VOL. 54, NO. 15 • JANUARY 24 - 30, 2019
It’s Birth Defects Prevention Month - We Urge Moms to Get informed!
MLK Parade Undeterred by Frigid Weather
By Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer Freezing temperatures and stiff winds didn’t sway the spirits of a multiracial caravan that came down Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Southeast on Monday to celebrate the federal holiday of the famed civil rights leader who would have turned 90 this year. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Council members and numerous community leaders strode down Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue during the city’s annual MLK Peace Walk and Parade, which included community organizations, youth groups, go-go performances and the Ballou Senior High School marching band. “Every part of the city celebrates Dr. King’s life and we are challenged by his legacy to do more,” Bowser said. The community groups were certainly building bridges across the Anacostia River during the parade, as politicians and veteran
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5 The 2019 Martin Luther King Peace Walk and Parade lead off, going south on Martin Luther King Avenue in Southeast with Mayor Muriel Bowser and a number of Councilmembers bringing greetings. (Photo courtesy of Maurice Fitzgerald/WI Charities)
Annual Gathering Reveals Women’s Agenda, Focus on Local Organizers
This year’s Women’s March, the third gathering of its kind since President Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House, garnered less political star power and institutional support than previous iterations, due mostly to the controversy surrounding co-founders Linda Sarsour’s pro-Palestine comments and
Government Shutdown Forcing Many to File for Unemployment Benefits By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia
Black Women Support Tamika Mallory at Women’s March By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins
MLK Supplement Center Section
Tamika Mallory’s association with Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, a polarizing figure among progressives. Such circumstances, however, didn’t deter local Black female support for Mallory and the tenets around which the Women’s March had originally been organized. On Saturday morning, they counted among the tens of thousands who
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5 Women’s March organizers, Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory, Carmen Perez, and Bob Bland at the 2nd Annual Women’s March on Washington in Northwest, on January 19, 2019. (Mark Mahoney/The Washington Informer)
The government shutdown — now the longest on record — has prompted tens of thousands of federal employees to seek jobless benefits, according to a new report. As the impasse meanders through its fourth week and more bills come due, their numbers have been growing. On Thursday, Jan. 17, two days after the White House doubled its projections and warned that the shutdown was reducing quarterly economic growth by 0.13 percentage points per week, the New York Times reported that the Labor Department said 10,454 initial claims by federal workers for the week ending Jan. 5 doubled the previous week’s figure. Thousands more have applied since, state officials said. For federal workers such as Maritza Castillo, desperation may have set in. “Today is the first time in my government career that I have received a zero paycheck,” Castillo told The Informer, detailing just how much she and other dedicated workers are dealing with the life-altering situation. “It’s a very sickening feeling not knowing when my next paycheck is coming,” Castillo said. “I don’t remember the last time in the past 19 days that I have had a good night’s
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