WINNER OF FIVE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS D.C. AWARDS It's Cherry Blossom Time! Capture the Moment Page 36 Vol. 56, No. 24 • April 1 -7, 2021
Malik Aziz Chosen as Prince George’s New Police Chief
Former Dallas Officer Brings Three Decades of Experience and Latino officers in an ongoing William J. Ford WI Staff Writer
5 Virginia Ada Hawkins Keane, who celebrated her 101st birthday Saturday, March 24, poses for a photo with her daughter Karen. Neighbors, friends and family gathered for a drive-by celebration at her home in Northwest. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)
D.C. Resident Virginia H. Keane Turns 101 Years Old Daughter, Friends Refuse to Let COVID-19 Upend the Celebration
D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor During the 1920s, the decade during which Virginia H. Keane entered the world, America’s top news stories would include the beginning of prohibition, the first successful, non-stop flight from New York to Paris by Charles Lindbergh, the ratification of the 19th Amendment which finally gave women the right to vote, the
invention of the television and the worst race riot in U.S. history in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. But for Keane, born Virginia Ada Hawkins on March 24, 1920 in Cincinnati, faith in God, service to the community, a ferocious dedication to family, increasing opportunities for women in higher education and a love for jazz and classical
KEANE Page 8
Lt. Sonya Zollicoffer, a 20-year veteran of the Prince George’s County Police Department, listened to Malik Aziz’s words carefully as he talked about supporting the community and its law enforcement officials. “He sounded like a chief,” she said. “He has the experience and I hope he brings that experience with him. I am giving him a chance to make the right decisions but actions speak louder than words,” said Zollicoffer who also counts among several plaintiffs of both current and former Black
lawsuit against the department. Now, after nine months of interviews, phone calls and reviewing resumes, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks selected Aziz to serve as the new police chief for Prince George’s. Aziz, 52, works as deputy chief for the city of Dallas Police Department in Texas where he’s spent his entire career – 29 years including his first assignment as a patrol officer. Interim chief Hector Velez will remain in charge until Aziz takes the helm May 9. “Nothing is more important to me
POLICE Page 38
5 Malik Aziz will serve as the new police chief in Prince George’s County starting May 9. He speaks during a press conference March 26 at the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building in Largo. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
‘State of America’s Children’ Report Shows a Disturbing Link Between Race and Poverty Seventy-one Percent of Poverty-Stricken Youth are Children of Color tory, represents the poorest demographic in the country with youth of color suffering the highest povThe child population in the erty rates. “While we reported on the 73 U.S., while the most diverse in hisStacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
(Courtesy photo/Children’s Defense Fund)
million children in the U.S. in 2019, which is 22 percent of the nation’s population, we also note that 2020 was the first year in American history that a majority of children are projected to be children of color,” said the Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, the president and CEO of the Children’s Defense Fund. Dr. Wilson’s remarks come as the Marian Wright Edelman-founded nonprofit released “The State of America’s Children 2021.” The stunning exposé revealed
CHILDREN Page 29
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Statethreat,” Holiday Announces Candidacy for She said they law enforcement. she said. in Maryland had come together to bring a Among the programs Marlow Maryland Comptroller sense of uniformity in the way wants to see implemented are
By Tia Carol Jones WI Staff Writer
When L.Y. Marlow's 23-year- domestic violence victims and stricter restraining order policies, old daughter told herTim the father survivors are treated. more rights for victim's families Bowie Mayor of her daughter threatened her “She's using her own personal to intervene on behalf of a vicAdams announced his life, and the life of their child, story, her own personal pain to tim, a domestic violence assesscandidacy Tuesday to she knew something had to be push forward,” Davis-Nickens ment unit coupled with further enter the 2022 race done. Out of her frustration said about Marlow. training for law enforcement to become Maryland’s with law enforcement's handling Davis-Nickens said anyone agencies, a Child's Life ProtecBlack comptroloffirst the situation, she decided to who reads Marlow's book will tion Act and mandatory counseller. Adams became the camstart the Saving Promise “get it.” She said she “puts the ing for batterers. city’s first Black mayor paign. case in such a way, the average “If we are ever going to eradiwhen elected “It seems to beina 2019. vicious cycle person can get it.” She said at the cate domestic violence, we must Adams to debate that won'talsoturnreleased my family end of the day, the book willMaryland look atlawmakers both sides continue of the coin. a video at https://bit. whether to make Juneteenth an official state loose,” Marlow said. Marlow help people begin to have a dia- We need to address both the vicly/3sDzChs holiday.tim Anand estimated 71,000 state employees shared her story entitled with the audi- logue about domestic violence. the batterer,” Marlow “Let’sat Roll” in whichHeights receive paid leave on the bill labeled ence the District 5 Bowie Mayor Adams. AlsoTim present at the event would was said. he talks about growing National Domestic Violence Symposium (Photo courtesy of TimMuhammad, Adams for Mildred the Juneteenth exMarlow wouldFreedom also like Day. to see The bill in New Orleans, hisHeights passed programs 112-24 in designed the Housetoof Delegates on onupMay 7 at the District Comptroller) wife of John Allen Muhammad, raise company,Center. multi-milMarch awareness 22. That day marked crossover Municipal The sympo- who was sentenced to six consecamong children in – the lion-dollar Systemsby the utive life terms without parole deadline to approve legislation so itShe can be resium was sponsored public and private schools. Applications Technologies of UpFamily and & Youth Services Inc.by(SA-TECH) by members in the opposite a Maryland jury for his roleviewed in feels children need to be educat-chamber. Center of the city of District per Marlboro and his accident that himSniper to be-attacksThe currently underviolence. review by the Senate’s the caused Beltway in billedis about domestic Heights and the National Hook- 2002. Mildred MuhammadEducation, come physically disabled. Health Environmental is “We have and to stop being pas- Affairs Up of Women. “I Black may be in a wheelchair butthenobody founderpushes of Afterme the Trauma, Committee. sive-aggressive with poor chilMarlow he hassaid. written a book, that helps theDel. dren around,” “I might not be an ableorganization to walk but that’s about domestic violence,” Andrea Fletcher Harrison (D-District “Color Butterfly,” which is a survivors of domestic violence said.who sponsored the bill, said never Me stopped me from running.” 24) of Marlow Springdale, storyAdams about received four generations of in andscience their children. has Juneteenth worked to abreak his bachelor’s from Xavifour statesMarlow have made paid holiday. domestic violence. The bookand is master’s “I lived in fear foradsix years.“While Six the cycle of been abusecelebrations in her family, er University of Louisiana in business there have around the inspired by her from own experiences, in fear is a long is andthey’ve is confident the policies ministration the University years of New Orleans. The time. Itcountry, not always been she welcomed,” and those of her grandmother, not collector an easy thing to come she out said is during pushinga for will committee start that hearing comptroller serves as the state’s tax and also Senate her mother and her daughter.andof,” said. on the process. serves alongside the governor stateshetreasurer Thursday, March 25. “It’s time for us to celeShe said every time she reads Mildred Muhammad said to take thesewhether policies or to not you Maryland Board of Public Works which approves govbrate this“Iasplan a paid holiday excerpts from her book, stillspending. peopleCurrent who want a Congress ernment contracts and she other Comp-to helpidentify as Black.”and implore them to can not believe the words who’s came held domestic violencesince victim mustIf approved change our said. troller Peter Franchot, the position and laws,” signedMarlow by the governor, the from her. “Color Me Butterfly” be careful of how they go into “I will not stop until these poli2007, plans to run for governor. Del. Brooke Lierman bill would go into effect June 1. Juneteenth won the 2007 National “Best the victim's life, and understand cies are passed.” (D-Baltimore City) became the first person to announce commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. Books” Award. that she may be in “survival Tia CarolonJones her candidacy for comptroller in December. and is celebrated Junecan 19.be reached “I was just 16-years-old when mode”. at tiacaroljones@sbcglobal.net my eye first blackened and my “Before you get to 'I'm going lips bled,” Marlow said. to kill you,' it started as a verbal WI Elaine Davis-Nickens, president of the National Hook-Up of Black there OnWomen, Saturday,said April 3, is9 no a.m. to 6 p.m., the Southeast Tennis consistency in the way domestic and Learning Center [SETLC], 701 Mississippi Avenue SE, will be violence are dealt with bycommunity and medical partnership the siteissues of a ground-breaking conceived by Cora Masters Barry, founder/CEO, SETLC, “Don’t Miss Your Shot,” a COVID-19 vaccination event. Participants must pre-register by calling the SETLC, (202) 645-6242. “We hope that the model we have created will become one which will be used in other urban and underserved communities” she said. “We have targeted only one ward, Ward 8 and residents are being registered by Community Based Organizations located in the ward and not the traditional way, through the D.C. Department of Health’s online portal.” Educational sessions, onsite childcare, food, music, free Uber rides and security will be provided and a total of 1,000 doses of the J&J vaccine will be administered. Partners include: Jehan El-Bayoumi MD FACP, Professor of Medicine and founding director, the Rodham Institute, George Washington University; Dionne Bussey Reeder, community activist; Howard University, MedSTAR/Georgetown; United Medical Center; Bridgepointe Health; CareFirst; AmeriHealth; MedSTAR Medicaid; Temple of Praise; Martha's Table; Congress Heights Community Training Development Corporation; and Children’s Hospital.
“
Day of COVID-19 Vaccinations Coming to Ward 8, April 3
We have to stop being passive-aggressive with poor children about domestic violence. I plan to take these policies to Congress and implore them to change our laws. I will not stop until these policies are passed.
“
SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY
Women the Cycle of wi hotBreak topics Domestic Violence Juneteenth Closer to Bowie Mayor Tim Adams
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L.Y. Marlow
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Benning Road Streetcar Project Embraced by Ward 7 Residents James Wright WI Staff Writer The next phase of the D.C. streetcar—known as the Benning Road Reconstruction and Streetcar Project—is supported by Ward 7 residents as long as they’re involved in the planning. “Ward 7 residents cannot be afraid of economic development,” Kelvin Brown, an advisory neighborhood commissioner who represents district 7B06, said recently. “The streetcar project is part of that investment in the community. What has to happen is the neighborhood affected by the streetcar is part of the process in its planning and implementation.” The Benning Road streetcar project, at an estimated cost of $178.1 million, starts in Ward 5 at Oklahoma Avenue, N.E. and is to proceed about 2.6 miles east until it provides walking access to the Benning Road Metro Station. The project, which started its planning stages in 2010, will start construction in the winter of 2022, D.C. Department of Transportation officials (DDOT) say. DDOT officials told a March 23 virtual meeting of community leaders the project should be completed by either 2025 or 2026. For many years, residents and businesses along Benning Road have complained about traffic along the streetcar route. However, those who live along the streetcar route said the District government has paid little attention to what they want in the project. DDOT officials have said the Benning streetcar project will aid
the service area by getting people out of their cars and into public transportation conserving the environment and helping to alleviate traffic concerns. Everett Lott, the interim director of DDOT, said in an email to the Informer that throughout the history of the Benning Road streetcar project, community engagement has taken place. “Since the project planning began in 2010, DDOT has engaged with the public extensively through major project-specific community meetings and studies, as well as outreach through broader initiatives such as MoveDC, the District’s long-range multimodal transportation plan,” Lott said. “DDOT will continue to engage with the community throughout the planning and construction process.” Tyrell Holcomb, the chairman of the 7F advisory neighborhood commission, supports the project, saying it will “link the East End of the city to downtown” but has long wanted to know why it ends at the Benning Road station instead of the intersection of Benning Road and Minnesota Avenue. In response, Lott said a feasibility study published by DDOT in 2013 determined the Benning Road Metro Station served as a better terminus point than the Minnesota Avenue Metro Station. Both Holcomb and Brown have expressed concerns about the traffic snarls and delays the project could produce. “It would seem that when DDOT was working on the renovations of the Whitney Young
Bridge, the surrounding neighborhoods were given alternative routes to use but we have not had the same response,” Holcomb said. While Brown shares Holcomb’s immediate concerns about traffic, he said the big picture for the area should be viewed. “I think about transportation from an approach of safety and equity,” he said. “The streetcar could definitely improve the economic prospects of the area and improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods even though its construction and traffic will be inconvenient for a few years.” WI @JamesDCWrighter
5 A D.C. streetcar. (Courtesy Photo/Google)
EDUCARE OF WASHINGTON DC REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS School Food Service Educare of Washington DC (Educare DC) is seeking a food service management company to furnish and deliver 728 meals/day (in bulk – unless otherwise requested) to Two (2) location participating in the Child Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), established by the United States Department of Agriculture Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR 226), which set forth the terms and conditions applicable to the proposed procurement. The complete RFP packet can be obtained by visiting our school website – www.educaredc.org. Proposals are due no later than 5:00PM, Thursday April 15, 2021. Questions and proposals may be emailed to: Barbara Ledyard Vice President-Finance and Administration bledyard@educaredc.org Requested Services Educare DC is seeking competitive proposals to provide meals (breakfast, lunch, PM snack and dinner) in support of our school food service program. The successful proposing company shall deliver in accordance with the menu requirements for the Child Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Educare DC is based in a state-of-the-art facility in the Parkside-Kenilworth neighborhood of Ward 7. The school serves 160 low-income children (ages 6 weeks to 5 years) and their families with a high quality, research-based early childhood program. Educare Idea is based in a state-of-the-art facility in the Deanwood area of Ward 7. The school serves 80 low-income children (ages 6 weeks to 3 years) and their families with a high quality, research-based early childhood program. Assumptions and Agreements Proposals will not be returned. Educare DC reserves the right to dismiss a proposal without providing a reason. Educare DC reserves the right to terminate a contract with written notice. Submission Information Proposals must include all requested information indicated in the official RFP. Please send final proposals to bledyard@ educaredc.org. Basis for Award of Contract Educare DC reserves the right to award a contract as it determines to be in the best interest of the school. Locally Owned, Minority-Owned, Female-Owned and Small Businesses are encouraged to apply.
5 A map of the Benning Road streetcar route. (Courtesy Photo/Google)
PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 5:00pm Thursday April 15, 2021 EST. Late proposals will not be accepted.
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APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 5
AROUND THE REGION
black facts
SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB
APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
APRIL 1
1917 – Famed African American composer and pianist Scott Joplin, known as "the King of Ragtime," dies in New York City at 49. 1984 – One day before his 45th birthday, iconic soul singer Marvin Gaye is fatally shot by his father during a dispute at the Los Angeles house they shared.
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APRIL 2
1932 – World renowned Black cowboy Willie "Bill" Pickett dies at 61 in a Ponca, Oklahoma, hospital after he was kicked in the head by a horse. 1984 – John Thompson becomes the first African American head coach to win a major collegiate championship when his Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown Hoyas defeat the University of Houston 84-75 in the NCAA mens' basketball title game.
APRIL 3
1950 – African American historian, author and journalist Carter G. Woodson, known as the "father of Black History," dies in his Washington, D.C., home of a heart attack at 74. 1961 – Legendary comedian and actor Eddie Murphy is born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. 1990 – Iconic jazz vocalist Sarah Vaughan dies at her Hidden Hills,
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APRIL 4
1913 – Musician Muddy Waters, who is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues," is born in Issaquena County, Mississippi. 1928 – Famed poet, memoirist and civil rights activist Maya Angelou is born in St. Louis. 1968 – Civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 39.
APRIL 5
1856 – Educator and famed African American leader Booker T. Washington is born in Hale's Ford, Virginia. 1937 – Colin Powell, retired four-star general in the U.S. Army and the first African American secretary of state, is born in Harlem, New York City. 1951 – The Municipal Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., outlaws segregated restaurants in the city.
APRIL 6
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1712 – The New York Slave Revolt of 1712, an uprising in which 23 enslaved Africans killed nine whites and injured another six, begins. 1909 – Black explorer Matthew Henson is among a party of six recognized as the first to reach the North Pole.
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APRIL 7
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1872 – William Monroe Trotter, civil rights leader and editor of The Boston Guardian, is born near Chillicothe, Ohio. He died on his birthday in 1934 after a fall from the roof of his Boston home. 1915 – Legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday is born in Philadelphia. 1940 – The Post Office Department issues a stamp honoring Booker T. Washington, the nation's first stamp to commemorate an African American. 1949 – Actress Juanita Hall begins a run on Broadway as Bloody Mary in the musical "South Pacific," a role in which she became the first African American to win a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress. WI
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Privileged, power-grabbing racist folks can't stand the idea that other people are living in this society. When people show you who and what they are, believe them. You can't help but to call it what it is. Black folks need to get out and vote constantly and in record numbers. This is blatant racism, right before your very eyes.
GWEN BRIGGS / WASHINGTON, DC
One-sided laws. They forgot the part about 'by the people, for the people.' Do these folks really think they can put laws in place that represent the watered-down version of who they think should have a voice? They should think again. No one will sit by and just let this fly. Call it out for what it is. It's voter suppression at its most desperate attempt.
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IRIS RICHARDSON / WASHINGTON, D.C.
This is so sad. When we do play by the rules and pull our resources together to make change, they change the rules. [It] is so obvious that we will never have a place in this America.
RONNIE FOLK /
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Jim Crow is in power. Stacey Abrams is going to teach you a lesson in 2022.
WILLIE WHITE / WASHINGTON, D.C.
This is so stupid! Clearly the only way those reps can win is by cheating. Not only do they make people wait long hours to vote, now you can't give them food or water. Power-hungry slugs!
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music remained foundational to her daily life – both then and now. On Saturday, March 27, her only daughter, Karen Keane McCrory, along with dozens of friends, former co-workers, extended family members and even Ward 4 City Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, congratulated Keane on her 101st birthday during a “drive-by, honk and wave” celebration. The onset of COVID-19 prohibited McCrory, who lives with her mother in Northwest, from marking her mother’s achievement as a centenarian last year. But this year, pandemic or not, she remained determined to acknowledge Keane’s achievements and longevity in grand fashion. “The best way to describe my mother is she’s a gentle giant,” McCrory said. “She’s a woman with the velvet touch who gets her point across without yelling and screaming and who’s always found a way to get whatever she desires done gracefully.” Keane’s mother, Amy Louise Hawkins, highly active in civic organizations, worked as a homemaker. Her father, Ralph R. Hawkins, wore many hats to provide for his family: an attaché in the U. S. Circuit Court under several federal judges, a jockey and a leader in a cousin’s thriving catering business. Keane’s maternal grandfather, the Honorable George W. Hays, a former slave, became the first Black court crier in Cincinnati and later served three terms in the Ohio Assembly. In an example of how history often repeats itself, while Keane’s parents had four children, two of them died
5 Photographs and a city resolution mark the life of Virginia H. Keane. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)
during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Keane prepared herself for a 35year career as a psychiatric social worker, earning a bachelor of science at Wilberforce University and a master’s degree in 1951 at Howard University. She also joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. during the 1940s. She retired as the Director of Social Services at Howard University Hospital in 1986. “Many of her former staff members and co-workers showed up on Saturday to wish my mother a happy birthday,” McCrory said. “They still contact her, send her cards and call her – even 35 years after her retirement. Who does that for a former boss? She mentored her workers and encouraged them to further their education.” “Religion has always been important in our family and my mother’s favorite song has long been ‘If I Can Help Somebody.’ The lyrics to the song exemplify who she is and how she was raised.”
“Because she’s confined to a wheelchair now and has significant memory loss, some days are more difficult than others. But I receive a lot of support from others who are facing similar challenges with their parents as well as assistance from healthcare professionals – members of our extended family from Howard University Hospital – who work with patients dealing with dementia.” “She’s been a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. And as a professional woman who divorced her husband when I was only three, she never complained about the difficulties that came with raising me alone. In those days, most women weren’t doing that. But she didn’t do it alone – not really. It takes a village.” “And during her birthday celebration on Saturday, the village showed up. In fact, they show up for me and for my mother almost every day. And I am thankful for that village,” McCrory added. WI @mcneirdk
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8 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
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Sharon Wright Pens Book about Life’s Traumas and God’s Eternal Love
AROUND THE REGION
Southeast Resident Details How She Overcame Horrific Childhood Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer Sharon Wright started writing poetry as a teenager and dreamed of being a best-selling author. A Southeast resident and graduate of Anacostia High School and the University of the District of Columbia, she taught for a decade in city schools and has maintained a love for photography, animals, pizza and music. But Wright’s story has been far more complex than a sentimental poem, the beauty of nature or the tantalizing aroma and taste of a pepperoni pie. More accurately, her tale encompasses unspeakable trauma which followed her from her childhood until her teens. Ugly words and invasive phrases splatter across her life like a painter’s brush over a canvas. A victim of child molestation, kidnapping and attempted murder, Wright faced the unfair challenge of surviving, coping and thriving. Her victimization – never acknowledged, never attended to and mostly overlooked – led to depression and suicidal thoughts. Then she realized she had at least one champion – one fan. “God is my biggest fan,” Wright determined – a revelation that would become the title of a book which she recently published that details her experiences. “God is My Biggest Fan: How Grace and Mercy Blessed My Life” is available at most outlets, including amazon.com. “I just wanted to share my testimonies in this book,” Wright stated. “It is never easy for people to talk about their true feelings. Expressing emotions was not one of those things that we’re encouraged to do as a child. I believe that all too often, children grow up to be adults who have not dealt with traumas from their childhood. I am one of those people.” Wright grew up in a family of seven – her mother took in a cousin in addition to her six biological children. “I was the fifth child and things were kind of rocky from the beginning,” Wright recalled. “I believe my parents were in the middle of break-
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5 Sharon Wright (Courtesy photo/Sharon Wright)
ing up when they found out that my mom was pregnant with me.” Even early in her childhood, Wright found herself forced to deal with rumors that the man she thought was her father was not. “I took that quite personally,” she remarked. “I did not like it when people would say he wasn’t my father because it made me feel like I did not belong.” Because the issue remained unresolved, she said there were times when she thought she was adopted. “I didn’t fit in with [my] family, although I was definitely my mother’s child,” she said, noting that she still hears from others about how much she looks like her mother. She was eight when she was molested but said nothing, believing that she had to keep quiet. “I didn’t speak up for myself. I was quite shy,” Wright said. “I just remember it was happening, not lasting that long because, although I didn’t use my voice, I used my body to kind of shield myself away from that person and not allow them to continue.” “That person” is someone she doesn’t speak about often except in conversations with her therapist and in her book. She also discusses how an ex-boyfriend kidnapped her one evening and tried to murder her. “We weren’t together at the time and he had just come back into town and asked me to go to the movies with
him,” said Wright – 19-years-old at the time. She now recalls seeing red flags including his car having her name inscribed on the doors. “Being naïve and letting him tell me he loved me and all of that, I was like ‘okay,’” Wright insisted. But in short order, the movie plans took an awful turn. “He stopped at his grandmother’s house and said he had to go inside and get something,” Wright said. “We got inside the house and he started kissing and hugging me. I kept saying, ‘let’s go.’ Ice and snow were on the ground and I tried to run away.” The man held her against her will, brandished a weapon and threatened her life she recalled. Teaching, indulging in her hobbies and therapy have aided Wright with her recovery. “Writing this book was cathartic,” she said. “It helped me face the demons of my past that have interfered in every aspect of my life. If you are ready to release your emotional baggage, then this is the book for you. Let this be your guide to freedom and a path to helping others.” The District of Columbia has a hotline for individuals contemplating suicide or harming themselves. For assistance, call 800-784-2433, or 800273-8255. For additional help or information, visit www.namidc.org. WI @StacyBrownMedia
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AROUND THE REGION CAPTURE THE MOMENT READING IS FUNDAMENTAL
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WORDS TO LIVE BY “We will join hands with you as women of this country . . . We will kneel-in, we will sit-in until we can eat at any counter in the United States. We will walk until we are free, until we can walk to any school and take our children to any school in the U.S. And we will sit-in and we will kneel-in and we will lie-in if necessary until every Negro in America can vote.”
