The Pri nce Ge orge’s Pos t OMMUNITY EWSPAPER FOR RINCE EORGE S OUNTY SINCE A C N P G ’ C 1932 Vol. 87, No. 20 May 16 — May 22, 2019 Prince George’s County, Maryland Newspaper of Record Phone: 301-627-0900 25 cents 65 TH ANNIVERSARY OF BROWN V. B OARD OF EDUCATION ‘A Salute to our Veterans’ Desegregation in Prince During Veterans Appreciation Ceremony and Muster May 16 George’s County Revisited: This marks the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County 10th Annual Celebration An Interview With UPPER MARLBoRo, Md. (May 8, 2019)—in celebration of their dutiful service to Prince George’s County, our country and beyond, the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County is pleased to honor the Historian Avis Matthews selfless acts of local veterans during its 10th Annual Veterans Appre - By DonnA SCoTT-MARTin Q & A ciation Ceremony and Muster on Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. PGCMLS How did your experience of desegre - The ceremony will be held at the Prince George’s County Court - gation color your research of the post house, 14735 Main Street, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 at 9:30 a.m. in Introduction Brown v. Board of Education era? the Jury Assembly Room (M2400). Avis Danette Matthews’ research reveals i grew up within a nurturing and em - “This annual celebration is a true reminder of the Prince George’s how blacks in Prince George’s County af - powering network of family, neighbors and County community’s commitment to recognizing and honoring the firmed their racial and cultural identity and teachers. i often heard my family speak selfless acts of our service men and women who put their lives on the also advocated for fair desegregation plan - poignantly of their all-black schools. My line to protect our liberties. i thank you,” says the Honorable Sheila R. ning in the face of undermining county poli - experience with desegregation began in the Tillerson Adams, Chief and Administrative Judge of Prince George’s cies. Growing up in closely knit African- 7th grade. The memories i have of my high County and the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Maryland. “Additionally, i American communities in Prince George’s school years, September 1972 to June 1975, would like to thank the Honorable Dorothy M. Engel for leading an County, Maryland, Matthews was intrigued are what initially drove my research. i re - PHoToGRAPH CoURTESY PGCMLS amazing committee who have worked diligently to orchestrate a mem - by her family’s enduring stories about their membered DuVal High School as being a Historian Avis Matthews orable event.” beloved communities and schools. Conse - racial utopia, where we all just got along. Judge Engel, an Associate Judge of the Circuit Court for Prince quently, Matthews questioned whether The high school was pretty well racially George’s County and a proud former Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve Were there mixed attitudes about de - Thurgood Marshall’s “unyielding integra - balanced, as mandated by the desegregation Judge Advocate General’s Corps, expresses her gratitude to the brave segregation among blacks in Prince tionist worldview,” as described by biog - order. My master’s thesis started out as an soldiers, sailors and airmen of the United States military. rapher Juan Williams, had been the only or effort to validate this memory. George’s? What were these attitudes? “it fills me with great joy to be able to celebrate the noble service even the most relevant view of school de - However, i changed my thesis due to a The attitudes were mixed, but not con - of our veterans—both near and far—who sacrificed so much to protect segregation among African Americans. lack of sufficient documentation and evi - flicting. The dominant concern was the this great country. i thank you all and salute our veterans.” dence, beyond yearbooks, and as well-being of black children and the quality The ceremony is free and open to the public. Community Conversation: a result of further inquiry. i began of their education. Everyone was not com - —Press Officer, Prince George’s County Md. Remembering Desegregation reading closely about how Prince mitted to the idea that black children would Date and Time: Saturday, May 18, noon –4 p.m. George’s County schools had been get a better education if they went to white Description: Did you or your children attend desegregated. Also, the murder of schools. The important thing about the Prince George’s County Government presents: public schools in Prince George’s County in the Emmett Till a year after the Brown Brown decision, in the view of many blacks, v. Board of Education decision was that their children’s schools would be Bike to Work Day fifties, sixties, or seventies? We bet you have Friday, May 17, 2019 • 7 –9 a.m. suggested to me that