District Chronicles V14 Issue 51 by District Chronicles

FRIDAY

Aug 14

L: 69

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Aug 15

Aug 16

Aug 17

H: 92 SUNNY

H: 92 MOSTLY

H: 95 MOSTLY

L: 69

L: 70

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weather.com

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SATURDAY

CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON SPIRITUAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS 5

Area police on a mission to build community trust on National Night Out Page 12 August 13 - August 19, 2015

Page 4 www.districtchronicles.com

Volume 14 Issue 51

Freddie Allen/NNPA

Activists bike in District to end nuclear arms

Editorial

What Black parents must do in summers

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Keeping Black kids academically engaged in summers is key to solving the three-year gap between Black and White children.

Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu (TriceEdneyWire.com) – There is a three year gap between Black and White students. Many people love to believe it’s due to income, fatherlessness, educational attainment of the parent and lack of parental involvement. I believe a major reason for the gap is we continue to close schools for the summer as if we are an agrarian economy. Very few Black youth will be farming this summer. If you multiply 3 months by 12 years you will see the 3 year gap. There is nothing wrong with Black youth if their schools remained open during the summer and/or their parents kept them academically engaged. Middle-income parents who value education enroll their children in some type of academic experience during the summer. They also visit libraries, museums, zoos and colleges. Other parents allow their children to sleep longer, play more video games, watch more television and play basketball until they can’t see the hoop. These students will have to review the same work they had

mastered in May in September. Black parents cannot allow their child to lose three months every year. Black parents cannot say they cannot afford the library. It’s free. Most museums have discounted days. A male friend of mine shared his experience with me when he took his family to the museum. He wondered why so many people were staring at him. His wife and children had to tell him he was the only Black man in the building. I am appealing to every father to take his children this summer to the library, museum, and the zoo. I am appealing to every mother if he won’t, you will. We need every parent to make sure their child reads at least one book per week and to write a book report. I am reminded of the formula Sonya Carson used to develop Ben Carson to become the best pediatric neurosurgeon. This low-income single parent, with a third-grade education, had enough sense to tell her sons to turn off the television, read a book and write a report that her sister would grade! I have a theory that I can go

into your house and within five minutes tell you the type of student who lives there and predict their future. I believe that engineers, doctors, lawyers, accountants etc. need different items in their house than ballplayers, rappers, and criminals. I am very concerned when I visit a house that has more CD’s and downloads than books. My company, African American Images, has designed a special collection of books for boys. Research shows one of the major reasons boys dislike reading is because of the content. The set is titled “Best Books for Boys.” We also have one for girls, parents and teachers. Enjoy your summer. Let’s close the gap. I look forward to your child’s teacher asking your child what did you do for the summer, and your child answering we went to the library, museum, zoo, colleges and other great educational places. Dr. Kunjufu is Author of “There is Nothing Wrong With Black Students, Changing School Culture For Black Males And Raising Black Boys”

Minority banks shut out of new federal tax credit awards

Finance

Joanne S. Lawton

he Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, an arm of the Treasury Department, issued $3.5 billion in New Markets Tax Credit allocation to 76 banking institutions across the country. The tax credit program is designed to spur economic development in distressed communities across the U.S. The program provides a tax credit to investors who invest in projects or small businesses in those communities by funneling their investments through the recipients of tax credit allocation. But none of the new federal funds were awarded to the nation’s minority banks, the institutions with the longest track records of deploying capital in the most underserved communities in our country. According to the Fund’s own Award Book, only six awards, less than 8 percent, went to minority controlled entities of any kind, and those groups received only $165 million, under 5 percent of the total dollar amount of allocation. “The absence of a single minority bank raises much concern,” said Michael Grant, president of the National Bankers Association. “In 2009, the General Accounting Office issued a report detailing the disparity in NMTC awards to minority entities. The numbers have actually gotten worse, not better.” A 2009 study by the Government Accountability Office indicated that only about 9 percent of minority entities were successful when applying for NMTCs, while non-minority entities had three times the success rate, winning 27 percent of the time. According to GAO, although the program is highly competitive, minority entities have less than a one in three chance of any other type of entity to receive an award. Minority banks have had even lower success rates than minority entities overall. “By our estimates, less than 2 percent of the $450 billion in NMTCs issued over the past 12 years has gone to minority banks,” said Doyle Mitchell, CEO of Industrial Bank of Washington, D.C., and immediate past Chairman of