– Daisy Bates
Speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Aug. 28,1963. On March 30, 1870, the 15th Amendment gave Blacks the right to vote and yet . . .
10 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
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AROUND THE REGION
D.C. Residents Want Contee to be Proactive in Policing
James Wright WI Staff Writer
District residents seem encouraged by the nomination of Robert J. Contee III as the next chief of police by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser but they also want him to work hard to fight crime in their neighborhoods and to become a positive face of the D.C. police department. “I definitely support his confirmation as our city’s next police chief,” Yvette Alexander, former Ward 7 D.C. councilmember who served from 2007-2017, said. “Contee is a son of the city and he knows the city and its culture. He started in the police department as a cadet and he has risen through the ranks. He is respected by his fellow officers and in the community.” If confirmed as the next police chief, Contee faces a rise in the District’s homicide rate, car jackings and armed robbery. Many residents and city leaders echo Alexander’s thoughts. Many feel Contee can do the job; no council member or major organization has announced opposition to his confirmation. However, as advisory neighborhood commission 8C chairman Salim Adofo said, Contee must produce results. “There are three things I want Contee to do,” Adofo said. “I want him to change the culture of policing. Punishing people isn’t always the answer. I believe the police should help people make better decision regarding their lives. The police can educate the community on how they perform their duties and not just show up when there is a problem. Second, Contee should have his officers get out of their squad cars and walk the community. The officers will get the chance to know people in the community and the people will get to know them. Third, I would like for him to be more visible in the city not just at news conference or homicide scenes. He should consider raising his social media presence, also. Contee should be someone that members of the community can relate to.” Gordon-Andrew Fletcher serves as the advisory neighborhood commissioner for district 5A08, near the Fort Totten Metro Station in Northeast. Fletcher said in his neighborhood, there has been an uptick in crime and
5 Acting D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III talks with residents out in the District. (WI File Photo)
When it’s important, we plan for it ahead of time.
5 Former D.C. Councilmember Yvette Alexander. (WI File Photo)
noted a drive-by shooting took place there recently. “Crime has become more rampant in my area with car jackings and guns being recovered,” he said. “I don’t put this all on the Metropolitan Police Department. We need other agencies to get involved too, such as the DDOT (D.C. Department of Transportation). Perhaps they could install more speed bumps on our streets.” Fletcher agreed with Adofo that Contee should make his officers more proactive in the District’s neighborhoods. “In my area, we need more police officers,” he said,” and they should interact more with the community. Not just with councilmembers but with community leaders such as advisory neighborhood commissioners and community association presidents. The police officers should listen to what the residents are telling them. I realize that every area is different. However, there are some places that have similar problems. There are parts of Ward 5 that look like parts of Ward 8. Basically, we need officers to patrol the neighborhoods and meet the residents.” Former D.C. Council Chairman
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Kwame Brown said Contee becoming the chief “is long overdue.” “I believed he was poised to be the chief for a number of years,” Brown, a Democrat who served as an at-large councilmember from 2005-2011
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and as the council’s chair from 20112012, said. “He has integrity, the ability to understand the community and is a native Washingtonian. However, in order to be effective, you will have to be tough. He will have
balance his toughness with fairness. People in this city are tired of crime and they will want him to clamp down on it.” WI @JamesDCWrighter
APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 11
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY Joe’s Emporium, Other Businesses Holding Steady William J. Ford WI Staff Writer Businesses in Prince George’s County are reopening with new restrictions under the County Executive’s Phase 2 Reopening Plan which took effect on March 12. However, it may take considerably more time before a steady stream of customers
walk through their doors due to the lingering fears of COVID-19. Joe’s Movement Emporium, a performing arts studio in Mount Rainier, has set “safety” as its main priority. So far this year, Joe’s hosted about a dozen virtual events that included a livestream presentation Sunday, March 28 to celebrate the life of
Thelma Roane Boyd-Nash, an educator, poet and activist who resided in Cheverly and died at the age of 96. “Because we always make sure we do six feet apart, a lot of our spaces aren’t as huge as our theater space,” said Jeniffer Leon, a theater production coordinator at Joe’s. “We will probably be that way until the sixfeet rule is no more.” The studio with 22 employees endured two workers who contracted COVID-19 that included Leon’s diagnosis around the Thanksgiving holiday. However, both came from contacts outside Joe’s. To keep things afloat, Joe’s rents spaces for local artists to rehearse, conduct visual demonstrations and other performances. The studio held an outdoor series of performances on Saturdays from August to October in its parking lot. Another series will take place this year starting in May until October. An event called “Black on the Block” will feature in-person and virtual yoga and arts programming the weekend of April 23 at Joe’s and
5 Joe’s Emporium in Mt. Rainier, Md. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)
its sister location, Creative Suitland Arts Center. Because Joe’s became recognized as a center that provides after care for children, all staff could be vaccinated. Its popular summer arts education program will begin June 21 for those ages 5 to 13 at https://www.joesmovement.org/summer-arts-learn-
Popular Temple Hills Skating Palace Slated for Closing April 5 New Ownership Puts Future of Prince George’s Venue in Jeopardy
William J. Ford WI Staff Writer A Prince George’s County landmark known as one of the D.C. region’s most infamous teenage hangouts may close its door April 5. Temple Hills Skating Palace has long blared hip-hop and R&B music from its speakers for birthday parties, community events and local fundraisers. During the 1980s and 90s, go-go bands performed at the
rink which many locals affectionately call “Crystal Skate.” The venue’s name was changed from Crystal Skate to its current moniker in 2007. General Manager Lashon Andrews said Monday that a new owner recently purchased the entire property which includes the skating rink, a pawn shop and other businesses. Andrews, who’s worked at the skating rink for three years, declined to comment on the identity of the new owner.
5 People line up outside Temple Hills Skating Palace on March 28 for what could be their last time if the popular venue closes as currently scheduled on April 5. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
12 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
“Anytime you have a new landlord and they are doing improvements to the business, of course they want a rent increase,” she said. “But we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. We’re still [involved in] negotiations and I can’t go into the particulars. But tentatively, the closing date is April 5.” She said 50 to 60 employees work at the skating rink which opened in the early 1970s. Most of the rink’s personnel work part time but three members of the staff work full time. Andrews added that several of the employees, when they’re not working, enjoy skating at the rink – an activity they’ve enjoyed since their formative years. “They’re hurt. They’re crying. They’re depressed,” she said about how the employees feel. “Community members have been calling and wanting to help out. It’s very overwhelming right now.” News of the Skating Palace’s closing spread quickly on social media after an announcement was posted on its Facebook page Thursday. “The decision to close was not an easy one,” according to the company statement. “The generations of families and all of our customers have
meant so much to us. Your loyalty and support over the years made our business what it was and we want to thank you very much.” To celebrate the rink’s last full week, adult skate events will start 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, featuring Norman McHugh, better known as ‘DJ Stormin’ Norman.” As of 2:10 p.m. Monday, exactly 145 comments had been posted on the rink’s Facebook page. John Bailey IV, president of the Camp Springs Civic Association, summarized how thousands of D.C.-area natives made “Crystal Skate” part of their heritage. “Crystal Skate was at the top of the list where you could meet with friends whether they could skate or not,” Bailey said in a text message on Saturday. “The goal was to congregate outside of school and the neighborhood. The music was always a draw, either with a DJ or a go-go band. [Kids got there by] being dropped off by a parent or an individual in [their] immediate circle who had a car for the evening.” He continued: “Crystal’s was the place for us on the weekend. It will be truly missed and we should celebrate it as a national treasure in our community.” WI @jabariwill
ing. A note in bold type highlights the classes will be in small groups, masks must be worn and social distancing “will be incorporated as a general practice.” The 10-week program will feature a different theme each week through Sept. 3. Since Noni Ford arrived at Joe’s in September, most of her work as program coordinator “has been typing on my laptop all day and that’s not the nature of Joe’s. We will start transitioning [to conduct more in-person events] once it’s safe to do so.” About 15 minutes away in College Park, the Board and Brew restaurant experienced a decrease in staff. Michael Chmar, a partner in the business situated in College Park for more than six years, said pre-pandemic up to 25 employees worked there. Today, it’s about 10. Although the state allowed businesses to increase capacity by 50 percent, Chmar said a spike will not happen overnight. “People are not in the same economic position as they were beforehand,” he said. “People’s routines are different and buying habits are different, especially doing everything virtually and working from home. It’s going to be a gradual process.” However, if patrons decide to venture out in College Park, the restaurant offers an Oreo latte with oat milk and expresso. “It’s to die for. It’s insane,” he said. “I think there are a lot of things that can be fun, but they have to be grounded on good technique. I think we do a good job of that. It’s been a learning experience. Who’s been through a pandemic? Not I.” WI @jabariwill
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PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY
Ward 7 Residents Excited Over Skyland Town Center Additions James Wright WI Staff Writer Ward 7 residents are enthused about the five new service stores and new residential housing that will be a part of the Skyland Town Center project located in Southeast. “This has been a longtime coming,” former Ward 7 advisory neighborhood commissioner Villareal Johnson said. “I like that they are adding new restaurants for people to eat and new housing. I think this is a sign of a changing community. Everyone should have access to a good quality of life.” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled the new eateries and housing on March 24 for Skyland. The new shops are Roaming Rooster, its fourth location in the District; &Pizza, its 10th location in the city; Maizal, a South American eatery with its first presence in the District; Mezeh, a Mediterranean-influenced restaurant which will open its second location in the city; and Trophical Smoothie Café will have its third location in the District. In addition, the mayor announced residential leasing at The Crest, the first residential units to open in Skyland, a 290,000 square-foot building. There will be 263 homes, a mixture of studio, one- and two-bedrooms apartments, a fitness center and courtyard pool and grills. Bowser said of the 263 housing units, 53 will be reserved for people earning up to 80 percent of the median family income and 26 are set-aside for workforce units, housing priced for middle-income service workers, such as police officers, teachers and nurses, in close proximity to their jobs. The Skyland upgrade comes as the District struggles to emerge from the economic recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic and Ward 7 continue to press city officials for more retail and dining options. Bowser said bringing new amenities to Ward 7 is the result of a partnership between the ward’s business sector, the District’s business partners, community builders and developers and the D.C. Department of Planning and Economic Development. “I look forward to continued groundbreakings and I look to all the ribbon cuttings even more,” the mayor said.
The Skyland upgrade comes as the District struggles to emerge from the economic recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic and Ward 7 continue to press city officials for more retail and dining options.
D.C. Councilmember Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7) said, “Today’s announcement of the additional amenities coming to Skyland Town Center is the result of decades of hard labor.” The announcement came as Lidl Stitfung & Co., a German-headquartered grocery retailer, has agreed to serve as an anchor to Skyland and businesses such as Chase Bank and Starbucks have made commitments to the project. Already operating on site are a CVS Pharmacy, Like that Barbershop and Skyland Nails and Spa. Tiffany Brown, an advisory neighborhood commissioner for district 7B02, said the addition to Skyland will bring shoppers and new residents to the Alabama Avenue, S.E. area. “I have lived alongside this project for 24 years and I am glad things are beginning to come up,” Brown said. “I really like that we will have more food options and may have new residents come in. I don’t see the new residents as a sign of gentrification but of progress for the neighborhood.” W. Earl Williams, the former president of the DC Citizens Federation and a civic leader in the nearby Hillcrest neighborhood, thanked the Skyland’s developers—W.C. Smith and Rappaport—for staying with the project through the years. “These developers have been wonderful,” Williams said. “They could have walked away and they didn’t. People who live in Wards 7 and 8 don’t have to cross the [Anacostia] River for quality dining and housing.” WI @JamesDCWrighter
5 A rendering of the Skyland Town Center in Ward 7. (Courtesy Photo/Google)
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APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 13
BUSINESS The Rise and Fall of an American Essential – The Neighborhood Payphone Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
Remember when? Regardless of whether you are a Baby Boomer, Millennial, or Generation X, it’s a question that often comes to the forefront. However, there’s one “remember when” question that will probably stump even the most the progressive Generation Z crowd: Whatever happened to America’s many public payphones and phone booths? Wait. What? For at least a century, a payphone was as crucial as a mailbox. And while coin-operated public telephone first cost five cents before rising to one dime, then a quarter, 35 cents and even 50 cents, few people complained –
at least not loudly. At least you never had to worry about answering a call while driving. When the beeper or pager alerted the holder that someone needed to reach them, the neighborhood phone booth would be the next stop. (Beepers, or pagers, are now as outdated as the payphone). And, like beepers and pagers, virtually no one uses the payphone anymore. A recent Pew Research Center report noted that about 96 percent of Americans own cell phones. But like most out-of-date technology, there are still a few payphones around. “As someone who is, shall we say, more mature, my memory isn’t as good as it was,” offered entrepre-
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14 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
neur Sally Gibson. “Plus, I’m not wonderful with technology.” But recently she found it necessary to track down a payphone and the search was on. “I had gone out to do some shopping but forgotten to take my phone with me. I realized after shopping I had too much to walk home with so I was going to phone for a taxi. Realizing I didn’t have my phone with me, the only other option I could see was using a phone booth for the first time in years.” John Stevenson, a marketing specialist, said a payphone recently saved his day. “I was driving to meet a client when I forgot my mobile phone in the office,” he said. “Fortunately, we still have phone booths on a few streets nearby. I called my subordinate about my concern and saved the time I would have lost going back home. It might be out of style but there are still people who rely on these phone booths.” According to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, roughly 100,000 payphones remain in the U.S. – down from 2 million in 1999. While the majority of phones are in New York, the District still has a few public booths in operation including at the Capital One Arena and outside of a few hotels like the Comfort Inn on H Street, NW, Dupont Plaza Hotel on New Hampshire Avenue, NW and the Days Inn on Connecticut Avenue, NW. Other than the advent of cellphones, what else caused the demise of public payphones? A 2017 report in The Atlantic said a “particularly intense lobby for a payphone ban emerged in Chicago in 1992. Concerned about a rise in drug trafficking, communities urged lawmakers to get rid of payphones across the city.
5 Once upon a time, pay phones were a staple on almost every street corner. After searching high and low, a pay phone was located during a drive on I-95. (DR Barnes/ The Washington Informer)
Fast forward – from 2000 to 2006, the number of cellphones in the U.S. rose from 90.6 million to 217.4 million. In the District in 2011, Metro announced the elimination of most of the 1,074 payphones in its train stations. But one caveat cannot be overlooked: Metro once had a lucrative contract with Verizon who provided service for all the phone booths in Metro’s many train stations. Then, total revenue generated from the phones began a steep and steady decline. In 2009, Metro officials said payphones were losing hundreds of thousands of dollars while the average use declined to about once a day.
TWO RIVERS PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS General Contractor Two Rivers PCS is soliciting price quotes from licensed general contractors to renovate existing spaces in school facilities. To request a copy of the RFP, email Gail Williams at procurement@tworiverspcs.org. Proposals are due by April 22, 2021.
The remaining payphones had become a relic, and to some, something of a prop. The Jerusalem Post cited Julia Casciotti, a 17-year-old senior at Washington-Lee High School who crammed into a phone booth along with a few girlfriends for photoshoots after sleepovers. Over the years, Casciotti also made pretend calls, “pushing all the buttons and calling the operator.” “It’s always just been there,” she said while noting that she’s never actually used the payphone or seen anyone use it either. But Daniel Leblanc, 22, has seen people drop their coins into the payphone slot and said it freaked him out. An intern on Capitol Hill who lives in an apartment nearby, he walks by a phone booth on his way to and from the Metro. Leblanc uses a cellphone and doesn’t have a landline at home like many young people today. “The couple times I’ve seen people using it, I’ve thought, ‘That is really strange,’ “Leblanc told the newspaper. “Frankly, I wondered, ‘Don’t those people have cellphones?’” WI @StacyBrownMedia
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BUSINESS
Louis Armstrong, Nas, Janet Jackson Recorded in Library of Congress Sarafina Wright WI Contributing Writer
Janet Jackson’s call for action and healing in “Rhythm Nation 1814” now joins other groundbreaking sounds of history and culture among the latest titles inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Other notables include Louis Armstrong’s “When the Saints Go Marching In,” Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade,” Nas’ “Illmatic,” Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration,” and Kermit the Frog’s “The Rainbow Connection.” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden last month named 25 recordings as audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance to the nation’s recorded sound heritage. “The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped
our culture from the past 143 years,” Hayden said. “We received about 900 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry, and we welcome the public’s input as the Library of Congress and its partners preserve the diverse sounds of history and culture.” The recordings most recently selected for the National Recording Registry bring the number of titles on the registry to 575, representing a small portion of the national library’s recorded sound collection of nearly 4 million items. The Library of Congress says one song has appealed to generations of Muppets fans and many musicians who revived “The Rainbow Connection” over the decades since it was performed by Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog in 1979. Songwriter Paul Williams, who wrote the music and lyrics with Kenneth Ascher, said the song is about “the immense power of faith.” “We don't know how it works, but we believe that it does,” Williams
said. “Sometimes the questions are more beautiful than the answers.” The latest selections named to the registry, spanning from 1878 to 2008, range from pop, hip-hop and country to Latin, Hawaiian, jazz, blues, gospel, classical and children’s music. Additionally Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation 1814,” released in 1989 is touted by the library as resonating with social messages today. Written and recorded in the Minneapolis studios of James “Jimmy Jam” Harris III and Terry Lewis, the songwriters said the record was about Jackson finding her voice using it to address racism, police brutality and social injustices of the day. “We wanted 'Rhythm Nation' to really communicate empowerment,” Harris said. “It was making an observation, but it was also a call to action. Janet's purpose was to lead people and do it through music, which I think is the ultimate uniter of people.” Some albums inducted this year demonstrate the power to influ-
ence entire genres of music. The library says when Nas released his 1994 hip-hop album “Illmatic,” it was celebrated for its rhythmic originality and complexity, and its technique has been widely copied since. The selections also include groundbreaking recordings in jazz, the blues and gospel — reaching deeper into music history. Louis Armstrong and his orchestra’s 1938 recording of “When the Saints Go Marching In,” for example, was the first jazz recording of this famous hymn and broke barriers between church and dance hall by mixing a sacred song with jazz. Musician Branford Marsalis credits Armstrong’s recording for making a previously regional song an international one. He recalled playing “The Saints” with his brother Wynton Marsalis while growing up in New Orleans. “As kids in the late 1960s, Wynton and I learned it when I was still playing clarinet; Wynton playing the melody, and me playing the bass
5 (Muppets image credit: © Muppets Studio)
notes. … It’s the first song we played together,” Branford Marsalis said. “I can’t imagine New Orleans’ culture without this song. It is an indelible part of our history.” WI
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NATIONAL Local Mega Churches to Host In-Person Easter Services Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer Having seven ministers preach the seven last words that Jesus spoke on the cross is a Good Friday tradition that was cancelled last year by Rev. Henry P. Davis, pastor of morning at the First Baptist Church of Highland Park.
But this Friday Davis is planning to preach a one-man revival and the doors of the church will be open this Easter Sunday and everybody is invited. “We are excited about Good Friday, ” Davis said. “We will have a one-hour service and while we want have the dynamic of seven different ministers and seven different churches
people are still welcomed to come and be at the building.” But the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on many houses of faith in the African American community. While some pastors are again preaching in their pulpits, others say that their members are not there yet in terms of reopening their sanctuaries but change is coming. “There is a spirit of fatigue that is hitting many people in their homes,” said Bishop Joel Peebles, pastor of City of Praise Ministries. “As churches reopen across the country and the globe, I want you to know that the church will be a significantly different church than the one that left a year ago.” People’s message came Palm Sunday as he preached to about 100 people in a cavernous sanctuary built to hold thousands. He added that Saturday, April 3, the church will “cut the ribbon” on a new testing and vaccination center in partnership with the county, and there are many people ready to return. Peebles said that Saturday at noon,
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING AUTHORITY REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) SOLICITATION NO.: 0004-2021 LANGSTON TERRACE REVITALIZATION AND SUSTAINABILITY MASTER PLAN The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) requires experienced Master Planner /Architect services for Langston Terrace. SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS will be available beginning Monday, March 29, 2021 on DCHA’s website at www.dchousing.org under “Business” and “Solicitation”. SEALED PROPOSAL RESPONSES ARE DUE ON OR BEFORE Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 11:00 AM. Email Lolita Washington, Contract Specialist at lwashing@dchousing.org with copy to business@dchousing.org for additional information.
