06.15.2022

VOL. 19 ISSUE 30

$2

JUNE 15 - 21, 2022

Real Stories

Read about DC’s plan for a Juneteenth Commission on page 8

Real People

Real Change

Juneteenth Edition

Also inside: why thousands of people are waiting for housing vouchers on page 4 STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

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2 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A // J U N E 1 5 - 2 1 , 2 0 2 2 © STREET SENSE MEDIA 2003 - 2022

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VENDORS Abel Putu, Abraham Aly, Aida Peery, Amina Washington, Andre Brinson, Andrew Anderson, Angie Whitehurst, Anthony Carney, Anthony Pratt, Archie Thomas, August Mallory, Betty Everett, Beverly Sutton, Brianna Butler, Carlos Carolina, Carol Motley, Charles Armstrong, Charles Woods, Chon Gotti, Chris Cole, Chris Sellman, Conrad Cheek, Corey Sanders, Cortney Signor, Daniel Ball, David Snyder, Debora Brantley, Don Gardner, Doris Robinson, Earl Parker, Eric Thompson-Bey, Evelyn Nnam, Floyd Carter, Franklin Sterling, Frederic John, Fredrick Jewell, Gerald Anderson, Gracias Garcias, Henry Johnson, Ivory Wilson, Jacqueline “Jackie” Turner, Jacquelyn Portee, James Davis, Jeanette Richardson, Jeff Taylor, Jeffery McNeil, Jeffrey Carter, Jemel Fleming, Jenkins Daltton, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jermale McKnight, Jet Flegette, Jewel Lewis, John Littlejohn, Joshua Faison, Juliene Kengnie, Justin Blakey, Katrina Arninge, Kenneth Middleton, Khadijah Chapman, Kym Parker, Laura Smith, Lawrence Autry, Levester Green, Malcolm Scott Jr, Marcus McCall, Mark Jones, Maurice Spears, Melody Byrd, Michael Warner, Michele Rochon, Mildred M. Hall, Morgan Jones, Patricia Donaldson, Patty Smith, Phillip Black, Queenie Featherstone, Redbook Mango, Reggie Jones, Reginald Black, Reginald C. Denny, Ricardo Meriedy, Rita Sauls, Robert Warren, Rochelle Walker, Ron Dudley, Sasha Williams, Shawon McCrary, Sheila White, Shuhratjon Ahmadjonov, Susan Westmoreland, Susan Wilshusen, Sybil Taylor, Warren Stevens, Wendell Williams BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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VENDOR CODE OF CONDUCT

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As self-employed contractors, our vendors follow a code of conduct.

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Special Edition: Juneteenth DESIGN FROM CANVA BY ATHIYAH AZEEM

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DIRECTOR OF VENDOR EMPLOYMENT

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Thomas Ratliff

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The Cover

Doris Warrell

The Street Sense Media Story, #MoreThanANewspaper Originally founded as a street newspaper in 2003, Street Sense Media has evolved into a multimedia center using a range of creative platforms to spotlight solutions to homelessness and empower people in need. The men and women who work with us do much more than sell this paper: They use film, photography, theatre, illustration, and more to share their stories with our community.

Our media channels elevate voices, our newspaper vendor and digital marketing programs provide economic independence. And our in-house case-management services move people forward along the path toward permanent supportive housing.

At Street Sense Media, we define ourselves through our work, talents, and character, not through our housing situation.

VENDOR PROGRAM ASSOCIATES VENDOR PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS

Jeff Barger, Haley Gallagher, Roberta Haber, Ann Herzog, Kevin Jaatinen, Jacob Kuba, Eva Reeves, Mauricio Reyes

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MICHAEL STOOPS FELLOW

Jasper Smith

INTERNS

Hajira Fuad, Hannah Loder, Hope Davis, Ingrid Holmquist

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Ariane Mohseni (Film), Bonnie Naradzay (Poetry), David Serota (Illustration), Lalita Clozel (Film), Willie Schatz (Writing)

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Austine Model

OPINION EDITORS (VOLUNTEER)

Rebecca Koenig, Emily Kopp, Lydia DePillis

EDITORIAL VOLUNTEERS

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NEWS IN BRIEF

AT A GLANCE

Poor People’s Campaign continues calls for White House meeting HOPE DAVIS Editorial Intern

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national coalition advocating for the rights of people living in poverty is calling on President Joe Biden to meet with its leaders ahead of its annual march on Washington on June 18.

Drawing on inspiration from the civil rights era movement with the same name, The Poor People’s Campaign reorganized in 2018 to draw attention to issues related to poverty and systemic racism. Today, it is calling for the establishment of a federal minimum wage of at least $15, guaranteed housing and health care for all and expanded workers’ rights.

Bishop William J. Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, said a meeting would help draw attention to the 140 million poor and low-income people in America who are most affected by inflation, low wages and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We believe if most Americans actually knew what was going on, they would join even more in the moral outcry,” Barber said.

Speaking from the historic National City Christian Church

on June 6, Barber and co-chair Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis said the movement aims to reframe the national discussion around poverty and political action.

Bishop criticized political apathy toward low-income voting blocks, arguing that many poor and low-income people don’t vote because political campaigns fail to center poverty as a priority in their platforms.

“Whenever we start talking about this issue, the first thing that comes up [is], ‘Well, how much would it cost?’ rather than ‘How much does it cost for things to stay as they are?’” Barber said.

“Every time we have debates about health care, living wages, we never put the face of the people — the stories — in the room.”

This is the group’s third request to meet with the president.

In fall 2020, then-candidate Biden told members that his presidency would place emphasis on ending poverty, according to a news release.

The Moral March on Washington and to the Polls will gather at 9:30 a.m. on June 18 on 3rd Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

DC Courts receive $10 million grant to prevent evictions JASPER SMITH Michael Stoops Fellow

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VENDOR PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENTS • Vendors are invited to a community celebration (includinglunch)onThursday, June 16, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

• The next vendor meeting, including pizza and drinks, is on Friday, June 24 at 2 p.m.

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Ask us about DC Cares.

• New workshop! Watercolor workshopiseveryThursdayat 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

• The next vendor meeting will be Friday, June 24 at 2 p.m.

Congresswoman Eleanor Norton Holmes speaking on eviction diversion efforts. Photo by Jasper Smith

new initiative to strengthen local courts and provide legal assistance to people experiencing housing instability across the District was unveiled by the D.C. courts, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and the Wells Fargo Foundation on June 1.

