District Chronicles V15 Issue 19 by District Chronicles

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D.C. CHARTER SCHOOL OFFERS OPEN HOUSE TO RESIDENTS 11

Mayor Muriel Bowser goes to city jail, highlights ‘good times’ credits Page 12 January 7 - January 13, 2016

Page 4 www.districtchronicles.com

Volume 15 Issue 19

Carl Van Vechten/Adrian Hood

60-70s DC protest showcased in SE exhibit

Editorial

What will 2016 bring in economic opportunity, social justice? By Marc H. Morial

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(TriceEdneyWire.com) – Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, let us march on till victory is won. – James Weldon Johnson, “Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing.” The 2016 Presidential election still is more than 10 months off, but already it promises to serve as a referendum on social justice and racial reconciliation, in a year when national attitudes are changing faster than ever – and not always for the better. Pending U.S. Supreme Court decisions and legislation before Congress, 2016 will profoundly impact racial consideration in college admissions, voting rights, collective bargaining and criminal justice reform. The Court’s decision on Fisher v. University of Texas, brought by a White woman who claimed she was denied admission to UT because of her race, could put an end to efforts by educational institutions to ensure diversity among their student bodies. The Constitutional principal of “one person, one vote,” established in 1964 in Reynolds v. Simms could be undercut by the Court’s decision on Evenwel v. Abbot. In Reynolds, the Court determined that legislative districts, both state and federal, must contain roughly equal numbers of people, guaranteeing fair representation. The plaintiff in Evenwel claims that “one person, one vote” refers only to the total voting population. That would mean that urban districts, which contain more children, immigrants and other disenfranchised persons, would be dramatically under-represented while suburban and rural populations would be grossly over-represented. The rights of public-sector unions are at risk in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. Under current law, unions may collect dues from non-members for collective bargaining but not political activity. Friedrichs argues that even collective bargaining activities, from which non-members benefit, are political so non-members shouldn’t have to contribute. Public-sector unions have been a driving force in bringing AfricanAmerican workers into the middle

2016 will be the year of political opportunities, economic and social justice issues on the forefront of resolve.

class; Friedrichs could turn back the clock on that progress. Congress has an opportunity in 2016 to correct one the most egregious blows to voting rights in the 20th century. The Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Jurisdictions with a history of discriminatory voting practices no longer would be required to seek preclearance with the U.S. Justice Department before making changes to voting laws. Immediately following the Shelby decision, states rushed to enact voter suppression laws targeting people of color, students and senior citizens. The bipartisan Voting Rights Amendment Act would restore preclearance and safeguard the rights of vulnerable citizens whose voices are being silenced. Heading into 2016, the national outcry against police brutality seems to be reaping results, with officers in Chicago, North Charleston, South Carolina, Baltimore and elsewhere at last facing criminal charges for apparently raciallymotivated violence against people of color. This could be the year for a full turnaround if the National Urban League’s 10-Point Justice Plan is adopted. Congress should enact a national comprehensive anti-racial profiling law, mandate uniform FBI reporting and audits of all lethal force incidents involving law enforcement, and create

incentives for police departments to use body and dashboard cameras, review and revise deadly force policies and tighten hiring standards. Perhaps most importantly, the economic recovery from the Great Recession has left many urban communities behind. The overall Black unemployment rate remains twice the rate for Whites, with rates as high as 25 percent for young Black men. Many people working even two or three jobs can’t make ends meet because of dismally low wages. Several Presidential candidates have promised, if elected, to pursue a national minimum wage hike, which would be a significant step toward reducing poverty. Tired pledges to slash taxes on the wealthy, which we’re hearing from many of the candidates, will do nothing to create jobs. Congress has an opportunity to create thousands of jobs and revitalize the national economy by enacting a surface transportation bill that guarantees employment for workers in low- and moderate-income communities and ensures access to contracts for minority businesses. As our nation grows more diverse year by year, the social structures of the past are challenged. We in the National Urban League movement will continue to be at the forefront of those challenges, and we pray for guidance as we rise to meet them in the coming year.

