The Glover Report

Radio Personality Darren Muhammad accuses BCPS CEO Dr. Andres Alonso of assault

Nobody is listening about the BCPS CEO Dr. Andres Alonso

By Donald Morton Glover, www.bmorenews.com

(BALTIMORE – March 4, 2010) – To not stand up as a man – let alone a journalist – and speak up for the children under the guise of the Baltimore City Public School (BCPS) system – out of which I am a proud product – and continue to raise the question about it’s leader, Dr. Andres Alonso, who is in charge – regardless of the political, economic, and/or social ramifications – is simply an act of cowardice.

In the perpetual words of DMX, “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

For weeks now, I have personally watched as Brother Darren Muhammad’s video views have soared beyond compare. He accuses Dr. Alonso of assault.

And, to date, there has been absolutely no recourse. For the record, to date there has been no response from the BCPS or from Dr. Andres Alonso. For the record, I sent a request to the communications department for a response via video, radio, or print. Mind you, this is all on camera. Check the tape.

Pardon my judgement, but something seems fundamentally wrong, especially when former Baltimore City Police Commissioner Kevin P. Clark was immediately ousted for an alleged domestic incident. How come nobody is asking any questions about Dr. Alonso?

He is in charge of our children’s education. Need I say more? Prompt any questions from you? I say, we need answers … now. Right now, the Baltimore City delegation in Annapolis could possibly call Dr. Alonso on the carpet.

Right now, the Baltimore City Council could also do the same. Darren Muhammad, for the record, is a passionate media personality who believes in what he is doing. Further, I have known Darren for 26 years and played football with him at our beloved Dunbar. He was a star running back, despite his size.

If Dr. Alonso assaulted him, my first question is what actually transpired? My next question, despite Darren’s tenacity on the radio and record for banging people in the head with his comments, is why no one is listening …. besides the children with whom we are charged … by God … to love?

Is Darren wrong?

Kweisi Mfume, Former US Congressman and former Pres. & CEO of the NAACP

(BALTIMORE – February 15, 2010) – Now that two blizzards and Love Day are behind us, a brand new week and a brand new era peeps its head up and out of the snow. What does the leadership at City Hall face now? It faces an angry or at least confused citizenry that, in many cases, is trying to find its way to the car … and then to an exit street.

To the City’s credit, many people have worked long and hard to help shovel Baltimore out of the Blizzard of the Century. At the same time, many citizens share a frustration beyond recompense. Many people I’ve talked to feel a certain insensitivity coming out of City Hall.

I’m curious to know how all this will play out – especially given that this is a statewide election year where there are still rumblings of a Wayne Curry (D) and Robert Ehrlich (R) challenge against incumbent Gov. Martin O’Malley. I’m particularly wondering how the new Baltimore City Council President, Bernard “Jack” Young, and the new Mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, will get along.

After all, Mayor Rawlings-Blake seemed to have more of an affinity for City Councilman Bill Cole’s elevation to council president. In any event, this is sure to be something to watch, that is, between snow drops. Certainly, the time between now and next year’s citywide election will be full of reasons for people to vote one way or the other.

Speaking of next year’s citywide election, names to watch include Cole, Michael Sarbanes, and hometown favorite Kweisi Mfume.

This house in the 1100 block of N. Carrollton Ave. in Sandtown burned Saturday night. While nobody died, 7 people were displaced. The Red Cross has since assisted them. However, three other houses were burned as well. Why? Because unplowed snow prevented the city fire trucks from getting there in time.

NOTE: The following was my initial thought on how the City handled the 1st part of the blizzard and written Monday night. Bottom line: a lack of plowing. Since then, the City seems to have upped their game.  

TGR: The Blizzard of 2010: 1 Down, 1 to Go!

Welcome to Baltimore’s Katrina: “Nobody hears our cry!”

A state of emergency: National Guard in hummers In a city where citizens get taxed to death for everything from parking tickets to cell phones, where is the love? Like the songwriter sings, “Ain’t no love in the heart of the city!”

Oh, and get this: Another foot of snow on schedule for tomorrow.