The initiative includes a $10 million grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation to incorporate mediation services between landlords and tenants, rental assistance programs and legal aid resources.

D.C. is one of nine jurisdictions selected as the recipients of the Wells Fargo Foundation grant and NCSC’s Eviction Diversion Initiative (EDI).The NCSC, a nonprofit organization with the mission of improving justice in state courts, developed the EDI to help state and local courts change eviction practices through diversion programs. Courts were selected through an application process reviewed by the EDI advisory council.

“One of the reasons I like to think the District of Columbia was selected is because we already have solid partnerships with

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our stakeholders in the judiciary, the executive branch and the legislative branch, but most importantly, in the community,” Anna Blackburne-Rigby, the chief judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals, said at the announcement event.

The grant will be broken up by roughly $606,000 over a two year period as well as a public education initiative in partnership for $100,000 to go towards developing educational materials as well as radio and television public service announcements.

The grant will also fund two civil case management facilitators and two court navigator facilitators over the course of two years.

The case management positions will assist tenants and landlords in case initiation or mediation, while providing information about the court process. The navigator facilitator positions will help landlords and tenants access legal services, housing counseling, financial assistance and other social services.

“We know that the pandemic resulted in severe economic stress for many families, tenants and property owners alike,” said Mary McQueen, the president and executive director of the NCSC.

• “Beat the Streets” is every Thursday at Street Sense at 3 p.m.

• Congratulations to Levester Green for being a top photographeronGoogleMaps and hitting 3 million views!

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NEWS

There are 40,000 people on DC’s housing waitlist ANNEMARIE CUCCIA Staff Reporter

The District of Columbia Housing Authority. Photo by Will Schick

W

hen Marcus McCall turned 18, he signed up for D.C.’s housing waitlist with the help of the Child and Family Services Agency.

Once he made it to the top of the list, he’d be able to get into public housing or obtain a voucher to use toward rent. What McCall didn’t know at the time was that it would be another 15 years before he would finally receive either.

He wasn’t the only one waiting — in 2008, when he signed up, there were 58,000 people ahead of him.

Three years after he initially signed up, McCall went to the offices of the D.C. Housing Authority (DCHA), which manages the waitlist, to update his information. He had aged out of foster care and was struggling to find a place to stay in a city with ever-rising rents. He would remain unhoused until 2022.

His 15 years waiting for a voucher changed his life. “Most of my mental health issues came from being homeless — I was just stressed out, paranoid for my life, and depressed,” said McCall, who is now a vendor with Street Sense Media.

McCall moved into housing earlier this year through Permanent Supportive Housing, a program serving people who experience long periods of homelessness. Though he feels blessed to have his new apartment, his name still hasn’t come up on the DCHA waitlist, which now has 40,000 people on it.

Every budget season for the past eight years, housing advocates and providers have demanded that the D.C. government allocate more funds toward Local Rent Supplement Program (LRSP) tenant-based vouchers to pull people off the list and into housing. This year, the Fair Budget Coalition asked for $17.33 million to fund an additional 800 such vouchers.

The budget approved by the D.C. Council included 20. Though DCHA is currently attempting to update the information of people on the waitlist in order to determine how many still need housing, providers say that, absent more funding, there is little the agency can do to help those who do.

Housing people 18 years later DCHA’s housing waitlist is the only centralized place where low-income D.C. residents can go to apply for help affording their housing. Unlike other housing programs in D.C., which have limited eligibility or require referrals, all low-income residents are eligible. At least that’s true when the waitlist is open; it’s been closed since 2013 due to the high volume of applicants.

The waitlist is separated into three categories, which advocates generally refer to as three separate lists — the public housing waitlist, the housing choice voucher waitlist and the “moderate rehabilitation” (or Mod Rehab) waiting list. People seeking housing can choose to be on one, two or all three of the sublists.

DCHA housed 1,557 people on the wailtist in fiscal year 2021 and another 613 so far in FY 2022, according to the agency’s oversight responses to the D.C. Council. The agency is still pulling people into housing who originally applied in early 2004.

“Most people don't even talk about the waitlist because they’ve been on it for so long — it's like, what’s the point?” said Brit Ruffin, senior counsel at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. “They’ve given up hope that they will ever get housing through the list because of how long they’ve waited.”

Circumstances during the wait for housing can be dire. While people experiencing homelessness are theoretically prioritized on the waitlist, up to 22,000 people still on the voucher sublist were experiencing homelessness when they signed up. Since DCHA’s information is not up to date, it’s unknown how many are currently unhoused but the number may well be smaller — though flawed, D.C.’s most recent Point-in-Time Count showed a total of 4,400 people experiencing homelessness as

of January 2022.

Still, McCall said, he’s met a lot of people on the streets and in shelters who are waiting for a voucher. And the time they wait can affect the rest of their life. In addition to his mental health, McCall is still struggling to find employment because of his criminal history, which he blames on his time experiencing homelessness. McCall sought out odd jobs to pay to stay at a hotel or with friends, but making money often meant selling drugs.

“It just seemed like the more and more my housing situation got worse, I took to the streets,” McCall said.

What might have happened if McCall had received housing within one or two years of his initial application? To him, the scenario is barely recognizable.

“I probably would have had a high school diploma,” he said.

“I probably would have been a successful educated Black man.

I probably could have done that too then — just so much was coming at me all the time.”

Amanda Korber, supervising attorney at Legal Aid’s housing unit, said the organization receives calls every week from residents on the list. Many are living in unaffordable apartments or are about to be evicted — and hope the waitlist they put their name on years ago could be the salvation.

“They’re just desperately trying to see what happened with their name on this list,” Korber said. “Did they miss a call?

Did they miss a letter? Or is it really that just they’re still not up yet?”

It’s too late for some people when their name comes up, according to Ruffin. Many of her clients who signed up 15 years ago have moved out of D.C., been displaced by rising prices, or have different needs than they did initially.

“They needed the housing when they applied,” Ruffin said. “If they weren't homeless yet, they probably went into homelessness. If they couldn’t survive in D.C., they probably left D.C.”

