The Washington Informer - February 24, 2021

Center Section Vol. 56, No. 19 • February 25 - March 3, 2021

In Rememberance of 500,000 lives lost

America Surpasses Grim Milestone: 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths William J. Ford, James Wright and D. Kevin McNeir WI Staff Writers and WI Editor

5 The Washington National Cathedral marked the 500,000 lives lost to COVID-19 by ringing its bells 500 times (once for every 1,000 lives) on Tuesday, Feb. 22. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

The District of Columbia Names New Gun Violence Director A. Elisabeth Currie WI Staff Writer D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently announced a new position in the District, Gun Violence Prevention Coordinator, after homicide rates and gun violence reached rates not seen in years.

Linda Harllee Harper, the former

Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

senior deputy director for the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, has assumed the role to develop and implement gun violence and prevention efforts.

And while Bowser describes Harper as a “visionary leader in social and criminal justice,” it remains to be seen if Harper’s insight will cull gun violence in the city.

While gun violence and homicides

GUNS Page 48

With the echo of church bells sounding in the distance, Americans paused this week to acknowledge a grim milestone: reaching and quickly surpassing 500,000 COVID-19 deaths.

Still, officials in the Greater Washington Area continue to voice optimism over the recent trend of declining numbers of local coronavirus death and illness.

“We continue to see significant improvement in all the COVID-19 metrics,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Feb. 23.

Some of the statewide metrics include a positivity rate of 3.90 percent, the lowest level since Oct. 1; hospitalizations decreased below 1,000 at 978; and the number of nursing homes with COVID-19 cases dropped by 47 percent to the lowest level since mid-October.

“Sadly, we lost 500,000 Americans to COVID-19 including 7,580 Marylanders. We mourn each and every one of them and we continue to pray for their families,” he said.

In the District, the COVID death toll increased with three new deaths Feb. 23, according to D.C. Department of Health officials. The positivity

COVID Page 8

Life Expectancy for Black Americans Drops as House Considers $1.9 Trillion Rescue dropped to its lowest level in 15 Package years, comes as Black Americans

Prevalence of ‘Leaky Guns’ Leads to New Initiative with ‘Teeth’ FIRST IN A SERIES

February 2021. Volume 7. Issue 2

Don't Miss This Month's WI Bridge

Self-Love & Healing in Black Space

WINNER OF FIVE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS D.C. AWARDS

5 Lighting a candle for those lost due to violence. (WI File Photo)

The life expectancy for African Americans declined the most from 2019 – by 2.7 years, to 72 years – its lowest level since 2001, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

The study, which also found overall life expectancy in the U.S.

grapple with the lack of access to the two available coronavirus vaccines.

The study’s conclusions coincided with news that President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats moved toward a sweeping $1.9 trillion rescue package that could include direct payments of as much as $5,600 for families of four.

The full House could pass the legislation this week.

BLACK Page 35

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CIRCULATION Paul Trantham

Women the Cycle of wi hotBreak topics Domestic Violence Howard, Morgan State Among Black Republicans Seek Nation’s Top HBCUlawPresidents Exhibit enforcement. She said theySolo threat,” she said. for Justice had come together to bring a Among the programs Marlow sense of uniformity in the wayClarence wants to seeThomas implemented are

By Tia Carol Jones WI Staff Writer

When L.Y. Marlow's 23-year- domestic violence victims and A stricter restraining policies, stand-alone exhibit isorder needed for Justice Clarold daughter told her the father survivors are treated. rightssaid forThe victim's encemore Thomas, New families Journey Political of her daughter threatened her “She's using her own personalAction to Committee, intervene onanbehalf of agroup vic- of Black umbrella life, and the life of their child, story, her own personal pain toRepublicans, tim, a domestic assessin a recentviolence letter to the National Mushe knew something had to be push forward,” Davis-Nickensseumment unit coupled further of African Americanwith History and Culture done. Out of her frustration said about Marlow. training for law enforcement [NMAAHC]. with law enforcement's handling Davis-Nickens said anyone New agencies, a Child's Life ProtecJourney’s founder James Golden, of5 theThe situation, she decided HBCU Campaign Fundtorecently their list book willCEO Autry whopublished reads Marlow's tion ActPruitt and mandatory and Chief ofcounselStaff AJ Swinson start the Ten Saving Promise camof “The Most Dominant HBCU Leaders Of She 2021” which “get it.” said she “puts thetold ing for batterers. museum director Kevin Young that failing to paign. includes Howard University Presidentcase Dr. Wayne A.I.a Frederick in such way, the averagedisplay“If we areinever going to eradi- amounts Thomas a stand-alone exhibit Morgan State University K. Wilson. cour“It seems to President be a vicious cycle David person can get(Photo it.” She said at theto “anti-historical cate domestic violence, bias in a waywe thatmust rewrites histotesy The HBCU Campaign Fund) end of the day, the book will look at both sides of the coin. that won't turn my family ry and pushes a biased narrative against loose,” Marlow said. Marlow help people begin to have a dia- We need to address both the vic- a legendTheher HBCU has published “The Ten ary Black trailblazer.” shared storyCampaign with the Fund audi- [HCF] logue about domestic violence. tim and the batterer,” Marlow Most Dominant HBCU Leaders Of 2021.”

Among those chosen an exhibit displaying Thomas and ence at the District Heights Also present at the event was Currently said. from the area: Howard University President Dr. Wayne A.I. FredThurgood Marshall is inalso the museum.

Domestic Violence Symposium Mildred Muhammad, the exMarlow would like to see erick and Morgan State University President Dr. David Kwabena “The museum claims it wants promote the on May 7 at the District Heights wife of John Allen Muhammad, programs designed to to raise Wilson.

This is second year that the Chicago-based fund has comvalues of resiliency, optimism and Municipal Center. The sympo- who was sentenced to six consec- awareness among children inspirituality piled was a list ofsponsored HBCU leaders the Black and they sium by for thenational utiverecognition. life terms without parolewithin public and community private schools.

Sheshould be “We tracked the accomplishments 10 chosen to their missionneed withto anbe exhibit honoring the Family and Youth Services byofa the Maryland juryHBCU for his role intrue feels children educatleadersof during DemetriustheJohnson, Jr., HCF Thomas,” Golden said.

Center the 2020,” city ofsaid District Beltway SniperCEO/ attacks inachievements ed aboutof Clarence domestic violence. founder.

“Our of directors looks at Mildred the positiveMuhammad visibility Thomas is a giant in the Black comHeights and theboard National Hook-also 2002. is “Clarence “We have to stop being pasby Women. the institutions led by these individuals which says a munity.

Ignoring his accomplishments Upreceived of Black the founder of After the Trauma, sive-aggressive with poor chil- amounts lot about leadership qualities.” and a violence,” corruption of Black Marlow has written a book, an organization that helps theto phony dren revisionism about domestic “Both andwhich Morgan universities have drawn history,” “Color Me Howard Butterfly,” is a State survivors of domestic violenceAmerican Marlow said. Pruitt said. attention healthcare shortcomings Black communities,” story abouttofour generations of andintheir The Marlow letter echoes a criticism by a freshman children. has worked to break domestic The State bookUniversity is Johnson violence. said. “Morgan nowinbe thefor home of SixBlackthe Republican Housein member in a Feb. 5 let“Iwill lived fear six years. cycle of abuse her family, inspired her own Centralby Office of theexperiences, International Collaboration the isNMAAHC lack of she a stand-alone years in fearfor is Participatoa long time. It ister toand confident of thethepolicies and those of her grandmother, ry Health Research – a global group that not addresses an easy health thing disparito come outexhibit for Thomas.

2016, is pushing for Inwill startother thatsupporters herties.mother her daughter. she said. on healthcare And Dr.and Frederick has been a keyof,” spokesperson process.called for the NMAAHC to include of Thomas She said every time COVID-19.” she reads Mildred Muhammad saidhim in“Ia plan to take way. theseFollowing policies tothe outcry, disparities in treating meaningful excerpts book, she still people whoBrenda want Allen, to help athe museum Congressadded and implore themCourt to exhibit The from other her eight HBCU presidents include: the Supreme can not believe the words came violence changeto our Marlow said. justices, Lincoln University; Dr. Jerryl Briggs,domestic Sr., Mississippi Valleyvictim State mustdedicated the laws,” two African-American from her. “Color Me Butterfly” careful State of how they go intoThomas, “I will until these poliUniversity; M. Christopher Brown, II,beKentucky University; andnot hisstop predecessor on the high court, won 2007 National “Best State theUniversity; victim's life, and understand cies are passed.”WI Dr. the Glenda B. Glover, Tennessee Dr. Jimmy R. Thurgood Marshall.

Books” Award. she mayJr.,beLangston in “survival Tia Carol Jones can be reached Jenkins, Sr., Livingstone College; Dr.that Kent J. Smith, “I was just 16-years-old when mode”. at tiacaroljones@sbcglobal.net University; Dr. Leroy Staggers, Morris College; and Dr. Adena myWilliams eye first blackened and College. my “Before you get to 'I'm going Loston, St. Philip’s lips bled,” Marlow said. to kill you,' it started as a verbal WI Founded in 2015, HCF’s primary mission is to be an advocate Elaine Davis-Nickens, for HBCUs with initiativespresiwhich include raising funds for scholdent of the National Hook-Up arships and programming in public and private HBCUs of Black Women, said there is no For more information on The HBCU Campaign Fund visit consistency in the way domestic https://hbcucampaignfund.org. WI violence issues are dealt with by

“

We have to stop being passive-aggressive poor11 Norton’s D.C. Statehood Bill Hearing Slated with for March D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s bill to make Norton thanked the leadership of the committee for children about domestic the District the 51st state of the Union will be held consenting to have the hearing within the first three on March 11, a news release from her violence. office reported months of the newto congressional which started I plan take session these Feb. 22. in January.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform “The hearing, markup and House passage of H.R. 51 policies topropelled Congress and will conduct the hearing. Witnesses expected to testify last Congress public support for D.C. statein favor of the bill include: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bows- hood to nearly 50 percent, “she said. “There has been er; D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson; a repre- nothem better vehicleto for educating the public and increasing implore change our sentative from the Office of the D.C. Chief Financial support than passage of the D.C. statehood bill last June.

Officer; The Leadership Conference on Civil and Hu- We expect the March hearing to bolster support nationlaws. I will not stop until man Rights Interim President Wade Henderson; and wide even further,” Norton said.

D.C. veteran Harry Wingo.

WI these policies are passed.

“

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L.Y. Marlow

AROUND THE REGION Public Service Ranks High for Ward 8's James Bunn Family Congress Heights Family’s Prominence is Long and Deep James Wright WI Staff Writer The Association for the Study of African American Life and History theme for Black History Month 2021 focuses on the African American family and its contributions to the nation and one Ward 8 family has helped their neighbors through public service to benefit the ward and the District.

The James Bunn family has lived in Ward 8 for decades and they have gotten involved in its civic and political affairs, Sheila Bunn, eldest child of James and Linda Bunn said.

“Public service has been and continues to be a family affair for us,” Sheila said. “Public service means being a voice in your community, neighborhood and block and trying to make things better for everyone.

It also means making sure everyone has a seat at the table and improving conditions in your neighborhood.

My father, James Bunn, would always say, ‘How can we make this better?’”

Throughout the years, James Bunn and his children have forgone possible lucrative careers in business, public policy and government service to focus on helping their neighbors in Ward 8 and the city.

James, born in Baltimore and lived his childhood in North Carolina before joining the Air Force.

He came to the District in 1964 to recuperate from an injury at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and “he fell in love with the city and Ward 8”, Sheila said.

In 1970, James Bunn purchased the “Bunn Building” located on Martin Luther King Jr., Ave., S.E. For many years, James Bunn had his barbershop, barber and beauty supply store, grocery store and carryout at his building.

However, James Bunn became better known for his political activism and civic involvement. He served as an advisory neighborhood commissioner, chairman of the Ward 8 Democrats, chairman and executive director of the Far Southeast Community Organization, chairman of Congress Heights Main Streets and executive director of the Ward 8 Business Council.

James served on the D.C. Retirement Board as an appointee of then D.C. Council Chairman John Wilson from 1991-1995 and from 2012 until his death in 2013 from then D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray.

Shelia said since his death, many people say to her what her father meant to them.

“I meet many people who say to me how Dad really affected their lives,” she said.

Sheila also said her mother, Linda, “was a sweet soul who was supportive of my Dad.” “Mom would attend PTA meetings at our schools and made sure at least one parent was at our activities supporting us,” she said.

Sheila presently works for D.C. Councilmember Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7) as his chief of staff. She has worked for D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton as an aide, as a Clinton administration staffer under then U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shala, and as Gray’s deputy chief of staff when he served as the District’s mayor.

Sheila presently volunteers as the corresponding secretary for the Ward 8 Democrats and ran for the Ward 8 Council seat in a special election on April 28, 2015 to replace deceased lawmaker Marion S. Barry Jr. Sheila said as a youngster, she would accompany her father to community meetings.

“I was a Daddy’s girl,” she said.

“My love for public service came from seeing how he operated in the community.”

Rodney Bunn agreed with his sister.

“Dad always told us it’s not about you,” he said, “but about others.”

James Bunn II said his Dad’s activism convinced him to help people but not in the political arena.

“My decision to become a firefighter had to do with my father’s businesses being located next to Engine Company 25 on Martin Luther King Jr., Ave., S.E.,” James II, a 15year member of the D.C. force said.

“My brother and I would associate with the firefighters stationed there.

It was like a Boys & Girls Club there to us.”

Rodney, who holds a bachelor’s

degree in criminology from Johnson C. Smith University, joined his brother’s profession and has been on the job for 13 years.

Sheila has her daughter, Logan, accompany her to meetings just like she did with her father.

“We are our children’s first teachers,” she said. “I want her to see what I do. It is important to expose children to diverse people and ideas.”

All the Bunn children live in Ward 8 and have made a commitment to stay there like their father did.

“We live here because we wanted to stay where we feel comfortable,” Rodney said.

WI @JamesDCWrighter

5 James Bunn instilled the importance of public service in his children. (Photo courtesy of Sheila Bunn)

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1903 – Albany State University, a historically Black institution, is founded in Albany, Georgia.

1948 – Civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. is ordained as a minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where his father was a pastor.

1964 – Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, defeats Sonny Liston by a 7th-round TKO in Miami Beach, Florida, to win the heavyweight boxing championship for the first time.

FEB. 26

1926 – Boxing great Theodore "Tiger" Flowers becomes the first Black middleweight champion.

1928 – R&B legend Fats Domino is born in New Orleans.

1965 – Civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson dies eight days after being shot by police during a peaceful voting rights march in Marion, Alabama.

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1927 – Singer-songwriter, actor and social activist Harry Belafonte is born in Harlem, New York.

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1807 – Congress votes to ban the African slave trade.

1867 – U.S. Congress enacts charter to establish Howard University in Washington, D.C. 1962 – Basketball great Wilt Chamberlain (above) scores 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169– 147 win over the New York Knicks, an NBA record.

1990 – Carole Gist becomes the first African American to be crowned as Miss USA.

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1821 – Thomas L. Jennings patents a dry-cleaning process, becomes the first Black American to receive a patent.

1836 – Jefferson Franklin Long, the first African American from Georgia to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, is born in Knoxville, Georgia.

1865 – The Freedmen's Bureau, a federal government agency that aided freed slaves in the South during the Reconstruction era, is established.

1991 – Black motorist Rodney King is beaten

by Los Angeles Police Department officers following a high-speed car chase. The incident is captured on video and incites a massive riot in Los Angeles after the officers' acquittals a year later. WI

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rate of infection in the District stands at 5.2 percent – slightly higher than the desired goal of five percent as set by public health experts.

While most D.C. coronavirus metrics appear seem either positive or improving, officials said the daily case rate of community spread which stands at 15.3 percent and the 10.1 percent health system capacity of COVID-19 patients, both as of Feb. 21, remain troublesome. Zero to nine percent stands as the ideal for community spread while zero to five percent remains the goal for health system capacity.

Although Maryland averages 29,000 vaccines administered daily, more is need, state officials said.

Hogan joined other governors on a conference call Tuesday with White House officials “to press for more doses to be produced [and] distributed.”

During the call, he said Johnson & Johnson could receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration to develop a vaccine “as early as Friday” and begin distribution next week.

About 2 million doses could be shipped nationwide with Maryland to receive at least 2 percent, he said. The amount could increase to 20 million by next month, he said, with 400,000 doses coming to Maryland. To ensure that more people are vaccinated, the state opened a third mass site on Feb. 25 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, home of the NFL football team, Baltimore Ravens. So far, more than 10,000 appointments have already been scheduled with a goal to administer 2,000 shots per day by next week.

A fourth mass vaccination site will

open by March 11 in Charles County at the Southern Maryland Blue Crab Stadium. Two more are scheduled to open in Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore.

Unlike county health departments which can only schedule residents who live in a specific jurisdiction, residents from any part of the state can schedule appointments at the mass vaccination sites.

BOWSER SHARES UPDATE ON DISTRICT

On Feb. 22, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke to the public and shared a situational update related to COVID-19.

Her comments included the following: • In the District, 995 residents have lost their lives due to COVID-19.

• For the first time the daily case rate has dropped below 15 percent – this means the District has moved from “Substantial Community Spread” to “Moderate Community Spread.”

• COVID-19 testing has declined – a downward trend which the mayor said troubles her.

• The District has received over 100,000 vaccine doses and the weekly incremental increase in doses received has allowed more vaccines to be administered.

• A recent-established faith-based initiative has added New Samaritan Baptist Church in Northeast as a second site for vaccinations.

• Under the DCHA Initiative, 912 people have been vaccinated at 11 DCHA housing properties through

partnership with Sibley Memorial Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine.

REFLECTIONS FROM THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

“Today we mark a truly heartbreaking milestone,” the president said at a White House ceremony on Feb. 22 attended by his wife, first lady Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, “That’s more Americans who have died in one year in this pandemic than in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined. That’s more lives lost to this virus than any other nation on Earth.”

Biden ordered flags flying over federal facilities to be at half-staff for five days. The Washington National Cathedral rang its bells 500 times – once for every 1,000 people who died from the coronavirus.

On the evening of Feb. 23, a Johns Hopkins University tracker reported 501,663 U.S. virus-related deaths. No other country has lost more lives to the yearlong pandemic than the U.S. Remembrance, Biden said, serves as an important part of the healing process, both for individuals and for the nation.

“That's how you heal — you have to remember,” he said. “And it's also important to do that as a nation.

Those who have lost loved ones, here's what I know: They're never truly gone.

They'll always be part of your heart.”

“We have to fight this as one peo-

COVID Page 42

‘The World According to Dominic’ will return next week.

8 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

AROUND THE REGION

District's Parents and Teachers Push for an End to PARCC Sentiment to Scuttle Assessment Tests is Widespread Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer Throughout the school year, many parents have found it difficult to facilitate the virtual learning experience for their children, due mostly to their demanding work schedules and, in some cases, persistent gaps in technological and internet access.

These factors have given greater impetus to parents, teachers and elected officials to support a movement centered on the cancellation of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, a high-stake annual test that’s more commonly known as the PARCC. “There’s no certainty that the PARCC can be done equitably. There are tests that are less cumbersome and time consuming to actually administer,” said At large State Board of Education (SBOE) Representative Jacque Patterson.

At a recent SBOE meeting, parents and teachers testified before Patterson and his colleagues in support of cancelling the PARCC. This virtual gathering on Feb. 18 took place amid meetings Patterson conducted with parents about the virtual learning experience, during which he recounted gathering similar perspectives.

In suggesting that at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) cancel the PARCC, Patterson, father of two D.C. students, mentioned that schools have gathered student data from other assessments that have been administered this academic year, including the NWEA Map Growth Test.

“These tests give the kind of results you need,” Patterson told The Informer.

“I’m not against testing, I’m against the PARCC itself. It’s one of the most antiquated exams, and the fact that we still want to do it during an unprecedented school year is unconscionable.”

PARENTS STAND AGAINST PARCC

OSSE hasn’t responded to The Informer’s inquiries about whether it would cancel PARCC testing this spring.

As of Feb. 22, a petition to cancel

PARCC, circulated by the Ward 6 Public Schools Parents Organization, has amassed more than 1,100 signatures. If OSSE acquiesces to these demands, the District officials would emulate educators in New York, New Jersey and Michigan who have indicated they may ask the federal Department of Education for a testing waiver.

At the start of the academic year, OSSE removed PARCC scores as a metric on IMPACT evaluations for D.C. Public School teachers, cancelled the science portion of PARCC and postponed the STAR rating system, an apparatus that determined the quality of a District-based school.

There has been little indication however, that PARCC would meet the same fate.

PARCC, annually administered to District students between the third and eighth grades and those taking 9th and 10th grade English and math courses, measures students’ preparedness for college and career opportunities on a five-point scale.

RECENT PARCC RESULTS SHOW IMPROVEMENT FOR DISTRICT STUDENTS

Four out of five points demonstrates college readiness.

Results for the 2019 PARCC exam, when District students last took the assessment, showed a citywide growth of 12.3 percent in English and 8.4 percent in math, with steady improvement among students with disabilities, nonwhite students, and English-language learners. City officials designated this milestone as the fourth consecutive year of growth.

Even so, there have been questions of whether the PARCC hinders the progress of students of color and those from low-income communities. Critics said the pandemic, and the manner in which the test would need to be conducted, could further place affected populations at a further disadvantage.

In its letter to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), interim State Superintendent Shana Young, Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn and D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson

(D), the Ward 6 Public Schools Parents Organization cited the greater need for social and emotional learning during the pandemic.

