01 11 2017

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Volume 14: Issue 5 January 11 - 24, 2017

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John Lewis ↑ : We need people that are going to be engaged in EVERYTHING pgs 8-9

Carl Bernstein: We’re letting the citizenry off the hook

MLK Day & Inauguration Weekend Guides

Street Sense is the street media center of our nation’s capital. We aim to serve as a vehicle for elevating voices and public debate on issues relating to poverty while also creating economic opportunities for people who are facing homelessness in our community.

COVER ART First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), U.S. President Barack Obama (Left), former First Lady Laura Bush and former President George W. Bush participate in a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, March 7, 2015. The event comes on the 50th anniversary of the ‘Bloody Sunday’ march at the bridge, where police and state troopers beat and used tear gas against peaceful marchers — including Lewis — who were advocating against racial discrimination at the voting booth.

REUTERS / JONATHAN ERNST

Interior page of March: Book Two, illustrated by Nate Powell.

IMAGE COURTESY OF TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS

Design by Jeffery Murray.

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OUR STORY Street Sense began in August 2003 after Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson approached the National Coalition for the Homeless on separate occasions with the idea to start a street paper in Washington, D.C. Through the work of dedicated volunteers, Street Sense published its first issue in November 2003. In 2005, Street Sense achieved 501 ( c ) 3 status as a nonprofit organization, formed a board of directors and hired a full-time executive director.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Margaret Chapman, Max Gaujean, Margaret Jenny, Robyn Kerr, Jennifer Park, Reed Sandridge, Jeremy Scott, John Senn, Kate Sheppard, Annika Toenniessen, Martin Totaro, Anne Willis EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Brian Carome EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Eric Falquero SALES & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Jeffrey Gray VENDOR & SALES MANAGER Josh Maxey COORDINATOR OF EVENTS & AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT Dani Gilmour INTERNS Jeffery Murray WRITERS GROUP LEADERS (VOLUNTEER) Donna Daniels, Susan Orlins, Willie Schatz OPINION EDITORS (VOLUNTEER) Rachel Brody, Arthur Delaney, Britt Peterson EDITORIAL & PAPER SALES VOLUNTEERS Jane Cave, Cheryl Chevalier, Kelsey Falquero, Pat Geiger, Roberta Haber, Mary Henkin, Erum Jilani, Leonie Peterkin, Hannah Northey, Jesselyn Radack, Andrew Siddons, Jackie Thompson, Marian Wiseman, Eugene Versluysen, Alex Zielinski VENDORS Shuhratjon Ahamadjonov, Gerald Anderson, Charles Armstrong, Lawrence Autry, Daniel Ball, Aida Basnight, Phillip Black, Reginald Black, Melanie Black, Phillip Black Jr., Maryann Blackmon, Viktor Blokhine, Debora Brantley, Andre Brinson, Donald Brown, Joan Bryant, Elizabeth Bryant, Brianna Butler, Melody Byrd, Conrad Cheek, Aaron Colbert, Anthony Crawford, Walter Crawley, Kwayera Dakari, James Davis, Clifton Davis, Charles Davis, David Denny, James DeVaughn, Ricardo Dickerson, Dennis Diggs, Alvin Dixon-El, Ronald Dudley, Charles Eatmon, Deana Elder, Julie Ellis, Jemel Fleming, Chon Gotti, Marcus Green, Barron Hall, Tyrone Hall, Richard Hart Lorrie Hayes, Patricia Henry, Jerry Hickerson, Ray Hicks, Sol Hicks, Rachel Higdon, Ibn Hipps, Leonard Hyater, Joseph Jackson, Carlton Johnson, Donald Johnson, Harold Johnson, Allen Jones, Mark Jones, Morgan Jones, Linda Jones, Darlesha Joyner, Juliene Kengnie, Kathlene Kilpatrick, Hope Lassiter, John Littlejohn, James Lott, Scott Lovell, Michael Lyons, Jimmy M. Ken Martin, Joseph Martin, Kina Mathis, Michael Lee Matthew, Authertimer Matthews, Charlie Mayfield, Jermale McKnight, Jeffery McNeil, Ricardo Meriedy, Cynthia Mewborn, Kenneth Middleton, Cecil More, L. Morrow, Evelyn Nnam, Moyo Onibuje, Earl Parkin, Lucifer Potter, Ash-Shaheed Rabil, Henrieese Roberts, Anthony Robinson, Doris Robinson, Raquel Rodriquez, Lawrence Rogers, Joseph Sam, Chris Shaw, Patty Smith, Smith Smith, Gwynette Smith, Ronald Smoot, Franklin Sterling, Warren Stevens James Stewart, Beverly Sutton, Sybil Taylor, Archie Thomas, Shernell Thomas, Craig Thompson, Eric Thompson-Bey, Sarah Turley-Colin, Carl Turner, Jacqueline Turner, Leon Valentine, Grayla Vereen, Ron Verquer, Martin Walker, Michael Warner, Robert Warren, Angelyn Whitehurst, William Whitsett, Wendell Williams, Sasha Williams, Judson Williams III, Ivory Wilson, Denise Wilson, Charles Woods

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STREET SENSE January 11 - 24, 2017

3

NEWS IN BRIEF

Navigating Inauguration 2017 WMATA Transit on Friday, Jan. 20 •

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•

•

Metrorail will open at 4 a.m. and close at midnight. Peak fares will be in effect from 4 a.m. until 9 p.m. After 9 p.m., off-peak fares will be in effect.

Metrorail Stations Closed: A r c h i v e s , M t . Ve r n o n S q u a r e , Federal Triangle, Smithsonian and Pe n t a g o n s t a t i o n s w i l l b e c l o s e d due to enhanced security measures Approximately 50 MetroBus routes will operate with detours due to Inauguration events and road closures.

Expect delays. Routes that normally cross the National Mall will turn around at special locations outside the secure area; use Metrorail instead.

MetroAccess paratransit service for customers with disabilities will operate identical hours to rail and bus schedules.

Expect delays due to increased t ra f f i c a n d de t o u r s. M e t r o A cce ss vehicles will not be permitted access to streets that are closed. source: Inauguration.dc.gov

Map courtesy of SecretService.gov

If you are homelessness in the downtown area, it is recommended that you remove all belongings from areas that will be secured for inauguration, including The National Mall, the Smithsonian Museums the Capitol Hill area from Eastern Market to Union Station, all Federal buildings along Independence Ave, Constitution Ave and Pennsylvania Avenue. (See the map below)

Items Prohibited Beyond Security • •

Items that are left behind will be discarded.

•

Closures will occur by or before Thursday, Jan. 19.

• • • •

Regardless of the weather, hypothermia shelters will remain open throughout inauguration weekend.

Check with any service providers you visit regularly to see if their hours of operation will be affected by these events.

If you need guidance on where to seek shelter, call the hotline: (202) 399-7093

Additional Resources: www.inaugural.senate.gov washington.org/DC-guide-to/presidentialinauguration-washington-dc #inaug2017 To receive free emergency alerts and public notifications regarding the Inauguration, text the word “INAUG ” to 888777. Text messaging fees may apply.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Ammunition Animals other than service/guide animals Backpacks and bags exceeding size restrictions (18” by 13” by 7”) Bicycles Balloons Coolers Drones and other unmanned aircraft systems Explosives Firearms Glass, thermal, or metal containers Laser pointers Mace / Pepper spray Packages Selfie Sticks Signs exceeding the size restrictions (20’ x 3’ x 1/4”) Structures Supports for signs and placards Toy guns Explosives Weapons of any kind Any other items determined to be potential safety hazards source: Inauguration.dc.gov

MLK Day

Street Paper Exclusive

Carl Bernstein:

By Adam Sennott Spare Change News, Boston

Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. | U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES • Jan. 14 | We Shall Not Be Moved March on Washington, Rally Address: National Sylvan Theater, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW Time: 9 a.m.

Address: West Potomac Park, across from the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, 1964 Independence Ave SW Time: 12 p.m.

Contact: (877) 626-4651 Organizer: National Action Network More info: TheMarch2017.com • Jan. 14 | We Are Here to Stay Rally Address: Metropolitan AME Church, 1518 M St NW Time: 11 a.m.

Contact: (240) 706-2624 Organizer: CASA More info: WeAreCASA.org • Jan. 15 | Community Clean Up Day (litter pickup and clothing drive) Address: The Peace House, 1005 Rhode Island Ave. NE Time: 2 p.m.