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

D.C.'s housing waitlist, as of January 2022. There are a total of 37,000 people on the waitlist, which is a centralized place to apply for housing in D.C. People on the voucher waitlist receive vouchers to use towards rent in any apartment. Those who select public housing can move into a D.C. Housing Authority property, and those who select Moderate Rehabilitation move into a specific apartment with a voucher. Graphic by Annemarie Cuccia

Housing people who can’t be found The waitlist delays create another obstacle — trying to locate people with outdated information.

People who signed up in 2004 are likely to have moved, and they may not use the same phone number or email address they put down in their initial application. This could be one reason that, when public housing units or vouchers do become available, the response rate is so low DCHA has had to quadruple the number of people who are contacted, according to the agency’s testimony at a March 3 oversight hearing.

In an effort to avoid this problem, DCHA launched a campaign on April 26 calling for those still on the waiting list to update their information in the next 60 days. The main goal is to streamline the process of connecting people who want and need public housing to the hundreds of vacant units, but the campaign extends to people waiting for vouchers and Mod Rehab housing. Though the agency has been connecting with community organizations, running public service announcements, and posting on its social media, advocates worry about how many people the campaign is likely to reach.

“I don't know how in touch people are with messaging from the Housing Authority that they would even know they need to update their information,” said Rebecca Lindhurst, managing attorney at Bread for the City. At a June 8 DCHA Board of Commissioners meeting, DCHA Executive director Brenda Donald said about 3,500 people have updated their information so far.

According to Korber, if someone doesn’t respond when

DCHA reaches out to offer housing, that person can reclaim their place on the waitlist by contacting the agency later. Still, Lindhurst is wary about removing people from the list who may still be waiting for housing. According to DCHA’s own numbers, only 15,000 people on the list are definitely housed through other programs, meaning that potentially up to 25,000 people are in unstable housing.

Ruffin offered a broader criticism: Making the list smaller doesn’t change the fact people have already been waiting for over a decade — with no ability for anyone else to apply for housing as well.

“Updating the waitlist is great, but even with updating there can be no movement without money,” she said.

Housing people without money No matter what DCHA does to improve the administration of the list, the agency is bound by the funding it has. The number of public housing units has remained stagnant despite the need — rehabbing vacant units to bring them back online is costly, and building new complexes takes years. That leaves vouchers as the solution preferred by most advocates.

While DCHA has not sought funding for additional vouchers to pull people off the list and declined to answer a question about whether an increased allocation would help the situation, it’s the mayor and councilmembers who need to act if the city is to serve the people who have been waiting, according to Korber.

“I don't really think that’s something the Housing Authority

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can solve without the money to solve it,” she said.

When residents’ names come up for a voucher, they can receive either an LRSP tenant-based voucher, funded by D.C., or a subsidy from the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), funded by the federal government. DCHA manages about 11,000 federal vouchers and just under 5,000 LRSP tenant-based vouchers. Neither program has a time limit as long as households prove they continue to be eligible. Meanwhile, 37,000 people are on the waitlist.

The federal government has not increased D.C.’s HCVP funding in recent years — in fact, local officials created LRSP in 2007 because a cut in federal spending would have meant some residents lost their vouchers if the city hadn’t filled the hole. While Democrats have floated national proposals that would result in more HCVP funding for D.C., there’s been no movement so far on specific plans, such as President Joe Biden’s call for an increase of 200,000 vouchers nationally.

This leaves local funding increases. The last substantial boost in the LRSP tenant-based voucher program was last year’s $7.8 million for 310 families on the waitlist — $10 million short of the amount sought by housing advocates for the FY 2022 budget.

This year, Mayor Muriel Bowser included no new money for LRSP vouchers in her FY 2023 budget proposal, and the D.C. Council’s Committee on Housing and Executive Administration only added 20 new vouchers to pull people off the list. The council did not further increase the spending level in its subsequent budget deliberations. Not only does this mean it’s unlikely much progress will be made on reducing the waitlist this year, advocates say, it also prolongs the day the list can be reopened.

Since the list was last opened in 2013, Ruffin pointed out, the cost of living in D.C. has increased, meaning thousands more residents are likely to need the help of DCHA programs. Even if the list were open, new sign-ups would probably face an even longer wait if existing supply and demand patterns hold.

“If you got on the waitlist today, you probably wouldn’t see a voucher in your lifetime,” Lindhurst said.

While the waitlist is not the only mechanism to address affordable housing needs in D.C., advocates argue that it’s the best way to identify who needs housing and ensure they have it. They’re likely to lobby for new LRSP vouchers again for next year’s budget. And McCall is hoping some of the tens of thousands of people with whom he waited for housing will get the same sense of relief he did.

“It was just a long process and very hard, so I’m glad it’s over with for me,” he said.

Those currently on the waitlist can go to www.dchousing.org to update their household and contact information through June 30. Go to “Customers”; then “Documents and Forms”; and then “Waitlist Customer Contact Information” to get the form, which should be downloaded and emailed to updatewaitlist@ dchousing.org. Applicants can also update their information by calling 844-306-0531.

This article was co-published with The DC Line.

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NEWS

Georgetown University hosts heated DC mayoral debate JASPER SMITH Michael Stoops Fellow

D.C. mayoral candidates on stage at Georgetown University. Photo by Jasper Smith

G

eorgetown University’s Institute for Politics and Public Service hosted a D.C. mayoral debate on June 2.

Candidates Robert White, Trayon White and the incumbent mayor, Muriel Bowser debated on education, police funding and future plans for the District.

The debate opened with the moderators questioning how the candidates would choose to respond to the growing rate of violent crime, as the District is currently up 17% in violent crime within the last year.

“I’m going to be the only one to tell you that I’m going to make the tough calls when it comes to violent crimes, including making sure we have the police that we need,” Bowser said.

She added that her plan includes hiring more D.C. residents and women as police officers to combat crime in the city.

According to reports made by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, the D.C. Council reduced the Metropolitan Police Department budget for fiscal year 2021 by 1.7%, removing $9.6 million from its approximately half a billion dollar annual operating budget.

Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White responded with a different view on crime and said if elected, he would implement a plan to provide “wraparound services that address the whole community, not just locking people up. … Police is not the end all solution to crime in Washington, D.C.” At-large Councilmember Robert White accused the mayor of having “no plan” to address crime rates in the District.

“The mayor has told us she has a plan, but throwing money at everything is not a plan. … When the mayor talks about defunding the police, that’s a dog whistle,” he said.

Bowser also touted her record in creating affordable housing in the District, drawing on the city’s recent record $1 billion investment into the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF).