These points echoed what teachers and parents who testified before SBOE earlier this month mentioned as they described the struggle to overcome instructional changes and students’ mental health challenges.

PRESSURE MOUNTS FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

The Informer was unable to establish contact with the Ward 6 Public Schools Parent Organization.

An ongoing pandemic notwithstanding, instructional strategies at District public and public charter schools often focus on preparing students for the PARCC, an assessment that, in part, determines a school’s standing.

In the past, teachers said they’ve faced the burden of ensuring that students pass the PARCC with flying colors, regardless of circumstances out of their control.

For Ward 8 educator Chantal Fuller, current conditions won’t allow for testing data that accurately reflect what students learned, and the degree to which teachers and school administrators fulfilled their obligations.

She too pointed to the stress of the pandemic, and the inconsistency in instruction often caused by the demands of home and unpredictable technological access.

“It will give students a lot of anxiety, just with the normal tests we do throughout the year,” said Fuller, a special education teacher at Excel Academy in Southeast.

We’re assuming that they have optimal testing conditions when this hasn’t been the case,” Fuller continued.

“The assessment data has been skewed and I’m wondering how reliable we think the PARCC data will be. We have to wait until there’s a more controlled environment.

There are too many external variables working against teachers and students.” WI @SamPKCollins

WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER

5 A petition has been circulated to end the PARCC exam. Parents and teachers state that current conditions (COVID-19) will not allow accurate data to reflect what students learned. (WI File Photo)

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AROUND THE REGION

D.C. Comprehensive Plan Has Many Community Leaders Concerned

By James Wright WI Staff Writer As the D.C. Council approaches the final stages of considering the Bowser administration’s amendments to a 1,000-page-plus comprehensive plan for the District’s future, community activists and leaders say they worry the plan favors developers and does not give enough attention to Black neighborhoods.

“There needs to be more community input and discussion about community benefits before the comprehensive plan is approved by the D.C. Council,” Eric Rogers, a candidate for the D.C. Council’s at-large seat in 2020, said. “Many residents and developers use the comprehensive plan as a guiding document on how the city should evolve in the coming years. That is why the community needs to weigh in on the plan before anything is adopted.”

The plan is evolving as the District continues to grow in population and prosperity despite the coronavirus

pandemic. Yet, many residents and leaders are concerned that the document doesn’t address the high costs of living in the District and how to reverse the displacement of Black residents that has occurred during the past two decades.

Some longtime residents have labeled the Bower comprehensive plan a latter-day incarnation of “The Plan, ” a mythical document that was widely thought to be fueled by a stubborn belief from the 1970s through early 2000s that powerful white interests were scheming to diminish Black political and economic power in D.C.

BOWER MODIFICATIONS

Bowser amendments to the modern comprehensive plan implemented in 2006 and further amended in 2011, became public in April 2020.

The amendments deal with the coronavirus pandemic, housing, racial equity, resilience and public resources.

The plan calls for the District to

respond to the pandemic with “resilience, response and recovery.” The Housing segment recommends a goal of producing 36,000 units of housing by 2025 with some designated for low-and-moderate income residents. It will detail strategies to deal with homelessness and encouraging homeownership.

The Racial Equity section calls for policies that would create equity in housing, education, economics and land use for people and communities of color. The Resilience part is to accommodate all races, colors, backgrounds and income levels for District residents.

The Public Resources section encourages the building and modernization of parks, schools, libraries and recreation centers. Adjunct materials to the amendments emphasizes the administration’s desire and effort to engage the community in the process of creating the changes to the plan.

THE COUNCIL’S ROLE

Mendelson (D) filed a bill—The Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2020—on Jan. 4. While the legislation includes the mayor’s amendments to the plan, the spokeswoman said the chairman, as the head of the council’s Committee of the Whole, retains the right to make changes.

The spokeswoman said Mendelson ideally would like to the council to consider his bill, with his adjustments, in March before the District’s 2021-2022 fiscal year budget is considered.

PLAN LABELED ‘RACIST’ BY ADVOCATES FOR THE POOR

Rogers says the plan should have more community input, but Parisa Norouzi--the executive director of Empower DC, an organization which advocates for friendlier public policies for economically ailing resi-

PLAN Page 48

D.C. Council Chairman Phil

5 Eric Rogers ran for the D.C. Council at-large position in 2020. (WI File Photo-washingtoninformer.com)

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 11

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY Study: Four Maryland Cities Among Most Ethnically Diverse in State Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer Four Montgomery County cities – Silver Spring, Rockville, Germantown, and Gaithersburg – count among the top 10 most ethnically diverse in the nation, a new survey revealed.

With a population of nearly

262,000, Jersey City, N.J., topped the most ethnically diverse cities in America list.

With a population of about 68,000, Gaithersburg is second, and Germantown, with a population of nearly 91,000, is third.

Silver Spring and Rockville finished at fifth and seventh respectively, with New York City sand-

wiched between the two Maryland cities.

In light of discussions of racial and ethnic equality that have been prominent in the past year, the personal-finance website, WalletHub, said it took a snapshot of America’s current cultural profile.

Researchers compared more than 500 of the largest U.S. cities across three key indicators of diversity – ethnicity and race, language, and birthplace.

The District ranked 102 overall.

Its highest score was 31st in the category of birthplace diversity.

Parkersburg, W.Va., Hialeah, Fla., Clarksburg, W.Va., Barre, Vt., and Watertown, S.D., were the country’s five least ethnically diverse cities.

Jackson, Miss., has the highest concentration of African Americans (82 percent), while Green River, Wyo., has the lowest (0.01 percent).

Saco, Maine, has the highest white American concentration (95 percent), while Hialeah, Fla., had the lowest (2.68 percent).

New Information Fuels Case of County’s Black Police Officers

William J. Ford WI Staff Writer

An ongoing lawsuit against the Prince George’s County police department illustrates additional incidents of racially-motivated and retaliatory conduct against Black and Latino officers and citizens,

based on new unredacted information released Monday, Feb. 22.

The information filed in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt includes a report written last year by former Los Angeles County Sheriff Michael E. Graham on behalf of a group of current and former Prince George’s police officers who filed a suit in De-

5 New allegations citing police incidents from a report on Prince George’s County released Feb. 22. (William J. Ford/The Washington Informer)

12 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

cember 2018.

Some of the new information includes a case of two white officers who posted racial epithets on their social media accounts. One of the officers, a sergeant at the time, posted a message on a Yahoo chat group for current and retired Prince George’s officers.

In part, according to the Graham report, he called members of his command staff “baboons” and later posted, “Unless you’re in the ghetto-fide, butt-slappin, high-fivin, incompetent retard . . . you will always be wrong . . . specially if you don’t speak Ebonics.”

The report states the department reduced his rank and fined him $250 with the case closed in January 2013.

“He was retained by the Department and in February 2018 was promoted to the rank of lieutenant,” the Graham report alleges. Other allegations include the department’s failure to investigate three complaints in 2016 and 2018 from the constituents of former Del. Jimmy Tarlau and council members Dannielle Glaros and Den Taveras. The

5 Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland (Courtesy Livability)

Hialeah also has the highest concentration of Latinos (96 percent), while Greenville, Miss., has the lowest (0.58 percent).

“Diverse cities provide residents with a fuller array of Americana,” stated Dr. Rodney D. Coates, a WalletHub expert and professor of Global and Intercultural Studcomplaints went directly to former police chief Hank Stawinski, the report states.

The county released a statement Monday in regards to the judge’s decision to release the unredacted Graham report. However, the county hired former police veteran J. Thomas Manger who countered the “assumptions” made in the Graham report.

“The Manger Report repeatedly points out instances where Mr. Graham failed to review or consider essential documents, misstates key facts and dates, takes statements and events out of context and relies solely on the allegations of some disgruntled and discredited officers,” said Rhonda L. Weaver, an attorney in the county’s Office of Law. “The Manger Report concluded that, on the whole, the Department has complied with its policies for addressing harassment and discrimination complaints, which are commensurate with best practices and industry standards.”

According to a redacted report from Manger dated Oct. 19, the county disputes a discrimination charge in regards to former Capt. Joe Perez being promoted to the rank in February 2016. Perez sought a pro-

POLICE Page 21

ies and the coordinator of Black World Studies at Miami University in Ohio.

“It allows them to learn how to cope with and deal with the future when we as a Nation are more diverse. It helps us to realize that we are not a monolith but a mosaic,” Dr. Coates remarked.

He added that diversity and difference are hard because it requires everyone to learn to set aside prejudices and stereotypes.

Ethnic diversity is not typically just about culture. Still, other variables, particularly economics, are often made more complicated, stated Jennifer Hamer, a WalletHub expert, and professor in the Department of African American Studies at Pennsylvania State University.

“The challenges of living in an ethnically diverse city are not natural but socially constructed. Ethnic diversity does not mean that there is ethnic equity among the different demographic groups,” Hamer insisted.

When ethnic diversity is coupled with economic inequity, and this inequity tends to be structured along ethnic lines, groups may compete for resources rather than recognize their shared interests in cooperation and collaboration, Hamer added.

“Negative stereotypes – new or old – often guide interactions and can be used to justify how those of low income are treated by those of means or to justify policies that protect the space of middle and upper income from those of lesser means, etcetera.”

WI @StacyBrownMedia

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY

While Some Prince George’s Students are Returning to School, Some Are Not

William J. Ford WI Staff Writer

Michelle Daniels and her husband decided their son, Ted III, can return back to the classroom when Prince George’s County public schools reopen in April.

As a physician assistant, Daniels understands the science behind the coronavirus pandemic. Both have received both COVID-19 vaccines.

She felt reassured her son can receive in-person instruction after Greenbelt Elementary School principal held two Zoom sessions with parents. In addition, her son’s first-grade teacher got administered a vaccine.

“It made us feel better that we can change our minds and we can pull him out,” Daniels said. “It’s just twice a week and it’s only 27 days [until the end of the school year]. If we are ever going to get back to the swing of things, we’re going to have to step out there.”

Daniels joins thousands of other Prince George’s parents making the choice on whether to return their child back to the classroom.

Prince George’s Schools CEO Monica Goldson announced last week a hybrid schedule will begin April 8 to return all special education students and other students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade and high school seniors.

Students in the seventh through 11th grades will come back April 15.

The school system will allow parents to decide on keeping their children at home to continue virtual learning for the rest of the school year scheduled to end June 15.

Parents such as Phyllis Wright plans to keep her children at home.

“I have two daughters. Both are honor roll students. They tell me, ‘Mommy, we are scarred to [go] to school and get sick,’” she said. “I don’t feel comfortable with sending my children to the schools.”

Parents are asked to complete a survey by Feb. 28 on whether to have their children return to the classrooms.

According to a reopening parental guide at https://bit.ly/3kaeAnu, will utilize a hybrid schedule for classroom instruction for two days a week

and virtual learning the remaining three days.

Students with last names that begin with the letters A through J will be in class Monday and Tuesday. Last names that begin with K through Z will see come to school Thursday and Friday.

Classroom occupancy for early childhood centers and pre-kindergarten tis limited to 10 students.

Occupancy increases to 15 students for kindergarten through 12th grade classrooms.

In each room, a teacher is to sit at a desk in front of the classroom providing instruction on a computer for students in class and at home. Each student is to use an iPad provided by the school or, for high school students, a laptop.

All students will have virtual learning on Wednesdays.

During a conference call Thursday, Feb. 18, Goldson summarized a medical advisory team comprised of county health officials and medical professionals helped to assess on students returning to school. For instance, they analyzed confirmed

5 Michelle Daniels and her family with husband, Ted Daniels, Jr., and their children, Ted III, standing in front of his father, and daughter, Melody. (Photo courtesy of Michelle Daniels)

coronavirus daily cases began to decrease an average of 12 per day since Jan. 22.

However, the county continues to lead the state of Maryland with the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases. As of Saturday, Feb. 20, the county received the lowest percentage of first and second doses administered in the state at 6 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

The state’s first phase of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout includes

teachers and other school staff.

So far, at least 1,500 received a vaccine and more are scheduled through Kaiser Permanente Lanham Rehabilitation Center. The school system has about 22,000 employees.

Each school will have plexiglass barriers installed along with air purifies, daily cleaning by custodial staff and other personal protective equipment.

STUDENTS Page 42

Prince George’s Established Aviation for Black Pilots

William J. Ford WI Staff Writer

A part of Prince George’s County’s history remains known for its various slave plantations now transformed into suburban subdivisions housed by thousands of Black residents.

Land near the current Patuxent River Park in Upper Marlboro established Black History when it comes to aviation, according to photos and documents from the College Park Aviation Museum.

“I am a straight, cis gendered white guy. Throughout history, there’s ton of documentation about people who look like me and belong to the same communities as me,” said Daniel Graham, education coordinator at the museum. “But when you look into the history of Black aviation, not only were there just fewer people who had these opportunities, there is just less documentation. As

historians, we have to look more harder to…uncover these stories.”

The museum hosted a virtual lecture Saturday, Feb. 20 on the history of Black aviation in the county.

C. Alfred Anderson, a Black pilot who flew in a piper cub plane for the late President Eleanor Roosevelt, taught other Blacks to fly in the D.C. area to established The Cloud Club in 1940.

Anderson taught Black pilots at Howard University in Northwest and then Tuskegee University in Alabama.

He also taught these four Black men, John Pinkett Jr., Roland Brawner, Link Johnson and Harold E. Smith, who combined their money and other resources to build an airfield on a 450-acre potato field in Croom, an unincorporated neighborhood in Upper Marlboro.

The airport they called Riverside Airfield became the first Black

owned and operated licensed airport in the country in 1941.

Devon Valera, an educator with the College Park museum who conducted the lecture, said Robbins Airport in Robbins, Illinois, garners the designation as the nation’s first Black airport established, but didn’t have the civil aviation authority license.

Thanks to John W. Greene Jr., the Prince George’s County airfield became an established place to not only teach Black pilots, but also a community center.

However, some of Greene’s personal information remains unknown such as his exact date of birth.

“We think he was born in Georgia in 1898. Although he’ll change the numbers around a bit in his documentation later in life,” Valera said.

He did graduate in 1923 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Hampton In-

WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER

stitute, now known as Hampton University in Virginia.

Greene moved to Massachusetts and enrolled at the Boston Trade School and received an airplane mechanics degree.

He earned many African-American aviation achievements such as first pilot in Massachusetts in September 1930; first to receive a mechanic’s license for civil aircraft in 1931; and third in the nation to receive a transport pilot’s license in 1935.

Word traveled to Greene about an instructor needed to teach a new aviation mechanics program at Phelps Vocational School in D.C. in 1940, the same year The Cloud Club got created in neighboring Prince George’s County, Maryland.

When he arrived in D.C., the club sought an instructor for Riverside Airfield and Greene accepted.

During World War II, the U.S.

5 An undated photo of John W. Greene Jr. sitting in a plane. In 1931, he became first African American to receive a mechanic’s license for civil aircraft. (Photo courtesy of M-NCPPC)

Navy took control of the airfield.

The Cloud Club managed it for only a few months, Valera said.

When the Navy decided to re-

AVIATION Page 25

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 13

BUSINESS Escape Resort in Lake George, N.Y. He joined Six Flags in 2018. Pretlow recently talked with the Washington Informer about vision for the theme park in this region. Six Flags America in Bowie opened in 1982.

Q: You have had an interesting trajectory in the theme park industry. What attracted you to this industry?

Pretlow: I was in my graduate semester finishing up a master’s in architecture at Hampton University. I did not want to go to a traditional architecture firm. I applied for a job at Busch Gardens in Virginia, worked in in culinary operations and it was fun. I went from Busch Gardens then to Busch Gardens’ sister park Sesame Place, then to the Crayola Experience in Minnesota. I continue to have a passion for design. I still use design theory and design thinking that I learned in the architecture program at Hampton. Architecture is a combination of art and science. You must solve a design problem. I have taken that into leadership, solving problems functionally but doing it beautifully.

Q: What excites you about this appointment at Six Flags America?

Pretlow: Ever since I started in

Q: With the pandemic, businesses had to change how they operated. What has Six Flags America

The Pandemic Brings Challenges for New Six Flags President

Trained in Architecture, Richard Pretlow Uses Design Theory to Get the Job Done Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer Richard Pretlow was recently named park president of Bowie, Md. - based Six Flags America theme park and Hurricane Harbor waterpark.

Before coming to Prince Georges County, Pretlow served as director of in-park services at Six Flags Great

the theme park industry, it has been my goal to be a park president and to lead a park in a truly diverse and dynamic market. When this opportunity opened, it seemed like the right time and the right place.

MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE DAY ACADEMY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS- MULTIPLE SERVICES Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy Public Charter School is seeking bids from prospective vendors to provide; ROOFING: Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy Public Charter School seeks one or more qualified contractor(s) to install a new roof. Bidders can bid on the aforementioned project. Contact Don Cole at d.cole@ mmbethune.org to arrange a walk-through. Walk-throughs are available on Mondays and Thursdays. Proposals are due no later than 3:00 P.M., EST, March 19, 2021.

House Renovation: Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy seeks a qualified contractor to provide home renovations. Bidders can bid on the aforementioned project. Contact Don Cole at d.cole@mmbethune.org to arrange a walk through. Walk-throughs are available on Mondays and Thursdays Proposals are due no later than 3:00 P.M., EST, March 19, 2021.

Building Extension: Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy seeks a qualified contractor to provide building renovations. Bidders can bid on the aforementioned project. Contact Don Cole at d.cole@mmbethune.org to arrange a walk through. Walk-throughs are available on Mondays and Thursdays. Proposals are due no later than 3:00 P.M., EST, March 19, 2021.

New Boiler: Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy seeks a qualified contractor to provide Boiler. Bidders can bid on the aforementioned project. Contact Don Cole at d.cole@mmbethune.org to arrange a walk through. Walk-throughs are available on Mondays and Thursdays. Proposals are due no later than 3:00 P.M., EST, March 19, 2021.

14 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

5 Richard Pretlow on board at Six Flags America and Hurricane Alley in Bowie, Maryland. (Photo supplied by Six Flags America.)

learned to change their theme park business approach?

Pretlow: Obviously, we must work through COVID first. We demonstrated in 2020 that we can provide a safe and terrific guest experience for everyone. We have a terrific staff, and we see a lot of growth over the next decade. Our trajectory at this park is limitless at this point.

Q: Six Flags America is opening earlier this year. Why the earlier opening?

Pretlow: Yes, Six Flags is opening for its 22nd season on March 6, 2021. It will be our longest season, ever. The park will start on March 6 with opening on weekends, then every day during spring break, then back to a weekend schedule. In June, the park will have its full open schedule. We know there is a lot of pentup demand for the experience.

Q: What health precautions will be put in place for Six Flags America staff and patrons?

Pretlow: We are continuing with all the safety measures that were implemented last year. Patrons will need to make reservations before coming to Six Flags America. We require masks and thermal scanning upon entry. There also will be hand washing and sanitizer stations throughout the park. We are also following CDC and state guidelines on park capacity. Our staff follows the same safety standards that are required of park patrons.

Q: Are there any new attractions at Six Flags America?

Pretlow: We will introduce “Harley Quinn Spinsanity,” an oversized giant pendulum ride named after the iconic DC Comics Super Villain Harley Quinn. This is the tallest pen-

dulum ride in the area. It will hold 40 riders and be powered 15 stories in the air at speeds of 70 miles per hour. “Harley Quinn Spinsanity” is in the Gotham City area of the park with Superman, Batman, and all of our DC-themed rides and attractions.

Q: Six Flags America was a site for COVID-19 testing and is now a site for mass COVID-19 vaccinations. What went into the decision to set up for these tasks?

Pretlow: It is important for us to be a good corporate citizen in PG County. We are serving as a mass site for COVID-19 vaccinations through a partnership between the Maryland Department of Health, the Maryland National Guard, and Kaiser Permanente. The vaccination process is set up in one of our auxiliary parking lots with a separate entrance. There will be no disruption to what the health department will do. We still have plenty of space for all who want to patronize the park.

Q: What is your vision for Six Flags America during a challenging time that will continue for a while?

Pretlow: We are in a new decade.

We have an opportunity to be the preferred entertainment destination in the DMV area. We will always coexist with our competitors. But my vision is that Six Flags America is that venue where we have the thrills for the teens, and we have family rides for those with small children.

We are able to accommodate any and all needs where folks can come and have a great time.

Access the Six Flags America and Hurricane Harbor schedule at https://www.sixflags.com/america WI

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BUSINESS

District's Leaders Praise Departing Chief Financial Officer DeWitt us through the economic damage of the COVID pandemic. Under his leadership city revenues have grown by over 40 percent—almost three billion, financial management (which was already good) has improved, and Wall Street has given the District a triple-A rating. Because of his management, the mayor and council have been able to invest more dollars in affordable housing and social justice initiatives. We will surely miss Jeff DeWitt, but our fiscal capacity is his legacy. I wish him well in his new endeavor.”

D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5), chairman of the Committee on Business and Economic Development, praised DeWitt also but stressed that his successor, to be selected by the mayor and approved by the D.C. Council and the U.S. Congress, must be a strong fiscally prudent leader.

James Wright WI Staff Writer District leaders praised departing D.C. Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey S. DeWitt for his work in stabilizing the city’s finances during his tenure.

DeWitt, who became CFO in 2014, will leave the District government on March 9 to take a position at the University of Kansas as chief financial officer and executive vice chancellor for finance. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser praised DeWitt for his “steady leadership and prudent stewardship of the District’s finances” while D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson credited him for making the city financially potent.