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16 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
(Courtesy photo)
the church will open a “testing hub” at the church. “This is going to be the major vaccine hub; the other hubs are shutting down. Our objective is to get you back in church. “On Easter Sunday, we are still zooming and having drive-up service with a big screen,” Peebles said. “We are going to come back intelligently. On Sunday, we have 10 VIP families, but we have a slow opening. We will be opening more in the coming weeks for people who have been vaccinated." Rev. Grainger Browning, Ebenezer AME Church pastor in Fort Washington, also said he is not quick to reopen his church even though signs are promising about the virus. “We are going back very slowly to make sure that all of our members are safe and healthy. We are not rushing back, and I am guessing that we are not reopening until late summer.” But there will still be a long line of cars flowing into the parking lot of the Ebenezer AME Church in Ft. Washington because Senior Pastor Grainger Browning and church leaders will be giving out 1,000 $50 grocery cards. “We started last Easter; we are up to giving out $400,000 in gift cards because, as a church, we want people to realize that God is willing to come to you where you are. We want to be there for people to give them hope. We are giving backpacks to young people; wherever there is a need, the church is there.” At the Way of the Cross Church in District Heights, Bishop Alphonso D. Brooks will have a live Easter service. “We expect about 500 people because Easter is the largest service of the year,” said Brooks, who added that shis church reopened in the Fall and has taken a range of precautions from
wearing masks to social distancing. In addition to holding worship services, on Saturday the Prince Georges Change Makers will host a drive-thru Easter Celebration for children at 5904 Old Marlboro Pike starting at 1 p.m. Rev. Grayland Hagler, the pastor of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in the District, said that his church would continue to broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and its website. But on Palm Sunday, Hagler said the sanctuary was reopened for the first time since last March, and about 25 people came. “I am inviting people to come to church as they feel comfortable,” Hagler said. “Today, a handful of people came to the church’s parking lot, and I handed out palms as they drove through the parking lot. We want to take it slow and be more analytical because there is an increase in COVID19in some places, and I know in the community there has been an uptick in newly infected people. Davis said that services will take place at Highland Park Saturday and there will be two services on Sunday morning but worshippers will be required to wear masks and maintain social distance. While many congregations went completely to zoom, Davis said that he never stopped preaching in the pulpit each Sunday even though for months the sanctuary was pretty empty as his members watched at home. “Throughout the Pandemic we had four weekly services live, ” Davis said. “We are easing our way back. People are getting the vaccine and they are feeling more comfortable about being in worship.” wI
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NATIONAL Oakland, California Program Distributes $500 to Families of Color Joins Other Cities and States Considering Reparations for Blacks Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent In the middle of a worldwide awakening to the centuries-old racism and oppression suffered by Black people, some African-Americans finally see tangible assistance – even if the help isn’t characterized as reparations. Oakland, Calif., Mayor Libby Schaaf announced that the city would begin a guaranteed income project that would provide $500 per month to Black and Indigenous families. The assistance, which targets low-income families of color in the 426,000-population city, will last 18 months. Mayor Schaaf detailed that the money comes with “no-strings attached” and can be used as recipients desire. “We have designed this demonstration project to add to the body of evi-
dence and to begin this relentless campaign to adopt a guaranteed income federally,” Mayor Schaaf told the local ABC News station. The station reported that for the project, the Oakland Resilient Families program has raised $6.75 million from private donors, including Blue Meridian Partners, a national philanthropy group. The programs require residents have at least one child under 18 and income at or below 50 percent of the area median income – about $59,000 per year for a family of three. Half the spots are reserved for people who earn below 138 percent of the federal poverty level or about $30,000 per year for a family of three, ABC reported. Participants are randomly selected from a pool of applicants who meet the eligibility requirements. The report noted that Oakland’s project is significant because it is one of the most outstanding efforts in the
U.S. so far, targeting up to 600 families. And it is the first program to limit participation strictly to Black, Indigenous and people of color communities. Oakland, where 24 percent of the residents are Black, is among a growing list of municipalities providing financial payments to people of color – or reparations. Evanston, Ill., a city where 18 percent of its more than 74,500 residents are Black, approved the Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program which provides up to $25,000 for housing down payments or home repairs to African Americans. In September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law historic legislation that paves the way for African Americans and descendants of slaves in the Golden State to receive reparations for slavery. The bill, authored by California As-
(Courtesy photo)
semblywoman Shirley Weber, establishes a nine-person task force that will study the impact of the slave trade on Black people. It does not commit to any specific payment but the task force will make recommendations to legislators about what kind of compensation should be provided, who should receive it and what form it would take.
“After watching [the presidential] debate, this signing can’t come too soon,” Newsome declared during a videoconference with lawmakers and other stakeholders, including the rapper Ice Cube, who championed the bill.
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COMPILED BY OSWALD T. BROWN, WI CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Gabon Wants More Equality Between Men and Women Gabon will present three bills to parliament to strengthen equality between men and women, notably by fighting against "violence" and "discrimination", Prime Minister Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda told AFP on Friday, March 26. One of the texts introduces divorce by mutual consent. And adultery, committed by the man or the woman, will be a reason for separation for both spouses, whereas until now it could only be invoked by the man before the judge. Today, a Gabonese woman is also obliged by law to "obey" her husband. The planned changes will put an end to this, the trailblazing female head of government assured AFP in an interview. "It was time to strengthen this protection for women by progressively eliminating the discrimination and violence against them," Ms. Ossouka Raponda said. Three bills were adopted on Tuesday, March 23, by the council of ministers -- one on "the elimination of violence against women, " the other two aiming to amend the criminal code and the civil code, which still enshrines the pre-eminence of the man in the couple by making the husband the sole head of the family. The bills have yet to be voted on by the National Assembly and Senate, but the party of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has ruled Gabon since his first election in 2009 when he took over from his late father Omar Bongo's long reign, largely dominates both houses. "Today, the husband is the head of the family, the wife must obey the husband and it is the husband who has the choice of residence" for the family, explained Ms. Ossouka Raponda. Thanks to the new bills, the woman will share with the man the role of head of the family, she promised. Any act of domestic violence against a spouse could also lead to divorce. "We want to protect the family as a whole," the Prime Minister said. The draft amendment to the penal code extends the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy to some extent, although it remains highly conditional. "It is not yet the right time" to liberalize it, Ms. Ossouka Raponda said. For an abortion, the state of distress of the woman will no longer need to be "serious" and the requirement of a doctor's opinion to establish this will be removed. These reforms are already triggering heated debates on social networks. In 2020, the decriminalization of homosexuality had led to a strong protest movement in a large part of public opinion. In a recent report published by the World Bank "Women, Business and Law 2021", Gabon, a small Central African country, was ranked 41st out of 48 sub-Saharan African countries in terms of promoting women's rights. WI
caribbean now Trinidad and Tobago PM Rowley Meets Virtually with Congresswoman Waters TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO – Dr. Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and Chairman of CARICOM, met virtually met U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, on Thursday, March 25, 2021, The Associates Times reported on Saturday, March 27. In a press release, the Prime Minister’s office said the meeting focused on several matters of mutual interests. Discussions included talks on access to COVID-19 vaccines, Venezuela, Haiti and other CARICOM-related issues. “Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Senator Dr Amery Browne, and Ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago to CARICOM, Her Excellency Ms. Frances Seignoret, also attended the meeting,” the releases added. After weeks of the dilemma of its arrival date, Trinidad and Tobago’s supply of coronavirus vaccines is on its way. The 33,600 shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. Last week, Jamaica became the first Caribbean country to get vaccines through COVAX, receiving 14,400 doses. WI
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Embracing Care for Black Mothers Submitted by AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia At AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia (DC), we work to help moms and moms-to-be get access to quality maternity care. We help connect moms with needed services throughout and after pregnancy. We aim to help our enrollees feel empowered to voice their needs. And for Black Maternal Health Week, from April 11 to 17, we join the national effort to raise awareness of and improve Black maternal health care. The need for this awareness is urgent. Black women over age 30 have four to five times more risk of death from problems related to pregnancy than their white peers.1 Many of these pregnancy-related problems can be prevented.1 Awareness of health risks and a plan to address them are powerful steps toward a healthy pregnancy and baby.
HEALTH RISKS OF STRESS
Research suggests that experiencing negative beliefs about race
may create long-term stress that raises the risk of health problems. This kind of stress may lead to high blood pressure (hypertension). It may also bring a higher risk of heart disease.2 Hypertension and heart disease contribute to more pregnancy-related deaths among Black women than white women.1 Hypertension may also lead to another condition, called preeclampsia. Preeclampsia only happens during pregnancy. If it is not found and treated, preeclampsia can lead to:3 • Organ damage for the mother • Low birth weight, early birth, or death for the baby
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Consider making a plan to address your needs with your health care provider. At your appointments, share any concerns you have about your care. It may help to mention what research has shown. You could say: “I’m concerned about recent information I’ve seen. I read that Black women have a much higher chance of problems during pregnancy and childbirth than white women. Some of these problems can lead to death. What do you think about what these studies show? How can we work
together to prevent these problems?” In your plan, you can also include your checkups for during and after your pregnancy. These are your prenatal and postpartum checkups. They can help providers catch problems early. Getting consistent care can help you and your baby be healthy. It’s important to us that you feel comfortable voicing your needs in your health care. And we want you to feel sure that your concerns are being heard and honored. If you are an AmeriHealth Caritas DC enrollee with concerns about your health, call us. Our Enrollee Services department is here for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 202-408-4720 or 1-800-408-7511. The information in this article is to help you learn more about this topic. It is not to take the place of your health care provider. If you have questions, talk with your health care provider. If you think you need to see your health care provider because of something you have read in this information, please
contact your health care provider. Never stop or wait to get medical attention because of something you have read in this material. Sources: 1. “Racial and Ethnic Disparities Continue in Pregnancy-Related Deaths,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), https://www.cdc.gov/media/ releases/2019/p0905-racial-ethnic-disparities-pregnancy-deaths.html. 2. “Race, Discrimination, and Cardiovascular Disease,” American Medical Association Journal of Ethics, https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/race-dis-
crimination-and-cardiovascular-disease/2014-06. 3. “High Blood Pressure and Women,” American Heart Association, https://www.heart.org/en/ health-topics/high-blood-pressure/whyhigh-blood-pressure-is-a-silent-killer/ high-blood-pressure-and-womenConcerns,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), https://www.cdc. gov/vaccines/parents/why-vaccinate/ vaccine-decision.html. All images are used under license for illustrative purposes only. Any individual depicted is a model
Celebrating Black Mothers #BestMe AmeriHealth Caritas DC celebrates Black mothers for Black Maternal Health Week! If you are pregnant and an AmeriHealth Caritas DC enrollee, the Bright Start® maternity care program works to help you make healthy choices for yourself and your unborn baby. Get help with: • Choosing the right doctor or midwife for your family • Finding childbirth classes • Making appointments • Learning about prenatal vitamins • Getting supplies to prepare for your baby To learn more, visit https://www.amerihealthcaritasdc.com/preventive-care/member/postpartum/index.aspx. You can also visit our resource guide at https://www.amerihealthcaritasdc.com/pdf/member/medicaid/firstthings-first-guide.pdf.
Find us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/amerihealthdc. / Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/amerihealthcaritasdc. / Find us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/amerihealthcaritasdc.
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Visit www.amerihealthcaritasdc.com/member/eng/ healthy-living/reward-program.aspx to learn more. Note: An enrollee cannot get more than $75 in incentives each year. Certain limitations and restrictions may apply. ACDC-201001070-1
www.amerihealthcaritasdc.com
All images are used under license for illustrative purposes only. Any individual depicted is a model.
AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.
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APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 19
HEALTH Major Retailer Plays Big Role in Addressing District’s Food Insecurity
Macy’s Collaborates with Local Organizations Lindiwe Vilakazi W.I. Contributing Writer Through its annual Bag Hunger Campaign Macy’s helps de-
liver food directly to the doors of hungry families throughout the District. “Giving back has always been a part of what we’re about at Macy’s,
5 Macy's Bag Hunger 2021 campaign leaders present a check to the Capital Area Food Bank for their community impact. (Photo courtesy Macy’s, Inc.)
and now through our round-up campaign, we’re able to connect our give back strategy to what’s
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important to our local communities - and obviously food insecurity is a big deal here in the D.C. Metropolitan area,” said Elwyn Mapps, Divisional Vice President of Macy’s for the Maryland, and Washington, D.C. area. Washington, D.C. currently ranks as one of the leading cities battling food insecurity within the nation, having accounted for 415,000 cases prior to the pandemic, amassing 16 percent of the city’s resident population. Operating the Bag Hunger campaign since 1998, the retailer donates money to nonprofits working to deliver food, and resources straight to the doors of hungry families across the District. Local organizations spearheading the fight against food insecurity, such as Food and Friends Inc., and the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB), actively continue to provide food distributions for residents. On Friday, March 26th, the CAFB welcomed Macy’s colleagues from 17 local stores to assist with on-site meal packaging, and distributions to various families in need. “Food insecurity was already at unacceptably high levels for our nation's Capital or anywhere before the pandemic. Even before COVID-19, we were seeing about 400,000 [people] throughout our region, who weren’t sure where their next meal was going to come
from,” said Hilary Salmon, CAFB Director of Marketing and Communications. “Now as a result of the pandemic over this last year, we’ve seen hunger and food insecurity increase by 50 percent, so that’s about 200,000 [additional] people.” Nationally, food insecurity plagues the homes of 13.7 million Americans, with D.C. comprising a significantly large percentage of insecure residents in comparison to averages statewide. District CAFB has seen thousands of volunteers amid the health crisis to help service hungry residents, as participant numbers have significantly increased in respect to rising cases. Capital Area Food Bank service area expands the range of Washington, D.C., Prince George’s, and Montgomery County in Maryland, and Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William, and Alexandria in Virginia. Macy’s has pushed a conservative effort to develop a heavier relevance in Washington, D.C., Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Howard counties, while now including Baltimore. “Our food bank partners have done a great job in making their working environment COVID friendly, and our stores have found a great way to contribute in light of the current environment,” said Mapps. WI
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HEALTH
FEMA-Managed Vaccination Site Coming to Greenbelt Metro Station on April 7 William J. Ford WI Staff Writer The Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to open a vaccination site in Greenbelt on April 7 – the first federally-managed site in Maryland. A joint announcement from Gov. Larry Hogan and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said the site at the Greenbelt Metro station parking lot could supply up to 3,000 COVID-19 doses per day as vaccines become available from the federal government. “Prince George’s County has certainly been the hardest-hit jurisdiction in the region and we thank the White House, FEMA and our other federal partners for selecting our county as a location for a federally-run mass vaccination site,” Alsobrooks said. “It is absolutely critical that we can continue to quickly and equitably administer vaccine to our community.” The site plans to have staff to translate for residents who don’t speak English and those who are deaf or have hearing loss. The number of employees and hours of operation has not been announced. Greenbelt Mayor Colin Byrd announced one day earlier that FEMA would be coming to Greenbelt through the end of June. “We can see more people get vaccinated and help those not in the city of Greenbelt but also parts of Prince George’s County who have been effected the greatest,” he said Monday, March 29. “It has been a nightmare for the vaccine inequities we have seen in this state. This will help reconcile and get past this nightmare.” As of Monday, Prince George’s continued to lead the state of Maryland in confirmed coronavirus cases with nearly 78,000. Greenbelt, located in the northern part of the county, could help vaccinate residents who reside in the Hyattsville area with the zip code of 20783. That zip code ranks second in the state with 5,221 confirmed cases. According to a map presented
Monday during a Maryland Senate oversight work group session, less than 10 percent of those who reside in several zip codes inside the Beltway in Prince George’s received at least a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Although more than 2.5 million Marylanders have been vaccinated, Sen. Clarence Lam, a physician and Democrat who represents portions of Baltimore and Howard counties, suggested the state slow down on reopening efforts. One reason: Lam’s two counties and 13 other jurisdictions recorded positivity rates Monday at or above 5 percent. The figure sits above the state average of 4.9 percent. Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore notes positive rate remains “an important indicator because it can provide insights into whether a community is conducting enough testing to find cases.” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during a COVID-19 White House briefing Monday she felt “impending doom” based on a rise of confirmed cases above 30 million nationwide. Some of her fear hinders on more Americans traveling as 145.8 million Americans have been vaccinated. “The trajectory of the pandemic in the United States looks similar to many other countries in Europe, including what Germany, Italy and France looked like just a few weeks ago,” Walensky said. “We are not powerless. We can change this trajectory of the pandemic but it will take all of us recommitting to following the public health prevention strategies consistently, while we work to get the American public vaccinated.” Walensky signed a temporary order to halt residential evictions through June 30. Eligibility requirements include an individual renter earning $99,000 annually and a couple $198,000. Renters must also prove they couldn’t pay rent due to substantial loss of income, become homeless and sought government assistance. To read the order, go to https://bit. ly/31BYWIJ. WI @jabariwill
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‘Essential’ takes on a whole new meaning with COVID.
Get vaccinated when it’s your turn.
I’m an essential worker, because everyone needs food. You know what’s essential for me? Not getting COVID. And it’s a virus that keeps changing. Vaccines are here. But until enough of us are vaccinated, we still need to mask up, stay 6 feet apart, and avoid crowds. Whenever I see that, there’s a smile behind my mask. Learn more at cdc.gov/coronavirus
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APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 21
EDUCATION Student Data Collection Mired in Controversy Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer Over the last decade as a special education teacher, Dr. Dawn Welters has often had to collect data about her students and chart a path for their academic success using quantitative information passed on from previous instructors. Even with pre-COVID data, Welters said continuing that tradition has proven difficult because of what she described as the perilous conditions of virtual learning and time constraints imposed upon her and her colleagues. “We have to collect data and sometimes [administrators] give us a specific time window to do
some of those things and it’s not enough for me and my students,” said Welters, who works with six deaf and hard-of-hearing elementary students. “It’s been overwhelming collecting data this year,” she added. “From what I’m seeing, there’s been some improvement, but not what’s expected during the school year. We should be seeing more of an improvement with students by this time but they’re not [yet] up to their full potential.” Welters’ concerns come amid the release of a report from the Office of the D.C. Auditor (ODCA) that details the lack of District-wide, longitudinal data about District students, what officials deemed more than necessary during a pan-
5 Dr. Dawn Welters (Courtesy photo)
“From what I’m seeing, there’s been some improvement, but not what’s expected during the school year. We should be seeing more of an improvement with students by this time but they’re not [yet] up to their full potential.” demic where students have experienced learning loss. On March 10, ODCA officials contended that the District hasn’t created the means to determine
what each student learns each year, nor do they have any idea about student-teacher linkages. Without such data, OSSE would be unable to predict which students are the
For Most Teachers, an Extremely Tough Road Lies Ahead
State Board Survey Hints at Massive Teacher Exodus Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer As various local institutions attempt to return to pre-COVID activity levels, teachers too are mulling when, and even whether, to reenter the classroom. Though many have embraced on-campus safety protocols and taken vaccinations, there remains the question of the pandemic’s impact on student learning. For Gina Abrams, the pandemic placed teachers in a tough position, as many were still expected to successfully provide grade-level instruction to students with significant pandemic-related learning gaps. She said administrators often placed the onus on her to not only articulate complicated concepts to students, but compete with forces at home
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that impeded their progress. “It was hard for the students to access that material but they were still tested with the same type of benchmarks. Why would you expect them to be at a [certain] level if they didn’t finish kindergarten?” said Abrams, a first grade DCPS teacher. “I don’t know how the kids will make up all that loss. Summer school won’t solve it. Maybe being in person might help, but [DCPS] dropped the ball when they made us start the [grade-level] curriculum, not what students missed.” As shown in a survey conducted by the D.C. State Board of Education, several teachers share Abrams’ sentiments. The survey, released in March, showed that nearly half of teachers in the District’s public and public
charter sectors considered leaving the profession because of difficulties encountered during the pandemic. Two out of three teachers said they couldn’t cover the same amount of content during virtual learning as had been the case during in-person instruction. More than three out of four teachers indicated that students had internet that was too slow for virtual learning, while three out of five recounted students experiencing computer issues. The survey also highlighted inequities among students in Wards 7 and 8 and concerns among nearly seven out of 10 teachers about being unable to meet their students’ increasingly strong socio-emotional needs. In response to the survey, D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) Chan-
cellor Lewis Ferebee highlighted the launch of Rigorous Instruction Supports Equity, a federally funded program through which teachers at 43 schools receive equity-centered professional development and performance-based incentive awards. As teachers increasingly make the return to campuses across the District, some like Andrew Green said they look forward to the opportunity to effectively instruct their students. Given the hurdles faced while conducting virtual learning, Green pondered why District officials couldn't make these arrangements earlier. “Every part of the school day is affected by inequities,” he added. WI @SamPKCollins
most likely to repeat a grade in high school. According to officials, the lack of data has also left them in the dark about the progress of each public and public charter school graduate in postsecondary studies and workforce development. Last month, a survey conducted by the DC State Board of Education found that less than one-third of teachers have been able to cover the same amount of content in the virtual learning space as would have been the case under normal circumstances. Teachers also reported lower levels of student engagement in Wards 7 and 8. D.C. Councilmembers Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) and Robert White (D-At large), both of whom led efforts for the data collection revamp with the introduction of legislation nearly three years ago, said such an undertaking would help students falling further behind during the pandemic. Erin Roth, ODCA’s director of education research, shared their sentiments. “The District needs data to plan supports and interventions, and they need it going back as many grades as possible,” Roth said. “Our current data collections have been significantly disrupted, but other states are relying on coursework, survey data, and other predictive tools to ensure students are staying on track. This needs to be used in D.C. We can invest in it right away to build it.” WI @SamPKCollins
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EDUCATION
Maryland HBCU Presidents Celebrate Historic Lawsuit Settlement Battle Waged over 15 Years about Higher Education Discrimination Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer For 15 years administrators at four historically black colleges in the state of Maryland have fought over a system that made sure that that they didn’t get the money and resources that they needed. But this week the presidents of Morgan State, Coppin State and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore joined their colleague at Bowie State to sign an historic agreement with the governor of Maryland to end decades of discrimination. “We are here to enact an historic, bipartisan measure that will be an unprecedented step forward in addressing inequities in our higher education system by making additional substantial investments in Maryland’s historically Black colleges and universities,” said Hogan
who was joined by Senate President Bill Ferguson, House Speaker Adrienne Jones and Lt. Gov. Boyd K. Rutherford. Bowie State University President Aminta Breaux hosted the event that she called “a historic bill signing alongside our fellow Maryland HBCUs, concluding 15 years of advocacy to correct inequitable state funding.” Coppin State President Anthony L. Jenkins tweeted, “With gratitude we thank @GovLarryHogan who signed SB1 HB1 (the HBCU Bill) into law, ensuring $577M over 10 years in state resources for Maryland's four HBCUs”. Morgan State University President David Wilson also hailed March 24 as an “historic day.” “After 15 years of litigation, settlement is finally reached,” he said. “With the $20 million or so com-
Why You Should Get Tested For COVID-19 Today The past year has been incredibly difficult for our community. COVID-19 has taken a tremendous toll on each of us, with many losing jobs, losing time with our families, and worst of all, losing loved ones. Even as we see hopeful signs as the vaccine rolls out, ongoing COVID-19 testing remains critical to keep our community safe. Black Americans comprise 13% of the US population. Yet, more than half of all COVID-19 cases—and almost 60% of related deaths— occurred in US cities with large Black populations. All too often, Black people are tested for COVID-19 only after they catch it and go to a hospital with symptoms that have become difficult or impossible to treat. A Quest Diagnostics survey showed 72% of Black Americans have either delayed or avoided getting a diagnostic COVID-19 test even when they believed they needed one. Such reluctance carries a high price. By the time a Black American is hospitalized, the disease has often progressed to where no therapy can stop it. People in crisis often lack the information and resources to find a way out. To change this, Choose Healthy Life, United Way of New York City, and Quest Diagnostics are hosting COVID-19 testing and educational events in our local communities and in partnership with our churches. When trusted community leaders, including Black clergy, work with health experts to provide testing resources and much-needed support for those who test positive, it can have long-lasting, positive impacts on our community. “We’re bringing people together to teach about this pandemic,” said Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, Senior Pastor of The Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, and co-chair of Choose Healthy Life. “The African-American church was the first place where we could get together and talk and learn. People come here because this is the most trusted institution in our community. The clergy have to be examples, and so, we got tested, and we encourage the community to get tested.”