Finance

Willie Jolley’s wealthy ways: Roberts brothers success story CULTURAL AMBASSADOR TO THE WORLD

Robert Battle Artistic Director Masazumi Chaya Associate Artistic Director

Rachael McLaren, photo by Andrew Eccles

stltoday.com

Roberts-Roberts & Associates help minority businesses get government contracts.

By Willie Jolley George Curry Media Columnist

ichael V. Roberts has been turning the business world upside down since the 1970s. With his brother, Steven, Michael started Roberts-Roberts & Associates, a consulting firm. The brothers have gone on to build an empire estimated in excess of a billion dollars in revenue. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Michael is the eldest of four children, born to a postal worker, and a homemaker who became a teacher after her children were grown. The brothers would say, “We’re not poor, just never had any money after buying food and paying the rent.” The brothers inherited their parents’ work ethic and put themselves through college and law school. Michael was elected to the city council. And a few years later, Steven was elected to the same city council. After their terms ended, the brothers started their own consulting firm, Roberts-Roberts & Associates. Its main focus was to help companies figure out ways to increase minority business participation in government contracts. Plus, because they were concerned about the decline of the city, especially North St Louis, they started buying up boarded buildings and repairing them. The Roberts Companies grew into one of the biggest development businesses in the country. Michael used his natural skills as a business-

man to help the business thrive. In an interview with Forbes magazine, Michael said, “We grab at a chance and then figure out how we’re going to do it and how we’re going to pay for it.” His approach worked, and the business grew. They went on to add other companies to that mix in the field of telecommunications, television, radio and hotels. In his book, “Action Has No Season,” which is based on his personal wealth building philosophy, Michael shares that one must act on opportunities, then figure out how to pay for them and grow them. Michael V. Roberts decided to act on his dreams in good times and bad times, in season and out of season. He made those actions the standard of wealth building, not only for himself and his family, but also for family members yet unborn. He decided to first become wealthy, and then write his book to share with people how he did it and how they can do it as well. In this powerful interview with him on my SiriusXM show, Michael shared incredible ideas and insights: Make it important to become wealthy. Reframe your thinking and your attitude so you can see wealth as not only possible butalso “doable” now.Be ambitious. Be action-oriented. Be excited about becoming wealthy. When you wake up every day,

you have 86,400 seconds and 1,440 minutes to use. Use them wisely and make them work for you. Success is based on thinking and then acting on those thoughts. Take action daily. Fear is an emotion, but also mental programming that can be re-programmed. See theexperience from a different perspective, where you don’t ever fail, but rather you learn new lessons towards success. Work daily on eliminating fear of failure, for failure is a mental construct. It is something you can get over. Create your own success story. Make lots of money and use it to better the world. Rich people scream, but wealthy people whisper. Don’t just look wealthy; be wealthy andteach your children how to maintain it. Don’t wait for your destiny to come to you. Go out to get it! In other words, you must make it happen. I would like to give my readers a special gift. Send us an email with “Reader Gift” in the subject line to wj@williejolley.com. Willie Jolley hosts a motivational show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. He is the author of several best-selling books and can be reached through his website, www.williejolley.com

24 hours a day. 7 days a week. 52 weeks a year. Visit www.districtchronicles.com.

Feb. 2–7 t Opera House All performances include Alvin Ailey’s signature masterpiece REVELATIONS

PROGRAM A Tue., Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. Open Door (Ronald K. Brown) Exodus (Rennie Harris) Revelations (Alvin Ailey)

PROGRAM B Wed., Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. Sat., Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.* Open Door A Case of You (Judith Jamison) No Longer Silent (Robert Battle) Revelations

PROGRAM C Thu., Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. Sun., Feb. 7 at 1 p.m. Blues Suite (Alvin Ailey) Night Creature (Alvin Ailey) Cry (Alvin Ailey) Revelations

PROGRAM D Fri., Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. Piazzolla Caldera (Paul Taylor) Awakening (Robert Battle) Revelations

PROGRAM E Sat., Feb. 6 at 1 p.m.

Followed by a FREE Explore the Arts post-performance discussion

ODETTA (Matthew Rushing) Exodus Revelations

*Come early on Saturday to learn a few steps from Revelations on the Millennium Stage at 5:30 p.m.!