“Jeff DeWitt is the fundamental reason for the District’s current financial health,” Mendelson said in a statement. “His most recent accomplishment has been steering

“Now more than ever, Washington, D.C. needs a strong and experienced CFO, one that understands the nature of the District’s economy and will help guide the District from recession to recovery,” McDuffie said. “I look forward to participating in the process to identify the person to fill this critical role.”

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton thanked DeWitt for his service and said she will reintroduce legislation to allow the District to raise the pay of its CFO. “D.C. must have the ability to set the pay of all of our local public officials, including the CFO, who are paid exclusively from locally raised funds,” Norton said. “My bill explicitly authorizing D.C. to set the pay of its CFO in accord with market rates is vital to recruiting and retaining top talent for this uniquely important position.” WI @JamesDCWrighter

5 Jeffrey S. DeWitt will leave his job as D.C.’s CFO on March 9. (Courtesy Photo-Google)

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 15

NATIONAL Biden Provides Regulatory Shelter for Homeowners Moratoriums Extended to June 30

Sarafina Wright WI Contributing Writer Moratoriums on Federal Housing Administration’s [FHA] foreclosures and evictions are extended to June 30, along with mortgage

forbearance, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] announced last week.

Forbearance is an option mortgage servicers use to provide homeowners with a pause to their monthly payments for a limited pe-

riod of time during a COVID-19 induced hardship.

These measures will provide relief to the nation’s homeowners with FHA-insured single-family mortgages who continue to suffer financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic, HUD announced.

Additionally, the Office of Public and Indian Housing is planning to announce similar relief for Native American and Native Hawaiian homeowners assisted under the Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program and the Section 184A Native Hawaiian Housing Loan Guarantee Program.

“As President Biden has made clear, it is urgent that we help homeowners throughout the nation who are struggling financially from this unprecedented national emergency,” said acting HUD Secretary Matthew Ammon.

“The steps we are taking today will provide both immediate relief to those in desperate need of assis-

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Last week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the independent agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, extended forbearance by three months for borrowers coming to the end of their forbearance period.

The Biden administration says these coordinated actions will cover 70 percent of existing single-family home mortgages.

To bolster these efforts, the president encourages Congress to pass the American Rescue Plan to deliver more aid to struggling homeowners.

The rescue plan would create a homeowners assistance fund which will provide states with $10 billion to help virus-impacted homeowners catch up on their mortgage payments and utility costs.

“This relief is critical for homeowners with mortgages in the private market who are not able to take advantage of today’s actions and may face longer term challenges.”

HUD urges all homeowners who are able to make their mortgage payments to continue to do so.

However, homeowners who need COVID-19 mortgage payment assistance should contact their mortgage servicer immediately or consider contacting a HUD-approved housing counseling agency.

WI

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tance and help more homeowners keep their homes and resume their payments when the pandemic subsides.”

The extension of the foreclosure and eviction moratoriums applies to all homeowners with an FHA-insured forward or Home Equity Conversion Mortgage [HECM] loan through June 30.

This also includes homeowners with a Section 184 or Section 184A mortgage loan, except for properties that are legally vacant or abandoned.

The department says it prohibits servicers from initiating or proceeding with foreclosure and foreclosure-related eviction actions during the moratoriums.

Today, one in five renters are behind on rent and just over 10 million homeowners are behind on mortgage payments, according to the White House. People of color face even greater hardship and are more likely to have deferred or missed payments, putting them at greater risk of eviction and foreclosure, regulators have noted.

“These critical protections were due to expire in March, leaving many at risk of falling further into debt and losing their homes,” the White House said in a statement.

“Now, homeowners will receive urgently needed relief as we face this unprecedented national emergency.”

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NATIONAL Report: African Americans Attend Church and Pray More Than Others

Millennials and Gen Z on Path to Break Centuries-old Traditions Sarafina Wright WI Contributing Writer Black Americans lead the pack when it comes to attending church and daily prayer compared to other races, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

The report found most Black adults say they rely on prayer to help make major decisions and view opposing racism as essential to their religious faith. Also, predominantly Black places of worship continue to dominate their religious choices.

Sixty percent of Black adults who attend religious services, either regularly or sporadically, say they attend religious services at places where most or all the other attendees are Black as well as the leadership.

However, these patterns appear to be changing. The survey of more than 8,600 Black adults across the U.S. found that young Black adults are less religious and less engaged in Black churches than older generations.

“Black Millennials and members of Generation Z are less likely to rely on prayer, less likely to have

grown up in Black churches and less likely to say religion is an important part of their lives,” the authors wrote. “Fewer attend religious services and those who do attend are less likely to go to a predominantly Black congregation.”

Roughly half of Black Gen Zers [born after 1996] who go to a church or other places of worship say their congregation and clergy are mostly Black, compared with twothirds of Black Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation.

For Black Protestants, two-thirds are particularly likely to worship in churches where most of the attendees and pastors are Black.

By contrast, the majority of Black Catholics and Black adults of other faiths say their congregations and religious leaders are multiracial, mostly white, or mostly some other race.

On the other side of the religious coin, about one-in-five Black Americans [21 percent] are not affiliated with any religion and instead identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” – a phenomenon that continues to increase by generation said study authors.

An estimated three-in-10 Black Gen Zers [28 percent] and Millennials [33 percent] in the survey are religiously unaffiliated, compared with just 11 percent of Baby Boomers and 5 percent of those in the Silent Generation.

The Pew Research Center has initiated several surveys and reports about Black Americans and religion.

In 2018, the Center found that Black men are less religious than Black women but more religious than white men and white women.

“Research has shown that men in the United States are generally less religious than women. And while this pattern holds true among Black Americans – Black women tend to be more religious than Black men – Black men are still a highly religious group,” said authors of the analysis.

The research also found Black men are more religious than Hispanic men and at least as religious as Hispanic women on many key indicators of religious observance.

As far as social justice, Black Americans overwhelmingly believe opposing racism is a religious issue.

Among Protestants, 75 percent of

(Photo courtesy of Pexels)

those surveyed say opposing racism is essential to being Christian as do 77 percent of Catholics.

In addition, about eight-in-ten Black adults who identify with other Christian or non-Christian faiths say opposing racism is essential to their own religious identity.

Of those who do not describe opposing racism as “essential,” most say it is “important” the report reveals.

“Many findings in this survey

highlight the distinctiveness and vibrancy of Black congregations, demonstrating that the collective entity some observers and participants have called “the Black Church” is alive and well in America today,” said report authors. “But there also are some signs of decline, such as the gap between the shares of young adults and those in older generations who attend predominantly Black houses of worship.”

WI

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Mali Unveils Plan for Government, Pledges Jihadist Talks Mali's interim government said on Friday, Feb. 19, that it would pursue dialogue with jihadists and stage elections, amid fears that it is dawdling on previous promises.

Presenting a plan for government in the capital Bamako, six months after a military coup in the Sahel state, Interim Prime Minister Moctar Ouane said he would make "every effort" to organize free and fair elections by the end of his mandate.

Young military officers ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Aug. 18 after months of protest driven by his failure to solve Mali's long-running jihadist conflict, and perceived corruption.

The officers subsequently handed over to a civilian interim government between September and October, under the threat of international sanctions.

That government is meant to reform the constitution and decentralize power in the vast and ethnically diverse country, as well as hold national elections by the end of its 18-month mandate.

But there is growing disenchantment with the interim government's slow pace of reforms, which is fueled by accusations that figures with army links dominate the post-coup government.

Ouane underlined on Friday that he would press ahead with reform plans and return the country to democratic rule.

Swathes of Mali lie outside of state control, with the government struggling to quell a jihadist insurgency that first emerged in 2012 and has cost the lives of thousands of people.

Ouane said the government would recruit an additional 25,000 soldiers and redeploy forces across the national territory, a task he characterized as "arduous, but not impossible".

The government also wants to disband the self-defense militias that have sprung up in lawless parts of the country.

Ouane added that he will pursue mediation with radical groups in a bid to curb the fighting -- a policy that puts him at odds with France, which has ruled out dialogue.

France, Mali's former colonial ruler, has 5,100 troops deployed across the Sahel region.

French President Emmanuel Macron also pledged this month to "decapitate" al-Qaeda-linked insurgent groups in the semi-arid region. WI SOURCE: AFRICANEWS

caribbean now PNP Wins Landslide Election in Turks and Caicos Islands Businessman Charles Washington Misick led the Progressive National Party (PNP) to a landslide 14-to-1 victory over the incumbent People's Democratic Movement (PDM) in the Turks and Caicos Islands general elections held on Friday, Feb. 19, 2021.

Supervisor of Elections Dudley Lewis confirmed on Saturday, Jan. 20, that the PNP won 9 of the 10 electoral district seats and all 5 of the At Large seats.

PDM leader Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, who was elected the country's first female premier in 2016, lost her seat. Former health minister Edwin Astwood, who won the Grand Turk South seat, was the only successful PDM candidate.

The 70-year-old Misick is a former chief minister and brother of former premier Michael Misick.

During a pre-Election Day virtual rally on the night of Thursday, Feb. 18, Misick said "every survey in the last two weeks points to a PNP victory".

He told viewers he will be sworn in as the next premier on Monday, then on Tuesday he will submit the names of Cabinet ministers to Governor Nigel Dakin and have a "fully-functioning" PNP government by Wednesday.

"I can feel victory in my bones! I can appreciate, and I am thankful, for the confidence that I see that you the people of TCI are willing to place in my leadership and the PNP," Misick predicted. “We are about to witness the end of an ineffective government whose meandering has left you demoralized, but take courage because you have a reason now to hope and that hope is because of the vote that you will mark for the Progressive National Party (PNP)." WI

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Get the facts about the COVID-19 vaccine.

AARP has the latest information.

AARP District of Columbia is working to protect Americans 50+ by making sure you have the latest information you need about the COVID-19 vaccines and the distribution plans in the District of Columbia.

Find out who’s eligible for the vaccine, when and where vaccines will be available and what you need to discuss with your doctor before you decide.

Just visit our website to get the most up-to-date information available about your vaccine options.

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccine availability and distribution at

aarp.org/DCVaccine

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Paid for by AARP.

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 19

HEALTH COVID-19 UPDATE

Pandemic Exacerbating Stressors for Black Caregivers Millennials Shouldering the Load of Aging Family Members Sarafina Wright WI Contributing Writer While the risk of COVID-19 poses the greatest threat to the elderly, it's also taking a toll on the people they rely on most: their caregivers.

A new Nationwide Retirement Institute survey revealed this stands as particularly true in the Black community where the pandemic presents new sources of stress, both physically and financially.

The survey of 313 Black caregivers commissioned in September un-

covers the toll the pandemic has taken on those providing care.

Many current caregivers say they’re worried that they can't protect their loved ones from getting sick [67 percent] and among all caregivers, more than half feel that they can't take a day off [54 percent].

As Black caregivers struggle to balance work and caregiving, many also have concerns about their financial security, with only 58 percent answering that they are prepared financially for current or potential

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caregiving responsibilities versus 67 percent of all caregivers.

“The pandemic has disproportionately impacted the Black community greater than other populations,” said Kristi Rodriguez, senior vice president of the Nationwide Retirement Institute. “Many Black caregivers are struggling to balance work while providing care or have experienced a financial hit due to COVID-19. Despite these obstacles, they continue to provide care for their loved ones every day.”

For Black caregivers, these costs average more than $5,000 a year and serve as an unwelcome sacrifice, according to the survey.

More than eight-in-10 Black caregivers believe they should be able to provide care without dipping into their savings, which some have done to afloat. Additionally, around

a third say they’re worried they'll be unable to provide money they had planned for their children or unable to retire one day because of caregiving expenses.

“Caregiving can be financially, emotionally and physically exhausting but it also is a rewarding experience that changes you as a person,” Rodriguez said. “The challenges of caregiving are exacerbated by the pandemic; it is an especially stressful time.”

Assistance is something that’s also lacking for Black caregivers. Nearly three-quarters wish they had more help with their caregiving duties because of the increased stress of the pandemic. One-in-six say they have had to look for additional caregiving help because of the pandemic while two-thirds of Black caregivers would not be comfortable having an at-

home care provider.

The survey also found that caregivers continue to be younger adults.

More and more millennials and Generation X are surpassing Boomers as the caregivers in their families.

For younger generations already struggling with work-life balance, this new role amounts to a second job with caregivers spending an average of 32 hours a week providing care says the survey.

Additionally, millennial Black caregivers spend $6,832 a year in out-of-pocket expenses on caregiving, and Black Generation X spend an average of $5,694. And younger Black caregivers have the added stress of worrying about how their job could impact their caregiving duties.

More than one-in-three millennials and Generation X say they are afraid their responsibilities at work could cause them to have to stop providing care to their loved one. Inversely, some say they’re even afraid their caregiving duties could cause them to lose their job.

While most Black caregivers said the pandemic has made it more important than ever to have long-term care insurance, only one-in-20 Black Americans say they have talked to a financial professional about longterm care costs.

“The pandemic is really bringing a sense of urgency for many Black Americans – especially younger generations – to focus on things such as financial planning, putting your health first and long-term care planning,” said Rodriguez.

“One of the greatest gifts you can give your loved ones is having a plan for when you need caregiving.”

WI

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Biden Extends the Health Insurance Marketplace Deadline Until May

Special Enrollment Period Open for Affordable Care Sarafina Wright WI Contributing Writer Whether you missed open enrollment last year, you want out of your current plan or you simply need to find health insurance you’re in luck.

President Joe Biden authorized a new Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that will run through May 15.

The SEP for the Health Insurance Marketplace is available to consumers in 36 states that use the HealthCare. gov platform.

Under the plan, 13 states and the District of Columbia, which operate healthcare marketplaces, are offering a similar opportunity.

The COVID-19 public health emergency has affected millions of people throughout the country, and many Americans remain uninsured or underinsured and need access to affordable health coverage says the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS].

Consumers who are uninsured can look for coverage and find out if they qualify for financial assistance to help pay for health insurance.

Currently nine out of 10 consumers enrolled in coverage through HealthCare.gov receive financial help and 75 percent of consumers can purchase a plan for $50 or less per month after financial assistance.

The department says the HealthCare.gov plans cover essential health benefits, such as primary care visits, and cover many preventive care services with no out-of-pocket costs to the consumer.

“President Biden was clear: we need to strengthen the Affordable Care Act

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and give more Americans access to health care, especially during this pandemic, which has further demonstrated the importance of having the right coverage,” said acting HHS Secretary Norris Cochran.

“This Special Enrollment Period will give Americans who need affordable, quality health insurance an opportunity to get covered, and we encourage folks to head to HealthCare. gov…to explore their options.”

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare, was enacted in March 2010. It was considered the most controversial and expansive overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system since Medicare and Medicaid were created in 1965.

Under the ACA, users could not be denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions or other reasons except age.

Since 2010, opponents of the act challenged the law with litigation that sought to overturn the law.

The Supreme Court upheld the act and its key provisions in rulings in 2012 and 2015 and is expected to uphold the law against a new challenge.

Policy Advice estimates more than 23 million people are covered under the ACA. The Biden administration says the SEP is one of its first steps in pursuing health equity across the country.

“Collaborating closely with community partners, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS] will focus its outreach and education efforts on reaching groups that historically have experienced lower access to health coverage and greater disparities in health outcomes,” according to a recent HHS statement.

“CMS is working with several organizations, including those that focus on helping the uninsured and other vulnerable communities, to ensure consumers get timely and accurate information about the SEP.” WI

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POLICE from Page 12 motion for major but was ineligible in the promotion cycle one month earlier, his report states.

Five Black officers received promotions to the rank of major between October 2016 to August 2018.

“Mr. Graham ignores these promotions of Black officers to major,” Manger wrote. “Regardless, I do not believe these statistics indicate retaliation or discrimination against Captain Perez.”

Kema Hutchinson-Harris of Clinton and co-founder of Community Justice, said Graham’s “detailed” report highlights the racial history within the police department.

One section in the report Hutchinson-Harris states that nearly 86 percent of the more than 6,800 of use of force incidents filed against police involved Black civilians while another 8 percent involved Latinos between January 2016 to the end of 2019.

Hutchinson-Harris attributes

some of the department’s failings to elected officials including County Executive Angela Alsobrooks who served as the county state’s attorney when some of the allegations took place.

“How do they look at our face as constituents and say, ‘We’re doing nothing to protect you and everything to protect our officers?’” said Hutchinson-Harris whom a Prince George’s officer allegedly assaulted in May 2017. “That is diabolical.” WI @jabariwill

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 21

The newly redesigned 2021 Hyundai SANTA FE. A bold reimagining with family fun in mind.

In sunshine, snow, and rain, the redesigned SANTA FE puts all other SUVs in its class to shame. Comfort and safety aside, this tech-forward SUV offers a bold design with a premium and sophisticated interior and exterior that showcases a stylish, rugged elegance. With available features like in-dash Blind-Spot View Monitor, Safe Exit Assist, Ultrasonic Rear Occupant Alert, HTRAC All Wheel Drive and a 10.25-inch full-touch infotainment screen, you can relax, knowing your family is covered and so is your style game, in or out of the city. It’s so much better, together.

Preproduction model with optional features shown. Hyundai is a registered trademark of Hyundai Motor Company. All rights reserved. ©2021 Hyundai Motor America.

22 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

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Starting at a Black Newspaper, Dana White Is the First Black Woman to Run Comms at a Major Automaker

Troy Schulz Zenger News

As Hyundai North America’s first black chief communications officer, Dana W. White knows what it is like to have two feet in two worlds.

“Growing up I always knew about the power of communication, the power of words,” she said, talking about her childhood in Charlottesville, Virginia. “My grandfather, who was born in 1896, founded the oldest black newspaper in the state. I used to cut ad sheets every month and write copy and process black-and-white photos [at the paper]. The entrepreneurial spirit runs deep in me and my family.”

While the weekly black newspaper, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Tribune, is gone, the family’s entrepreneurial spirit lives on. “The environment I grew up in, my family, was that there was never just a pot of gold waiting for me at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “It’s in my DNA – to make it happen for yourself.”

Dr. Ben Chavis runs the trade

group for African American newspaper publishers. “The National Newspapers Publishers Association salutes Hyundai for its decision to elevate an African-American woman leader to the position of Chief Communications Officer. In this year where the focus is on the empowerment of all women, Dana White represents and embodies the best of Black America,” he told Zenger News of White.

She studied hard in college, taking the toughest courses on purpose even if they were scheduled early in the morning and required long walks across Chicago wind-chilled campus. Those courses included learning to read, write and speak Mandarin, the mostly widely used of the Chinese-language dialects. She majored in Chinese history at the University of Chicago.

After college, she moved to Washington, DC without a job and worked as an intern and a temp to pay the bills while she applied for jobs on Capitol Hill.

Now Dana White runs North American communications for

Hyundai Motor Company, a South Korean car maker that builds more than half of its vehicles at its plant in Alabama and employs some 25,000 people in the United States. She joined the Zenger News advisory board in 2019.

White sees herself as a cross-cultural bridge. At Hyundai Motor North America, she is the Chief Communications Officer—a first for Korean automaker in the U.S. She oversees communications for Hyundai Motor North America headquarters and all of Hyundai’s North America Affiliates including Canada and Mexico, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Glovis (Hyundai’s Logistics Operations), Mobis (Hyundai Parts Operations), Hyundai Capital and the Washington, DC Office. White also has strategic oversight of Hyundai’s luxury automotive brand Genesis, the first SUV for the industry’s newest luxury brand.

“When I joined Hyundai a year ago, I knew I needed someone who understood decision making at the highest levels, storytelling and how

5 Dana W. White began her professional life helping her grandfather run an African-American newspaper. (Carol Larsen/Zenger)

to work across cultures seamlessly to deliver results. So, I called Dana,” said Jose Munoz, Global COO of Hyundai Motor Company and Pres. & CEO of Hyundai Motor North America. “It’s rare to find one person with all the skills, talents and experiences that she has. And she has proven track record of success. In few short months, Dana has already made a big difference in how we operate, communicate and tell the Hyundai story.”

Ultimately for White, she said her passions are education, excellence and empowerment. “I can still hear my grandfather’s gruff voice saying, ‘Mouse, I want you to be a smart little girl. Learn everything you can.’ I think about everything he survived, all the limits placed on his life and

Hyundai recognizes the value of community. Learn more at HyundaiDiversity.com.

how if he could see me now—a man who was proud to put pictures of my nursery school graduation in the paper—I know he’d say…’So, Mouse… what’s next?’”

“The thing about me is that I’m propelled by history and obsessed with the future. I’m passionate about ideas and a mission. I want to see people move forward—know their past and explore their future,” she said.

“It’s in my family—this spirit of perseverance. I feel like they handed me a baton. They ran hard and ran fast.

They carried the baton as far as they could go. Now, it’s my turn to run faster and farther and pass the baton to the next generation. I say, ‘When you stand on the shoulders of slaves, there’s no slouching.’”

Art by Ronnie Phillips. RonPhillipsArt.com.

Hyundai Celebrates Black Excellence The journey and societal contributions of African Americans is an epic tale worthy of retelling time and again. Their traditions and rich heritage combine for a legacy to remember. Hyundai is proud to join in on the celebration of Black History, this month and all year long. We salute contemporary Black artists like Ronnie Phillips, who firmly believes that children are the future, stating, “I like the idea of connecting images of present-day Black children to their past as a way of honoring the continuity in our culture.” Hyundai and Ronnie Phillips, building upon the past together while constructing a better future for all.

Hyundai is a registered trademark of Hyundai Motor Company. All rights reserved. ©2021 Hyundai Motor America.

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 23

How Can We Narrow the Black Homeownership Gap?