But both councilmembers critiqued Bowser’s strategy for creating affordable housing, and one member of the audience exclaimed to the mayor, “Affordable for who?” An Office of the Inspector General audit from last fall shows that the city misused a large portion of the funds that were meant to be reserved for the District’s lowest income residents.

Councilmember Trayon White suggested rehabilitation for D.C.’s deteriorated properties to provide more affordable housing in the District.

“D.C. has a plethora of vacant and blighted properties in our own portfolio. We have to invest in those houses, build them up and get people in those houses. We know when we don’t do that, we exacerbate the homelessness and the hopelessness here in Washington, D.C.,” Trayon White said.

Councilmember Robert White echoed similar sentiments, and said the problem in affordable housing is rooted in developers not providing affordable housing that D.C. residents need.

The candidates were also asked what decision they regret the most in their current positions, and what they would do differently. Trayon White and Robert White reflected on the personal growth they have made as councilmembers.

Bowser described her regret as political, in her decision to oppose At-large Councilmember Elissa Silverman in 2018.

“I don’t regret standing up, and speaking up and defending myself and my administration, but I do regret that it got personal,” she said.

The debate was well received by some of the audience members.

“My biggest takeaway from the D.C. mayoral debate was that we have a lot of people who feel like the budget isn’t being used appropriately, and who would like to see it used differently. We have a lack of trust with some of the candidates and the incumbent, and it was displayed on stage, it was displayed in the crowd, it was very prominent during the debate. I learned that there’s tension, more tension than I thought there was within this race,” Abrahm Cleveland, who attended the event as an audience member, said.

The debate was the only broadcasted mayoral debate of the election season, and provided many D.C. voters with the opportunity to see the candidates interact with each other and answer questions regarding their plan for the District.

“I really wish they talked about downtown and the housing a little bit more, because it seems like at times in those topics, they were more so combating each other than explaining their position on things. I wish they would have expanded, or had time to expand more, on their topics,” Cleveland added.

Fria Moore, a D.C. resident and treasurer for Trayon White’s campaign, was very vocal during the mayoral debate and was heard multiple times voicing her opinion from the audience.

“I was very passionate about my responses because I’m a resident of D.C., I have children, I have a husband, I’m a wife, I’m a mother, I’m all the things they try to identify and speak for. I just was like ‘that’s not true’ because if it was, I think I would be the first to be able to recognize some of the things that they were claiming, most especially the mayor. …

I had the opportunity for her to just hear me,” Moore said in an interview with Street Sense Media.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

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Remembering Joseph Walker HAJIRA FUAD Editorial Intern

Joseph Walker chatting with his friend Laticia Brock outside of the Street Sense Media offices in downtown D.C. Photo from Street Sense Media Archives

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oseph Walker, a Street Sense Media artist and vendor, died from a heart attack on Jan. 19. He was 57 years old.

He is survived by his sisters, Irene and Jacqueline Walker.

Walker was born on September 19, 1964, in Washington, D.C., and lived in the District all his life. His mother worked in the D.C. government and his father earned a living as a cab driver.

Jacqueline described her brother as a rather private, very smart person. He was fiercely independent and persevered through various difficulties in his life, including the experience of being homeless, she said.

He worked odd jobs over the years, but at every place he worked, he impressed the people there with his diligence,

she said.

But it wasn’t until Walker joined Street Sense Media that he finally found his niche, Jacqueline said. He had become interested in writing later in life and kept journals. He loved Street Sense Media because it gave him the opportunity to write more, she said.

“It just opened up whole new horizons for him,” Jacqueline added.

Walker was an entrepreneur at heart. He always spoke about starting his own business and making it big someday, she said.

“I’ve been interested in investments since I was a kid,” Walker wrote in a 2017 essay for Street Sense.

In recent years, Walker acquired a strong interest in cryptocurrency and started investing in Bitcoin, Jacqueline said.

He immersed himself in research on the subject, and shared

with his sister that he planned to create a YouTube channel focused on cryptocurrency, business and finance, she said.

In the same 2017 article for Street Sense, Walker described a keen interest in communicating his ideas about finance through videos.

“I recently made my own five-minute video about how I became homeless and what I invest in with my money today,” he said. “I would like to develop my own speaking gig so that I can talk to people about my ideas on surviving a financial crisis.”

“He just wanted to live his life to make him happy,” Jacqueline said.

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NEWS

DC might create a Juneteenth Commission. Here’s what it would look like ANNEMARIE CUCCIA Staff Reporter

The D.C. Black History Celebration Committee laid a wreath at the Carter G. Woodson Memorial in 2019. Woodson was an early scholar of African-American history.

Photo courtesy of the D.C. Black History Celebration Committee

C

huck Hicks has celebrated Juneteenth for more than 30 years. A longtime community activist, he’s the founder and director of the D.C. Black History Celebration Committee, which organizes events yearround to recognize the contributions and achievements of Black Americans.

Honored as a grand marshal of the MLK Holiday DC in 2021, Hicks has been involved in nearly every Black history celebration in D.C. in recent years.

Each June, Hicks has listened to speakers, danced to music, and attended community events in honor of Juneteenth. For the last two years, he’s coordinated the Black Fathers’ Motorcade, driving through four wards to celebrate the resilience of Black men. Next year, he’s hoping to have a new way to celebrate: serving on a D.C. commission tasked with coordinating Juneteenth celebrations across the city.

Though the District first recognized Juneteenth National Freedom Day in 2003, last year’s designation of Juneteenth as the 11th official federal holiday drew attention to the fact that D.C., despite being the nation’s capital and a historically majority-Black city, has never had an official celebration. A Juneteenth Commission, Hicks believes, could help change that.

The city already uses commissions to plan celebrations for two holidays — Martin Luther King Jr. Day and D.C.

Emancipation Day, which recognizes the abolition of slavery in the District in 1862. The commissions, which are made up of community leaders and city officials, coordinate citywide celebrations and run education campaigns. With support from all of his colleagues, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen introduced legislation in January that would create a similar setup for Juneteenth.

“We think it’s absolutely wonderful,” said Hicks, a Ward 6 resident who worked with Frank Smith, director of the African American Civil War Museum, to present the idea for the bill to Allen. “It gives the District the right to officially say we have a Juneteenth Commission and this commission represents the city and its efforts.”