Bowie State University President Aminta Breaux hosted the event that she called “a historic bill signing alongside our fellow Maryland HBCUs, concluding 15 years of advocacy to correct inequitable state funding.”
ing to Morgan, we will mount a few degree programs to be in alignment with the human work of the future. I wanted to make sure the signature was in non-erasable ink!” University of Maryland Eastern Shore President Heidi Anderson expressed her gratitude grateful to Hogan for signing the $577 million settlement bill. “It will provide #UMES $9.6 million annually in additional funding over the next 10 years!” The legislation brings to an end a 15-year-long legal battle in the state between the HBCU’s and the predominantly white institutions over the most equitable way to allocate programs that were often duplicated in both type of schools. “No governor in the history of the state has ever invested more in Maryland’s HBCUs,” Hogan said at the press conference. “Our administration has advanced more than a billion dollars in major projects at all
Testing Matters: It Can Save Lives “It’s critical that we remain vigilant in 2021,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, President and CEO of the National Action Network, and co-chair of Choose Healthy Life. “As faith leaders, we are stepping up to provide critical testing and resources to help our communities fight back against the virus.” Once you’ve been tested, even if you show no symptoms, you can be properly diagnosed. If you test negative, that’s great! If you test positive, you can get treated sooner and more effectively. Your friends, families and coworkers can be notified and can quarantine if necessary. This helps stop COVID-19’s spread. It’s simple, easy and free—and it could save your life. Testing will occur in the coming months at Choose Healthy Life churches and local health centers in Atlanta, Detroit, Newark, New York, Washington, DC, and other US cities. At each event, local health navigators will share important testing and vaccine information with community members. Learn more at ChooseHealthyLife.org. “This virus is actually making people afraid to get tested. They don’t want to know. They think, ‘What am I going to do? Am I going to have to quarantine? If I get sick, it’s out of my control.’ It’s really a scary proposition. That’s why we’re seeing so many Black people who are not getting tested until they’re at the hospital,” said Sheena Wright, President & CEO of United Way of New York City, and the implementation partner for Choose Healthy Life. “We’ve been besieged with death, fear, concern, and sickness, and this is a beacon of light in the dark, where people can come and be treated. There is hope at the end of this very long tunnel,” added Wright.
four HBCUs in Maryland, including for the new Communication, Arts, and Humanities building here at Bowie State.” The lawsuit alleged that, by duplicating programs, the state of Maryland was undermining its own HBCU programs, and in the last two years, Hogan argued that the black colleges were getting too much money. But according to the bill in the fiscal year 2023 fiscal year, the state will provide $57.7 million between the four universities based on student enrollment. Morgan State will receive $24 million in the first year, Bowie State $16.8 million, Eastern Shore $9.7 million, and Coppin State $9 million. The bulk of this money will go to the institutions permanent source of revenue which is called the endowment. But even with this new money the HBCU’s still trail the state’s majority white institutions in terms of their endowment. WI Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III preparing to receive his COVID-19 test. Dr. Butts has served as pastor at the Abyssinian Baptist Church for over 30 years, and is co-chair of the National Black Clergy Leadership Health Council.
Rev. Al Sharpton, co-chair of the Choose Healthy Life National Black Clergy Health Leadership Council, demonstrates the ease and necessity of COVID-19 testing to help address the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 in Black communities. This event, held at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem on Jan. 25, is the first of hundreds of planned COVID-19 testing events at Black churches across the US, a partnership of Choose Healthy Life, Quest Diagnostics, and the United Way. A community member is tested for COVID-19 at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem on Jan. 25. Hundreds of events like this one will take place in Black communities across the US, a partnership of Choose Healthy Life, Quest Diagnostics, and the United Way.
So please take action. Get tested. Your participation can help save the lives of thousands of Black Americans.
Events at local churches will enable people in our community to get their questions answered, while providing opportunities to get tested. This will help prevent the spread of COVID-19, provide guidance about quarantine, and help those who do test positive get access to care.
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APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 23
Working together to create
jobs for our community At Bank of America, we continue to invest in our local communities to help create jobs and fuel economic opportunity. We’re doing this by collaborating with other companies, identifying needs and working with skill-building partners. This effort also includes our recent $25 million investment in 21 higher education institutions including community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions, such as Northern Virginia Community College. Our shared focus is on education, reskilling and up-skilling to build a pipeline of talent — and on increased commitment to hiring by major employers across our local area. Here in the DMV, my teammates and I are excited to be a part of creating more opportunities for members of our community. What would you like the power to do?®
We’re supporting local organizations that are expanding access to skill-building programs and resources, including: • VA Ready • DC Central Kitchen • La Cocina VA
Lawrence Di Rita Greater Washington, D.C. Market President
To learn more, please visit bankofamerica.com/dc Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Credit Opportunity Lender. © 2021 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.
24 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS
EDITORIAL
Seven Mass Shootings in Seven Days – Haven’t We Had Enough?
In mid-February, we reported on D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s decision to declare gun violence in the District as a public health crisis. She also announced her plan to assemble an emergency operations center to address the deadly surge in gun violence and appointed Linda Harllee Harper as D.C.’s first gun violence prevention director. While we applauded the mayor’s decision, we questioned why it had taken her so long to act with the initiative’s first target being Anacostia given city officials admitting that it was common knowledge that 2 percent of all blocks in the city (in the above mentioned Southeast community) were the site of 41 percent of all gunshot-related crimes last year. In fact, although overall violent crime declined in 2020, gun violence rose with 922 people shot – a 33 percent increase from 2019 and with 198 murders – a 19 percent increase. A closer look reveals that most murder victims in 2020 were Black (95 percent) with Black men accounting for 81 percent of all victims and Black women, 15 percent. “This is a level of violence that we haven’t seen in more than a decade,” Bowser said. “And the homicide trends are disturbing . . . We know that we must act and we must act differently.” Bowser’s commitment to taking immediate action and her recognition that a different strategy must be both devised and employed should now be heeded by the nation’s leaders in Congress. After two massacres in less than a week in Boulder and Atlanta, many Americans remain in shock while the debate on gun control has once again dominated conversations from hidden culde-sacs to Capitol Hill. COVID-19 may have been in the headlines for the past year but mass shootings were still occurring and in large numbers. Ignorance is not always bliss! Date provided by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit group that catalogs gun violence in the U.S., reveals that 104 mass shootings have occurred in 29 states plus the District in 2021 so far with 120 people killed and more than 380 injured. (Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot or killed in a single incident not including the shooter). In 2021, we’ve continued where we left off in 2020 during which there were 611 mass shootings – the highest number since the Gun Violence Archive began tracking them in 2014. President Biden, speaking to the nation on March 23 after the Colorado shooting, said, “I don’t need to wait one more minute, let alone an hour, to take common steps that will save lives in the future. I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act. We can ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines in this country once again. We got it done when I was in the Senate . . . we should do it again.” In his illuminating study on America’s transformation from the right to arms in colonial America to today’s gun-control debate, “Armed in America,” historian and legal scholar Patrick J. Charles asserts that in today’s “golden age of gun rights,” gun rights have become both politicized and normalized. But is it “normal” for a nation to witness seven mass shootings – in Boulder, Atlanta, Stockton (Calif.), Gresham (Oregon), Houston, Dallas and Philadelphia – in just seven days across the U.S.? This is no longer a political issue for debate. As Bowser declared about the District, gun violence is now a public health crisis in America too. How many more lives must be lost until drastic changes are made? WI
Robert Contee, III: A Police Chief who Understands the Community’s Needs We wish we could say for sure congratulations to Robert Contee, III for being confirmed as the permanent chief of the Metropolitan Police Department [MPD] but the D.C. Council’s confirmation vote is not expected before our publication goes to press today. Still, for the record, we support his confirmation and look forward to the reform measures he has planned to ensure accountability for the 3,640-member police force and make the community safer for District residents. Since former Chief Peter Newsham, a veteran MPD officer of more than 30 years, announced his resignation last December after serving as chief for three years, residents and MPD members have anxiously awaited Contee’s officially taking over the post. As a member of MPD since 1992 after becoming a cadet in 1989 while attending Spingarn High School, Contee is undoubtedly the perfect prescription for a department that is declining in numbers and has become increasingly demoralized over the past 20 years.
A Long Way to Go to #51 I'm for D.C. statehood, but I don't want to get my hopes up. Seems like an uphill battle and a lot of questions that would need to be answered for the right votes to happen. I'm cautiously optimistic. Bill Leonard Washington, D.C.
Contee knows MPD about as well, if not better than anyone in D.C. He knows and came through the ranks under some of MPD’s most renowned chiefs, including Burtell Jefferson (D.C.’s first Black police chief ), Maurice Turner and Isaac Fulwood, to name a few. As a child, he spent summers at Camp Ernest Brown, a summer oasis for D.C. youth run by MPD in Scotland, Maryland. In high school, he enjoyed listening to the music of MPD’s Side by Side Band who visited every public school in the city. What worked then to ensure positive community-police relations can work now, Contee believes, and the results are mutually beneficial. Just like the community wants a police
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TO THE EDITOR From Dipped to Drip WOW! The WI Bridge's latest issue is super cool and fashionable. It's very refreshing to see Black fashion that really showcases the style and vibe of D.C.! I especially love the looks from each decade. Dope! Krystal Severs Washington, D.C.
department that is engaged, responsive and compassionate to their concerns and needs, Contee also wants a police department that is engaged, responsive and empathetic to its officers. As he travels across the city, either in person or via Zoom, from one community meeting to another, asking residents what they believe will ensure better service from MPD, he is also working to provide his officers with the mental and emotional support they need to more effectively perform their jobs. Thank you, Mayor Bowser, for choosing Robert Contee, III for D.C.’s next police chief and to the D.C. Council for confirming him. It is an opportunity for which he is prepared and deserves. WI
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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist
Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas
Black Women Leading Our Nation Forward
Many have described this past year of a COVID-19 pandemic, a falsely repudiated presidential election result topped off by an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as apocalyptic. And it has been, but not in the common understanding of apocalyptic as the end or destruction of the world and hence nation. Rather, in the sense of apocalyptic signaling a revelation, this year has revealed a nation at war with itself.
On the one hand, this nation's very founding identity was defined by a white supremacist ideology. The Constitution that the founding framers put in place was based upon a "racial contract" where, as the Dred Scott decision pointed out, Black people were granted no rights that white people had to respect. Yet on the other hand, the Founding Fathers gave birth to a vision, fleeting as it may have been, of a nation where all persons would enjoy the "unalienable rights" of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." At the moment of its founding this nation
Guest Columnist
was undecided on what kind of democracy it wanted to be. And, to this day, it remains undecided. Nothing has revealed that more than the presidential election and its aftermath. Voting in this presidential election was, for me, a surreal experience. I was struck by the fact that in my lifetime I was able to vote for the first Black president, Barack Obama, and now I was casting my vote for the first Black female (South Asian and Jamaican) vice president, Kamala Harris. When I went into the voting booth, I literally had tears in my eyes — I
thought of my great-grandparents, my grandparents and my parents. It would be beyond their wildest imaginings that two Black people could ever be elected to the highest offices in a nation with a Constitution that once declared Black people three-fifths human. Yet, it happened. On Saturday November 7, Joe Biden was declared president of the United States along with his vice president, Kamala Harris. Tears once again filled my eyes. It seemed that the nation was living into the vision of its "higher angels." On Jan. 6, however, at the time
when Congress was to certify the electoral win of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, insurrectionists stormed the Capitol in support of the "Make America Great Again" vision, believing a lie about the election results. Some of these insurrectionists carried Confederate flags down the halls of the congressional buildings. Others in the mob donned sweatshirts with "Camp Auschwitz" on them, along with other white supremacist paraphernalia including a noose hung
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A. Peter Bailey
Commemorating the Assassination of Dr. King on Easter Sunday
April 4, 2021, (ironically Easter Sunday this year) will mark the 53rd anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a historical date that I am willing to bet at least 75% of young black folks under 40 are almost totally unaware of. Even most of those over 40 may have forgotten that this is the date that we should com-
memorate the memory of Dr. King as a warrior who left us with serious guidance in his book "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" That guidance includes the following: "Black Power is also a call for the pooling of black financial resources to achieve economic security period. While the ultimate answer to the Negro's dilemma will be found in a massive federal program for all the poor along the lines of A. Philip Randolph's Freedom
Guest Columnist
Budget, a kind of Marshall Plan for the disadvantaged, there is something that the Negro himself can do to throw off the shackles of poverty. Although the Negro is still at the bottom of the economic ladder, his collective annual income is upwards of $30 billion. This gives him a considerable buying power that can make the difference between profit and loss in many businesses. Through the pooling of such resources and the development of habits of thrift and techniques of
wise investment the Negro will be doing his share to grapple with his problem of economic deprivation. If Black Power means the development of this kind of strength in the Negro community then it is a quest for basic, necessary, legitimate power." Another example of serious guidance from Dr. King is that "In assessing the results of the Negro Revolution so far it can be concluded that Negroes have established a foothold, no more … the hard
truth is that neither Negroes nor whites has yet done enough to expect the dawn of a new day. While much has been done, it has been accomplished by too few and on a scale too limited for the breadth of the goal. Freedom is not won by passive acceptance of suffering … the brunt of the Negro's past battles was borne by a very small striking force. Though millions were ardent and passionate supporters
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Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
Our Diversity is Truly America's Strength and the Hateful Reaction to it is Truly America's Weakness vandalized; homes smeared with ment fueled by the loss of good rights and stomped out any effort The recent murder of eight people in North Georgia, six of them Asian American women, has brought national attention to the increasing violence and hatred suffered by Asian Americans in this country, and to the continuing reality of violence against women. Hate crimes against Asian Americans were up a staggering 150 per-
26 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
cent in 2020, with Asian American women twice as likely to be victimized as men. Those targeted are of all ages and all different Asian nationalities. The violent attacks are often simply random, as when Xiao Zhen Xie, a 76-year-old grandmother in San Francisco, was punched in the face by a stranger. Children have been bullied and insulted. Asian-owned businesses have been
hateful graffiti. The immediate cause of the increasing violence can be traced back to Donald Trump labeling the COVID-19 pandemic the "Kung Flu" and blaming the Chinese for its spread. Trump's taunts focused the anger of frightened people on Asian Americans, despite the fact that Asian Americans — often front-line essential workers — were disproportionately hit by the disease. This comes on top of the resent-
jobs in America, as rapacious multinationals and foolish policymakers conspired to cripple manufacturing. The recent outbreak of race crimes directed at Asian Americans is the most recent chapter of a long, dismal history in this country, dating back to when Chinese workers were first imported in the 1850s to do dangerous, low-wage jobs in mining and railroad construction. Employers suppressed their wages, stripped them of their
to organize. Immediately, fears that the "Chinese were taking American jobs" spread wildly. Just as with African Americans, Asian Americans were victimized repeatedly by vigilante violence and official injustice. In 1854, the California Supreme Court in People v. Hall ruled that Asians could not testify against a white person. Hall, who had
JACKSON Page 45
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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnists
Adrienne Jones and John B. King Jr.
Maryland Has a Chance to Be a National Model for Making Racial Equity a Reality
In Maryland, we have taken the challenge of inclusivity and justice — not simply equality — seriously. We, as a state and a nation, have had the tendency to focus on criminal justice reform and affirmative action programs as the only ways to advance justice for Black Americans. While we need structural change from addressing harmful policing practices to reforming our youth justice system, we also need to lay
the groundwork for future prosperity by providing excellent public education and postsecondary options for all Black students, expanding access to affordable housing and preventing harmful redlining and eviction practices, and ensuring full participation in corporate America for Black Americans. The data is clear — greater diversity leads to greater prosperity. Greater prosperity and a better economy help every American, regardless of race. But we have tried band-aid efforts for decades that have not lifted up communities of color in a meaningful way.
With the Maryland General Assembly enacting a comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill a few weeks ago and President Biden signing the American Rescue Plan into law, Marylanders experiencing the effects of the COVID-19 economic crisis can be assured help is coming. Moving forward, we must ensure these efforts address the needs of Black Marylanders, who we know have suffered more significantly in both health and wealth during this pandemic. This legislative session, Maryland has a chance to be a national model for what it takes to make racial equity
Guest Columnist
a reality with policy changes that will improve the quality of life of more Black Marylanders for generations to come. We are proud that with the input of advocates, experts, and Black communities from across the state and the nation, the legislature can pass a Black economic agenda that empowers Black Marylanders to seek out opportunity, to build businesses and build generational wealth. Indeed, racial injustice existed before the pandemic. That's why it's not enough to just return to the February 2020 status quo. Before COVID, nationally, the median wealth of Black families was less than
15% of the median wealth of white families, 73% of white parents (3554) owned their own home compared to just 51% of Black parents (35-54), and even before the pandemic, the Black unemployment rate was twice the white unemployment rate. And then COVID-19 brought on an economic tsunami: more than 400,000 small businesses have closed since the start of the pandemic and many more are struggling to stay afloat. In Maryland, 2020 saw the loss of nearly 125,000 jobs with a disproportionate impact on
rately impacted at the intersections of racism, sexism and xenophobia," Howell said. There is a long history of bigotry and legal discrimination that directly targeted Asian immigrants and Asian Americans. Over the past year, that hostility was inflamed by bigoted rhetoric from former President Donald Trump describing COVID-19 as the "Kung flu" and warning that if he weren't reelected Americans would have to learn Chinese. As Howell and many other activists and scholars have pointed out since
the killings, racism in this country is deeply connected to sexism directed at women of color. And racism and misogyny are both intertwined with the history and culture of conservative white evangelicalism in which the Atlanta shooter was apparently steeped. Kathryn Gin Lum, an associate professor of American religion at Stanford University, said the killings reflected "a toxic brew" of racism, sexism and religion. That toxic brew
of one Senate term. On top of all that, they rigged the system so that in order for most decisions to be agreed upon, there must be a “super majority” in favor. That anti-democratic gem is called the “filibuster” rule. It means that unless a measure (now) has 60 (of 100) votes, it cannot be put before the body for ratification by the majority. That means that an even smaller minority of 41 senators, representing even fewer voters, can control/dictate to a 59-member majority. As if those
slave-holding founding fathers could see into the future, the filibuster has always been used to block efforts to democratize the nation’s laws, or to provide benefits for the neediest citizens. The first filibuster permitted any group of senators, no matter how small, to yield speaking privileges to one another forever. But the need for a military buildup before World War I required the first modification of the rule, allowing a supermajority to break
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Ben Jealous
Racism and Its Deadly Cousins
What does it say about our country when we don't have time to absorb the impact of one mass shooting before news of the next one comes across our phones and TV screens? Grief upon grief. This column is not about gun culture or laws that make it easier to buy an assault rifle than to register to vote. We need to talk about those things.
But we also need to pay attention to one response to the Atlanta spa killings: the way some conservatives rushed to insist that race and racism had nothing to do with the murders. It is true that the man who confessed to the Atlanta killings said they were not racially motivated. He reportedly told police that he was struggling with a "sex addiction" and the killings were a way to "eliminate temptation." There's a lot in that statement to unpack, and a lot of smart people
Askia-At-Large
have been unpacking it over the past two weeks. Marcela Howell, who leads In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Agenda, was among the Black women who spoke in solidarity after the killings. "While law enforcement officials have announced that the shooter's motivation was ‘sex addiction,' we know that sexual violence and racism are often intertwined when it comes to violence against women," she said in a statement. "As Black women, we know that our Asian-American sisters are dispa-
JEALOUS Page 46
Askia Muhammad
Busting the Filibuster
The white supremacist, race-haters never intended for the United States of America—a secessionist colony built on land stolen from the Native people and built by African laborers stolen from Africa—they never intended for this country to be a functioning, majority-rule, democracy. Sure, they put some fancy words about equality into the Declaration of Independence, but
then they nullified their intent with their Constitution. Truth be told, the Colonies didn’t secede from England just because of some tea tax. The reason they declared independence was to maintain this country’s “Peculiar Institution:” slavery. The Brits were about to outlaw slavery and the colonies were just getting started. The southern, slave states then negotiated a governing document that would maintain their power in perpetuity. After their loathsome 3/5 compro-
mise—counting the enslaved Africans as 3/5 of a human for census purposes, with no intention of recognizing them ever as equal human beings—they fashioned the totally undemocratic Senate. Today, the 50 Senate Democrats represent 45 million more people than the 50 Senate Republicans. The Senate is a “co-equal” branch of the legislature, though it is enormously more powerful. House of Representatives members have to be elected to three terms before they serve the equivalent
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ASKIA Page 46 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 27
LIFESTYLE
4 The Busey Clan, a loving D.C. family, take time out for a candid shot. Pictured are: Eris, author/model/youth advocate (L-R); Christian, single parent Ericka and Niah. (Photo courtesy Erica Busey)
D.C. ‘Tween’ Eris Aubrie Busey Pens Book for Fatherless Peers ‘Dad Gone’ Offers Motivation and Hope to Youths without Fathers D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor If you close your eyes and listen for just a moment, you may find it difficult to believe that Eris Aubrie Busey – an actress, model and community activist – has only been on the planet for 11 years. But despite her tender age, Eris exemplifies the proverbial “old soul” in thought, word and particularly in deed. The native Washingtonian, an
honor roll student at Two Rivers Public Charter School – Young Elementary School in Northeast, proudly works toward eliminating homelessness in the District, sashays effortlessly on runways, https://youtu.be/Y_pus8z_634. across the U.S., including the nation’s premier event, New York Fashion Week, and dazzles readers with her aura on the covers of America’s leading magazines. Ultimately, Eris says she wants to host her own TV talk show and become both an Academy Award-win-
Radio Talk Show Host Fra nk Ma lone
’FAthers Next LeveL eMPOWerMeNt hOUr’
ning actress and America’s Next Top Model – not necessarily in that order. However, for now, she’s content with being an author after the publishing of her first book, “Dad Gone,” last year. “I never had the privilege of having two parents to grow up with,” she said. “In my early life my dad missed seeing the milestones I achieved. There were many trying times but I learned to cope with the realization that he would never be there for me. This book gives support to other little girls and boys who have had similar experiences,” Eris said. She says her motivation for writing the book, which speaks to children and is illustrated with delightful images of a little Black girl meandering down the road toward adulthood, remains simple but essential. “I want to influence other children and remind them that not having a father doesn’t have to keep you from making your dreams come true. And besides, if you don’t have a father in your life, it’s not your fault,” Eris said before sharing her thoughts about her single-parent mother.