By Chuck Bishop Head of Diverse Segments for Wells Fargo Home Lending Despite ongoing challenges due to the pandemic, Black Americans joined the many homebuyers looking for a space to call their own during the past year.

But even against that backdrop, the homeownership gap for the Black community remains significant, and concerns remain about the overall effect the pandemic-slowed economy and historic challenges will have on long-term homeownership goals.

During Black History Month, and throughout the year, it’s important to acknowledge the challenges the Black community faces when it comes to homeownership and racial equity, and also acknowledge the important work that remains. That’s especially true considering how far behind the homeownership rate for the Black community lags compared to other communities in America, and how important owning a home is to achieving the American Dream and building long-term wealth.

The homeownership rate for Black families is nearly 30 percentage points lower than that for white families, according to a recent analysis by the National Association of Realtors. A recent Urban Institute report warns that if no policy measures are taken to address the significant homeownership gap, homeownership rates will continue to fall further behind, likely pushing more members of the Black community into renting as they age.

The Black community also continues to face significant barriers to homebuying. Saving for a down payment, building credit

and finding affordable homes are challenges for many Americans, but can be even more so for potential homebuyers in the Black community.

According to a 2020 report from the Urban Institute, Black households have the lowest median FICO score among all racial and ethnic groups and the greatest share of households with no credit score at all. Serving these households requires lenders and other stakeholders to work toward new solutions. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Project REACh, which we are a part of as both a founding participant and as the lead of its affordable homeownership work group, is one spot where the industry is joining hands with policy makers to address issues.

At Wells Fargo, we are committed to taking steps to increase homeownership within the Black community.

In 2017, we announced a commitment to help increase African American homeownership that includes $60 billion in purchase lending to

create at least 250,000 homeowners over the next 10 years; a focus on increasing the diversity of our sales team including African American Home Mortgage Consultants; and dedicating $15 million toward initiatives that promote homebuyer education and counseling. While we have made progress, creating more than 72,000 homeowners to date, much work remains.

As a lender, we look to support homeownership in a number of ways, from offering a broad array of products to providing high quality education to consumers. We offer educational tools about the home lending process, building credit and other important financial topics, including an interactive experience at myfirsthome.wf.com.

We also try to strategize on ways

to share information through community organizations and outreach.

Our home mortgage consultants also are ready to guide potential homebuyers through the process, even if they aren’t ready to purchase right away. We encourage potential homebuyers to find out where they stand financially, and then come up with a plan, including seeking HUD-approved homebuyer education, and counseling from a nonprofit housing provider. Too many potential buyers wrongly assume that their credit isn’t good enough or that they don’t have enough funds saved for a down payment.

We also encourage potential buyers not to get overwhelmed by the concept of a down payment. Wells Fargo offers low down payment options that can help potential buyers

get past that savings hurdle. Buyers can achieve their homeownership goals with as little as 3% down, giving them flexibility to decide how much of their savings to devote to a down payment, and how much to keep for a rainy day. In addition, a number of organizations have down payment assistance programs available that may also help.

There is no single solution that will solve the challenges facing Black homeowners, but there are many steps that we can take to narrow the homeownership gap.

We continue to evaluate the ways we can help customers and our communities become stronger and help more members of the Black community achieve the dream of homeownership.

Growing African American homeownership is our priority

We’ve committed $60 billion to help more African Americans become homeowners, with 72,000 created since 2017.

Learn more: stories.wf.com/housing-commitment

© 2021 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved

24 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

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EDUCATION INVITATION TO BID GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Sycamore Associates, LLC

Maryland Student Earns $25K Horatio Alger Scholarship Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer Alhassan Bangura, a Western School of Technology and Environmental Science student from Windsor Hill, Md., is headed to Cornell University in the fall thanks, in part, to a $25,000 scholarship he received from the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc. Bangura is one of only 106 students from across the country to receive this prestigious scholarship from the nonprofit educational organization that honors outstanding individuals’ achievements.

The organization, which encourages young people to pursue their dreams through higher education, recognizes outstanding students as Horatio Alger National Scholars for resilience and perseverance.

“My first reaction when I got the call was that I was very excited,” the teen exclaimed.

He noted that officials began the call by asking him for basic information, including his name and school.

After a few moments, his scholarship was confirmed.

“They said, ‘That’s perfect because we like to have the correct information to notify our national scholars,’” Bangura recalled.

“At that point, I was shocked, and I couldn’t believe it because I was only one of 106 people in the country chosen and only one of two from Maryland,” he said.

The Horatio Alger Association noted that scholarships are awarded to students who have remained outstanding in the classroom despite great personal adversity and have reiterated a college degree commitment.

“Our organization is dedicated to the belief that hard work, honesty, and determination can conquer

all obstacles. We seek out Scholars who, despite the adversities they may be facing, exhibit these values,” Jim Dicke, the president of the Association, wrote in an email.

“We are proud to support a diverse Scholar population and believe that affording these young people the opportunity to pursue a college degree can make all the difference in their lives,” Dicke remarked.

He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for many, but mainly for the scholars.

“We’ve spoken with students who can’t afford Wi-Fi to take online classes or who have gone days without meals because their parents lost their jobs,” Dicke said.

“When campuses closed abruptly, we even learned that one of our scholars was sleeping in a car because her family was experiencing homelessness. To address these urgent needs, we launched a scholar emergency support program and have disbursed hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding to assist with food, medical bills and learning resources so our scholars can remain in school.”

AVIATION from Page 13 lease Riverside Airfield in 1945, Greene and Coleridge Mason Gill, a member of the Flying Physicians in D.C., bought it and reopened it as Columbia Air Center.

“The change of name…really reflects their change in priorities from this just being an airfield into being a community center,” said Valera, who the airfield hosted motorcycle races and local dances.

While there, Greene established the Columbia Squadron of the civil air patrol, a civilian auxiliary of the Air Force to teach middle and high school students. According

5 Alhassan Bangura (Photo courtesy Horatio Alger Association)

A son of immigrant parents who identify as West African Muslims, Bangura grew up in a low-income household. He helps care for his younger brother, who has severe autism.

“He’s low-functioning, and someone always has to watch him,” Bangura related.

“From an emotional standpoint, my brother has no sense of communication, he can’t speak, and he’s unable to learn sign language. It has taken many years for me to accept that this is my brother, whom I will never really get to know as a person even though he lives in my house, eats and sleeps there. It’s not easy.”

Bangura said he hopes to become a doctor and then go into politics.

“I want to become a cardiologist and then go into politics, perhaps at the state level first,” Bangura offered.

“I believe the pandemic has shown us that we do need more medical professionals, and we need people from all backgrounds in the lawmaking process.” WI @StacyBrownMedia to the museum, it became the first African-American squadron on the East Coast and “maybe even the country.”

Greene retired in 1954 and the Columbia Air Center closed four years later in 1958.

The museum restored a gas pump housed at the original airfield and will be showcased as a new exhibit to highlight the history and Black aviation.

“It really serves as a reminder that this history is not forgetting,” Valera said.

For more information, go to http://www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com. WI

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: Townhouse construction of 88 townhomes on parcels 10, 14 (a) and 14 (b) on the St. Elizabeths East campus located at 1100 Alabama Avenue SE, Washington DC 20032. Sycamore Associates, LLC is seeking bids for the vertical construction package of the project known as District Towns at St. Elizabeths East.

The project goals are 35% CBE participation for District of Columbia businesses and compliance with the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services First Source Agreement. We are seeking proposals that are inclusive of all General Contract and Scope of Work requirements including all Fees, Taxes and Insurance for the specific bid packages defined below.

BIDS ARE DUE: 3/18/2021 at 5:00 pm by electronic proposal Plumbing, Framing, HVAC, Framing, Stakeout, Third Party Framing Inspections, Third Party Green Building Inspector, Concrete, Termite, Steel, Stairs, Roofing, Garage Door, Siding, Exterior Trim, House Wrap, Brick, Metal Cladding, Gutters, Sprinkler, Electric Labor, Electric Fixtures, Multi Media, Insulation, Drywall, Ornamental Iron, Ceramic walls and floors, Interior Stair Railing, Interior Trim material and labor, Paint and Stain, Countertops, Flooring, Appliances and Cleaning.

Please contact Roger Rockhill at rrockhill@knutsoncos.com to inquire further about obtaining the documents for your submission of a bid meeting the project qualifications and requirements.

5 John W. Greene Jr., left with bow tie, pictured with Black and white students of the Columbia Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. (Photo courtesy of M-NCPPC)

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 25

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Search Black-owned In the past 12 months, searches for Black-owned businesses have increased 600%. So we’re making it easy for businesses to proudly self-identify as Black-owned on Google Search and Maps.

Companies with a verified Business Profile on Google can now add a Black-owned business attribute to their profile, so they can easily be found by customers who are looking to support them.

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Learn more at g.co/blackowned

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February 2021. Volume 7. Issue 2

Self-Love & Healing in Black Space

@WIBRIDGEDC info@wibridgedc.com Advertise with us. Email us.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF : Lafayette Barnes IV CREATIVE DIRECTOR : Tyrous Morris MANAGING EDITOR : Claudia M. Watts COPY EDITOR : Sam P.K. Collins PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR : Lafayette Barnes IV LAYOUT DESIGN : Tyrous Morris COVER ART : TrapBob (Tenbeete Solomon) CONTRIBUTING WRITERS : Claudia M. Watts, Marcus K. Dowling, Danielle Koon, Priscilla Ward, Kelcie Glass

Letter to the EDitor February may be short, but it’s also the only month explicitly dedicated to matters of the heart. So, what better way to celebrate Black History Month than with a little love note to the culture?

In this issue, we discuss self-love through ritualistic healing and explore how in spite of a tumultuous year, the culture came out on top.

Danielle Koons captures us in a breathless moment of amor, and Cap’n Uptown shields us from Cupid’s wrath.

Our cover designed by TrapBob features the iconic Marvin Gaye and a silky soul reminder of our resilience. “Like sweet morning dew, I took one look at you, and it was plain to see you were my destiny...You’re all I need to get by.” While intended for the object of his affection, those sentiments can just as easily describe our undying love of black culture. We’re all we need. Which is far better than being “all we got.”

Yours truly, Claudia M. Watts

3

Poetry

BLACK PROSE

By Danielle Koon kiss me, one way, that takes me only to you, stop at red lips to pause for breath. You know how this kiss will be hum on my mouth make me hear how love misses me, kiss me with caution until we stop listening. Kiss me like you're looking for me. Kiss me like you found me. /XO

LOVING ourselves through

SOUND Three Wellness Practitioners On Sound Baths

Sound, from an Outlook chime signaling an email to the howling of the wind indicating the cold, elicits various feelings. In the same vein, sound baths can cue up a relaxed, focused, and calming state.

A recent study found that sound baths quell stress, fatigue, and symptoms of depression. It works wonders with waves of soothing, echoing sound from traditional wind and percussion instruments. These vibrations traditionally come from crystal bowls, gemstone bowls, cymbals, and gottngs.

Over the last few years, three D.C.-area wellness practitioners have expanded on the definition of a sound bath. They share with The Bridge how they started using sound in their wellness practice, and helped their community tap into this therapeutic modality.

Mary Mbaba, Founder of Vinyl & Vinyasa How do you define a sound bath?

A sound bath is just really the incorporation of sound in our environment. I take the very stringent definition of sound baths and make it larger, whether it’s notes that you hear or another instrument playing outside of sound bowls.

6

How did you first get introduced to the idea of using sound as a part of your wellness practice?

I am the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, so I grew up hearing sound and rhythm, beats, and drums.

Then of course, back in the 70s and 80s, the sonograph was really popular [along with vinyl music. I grew up with a lot of that in my household. It is literally in my genes. I’ve been accustomed to playing off of the notion that sound is a medium for joy and celebration, and then when it comes down to it, even community, and individual healing.

How did you come up with the concept of Vinyl & Vinyasa?

The Nintendo Wii was actually my first introduction tov yoga. Several years later, I started vto pay attention to how vinyl was booming, so I just thought about a very clever way to bring about both of those worlds.6

Dante Baker, holistic spirit, mind, and body practitioner What first got you interested in sound baths?

I turned to using sound as a way to help people focus and meditate after I went to Peru in 2012 on a 10-day retreat.

I was really clear, like my body was really clear. I was able to hear the sounds of nature very clearly. I just felt the power and the vibration and it really came through the inspiration of nature and that experience, so I came back and I knew other people who used crystal bowls from my past and back in my childhood, and so it just resonated with me, and I was pretty much just able to connect the dots of how sound and vibration is just very powerful.

What do you hope people understand about the use of sound in wellness practice?

Sound is one tool that anyone can use to help them get into a meditative state.

It’s like binaural beats. It goes back and forth through your ears, and it helps a person bring their brain waves down to like 10 hertz or lower, and so your brain can begin to train itself to that frequency.

There are an infinite amount of frequencies, but it’s so cool that the human brain has a very similar frequency to the earth. We have tools such as bowls and other sounds that help with focus and connecting with themselves.

Jessica Gray, Founder of Ascent Mind + Body Co. What first got you interested in sound baths?

Honestly, my whole life I’ve been connected to music whether singing, dancing, or playing an instrument, so it made sense that I would be drawn to sound baths and sound therapy.

I started my meditation classes about 10 years ago. About five years ago, I went to a yoga class and they had sound bowls. I remember being in this state where I wasn’t asleep, but I wasn’t completely awake either. I just felt really refreshed and so much lighter. I kept seeking out other classes like that.

I wanted to create and share that experience with other people, so a couple years ago I took a sound bath training and I’ve been giving sound bath sessions ever since.

Honestly, my whole life I’ve been connected to music whether singing, dancing, or playing an instrument, so it made sense that I would be drawn to sound baths and sound therapy.

For someone who is intimidated, what can they expect during a sound bath session?

So I explain sound baths as a full-body hearing experience. You are feeling the sounds on an energetic level. You want to get as comfortable as you can in a position where you won’t have to shift or readjust yourself, then you allow the guide to walk you through a session. There are no beginner or advanced classes, you just show up as you are.

- Jessica Gray

RESILIENCE How Black people won culturally, politically, and financially during a difficult year

.

Written by: Kelcie Glass Last year, we were tested.

Not only were we thrown into an international health and economic crisis that disproportionately affected Black people, but we saw one of the biggest racial and social justice movements in the last three decades. In 2020, our experiences, trauma, joys, and sadness happened in what felt like a vacuum, while many of us sat at home on our living room couches quarantined for months.

It felt like we were looking out of our windows watching a world that was on fire.

In a few short months, we saw unemployment and wealth inequality grow to unprecedented levels in the Black community. Together we watched the all-too-familiar murder of an unarmed Black man, George Floyd, knowing he could have been our father, uncle, brother, or partner. We woke up daily to news about discrimination in workplaces across corporate America.

So what does a community that knows oppression, inequity, and injustice all too well do during an extremely difficult year? We dig in, we pivot, and we excel.

8

In 2020, we saw some of the most significant and longterm changes in Black achievement.

In direct response to the racial and social justice uprising, Black people and our allies intentionally spent our dollars with small Black businesses. Black-owned companies like the McBride Sisters Collection sold more than 35,000 cases of wine last year, increasing profits by 43 percent, a value of $5.52 million in sales.

Golde, a Black-owned health and wellness beauty brand, had more sales in June of 2020 than in ALL of 2019. It will now be sold in Target in 2021. Meanwhile, Southwest Soda Pop Shop, a local Black family-owned store at the District Wharf, raised $37,000 ($27,000 above their goal), which helped its doors reopen amid the pandemic.

Politically, Black men and women stepped up to the plate and ran for office, making the decision to enact change by writing it into law and legislation. Powerhouse Cori Bush became the first Black woman elected to represent the state of Missouri in Congress. Progressive Brandon Scott beat establishment Democrats to become Baltimore’s youngest mayor in more than a century. Here in D.C., Black millennial women like Janeese Lewis George and Christina Henderson won races against incumbents and took their

Culturally in 2020, Black creatives demanded organizations address inclusion and diversity on every level. The top two art galleries, David Zwirner Gallery and Gagosian, now have Black curators. Ebony L. Haynes will lead a new Zwirner Gallery with an all-Black staff. Thirty-two-year-old Antwaun Sargent now directs and curates the Gagosian, one of the world’s largest galleries.

With a year full of triumphs in many different spaces, how do we not only sustain the work done in 2020, but increase Black achievement moving forward? We start by continuing to be intentional about where we spend and invest our money, the political candidates we support, and the types of art and creativity we center. Long after performative support dies down, we donate to organizations like Color of Change and Race Forward as they continue to stand on the frontlines of the racial equality movement. We support the Bank Black movement, an organization that has spent the last five years increasing financial literacy and helping Black communities acquire wealth. We keep our foot on the gas and continue to hold organizations and corporations accountable, forcing them to move Black people up the ladder into executive positions.

Three months into 2020, Black people were faced with a decision. Lay down and wait out ongoing economic and social distress, or get up and change the course of Black history. We collectively chose the latter.

With a year full of triumphs in many different spaces, how do we not only sustain the work done in 2020, but increase Black achievement moving forward?

RESILIENCE

seats on the D.C. Council with new energy, shaking up our “politics as usual” leadership.

9

CULTURE

LOVE BOOKLIST

1

Fifty years ago, iconic multimedia artist Nikki Giovanni set a yet-to-be eclipsed standard for creative excellence. In 1971, she was one year removed from becoming Ebony Magazine’s Woman of the Year. By the end of the year, she achieved similar success via Mademoiselle. Plus, Giovanni released, alongside her autobiography mentioned here, a children’s book entitled Spin a Soft Black Song and a critically-acclaimed album, Truth Is On Its Way. She also spoke with James Baldwin for two hours on the iconic PBS program Soul!. If looking for the spark to highlight your unique artistic motivations, look no further than this encapsulation of a legend starting the trek towards her epic peak.

10

2

Written by: marcus k. dowling

TERRY McMILLAN

Sometimes the book is better than the film. That’s a tall order for a movie starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett, with a soundtrack produced by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds. However, Terry McMillan’s 1992 book about four women who -- as noted by the Los Angeles Times -- “rise up, glorious, from the ashes of their present lives” is quite possibly better than the film that followed three years later. The time is poignant for Valentine’s Day reading because it is a love story about women learning how to love themselves and their friends before seeking a partner’s acceptance and love. A gripping page-turner that teaches as it tells, it’s a deservedly timeless classic.

3

Langston Hughes’ Lullaby (For a Black Mother) (illustrated by Sean Qualls)

Black parents attempting to carve out space for romance during a pandemic will likely be hard-pressed to craft the perfect intimate moment. However, if looking for a kind, sweet, and poignant way to honor love and family, Langston Hughes’ classic poem “Lullaby (For a Black Mother)” artfully reimagined as a children’s book should hit the spot. As a Goodreads reviewer notes, “While this book may seem very simple, its effect is profound.

The love between a Black mother and child is not often shown, much less in children’s books. This book fills that gap nicely.” Celebrating a partner as a parent and woman who’s capable of delivering beauty into the world allows for the often tricky task of evolving Valentine’s Day into a romantic -- and familial -- dynamic.

4

Christine Otten’s The Last Poets

Love stories regarding hip-hop culture are arguably best rendered as films like Brown Sugar. However, if one wants not only to dig into the love of hip-hop, but a genuine appreciation of its roots, author Christine Otten’s 2018 novel chronicling poetic Harlem hip-hop progenitors The Last Poets is ideal. If in search of a gripping read that has notes of the Black Panthers, Martin Luther King, John and Bobby Kennedy, as well as Malcolm X involved, they’re all here. Songs like “N***ers Are Scared of Revolution” cut as strongly into the modern-era culture as they did years prior.

Directly sourced interviews with the Last Poets themselves, plus their families, friends, and musicians, highlight this must-peruse work.

Joan Morgan’s She Begat This: Lauryn Hill’s 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the best 20 Years of place to accurately understand the roots modern soul music and how Black The Miseducation ofwomen impact, inspire and create pop movements of Lauryn Hill culture via rhythm and blues.

5

If curious to know how Black women have articulated, and continue to articulate, feelings of love, passion, and respect while in love, the album perfectly highlights these notions.

Often referred to as needing to be regarded in this light, feminist author and journalist Morgan finally delivers scholarship that welcomes both longtime hip-hop fans -- and a new generation of listeners -- to Hill’s magnum opus.

11

CONTROL THE NARRATIVE. SAVE THE CITY.

Web : WIBridge.com Email : info@wibridge.com

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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

EDITORIAL

Black Solidarity Needed Now More Than Ever

The unforgettable phrase made famous in the 2005 blockbuster film, “Hustle and Flow” and written by hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, reminded us that “It’s hard out here for a pimp.”

At least that was the conclusion which the lead actor, DJay, portrayed by Terrence Howard. Yet, through his refusal to give up despite the odds against him and the many hurdles he must overcome, he shows those closest to him that “everybody’s got a dream.”

But realizing one’s hopes and dreams has grown even more difficult for many African Americans during this unprecedented health pandemic. Even before the appearance of COVID-19, Blacks were disproportionately impacted by health challenges like hypertension, diabetes and obesity and education, economic and social inequities.

Now, Blacks have claimed another unenviable status as the race most devastated by coronavirus, far outnumbering whites and Latinos as well in reported infections and deaths.

And mew federal data released just days ago shows that COVID-19 has already cut U.S. life expectancy by a year. But for Black men, the average lifespan dropped by close to three years, comparable to the years 1942 and 1943 when World War II worsening.

And things could become worse better they get better. Consider that during the 1918 influenza pandemic, the U.S. life expectancy sank by 11 years.