Now, the full D.C. Council is poised to vote on the idea as soon as its June 28 meeting, with a council committee having voted 3-0 on Monday to approve a revised version of Allen’s legislation.

The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865 — the day enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally heard that slavery had been abolished. Though President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier, Juneteenth marks the day that all formerly enslaved people were finally able to realize their freedom.

Formerly enslaved people began observing Juneteenth after the Civil War, and the holiday remains important to many Black Americans. But it was only after police killed George Floyd in 2020 and the subsequent wave of Black Lives Matter protests that long-standing attempts to win broader recognition among non-Black Americans prevailed. Last year, President Joe Biden signed a bill two days before Juneteenth to make the celebration a federal holiday.

Why we celebrate

The D.C. commission is not meant to replace existing Juneteenth celebrations, but to improve and supplement them, Hicks said. The commission would have a salaried executive director and an undetermined budget, which would fund local celebrations and education campaigns. Expected tasks would also include helping to coordinate currently separate celebrations.

In advancing the bill, At-large Councilmember Anita Bonds, chair of the Committee on Housing and Executive Administration, highlighted Juneteenth’s importance as “the longest-running African American holiday.”

A Districtwide celebration

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

Chuck Hicks stands with Al-Malik Farrakhan at a D.C. Black History Celebration Committee event at the African American Civil War Museum. Photo courtesy of the D.C. Black History Celebration Committee

“Anything officially recognized gives [Juneteenth] more credence,” Hicks said.

Having an official city celebration of the holiday is symbolically important, according to Lopez Matthews, D.C.’s state archivist.

“It shows that the government understands the value of history,” Matthews said in an interview. “It’s also representative of the people of the city, of the residents of the city. This is something that’s important to them, so it’s important to the government.”

As state archivist, Matthews would have the opportunity to recommend speakers and historical documents to be part of official celebrations of the holiday. He’s especially interested in developing an public information campaign, which he thinks is crucial to remind D.C. residents of why Juneteenth is a holiday.

“Part of the importance of studying history is that we remember the things we don’t want to go back to,” Matthews said. “This is really everyone’s history because it happened in the United States, so everyone should know about it and everyone should learn about it.”

This sentiment rings true for Hicks since the fight for equality is not over. Emancipation paved the way for the rise of multiple civil rights and racial justice movements over the next century and a half, including recent calls to protect voting rights. This is especially important in D.C., Hicks said, where 700,000 residents still don’t have voting representation in Congress due to a lack of statehood.

“It ain’t all over yet. This is not all over,” he said.

Logistics up for debate While the idea of the Juneteenth History and Planning Commission is widely supported, some community leaders who testified at a May 19 hearing on the bill have concerns about how it would be organized.

As marked up on June 13 by the Committee on Housing and Executive Administration, the bill proposes placing the commission under the purview of the city’s Office of the Secretary, which oversees the MLK and Emancipation Day commissions. At last month’s hearing, Secretary Kimberly Bassett testified she

supported the commission’s creation, and her office — which includes the D.C. Archives — would be able to help with programming.

However, Hicks and other leaders are worried Bassett’s office — a catchall for varied administrative tasks, including notary services and maintaining public records — won’t have adequate time and resources to devote to the Juneteenth Commission. Hicks suggested instead designating the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities — an independent agency that coordinates grants, workshops and events — to oversee the commission, in hopes the holiday would get more attention.

Another question is who should be on the commission. Hicks would like to see it led mainly by community members. If approved, this would be the first time the council appoints members to serve on a holiday commission; both the MLK Day and Emancipation Day panels are comprised entirely of D.C. officials and mayoral appointees.

The current version of the bill specifies seats for the director of the African American Civil War Museum; representatives of Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia; the director of the Mayor’s Office on African American Affairs; the secretary; the executive director of the Commission on the Arts and Humanities; representatives of the Emancipation Day and MLK Day commissions; and 11 community representatives. Three of the community representatives would be nominated by the mayor, and the other eight by the council.

Regardless of who ends up on the commission, Hicks stressed the importance of including young people and non-Black residents.

“The Juneteenth commission should not be viewed as a Black commission — it should be viewed as a whole commission representing the city,” Hicks said.

Once the commission is established, D.C. residents would be able to attend commission meetings and offer feedback on what they’d like to see planned for the holiday. And Hicks hopes a successfully expanded celebration will bring new economic activity and energy to the city.

“Everybody in the country will want to get to D.C. for the Juneteenth celebration,” he said.

This article was co-published with The DC Line.

It’s time for a mayor who delivers results Endorsed by:

Karl A. Racine DC Attorney General DC State board of Ed.

DC working Families party

Emily Gasoi, Ward 1 Ruth Wattenberg, Ward 3 Frazier O’Leary, Ward 4 Carlene Reid, Ward 8

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Paid for by Robert for DC P.O. Box 2591, Washington DC 20013. Robin Nunn, Treasurer.

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1 0 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A / / J U N E 1 5 - 2 1 , 2022

OPINION

Security and police need more training to interact with people experiencing homelessness MAURICE SPEARS

One man was arrested during the Nov. 2 cleanup for assaulting an officer when they attempted to inspect the tent. Photo by Ben Burgess

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rivate security and police officers in Washington, D.C., need to learn how to communicate with people in the community who don’t have homes.

I have seen how security guards interact with certain people when they are panhandling. Some of the areas have zoning that doesn’t let people panhandle on that property, to make sure people and local businesses feel secure. But sometimes the officers approach those folks in an aggressive way, and they shouldn’t be doing that. They pick on the people experiencing homelessness and don’t think about trying to get them help.

I saw one officer near Waterfront handle this situation in a professional way. She carried herself in a humble manner. She said, “I can get you something to eat.” But another security guard said a person was barred from CVS. The officers that are aggressive let me know they’re not trained properly. I understand it can trigger somebody to do negative things. But when you are humble and respectful, people will give you the same respect you gave them. Whatever you put out, that’s what you are going to get back.

A person who doesn’t have a home could have a disability, and they should be treated in a respectful manner — not so aggressively. A lot of the officers are not trained to deal with

people who have disabilities, who are schizophrenic, bipolar, who are afraid of certain things. When the officers come out, they treat people who may have disabilities like regular people.

They don’t treat these people respectfully because they don’t understand their illnesses. This frustrates the officers. They’re trying to do their best, but they don’t have the support.