“It has not been easy for my mom because she has had to do everything for me and my siblings and she’s provided us with everything we’ve needed and wanted. I’ve learned about courage, confidence and perseverance by watching her as well as both my grandmother and my great-grandmother.” “And my big sister, Niah, who’s almost 16, remains a great influence in my life,” Eris said. But the young author lists other women of color as additional role models: Taraji P. Henson, Halle Berry, Kamala Harris and teen “phenom” Skai Jackson who performed impressively during her recent appearance on “Dancing With the Stars 2020.” “I’ve watched Skai carefully and seen all of the shows she’s been in,” Eris said. “To watch her progress has really been cool. Just like her, I want to be a Disney kid one day and travel the world.” After the release of her book in 2020, Eris began to receive numerous invitations to speak with children in the D.C. region – something which has led her to start working on a second book after receiving encouraging responses to her
“To lead fathers toward greater involvement with their children & families.” Fra nk Ma lone Radio Shows @ www.blackonblackunity.com THEN CLICK Radio Information.
“To encourage men to step forward to implement a blueprint to change the paradigm for boys to men.”
5 Eris Aubrie Busey, a proud native Washingtonian, continues to travel throughout the region for book signings and to read and discuss her book, “Dad Gone.” (Photo courtesy Erica Busey)
28 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
debut work from her peers. But how does she do so many things – and apparently do them all so well? “COVID-19 freed me to grow in ways that I could not have believed,” she said. “Being home all the time has forced me to better manage my time and given me a lot more time to think about myself and my plans for the future. I finally signed with a modeling agency during the pandemic which will help me get more photo shoot assignments and on more magazine covers.” “I still have a lot of things I want to accomplish one day. And I’m going to make all of my dreams come true – even without having a dad in my life,” Eris added. Contact Eris through the following social media handles: Instagram Page: @eris_aubrie, Book Instagram Page: @erisabusey.author or Facebook: Eris Aubrie Busey. EDITOR’S NOTE: A disproportionate number of Black children under 18 live in single-parent homes, according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The percentage of white children under 18 who live with both parents almost doubles that of Black children. And while 74.3 percent of all white children below the age of 18 live with both parents, only 38.7 percent of African-American minors can say the same. More than one-third of all Black children in the U.S. under the age of 18 live with unmarried mothers compared to 6.5 percent of white children – the figures reflect a general trend. Between 1960 and 2016, the percentage of children living with only their mother nearly tripled from 8 to 23 percent; children living with only their father increased from 1 to 4 percent. WI @mcneirdk
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CHILDREN from Page 1 that income and wealth inequality continue to escalate and harm children in low-income, Black and brown families. Of the more than 10.5 million poverty-stricken children in America in 2019, nearly 71 percent were those of color. And while the share of all wealth held by the top one percent of Americans grew from 30 percent to 37 percent, the share held by the bottom 90 percent fell from 33 percent to 23 percent between 1989 and 2019. Today, a member of the top 10 percent of income earners makes about 39 times as much as the average earner in the bottom 90 percent. As for the median family income, white households with children ($95,700) was more than double that of Black ($43,900) and Hispanic households with children ($52,300). Further, the report noted that the lack of affordable housing and federal rental assistance leaves millions of children homeless or at risk of homelessness. More than 1.5 million children enrolled in public schools experienced homelessness during the 2017-2018 school year and 74 percent of unhoused students during the 20172018 school year temporarily lived with family or friends. Millions of children live lack reliable access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food with over 1 in 7 children, 10.7 million, facing food insecurity. Said another way, they lived in households where not everyone had enough to eat with Black and Hispanic children twice as likely to live in food-insecure households as white children. The report shows that America’s schools have continued to slip backwards into patterns of deep racial and socioeconomic segregation, perpetuating long-standing achievement gaps. For instance, during the 2017-2018 public school year, 19 percent of Black, 21 percent of Hispanic and more than 26 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native students failed to graduate on time compared with only 11 percent of white students. More than 77 percent of Hispanic and more than 79 percent of Black fourth and eighth grade public school students were not proficient in reading or math in
5 Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson President & CEO, Children’s Defense Fund (Courtesy photo)
2019 compared with less than 60 percent of white students. “We’ve come to the point where our conversations about child well-being and our dialogue and reckoning around racial justice have met a point of intersection. So, we must consider child well-being in every conversation about racial justice. Quite frankly, you can only sustainably speak of racial justice if we’re talking about the state of our children,” Dr. Wilson observed. When comparing white students to those of other races, additional inequities exist in areas which include the frequency of: public school suspensions, conditions which lead to a student drop-
ping out of high school, student arrests and incidents of corporal punishment. Dr. Wilson believes federal spending “reflects the nation’s skewed priorities” as the report reveals that children lack the amount of investment they need to thrive. Despite representing such a large portion of the population, less than 7.5 percent of federal spending went towards children in fiscal year 2020. “Children continue to be the poorest segment of the population; we’re headed into a dark place as it relates to poverty and inequity on the American landscape because our children become the canary in the coal mine,” he noted. Still, the Children’s Defense Fund has expressed satisfaction with President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which, among other things, makes it easier for parents to keep their jobs and provides a lifeline for disadvantaged children. The $1.9 trillion plan not only contains $1,400 checks for individuals but includes monthly allowances and other elements to help reduce child poverty. Biden’s plan also expands home visitation programs which help at-risk parents from pregnancy through early childhood and presents universal access to top-notch pre-K for three- and four-year-olds. “Biden’s plan] carried significant and powerful anti-poverty messages that will have remarkable benefits on the lives of children in America over the course of the next two years,” said Dr. Wilson who added that the expansion of the child tax credit has the potential of reducing poverty – an outcome that benefits all children, particularly those Black and brown. WI @StacyBrownMedia
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Kindred the Family Soul Revisit Good Old Days with ‘Auntie & Unc’ Livestreamed Album Release Concert, April 3, Marks Duo’s Seventh Recording D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor
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Eighteen years ago, the husband and wife duo, Kindred the Family Soul, aka Fatin Dantzler and Aja Graydon, released their debut album, “Surrender to Love” – emerging from the Philly neo-soul movement like Jill Scott who persuaded her then-label Hidden Beach Recordings to sign the group. The recording would earn them a nomination for a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Album, Group Band or Duo in 2004. Their flame would soon become an inferno as they have since become one of the most-celebrated and revered R&B tandems in the industry. And on Saturday, April 3 at 8 p.m. – coronavirus pandemic notwithstanding – they’ll be featured in a virtual livestream show that will showcase Kindred’s seventh release, “Auntie & Unc.” The “backyard BBQ” album release concert will introduce fans to new music while revisiting the classics and comes with the duo’s promise: “You’ll have a grownup good time.” The Washington Informer spoke with “Unc” just days before the CD release who explained the concept behind the new recording and addressed the challenges Kindred has faced due to COVID-19. “Everyone has an auntie and uncle – that team who comes to the family cookouts and who seems to always have a good time,” Unc said. “They
represent the elders; they’ve endured and survived the tough times and everyone loves them.” “We got married one year after we met and became husband and wife. Our family now includes six children so we’ve become mom and pop. But we’re also auntie and unc to a lot of folks in the community because we’ve been around for a long time. We celebrate the fact that we’ve matured and are more seasoned in the game – “old Gs” – and we’ve affectionately embraced the titles of ‘auntie and unc,’” he said adding that such heartfelt titles cannot be limited to the Black community alone. “This is the longest it’s taken us to produce an album – we had a lot of starts and stops – but the concept never changed. We had to learn some new things and try different approaches after the pandemic shutdown touring which represents the bulk of our income. We’re still making contingency plans so we can reconnect with our fans because as artists. We have to create and then connect with our fans – not only because it’s our livelihood but to maintain our sanity.” “People have really consumed art, entertainment and music a lot since the virus hit. People need it – all of it – for healing. And so, on the new CD
5 The CD cover for the new release “Auntie & Unc” by Kindred the Family Soul. (Photo courtesy Mocca Styles)
we led with love because that’s what we’ve always been about. And we’ve added some new world sounds, an anti-violence song, a sonic sound and we’ve returned to the Motherland blending our soulful sound with the sounds of Africa.” “We have a huge following in Africa and we’d like to expand that base. But my wife and I agreed long ago that we would always be true to who we are. We’re singers – that’s what we do – and people like our music. Some say we’re superstars. But everyone’s parents, aunts and uncles – the elders – they’re all superstars at what they do and how they care for youth.” “Kindred comes from and leaves with Black love. Some say the Black love which characterizes the relationship between my wife and me is a rarity in the business. We don’t think much about that. Maybe it’s not featured in the news a lot, but there’s something really beautiful about Black love. We love hard, strong and deep and when we connect it makes a difference. Our children and our community need to see that.” “And so as often and as far as we can spotlight Black love, we see that as a blessing. That’s why we’re here once again, doing just that,” Unc said. WI @mcneirdk 3 Husband and wife duo, Kindred the Family Soul, speak with WI Editor D. Kevin McNeir (center) after their 2016 performance at CD Enterprises, Inc.’s annual event, Summer Spirit Festival, in Columbia, Md. at the Merriweather Pavilion. (Photo courtesy Shevry Lassiter)
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Beyoncé Dominates 52nd NAACP Image Awards Eddie Murphy Joins Oprah, Stevie Wonder as Hall of Fame Inductee Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer Beyoncé took home four trophies, Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman earned outstanding actress and actor, respectively, in a motion picture and Eddie Murphy received the Hall of Fame award during the recent primetime telecast of the 52nd NAACP Image Awards. The Rev. Dr. James Lawson, Jr. received the Chairman’s Award, NBA superstar LeBron James garnered the President’s Award, and Stacey Abrams earned the NAACP’s Social Justice Impact honor. “I’ve been making movies for 40 years now. This is the perfect thing to commemorate that and be brought into the Hall of Fame,” Murphy proclaimed after his close friend and “Coming to America” co-star, Arsenio Hall, presented the award. “Thank you very much. I’m very moved.” The NAACP bestows the Hall of Fame induction on an individual viewed as a pioneer in their respective field and whose influence has shaped the profession for generations. Previous inductees include: Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Spike Lee, Ray Charles and Sidney Poitier. DJ D-Nice captured the entertainer of the year award for his immensely popular “Club Quarantine” which he started early last year during the pandemic. “It’s been an honor to provide en-
REPARATIONS from Page 17 “As a nation, we can only truly thrive when every one of us has the opportunity to thrive. Our painful history of slavery has evolved into structural racism and bias built into and permeating throughout our democratic and economic institutions,” the governor stated. Last summer, Asheville, a North Carolina city where Black people make up just 11 percent of the more than 92,000 residents, formally apologized for its role in slavery. The City Council voted unanimously to provide reparations to African American residents and their descendants. “Hundreds of years of Black blood spilled that fills the cup we drink from
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tertainment and inspiration during one of the darkest times we’ve experienced,” D-Nice said. Other award winners included: Jhené Aiko, album of the year; Beyoncé and Drake, outstanding female and male artists, respectively; and Meghan Thee Stallion, Chloe x Halle, Jon Batiste and Marsai Martin of ABC Television’s “Blackish” who each received awards. Anthony Anderson, the star of “Blackish,” hosted the show. The tear-jerker moment of the night belonged to Simone Boseman, the widow of Chadwick. In accepting his award, she said her late husband would “thank his mom and dad.” “And he would give honor to his ancestors as we now honor him,” Simone Boseman said. “Thank you, NAACP, for always giving him his flowers. He was an uncommon artist and an even more uncommon person.” She also urged Black people over
the age of 45 to get screened for colon cancer. “Don’t put it off any longer,” she said. “Please, get screened. This disease is beatable if you catch it in its early stages. So, you don’t have any time to waste, even if you don’t have any family history. If you think nothing is wrong and you’re younger than 45, please be proactive about your health. Know the signs. Know your body. Listen to your body.” Former First Lady Michelle Obama presented Abrams with her first Social Justice Impact award. “They [my parents] taught my five siblings and me that having nothing was not an excuse for doing nothing,” Abrams said. “Instead, they showed us by word and deed to use our faith as a shield to protect the defenseless, to use our voices to call out injustices and to use our education and our time to solve the problems that others turn away from.” WI @StacyBrownMedia
today. It is simply not enough to remove statutes. Black people in this country are dealing with systemic issues,” said Councilman Keith Young, one of two African-American members of the City Council who voted 7-0 in favor of reparations. Asheville’s resolution doesn’t include monetary payments to African Americans but promises investments in areas where Black people face disparities. Earlier this year, Congress debated H.R. 40, a bill that doesn’t place a specific monetary value on reparations but focuses on investigating and presenting the facts and truth about the unprecedented centuries of brutal enslavement of African people, racial healing, and transformation. The bill would fund a commission to study
and develop proposals for providing reparations to African Americans. Meanwhile, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) has made the reparations legislation her top priority during the 117th Congress. “I think if people begin to associate this legislation with what happened to the descendants of enslaved Africans as a human rights violation, the sordid past that violated the human rights of all of us who are descendants of enslaved Africans, I think that we can find common ground to pass this legislation,” she said. “Can anyone imagine that we’ve never gotten a simple, effective, deeply-embedded, and well-respected apology?” WI @StacyBrownMedia
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April 1-3 MAKING A BUDGET AND DEVELOPING SOUND FINANCIAL HABITS April 5-9 MANAGING CREDIT AND STUDENT LOANS April 12-16 PLANNING FOR RETIREMENT April 19-23 BUYING A HOME AND CONSIDERING INSURANCE NEEDS April 26-30 BUILDING WEALTH AND PREVENTING FRAUD National Retirement Planning Week is April 13-17 Learn more about how DISB is celebrating Financial Literacy Month with free financial education programs like Financially Fit DC and our new Financial Navigators Program. Visit disb.dc.gov/flm
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EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator™ Faith-Based Workshop Highlights Powerful Partnerships, Kicks-Off Grant Application Period Submitted by: April Dawn Shinske The power of partnerships built on trust, dignity and respect was a key theme during March 17th’s EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator™ Faith-Based Workshop Zoom webinar, hosted by the American Heart Association (AHA), Eastern States region. “When you see value in people, it affirms that value that is in you,” said Dr. Abraham Shanklin, Jr. Founder/Executive Director of the Center for Transformation in Maryland, an AHA collaborator. During the webinar, Shanklin and ENON Tabernacle Baptist Church Rev. Leroy Miles, Jr. of Philadelphia, provided tips based on their own experiences in bolstering scalable community impact. “It’s about those relationships that give you access,” said Miles. “Don’t be afraid to try, don’t be afraid to ask.” Shanklin and Miles offered wisdom gleaned from their own community leadership experiences to inspire webinar participants as AHA, Eastern States region launched the application cycle opening for it’s EmPOWERED to Serve Faith-Based Accelerator. The Faith-Based Accelerator is a grant-funding initiative for faith institutions and leaders to continue and scale their business models aimed at addressing social determinants of health in their communities. AHA aligns with faith-based communities to improve health and empower sustainable outcomes. Applications for a total of $105K in grant funding to communities of faith in select states will be accepted through April 30, 2021. To learn more, view the entire workshop and apply, visit: empoweredtoserve.org/faithbased. Shanklin and Miles were joined by AHA’s Vice President, Health Equity and National Partnerships Pamela Garmon-Johnson, who emphasized how important it is to deploy resources “connecting the
32 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
dots so that we can have the greatest impact on our communities.” “We have been charged with a purpose in order to be the voice for the voiceless….when we put all of our resources together that is when we can truly, truly put together the greatest difference,” said Garmon-Johnson. Both Miles and Shanklin have successfully bolstered efforts to positively impact the social determinants of health in their own communities — factors that influence where and how people live, learn, work and play and provide context to a person’s life. Social determinants can play just as big of a role in affecting health as medications and physical lifestyle changes. Their work has included focusing on recidivism, family stability, food security, and health knowledge. “We’ve tried to be a model and help you replicate [successful programs] at your spot,” said Miles, who collaborated to move ENON’s annual “Know Your Numbers” health-screening day, aimed at reaching 1,000 Philadelphia men, to a drive-through experience amid COVID-19. Participants were able to get take-home colon screening kits, HIV screenings, BP checks, glucose, cholesterol, and COVID screenings at the event which Miles termed a “significant pivot in such a time as this.” AHA provided take-home blood pressure kits for self-monitoring for those who were found to be hypertensive. “You all are heroes in your respective areas, the assignments that you have, the passion that you have. All of these ideas [we are putting forth], they serve just as starting blocks,” said Shanklin. Among the many initiatives of the Center, Shanklin and his partners were able to feed 1200 people in Maryland and distribute over 50K pounds of food by leveraging county relationships. Both Miles and Shanklin highlighted the value of partnering with organizations, including AHA. “I love the partnerships with AHA and EmPOWERED to Serve,” said Shanklin. Miles noted that the reimagined “Know Your Numbers” program gained traction due to
partnerships with local AHA board members and Einstein Health. “Powerful partnerships, meeting people where they are, and speaking with a trustworthy voice are three of the AHA’s Guiding Values — our 10 commitments to health equity — this shores up making sure that we are holding ourselves accountable so that we can make an impact,” said Garmon-Johnson. American Heart Association, Eastern States Vice President Health Strategies Rhonda Ford-Chatmon asked webinar participants to provide feedback so that AHA can continue to strengthen community partnerships. “Tell us what you need. We are here to be responsible. We are listening to you, and we want to be
of help,” said Ford-Chatmon. She invited anyone with community needs to email questions or ideas to 2021FaithBasedAccelerator@heart.org
To watch the entire workshop, visit empoweredtoserve.org/faithbased
Apply today for the:
EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator™
Faith-Based empoweredtoserve.org/faithbased
Dr. Abraham Shanklin, Jr.
Founder/Executive Director
The Center of Transformation, Inc.
Rev. Leroy Miles, Jr. Associate Pastor ENON Tabernacle Baptist Church
Pamela Garmon-Johnson Vice President, Health Equity & National Partnerships American Heart Association
A healthy life starts with access to basic needs such as food, healthcare, education and secure housing. Learn more on how places of worship can be agents of lasting change in their communities.