But Blacks have faced even greater challenges and darker days. During those times, Blacks survived because we banded together, shared our skills and talents for the community’s good and kept our neighborhoods clean and safe.

We were, as the adage goes, “our brother’s [sister’s] keeper.

We believe, as our ancestors showed us, that Black solidarity remains among the key strategies and beliefs for our successfully weathering this latest storm. Further, we fear that “we shall overcome” will remain little more than a hope and the title of a song, if we are unwilling or unable to overcome as one community.

WI

Don't Get Lax With Dental Care

Virginia Set to Abolish Death Penalty, Others Should Follow Governor Ralph Northam (D) is expected to sign two bills passed Monday by the state General Assembly to abolish Virginia’s death penalty. It is a cause for celebration for human rights advocates for a battle won but the victory is far from over in 27 states where the death penalty remains intact.

The death penalty in the U.S. served as the ultimate punishment for many crimes dating back to the 1600s. The Death Penalty Information Center listed offenses such as “striking one’s mother or father or denying the “true God” as crimes punishable by death. Of course, more heinous crimes led men and women of every race and ethnicity to death row over the past four centuries. Still, today investigations and research show that many on death are facing capital punishment for crimes they did not commit.

The killing of innocent people and flaws in the judicial system led the Virginia legislature to step back from its notorious history as the state that has executed more people than any other state in the U.S. Soon, Virginia will become the first Southern state to abolish the death penalty. Maryland abolished the death penalty in 2013 while D.C. abolished capital punishment in 1981.

However, that leaves 27 states in which 2,553 inmates remain on death row, including two men on Virginia’s death row. Anthony Juniper was sentenced to death in 2004 for slaying his ex-girlfriend, two of her children and her brother. Thomas Porter was sentenced for killing a Norfolk police officer in 2005. Both men are Black, as are 41 percent of all death row inmates.

White men account for most prisoners on death row; however, Black men often re-

28 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

TO THE EDITOR Reading the story "Americans Abandoning Dental Health Due to Pandemic" made me feel slightly embarrassed. I, too, have put off dental appointments due to the pandemic and not wanting deal with the hassle during this time. However, I am getting back in the swing of things and getting on top of the stuff I've neglected.

Thanks for the reminder!

Music to Our Ears What a move by longtime District developer Douglas Jemal and activist Ron Moten to make way for the Go-Go Museum in Southeast. Wow! I'm excited and looking forward to its opening in the future!

Laura Evans Washington, D.C.

Betty Macking Washington, D.C. ceive a death sentence for lesser crimes than those committed by white men. According to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, in 96 percent of states where there have been reviews of race and the death penalty, there remains a pattern of either race-of-victim or race-of-defendant discrimination resulting in Black men being disproportionately sentenced to death.

Virginia has come a long way from its rac-

ist past and some might say it still has a long way to go.

The “love” Virginia is known for should spread South and West to crumble other states’ reliance on a punishment proven not to be a deterrent to murder. It is time to end the barbaric practice of killing people for killing people. If we say we value life, the death penalty proves otherwise. Abolish the death penalty now. WI

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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist

Julianne Malveaux

Lessons From Texas

Texas was freezing, and Sen. Ted Cruz was looking forward to sizzling his way to a Cancun vacation. People didn't have drinking water and were advised to boil anything that came out of their faucets. That's easy enough to do when you have no power. Some resorted to burning their furniture, fences, and anything else they could get their hands on. A woman and her two grandchildren perished from flames when

they lit a fire in their fireplace to stay warm. Children died from the cold, and Texas's Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT) is being sued. They've sent people five-figure electricity bills, and the absentee governor says power cannot be cut off for nonpayment.

The rest of the nation is looking at Texas (and Louisiana and Oklahoma, but Texas is in the worst shape) with shock and horror. People have queued up for food, water and heat. Many have left their homes to shelter with friends, only to return to

Guest Columnist

frozen pipes and flooded floors.

Others have thronged to Gallery Furniture, where the civic-minded "Mattress Mack," Jim MCIngvale, opened his store so people could rest in warmth. People slept on high-end beds, recliners, sofas and other furniture, ate snacks and drank water that they could not find at home.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner called the crisis the result of "20 years of bad government." He criticized state leadership for the situation and said the state, not individuals, should be responsible for excessive bills. Other may-

ors, leaders, and Congressional representatives talked about the lack of planning. They seemed resigned to the crisis, which can't be resolved until people have running water and their homes are repaired. Could this happen in Washington, D.C., New York, Denver, or San Francisco? What can we learn from the Texas calamity?

Firstly, we must acknowledge that our infrastructure is crumbling. The American Society of Civil Engineers reports that our infrastructure — our highways and bridges, water systems and

dams — has long been neglected and is crumbling. President Biden has an excellent opportunity to generate jobs and repair our aging infrastructure, and it is an effort that should garner bipartisan support. Texas reminds us how fragile our infrastructure is and how much it will cost us, both in money and human misery, if we continue to ignore it.

The Texas debacle should also remind us how intertwined we are. The Texas swashbuckling "go it alone" attitude kept them dis-

have the opportunity to save ourselves from this overtreatment and the suffering that goes along with it, when we have the knowledge about how to plan for an end-oflife experience that is aligned with our values and beliefs.

We've all heard the phrase "knowledge is power," and it is absolutely true when it comes to advocating for our care and our family's care at the end of life. Although death is inevitable for all of us, there is often a stigma around

talking about it at our dinner tables. We don't talk with our family about what they would want when they are close to death, and we don't bring it up with our doctors.

My mother and sister passed away from ovarian cancer, and we didn't speak about death until it was imminent, and therefore too late to know what their end-of-life wishes were and take appropriate steps with their doctors. In both cases, I

not aware of or choose to ignore is that the 13th Amendment, when it was ratified by the state of Georgia on Dec. 6, 1865, ended chattel slavery as it was passed by Congress and ratified by the required minimum of 27 states (Georgia was number 27) needed for its formal adoption. It must be noted that in the six months leading up to the ratification by Georgia — June 19, 1865, and Dec. 6, 1865 — there were at least 225,000 Black people enslaved in Kentucky

alone. Chattel slavery was still LEGAL and practiced in Delaware and Kentucky.

MALVEAUX Page 49

Rep. Rena Moran

Talking About Death Won't Kill You

As we celebrate Black History Month, we are confronted with the ongoing injustice that African Americans are more than twice as likely to die from COVID-19 as our white counterparts. While some have treated this fact as if it was a new phenomenon, many of us know this is just another example of the disparities in health care

outcomes that the Black community has historically and continually experiences.

Whether we're wealthy or working class, we are often diagnosed later, live sicker and die sooner.

And we suffer more at the end of life, often from invasive treatments and lack of adequate pain relief.

Our elders in nursing homes also receive feeding tubes at a higher rate and undergo more unnecessary surgeries in the final months of life.

Part of the reason African Amer-

Guest Columnist

icans are often overtreated at the end of life relates to our experiences being denied care by a racist health care system. We may ask for and receive far more intensive and invasive treatments at the end of life, because we fought for the right to receive care and we demand access to it. While this is understandable, it can also be counterproductive if it prolongs suffering instead of preventing it.

Systemic racism accounts for much of the problem, but we also

MORAN Page 49

Carl Mack

The Misrepresentation of Juneteenth

I strongly oppose the proposed Washington State Bill 1016, and I strongly oppose the passage of Ordinance 19209 by the Metropolitan King County Council, both designed to designate Juneteenth as a state holiday. To date, 46 states have approved June 19 as a paid or legal state holiday. No problem. The issue is the historical

reason used to justify their efforts to remember. Many have stated that June 19, 1865, ended slavery in America, which is, historically speaking, grossly wrong.

also uses similar language to justify the mis-educated belief that Juneteenth is a historically appropriate day to celebrate the end of chattel slavery.

The state of Washington in their proposed legislation of Bill 1016 stands as a perfect example: "…

The legislature intends to designate Juneteenth as a state legal holiday to celebrate the end of chattel slavery." In addition, the language of King County Ordinance 19209

Other states have used similar language/justifications to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam stated, "It mattered then because it marked the end of slavery in this country." However, a historical fact that many people either are

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The bill, ordinance, and others like it speak to why Black history should be taught. Blacks got it wrong, Whites got it wrong, Americans of all hues got this wrong. If indeed Black Lives Matter, then the historical actions of these governmental entities are

MACK Page 49

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 29

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist

Marian Wright Edelman

Remembering Wonderful Mississippi Gov. William Winter

Mississippi's former Gov. William Winter, who died on Dec. 18, 2020, helped transform Mississippi's rigidly segregated public education system. He ran for office promising to focus on education and kept his promise. His signature accomplishment was a law that improved the futures of Mississippi's children — especially Black children who had been harmed for decades by a separate and profoundly

unequal education system. When he took office in 1980, Mississippi was the only state with no compulsory public education requirement, a result of Mississippi's state legislature's racist actions after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling sought to desegregate public schools.

Gov. Winter spent hours campaigning on the need for change, supported by many Black citizens and community coalitions led by local leaders like the indomitable Mayersville Mayor Unita Blackwell.

The first two attempts to get reform through failed, but after Gov. Win-

ter called a special legislative session just before Christmas 1982 focused only on education, the Education Reform Act of 1982 finally passed by one vote. The resulting sweeping and long overdue changes included requiring school attendance, adding funding for public schools, increasing teacher pay, and providing public kindergarten in Mississippi for the first time.

Gov. Winter's attempts to level the educational playing field for Mississippi's children were part of the trajectory that ultimately made him a champion of equal rights and civil rights in his state despite

Guest Columnist

his segregationist roots. His experiences in the Army during World War II serving alongside two Black soldiers in his training class and then as an instructor to an all-Black regiment were among his first exposures to Black citizens as equals and peers and helped shaped his later moderate approach to civil rights as a politician. In his first run for governor in 1967 against a segregationist opponent who accused him of being too liberal, he defended himself by staunchly supporting segregation too.

As governor, he grew and began to welcome and celebrate extraor-

dinary Black Mississippi leaders like Myrlie Evers-Williams. After his term-limited single term ended, Gov. Winter continued to promote civil rights on state and national stages. He served on the Mississippi Department of Archives and History's board for nearly fifty years and helped ensure that the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the nation's first publicly funded civil rights museum, were built together near the state's Capitol. President Clinton appointed Gov. Winter

EDELMAN Page 50

Ben Jealous

How Democracy Reform Protects Black Political Power

The 2020 elections taught us that our democracy is both strong and fragile. This is the time to shore it up with the For the People Act that is now waiting for action

by Congress.

Voters showed the strength of our democracy by showing up in record numbers to cast ballots to defeat an incumbent presi-

dent. And voters in Georgia, led

by Black voters, made history by electing a progressive Black preacher and Jewish filmmaker to the U.S. Senate.

What makes our democracy strong is that people spent years organizing and building the capacity to educate and motivate voters.

We also saw that our democracy is fragile. A president who did not want to give up his power spent

weeks enraging his supporters with lies about the election. He tried to bully state officials to manufacture enough votes to overturn the election. He pressured members of Congress and his own vice president to trash the Constitution.

And he urged his supporters to come to Washington and fight to keep him in power. We all saw how that turned out — with a noose on the Capitol lawn, Confederate flags in the rotunda, and members of Congress and their staff hiding in fear for their lives.

Askia-At-Large

The impeachment trial also showed both our strength and fragility. The House of Representatives voted to impeach the president for inciting an insurrection, and a clear bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate voted to convict him. But most Republican senators refused to defend democracy and hold Trump accountable for threatening it – and that will encourage extremists to turn to violence again.

And now we see Republican state legislators trying to make it harder for people to register and vote. Already this year, they have introduced more than 100 bills to restrict voting.

That’s why we need to take the same kind of energy that we put into the elections and turn it toward getting the House and Senate to pass the For the People Act.

JEALOUS Page 50

Askia Muhammad

Who Killed Brother Malcolm X?

The assassination of Brother Malcolm X is a subject which, for the most part, I have avoided commenting on because it is wrought with passionate, passionate emotions.

There's hardly a facet of life in the United States — from the White House to your house — which has not been touched by the Brother, first by his 13 years as a strong witness of

the benefits of following the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam's unity lifestyle, and then for the 11 months he spent repudiating Mr. Muhammad, his teacher.

To the question: who killed Brother Malcolm, this much is for sure. Talmadge Hayer, also known as Thomas Hagan, later known as Mujahid Halim, was captured at the Audubon Ballroom. He confessed to being a part of the assassination plot. Norman 3X Butler, later known as Muham-

30 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

mad Abdul Aziz, and Thomas 15X Johnson, later known as Khalil Islam, are both innocent men who were framed by the New York City cops, and whose innocence was asserted by the confessed killer from Day One. The two innocent men were framed so that the Nation of Islam — the Black Muslims, Mr. Elijah Muhammad, et al. — could be tarred with the murder. And sure enough, many people steadfastly believe to this very hour that the Nation of Islam killed Malcolm, because "Elijah Muhammad

was jealous" of Malcolm's popularity and because Malcolm was revealing "secrets" about Mr. Muhammad's relationships with young women he employed on his office staff. Not true.

Many people, most of whom reject Mr. Muhammad, see Brother Malcolm as a swashbuckling hero who verbally slew the enemies of Black people, after picking himself up, and reforming himself after a youth of petty crime. He was that.

But because folks have wanted to lionize Brother Malcolm at the ex-

pense of his mentor, Mr. Muhammad is blamed for what J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI admitted — wanting to prevent the rise of any "Black messiah" who would galvanize the Black Masses in this country and turn them away from their worship of the White Americans who kidnapped them from Africa, enslaved them, bought and sold them like chattel for 310 years, beat and lynched them for another 100 years, and then Jim Crowed

ASKIA Page 50

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

MONTH

The Lost History of Frederick Douglass and the Black Church John H. Muller and Justin L. McNeil Special to the Washington Informer While the oratorical skills and written works of Frederick Douglass have long been discussed and studied, at one time he was only known as a lay preacher in local Black churches.

His acculturation began in early childhood in the Tuckahoe region of Maryland’s Eastern Shore where Methodist camp meetings were regularly held in an improvised church. For those familiar with the history of America’s oldest Black institution, it should come as no surprise that Douglass’ initial development as an advocate for the liberation of his people, like so many others both before and after him, began in the church.

During the recent premier of the four-part series, “The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song, which continues to be shown on PBS, historian Dr. Henry Louis Gates provided insight to the lesser-known roots of Douglass as forged in the Black Church.

Before his self-emancipation in 1838, Douglass attended religious and community services at several churches serving the Black community, even risking retribution to serve as a Sabbath schoolteacher to the free and enslaved in Talbot County. In and around Baltimore’s

Fells Point neighborhood, he found mentors, men of faith who would foretell his great importance as a conduit for divine work.

Drawn to the anti-slavery doctrine of Methodism, he came to understand that his peculiar condition was indeed unnatural.

Settling in Massachusetts upon his escape, he became both influenced by and involved, with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion [AMEZ] Church. His decision to settle with the church would be fueled by his discovery that another local Methodist church in New Bedford, Massachusetts did not uphold the anti-slavery tenet which Douglass knew to be central to the denomination. In the services of the Black ministry of that town he found “devoted men” of “high character” who would have an ineradicable influence on his career.

Published just weeks after his death on February 20, 1895 and subsequent funeral service at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church just blocks away from the White House, Douglass had written to AMEZ Bishop James Walker Hood.

“I look back to the days I spent in little Zion, New Bedford, in the several capacities of sexton, steward, class leader, clerk and local preacher, as among the happiest days of my life,” he wrote. “As early as 1839, I obtained a license

from the Quarterly Conference as a local preacher and often occupied the pulpit by request of the preacher in charge. No doubt that the exercise of my gifts in this vocation helped to prepare me for the wider sphere of usefulness which I have since occupied. It was from this Zion church that I went forth to the work of delivering my brethren from bondage.”

The Black church has been, all at once, a seat of government, a schoolhouse and a cultural and spiritual repository for African Americans. Its bishops and ministers have served as its congress, its teachers and its custodians of their faith and traditions.

With a thorough study of this far-reaching history, we can gain new perspective on the many networks of devout, stalwart Black ministers who found a prophetical voice in Frederick Douglass.

Moving forward there remains an incredible opportunity to mobilize existing church and faithbased networks and communities within the District and Baltimore metropolitan regions to share a more complete story of Frederick

5 Frederick Douglass (Courtesy photo)

Douglass and the Black Church.

John Muller, author of “Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C.: The Lion of Anacostia” (2012), is co-founder of Lost History Associ-

ates, with Justin McNeil. McNeil attended Saint Augustine Catholic School in Washington, D.C. and Morehouse College in Atlanta.

WI

DC Water celebrates the heroes of Black History, past and present, who have championed equality and fought for a better future for all Americans. In this spirit, and under the leadership of CEO David Gadis, the Authority is proud to lead the push for water equity, both regionally and nationally.

John Lewis

Kamala Harris

Achieving equity means closing the gaps so that race, identity, income, neighborhood, and education no longer predict one’s ability to access clean, safe and affordable water and effective wastewater services. It will mean that every neighborhood has safe and reliable infrastructure. At the community level, it will mean fully leveraging the economic, social and health benefits of our municipal water systems. Simply put, we are committed to improving water and environmental outcomes, systems, and policies for all.

DC Water draws inspiration from the heroes of Black History and is committed to advancing these principles within the Authority and the water utility industry.

Stacey Abrams

C.T. Vivian

DC Water Celebrates

Black History Month

Joseph Lowery

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Amanda Gorman

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 31

BLACK HISTORY MONTH Amber Pickens Colors Success and Black History in Different Ways Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer Amber Pickens is celebrating Black History Month in a big way.

The dancer, actress and singer has added author to her long list of titles with the release of “Blooming in Motion,” a coloring book that celebrates Black history in the performing arts through dance.

Pickens’ original illustrations honor nearly two dozen dance legends, including dancers and entertainers Alvin Ailey, Eartha Kitt and Debbie Allen, whom she met as a fourth grader.

“When I met her, my eyes were opened to the world of dance and so much more,” Pickens remarked.

“She planted other seeds like choreographing and producing and making sure to build our communi-

ties,” Pickens added.

Allen, the famed dancer, choreographer, and actress, released a statement expressing her delight over being included in Pickens’ book.

“I am so proud to be included in Amber’s Coloring Book,” Allen wrote. “It is very important that young black and brown girls see images of themselves that they can celebrate.”

Pickens said Allen often reminded her and other students to find ways to give back to their community.

She remarked that Allen opened a new world for her and others.

“She introduced us to teachers from all around the world,” Pickens recalled. “It was life-changing, it was powerful.”

A Juilliard School graduate, Pickens made her choreography direct-

32 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

ing debut in January at the Sundance Film Festival.

Her film, “Passing,” is based on Harlem, New York, in the 1920s.

Originally, the “Passing” role was intended for a friend who thought Pickens would be better suited.

“Someone approached one of my friends and asked him if he was interested in a small project. He didn’t have any idea what it was,” Pickens recalled. “They did describe the type of dancer they wanted, and he pointed them to me.”

Written by Nella Larsen, “Passing” takes a close look at racial identity, racism and white privilege.

Netflix has picked up the film, and it is expected to air in the coming months.

Pickens grew up in Dallas, Texas, and began dancing at the age of two.

She said her mother wanted

5 Amber Pickens with her coloring book's cover: 'Blooming in Motion.'

(Courtesy Amber Pickens)

her to participate in activities that matched her high energy level.

She performed in church and at school and later earned a scholarship to Debbie Allen’s dance camp.

Pickens said she spent her sum-

mers in New York attending Broadway camps, the Alvin Ailey dance studios and taking voice lessons.

She also studied her mentor, Allen,

PICKENS Page 47

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer A Black woman’s memoir published 153 years ago still sits atop the Amazon book sales chart today.

“Behind the Scenes or Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House,” by Elizabeth Keckley, currently stands as the 24th most popular book in Amazon’s category of U.S. Civil War Women’s History.

The historical work was perhaps the bluntest and most controversial of its era. Keckley detailed her life as a slave

who purchased her freedom and then worked for two first ladies – Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, and Varina Davis, the wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Because Keckley made so public, her close relationships with the Lincolns nearly ruined the President and his wife’s reputation and almost destroyed Keckley’s life.

A seamstress to both Davis and Lincoln, Keckley practically lived in the White House during the Civil War. In the 166-page memoir, Keckley

recalls an intimate scene between President and Mrs. Lincoln after learning their son, Willie, had died in 1862.

“I assisted in washing him and dressing him, and then laid him on the bed when Mr. Lincoln came in. I never saw a man so bowed down with grief,” Keckley wrote.

“He came to the bed, lifted the cover from the face of his child, gazed at it long and earnestly, murmuring, ‘My poor boy, he was too good for this earth. God has called him home.

I know that he is much better off in heaven, but then we loved him so. It is

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hard, hard to have him die.’”

Immediately after President Lincoln’s 1865 assassination, Mary Todd Lincoln sent for Keckley.

According to WhiteHouseHistory.org, when Mrs. Lincoln was later “drowning in debt,” she reached out to Keckley to assist in selling off her wardrobe and other items to raise money.

Because the auctions failed to solicit any funds for Lincoln, Keckley reached out to prominent African Americans for assistance, including

KECKLEY Page 47

5 Portrait of Elizabeth Keckley.

(Photo courtesy White House Historical Association)

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 33

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Martin Delany: The Father of Black Nationalism

A Visionary During Dark Days of Slavery Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer

Connecting Our History Connecting to each other

Black History Month is a time to reflect upon and honor the contributions that Black and African Americans have made and continue to make to our country and culture. It's also a time that calls out to us to connect with our friends, our families, each other. Safely. When you're ready to connect, we're here for you.

