I was one of the more than 500,000 persons attending the DC Women’s March. For me, the March was personal in honor of my mother, Naomi. My mom was born in Mt. Gilead, NC, a small town of less than 1500 persons in rural North Carolina. Growing up in the Jim Crow South, she longed for a better life as discrimination was rampant and the way of life there. Like so many Blacks living in the south during that era, she, as a young woman, migrated north, first to Buffalo, NY and later to Baltimore. During her lifetime, she experienced various forms of discrimination such as not being able to shop in stores due to the color of her skin, sit and eat in at many restaurants, live in many areas of Baltimore City, purchase homes in certain areas due to restrictive covenants preventing Blacks from living and buying homes in some areas. And this was after she moved to Baltimore. My mother fought for many health care reforms as an employee and later as a retiree of the … [Read more...] about I Marched the DC Women’s March in Honor of My Mother
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2015 DC/MD/VA Legal Stories to Watch
In 2015, there will be several interesting local DC/MD/VA legal stories to watch unfold starting this week. On Tuesday, January 6, Former Republican VA Governor Robert (“Bob”) McDonnell is scheduled to be sentenced on his 11 convictions for corruption in office. His wife, Maureen is scheduled to be sentenced later in February. And just as the case played out in the courtroom, it continued with the same theme after the trial. The defense of Bob McDonnell continued to throw wife Maureen McDonnell under the bus as the culprit for his demise. Daughters Jeanine McDonnell Zubowsky and Cailin McDonnell Young wrote letters to the judge saying in essence that their mother was to blame for everything. And dad, Bob McDonnell, never wished for any lavish items. The defense has requested three years of community service, in lieu of any jail time. McDonnell would be lucky to get as little as three years of jail. The prosecutors are seeking a ten year prison term. Over 400 letters of … [Read more...] about 2015 DC/MD/VA Legal Stories to Watch
First DC Attorney General Race Heats Up
Having written a letter commentary to the Washington Post editorial board on October 21, 2010 on why the DC Attorney General should be elected, I am elated to see that day has finally arrived with five viable and diverse candidates seeking the office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia. The 5 candidates seeking the office are attorneys Lorie Masters, Karl Racine, Edward “Smitty” Smith, Lateefah Williams and Paul Zukerberg. I was finally able to see all 5 together in a forum on Tuesday, October 21 hosted by the Women’s Bar Association and moderated by Zoe Tillman, reporter for the National Law Journal/Legal Times. At the outset, I must say there are many similarities between the candidates on some of the issues. And in all honesty, I wish I could clone them into one candidate placing their best qualities in one person. When asked what would be their number one priority for the office of Attorney General, they all gave practically the same answer. Each candidate wanted to … [Read more...] about First DC Attorney General Race Heats Up