VOL. 54, NO. 46 • AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
Be Safe, Celebrate Family during Labor Day Weekend
Don’t Miss the WI Bridge Center Section
Goldson Excited for First Day of School
Virginia Marks the History of Slavery’s Beginning and its End
By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill
By Denise Rolark Barnes WI Staff Writer The stories about the history of the TransAtlantic slave trade are often too painful for descendants of enslaved Africans to bear, but for the hundreds of African Americans that traveled to Ft. Monroe in Hampton, Va. last weekend, the stories instilled strength, pride, faith hope, and perseverance. The 1619-2019 Commemoration of the First African Landing signaled many additions and corrections to the history of the first Africans brought to America, marking the beginning of two centuries of slavery started in the British colony, in what later became Virginia. It also established a commitment from researchers and politicians, alike, to ensure the inclusion of a more complete story of slavery and the efforts to abolish it in the American story. “Slavery started here in Virginia,” Governor Ralph Northam said to an audience of more than 200 gathered under a large tent on the grounds of Ft. Monroe. “And it is here where the end of slavery began. It is here where slaves sought refuge and were granted a decision that led to emancipation.” “How do we tell the full and true story of our past 400 years?” Northam asked. “How do we do so with honor and dignity for people whose honor and dignity were taken away from them? Who should tell the story, and how do we learn from those lessons as we move forward?” Despite the controversy the em-
400 YEARS Page 16
5 Mayor Muriel Bowser (left) and DC Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee and Maury Elementary School Principal Helena Payne Chauvenet (right) join in welcoming students on the first day of school at the newly-renovated facility in Northeast on Monday, August 29. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
Monica Goldson has experienced the first day of school in Prince George’s County for nearly 30 years as a teacher, math instructional specialist, principal and deputy superintendent. She will now experience her first day Tuesday, Sept. 3 as permanent CEO of Maryland’s second-largest school system. Before Goldson smiles, hugs and shake hands with some of the
GOLDSON Page 48
Student Safety: A Top Priority This School Year By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins
Several D.C. public and public charter schools, many of which had undergone significant renovations during the summer, opened their doors on Monday in anticipation of what administrators, teachers, and students hope will be a successful academic year without incident. For a contingent of school personnel and small businesses in Southeast, realizing that goal involves tending to matters beyond those pristine buildings. With the continuation of Safe Passage and launch of the Safe Spots pro-
gram comes the opportunity to keep students out of harm’s way along various points of their daily commutes to and from school. “We’ve been training people that presence is important; [students] seeing the same people there to build up that level of trust and respect,” said Niya White, now in her ninth year as principal of Center City Public Charter School - Congress Heights. Aug. 26 marked the first day of Center City PCS - Congress Heights’ 2019-2020 academic year, and the start of its fifth year quelling after-school violence.
SAFE Page 16
5 Business along the Martin Luther King corridor in Southast were recognized as Safe Spots at the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education’s Safe Passage Program kick-off on Friday, August 23. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
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Women the Cycle of wi hotBreak topics Domestic Violence Study: D.C. Area Traffic Health Officials Say COMPILED BY WILLIAM J. FORD, WI STAFF WRITER
law enforcement. She said they threat,” in she said. Third Worst the Nation Vaping Caused Death had come together to bring a Among the programs Marlow
By Tia Carol Jones WI Staff Writer
sense of uniformity in the way wants to see implemented are When L.Y. Marlow's 23-year- domestic violence victims and stricter restraining order policies, D.C. area commutold daughter told her the father survivors are treated. more rightsersforwho victim's families curse, yell and of her daughter threatened her “She's using her own personal to intervene on behalf of vicsit stuck on thea region’s life, and the life of their child, story, her own personal pain to tim, a domestic violence assessclaim traffic reshe knew something had to be push forward,” Davis-Nickens ment unit highways coupled with further mains horrible. A study done. Out of her frustration said about Marlow. training for law enforcement released last week from with law enforcement's handling Davis-Nickens said anyone agencies, a Child's Life ProtecEmail comments to: Texas A&M University of the situation, she decided to who reads Marlow's book will tion Act and mandatory counselTransportation Institute rburke@ start the Saving Promise cam- “get it.” She said she “puts the ing for batterers. confirmed claims. paign. case in such a way, the average “If we are ever goingthose to eradiwashingtoninformer.com A 2019 Urban Mobility Report states drivers in the “It seems to be a vicious cycle person can get it.” She said at the cate domestic violence, we must DMV spend 102 hours in traffic per year, based thatThewon't turn Department my family ofend Illinois Health of the anday, the book will look at both sides of the coin. on figures from 2017. The figures ranked third loose,” Marlow said. Marlow help people begin to have a dia- We need to address both the vic- in nounced Friday, Aug. 23 a person who reporttheviolence. nation behind (119 hours) shared her story audi-hospitalized logue about tim Los and Angeles the batterer,” Marlowand edly vaped andwith hadthebeen fordomestic a Sanevent Francisco ence the District Heights Also present was (103 said. hours). In terms of economsevereatrespiratory illness has died. Officials de- at the ic data, states would D.C. area drivers spent Domestic Symposium Mildred the the ex- reportMarlow also like to see clined to Violence release the person’s identity and Muhammad, what $4.5 billion based on fuel consumption and on May 7 at the District Heights wifenews of John Allen Muhammad, programs designed to raise the product or device he used but the serves Municipal Center. The sympoaverage cost per gallon. Nationwide, who was sentenced tostate’s six consecawareness among childrentheincost as the first official report of a death connected sium was sponsored by the of congestion stood at $166 billion and may utive life terms without parole public and private schools. She into vaping. The department said in a statement Family and Youth Services crease to $200 million in 2025, according to the by a Maryland jury for his role in feels children need to be educatthe number of cases of people who used e-cigCenter the cityandofwere District alleviateviolence. the traffic snarls the Beltway attacksSome in strategies ed abouttodomestic arettes of or vaped hospitalized with re-Sniperreport. Heights andcomplications the National Hookis include ridesharing, telecommuting increasing “We have to stop and being passpiratory doubled2002. in oneMildred week. Muhammad Up of Black Women. the founder of After the Trauma, sive-aggressive with poor chilthe sales tax. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan posted A total of 22 people, ranging in ages from 17 Marlow has written a book, an organization that helps the dren about domestic violence,” a statement on social media addressing the state’s to 39, experienced respiratory illness after us“Color Me Butterfly,” which is a survivors of domestic violence Marlow said. strategy: a balanced approach which includes road, ing e-cigarettes. The state Health Department story about four generations of and their children. bridge and tunnelMarlow has worked to break improvements and the ongoing will be working departments domestic violence.with The local book health is “I lived in fear for Purple six years.Line Six light-rail the cycleproject of abuse her family, for inPrince George’s and the Food and Drug Administration to deinspired by her own experiences, years in fear is a long time. It is and is confident the policies she and Montgomery counties. termine the types of e-cigarettes, vaping prodand those of her grandmother, not an easy thing to “Traffic come out is agree pushing for will startin that experts that congestion our reuctsmother and devices useddaughter. and location ofshe sales. The her and her of,” said. process. gion is some of the worst in the nation. They recdepartment requested assistance from the She said everyalso time she reads Mildred Muhammad plan to take– these ommendsaid “more of“Ieverything roads,policies transitto. . .” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention In Memoriam excerpts from her book, she still people whotowant to help a Congress and implore them to when it comes to infrastructure, and that’s exactly Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. helpnotinvestigate cases. who expecan believe thethe words camePeople domestic violence victim mustdoing change our laws,” Marlow said. Wilhelmina J. Rolark what we’re in Maryland.” rience painMeorButterfly” difficulty breathing from her.chest “Color be careful after of how they go into “I will not stop until these poliThe Washington Informer Newspaper usingthee-cigarettes or a vaping weeks life, or and understand cies are passed.” won 2007 National “Best device the victim's THE WASHINGTON INFORMER months afterward should seek medical attenPUBLISHER In Memoriam Books” Award. that she may be in “survival Tia Carol Jones can be reached NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is Dr. Calvin W. Rolark Rolark, Barnes Sr. Denise tion. “The of illnesses are expe“I was justseverity 16-years-old when people mode”. at tiacaroljones@sbcglobal.net published weekly on each Thursday. Wilhelmina J. Rolark riencing is alarming the word my eye first blackenedand andwemymust get Periodicals postage paid at Washing“Before you get to 'I'm going ton, D.C. and additional mailing ofTHE WASHINGTON INFORMERSTAFF NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published outbled,” that Marlow using e-cigarettes and vaping can itbestarted as a verbal lips said. to kill you,' WI fices. weekly News and advertisingPeriodicals deadline postage on Thursday. paid McNeir, at Washington, D. Kevin EditorD.C. and additional dangerous,” said Illinois Health Department Elaine Davis-Nickens, presiis Monday to publication. mailingprior offices. News and Anadvertising is Monday prior to publication. Ron deadline Burke, Advertising/ Marketing Director dent of theNgozi National Hook-Up Director Ezike. nouncements must bemust received two two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2000 by The Announcements be received Shevry Lassiter, Photo Editor of Black Women, said there is no Prince George’s weeksWashington prior to event. Copyright 2016 Informer. All rights reserved. POST MASTER: Send change of addressLafayette Barnes, Editor by The Informer. All 3117 consistency in the way domestic es toWashington The Washington Informer, Martin Luther King,IV, Jr. Assistant Ave., S.E.Photo Washington, County residents who rights D.C. reserved. POSTMASTER: Send Johnmay E. De Freitas, Sports Photo Editorpermis20032. No part of this publication be reproduced without written violence issues are dealt with by want to chat about changesion of from addresses to The The Wash-Informer the publisher. Newspaper cannot guarantee Dorothy Rowley, Online Editor the return of education and life in ingtonphotographs. Informer, 3117 Martin Luther Subscription rates are $30 per year, two years $45. Papers will be received ZebraDesigns.net, Design & Layout King, not Jr. more Ave., than S.E. aWashington, D.C. the southern part of week after publication. Make checks payable to: Mable Neville, Bookkeeper 20032. No part of this publication may the jurisdiction will be reproduced without writtenTHE permisDr. Charles Vincent, Social Sightings columnist WASHINGTON INFORMER More than 40 have that opportunity sion from the publisher. The Informer Tatiana Moten, Social Media 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. • Washington, D.C.Specialist 20032 Black women will Newspaper cannot guarantee the return 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Phone: 202 561-4100 Fax: 202 Circulation 574-3785 Angie •Johnson, discuss, review of photographs. Subscription rates are Aug. 29. Public Schools E-mail: news@washingtoninformer.com $45 per year, two years $60. Papers will and enjoy camawww.washingtoninformer.com CEO Monica GoldREPORTERS be received not more than a week after raderie during the son (right) and County publication. Make checks payable to: Stacy Brown (Senior Writer), Sam P.K. Collins, fifth annual Black PUBLISHERCox, Will Ford (Prince George’s Councilman Sydney Timothy THE WASHINGTON INFORMER Denise Rolark Barnes Women in ArchiHarrison (D-District 9) County Writer), Jacqueline Fuller, Hamil 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E tecture brunch STAFF D.C. 20032 REPORTERS of Upper Marlboro will Harris, D. Kevin McNeir, Dorothy Rowley, Washington, Brooke N. Garner Managing Editor Tia C. Jones, Ed Laiscell, Sept. 21 at the Phone: 202 561-4100 host “coffee and conversation” at the Starbucks in Brenda Siler, Sarafina Wright, James Wright Carla Peay Assistant Managing Editor Odell B. Ruffin, Larry Saxton, Octagon House Fax: 202 574-3785 Clinton Plaza. Education remains a major topic in Ron Burke Advertising and Marketing Mary Wells, Joseph Young PHOTOGRAPHERS news@washingtoninformer.com in Northwest. Mable Whittaker Bookkeeper the state of Maryland with anticipated state funding John E. DeFreitas, Shevry Lassiter, www.washingtoninformer.com LaNita Wrenn Administration PHOTOGRAPHERS According to the to boost teacher salaries, provide mental health and Lewis, Lafayette Jr., Anthony Brigette John E. De Freitas SportsRoy Editor Barnes,Tilghman, IV, organization, only 462 (0.4 percent) of Black other services for students. Harrison’s district has Victor Holt PhotoWhite Editor John E. De Freitas, Maurice Fitzgerald, women are part of the more than 110,000 liZebra Designs, Inc. Layout & Graphic Design Joanne Jackson, Roy Lewis, Robert been targeted for one of nine shopping centers in the Ken Harris /www.scsworks.com Webmaster Ridley, Victor Holt censed architects in the country. The event also county to receive $1.9 million in renovations and INTERNS: features a fundraiser for the Desiree V. Cooper Marlow upgrades. For residents who don’tL.Y. reside in HarriPenelope Blackwell, Olivia Boyd CIRCULATION Memorial Scholarship to help support those Paul Trantham son’s district, they’ll be able to address questions and seeking to complete the licensure process. For offer comments to special guests At-Large Counmore information and to purchase a ticket by cilman Calvin Hawkins and Councilman Derrick Sunday, Sept. 1, go to http://bwa-network. Leon Davis (D-District 6) of Upper Marlboro. com/. 4 / May 15 - 21, 2008 The Washington Informer / www.washingtoninformer.com
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Coffee, Chat for County Residents to Feature Goldson and Harrison
“
Black Women Architects We have to stop being Meet in the District 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.
“
4 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
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AROUND THE REGION
Mayor Helps Celebrate Coolidge HS Reopening By Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer
The front steps of Calvin Coolidge Senior High School were filled last weekend with generations of alumni who came home to be part of the grand reopening of their school and the new, adjacent Ida B. Wells Middle School. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Council member Brandon Todd (D-Ward 4) and host of community and education leaders took part Saturday, Aug. 24 in the dedication ceremony for the two schools. “C-O-O-L-I-D-G-E spells Coolidge!” said Bowser, reciting the school cheer as she shouted out the various graduating classes in attendance. “I want to be the first to welcome home the Coolidge Colts!” As he stood on the Coolidge steps, Todd told The Washington Informer, “This means a lot to Ward 4 families, especially when you can open up a $160 million renovated school.” Coolidge is really three schools in one. Its Academy of Health Sciences allows students to take science electives, core courses and vocational classes to earn certifications in nursing or first aid. The school will also have a Mass Media Academy, where students can take journalism classes and earn certifications for programs such as Adobe Premier. Coolidge’s Early College Academy where 11th- and 12th-grade students can earn up to 60 col-
lege credits by take courses with partnering universities. “This is going to be a cluster of excellence in education,” said DCPS Chancellor Lewis Ferebee. “We have Whittier education campus across the street that had historic gains, we have Ida B. Wells opening on this campus and now you have the mighty Coolidge High School. We are very focused here on career opportunities.” The mayor and city officials also dedicated the new Ida B. Wells school that will welcome a sixth grade class of students from Brightwood EC, LaSalle-Backus EC, Takoma EC, Whittier EC. Each year, a grade will be added at Wells, which will have a comprehensive middle school program. In attendance at Saturday’s event were people who had found memories of the past such as Hellen Williams, whose husband donated a substantial amount of money to renovate the school. “It’s a new day at Coolidge,” Williams said. “All of the new things that are coming, all of the new children who are coming and one thing that my husband loved was children.” Terry Goings, president of the Coolidge Alumni Association, said, “This is about bettering our community as we move forward. Coolidge was the last traditional high school to be modernized but as far as Coolidge, you see all of the alumni out here because we care about our school.” WI
5 (From right) Coolidge Sr. High School Principal Samantha Bright, DC Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Fer-
ebee, Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Department of General Serices Director, Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd, Coolidge Alumna President Terry Goings, and Ward 4 residents, and supporters cut the ribbon on the newly renovated high school and adjacent Ida B. Wells Middle School in Northwest on Saturday, August 24. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)
Coolidge is really three schools in one. Its Academy of Health Sciences allows students to take science electives, core courses and vocational classes to earn certifications in nursing or first aid. CORRECTION A caption in the Health Section of the August 22-28 edition (page 21), did not include the byline the photographer Eric Watson/EDI Photo. Also, the caption incorrectly identified Dr. Keith Smithers, O.D, who was pictured on the left. WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER
AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 5
AROUND THE REGION
black facts
AUG 29 - SEPT 4, 2019 SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB
cian Billy Preston is born in Houston. 1958 – African American inventor Frederick M. Jones is issued a patent for a control device for the internal combustion engine. 1965 – Boxing great Lennox Lewis is born in London.
SEPT. 3
1920 – Jazz saxophone virtuoso Charlie “Bird” Parker is born in Kansas City, Kansas. 1958 – Michael Jackson, (above) the legendary “King of Pop,” is born in Gary, Indiana. 1962 – Malvin Goode becomes the first African American television news commentator when he begins broadcasting on ABC as a United Nations correspondent.
1838 – Abolitionist Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery in Maryland by disguising himself as a sailor and boarding a Pennsylvania-bound train. 1846 – The American Missionary Association, an abolitionist group that helped educate freed slaves, is founded in Albany, New York. 1919 – The film “A Man’s Duty” is released by Lincoln Motion Picture Company, an African American-owned company, marking the first feature-length film by a Black filmmaker. 1990 – Jonathan A. Rodgers is named president of CBS’s television stations division, becoming the highest-ranking African American in network television at the time.
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1966 – Constance Baker Motley becomes the the first African American woman federal judge when she is appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. 1967 – Thurgood Marshall is confirmed by the Senate as the first-ever Black Supreme Court justice. 1980 – Guion Bluford, a former NASA astronaut, becomes the first African American in space.
1908 – Famed author Richard Wright, best known for penning “Native Son” and “Black Boy,” is born in Roxie, Mississippi. 1981 – Grammy-winning singer Beyoncé is born in Houston. WI
AUG. 31
1935 – Former Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver, author of “Soul on Ice,” is born in Wabbaseka, Arkansas. 1935 – Hall of Fame baseball player Frank Robinson, who was also the first-ever African American hired to manage a Major League Baseball team, is born in Beaumont, Texas. 1962 – The nation of Trinidad and Tobago declares its independence from the United Kingdom.
SEPT. 1
1904 – George C. Poage becomes the first African American to win a medal in the Olympic Games by taking the bronze in the 200-yard and 400-yard hurdles. 1979 – Hazel Johnson-Brown becomes the U.S. Army’s first Black female general when she assumed command of the Army Nurse Corps.
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AROUND THE REGION The World According to Dominic BY D. KEVIN MCNEIR / WI EDITOR / @DKEVINMCNEIR
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In America, white is a lot more than the skin color or race of our nation’s majority, albeit dwindling segment of that segment of the population, which has maintained its lofty position in the driver’s seat since the days of the Founding Fathers – if not for generations even earlier when the majority of the population on the continent that would eventually become the United States were Native Americans. White, through a calculated manipulation of history and truth, has always been, and remains today, about power – political and economic dominance much to the detriment of the world’s and our nation’s “nonwhite people.” Like any form of power, those who benefit from being members of the powerful class have long fought tooth and nail to maintain the privileges and, by extension, legalized rights gleaned simply because of being born with white skin in a society that touts “whiteness” as the center, the norm – the most desirable state of being. So, it should come as no surprise that with the recent publication of the attention-grabbing,
highly-provocative New York Times “1619 Project,” many white, conservative Americans are up in arms, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a historian by academic training, who asserts that the report is “factually false,” “nonsense” and “propaganda” which should be an “embarrassment” to the editors and owners of the Times. As the publication states in its preface, its purpose is “to reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619 [the year when the first slaves came to America] as our true founding and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are.” The recognition of 400 years of Africans in America that took place last weekend on the Virginia shores where it all began, has lit a fire in our nation – a “teachable moment” as Oprah Winfrey has been known to say that, which for all the bellyaching raised by detractors of the Project, will not be easily squelched even among the most powerful and vociferous, conservative-minded white Americans. Historians, scholars, educators, politicians and journalists – even “Ma” and “Pa” – have taken differing views on the truth, or lack thereof, which the “1619 Project” claims to unveil. Nonetheless, whether the year we cite is 1619, 1776 or 2019, it’s hard to refute the fact that our Republic’s ideals of liberty, justice and democratic rule stand in stark contrast to the reality of life for those born “non-white” and has served as the foundation of America’s very existence from the days of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, the landing of Africans in Virginia – even the so-called discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. Truth be told, the economic system of chattel slavery that prevailed in the South for more
than 200 years not only continues to leave its mark on American culture and institutions, but has reinforced the continuing of two societies within one. In this dual society, whites still enjoy the fruits of forced, unpaid Black labor. Meanwhile, Blacks continue to hover at the bottom rung, no longer chained by shackles but still “shackled.” I disagree with those who contend that the “1619 Project” is anti-American or anti-white identity politics. Yet, at least for now, I cannot fully embrace the report’s finding without further, more careful review. I suppose I can understand the fury that’s been unleashed by those who cannot imagine abandoning a “collective identity” that’s given whites their firmly-grasped sense of being and belonging well over 400 years. If someone suddenly referred to my heroes as rapists, described my sacred tomes and texts as “false alibis” for a “world-historic crime” and reconfigured the hill on which America sits not as a shining cite worthy of respect but one more accurately labeled as a landmark undergirded by the “unmarked graves of men it condemned to unlived lives,” I’d be ready to go toe-to-toe with just about anyone. Give up my seat, my place of prominence, my undeserved perch at the top of the human totem pole? You must be crazy! No way – no how! As the 19th century philosopher Lord John Acton said, while referencing the practices of the Roman emperors and Napoleon, “absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” We may not like the truth, and coming to terms with that truth may be both unsettling and painful, but one day – someday – America will have no choice but to come face to face with its own day of reckoning. As the saying goes, “and the truth will set you free.” WI
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Window Company Settles Discrimination Suit with D.C.