Amtrak Celebrates Black History Month. Every Day.

Stay Informed! www.washingtoninformer.com

34 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

As Black people in the United States continue to fight systemic oppression on various fronts, many of the elders in the freedom struggle continue to encourage their younger counterparts to study the readings and actions of a 19th century figure by the name of Martin Delany.

Delany was a renaissance man who cut a broad path in journalism, military affairs, public affairs and medicine in 19th century America.

For current day influencers, like Mwalimu K-Q Amsata, Martin Delany’s insistence that Black Americans foster a nationalist identity and unite with Africans in the motherland and around the world still rings true more than 160 years later.

“Sociologically and culturally, we are still a nation within a nation. Martin Delany was the first person to state this in 1852,” said Amsata, coordinator of the North American Pan-African Federalist Movement, one of nine branches of a global effort to politically unite the African diaspora within a decade.

Amsata, a self-avowed Black nationalist, Pan-Africanist, and Garveyite, recounted first learning about Delany as an adolescent in Harlem during the 1960s. He said Delany's Black nationalist message primed him for activism that started during the Black Power era and continued well beyond graduate school.

Today, more than anything, Amsata describes himself as a Pan-African Federalist, a designation he said aligns with the phrase “Africa for the Africans,” coined by Delany in 1861.

In adopting Delany’s philosophy of Black independence, Amsata designated him as a progenitor to Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Malcolm X, and other 20th century figures who called for African unity rather than assimilation.

“It’s not about land, [but] it’s about where we are and where we stand that makes us a nation within a nation,” Amsata told The Informer.

“This brings us to our next step, which Delany recognized as ‘Africa for the Africans.’ Our conditions haven’t changed,” he continued.

5 Martin Delany (Courtesy photo)

“Our existence in the U.S. since 1619 is an interruption in our history of greatness so we tend to get overwhelmed, but we need to keep our eye on the prize and understand when Africa is united, we will resurface as a world power.”

“AFRICA FOR THE AFRICANS!”

Martin Delany, an abolitionist, physician, journalist, and soldier, was born in Virginia during the early 19th century to free parents of West African ancestry. His yearning to read and write caused him to break laws forbidding the education of Black people, and later relocate to New York to attend the African Free School.

In the 1850s, Delany espoused Black Nationalism upon the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act that allowed for the capture, or recapture, of Black people living in Northern states. His call of Black repatriation placed him at odds with his contemporary and colleague Frederick Douglass, with whom he worked on The North Star, an abolitionist newspaper started by Douglass.

In acting upon his beliefs, Delany traveled to present-day southwest Nigeria, and coordinated an arrangement through which repatriates could live on settlements formed by chieftains.

He also spent time in Canada and Liberia, then a newly formed American settlement for freed Black repatriates.

DELANY Page 47

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH BLACK from Page 1 As currently structured, the legislation would provide direct payments of as much as $1,400 per person.

The full amount would go to individuals earning less than $75,000 a year and married couples earning less than $150,000.

The payments, which are calculated based on either 2019 or 2020 income, would cut off individuals earning more than $100,000 and families earning more than $200,000.

Unlike previous stimulus packages, adult dependents would be eligible for the payments.

“This is much more of a life-line than we’ve seen previously,” said Jamaal McFadden, a Washington, D.C.-based investment analyst.

“It had always been mind-boggling, with all of the student loan debt and the fact that during the pandemic many young adults have lost their jobs and moved back home, that left young adults out of the previous packages.”

If passed in its current form, the bill would increase the federal weekly unemployment boost to $400, from the current $300, extend the 15 percent increase in food stamp benefits through September, and it would include $880 million for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC. According to the Congressional Budget Office, nearly $19.1 billion would go to state and local governments for back rent, rent assistance and utilities for at-risk, low-income households with unemployed members.

States and tribes would receive an estimated $10 billion for mortgage payment assistance and other financial help to homeowners affected by the pandemic.

About $11 billion is earmarked to provide rental assistance, homeless services and support, housing counseling and mortgage support.

Further, the bill would expand the child tax credit to $3,600 for children under six and $3,000 for children under age 18, and would make the credit fully refundable, allowing more low-income parents to take advantage of it.

President Biden and House Democrats also want to allow families to receive child tax credit payments

According to the Congressional Budget Office, nearly $19.1 billion would go to state and local governments for back rent, rent assistance and utilities for at-risk, low-income households with unemployed members. monthly, instead of in a lump sum once a year.

Proponents have opined that it’s the right time to go big in this stimulus package – which President Biden has dubbed “The American Rescue Plan.”

“Frankly, given the makeup of the Senate, this is our best opportunity and the right moment in the midst of this pandemic to give millions of workers a long-overdue raise,” proclaimed Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).

Democrats control the White House and the House of Representatives. While there is a 50-50 split in the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, holds the tie-breaking vote in that chamber.

House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have labeled a robust stimulus potentially life-saving for many.

Their views were enhanced by CDC’s life expectancy study conclusions, particularly for African Americans.

Data collected by the CDC through June 2020 shows life expectancy at birth for the total U.S. population fell from 2019 by a year to 77.8 years.

The CDC report highlighted that, during the pandemic, African Americans are hospitalized with COVID-19 at 2.9 times the rate of White Americans and die at 1.9 times the overall rate.

Always moving forward

Moving ahead together

Black History Month is a time to reflect upon and honor the contributions that Black and African Americans have made and continue to make to our country and culture. It's also a time that calls out to us to connect with our friends, our families, each other. Safely. When you're ready to connect, we're here for you.

Amtrak Celebrates Black History Month. Every Day. Latinos are hospitalized at more than three times the rate and die more than twice the rate of White Americans.

Before the pandemic, the life expectancy gap between Black, Latino,

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and White populations was narrowing.

“It was disturbing to see that gains that have been made for the Black community and decreasing the gap between life expectancy for African

Americans and (white) Americans over the past six years had come to a halt,” Dr. Leon McDougle, president of the National Medical Association, told USA Today. WI @StacyBrownMedia

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 35

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LIFESTYLE Depending on Your Zip Code, the Blues Reigns Supreme

Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith Biopics Celebrate Power of Blues Women

Shantella Y. Sherman WI Staff Writer The first thing visitors to the Mississippi Delta notice is the heat – thick, stifling and at times unyielding – which locals say can only be calmed by the cool of shade trees and a steady supply of sweet tea.

But like the heat which cannot be ignored, the Delta’s generations-old blues traditions also remains an integral part of life. And while many Americans set aside the blues with the birth of the Motown sound and The Sound of Philadelphia, the popularity of the recent Netflix film “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and HBO’s “Bessie” have reignited a love of blues shouting women.

The recordings of blues women, including Rainey, Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thornton and Big Maybelle have increased in sales in recent months particularly among Black who have embraced the singers’ liberating lyrics and style.

“It became important to African Americans to shake off the things that the outside world considered primitive and uncivilized. What could be more upsetting to folks’ sensibilities than a big, Black woman standing up on stage singing ‘I Need a Little Sugar for my Bowl?’” said historian Belle Richie.

“These women were powerful onstage and off, commanding in their presence and demanding in their affairs.”

Richie said these earlier trailblazers faced open hostility from venue owners and promoters as well as unscrupulous business practices from record labels and producers. Their ability to successfully navigate organizations like Theatre Owners Booking Association, which artists including Rainey referred to as Tough on Black Asses, eventually lead to artists negotiating the rights

and royalties to their own music.

“The music industry loved the soulfulness of the blues, especially the ladies, which gave way to rock and roll and later rhythm and blues but it did not love Black artists,” Richie said. “Sometimes, the more powerful the vocals or instrumentals, the more lucrative the sound. But this meant paying Black women well – an idea which was offensive especially if the record executive could cheat them out of [their money].”

By demanding record executives to honor verbal agreements as many Black blues women never had written contracts, the women were labeled “difficult,” “aggressive” and “unprofessional.” Still, they assumed regal titles like “The Mother,” “Empress” and “Queen of the Blues” and rose to stardom delivering unfettered lyrics and sexual freedom on wax.

Director George C. Wolfe noted, “When I signed on to direct ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,’ I instantly knew I wanted to work with Branford Marsalis because when you collaborate with Branford the composer/arranger, Branford the historian, musicologist, dramatist and raconteur shows up as well.”

“And because he understands the inherently transgressive nature of the blues, Branford’s arrangements capture not only the cultural and regional DNA in Ma Rainey’s songs but the wit and rage embedded in every note, shout and moan,” he said.

“Those low moans and those guttural shouts were so unladylike to sophisticated folks,” music historian Alfreida Morton said with a laugh while talking to the Informer. “These were women who were big and robust, they embodied the original definition of ‘The Venus.’ Those bodies exuded sexuality and sensuality at a time when

women were not supposed to have an inkling about sex or their sexuality.”

Morton said when coupled with bold sexual innuendo, these entertainers demonstrated sexual autonomy and hypnotized both their audiences, men and women alike – all the while challenging codes of respectability.

Activist and scholar Angela Davis documents this rebellion of sorts in “Blues Legacies and Black Feminism.”

“Musical expressions during slavery were about the collective experiences, hardships and desires of enslaved people; emancipation created a black musical tradition which focused, rather, on the individual’s needs and desires.

Bessie Smith’s songs, laden with innuendos and sexual metaphors, tell stories of empowerment, freedom, and independence,” Davis writes. “These female characters in her songs are clearly in control of their sexuality in ways that exploit neither their partners nor themselves.”

Cassietta Ross, a retired nursing home administrator in Cleveland, Miss., said that shouting blues women gave voice to a generation of Black women whose “girlhood” began with a laundry list of etiquette mandates which had to followed to maintain the label “good girls.”

“My mama snuck down to see

z odrigue Ashlie R 7 C B A Side On Your

5 Ma Rainey (Courtesy photo)

Lucille Bogan when she was a young girl and no one would have known except she was heard singing the lyrics to ‘Shave ‘Em Dry’ under her breath,” Ross said. “She lived to be 99 and still had that scar cross her forehead where my granddaddy popped her.

“We wanted respectable young ladies in our family but we all would sneak to see these women dressed in rhinestones and silk with feathers and singing naughty songs. It was our early version of Lil’ Kim or Megan Thee Stallion.”

Ross said while nationwide the popularity of blues music ebbs and flows,

rk Gary Clagton Washin Team Football

in places like the Delta it remains alive and well – without exception.

“I’m waiting to see what they going to do down at Ground Zero – that’s Morgan Freeman’s place in Clarksdale – with the live shows,” Ross said. “It’s always a good time down there and that spirit of sexual freedom and fun rests right there.”

“This music reminds us that no matter what hardships ladies face, there’s room for love around the corner. That’s a rebellion all by itself because we’re still here living and loving in spite of everything,” she said.

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 37

LIFESTYLE

in review Lindiwe Vilakazi WI Staff Writer The latest episode of WIN-TV explored interesting topics, as host Denise Rolark Barnes was first joined by guests Rev. Marc Lavarin from Alfred Street Baptist Church, and Reginald McKnight, head of Google Cloud’s External Affairs and Community Engagement, to give the scoop on their free virtual HBCU College Fair hosted this past Saturday, Feb. 20.

The fair provided students all-access resources which they would usually receive in person, including personal meetings with college admission officers, on-site admission opportunities into colleges and universities.

“The pandemic was not going to stop us. In fact, the pandemic emboldened us to say we cannot let our kids down. These are our communities, these are our students,” said McKnight. “You have customers all over the world who turn to Google Cloud for their technology solutions. So what better opportunity then, to unleash that same technology for this amazing college festival that has touched I think 50,000 students over the past 19 years?”

Next, Dr. Valda Crowder discussed the latest national death expectancy rates, the coronavirus pandemic in Black and Brown communities and response to COVID-19 vaccine skepticism.

Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie later joined to examine

public safety and issues tackled by the Council Office of Racial Equity.

McDuffie shared details on the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (NEAR) Act passed in 2016 and its relation to D.C. gun violence today. The legislation deals with public safety and violence interruption across the city.

“It treats gun violence as a public health crisis, and significantly reforms our approach to gun violence in the District of Columbia,” said McDuffie.

Rolark Barnes wrapped up the Friday program with Alfred D. Swailes from the Black Business Task Force, and lastly, Theo Edwards Butler, Samford University graduate and founder of the Modern Green Book, a national guide for travellers

looking to experience services provided by Black-owned businesses.

The Modern Green Book, revived from the original green book historically used by Black Americans provides customers with knowledge and access to Black businesses nationwide, promoting cultural entrepreneurship to participating entities.

Listed markets are inclusive of night clubs, restaurants, beauty salons, and much more.

“The Modern Greenbook is not just for the Black community to use. While it is to support the Black community, it is for everybody. I want to make sure everyone knows that supporting Black businesses is not just for one group, it’s for anybody who is looking to intentionally support Black,” said Butler.

The Media Prince sounded off with another Bridge news segment,

5 Dr. Valda Crowder (Courtesy photo)

concluded by “Sounds of the DMV,” this week showcasing Silver Spring artist, “Big H”.

Remember to subscribe, and become a member of the Washington Informer family on our digital portal www.washingtoninformer. com! WI

Tiger Woods Suffers Serious Injuries after Single-car Crash WI Staff Report Golf legend Tiger Woods remains hospitalized after suffering serious injuries to both his legs following a single-vehicle rollover crash early Tuesday morning, Feb. 23 near Los Angeles.

When deputies arrived on the scene in Rancho Palos Verdes, Woods effectively communicated with officials, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva at a news conference on Tuesday.

Villanueva said Woods was wearing a seat belt which more than likely saved his life.

It appears that Woods’ vehicle was “going at a relatively greater speed than normal” and there were

“no skid marks, no braking.”

He added that while Woods did not appear to be impaired test results will be needed for confirmation.

Officials also say it was a quick-thinking neighbor who called 911 – which allowed responders to race to the scene and treat Woods quickly. Officials noted that the area where Woods crashed has been identified as a “trouble spot” for traffic collisions with several fatalities reported in that spot in the past.

Woods, 45, was in the area for his annual Genesis Invitational golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades. WI

3 Tiger Woods (Courtesy photo)

38 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

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LIFESTYLE

wi book review "Raceless: In Search of Family, Identity, and the Truth About Where I Belong"

By Georgina Lawton c.2021, Harper Perennial $17.99 / 304 pages

"Surviving the White Gaze: A Memoir"

By Rebecca Carroll c.2021, Simon & Schuster $26 / 320 pages

By Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer Who are you?

That's a question some people never ask themselves: seemingly intuitively, they know the answer at birth and they don't think about it again. Then there are those who struggle with knowing until their last breath. Still others have stories to tell about their search to learn who they are. Read on …

One big secret-not-secret lies at the heart of "Raceless" by Georgina Lawton.

Born after a long labor in a London hospital in 1989, Lawton was the child of a (white) British father and a (white) Irish mother, and with her black hair and deep brown eyes, she "was not the baby they had been expecting." To save face, her conception, the result of a one-night stand, wasn't talked about, and her curly hair and brown skin was blamed on a genetic quirk on her mother's side, end of story. Lawton was raised with love, never questioning anything until four years ago, when she took a DNA test that indicated Nicaraguan ancestry.

Her father had died by then, and her mother refused to discuss it.

The frustration and the not-knowing sent Lawton on an around-the-world excursion, from Great Britain to Nicaragua to the U.S., South Africa, and elsewhere, in a search for racial identity. This book is the result: a thoughtfully written, beautifully told look at Blackness, culture and love. It's a story that sometimes reads faintly like a travelogue, but one in which the search is not for interesting sites, so much as it is for insight, making this a quietly persistent, personal, and wonderful story to enjoy.

Like Lawton, Rebecca Carroll grew up in circumstances that were unique: as a little girl, she was literally the only Black person living in her small New England town. In "Surviving the White Gaze," she writes about a picture-perfect childhood, the beliefs she was raised with, a feeling that there was something amiss, and her ultimate reckoning.

The story of how she was born and entered her family's lives was something Carroll knew from a very early age. Unlike Lawton's family, Carroll's parents never hid anything from her. She was told the names of her birth parents and she knew some of the woman's close relatives, so it's a bit of a surprise that meeting her (white) birth mother was rather anticlimactic. Still, that meeting and the subsequent relationship they forged left Carroll walking a long, fine line between two mothers, and looking for the identity she craved all along.

"Surviving the White Gaze" is good: it's full of nostalgia for anyone over 50 and it perfectly explains the inner turmoil and delicate balance of straddling two worlds while searching for place. Also, though, it's heavily peopled and the number of names you'll need to keep track of can be a challenge. Just beware, and take this thoughtful, thought-provoking memoir as it comes.

Then, once you've devoured these two books, there's good news: in the past few months, many authors have taken this journey of identity and are willing to share, no matter who you are. WI

horoscopes

FEB 25 - MAR 3, 2021

ARIES The risks you assume in any situation are totally worth it in the end. People regard you as a leader and a pioneer on Wednesday, but on Thursday you find yourself crippled by frustration and doubt. It's amazing how quickly the feeling of accomplishment can disappear, but try not to let it. This weekend, strike out into the world with confidence, and good things will happen. Lucky Numbers: 7, 8, 28 TAURUS It's funny: The way you stand says a lot about how you're feeling. You're standing tall on Monday, feeling grounded, steady and particularly connected to the earth. This is a good place to be in. Poise is important this week — especially on Tuesday and Wednesday, when a weird conflict with a friend or authority figure unexpectedly presents itself. Lucky Numbers: 12, 29, 44 GEMINI Many of the questions swimming around in your head as the week gets going are answered by Tuesday or Wednesday. An intellectual conversation on one of those days sets you thinking in a radically new way about a subject you've long considered yourself an expert in. Ideas … exciting! Thursday and Friday you are misfiring right and left — conversationally speaking — but quality time with quality people over the weekend fixes that. On Sunday, take initiative in a group setting. Lucky Numbers: 9, 24, 34 CANCER You have a million projects to occupy yourself with — the last thing you need to grapple with right now is, you know, other people.Thursday and Friday see you finally warming up and in the mood to be social, although daydreaming for hours on end may seem equally appealing. This weekend, after an essentially quiet week, your emotions will be easily aroused. Lucky Numbers: 7, 8, 50 LEO Making a good impression is a key concern of yours but so is not coming across as arrogant. Help a friend out. Force your ego to the sidelines for as long as you can. Ego clashes aren't pretty, so do what you can to avoid them. Be patient. This weekend, everything goes your way, even as someone challenges your opinion. Lucky Numbers: 4, 10, 42 VIRGO he fun you have on Monday leads to a desire to organize your life on Tuesday — while you're enjoying yourself, you want to have a clean house! Notice the way your routine changes subtly when you're in good spirits, as you will be on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday, relationship issues figure strongly — don't be too critical of others, and don't get frustrated if people move at a different pace than you do. Lucky Numbers: 14, 17, 21 LIBRA Monday, as a sentimental mood has you feeling oddly unbalanced. But by Tuesday, this weirdness dissolves in a headlong rush of romance and goodwill. On Wednesday, you understand the people around you better than you have in a while, and Thursday has you so busy, the hours fly by. On Friday you'll have the opportunity to help others appreciate beauty and harmony. In fact, you're still stuck on that beauty kick as Saturday pitches you back into the romantic realm. Lucky Numbers: 2, 13, 36 SCORPIO Normally you're a rather sensitive being, but Monday has you thinking like a CEO. You're all business, and determination and shrewdness define the day. Sign the dotted line. Get this project going.

You have the urge to rip part of the roof off and install a skylight, but someone else thinks a skylight is a bad idea, et cetera. Your creative ideas go over much better on Thursday and Friday, but this is just not the ambitious week you thought it would be. Lucky Numbers: 15, 21, 33 SAGITTARIUS The way you look at things is startling and unique. Perfect strangers are carrying on fascinating conversations with you wherever you go. Sadly, none of your talents are of much use to you on Thursday and Friday, when a drain in your energy has you losing sight of (as well as literally losing) things.

Lucky Numbers: 20, 45, 56 CAPRICORN Your plans are working, and everyone you see smiles big in response to your own huge grin.

You're rather impressive these days! By Friday, when a creative scenario reminds you how psychically worthless it is to worry about money, you're in great spirits again. Matter of fact, you're on top of the world. Still, be good about your responsibilities this weekend. Lucky Numbers: 10, 12, 35 AQUARIUS Monday is one of those days when you have to trick yourself into staying on task. Reward yourself throughout the day for your discipline. You spend the middle of the week inspiring your friends and instigating exciting changes, all while spending as little as possible. You may be misled by your bank account on Thursday or Friday, so watch out for that. Lucky Numbers: 17, 21, 40 PISCES A friend in a high place pulls strings for you at the beginning of the week, and you can't believe your luck. Life is good. But you feel a bit like the star of a movie that doesn't have a director. Turn your efforts toward helping others midweek. But if you find yourself deeply involved in volunteer activities this week, take some time to goof off. It's important to recharge those batteries. Lucky Numbers: 9, 11, 22

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 39

This shouldn’t be how we say hello ...or goodbye.

It’s our reality right now. But it won’t be if we do what it takes to beat COVID-19. Vaccines are coming, but until enough of us are vaccinated, we all still need to wear our masks, stay at least six feet from others, and avoid indoor social gatherings. The more we slow the spread, the faster we’ll return to normal hellos … and fewer goodbyes.

Learn more about vaccines and slowing the spread at cdc.gov/coronavirus Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

40 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

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SPORTS Wizards Finally Putting Everything Together Daniel Kucin Jr. WI Sports Writer

The Washington Wizards could only muster four wins in January and dealt with six postponed games due to Covid-19 protocols. It seemed that there was no hope in sight for a team that had high hopes during the offseason.