there might better resourced and would be physically stories! Come to this event to reconnect with Register at Biketoworkmetrodc.org and enter for a chance to have been more than just a cele - improved. Yet, funding inequity from com - former classmates and share memories of how win one of the many new bicycles as part of a free raffle! bratory aspect to the school de - munity to community was one of the out - the Brown decision and the desegregation of Learn Bicycle Laws and other safety tips with giveaways. segregation narrative. i came to comes of Brown and remains a pressing is - Prince George’s County Schools affected you, Largo Pit Stop: Wayne K. Curry Administration Building question the one-dimensional nar - sue today. your family, your school, and your community. 1301 McCormick Drive, Largo, MD 20774 You will also be able to audio record your stories rative of a black population that After Brown , Blacks also were con - had unequivocally endorsed the cerned that black children were being bused in the library’s DREAM Lab for inclusion in Council Member At-Large Mel Franklin presents: our oral history collection. Brown decision and had univer - into white neighborhoods, but no white Cost: Free sally viewed desegregation as a children were being bused into black neigh - Family & Friends Day Ages: Adults common good. How, in reality, did borhoods. A small percentage of black fam - Sunday, May 19, 2019 • 3 –6 p.m. Location: Fairmount Heights Branch Library, the Prince George’s County ilies did take advantage of the county’s free - Watkins Park (outdoors), 301 Watkins Park Drive, 5904 Kolb St., Fairmount Heights, African American community re - dom-of-choice transfer policy and sent their Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 MD 20743 spond to the Brown v. Board of children to white schools, but most black RSVP here: https://tinyurl.com/buylocal-investlocal-May19. Contact: 301-883-2650 Education decision? That is where See Brandywine-Aquasco column on page A2 for more info! my curiosity began. See DeSeGReGAtIon Page A3 Stop Treating Older Adults as Third-Class Citizens When It Comes to Affordable Housing, Local Seniors Urge Congress at Senior Housing Now Rally Only 1 in 3 eligible seniors receive housing assistance; Older adults on limited incomes in the greater D.C. region have few places to live By SHELLEY DUCKER • Protect and expand HUD’s Section 8 Project-Based Rental As - Fellowship Square sistance (PBRA) program providing rental housing to low-in - come households in privately owned and managed rental units. WASHinGTon DC (May 8, 2019)—More than 100 empowered The program currently enables housing for 1.2 million house - elder residents from Fellowship Square affordable housing properties holds; two-thirds of which are older adults or people with dis - in Maryland and Virginia gathered at the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday abilities. to urge Congress to protect and expand affordable housing for older “Seniors of limited means used to be able to stay in their homes adults. These seniors joined their voices with hundreds of other or downsize into rental apartments. Today in our area, however, Americans of advanced age from across the country as part of the older renters get squeezed out as rents have exploded. Housing Senior Housing now rally. costs are at an all-time high in our region, resulting in fewer and The need for affordable housing for older adults has exploded nationally and locally. older adults represent 66% of the recent in - See SenIoR HouSInG Page A5 crease in “worst case housing needs” households, according to a re - cent U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Residents of Fellowship Square’s Maryland and Virginia hous - report. ing communities for low-income seniors urged lawmakers to ex - only 1 in 3 low-income seniors (34%) receive the housing as - pand affordable housing programs for older adults by sistance they are eligible for because the programs are small com - participating in the Senior Housing now rally on Capitol Hill pared to real need. Concerningly, with housing and rental costs on May 8. Veronica Gaither, 75, of Largo, Md. stood ready to soaring and health care costs rising, older adults are at greater risk rally alongside other residents from her Largo Landing com - of homelessness than at any time in recent history, according to munity. “It took two years on a waitlist for me to get into an af - Justice in Aging. fordable housing apartment for seniors. I’m one of the lucky To address this trend, the Senior Housing now rally urged Con - ones. there are millions of others of older adults like me who gress to: face the very scary reality of ending up on the streets without • Protect and expand HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the the assistance of affordable housing.