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Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington District of Columbia Anacostia museum exhibit highlights 1963 – 1975 protest years

dynamic new exhibition, “Twelve Years That Shook and Shaped Washington: 1963–1975,” provides an insider’s look at the District during this tumultuous period as the city sought to find its own voice amid national events. It is currently on view at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum through Oct 23, 2016. “Twelve Years” chronicles how the foundation for today’s Washington – a multiethnic, multiracial city with reviving communities, a vibrant arts scene, a major transportation system, a lively political environment and a shortage of affordable housing and pockets of persistent unemployment – was laid during these transformative years leading up to the establishment of limited home rule. “This exhibition offers an exciting opportunity to continue the work of documenting urban communities long undertaken by this museum,” said Camille Akeju, the museum’s director. “Looking back at the rapidly changing racial, political, cultural and built landscapes from that period in history and the resulting impact, will hopefully provide guidance to Washingtonians as we find our city once again amid radical change.” The exhibition opens with a timeline of key local milestones punctuated with several events of national import. The multiple sections that follow explore the broadening local arts, music, theater and media scene; the ambitious but fractious urban renewal effort; emerging higher-education institutions; and the expanding struggle for the rights of Blacks, Latinos, women, gays, the poor and District residents fighting themselves for self-governance, all against the backdrop of the antiwar protests and President Lyn-

The exhibit follows events from 19631975 that shaped the District today.

don B. Johnson’s “Great Society” policies. Guest curators Marjorie Lightman and William Zeisel, directed by the late Portia James, the museum’s senior curator, offer significant retrospection and analyses of key local “change” events that impacted the District on all frontiers. A few of the events discussed that will be familiar to those who were city residents or visitors during this period include the redevelopment of Southwest and forced exodus to Anacostia public housing; the building of the Metro subway system; the founding of two District public colleges, plus a law school providing attorneys for the poor; the discovery of Roberta Flack at Mr. Henry’s bar on Capitol Hill; the creation of the popular “Quiet Storm” on Howard University’s WHUR-FM radio station; and the affiliation of WAMU-FM radio and NPR precursor, Educational Radio Network. National events and trends occurring locally such as the signing of the Voting Rights Act, long hair, Afros and dashikis, the Poor People’s March, anti-war protests and the March on Washington are

also covered. But these events are discussed relative to important community-based social and cultural actions like Marion Barry’s co-founding of Youth Pride Inc., the official declaration of Hispanic Heritage Day, the establishment of the District’s first gay newspaper The Blade; the opening of the first abortion clinic in the city and the D.C. riots. New cultural expressions such as arena-style theater seating, the blending of African, modern and traditional dance, jazz in Georgetown and the abstract art of the Washington Color School reflect pervasive themes of Black power, experimentation and openness. “Twelve Years” and its programs are funded in part by the Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Inc., and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Divine Intervention

Bishop denounces anti-Islam backlash to shootings By David Gibson Religion News Service (RNS) – The leader of the nation’s Catholic bishops on Monday (Dec. 14) denounced the backlash against Muslims and refugees in the wake of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, apparently by a pair of radicalized Muslims. Americans “must resist the hatred and suspicion that leads to policies of discrimination,” said Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Policies of fear and inflammatory rhetoric will only offer extremists fertile soil and pave the way toward a divisive, fearful future,” he said, while also lamenting the toll of the Dec. 2, shooting that left 14 people dead and more than a dozen wounded. In his statement, Kurtz also decried the Nov. 27, murders at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, allegedly by a gunman who may have been motivated by opposition to abortion and his Christian beliefs. Violence “can never be justified by invoking the name of God,” said Kurtz. The thrust of Kurtz’s statement on the twin tragedies that have roiled the country and prompted fierce debates on gun violence and Islamic extremism was to counsel against anger, fear, and overreaction. Referring to the Planned Parenthood shooting, allegedly by suspect Robert Dear, that left three people dead and nine wounded, Kurtz said the Catholic Church wants to “encourage responsible firearms regulation” rather than blaming those with mental illness. In addressing the spate of violence against Muslims and Islamic targets in the wake of the San Bernardino shooting, Kurtz also appeared to take on Republican presidential contender Donald Trump and other political leaders who have proposed limiting the entry of refugees fleeing Islamic extremism or barring all Muslims from entering the U.S. “When we fail to see the difference between our enemies and people of good will, we lose a part