Contact: (202) 584-9231 Organizer: The Peace House More info: FB.com/thepeacehousedc • Jan. 16| MLK Peace Walk Address: R.I.S.E. Center, 2500 MLK Ave SE Time: 10 a.m.

Contact: (240) 706-2624 Organizer: Coalition for Peace More info: MLKholidayDC.org • Jan. 16| Day of Service Volunteer (plan your service in advance) —MLKday.gov —serve.dc.gov/service/martin -luther-king-jr-day-service (202) 727-7925

Photo Courtesy Spare Change News / INSP.ngo

STREET SENSE January 11 - 24, 2017

5

NEWS

Trump’s election is an ‘incredibly dangerous moment’ for America

I

n 1992, legendary journalist Carl Bernstein blasted the Media blaming versus good media for its obsession with celebrity, manufactured traditional reporting controversy, gossip, and sensationalism in his article “The Idiot Culture” for the New Republic.

Despite Trump’s media mastery, Bernstein asserts that At the time, the front pages of newspapers across the it’s not fair to “blame” the media for the outcome of the country were more focused on Donald and Ivana Trump’s election. “I don’t think that Donald Trump was elected divorce than they were on Nelson Mandela’s return to Soweto because the media did a bad job,” he says. “I don’t buy or the re-unification of Germany. Bernstein said. ‘Good’ it for a minute.” journalists, such as Diane Sawyer, were asking Trump’s lover He believes there was some “great reporting” done Marla Maples if he was “really the best sex you ever had?” during the campaign, specifically on Trump and his “To me that was as low a point in our journalistic businesses, especially by The Washington Post, New York evolution in the last part of the 20th century as could Times, and Wall Street Journal. be imagined,” Bernstein now bemoans. “And I think “What’s really interesting is that a lot of the great I recognized that it was only going to get worse. In reporting in the campaign was done by a lot of the old retrospect the piece looks pretty prophetic.” traditional, mainstream news organizations,” he says.

More than two decades on, Donald Trump is once again “Those three in particular.” on the front pages of newspapers around the world in the That doesn’t mean the mainstream media was perfect, days since being elected President of the United States Bernstein adds. “Television was very late to do investigative - in a campaign that featured two candidates which Bernbiographies or even documentaries on any of the candidates stein describes as “two incredible celebrities.” in the primaries,” he says.

“Trump’s election is incredibly dangerous “We did great in terms of having on camera for America,” says Bernstein, whose debates with analysts and talking heads, reporting for the Washington Post myself included, but not enough early on was instrumental in uncovering in the formative stages of the campaign.” the Watergate scandal that forced Still, the TV networks were able President Richard Nixon’s resignation. to pick up and amplify the reach of Though Clinton has a “difficult stories that were initially reported by relationship with the truth,” which national newspapers.

Bernstein believes ultimately sunk “Television did pretty well in reporting her campaign, he calls Trump “more those aspects that were developed dangerous than [Joseph] McCarthy” because primarily from The Times, The Post and The never before “did a demagogue reach Journal,” says Bernstein, “and building the presidency.”

Actor Dustin Hoffman (left) on those accounts and giving them Trump is not only a product of the portrayed young reporter prominence in their broadcasts.” celebrity culture Bernstein wrote about Carl Bernstein in the 1976 What he believes skewed the real issues in the early 1990s, he’s also a master of film “All the President’s were social media, the alt-right media and it. The veteran journalist describes him Men,” an adap t ation of websites such as The Drudge Report, which as a “con man whose identification as a Bernstein and co-author Bob defined Hillary Clinton “in grotesque terms business person has been about his use, Woodward’s book detailing that have almost nothing to do with the manipulation and draw of media. their investigation of the reality of who she was.”

“He is both a self-creation and a media Watergate scandal for The Those types of sources “had a lot to creation,” he adds. “But he’s the one who’s Washington Post. do with how this campaign evolved, been a genius at using the media, and COURTESY LAURA LOVEDAY/FLICKR says Bernstein. [that’s] partly because he’s shameless.”

“The power of the old configuration of Shortly after the Republican primaries, Bernstein said media with a few television networks and a half dozen that Trump had “made monkeys out of all of us.” newspaper organizations, now online, hardly defines the Clinton has never been comfortable with the press, coverage and the media equation,” he adds. even though Bernstein calls her “the most famous person in the world.”

“Go to the voters” for the best diagnosis of In Bernstein’s biography of Clinton, “A Woman in the election result Charge,” he wrote that Clinton has “a fierce desire for privacy and secrecy” which seems to “cast a larger and Those looking to place blame on the media for Trump’s larger shadow over who she really is.” election should “go to the voters,” Bernstein says.

What she serves up for public consumption, Bernstein “I think there’s much too much focus on how the media wrote, “is usually elaborately prepared and relatively performed as opposed to how citizens, over the last 25 or soulless. That is the true shame.”

30 years, and especially in this campaign, have taken and It was that fierce desire for privacy that led Clinton processed information,” he adds. “It’s very easy to blame to use a private email server while she was Secretary of the media and let the citizens off the hook.

State, which Bernstein calls “indefensible” and says “did “Increasingly, people in this period have become more endanger national security.” The server, he adds, was also interested in processing information and looking for “emblematic of those questions about trust and openness information to uphold their point of view and reinforce that have dogged her for years. She couldn’t get past that.” what they already believe and buttress their already held It also didn’t help that Bill Clinton got on an airplane prejudices and political beliefs [and] religious beliefs. with the Attorney General of the United States while So that we don’t have a citizenry interested in the best Hillary was under investigation by the Justice Department, obtainable version of the truth.” “[It] was unthinkable what he did,” says Bernstein.

While Bernstein says he felt that “we’re letting the

citizenry off the hook,” he also cautioned against making overgeneralisations about the outcome of the election.

“All of these questions are very complex, and you can’t attribute them to one element or another,” he adds.

Of the intricate learnings the election results have thrown up, he adds, “When you look at the picture and all of its complexity, and if you look for explanations based on the best obtainable versions of the truth then you begin to understand how all of these things play together in a kind of matrix that give you a much clearer picture of, not only what happened in this election, but who we are as a country and what our problems are and what our weaknesses are and what our strengths are.

“So I think this election in many regards is perhaps a pretty good indication of where we are as a country in all kinds of complex ways.”

Despite running a campaign “appealing to the worst instincts of Americans in terms of racism, xenophobia, nativism and sexism,” Bernstein says Trump, like Bernie Sanders, was able to connect with millions of white working- and middle-class voters who have not been able to keep pace because of the changing economic market place and have become increasingly alienated and ignored by too much of our political system. There were also large numbers of voters who didn’t fit those economic and social demographics but still saw legitimacy in needing to address the concerns of those Americans, as well as minorities and those of color. Clinton, he says, was “very, very slow to recognise” the needs of these voters.

“I think that her campaign, in this regard, was too much based on a strategy of mobilizing Latinos, African Americans, women, and not remembering and stressing enough that the Democratic Party, historically, has been the party of the working class.”

He adds, “She misread, and those around her misread, the electorate, and also, she was not an inspiring candidate. Had she won, it really would have been because President Obama … had dragged her across the finish line with constituencies that needed to turn out, but also as a great character witness for her.

“But it wasn’t sufficient in the end,” he says.

An incredibly dangerous moment During the campaign, Bernstein called Trump a pathological liar, a con man and an American neo fascist, not in the likes of Hitler or Mussolini, but that of twentieth century Argentinian President Juan Perón.

Now that he’s been elected, Bernstein says he’s not sure which of his campaign promises he’ll follow through on.

“His campaign promises are a mix of the horrific and [the] ugly and undemocratic,” he says. “But also there are some campaign promises, such as his call for huge infrastructure spending that address questions long overdue that the Republicans particularly have been keeping from happening.

Trump also showed “an ignorance about our history in this country, what real existing conditions are, such as his characterisation of Black America with any sort of recognition whatsoever of the huge Black middle class in this country,” Bernstein says. “[That] Black communities were exclusively impoverished, crime infested, not just enclaves, but blanketed in that way… which is not the case.”

“His election is an incredibly dangerous moment because of what he promised to do,” he warns. ■ Courtesy of Spare Change News / INSP.ngo

Filmmaker Seeks New Approach to End Youth Homelessness

By Anna Riley Volunteer

A

new documentary, premiering this year, aims to shed light on the difficult realities that nearly 2 million homeless youth face in the United States. When filming began seven years ago, “American Street Kid” was intended to be a short public service announcement.

