Gamma Pi Collaborates with Prince George's County TV and the Divine 9 to Produce a County Executive Candidates Forum

A full house watches and listens to the candidates

With just a few days to go before the primary election for the office of Prince George's County Executive, county residents are able to watch and listen to the candidates explain their positions, plans and priorities for the county during a Candidates Forum held and taped on Monday, February 17 and is now available for on-demand viewing on PGCTV.

The forum was taped in front of a live audience -- a full house -- at the Higher Calling Ministries church in in Upper Marlboro. All nine candidates representing both the Democratic and Republican parties participated. Students from two local high schools were also on hand to ask questions of the candidates. 

The Candidates Forum is now airing on the PGCTV Government Channel (Comcast Ch. 70 / Verizon Ch. 42). The remaining air times for this week are 8:30 p.m. through Friday. Future air dates and times are forthcoming and will be updated here. The event will also be posted in Gamma Pi Chapter's YouTube page until the special election on June 3.

Bro. Jason Crump

The Brothers of Gamma Pi had a big hand in this community event from the planning to the execution to the media coverage.

It started with Gamma Pi's Bro. Jason Crump, Esq., who founded the local Divine 9 (D-9) organization, spearheaded the idea to organize the debate through the D-9 group. Jack and Jill of America. Inc. was also involved in sponsoring the program. 

While Bro. Crump led from the stage as the host and as a co-moderator with Tamara Davis Brown, esq., of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., three Gamma Pi Brothers manned all three PGCTV cameras recording the broadcast -- William Lloyd, Jeffrey Edwards and Anthony Boyd.

"The success of the candidates forum just goes to show the amazing synergy that is created when our Black Greek Letter organizations work collaboratively," said Crump. "The whole is greater than the sum of its individual parts."

Gamma Pi's Public Relations Committee, of which Brothers Lloyd, Edwards and Boyd are members, also played a role in the televising of the forum. The committee used its longstanding relationship with PGCTV to arrange with the station for the on-site recording and rebroadcasting of the two-hour 21-minute program for on-demand access. PGCTV has taped and broadcasted Gamma Pi's Community UPLIFT public affairs show since 2016.

Candidates: Rushern Baker III, Aisha Braveboy, Marcellus Crews, Calvin S. Hawkins, Jr., Ron Hunt, George McDermott, Albert Slocum, Tonya Sweat, Alonzo T. Washington, The event was shared with the larger DMV community. The following local TV news channels and newspaper covered the forum:

WUSA Ch. 9

WJLA Ch. 7

Fox 5

The Washington Informer

Photos by Bro. George DuBose

Gamma Pi's William Lloyd mans a camera in a Fox 5 report

Candidates Aisha Braveboy and Rushern Baker onstage

Candidate Calvin Hawkins

A wide view of all the candidates onstage

Co-Moderator Davis Brown

Students got a chance to ask questions

 

 

For Black History Month, Project ENRICH Students Hear About Life "Down in the Depths" and Then Give Their Own Inspiring Talks

Bro. Capt. Corey Barksdale, U.S. Navy
Keynote Speaker

Gamma Pi’s Project ENRICH college preparatory program kicked off Black History Month with a powerful session highlighting Black historical achievement on Saturday,  February 1, at the National Wildlife Visitors Center in Laurel. This month's session was anchored by two very exciting activities:  a highly inspiring keynote address by naval submarine commander Bro. Capt. Corey Barksdale, and a series of energetic presentations by Project ENRICH students who took turns expounding on the lives and accomplishments of oft-forgotten African American heroes.

More than 100 students and family members attended the February session. On one hand, the purpose of the special program was to bring Black History Month to life with the presence of a real-life African American hero, in the person of Naval Academy alumnus Bro. Barksdale, who told his story about pivoting from the depths of “hanging out with the wrong crowd” in a small town in Virginia to leading young men and women from the depths of a nuclear submarine for the United States Navy. The other consideration for hosting the Black History Month session was to provide Project ENRICH students an opportunity to hone public speaking and presentation skills before a live audience.

Bro. Capt. Barksdale with his son, Bro. McCory King, and
Project ENRICH  director Bro. Dr. George Montgomery

Bro. Capt. Barksdale led off the session with a rousing 20-minute stemwinder weaving together his personal story, his exciting and challenging naval career and training as well as his acquired philosophy about success and failure in a life that has made the best of all the ups and downs to get him to where he is today. Bro. Capt. Barksdale is one of 17 Black Naval officers to command a U.S. Navy submarine. He commanded the nuclear submarine USS Columbia in 2021. 

"Many of the people I hung out with where I grew up are either not here right now, they are locked up in prison or they are not really doing too well in their lives," Bro. Barksdale told the students. "But fortunately I was able to make it out of that environment and turn my life around."

Bro. Capt. Barksdale told the students that one of the people who was very instrumental in encouraging him to redirect his life towards higher pursuits is Gamma Pi chapter's own Bro. McCory King. They grew up together in Matoaca, Virginia in Chesterfield County. Bro. King was in attendance to welcome his homeboy and Frat Brother to Project ENRICH. Bro. Capt. Barksdale now works for the Joint Chiefs at the Pentagon.

In closing, Bro. Capt. Barksdale left the students with this thought: "Each of you has the potential to go far beyond where you think you can go ... Success is not about what you accomplish. It's about how you handle the journey. You've got to have the right attitude. Your attitude is what's going to help you overcome challenges."

This student talks about legendary ABC newsman Max Robinson

During the Black History Month presentations, all of the Project ENRICH students participated. Using Power Point slides projected on large conference style screens, they took turns introducing the audience of parents and friends to lesser known Black History heroes.

The lineup of heroes and their presenters was long but informative. It included the likes of Disney creative engineer Lanny Smoot, inventor Frederick McKinley Jones, Marsha Williams, the first African American woman to earn a Ph D. in Computer Science and Amelia Boynton Robinson, the first African American woman to run for Congress, all under the watchful eye of Project ENRICH chairman Bro. Dr. George Montgomery.

For Gamma Pi, it was a memorable occasion and certainly a high water moment in the 40-plus years of Project ENRICH. To learn more about Project ENRICH, visit the web site.

Below are some other snapshots from the program:

Bro. Capt. Barksdale poses with Omega men