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THE BLACK MEDIA AUTHORITY • AFRO.COM

Volume 134 No. 39

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APRIL 25, 2026 - MAY 1, 2026

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Photo courtesy of Dr. Fairfax and Associates Family Dentistry

Courtesy of the City of Coral Springs

Across the country, communities are calling for accountability and action when it comes to domestic violence in the Black community. Experts are weighing in on the causes and the solutions for intimate partner violence after the killings of Pastor Tammy McCollum (left) in North Carolina; ;Dr. Cerina Fairfax in Virginia, and Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen, of Florida.

A deadly pattern: Violence against Black women raises alarm nationwide

By D. Kevin McNeir Special to The AFRO Brutal cases of domestic violence in the Black community have rocked the nation in recent weeks, highlighting a need to understand the root cause of intimate partner violence and how to prevent it. On April 1, Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen, of Coral Springs, Fla., was found dead in

her home after missing a meeting. Her husband, Stephen Bowen, 40, was arrested and charged with first-degree premeditated murder. Officials reported that after a domestic violence encounter, Bowen reportedly admitted he had a “panic attack” and shot his wife because he “couldn’t take it anymore.” On April 6, just hours after an Easter Sunday church service, Pastor Tammy McCollum, of Statesville, N.C., died at the hands of her

Leon Bridges dies at 93 By AFRO Staff

in Baltimore. An internment and military service will take place on April 27 at 2 p.m. inside of the Druid Ridge Cemetery, located at 7900 Park Heights Ave. The AFRO sends condolences to all those impacted by the death of Leon Bridges. He was 93 years old.

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The AFRO is saddened to learn of the death of Leon Bridges, who formed his own firm, Leon Bridges AIA, in 1963, and became the first registered African-American architect in the state of Maryland.

A wake for Bridges will be held on April 26 from 2-4 p.m. at March Funeral Home East, located at 1101 East North Ave. in Baltimore. On April 27, a family hour will be held from 10-11 a.m., immediately followed by the funeral services, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Douglass Memorial Community Church, located at 1325 Madison Ave.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington

Leon Bridges is remembered as the first registered African-American architect in the state of Maryland.

husband after three decades of marriage. On April 16, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, 47, killed his estranged wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, 49, in a murder-suicide at their home in Amandale, Va., according to Fairfax County Police. Justin Fairfax was scheduled to vacate the home at the end of the month. The couple’s teenage son, who was in the house along with his sister at the time of the shooting, found his parents’ bodies.

Just a few days later, on April 19, in Shreveport, La., Shamar Elkins, 31, a former member of the Louisiana Army National Guard, killed eight children, ages 3 to 11, and injured two women in a mass domestic violence tragedy. Seven of the eight children killed were his own. The eight child was a cousin of Elkins’ children. Elkins was shot and killed by police after Continued on A3

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigns before House sanction in ethics case By Kevin Frecking and Stephen Groves Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned from office on April 21, moments before the start of a hearing that could have led to a recommendation that she be expelled from Congress. Cherfilus-McCormick was the subject of a more than two-year investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which had determined recently that she had violated multiple federal laws and House rules. Support from her own party was increasingly in doubt. It’s the third resignation in a little more than a week from a House lawmaker. Reps. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, announced within hours of each other that they were leaving Congress. Both men were facing sexual misconduct allegations and possible expulsion. In a statement, Cherfilus-McCormick said the House committee denied her

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) is no longer a member of Congress. Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from her office on April 21. new attorney’s request for more time to prepare a defense. She also said she would not pretend that the investigation had been anything other than a “witch hunt,” and rather than play political games, she would resign, effective immediately. “But let me say this plainly:

we should be very careful about the precedent we are setting in this country, we do not punish people before due process is complete,” she said. “We do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people. That is Continued on A3