The addition of star point guard Russell Westbrook to compliment leading scorer Bradley Beal had most Wizards fans salivating for new beginnings, but successes came few and far between.

However, after focusing on team defense and scoring at a high clip, Washington has improved drastically, achieving a four-game win streak (as of Feb. 21) and are 5-2 since Feb. 8.

Washington scored those victories over three teams in the playoff picture, being the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers.

"I thought early in the season we lost a bunch of close games," said Washington Wizards Head Coach Scott Brooks. "It was mainly that we weren't really in a good rhythm for a lot of different reasons. I think the last couple of games, our legs were ready."

Beal has been the catalyst of the turnaround, scoring in double-figures in every contest this month. He accounted for 37 points against the Trail Blazers on Feb. 20 in a clutch 118-111 win where Washington overcame a 14-point deficit.

Perhaps two of the most impressive wins during that stretch were against the Celtics and Nuggets, where Washington put everything together on both ends of the floor.

Washington took home a 13-point victory on Feb. 14, when the Wizards outrebounded Boston, limited turnovers and dished out 24 assists collectively.

"We're helping each other, and it's all starting to click," said Beal, who was recently named as an 2021 NBA All-Star Game starter. "We're not

SPORTS HEADLINES Naomi Osaka, ranked number one by the World Tennis Association, cruised to victory over Jennifer Brady in the Australian Open Championship on Feb. 21, dispatching her opponent in two sets.

The 23-year-old continues to dominate her competition, winning every Grand Slam final that she has participated in thus far.

Osaka ran away in this one with relative ease, only facing resistance in the first set (4-4) until ultimately hitting a forehand winner, scoring the next two points and won the next two games.

Osaka strung together four consecutive games in the second set and then finally shut the door, 6-3, to win the match. The Japanese phenom had six aces with only two double faults and won six games in a row at one point.

“I’m really happy right now,” said Osaka after capturing her fourth Grand

Hot off the Press

COMPILED BY DANIEL KUCIN, JR. WI SPORTS WRITER

5 No. 1 ranked Naomi Osaka cruised to victory over No. 22 Jennifer Brady in the Australian Open Championship on Feb. 21, dispatching her opponent in two sets. (Courtesy photo)

Slam title. “I think this is a moment that I’ve been working for during the entire preseason. It’s really weird when you get to that final point. You start trembling because you think of the what-ifs. I feel like I’m living in a what if? Right now.”

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Howard Women's Basketball Continues Winning Ways

5 Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal was recently named a 2021 NBA All-Star Game starter and has been the driving force behind his team's recent success. (Courtesy photo/Washington Wizards)

getting tired in doing the right things on the floor, and I think that has just been a testament to our maturity in the last few games."

Wizards forward Davis Bertans has been on a slump all season but found new life against the Nuggets when he caught fire off the bench, scoring a career-high in points (35) and three-pointers made, going nineof-11 from beyond the arc.

"We had great ball movement, they gave me a couple of good looks in the beginning, and when those shots went down, it just keeps going," Bertans said of his shooting performance. "I was just taking advantage of them, and when the shot is falling, sometimes there is nothing the defense can do."

Though Washington is finally putting everything together, the Wizards will embark on a three-game road trip against a trio of championship-con-

The Howard University Women’s Basketball squad is riding a three-game win streak after taking down Coppin State University on Feb. 21, 67-45. Howard (12-3) has a .800 winning percentage.

Three Bison scored in double-figures, with sophomore guard Iyanna Warren leading the way with 11 points and filled the stat sheet with two assists and three steals.

Howard jumped out to a 16-0 run in the first quarter and controlled the pace the entire way. Coppin State struggled to find any rhythm offensively, and Howard held the Lady Eagles scoreless in the final four minutes of the match.

The Bison are eyeing a potential No. 1 seed berth in the 2021 Cricket Wireless MEAC Basketball Tournament held in March but will have to take care of business against Delaware State University Feb. 27-28.

“We just want to close out the season strong,” said Howard University Head Coach Ty Grace. “We know Delaware State is going to be another challenging game. It’s going to be a road trip, they are going to be prepared for us.

“We talked about these last two weeks will be crucial, where we want to stand going into the tournament, and if we do what we need to do, hopefully, we will be in the right place at the right time.” WI

Boxer Adrien Broner Victorious After Two-Year Hiatus Former four-time World Champion boxer Adrien Broner returned to the ring after a twoyear absence and scored a unanimous decision victory over Jovanie Santiago on Feb. 21 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs) struggled early, but “The Problem” pulled away late and won rounds seven through ten. The contest was scored 116111, 117-110, and 115-112, all in favor of Broner.

tending teams starting with the Los Angeles Lakers, then Los Angeles Clippers, and finally travel to Denver on Feb. 25.

If they can keep the win streak rolling, Washington can gain more ground in the standings before host-

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“That was cool,” said Broner, who had his hand raised for the first time in four years and most recently fell to Manny Pacquiao in 2019. “I want to go home and really look at my fight. I haven’t fought in two years. But I felt good. I felt like I won the fight. I felt like I beat him with the jab, honestly. But it felt good to get my hand raised, though.”

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ing the Minnesota Timberwolves at home on Feb. 27. Washington currently sits only three games back in the Southeast Division, with their playoff hopes lofty but still intact.

"We're ready to play consistent basketball on the defensive end. We

just gotta keep that up," Brooks said of what the team needs to do to keep hope alive. "[We need to] have the defensive edge, and our offense is gonna click once we start making three's consistently." WI danielkucin88

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 41

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COVID from Page 1 ple. As the United States of America ... the only way to spare more pain and more loss, the only way," he said.

Despite the immense toll on the nation, former Food and Drug Administration chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb pointed to reasons for optimism in the months ahead.

“I think we're going to continue to see infection rates decline into the spring and the summer. Right now, they're falling quite dramatically,” he said while speaking to reporters on CBS News’ ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday.

Still, he noted that he doubts the U.S. will ever reach “true” herd immunity. But with a significant percentage of Americans having been infected and a growing number of people now being vaccinated, he said the disease is transferring "at a much slower rate.”

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease expert, called the U.S. death toll “stunning” and said “intense” political divisiveness have contributed to the nation’s poor handling of the pandemic.

A FINAL LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

A recent analysis of the milestone reached in the U.S. by National Geographic puts the number of deaths – over 500,000 – in terms that many find unbelievable.

In 2020, the U.S. saw a more than 15 percent increase in deaths over the prior year, the highest year-on-year rise in deaths across the U.S. since 1918, which experienced both a global flu epidemic and the First World War. The colossal death toll forces us to confront a distressing number that has affected some groups more than others. Most of the dead have been Americans 65 and over. People of color are

STUDENTS from Page 13 Face masks for students and adults are required inside all buildings and school buses, which are slated to transport a maximum of 21 students and one per seat.

One item not noted in the reopening plan are mandatory vaccines for school employees.

Without required vaccinations for teachers, and Prince George’s continuing to record the highest number of confirmed cases, Gerrod Tyler isn’t sending his seventh-grade daughter back to school.

“I believe that a return to school with 2½ months left in the school

also dying at disproportionate rates: Deaths among Blacks are 1.9 times higher than among non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics and Latinos 2.3 times higher, and Native Americans 2.4 times higher.

That said, here’s another way to envision what 500,000 really means.

There are 525,600 minutes in a year. That’s one COVID-19 death per minute, for almost an entire year.

A line of 500,000 caskets, laid end to end, would stretch for 645 miles.

Those coffins would reach from New York City to Indianapolis.

It would take a wall almost nine times the length of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the District to list the names of every American who has died from COVID-19. The 58,318 names of those who perished in the Vietnam War are etched in the monument’s black granite.

The number of recorded deaths would equal nearly all the fast-food cooks in the country. In 2019, a year before the pandemic led to massive unemployment, there were 527,220 cooks in the industry.

The number of Americans who attended the Woodstock music festival in New York in 1969 equals those citizens who have died from the corona-

virus. Newspapers estimated that half a million traveled to the festival.

Losses to COVID-19 stand about 25 percent greater than the U.S. military death toll in World War II. The official count of service members lost in that war has been recorded at 405,399 – it would be like losing the entire population of Atlanta which stood at 488,800 in 2019.

It might look like losing all the school bus drivers in the U.S. In 2018, there were 504,150 drivers transporting students and special clients, including the elderly and people with disabilities.

It would be as if we lost all U.S. Postal Service workers. The postal service had 496,934 career employees in 2019.

If each death were marked with the blink of an eye, it would take 14 hours of rapid blinking to count off all the victims.

If measured in the skies, 500,000 is a hundred times more than all the stars visible to the naked eye.

These figures do not include tens of thousands of deaths that may have been related to the virus but were not recorded as COVID-19 deaths, such as deaths before testing became more widely available.

WI

system will do more to disrupt children’s learning than to help,” said Tyler, PTSA president of Maya Angelou French Immersion School in Temple Hills. “Our teachers are teaching in class and virtually at the same time.

What happens when we have tech issues? What happens when the sound is not clear for those who are attending virtually? I just don’t think we’ve thought everything through.”

Taj Wilson of Temple Hills said he and his wife, a registered nurse, continue to discuss on whether to allow their three children to return to school.

His two daughters, one in high school and the other in elementary

school, are thriving through virtual learning. It’s been slightly challenging for his son in middle school.

“I am looking at these private schools and other schools in the area that have gone back to school and the data that I have seen is there have been no outbreaks with teachers and students,” said Wilson, a police officer at Georgetown University in Northwest. “I get it, [Prince George’s] is a larger scale of students. Why couldn’t we do that with our school system with all the taxes that we’re paying?”

WI Contributing Writer Curtis Knowles contributed to this story.

WI @jabariwill

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

RELIGION the religion corner WITH LYNDIA GRANT

Ida B. Wells: A Black History Tribute

It seems only fitting that we would take the time to honor Ida B. Wells during these perilous times, as African Americans are still seemingly being looked upon as second-class citizens. White supremacy is still rearing its ugly head. We saw a lynching noose, but this time it was for our former vice president, Mike Pence. What a reminder of the days of Ida B. Wells, the founder of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896 and a founding member of the NAACP. During the late 1800s, Wells traveled throughout the South, investigating lynchings by using records, eyewitness interviews and testimony from families. As The New York Times' obituary of Wells noted, "She pioneered reporting techniques that remain central tenets of modern journalism."

When Wells was 21, five years after her parents and baby brother died from yellow fever, she moved her six other siblings to Memphis.

She accepted a job as a school-

teacher in rural Woodstock, Tennessee, but eventually moved into the field of journalism One day in 1892, her pastor told Ida something that changed the trajectory of her life forever.

He said, "Miss Wells, something bad has happened in Memphis."

Her hand shook slightly as she took the Memphis Commercial newspaper. He said, "Last night, a mob of white men dragged three Black men down to the railroad tracks, and shot them to death."

To her amazement, one killed was Thomas Moss. He begged for his life for the sake of his wife, daughter and unborn child. When he realized he was going to die, he said, "Tell my people to go West, there is no justice for them here."

Wells said, "It can't be!" Devastated, she said "Thomas Moss and his wife are my good friends.

I'm godmother to their daughter, Maurine!"

She caught the next train back to Memphis but arrived too late to attend Moss' funeral. Heading straight to comfort his pregnant widow, Betty, and their daughter, Maurine, she was determined to bring comfort to her close friends.

Brutal killings of Blacks in the South were on the rise, and they were going unpunished by the law.

"Betty," Ida said to the tearful widow, "I'll never forget the talks Thomas and I had when he deliv-

Mt. Zion Baptist Church

ered mail to the Free Speech every day. He believed that we should defend the cause of right and fight wrong wherever we saw it."

What she found was that oft-repeated accusations of Black men raping white women — accusations for which they were routinely lynched — were almost always false. Disputes usually started over completely unrelated things, as it had with her friend Thomas Moss, who was killed over an altercation that began with children playing marbles. She boldly reported her findings in an editorial in the newspaper that she co-owned and edited, the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight.

That editorial, however, caused a riot in Memphis and she was forced to leave her home to save her life. Her newspaper's office was destroyed by a group from Memphis, and her partner was also forced to flee the town.

Ida sent a telegram to her lawyer to find out if her partner was safe.

Friends sent letters and telegrams back to her that there were orders to kill her on sight.

She moved to Chicago, where she married Ferdinand Barnett, a lawyer and journalist. Ida devoted the rest of her life to investigating, reporting and lecturing worldwide on the growing number of Blacks lynched.

WI

John F. Johnson Reverend Dr.

5101 14th Street, NW / Washington, DC 20011 Phone: 202-726-2220 Fax: 202-726-9089

1306 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20005

“A Church with a past to remember – and a future to mold” www.mtzbcdc.org

EMPLOYMENT LAWYERS MCCOLLUM & ASSOCIATES, LLC ADA, Age Discrimination, Benefits, Civil Rights, COBRA, Contracts, Deaf Law, Defamation, Disability Law, Discipline, Discrimination, FMLA, FLSA, FOIA, Family Responsibility, Harassment, HIPPA, OSHA, National Origin Discrimination, Non-Compete, Race Discrimination, Rehabilitation Act, Retaliation, Severance Agreements, Sexual Harassment, Torts, Whistleblowing, Wage-and-Hour, Wrongful Discharge SERVING MARYLAND, DC, & NORTH CAROLINA

www.jmlaw.net

(301) 864-6070

jmccollum@jmlaw.net

Mount Olivet Lutheran Church

Reverend John W. Davis Pastor

Service and Times Sunday Worship Service - 8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

Children’s Church - 11:00 a.m. (1st & 3rd Sundays) Communion - 10 a.m. 4th Sunday Sunday School - 9:15 a.m. (4th Sunday 8:15 a.m.)

Prayer Meeting & Bible Study - Wednesday 7:00 p.m.

(301) 864-6070

Service and Times Divine Worship, Sunday 10:00 a.m.

Communion 1st and 3rd Sunday “Friendliest Church in the City” Website: mountolivetdc.org Email: mtolivedc@gmail.com

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 43

RELIGION The Miracle Center of Faith Missionary Baptist Church

Pilgrim Baptist Church

Bishop Michael C. Turner, Sr. Senior Pastor

Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor

9161 Hampton Overlook Capitol Heights, MD 20743 Phone: 301-350-2200 / Fax: 301-499-8724

700 I Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 547-8849

Service and Times Sunday Worship Times : 7:30 AM 7 10:00 AM Communion: 1st Sunday Sunday School: 9:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday, 12 Noon Bible Study in homes: Tuesday 7:00 PM Website: www.themiraclecenterFMBC.com Email: Miraclecenterfmbs@gmail.com Motto: “We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight”

Blessed Word of Life Church

Service and Times Worship Sundays: 7:30 & 11:00 AM 5th Sundays: 9:30 AM 3rd Sundays: Baptism & Holy Communion Prayer & Praise: Wednesdays @ Noon & 6:30 PM www.pilgrimbaptistdc.org

Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ

Church of Living Waters

Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church

Rev. Paul Carrette Senior Pastor Harold Andrew Assistant Pastor 4915 Wheeler Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-894-6464 Service and Times Sunday Service: 8:30am& 11:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM Communion Service: First Sunday www.livingwatersmd.org

St. Stephen Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Michael E. Bell, Sr., / Pastor 2498 Alabama Ave., SE - Washington D.C. 20020 Office: (202) 889-7296 / Fax: (202) 889-2198 - www.acamec.org Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 8:00am and 11:00 AM Sunday Church School - 9:15am & Sunday Adult Forum Bible Study - 10:30 AM 2nd & 4th Monday Women’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM Tuesday Jr./Sr. Bible Study: 10:00 AM Tuesday Topical Bible Study: 6:30 PM Tuesday New Beginnings Bible Study: 6:30 PM Wednesday Pastoral Bible Study: 6:30 PM Wednesday Children’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM Thursday Men’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM Friday before 1st Sunday Praise & Worship Service: 6:30 PM Saturday Adult Bible Study: 10:00 AM “The Amazing, Awesome, Audacious Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church”

Third Street Church of God

Dr. Dekontee L. & Dr. Ayele A. Johnson Pastors

Reverend William Young IV Pastor

Bishop Lanier C. Twyman, Sr. Senior Pastor

Rev. Cheryl J. Sanders, Th.D. Senior Pastor

4001 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 (202) 265-6147 Office 1-800 576-1047 Voicemail/Fax

3845 South Capitol Street Washington, DC 20032 (202) 562-5576 (Office) / (202) 562-4219 (Fax)

5757 Temple Hill Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748 Office 301-899-8885 – fax 301-899-2555 Services and Times Sunday Early Morning Worship: 7:45 AM Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Morning Worship: 10:45 AM Tuesday: 7:00pm/Kingdom Building Bible Institute Wednesday , 12:30 PM Mid-Day Bible Study Wednesday: Prayer/Praise/Bible Study-7:30 PM Baptism & Communion Service: 4th Sunday – 10:30 AM

1204 Third Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 202-347-5889 office / 202-638-1803 fax

Service and Times Sunday School: 9:30 AM Sunday Morning Worship Service: 11:00 AM Communion Service: First Sunday Prayer Service/Bible Study: Tuesday, 6:30 PM www.blessedwordoflifechurch.org E-mail: church@blessedwordoflifechurch.org

Campbell AME Church Rev. Dr. Henry Y. White 2562 MLK Jr. Ave., SE - Washington, DC 20020 Adm. Office 202-678-2263 Email: Campbell@mycame.org Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 AM Sunday Church School: 8:45 AM Bible Study Wednesday: 12:00 Noon Wednesday: 7:00 PM Thursday: 7:00 PM “Reaching Up To Reach Out” Mailing Address : Campbell AME Church 2502 Stanton Road SE - Washington, DC 20020

Turning Hearts Church Virgil K. Thomas, Sr. Senior Pastor/ Teacher 421 Alabama Ave. SE Washington, DC 20032 Phone: 202-746-0113 Fax: 301-843-2445 Service and Times Sunday School: 10:15 AM Sunday Worship Service: 11;15 AM Children’s Church: 11:15 AM Tuesday Bible Study: 6:30 PM Motto : “A Great Commitment to the Great Commandment” Website: www.turningheartschurchdc.org Email: gr8luv4u2@gmail.com

Services and Times Sundays: 10:00am Worship Services Bible Study: Wonderful Wednesdays in Worship and the Word Bible Study Wednesdays 12:00 Noon; 6:30 PM (dinner @ 5:30 PM) Sunday School: 9:00 AM – Hour of Power “An inclusive ministry where all are welcomed and affirmed.” www.covenantdc.org

“We are one in the Spirit” www.ssbc5757.org / E-mail: ssbc5757@verizon.net

Services and Times Sunday School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM Sunday Community Worship Service: 8:30 AM “Ambassadors for Christ to the Nation’s Capital” www.thirdstreet.org Live Stream Sunday Worship Service begins @ 12:00 noon www.thirdstreet.org

Crusader Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Alton W. Jordan Pastor 800 I Street, NE - Washington, DC 20002 202-548-0707 - Fax No. 202-548-0703 Service and Times Sunday Morning Worship: 11:00 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday Sunday School: 9:45 AM Men’s Monday Bible Study: 7:00 PM Wednesday Night Bible Study: 7:00 PM Women’s Ministry Bible Study: 3rd Friday -7:00 PM Computer Classes: Announced Family and Marital Counseling by appointment E-mail: Crusadersbaptistchurch@verizon.net www.CrusadersBaptistChurch.org / “God is Love”

Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.; Senior Bishop & Evangelist Susie C. Owens – Co-Pastor 610 Rhode Island Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 529-4547 office • (202) 529-4495 fax

Sunday Worship Service: 8:00 AM and 10:45 AM Sunday Youth Worship Services: 1st & 4th 10:45 AM; 804 R.I. Ave., NE 5th 8 AM & 10:45 AM; Main Church Prayer Services Tuesday – Noon, Wednesday 6:00 AM & 6:30 PM Calvary Bible Institute: Year-Round Contact Church / Communion Every 3rd Sunday The Church in The Hood that will do you Good! www.gmchc.org / emailus@gmchc.org

Isle of Patmos Baptist Church Reverend Dr. Calvin L. Matthews Senior Pastor 1200 Isle of Patmos Plaza, Northeast Washington, DC 20018 Office: (202) 529-6767 - Fax: (202) 526-1661 Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM Holy Communion: 2nd Sunday at 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM Sunday Church School: 9:20 AM Seniors Bible Study: Tuesdays at 10:30 AM Noon Day Prayer Service: Tuesdays at Noon Bible Study: Tuesdays at 7 PM Motto: “A Ministry of Reconciliation Where Everybody is Somebody!”

Website: http://isleofpatmosbc.org Church Email: ipbcsecretary@verizon.net

St Marks Baptist Come Worship with us...

Dr. Raymond T. Matthews Pastor and First Lady Marcia Matthews St. Mark's Baptist Church 624 Underwood Street, NW Washington, dc 20011 Services and Times Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wed. Noon Day prayer service Thur. Prayer service: 6:45 PM Thur. Bible Study: 7:15 PM

Twelfth Street Christian Church Reverend Dr. Paul H. Saddler Senior Pastor (Disciples of Christ) 1812 12th Street, NW - Washington, DC 20009 Phone: 202-265-4494 Fax: 202 265 4340 Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM Communion every Sunday: 11:00 AM Sunday School: 10:00 AM Bible Study Tuesday: 12 Noon Pastor’s Bible Study Tuesday: 6:30 PM Motto: “Discover Something Wonderful” Website: 12thscc.org / Email: Twelfthstcc@aol.com

Mount Carmel Baptist Church Reverend Dr. Paris L Smith, Sr. Senior Pastor 901 Third Street N.W. Washington, DC. 20001 Phone (202) 842-3411 Fax (202) 682-9423 Service and Times Sunday Church School : 9:00 AM Sunday Morning Worship: 10:10 AM Bible Study Tuesday: 6: 00 PM Prayer Service Tuesday: 7:00 PM Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday 10:10 AM themcbc.org

44 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

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RELIGION Shabbath Commandment Church Bishop Adrian A. Taylor, Sr. Pastor 7801 Livingston Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-534-5471 Service and Times Sabbath School 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 AM Service 11:00 AM Praise & Worship Preaching 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM Motto: “A Church Keeping It Real for Real.”