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‘AfroPoP’ Explores Fullness of African Diaspora
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The 13th Season of Documentary Series Features Talented Directors Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer The African diaspora is global. That is how viewers have seen “AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange” from its beginning on public television stations. The show is launching its 13th season co-executive produced by Black Public Media and new partner WORLD Channel. In the metro Washington, D.C. area, “AfroPoP” can be seen on WORLD Channel member station WETA-TV/PBS and online at worldchannel.org. Reaching 13 seasons is a major accomplishment for any television program. The current “AfroPop” season launches on April 5, 2021 documentaries about the African diaspora in Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Ethiopia, the Dominican Republic and Cuba. “I believe that ‘AfroPoP’ has been successful for 13 years in part because we are able to meet a need that people have, the desire to see different and accurate representations of Black culture from all over the world,” said Leslie Fields-Cruz, executive producer of “AfroPoP” and executive director of Black Public Media. “There was, and still is, a real demand for programming that gives evidence to the truth that not all Black people are the same, that we are not a monolith.” “AfroPoP’s” season opener documentary is “Mama Gloria,” an insightful view of the life of Chicago’s Black transgender icon, Gloria Allen. Now in her 70s, Allen is a lifelong ac-
tivist who opened a charm school for transgender youth in 2011. Director Luchina Fisher allows viewers inside to see how Allen is navigating her golden years with grace, humor and joy. The “Mama Gloria” documentary takes people into the life of an important legend who radiates love. The timing of the film is important as transgender equality is prominently in the news especially with school sports. Further, Black transgender women face escalating violence and discrimination and make up the majority of trans people killed each year. “‘AfroPoP’s’ core mission of engaging and educating audiences about Black life using documentary film has remained the same,” said Fields-Cruz. “We are still focused on bringing audiences true stories from the modern African diaspora but with new media forms emerging we have grown with them.” Five female and two male directors are showcased in the current “AfroPoP” season. Audiences can look forward to engaging cinema from Tamara Dawit’s “Finding Sally,” an exploration of her aunt’s involvement with the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party. “Professional Black Girl” is from director Yaba Blay based her visit to New Orleans to highlight different women who she saw embodied talent, grace and drive. Filmmaker Eli Jacobs-Fantuzzi brings “Bakosó: Afrobeats of Cuba,” exposing viewers to the sounds of Cuba’s AfroBeats through the growing
musical genre known as bakosó. The season also features a shorts showcase with director Christine Turner’s “Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business,” profiling the work and life of the 93-year-old Black visual artist; “Elena,” Michèle Stephenson’s portrayal of a young woman in the Dominican Republic working to combat anti-Blackness on the island; and Amir George’s “Man of the People,” an experimental thriller-documentary on the campaigns and mysterious death of Harold Washington, Chicago’s first Black mayor. “We've added short form documentaries and animated content to the series in addition to the feature length docs that AfroPoP began with.” said Fields-Cruz. “Now, with streaming and other ways to view, we can bring content that will attract au-
diences across all media.” “AfroPoP” is distributed and co-presented by American Public Television (APT). Following the release of “AfroPoP’s” current season on WORLD Channel, APT will release the season to public television stations on May 1, 2021. For more information and to view the “AfroPoP” trailer, visit https:// worldchannel. org/show/afropop. WI
5 Gloria Allen is “Mama Gloria” in the documentary directed by Luchina Fisher in the season opener of “AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange.” The documentary series begins season 13 on April 5 on the WORLD Channel. (Photo courtesy Luchina Fisher)
5 Singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball of the group “Tank and the Bangers” is featured in the documentary “Professional Black Girl” directed by Yaba Blay. The film is featured in the 13th season of the series “AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange” airing on the WORLD Channel. (Photo courtesy Ashley Lorraine)
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APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 33
LIFESTYLE
Educator/Pastor Issues a ‘Call to Consciousness’ ‘Black Suffering: Silent Pain, Hidden Hope’ is Rev. Harris’ 10th Book Timothy Cox Special to Washington Informer A new book has pulled back the sheets and exposes how racism permeates American life to the detriment of Black people. Rev. Dr. James Henry Harris – an African American pastor and author of “The Forbidden Word” and many other books – has written “Black Suffering: Silent Pain, Hidden Hope,” released in October 2020. It explores many timely atrocities, such as the Memorial Day 2020 police killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, and the plight of Black people amid the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. Nat Turner, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and even Job of the Bible are part of his call to consciousness. Drawing on decades of personal experience as a pastor, theologian, and educator, Harris gives voice to suffering's practical impact on church leaders as they seek to forge a path forward to address this huge and troubling issue. The book “Black Suffering” identifies Black suffering while beginning a larger conversation about correcting the
historical weight of suffering carried by Black people. The book, his 10th, combines elements of memoir, philosophy, historical analysis, literary criticism, sermonic discourse and even creative nonfiction to present a "remix" of the suffering experienced daily by Black people. Harris’ unique insight stems from his early experience as the youngest of 10 children, reared by his parents, Richard Harris and Carrie Anna Jones Harris. In his Central Virginia environs, the younger Harris learned to accept a life filled with outdoor toilets and segregated, unequal classrooms in “backwater, rural” Richmond, Virginia. His father was a tobacco farmer who, uniquely enough – owned his own land and taught his children to become farmhands, eager for education. Prior his call to the ministry, Harris worked in several industries – including retail, as a college intern with the JC Penney company. Also while an undergrad business management major at Virginia State University, Harris worked as a tray-loader with Brown & Williamson tobacco
company – packing cigarettes. “Due to the corporate culture,” Harris said he and his co-workers were coerced into becoming smokers by the company. “They gave us two packs of cigarettes at the start of a shift – to smoke during smoke breaks, then upon ending your shift – they gave you two packs to take home.” Harris said he became addicted to nicotine while working on the “KOOL” brand. At age 67, Harris credits “God’s grace, a miracle and a young son’s plea,” for helping him escape the smoking train. “My son said something like, ‘you’re going to burn down the house’ and that triggered me to make an effort to stop, he said. He smoked from 1970 through 1984. Though he’s earned a doctorate from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, he purposely refrains from using the term “doctor” as his moniker. “It’s more about the work you do, and you let others bestow the title on you…when it’s warranted,” he said. Harris also has master’s degrees from the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and a Ph.D
in review Lindiwe Vilakazi W.I. Contributing Writer There’s no better way to underscore the role women have played in District government than to chat with Linda Cropp, the first woman elected to chair the D.C. Council. So that’s how Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes launched the first WIN TV Review of this spring. Cropp stressed the need for diversity throughout the city several decades after she took the helm of the city’s legislative body in the midst of a fiscal calamity. “There’s no question that the District was moving forward, and the population was grow-
34 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
ing. Although the pandemic has had a serious impact on the District, it has grown,” said Cropp. “What the District has to do however, is make sure that we keep affordable housing. In order for us to continue to fund the needs of the residents of the District, we must ensure that our economy is on solid ground.” She was followed by David Morgan, president and founder of the Multicultural Media and Correspondence Association (MMCA), who talked with Rolark Barnes the new association’s agenda. Placing focus on the power behind owning content and distribution amongst media outlets, he said MMCA is trying to sustain
imagery, storylines, and overall representation created for, and by the Black community. “I believe as someone having a young, Black son, not seeing positive images and positively framed stories is having negative implications on not just us, but also the next generation,” said Morgan. “So we were just resolved to come together and use our collective influence so that we can have greater say over who, what, where, when, and how our story is told.” Gun violence and the role of police in community relations was at the heart of the publlsher’s chat with Ronald Hampton, retired MPD officer and former executive director of the National Black Police Association, who
5 Rev. Dr. James Henry Harris (Courtesy photo)
in Urban/Black Studies from Old Dominion University. Harris is senior minister of Second Baptist Church (West End) in Richmond, Va., where says he continues to “preach” as a traditional fire and brimstone Baptist minister as he has for 30 years. During the pandemic, he’s adapted his congregation to a virtual stance and currently offers live weekly discussions of his book on Facebook to ignite conversations about correcting the historical weight of Black suffering. In the process of his Facebook presence, he hopes to encourage
said he believes police officers need to be an intrical part of the community. “I believe in residency. I was on the police force at a time when [Mayor] Marion [Barry], and Mr. [Calvin] Rolark supported residency, because it’s not only about you living in the city, it’s about what happens to and around you while you live here. It’s what you bring to the city,” said Hampton. The weekly livestream concluded with a newscast brought by The Media Prince, and The Bridge’s weekly segment, “Sounds of the DMV,” featuring District artist, “Kenilworth Katrina”. Remember to subscribe, and become a member of the Washington Informer family on our digital portal www.washingtoninformer.com! WI
book clubs at houses of worship and elsewhere, using the book to spark national discussions. Pastor Harris is also is the Distinguished Professor and Chair of Homiletics and Practical Theology and Research Scholar in Religion at the School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond. “Black Suffering, Silent Pain, Hidden Hope” is published by Fortress Press, which has the book for sale on its website: www.fortresspress.com. It’s also available at Amazon.com. WI
5 Linda Cropp (Courtresy photo)
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LIFESTYLE
wi book review "The Jigsaw Man: A Novel"
By Nadine Matheson c.2021, Hanover Square Press $27.99 / $34.99 Canada 496 pages
By Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer Finders Keepers. It's all yours now, that cool, unique, surprise thing that suddenly turned up and you laid claim to it. What once was lost is yours now. Finders keepers, except, as in the new novel "The Jigsaw Man" by Nadine Matheson, what's found is a dead body. Looking as though it was about to pay attention, the male torso sat nicely upright against the rocks near the Greenwich Pier. Nicely, if that can be said about a headless, limbless body found along the murky water by a young student. Not so nicely, if you were Detective Inspector Anjelica Henley, who'd been given this case on her first day back to work after being on leave for a PTSD-inducing trauma of her own and was immediately assigned a rookie, Trainee Detective Salim Ramouter, as partner. But one disarticulated, mutilated body became two in short order, both victims found by the river and both, as it turned out, were romantically tied in life. In death, there was another tie: Henley and Ramouter instantly realized that these new crimes had a lot in common with another set of cases. Peter Olivier, who'd called himself "The Jigsaw Man," had killed and dismembered a number of people years before, and there were similarities between his crimes and the new cases. Problem was, Olivier had been in prison for two years, and murderous habits he practiced (but that were not made public) seemed to have been copied. When Henley mentioned the victims' names to Olivier, there was recognition in his eyes and she spotted yet another tie: the new victims distantly knew the imprisoned Olivier. From his prison cell, Olivier fumed. Someone copied his crimes and was stealing the limelight, there were leaks to the press and they were all wrong, and DI Henley was ridiculously off-course in her thinking. There was only one Jigsaw Man – everybody else was a copycat – and Olivier was going to escape from prison and prove it... Reading "The Jigsaw Man" is a lesson in contradictions. It's good. It's everything you want in a thriller: an evil maniac, another evil maniac, an on-the-edge detective, a love triangle or two, and blood. Plenty of blood, spilled in the most gruesome way possible. For fans of thrillers, the things that author Nadine Matheson offers are like sprinkles on ice cream: absolutely necessary and the more, the better. And yet, there's two big, nearly-insurmountable problems. "The Jigsaw Man" is set in Great Britain and, as such, is formatted differently in many ways that can cause confusion, particularly in acronyms and, most especially, in dialogue; reading a conversation takes an exhausting amount of attention, lest you mis-attribute a sentence or an important character thought. It's a hot mess, exacerbated by an overabundance of characters that are thrown at readers, unsorted, and all within the first few dozen pages. Overall, you'll be thrilled by this thriller, but also perhaps annoyed, so keep that in mind. If you can handle the latter, you'll love "The Jigsaw Man." If not, then keep away. WI
horoscopes
APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
ARIES Romance and/or adventure figure strongly — whatever it is, it'll have your heart pounding around inside your chest. The excitement of Monday and Tuesday will dull by midweek, when a bunch of deadlines (on some relatively mundane responsibilities) zap your energy. Lucky Numbers: 10, 14, 18 TAURUS If you sense that your ties to your friends are fraying, take care of those relationships. Monday and Tuesday, tolerance is your best tool. No sense in letting a fight erupt over something that doesn't matter. On Wednesday, if you have an extra ticket to a concert, invite someone who wouldn't expect you to invite them; you will have a far better time than you would anticipate. Lucky Numbers: 2, 4, 12 GEMINI An off-the-cuff comment from you on Monday or Tuesday may be taken a bit too seriously by one of your friends. If you have a hunch there may be some confusion, clear the air. Explain what you meant (or didn't mean). Midweek, communication is difficult, too — especially with your family, who are not the mind readers they think they are. Again, spell it out, and don't let people jump to wacky conclusions. Lucky Numbers: 2, 6, 23 CANCER You're out for extravagance. Make sure you can afford whatever it is you're drooling over — if you can, then go for it. You only live once, right? On Wednesday and Thursday, materialism is far from your mind: A friend needs your help working out a small but meaningful problem, and a few of your goals need tidying up in light of some recent events. Lucky Numbers: 1, 3, 7 LEO Popularity and power are major themes in your life right now. Certain days you like to retreat from the spotlight (as you'll do on Wednesday and Thursday) but on other days (such as Friday) the spotlight on you never seems bright enough. You moody human being, you! Lucky Numbers: 22, 35, 58 VIRGO That person who's making big demands on your time? They need a wake-up call. Be nice about it, but be direct. All week you'll be getting things done this way — with polish. Such are the tactics a busy person like you must adopt. Make sure your desk (or car, or house) is clean and tidy on Thursday (or you won't be able to think straight) and then, on Friday and through the weekend, brace yourself for a series of deep and meaningful adventures with your greatest pal (or lover). Lucky Numbers: 29, 31, 45 LIBRA Everyone is puzzled by something at the outset of the week, and they think you have the answer. Even if you don't, it's flattering to be the person to whom everyone else defers. (You feel like shouting: 'I'm really not as smart as I look!') The truth is, you are smart, and on Wednesday and Thursday, you're meticulous and perceptive, too — these are key qualities this week. Lucky Numbers: 10, 27, 36 SCORPIO You'd love more money, of course, but Monday isn't the time to ask for a raise. Nor is Tuesday. Timing is everything in life and you're so much better off flying under the radar this week. (Everyone else is off-the-charts stressed. The energy is just off. It has nothing to do with you.) Wednesday and Thursday are good, quiet days, but Friday finds you stuck trying to make a big decision. Lucky Numbers: 5, 14, 29 SAGITTARIUS A cheerful face delivers some terrific news on Monday or Tuesday. If only every week could start like this! You are happy, you have money coming your way, you are finding things to laugh about. Ah, life. Wednesday takes you out of this idyllic mode for a while — an authority figure will rub you the wrong way — and Thursday a close pal may unintentionally drive you up a wall, but by Friday you're laughing nonstop again and Saturday is filled to the brim with love. Lucky Numbers: 33, 34, 42 CAPRICORN On Monday, you may think you have a handle on what's going on, but you don't. Life is full of misinformation, and rather than proceed with the intelligence you have, you may want to wait until new intelligence comes your way. Wednesday and Thursday are perfect days for fact-finding — you'll be in the mood to ask questions, dig through papers, hide in bushes — and Friday brings tons of energy for striking out into the world to prove or disprove your new theories. Lucky Numbers: 4, 22, 47 AQUARIUS An extraordinary discovery about the most ordinary person you know rocks your world on Monday. All your fixed ideas? Out the window they go! It's exciting when these things happen, and also a bit unnerving. It's a cliche, but it's true: You never know whom you're dealing with. It's especially true on Wednesday and Thursday, in reference to a business deal. (If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.) Lucky Numbers: 7, 15, 31 PISCES There is too much going on in your own head for you to be worrying about what's going on in someone else's. Mind your own business. It's a good policy. Along those same lines, if you feel the urge to be critical of others — rather than just helping out however you can — consider that you might not have all the relevant facts. By Friday, you're in full-fledged self-improvement mode (never a bad mode to be in) and on Saturday you're in an old-with-the-old, in-with-the-new mood. Lucky Numbers: 42, 46, 54
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APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 35
CAPTURE the moment
For more photos, visit www.washingtoninformer.com
Cherry Blossoms in Bloom
Almost as soon as they bloom, they’re gone. But having a chance to catch the blooms in their last days is a magnificent photo-op. The National Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the most-watched spring celebrations in Washington, D.C., commemorating the March 27, 1912 gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City to the District. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)
36 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
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SPORTS Bubba Wallace and Rajah Caruth: Car racing is their Life
Brigette Squire WI Contributing Writer
Fast food giant McDonald’s and stock car racing behemoth NASCAR are uniting in what they call the Black & Positively Golden Mentors program. The immediate result is a mentorship of Rajah Caruth, an 18 year-old racing newcomer by NASCAR veteran driver Bubba Wallace. “Bubba Wallace’s star continues to shine brightly on and off the track,
and because of that, we’re excited to call him a ‘Golden Mentor’,” said Marc O’Ferrall, a Mississippi McDonald’s franchisee. “Connecting Bubba and Rajah, and the other mentors and mentees is of utmost importance as we aim to positively impact the communities and people we serve at a time when it’s needed most.” Rajah Caruth, who is also Black, is getting advice from Wallace on how to navigate adversity as he is the lone Black driver in the auto racing sport. Wallace also shares industry insights
SPORTS HEADLINES
Hot off the Press
DANIEL KUCIN, JR. / WI CONTRIBUTING WRITER / @DANIELKUCIN88
WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM SIGNS WR ADAM HUMPHRIES
Former Tennessee Titans wide receiver Adam Humphries signed a one-year deal with the Washington Football Team on March 25. Humphries, 27, only saw action in seven games last year, totaling 23 receptions for 228 yards and two touchdowns but had a career-year in 2018, hauling in 76 receptions for 816 yards and five touchdowns for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he played with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Washington signed another defensive back this offseason, bringing Darryl Roberts into the fold on March 26. The 30-year-old was a seventh-round draft pick selected by the New England Patriots in 2015 and most recently played for the De-
troit Lions accounting for 39 tackles and one interception.
GEORGETOWN’S QUDUS WAHAB SEEKING GREENER PASTURES
Georgetown University’s standout center, Qudus Wahab, entered the NCAA Transfer portal on March 25 after putting together an impressive sophomore campaign for the Hoyas’ basketball program. He appeared in 26 games during the 2020-21 season, averaging 12.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and was selected to the 2021 Big East All-Tournament Team. Ewing offered encouragement to the young athlete. “Q was an important piece of our success this year and he needs to do what he feels is best for him. I want
5 NASCAR drivers Bubba Wallace and Rajah Caruth are now members of the McDonald’s Black and Positively Golden Mentors program. (Photo by Brigette Squire)
and gives helpful advice. “As a McDonald’s racing partner, I couldn’t be more excited about being a Black & Positively Golden mentor,” said Wallace. “Mentorship is important in racing and life, and I’m honored to help elevate young leaders as they pursue their passions and dreams. Golden Mentors is a perfect combination of both and I’m here for it all.”
Born to father Roger Caruth, a professor in the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University, and mother Samantha Caruth, the assistant director at Sidewall Friends school in the District, Caruth has aspired to be a race car driver for many years. The passion was ignited after viewing Disney's Cars film in 2006, according to his mother.
to wish him luck in his future. After an exciting postseason, we are ready to focus on the 2021-22 season.” said Georgetown University Head Coach Patrick Ewing. Wahab notched a double-double against Colorado during the 2021 NCAA basketball tournament, scoring 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
He scored 19 points with 18 rebounds and 10 assists for another triple-double while the four other starters scored in double-figures as well. The team has now lost 10 of its last 12 games since March 10 (as of March 28). At the NBA trade deadline, the Wizards acquired forwards Daniel Gafford and Chandler Hutchinson from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Troy Brown, Jr. and Mo Wagner. Washington Wizards Head Coach Scott Brooks was clearly impressed with Gafford’s first game with Washington against the Pistons. “This is what he does . . . I thought he had just a fantastic game,” Brooks said about Gafford’s 13-point debut. “We’re going to keep working with him; he’s definitely a keeper. He has a chance to be really good for a lot of years with his skillset.”
WIZARDS WINLESS IN NEW YORK
The Washington Wizards could not capture a New York state of mind during their recent three-game road trip. In their first game against the Brooklyn Nets on March 21, Washington lost by seven points despite Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook posting a triple-double with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists. Washington continued to falter in back-to-back games on March 23 and 25 against the New York Knicks. In both losing efforts, Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal lead the team in scoring. But finally, Washington pulled off a victory against the Detroit Pistons on March 27, 106-92, snapping a threegame losing streak topped by another strong performance by Westbrook.
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FUTURE HOPES
With two home games coming up against the Indiana Pacers and Charlotte Hornets before taking on the Pistons again on the road on April 1, the franchise hopes these new editions will make an immediate impact down the stretch as the team continues to struggle to pick up much-needed ground in the Eastern Conference. WI
“He was obsessed with cars and it became clear to us that he was going to choose this path at an early age, proclaimed Samantha. “We did not grow up watching NASCAR in the home but once we took Rajah to a race at age 12,” she said about his enthusiasm for racing. “His father took it more seriously at first and then I came along. I cringe to see him drive but I know that he is safe while driving on the track after learning of the precautions set in place.” Caruth, who is a freshman at Winston-Salem State University, received one-on-one mentoring, and as a bonus, Wallace and McDonald’s gave the young driver a $1,000 gift card for racing gear. “I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to be mentored by Bubba through this McDonald’s program,” says Caruth. “Bubba shared such great advice about racing and life, and I can’t wait to make him proud this year!” Rajah continued to make his parents and the community proud. Wallace and Caruth are breaking barriers by having their faces forward in a sport and career path that may not be considered by the average black or brown person. “There are many people of color who work in the NASCAR arena,” Wallace said. “They just are not seen and we are doing the work behind the scenes to change that.” As far as advice for mothers of children who dream of being a race car driver star, but not sure if they want their child to take the risk, Samantha says to not be afraid. “We must encourage and push our children towards greatness even if it is a bit scary.” WI
APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 37
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38 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
POLICE from Page 1 than pubic service,” Aziz said after being introduced by Alsobrooks on Friday, March 26. “I want the citizens and the officers of Prince George’s County to understand what type of chief I will be. That is one of communication and high visibility – one who listens and one who will act with resolution.” Aziz understands the challenges of the job. He worked to rebuild relationships in Dallas in the aftermath of a July 2016 Black Lives Matter protest during which seven people died including five police officers. “His record was the thing that spoke the most volume to me,” Alsobrooks said. “I read through his actions [to better understand] who he was before I heard his words.” The County Council must still confirm Aziz’s hiring but top level officials say they fully expect the choice made by Alsobrooks to be supported. “I stand here on behalf of the other 10 members of the County Council to say, ‘Welcome. We’re looking forward to working with you,’” said County Council Chair Calvin Hawkins II who attended Friday’s announcement. On a national level, Aziz served as the former chair of the National Black Police Association and visited the White House during Barack Obama’s presidency as part of the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Academically, he received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and later earned his MBA at the University of Dallas.
NEW CHIEF MUST TACKLE HOT ISSUE OF POLICE REFORM
Aziz arrives as a police reform task force which Alsobrooks assembled continues to implement 46 of 50 recommendations which include: mental health programs, creating an office of integrity and compliance and incorporating training to prevent racial profiling. He must also deal with a pending lawsuit filed in December 2018 that alleges a preponderance of racist and retaliatory practices within the department of more than 1,500 officers and 300 civilian employees. As Alsobrooks searched for a new chief of police, criminal justice advocates and residents submitted a list of demands for the department and its new leader that includes: requiring trial board hearings of officer misconduct to be both public and available
5 (L-R) Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, Prince George's County Police Chief Malik Aziz and Prince George's County Council Chair Calvin Hawkins (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
On a national level, Aziz served as the former chair of the National Black Police Association and visited the White House during Barack Obama’s presidency as part of the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. online; firing and/or prosecuting officers with records of abuse against Blacks or Latinos; and empowering the citizens oversight panel to impose, discipline and allow members to be chosen through a more community-oriented process from each of the seven police districts. Another complaint that Alsobrooks has recently faced addressed the amount of participation, or lack thereof, that county residents had in the process to hire a new chief. Tonya Sweat of Accokeek, a candidate for county executive, said the 3,546 respondents of the police chief survey at https://bit.ly/2QOkEYd aren’t enough in a county comprised of more than 900,000 residents. “The way [Alsobrooks] portrayed how the community had input . . . was not the case. It was not widely
advertised,” she said. “At the end of the day, it is her decision. But if we want to complain, let us complain. If we want to comment, then let us comment. There should have been more community input than just 3,546.”