Loopholes in new federal small business tax credits program leave minority banks owners like Industrial Bank’s Doyle Mitchell singing the blues.

the NBA. “Some of our banks have been deploying capital in the poorest neighborhoods in America for over 100 years, and we think the CDFI Fund should review the program to ensure that applications by minority and other small CDFI banks are evaluated on criteria that reflects their position as regulated institutions operating in distressed areas, which is significantly different from non-regulated or larger institution applicants,’’ said Mitchell. “If not for the allocations that were awarded to our bank just after Hurricane Katrina, even less would have gone to minority banks,” said Alden McDonald, CEO of Liberty Bank in New Orleans. “In spite of the experience we have gained, our successful NMTC investment track record and continued need in the communities we serve, we have not been able to win an NMTC allocation from the CDFI Fund since 2010.” Bob James, president of Carver State Bank in Savannah, Georgia, said, “Our bank has applied for NMTC allocations six times and have been rejected each time, in spite of our participation in over $60 million in NMTC projects and 88 year track record deploying capital in the most underserved parts of Georgia. We think something needs to change to give us a

fair opportunity to compete.” “Our banks have tried hiring consultants, attending CDFI Fund training seminars, finding creative ways to gain direct experience in the NMTC Program, and speaking to the CDFI Fund and Secretary of the Treasury, all to no avail,” said Grant. “Consistently, larger banks are awarded allocations which enhances their profitability at the expense of our banks. Grant said another concern is the relatively new entities created specifically to participate in the NMTC Program that do not have the long track records of service to poor communities like minority banks which would benefit neighborhoods his entity serves. “The NMTC Program has great potential to be part of a comprehensive economic solution in America’s inner-cities, most of which still have not recovered from the Great Recession,” said Preston Pinkett, CEO of City National Bank and chairman of the NBA. “But the group’s best equipped to make those investments, minority banks - many of which have been in service for over 100 years- have largely been shut out of the NMTC program. We need our CDFI Fund to do more; we need a real change that will allow us to receive allocations so we can use these resources to improve our communities.”

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District of Columbia Global zero calls Iran deal a key step toward the global elimination of nuclear weapons

4 | Aug. 13 - Aug. 19, 2015 | District Chronicles

Liz Merrow

n Sunday, August 9, Global Zero activists in 26 cities worldwide took to the streets for “Bike Around the Bomb” events to mark the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Japan and call for urgent action to eliminate all nuclear weapons. The international day of action came as the debate over the nuclear deal with Iran -- a key next step toward the global elimination of nuclear weapons -- heats up in the U.S. Congress. Citing the rising risks that nuclear weapons will be used, in each city demonstrators traveled the 7-mile distance around a “small” nuclear blast -- the zone of total devastation in which all infrastructure would be destroyed and most injuries fatal -- challenging the public to consider what a nuclear catastrophe would be like in their own communities. “As we mark the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we must consider the present-day threat posed by nuclear weapons -- and

Biker activists converge in D.C. to call for elimination of nuclear weapons.

the steps we can take to eliminate that threat. Right now, the U.S. Congress has an opportunity to make the world safer by approving a deal that stops the spread of the bomb in the Middle East. They should seize it,” said Global Zero leader and former CIA operative Valerie Plame. “The only way we can guarantee the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are never repeated is to eliminate all nuclear weapons -- everywhere. Skeptics of that approach have long argued that countries like Iran would never agree to forgo nuclear weapons. They were wrong. And the particular elements of this deal -- the intrusive inspections, the verification measures, the way it was negotiated as an international agreement -- are the same elements we

should apply globally to move the world from 15,000 nuclear weapons to zero,” said Global Zero executive director Derek Johnson. In the United States, “Bike Around the Bomb” demonstrations took place in Washington, DC; San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; New Orleans, LA; Seattle, WA; Orlando, FL; New York, NY; Fresno, CA; Grand Junction, CO; Iowa City, IA; Pittsburgh, PA; Concord, NH; Asheville, NC; Eugene, OR; Lexington, SC; and Rock Hill, SC. Global Zero members in Cyprus, Germany, India and Pakistan also hosted demonstrations in their communities. For more information, or for interviews with Global Zero leaders, please contact Brett Abrams at (516) 841-1105 or by email at brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com.