“We need to wake up America and show that there are 5,000 kids that die on the streets per year in the country,” said Writer/Director Michael Leoni. “Thirteen kids die every day. Most people don’t know that.”

Leoni nearly became homeless in New York several years ago and began talking to different kids living on the street there.

He was inspired to write a play, “The Playground,” to share their stories. He showed the script to Producer Michelle Kaufer in Los Angeles, and the play ran successfully in L.A. Leoni wanted to make sure that homeless kids were part of the play and that they were able to attend and weigh in on whether the issues were being portrayed accurately.

Two teenagers that came to the play were both murdered after Leoni got to know them through the play, which drove home just how dangerous it can be for anyone, especially young people and children, living on the street. Searching for a way to take action, he and a small crew went to Venice Beach to interview homeless youth and make a two-minute PSA. But what he found was too complex to convey in two minutes. Leoni started following and living with the kids on the street, trying to find services to help them

and even bringing some of them into his home.

“I think most people think they’re punks, they don’t want to make money, they don’t want to be here,” Leoni said about the kids in the film.

“We’re all human, we’re all one… We want people to really know they can do something about it. It’s easy to get involved and Homeless teens and young adults in Los Angeles. | PHOTO COURTESY OF AMERICAN STREET KID not to be scared and wake up.”

Kaufer said the goal of the movie is to by experiencing them.”

But, they have also seen love and shatter the public’s misconceptions about The negative experiences Leoni had compassion through the process of making homeless youth: that they are punks, with safety net programs led he and his “American Street Kid.” They have seen a rebels or drug addicts. “When people team to found a nonprofit called Spare kid graduate high school after being on see this movie, what we hope they Some Change, so that they could run drugs since he was 8 years old. They’ve come away with is that they understand things differently for homeless youth. seen kids go from the street on to college, that these kids have been abused and The organization provides mentorships on full time jobs and rehab. abandoned,” she said. film sets, helps kids get off the streets, “The movie takes you on a journey...

Through filming and reaching out to provides counseling, conducts job it’s like a rollercoaster ride,” Leoni said. organizations in an attempt to get the trainings, creates PSAs and more.

“The main thing is hope. It’s all about help the kids needed, Leoni started to “We lived it, we saw it, we know firsthope and change.” see the difficulties kids on the street go hand what they need, and that’s why our “American Street Kid” is officially through daily. program is different. We really get it,” premiering at The Beloit International Film “He was met with so many obstacles and Leoni said. “The biggest thing is you have Festival: Feb. 28 - March 4 and then at The waitlists and just madness,” Kaufer said. to focus on the individuality of each kid.

Hollywood Film Festival: March 29 - April 2.

“The holes in this system are just huge and You have to really focus on what each The film will be in theaters later in 2017.

I think when you see the movie you’ll see a kid’s needs are, and that’s what our You can learn more about the project’s lot about what Michael learned basically by program is about.” progress and additional screenings at www. throwing himself into the fire. He learned Many organizations give homeless youth AmericanStreetKid.com. ■ material things that they need, but do not help them on a deeper level, according to Kaufer. “Unless you’re going to help that human heal, you’re not really helping them,” she said. “When the shit hits the fan, that kid is going to go back to what’s familiar to them, and for the most part, that’s the streets. If you really want to help a kid get off the streets, you have to deal with the underlying issues. You have to convince them that it’s not their fault and that they can be loved and love.”

Both Leoni and Kaufer have seen terrible things such as kids contemplating suicide, Nessa, as featured in the documentary film “American Street Kid.” drug addiction, prostitution, Writer/Director Michael Leoni.

IMAGES COURTESY OF AMERICAN STREET KID PHOTO COURTESY OF AMERICAN STREET KID abuse, rape and even death.

STREET SENSE January 11 - 24, 2017

7

NEWS

the

BAPTISM & Timothy MEMORIAL of

By Carlos Rocha Volunteer

Ray

T

imothy Ray was a lover of the church and his friends at National Community Church (NCC). And they loved him back. One friend he met there, Steve Graybill described Ray as an authentic individual who loved to share his struggles in hopes of helping someone else. Ray found kinship when he attended his first meeting at the church’s “Living Room” program in 2014 and became a Bible study regular at the group’s Ebenezers.

Coffeehouse on Capitol Hill.

His goal was simple; Ray would better himself through the church so as to help both him and others.

He once led more than 20 people from the shelter to be baptized with him at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, Maryland. He was lead in this Journey himself by Pastor Terrance Sutton and Ernest Clover. Ray brought many new people into his church and took each of them under his wing, even when he himself was struggling.

Those people looked up to his great heart, always willing to give more than he ever took, according to Graybill.

On top of his two churches, Ray was also a member of many organizations, such as So Others Might Eat and Project Empowerment. He struggled with alcohol and drug issues, but never let that weigh on his resolve to turn things around.

While holding down several jobs, including one at Pete’s Coffee & Tea, Ray completed courses at a Project Empowerment, a city transitional employment program. He worked so hard that, occasionally, he didn’t make it to Adam’s Place shelter in time to get a bed. Either way, he’d still wake up to do it all again the next day.

At the age of 51, Timothy Ray passed away. He was laid to rest Dec. 19 at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Northeast.

The plot was donated by So Other’s Might Eat. His name was also read and displayed at the 2016 Homeless Persons Memorial Day vigil.

Ray cared about people and lived through those who he helped accomplish their goals. One of those people was his 3-year girlfriend, Cynthia Williams, with whom he spoke every day.

She lives in Maryland and said “when he came to town everyone would know that T i m R a y g r a d u a t e s f r o m P r o j e c t man from D.C. was on the block: as he Empowerment. | COURTESY OF COURTENEY HOLDEN blasted his Go-Go music.”

Tim Ray led some of his friends from the streets to be baptized with him in a park at Annapolis Maryland.

PHOTO COURTESY OF COURTENEY HOLDEN

Williams once also lived in the streets closing months, regardless of how hard he and struggled with addiction. She credits worked and the goals he had accomplished Ray as giving her the strength to never he struggled to get out of town for his give up while going through programs friends and families weddings. As these and moving forward. He had a good things weighed on him heavily, he fostered relationship with his family in Maryland his at-home relationships. too, which included his mother, Althia He continued to care more for others’ Tinson, his sister, Deborah Ray and his wellbeing than he did his own. “Tim will be sons Timothy Perry & Anthony Petty. He fondly remembered by most everyone who would return home for special occasions, crossed paths with him,” Graybill said. ■ but never really let his family in on much of what he was going through, according to Williams.

As a lover of all sports, Ray was fondest of the Nationals, the Washington football team and any team from Duke University.

He was a celebrated wrestler in high school, which carried him to Coppin State University. He joined the military soon after and entered into basic training.

This is when he had his two sons, Timothy and Anthony, who he loved dearly. He did whatever he had to do to feed his family, Williams shared.

2016 was a rough year: Ray missed the weddings of both of his sons and that of his church friends Courteney and “Big T i m R ay w i t h f r i e n d s a t N a t i o n a l Tim.” He was hard on himself in those Community Church. | COURTESY COURTENEY HOLDEN

below:

N man rig office. bill to c every s the ope Culture Memor

street sense exclusive:

The American People Have Been Too Quiet

By Josh Maxey Volunteer

F

rom Selma to the halls of With a warm greeting, and only after Congress, both Democrats and making sure we’d all been offered Republicans alike can agree that something to drink, he invited Street U.S. Representative John Lewis has been Sense Vendor Angie Whitehurst to begin a monumental figure in American politics. our interview.

Since his youth, Lewis has made fighting for equality for all Americans his mission.

Street Sense: We have all of these While a student at Fisk University in groups and organizations that do Nashville, Tennessee, Lewis organized advocacy for an end to hunger and many sit-ins to desegregate lunch poverty, for more affordable housing — counters. It was during this time that and they’ve been around for decades. he was introduced to the principle and What is it that we are not doing, that we practice of nonviolent protest. need to do, to make it happen?

After roles in both the Carter Administration and the Atlanta City John Lewis: Well, you need to continue Council, Lewis was elected to Congress to expand what you’re doing, to become in 1987, he has been reelected ever more inclusive, pulling and working since. Often called the “conscience of together. You’re so right: there’s so many Congress,” Lewis different groups. has brought before But many of the his colleagues groups have very ideas and pieces little cooperation, of legislation that people going in seek to promote different directions. freedom, justice, and equality for all.