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of who we are as people of faith,” said Kurtz. “Policies of fear and inflammatory rhetoric will only offer extremists fertile soil and pave the way toward a divisive, fearful future.” The archbishop’s statement was notable, in part, because Catholic leaders have been strong defenders of religious freedom in recent years but have come under scrutiny for their quiet response to the blistering verbal and physical attacks against Muslims in recent days. A powerful statement in defense of Muslims issued last week by the archbishop of Detroit was an exception. In addition, while many Catholic leaders lamented the San Bernardino shooting, those statements contrasted with the relative lack of response to the shooting at the Planned Parenthood clinic, which performs abortions. Also, Kurtz’s mention of gun

control was unusual because, in spite of concern expressed by a few bishops over gun violence, the U.S. hierarchy has not made the issue a priority. Kurtz said the church prays for those who suffered in the attacks, and added that “violence and hate in the world around us must be met with resolve and courage.” But he said Americans should not give in to fear. He pledged that the Catholic Church would continue to resettle refugees and battle “religious discrimination” against anyone. “Let us confront the extremist threat with courage and compassion, recognizing that Christianity, Islam, Judaism and many other religions are united in opposition to violence carried out in their name,” Kurtz concluded. David Gibson is a national correspondent for RNS.

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District Chronicles | Jan. 7 - Jan. 13, 2016 | 5

Cover

Mathis leaving Rainbow/PUSH to lead NCNW

By Maynard Eaton (TriceEdneyWire.com) – She’s been Atlanta’s premier female civil rights activist since the late Jondelle Johnson, the fervent and forceful former executive director of Atlanta’s NAACP who was known as “Mrs. NAACP” for her leadership in the 1970s and 1960s. Now attorney Janice Mathis, the vibrant vice president of Rainbow/ PUSH has been named executive director of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), a powerful 80-year-old civil rights organization focused on women and families “Jondelle is my role model. I never met her but I read about her,” said Mathis, who has also served as Rev. Jesse Jackson’s general counsel, chief of staff and closest confidant at Rainbow/PUSH for the past 16 years. “She was tough and demanding and effective and fair. You can’t be in Atlanta around civil rights work and not know about and [not] respect Jondelle Johnson.” Mathis, 61, is also the current Vice President of the Citizenship Education Fund in Chicago, where she directs the CEF’s Southern Region office and is responsible for legal affairs and programs. She is

about to fill some iconic shoes. “I admit to having a little bit of ambition and a little bit of ego, so this is a chance to lead something that has an 80-year history that was founded by Mary McCloud Bethune and carried out by Dorothy Height,” she said. “To be considered in the same sentence with them is the opportunity of a lifetime for a Black female.” The NCNW is a Washington, D.C.-based international non-profit organization that was founded on Dec. 5, 1935 by Mary McLeod Bethune, the famed African-American educator. Women and civil rights icon Dorothy Irene Height, president emeritus, led the organization for more than 50 years before her death in 2010. “It’s tough to leave,” Mathis admitted during an exclusive interview. “Atlanta is an amazing place with so much going on and so much potential. People don’t flock here for no reason. What’s not to love about Atlanta? And, just when you think you are beginning to understand it and figure it out, you get the offer of a lifetime for somebody like me.” “Janice is very unique, very smart and very hard working,” opined Joe Beasley, the Rainbow/

PUSH Southern Regional Director. “Jesse relied heavily on her. She will really be missed. Janice really is in that tradition Mary McCloud Bethune and Dorothy Height. She is filling some big shoes. But had she stayed with us, I suspect she would have soon succeeded Jesse. She’s that good.” Rev. Jesse Jackson called her his top aide and one of his closest friends, who will focus like a laser on economics in the Black community. “If anybody can re-tool NCNW, it is Janice Mathis,” said Jackson. Mathis sees herself making inroads in corporate America through the buying clout and cash of African-American women. She says NCNW is poised and politically positioned for the new and next phase of the civil rights movement. “You might call it Black dollars matter. The thing I will take from Rainbow/PUSH and will transfer is my focus on economics,” she said. “Obviously there is a symbiotic relationship between politics and economics. You can’t have one without the other. They are like black eye peas and corn bread, they go together. We need more economic strength and we need more focus on how we direct our dollars.