Divine Intervention

Pastor Jamal Bryant to headline empowerment conference

undreds of men and women from across the country and the Washington, DC Metropolitan area are expected to convene at The Westin Crystal City Hotel, 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA August 27-29, 2015 for “The Breaking Room Encounter 2015 Conference.” This year’s theme, “Positioned for the Promise,” will provide conferees with the tools for how to reposition their lives and live an accelerated life. “Last year’s conference held at the Gaylord National Harbor Hotel was life changing for hundreds of attendees, and I’m believing God for another power shift. From the Conference workshops to the Thursday and Friday evening worship services, (which are free and open to the public), we are preparing conferees to become ‘movers and shifters’ in their communities and their churches,” said Pastor Zina Pierre. Speakers from across the Metropolitan area including the Rev.

Pastor Jamal Bryant will be among the speakers at the event.

Jamal Bryant of Baltimore, as well as numerous pastors, life and faith coaches will provide workshops and worship services focusing on physical and spiritual health and wellness, as well as strengthening families and marriages. We will also collect clothing items and toiletries to be donated to local clothing banks, domestic violence shelters, and transitional housing for homeless women in the region. The Breaking Room is a virtual

ministry that reaches over 5,000 men and women across the country and abroad via social media, an interactive website, webinar trainings and conference calls. Our professionally trained team of ministers and lay persons work collectively to empower men and women to understanding their life’s purpose and helping others. This takes place through weekly webinar training, mental and spiritual health, as well as wellness planning and practice. Through its Share the Love Outreach program, TBR members visit and donate blankets to the elderly and the sick, participate in reading programs for the youth, and donate toiletries and clothing to battered women shelters and transitional homes throughout the year. Pastor Zina Pierre will also unveil and sign copies of her new book, “Your Prayers Matter to God: A 50 Day Strategic Prayer Guide and Devotional” prior to the conference. For more information visit www.thebreakingroom.com.

White House proposes rules on faithbased social services

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service

(RNS) – The Obama administration released proposed rules Wednesday designed to protect the religious freedom of people who receive social services from government-funded religious programs. The regulations, involving nine federal agencies, would extend rules from a 2010 executive order so they last beyond this administration, said Melissa Rogers, director of the White House Office of Faithbased and Neighborhood Partnerships. The rules include notifying social service beneficiaries that they cannot be discriminated against based on their religious beliefs and may request an alternative provider if they object to the religious nature of the current provider. “Those kinds of alternative provider protections are present in some federal programs, like substance abuse programs, via

federal statute, but they were not extended across this wide array of programs,” she told Religion News Service. The rules also clarify or reiterate church-state separation required of religious organizations that receive funding. “For example, if a faith-based provider offers a Bible study as well as a federally supported job training program, the Bible study must be privately funded and separated in time or location from the job training program,” Rogers said in an announcement of the proposed rules. The rules also note that religious providers should have equal access to the governmental grant process and can maintain religious language in their names and organizational documents, such as mission statements. The group Americans United for Separation of Church and State welcomed the proposals. “These proposed regulations

should go a long way toward ensuring that taxpayer-funded organizations abide by the Constitution,” said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United, who advised the White House on the reforms. “By doing so, the regulations will ensure those who seek services won’t be kicked out of a homeless shelter or a drug treatment class because they don’t want to pray or listen to preaching.” The clarification and changes in the rules stem from recommendations made by a council of advisers from faith-based and secular organizations, which Rogers chaired before being named to lead the office in 2013. The agencies will accept comments from the public about the proposed rules for the next 60 days. The rules do not address the ongoing criticism by church-state separationists that faith-based organizations that receive government funding are permitted to discriminate in hiring based on religion.