How can you engage with somebody who has a disability if you don’t know if they have one? Officers need to think past that sometimes, and be able to talk in a counselor or social worker kind of way. If you don’t know how to deal with a person like that, you make a call and get help. Sometimes officers want to do it on their own — but we don’t want you to bully nobody. Get somebody experienced in that field. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. We don’t want to disrespect nobody.

Most of the time they bring people down, and that’s not good.

If we train local law enforcement how to deal with these problems, we’ll be safer.

Maurice Spears is a vendor with Street Sense Media.

As the traditional economy collapses, those who struggle must find alternatives LORI SMITH

W

all Street is beginning to worry about a new recession in the next couple of years. People are already aware of spiking fuel and energy costs. Now, they are starting to become familiar with the hit to their wallets in the grocery stores as prices rise there rapidly.

Overall, prices for everything seem to have steadily gone up, not down.

People living below the poverty line know that every penny counts. Inflation is like having a hole in your pocket. On a fixed income, you seem to have less and less. If you’re bringing in any kind of income, you have to work more and more just to maintain where you’re at.

Our central bank, the Federal Reserve, manages our currency in the United States. When recession looms, the Federal Reserve can trigger a recession to bring inflation down. It does this to keep the economy from falling apart due to cash losing its value. The risk, however, is bringing on stagflation: persistent high inflation combined with high unemployment and stagnant demand.

In the face of that uncertainty, Americans are taking their economic futures into their own hands. With the shutdown of the traditional job market during the height of lockdowns, many people got creative and turned to other means for income. Gig

work became popular. Then, as the economy opened back up, the traditional system was baffled that people weren’t taking the plentiful jobs that were advertised. Many blamed COVID19, or concluded people didn’t need to work with government stimulus. The truth is, the masses have embraced alternative ways to make a living as they were increasingly shut out of conventional employment during the pandemic. The traditional economy, and the traditional system that supports it, now has to question its role.

Gig work isn’t just limited to Uber, Doordash or those other big names. Any internet search will show the incredible number and variety of opportunities to choose from. The alternative economy is fast on its way to becoming the economy, with 52% of Americans having done some freelance work by 2023. There are already 59 million gig workers, according to Fortunly.

The alternative economy isn’t all good news. Most contracted workers work more than 40 hours per week, but make less than full-time employees. More than half don’t have access to employer-provided benefits, or other protections that came with traditional employment. Most also lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What it does allow, however, is options within the traditional economy. With 90% of US workers saying they would consider freelancing or independent contracting work, the word is out.

People in the alternative economy are still making do with less and working more hours than ever, but at least they’re able to be self-reliant.

Being self-reliant doesn’t mean that people are disconnecting from community. In fact, many people are expressing that they’ve found it again, since joining. The gig economy is still just one facet of the alternative economy, which arose out of a survival economy, in which people barter for what they need and look out for each other. Rather than abandon it and return to a traditional system, more and more are adopting it, with downturns in the formal economy propelling it further.

Analysts, economists and policymakers in the traditional economy really are scratching their heads. What should they say to people who no longer seem to need them, for a system that is fast becoming irrelevant? Like the Reformation, when Martin Luther stamped his theses to the door of the Catholic Church and declared that the priestly class of intermediaries was no longer needed, America finds itself with similar questions and challenges. For those experiencing poverty and struggling, given what may lay ahead, taking action on our own behalf is critical and not even a question.

Lori Smith is a vendor with Street Sense Media.

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Juneteenth

Are you in a healthy relationship?

JACKIE TURNER

VENNIE HILL Artist/Vendor

Artist/Vendor

They call it June 19th or Juneteenth It’s a sad shame, a disgrace to God, that some want to have slaves and be hateful to others.

Emancipation is what they called it.

Freedom for the slaves.

Yet it is still not in full effect.

In 1862, all people were freed.

Didn’t God make it that way from the beginning?

Freedom Day National Independence Day Emancipation Jubilee Day In 1980, Texas made it a holiday to remember.

President Joe Biden and Congress passed a bill to law on June 17, 2021, and now it’s a federal holiday.

But to many, it’s a day to remember the struggle continues every day.

Keep hope alive!

Keep on pushing now REGGIE JONES Artist/Vendor

Just keep on pushing, people.

This is our future.

We live and end For a fact, I know this We all know this Our hearts and souls will end And we will love each other We will give our hearts and souls to each other We give each other hugs and smiles As we pass each other Please baby please Cosby Show was my favorite sitcom On old day’s TV shows One time in life with one another Why we all can’t just remember The nice times in this place called earth Why can’t we get along, and end this madness Remember the times we fell in love, baby Baby please, let’s do better If we can all just live longer and longer Love yourself, people Everybody, Chris Rock is a nice man And so is Reggie

Today, I want to talk about relationships. I have a girlfriend who is married to a man. When I first met him, all he talked about was her. At first, I couldn’t figure out why he would let me know so much. He would tell me all about what he gave her, what he bought for her and so on.

This was a few months ago when he first introduced himself to me. At the time, he shared all these wonderful stories about how much he appreciated my friend and how he was doing his best to hold on to the best thing that ever happened to him.

You know, he would talk about all the good things that were happening in their lives.

But recently, my friend called me and we had a talk. She told me about how sometimes her boyfriend doesn’t come home. She shared all about how he blows his paycheck, how he physically abuses her and claims that he doesn’t remember. She talked about how he gets high off of anything and everything.

It’s truly sad when you got in your mind that you met someone so special and they turn out to be nothing but a user and a manipulator.

Sometimes, I feel like that too. I’m out here breaking my back trying to keep up with life and yet all my partner does is play games with me too. Manipulation is a you know what.

And sometimes I think it’s been like that from the beginning.

I’m sitting here struggling, when I should be taking care of my health but all I think about is taking care of him. Making sure that he’s alright.

It’s stupid because if he cared about me, he would be working a real job. Not nothing just to get you a bag or a few dollars in your pocket. We have bills and he doesn’t seem to understand that. Oh, but he understands, he just doesn’t give a damn. The man has been out of a job going on three years. He doesn’t

// 11

have a social security card or ID. Now, who do you know that goes that long without an ID? How are you going to get a job?

He plays a lot of mind games with me. But I’m telling you, I’m really getting fed up with this mess.

Here’s some advice for you all who are thinking about getting involved with a man. First of all, never settle for less.

Don’t put up with anything you can’t handle. Get to know your partner’s mom. Make sure she’s not just throwing him on you because she’s tired of taking care of him.