NAACP LEADER, MEMBERS LIKE AZIZ
Linda Thomas Thornton, president of the county’s NAACP branch, said Aziz has agreed to talk with members of the organization sometime this month during a Zoom call. Thomas Thornton, who temporarily lived in Dallas nearly a decade ago during an extended work assignment, said she “found the city to be safe,” and noted that Aziz received a good rating from the local NAACP group in Dallas on his work with and connection to the community. “The [Prince George’s NAACP] members I’ve heard from are pleased and wanted someone who has experience in neighborhoods like those here in Prince George’s County,” she said. “We wanted a person to be versatile. He also has experience. I like experience.” Aziz declined to comment on the pending suit but said involving the community with the job of effective policing remains an integral part of his leadership style. “The landscape of policing is forever evolving and police are adapting to new and changing times” he said. “We have to present ourselves to that environment because the community deserves it and they demand it. I intend to deliver the core concepts of 21st century policing throughout Prince George’s County.” WI @jabariwill
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RELIGION the religion corner WITH LYNDIA GRANT
The Spook Who Knocked At the Door We Must Keep Going Through the Storms of Life. Let’s take a look at what happened down there in Georgia at the State House. The police arrested State Rep. Park Cannon, once she catches her breath, this could be her Rosa Parks moment. This incident reminded me of the movie entitled The Spook Who Sat by the Door, a movie that was pulled from theaters for various reasons. A movie made during the 1970’s, about group empowerment for change, it had a message that many didn't think people wanted a wider audience to hear in the '70s, especially at the high point of the Black Power movement. Sounds very much like what just happened at the State House in Georgia, when Gov. Kemp was surrounded by his boys, all wearing black suits, with the Callaway Mansion painting as the centerpiece. A mansion which represents a slave plantation where the family owned hundreds of slaves. Research shows the mansion, with slave houses in the woods, hidden from sight. Yet that painting was purposely used. In searching for the definition of the word spook, several definitions show up, for example, to spook a horse, is when the horse acts aggressively out of fear; or it talked about
ghosts; then there was this use, when the word ‘spook’ is often referring to an offensive slang word, used as a disparaging term for a black person. This is the one that fits. Let us remember the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on this weekend, as we remember he was shot and killed on April 4, 1968, 53 years ago. In his letter from the Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Let me be correct as a journalist, and quote NBC News who reported this story on Friday, March 26, 2021, that Georgia state troopers arrested Democratic state Rep. Park Cannon on Thursday after she knocked on Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s statehouse office door as he signed a controversial elections bill into law in a closed-door ceremony. Video of the incident shows Cannon being handcuffed after she knocked on Kemp’s door. All she wanted to do was to give argument for transparency of the bill signing. She was then forcibly removed from the state Capitol by two officers and surrounded by more while repeatedly identifying herself as a legislator, and was placed into a police car, and charged with two felonies.
Mt. Zion Baptist Church
My prayer for Rep. Cannon is that she will utilize this national moment, and continue to tell our story. Scripture tells us, in the book of Matthew 7:7-9. It says “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Rep. Parks did knock, but was treated as if she was indeed, the spook who knocked on the door! With more than forty states changing voter laws, nationally, we all must get onboard to help get HR1 passed, which is the John Lewis Voting Rights Bill. According to Roll Call, it said, “Already in 2021, more than 250 bills in 43 states have been introduced by Republican state legislators that create more unnecessary barriers to voting. From cutting early voting, to increasing purges of voter registration lists, to limiting absentee voting options, these bills are shameless, partisan attempts to silence us.” And the list goes on and on. Let us stay focused, remain vigilant, and we must get this voting mess straightened out. Don’t let them take us back to Reconstruction, which happened right after the Emancipation Proclamation, but when too many black men got elected to the House and the Senate, then came Jim Crow! That’s where we are folks. WI
John F. Johnson Reverend Dr.
5101 14th Street, NW / Washington, DC 20011 Phone: 202-726-2220 Fax: 202-726-9089
1306 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20005
“A Church with a past to remember – and a future to mold” www.mtzbcdc.org
EMPLOYMENT LAWYERS MCCOLLUM & ASSOCIATES, LLC ADA, Age Discrimination, Benefits, Civil Rights, COBRA, Contracts, Deaf Law, Defamation, Disability Law, Discipline, Discrimination, FMLA, FLSA, FOIA, Family Responsibility, Harassment, HIPPA, OSHA, National Origin Discrimination, Non-Compete, Race Discrimination, Rehabilitation Act, Retaliation, Severance Agreements, Sexual Harassment, Torts, Whistleblowing, Wage-and-Hour, Wrongful Discharge SERVING MARYLAND, DC, & NORTH CAROLINA
www.jmlaw.net
(301) 864-6070
jmccollum@jmlaw.net
Mount Olivet Lutheran Church
Reverend John W. Davis Pastor
Service and Times Sunday Worship Service - 8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. Children’s Church - 11:00 a.m. (1st & 3rd Sundays) Communion - 10 a.m. 4th Sunday Sunday School - 9:15 a.m. (4th Sunday 8:15 a.m.) Prayer Meeting & Bible Study - Wednesday 7:00 p.m.
(301) 864-6070
Service and Times Divine Worship, Sunday 10:00 a.m. Communion 1st and 3rd Sunday “Friendliest Church in the City” Website: mountolivetdc.org Email: mtolivedc@gmail.com
WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER
APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 39
RELIGION The Miracle Center of Faith Missionary Baptist Church
Pilgrim Baptist Church
Bishop Michael C. Turner, Sr. Senior Pastor
Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor
9161 Hampton Overlook Capitol Heights, MD 20743 Phone: 301-350-2200 / Fax: 301-499-8724
700 I Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 547-8849
Service and Times Sunday Worship Times : 7:30 AM 7 10:00 AM Communion: 1st Sunday Sunday School: 9:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday, 12 Noon Bible Study in homes: Tuesday 7:00 PM Website: www.themiraclecenterFMBC.com Email: Miraclecenterfmbs@gmail.com Motto: “We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight”
Blessed Word of Life Church
Service and Times Worship Sundays: 7:30 & 11:00 AM 5th Sundays: 9:30 AM 3rd Sundays: Baptism & Holy Communion Prayer & Praise: Wednesdays @ Noon & 6:30 PM www.pilgrimbaptistdc.org
Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ
Church of Living Waters
Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church
Rev. Paul Carrette Senior Pastor Harold Andrew Assistant Pastor 4915 Wheeler Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-894-6464 Service and Times Sunday Service: 8:30am& 11:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM Communion Service: First Sunday www.livingwatersmd.org
St. Stephen Baptist Church
Rev. Dr. Michael E. Bell, Sr., / Pastor 2498 Alabama Ave., SE - Washington D.C. 20020 Office: (202) 889-7296 / Fax: (202) 889-2198 - www.acamec.org Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 8:00am and 11:00 AM Sunday Church School - 9:15am & Sunday Adult Forum Bible Study - 10:30 AM 2nd & 4th Monday Women’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM Tuesday Jr./Sr. Bible Study: 10:00 AM Tuesday Topical Bible Study: 6:30 PM Tuesday New Beginnings Bible Study: 6:30 PM Wednesday Pastoral Bible Study: 6:30 PM Wednesday Children’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM Thursday Men’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM Friday before 1st Sunday Praise & Worship Service: 6:30 PM Saturday Adult Bible Study: 10:00 AM “The Amazing, Awesome, Audacious Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church”
Third Street Church of God
Dr. Dekontee L. & Dr. Ayele A. Johnson Pastors
Reverend William Young IV Pastor
Bishop Lanier C. Twyman, Sr. Senior Pastor
Rev. Cheryl J. Sanders, Th.D. Senior Pastor
4001 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 (202) 265-6147 Office 1-800 576-1047 Voicemail/Fax
3845 South Capitol Street Washington, DC 20032 (202) 562-5576 (Office) / (202) 562-4219 (Fax)
5757 Temple Hill Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748 Office 301-899-8885 – fax 301-899-2555 Services and Times Sunday Early Morning Worship: 7:45 AM Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Morning Worship: 10:45 AM Tuesday: 7:00pm/Kingdom Building Bible Institute Wednesday , 12:30 PM Mid-Day Bible Study Wednesday: Prayer/Praise/Bible Study-7:30 PM Baptism & Communion Service: 4th Sunday – 10:30 AM
1204 Third Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 202-347-5889 office / 202-638-1803 fax
Service and Times Sunday School: 9:30 AM Sunday Morning Worship Service: 11:00 AM Communion Service: First Sunday Prayer Service/Bible Study: Tuesday, 6:30 PM www.blessedwordoflifechurch.org E-mail: church@blessedwordoflifechurch.org
Campbell AME Church Rev. Dr. Henry Y. White 2562 MLK Jr. Ave., SE - Washington, DC 20020 Adm. Office 202-678-2263 Email: Campbell@mycame.org Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 AM Sunday Church School: 8:45 AM Bible Study Wednesday: 12:00 Noon Wednesday: 7:00 PM Thursday: 7:00 PM “Reaching Up To Reach Out” Mailing Address : Campbell AME Church 2502 Stanton Road SE - Washington, DC 20020
Turning Hearts Church Virgil K. Thomas, Sr. Senior Pastor/ Teacher 421 Alabama Ave. SE Washington, DC 20032 Phone: 202-746-0113 Fax: 301-843-2445 Service and Times Sunday School: 10:15 AM Sunday Worship Service: 11;15 AM Children’s Church: 11:15 AM Tuesday Bible Study: 6:30 PM Motto : “A Great Commitment to the Great Commandment” Website: www.turningheartschurchdc.org Email: gr8luv4u2@gmail.com
40 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
Services and Times Sundays: 10:00am Worship Services Bible Study: Wonderful Wednesdays in Worship and the Word Bible Study Wednesdays 12:00 Noon; 6:30 PM (dinner @ 5:30 PM) Sunday School: 9:00 AM – Hour of Power “An inclusive ministry where all are welcomed and affirmed.” www.covenantdc.org
“We are one in the Spirit” www.ssbc5757.org / E-mail: ssbc5757@verizon.net
Services and Times Sunday School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM Sunday Community Worship Service: 8:30 AM “Ambassadors for Christ to the Nation’s Capital” www.thirdstreet.org Live Stream Sunday Worship Service begins @ 12:00 noon www.thirdstreet.org
Crusader Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Alton W. Jordan Pastor 800 I Street, NE - Washington, DC 20002 202-548-0707 - Fax No. 202-548-0703 Service and Times Sunday Morning Worship: 11:00 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday Sunday School: 9:45 AM Men’s Monday Bible Study: 7:00 PM Wednesday Night Bible Study: 7:00 PM Women’s Ministry Bible Study: 3rd Friday -7:00 PM Computer Classes: Announced Family and Marital Counseling by appointment E-mail: Crusadersbaptistchurch@verizon.net www.CrusadersBaptistChurch.org / “God is Love”
Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.; Senior Bishop & Evangelist Susie C. Owens – Co-Pastor 610 Rhode Island Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 529-4547 office • (202) 529-4495 fax
Sunday Worship Service: 8:00 AM and 10:45 AM Sunday Youth Worship Services: 1st & 4th 10:45 AM; 804 R.I. Ave., NE 5th 8 AM & 10:45 AM; Main Church Prayer Services Tuesday – Noon, Wednesday 6:00 AM & 6:30 PM Calvary Bible Institute: Year-Round Contact Church / Communion Every 3rd Sunday The Church in The Hood that will do you Good! www.gmchc.org / emailus@gmchc.org
Isle of Patmos Baptist Church Reverend Dr. Calvin L. Matthews Senior Pastor 1200 Isle of Patmos Plaza, Northeast Washington, DC 20018 Office: (202) 529-6767 - Fax: (202) 526-1661 Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM Holy Communion: 2nd Sunday at 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM Sunday Church School: 9:20 AM Seniors Bible Study: Tuesdays at 10:30 AM Noon Day Prayer Service: Tuesdays at Noon Bible Study: Tuesdays at 7 PM Motto: “A Ministry of Reconciliation Where Everybody is Somebody!” Website: http://isleofpatmosbc.org Church Email: ipbcsecretary@verizon.net
St Marks Baptist Come Worship with us... Dr. Raymond T. Matthews Pastor and First Lady Marcia Matthews St. Mark's Baptist Church 624 Underwood Street, NW Washington, dc 20011 Services and Times Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wed. Noon Day prayer service Thur. Prayer service: 6:45 PM Thur. Bible Study: 7:15 PM
Twelfth Street Christian Church Reverend Dr. Paul H. Saddler Senior Pastor (Disciples of Christ) 1812 12th Street, NW - Washington, DC 20009 Phone: 202-265-4494 Fax: 202 265 4340 Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM Communion every Sunday: 11:00 AM Sunday School: 10:00 AM Bible Study Tuesday: 12 Noon Pastor’s Bible Study Tuesday: 6:30 PM Motto: “Discover Something Wonderful” Website: 12thscc.org / Email: Twelfthstcc@aol.com
Mount Carmel Baptist Church Reverend Dr. Paris L Smith, Sr. Senior Pastor 901 Third Street N.W. Washington, DC. 20001 Phone (202) 842-3411 Fax (202) 682-9423 Service and Times Sunday Church School : 9:00 AM Sunday Morning Worship: 10:10 AM Bible Study Tuesday: 6: 00 PM Prayer Service Tuesday: 7:00 PM Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday 10:10 AM themcbc.org
THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM
RELIGION Shabbath Commandment Church Bishop Adrian A. Taylor, Sr. Pastor 7801 Livingston Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-534-5471 Service and Times Sabbath School 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 AM Service 11:00 AM Praise & Worship Preaching 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM Motto: “A Church Keeping It Real for Real.” Website: Shabbathcommandmentchruch.org Email: Praisebetoyhwh@gmail.com
Zion Baptist Church Rev. Keith W. Byrd, Sr. Pastor 4850 Blagdon Ave, NW - Washington D.C 20011 Phone (202) 722-4940 - Fax (202) 291-3773 Service and Times 9:00 a.m. – Sunday School 10:15 a.m. – Worship Service Wed. Noon: Dea. Robert Owens Bible Study 7 PM Pastor’s Bible Study Ordinance of Baptism 2nd Sunday, Holy Communion 4th Sunday Mission: Zion shall: Enlist Sinners, Educate Students, Empower the Suffering, Encourage the Saints, And Exalt our Savior. (Acts 2: 41-47) www.zionbaptistchurchdc.org
St. Luke Baptist Church Rev. Aubrey C. Lewis Pastor 1415 Gallatin Street, NW Washington, DC 20011-3851 P: (202) 726-5940 Service and Times Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM Sunday School: 9:15 AM Holy Communion: 11:00 a.m., 3rd Sun. Bible Institute: Wednesday - 1:30 PM Prayer Meeting: Wednesday - 12:00 Noon
All Nations Baptist Church Rev. Dr. James Coleman Pastor 2001 North Capitol St, N.E. - Washington, DC 20002 Phone (202) 832-9591 Service and Times Sunday Church School – 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service – 11:00 AM Holy Communion – 1st Sunday at 11:00 AM Prayer – Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Bible Study – Wednesdays, 7:00 PM Christian Education / School of Biblical Knowledge Saturdays, 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM, Call for Registration Website: www.allnationsbaptistchurch.com All Nations Baptist Church – A Church of Standards
Israel Baptist Church
Rev. Daryl F. Bell Pastor 2324 Ontario Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-1730 Service and Times Sunday School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM Baptismal Service: 1st Sunday – 9:30 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday – 11:00 AM Prayer Meeting & Bible Study: Wednesday -7:30 PM “Where Jesus is the King”
Dr. Earl D. Trent Senior Pastor
2409 Ainger Pl.,SE – WDC 20020 (202) 678-0884 – Office / (202) 678-0885 – Fax “Moving Faith Forward” 0% Perfect . . . 100% Forgiven!
623 Florida Ave.. NW - WDC. 20001 Church (202) 667-3409 / Study (202) 265-0836 Home Study (301) 464-8211 / Fax (202) 483-4009
Service and Times Sunday Worship: 8:00 AM & 10:45 AM Baptism/Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Family Bible Study Tuesdays – 6:30 PM Prayer Service: Tuesdays – 8:00 PM www.emmanuelbaptistchurchdc.org
Sermon On The Mount Temple Of Joy Apostolic Faith
Lincoln Park United Methodist Church Rev. Richard B. Black Pastor
Elder Herman L. Simms Pastor
1251 Saratoga Ave., NE Washington, DC 20018 (202) 269-0288
1301 North Carolina Ave. N E Washington, D C 20002 202 543 1318 - lincolnpark@lpumcdc.org www.lpumcdc.org
5606 Marlboro Pike District Heights, MD 20747 301-735-6005
Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 10:45 AM Sunday School: 9:15 AM Holy Communion1st Sunday: 10:45 AM Prayer Service: Wednesday at 6:30 PM Bible Study: Wednesday at 7:00 PM Bible Study: Tuesday at 10:30 AM
Mount Moriah Baptist Church Dr. Lucius M. Dalton Senior Pastor
Service and Times Sunday Worship: 10:00 AM Holy Communion: First Sunday 10:00 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday @ 12 noon and 6:30 PM Motto: "Faith On The Hill"
Service and Times Sunday Apostolic Worship Services 11:00 A.M and 5:00 PM Communion and Feet Wash 4th Sunday at 5:00 PM Prayer/Seeking: Wednesday at 8:00 PM Apostolic in Doctrine, Pentecostal in Experience, Holiness in Living, Uncompromised and Unchanged. The Apostolic Faith is still alive –Acts 2:42
New Commandment Baptist Church
Eastern Community Baptist Church Damion M. Briggs Pastor
Rev. Stephen E. Tucker Senior Pastor
1636 East Capitol Street, NE Washington, DC 20003 Telephone: 202-544-5588 - Fax: 202-544-2964
8213 Manson Street Landover, MD 20785 Tel: (301) 322-9787 Fax: (301) 322-9240
13701 Old Jericho Park Road Bowie, MD. 20720 (301) 262-0560
Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 7:45 AM and 10:45 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sundays at 7:45 AM & 10:45 AM Sunday School: 9:30 AM Prayer & Praise Service: Tuesdays at 12 noon & 6:30 PM Bible Study: Tuesdays at 1 pm and 7 PM Youth Bible Study: Fridays at 7 PM
Service and Times Early Morning Message: 7:30 AM Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 AM Sunday Church School: 9:00 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday 7:30 AM & 10:00 AM Prayer, Praise and Testimony: Wednesday 7:00 PM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM
Service and Times Sunday Worship: 11 AM Sunday School: 10 AM Wednesday Mid-Week Worship, Prayer & Bible Study: Wed. 7 PM
Rehoboth Baptist Church
Reverend Peter R. Blue Sr. Pastor
Rev. Curtis l. Staley Pastor
2001 Brooks Drive District Heights MD. 20744 240.838.7074
621 Alabama Ave., S.E.- Washington, D.C. 20032 P: (202) 561-1111 - F: (202) 561-1112
Service and Times Sunday Worship Experience: 10:15am Sunday School: 9:00am Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Morning Noontime Bible Study: Tuesday @ 12:00pm Prayer Meeting/Bible Study: Tuesday @7:00pm Theme: "Building On A Firm Foundation"
Service and Times Sunday Service: 10:00 AM Sunday School for all ages: 8:30 AM 1st Sunday Baptism: 10:00 AM 2nd Sunday Holy Communion:10:00 AM Tuesday: Bible Study: 6:30 PM Prayer Meeting: 7:45 PM
Email: revprbstmbc@gmail.com Website: www.stmatthewsbaptist.org
Motto: “Where God is First and Where Friendly People Worship”
“Real Worship for Real People” Website: www.easterncommunity.org Email: ecc@easterncommunity.org
“A Church Where Love Is Essential and Praise is Intentional”
Foggy Bottom - Founded in 1867 728 23rd Street, NW - Washington, DC 20037 Church office: 202-333-3985 - Fax : 202-338-4958
Shiloh Baptist Church
Matthews Memorial Baptist Church Dr. Joseph D. Turner / Senior Pastor 2616 MLK Ave., SE - Washington, DC 20020 Office 202-889-3709 - Fax 202-678-3304 Service and Times Early Worship Service: 8:00 AM Worship Service: 11:00 AM New Member’s Class: 9:45 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday, 11:00 AM Church School: 9:45 AM Wednesday 12:00pm Bible Study Prayer, Praise and Bible Study: 7:00 PM Saturday Bible Study: 11:00 AM Baptism 4th Sunday: 11:00 AM “Empowered to love and Challenged to Lead a Multitude of Souls to Christ”
Peace Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Michael T. Bell 712 18th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 Phone 202-399-3450/ Fax 202-398-8836 Service and Times Sunday Early Morning Prayer & Bible Study Class: 8:00 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wednesday Service: 12:00 PM “The Loving Church of the living lord “
4504 Gault Place, N.E. / Washington, D.C 20019 202-397-7775 – 7184 Service and Times Sunday Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service : 11:00 AM The Lord’s Supper 1st Sunday Prayer & Praise Services: Wednesday 7:00 PM Bible Study: 7:30 PM Saturday before 4th Sunday Men, Women, Youth Discipleship Ministries: 10:30 AM A Christ Centered Church htubc@comcast.net
Christ Embassy DC
Kelechi Ajieren Coordinator 6839 Eastern Avenue, R1 Takoma Park, MD 20912 (202) 556-7065 Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wednesday Bible Study: 7:00 PM Friday Evening Service: 7:00 PM ; Last Friday “…Giving Your Life a Meaning” www.Christembassydc.org Christ.embassy.dc@hotmail.com
Pennsylvania Ave. Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Kendrick E. Curry Pastor 3000 Pennsylvania Ave.. S.E Washington, DC 20020 202 581-1500 Service and Times Sunday Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM Monday Adult Bible Study: 7:00 PM Wednesday Youth & Adult Activities: 6:30 PM Prayer Service Bible Study
First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Mt. Horeb Baptist Church
Rev. Dr. Wallace Charles Smith Pastor
Rev. Oran W. Young Pastor
Rev. Dr. H. B. Sampson, III Pastor
9th & P Street, N.W. - W. D.C. 20001 (202) 232-4288
602 N Street NW - Washington, D.C. 20001 Office:(202) 289-4480 Fax: (202) 289-4595
2914 Bladensburg Road, NE Wash., DC 20018 Office: (202) 529-3180 - Fax: (202) 529-7738 Service and Times Worship Service: 7:30 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:30 AM Holy Communion: 4th Sunday 7:30AM & 10:30 AM Prayer Services:Tuesday 7:30 PM. Wednesday 12 Noon
www.stmarysfoggybottom.org Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org
Service and Times First Sunday Worship Service (one service): 10:00 AM Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sunday Worship service: 7:45 AM and 10:55 AM Sunday Church School/Bible Study: 9:30 AM Thursday Prayer Service: 6:30 PM
All are welcome to St. Mary’s to Learn, Worship, and Grow.
