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By Valencia MohammedAFRO Staff Writer

Diana Towles strolledthrough her favorite bookstorewith a sense of regret and loss.

After 15 years, KaribuBooks, a chain of Black-

owned bookstores serving sub-urban D.C. and Baltimore, is

closing.Towles, 60, of

Mitchellville, Md., said losingthe store is like losing a goodfriend that is moving out oftown.

I found books here that Inever knew existed because

other bookstores refuse tocarry books that give the totalBlack perspective of importantissues, Towles said. This ismy fourth time coming here tobuy books since the announce-ment of the closing. I cantimagine being without thisbookstore.

Karibu is considered byother bookstore owners as thebest example of a bookstorechain owned and operated byAfrican Americans.

Karibu, chief executive offi-cer, Simba Sana said internalstrife brought the store to clo-sure.

Without going into details,as Black people we must learnhow to trust one another inbusiness and relationships,

Sana said. The overwhelmingresponse and support wereceived from the community

Copyright 2008 by the Afro-American Company

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FEBRUARY 2, 2008 - FEBRUARY 8, 2008

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Carter G.Woodson:More than theman who createdBlack History

By James WrightAFRO Staff Writer

Paula Davis waited patiently inside the LandoverChristian Church in Landover Hills, Md., for the womanwho she wants to be her next representative in Congress. Asthe past president of the Greater Landover Knolls CivicAssociation, she knew the concerns of her community, whichinclude trash collection, dog feces removal, crime abatementand economic development.

Davis wanted her association group to have their concernsheard at a higher level. She invited Donna Edwards, one oftwo Democratic candidates for the fourth congressional dis-trict, to her groups meeting.

We need a change in this district, Davis, 50, said. Themore I talk to her, the more I learn that she is a woman whohas a vision.

Edwards is trying to unseat nine-term Rep. Albert Wynn.Democratic voters will decide between the two candidates on

Feb. 12, the same day as the presidential primary.The district consists of Prince Georges County landinside the Capital Beltway, and includes outer Beltway com-munities in Montgomery County stretching to the FrederickCounty line. In terms of population, about 70 percent of thedistrict is in Prince Georges County.

Edwards came within a few thousand votes of upsettingWynn in 2006. She won the Montgomery County portion ofthe district by a 60-40 percent ratio, while Wynn carriedPrince Georges Countys 53 percent to 47.

While the seat is safely Democratic, Wynn has emerged asone of the most vulnerable incumbents in this years electioncycle.

When asked about Wynns vulnerability, Davis was clear.Al Wynn never came to our community, Davis said.

Oh sure, he would send a flier and a representative if wehad some concerns, but we never saw him. We need to seehim.

Sarah Lane, a campaign spokeswoman for Wynn, saidthere is a campaign operation in Landover and that the con-gressman has solicited votes in supermarkets and other

places. There are Wynn signs on lawns and in the windowsof many businesses in the Landover area.

Maryland Del. Carolyn Howard (D-Landover) is a Wynnsupporter.

It is my opinion that he is the best member of Congress,Howard said. He is a force on the [Capitol] Hill and that isimportant to the people of Prince Georges County.

David Bositis, senior associate at the Joint Center forPolitical and Economic Studies, said the race is a toss-up.

You can flip a coin, it is going to be just that close,Bositis said. This race is going to be different from 2006.There is a lot more money going into it and a lot moreexcitement.

Bositis said that the Barack Obama factor, new votersgenerated by the Illinois senators presidential campaign,will be in Edwardss favor. In addition, the congressionalrace will be held the same day as the presidential primariesin Maryland, D.C. and Virginia.

They see Obama as the candidate of change and theywill see Donna in the same light, he said. Of course, Al is

going to get his people out to the polls but Donnas styleappeals to the new voters.Marie Brown, a resident of Landover Hills and an active

member of the civic association, said she was impressed withEdwards presentation.

I need to go back and reconsider who I will vote for onthe 12th, Brown said. I have voted for Wynn in the pastbut I am rethinking that now.

Voters close towire on Wynn

vs. Edwards

Courtesy Images

Donna Edwards has mounted a strong challengeagainst Rep. Al Wynn in their congressional race,which will be decided Feb. 12.

By Zenitha PrinceWashington Bureau Chief

WASHINGTON Michelle Obama said whenshes in the White House, shewill not be your typical firstlady.

No dainty airs, reserve or asense of noblesse oblige withher. No scripted speeches over-run with rhetoric designed todeify her spouse.

Instead, she gets personal,dirty socks personal, in a waythat says that the potentialpresident and first lady of theUnited States are still, at heart,simply Barak and Michelle.

I can give people a per-spective into Baraks characterlike no other person can, Imean, Im married to the guy,

Michelle ObamaA look at the woman beside the man

Photo by Valencia Mohammed

Obama, with degrees from Harvard and Princeton uni-versities and the position of vice president at Unversityof Chicago, promises not to be the traditional first lady. Continued on A8

By Zenitha Prince and Monroe

AndersonAFRO Staff Writers

The Barack Obama and HillaryClinton campaigns are in a full court

press in a spirited attempt to see who will

outscore who for the most amount ofvotes and delegates in the 22 states hold-ing presidential primaries and caucauseson Feb. 5.

Dubbed Super Tuesday, the elec-

toral tsunami, with its 1,681 Democraticdelegates, was believed to be the be-alland end-all in deciding the partys candi-date for president. A total of 2,025 dele-gates, just 344 more than are at stake on

Tuesday, are needed to secure theDemocratic nomination.

However, the battle for theDemocratic nomination is too-close-to-call in what is virtually a two-person con-test between the candidate who would bethe partys first African American stan-dard bearer and the candidate who wouldbe the partys first woman standard nomi-nee.

Clinton appears to be the frontrunnerearly. While national polls show her witha slightly less than 10 percent lead, theyalso indicate that she has a double digitleads in California, New York and NewJersey. Meanwhile, Obama has a biglead in Illinois, another state with a lot ofdelegates.

But that doesnt necessary predict whowill win, as polls showed in New

Hampshire, where Obama was predictedto win that states primary but loss by asmall margin.

This will be a good tight race to the

Super Tuesday

Obama and Clinton neck and neck

Customers want Black bookstore re-open

Karibu Books closes due to internal problems

Courtesy Images

The race between Clinton and Obama for the presidency is too close to callgoing into Super Tuesday, each with leads in states with large numbers ofdelegates.

Continued on A3

Photo by J.D. Howard

Karibu Books, a Black-owned bookstore chain servicingsuburban Washington and Baltimore is closing after 15years due to internal strife. Some stores have alreadyclosed and the remainder will be closed Feb. 10.

Continued on A3

Howard Bisonsnear bottom

Rosa Parks to beinducted into AlabamaWomens Hall of Fame

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8/6/2019 Michelle Obama: A look at the woman beside the man

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she said in an interview withtheAFRO. I know his

strengths and weaknesses but Ican also speak to his character.

It is that character, along

with an impressive resume thatincludes a law degree fromHarvard, practicing as a civil

rights attorney, communityadvocacy and a scandal-freestint in the Illinois Senate that

has elevated the Illinois senatorto stardom among many voters.

But his wifes background is

equally impressivePrincetonand Harvard graduate, Harvardlaw degree, corporate lawyer,Chicagos assistant commis-sioner for planning and devel-opment, executive director of agroup that grooms community

leaders and vice president at theUniversity of Chicago.

Its a profile far from the tra-ditional first lady mold, a factthat has bothered some, but it isone with which many womenvoters can identify, Obamasaid.

I dont think in this modernsociety that the first lady rolewould be traditional becausewomen like me are alreadybreaking the mold, she said.The fact that Im a vice presi-dent of a company has thrownpeople off. The fact that I havea career and a spouse, that I ama great speaker in my ownright, some would say com-pelling, sends people in a tizzyat some level.

But thats who women are.The challenges that most

women face, struggling andjuggling resources and main-taining a healthy work-familybalance, are those that she hasbattled with, she said.

And it was those challenges,more so than any fears aboutpossible assassination attemptsagainst her husband, that madeher reticent about pursuing thepresidency.

To the extent that there wasany hesitation, it was based onthe fact that this was a hugesacrifice of us as a family,Obama said.

I thought more about mygirls and how do we make sure

their lives are whole, thattheyre still focused on school,that their lives dont get con-sumed in this campaign, thatthey feel loved and get theattention that they need, that wedont miss their activities.

I worried about finances,making sure that we paid themortgage. Those were thethoughts that went through myhead.

Obamas openness aboutthese and other issues havedrawn criticism. But it is of lit-tle concern to her, she said.

I dont listen to a lot of it. Itune out, she said. I reallystay focused on what I see hap-pening on the ground.

People on the ground dontcare about this stuff. Theyrereally struggling and they wantsome hope and some leader-ship. They want some answersand solutions. All that otherstuff is just theater.

And that is why a presidentlike her husband is necessary,because he represents hope fora truly united, transformedAmerica, she said.

We just are not that farapart in this nation in terms ofour hopes and our wishes andour struggles, she said. We

just need leadership that canremind us of that and then tryto unify and make that realitymore clear to us.

Just what her husband repre-

sents can be summed up in anexperience she had while cam-paigning in South Carolina,Obama said.

I just left a beauty parlor ina small town in South Carolinawhere there was a 10-year-oldgirl who walked up to me andsaid, Do you realize that ifBarak Obama is the next presi-dent, hes going to make histo-ry?

And I said, Well, whatwould that mean to you?

And she said, It means thatI can be anything that I want.

A8 The Washington Afro-American, February 2, 2008 - February 8, 2008

Michelle Obama

A look at the woman beside the manContinued from A1

Youd think at leastone of them could tell youhow to renew a passport.

Got government-related questions?