Don’t rush into anything. Don’t let him talk you into something you really are not ready for. See if he’s a liar, and what kinds of things he lies about. Never put all your trust into anyone but God. And first and foremost, make sure you love yourself. If you can’t do that, you will fall for anything.

Look men, I’m not saying that all men are like this. Because there are some women that will use and abuse and take total advantage of men as well. So these tips can also apply to you as well.

I hope by sharing my experience, I can help someone open up their eyes and try to release themselves from something that is not for you. Because no one deserves to be mistreated by anyone. If they can’t love you for who you are, and help you benefit from this relationship then you are wasting precious time. Why be with someone that is only going to gain from you? That is not a stable relationship.

I’ll say it again because it’s important. Love yourself. If you don’t, you really have to learn to. Remember, no one is perfect.

But one thing I know, I know how to take care of myself. And I really don’t need any man or woman to hold me back from doing so. So like I say, if you are not benefiting from your relationship in any form or fashion, you should do something about it. You really don’t have to let go, but say something, talk about it. But after that, let it go. And move on.

Questions

Change for hope

DANIEL BALL Artist/Vendor

ABEL PUTU Artist/Vendor

Is there something else you’d like to share with Street Sense Media? And I said yes. Thomas always asks me what’s on my mind on Wednesday. He asked me about the word culture. So I told him I think the word culture deals with things, like our race and the way we live. Next, he asked me about the word sports. So I told him we should go play some football after Street Sense closes. Next, he asked me if I like to draw. And I told him yes, I love to go to Maria’s watercolor class after the writer’s group.

We talked about eating somewhere and finding some good food to spend our money on. Next, Thomas asked me about my religion. I told him my religion is only about God. So when you talk about the president you hear people always talk about politics. And plus I told him I think life is all fair games. And next, we both talk about our personal life together. And we both said goodnight to each other finally.

I hope for change for everybody in the United States and in Washington, D.C. I am glad things are opening back up again.

I’m still waiting to move from where I live now. There’s damage to the floor of my apartment. It’s a tragedy. I want the D.C. Housing Department to come in and inspect the place. I pray that change will come and I’ll be able to get out of there soon. It’s the same for the other tenants. We are not safe in the place where we live in. You have to watch your surroundings in the complex. The landlord will send emails that everything is okay but that’s not true. Every building should be inspected.

When I move to downtown D.C., I will be able to do so much more.

1 2 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A / / J U N E 1 5 - 2 1 , 2022

ART

How inner happiness can lead to financial happiness JEFFERY MCNEIL Artist/Vendor

When I first came to Street Sense, I was an alcoholic. I suffered from depression and was homeless. Life got better when I stopped drinking. Although the success took almost 17 years, I truly believe my growth began when I stopped relying on substances and faced reality.

My step up started at a garbage can at Farragut North. I had no money, no job or a prospect for a job. I started selling newspapers. My goal was not to sell 2,000 papers a month and have a column everyone read. I wanted a few dollars so I didn’t have to wait in a soupline.

After a couple of months, I had a few dollars in my pocket and started a bank account. Some guy was so impressed — with tears in his eyes — that he offered me a job cleaning his office for $100 every two weeks. Instead of complaining, I used it to supplement my income from sales of Street Sense.

I began writing and found my sweet spot. Many editors and authors were impressed. Eventually, I had sit downs with the president, scholars and every big wig in D.C.

Having passion leads to happiness and profits I have had many good-paying jobs that didn’t help me grow as a person. I believe the reason I was there was to collect a paycheck rather than to learn.

The reason why I’m successful in selling newspapers is that I enjoy interacting with and meeting people. I don’t seek financial gain because most of the people who buy from me never give me more than $2.

When I began writing, I never sought to be Ernest Hemingway. I wrote to battle my inner demons and others appreciated my perspective. Some hate what I write and I

Mr. Water Clean ROCHELLE WALKER Artist/Vendor

Look around. There is so much Water that needs to be clean. Look around There is so much water that needs to be Recycled. Look around. There is So much water we don’t Need to waste. Look around. There is So much water that needs to be tasted. Clean And pass the chemical process test.

We need clean water to drink, To bathe, to brush our teeth, We need water for flushing the Toilet. Watering the yards. Look around.

Firefighters also use DC Water to put out Fires! A fact because our water comes from the Potomac River at Great Falls. It comes through large Pipes that’s why it needs to be sterilized clean.

Closure. Look around. Unclean water can Make you sick!

wouldn’t lose any sleep if they gave me anything because I’ve been through too much to worry about whose tender feelings I hurt.

Have any of them apologized and said they may have been wrong? Grow up! I’m not giving you a lollipop because you hate Donald Trump.

Diversify instead of being a single-issue person

Having a sense of entitlement

What I discovered selling newspapers is I’m not cut out for the conformism of D.C. I’m good at politics but I’m good at fishing, writing and I am a natural salesman. Why should I limit myself to writing about homelessness issues?

During the pandemic, many people lost their shirts. But I was fortunate not to put my faith in any system or company. I learned how to do things online and learned to do bartending on the side.

The sky’s the limit. I didn’t lay on my butt waiting for a stimulus check. I mad my own stimulus.

Some people receive their education at Yale and Harvard. I was fortunate to get educated playing poker in Atlantic City.

I don’t need a fancy degree from Cornell or Oxford. Poker taught me how to read a soul like a fortune teller.

Poker taught me that 99% of human beings do irrational things. People will lose everything knowing their beat, while others are victims that tell you what bad luck they’re having, which is like a chicken telling a wolf they are moist and tender.

Both players suffer from a sense of entitlement. Poker, as in life, stipulates that we will have good fortune and periods when storms approach. Poker, like investing, is very volatile and emotional. We all have had aces beat by some donkey that called with a deuce and spiked a lucky river card.

Part of my success is I don’t five up or care what others think I’m a New Yorker, I’ve been called ugly, dumb and stupid. I have been robbed, homeless, lost both my parents, my brother is disabled, I had two heart attacks and battled one form of cancer or another. I can fill this page with all the horrible things that happened to me.

So when some emotionally fragile person becomes irate because I say male/female or write a pro-Trump column, do you think I lose any sleep? Do you think I care if they ever buy from me or speak to me again? When I’m wronged I can forgive that person. But unfortunately, some make everything the hill to die on. Many gave me ultimatums on vaccines.