Rainbow/Push Vice President Janice Mathis will head the historic National Council of Negro Women civil rights group succeeding the late Dorothy Height.

“You see a lot of studies now about how much money we control, but how many institutions do we control with that money,” she continued. “Black women wear these St. John suits and they spend billions of dollars on makeup and hair products, but how [much] influence do we have with those organizations? So you will see a little bit of PUSH in my leadership style. Black women have a lot of buying power, a lot of financial decision making, a lot of banking, a lot of automotive, a lot of insurance, on and on and on. Suppose there as an NCNW seal of approval for various

products that were sensitive to our concerns like Good Housekeeping?” Mathis’ new professional promotion comes at a tragic personal time for her unfortunately. The same day it was announced she would be the new NCNW leader, her husband of 24 years, Harry Johnson, died of a sudden heart attack. The 62-year-old Johnson was the first Black new car salesman in Athens, Georgia. While this has been the worst of times and the best of times for the grieving Mathis, she believes much is the same for Atlanta.

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New Orleans to remove Confederate monuments Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Louisiana Weekly

observervoice.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – After several hours of heated debate last month, the New Orleans City Council has voted 6-1 to declare four Confederate-era monuments a nuisance, paving the way for their removal from prominent locations around the city. The lone dissenting vote was cast by Councilwoman Stacy Head. No timetable has been set for the removal of what many Black residents have called offensive monuments, and some anticipate that the effort to remove these monuments is far from over with legal challenges to block the majority-Black Council from moving forward with its efforts. Before the council voted in a chamber that was filled beyond capacity, Mayor Mitch Landrieu told the council that the monuments should be relocated to a Civil War museum and Councilwoman Stacy Head proposed that the Liberty Monument and Jefferson Davis statue be removed while the P.G.T. Beauregard and Robert E. Lee monuments be allowed to remain where they are. A local TV newscast reported that Head’s amendment failed to get any support from the council and led to a heated exchange between the councilwoman and the mayor. “I offered a compromise,” said Head. “Those who oppose the removal of the monuments have feelings too. We know exactly what’s going to happen today. This will not bring healing, only division.” Head suggested that the call to remove the monuments came from the top down to which Landrieu replied, “I didn’t create this tension. You may be knowledgeable that slavery did and the Civil War did.” Before the vote, National Urban League president and former New Orleans Mayor Marc H. Morial urged the City Council to vote unanimously to remove the Confederate monuments. “The Confederate States of America waged war against the

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New Orleans plans to remove Confederate monuments off government grounds.

United States of America,” said Morial. “Its leaders were enemies of the United States, and its symbols are symbols of treason. A patriotic society should have no interest in revering its enemies or honoring acts of treason. I urge New Orleans City Council cleanse the city of the detritus of an inhumane institution.” The former mayor said a unanimous vote would send a powerful message. “There are those who say there are more important concerns facing the city right now,” said Morial. “I submit that there is nothing more important to a community than racial reconciliation.” “As a boy at Christian Brothers School, I often walked past the P.G.T. Beauregard statues while I was learning in school about the Civil War,” he said. “I remember wondering, ‘Why is that statue still there?’ It seemed to fly in the face of everything we were being taught about the monstrousness of slavery and the staggering toll in blood and treasure that was squandered to keep it alive. That such a thing should be celebrated in the 20th century bewildered and disgusted me.” Some Black leaders, including the Rev. Tom Watson, accused the mayor of using the debate about the removal of the monuments to distract voters from more pressing issues like violent crime, chronic unemployment among Black men and unconstitutional policing by the New Orleans Police Depart-

