December 17, 2016 - January 6, 2017, The Afro-American
D1
WASHINGTON-AREA
Faith Leader’s Breakfast
D.C. Pastors Offer Solace in the Age of Trump
New MGM Resort Hits Capacity Minutes After Opening
New D.C. Council to Have Only One Black Female Member By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com When the D.C. Council is sworn in for its 22nd Council period on Jan. 2, 2017, there will be a dearth of women of color on it even though Black females constitute the largest population bloc in the city. The new council’s sole Black female member is D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At Large). She is aware of the unique circumstances. “It does bother me because many District residents look like me,” Bonds told the AFRO at the Ward 7 Holiday Party held at the Chateaux Nightclub in
By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com The election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th president of the United States has caused anxiety among many Blacks. On Dec. 10, at the Faith Leaders Breakfast, key religious leader told a group of faith leaders in the D.C. that there is nothing to fear. The Rev. Dr. Barry S. Photo by Rob Roberts
On opening night, Dec. 8, MGM National Harbor employees put on a festival for patrons. Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker told the AFRO he is “ecstatic” to see the project come to fruition. The casino created 6,000 construction jobs and 4,000 permanent jobs, 2,000 of those jobs are filled by county residents. MGM International’s new MGM National Harbor casino/resort “I can’t believe the way it looks,” Baker said. “Part of in Oxon Hill, Md. was so busy this past weekend it asked potential attracting businesses and folks to come is the look. They want visitors to consider coming another time. Thousands arrived for the to go where things are happening, the buzz.” casino/resort’s grand opening on Dec. 8 and it reached full capacity The $1.4 billion casino/resort also lived up to its hype after only 45 minutes. Then people were turned away from the for many visitors, including Maureen and Paul Corley, who casino floor after reaching full capacity again traveled from St. Mary’s County to the on Dec. 9, and heavy crowds and traffic were resort’s opening for their 32nd wedding reported all weekend long. anniversary. “It is one of the most romantic Within 12 hours of opening, more places I’ve ever seen – and we are world than 50,000 people streamed through the travelers,” Maureen told the AFRO. “We massive MGM National Harbor Resort wanted to stick close to home, but have the – Rushern Baker type of relaxation and dining experiences & Casino and passed its glittery array of 3,300 flashing slot machines, walked we would have had going to some distant around its one-of-a-kind sculptures destination. This has everything we wanted stretching up to a glass roof and strolled out onto an expansive and we can still make it to church on Sunday.” terrace offering a chilly panorama of the Potomac River. And proving it could give Vegas a run for its money, the Industry observers note that the 1 million square foot casino/ resort has added a star-studded list of celebrity entertainers to resort is expected to provide an economic boost for the region its upcoming concert line up, including Boyz II Men, Lionel as the first full-scale gambling venue in Maryland featuring Richie, Mariah Carey, Bruno Mars, Sting, Cher, Duran Duran, high-end restaurants and entertainment. and Earth, Wind & Fire. By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com
Courtesy Photo
The Rev. Dr. Barry S. Black, chaplain of the U.S. Senate, delivered the keynote address at a meeting with faith leaders in Washington, D.C. Black, chaplain of the U.S. Senate, delivered a keynote address during the monthly breakfast at Union Temple Baptist Church in Southeast. Barry spoke to 80 people in Continued on D2
“I can’t believe the way it looks.”