Street Sense: So As prominent of you’re talking a figure as he is, about building a Lewis has a sense coalition? of humbleness. In fact, walking into John Lewis: Yes. the congressman’s During the civil office and shaking rights movement his hand is like A painting hangs in U.S. Rep. John we had a coalition, having the pages Lewis’s office depicting his 2010 w e u s e d t o c a l l of a history book receipt of the Presidential Medal of it a coalition of being made Freedom, the highest civilian honor, c o n s c i e n c e . We present in a real awarded by President Barack Obama. came together so way. But Lewis is PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN it didn’t matter ever-focused on if it was the the now and how our actions today will National Association for the Advancement shape the future of not only the United of Colored People, Southern Christian States, but the entire world.

Leadership Conference, Congress of Racial

Equality, Urban League, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee or many religious groups that came together and worked together for the common good.

The first meeting to plan the March on Washington, the so called “Big Six,” included Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, James Farmer of CORE, Whitney Young of the Urban League, Roy Wilkins of the NAACP and “young John Lewis” of SNCC (Lewis was 23 in 1963).

And from that meeting, that first meeting, we invited four major religious leaders and labor leaders to join us.

So it included Walter Reuther of the United Automobile Workers union. And we tried to get the head of The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations at the time, George Meany, but he refused. Then there was Eugene Carson Blake, a Presbyterian minister who was head of the National Council of Churches and later became president of the World Council of Churches. And there was Rabbi Joachim Prinz of the American Jewish Congress; and a young man named Matthew Ahmann that was the head of the National Catholic Council for Interracial Justice. We became not just the so called “Big Six,” but there were ten of us.

But now, more than ever before, I think we need people that are going to be engaged in everything. EVERYTHING. Because there are forces in America, as a result of this election, trying to take us to a different place and take us back. And people have to come together. You grow the coalition. It’s all about the future of humankind, not just in America, but around the world.

When you hear someone talking about a way to expand gun rights, it’s frightening.

You’ve seen, in effect, that we’re prepared to spend millions and billions — maybe trillions of dollars — on arms. What happened to poor people? What happened to resources for education? For housing?

How do we protect our environment?

Street Sense: What happened to that coalition and unity?

John Lewis: Well, what emerged here in D.C. that became much more all-inclusive was The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. It made those groups bolder there, but they were not actionoriented like we were, because they were legislative: all the bills and what was happening on the Hill.

In collaboration with his digital director and p documented the journey from his parents’ A rights movement, in a trilogy of comics illustra bestselling series earned a Coretta Scott King Award before, in November 2016, Book Thre National Book Award. When Book One was rele King and the Montgomery Story,” a comic that i particularly seeks to inspire the next generation

STREET SENSE January 11 - 24, 2017

Next to a small sampling of his awards and under portraits of hughts leaders, Representative Lewis keeps a bale of cotton in his | PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN right: After he was elected, Lewis introduced a create a National African American history and culture museum session of Congress for 15 years. On Sept. 24, 2016, Lewis spoke at ening of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and e 100 years after such a thing was first proposed by the National rial Association. | PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF REP. JOHN LEWIS

I say all the time, we have the right to know what is in the food that we eat, what is in the water we drink, what is in the air we breathe. We have limited resources and we have to learn to live together as humankind. For what affects people in the Delta of Mississippi or in the Black Belt of Alabama, affects people here in Washington, DC or in New York or Seattle, or affects people around the world. When you have dirty, filthy air, it’s not just going to stay here in America, but it’s going to blow around the world.

We should be trying to bring this little planet, this little piece of real estate we call Earth, closer together — not dividing people because of their nationality.

Street Sense: On an individual level, where does someone begin to do that?

John Lewis: I’ve said this from time to time, and it’s not anything new and it’s not just me: you have to come to that point where you believe, truly believe, that

policy advisor Andrew Aydin, Rep. John Lewis Alabama farm through the heart of the civil ated by Nate Powell. Among other honors, the g Book Award and an Eisner Comics Industry ee became the first comics work to earn the eased, so were new versions of “Martin Luther inspired Lewis’s activism. With “March,” Lewis n of activists. | IMAGES COURTESY OF TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS

when you see something that’s not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up.

Find a way to speak out. Find a way to become involved. You organize, you push, you pull. You probably saw that we took action on the House floor last June, trying to do something about gun violence. And you’re probably going to see some action in the days and weeks to come. Some people are debating right now — maybe not on the floor, but in rooms with closed doors, high places and secret meetings — how they’re going to repeal Obamacare.

And what do you have to put in place of it? How long will it take? There will be people coming in and testifying in front of Congress. It’s their goal, it’s their mission, to take healthcare. They’re not saying it, but that’s what they’re going to do: take healthcare away from people, privatizing Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security.

Street Sense: You mentioned the sit-in that you lead last year. What do you think the public needs to do to make sure that we push issues that are affecting the lives of millions of people on a daily basis?

What else can the public do to help the members of Congress?

John Lewis: The people of America must become informed and engaged. Provide people with the information, provide them with the tools and instruments to put pressure on the members of Congress, for them to say “this is what we want, this is what we need and this is what we’re going to get.” You have to make it uncomfortable for people, people in high places. It cannot be business as usual.

Street Sense: So therefore we should not assume that our congressmen and senators will take care of things for us?

John Lewis: You should not assume that. You should assume and believe that people are going to do the right thing.

But sometimes you need others to make people do what is right, to do what is fair.

9

COVER STORY

You’ve got to be able to disturb the order of things. Sometimes I think the American people are too quiet. You need to make a little noise.

Dr. King used to say from time to time, “there may come a time when you need to turn things upside down to set things upside right.”

Street Sense: You’ve been a member of Congress for many years and witnessed so many different things. What would you say is your proudest moment?

John Lewis: One of my, I guess private thoughts, well, proudest moments, is when we got the Voting Rights Act (VRA) renewed in 2006. And I think we still need to fix it.

Street Sense: On that point, there are some people who are saying that if we had not gotten it reapproved that we would be set back another 40 or 50 years — that it would have been devastating. Do you feel that way?

John Lewis: Yeah, we still need to fix the decision in the United States Supreme Court where they have gutted the essence of the Voting Rights Act. And it’s too bad we didn’t do it in this last Congress. It’s going to be much harder, it’s going to be much more difficult. We must see who’s being considered for the attorney general. I don’t think leadership is going to come from there, from Jeff Sessions from Alabama.

If not for the Voting Rights Act, I don’t think President Carter would have been elected or Bill Clinton. President Obama wouldn’t have been elected. So we need it now more than ever before. But some would think you need to just open up the political process and let the people come in: one person, one vote. That’s what I said at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963.

The people can do it, put pressure on the incoming president and put pressure on Congress: the members, the rank and file members. President Johnson said to us

in 1964, said if you want to pass the Civil Rights Act, make me do it. And we did.

As Dr. King would say, “there is nothing more powerful than the marching feet of a determined people.” So I’m really gratified to know that all these women are going to be marching in the Women’s March on Washington. And they’re going to be marching all across America. And in my own district, they’re going to march from the Human Rights Center to the state capitol of Georgia, those that are not coming here. And I think there are going to be protests in 80 cities or more.

Street Sense: In closing, what is your personal hope for the future?

John Lewis: My hope for the future is very simple: that we can leave this little planet a little greener and a little cleaner and a little more peaceful for the generation yet unborn. But if that is going to happen, we’ve got to stop spending our limited resources on more wars, more bombs, more missiles and more guns.

Spend it on the people: food, healthcare, clean air, clean water. We’ve got to stop the madness. And to hear this man that is coming to the White House talking about nuclear weapons… billions and billions of dollars to be invested in bombs and missiles and guns, while people are starving with no housing… In a city like Atlanta and other places around America, to see the number of people sleeping on the street with limited shelter… what is going to happen to the hundreds of thousands of people without shelter?

Are people going to open their doors and take people in? Mothers with children, many men of color, on the streets — it’s true in almost any major urban center in America. And many of the men are people who served in our military and fought in our wars. That’s not right, it’s not fair, it’s not just.

