WINNER OF THREE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS D.C. AWARDS
August 2021. Volume 7. Issue 8.
WI Bridge Center Section
Vol. 56, No. 45 • August 26 - September 1, 2021
Desmond Barnes Turns Penchant for the Right ‘Scent’ into a Business Opportunity Son of WI Publisher Continues Family’s Commitment to Black Economic Independence D. Kevin McNeir WI Senior Editor
5 Participants at the 2020 March on Washington gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Southwest wearing masks due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event marked the 57th anniversary of the historic March on Washington in 1963 organized by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Bayard Rustin, John Lewis, and other leaders from the Civil Rights Movement. (WI File Photo) See story on Page 9.
For over 50 years, Washingtonians have witnessed the enterprising spirit and love for the Black community as expressed by Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr., an activist and the founder of both The Washington Informer and the United Black Fund in Southeast. That commitment to excellence in all forms has since been embraced by Dr. Rolark’s daughter, Denise Rolark Barnes, who currently serves as the publisher of the Black-owned news-
BARNES Page 38
Ongoing Violence Compels Calls for Unity & Self-Reliance
THIRD OF A THREE-PART SERIES
Long Before COVID-19, Blacks Disproportionately Faced an Evictions Crisis
Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
Solutions May Exist but Does America Have the Political Will Needed for Substantive Change? Barrington M. Salmon Special to The Informer
While some believe today’s COVID-19 pandemic serves as the cause of the current evictions crisis in the U.S., many housing experts including Matthew Desmond, a professor at Princeton University, contend a crisis loomed on the horizon for certain Americans long before 2020. “While rents have skyrocketed, wages have remained stagnant and nearly half of all renters are rent-burdened – that is, spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent –
EVICTION Page 40
5 Desmond (DB Bantino) Barnes (Photo courtesy Desmond Barnes)
5 D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) hosted a violence prevention meeting at United Planning Organization Anacostia Community Service Center on Aug. 19. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
Within a week, Ward 8 residents experienced nearly a dozen shooting incidents and a fatal on-campus stabbing that sent shockwaves throughout the entire District. The ongoing bloodshed revived, once again, questions about how to stop the deaths of Black women, men, and children. It has also highlighted residents’ skepticism about the District government’s ongoing efforts to tackle violent crime at its root. “We’re our own liberators. Each community, city, and nation has to be in its own favor,” said Jay Sun, a lifelong Anacostia resident who’s currently crystallizing plans for a grassroots program focused on literacy, agriculture and healthcare. Jay Sun, who’s also a co-founder of youth mentoring organi-
UNITY Page 40
Celebrating 56 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area