The neighborhood has already started a memorial in their memory at the devastating scene . Friends Remember Victims of East Baltimore Fire Continued on A8 Maryland Trampolinist Represents U.S. in France B8 Morgan Sends 18 Qualifers to MEAC Championships

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Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, December 18, 2010