Email: sbc@shilohbaptist.org Website: shilohbaptist.org
Service and Times Sundays: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Music and Hymns Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist
Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 AM Sunday Church School: 8:45 – 9:45 AM Holy Communion: Every First Sunday Intercessory Prayer: Monday – 7:00-8:00 PM Pastor’s Bible Study: Wednesday –7:45 PM Midweek Prayer: Wednesday – 7:00 PM Noonday Prayer Every Thursday
Rev. Dr. George C. Gilbert Senior Pastor
Email Address: admin@pbc712.org
Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church The Rev. E. Bernard Anderson Priest
Holy Trinity United Baptist Church
Florida Avenue Baptist Church
Reverend Christopher L. Nichols Pastor
Rev. Dr. Jerryl V. Moody Pastor-Elect
Web: www.mountmoriahchurch.org Email: mtmoriah@mountmoriahchurch.org
St. Matthews Baptist Church
Emmanuel Baptist Church
King Emmanuel Baptist Church
WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER
Service and Times Sunday School for All Ages: 8:00 AM Sunday Worship Services: 9:30 AM Midday Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 11:30AM Evening Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00 PM Laymen's League: Thursday 7:00 PM Email: Froffice@firstrising.org Website: www.firstrising.org “Changing Lives On Purpose “
Email:mthoreb@mthoreb.org Website:www.mthoreb.org For further information, please contact me at (202) 529-3180.
APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 41
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2021 ADM 000049
2004 ADM 001163
Voyce J. Mack aka Voyce J. Mack, Jr. Decedent
Martha L. Matthews Decedent
Kerri M. Castellini, Esq. Price Benowitz LLP 409 Seventh St., NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20004 Attorney
Tabitha R. Brown Law Offices of Tabitha R. Brown 1200 G Street, SE, Suite A Washington, DC 20003 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Terrence J. Mack, whose address is 507 Roosevelt Boulevard, Apt. C617, Falls Church, VA 22044, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Voyce J. Mack aka Voyce J. Mack, Jr. who died on April 3, 2020 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/18/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/18/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Mary Matthews, whose address is 2002 Ridge Place, SE, Washington, DC 20020, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Martha L. Matthews who died on March 5, 2004 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/18/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/18/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 3/18/2021
Date of first publication: 3/18/2021
LEGAL NOTICES SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2021 FEP 000010
LEGAL NOTICES SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2021 ADM 000037
2021 ADM 000100
Andre Norman Bender Decedent
April 19, 2020 Date of Death Bernard D. Whitsett Name of Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS Dora H. Whitsett whose address is 10207 Green Forest Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20903 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Bernard D. Whitsett, deceased, by the Circuit Court for Brevard County, State of Florida, on September 22, 2020. Service of process may be made upon Antonoplos & Associates, Attorneys at Law c/o Valerie Edwards, 1725 DeSales St., NW, Ste. 600, Washington, DC 20036 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real estate. 78 Underwood Place, NW, Washington, DC 20012. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice. Date of first publication: 3/18/2021
LEGAL NOTICES
Nakia Gray, Esq. 800 Maine Ave., SW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20024 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Hazel Bender, whose address is 523 Powell St., Brooklyn, NY 11212, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Andre Norman Bender who died on July 28, 2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/18/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/18/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Levi D. Baisden Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Marcia Baisden, whose address is 5036 10th Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017-2844, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Levi D. Baisden who died on June 28, 2020 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/18/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/18/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/18/2021
Date of first publication: 3/18/2021
Marcia Baisden Personal Representative
Dora H. Whitsett Personal Representative
Hazel Bender Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
TRUE TEST COPY
Terrence J. Mack Personal Representative
Mary Matthews Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2021 ADM 000043
2020 ADM 000765
2021 ADM 000104
2021 ADM 000057
2020 ADM 000665
Dwight Ackley Gopaul Decedent
Brooks Robert Platt Decedent
Caroline Washington-Bennett Decedent
Juanita D. Jackson Decedent
George L. Garrow, Jr. Garrow Law Firm, PLLC 300 New Jersey Avenue, NW Suite 900 Washington, DC 20001 Attorney
James Larry Frazier, Esq. 918 Maryland Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney
Edward G. Varrone, Esq. 1825 K Street, NW Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 Attorney
James Larry Frazier, Esq. 918 Maryland Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney
Charles E. Ware aka Charles Edward Ware Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Ivone Gopaul, whose address is 147 U Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Dwight Ackley Gopaul who died on 12/25/2018 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/18/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/18/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/18/2021 Ivone Gopaul Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
42 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
Carol Beane Platt, whose address is 1468 Chapin Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Brooks Robert Platt who died on September 15, 2020 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/18/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/18/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/18/2021 Carol Beane Platt Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
Washington Informer
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
Washington Informer
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Marcus W. Witowski, whose address is 9102 Kittery Lane, Bethesda, MD 20817, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Caroline Washington-Bennett who died on October 14, 2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/18/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/18/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/18/2021 Marcus W. Witowski Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Keith L. Jackson, Sr., whose address is 2910 O Street, SE, Washington, DC 20020, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Juanita D. Jackson who died on January 11, 2021 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/18/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/18/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/18/2021 Keith L. Jackson, Sr. Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
Jennifer C. Concino, Esq. 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, #700 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Jennifer C. Concino, Esq., whose address is 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, #700, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Charles E Ware aka Charles Edward Ware who died on 12/29/2017 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/18/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/18/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/18/2021 Jennifer C. Concino, Esq. Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
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LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2021 ADM 000070
2021 ADM 000038
2021 ADM 000105
2020 ADM 000324
2021 ADM 000121
Ralph Eugene Salter, Jr. Decedent
Waverly Mason Jr. aka Waverly Mason Junior Decedent
Diane Jones Decedent
Estate of Jewell J. Saunders
Pearl B. Thompson Estate of
Iris McCollum Green 1730 M Street, NW Suite 609 Washington, DC 20036 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Maya Salter, whose address is 1211 Marlboro Ridge Rd., Upper Marlboro, MD 20772, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Ralph Eugene Salter, Jr. who died on July 29, 2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/25/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/25/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/25/2021
Deborah Cason Daniel, Esq. 503 D Street, NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20001 Attorney
Aimee D. Griffin 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW Suite 440 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Toni Marie Felder, whose address is 1803 Kearney St., NE, Washington, DC 20018, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Waverly Mason Jr. aka Waverly Mason Junior who died on August 24, 2020 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 25, 2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 25, 2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Barbara Redd and Vivian Harriday, whose addresses are 1448 Primrose Rd., NW, WDC 20012 and 1205 Rustan St., Silver Spring, MD 20903, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Diane Jones who died on August 12, 2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/25/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/25/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: March 25, 2021
Date of first publication: 3/25/2021
NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Mary Hewlett for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representatives. Unless a responsive pleading in the form of a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth. Admit to probate the will dated May 9, 2013 exhibited with the petition upon proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution by affidavit of the witnesses or otherwise Date of first publication: 3/25/2021 Aimee Griffin, Esq. 4041 Powder Mill Road Suite 215 Beltsville, MD 20705 Petitioner/Attorney: TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Ruby Clayborne, Deborah Clayborne-Faison & Robin Marie Reid for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representatives. Unless a responsive pleading in the form of a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth. Admit to probate the will dated April 7, 2009 exhibited with the petition upon proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution by affidavit of the witnesses or otherwise Date of first publication: 3/25/2021 Gilda Sherrod-Ali 1775 Eye Street, NW Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 Petitioner/Attorney: TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Maya Salter Personal Representative
Toni Marie Felder Personal Representative
Barbara Redd Vivian Harriday Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
TRUE TEST COPY
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
Washington Informer
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2019 ADM 0001343
2021 ADM 000061
2021 ADM 00094
2021 ADM 000107
2021 ADM 000113
Mildred R. Rowland Decedent
Jumell Sterling Gibson Decedent
Eulalio Maldonado Decedent
Corressa Johnson Decedent
Iris McCollum Green, Esq. 1730 M Street, NW Suite 609 Washington, DC 20036 Attorney
James Larry Frazier 918 Maryland Ave., NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney
Valerie Edwards 1725 DeSales Street, NW Suite 600 Washington, DC 20036 Attorney
Jeffrey K. Gordon 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, #700 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Cristi Purnell, whose address is 3462 Dix Street, NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Mildred R. Rowland who died on May 16, 2019 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/25/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/25/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/25/2021 Cristi Purnell Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Darnell Deno Gibson, Jr., whose address is 1206 Palmer Rd., #1, Fort Washington, MD 20744, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Jumell Sterling Gibson who died on May 20, 2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/25/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/25/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/25/2021 Darnell Deno Gibson, Jr. Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
Leslie Demus Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Leslie Darnell Demus, whose address is 1815 23rd St. SE, Apt. 202B, Washington, DC 20020, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Leslie Demus who died on 2/3/2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/25/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/25/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/25/2021 Leslie Darnell Demus Personal Representative
Washington Informer
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Frolian Ortiz, whose address is 1458 Park Road, Washington, DC 20010, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Eulalio Maldonado who died on July 19, 2020 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/25/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/25/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/25/2021 Frolian Ortiz Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
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NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Nicelma Johnson King, whose address is 4318 Vista Way, Davis, California 95616, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Corressa Johnson who died on May 29, 2017 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/25/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/25/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/25/2021 Nicelma Johnson King Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 43
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2021 ADM 000089
2021 ADM 000119
2021 ADM 000102
2021 FEP 000015
Bernice G. Underwood Decedent
Constantine P. Kalpaxis Decedent
Christine Williams Decedent
April 27, 2019 Date of Death
Anthony V. Grimes, Pro Se 2001 Rosewood Drive Waldorf, MD 20601 Attorney
Kerri M. Castellini, Esq. Price Benowitz LLP 409 Seventh St., NW Ste. 200 Washington, DC 20004 Attorney
Murray D. Scheel Whitman-Walker Legal Services 1377 R Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Karen J. Hughes, whose address is 4300 Montgomery Ave., #203, Bethesda, MD 20814, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Constantine P. Kalpaxis who died on August 28, 2020 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/25/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/25/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Britney N. Williams, whose address is 213 12th Street, Buther, NC 27509, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Christine Williams who died on 6/28/2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/25/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/25/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
T. Reone Brown and Ivan K. Brown, whose addresses are 1425 4th Street., SW, #8, Washington, DC 20024 & 2101 34th St., NE, Washington, DC 20020 were appointed personal representatives of the estate of Antoinette Cecilia Brown, deceased, by the Orphans Court for Prince Georges County, State of Maryland, on June 26, 2019. Service of process may be made upon T. Reone Brown, 1425 4th Street, SW, #8, Washington, DC 20024 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real estate. 4922 Just Street, NE, Washington, DC 20019. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Date of first publication: 3/25/2021
Date of first publication: 3/25/2021
Anthony V. Grimes Personal Representative
Karen J. Hughes Personal Representative
Date of first publication: 4/1/2021
Britney N. Williams Personal Representative
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TRUE TEST COPY
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Anthony V. Grimes, whose address is 2001 Rosewood Drive, Waldorf, MD 20601, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Bernice Underwood who died on February 14, 2020 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 9/25/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 9/25/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 3/25/2021
2021 FEP 000017 November 11, 2020 Date of Death Marianne B. Lawrence Name of Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS Carly Allysa Blake, whose address is 349 L Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003, was appointed personal representative of the estate of Marianne B. Lawrence, deceased, by the Superior Court for King County, State of Washington, on December 18, 2020. Service of process may be made upon Patrick Blake, 349 L Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real estate. 310 I Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice. Date of first publication: 4/1/2021 Carly Allysa Blake Personal Representative
2020 ADM 000795 Jacqueline Green Hayden Decedent
Washington Informer SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2021 FEP 000020 February 28, 2020 Date of Death
Perez A. Walker NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Name of Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESEN-
Jeffrey K. Gordon, Esq., whose address is 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, #700, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Jacqueline Green Hayden who died on May 17, 2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/1/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/1/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
TATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Date of first publication: 4/1/2021
6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Jaffrey K. Gordon, Esq. Personal Representative
4/1/2021
Lolita M. Anthony, whose address is 9115 Banleigh Lane,
Clinton, MD 20735 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Perez A. Walker, deceased, by the Orphans Court
for Prince Georges County, State of Maryland, on 10/16/2020.
Service of process may be made upon Evelyn Bowles,
1573 41st Street, SE, Washington, DC 20020 whose desig-
nation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C.
The decedent owned the following District of Columbia
2238 16th Street, NE, Washington, DC 20018. Claims
real estate.
against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned
and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia,
515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within
Date of first publication:
Lolita M. Anthony TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
Washington Informer
44 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Personal Representative Nicole Stevens
Register of Wills Washington Informer
Antoinette Cecilia Brown Name of Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
T. Reone Brown Ivan K. Brown Personal Representatives Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
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DOUGLAS from Page 26 on a gallow outside the west side of the Capitol where the insurrectionists had gathered. Fully on display that day was America's white supremacist foundation fighting to survive. And so, in the words of W.E.B. Du Bois, America is a nation defined by "two thoughts, two warring ideas." It is a nation at war with itself. It has yet to determine what kind of nation it wants to be. Does it want to be a white supremacist nation or an equitable and just nation? And that brings me to today. There have been no people more instrumental in keeping America's democratic vision alive, than Black people, as award winning journalist of the 1619 project Nikole Han-
BAILEY from Page 26 only a modest number were actively engaged and these were too few for a broad war against racism, poverty, and discrimination …" Note Dr. King's use of the word "war." Dr. King also wrote that "The majority of white Americans consider themselves sincerely commit-
JACKSON from Page 26 murdered a Chinese immigrant, walked away without penalty. In 1871, in Los Angeles, a vengeful mob lynched 17 Chinese men. No one was ever punished. In 1882, the U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, a ban on Chinese immigration that was extended for 60 years. In World War II, Japanese Americans were interned in what were essentially concentration camps, a brazen violation of their rights that the Supreme Court, to its shame, ratified. More recently, when refugees from Vietnam began to work in shrimping off the coast of Texas, the local Ku Klux Klan, garbed in their regalia, set their boats on fire. After 9/11, violence against South Asians soared. In reality, the 20 million Asian Americans in the United States are very diverse, coming from 20 countries with different languages, religions and races. The largest numbers come from China, India and the Philippines. Collectively, they are the fastest growing minority in the United States. On average, they are remarkably success-
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nah-Jones put it, "Our founding ideals of liberty and equality were false when they were written. Black Americans fought to make them true. Without this struggle, America would have no democracy at all." More specifically, it has been Black women who have led the way in that struggle. Nineteenth-century "Negro Club Woman" Anna Julia Cooper once said, "When and where I enter … the whole Negro race enters with me." As Black women have been disproportionately impacted by the intersecting realities of white supremacist and sexist realities of injustice, it is no accident that they have been in the forefront in moving our nation to live into its better angels, be it in the fight for equal rights to voting rights. It is indeed those
persons who have been on the underside of justice — who have not experienced privileges, but rather the penalties of injustice — that are the best barometers for justice: otherwise justice is too easily confused with entitlement. And so, we are called to not just celebrate, but to be guided by and to learn from those Black women, who have not simply carried their communities on their backs toward freedom, but this nation on their backs toward its democratic vision. From Sojourner Truth to Stacey Abrams, from Harriet Tubman to Patrisse Cullors, and from Charlene Mitchell to Kamala Harris, Black women are leading the nation toward its better angels. Yet to be revealed is whether or not the nation will follow. WI
ted to justice for the Negro. They believe that American society is essentially hospitable to fair play and to steady growth toward a middle-class Utopia embodying racial harmony. But unfortunately this is a fantasy of self-deception and comfortable vanity." The above are not the words of a dreamer, something that the forces
behind his assassination were well aware of. Dr. King's words are those of a perceptive warrior in the war against white supremacy and are just as relevant in 2021 as when he wrote them in 1967. We black folks will continue to deceive ourselves if we choose to ignore them as a guide for action. WI
ful. Their median annual wage is higher than that of all Americans. They are less likely to live in poverty. Over half of those older than 25 have a college degree or more, compared with 30 percent of all Americans. Seven in 10 who are 5 or older speak English proficiently. Yet, despite this success, they suffer from systemic racism and face a growing threat of violence. Now is the time to confront this plague. The murders in North Georgia have sparked vigils across the country. Civil rights organizations, African American and Latino groups have rallied in solidarity. The mainstream media has finally put a spotlight on the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes. The Asian American Leaders Table has called on the federal government to ensure robust enforcement of civil rights laws, and to prioritize violence prevention and restorative justice. Strikingly, they understand that all communities of color struggle in the face of racism and hate crimes. They call on Congress to invest in communities at risk, building for all Americans basic economic rights that include jobs, housing, health care and education. The
founding vision of the Rainbow Coalition was the inclusive society. We realized when you combine all the marginalized people who suffer from discrimination — African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, members of the LGBTQ communities, undocumented immigrants, the disabled and more — we represent the majority of America. And when workers come together across lines of race and religion, they can change the world. The pandemic and the poisonous rhetoric of Donald Trump have exposed once more the hard work that must be done to bring together an inclusive society. Our diversity is truly America's strength, and the hateful reaction to it America's weakness. The rising violence against Asian Americans, the Black Lives Matter marches against police brutality, the tragic epidemic of deaths of despair plaguing displaced working people, the increasing anger at immigrants require all of us to come together, across lines of race and religion and region, to protect one another and to unite in the call for equal justice. Together we can make a more perfect union. WI
APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 45
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people of color. Access to capital is one of the greatest financial barriers minority entrepreneurs and families face on the path to achieving generational wealth by starting a new business or purchasing a home. The racial wealth gap — the roots of which lie in slavery, Jim Crow segregation, and discriminatory practices like redlining — has caused multi-generational impacts that have prohibited Black Americans from turning brilliant ideas into successful businesses or purchasing their own homes. The Black economic agenda will make it easier for Black Marylanders to overcome these barriers by requiring creditors to consider alternative metrics for creditworthiness like history of rent or utility payments or school and work attendance. The state can also assist first-time homebuyers by allowing the creation of tax-free savings accounts for accumulating the capital needed for a down payment
JEALOUS from Page 27
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JONES from Page 27
has been used to justify anti-Asian laws and stoked anti-Asian violence going back to the 19th century. Religion scholar Bradley Onishi and others point out that Jim Crow apartheid and anti-race-mixing laws were not only defended as necessary to protect the sexual purity of individual white women, but also the racial and religious purity of White Christian America. Black women
ASKIA from Page 27 the logjam, and Jim Crow 1.0 Filibuster was born. In 1935, Congress tried to pass anti-lynching legislation, but Sen. Richard Russell Jr., a Georgia member, held a six-day filibuster to oppose it. During the proceedings Russell said that he was “willing to go as far and make as great a sacrifice to preserve and ensure white supremacy in the social, economic and political life of our state as any man who lives within her borders.” Three years later, Southern senators again blocked an anti-lynching bill with a 30-day filibuster. Anti-lynching, for crying out loud! Then, in the 1940s Southern senators used the filibuster to prevent debate over the civil rights proposals introduced by President Harry Truman. These early uses of the filibuster set the stage for the obstruction of key civil rights legislation in the 1950s and 1960s.
and closing costs. We are also asking state government to look at the historic disparities in housing values and appraisals that could help provide immediate financial safety nets to homeowners across Maryland. If we are truly committed to advancing racial equity, government must do its part. This agenda leads statewide advancement toward greater equity by ensuring that companies doing business with the state have diverse boards and leadership teams, underserved workers have a stronger opportunity to compete for state contracts and that our government agencies are adequately staffed and effective in providing technical assistance to minority-owned businesses. Good health is fundamental to accessing economic opportunity, but too often health outcomes differ dramatically based on race. Women of color are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. A package of bills now before the General
Assembly acknowledges racism as a central factor in the public health crisis and begins to address long-standing racial health disparities. These common-sense measures include requiring implicit bias training for health professionals, publishing health data broken down by race and ethnicity, and closing gaps in access to health care by incentivizing the positioning of primary care providers and prevention services in highneeds communities. With a robust Black economic agenda, we can make true progress not just for Black Marylanders, but for the future prosperity of our state. We hope the Maryland General Assembly supports the nation's first truly comprehensive statewide policy agenda for racial justice and economic progress. Our work is far from done in addressing systemic oppression, but it is urgent that we take important actions now for Black justice in our state and our nation. WI
and Asian women have often been both fetishized and demonized as hypersexual temptresses threatening the innocence of and purity of white Christian men. Young people raised in churches that emphasize "purity culture" are taught to have deep shame about their sexual feelings, and girls' and young women's bodies portrayed as threats to boys and young men. We don't yet know, and may never fully understand, just how all these
influences combined in the mind of this particular young man who chose to commit multiple murders. But we can and should push back against law enforcement officials, conservative pundits and religious leaders who dismiss the reality of systemic racism or refuse to recognize the ways that women of color are particularly harmed by the mixture of racism and sexism that plagues our culture. WI
Segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which even had substantial bipartisan support and included protections of voting rights for Black folks. Thurmond, one lone individual, from one segregated state where Black people could not vote, spoke for a record 24 hours and 18 minutes to prevent the passage of the bill. The version of the act that eventually made it through the Senate was significantly weakened, lacking critical enforcement provisions. This is how they do. This is who they are, the “distinguished” members of “the world’s greatest deliberative body.” Perhaps the most high-profile use of the filibuster was against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by a group of Southern senators, with millions of Americans watching the proceedings on live TV. Leading the effort were Sens. Russell, Thurmond, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Sam Ervin of
North Carolina, and William Fulbright of Arkansas. Russell started the filibuster in March 1964, and it lasted for 54 days! The filibuster has been a tool to prevent Black people from getting equal anything in this society. Last year, President Barack Obama punctuated his eulogy to the civil rights legend John Lewis by calling the Senate filibuster “another relic of Jim Crow.” Last week, President Joe Biden called Georgia voter suppression legislation, like the filibuster, Jim Crow 2.0. It’s all part of the plan to maintain white supremacy in this country. The Jim Crow filibuster has had one obvious effect on the country— protecting white supremacy. It forced senators to ignore Civil Rights, the country’s single most contentious issue, instead of fighting. But, it’s a new day today and it must be taken down. The filibuster must be “busted.” WI
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Go on a Blossom Hunt in search of 26 giant art sculptures! APRIL 1 - 7, 2021 47
48 APRIL 1 - 7, 2021
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