But I’m still hopeful. I’m still optimistic. But we must fight. And we will, in a nonviolent fashion. ■

OPINION Chicago’s street paper, StreetWise, invited its vendors to reflect on Barack Obama’s legacy as he prepares to leave office. Below are three of the pieces that originally appeared in StreetWise, reprinted here with permission.

I believe Obama’s legacy will be a mixed one, as is true of any president. As a Republican who didn’t vote for Obama, my James Metzgar feelings are more negative than positive. I give Obama credit for keeping the country from going bankrupt when he took office during a financial crisis. Unemployment is lower than when he took office. However, he left more debt than all other presidents in history.

I applaud his efforts to have an ethical health care system, but Obamacare has its defects. It still hasn’t covered everyone and it has led to higher premiums for so many people.

Obama has been a drag on his own party, having reduced his party largely to a “coastal party.” Although he did get re-elected, it was by both a smaller electoral vote and popular vote margin.

Obama is the son of a Black father and a White mother, but this country is just as polarized as it was before he took office. I am also concerned about the lack of respect for people’s conscience and religious liberties in the Obama administration. I hope this can be corrected in the coming administration.

James Metzgar is a vendor for StreetWise in Chicago.

New Year,New President

By Ricardo Meriedy

Homelessness has been a problem for many years.

It is time for Congress and the new administration to have more passion and more compassion for the homeless. The problems of homeless people have spread all over the world. But I pray a time will come when people don’t have to eat out of trash cans and sleep on benches, in vacant houses, and underneath bridges in the cold weather.

Give the homeless a chance in 2017 to wake up and say, thank you, Jesus, I am not homeless today.

Ricardo Meriedy is a vendor for Street Sense.

I can really appreciate Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA).

This health care reform law, known as Obamacare, has really helped A. Allen and benefited the less fortunate in this country. Often the less fortunate are also minorities, such as Blacks and Hispanics. Many have been denied health care because of not having a job or not being able to afford health insurance. But, let us keep in mind all lives matter. Be you rich or poor, Black or White, a life is a life in the American dream. The preamble of the Constitution states that we are all endowed with inalienable rights which include life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If anyone is denied the right to life because of improper health care, then all the rest doesn’t even matter. I will always be grateful for the health care insurance because there were many days I worried what would happen if an emergency medical situation was to happen to me with no insurance.

In the past, I’ve personally had bad experiences with being treated in the hospital and not having insurance. I also have friends who would say the same.

The ACA put all of us on equal ground concerning health care. We’re not all rich, but we all could and should be treated in a respectable and humane manner.

Many would like to undo the Affordable Care Act. If this health care is taken away from the poor, then it’s another way of saying they’re less than human and will be treated as such. If only the rich are entitled to health care, what kind of world or country will this be? Surely, not a country with morals and character. We would all be in trouble.

If the rich and healthy people are not willing to help carry the weight of the less fortunate and pull out of the ACA insurance deal, it would cause the premiums to sky rocket and the poor and unhealthy to be penalized. That’s why our checks and balances system has always been the rich work with the poor in order for all to prosper. If we all work together, we can make this thing work. It’s what the founding fathers had in mind when they said we all have a right to life liberty and pursuit of happiness. President Obama had the same idea as the original founders of this country and he took it to another level to include everyone regardless of race, class and social backgrounds. So, for me and for a lot of other people, Obama’s health care act will never be forgotten.

A. Allen is a vendor for StreetWise in Chicago.

I hope that President Obama will be remembered for the changes he has made in health care; how he stopped Steven Riggs all of the banks from charging hidden fees; the changes he made in solar energy; and how he raised the standards of our schools.

I was in special education all my life and I didn’t really start learning until I found a book about how to be a “master student.” It helped me take notes and tests better. Why didn’t the teachers teach this? I was glad that changing the standards of special education was on Obama’s agenda.

The fact that President Obama’s father was Black and his mother was White should have made him a symbol of unity for the races. Obama did what he could do, but I was shocked when things exploded during the election.

People are scared they’re going to lose the power that they are used to.

I also hope that the way he treated his wife and his daughters will be something that people remember and use as an example to follow. The best way I can put it is that your best witness is your lifestyle. I’ve heard people say more than one time that they appreciated how he treats his wife publicly. I pray to God that people take note and try to do the same thing.

My biggest fear is that some type of scandal will come up about President Obama 5-10 years on down the road and that it will hurt his legacy. I have this fear because I’ve seen it before and I expect it from racist people to create some type of lie or cause people to see a negative perspective on a situation.

It’s what the media does.

But, the fact remains and cannot be changed that he was our first Black president; someone our Black youth can look up to and strive to be the best they can be. A lot of people of color did great things when I was a kid that I didn’t find out about until I was grown. They weren’t talked about. I might have started striving when I was little had I known about them. But, you can’t hide the fact that this man was president! Now, at 5 or 6 years old, kids see President Obama and know they can use their head, mind and imagination to create new, bigger and better things for their race and for all people.

Steven Riggs is a vendor for StreetWise in Chicago.

Have an opinion about how homelessness is being handled in our community? Street Sense maintains an open submission policy and prides itself as a newspaper that elevates community voices and fosters healthy debate. Send your thoughts to opinion@streetsense.org.

Letter to the President In Defense of Black Folks

By Jennifer McLaughlin

STREET SENSE January 11 - 24, 2017

1#1

OPINION

By Jeffery McNeil

Dear Mr. Trump, We have great potential to help “make America great again.”

Sometimes our challenges can teach us things that change the course of history. Homelessness is one of those challenges. To “make America great again,” we must help all those people in need who otherwise would have nowhere to go. We must create opportunities for the homeless to succeed, learn, and overcome obstacles. With support from the safe, accessi ble and affordable housing communities, we can work together to accomplish great things.

Please strive to end homelessness in America. Thank you for your time.

Jennifer McLaughlin is a vendor for Street Sense

Give Obama Proper Credit

By Damon Smith

The outgoing administration left a significant mark on U.S. history. The most obvious one was having the first African-American president. This country went through a financial collapse, housing crisis and several wars. Yet, despite being relatively new on the political scene, Barack Obama handled those situations as though he were a seasoned veteran.

The economy as a whole is stronger.

We still have a heavy foreign debt, yet we are moving in a positive direction.

The outgoing president has been heavily criticized, but we should give credit where it is due. I cannot understand this way of thinking. He should be recognized for his accomplishments.

Donald Trump has big shoes to fill. I hope he performs much better than the way he presented himself during the election process.

Damon Smith is a vendor for Street Sense.

Sometimes I hate defending my race, but I can’t let Bill O’Reilly and other Fox News hosts demonize African Americans, many of whom are struggling and doing everything they can to survive.

Sometimes I’ve said crazy things, because I know White guilt, not racism, destroys the Black man’s resolve to lift himself. I and other working Black men are just as perturbed seeing Black kids skipping school, not pulling their pants up, speaking Ebonics and not respecting our women.

I have been guilty of all those things.

However, I’m more perturbed by our own leaders not countering this narrative by showing the excesses of White people.

Why hasn’t MSNBC, CNN or Al Jazeera been in Appalachia or Western Maryland reporting about the corrosive culture of poor Whites who voted for Donald Trump?

There are just as many Whites that don’t want to work, absentee fathers and White women out there prostituting themselves, while hard working Black men are paying taxes to pay for their licentious lifestyle.

Don’t cry about Black trash when many White people live in poverty as well.

What is it about White folks who think they’re the only ones that work hard and pay taxes? Fox News has fostered a narrative that is harmful and dangerous.

Do you think I want anything from the White man? I believe in pulling yourself up. But people such as Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity show a few ignorant Blacks who prefer handouts over work and use

these folks for political purposes. Some people are on welfare not to buy drugs, but to keep from starving to death.

Conservatives want to have it both ways.

They say they’re for life, then want to cut school lunches for children. They say “All lives matter,” then create policies that trap people in dire economic conditions, leaving the inhabitants with no choice but to rob, sell drugs or commit crimes.

M r. O ’ Re i l l y, “ p u l l y o u r s e l f u p ” sounds good, but when people are shoeless they don’t want to hear about the Constitution; they’re saying, “I’m defeated, show some mercy.”

The conservatives keep saying, “Screw you.” You made an assertion that most panhandlers buy drugs — you’re dead wrong! I work with the homeless and none of them are buying drugs. They are making the best of a bad situation. The deck is stacked against them and people like you keep dropping cards on them. They have no money, but work with what little means they have. They are trying to make the world better, while people like Bill O’Reilly want to make everyone miserable.