All my dreams I’ve had in a lifetime CAROL MOTLEY Artist/Vendor

All my dreams I’ve had in a lifetime, Always seem to fade away.

As if bitter death has touched it.

Seems so real for the time.

Then when I wasn’t to touch it.

It then vanishes…

Why are dreams so short, and why do they seem to be the happy sort until they have ended?

Everything I’ve loved I’ve lost but not for a worthy cause, only through my dreams I find happiness like princesses, jokers, kings and queens.

Make money but don’t let money make you Washington, D.C., is a great place to make money. If you can’t find income in D.C., I don’t know what to tell you.

However, while we all want to make money, I learned to be humble. Because I have seen so many that have money wind up very miserable or dead. So I try to disengage from the politico because they want to keep you in this divided phase rather than provide articles that inform or help.

In my close, I hope what I said comes off as positive not boastful or condescending.

Real talk MARCUS MCCALL Artist/Vendor

People think being alone makes you lonely, but I don’t think that’s true. Being surrounded by the wrong people is the loneliest thing in the world.

People think intimacy is about sex. But intimacy is about truth. When you realize you can tell someone your truth, when you can show yourself to them, when you stand in front of them and their response is: “You’re safe with me,” that’s intimacy.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

My fallen bridges LATICIA BROCK Artist/Vendor

My eyes always pour tears When I see my homeless suffering Getting attacked in dark alleys Doing things for money Attacked by police on the daily Sitting until 7 o’clock Food trucks to be fed Scared to open a tent I might see my homeless dead The rats will get you and have you for a feast Housing is a human right No vans checking on you in the streets Shelter vans barely want to give out water But with the mayoral election coming Ya’ll push us to vote Now, read my thoughts Don’t leave me in suspense Shout out to my family at Street Sense So let my ink flow through my fallen bridges Hurry up and house us So I can put food in my fridges

Forgiveness KYM PARKER Artist/Vendor

When we are born, there is hell to pay.

God chose us, respected us, forgave us, helped us, and gave us.

Being close to her mercy and true love.

Once we learn to forget, we grow. Our power comes from here, our wisdom to love oneself, to truly love is one of the hardest and most painful things we can do.

But, once you forgive yourself, the first thing we learn is to love ourselves and respect ourselves.

It’s God’s will to do this. She has already forgiven us for our sins.

Fascination with longshots

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(A hippodrome tone poem) inspired by Joseph Stroud’s ‘Passage’ FREDERIC JOHN Artist/Vendor

“Make me rich, Johnny,” growled the old railbird to the hot-walker.

The bony gray steed led by the second man looked up, as if to wink an eye in assent. If you are a “punter” who loves wagering on high odds, low chance thoroughbreds, you are a sweet fool indeed.

Occasionally blessed with a windfall, in which case barrages of jeering may come your way, as did my 1986 coup with “Mr. Napton,” whose jerky strides lined my pockets with $329, which inflated my ego.

Euphorically inside!

Not surprisingly, the “Sports Palace” taunts pursued me down the length of the laurel tarmac, armed with disconsolate, menacing shouts.

Truth be told, since days of old (say 40 years or so), favorites, paying little or nothing, I eschew.

When a current front page of the news (and Today Show, too) sings the glorious praises of the newest Derby winner “Rich Strike,” at 80 to one, what to do?

For moi, a Cinderella finisher who bites his escort horse rigorously on the ear and mane makes my obsession with the Equestrian worthwhile. Whaddya know? I bet “Rich” to show. Mayhap not erase my debt — but the payout? “As good as it gets!” — satisfaction

Join the conversation, share your views - Have an opinion about how homelessness is being addressed in our community?

- Want to share firsthand experience?

- Interested in responding to what someone else has written?

Street Sense Media has maintained an open submission policy since our founding.

We aim to elevate voices from across the housing spectrum and foster healthy debate.

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4 3 1 9 8 6 2 5 1 6 5Down 2 3 4 7 8 9 9 8 2 5 7 6 1 4 3 7

1. Attempt 2. River under the Ponte Vecchio

3. They’re doomed 4. Denigrate through insinuation 5. Cooking meas.

6. Gettysburg general 7. Made lovable 8. One-time connection 9. Exaggerate 10. Unstimulating work, in lingo 11. Self-mover’s rental 12. Al ___ (firm) 14. Cuts one’s losses 17. Easy gait 22. Other half 24. Cries of surprise 25. Bona ___ 26. Top hat feature 27. Prefix with type 30. Gas pump choice (abbr.)

31. “North by Northwest” star 32. Swiss artist Paul

33.Ranked player 35. Web destination 36. Safe and sound 39. Former Bruin Phil, to fans 40. Laces into 41. “Wheel of Fortune” purchase 42. “Misunderstanding” group 44. Syrup flavor 45. Siouan speaker 46. Part of the immune system 47. Flaxlike fiber 48. Clubs numbered one to nine 49. Answer a query 53. Snow bunny’s ride 54. She loved Narcissus 57. First name in former tyrants 58. Boise’s county

Author Gene Weingarten is a college dropout and a nationally syndicated humor columnist for The Washington Post. Author Dan Weingarten is a former college dropout and a current college student majoring in information technology. Many thanks to Gene Weingarten and The Washington Post Writers Group for allowing Street Sense to run Barney & Clyde.

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DANIEL BALL Artist/Vendor KHADIJAH CHAPMAN Artist/Vendor

scavenger hunt #3 Where am I standing and what's its importance to this major but forgotten battle that some call a “skirmish”?

As a fifth generation Washingtonian, I've walked or driven by this nationally important site hundreds of times over the years. I once lived less than a few blocks away from it. But I didn't know much about the role this site played in the lives of the city's enslaved residents until I became hooked on learning everything I could about the Civil War years ago.

Everyone knows about Gettysburg and its importance but did you know one of the war's most important battles was fought right here in D.C.? If lost, this battle that some might call a “skirmish” could've left the city wide open. At the time, the northernmost boundary of the city was around what's now Florida Ave. This battle took place way north of that at a location that has now been restored.

Tweet your answers @streetsensedc!

Additional Hints

* A place young people have gathered. * Near three high schools. * Located on a major thoroughfare. * A road is named in its honor.

Thank you for reading Street Sense!

From your vendor, JUNE 15-21, 2022 | VOLUME 19 ISSUE 30