VOL. 52, NO. 36 • JUNE 22 - 28, 2017
DCTAG Has Money for College. Apply by June 30th at dconeapp.dc.gov
Capture the Moment Page 32
Black Press Celebrates 190 Years of Service
Cosby Unshaken Throughout Trial
NNPA Holds Annual Convention at National Harbor By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir
5 Bill Cosby /Courtesy photo By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
5 CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE: Dr. Benjamin Chavis, NNPA president and CEO (l-r), pays tribute to Robert Bo-
Throughout his trial, Bill Cosby was confident that he would get a hung jury. After all, the prosecution needed to convince all 12 jurors, but his side only needed to sway a single holdout, Cosby would wryly note. "All I need is one," the comedian reminded those around him during breaks in the proceedings — two weeks of testimony and deliberations in one of the most high-profile sexual assault cases in years. He was proven right Saturday when the judge in the case declared a mistrial, ending the lengthy deliberations after the jury repeatedly failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Though prosecutors vowed to retry the case, Cosby had grown
Dusty Baker: Veteran Player, Manager and History Maker
COSBY Page 11
gle, president and CEO, Philadelphia Tribune, the nation’s oldest Black-owned newspaper, along with Denise Rolark Barnes, Washington Informer publisher and NNPA chairperson, during a recent NNPA convention. /Photo by Shevry Lassiter
For 190 years, the Black Press has been on the job – sharing stories that would have gone untold, highlighting the achievements of members of the Black community and brining a perspective that’s inclusive, accurate and essential. This week, beginning June 20 and continuing through June 24, the Na-
NNPA Page 38
Nats' Skipper Speaks Candidly By Sarafina Wright WI Staff Writer In 1967, after being drafted by the Atlanta Braves at 18 years old, Dusty Baker's mother received a promise from Hank Aaron that he would take care of her son as if he was his own — an all-important vow of protection from one veteran black baseball player to a rookie during a time in America marred by racial strife, political assassinations and unrest. Baker, now manager of the Washington Nationals, revisited his memory of being a young man leaving a racially diverse community in California to play in the segregated South.
"I went from Sacramento to the South in 1967 and that was an awakening, because I had never been a part of segregation," Baker said. "They wouldn't allow black players off the bus in certain places like Little Rock, Arkansas and in parts of Texas. White players had to bring us our food and we were forced to live in areas where most of us weren't really accustomed to, but it taught me a lot." Baker, leaning back pensively behind his desk inside the Nationals clubhouse, explained how unfair treatment led him to a more well-rounded perception of people. "When they wouldn't rent to us in
DUSTY Page 36 5 Dusty Baker /Photo by Travis Riddick
Celebrating 52 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area