Not long ago, he commented that “the problems have little to do with White people. Rather, a corrosive culture that does not confront child neglect and anti-social behavior on the streets is driving poverty and dysfunction.” Not only are these words cold and callous, but he is delusional if this is how he interprets the teaching of Christ.

Conservatives love to paint a narrative about minorities, hoping that their audience will dismiss the historical reasons why so many African Americans are in chaos.

To say that Whites aren’t responsible is mendacious, after five centuries of slavery, 100 years of JIm Crow and 50 years of civil

The Metro Money Pit

By Phillip Black

General Manager Pa u l Wi e d e f e l d needs an additional $1 billion to improve Metro.

I think he needs his head examined. With the kind of money that has already been spent on this subway system, it has seen very little improvement. They are single tracking during rush hour, closing rail service at 11:30 p.m. instead of 12 midnight, and closing on weekends at 1:00 a.m. instead of 3 a.m.

MetroBus has also been shut down on most of its routes. More people now are refusing to ride the Metro because t h e y f e e l t h e y a r e l o s i n g m o n e y.

Metro is wasting lots of money on

poor management, with some station managers seen falling asleep on the job.

In December, six employees were fired for falsifying inspection records.

The general manager needs more experienced people who know how to cut costs, how to get rid of people who are not doing their job, how to cut too-high salaries. Furthermore, when Metro does receive money, there needs to be someone to oversee the way it is allocated: Is too much being spent on jobs that could be done for less money? Could salaries and job responsibilities be reviewed to make sure the monies are spent appropriately?

It’s time to make some changes, but not to throw more money at the problem.

Phillip Black is a vendor for Street Sense.

rights. To suggest Blacks are to blame for their own failure should be denounced.

Out of wedlock births and high school dropouts aren’t just a Black problem but an American problem. Our nation is falling behind morally, spiritually and economically. We are beyond the stage of “Why can’t Johnny read.” We need to teach Johnny how to read or we are going to have another person lost to the streets.

We all pay the bill, whether it’s welfare or jail. So let’s try something different, instead of looking for who’s to blame.

Relitigating past grievances hasn’t solved race problems. Americans are going to have to humble themselves and find solutions to make these urban areas better.

When we have strong Black men leading our people, we won’t have people such as Bill O’Reilly airing out our dirty laundry.

White people aren’t to blame for Obama’s failure — we are!

Blaming Republicans for obstructions is equivalent to the Redskins blaming the Cowboys for not making the playoffs.

Racism is a strategy, but it’s not a determination for whether you fail or succeed. Liberalism has failed Black people because it’s lulled them not to shoot for anything but mediocrity. Life is a battle, there are people out here who want you dead. So to believe we can sing people into loving us is not only naive, but dangerous. We have no choice but to fix the problem, or we will continue to have situations such as Chicago and San Francisco. I hate to sound like a liberal, but poverty and trailer trash culture is a blight on all of us!

J e f f r ey M c N e i l i s a ve n d o r fo r Street Sense.

The Street Sense Writers’ Group is led by writing professionals and meets every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The group’s goal is to develop ideas and collaborate on the next great issue of Street Sense.

Affirmation:

I'm The Special Someone

To My Ex Husband

By Gwynette Smith Artist/Vendor

By Sasha Williams Artist/Vendor I accept full responsibility for believing that certain people would change for the best, instead of believing in myself.

Instead of believing I could be the best thing that someone lost.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about what I need to work on to have a great, healthy relationship. My soul is free and my mind is on track. But what to do about my heart...

It is really encouraging that people with positive energy are in the universe. To meet the one that makes you not want to give up is inspiring. And I am determined to live and love fiercely.

People can be manipulative, so it is hard for me to believe in words. But I can see now that people’s actions are all I need to determine where they should stand in my life.

The future is mine. I am responsible for me. I am connected to the universe. I am powerful and wanted.

And I am definitely going to write more and keep doing what I love doing creatively. My first self-directed project was supported by Street Sense and that experience is still life-changing. With support and positivity, I can do so much more. I am innovative, gifted and stronger.

I am an Artist.

Returning to Street Sense

By Barron Hall, Artist/Vendor

By and about the poor and the homeless. In the name of God, merciful and gracious, it’s good to see some of the customers who used to purchase papers from me.

I have been in the hospital for a year or more because I had to have two operations. My health has really changed for the better. For one thing, I have

stopped drinking and drugging and I have a close relationship with God. As an aside: I wonder how this new president will affect the lives of the poor and homeless. My opinion is to get closer to God. The word of God in the book of Revelations says there will come a day when God will be our only relief. This is because the Deceiver is coming. People will be crying and gnashing their teeth.

Thank you, Street Sense for the opportunity to put my ideas on paper.

Living in Christ

By Robert Warren, Artist/Vendor The day after they say "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Holidays" to the Light, they forget about his life: the Truth and the Light, guiding men to stand up right.

The goodness of the day, the Grace and Mercy of the Most High, grateful He lives in every believer's life till the day we all walk that way.

The lightning and the darkness on man's face, to lead to the straight path, for Christ did come to weigh the deeds of everyone:

The young woman who was not too proud to kneel and pray.

The Mothers to be honored all the while, too.

For the Father who showed you rightness in living his life.

For the Son who grew up right and just and knew to tell the truth. And when he comes for you, he will bear witness, too. For he never knew the ones who say "Merry Christmas" and forget about the message of his life the next day.

He lived that the Comforter would come with a Guiding Light for humanity. The best of people praise G-O-D day and night.

A Happy New Year done right for you.

I want to apologize to you for the way our relationship deteriorated. Up until when I married you, my life had been normal. It might have continued to be that way. It’s hard to look back and know how life might have been. We might have still divorced, but maybe the relationship would have been better. We might have had a child or two. Things could have been different for me and maybe for you too.

We married so soon, that I later began to consider that maybe I had married too soon. I didn’t know you that well and I could have still been free with no responsibilities. You probably also had the same belief about yourself.

Looking back, I think we were both probably good people, but the challenges

of being poor and young caused us to not be able to commit to each other more positively.

I appreciate the advice you later gave me. Perhaps I should have taken it, but I just felt that it wasn’t right for me at the time after all we had been through.

Getting a job in LA was not going to change the environment that I would have had to live in there. There were drugs all over the place and I feared I would not be able to have a stable, purposeful life there at that time.

I knew people there, but if I fell apart, there was no one who could really be able to give a lot of himself or herself to try to help reestablish me and it just didn’t seem worth it to risk that kind of situation.

Happy New Year!

By Charles Davis, Artist/Vendor I thank God every day for another blessing, especially for seeing another new year of my life.

W h e n I wake up, memories of you, my great parents, always stay in my heart because I miss you so much. I also want to thank you for giving birth to ten beautiful children, four of whom I hope will rest in peace after leaving us. Remember that every day is not promised to us even though we pray to live life day by day.

Sometimes when I am alone I wonder how long I will live or how I might die. But, I never worry about it because God will decide when to carry me home to rest. I always pray for those who have already gone home to rest, especially my family members, my friends and those who I do not know Last year was a long one. The positive part was finally getting a nice apartment, receiving funds to deal with my disability and a few other blessings. The negative part was sometimes feeling so tired of the

pain in my spine that I just wanted t o sit a t h ome a n d do n ot h in g.

Fortunately, almighty God gives me the willpower to move on, which I need to do every day.

I wish every success to my dear friend who left me to return home for her career. Her not being here shadows me every day because I really miss her.

May her brother Willie rest in peace.

I hope the same for my brother Jim, whose death hit me very hard. I miss him so much. I also miss the few other friends who died last year.

As I move into this new year, I hope and pray things will be more positive. I want to finish my education by passing the entrance exams and then getting my degree at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). However, I am most concerned about my back injury, because I will have real problems if I can't walk for a while. So I am going to conquer that some kind of way.

I wish a Happy New Year to my Street Sense customers and my friends. May the power, the kingdom and the glory of God be with us forever. Amen.

STREET SENSE January 11 - 24, 2017

13

VENDOR WRITING

Vendor Spotlight: Street Sense in the Smithsonian

By Cynthia Mewborn, Artist/Vendor

Filmmakers Sterlin Harjo and Cynthia Mewborn answer audience questions with Program Manager Melissa Bisagni after screening their work at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. | PHOTOS BY KEN MARTIN. Two films about homelessness debuted at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in November 2016.

