Editorial
opinions/editorials
Farewell to Yeldell
It was just like “Old Home Week” for scores of Washingtonians who gathered to bid farewell to one of the District’s stalwarts – Joseph P. Yeldell – who died on April 15 at the age of 80. Family members, friends and colleagues gathered at Springfield Baptist Church in Northwest, on Saturday, April 20 to say goodbye to an old and trusted friend. The crowd, which numbered in the hundreds, filled not only the sanctuary but the rafters of the church, which Yeldell’s parents helped to build nearly 100 years ago. Fondly known as “Joe,” the native Washingtonian, and the youngest son of 13 children, left a lasting impact upon the District. A graduate of Dunbar Senior High School, who later became a math teacher at Coolidge High School before entering public office are just some of the roles that caused his roots to run deep and wide throughout this town. There are very few lives that weren’t touched by the influence Yeldell wielded from the various key positions he held. The wouldbe politician’s only stint in public office was the result of an appointment to the D.C. City Council by President Lyndon B. Johnson prior to Home Rule. It’s no surprise that those who came to offer their condolences to the family included former mayors, Sharon Pratt, Anthony Williams, Marion Barry and current Mayor Vincent Gray. They were also joined by current and past members of the D.C. City Council, Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe and former chiefs, Ray Alford and Burton Jefferson, the first African-American fire chief of the District. Numerous heads of city agencies, past and present, came to remember a man who touched them all in a significant way during his lifetime and to honor his relentless service to the District. In February during Black History Month, it was the intention of The Washington Informer to salute Yeldell and the family whose name is known throughout every quadrant in the city. We wanted to celebrate the family’s patriarch before he died like so many of the great men and women who have left us within the past few years. As this city transitions, it becomes more important that we tell the stories of those who have gone before us.
‘Before You Eat the Church Food’ Bruce Johnson has been a reporter and anchor for WUSA-9 in the District for more than 30 years. But it almost didn’t work out that way. Johnson suffered a massive heart attack 19 years ago at the age of 42 while on assignment. Had it not been for the emergency care he received at Greater Southeast Community Hospital (now United Medical Center) in Southeast by one of the District’s top cardiologists, the Emmy-award winning journalist would not be on a crusade today to save the lives of others, most specifically, African Americans, from the lethal consequences of heart disease. Author of the book, Heart to Heart, Johnson has joined with the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) to target the church and the clergy to stem the tide of heart attacks and strokes. More than 1 million Americans will die of cardiovascular disease, Johnson notes, and African Americans die from heart disease and stroke at a rate 50 percent higher than other racial groups. African Americans die from heart disease more often than from deaths due to cancer, accidents, pneumonia, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, liver failure, suicide and homicide combined. At the ABC conference on health disparities held in the District this week, Johnson presented his documentary, “Before You Eat the Church Food.” It’s a very serious examination of how churches promote the cultural and dietary habits that are killing black people, as well as the efforts many churches are making to improve the health outcomes of their congregants. We are proud of Johnson for becoming such a hard-charging advocate for healthier lifestyles and we join him and the ABC in urging our readers to watch the documentary at http://www.beforeyoueatthechurchfood.com/ along with making healthier choices beginning today for you and your family.
24 Apr. 25, 2013 - May 1, 2013
D.C. Students Deserve Better
Your article “Low Graduation Rates Plague DCPS,” by Dorothy Rowley, April 18, 2013, cites the abysmal numbers of high school graduates and how school leaders and administrators are touting what they see as successes in policies they have instituted to increase graduation rates. I feel these DCPS administrators should be held accountable, not only for poor graduation rates, but for lying to the public for years. We are told year after year that they have a solution, yet we see no results. So what happens to the 50 percent that don’t graduate? And for how many years has that number been 50 percent, or is it 60 percent? Who is responsible for all those minds lost? Can it be that we are preparing our young people for prison rather than to compete for jobs? Why can’t DCPS have a system-wide curriculum? Why can’t DCPS deliver services to all of its students? Why? Kenneth Butler Washington, D.C.
A Budget that Could Help Blacks
For a while I thought President Obama had forgotten that a black community does exist and that we might need a little assistance with some of the problems that we’re facing. All of the news coming out of his camp these days, especially when addressing specific needs, never focused on the community that gave him 98 percent of their votes. I want to thank your staff writer Barrington Salmon for his article in the April 18, 2013 edition, “Budget Strengthens Black Community, Officials Say.” Finally, I can sink my teeth into something that the administration is trying to do for our community. For years I kept waiting for our president to say something, anything that we could actually embrace. Unfortunately, all of this is just budget talk, nothing concrete, because we all know that the Republicans will not let anything President Obama proposes pass. But at least the president recognizes that if a community gives
you their votes they are owed something; that’s the way politics work. Lawrence M. Parks Washington, D.C.
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