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Cover

Activists demand investigation of Bland’s death

By Freddie Allen NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent

Freddie Allen/NNPA

(NNPA) – A broad coalition of civil rights groups delivered more than 500,000 signed petitions to the Justice Department, demanding that Attorney General Loretta Lynch immediately launch a full investigation into the death of Sandra Bland and the practices and policies of the Waller County, Texas, police department and prosecutor’s office. While visiting Prairie View A&M University where she had recently been hired, 28-year-old Bland – an alumna of the HBCU – was pulled over for failure to signal before a lane change on July 10. The stop escalated to an arrest and three days later Bland was found dead in a Waller County jail cell. During a press conference, educator and small business owner, Lois Wilkins – who started the petition on MoveOn.org – recounted a conversation that she had with her daughter, Ebony Joy, who felt a strong connection with Bland’s life and tragic death. Joy had admired Bland’s work as an activist and her decision to return to her alma mater to mentor the next generation of Black leaders. “As an African-American moth-

er, I am appalled at the stealing of our children and our future leaders and this is totally unacceptable to me,” said Wilkins, who is tired of being afraid for the lives of her four adult children. “The petitions are not just names on pieces of paper, they represent the power of a potential mass movement in this country that has already changed the conversation,” said Eugene Puryear, who works with the Stop Police Terror Project. The Rev. Graylan Hagler, senior minister of the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ and executive director of Faith Strategies, a human and civil rights group in Washington, said that the abuse Blacks suffer at the hands of police is nothing new. The only difference now is that everyone has cellphones capable of recording and are willing to expose police misconduct, which Bland attempted to do before State Trooper Brian Encinia commanded her to put her cell phone down. However, another bystander managed to capture some of the encounter on video. Waller County officials contend that Bland consumed a large amount of marijuana either just before she was detained or while in jail and committed suicide by hanging herself with a trash bag. They have released hours of video foot-

(From left to right) Eugene Puryear of the Stop Police Terror Project in Washington, D.C.; Lois Wilkins, Freeland, Mich., resident and mother of four who started the petition on MoveOn.org, and Reverend Graylan Hagler, senior pastor of the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ carry boxes of signed petitions to the visitors’s entrance of the Department of Justice.

age to dispel the myth that she was dead in her booking photo or that there was any foul play involved in her death. The footage from Bland’s arrest also showed that Encinia chose to escalate the encounter from a simple warning to an arrest for assault on a police officer after he commanded her to exit her vehicle and she refused. After he attempted to drag Bland out of her car and threatened to use his Taser on her while she sat in the vehicle, she complied. Rashad Robinson, executive director of ColorOfChange.org, said that from the beginning, Waller County officials have failed to expose the truth about what hap-

pened to Bland. “What we know for sure is that police cannot police themselves, especially with a long history of racism,” said Robinson. “Her death was not an isolated tragedy. Waller County has serious problems with systemic racism.” The Atlantic reported that, according to an 1880 census, the county’s population was majority Black. Following the U.S. Civil War, it was home to a Freedmen’s Bureau office – which was protected by federal troops – and a Ku Klux Klan chapter, When that majority population status flipped, Blacks lost any political power they had in the county.

According to the Equal Justice Initiative, Waller County ranked third in the state for the number of Blacks lynched between 1877 and 1950. According to Robinson, Black residents currently make up 26 percent of Waller County, yet represent more than 50 percent of the jail population. Justice Department officials accepted the signed petitions from the activists and told Wilkins that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is monitoring Waller County’s investigation into Bland’s death. “I need to know what happened to Sandra Bland,” said Wilkins. “And so do the other 500,000 [people] that signed the petition.”