Producer Sterlin Harjo premiered "Mekko" (meaning Chief). And the Street Sense Filmmakers Co-op screened the film I directed: "Who Should I be Grateful To?" Both directors were invited to the stage afterward for a Q&A with the audience.

Ten months out of the year, the museum’s Dinner and a Movie program offers free evening showcases of featurelength films, preceded by dinner in the museum café. The program is managed

by Melissa H. Bisagni, who was aided by Torell Taylor during our experience.

"Mekko" was about a Creek Nation man who was imprisoned for nineteen years. When he was released, he took refuge with a mixed group of Native American people that were experiencing homelessness. Within the group was a shape shifter, or "witch," that bullied and abused the others. He wasn't even homeless, but enjoyed intimidating,

harassing and killing people when confronted with views that were different from his own. “ W h o S h o u l d I B e G r a t e f u l To ? ” depicted irresponsible individuals who misused their authority against me as I worked to exit homelessness and try to begin to heal and recover from it.

While unique in their own right, both my and Sterlin’s film conveyed how vulnerable people on the street are to unprovoked violence and cruelty. Some predators will target homeless people just for the “fun” of it. And these actions usually lead to physical, emotional, sociological or spiritual impairments — if not death.

According to a 2016 report by the National Coalition for the Homeless, since 1999 there have been 428 confirmed lethal attacks against homeless people in the United States. That’s out of a total 1,635 hate crimes committed against homeless people, which include being harassed, kicked, set on fire, beaten or worse. The report only accounts for

crimes committed by housed individuals.

It is hard to imagine that people with homes would commit such brutal acts of violence against the most vulnerable people on the planet. But they do, daily.

During the Q&A, Sterlin and I agreed that there is a very real spiritual battle that follows homeless people on the streets. Whether they are confronted by evil witches or demons, ultimately it is left up to each homeless individual how they will respond to the forces of darkness. Not only do homeless people make daily survival decisions, but you have to protect your spirit when you are out there on the street.

D a ys b e f or e ou r f il m scre e n in g, Melissa invited me to visit the museum’s Community Resource Center, where most of the collections are housed off display.

I was given a tour by Sylvanus Paul of the Navajo Nation. We viewed century-old artifacts from the Cree Nation, as well as Inuit parkas and Navajo baskets that were older than anything else we viewed.

The generosity that Melissa showed to Street Sense, both myself and Events Manager Dani Gilmour, was an honor. I felt privileged to be a part of the museum’s Native American Heritage Month activities and will forever be grateful for the friendship that emerged. Thank you Melissa and thank you Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, for providing the opportunity to discuss and combat a very unpopular topic: violence against the homeless. How can we as a country better address these major concerns, especially through films, forums, education and dialogue?

Ignoring the topic or doesn't make it go away. It just festers and spins out of control until we face it. Exposing people to this issue will help prevent senseless violence that injures homeless people beyond repair or results in the loss of their lives.

Both films called the viewers to action.

I pray that we will all respond sensibly, responsibly, and maturely.

do so. Thank you from the bottom of my heart I love you so much.

To my son, Travis. I’m sorry that my addiction took such a toll on you. One day I pray that you will understand that me leaving you with your grandmother was the best thing, but the hardest for me to do, My sincere prayer is that one day you can forgive me.

To Barbara Moore, who’s been my mother’s best friend and support. Thank you for help keeping her strong.

To George B. for your positive attitude, your talks. And always being there for me when I needed someone to talk to. And for being there for my son Travis too. Thanks for being a big Brother and friend, you have my love and respect, always.

To Larry: your words of wisdom, however short, have been embedded into

me whether I like it or not. Thank you for your patience, tolerance and acceptance of all my BS. You’ve never yelled at me, only spoken softly with words of wisdom.

To the late Clayton Scott, the days of running through a fire with gasoline pants on are over. Rest in peace.

To the members of the Church of the Savior, the love and support you’ve shown for me, my mother and my son is without parallel.

To the late Gordon and Marry Cosby, pastor, mentor and friend. I miss you both so much.

And to everyone else that has touched my life, sprightly, emotionally, financially… thank you for all your support.

My prayer is that this will help and touch just one person, or help someone choose the right path.

(The end)

TESTIMONY, PT. 2: Talking with God

By Joshua Flood, Artist/Vendor So I did. I got on my knees and bowed my head and said “God, why have you left me? I need your help, please help me. I’m in so much pain I want to die.”

Then a deep but soothing voice replied “My dear sweet child, I’ve been here all along and have never left you – even though you have forsaken me, cursed me and chosen not to listen. You’ve been consumed with the meaningless things of life and turned your back on Me.” “Does that mean you won’t help me?”

I asked.

“No, my child. I am a loving God not a vengeful one. I will remove the pain and

the anguish that you feel. But the hurt will remain, so that you will remember that I am what I say. I am God the Father,” said the voice.

At that moment, the pain was gone and the weight of the world was lifted from my shoulders. God was gone too. It was at that point that I finally realized and understood what Larry meant by “when the student is ready the teacher would appear,” I never thought My teacher would be God. This is dedicated to the following important and instrumental people that have taken the time to help me throughout my life: My mother, Terry Flood, whose love and care for me never stopped and who never gave up on me. The average mother would have quit on day one. And she raised my son when I was unable to

COMICS & GAMES

Belated New Years and Holidays 2016 Was a Very Good Year

Happy New Year from N.C.!

Last summer I was sitting in my back yard on a beautiful weekend. I had started really getting interested in writing some articles. But, that would have to wait, 'cause it was 9.30 a.m. and time for my morning chores.

I was assigned the back yard, which meant sweeping and picking up trash.

When I finished, I telephoned a Street Sense friend and talked with her for half an hour. Then I started writing. It was a story about "how do you know he likes you?" I was in housing at a different address. A girlfriend and I would brainstorm about some stories of our love lives.

All these months later I would like to say I always remember to thank God for how far he has brought me. I thought about that when I went to the hospital a few times. I also thank God for giving me inspirational songs that a few months earlier just seemed to pop into my head from nowhere. Now when I sing the songs, people tip me! So I can definitely say I have been blessed in 2016.

Hey y'all, it's me again, the "Beautiful One'" from North Carolina. I hope you had the merriest Christmas and the happiest New Year. I was away from Street Sense for three months making telephone calls for a local union's election campaign.

Everything went okay with the voting.

My plans for this year include learning the latest technologies, such as all the smart phones and Twitter.

My Thanksgiving was great; lots of fun and food. I enjoyed going to different churches and meeting new people. This time of year is going okay, with the blessings of God and people I met along the way. Would you believe I had Christmas decorations and Christmas music in November?

Surprisingly, most of my neighbors do not have Christmas decorations.

I remember back in the day, everyone was happy at Christmas time, where relatives and neighbors would share this very special holiday. Whether you had money or not, Thanksgiving and Christmas brought back happy memories.

By Patty Smith, Artist/Vendor

2017

By Betty Everett, Artist/Vendor

By Sheila White, Artist/Vendor

Today, though, no one seems excited about Christmas. When riding the bus, people look so sad. I can understand because some of them are homeless and they ride the buses to stay warm when it's cold.

Fortunately for me, with the blessing of God and some good people I am able to keep a roof over my head.

Unfortunately, my cat Starbuck died in July. He was 11 years old. My other cat, Meow, is 12 years old. He is okay, but he misses his playmate. I got both of them a couple of weeks after their birth. I'm looking for a black and white female cat to replace Starbuck and keep Meow company.

May God be with you and your loved ones. Thanks again for supporting our Street Sense newspaper!

2017 is a year for change.

Change can be good or bad. What makes America great is having the freedom to choose.

Your choices will reflect how your life will be. This year I plan to think before I act and stay focused on my goals. One of those is to attend the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). Another is to move into a nicer apartment. I will achieve these goals by taking my life one day at a time.

My 2017 Wish List

By Lovenia Evans, Artist/Vendor My goal is to make more money and go live in a foreign country. While there, I would make money and get better with learning to speak Spanish. Until that travel happens, I will do a little Street Sense to pass the time while I take some classes to better myself and help me become a police officer. I want to finish all this by 2020.