AROUND THE REGION
By James Wright WI Staff Writer
D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine scored a major civil rights victory recently when his office reached a settlement with a window company over allegations of discrimination against residents in certain District zip codes. On Aug. 21, Racine announced the settlement and stressed that no form of bigotry will be tolerated in the city. “The Office of the Attorney General is pleased to have reached a settlement with Renewal by Andersen to end discrimination that excluded District residents east of the Anacostia River from the company’s service area,” he said. “Under District law, businesses are required to serve residents equally, regardless of where they live. My office is committed to protecting residents’ civil rights and we will take action if we find evidence of discrimination.” Renewal by Andersen LLC serves as the window-replacement subsidiary of Andersen Corp., a Minnesota-based window and door manufacturer. The company operates in 100 markets across the country including the D.C. region, offering its customers in-home consultations, custom replacement windows and window installation. In March, Barbara Morgan, a former president of the Dupont Park Civic Association and the D.C. Federation of Civic Associations, filed a complaint to the attorney general’s office on the grounds Renewal by Andersen refused her service because she lived in the 20020 zip code, which includes neighborhoods such as Anacostia, Barry Farm and Hillcrest. “Anybody that knows me knows that I stand up for my rights,” she said. “When I called for service and was told that they don’t come into my area and they would refer me to another contractor, I said, ‘hell no!’ I was not going to take that sitting down and reported it to the attorney general.” Further investigation by the attorney general’s office found Andersen discriminated against zip codes 20019 and 20032, located east of the river, as well as 20005, 20006, 20010, 20018, 20024 and 20064 on the west side. The office pursued the Ander-
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5 Karl A. Racine serves as the attorney general for the District of Columbia (WI File Photo/Roy Lewis)
sen matter on the basis of the D.C. human rights law, considered by legal experts to be the strongest anti-discrimination law in the nation. The law prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability or place of residence. The settlement with Andersen consists of the company agreeing to provide service equally to all District residents no matter where they live; train its employees about complying with the civil rights law; and pay $50,000 to the city. Vikram Swaruup works as an assistant attorney general for
the Civil Rights Division in the OAG. Swaruup said Andersen cooperated fully with the investigation and worked amicably to reach the settlement. Andersen Corp. did not respond to requests for comment by press time. Swaruup said his division will work diligently to investigate claims of bias against District residents and encourages people to let them know of such incidents. Morgan agrees with Swaruup. “If you feel that you have been wronged, call the attorney general’s office,” she said. “They will investigate and make sure your rights are respected.” WI
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In commemoration of the arrival of Africans to America 400 years ago in Hampton, Virginia, the Civil War Memorial Museum held a wreath laying ceremony on Friday, August 23 in Northwest. (Roy Lewis/ The Washington Informer)
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Who’s Reading the Informer? Singer, actor and performer Joe Coleman (right) and former US Asst. Secretary of State for African Affairs Constance Newman read the Washington Informer. (Roy Lewis/ The Washington Informer)
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AROUND THE REGION Ward 4 Council Candidate Focuses on Housing Affordability Says Todd Dropped the Ball on TOPA Legislation
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins Last year, the D.C. Council overwhelmingly passed D.C. Councilman Brandon Todd’s TOPA Single-Family Home Exemption Act, legislation that denied a pathway to home ownership for a group of District tenants much like the family of the woman challenging his Ward 4 Council seat. For several years, Janeese Lewis George’s family rented a home on the 5500 block of 2nd Street in Northwest until their landlord sold the property under financial duress. Tenants of single-family homes, much like the one George’s family used to occupy, used TOPA, or the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, to place their bid for the property during a sale. This bid, called a first right-of-refusal, gave tenants of single-family home and apartments the chance to acquire a mortgage loan for the home within at least 90 days. Much to the chagrin of George, Todd’s bill eliminated that protection for renters living in single-family homes. In the months leading up to its passage, realtors and homeowners heavily lobbied the D.C. Council with concerns about exploitation. But George said the D.C. Council didn’t seek the whole story about TOPA, including that of she and her husband who purchased a single-family home on 8th and Rittenhouse Streets in Northwest three years ago with the help of the law. “It was an attack on longtime families and a complete support of displacement. It happened quickly and swiftly,” said George, a former district attorney and a member of the DC Democratic State Committee. “[Worry about exploitation] was completely exaggerated by people who had interests. There wasn’t a chance for single-family advocates to organize, and for the D.C Council to make some evidence and research-based decisions. I would not have supported it.” On Aug. 8, George kicked off her campaign for Ward 4 Council seat with an event at Busboys and
Poets in Northwest’s Takoma Park that attracted more than 200 people, many of whom had to stand outside the premises for much of the evening. She counts among a handful of challengers across the city using the new public financing program that would give candidates $250 for every $50 contributed by a D.C. resident. If elected, George said her priorities as they relate to housing in Ward 4 include increasing housing affordability, strengthening rent control, tackling homelessness. She also mentioned introducing legislation that would make the average median income more reflective of D.C.’s low-income resident population. Ward 4, arguably one of the District’s most ethnically diverse sections, lost thousands of Black residents between 2000 and 2010, 6,000 of whom lived in George’s stomping grounds of Brightwood-Petworth. Within that same time span, droves of white people and Latinos moved into portions of Brightwood, Petworth and Takoma, according to data collected by the Urban Institute. An ongoing dilemma for some Ward 4 homeowners involves their rising property taxes and mortgages, as outlined in their annual tax assessments. In January, Todd introduced legislation that, if passed, would ensure homeowners don’t get taxed on the first $125,000 of their home’s assessed value. The D.C. Council moved the bill back to the Committee on Finance and Revenue two months later. Some people, like Lamar Revis, said he would like Todd to make more known his efforts to ease Ward 4 residents’ financial burdens. Weeks after meeting Todd’s opponent, he described her as a smart and serious young woman. Whoever assumes the Ward 4 seat in 2020 should make housing affordability a marquee issue, Revis said. “It’s becoming pretty expensive throughout the ward, and I don’t know what could be done about it,” said Revis, a Ward 4 resident of 26 years. Revis explained how the taxable amount on his home had been predicted to increase by $75,000 by 2020, and his property value by more than $150.000. “This is what our elected legis-
lators are tasked to do, find resolutions to issues which are negatively affecting their constituents,” Revis said. “Housing affordability is not a new issue, so it is important to know what our councilman’s plans and initiatives are. “When I moved here, I made a lot less money but could afford to live in Ward 4,” he said. “Over the course of five to 10 years, the mortgage could become unaffordable due to significant annual increases in property tax assessments.” WI 4 This house on 2nd Street in Northwest was being rented by Janeese Lewis George’s family until it was sold under financial duress. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)
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AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 11
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY Logistics Center Project in Upper Marlboro Nixed By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill A proposal for a merchandise logistics center slated to house an Amazon warehouse near a residential neighborhood in Upper Marlboro has been withdrawn. The 78-acre site owned by Walton Global Holdings faced a legal challenge from residents
in two residential communities — Westphalia Town Center and Parkside — who believed a proposed warehouse didn’t fit in that area. Some residences are still under construction in the Westphalia neighborhood. Rumors swirled the applicant, Conshocken, Pa.-based Duke Partnership Limited Corp., would have housed an Amazon, based on the online giant operat-
5 A proposal to use property in Upper Marlboro, shown here in July, for a merchandise logistics center has been withdrawn. In the background are townhomes at Westphalia Town Center. (William J. Ford/The Washington Informer)
ing in other parts of the country on properties owned by Duke Partnership. The company is also registered as Duke Realty, headquartered in Indianapolis. “In spite of this extremely disappointing news for Prince George’s County, we still believe that this is the best site for the logistics center, which would have brought 1,800 direct jobs and hundreds of indirect jobs to this County-approved site,” Walton Executive Vice President Edward R. Fleming said in a statement Friday, Aug. 23. “We will still move forward in partnership with Duke Realty as we assess all options for the future of Westphalia Town Center.” County Executive Angela Also-
brooks said Prince George’s will work with the company to determine “more suitable locations in the county where they may be able to bring their products.” “To those who purchased homes at Westphalia and were promised certain things, I want you to know that my administration will work with the developer to help bring the retail, dining and other amenities you were promised,” Alsobrooks said in a statement Friday. That’s exactly what residents such as Leathey Chandler want. “[The developer] promised us a grocery store and shops,” said Chandler, who moved into the Parkside single-family development this year. “Build it and let
Md. Group Works to Hammer Down Education Costs By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill ANNAPOLIS — The work group organized to provide recommendations on how to revamp and fund Maryland’s public education in the next 10 years received some estimated figures. However, exactly how much the state and local governments would pay remains uncertain. “What your task is to determine how that is split between the state and the county governments. As well as how it is incorporated into the formulas,” said Rachel Hise, who works for the state’s Department of Legislative Services. Hise, also a staff member for the
Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education commission, presented some estimated figures to the funding formula work group Thursday, Aug. 22. It’s estimated it could cost $3.8 to expand pre-kindergarten, hire additional mental health providers and maintain other services and resources. The most expensive proposal would be to increase teacher salaries by 10 percent, which may cost $2.8 billion through fiscal year 2030. If approved by state lawmakers, average annual salaries would increase from more than $40,000 to as much as $80,000. Here’s a breakdown of estimates on other resources and programs until fiscal year 2030: • $999 million for “additional teacher time” such as collaboration
5 Members of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future work group meet in Annapolis on Aug. 22. (William J. Ford/The Washington Informer)
12 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
and planning periods. • $729 million for pre-kindergarten expansion and $234 million to hire additional teachers for those students. • $927 million for special education. Services such as health and behavior, teacher and administrator training and family support centers would be locally managed, but state-funded. Members also dissected data on every county and Baltimore City’s maintenance of effort, which requires the same amount of per-pupil funding a local school board provided the previous year. However, some officials have complained the process hurts jurisdictions based on the economy, lack of money and other factors. Before the discussions began on any data, nearly 40 minutes were spent criticizing Gov. Larry Hogan for his assessment that the commission has presented “well-meaning but half-baked” proposals that may be too expensive. David Brinkley, the governor’s secretary of budget and management, said Hogan has and remains a partner in improving public education. Brinkley said the governor’s remarks from a recent Maryland Association of Counties summer conference are from estimates of what it could cost to restructure the public school system — a 39 percent increase in the personal income tax, an 89 percent increase in the sales tax and a 535 per-
cent increase in property taxes. “I urge caution and my concern and a public that has certain false expectations,” said Brinkley, who serves on the commission and funding group. “No one has looked at the camera and said, ‘How will this be paid for?’” Del. Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, called Hogan’s comment “discouraging.” “There is a great deal of hope in the work that we have done and we are committed to Maryland’s children moving forward,” she said. William E. “Brit” Kirwan, who chairs the commission and funding work group, said Hogan shouldn’t disparage the group’s work approved by the legislature. In addition, he appointed members to both bodies. “I ask, are you willing to accept the status quo knowing that 40 percent of our graduates being college- and career-ready?” Kirwan said. “I fully recognize there are very legitimate questions that need serious thought, including how the state and counties find the means to support the recommendations and the appropriate timeline for implementation. I want to respectfully urge the governor to work with us to achieve the best possible outcome for our children, instead of against them and our state’s future.” The funding formula work group aims to present recommendations to the full 25-member commission by Nov. 1. WI
the retail people come in.” The property that sits along Woodyard Road parallel to Pennsylvania Avenue at Westphalia Town Center plans to build offices, restaurants, stores and other amenities. However, the county council made a minor zoning change this year to amend the mixed-use transportation zoning district and allow for a logistics center to move in. The project proposed to construct a five-story, 800,000-square-foot building and bring more than 1,500 jobs with an estimated salary to start at $15 an hour. The business would open 24 hours a day with daily trips from about 150 tractor-trailers. According to a May 7 council Planning, Housing and Economic Development committee report, it notes “the proposed guidelines will not adversely affect the surrounding residential community.” After council approved the zoning change, the Planning Commission granted approval of the plan with conditions such as street improvements, a more aesthetic wall and shuttle bus service for workers. The case may have heard in late September or early October before District Council, a body comprised of county council members who review land-use and zoning matters. County Councilwoman Jolene Ivey (D-District 5) of Cheverly said she spoke last week with an attorney who represented a developer about the possibility of moving a business in Westphalia because of the logistics center. “Suddenly, there was a lot of activity and interest in retailers and restaurants opening down there,” she said. “I’m sure all that goes away, but that’s fine. That’s just the way it goes. There will be someplace it goes in the DMV.” Although this project isn’t happening in Westphalia, residents plan to push for a zoning change that would quash talks of a logistics center in their neighborhood entirely. “Another warehouse could come in there,” Chandler said. “We have to fight to get that rezoned properly.” WI
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PGCPS BRIEFS Compiled by Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer
SCHOOL BUS APP
The 2019-20 school year launches on Sept. 3, and PGCPS encourages parents to download the new “Here Comes the Bus” mobile app for bus locations and transportation updates. The app uses global positioning system (GPS) technology to locate and track buses and offers real-time information on the exact location. Parents can track multiple buses to find out exactly when children arrive at school or home. They can also customize settings in the app to receive push notifications alerting them when the bus is near or advising of a delay or schedule change. For assistance with the app, contact herecomesthebus@pgcps.org.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES LIST
These are general school supply lists. However, for a list from specific schools, go to the school’s website. Elementary School Basic Supplies: Backpack Composition books (wide ruled) Plastic school box Glue sticks #2 pencils Crayons Scissors Facial tissues
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY Highlighters Ruler Book covers
MANDATED VACCINATIONS
Maryland state law requires all students enrolled in prekindergarten through grade 12 to receive age-appropriate immunizations. The school must have proof of immunizations before allowing a student to begin school on Sept. 3. If evidence of the required vaccines is not provided, the student will be excluded from school. Students without the required documentation will be temporarily admitted and given 20 calendar days from the date of admission to provide evidence of immunization compliance.
MEASLES ALERT
There is currently a surge of measles cases in the United States, including five cases in Maryland. Measles is a disease which causes fever, cough, runny nose, eye irritation and a rash. It can cause more serious problems such as lung, ear and brain infections and, in rare cases, death. It is extremely contagious and can live in the air for several hours in a location where an infected person has been. Vaccination is a safe and effective way to protect your child from measles, PGCPS officials say.
student, inquire about informal kinship care by contacting the Office of Pupil Accounting at 301-952-6302. If the student is currently suspended/expelled from a school, contact the Office of Appeals at 301-9526195. If the student was last home schooled, contact the Home-Schooling Office by calling 301-333-1001.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN/ KINDERGARTEN
To be eligible for kindergarten a child must be 5 years old on or before Sept. 1. To be eligible for pre-kindergarten, a child must be 4 years old on/before Sept. 1 and income-eligible.
EARLY ENTRANCE INTO PRE-KINDERGARTEN/ KINDERGARTEN
Prince George’s County has procedures and guidelines for early entrance. Only children who become age-eligible between Sept. 2 and Oct. 15 are eligible to apply. WI
Capability statements, great proposals and innovative strategies are all important for business sustainability; however nothing beats relationships. Over and over, business leaders exclaim that relationships are the difference between folding and prospering. In short, businesspeople transact business with people they know. Just exchanging cards and waiting for a phone call doesn’t work. Exploring mutual business opportunities, discovering alignment & offering service all build a platform on building relationships. What does it take to build a strong relationship roster? Well, three strategies: investment, presence, and competence. Invest in associations and other business like organizations that promote networking and information gathering. Joining the right associations that help you build relationships is vital to aligning with business opportunities. Just joining, however, is insufficient-being present and seen is crucial. Showing up to convening’s- like business mixers, events & meetings, allows people to see you in action which may spur interest in connecting. Repeating the axiom: people do business with people they know. Lastly, when extended an opportunity- be competent! In business there’s little room for error and mistakes are not tolerated. Being competentproviding on time service and going beyond the request-helps build a reputation and gain additional relationships. Even if your time is crunched, make time for building relationships. It’s essential for growth and sustainability. Not a member? Please visit our website, www.pgcoc.org or drop by for a visit to get started! Membership is good for a full calendar year, so it’s always a good time to join!
SCHOOL REGISTRATION, ENROLLMENT
School-age students must be living with a birth parent or court-appointed legal guardian in Prince George’s County to be eligible for admission into Prince George’s County Public Schools. If you are not the parent or court-appointed legal guardian of the
Building Business Relationships
David C. Harrington President & CEO 5 Parents can use the Here Comes the Bus app to track multiple buses to find out exactly when children arrive at school or home. (PGCPS photo)
Intermediate grades: Ruler Protractor College ruled notebook paper highlighters book covers Secondary School Basic Supplies: Three-inch, three-ring binder Subject dividers Looseleaf notebook paper (college ruled) Composition books (college ruled) Blue or black ballpoint pens #2 pencils Colored pencils WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER
AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 13
BUSINESS Culturally-Inspired Bean Line Expands with Black, Latino Recipes By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia Ibraheem Basiris counts as a prime example of what National Black Business Month is all about. Basiris is the founder and CEO of A Dozen Cousins, a mission-based brand that creates authentic and nutrient-dense natural foods. The brand debuted earlier this year with a line of culturally inspired slow-simmered beans from traditional Black and Latino recipes. He said he was inspired to create the company after reflecting on dinners he enjoyed as a child. For many years, Basiris worked on natural food brands before coming up with A Dozen Cousins, a name derived from his daughter and her 11 cousins.
“I grew up in a big family with nine siblings, and food always had a special place in our house,” Basiris said. “Dinner served as a way for us to reconnect at the end of our day and it was one of the primary ways that we celebrated holidays and marked important events. I always wanted to marry my professional career with my love for food, and eventually, I was able to do that.” A Dozen Cousins’ line of regional beans comes in three flavors: Cuban Black Beans, Mexican Cowboy Beans and Trinidadian Chickpea Curry. Basiris said these innovative and ready-to-eat beans offer a modern take on the rich heritage of Caribbean, Creole and Latin American cuisines, all of which were staples in the diverse neighborhood in New York City’s Brooklyn borough where Basiris
5 Ibraheem Basiris, owner of A Dozen Cousins (Courtesy photo) 4 Black beans (Courtesy photo)
grew up. Like most African American-owned businesses, A Dozen Cousins had its share of challenges. However, Basiris quickly shakes off any suggestion that he’s had it more difficult than anyone else. “I know this may sound corny, but I try to think in terms of opportunities instead of obstacles,” Basiris said. “That approach keeps me optimistic and helps me remain focused on the upside. “To me, the most exciting opportunity we have with A Dozen
INVITATION FOR BIDS Solicitation GAGA-2019-I-0112 American Sign Language (Deafblind Interveners) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE OF CONTRACTS AND ACQUISITIONS The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), Office of the Chief Business Officer (OCBO), on behalf of the Division of Specialized Instruction (DSI) is soliciting bids from prospective bidders to provide experienced deafblind interveners, to students attending various locations within the District of Columbia Public Schools. Interveners must meet the requisites for the national intervener credential through the National Resource Center for Paraeducators (NRCP) and have the capacity to provide support for students with deafblindness (to include students who qualify for intervener services in an urban school setting). Solicitations will be available for pick-up on Thursday, August 29, 2019 at 1200 First Street, N.E. 9th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20002, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. This solicitation may also be downloaded from the OCA website delineating all the details of the solicitation at: http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/About+DCPS/Doing+Business+with+DCPS/Procurement. Bids will be accepted at DCPS/OCBO on Wednesday, September 11, 2019, no later than 3:00 p.m. at the address indicated above.
14 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
Cousins is to continue to dispel the notion that authentic ethnic foods are niche, or that they are of lower quality,” Basiris said. “We pair authentic Black and Latino recipes with really great ingredients and I think that over time we have the opportunity to find a really large audience for our products.” He’s already shaken up the bean category by offering simple meals with what he calls clean ingredients with authentic flavors. All of that is sans the preservatives, he said. All three varieties of Basiris’ beans are non-GMO, vegan, and naturally gluten-free. Each offering boasts 6 to 8 grams of protein and comes packaged in BPA-free, microwaveable pouches. The company intends to launch other simple meals products, Basiris said. The products will combine taste, quality, and convenience, which will fulfill
the company’s mission to inspire families of all backgrounds to eat better food and live longer more vibrant lives. A Dozen Cousins also has implemented a first-of-its-kind initiative to help eliminate socioeconomic health disparities in the U.S., partnering with nonprofits and giving a portion of its proceeds to various organizations. A Dozen Cousins has also expanded nationally with Whole Foods. They expect other such expansions to follow. In the meantime, Basiris will continue to put his best foot forward and provide consumers with healthy and hearty alternatives. “Businesses have a huge impact on how we live, what we consume and even the laws that get passed in this country,” Basiris said. “In the same way that Black people and other minority groups need to have political representation, I think it’s important that we have healthy rates of business ownership.” WI
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BUSINESS
Time for Brunch? Try The Bar @ Milk & Honey By James Wright WI Staff Writer Brunch, the meal between breakfast and lunch with the cuisine of both, has become popular in recent years and Monique Rose, a seasoned restaurateur, has teamed with renowned chef Sammy Davis to open The Bar @ Milk & Honey, a restaurant in D.C. looking to capitalize on the trend. The Bar @ Milk & Honey, located in the Brightwood neighborhood in Northwest, has become a spot for young adults and families of all ages when they want to eat some downhome soul food. The restaurant officially opened on Aug. 21 even though it has been in business since November, when it operated under the name Catch 22. The building on Georgia Avenue NW, which once housed the infamous Ibex nightclub, serves as the third Milk & Honey location in the region, joining two others in College Park and Bowie in Prince George’s County. Rose and Davis had extensive discussions about coming to the District.
“We have been thinking about opening a Milk & Honey in D.C. for some time,” she said. “We had fun with Catch 22, but we thought it was a smarter business decision to answer the demands of our loyal customers and give them what they want: a Milk & Honey on Georgia Avenue.” The Bar @ Milk & Honey operates under Milked LLC that, in addition to Maryland and the District, has a restaurant in Atlanta. Davis founded the company and has worked with Rose to make sure their diners have first-class comfort. While many soul food establishments have a working-class atmosphere and feature such items as neck bones, ribs and pig’s feet, The Bar @ Milk & Honey doesn’t offer that type of cuisine. Diners have the choice of items such as Davis’s famous shrimp and grits, the popular seafood burger croissant — featuring a beef patty topped with Cajun shrimp, bacon and cheese — green vegetables and fruits, and a kale salad with many toppings. Cocktail drinkers can choose from such offerings as Spiked Sweet Tea, Witches Coffee,
Shark Bite and Flamin’ Hot Bloody Mary, along with fruit juices, sweet tea, beer and wine. Various sandwiches, desserts, side dishes and Belgian waffles round out the menu. Rose said The Bar @ Milk & Honey has an intentionally upscale feel. “When we decided to set this place up, we wanted something different from our other establishments,” she said. “We wanted people to feel free to come to the bar and have a good time. We wanted a place where people could dress casually or professionally and feel comfortable.” Rose said her establishment has also participated in area events such as Restaurant Week and Black Restaurant Week. “I am aware that Howard University will have its homecoming during the week of Oct. 12,” she said. “A lot of Howard people come here and we will be ready for them.” WI
5 Monique Rose owns The Bar @ Milk & Honey in D.C. (James Wright/The Washington Informer) off
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AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 15
NATIONAL 400 YEARS from Page 1 battled governor’s received earlier this year over racist photos in his medical school yearbook, he was favorably received by applause throughout his speech in which he admitted, “Over the past several months…I have had to confront some painful truths about my own incomplete misunderstanding regarding race and equity. I’ve also learned, the more I know, the more I can do.” “For too long, the burden has been on individuals and communities of color to lead these discussions, but if more of us had these hard conversations, and truly listened and learned from them we’ll be better able to shine that light of truth, because the eyes can’t see what the mind doesn’t know, ” Northam said. The weekend observance commemorated the day on August 25, 1619, when the first “20 or some odd some Negroes” from Angola, located on the west coast of Africa, were brought to America, to Fort Com-
5 Terry E. Brown, NPS Superintendent, Ft. Monroe National Monument, called the discovery that Ft. Comfort is where the first enslaved Africans arrived, “a game-changer” for the Ft. Monroe National Monument. (Photo by DR Barnes/The Washington Informer)
fort, now Ft. Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, marking the beginning of slavery that lasted 246 years in the U.S., and where the vestiges of racism and inequality still impact Americans today. Legislation introduced by Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott and Sen. Tim Kaine and signed into law by President Donald Trump, established the 400 Years of African American History Act and a 15-member commission to coordinate programs commemorating the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the English colonies. Perseverance marked the theme for the weekend, that began on Thursday with a town hall hosted by Voice of America and Norfolk State University, an HBCU. On Friday, observers gathered at the Tucker Family Cemetery to pay tribute to the ancestors believed to be descendants of William, the first African child born in the British Colony in 1624. William was born the son of Isabella and Anthony, the first Africans to arrive at the British Colony from Angola, and among the first forced into slavery. Virginia congressional and state lawmakers made their round of speeches, along with Rep. Karen Bass, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, P. Daniels Smith, acting director of the NPS, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Hampton Mayor Donnie Ray Tuck. Van Jones was the keynote speaker and Common, along with the Sounds of Blackness were featured artists at the African Landing Commemoration Concert. Several scholars presented research on slavery and its impact on issues facing Black Americans including health disparities, educational inequities, and criminal justice during the 400 Years of Perseverance program hosted by the Association for the Study of
5 The D.C.-based Kankauran West African Dance Company performed during at the Commemoration of the First African Landing at Ft. Monroe on Aug. 24. (Photo by DR Barnes/The Washington Informer)
16 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
African American Life and History (ASALH) at Hampton University Memorial Chapel on Friday. “With all of the atrocities that we as a people have endured, we’re still here, and that’s a testimony to our legacy,” said Audrey Perry-Williams, president of the Hampton Roads Chapter of the Association of African American Life and History (ASALH). “We believe what Carter G. Woodson said; he wants us to tell our story because if we don’t tell it, it’s not going to be told correctly.” But many said the weekend meant so much more than history and facts. It was also an emotional and spiritual journey of remembrance and homage paid to the millions of Africans who died and survived the wretched conditions on slave ships transporting them to the Americas. They included men, women, and children shipped as cargo, bought and traded by immigrant Europeans, and used to create wealth by providing free labor to build a nation called the United States of America. As the sun rose on Saturday morning, nearly 200 men and women, dressed in white, stood on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay at Buckroe Beach, looking towards the Atlantic Ocean. Many waded into the cool water and received a “spiritual cleansing” and later participated in an African Naming Ceremony conducted by several Cameroonian chiefs. “I feel like I’m here to reclaim something that was lost,” Tammy Isaac of Newport News, said upon receiving her African name. “This is really important because my name is Isaac, which is a Jewish name. I’m not
SAFE from Page 1 In years past, to ensure that her students make it home safely, White and her colleagues facilitated what they called “the walking school bus.” She said this model, similar to the one done in Chicago, allowed them to accompany their elementary and middle school students along clearly visible routes to their homes. As part of an effort to recruit parent and community members, the launch of a Center City PCS - Congress Heights Safe Passage recruitment page has been slated for early September. White also said she has also appealed to Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to monitor the corner of 6th Street and Randle Place, where an untold number of children and adults have been known to frustratingly wait for what she called an inconsistent W4 bus. “Fewer events happen because a pair of eyes are always watching,” White said. “The Metropolitan Police Department and Met-
5 A spiritual cleansing ceremony at Buckroe Beach on Aug. 24 marked the 400 year commemoration of the first landing enslaved Africans at Fort Comfort, Va. (Photo by DR Barnes/The Washington Informer)
Jewish, so it’s just good to have something that’s mine.” Adaeze, which means princess, is the name she was given. “I’ve been on this journey since 2011…searching for my roots,” she said. Terry E. Brown, who’s served 20 years with the National Park Service, is the Superintendent of the Ft Monroe National Monument. In 2016, upon his arrival at Ft. Monroe, he called it a “game-changer” when he discovered that Africans landed at Ft.
Comfort in 1619. “I couldn’t sleep for months because I felt like no one was paying attention that Africans landed here. For years they’d been talking about they landed in Jamestown, but they landed here. And, to work in a place where they landed, it’s just so emotional, I can’t explain it. I’m happy to see people from all over the world come here and honor their ancestors. It’s a meaningful and honorable thing to do.” WI
ro Transit have been our greatest supporters. Sometimes, I don’t come back from the bus stop until after 5:30 p.m. I can spare that time. My educational colleagues can do it as well.” Every day this academic year, nearly 5,000 young people leaving school and wearing uniforms of various colors will flood the 3100 Block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and its surrounding streets, either to patronize one of the local businesses, walk home, or catch one of the buses that will take them across the city. Quantitative data and testimony collected from community members have marked various points in that area as potential incubators of physical conflict. This year, Center City PCS - Congress Heights, KIPP DC Somerset College Preparatory, and other nearby Safe Passage participants will have nearly two dozen small businesses in Congress Heights and Anacostia as allies in their collective effort to
prevent outbreaks of violence. After conversations with student groups and local businesses, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education designated those “Safe Spots” as areas of refuge for students during after-school hours. This endeavor accompanies the launch of CarpooltoSchool as a means of organizing car, bike and walk pools this school year, and a partnership with LiveSpace to help students easily report emergencies to each other and law enforcement using a shared map. DME has also collaborated with Richard Wright Public Charter School to support its community-led safe passage efforts. “This is an important conversation around student safety,” D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee told a group of community members on Friday in front of MLK Deli, one of 23 safe spots. “I always ask students if they
SAFE Page 48
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NATIONAL
Michael Jackson’s Former Manager Launches Legacy Foundation
Announcement Involves ‘Secret Will’ – Comes Amid Legal Battle with Jackson Estate By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins In the week leading up to what would have been Michael Jackson’s 61st birthday, a former spokeswoman for the late King of Pop announced the launch of a foundation she says will fulfill his philanthropic vision, as articulated to her and outlined in a secret, unsubstantiated will. The announcement, made during an Aug. 22 press conference at the Willard InterContinental Washington in Northwest, comes amid an ongoing legal battle between the spokeswoman, Raymone K. Bain, and the Jackson estate. It also followed her first public response to the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland,” which featured two men alleging sexual abuse by Jackson during their childhood. “This is a mandate to preserve and defend Michael Jackson’s name,” Bain said in reference to what’s been revealed as the Mi-
chael Jackson Legacy Foundation. She broke the news before an audience of entertainment industry mavens, reporters and community members. While no funds have been dedicated to the Michael Jackson Legacy Foundation yet, Bain expressed a desire to embark on this endeavor independent of the Michael Jackson estate. She said future plans will involve the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center and Heal the World Foundation, the late Jackson’s brainchild to be resurrected by his son Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., also known as Prince Jackson. “[Jackson] might no longer be with us, but we’re hoping that he will continue to live among us,” Bain said. “I won’t mention the name of his accusers, but these new revelations were timed for the beginning of the tenth anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. I believe this was to derail anything in his honor.” In 2006, a year after a California court acquitted Jackson on all
charges of child molestation involving a 13-year-old boy, he appointed Bain as his personal general manager and president/COO of the Michael Jackson Company. Bain later served as his music licensing agent and partial owner of the Michael Jackson Company. Three years later, on June 25, Jackson died in what the Los Angeles County Coroner later ruled as a homicide. At the time of his death, he had been preparing for a litany of comeback concerts scheduled for 2009 and 2010. Jackson, one of the best-selling artists of all time, boasted global record sales of more than 350 million, including that of “Thriller.” He also won numerous awards for his music and choreography. Not long after Jackson’s death, Bain filed a $44 million lawsuit against the Michael Jackson Company for breach of contract, which the court later rejected. In 2016, much to Bain’s chagrin, Jackson’s estate sold a 50 percent share of his music catalogue, which includes music by the
Beatles, to Sony Music, By early 2017, Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, joined the lawsuit for a 15 percent stake in the Michael Jackson Company. During Thursday’s press conference, Bain didn’t divulge many details about the ongoing litigation. In response to her announcement, an estate spokesperson said Bain has no authorization to launch a foundation in Jackson’s name or use his likeness for any other means. However, the estate espoused support for Bain’s call to boycott HBO for airing “Leaving Neverland.” Since its early March release, “Leaving Neverland” has earned five Emmys and a TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information. The production also drew the ire of Jackson’s family and fans, with the Michael Jackson Foundation lobbing a $100 million lawsuit against HBO. By April, HBO denied rumors that it would pull “Leaving Neverland” from its lineup.
But for Bain, the damage to Jackson’s reputation had been done. In supporting the Michael Jackson Legacy Foundation, Jackson’s fans could change the tide, she said Thursday. “2019 is the year we should be celebrating the sheer genius and generosity of a man I knew to be gentle, kind, humble, spiritual and sincere,” Bain said. “He was a trailblazer [and] humanitarian who gave $300 million away to various charities. He was a man who opened doors and helped influence music and musicians. He was one of the first in the industry to give to the NAACP [and] AIDS research. “Through his friend Elizabeth Taylor, he supported the LGBT community before it was organized,” she said. “He wanted to open libraries in underserved communities. He was a man who I know based on his spiritual fiber and pedigree would be incapable of hurting a child.” WI
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AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 17
IN FOCUS
3 The marker is a reminder of first enslaved Africans who arrived in 1619 at Point Comfort, Virginia, now the site of Fort Monroe. (Dorothy Rowley/The Washington Informer) 6 Yuri Milligan, a coordinator for the 2019 Commemoration Evolution team in Hampton, Va., said her organization created several exhibits and marketing campaigns to get the word out about the Aug. 23-25 commemorative weekend. (Dorothy Rowley/The Washington Informer)
Ceremonies, Activities in Virginia Commemorate Landing of First Enslaved Africans in U.S. By Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer @DorothyRowley Four hundred years ago this month, a ship carrying some 20 enslaved immigrants from western
Africa, arrived at Point Comfort in Hampton, Va., beginning centuries of brutal abuse of a people forcibly separated from their own land, language and customs. In commemoration of the enslaved Africans’ landing in 1619 on
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Virginia soil, a three-day commemoration was held last weekend at Point Comfort, which is now the decommissioned Fort Monroe military installation, attracting thousands of people from across the country and abroad. “We [worked] with other partners that include the city of Hampton to bring this commemoration for people to experience and honor our ancestors,” said Yuri Milligan a coordinator of the “2019 Commemoration Evolution” team. “We’ve been working a long time to share the history of the first landing of the enslaved Africans, the history of Fort Monroe, and why this history is being commemorated.” Milligan, who has worked with the commemoration efforts since 2016, said the state of Virginia has also been working on the event for the past five years, having presented various projects during that time. “However, the city of Hampton and local civic organizations have been commemorating this history for over 20 years,” Milligan said. “In our outreach efforts, we’ve had exhibits across the state, many digital campaigns and developed history apps to get the word out about this weekend — especially to organizations like local branch of the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), Hampton Roads NAACP, and African American churches and school communities all over the commonwealth [of Virginia] to educate them about the landing in 1619.” Glenn Oder, Fort Monroe Authority’s executive director, said the commemoration recognizes, for the first time in the country’s history, the landing which most likely took place circa Aug. 25, 1619. “I expect people to come here [this weekend] because they’re curious and because we’re talking about race and other tough subjects that weren’t talk-
5 The Fort Monroe Visitor and Education Center showcases galleries that commemorate periods of African American history. (Dorothy Rowley/The Washington Informer)
ed about when they were in grammar school,” Oder said. “And afterward, I hope they walk away intrigued and say they want more.” Oder explained that after the War of 1812, Congress decided to build a stone fortress in Virginia that used slave labor from the community. “The first and last names of the slaves who worked on the fortress were documented.” Oder said. “We also have names of their owners. What’s fascinating is that here is a fortress built by slaves, that when the Civil War broke out, it also became a refuge for enslaved people.” Oder said a “generational opportunity” was created by the slaves’ involvement with both the landing and construction of the fortress. “Or if not, a generational responsibility was created to tell the story for the first time,” Oder said. “We need to recognize that this is the pebble in the pond and the ripples are going to go out from this.” Phyllis Terrell, an officer with the Fort Monroe Authority, said the weather this weekend was a good indication of a huge crowd all three days.
“We’re excited about all that’s been done to attract not just local and national observers but international audiences as well,” Terrell said. In addition to the ceremony Saturday that marked the 400th anniversary of the first Africans’ landing, the Hampton Roads branch of ASALH on Friday presented a panel discussion at Hampton University, “16192019: 400 Years of Perseverance,” that honored African American perseverance from 1619 to the present. Other activities and events of the weekend included speeches Saturday by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and author Michael Eric Dyson giving homage to African American ancestors, as well as cultural demonstrations, Black cultural tours, living history demonstrations, vendors, children’s activities, musical performances and more at Continental Park. On Sunday, a highly anticipated “healing ceremony” sponsored by the National Park Service included a nationwide four-minute ringing of church bells in reconciliation and remembrance of the African Americans who first set foot on Virginia soil and their ancestors. WI
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East Africa Gets First Centre of Excellence East African Community (EAC) member states have expressed optimism that the region will soon turn into an ICT hub, with the launch of a Centre of Excellence for ICT in East Africa (CENIT@ EA) in Arusha, Tanzania, on Friday, Aug. 23. Located at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), the center, the first of its kind in the region, aims at strengthening the employability of graduates, The New 5 Tanzania’s Education minister Joyce Nda- Times, Rwanda’s leading daily, reported. lichako (in green jacket), alongside different Four Rwandan students pursuing a master’s degree program in development partners, commissions the new embedded and mobile systems are among the 25 students at the cenCentre of Excellence for ICT in East Africa ter that is fully sponsored by the German government to the tune of (CENIT) in Arusha, Tanzania on Friday, 4 million euros. August 23. (Photo by Gashegu Muramira) “Technology is changing so fast,” said Joyce Ndalichako, Tanzania’s minister for education. “We welcome the embedded and mobile systems because such courses will help us curb vices like financial fraud. This will lead us into fully embracing the fourth industrial revolution technology.” Each of the six partner states was given six scholarship slots. However, South Sudan is yet to utilize its slots. Alexandre Lyambabaje, the executive secretary of the Interuniversity Council for East Africa (IUCEA), said knowledge on embedded and mobile systems has been lacking in the region, yet this technology is used in the everyday life of East Africans. “This technology is found in cars, irrigation systems, drones that collect data, and our doors at home. So, it’s not by choice, we are obliged to embrace it,” he said. “I come from a semi-arid area called Kitui in Kenya that has poor soils. The course I am doing will help me do a sensor network to test soils before applying fertilizers,” said Josephine Mbandi, a Kenyan student at the center. Ndalichako called for more enrollment of female students at the center, saying it’s surprising that the center only has six female students out of 25 sponsored students. Ange Josiane Uwayisenga, one of the Rwandan students at the center, said that the course will help her develop smart irrigation and other biometric applications that will help societies back home. The scholarships awarded by the center not only cover the monthly allowance, rent assistance, financial assistance for studies and research, and writing and printing costs, but also the tuition fees applied at NM-AIST. WI Traditional Help Buttons
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caribbean now Jamaica Committed to Empowering Youth Through Technology Fayval Williams, (left) Jamaica’s science, energy and technology minister, says the government remains committed to empowering the nation’s youth through technology. Williams said that as countries prepare for the global onset of the technology-driven fourth industrial revolution, “it is absolutely imperative that our youth are prepared and possess the skills needed to 5 Hon. Fayval Williams, Jamaica’s Minister participate.” “In a digital world filled with endless possibilities, opportunities of Science, Energy and Technology Minister, speaking at the Huawei “Seeds for the Future which provide training, support and access in the area of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for our youth are significant 2019” internship programme departure ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New and augur well for our transition to a digital and knowledge-based soKingston on Thursday, August 22. Ten students ciety,” she said. will be embarking on a two-week internship at Williams was speaking at the Huawei “Seeds for the Future 2019” technology company, Huawei, in China from internship programme departure ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 22, at September 4 -21. (Photo by Donald De La the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston. Ten students will be emHaye) barking on a two-week internship at technology company, Huawei, in China from Sept. 4 -21 Williams reiterated that the government and its stakeholder partners are undertaking several initiatives intended to strengthen the ICT competencies of the nation’s young people. These include $200 million to be provided during the current fiscal year by the Universal Service Fund (USF), an agency of the Technology Ministry, to finance ICT projects. Williams explained that this undertaking, being done in collaboration with ICT experts in the public and private sectors, “will provide funding for young entrepreneurs who seek to solve real life problems through technology”. Additionally, she said, come September, 600 unattached youth will commence ICT training under the USF’s Technology Advancement Programme (TAP). WI
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HEALTH East End Group to Take Health Concerns to City Hall By James Wright WI Staff Writer The phrase “you can’t beat city hall” may ring true for some District citizens but it won’t stop the members of the DC Health Justice Coalition from taking their health care concerns to city leaders. The ad hoc organization met Aug. 22 at the United Medical Center (UMC) to discuss its status as the only hospital east of the Anacostia River and what the new hospital that will be on the campus of St. Elizabeths East. The coalition made it clear they
want UMC to be fully funded, as well as a say in the leadership and health care services of the St. Elizabeths hospital. “We are committed to going down to the council,” Wala Blegay, one of the leaders of the coalition, said to roughly 40 people gathered for the meeting. “They think everything is set to go but we say the deal is not done.” On May 28, the D.C. Council voted to give UMC a $22.1 million subsidy with money cobbled together from Councilman Trayon White (D-Ward 8) and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) after fellow Council member Vin-
5 Clayton A. Rosenberg, Ambrose Lane Jr. and Christopher Hawthorne listen during an Aug. 22 meeting of the DC Health Justice Coalition. (Roy Lewis/Washington Informer)
cent Gray (D-Ward 7) proposed giving $15 million. UMC will close in 2023 while the St. Elizabeths facility will be in operation or close to opening at that time. Christopher Hawthorne, who serves as the advisory neighborhood commissioner for single-member District 8E05 that includes UMC, said a watered-down UMC doesn’t serve east of the river residents well. “At UMC, there is no trauma
center, no behavioral issues staff and no cancer staff,” he said. “This downsizing affects mostly African Americans. In my opinion, we need both UMC and St. Elizabeths operating at the same time.” In addition, UMC closed its obstetrics unit in 2017. Ed Lazere, executive director of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, said the District government has the money to fully fund UMC. “This city has a lot of money,” Lazere said. “We know there is money for a new hospital. Events DC has a surplus of $100 million. “We are a city that gives money away in stupid ways such as giving tech companies subsidies they don’t
need and we can tax all health care operators,” he said. “There’s money to save the hospital.” The council will resume its operations on Sept. 16, the day before its first legislative meeting after the summer recess. Ambrose Lane Jr., who leads the D.C. Health Alliance, said that he understands there will be a Committee on Health hearing dealing with the issues surrounding UMC in September. He urged coalition members to attend the hearing. “We need to go to that hearing so we can demand excess money in the city’s budget goes to UMC,” he said. WI
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HEALTH Appointments Made to Maryland’s Prescription Drug Board By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill Maryland leadership announced the appointment of four people to a board aimed at assessing prescription drug prices, but there’s no money to hire staff, obtain resources and conduct other work. “It’s important to fund this,” Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-District 21) of College Park said Monday. “People are hurting. This affects everyone and needs to be funded. [Gov. Larry Hogan] needs to make it a priority.” Hogan remains a key figure because he hasn’t released $750,000 the legislature approved this year to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, the first board in the nation that seeks to decrease prices on drugs. However, the governor’s office said it is searching for existing money in the budget for the board. “We are working with our Health Department to stand up this board without a need for new funding,” Hogan spokesman Michael Ricci said in an email Monday.
The legislation permits for the Senate president, House speaker, attorney general and the governor to appoint people to the independent five-member board. Peña-Melnyk sponsored the legislation in the House and Sen. Kathy Klausmeier (D-Baltimore County) sponsored it in the Senate. House Speaker Adrienne Jones and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. jointly appointed Van T. Mitchell as the board chair. Mitchell, a former state delegate, also is the former secretary of the state’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Jones chose Eberechukwu Onukwugha, an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. Miller appointed George S. Malouf Jr., an ophthalmologist with an office in Camp Springs. Attorney General Brian Frosh appointed Gerald F. Anderson, a professor and director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Hospital Finance and Management. Hogan hasn’t announced an appointment to fill the board. Some of the work by the board includes reviewing new
5 Courtesy of Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative
brand-name prescription drugs at $30,000 or more per year; existing brand-name medications which increase by $3,000 or more annually; current generic medication that increase by 200 percent or more per year; and any prescription drug patients cannot afford and are challenges to the state’s health care system. State officials and health care advocates say between 250,000 to
300,000 Marylanders are affected by high prescription drug prices. Meanwhile, the legislation allows for a 26-member stakeholder council will present recommendations to the prescription board. Some of those members, who will be appointed by Jones, Miller and Hogan, include a clinical research, a nurse, statewide advocate for seniors, a representative from a generic drug corporation and a
for-profit health insurance carrier. “Prescription drug costs have become a topic of daily conversation and concern among families across the county,” Mitchell said in a statement Thursday, Aug. 22. “I am thrilled to see Maryland is taking the lead on tackling this issue and welcome the opportunity to work toward a long-term solution that will reduce prescription drug costs for all Marylanders.” WI
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AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 23
EDUCATION Walgreens Launches Tool to Help Educators Keep Children Safe, Engaged By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia With children returning to school all around the country, a new program has launched that will provide teachers access to free tools and valuable resources. Walgreens has partnered with the ME to WE Foundation to create WE Teachers. The program is designed to help educators address issues such as youth violence, pov-
erty and those related to diversity and inclusion, bullying, mental health and well-being. Through WE Teachers, educators can access online digital training modules to help them identify and assess issues affecting their Washington Informer students. They can also secure the tools needed to address the issues in a supportive manner. Teachers will be introduced to 5.65” new experiential learning techniques in the classroom that
24 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
5 Dr. Jacqueline L. Sanderlin (Courtesy of WE Teachers)
should help students become more socially conscious, compassionate and engaged citizens, program officials said. The modules have just begun to roll out online and will be available to teachers across the U.S. and
Puerto Rico in both English and Spanish. “This is basically providing teachers free tools and resources around issues, especially the critical social issues that face our students today,” said Dr. Jacqueline L. Sanderlin, a WE Teachers lead ambassador. Sanderlin said the tool would help to handle and realize bullying. She said it’s also critical for those in marginalized and underserved communities, where students face poverty, violence and a lack of diversity and inclusion. “Mental illness is part of this too and, unfortunately, while it’s becoming less of a stigma, a lot of the kids are coming to calls with issues from their homes and communities and they are long-term issues,” Sanderlin said. “The students also have been neglected. These issues are becoming more prevalent, and our teachers haven’t trained over the years to handle this.” WE 6.5”Teachers arms educators with the right tools and resources from experts to support students in need, Sanderlin said. Walgreens and the ME to WE Foundation also partnered with Mental Health America, the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness. The program will support educators as they work with students who have experienced — or are currently experiencing — traumatic situations. WE Teachers should also help teachers take preventive measures to avoid trauma. “Many of our young people today are grappling with complex pressures and these issues don’t disappear when they enter the class-
room,” Paul Gionfriddo, president and CEO, Mental Health America, said in a statement. “We are proud to partner with Walgreens and WE to provide resources, so teachers feel encouraged and confident that they are taking the right steps to help their students. Ultimately, this is about making sure our teachers are supported so that our young people can succeed.” Sanderlin said teachers today are much more than educators. “They are mentors, counselors, cheerleaders and protectors, and they spend their own money every year to buy supplies for their students,” Sanderlin said. Walgreens and its partners have committed to donating $5 million to the ME to WE Foundation to fund the development of the WE Teachers program, according to a news release. Through Sept. 7, as customers shop for school supplies at Walgreens, they, too, can join the company’s commitment to supporting teachers across America, officials said. Shoppers can track online the impact that ME to WE supporter brands are making. They can also contribute cash donations to help fund additional WE Teacher resources. “This was built to empower and to educate by providing teachers what they need so that they can foster a resilient classroom and they can create a space for students so that they can talk to students about issues like bullying and mental health,” Sanderlin said. “Teachers need to know how to do that, and that’s what this platform does.” For more information or to donate, go to Walgreens.com/metowe. WI
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DCPS
BRIEFS Compiled by Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer
2019-20 SCHOOL MODERNIZATIONS
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday (Aug. 26) celebrated the beginning of the 2019-20 school year at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the fully modernized Maury Elementary School in Ward 6. “Every new school year is exciting because each school year brings new opportunities to make each day count,” Bowser said. “This year, we are proud and excited to once again be welcoming students and families across D.C. back to new and modernized buildings, but we are also proud of the new programs we are rolling out. From our early college academies to our ‘Connected Schools,’ we are finding and funding new ways to support our families and set our young people up for success, both inside and outside the classroom.” Maury’s $59 million modernization includes new classrooms that will serve up to 540 students, a state-of-the art media center and maker space, indoor and outdoor play and community spaces, and a green roof that supports the District’s sustainability goals. Later in the day, Bowser visited students at the new Bard High School Early College DC and celebrated the modernization of Kimball Elementary School. Kimball’s $55 million modernization supports the school’s STEM focus with a FoodPrints food prep lab, science workshop, and maker space. Kimball students will also have access to an outdoor classroom and two rooftop terraces for outdoor learning opportunities. Both schools have various art installations, including many by D.C. residents.
joined by residents and administration officials in reminding motorists to slow down and use caution while school is in session.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
This school year, Ron Brown College Preparatory High School, DCPS’ first all-boys school, will graduate their first senior class, and Excel Academy — DCPS’ first all-girls school — will begin its second year.
CONNECTED SCHOOLS
Ten DCPS schools in Wards 1, 6, 7, and 8 will launch the “Connected Schools” Model this school year, taking the District’s current community schools’ model to the next level. Connected Schools will dramatically shift the way schools partner with District agencies and communities to integrate academics, social services, and student and family engagement.
PARCC SCORES
Mayor Bowser recently joined State Superintendent of Education Hanseul Kang at Whittier Education Campus in northwest where they released the 2018–19 results of Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) testing for traditional public and public charter schools in the District of Columbia. Overall, the percentage of District students on track for the next grade level and to leave high school prepared for college and careers, increased over last year, marking the fourth consecutive year of statewide testing gains. The District’s scores have now increased for four consecutive years and are up 12 points in ELA and 8.5 points in math over 2015 levels. The District’s PARCC score averages in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics increased 3.8 points and 1.1 points, respectively, over 2018 levels. WI
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5 Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chancellor Lewis Ferebee participate in an Aug. 26 ribbon-cutting ceremony at the newly modernized Maury Elementary School in Ward 6. The building includes new classrooms that will serve up to 540 students. (Courtesy of DCPS via Twitter)
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SLOW DOWN
Mayor Bowser has been leading a “Slow Down Campaign” at Lincoln Park, where she was
EDUCATION
5 Ron Brown College Preparatory High School, DCPS’ first all-boys school, will graduate their first senior class, while Excel Academy, DCPS’ first all-girls school, will begin its second year. (Courtesy photos)
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The er a oft he Bl ack woman i supon us( and so ar e hercr i t i cs) .Acr os s movement s ,i ndus t r i es ,and s ect or s wher e women of col or have been hi s t or i cal l yunder r epr es ent ed,agr owi ngnumberofwomenhavebeendar i ng t ol ever age t hei rpl at f or ms as mechani s ms f orr edefini ng womanhood.I n par t i cul ar ,t henumberofwomenel ect edt of eder alofficehasi ncr eas ed,wi t h t he1 1 6t hCongr es shavi ng t hehi ghes tper cent ageofwomeni nU. S.hi s t or y. Thi svi ct or y hasnotcome wi t houti t ss har e ofr es i s t ance,asmany i nt he count r yhavet akent os oci al medi at os har et hei rdi s appr oval oft hi snew wave ofpol i t i cs . Pr es i dentTr ump has been a commi t t ed and l oyalcr i t i c ofwomen,of t en r ef er r i ng t o pr omi nentfigur esas“ nas t y. ” Not abl e“ nas t y”women i ncl ude Denmar k Pr i me Mi ni s t erMet t e Fr eder i ks en,Speakeroft he Hous e Nancy Pel os i ,andDuches sofSus s exMeghanMar kl e,amongot her s . Onbot hl ocalandf eder all evel s ,mor ewomenofcol orhavebecomevi s i bl ei n t hepol i t i calar enaandar epr ovi ngt hei rgr i twhi l ei npur s ui tofj us t i ce.Uni que t omanyci t i esacr os st hecount r y,D. C.i sr epr es ent edbyanumberoff emal e l eader sofcol or ,f r om MayorBows ert oCongr es s womanNor t on.Thi syear ,a new cont enderhasent er edt her acet or epr es entWar d4i nt heD. C.Counci l . Janees eLewi sGeor ge,at hi r dgener at i onWas hi ngt oni anandWar d4nat i ve, announced hercandi dacyf ort hes eatt hi sAugus t ,chal l engi ng t hecur r ent i ncumbent Br andon T.Todd ( D) .Des pi t et he over whel mi ngl y pos i t i ve f eedbackf r om t hecommuni t y, Lewi sGeor gehaschos ent oembodyt hes pi r i t ofherl at er ol emodel ,Shi r l eyChi s ol m,andbr i ngherownf ol di ngchai rt ot he pol i t i calt abl e.
Exper t s l i ke Candi ce Nel s on, academi c di r ect or of t he Campai gn ManagementI ns t i t ut eatAmer i canUni ver s i t y, havenot edt hat“ havi ngpeopl e ofcol orons t aff f orcommuni cat i onsi skeyt oacampai gn’ ss ucces s . ”Ki r s t en Al l en,Nat i onalDeput yPr es sSecr et ar yandAf r i canAmer i canMedi aDi r ect or f or Kamal a Har r i s , des cr i bes her exper i ences engagi ng wi t h di ver s e communi t i esi n herpos i t i onsas“ t r ans f or mat i ve. ”Accor di ng t o Al l en,Bl ack out r each f r om Bl ack s t affer s bot h pr ompt s nat ur al connect i ons and encour agesBl ackvot er st ogetmor ei nvol ved.
“Par t i ci pat i ng i n democr acy i spar amountt o ever yt hi ng t hatt hi snat i on pur por t si t sel ft obe, ”Al l ennot es . “Thegover nmenthasf ai l edus,butwhen i toper at esati t sopt i mall evel ,i tcanl evelt hepl ayi ng f i el d and i mpr ove ser vi cesl i keeducat i on,publ i csaf et y,heal t h,[ and]secur i t y. ” I ndeed,Bl ackwomenhavebeenkeypr oponent si nt r umpi ngt hei r onfis tof Amer i ca, at es t amentt ot he94per centofBl ackwomenwhovot edf orHi l l ar y Cl i nt oni nt he201 6pr es i dent i alel ect i on. Womenacr os st hecount r y, l i keJanes s eLewi sGeor ge, ar ecl ai mi ngt hei rs eat s and demandi ng t hat t hei r voi ces and concer ns become pr i or i t i es i n l egi s l at i on. “Themor ewomenseeot herwomeni nl eader shi pst eppi ngoutoncour age -and see r ealwor ki ng women doi ng t hat , ” Lewi sGoer ge s ays ,“ot her womenwi l lbeencour agedt odot hesame. ” Per hapst hi spr ogr es s i vepur s ui tofchangei scaus et obei nduct ed i nt ot he “ nas t y”gi r lhal loff ame. Maybe i ti st i me t o make Amer i ca gr eatagai n,butt hi st i me l et ’ smake i t “ nas t y! ”
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A s h l e y Bl ai ne F e at h e r s o n W or ds
Cl audi aWat t s |I G:@cal l mecl aud
Phot ogr aphy
St evens onOpoku |I G:@s t evens onopoku
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Ashl eyBl ai neFeat her soni sonherwayt obecomi ngt hei ndust r y’ snext‘ I t Gi r l ”andshe’ sr eppi n't heDMV ( DC,MD,andVA) . t eras er i esofemai l sandcr os s edfinger s ,wefinal l ygott he“ gr eenl i ght ”on Af an i nt er vi ew wi t h DMV nat i ve and s t arof“ DearWhi t e Peopl e” ,Seas on 3, As hl eyBl ai neFeat her s on.Phonei nt er vi ewsar eal waysal i t t l eupi nt heai r ,as i tcanbedi fficul tt ogetat r uef eelf ors omeone’ sper s onal i t yandevenmor e di fficul tt o find t hegr oovei n conver s at i on bas ed on t hei rmood orchos en envi r onment .WhenIans wer ed t hephonet hateveni ng,Iwasgr eet ed bya pr es enceandnotavoi ce.ThankGod.
Di v i ne A l i g nme nt
Bor ni nt oaf ami l yofper f or mer s ,As hl ey’ sl ovef ort hes t agecameear l y.By age t hr ee,dance and voi ce l es s ons wer e al r eady a r egul arpar tofher s chedul e.Thefir s tper f or mance,ass her ecal l si t ,wast he“ Thr eeBi l l yGoat s Gr uff”i nPr e-Ki nder gar t enatt heFr ankl i nMont es s or i School i nRockvi l l e, MD. Feat her s onl ovedi t .
“ Id i d n ’ tha v ea nAha !mo me nto rs e es o me t hi ngo nt v ,Iwa ss oy o ung a ndI r e me mb e rr e a l l yc a r i nga b o ut myr o l e . . . I t ' sa l wa y sb e e nt hi si nna t e eyr emember ed. t hi ngIwa sme a ntt od o . "Ashl he di d.Recogni zi ng a l ack ofmi r r or sf orgi r l s ofcol or ,As hl ey And,do,s cocr eat ed“ Hel l oCupi d”f orBl ackandSexyTV wi t hLenaWai t he.Thes er i es f ol l ows t he onl i ne dat i ng advent ur es oft wo r oommat es and addr es s es di ffer entexper i enceswi t hi nt hebl ackcommuni t y.Fr om t her e,s heappear ed onGl eebef or es naggi ngar ol ei n201 4’ s“ DearWhi t ePeopl e”t hemovi e.
“ E v e r ys uc c e s si st hehi g he s tp o i ntunt i ly o ua c hi e v et hene x tb i gt hi ng . Mymo s tr e c e nthi g he s tp o i nt ,De a rWhi t eP e o p l eb e i ngi ni t st hi r d s e a s o n[ o nNe t f l i x ] …t os e emy s e l fo nab i l l b o a r da nds e ewha tt y p eo f r e p r e s e nt a t i o nt ha tp r o v i d e sf o ro t he rb r o wng i r l sr i d i nga r o undt he t hpr i de. c i t y . ”Feathersonstatedwi As hl eys t ar t ed i nt hemot i onpi ct ur ewi t hwhats hedes cr i besas“ fivel i nes ” and has wat ched herr ol e gr ow overt he l as ts even year st o wher e her char act er ,Joel l e,hasbecomet hef ocusoft hes how’ st hi r ds eas on.Now,we ar e al lf ami l i ar wi t ht he pl i ght of t he bl ack act r es s .The di s par i t i es i n compens at i on,avai l abi l i t yofr ol esand t hedangerofbei ng t ypecas tl ur ki ng ar oundt hecor nerofever ygi g.Thoughi ns t eadofvi ewi ngt hes er eal i t i esas obs t acl es ,Feat her s onchannel st hem i nt opos i t i veener gy;eagert ol endher t al ent st oBr oadwayandexci t edaboutanupcomi ngpodcas t .
“ Ia ms ot ha nkf ul De a rWhi t eP e o p l ec o ul db eap l a t f o r mt os ho wp e o p l e t ha tIa m mul t i d i me ns i o na la ndIa ma na r t i s tt ha tha sal o to f p o t e nt i a l . . . Ic o mef r o m ac i t ya ndap l a c e[ DMV ]t ha tha sha ds omuc h g r e a tt a l e ntc o mi ngo uto fi t . . . Ia me x c i t e dt oha v emo r eo nt heho r i z o n d. t ha tt he yc a ns up p o r ta ndr a l l ya r o und . ”Shesai Thewi s hl i s tofpr oj ect swentonandon,j umpi ngf r om mus i cal st of r agr ance andbeaut ypr oduct s .Thr eet hr eadsofcommonal i t yr emai ned;Feat her s on’ s unwaver i ng devot i on t ot el l i ng t he s t or i es of her f el l ow bl ack women, ment or i ngt henextgener at i onandbei ngt r ans par entaboutherexper i ences .
“ Al wa y st e l lt het r ut h.Ia mc o mmi t t e dt ob e i ngt r a ns p a r e nta b o utmy e x p e r i e nc e .Iha dt og ot hr o ug hmyc ha ng et oe a t .Id o n ’ twa nta ny o ne t ot hi nkt ha t i t ' sb e e nr o s e sa nds uns hi ne , b e c a us et ha t ’ sunr e a l i s t i c . And f o rt het i me swhe ni twa sr o s e sa nds uns hi ne ,t ho s ewe r e n ’ tt het i me s ey t ha tb ui l tmyc ha r a c t e rupt os us t a i nmy s e l fi nt hi sb us i ne s s . ”Ashl expl ai ned.“ Y o ua l s oha v et or e a c hb a c ka ndma kes ur es o me o nef e e l s t he yc a nf o l l o wi ny o urf o o t s t e p so ra tl e a s ts e ey o urf o o t s t e p sa ndma ke t he i ro wnmi s t a ke s . ” Anover al lt oneofpos i t i vi t yi ss omet hi ngt hatcanbef el twi t hever yr es pons e s hegi vesand i ss omet hi ng s heat t r i but est obei ng i ndi vi neal i gnmentwi t h herpur pos e,changi ng t he wor l dt hr ough herar t i s t r y and s er vi ng as a r es our cef orwomenofcol or . Af eatt hatcomeswi t hpl ent yofr ej ect i on, ass he not es ,pos i t i vi t ydoesnotcomeeas i l y.I t ’ sbeent hr ought hi sal i gnment ,t he l ove ofs uppor t i ve par ent s ,f r i ends and t he bel i efi n a hi gherpowert hat cont i nuest okeepAs hl eycent er ed.
" Be i ngs ur r o und e db yt her i g hte ne r gyi sv e r yi mp o r t a nta ndt hep o we r ai ned.“ o ft het o ng uei sl i f e c ha ng i ng . "Sheexpl Iha v eb e e nb l e s s e dt o ha v ee ne r gyt ha ti sc a l mi nga nd l o v i ng ,Ic a l lt he m myd e s t i ny a d v o c a t e s ,wea r ei na g r e e me nta b o utwhowewa ntt ob ei nt hi swo r l d a nda b o uthe l p i ngo nea no t he rb eo urb e s ts e l v e s . ”
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W or ds Cher r el l eSwai n |I G:@t hecher r el l es how
Phot ogr aphy Del anoMckenzi e
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T h eBl ac kCo mmuni t y h asap r o j e c t e dne two r t h o f $ 0b y2 0 5 3 . As hl ey Fox,f ounderEMPI FY,and f or merWal lSt r eetAnal ys ti swor ki ng t o s hi f tt hatnar r at i ve.As hl ey’ si deaoffinanci alweal t hwasdr amat i cal l yal t er ed whens hewasexpos ed t omas s i veamount sofweal t honWal lSt r eet .Fr om t hi sexper i ence,s hebegan t os eet heexpans i vepos s i bi l i t i esofweal t h and wasi ns pi r edt ot eachaweal t hbui l di ngmi nds eti nherowncommuni t y. As hl ey cr eat ed EMPI FY t o br i ngst he expos ur e,t ool s ,and r es our cest hat weal t hypeopl eknow,bel i eveandar et aughtt oacommuni t yofpeopl ewho wantt obemor et hanfinanci al l ys ecur ebutdon’ tknow wher et os t ar t .Si nce 201 3,s he has bui l ta s er i es ofEMPI FY pr ogr ams t hathave empower ed s t udent si nPhi l adel phi a, New Yor kCi t y, andAt l ant as chool s . As hl eyal s ogave EMPI FYcour s est oi ncar cer at edyout hwhocamef r om Ri ker sI s l andPr i s oni n New Yor k. t i ci pant s ent erEMPI FY’ s Weal t h Bui l der s pr ogr am wi t h a ver yl i mi t ed Par per cept i onofwhatweal t hl ooksl i ke. “Many ofourst udent sbel i eve t hatweal t hl ooksl i ke an ol d whi t e man wear i ngat r enchcoat , ”expl ai nsFox. ,bywayofEMPI FY,As hl eyi sr edefini ng t hewayt hatbl ackpeopl e However s eeweal t h.Whatmanyt houghtwasonces o compl i cat ed,s hehasf ound a wayt o makecul t ur al l yr el evantand eas yt o under s t and whi l es howi ng t he communi t yhow t ogeti tdone. “EMPI FYshowst hecommuni t yt hatyoucanact ual l ybear egul argi r lwi t h a pai rofNi kes,wear i ng a t shi r t ,and be weal t hy, ” expl ai nsAs hl ey. “I i nt ent i onal l ydonotwearbl ackandbl uesui t swhenIt each.Ial sochange myhai rof t enbecauseIwantt or edef i nehow ourcommuni t yvi ewsweal t h i nAmer i ca.W eal t hdoesnothaveacol or ,andweal lneedt odebunkt he i dea ofwhatweal t hl ooksl i ke,so t hatwe bel i eve i tl ooksl i ke us, ”s he cont i nues . EMPI FY’ Sl at es ti ni t i at i ve, TheBl ackMal eEducat or sWeal t hBui l di ngPr ogr am, i san i nnovat i vepar t ner s hi p wi t ht heBl ackMal eEducat or sConveni ng and Uni t ed Way,whi chhashel ped 1 5Bl ackmal eeducat or si nPhi l adel phi al ear n how t oi nves t .Thef r ees ummerpr ogr am wasoffer ed onceaweekf orfive weekst ohel pbet t ergr ow,s uppor tandbui l dBl ackmeni neducat i on. mpet usf ort hi spar t ner s hi ps ur f acedf r om t heneedf ormor efinanci al l y Thei empower i ng s paces f orBl ack mal e educat or s .Thi s need came f ul lci r cl e t hr ough As hl ey’ sexper i encewor ki ng wi t hi ncar cer at ed young men i n New Yor k Ci t y.She wi t nes s ed t oo many bl ack chi l dr en atRi ker sI s l and Pr i s on wi t houtr ol emodel sand/ orf at her figur esi nt hei rl i ves . Sheas kedher s el f ,“W hati ft heywentt oschoolandsaw ast r ongbl ackman t hatwasn’ tst r essedoutaboutmoney?W hati ft heyhadr el at i onshi pswi t h st r ong bl ackmenwho wer ehappy? W hatcanIdo t o pr eventki dsf r om bei ngi ncar cer at ed?” I nr es pons egr ew EMPI FY’ sBl ackMal eEducat orcour s et ot r ai nBl ackmal e educat or st obei nves t or sandbui l dweal t h. I nt he begi nni ng,many oft he men f el tawkwar d oruncomf or t abl et al ki ng aboutmoney,t heywer es kept i cal .Onl yf ouroft het went ymenhadi nves t ed bef or eandnoneoft hem f el tconfidenti nt hei ri nves t i ngabi l i t i es . “Theycamet ocl asswi t ht hemi sconcept i ont hatyouneedal otofmoney t oi nvest , ”expl ai nsAs hl ey.Ourpr ogr am t aughtt hem t hati nor dert o gai n weal t hyoumus tbui l di twi t hyourmi ndbef or eyourbankaccount . opi ng t hi s mi nds et was f oundat i onalbecaus et he educat or s wer e Devel doubt f ulofwhatt heywoul dbeabl et ogetf r om t hecour s e.As hl eyexpl ai ns , “of t ent i mesourcommuni t ygi vesupordoesn’ tt hi nki t ’ spossi bl et ogai n weal t hbecauset hey’ vegr ownaccust omedt onothavi ngi t . ”
Overt he year s ,As hl ey hashear d many s t or i est hathers t udent s ,adul tor yout h,havet ol dt hems el vesaboutmoneyandhavechos ent obel i eve.Some havet ol dt hems el vest hes t or yt hats oci et ys et si tups ot heycan’ tdoi t .Asa r es ul t ,t heyhaveavoi cei ns i deoft hem t hatt el l st hem t heycan’ tdoi t . “W hat everst or y orr eason you come up wi t h,i twi l lei t herpr opelor pr eventyouf r om bei ngabl et odoi t . ”As hl eyFox Ast hecour s epr ogr es s ed,t hemen’ svi ewsaboutmoneydi dt oo.“EMPI FY r emovest hel ayer soft henegat i vest or i est hatar eont hehear t sandmi nds ofadul t sandyoungpeopl ei nourcommuni t y, ”r eflect sAs hl ey. I nj us taf ew weeks 't i me,s hes aw t heBl ackmal eeducat or ’ scapaci t yand under s t andi ng oft hes t ockmar keti ncr eas edr amat i cal l y.Ther ewer emany moment s wher et he men engaged i n deep conver s at i ons on t hei rown, s peaki ngaboutwhatt heywer egoi ngt oi nves ti nandeval uat ewhyi twasa goodorbadi nves t ment . As hl ey r ecal l s ,one of t he educat or s who r ef er r ed t o her as “ t each” ent hus i as t i cal l ycomi ng t o cl as st het hi r d weekexcl ai mi ng,“ I ’ vebeenup al l ni ghtr es ear chi ng,I ’ vegotmyl i s tofs t ocks ,Iknow whatIwantt obuyandI ’ m r eadyt oi nves t ! ” I nj us tfiveweeks 't i me,t hemenunder s t oodt hebas i csoft hes t ockmar ket , how t os el ectgoodi nves t ment s ,andi dent i fiedwhi chs t ockst heywant edt o own.By t he l as ts es s i on,each educat orl ear ned how t o act ual l yi nves t , openedt hei rownbr oker ageaccount s ,andpur chas edt hei rfir s ts t ocks .Asa cul mi nat i ont ot hecour s e, eacheducat orr ecei ved$200t oi nves t . Col l ect i vel y t heBl ackmal eeducat or si nves t ed$4, 000t husi ncr eas i ngt hei raggr egat enet wor t hasacommuni t y. s es howed t hem how t os t ar tbui l di ng s mal l ,managi ng money The cour di ffer ent l yands et t i ngj us tal i t t l eas i deeachmont h.I tdemons t r at edt ot hem t hatwhent heyf ocust hei rt hought sand bel i ef sont hi ngst heydes i r e,t hey canchanget het r aj ect or yoft hei rl i ves . kedhow t hi sexper i encemi ghtaffectt hes t udent st hes emens er ved, W henas As hl eyr es ponded,“Now t heyseet hemsel vesasi nvest or s.W henyouwal k ar oundasani nvest or-youf eelst r onger ,youhaveabet t erhol donyour money;you wal k di f f er ent l y,you t al k di f f er ent l y,whatyou bel i eve i s possi bl ei s di f f er ent . ”I nt he cas e of t he Bl ack mal e educat or s -t hi s confidenceandknowl edgewi l lt r i ckl edownt ot hei rs t udent s . As hl eyencour agesal lofust obegi nt hi nki ngl i kei nves t or s ,“gai ni ngweal t h r equi r es us t o do somet hi ng di f f er ent i ndi vi dual l yt hat can massi vel y changet hebl ackcommuni t ycol l ect i vel y.W eneed t of ocusonbet t er i ng our sel ves,r ecogni zi ngt heoppor t uni t i est hatar eoutt her e,andmakei ta pr i or i t yt ogeti nvol ved.I t ’ sopeni ngourmi ndsandhear t st osaywecando t hi s,we deser ve t hi s;and i fwe act ual l y bel i eve i t ’ s shi f t i ng t he bl ack nar r at i ve,i t ’ sourdut yt odot hi sasbl ackpeopl e. ” EMPI FY hasaweal t hbui l di ngonl i neappbas edcommuni t yt hatanyonecan j oi n.I ncl udedi nt hemember s hi par eweekl ycl as s es ,t ool s ,and r es our cest o gui de member st hr ough t hei rfinanci alj our ney.Beyond t he t ool ki t s and cour s es ,t hecommuni t yoffer sas af es pacef orpeopl et obes uppor t edand encour agedbyoneanot herandexper t s .Cur r ent l y,t her ear emor et han600 member si nt he communi t y.To j oi nt he Weal t h Bui l di ng Communi t y vi s i t bi t . l y/ empi f ycommuni t y. “Ij ustpush peopl ei nsi de t he door .Once t hey see what ’ si nsi de -t hey r eal i ze t her ei sso much outt her e -t hey wantmor e,and t hey wantt he gui dancet ogett her e.Tooof t enasbl ackpeopl e,wej ustst andatt hedoor . W ewantt o go i nsi de,wemayevenpeeki nal i t t l ebi t .EMPI FY get syou t hr ought hedoor ,andonceyou’ r ei nsi de,your eal i zeyoubel ong,andwe show youhow t ogeti tdoneunt i lyounol ongerneedus[ EMPI FY] . ”
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Bl ackGi r l sRockSer i es Phot ogr aphy:Ja’ MonJackaon @JGYSZN
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Bl ackGi r l sRockSer i es Phot ogr aphy:Ja’ MonJackaon @JGYSZN
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Phot ogr aphy Ja’ MonJackaon @JGYSZN
THE W ASHINGTON INFORM ER
BRI DGE Web: wi br i dgedc . c om Emai l: i nf o@wi br i dgedc . c om
WI Br i dgeDC
EDITORIAL
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS
Vaping: A Growing Danger for Underage Youth
Recent data from an extensive annual survey on teen smoking, drinking and drugs indicates that the use of electronic cigarettes [e-cigs] among U.S. high school students more than doubled (78 percent) from 2017 to 2018 – an increase of skyrocketing proportion that has school administrators, substance abuse counselors, medical experts from the Centers for Disease Control [CDC] and of course parents, more than a little concerned. And youth in middle school aren’t far behind (48 percent) in their growing desire to be part of the “vaping” community. Officials from many school districts across the nation, including in the nearby states of Maryland and Virginia, describe the trend as an “epidemic” and have ramped up efforts to dissuade students from picking up the popular habit – one which has proven, in contrast to assertions made by manufacturers less than a decade ago – to be detrimental to users’ health. Health officials still cannot definitively say how vaping contributes to lung-related illnesses among habitual users but a growing number of youth who vape have suffered seizures or convulsions which some experts believe are connected to the wide range of ingredients or contaminants found in e-cigs and inhaled by smokers. Just last week in Illinois, the first death from a vaping-related lung illness was confirmed in an adult. Those from the Baby Boomer generation, or older, probably remember the famous advertisement campaign that featured the rugged, handsome, masculine Marlboro Man who seemed invincible – doing all kinds of manly tasks with a Marlboro cigarette prominently hanging from his lips. The ads gave cigarette smoking a more glamorous appeal in ways that have disturbingly been replicated by today’s manufacturers of e-cigs like industry-leading JUUL. Tragically, the men who were chosen as Marlboro models, all habitual cigarette smokers, later died from emphysema or other lung diseases. Instead of the Marlboro Man, today we see images of high school football players leaving the field and quickly reaching into their pockets for a few puffs from their multi-flavored e-cigarettes. And advertising targets youth, coerced into believing that vaping is somehow safer than cigarette smoking – even though both habits are based on the ingestion of nicotine – a drug that that’s been proven to be highly addictive and destructive. E-cigs were reportedly developed to help adult smokers quit the habit but very few actually turn to vaping for that purpose. Meanwhile, a new generation of nonsmokers, youth specifically, are vaping – many of whom, experts predict, will or have already picked up cigarette smoking to supplement their need for nicotine. Recent statistics reveal that nationwide, 3 million youth, and growing, have become entangled in the new-age form of smoking – “collateral damage” in an industry that’s making millions of dollars for its owners. Is vaping harmless? Far from it. WI
Northam Promises to End Va.’s Contradictions
Governor Ralph Northam (D) recently called Virginia, a “state of contradictions and complexities” describing the state’s racist past and present, juxtaposed to its unprecedented achievements of emancipation to the election of the nation’s first Black governor. He said Virginians should acknowledge “the wrongs and the evils done in the past and the present, because, while we cannot change the past, we can use it and learn from it. When we know more, we can do more. As your governor,” he promised, “I will do more.” Northam spoke last weekend at the 1619-2019 Commemoration of the first landing of enslaved Africans at Fort Comfort, now Ft. Monroe in Hampton, Virginia. He spoke to an enormous crowd that seemed unsure of the “contractions and complexities” to which he was referring. Earlier this year, Northam was accused of being a racist when photos showing individuals in blackface and Ku Klux Klan robes found in his medical school yearbook were published in a magazine. He hasn’t explained the photos after first taking responsibility, then later disavowing them. Since then, Northam, who refused to resign despite fierce pressure, said he wanted to focus the rest of his term on racial equity. And the applause throughout his speech is an indication he is moving in the right direction. The contradictions and complexities Northam highlighted, show how Virginia takes steps forward and backward regarding civil rights. “We are a state,” he said, “that for too long has told a false story of ourselves.” Northam received a standing ovation when he announced he’d signed an executive directive that morning “to establish a commission on African American education.” “This commission,” he said, “will review our educational standards, instructional content and resources used to teach African-American history in our commonwealth. We want to make sure our students develop a full and comprehensive understanding of the African-American voices that contribute to our story.”
TO THE EDITOR Curry an Ace for HU Golf Help
Touched by the Word
Kudos to Steph Curry for giving back in a subtle but major way to Howard University’s golf program. Sports like golf are often overlooked and underfunded at HBCUs, but they deserve the backing, just like the often underperforming basketball and football teams. I appreciate Mr. Curry for his efforts. He’s a great Black athlete role model!
I really enjoyed The Religion Corner this week. It really touched me, so much so I almost went to church on Sunday, but personal issues like anxiety kept me at home. However, I went on YouTube and watched church all day. I feel rejuvenated and I know that this, too, shall pass. Thanks, Lyndia, for the push. Cheryl Massey Laurel, Md.
Marvin Williams Washington, D.C.
But that’s not all, Northam said. He wants to remove historical racism and discrimination that have locked in racial disparities in education attainment, in-school suspension rates and maternal and neonatal mortality for Black adult mothers. He included disparities in the prisons due to mass incarceration and he wants to improve businesses practices for small women-, minority- and veteran-owned businesses. Racism and discrimination are
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“still with us,” he said, “and Black oppression has always existed in this country.” “As we reckon with the painful legacy of Virginia’s racist past and acknowledge that it continues to shape our present, we can and must continue to act to improve the future,” Northam concluded. We will watch what happens in Virginia, with the hope of not witnessing more contradictions. WI
AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 27
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist
By Julianne Malveaux
Will You Answer the Call for Moral Revival?
I cannot overstate my tremendous admiration for Rev. William Barber. Our connection goes back to North Carolina when I was the president of Bennett College and he led the state NAACP. His daughter Sharrelle graduated from Bennett in the spring before I assumed the presidency and as student body president, she served on the search committee that selected me. So he’s a friend of long standing. In the years since our North
Carolina time, I’ve watched this brother grow in his profound leadership, galvanizing people all over the nation around a moral agenda for our country. When we see already-weak bonds of civility and community, both national and international, fraying, the movement to “build a moral agenda rooted in a framework that uplifts our deepest moral and constitutional values to redeem the heart and soul of our country.” In the past year or so, Rev. Barber has been building national momentum and plans mass action in Washington, D.C., on June 20, 2020. We will be in the
Guest Columnist
heat of the 2020 political election, a time when we must look at our nation’s future and its direction. Barber’s organization (which he co-leads with Rev. Liz Theoharis, is poetically called Repairers of the Breach. Its website is breachrepairers.org, and it is worth checking out regularly, as updates on the 2020 march, along with other activities, will be posted. The Barber movement is optimistic and much needed at a time when an elected leader regularly picks fights with the heads of other nations, triggers a trade war, disrespects people — even his own appointees — with vile
name-calling, and drips disdain for women, especially elected Black women and other women of color. We live in a graceless age, but Barber and Theoharis radiate grace. They are optimistic, patient, and movement building. They are inclusive, focused, and, most importantly, kind. They get this economy and its uneven distribution, but they also get race and the many ways it is foundational. The Repairers website says, “Our deepest moral traditions point to equal protection under the law, the desire for peace and among nations, the dignity of all people, and the responsibility to care for our com-
mon home.” In embracing and expanding the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Revs. Barber and Theoharis have asked presidential candidates to consider a debate that focuses exclusively on poverty. Many have agreed, but others have not gone on record. With more than one in five African American families living in poverty, and wages relatively stagnant, a national conversation about poverty is more than overdue. Indeed, the other conversation is one that drills down on what international economic fluctua-
MALVEAUX Page 49
By Marc H. Morial
Five Years After Michael Brown’s Death, Racial Disparities Persist in Ferguson
“The city’s personal-responsibility refrain … reflects many of the same racial stereotypes found in the emails between police and court supervisors. This evidence of bias and stereotyping, together with evidence that Ferguson has long recognized but failed to correct the consistent racial disparities caused by its police and court practices, demonstrates that the discriminatory effects of Ferguson’s conduct are driven at
least in part by discriminatory intent in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.” – U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department, March 2015 Five years ago, a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer shot and killed unarmed Black teen Michael Brown, bringing national attention to Ferguson Police Department’s shocking pattern of racial profiling and excessive force. In a town that is a third white, African Americans accounted for
Guest Columnists
85 percent of traffic stops, 90 percent of tickets and 93 percent of arrests, according to Justice Department report released seven months after Brown’s death. Ferguson police used force almost exclusively on African Americans. They regularly stopped Black drivers without probable cause. Ferguson officials circulated racist jokes on their government email accounts. Five years later, Ferguson has shown some signs of improvement. There are now six Black members of the city council, compared to only one in 2014.
The police department has gone from three Black officers out of 53 to about two dozen Black officers, including a Black chief, Jason Armstrong. The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, which transformed the location of a burned-out into the Ferguson Empowerment Center, has just announced a new $5 million investment to build a strip mall that will include a bank, a restaurant, a minority business incubator and a home health-care company. Save Our Sons, the workforce
development program that operates out of the Empowerment Center, has connected more than 750 men with jobs in the Ferguson area since it opened in 2017. A new partnership with First Financial Federal Credit Union will provide auto loans, credit counseling, checking and savings accounts to members of Save Our Sons and other local residents. But stark racial disparities persist not only in Ferguson but in the wider St. Louis region, both
MORIAL Page 49
By Wilmer J. Leon III
Jay-Z Did Not Sell Out, He Bought In
“Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the wake of former NFL quar-
terback Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality and extrajudicial murder, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation has struck a deal to lead the NFL’s endeavors into music and entertainment. This deal has caused a lot of consternation within the African American community. The issue now being raised centers around Jay-Z being a “sellout.” What must be clearly understood is that Jay-Z is a capitalist. He did what capitalists do — he bought in. Before he was Jay-Z, he was
28 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
Shawn Carter. He grew up in the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, New York, and was a drug dealer in his youth. By his own admission, his drug-dealing days prepared him for his current life as a sports entrepreneur and music mogul: “I know about budgets. I was a drug dealer. To be in a drug deal, you need to know what you can spend.” To Shawn Carter, drugs were just a widget or commodity whose sale presented no moral dilemma or conflict. Selling drugs was a means to an end. It’s the urban Horatio
Alger story, from, as he said, “grams to Grammys.” Shawn Carter sold out his community for his personal gain by selling drugs to his own people. Jay-Z, the capitalists, has once again increased his personal fortune by buying into an institution that has also shown little regard for the fate of Black people. When asked where we are in the protest process and the significance of kneeling, Jay-Z gave a very Trumpian response: ‘’I think we’ve moved past kneeling and I think it’s time to go into actionable items.
… No, I don’t want people to stop protesting at all. Kneeling, I know we’re stuck on it because it’s a real thing, but kneeling is a form of protest. I support protest across the board. … But now that we all know what’s going on, what are we going to do? How are we going to stop it? Because the kneeling was not about a job, it was about injustice.’’ Translation? Jay-Z supported Kaepernick in the moment because it was the thing to do. Now there is
LEON Page 49
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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist
By Charlene Crowell
America’s Racial Wealth Gap Could Cost Economy $1.5 Trillion
America’s nagging racial wealth gap has been the focus of many research reports and economic policy debates. Now new research analyzes the strong connection between disproportionate wealth and financial services and products that are either shared or denied with consumers of color. Authored by the McKinsey
Global Institute (MGI), “The economic impact of closing the racial wealth gap” identifies key sources of the nation’s socioeconomic inequity with its accompanying racial and gender dynamics along with family savings, incomes, and community context. “Black families are underserved and overcharged by institutions that can provide the best channels for saving,” the report states. “For instance, banks in predominantly black neighbor-
Guest Columnist
hoods require higher minimum balances ($871) than banks in white neighborhoods do ($626). Unsurprisingly, 30% of Black families are underserved by their banks, and 17% are completely disconnected from the mainstream banking system because of a lack of assets and a lack of trust in financial institutions.” Additionally, according to the MGI report, the nation’s overall economy is affected by racial wealth gaps, estimating that between 2019 and 2028, the cost
of economic losses to the general economy will be in the range of $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion. Black America’s “racialized disadvantage” was created through historical forces — including private business practices and public policies that together advantaged white consumers while often excluding or relegating Black Americans. For example, the National Housing Act of 1934 limited housing options for Black Americans by assigning a D-rating to neighborhoods in
general decline and occupied by lower-income residents. Fast-forward to more recent times. The Federal Reserve in 2017 found that Black consumers are 73% more likely than whites to lack a credit score due to “credit redlining.” This term refers to where a consumer lives to be the central determining factor in whether to approve credit, rather than the actual credit profile.
CROWELL Page 50
By Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.
The Significance of the 1619 Project
This month, the New York Times unveiled “The 1619 Project,” a journalistic series in the Sunday magazine that seeks to tell the “unvarnished truth” about slavery and its impact on America’s history. In 1619, just 12 years after the founding of the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, the Jamestown colonists bought the first slaves, 20 to 30 enslaved Africans, from English pirates. The Declaration of Indepen-
dence, penned by Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner, issued America’s founding creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, … endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, … among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” As Nikole Hannah-Jones writes in her stunning introduction in the New York Times Magazine, at 43, she is part of the first generation of Black Americans in the history of this country to be born into a society in which blacks had equal rights of citizenship. Blacks suffered under slavery for 250 years, and brutal racial apartheid
Askia-At-Large
for a century more.We have been legally free for just 50. Americans prefer not to face this reality. Our history classes address it gingerly, if at all. Even as President Donald Trump and cynical politicians stoke racial divisions for political profit, we too often look away from it. Trump has recently decided to make four young, newly elected congresswomen of color a central target of his already launched campaign for re-election, scorning them as un-American, suggesting that if they don’t like America, they should go back to where they came from. This though all four are American citizens, and three
were born right here. Trump is poisonously invoking the old lie of slavery and segregation that people of color are somehow not real Americans. Yet, as Roger Wilkins wrote in his book “Jefferson’s Pillow” and Hannah-Jones in her introduction, it is the freedom struggles of Black Americans that propelled the cause of equal rights for everyone. The Constitution excluded women, Native Americans and Black people, and did not provide the right to vote to most Americans. It is the laws born out of the civil rights movement that extended the right to vote to everyone and banned discrimination;
not simply on race, but on gender, nationality, religion and disability. Without the idealistic and patriotic struggle of Black Americans, as Hannah-Jones notes,”our democracy today would most likely look very different — it might not be a democracy at all.” Recently, Ken Cuccinelli, Trump’s acting director of the Citizenship and Immigration Services, sparked outrage when he brazenly reworded Emma Lazarus’ famous poem found at the foot of the Statute of Liberty that reads “give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to
JACKSON Page 50
By Askia Muhammad
Slavery, America’s ‘Original Sin’
Slavery. It was once widespread in the so-called “land of the free.” Slavery is this country’s “Original Sin.” Slavery is a crime against humanity. And despite the fuss that has been raised by the anniversary of the ship landing with the first 20 African enslaved persons brought to Jamestown, Virginia, America is far, far, far from making amends to the millions whose centuries of stolen labor made this country rich and strong. Slavery’s proponents always
knew it was wrong, even as they wallowed in its excesses. Euphemistically, white southerners called it their “peculiar institution.” It was so very cruel they had to give it a nickname in order to talk about it in polite conversations. President John C. Calhoun defended the “peculiar labor” of the south in 1828 and the “peculiar domestic institution” in 1830. It was “peculiar,” all right — and cruel and inhumane. The Peculiar Institution in America begins with the earliest European settlements and ended “de jure” with the Civil War, but continues “de facto” up until this very hour.
Slavery existed both in the north and in the south, at times in equal numbers. The industrialization of the north and the expansion of demand for cotton in the south shifted the balance, however so that it became a regional issue, as the southern economy grew increasingly reliant on forced, free labor — slave labor. Now that August 1619 is behind us, everyone can agree that it’s been at least 400 years since slavery was introduced in this country, even though Sir Francis Drake is said to have plundered slaves from a Spanish ship, taking them to Roanoke, Virginia, in 1586.
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The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches that British Admiral Sir John Hawkins first brought a consignment of Africans to be made slaves in 1555, 64 years before the widely accepted date. Hawkins was the first to profit from the “triangular trade” among Africa, the Caribbean and North America, trading human beings for commodities. There is also evidence that even before that, in 1526, there were slaves brought on a Spanish expedition, which even featured a slave revolt, 40 years before the first permanent European settlement in North America, in what is
now South Carolina. But certainly that symbolically important “400 years” marker has now been passed. But a residue of pain and suffering remains in the aftermath of the end of chattel slavery after its 310 years. At the very least, a first step was pointed out by actor and activist Danny Glover, who recently called on international leaders to “apologize” for the enslavement of Africans in the past through reparations for their descendants … and oh, let’s stop calling enslaved Africans “African Americans.” If they ever were really “Americans”
ASKIA Page 50
AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 29
LIFESTYLE Kennedy Center Expansion Aims to Go Bigger and Better Reach Festival Brings More Talent to Attract More People By Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer Many visions are conjured up when walking through the new venue at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The name of space, The REACH, says the Kennedy Center desires to reach and bring in: new and
diverse audiences, new performing arts programs, more students through flexible learning spaces and new possibilities beyond the original vision when the palatial entertainment space opened on September 8, 1971. When people visit The REACH, they will experience connections to the life of John F.
30 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
5 Skylight Pavilion features very large glass windows providing views of the Potomac River. The exterior wall facing the
Center functions as a large projection screen for movies, simulcasts, and more. (Photo credit: Jonathan Morefield for the Kennedy Center)
Kennedy. For example, there are spaces named after milestone moments like Kennedy’s naval vessel PT109, the names of his horses, along with quotes from the 35th President of the United States. “The REACH was envisioned as an extension and compliment to the Kennedy Center’s mission, to help foster connections between creatives and communities,” said Robert van Leer, senior vice pres-
ident of Artistic Planning at the Kennedy Center. “The expansion is a direct response to the Center’s evolving programming needs and offers a new experience for visitors to see behind-the-scenes.”
GRAND OPENING FESTIVAL WILL ATTRACT A DIVERSE CROWD
The REACH Festival that begins September 7 – 22, 2019 is a free 16-day series of events that include music, comedy, theater, dance, movies and interactive learning sessions. The REACH pavilions and 130,000 square feet of new landscaped green space will host more than 1,000 artists and 500 events at indoor and outdoor spaces. After the opening day, the festival will have themed days of events. Themes include Broadway, jazz, classical, hip hop, voices, comedy, family day, electronica/DJ Culture, and more. A big surprise on the schedule is Bootsy Collins performing with the Chuck Brown Band. Earlier this year, funk pioneer Collins announced his retirement from performing as his doctor said there was too much pressure the funk master’s inner ear and right hand. Also, time has been scheduled for teachers and community centers to bring school groups and youth centers to The REACH for classroom workshops to takin in many types of performance arts experiences. An eclectic collection of movies, some shown on an outdoor screen, are on the festival schedule. Included will be Charles Burnett’s much-honored 1990 film “To Sleep with Anger,” “Amazing Grace,” the documentary about the making of Aretha Franklin’s gospel album, “Hip Hop: The Songs that Shook America,” an upcoming AMC documentary co-executive produced by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” co-founders of the Roots, and on the final night
of the festival Beyoncé’s “Homecoming” will be shown. The festival also will do something considered out-the-box by taking a scientific look inside the brain of a performer from the Kennedy Center’s Artistic Advisor at Large Renée Fleming. “Yes, the festival will offer free workshops and lectures. For example, our Sound Health program—a discussion and workshops curated by Renée Fleming in collaboration with the American Music Therapy Association and neurosurgeon and musician Dr. Charles Limb,” van Leer said. “They will explore connections between wellness and the arts by studying the brain scans of Grammy®-award winning artist Esperanza Spalding, international opera bass singer and Morgan State University graduate Soloman Howard, and Freestyle Love Supreme rapper Chris Sullivan aka Shockwave. After the festival, the REACH will continue to be a space where these kinds of programs are regularly offered.” The Kennedy Center residency artists will not only give performances and learning sessions in The REACH, but in the future, visitors will see rehearsals as productions are being mounted. This open performance and learning approach are the aspirational foundation for everyone who has contributed to the creation of The REACH and the festival. “The REACH is space of discovery, learning, and experience,” said van Leer. “It changes the relationship between art and audience, between performer and participant.” Though the festival is free, time passes are required for entry. Some time slots will indicate that there are no tickets available. The Kennedy Center recommends people come standby because many have ordered more tickets than will be used. To see The REACH full schedule and to order passes visit http://bit.ly/TheREACH WI
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LIFESTYLE
Bowser to Kick Off 202Creates in Grand Style Annual September Celebration Showcases D.C.’s Creatives By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor Since its launch in September 2016, 202Creates has evolved into one of the District’s most anticipated annual events during which the City amplifies, celebrates and highlights its multi-billion-dollar creative economy. On Thursday, Aug. 29, at the Eaton Hotel, Mayor Muriel Bowser will kick off the month-long celebration that will include D.C.’s musicians, performing and visual artists, filmmakers and tech, culinary, cosmetology and fashion entrepreneurs. During the kickoff, Bowser will share details about this year’s Mayor’s Arts Awards, slated for November, while also encouraging residents from among the creative and artistic community to apply for a seat on the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. “We have so much creative talent in Washington, DC, and we look forward to celebrating and recognizing that talent throughout 202Creates and at this year’s Mayor’s Arts Awards,” Bowser said. “Every year, 202Creates is one of the most exciting celebrations in our city – a unique opportunity to shine a spotlight on the artists, makers and entrepreneurs who keep DC creative.” The month-long campaign showcases and engages the District’s entrepreneurial and creative community through an array of events taking place across all eight wards. This year, it will spotlight two creative milestones for the District: the new fall class for the 202Creates Residency Program and the second anniversary of the DC Radio Network. The 202Creates Residency Program, launched by OCTFME in the fall of 2018, will welcome 36 new creative entrepreneurs from all eight
wards for its fourth class, consisting of photographers, media makers, filmmakers, visual artists, musicians, small business entrepreneurs, designer, and more. The celebration of DC Radio 96.3HD4 will take place on Thursday, Sept. 19 at the Union District Oyster Bar and Lounge, featuring hosts from DC Radio programs, national recording artists, special guests and other DC creatives. The station is housed and managed by OCTFME in partnership with WHUR Radio, features programming on government resources, news, emergency updates, community affairs, education, current events, arts, music and entertainment. Angie M. Gates, who serves as the director of the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment [OCTFME], says from culinary initiatives to the H Street Festival (Sept. 21) and the Washington Film Festival (Sept. 23-29), there will be something for everyone. “Chuck Brown Day a few weeks ago served as a prelude to the monthlong celebration of 202Creates and we had a huge crowd of residents with their children who had a great time,” Gates said. “That was just the beginning and we encourage everyone from the Greater Washington Area to come out and have good time.” “202Creates, more than anything else, illustrates the diversity of our creatives here in the District that make us standout as one of the nation’s best cities in which to live, work and play,” she said. “We realized when we started 202Creates in 2016, that one month isn’t long enough but dedicating an entire month served as a great beginning. We believe that it will grow even more as the future continues.” WI
5 Angie Gates, director of the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment (Courtesy photo/
OFCTME)
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
NOTICE OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY
As Published in the DC Register on Friday, August 2, 2019
The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), announced a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for awards of housing tax credits under the 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, funding under the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) program, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program, the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) program, the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) funds administered by DHCD, the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) Local Rent Supplement Program (LRSP) and Annual Contributions Contract Program (ACC), and the Department of Human Services (DHS) supportive services funds for Permanent Supportive Housing. On June 28, 2019, DHCD issued a Consolidated Request for Proposals (RFP) for real estate development projects that produce or preserve affordable housing in the District of Columbia and that require gap financing. The Consolidated Request for Proposals (RFP) was released on Friday, June 28, 2019, and applications responding to the RFP are due at 11:59am on Monday, September 30, 2019. Application materials, further instructions, application fee information, and information about the RFP orientation session are available online at www.dhcd.dc.gov, as well as the entire application and submission process. No hard copy submissions are required or accepted. Muriel Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia John Falcicchio, Interim Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Polly Donaldson, Director, Department of Housing and Community Development Department of Housing and Community Development * 1800 Martin Luther King Jr., Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20020* (202) 442-7200/www.dhcd.dc.gov
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LIFESTYLE Delta Sigma Theta Founders Were on Frontlines of Suffrage Movement
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia
This is part of an ongoing Washington Informer series about the Women’s Suffrage Movement and an initiative that includes Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes that will use the lens of history, the fabric of art and culture and the venue of the public square to shine a light into dark places, equipping all with a compass to chart the way forward. The initiative lives in the institutional home of the Washington Informer Charities. The fight for the right of women to vote had met various challenges at the beginning of the 20th century. America wasn’t at all receptive to the women casting a ballot. And, the country indeed couldn’t conceive of Black women participating in the political process. On March 3, 1919, a large gathering jammed the streets of Washington, D.C., for the
Women’s Suffrage Parade, held in support of a constitutional amendment that guaranteed women the right to vote. The 22 bold founders of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority — a Black collegiate organization — were among them. The sorority endured threats, racial epithets and violence. The Deltas were spat on, pushed and repeatedly struck by men. White women, there to demand and to celebrate their right to vote, joined in the beating of the Black sorority. None of that stopped the Deltas from participating. Delta member Ida B. Wells-Barnett would go on to found the first African American women’s suffrage organization and she and others crusaded against lynching. Since its founding, more than 200,000 women have joined Delta Sigma Theta. The organization is a sisterhood of predominantly Black, college-educated women, according to its website. The sorority currently has
1,000 collegiate and alumnae chapters located in the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica and the Republic of Korea. Today, most remember the founders of Delta Sigma Theta as true heroines of the suffrage movement. “The founders of Delta Sigma Theta were activists before that term was popular,” said Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd, an engineer, prominent STEM education advocate and a past president of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. “When the suffrage parade announcement happened, they came forward. They knew that the march was somewhere they needed to be. Even though, as Black women, they didn’t have rights, they knew the vision for the future and felt this was too important.” Repeatedly, agitators told the founders that they couldn’t attend or participate in the parade. “But that teaches us that just
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5 Women’s Suffrage Parade, Delta Sigma Theta participants (Courtesy photo)
because somebody says no, it doesn’t mean that they’re right all of the time,” Boyd said. The Deltas continued to pursue attending the parade. Eventually, they received a permit to leave their Howard University campus, as women couldn’t leave the school then without permission and an escort. Once off campus, the challenges grew more intense. White southern suffragists threatened a boycott because of the Deltas. The sorority eventually was asked to march in the parade at the back and a segregated unit. But Wells-Barnett and her fellow Deltas refused to march in the back — they were the only African American women’s organization at the parade. “They were called names, and they were told, ‘Go back home, you don’t belong here,’ which sounds familiar today,” Boyd said. “But they knew that this was the right thing to do. They knew that they was also sending a message to future generations to fight for your freedom and what it’s like to fight for your rights.” It came as little surprise that even the white women of the suffrage movement fought against the Deltas’ participation, Boyd said. “I guess the best way to say it is that everyone wasn’t like they portrayed themselves to be,” she said. “They were putting forth the idea that women must be able to have the freedom and the right to vote. But they didn’t see Black women as women.” Ultimately, the chaos that ensued because of the Delta’s participation would gain the suffragettes’ sympathy from many
quarters as many people grew disturbed by the violence of the anti-suffrage opposition, according to WETA-TV’s website. Congressional hearings took place wherein the cause of the violence was investigated, with over 150 witnesses testifying about the events of that day. The superintendent of police of the District of Columbia lost his job because of his conduct before and during the march, WETA reported. “I think, especially with history repeating itself, it’s important for young women to do what our founders did,” Boyd said. “Do your research and know who is on your side and who is against you and why. We are grateful that our founders didn’t give up. They had their banner with them to make sure that people knew who they were, they didn’t hide. “Our young women have to be persistent, tenacious, and have perseverance and determination, which all comes from doing your research,” Boyd said. “Don’t allow anyone to stand in your way or tell you where you belong or where you can go. Some will continue to say we don’t belong, but we know that we do. This is our home. “Remember our founders had the foresight to know more than 100 years ago that the fight, even if the results didn’t happen for them, they started,” she said. “They knew that someone had to start and that there would be those who follow and those who are conscientious about doing the right thing and speaking out. Eventually, they knew, the tide would turn.” WI
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LIFESTYLE
Maryland Recognizes Caribbean Heritage Month
WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia
Caribbean Americans have greatly enriched Maryland’s cultural diversity. The contributions made by those from the various islands will no longer go unnoticed because of the efforts of state Sen. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam and five other lawmakers. Nathan-Pulliam, fellow Sen. Arthur Ellis and Dels. Regina Boyce, Jheanelle Wilkins, Joseline Peña-Melnyk and Gabriel Acevero successfully pushed legislation to declare each August as Caribbean Heritage Month. Gov. Larry Hogan signed the legislation, making Maryland the first state to proclaim Caribbean Heritage Month. The governor’s order stated that the economic, social, cultural and historical contributions of Caribbean Americans should be honored. The proclamation urges educational and cultural organizations to observe Caribbean Heritage Month with appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities. “Maryland is proud to commemorate the heritage and tremendous contributions made to our state and nation throughout history by Caribbean Americans,” Hogan said. Other states also recognize National Caribbean American Heritage Month, but Maryland’s honor focuses on those such as Nathan-Pulliam, who hails from Jamaica, and those who have effected positive change in Maryland and throughout the country. “In an atmosphere that is very negative toward immigrants, I wanted to use this opportunity to highlight their contribution,” said Nathan-Pulliam, the first Caribbean-born person to win election to the Maryland General Assembly in the House’s nearly 400year history. Nathan-Pulliam has served for 25 years in the Maryland General Assembly. “There are six Caribbean people who are serving — two in the Senate and four in the House of Delegates, and that is historic,” Nathan-Pulliam said. Ellis, who hails from Jamaica, co-sponsored the legislation. Boyce, who is of Jamaican and Barbadian descent, sponsored the bill in the House. She enjoyed the support of her Caribbean colleagues, the Trinidad-born Acevero, Jamaican-born Wilkins and Peña-Melnyk, who was born in the Dominican Republic. “The emancipation of many Caribbean regions like Jamaica, Trinidad and others occurred in August. The independence from the British sys-
tem came in August,” Nathan-Pulliam said. “Marcus Garvey, who led the largest political movement in America, was born in August. There’s a lot of history.” The bill and governor’s proclamation is essential because Maryland has about 7 million people and more than 60,000 of Caribbean-descent, Boyce said. “I think it’s imperative to recognize that there are others here who’ve made significant contributions. I remember being told that the pursuit of this legislation was ‘admirable’ and that there was no way it would get done,” Boyce said. That didn’t deter her because of the many contributions made by those from the Caribbean. “Here in Maryland you have doctors, accountants and health care providers from the Caribbean,” she said. “I could go on and on.” Earlier this month, about 100 members of the Caribbean Community of the DMV — Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia — attended the Lecture “From Emancipation to Caribbean Independence” in Silver Spring. With the theme, “Together, we proudly celebrate our Caribbean Heritage,” the lecture was held in honor of Nathan-Pulliam. It was staged on Caribbean Emancipation Day to celebrate the journey of Caribbean people from 1838 to the present. The event was also timed to recognize the bill proclaiming August as Caribbean Heritage Month in the state. Franklin W. Knight, an expert on the Caribbean and African diaspora history and a Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Professor Emeritus and Academic Professor at Johns Hopkins University, presented the lecture. “Caribbean peoples demonstrated enormous determination, resilience, creativity, and self-confidence as they constructed a new society to replace the unequal system out of which they emerged after 1838,” Knight said during the lecture, according to Ambassador Curtis A. Ward, who wrote a blog post about the event. “The struggle for social justice and political representation was extremely hard, but they never faltered and eventually overcame all obstacles to gain political independence,” Knight said. “As a result of their particular history Caribbean peoples were essentially diverse, and their profound respect for diversity and novelty constitutes a fundamental dimension of the Caribbean social DNA.” WI
5 Sen. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam (Courtesy photo)
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WI Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes Honored at Annual ‘Salute Her’ Awards By Eve M. Ferguson WI Contributing Writer
was The Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes, who was recognized with the Trailblazer Award for her stewardship of the newspaper she inherited from her father, the late Calvin Rolark. “I didn’t inherit a condo,” she said as she accepted the award, referencing the award recipient who preceded her. “My dad left me a newspaper, and our stories. We always see stories about what we did wrong, we want to say what we did right. “All women now are not only making noise, we are influencing political decisions,” she added. “I am proud to say there are a record number of Black women who are publishers. Now that we have the positions, we have to recognize how they should be used. Media has so many legs, and we are in so many places in the media. I am in print journalism, but to have people in broadcast and so many other areas, it is a treat to feel that people really understand the significance of the Black press. “I don’t work for the mainstream media,” she continued. “I work for the Black press and I have spent my life working for the Black press, and if people feel that is significant, it means a lot to me and it means they care about the stories we write.” 12-year-old entrepreneur Madelyn Martin and her mother, Tosha Terry, jointly accepted the Family Legacy Award for Madelyn’s business, Madelyn’s Bake Sale. Her award-winning cupcake recipe was passed down from her grandmother and she now runs a full-fledged company, selling the cupcakes in a variety of flavors for the past three years. “It’s an honor,” the poised young woman said as she accepted the award. “I started this business when I was 9 in the third grade. My teacher said I was good in math, and the rest is history.” Her mother referenced the family’s legacy as business people. “My grandfather had a logging business,” she said. “He made it happen because he had no other choice. He hired his family and friends so they would have jobs.” Before leaving the stage, Madelyn’s mother surprised her daughter, who will turn 13 in a few days, with the keys to her own condominium in the District, which will be rented as a “Cupcake Airbnb” until Madelyn comes of age. But, as her mother implored, she can never put it up for sale, instilling the elements of investment in her daughter early. The ceremony included entertainment by singer Karen Linette and
jokes from the Café Mocha co-hosts, comedienne Loni Love and hip-hop icon Yo-Yo. Other recipients included Fox News Morning anchor Allison Seymour, who received the Broadcast Innovator Award, and Stacie Lee Brooks and Kristie Lee, the owners of Lee’s Flower and Card Shop, a fixture on U Street since 1940. The sisters, descendants of the store founders, received the Business Legacy Award. Dorothy Butler Gilliam, the first African-American woman hired as a reporter at The Washington Post, and Dr. Barbara Skinner-Turner, the first female executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus and spiritual adviser to its members, also received the Media Legend and Spirit Awards respectively. “I am honored and surprised,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, who received the Community Activist Award for her work as chief public affairs officer for MoveOn and political analyst on NBC and MSNBC. “You do the work in in the community, you do the activism work, and you never think about the reward. You never think about people watching your work and thinking you should get an award.” Jean-Pierre will release her first book this fall, a memoir that references her work to gain rights for the LGBTQ community and other marginalized people. The child of Haitian immigrants, she noted that her parents didn’t come here to do nothing, and they instilled the same spirit in her. Tee Marie Hanible, the only woman to deploy with her unit to Iraq in 2003, was the recipient of the Toyota American Pride Award. “It’s one thing to have an idea, but it’s another to have sisters bring it to life,” said Sheila Eldridge, founder of Café Mocha Radio and the Mocha Cares Foundation, which focuses on “being a voice to empower women and children in local shelters.” “We have radio created by and for women of color,” she added. “We have conversations from our perspective.” Now in its seventh year on WHUR and its other platforms, Café Mocha is hosted by Emmy-winning Loni Love, who also co-hosts TV talk show “The Real,” along with radio broadcast veteran Angelique Perrin and Yo-Yo. The theme of this year’s awards was “Step Into Your Power,” and preceded the Ubiquitous Festival held last weekend. WI
5 Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes (2nd right) was honored at the Café Mocha’s 2019 Salute Her: Beauty of Diversity Awards program on Thursday, August 22, where she was presented with the Trailblazer Award by (L-R) YoYo, Sheila Eldridge, and Loni Love for making a difference in her community. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)
For the ninth year, and the fifth year co-hosting with radio station WHUR, Café Mocha Radio held its annual Salute Her Awards on Thursday, Aug. 22, recognizing 10 women who made a difference and “stepped into their power.” Among the award recipients
34 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
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Local Poets Continue Plans to Raise Awareness about U.S. Border Crisis By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins Poetry enthusiasts and immigration activists will converge on the American Poetry Museum next week in support of the arts, and migrant families during a public poetry reading touted as Writers for Migrant Justice. Organizers of the Sept. 4 event said it will shed light on the untold number of immigrant families that have struggled to remain intact at the U.S.-Mexico border. Writers for Migrant Justice will align with more than 40 similar gatherings across the United States. Funds raised at these public readings will aid activists in their legal support of those affected by the Trump administration’s immigration policy that has separated migrant families and confined thousands of children to border detention camps. “I believe when you come for one of us, you come for all of us,” said Daria-Ann Martineau, a poet from Trinidad and Tobago and organizer of the local Writers for Migrant Justice poetry reading. On Sept. 4, she’ll introduce her audience to the stylings of Derrick Weston Brown, Doritt Caroll and other locally acclaimed poets. Martineau, a D.C. resident for 12 years, said that poetry has allowed her to reflect on her heritage, and exchange perspectives with others. Writers for Migrant Justice will follow a 2018 writing workshop she hosted, in conjunction with Split This Rock, for immigrant and first-generation American poets. Martineau has also worked with DC SCORES, where her students, many of whom came from Spanish-speaking families, often broached the subject of immigration. “[Trump’s immigration policy]
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is an attack on anyone who’s not a white European,” Martineau said. “We can all care because it affects us. The specific detention of migrant families at the border is horrifying. What else is there to say? It shouldn’t have ever happened, especially for the children who died from the lack of care in the facilities.” Last week, the Trump administration announced its replacement of policy that limited the amount of time immigrant children could spend in detention facilities, and established minimum standards for detaining families. President Donald Trump (R) told reporters that the changes, along with the impending border wall would further deter families fleeing violence in Central America from attempting to enter the United States. The plan, pending federal court approval, has drawn criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups. The latest move falls in line with what has been described as Trump’s white nationalist-centered policy, focused heavily on curbing nonwhite immigration. Upon his entry into the Oval Office in 2017, Trump banned people from eight majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States, increased the arrest of unauthorized immigrants on U.S. soil, canceled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, and ended the designation of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian, Nicaraguan and Sudanese nationals. During that time, nationalist sentiments have grown among U.S. voters, including a contingent of African Americans who designate themselves as American descendants of slavery, or ADOS. This group’s organizing strategy for reparations and other policy solutions prioritizes the needs of descendants of enslaved Africans over that of
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5 Derrick Weston Brown is one of nine poets scheduled to read at Writers for Migrant Justice at the American Poetry Museum in Northeast (Courtesy Photo)
“The best way to keep someone in an abusive relationship and make them do what you want is to keep them separated from other people. said Brown, a native of Charlotte, N.C. who lives in Mt. Rainier, Maryland. “You get played into this one set of understanding. “With slavery and such, it’s been an abusive relationship with Black
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people and the United States,” he said. “Black people have a line to draw in order to protect themselves, and can’t find that intersection. [But] understanding happens when people get a different picture. In poetry and creative writing, I find those stories across the board where people cross borders.” WI
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other marginalized groups. However, Derrick Weston Brown, a prolific poet and educator and one of nine readers at Writers for Migrant Justice, contends that Black Americans and immigrants can find common ground in their constant search for a better life. He noted that after the end of chattel slavery, many people of African descent, including members of Brown’s family, left the South in search of economic opportunity in the northern and western parts of the U.S. Brown said his family, like other African Americans, also suffered from Jim Crow laws and other legislation that limited their movements in their new urban enclaves. For him, touching on these sensitive subjects through poetry helps bridge what he described as a well-orchestrated divide between groups of oppressed people.
AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 35
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Rep. Ilhan Omar Among Speakers at Historic 50th Annual National Education Conference
Host, A. Philip Randolph Institute, One of Nation’s Premier Labor Rights Organization WI Staff Report Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) addressed members of the A. Philip Randolph Institute [APRI] last week in Bloomington, Minnesota, near Minneapolis. APRI serves as one of the nation’s largest organizations of African-American labor union leaders and activists. Rep. Omar invigorated the crowd that came out to the conference with her proclamation of continuing her fight despite multiple death threats and critique on the national level. Omar also ensured that she has no intention of bowing down to the current administration. “If someone needs you to down on a knee to make themselves feel tall, then there’s some-
thing wrong with them, not you,” Rep. Omar said. “I got in this ring because I’m ready to fight.” The APRI held its 50th Annual National Education Conference on August 7 -11 at the Radisson Blue Mall of America Hotel. Former Congressman and current Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also addressed the group. Hundreds of national and local labor union activists, celebrities, political and civic engagement leaders took part in the conference including Actor Danny Glover and Sirius XM talk show host Joe Madison. Madison known as “The Black Eagle’ held an interview with Jacqueline Jackson, wife of civil rights icon, the Reverend Jesse Jackson
Mayor Muriel Bowser presents
Labor Day Weekend
Music Festival
2019
SATURDAY | AUG. 31 | 7 PM
SUNDAY | SEPT. 1 | 7 PM Main Swing Jazz Ensemble Akua Allrich & the Tribe Sheldon Thwaites Music HOSTED BY TONY RICHARDS
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and their son Jonathan. She recently published the book, “Loving You, Thinking of You, Don’t Forget to Pray: Letters to My Son in Prison,” a collection of letters she wrote to her son Jesse Jackson, Jr. during his incarceration. APRI National President Clayola Brown said the group continues to work to build awareness and drive community engagement to find solutions to social and racial injustices. “As we know from the 2018 elections, APRI activists and our allies have been fundamental and essential to educating, organizing and moving political and legislative victories,” Brown said. “With increased education, measurable programs, strong community partnerships and organizational development, we will recover and we will advance.” The A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) is a labor rights organization founded in 1965 by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin. It has more than 110 chapters nationwide with membership from the nation’s top unions and community organizations. Brown, the first female to head the organization, serves as the current president. For more information, visit www.apri.org. WI
5 Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) electrified the audience during her speech at the 50th Annual National Education Conference held recently in Bloomington.
5 Former Congressman and current Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison addressed members and supporters the nation’s largest organization of Black labor union leaders and activists at the National Education Conference in Bloomington.
Need Burial Assistance? BURIAL ASSISTANCE When a loved one passes away, you may feel hopeless. When the person you loved was HIV positive, grieving can be even more difficult. We can help. If you have lost a loved one who ... • received a diagnosis of HIV, and • resided in D.C. resident; and • had less than $800 in liquid assets at the time of death then call Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington. To see if your family qualifies for assistance, contact Samaritan Ministry’s Burial Assistance Coordinator at (202) 889-7702 x302; or visit our Anacostia / SE Office at 1345 U St SE. Once approved, assistance is paid directly to the funeral home.
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36 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
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‘Lost History’ Forum Remembers Eastern Shore’s Sole Black Newspaper
Speakers Tout Publisher, the Rev. H. A. Monroe, Godson to Frederick Douglass American History TV. He is a frequent guest on District radio stations and has been cited by the Washington Post, Washington City Paper and other publications for his local history research and subject expertise. Featured speakers include: Sample-Hughes (D), a member
of the Maryland General Assembly since 2015 who represents District 37A of Dorchester and Wicomico Counties; Mautz (R), a member of the Maryland General Assembly since 2015 who represents District 37B of Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot and Wicomico Counties; Jackson, a member of
the Dorchester County Historical Society and Waugh Chapel United Methodist Church in Cambridge which Monroe pastored from 1881 to 1883; and Lucas, a retired educator, resident of New Jersey and a frequent historical lecturer in the New York City metropolitan area. WI
Mayor Muriel Bowser Presents:
MY BROTHER'S KEEPER
DC SUMMIT 2019 Learn. Act. Serve.
OPENING REMARKS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH | 3 - 8PM
Muriel Bowser
Ayris T. Scales
Mayor District of Columbia
Chief Service Officer, Serve DC
Kenyan R. McDuffie Ward 5 Council Member
EZ Street WHUR DJ and Radio Personality
Dr. Lewis D. Ferebee Chancellor, DC Public Schools
Chief Peter Newsham Metropolitan Police Department
Clinton Lacey Director, DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services
Tobeka Green President, National Black Child Development Institute
Glen O'Gilvie
Edward M. Jones
Paul Monteiro
Lindsay M. Morton
Ariel Guerrero
CEO, Center for Nonprofit Advancement
VP of Programs, Association of Black Foundation Executives
Chief of Staff, Howard University
Director of Community Engagement, DC Office of the Attorney General
Principal, O & G Racial Equity Collaborative
Dr. Tony D. Johnson
Jason R.L. Wallace
Provost, Office of the President, University of the Potomac
Executive Director, Mayor's Office on Fathers, Men & Boys
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In continued recognition of the lost Eastern Shore history of Dr. Frederick (Bailey) Douglass, a special presentation on the Rev. Henry Augustus Monroe will take place Friday, September 20, at 6:30 p.m. at the Dorchester County Historical Society in Cambridge, Maryland. Introductory remarks will be offered by Maryland Delegate Sheree Sample-Hughes, Maryland Delegate Johnny Mautz, Shirley Jackson of the Dorchester County Historical Society and Sharon Lucas, niece of the Rev. H. A. Monroe’s deceased granddaughter the Honorable Winifred Monroe. Following last fall’s presentation of “The Lost History of Frederick Douglass in Cambridge, Maryland” at the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center, historian and journalist John Muller returns to Cambridge to present “Lost History: Rev. H. A. Monroe, Godson to Frederick Douglass and Publisher of The Eastern Shore’s Only Black Newspaper.” Following the Civil War, the Massachusetts-born and educated Monroe was sent to Somerset County on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore to serve as an educator and supervisor for the Freedmen’s Bureau Division of Schools. After receiving a patronage position in Baltimore City, Monroe and his family returned to Somerset County where Monroe launched a newspaper and
joined the ministry of the Delaware Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. After serving as pastor of Waugh Chapel in Cambridge, where he became a well-respected editor, historian and community leader, Monroe declined the opportunity to serve as the first principal of the Princess Anne Academy – today the University of Maryland - Eastern Shore. While serving as pastor for a church in New York City. Monroe and a fellow delegation of ministers traveled to Washington City where they met with Frederick Douglass at the train station who escorted the group to meet with the U.S. president regarding conditions in the American South, including the Delmarva Peninsula. Holding prominent leadership positions within the church and communities of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia, Monroe remained active until his death in 1912. A question and answer period will follow the 45-minute presentation. Featured presenter has published several works on Frederick Douglass and over the past year, has reported on the Shore for The Washington Informer and been featured in the pages of the Star Democrat and airwaves of Delmarva Public Radio for his scholarship on the lost history of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. His lectures have been broadcast by C-SPAN’s BOOK TV and
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5 Rev. H.A. Monroe, godson to Frederick Douglass and publisher of the Eastern Shore’s only Black newspaper (Courtesy photo)
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AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 37
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38 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
5 Beres Hammond will make a stop at the Howard Theatre on his tour to support his latest recording, “Never Ending.” (Courtesy of Howard Theatre)
Beres Hammond Rocks Historic Howard Theatre By Eve M. Ferguson WI Contributing Writer Denying persistent rumors that he was gravely ill, Beres Hammond, the beloved Jamaican reggae singer, came to D.C. for two nights at the Howard Theatre on his “Never Ending” tour, in support of his 2018 recording with the same title. Making it clear that he is still “The General,” Hammond’s latest album opens with the track “I’m Alive,” giving thanks to the Creator and declaring that he has not succumbed to any ailment. Jumping around like a man half his age, the 63-year-old Hammond didn’t fully promote his latest recording because, as he knows so well from his more than four decades as a reggae artist, the audience came for the hits, of which he has scored many. Hugh Beresford Hammond was born on Aug. 28, 1955, in Annotto Bay in the rural parish of Saint Mary, Jamaica. Known for his romantic, “lovers rock”-style songs and gritty tenor voice, Hammond has even snagged the Order of Jamaica in 2013 awarded by the Jamaican government in recognition of his “exceptional and dedicated contribution to the Jamaican music industry.” The ninth of 10 children, Hammond was influenced early by soul singers Sam Cooke and Otis Redding and the ska stylings of the late Alton Ellis, John Holt and Dennis Brown. In the ‘70s, he began to enter island-wide competitions and gained commercial attention with his 1985 hits “Groovy Little Thing” and “What One Dance Can Do.” He simultaneously sought a solo career while recording with the group Zap Pow, releasing his debut
solo album “Soul Reggae” in 1976. The ballads “One Step Ahead” and “I’m in Love” in the ‘70s were both hits in Jamaica. He left Zap Pow in 1979 to pursue his solo career, and recorded two more albums “Let’s Make a Song” in 1980 and “Red Light” a year later. Hammond’s career solidified in the 1990s with hit after hit such as “Tempted to Touch,” “Respect to You Baby,” “Putting Up A Resistance” and “How Can We Ease The Pain,” with British reggae singer Maxi Priest. In 1992, Hammond released the single “Fire” which received critical acclaim within the reggae music industry. Now garnering interest from major studios such as Elektra Records, Hammond recorded five more albums in the 1990s along with several compilations establishing himself as one of the top lovers rock artists. Noting that his frequent collaborator, Buju Banton, with whom he recorded songs such as “Falling in Love All Over Again,” “Pull It Up,” and “Queen and a Lady,” was now out of prison after serving a seven-year sentence for drugs and weapons charges, Hammond used the occasion to plug next spring’s Love & Harmony Cruise. The two will revive their duet-driven performances on the cruise, which will also feature Beenie Man, Cocoa Tea, Wayne Wonder and Nadine Sutherland. It marks the first time Hammond and Banton will tour together on the cruise, making stops in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and Nassau, Bahamas, on the six-day musical excursion. For more information on the cruise, go to loveandharmonycruise. com. WI
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wi book review “Count Me In” By Varsha Bajaj c.2019, Nancy Paulsen Books $16.99 ($22.99 Canada) 192 pages
horoscopes
AUG 29 - SEPT 4, 2019
ARIES If you’ve been wondering when things were going to change, this week could see plenty of progress. If you’ve been working toward certain goals for a while, new opportunities, clients, or offers could show up out of the blue. You just need to be in the right place to grab them. Lucky Numbers: 3, 5, 38 TAURUS The coming weeks could see you indulging your creative and expressive side, showcasing your skills and relishing romantic opportunities. With a full house in your leisure zone, this is a chance to explore hobbies and pastimes that leave you recharged and refreshed. Time flies when you’re enjoying yourself, and you may find that the hours speed by when you’re doing things that channel your natural talents and abilities. Lucky Numbers: 15, 22, 25 GEMINI You’ll be busy on the home front this week and over the coming weeks, with the activity in this zone encouraging you to get your place shipshape. As the focus is also on the sign of Virgo, this can be an excellent opportunity to remove clutter, clear away unwanted items and come to grips with accumulated dust. How long has it been since you looked behind your drawers and underneath the beds? If you dare to take a peek, you could discover things you’d forgotten and even make some startling discoveries. Lucky Numbers: 2, 24, 37
By Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer There are a few kids in your class that you usually try to ignore. That’s because they’re kinda mean. They call others names, knock books out of their hands, and say racist or hurtful things. They’re bullies, and you avoid them as much as possible, but as in the new book “Count Me In” by Varsha Bajaj, could there be something you don’t know? It was early in sixth grade, and Karina Chopra kept her head down. The popular boys, basketball players, had tried hard to humiliate her on the school bus and she wasn’t having any of that. She was nerdy, she’d admit it. She was a good student and the teachers liked her. And her skin was brown, but was that any reason to harass and embarrass her? No, it wasn’t, and though it was now early in the school year, seventh grade, Karina never forgot that hurtful incident. She still tried to avoid those boys, even though one of them, Chris Daniels, lived right next door. Avoiding him was a challenge: she and Chris were in five of their seven classes together. Ugh! Chris Daniels was almost positive that Karina Chopra thought he was one of the mean dudes. He didn’t blame her for it; he never stood up to any of the other boys on the team when they teased her, even though he knew he should. He actually thought Karina was one of the prettiest girls in Houston, but he couldn’t tell her that because he barely knew her, even though she’d lived next door for years. And then — oh, man! — Chris’ dad decided that Chris needed a math tutor and the school assigned Karina’s grandfather as his teacher! He had to spend practically every after-school with them. For sure, he’d make a total fool of himself! But he didn’t. Instead, Chris learned math, and a lot more. He found out that Karina was pretty cool, and that Indian culture included awesome food. He learned to stand up for himself, and for Karina and her family. And he learned that there were haters in the world, and that they could change everything … With its themes of bullying, violence toward immigrants, and diversity, if there ever was a timely tale, “Count Me In” is it. And this is a nice book, to boot. It’s not filled with needless drama or pre-teen angst or drugs. There are no adult-only themes here, and nothing from the realm of the unexplained. Instead, author Varsha Bajaj’s plot is one that teens and almost-teens may be grappling with now, and her characters are well-rounded, basically good kids caught in a modern problem with a modern solution. That leads to a message inside this tale that is underscored through repetition, and which could invite discussion. Readers ages 10 and up will surely see themselves or someone they know inside this book and that might help the kid who needs it. Even if there’s no pressing concern for your child, “Count Me In” is a book she can’t ignore. WI
CANCER You may have a lot to say over the week ahead, and some of it could be a surprise to others. You may find yourself coming up with fascinating information, pieces of gossip, golden opportunities and fresh perspectives with which to dazzle your friends and enlighten your social circles. Lucky Numbers: 5, 17, 28 LEO There could be many moneymaking opportunities open to you this week if you’re prepared to grab them. This is all about taking calculated risks rather than making any impulsive moves. If you’ve been working steadily toward enhancing your career or business profile, then things can take off over the days ahead. Lucky Numbers: 1, 6, 45 VIRGO You’ll truly be in your element and raring to go this week. With a fabulous lineup of planets in your sign and chatty Mercury, your guide planet, moving in on Thursday, this is your opportunity to enjoy being yourself. This is also a week of discovery. Sterling angles to electric Uranus in your sector of far horizons and travel, study and learning can lead you along exciting paths. You might be invited to go on a trip, take part in a course or workshop, or explore ideas that can enhance self-belief and confidence. Lucky Numbers: 8, 31, 35 LIBRA You might be in a quieter, more restful phase at this time, with a strong focus on a subtle and spiritual sector of your chart. With a powerful lineup of planets here and stirring up your psyche, dreams could be vivid and some may bring guidance and creative ideas your way. Lucky Numbers: 33, 48, 50 SCORPIO This week and coming weeks can be very sociable and fast-paced. With the sun, lively Mars, sweet Venus and chatty Mercury in your social sector, you might not have time to be bored. Plus, with these dazzling planets aligning with freedom-loving Uranus, expect invitations and dates to come out of the blue. If you’re active on social media, all kinds of opportunities may show up for you through your connections with online friends, groups and various platforms. Lucky Numbers: 13, 49, 56 SAGITTARIUS Have you been waiting for your turn in the limelight? If so, the coming week could see you dazzling your audience. This is an excellent time to promote yourself, your business and your talents. With a focus on the sign of Virgo and your sector of goals and ambitions, attention to detail can be the key to greater success. Lucky Numbers: 30, 36, 45 CAPRICORN Are you ready for new adventures? With three planets in your sector of travel and far horizons joined by Mercury on Thursday, you’ll be eager to leave the familiar and head off into new territory. An urge for excitement and fresh experiences can push you to try things that are different from the usual. This a great opportunity to experiment by traveling and learning as you go. There is potential for romance, exciting connections and encounters that can lift your spirits and make such journeys truly worthwhile. Lucky Numbers: 16, 22, 27 AQUARIUS You may be plunged into a whirlwind of powerful and intense emotions. And yet with the sun, feisty Mars, sweet Venus and chatty Mercury all aligning with restless Uranus this week, good things can result from this. Desires may be stronger than usual, yet ideas on how to fulfill them can help you see a way forward. Expect the unexpected, in a positive way, especially where business and finance are concerned. Lucky Numbers: 7, 29, 32 PISCES You’ll be busy with all kinds of interactions, whether business, romantic, or the many other types that take place daily. This is a great time to share ideas and team up with others to collaborate on various projects that you can’t manage alone. Whatever you come up with could be very exciting and may have the power to bring about change to areas of life that are important to you. Lucky Numbers: 8, 10, 13
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AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 39
SPORTS
The Mystics routed the Sparks Tuesday, Aug. 27, 95-66 on their home court with the cheers of their D.C. fans supporting their stellar performance. For the story and photos, visit our website, www.washingtoninformer.com.
Mystics Roll Past Liberty
5 New York Liberty forward Bria Hartley drives between Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud (left) and forward Aerial Powers during the Mystics’ 101-72 win at Entertainment and Sports Arena in D.C. on Sunday, Aug. 25. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer)
5 Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne elevates to shoot over New York Liberty guard Rebecca Allen during the Mystics’ 101-72 win at Entertainment and Sports Arena in D.C. on Sunday, Aug. 25. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer)
5 Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud drives against New York Liberty forward Tina Charles during the Mystics’ 101-72 win at Entertainment and Sports Arena in D.C. on Sunday, Aug. 25. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer) 4 Washington Mystics forward Aerial Powers is defended by New York Liberty forward Tina Charles during the Mystics’ 101-72 win at Entertainment and Sports Arena in D.C. on Sunday, Aug. 25. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington informer)
40 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM
SPORTS
Howard Women Defeat Mount St. Mary’s University University in Season Opener
5 Howard defender Mikayla Johnson steals the ball from Mount St. Mary’s University forward Elizabeth Rockhill during Howard’s’ 1-0 (OT) win at Greene Stadium in D.C. on Friday, Aug. 23. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer)
5 Mount St. Mary’s University University forward Jasmine McCree controls the ball in front of Howard defender Kendall MaCauly during The Lady Bisonettes’ 1-0 (OT) NCAA Division 1 2019 Season Opener win at Howard University Greene Stadium in D.C. on Friday, Aug.23. (John E .De Freitas/The Washington Informer)
5 Howard midfielder Thalia Boucher drives down the right wing leaving Mount St. Mary’s University midfielder Brenda Aleman in pursuit during Howard’s 1-0 (OT) win at Greene Stadium in D.C. on Friday, Aug.23.(John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer) 4 Howard forward Lidsay Reightler fights to get ball possession from Mount St. Mary’s University forward Elizabeth Rockhill during Howard’s 1-0 (OT) win at Greene Stadium in D.C. on Friday, Aug.23 (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer)
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AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 41
The 19th Annual Library of Congress National Book Festival Returns to D.C.
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The 19th Annual Library of Congress National Book Festival returns with all of the amazing components and participants that continue to make this event one you don’t want to miss. Once again, event, free and open to the public, will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (801 Mt. Vernon Place, NW), Saturday, Aug. 31, from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Visitors can expect enhanced safety and security measures upon entering the Convention Center. Starting at 9:30 a.m., more than 140 authors, illustrators and poets will make presentations on stages dedicated to kids, fiction,
history, biography, poetry, science and more. Many fascinating thematic programs and panel discussions will be offered throughout the festival. A Main Stage of 4,000 seats will feature seven of the most popular festival authors. The exposition floor on the lower level of the Convention Center will offer a wide array of fun and exciting activities and programs for festival attendees of all ages with families at the targeted audience. Apple and Android users can make their plans, bookmark the authors they want to see, navigate the Festival and set up a personalized schedule with a National
Book Festival app for smartphones. Food options and ASL interpreting services will be provided at all author stages during scheduled events along with assistive listening devices, large-print programs, braille programs and other special services. Keep up with the latest news on the Library of Congress National Book Festival through the following means: subscribe to the National Book Festival email alert service; follow the National Book Festival Blog; follow the Library on Twitter @LibraryCongress External; follow the hashtag: #NatBookFest; or find the event on the Library’s Facebook page. WI
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5 Children are among those who will benefit from a day of educational and interactive programming during the 19th Annual Library of Congress National Book Festival. (Photo courtesy National Book Festival)
‘American Idol’ Auditions Coming so visit Idol’s website if you’re reto the District, September 4 ally interested in strutting your While the judges’ decisions remain uncertain, as it has yet to be determined if Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, or Lionel Ritchie will return as judges, the popular American Idol show continues to move around the nation with several cities serving as audition venues. District hopefuls will welcome the bus on Wednes-
day, Sept. 4 and can anticipate long lines awaiting them. You must be a legal resident of the U.S., between 15 and 28 and must sign up before you can audition. Auditions take place at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center Atrium, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW. A long list of rules applies,
stuff and grabbing your ticket to stardom. Previous winners from previous seasons include: Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks and Jordin Sparks and it’s served as a springboard for launching the careers of many artists as bona fide stars from Jennifer Hudson to Adam Lambert. WI 3 The bus will alert the landing of this year’s American Idol auditions, held on Wednesday, Sept. 4 in the District. (Photo courtesy American Idol)
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42 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM
RELIGION the religion corner WITH LYNDIA GRANT
Believe It Can Be Done!
This week, I thought I would give you an inspirational message, to remind you that whatever it is you desire to do, the first thing you must do is believe it can be done. It all begins with the thoughts you hold in your mind. Holding on to the past only stands in our way. I know because I did that, for years! Just know that you are more than a conqueror. Get ready for big changes to come your way. Once you begin to believe in yourself the way you should; be thankful for all you have, and then build on it. Notice the little things, smell the roses, and think on how good the Lord has been to you. He has kept you! Continue to count on him when there is no one else to count on — you have everything you need. And, finally, use your imagination. There are so many who say they have forgiven, but they are still holding on to the past. They have not let go of their issue fully; therefore, they are holding on to the past — and that, my friends, will only stand in their way. Scripture tells us, “We are indeed, more than a conqueror!” The day you put these principles Mt. Zion Baptist Church Reverend John W. Davis Pastor 5101 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 Phone: 202-726-2220 Fax: 202-726-9089 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. “A Church with a past to remember – and a future to mold”
into action in your life, the sooner you will begin to see that you might as well get ready for ‘big’ changes to come your way. Be thankful for all you have right now, thought. You cannot move forward, wanting what somebody else has, and feeling bad about yourself, always thinking about what you do not have. It is now time to ‘walk by faith and not by sight,’ Place a picture of the future you wish to have, and hold on to that dream! Put your hands in God’s hand, and believe it can be
...whatever it is
you desire to do, the first thing you must do is believe it
can be done. done! All along the way, smell the roses, live each day as if it could be your last. Go to the beach with friends and family, take on leadership roles in your community, sorority or other nonprofit groups, especially your church. There is always plenty to do at church.
It is never too late to discover ourselves in a new way. Just because you have had some horrible tendencies since you were young doesn’t mean that it has to remain. I love the Quincy Jones story so much that I’ll tell it again. Quincy’s mother was a schizophrenic, removed from the home when he was a young boy. He developed into the person he became while living with his father and grandmother. He always said, “Not one ounce of my selfworth depends on your acceptance of me!” This quote was his way of realizing who he really was. He believed that what someone else thought of him did not mean one thing — what he thought of himself was what really mattered. The purpose of this article is to remind you to take control of your life, and believe whatever you want to do can be done. You came to this earth equipped with all that it takes to fulfill that dream that is in your heart. What is it that has happened during the course of your life that has caused you not to believe you are able to get this thing done? Forget about that negativity, and be willing to go to a place you’ve never been before. Be willing to do something you’ve never done before. As Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” WI
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Mount Olivet Lutheran Church
John F. Johnson Reverend Dr. 1306 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20005 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.mtzbcdc.org
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AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 43
RELIGION The Miracle Center of Faith Missionary Baptist Church Bishop Michael C. Turner, Sr. Senior Pastor 9161 Hampton Overlook Capitol Heights, MD 20743 Phone: 301-350-2200 Fax: 301-499-8724
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
Pilgrim Baptist Church Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor 700 I Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 547-8849 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
Rev. Dr. Michael E. Bell, Sr., Pastor
Rev. Dr. Alton W. Jordan Pastor
Reverend Dr. Calvin L. Matthews Senior Pastor
Harold Andrew Assistant Pastor
2498 Alabama Ave., SE - Washington D.C. 20020 Office: (202) 889-7296 Fax: (202) 889-2198 - www.acamec.org
800 I Street, NE - Washington, DC 20002 202-548-0707 - Fax No. 202-548-0703
4915 Wheeler Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-894-6464
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”
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
1200 Isle of Patmos Plaza, Northeast Washington, DC 20018 Office: (202) 529-6767 - Fax: (202) 526-1661
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
Third Street Church of God
Dr. Dekontee L. & Dr. Ayele A. Johnson Pastors
Rev. Dr. Alice Greene Interim 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)
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
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
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
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
“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
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
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
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
44 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM
RELIGION Shabbath Commandment Church
All Nations Baptist Church
King Emmanuel Baptist Church
Bishop Adrian A. Taylor, Sr. Pastor
Rev. Dr. James Coleman Pastor
Rev. Daryl F. Bell Pastor
7801 Livingston Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-534-5471
2001 North Capitol St, N.E. - Washington, DC 20002 Phone (202) 832-9591
2324 Ontario Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-1730
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
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
Dr. Earl D. Trent Senior Pastor
Rev. Dr. George C. Gilbert 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
4504 Gault Place, N.E. Washington, D.C 20019 202-397-7775 – 7184
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
“Where Jesus is the King”
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
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
Dr. Lucius M. Dalton Senior Pastor
Damion M. Briggs 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
Rev. Dr. Maxwell M. Washington 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 Service: 10:15 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Morning Prayer Meeting / Bible Study: Tuesday at 7 PM Theme: “The Kingdom Focused Church with an Emphasis on “Evangelism and Discipleship”
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: pastorstmbc@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
Rev. Stephen E. Tucker Senior Pastor
“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
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
“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
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
“The Loving Church of the living lord “
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
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
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. Reginald M. Green Interim Pastor
Web: www.mountmoriahchurch.org Email: mtmoriah@mountmoriahchurch.org
St. Matthews Baptist Church
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
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.
AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 45
LEGAL NOTICES SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2019 ADM 000795 Nathaniel M. Adams, Jr. aka Nathaniel Matthews Adams, Jr. Decedent James Larry Frazier, Esq. 918 Maryland Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Iris Adams Carter, whose address is 806 Sero Estates Drive, Fort Washington, MD 20744, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Nathaniel M. Adams, Jr. aka Nathaniel Matthews Adams, Jr. who died on June 8, 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 2/15/2020. 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 2/15/2020, 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.
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
2018 ADM 1327
2019 ADM 000820
2019 ADM 000588
Elmer Douglass Ellis Decedent
Eric Willie Smith Decedent
Linda R. Cunningham Decedent
Aimee D. Griffin, Esq. The Griffin Firm PLLC 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney
Deborah D. Boddie, Esq. 1308 Ninth Street, NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20001 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Eric L. Smith, whose address is 4607 Bridle Ridge Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Eric Willie Smith who died on May 24, 2019 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 2/22/2020. 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 2/22/2020, 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.
Linda R. Wright, whose address is 1835 Otis Street, NE, Washington, DC 20018, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Linda R. Cunningham who died on March 1, 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 2/22/2020. 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 2/22/2020, 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: 8/22/2019
Date of first publication: 8/22/2019
Eric L. Smith Personal Representative
Linda R. Wright Personal Representative
James Larry Frazier, Esq. 918 Maryland Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Elmer Douglass Ellis, Jr., whose address is 4901 16th Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Elmer Douglass Ellis who died on April 1, 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 2/22/2020. 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 2/22/2020, 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: 8/22/2019 Elmer Douglass Ellis, Jr. Personal Representative
Iris Adams Carter Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
TRUE TEST COPY
Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
Washington Informer
TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills 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
2019 ADM 000833
2019 ADM 865
2019 ADM 846
Walter C. Gantt Decedent
Estate of Elmer Ellsworth Brockman aka Elmer E. Brockman
Ethiopia Abraha Decedent
Tina Smith Nelson 601 E. Street, NW Washington, DC 20049 Attorney
NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Phyllis C. Gantt, whose address is 1034 Buchanan Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Walter C. Gantt who died on August 6, 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 2/22/2020. 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 2/22/2020, 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: 8/22/2019 Phyllis C. Gantt Personal Representative
LEGAL NOTICES
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
Date of first publication: 8/15/2019
Anne Meister Register of Wills
LEGAL NOTICES
Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Wyatt Condominiums, c/o Geoffrey Griffith 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. In the absence of a will or proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution, enter an order determining that the decedent died intestate appoint an unsupervised personal representative Date of first publication: 8/22/2019 Aimee D. Griffin, Esq. 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Suite 440 Washington, DC 20015 Petitioner/Attorney: TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Yared Ghebreyohannes, whose address is 4927 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Ethiopia Abraha who died on November 6, 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 2/29/2020. 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 2/29/2020, 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: 8/29/2019 Yared Ghebreyohannes Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer
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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM
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GOLDSON from Page 1 134,000 students, she chatted with some parents and their children at the ninth annual Back-2-School block party Aug. 17 at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex fieldhouse in Landover. Thousands poured into the fieldhouse where students received colorful backpacks filled with pencils, pens, paper and other materials. Goldson, a former cheerleading coach at Suitland High School, even showcased some athletic moves with a hula hoop. “Dr. Goldson has brought a new energy to our school system,” County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said at the block party. “The parents have confidence in her. I’ve been able to talk to our staff inside the system who also have a lot of confidence in her. She’s a really excellent leader and I’m looking forward to a great year.” The school system seeks a smooth beginning to the 2019-20 school year and to overcome possible challenges such as the need to hire about 150 bus drivers. The county hosted a bus job fair Aug. 21 and provided paid training for attendees to receive a commercial license. Drivers can also receive a wage of nearly $20 an hour and benefits. To ensure school safety, Goldson said all schools are equipped with a buzzer system and a camera to see parents and other visitors. Starting this school year, all high school teachers will be able to lock classroom doors from the inside in case of emergencies, or worse, an active shooter. It will be phased in the middle schools next year and then elementary schools two years from now. “In a school system that’s as large as we are … there’s no way that every day will be perfect,” Goldson said Aug. 21 at her office in Upper Marlboro. “So, there’s always areas of improvement.” Goldson talked about a myriad of topics such as the continued push for school construction dollars from the state, public education and parental advice. Here are a few of Goldson’s thoughts in her own words:
Area Middle School and the renovation of Cherokee Lane Elementary School. What we know is that it has taken us a very long to get to that point. Literally, we are on year five starting the process from the time we presented it to [the] board of education. Our proposal taken it to the [IAC]. Going through the approval process. We are now here. We realized we’ve got to find another process that moves a little faster than that. That is when the public-private partnership initiative comes in. The best way for me to describe it is that we have trains leaving from two different stations with the ultimate goal of building world-class facilities for our students. We are grateful that at the end of the last legislative session [in Annapolis], we were able to get the public-private partnership legislation passed. But there was never financial connection, or money to that. Now we have to go back [next year] and pled our case we still need those funds.
PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE
What’s interesting about it is when parents talk about putting their child in a private school, I know they haven’t done a whole lot of research. Typically, they go by class size. They really haven’t dug deep what our private schools offer versus what our public schools offer. What I know is that in our private schools, they are not required to hire certified teachers. What I know is that in our private schools, they don’t offer as many academic options as we do. We have over 1,000 students (this school year) who participate in dual enrollment
AN $8B BACKLOG
We have a large infrastructure and one that’s aging that has a backlog of $8 billion. There’s never a time when I’m not talking about improving our facilities for our students. We’re grateful because of the traditional route that we’ve taken through the Interagency [Commission on] School Construction (IAC). We’ll be able to begin the process of renovations [this school year] at William Wort Middle School, new Glenridge
5 A map of DCPS Safe Spots.
48 AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
in our day program and go to the community college and all they have to pay is the registration fee. Those aren’t the students who are in our specialty programs where they’re earning their high school diploma and their associate’s degree at the same time. I don’t know of a private school in the state of Maryland that offers an opportunity for a student to get their diploma in the day and their graduation in the morning and their associate’s degree that same day in the evening. What it tells me is that our parents sometimes go to what’s shiny, but don’t necessarily pay attention to all that we have to offer. There are so many opportunities. [Prince George’s school district] paid for every junior to take the SAT last school year during the school day. I would encourage every person who is considering private school to do their research. I have kids who I believe are extremely successful. All of that comes from true well-rounded upbringing and support of their parents through the public school process. There is no parent who is not going to want the best for their child and who is going to make that kind of investment. You are already making an investment through you tax-paying money. Why [pay] double?
PARENTAL ADVICE
Our kids have a phone because their parents purchased it. I remind them the child didn’t have the phone by themselves. It’s all of our due diligence. As a parent, both of my children have a cellphone. I get it. I want easy access to them, but I also have their passwords and have
5 Prince George’s County Public Schools CEO Monica Goldson will experience another first day of school, but this time as the system’s permanent leader. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
the ability to monitor their phone at any time and any given day. It is my responsibility to shut it down when they are abusing their rights. I need our parents to still be cognizance of their role of monitoring their child. All of our parents want what’s right with their children, but we find that parents begin to take their hands off as students get older. You’ll see a large amount of parent engagement at the elementary level. It begins to decrease at the middle and it gets even less at the high school level. Our parents need to be engaged with our kids from elementary all the way to high school. As a parent of a senior [at Oxon Hill High School], I encourage parents still monitor
their child, but do it in a way they are still fostering an opportunity for independence. I walk into the parent-teacher conference as a parent. I’m sitting at a student desk. I come into it knowing my child is not perfect. I already know that. He is a teenager. Don’t get me wrong, he is a great teenager. I check SchoolMax every week. I know there are some assignments that are late. I know when he has not turned in something. That falls squarely on him and I. That teacher spends a lot of time with my child and they see a different side of him. I know that and come in with the mindset: What can my child do better? That’s really what it is about. WI
SAFE from Page 16
One of the first meetings in the 2019 calendar year took place at the FBR Boys & Girls Club at THEARC, just weeks after assailants gunned down 15-year-old Ballou Senior High School student Gerald Watson. “It shouldn’t have to come to this,” said Jenaia Magruder, a junior at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School and member of Pathways 2 Power, a student activist group on a mission to address violence, crime, housing instability, and other issues of concern to District youth. Jenaia and fellow Pathways 2 Power member Jaimon Cooper addressed onlookers in front of MLK Deli at the launch of the “Safe Spots” program. “You should be able to make it to your destination without thinking that something will happen [to you],” she added. “People think that this is an everyday thing. What we’re doing today is a start.” WI
feel safe at school,” he continued. “They talk about their challenges to and from school. We’re happy to be a part of the solution [and] thinking about proactive ways to get them home safely.” Since 2017, the Safe Passage Program has allowed DME and the Office of the Student Advocate to proactively respond to incidents of violence that occurred along major corridors during the after-school hours. Some of those areas include Anacostia Metro Station, the Good Hope Southeast Corridor, Minnesota Avenue Metro Station in Northeast, and Columbia Heights Metro Station in Northwest. Much of what DME unveiled this week culminated a series of working meetings with the School Safety and Safe Passage Working Group, comprised of school leaders, the District Department of Transportation, MPD, and other relevant parties.
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MALVEAUX from Page 28
paid.” Frederick Douglas told us very clearly, “Find out just what any people will quietly submit to (or get paid to do) — and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” By focusing on Jay-Z, we are losing site of the fact that Colin Kaepernick used his platform to call attention of historic and systemic problem in America, state sanctioned brutality and murder by the police. The NFL, the government and the media used their power to corrupt the message and demonize Kaepernick, costing him his livelihood. As was the case with Curt Flood, Muhammad Ali, Dr. John Carlos and others before him, Colin Kaepernick will eventually be remembered for taking a stand — or in this case, a knee — for justice. Jay-Z will be remembered for buying in — and by buying in, he sold out. WI
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These elite play a very important role. They serve, Marable says, “as a necessary yet dependent buffer between those who wield power and those who have none. Within popular culture, it is the nonwhite mouthpiece of the new order, articulating in the media and in the various aesthetic forums the ideals of the masters.” As referenced in the opening, Dr. King was clear, “Power without love is reckless and abusive. … Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice.” Jay-Z is wealthy and, in some circles, wields a certain degree of power. However, given the example set by Kap’s protest and sacrifice, what part of Jay-Z’s deal with the NFL shows the love for the community and the demand for justice? This deal seems to be power without love, reckless and abusive. When White capitalists team with Black capitalists, the Black community finds itself in a more precarious circumstance. The White capitalists will leverage the indifference and duplicity of the Black capitalists against the very community that the Black capitalist claims to support. “We don’t need to kneel anymore. It’s time to get
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LEON from Page 28
an opportunity to get paid and as a capitalist, he’s about that paper. In addition to helping the NFL with entertainment, Jay-Z will also consult with the NFL on matters of social injustice. Speaking of injustice, this opportunity for Jay-Z to work with the NFL only became possible after Kaepernick sacrificed his NFL career to protest against the real injustice of state sanctioned murder by the police. If Jay-Z were really down for the cause, wouldn’t he have stepped to the mic and told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that he will work with the NFL on the condition that Kap gets a fair shot at making an NFL roster? He could have used that moment and power to put real pressure on the league. But it’s not really about Shawn Carter aka Jay-Z. He is a metaphor. In the current context, Jay-Z is a distraction from the real issue: the dangers of Black capitalism. In Manning Marable’s “How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America,” he writes, “A decisive component of this underdevelopment process within the periphery is the nonwhite elite.”
as well, driven mainly by flat income growth for Black households versus increases in white income. We commend the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and its outstanding leader, Michael McMillan, for their work in tackling economic disparities in the region, and agree with his assessment that the work is a “marathon as well as a sprint.” As he has said, “A concerted, dedicated effort has to be spent on changing these disparities, and that the job is not done. So we have to stay the course from the governmental, not-for-profit, corporate, business and civic communities in order to fix those wrongs.” WI
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economically and in the criminal justice system. The disparity in traffic stops in Ferguson actually has widened drastically, according to the Missouri Attorney General’s office. The rate of stops of Black drivers has increased by five percentage points since 2013, while it has dropped 11 percentage points for white drivers. Statewide, Black motorists were nearly twice as likely as other motorists to be stopped. Ferguson has not yet identified a consent decree coordinator, according to the independent monitor appointed in 2016 as part of a settlement between the city and the Justice Department.
“Although the Monitoring Team published a Workplan in the Fall of 2018, it has not received regular updates from the City with respect to progress on that plan because no sole individual within the City is responsible for updating the Workplan and notifying the Monitoring Team about advancement in particular areas,” according to the monitor’s most recent report. The economic news is even worse. According to the EastWest Gateway Council of Governments, the median white household income was more than twice the median Black household income in 2017, a slightly wider gap than in 2010. Disparity in the poverty rate in St. Louis County has grown
You Can Say It Like A Pro!
D : Sade
MORIAL from Page 28
they fail to embrace climate change? Rev. Barber raises all these questions and more. For the next nine months, through June 20, 2020, he is moving around the country, addressing injustice, mobilizing people, and focusing on change. He has offered our nation a fundamental challenge. Will you answer the call for moral revival? Four hundred years after the first Black folks were brought to these shores, a call to deal with systemic racism, economic injustice, the war economy, and ecological devastation is long overdue. WI
Photo
tions mean to the average person. Economic pundits have high-level discussions about the stock market (when half of all Americans own no stock or bonds), making people think they can make no difference in economic policy. But we can make a difference when we pass laws that provide a living wage, paid sick leave, affordable health care, and more. The Poor People’s Campaign and the Moral Budget give people tools to approach some of these economic issues. With his eloquence and his leadership,
Barber has emerged as a national treasure and a lightning rod for economic transformation. What will economic transformation look like? Is it possible for capitalists to make a profit and still pay their workers a living wage? It is possible to dismantle the predatory capitalism that, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “thingifys” people in the name of profit? Do capitalists understand that consumers fuel this system, and paying consumers translates into more sales for them? And do predatory capitalists understand the ecological devastation they promote when
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CROWELL from Page 29 Among the MGI report’s other key findings: Black Americans can expect to earn up to $1 million less than white Americans over their lifetimes. Black men with no criminal records are less likely to receive job interviews than are white men with criminal records. The median wealth of a single Black women is $200, while that of a single white man is $28,900. Black families are up to 4.6 times more likely to live in areas of concentrated poverty, than are white and Latino families. Geographically, 65% of Black Americans reside in one of only 16 states. The states are also areas that score below the nation’s national average of 77 state performance metrics spanning economy, education, economic opportunity, fiscal stability, infrastructure and more: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. “This study represents a critical look at the key components of wealth-building: access to community and family assets, ability to save, access to homeownership and availability of good jobs,” said Tom Feltner, director of research with the Center for
JACKSON from Page 29
Each week you’ll get news from The District of Columbia, Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and Northern Virginia.
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Responsible Lending (CRL). “At every step it points to a widening racial wealth gap between Black families and white families.” “With today’s Black homeownership rate hovering around 40%, while 73% of similarly situated whites own their homes, access to responsible mortgages remains more of a dream than a reality,” added Keith Corbett, a CRL executive vice president. When student loan debts and criminal incarcerations are factored into the racial wealth divide, an even more bleak scenario is disclosed. “Incarceration is estimated to reduce annual wages by 40% -- not including the lost wages during the time served – for the formerly incarcerated,” states the MGI report, “reduces their economic mobility, and even increases the risk of school expulsion six times for their children….[B]lack men without criminal records are actually less likely to receive job interviews than are white men who have criminal records.” For Black women, gender brings a dual “wage penalty,” according to the report. Median earnings for Black women are only 65% as much as those earned by white men, and 89% of median earnings for Black men. Black women typically borrow more in student loans, so their lower earnings bring stronger financial challenges in repayment years. As a result of these
and other factors, the median wealth of a single Black woman is only $200, while that of a single white man is $28,900. Both male and female Black college graduates are prone to support their families more so than their white college classmates. The financial assistance shared with older family members reduces the amount of disposable dollars that might have contributed more to paying down student debt or beginning financial investments like mutual funds or certificates of deposit. “Education, while quite beneficial to those who attain it, is not an equalizer,” said Aracely Panameño, CRL’s director of Latino affairs. “And financial innovation and debt, even if well underwritten, can never undo historical racial discrimination that results in financial marginalization. Moving forward this situation can only be addressed through bold federal and state laws and policies that create equity of opportunity for all.” Authors of the MGI report would likely agree. “A number of simultaneous and mutually reinforcing initiatives will likely be necessary,” the report states. “This work will be neither simple nor easy, but targeted, productive efforts will likely strengthen the economy, increase economic and social equity, and improve the quality of life for families.” WI
national abolition of slavery. It is the figure of Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom. A broken shackle and chain lie at her feet as she strides forward, commemorating the abolition of slavery in 1865, an abolition that turned out to be the first step in
America becoming in fact, as well as in word, the land of the free. In telling the “unvarnished truth” of slavery, we will face the horrors of our past, as well as the triumph of our progress. It is a telling that is long overdue. WI
ASKIA from Page 29
accepted standards of morality,” Glover said. And speaking of presidents — on the Northeast Portico of the memorial dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. president is quoted as saying, “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free...” So, we agree. America’s 400-yearold slavery was/is abhorrent; was/is a crime against humanity; and its victims are deserving of compensation — reparatory justice — for their pain, suffering, and loss. Slavery, America’s “Original Sin.” It’s time to repent. It’s time to atone. WI
they would never have been enslaved! “I call upon you today as policy representatives and socially conscious citizens, public servants of our countries guided by personal ethics, religions, faith and/or official oath of office to avow a commitment to democracy, justice, equality and human rights,” Glover said recently in a speech before the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) on “Reparations for Slavery and the Genocide of Native Peoples.” “The call today for reparatory justice for Afro-descendants is an imperative for expanded democracy and spiritual and material well-being. It is a test case for human decency that conforms to the
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