NAACP: On journey for justice, influencing Congress and White House By Hazel Trice Edney (TriceEdneyWire.com) – NAACP President Cornell William Brooks, currently leading an 860-mile march from Selma, Alabama, to Washington, D.C., has described the march, “America’s Journey for Justice,” as “building a movement” that he hopes will influence Congress and the presidency. “This is not a one-time episodic kind of thing. We’re building a movement so that once we leave Washington, you have people continuing to press. You will have people going back to their home states having met with their legislators in Washington. So they go back to their home states and they continue to press the case,” said Brooks in an interview with the Trice Edney News Wire. “This is not a ceremonial march, this is not a nostalgic march; it is not a commemorative march. It’s a march for reform and

a march to catalyze and build a movement.” The march, from Aug. 1 to Sept. 16, comes during a season of major civil rights anniversaries. They are the one-year anniversary of the police killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 9; the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act, Aug. 6, and the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, which was March 7, “all coming together in this year,” Brooks described. Since the killing of Brown and the protests that followed in Ferguson and across the country, Brooks says a fiery momentum pertaining to a list of key issues has been established that must not be lost. In that regard, the underlying theme of the march is “Our Lives, Our Jobs, and Our Schools Matter.” Therefore, the marchers are asking for specific legislation on the following issues as listed on NAACP.org:

6 | Aug. 13 - Aug. 19, 2015 | District Chronicles

·National standards for use of force for all law enforcement agents, and the passage of the End Racial Profiling Act. ·Federal action to ensure every student has access to safe, high quality education, regardless of location and household income. ·Federal prioritization of job creation and training, and passage of the Raise the Wage Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. ·That Congress restore, strengthen, and advance the 1965 Voting Rights Act by passing the Voting Rights Advancement Act. Braving the August heat and traffic along the march route, advocates will conduct teach-ins, online and in-person training on key issues, he described. Marchers will journey from Alabama, where they will focus on economic inequality; Georgia, where the focus will be education reform; South Carolina, criminal justice reform; North Car-

olina, voting rights; Virginia, where a youth rally will be held and then finishing in Washington, D.C. with advocacy on Capitol Hill. During the telephone interview with Brooks Aug. 3, the marchers were preparing to hold their first state rally at the Alabama State Capitol. Then on through the other states. A statement on NAACP.org describes: “Each morning, AJFJ march participants will have breakfast at the meeting locations and then board buses which will take them to the starting point of the march for that day. Boxed lunches will be provided for the marchers along the route. At the end of each day’s march, participants will board the buses and return to the meeting locations. Dinner will be provided at the meeting locations at 7:30 p.m., and will be followed by the teachin for that evening … That’s 46 days of old-school marching. That’s

860 miles for freedom and dignity. That’s 1.7 MILLION steps towards justice.” Brooks says the intent is not only to influence Congressional legislation, but the current and future White House as dozens of candidates line up with hopes to succeed President Obama and the debate season has begun. “So we come to Washington, streaming by the thousands across the 14th Street Bridge on the 15th of September, we meet that evening for a massive rally and service where we inspire the folks, who have been not only inspired but educated,” Brooks envisions. “And then the next day on the 16th, we have an advocacy day where we take thousands of people through the halls of Congress asking for specific reform, marching under the theme that says our Lives, Our Votes, Our Jobs and Our Schools Matter.”

Politics

Jackson unveils bill reforming youth incarceration By Jeffrey L. Boney Special to the NNPA from the Houston Forward Times

Expand the mandatory minimum safety valve for nonviolent incarcerated youth.

Black Press USA

(NNPA) – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, unveiled a package of measures to provide young people in the criminal and juvenile justice systems much needed relief and protection. At a recent congressional briefing entitled “Conditions of Youth Confinement – From Entry to Release: What Happens to Youth Behind Bars?” Jackson Lee was joined by the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), NAACP, UNCF, the National Council of Churches, EXODUS, National Association of Evangelicals. Also present were the mother and brother of Kalief Browder, a young man who, like many others, committed suicide after spending three years in Rikers – two of which in solitary, while awaiting trial. The need for meaningful criminal justice reform is critical and bipartisan support is greater than ever. With these specific initiatives, the concept of law enforcement training will provide police departments with a roadmap for being guardians and protectors in America. Jackson Lee recently introduced a package of measures to provide young people in the criminal and juvenile justice systems much needed relief and protection. These measures provide more humane laws and are meant to help youth receive

rehabilitation and the opportunity to complete school, graduate from college, and create opportunities for themselves and their families. In doing so, this legislation seeks to prevent another tragedy like that of Browder, as well as acknowledge the differences in the brain development and maturity of our young people in order to better respond to their needs and prevent recidivism. The legislation package Congresswoman Jackson Lee has introduced includes: H.R. 3158, the Reforming Alternatives to Incarceration and Sentencing to Establish A Better Path for Youth Act of 2015 (RAISE Act) which seeks to:

Increase the length of time an incarcerated youth can serve home confinement and expand the use of home confinement generally.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson has introduced legislation to change the criminal and juvenile justice systems

End mandatory life imprisonment for incarcerated youth and create a review mechanism for incarcerated youth serving decades-long sentences to be transferred to supervised release after 20 years.

Limit the length of time an individual can be incarcerated for technical probation violations.

Direct the Bureau of Prisons to provide specialized housing and programs for incarcerated youth. Establish pilot programs to give incarcerated youth the opportunity to receive mentorship and obtain skills through government and community service. Establish

pilot

diversion

programs for incarcerated youth who are high-risk, victims or caretakers.

H.R. 3156, the Fair Chance for Youth Act of 2015 which allows formerly incarcerated youth to petition and seek for expungement of federal misdemeanor and nonviolent drug offense convictions, as well as sealing of federal nonviolent convictions H.R. 3155, the Effective and Humane Treatment of Youth Act of 2015 or “Kalief’s Law,” named in recognition of Browder, would reauthorize the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant program. It would also:

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Require states receiving juvenile grant funding to implement policies and procedures to provide a right to a speedy trial and, timely bail consideration. Ban the use of solitary confinement for youth in federal facilities and allow the use of temporary separation in limited imperative circumstances that meet strict requirements. Require federal law enforcement to record all custodial interrogation of youth in federal custody and establish preservation requirements and admissibility rules for such recordings. Authorize federal grant funds to support the recording of custodial interrogations by states.

Ban the shackling and restraint of youth during federal court appearances unless there are legitimate security concerns. Require states receiving federal grant funding to implement policies and training programs specific to police-youth interactions. “While there has been a lot of discussion of how to improve law enforcement practices nationwide, these bills recognize that every law enforcement agency has different needs and that best practices must adapt to changes in communities and technology,” said Jackson Lee. “In doing so, I believe that any attempt at reform must have the wholesale support of our community in order to be successful.”

District Chronicles | Aug. 13 - Aug. 19, 2015 | 7

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President Obama’s impassioned call for criminal justice reform at last month’s NAACP national convention was the latest sign that bipartisan criminal justice reform is on the way. In the midst of this movement is another, untold story about an army of entrepreneurs that is changing the way jails and prison work for the better. When it comes to criminal justice reform, the inside game is just as important as the outside game. America locks up more of its population than any other country on the planet, and more of its Black population than South Africa at the height of Apartheid. Police commissioners brag about being “tough on crime” and cleaning up the streets. But the fact is that more than four out of 10 people who are released from prison in the United States will return within three years. Our jails and prisons are failing at their primary purpose – rehabilitation – which means more crime, more violence, and more broken families. When our inside game is broken, our outside game gets even harder. It doesn’t have to be this way. The way we treat people in jail and prison has a direct impact on whether or not they will reoffend. Yet over the past few decades, prison officials and the agencies that regulate them have not only failed to invest in necessities like effective educational programs and cheap phone calls; they have actively opposed those programs that work. A new movement in the tech world is seeking to change that. A class of social justice-oriented companies – what I call “justice tech” startups – has emerged as a counterweight to the prison-industrial complex. The founders of these startups come from a circle of activists, former prisoners and social entrepreneurs who understand that sometimes change has to come from outside the system. One of these startups is Pigeonly. In 2007, Pigeonly founder Frederick Hutson was sentenced to 51 months in federal lockup on marijuana charges (a venture that, it’s worth noting, would be legal

Pigeonly founder Frederick Hutson, once an inmate, now helps to keep prisoners connected with families and friends at a reasonable price.

in some states today). He witnessed the pain of isolation for the young men behind bars, and knew that regular contact with family members lowers the odds that an offender will return to prison after he has been released. He also watched as prison officials across the country struck self-serving deals with private phone companies that resulted in wildly inflated prices for phone calls home. Upon his release, Huston decided to cater to the incarcerated directly federal inmates. Instead of the inflated phone rates charged by commissaries, Pigeonly uses Google Voice-style technology to change the game so that all calls are “local.” This process shaves 60 to 80 percent off the cost of calls in federal prisons. His service is soon expanding from the federal system to state prisons and jails, where savings promise to be even higher – in some jails, for instance, calling home can cost more than 18 dollars for a 15 minute phone call. Another justice tech company is Jail Education Solutions. State funding for prison educational programs has continuously decreased since 1982, even as the prison population has swelled. It’s telling that most people who arrive in prison illiterate are illiterate when they leave. Brian Hill,

a recent business school graduate whose father taught community college classes at Folsom State Prison, saw this as an opportunity to innovate. His company provides jails with tablet devices that offer educational content. Working on a for-profit model that has inmates rent devices for a small fee, the tablets provide content like GED prep, vocational training and college courses. The tablet service has earned the early support of reform-minded sheriffs who are eager to disrupt the cycle of people repeatedly moving in and out of jail. Inmates who take advantage of educational programming are 43 percent less likely to return within three years than those who do not. As the long-overdue movement for broad criminal justice reform continues, we cannot forget the importance of what happens, or does not happen, inside jails and prisons. We need to improve our inside game as well as our outside game to ensure jails and prisons work, and these justice tech startups can help make that future come faster. Ben Jealous is former president and CEO of the NAACP, and Partner at Kapor Capital, a social impact investing firm that invests in Pigeonly and Jail Education Solutions.

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SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 766 Doris L. Davenport Name of decedent Carl E. Snead 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., #190316 Washington, D.C. 20004 Name and Address of Attorney Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs Celestine Smith, whose address is 1837 9th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Doris L. Davenport who died on May 15, 2015, with a will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington D.C. 20001, on or before 1.16.2016. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 1.16.2016, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of first publication 7.16.2015 Personal Representative Celestine Smith 202-667-2162 TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills

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The bill protects the District from federal government shutdowns but imposes new tests on it’s Tuition Assistance Grant program.

District of Columbia Senate Appropriations Committee bill exempts D.C. from federal shutdowns

ongresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) has applauded the Republicanled Senate Appropriations Committee, which has approved a fiscal year 2016 District of Columbia Appropriations bill that does not contain any anti-home-rule riders, exempts D.C. from a shutdown in fiscal year 2017, and provides critical funding she requested for the District. But she regrets that the Senate bill, unlike the House bill, imposes new means testing on the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant Program, which she will seek to eliminate in the final fiscal year 2016 bill. “I am deeply grateful to my Republican and Democratic friends in the Senate for recognizing the D.C. priorities we discussed both as to funds and language as demonstrated by the Senate Republican bill,” Norton said. “We should not be surprised that it contains no D.C. riders inserted by the Republicanled committee. “The absence of riders is consistent with the Republican philoso-

phy that local spending and local laws should be set by locally elected officials. In addition, we deeply appreciate that the bill goes further by preserving the most critical funding for the District, most especially, DCTAG,” she said. “I am very disappointed, however, that the bill imposes new means testing on DCTAG, which undermines the intent of the program, and the proven results so far to keep taxpayers residing in the city,” continued Norton. “D.C. is a city with many two-earner households, for whom the city is in a regional competition in order to retain our taxpayers here. We must therefore fight to keep this provision out of the final fiscal year 2016 bill.” The Senate bill is extraordinary, however, in that the District may spend its local funds as its sees fit. In contrast, the House Appropriations Committee-approved fiscal year 2016 D.C. Appropriations bill blocks D.C. from spending its local funds on abortion services for lowincome women, legalizing marijuana sales and enforcing a D.C. law that prohibits employers from making employment decisions based on reproductive health decisions. The Senate and House bills both prevent the District government from shutting down if the federal government shuts down in fiscal year 2017. Norton got the same