Courtesy Photo
Anita Bonds is set to be the only Black woman on the D.C. Council during its next session. Northeast. “We want to make sure that we as Black women have a seat at the table.” “I will run again,” she said, referencing the 2018 election. “I am the only Black woman on the council and we need Continued on D2
EdFest Showcases District’s Public Wilson High Alum Found Shot Inside Car and Charter School Options By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO ssherman@afro.com
By James Wright Special to the AFRO jwright@afro.com
told the AFRO. “We are looking for a good place for our little one here and we want to start our child off with a good education.” She did have one complaint. “One of the things I don’t like about the D.C. public schools is that you can’t automatically enroll in your neighborhood schools,” she said. In Sewell’s case, she has a valid complaint with Shepherd Elementary, Deal, and Wilson as institutions that her child should be able to easily enroll in but for the lottery system. Jacque Patterson, co-founder of Rocketship Rise Academy Public Charter School in Ward 8 said he understands Sewell’s frustration. He told the AFRO that Rocketship is designed to meet the needs of Ward 8 parents who have concerns similar to Sewell’s. “We want our kids to get a quality education,” Patterson said. “Every person in the District – Beth Sewell of Columbia should have a quality school nearby and that is what we are offering at Rocketship.” Rocketship is in its first year of existence and offers preKindergarten through third Courtesy photo grade. While
On Dec. 10, more than 200 District public and charter schools set up tables with literature, trinkets, candies, and posters at EdFest, held in the D.C. Armory. EdFest, a one-day event, is the collaboration of the Office of the D.C. Mayor, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, public television station WETA, and the school system’s lottery, My School D.C. EdFest was started during the Vincent Gray mayoral administration in 2014 as a process to inform parents and students about school options before the school lottery starts in February for the 2017-2018 school year. Robert and Beth Sewell live in the Brightwood section of Ward 4 in Northwest. They attended EdFest to see what options are available for their threeyear-old child. “This is a great opportunity to see the schools and what they have to Students and parents browsed through schools during offer,” Beth the 2016 Edfest in preparation for the next school year.
“This is a great opportunity to see the schools and what they have to offer.”
Continued on D2
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch are investigating a fatal shooting that occurred in an affluent Chevy Chase neighborhood in Northwest D.C. on Dec. 11. Second District officers responded to the 6900 block of 32nd Street NW shortly after 9:30 p.m, where an adult male, later identified as Grant Dosunmu, was found inside a vehicle suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Dosunmu, a Woodrow Wilson High School alumnus, was reportedly found slumped between the driver’s and passenger seats of his 2000 Jaguar, just blocks from his home. It is believed the person responsible for pulling the trigger was inside the vehicle with Dosunmu. The victim’s mother, Phyllis Copeland Dosunmu, told WUSA Channel 9 her son had phoned her a short time earlier to say the was with friends watching the Redskins game and was on his way home. “All I know is it’s out of character for my son to be mean or have enemies,” said Dosunmu. “Grant was a wonderful person. He was very popular. We never had any trouble. [He was] a good guy. In order for someone to do that type of act, they could
not be a normal person.” While authorities have not announced a motive, The Washington Post reported Razak Dosunmu, the victim’s father, had been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison just three weeks ago on two counts of offering illegal gratuities. Prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia said he offered a Defense Department procurement officer a new house, $2
Courtesy photo
Grant Dosunmu was found fatally shot in his car in Northwest D.C. on Dec. 11. million and other benefits in exchange for a jet fuel contract worth up to $80 million. Dosunmu’s car shop on Flower Road, United Globe Auto Body, also serves as United Globe, under which Dosunmu acquires energy products, including large amounts of aviation and marine diesel fuel for the U.S. military. Still others, including Dosunmu’s mother believes her son most likely fell prey to a carjacker. In fact, the same night, just two hours earlier and less than 2 miles
away, a woman was carjacked at gunpoint. According to D.C. police, there have been 2, 359 motor vehicle thefts in the city in 2016 and 128 homicides as of Dec. 14. The area Dosunmu was found has had two auto thefts as of Dec. 14. The woman said a man with a gun confronted her as she headed to the 5600 block of Western Avenue after going to a grocery store. “He didn’t put it in my face. It was about midsection. It was like, ‘I’ve got this,’” she said. The man took off with her car and left her unhurt. Police said they cannot yet determine whether the same person or people who killed Dosunmu carjacked the woman. As part of the preliminary investigation, it appears that the suspect was inside the vehicle with the victim. The Metropolitan Police Department is currently offering a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411.