I am sad, not just because of this recent news, but also because of the state of Black-owned businesses in general and the seeming lack of awareness/interest within the larger Black community to recognize the need for our conscious and constant patronage to support these institutions.  We have got to show our children that they can succeed at owning and operating businesses rather than just sending them off to college so they can eventually work for others.  That is not the hopes and dreams of our forefathers and mothers who worked so hard for us to achieve equality within this system.   And we’ve got to show them the way, first through our examples of supporting those who look like we do and provide good service.

Donna M. Smith
Washington, D.C.

Mr. Simba, I am one of the millions of your Black patrons and like everyone else I want to know why you are closing your business?  It goes without saying that if there is anything we, the people, can do to help you we will, but we need some answers.

Thank you and may God bless you for the fine service that Karibu has afforded us for your 15 years.  Perhaps with everyone's assistance, you can make it to 15 more.

Kelly-Marie Berry
Washington, D.C.

I was truly saddened to read about the closing of Karibu.  To me it is as though a member of the family had passed.   This touches me very deeply because my family supported these brothers when they had a kiosk in Landover Mall.  I also read where there was fierce competition from the mocha chocolate and frappacino factions.  This closing is VERY serious to the survival of our community.   In these latte factions,  our story is relegated to one section in the store.  I have seen where these "one" sections are getting even smaller. 

Is there not something we as a community can do to at least keep ONE these stores open and support it like our lives depend on it?   We constantly complain that there are not enough stores in our community.  Furthermore,  we say that we do not support those of us who are business.  I would hate for us to be content sipping on our "mint juleps" on the verandas of these chai lattes  while our history is being relegated to one shelf.  This day I am going to Karibu to at least touch base with Mr. Simba to convince him to keep at least ONE of the stores open.
 
Thank you for allowing me to vent.  A people without knowledge will truly perish.

June Williams
Washington, D.C.

Note: The Snippet with the closing of Karibu as the headline was our most popular editions in our history.  We too will miss our business partners.  The Saturday, February 23  book fair that Karibu and Port of Harlem are supporting at the Mall of Prince George’s will still happen.  Luckily, we already found a new advertiser at least for the next print issue to replace the resulting loss of revenue.  We also thank those who subscribed or renewed their subscription to the print issue - You Can, Too!   Click here to subscribe today!

Tony Brown, the host of Tony Brown's Journal for more than 30 years, interviews Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.  In a special media preview showing, Brown spoke of Thomas as an old associate whom he would meet at Urban League conventions in the 1980s.  “We had drinks together,” says Brown.  If you are expecting a heated exchange between these two old chums, you will be greatly disappointed.

During the half-hour show, the two pioneers discuss Justice Thomas' recent autobiography, My Grandfather's Son, and Brown allows Thomas to explain his voting record, reputation among African-Americans and liberals, personal and professional influences, and personal discipline.  I wrote the book says Thomas, a devout Catholic, to set “the facts about my life in an accurate way.”

Thomas makes it clear that he is different from most Blacks.  He says, “Blacks suppose to think a certain way.  We are assigned the neighborhood of liberalism.”  Brown ends the conversation saying that he has a niece that worked with Thomas and Anita Hill and that the niece did not believe Hill’s side of the Thomas-Hill sexual harassment feud.   Brown's interview with Justice Thomas premieres Saturday, February 22 on PBS (check local listings).

Did you know that prior to 1953, Union Station was one of the few downtown D.C. places where African Americans could eat in segregated Washington? Or that in 1938 famed Black contralto Marian Anderson performed at the Lincoln Memorial only after she was not permitted to sing at Central High School (now Cardozo High School) as well as DAR Constitution Hall? Join award-winning journalist Charles E. Cobb, Jr. as he takes a journey throughout the Washington area and beyond to share these and other stories along the historic Civil Rights Trail.

Lecture with Journalist and Author Charles E. Cobb, Jr.
author of the just released:
On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail
Tuesday, February 26 at 7:30p 
Grosvenor Auditorium- National Geographic Society
1600 M Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
 202 -857-7700
FREE Underground Parking

Non member ticket prices $18.  Mention Port of Harlem and save $9 (50 percent discount off non-member prices). $9 Port of Harlem tickets must be purchased by phone at 202-857-7700.   

"If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King’s vision of a beloved community. We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.

So let us say that on this day of all days, each of us carries with us the task of changing our hearts and minds. The division, the stereotypes, the scape-goating, the ease with which we blame our plight on others – all of this distracts us from the common challenges we face – war and poverty; injustice and inequality. We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing someone else down. We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics; the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late."



When:  Sunday, Feb. 10; 4p-7p
Where: The Remedy for Living: 12500-C Fairwood Parkway. Bowie, MD 20720. (301) 352-0077. .
RSVP: Contact: Ayanna Smith by 7p Friday, Feb 8