ment which is in the midst of a federally mandated consent decree aimed at overhauling the department. The GOP Committee said the city should keep the Confederate monuments in their current locations but add plaques to describe their historical context and erect new monuments to honor AfricanAmerican heroes and trailblazers like Louisiana’s first Black Governor P.B.S Pinchback. “Instead of tearing down history, which to me is tantamount of burning books, that we augment the landscape with other monuments to great Americans who were African American as well,” said Orleans Parish Republican Executive Committee chairman and former councilman, Jay Batt. Some Blacks were skeptical about the willingness of the city to honor Black historical figures and luminaries. Just hours after the council vote, four organizations filed a federal lawsuit against the City of New Orleans in an effort to block the removal of the Confederateera monuments from their current public spaces. The lawsuit, filed by the Louisiana Landmark Society, the Foundation for Historical Louisiana, the Monumental Task Committee and Beauregard Camp No. 130, contends that removing the monuments would violate several federal and state laws, including Louisiana’s constitution. The case will be handled by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier.

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District Chronicles | Jan. 7 - Jan. 13, 2016 | 7

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Football fans did not show support for the movie “Concussion” on its opening weekend, highlighting the dangers of football.

By Charles Camosy Religion News Service Imagine a major motion picture about NFL football, featuring Will Smith as the superstar lead actor, which got solid reviews. How do you think its opening weekend would go in our football-obsessed culture? Just such a movie, “Concussion,” opened on Christmas Day and finished the weekend in an embarrassing sixth place – behind a terrible Alvin and the Chipmunks film. The reason for this is related to the reason meat-eaters don’t like to look at animals in factory farms and abortion-rights activists don’t like to look at what abortion does to prenatal children. The ostrich approach keeps us from having to think about the moral implications of the practices we support. Americans are addicted to football – especially this time of year – and we simply don’t want to be confronted with the results of the violence inherent in the game. But no fan can watch “Concussion” without being so confronted. Smith plays Dr. Bennet Omalu, a man who heroically challenged the NFL juggernaut and forced it to admit that the game was causing serious brain damage to many of its players. His medical breakthrough came with examining the brain of the great Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster – who died

at age 50, living in a van, regularly firing a Taser on himself to deal with the pain. Since then, we’ve come to know the stories of many others who have been affected by football concussions. Brett Favre cannot remember his daughter’s childhood and has publicly said that he would not permit any children of his to play football. Dave Duerson and Junior Seau had brain injuries that led to them taking their own lives. The NFL has taken some steps to address the problem, adding new penalties for “targeting” the head of an opposing player and putting protocols in place for those who suffer head injuries. But as “Concussion” director Pete Landesman rightly notes, “there’s a very limited range of things they can actually do” with the game as it currently exists. I take a back seat to no one when it comes to love of football. The game has been a very important source of community for my friends and family. Football is an intoxicating combination of ridiculous athletic talent, the complexity of a grand master chess match, and raw caveman force. As much as I love to try to recognize a zone blitz, or am awed by a wide receiver laying out for a diving touchdown reception, I have to admit there is a primal part of me that loves the violence. But it is precisely this aspect of

the game that is so morally problematic. As long as we continue to support a game deeply connected to violence, each of us is implicated in the terrible toll this is taking on football players in their retirement. The game has changed its relationship to violence before. In 1905, 18 players died from their football injuries. In response, President Teddy Roosevelt summoned coaches and athletic directors to the White House with the goal of “reducing the element of brutality in play.” Football must again fundamentally change its relationship with violence. Though such changes will likely cause shortterm growing pains and complaints from the fans, the wild popularity of fantasy football indicates football would still flourish without the violence. But this will not happen without pressure from the fans. We must make our desire for change loud and clear. And, yes, we should refuse to watch and otherwise support the game as it currently exists. This should be the final weekend we watch football until it fundamentally changes its relationship with violence. Charles C. Camosy is associate professor of theological and social ethics at Fordham University. Find him on Twitter at @nohiddenmagenta.