Here’s the official line from City Hall: “As of 9:30am this morning more than 72% of secondary roads have been plowed once. 36% have been plowed two or more times.”

C’mon, man!

“Ironing boards, trash cans, stolen city cones, and chairs put out to save parking spaces. My question is anybody recording the acts of violence directly related to the Blizzard of 2010?”, asks WEAA radio talk show host David Brown.

He added, “It’s ridiculous!” 

The situation in Baltimore is a 9-1-1, despite what officials want us to believe. Crime is up! Anybody from Baltimore knows that you can do what you want to do when the police are at bay: Sell dope; loot; kill; steal; destroy!

Actually, tonight I saved 3 young black youths from getting the crap beat out of them from a small crowd of angry youth – pushed on by teenage drug dealers who insisted that violence is something normal and deserved to otherwise good kids who didn’t mean any harm to nobody.

I could not believe I was watching youngsters raised with my son who felt like they had an obligation to kill another without regard for law, mercy, grace, nor justice – just because they could.

This is a 9-1-1!

I believe that acts of violence in Baltimore have escalated during this storm because of a cornucopia of inter-related issues: violence; the recession; walking on snow while ducking cars who insist you have no right; taking parking spaces; and, oh – I cannot forget – no snow plows.

This morning, I attempted to ride the subway. Guess what, a multitude of delays. Said one man, “No snow trains.” What’s a snow train? It helps keep the lines warm during … a blizzard.

So, who is to blame?

Well, one thing I learned is that Baltimore and DC are not far apart in terms of transportation. They both got fed dollars around the same time: about the 60’s; while DC used theirs for subways, Baltimore put their dollars on highways.

Baltimore finally got a subway system around … ‘83 … that went from downtown to the northwest (kinda like the highway to nowhere). And that was it. Race and class disaffected otherwise intelligent thinking and urban planning – going back to what one mentor calls “the Negro problem”.

Makes me think who really runs this place. Nonetheless, that racial serpitude that insists that blacks deserve this and others deserve that is so warped and spun, I think; such are the grounds, I would think, for a class action law suit for a multitude of inter-disciplinary changes in Baltimore – it’s transportation, education, housing, et al.

NY and Phillie, however, have transpo systems that are about a century old – along with Boston. Snow means literally nothing to them. It’s about … get this, people.

Yet, Atlanta began a transpo system not that long ago, before Baltimore. Instead of the one-legged approach to serve a certain area, theirs – no doubt due to progressive leadership – was built with a modicum of intelligence: an east-west rail; a north-south rail. Bottom line: logic. Democracy. Something for everybody, not just something for those who could do exactly what they wanted to do – like in Baltimore, a still otherwise racist, retarded, and tainted town; the place I call home.

Forgive me, Lord!     

So, all of this begs the question … to me: Who really loves Baltimore? Who really cares about its people? The politician, the social activist, the community organizer, the Civil Rights leader, the white guy, the black guy, the woman? Who understands the intricacies and ideosyncrasies and devaluations that have occured over the years? Who can truly put their finger on the pulse of the people with any semblance of a basic understanding of the landscape? Who can deliver? Who can put their own inner-circle at a distance so as to deserve with honor and distinction the true needs of the people? A Poly grad? A Dunbar grad? A City grad? A Western grad? Or, a person with a GED?

We’ve got more nuances, as a major city, than Willie Lynch. And I’m sick of it!

I don’t know about you, but for me … something has to really change in order for me to believe … in my hometown.

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Wednesday, 2.10.10 – 10 am – Snow plows are videotaped out and working.
http://www.bmorenews.com/video/baltimore-gets-plowed-21010.shtml

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Monday morning – it was like Katrina in the 1100 block of N. Carrollton Ave. in Sandtown – http://www.bmorenews.com/video/bmore-katrina-i-1100-north-carrollton-ave.shtml

Monday night, this video seemed to express the sentiments of many – black and white – http://www.bmorenews.com/video/baltimore-blizzard-2010-ms-shirley-speaks.shtml