provision enacted into law for fiscal years 2015 and 2016, which, for the first time ever, removed the threat of a D.C. The bill has more good news in not overturning the budget autonomy referendum, approved by D.C. voters in 2013, said Norton. The bill also provides $30 million for DCTAG, equal to the fiscal year 2015 enacted level, just enough to keep the District from sliding into dangerous territory as the number of students qualified for DCTAG increases. For students who begin college in or after school year 2016-2017, only those from families with taxable annual income of less than $450,000 would be eligible for DCTAG. The Senate bill also provides an extra $5 million to combat HIV/ AIDS in D.C., a special Norton priority, equal to the amount in the House Appropriations Committeeapproved bill and the same amount as the fiscal year 2015 enacted level and the president’s fiscal year 2016 budget request. Norton said that she was particularly relieved by the $14 million for the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority for ongoing work to control flooding in the city and clean up the Anacostia and Potomac rivers and Rock Creek, equal to the fiscal year 2015 enacted level but $10 million below the president’s fiscal year 2016 request.

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District Chronicles | Aug. 13 - Aug. 19, 2015 | 11

In the Neighborhood

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

Major cities police chiefs convene to discuss solution to violent crime surge

cross the country, cities are safer now than they have been in the past five decades. But after several years of dramatic reductions in violent crime, we are seeing homicides and shootings increase in many of our cities. Chiefs of police from major cities across the nation, prosecutors, mayors, and other criminal justice experts gathered Monday at the Summit on Violence in America, chaired by Major Cities Chiefs As-

sociation President Chief J. Thomas Manger and hosted by the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. “The uptick in violent crime affects every American,” said the District’s Police Chief Cathy Lanier who is chief manager and president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. “It is essential we implement comprehensive solutions in partnership with our community that take guns, drugs, and violent offenders off our streets.” At a time when there is growing consensus about the need to modernize the criminal justice system, we cannot forget that our communities need to be protected from violent offenders. We have come together to help identify ways to interrupt this violent trend, and ensure that our cities continue to

thrive. Among these recommendations are: The chiefs recognized that in many cases of recent gun violence, police have responded to crime scenes that involve multiple shooters, multiple victims, and firearms that have high-capacity magazines. On average, homicides have increased 19 percent this year, and 62 percent of cities surveyed report shootings with multiple firearms. Many gun crimes occur in areas that have social, economic, and educational challenges that affect the whole neighborhood. Investigating and prosecuting violent gun crime needs to be a priority through funding, staffing, and sentencing. The chiefs called for stronger gun laws that allow for enhanced penalties for gun crimes and use of high-capacity maga-

zines, which are more likely to hit and kill bystanders. The chiefs also took note of the need for a whole community approach to reducing violent crime, synthetic drug use, and gang affiliation. For example, cooperation between the police, prosecutors, and community organizations will be essential to increasing the percentage of cooperating witnesses to increase the clearance rate of homicide prosecutions. “Homicide has become a means for conflict resolution among the criminally involved,” noted one presenter, and witnesses often fear retaliation for cooperation. The chiefs also reiterated the call for new National Criminal Justice Commission to examine criminal justice and policing in America today. Addressing crime in the na-

tion’s cities also requires sentencing reform, the chiefs concluded. Alternatives to incarceration that reduce recidivism and provide support and training enable many lowlevel offenders to become productive members of their community. However, any reforms must keep repeat violent offenders, especially those who use firearms in the commission of a crime, remain behind bars. This small number of offenders pose the greatest danger to our communities. The chiefs are calling for the development of accurate field tests and drug screening that identifies these substances. Synthetic drugs, especially “weaponized” marijuana have been linked to erratic, dangerous behavior and testing for these drugs should be required for supervised parolees.

Bowie Police build community relations at National Night Out

Robert Eubanks/District Chronicles

Robert Eubanks/DistrictChronicles

Robert Eubanks/District Chronicles

12 | Aug. 13 - Aug. 19, 2015 | District Chronicles