STREET SENSE January 11 - 24, 2017

15

COMMUNITY SERVICES Housing/Shelter

Food

Clothing

Showers

Outreach

Medical/Healthcare

Transportation

Laundry

Education

Employment Assistance

Legal Assistance

Academy of Hope Public Charter School: 269-6623 | 601 Edgewood St, NE aohdc.org

Bread for the City: 265-2400 (NW) | 561-8587 (SE) 1525 7th St, NW | 1640 Good Hope Rd, SE breadforthecity.org

Calvary Women’s Services: 678-2341 1217 Good Hope Road, SE calvaryservices.org

Catholic Charities: 772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp

Central Union Mission: 745-7118 65 Massachusetts Avenue, NW missiondc.org

Charlie’s Place: 232-3066 1830 Connecticut Ave, NW charliesplacedc.org

Christ House: 328-1100 1717 Columbia Rd, NW christhouse.org

Church of the Pilgrims: 387-6612 2201 P St, NW churchofthepilgrims.org/outreach food (1 - 1:30 on Sundays only) Community Family Life Services: 347-0511 | 305 E St, NW cflsdc.org

Community of Hope: 232-7356 communityofhopedc.org

Covenant House Washington: 610-9600 2001 Mississippi Avenue, SE covenanthousedc.org

Food and Friends: 269-2277 219 Riggs Rd, NE foodandfriends.org (home delivery for those suffering from HIV, cancer, etc)

Foundry Methodist Church: 332-4010 1500 16th St, NW foundryumc.org/ministry-opportunities ID (FRIDAY 9-12 ONLY)

Being Homeless

By Ronald Smoot, Artist Vendor When I wake up every morning the first thing I do is pray and thank God for waking me up. I've been locked up all my life and the only thing I want to do is get my life back on track. I've been living on the street for about 30 years and that has been really hard for me.

I am just trying to survive. I meet a lot of people every day and they are very nice to me. It's hard to get a job, but I am so happy I found Street Sense.

Loaves & Fishes: 232-0900 1525 Newton St. NW loavesandfishesdc.org

Sasha Bruce Youthwork: 675-9340 741 8th St, SE sashabruce.org

So Others Might Eat (SOME) 71 O St, NW | 797-8806 some.org

Miriam’s Kitchen: 452-8926 2401 Virginia Ave, NW miriamskitchen.org

Father McKenna Center: 842-1112 19 Eye St, NW fathermckennacenter.org

Georgetown Ministry Center: 338-8301 1041 Wisconsin Ave, NW georgetownministrycenter.org

Samaritan Ministry: 1516 Hamilton Street NW | 722-2280 1345 U Street SE | 889-7702 samaritanministry.org

Martha’s Table: 328-6608 2114 14th St, NW marthastable.org

D.C. Coalition for the Homeless: 347-8870 1234 Massachusetts Ave, NW dccfh.org

Friendship Place: 364-1419 4713 Wisconsin Ave, NW friendshipplace.org

Jobs Have Priority: 544-9128 425 Snd St, NW jobshavepriority.org

St. Luke’s Mission Center: 333-4949 3655 Calvert St. NW stlukesmissioncenter.org

My Sister’s Place: 529-5991 (24-hour hotline) mysistersplacedc.org

Thrive DC: 737-9311 1525 Newton St, NW thrivedc.org

N Street Village: 939-2060 1333 N Street, NW nstreetvillage.org

Unity Health Care: 745-4300 3020 14th St, NW unityhealthcare.org

New York Ave Shelter: 832-2359 1355-57 New York Ave, NE

Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U St NW | 328-5500 legalclinic.org

Patricia Handy Place for Women: 810 5th Street, NW, NW | 733-5378

The Welcome Table: 347-2635 1317 G St, NW epiphanydc.org/thewelcometable

Samaritan Inns: 667-8831 2523 14th St, NW samaritaninns.org

Green Matter

By Frederic John, Artist/Vendor

The hard froze Phyto cellular Matter, bowed Over crisp Green, Ahhh.

Whitman-Walker Health 1701 14th St, NW | 745-7000 2301 MLK Jr. Ave, SE | 797-3567 whitman-walker.org

Selling Street Sense

By Marcus Green, Artist/Vendor

When working for Street Sense, I’m not soliciting for a survey, I’m selling.

I know I’m focused; some people feel compelled to show me their paper or tell me they already bought that edition.

Maybe they did and maybe they didn’t. But this is how I look at it: if a person has already bought 99 papers; I’ll be the 100th sale. I’m a hard worker and will close the deal.

VENDOR PROFILE: ELIZABETH BRYANT

BEHIND THE STORY:

Elizabeth Bryant, also known as “Liz,” has had her fair share of rough patches in life. She also, however, wouldn’t trade any of what she went through. Because it brought her where it did: to Street Sense.

Liz first heard about Street Sense at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where she has been attending for some time. “Work makes me feel good,” Liz said, “I get to express and support myself.”

She certainly has a story to tell, one she had thought “would ever happen to her.” After her and her husband separated, she found herself in shelters and struggling with alcohol and drug addiction. In spite of that struggle, she remembered the neighbors she grew up with. They were her safety net after being put up for adoption due to her own mother’s addiction problem. She began to seek similar community resources: help in places that were like her old neighborhood, where support had been abundant and healing.

Liz’s wake-up call originally came when she saw how her problems were affecting her children. Even now, close to the 10-year anniversary of her oldest daughter’s death from breast center at

the age of 35, Liz maintains that it was her children and her faith in God that brought her the strength to get where she is now.

After stints of recovery in places like Bethany Women’s Center, Liz was able to become sober and realize that “there is more to life than drinking and drugging.”

Pursuing a GED and further education, attending church, AA meetings, and working at Street Sense have been filling up Liz’s life since then. She attests that being able to contribute to Street Sense and have a job selling the paper raises her self-esteem and helps her feel like more than a person standing on the street for others to pass by without looking.

Liz looks forward to a lot of things, such as reconnecting with her family — especially her grandkids — and finding an apartment that is better than her current one. “People think money, who you have on your arm, the car you have, the place you stay, are going to save you. But they’re not,” she said.

Liz Bryant has proven that she does certainly know not only how to save herself, but how to thrive.

January 11 - 24, 2017 • Volume 14 • Issue 5

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW

MEETING A SUPERHERO

PHOTO BY SARAH HAGER

By Mary Walrath, Editorial Intern

Eric Falquero, Josh Maxey, Rep. John Lewis, Angie Whitehurst and Ken Martin.

I

have the greatest respect and admiration for the Honorable John Lewis. He has wisdom, experience, vision and resolve. He is my hero because of his humility, strength and ability to stand tall, not just in verbiage and lore, but in everyday life. He serves us all as a living, stellar example of achievement on behalf of all people through peaceful dialogue and nonviolence.

—By Angie Whitehurst, Artist/Vendor

I

t was about to be one of the biggest days of my life.

I’ve met foreign dignitaries, great musicians, entertainers, other congressmen, street legends, people of great wealth and knowledge. I have even met Icons. But to have a conversation with a civil rights icon? To have the honor of photo documenting the event? Me? WOW!!! This is HUGE!!!

Of course it was not the first time I’d seen him in person. I was a gopher college intern during a D.C. march for the missing children of Atlanta. I got relatively close and was even a “parade marshal.” But that was over 30 years ago, a blur... And nothing like this.

Butterflies galore. I knew going in that this man of modest stature is a GIANT among men and has proven the heart of a lion.

This living legend was about to further the impact that he had made upon my life.

Impact that includes nearly every right and privilege I have enjoyed as a Black male in America. I knew that because of him

and the other proud men with whom he traveled — names like Lowery, Randolph, Young, Jackson, Wilkins, Rustin, Gregory, Farmer, Abernathy and King — I could be a man of substance and dignity. A contributor to my society, my community.

This was my chance to let him know on a personal man-to-legend level, as it were, just how much his work means to me. It changed and continues to change our country for the better.

He has received all kinds of honors, so he has heard it all before, I’m sure. It is probably routine for him. But for me? To meet and shake the hand of a man who took a brutal beating so that I might not have to...

A man who has dedicated his life to the service of his, no, OUR country? A man who even today is berated by the ignorant minds of this land while toiling unselfishly for the greater good of humanity.

Huge is too small a term for what this meant to me. John Lewis, and me?

WOW!!!

—Ken Martin, Artist/Vendor

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Washington, DC 20005

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Permit #568

Remember, buy only from badged vendors and do not give to those panhandling with one paper.

Interested in a subscription? Visit StreetSense.org/subscribe PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN