TRIBUTE TO DOTTIE
AWARDED FOR SERVICE
Local resident honored by DC for exemplary service. P. 3
Friend pens special tribute to longtime resident. P. 2
All in the family: Yet another National Merit Scholar
CATCH POKÉMON FEVER
Gamers gather for meet and greet. P. 10
Life&Times
By Precious Dorch-Robinson
Vol. 13 No. 8
A Hyattsville family is two for two after their second child was named as a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship. Rachel Teti, a graduate from Mount de Sales Academy in Catonsville, was one of approximately 16,000 high school students to be selected as a semifinalist for the award, according to the National Merit Scholarship press release. Teti was selected as a semifinalist because she received one of the highest PSAT scores in the state of Maryland. As part of the next step in the process towards becoming a finalist, her high school endorsed and recommended her. Additionally, she submitted an essay on a person whom she admires, which happens to be her older brother, John-Paul. John-Paul Teti was a semifinalist in 2015. When her brother became a semifinalist, Teti said sibling rivalry was kind of a motivator. She is close with her brother and admires his love of learning and his pursuit of knowl-
Vigilante culture — more than just coffee
NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID EASTON MD PERMIT NO. 43
SCHOLAR continued on page 12
Hyattsville’s Community Newspaper
By Mark Goodson
Free coffee and espresso drinks were some of the many attractions at Vigilante Coffee Company's two year anniversary in Hyattsville. Founder Chris Vigilante and crew wanted to express their appreciation to the city. “Hyattsville taught us about community,” said Vigilante. “I’ve always believed coffee could be a lightning rod for communities triggering new ideas and new business.” Vigilante listened when patrons asked for more seating and Wi-Fi. When seating was sparse in the first few months, “one of our first customers was like, ‘I have a table I think would be good. We’re trying to get rid of it.’” Cooperative growth with the community is part of the company’s mission and helps explain the shop’s popularity VIGILANTE continued on page 13
MARK GOODSON Vigilante employees are always ready for a conversation or a photo opportunity.
Social and racial justice peace group forms By Kit Slack
Hyattsville Life & Times PO Box 132 Hyattsville, MD 20781
August 2016
A little after noon on Sunday, July 31, a circle of about 30 people held hands in a meeting room inside Hyattsville’s Municipal Building. The group listened as Jeannette Soon-Ludes read an introduction she had written for the potluck and racial justice workshop which followed. July 31, Soon-Ludes said, is La HoiHoi Ea, the day when Native Hawaiians, or Kanaka Maoli, celebrate the restoration of Hawaiian sovereignty from British occupation. SoonLudes counts herself among the Kanaka who now “work for U.S. deoccupation of our lands.”
The people assembled that day included Maryland State Delegate Alonzo T. Washington, Mayor Rocio Treminio-Lopez of Brentwood, members of the City of Hyattsville’s Police and Public Safety Citizen’s Advisory Committee, and mothers from Hyattsville Nurturing Moms, a local mom’s group. According to Soon-Ludes, the idea of the workshop had first come up among parents discussing on Facebook how to talk to children about race. Soon-Ludes went on to invoke the names of 25 victims of fatal police shootings who were people of color and made reference to those killed in mass shootings in Charleston and Orlando. Later, she explained that “it was in
the wake of the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile” that she saw through her Facebook feed that people in the area were filled with grief and wanted to engage in antiracist work. “I saw a need to create a space right away, to do the work.” After sharing a hearty potluck that included caprese salad, Coca-Cola, and sloppy joes, participants settled in for a collective-action decision-making process that took several hours. Though the majority of those attending saw the conversation through, many of the elected officials weren’t able to stay past lunch. JUSTICE continued on page 9
CENTER SECTION: AUGUST 9, 2016 ISSUE OF THE HYATTSVILLE REPORTER — IN ESPANOL TOO!