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In the Neighborhood

Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington District of Columbia Children’s Guild D.C. Public Charter School holds open houses

he Children’s Guild District of Columbia Public Charter School, which opened last fall, will hold several open house events through February for prospective kindergarten through eighth grade students living in D.C. Families will have the chance to meet the staff and tour the school building. Open houses will take place Wednesdays in January and February: Jan. 13 from 9 to 10:45 a.m. Jan. 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27 from 9 to 10:45 a.m. Feb. 10 from 9 to 10:45 a.m. and from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 from 9 to 10:45 a.m. and from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The school is located at 2146 24th Place, NE in Washington. Families may apply to the District of Columbia Public Charter School at www.myschooldc.org or call 202-774-5442, ext. 3428. The application deadline is March 1, after which students will be selected by lottery, with open en-

Montgomery County Legislative forum focuses on gun safety Safe Silver Spring’s annual legislative forum is today at 7 p.m. in the Silver Spring Civic Center’s Spring Room. The meeting is focusing on gun safety legislative proposals, including those dealing with domestic violence, police body cameras and sexual trafficking. Other public safety measures and criminal justice reforms will also be considered by the Maryland General Assembly and Montgomery County Council.

The school will have open house in January to February for District residents.

rollment starting after April 1. “We offer a unique, proven philosophy of education and welcome families looking for a new educational experience and a place where children are valued and respected,” said Andrew Ross, president and CEO of The Children’s Guild. “By offering instruction tailored to each student and a focus on individual strengths, students experience excellent academics in a creative

learning environment.” The school offers an enriched physical environment combined with hands-on project-based learning, character development, arts integration, information and communication technology and a student support center. Bus transportation for students is also available from home and before or after school care facilities. For more information about the school, visit www.tcgdc.org.

A key finding on guns and domestic violence is that if there is a gun in a home where there has been domestic violence, the woman’s risk of being killed increases 500 percent. This meeting is sponsored by Councilmember Marc Elrich, the chair of the County Council Public Safety Committee, County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett, Safe Silver Spring and Court Watch Montgomery. Key speakers include Council members Marc Elrich and Tom Hucker, Sen. Jamie Raskin, members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, Delegate Kathleen Dumais, members of the House Judiciary Committee

and members of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence. The forum will advise Safe Silver Spring on which legislation and policy measures to support in the upcoming year. We have successfully supported legislation in previous years, such as the gun safety bills enacted in 2013 by the Maryland Assembly. Cosponsors of the meeting are: Prezco (President’s Council of Silver Spring Civic Associations), Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers, Renter’s Alliance, Pyramid Atlantic, Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, Montgomery County Young Democrats, and the Greater Silver Spring Democratic Club.

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Call 202-806-9401 to advertise in the District Chronicles. districtchronicles.com District Chronicles | Jan. 7 - Jan. 13, 2016 | 11

In the Neighborhood

Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington District fo Columbia

District Council passes body camera law

“I do, however, remain deeply concerned about the amendment that was passed on final reading of the bill which allows an officer to review footage before they write their initial reports. I am concerned that officers may only describe what is in the video, rather than provide their complete and unfiltered memory of events. “The Council included a provision in the legislation that requires bi-annual reporting, which will allow for close review of the program’s implementation. I am pleased that the District will be among the leading jurisdictions with a robust body-worn camera

Creative Commons

t the end of December, Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie (D – Ward 5), chairperson of the Committee on the Judiciary, issued a statement regarding signing of Bill 21-0351, the Body-Worn Camera Program Amendment Act of 2015. His statement is as follows: “Today marks a huge victory for transparency and accountabil-

ity in government. The Committee on Judiciary worked on this issue for nine months and relied extensively on stakeholder and community engagement in an effort to roll out one of the largest body-worn camera programs in the country. “As a result, the final bill represents a balanced approach that protects residents’ privacy without sacrificing transparency and accountability. The District is at the forefront of the nation in establishing a body-worn camera program that prioritizes public access to footage, which will improve police-community relations.

program and believe that residents and visitors as well as offi-

cers will benefit greatly from this 21st century policing tool.”

Mayor Bowser highlights empowerment class at DC Central Detention Facility

Robert Eubanks/DistrictChronicles

Robert Eubanks/District Chronicles

Robert Eubanks/DistrictChronicles

Robert Eubanks/District Chronicles

12 | Jan. 7 - Jan. 13, 2016 | District Chronicles