Website: Shabbathcommandmentchruch.org Email: Praisebetoyhwh@gmail.com

Zion Baptist Church Rev. Keith W. Byrd, Sr. Pastor 4850 Blagdon Ave, NW - Washington D.C 20011 Phone (202) 722-4940 - Fax (202) 291-3773 Service and Times 9:00 a.m. – Sunday School 10:15 a.m. – Worship Service Wed. Noon: Dea. Robert Owens Bible Study 7 PM Pastor’s Bible Study Ordinance of Baptism 2nd Sunday, Holy Communion 4th Sunday Mission: Zion shall: Enlist Sinners, Educate Students, Empower the Suffering, Encourage the Saints, And Exalt our Savior. (Acts 2: 41-47) www.zionbaptistchurchdc.org

St. Luke Baptist Church Rev. Aubrey C. Lewis Pastor 1415 Gallatin Street, NW Washington, DC 20011-3851 P: (202) 726-5940 Service and Times Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM Sunday School: 9:15 AM Holy Communion: 11:00 a.m., 3rd Sun. Bible Institute: Wednesday - 1:30 PM Prayer Meeting: Wednesday - 12:00 Noon

All Nations Baptist Church Rev. Dr. James Coleman Pastor 2001 North Capitol St, N.E. - Washington, DC 20002 Phone (202) 832-9591 Service and Times Sunday Church School – 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service – 11:00 AM Holy Communion – 1st Sunday at 11:00 AM Prayer – Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Bible Study – Wednesdays, 7:00 PM Christian Education / School of Biblical Knowledge Saturdays, 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM, Call for Registration Website: www.allnationsbaptistchurch.com All Nations Baptist Church – A Church of Standards

Israel Baptist Church

Rev. Daryl F. Bell Pastor 2324 Ontario Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-1730 Service and Times Sunday School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM Baptismal Service: 1st Sunday – 9:30 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday – 11:00 AM Prayer Meeting & Bible Study: Wednesday -7:30 PM “Where Jesus is the King”

Dr. Earl D. Trent Senior Pastor

2409 Ainger Pl.,SE – WDC 20020 (202) 678-0884 – Office / (202) 678-0885 – Fax “Moving Faith Forward” 0% Perfect . . . 100% Forgiven!

623 Florida Ave.. NW - WDC. 20001 Church (202) 667-3409 / Study (202) 265-0836 Home Study (301) 464-8211 / Fax (202) 483-4009

Service and Times Sunday Worship: 8:00 AM & 10:45 AM Baptism/Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Family Bible Study Tuesdays – 6:30 PM Prayer Service: Tuesdays – 8:00 PM www.emmanuelbaptistchurchdc.org

Sermon On The Mount Temple Of Joy Apostolic Faith

Lincoln Park United Methodist Church Rev. Richard B. Black Pastor

Elder Herman L. Simms Pastor

1251 Saratoga Ave., NE Washington, DC 20018 (202) 269-0288

1301 North Carolina Ave. N E Washington, D C 20002 202 543 1318 - lincolnpark@lpumcdc.org www.lpumcdc.org

5606 Marlboro Pike District Heights, MD 20747 301-735-6005

Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 10:45 AM Sunday School: 9:15 AM Holy Communion1st Sunday: 10:45 AM Prayer Service: Wednesday at 6:30 PM Bible Study: Wednesday at 7:00 PM Bible Study: Tuesday at 10:30 AM

Mount Moriah Baptist Church Dr. Lucius M. Dalton Senior Pastor

Service and Times Sunday Worship: 10:00 AM Holy Communion: First Sunday 10:00 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday @ 12 noon and 6:30 PM Motto: "Faith On The Hill"

Service and Times Sunday Apostolic Worship Services 11:00 A.M and 5:00 PM Communion and Feet Wash 4th Sunday at 5:00 PM Prayer/Seeking: Wednesday at 8:00 PM Apostolic in Doctrine, Pentecostal in Experience, Holiness in Living, Uncompromised and Unchanged.

The Apostolic Faith is still alive –Acts 2:42

New Commandment Baptist Church

Eastern Community Baptist Church Damion M. Briggs Pastor

Rev. Stephen E. Tucker Senior Pastor

1636 East Capitol Street, NE Washington, DC 20003 Telephone: 202-544-5588 - Fax: 202-544-2964

8213 Manson Street Landover, MD 20785 Tel: (301) 322-9787 Fax: (301) 322-9240

13701 Old Jericho Park Road Bowie, MD. 20720 (301) 262-0560

Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 7:45 AM and 10:45 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sundays at 7:45 AM & 10:45 AM Sunday School: 9:30 AM Prayer & Praise Service: Tuesdays at 12 noon & 6:30 PM Bible Study: Tuesdays at 1 pm and 7 PM Youth Bible Study: Fridays at 7 PM

Service and Times Early Morning Message: 7:30 AM Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 AM Sunday Church School: 9:00 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday 7:30 AM & 10:00 AM Prayer, Praise and Testimony: Wednesday 7:00 PM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM

Service and Times Sunday Worship: 11 AM Sunday School: 10 AM Wednesday Mid-Week Worship, Prayer & Bible Study: Wed. 7 PM

Rehoboth Baptist Church

Reverend Peter R. Blue Sr. Pastor

Rev. Curtis l. Staley Pastor

2001 Brooks Drive District Heights MD. 20744 240.838.7074

621 Alabama Ave., S.E.- Washington, D.C. 20032 P: (202) 561-1111 - F: (202) 561-1112

Service and Times Sunday Worship Experience: 10:15am Sunday School: 9:00am Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Morning Noontime Bible Study: Tuesday @ 12:00pm Prayer Meeting/Bible Study: Tuesday @7:00pm Theme: "Building On A Firm Foundation"

Service and Times Sunday Service: 10:00 AM Sunday School for all ages: 8:30 AM 1st Sunday Baptism: 10:00 AM 2nd Sunday Holy Communion:10:00 AM Tuesday: Bible Study: 6:30 PM Prayer Meeting: 7:45 PM

Email: revprbstmbc@gmail.com Website: www.stmatthewsbaptist.org

Motto: “Where God is First and Where Friendly People Worship”

“Real Worship for Real People” Website: www.easterncommunity.org Email: ecc@easterncommunity.org

“A Church Where Love Is Essential and Praise is Intentional”

Foggy Bottom - Founded in 1867 728 23rd Street, NW - Washington, DC 20037 Church office: 202-333-3985 - Fax : 202-338-4958

Shiloh Baptist Church

Matthews Memorial Baptist Church Dr. Joseph D. Turner / Senior Pastor 2616 MLK Ave., SE - Washington, DC 20020 Office 202-889-3709 - Fax 202-678-3304 Service and Times Early Worship Service: 8:00 AM Worship Service: 11:00 AM New Member’s Class: 9:45 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday, 11:00 AM Church School: 9:45 AM Wednesday 12:00pm Bible Study Prayer, Praise and Bible Study: 7:00 PM Saturday Bible Study: 11:00 AM Baptism 4th Sunday: 11:00 AM “Empowered to love and Challenged to Lead a Multitude of Souls to Christ”

Peace Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Michael T. Bell 712 18th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 Phone 202-399-3450/ Fax 202-398-8836 Service and Times Sunday Early Morning Prayer & Bible Study Class: 8:00 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wednesday Service: 12:00 PM “The Loving Church of the living lord “

4504 Gault Place, N.E. / Washington, D.C 20019 202-397-7775 – 7184 Service and Times Sunday Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service : 11:00 AM The Lord’s Supper 1st Sunday Prayer & Praise Services: Wednesday 7:00 PM Bible Study: 7:30 PM Saturday before 4th Sunday Men, Women, Youth Discipleship Ministries: 10:30 AM A Christ Centered Church htubc@comcast.net

Christ Embassy DC

Kelechi Ajieren Coordinator 6839 Eastern Avenue, R1 Takoma Park, MD 20912 (202) 556-7065 Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wednesday Bible Study: 7:00 PM Friday Evening Service: 7:00 PM ; Last Friday “…Giving Your Life a Meaning” www.Christembassydc.org Christ.embassy.dc@hotmail.com

Pennsylvania Ave. Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Kendrick E. Curry Pastor 3000 Pennsylvania Ave.. S.E Washington, DC 20020 202 581-1500 Service and Times Sunday Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM Monday Adult Bible Study: 7:00 PM Wednesday Youth & Adult Activities: 6:30 PM Prayer Service Bible Study

First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Mt. Horeb Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Wallace Charles Smith Pastor

Rev. Oran W. Young Pastor

Rev. Dr. H. B. Sampson, III Pastor

9th & P Street, N.W. - W. D.C. 20001 (202) 232-4288

602 N Street NW - Washington, D.C. 20001 Office:(202) 289-4480 Fax: (202) 289-4595

2914 Bladensburg Road, NE Wash., DC 20018 Office: (202) 529-3180 - Fax: (202) 529-7738 Service and Times Worship Service: 7:30 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:30 AM Holy Communion: 4th Sunday 7:30AM & 10:30 AM Prayer Services:Tuesday 7:30 PM. Wednesday 12 Noon

www.stmarysfoggybottom.org Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org

Service and Times First Sunday Worship Service (one service): 10:00 AM Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sunday Worship service: 7:45 AM and 10:55 AM Sunday Church School/Bible Study: 9:30 AM Thursday Prayer Service: 6:30 PM

All are welcome to St. Mary’s to Learn, Worship, and Grow.

Email: sbc@shilohbaptist.org Website: shilohbaptist.org

Service and Times Sundays: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Music and Hymns Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist

Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 AM Sunday Church School: 8:45 – 9:45 AM Holy Communion: Every First Sunday Intercessory Prayer: Monday – 7:00-8:00 PM Pastor’s Bible Study: Wednesday –7:45 PM Midweek Prayer: Wednesday – 7:00 PM Noonday Prayer Every Thursday

Rev. Dr. George C. Gilbert Senior Pastor

Email Address: admin@pbc712.org

Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church The Rev. E. Bernard Anderson Priest

Holy Trinity United Baptist Church

Florida Avenue Baptist Church

Reverend Christopher L. Nichols Pastor

Rev. Dr. Jerryl V. Moody Pastor-Elect

Web: www.mountmoriahchurch.org Email: mtmoriah@mountmoriahchurch.org

St. Matthews Baptist Church

Emmanuel Baptist Church

King Emmanuel Baptist Church

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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.

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 45

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2020 ADM 584

2020 ADM 000532

2021 ADM 000013

Emma E. McEntyre Decedent

Gwendolyn Jean Jenkins Decedent

S. Saunders aka Shirley Blackman Saunders Decedent

James Larry Frazier, Esq. 918 Maryland Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney

Deborah D. Boddie ProbatelawDC 1308 Ninth Street, NW, Ste. 300 Washington, DC 20001 Attorney

Nigel L. Scott 7306 Georgia Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20012 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

LEGAL NOTICES SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION 2021 NRT 000002 Mary Alice Sohngen Name of Deceased Settlor NOTICE OF EXISTENCE OF REVOCABLE TRUST Mary Alice Sohngen, whose address was 1680 Spring Creek Road, Macungle, PA 18062, created a revocable trust on September 20, 2001, which remained in existence on the date of her death on August 6, 2012, and Maura DeNoia, aka Maura Sohngen DeNoia, whose address is 4 Cedarwood Drive, Fairmouth, DE 04105, is the currently acting trustee, hereinafter the Trustee. Communications to the Trust should be mailed or directed to Edward G. Varrone, Esq. at 1825 K Street, NW, Suite 1150, Washington, DC 20006 (202) 861-3150 edv@varronelaw.com

Carol B. Mercer, whose address is 3927 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20032, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Emma E. McEntyre who died on June 30, 2020 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding.

Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 8/11/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 8/11/2021, or be forever barred.

Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Steven Calvert, whose address is 524 North Royal Ave., Front Royal, VA 22630, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Gwendolyn Jean Jenkins who died on November 25, 2017 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 8/18/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 8/18/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Anthony J. Thorne, whose address is 5422 13th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of S. Saunders aka Shirley Blackman Saunders who died on August 19, 2020 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 8/25/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 8/25/2021, or be forever barred.

Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 2/11/2021

Date of first publication: 2/18/2021

Date of first publication: 2/25/2021

Carol B. Mercer Personal Representative

Steven Calvert Personal Representative

Anthony J. Thorne Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

TRUE TEST COPY

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Washington Informer

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2018 ADM 001323

2020 ADM 833

Alean Yon Decedent

Bernard Burford Decedent

TRUE TEST COPY

Deborah D. Boddie, Esq. Probate Law DC 1308 Ninth Street, NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20001 Attorney

Tina Smith Nelson Legal Counsel for the Elderly 601 E Street NW, Washington DC 20049 Attorney

Washington Informer

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Pamela K. Hamilton, whose address is 5463 Nebraska Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Fedilia E. Kehayias who died on May 30, 2020 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 8/18/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 8/18/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Wanda Robinson, whose address is 849 Stonebridge Park Circle, Lithonia, Georgia 30058, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Alean Yon who died on December 19, 2007 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 8/18/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 8/18/2021, or be forever barred.

Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Lelia Ross-Jones, whose address is 1008 31st Street, SE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Bernard Burford who died on 1/16/2019 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 8/25/2021. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 8/25/2021, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 2/18/2021

Date of first publication: 2/18/2021

Date of first publication: 2/25/2021

Pamela K. Hamilton Personal Representative

Wanda Robinson Personal Representative

Lelia Ross-Jones Personal Representative

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2020 ADM 000635 Fedilia E. Kehayias Decedent Edward G. Varrone, Esq. 1825 K Street, NW Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

TRUE TEST COPY

TRUE TEST COPY

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Washington Informer

Washington Informer

46 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

The Trust is subject to claims of the deceased settlor’s creditors, costs of administration of the settlor’s estate, the expense of the deceased settlor’s funeral and disposal of remains, and statutory allowances to a surviving spouse and children to the extent the deceased settlor’s residuary probate estate is inadequate to satisfy those claims, costs, expenses, and allowances.

Claims of the deceased settlor’s creditors are barred as against the Trustee and the trust property unless presented to the Trustee at the address provided herein on or before 8/25/2021 (6 months after the date of the first publication of this notice.) An action to contest the validity of this trust must be commenced by the earliest of (1), 8/6/2013 (One year from date of death of deceased settlor) (2), 8/25/2021 (6 months from the date of first publication of this notice) or (3) Ninety days after the Trustee sends the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing the person of the trust’s existence, of the Trustee’s name and address, and of the time allowed for commencing a proceeding.

The Trustee may proceed to distribute the trust property in accordance with the terms of the trust before the expiration of the time within which an action must be commenced unless the Trustee knows of a pending judicial proceeding contesting the validity of the trust or the Trustee has received notice from a potential contestant who thereafter commences a judicial proceeding within sixty days after notification.

This Notice must be mailed postmarked within 15 days of its first publication to each heir and qualified beneficiary of the trust and any other person who would be an interested person within the meaning of D.C. Code 20-101(d).

Date of First Publication: 2/25/2021 Maura DeNoia Signature of Trustee

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

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KECKLEY from Page 33 asking leaders in the Black church to take up offerings for her former boss.

“She even asked Frederick Douglass to take part in a lecture to raise money, although the lecture ultimately did not come to fruition,” the White House historians wrote.

The book was not well received by Lincoln or the American public.

Whites turned on Keckley for disclosing conversations and her relationship with Mrs. Lincoln.

Mostly, they claimed it violated social norms of privacy, race, class and gender.

“Her choice to publish correspondence between herself and Mary Lincoln was seen as an infringement on the former first lady’s privacy,” historians wrote.

Keckley addressed her critics in the preface to her memoir: “If I have betrayed confidence in anything I have published, it has been to place Mrs. Lincoln in a better light before the world. A breach of trust – if breach it can be called – of this kind is always excusable,” Keckley penned.

“My own character, as well as the character of Mrs. Lincoln, is at stake since I have been intimately associated with that lady in the most eventful periods of her life. I have been her confidante, and if evil charges are laid at her door, they also must be laid at mine, since I have been a party to all her movements,” she added.

Keckley continued: “To defend myself, I must defend the lady that I have served. The world has judged Mrs. Lincoln by the facts which float upon the surface, and through her have partially judged me, and the only way to convince them that wrong was not meditated is to explain the motives that actuated us.”

Born in Dinwiddie County, Va. in 1818, Keckley endured years of beatings and sexual assault as a slave. She bore her slave master’s child, George, and then was given away to her owner’s daughter, who moved her to St. Louis.

Keckley learned the art of dressmaking and, in 1852, married James Keckley, whom she believed was free.

Before her marriage, she negotiated a $1,200 price to buy her freedom but discovered she couldn’t raise the money for herself, her son, and her husband.

However, customers to her small seamstress shop loaned Keckley the money to purchase freedom for her and her son, and in 1860, she moved to Washington, D.C. “She left Washington in 1892 to teach domestic skills at Wilberforce University, but ill health forced her

WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER

to return and spend her final years in the Home for Destitute Women and Children, which she had helped to establish,” historians wrote.

Elizabeth Keckley died in 1907 after suffering a stroke. WI @StacyBrownMedia

DELANY from Page 34 When the Civil War started however, Delany returned to the U.S. and served as a major in the U.S. Colored Troops, becoming the first Black field officer in the U.S. Army.

More than 130 years after his death, Black people in the United States, 42 million strong, enjoy some level of political representation at all various levels of government. Even so, this racial-ethnic group suffers from a bevy of socioeconomic and health disparities, especially in portions of the country where Black people are highly concentrated.

The COVID-19 pandemic has since exacerbated these resource gaps.

At this juncture in history, some people like longtime historian Runoko Rashidi have found value in channeling Delany’s energy. Rashidi, who conducts virtual presentations on the Black presence around the world, often mentions Delany as a role model for pioneer African historians.

“Martin Delany strove for racial pride, self-esteem, and knowledge of self. That hasn’t changed at all,” Rashidi told The Informer.

“The need for that exists today. Before Marcus Garvey, Delany gave us the expression ‘Africa for the Africans,’” he continued.

“We need Africa, and Africa needs us. Delany was a remarkable person, but especially considering the life he lived. We can take inspiration from him, the same way we love Garvey, Malcolm X, and Frederick Douglass.

They live through us.”

WI @SamPKCollins

PICKENS from Page 32 closely and desired to emulate her success.

“She taught us how to focus, how to shut everything out, and how important all of that was,” Pickens stated. “I learned so much from her, and I want to do the same for others.

Give back.”

In 2011, Pickens received an invite to study at The Juilliard School.

In 2015, she graduated from Juilliard with a bachelor of fine arts and later made her Broadway debut in Cirque du Soleil’s “Paramour.”

Additionally, Pickens has performed in “The Wrong Man” and later cast in the long-running television hit, “Law & Order: SVU.” In keeping a full calendar, Pickens hosts “Kickback & Chat with Amber Pickens,” a talk show broadcast on local cable television in Texas and state schools.

“I want people to realize that Black history is [American] history,” Pickens told NNPA Newswire. “[Black American heroes] helped to shape the world.”

She said her new coloring book shines a positive spotlight on African American dance and entertainment legends.

“Even as an adult, I do not hear about these individuals on a regular basis,” Pickens related.

“You have so many Black kids in the ballet world, and we’re forced to compare our bodies and our ways when we should be celebrating our differences and learning from each other, not questioning our beings.

Coloring is such a joy, and it takes you away from what’s going on in the world and increases positivity in your life.”

To purchase “Blooming in Motion,” visit https://www.bloominginmotion.com/ WI @StacyBrownMedia

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 47

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48 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

have a disproportionate impact on underserved communities of color in American cities, The Center for American Progress reports the toll on the District has been “devastating.”

Councilmember Trayon White called on Mayor Bowser to declare a "state of emergency" due to an abundance of gun violence reported in the District from 2020 to 2021.

“We have to declare an emergency when it comes to the crime and violence,” said White who represents Ward 8. “We are burying our children. Something has to be done about the record number of shootings and homicides in the District.”

According to statistics released from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, there were 198 homicides in the city in 2020 with an additional 17 already reported in 2021. As of Feb. 1, the homicide rate had increased by six percent compared to this time last year.

Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen applauded the work of local advocates as well as the mayor for their efforts in creating this position.

“I am grateful to the violence prevention advocates and survivors, especially Moms Demand Action D.C., for pushing the District to act with strategy, urgency and vision through the creation of this position,” Allen said in a statement. “We cannot leave gun violence prevention siloed in the public safety cluster. It must be included in every decision about employment, health, housing, recreation and every other aspect of life where the District government can make a positive impact in residents’ lives.”

Studies indicate that community-based organizations focused on raising awareness and developing common-sense standards show marked results in reducing the rates of violence. With a public health approach to violence prevention, the entire city becomes involved in decreasing the use of gun violence.

One strategic move includes the establishing of venues for The Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, both in Northeast, fueled by a mission to foster community-based strategies to help prevent violence and increase public safety.

Services include the Pathways Program – a transitional employment program to decrease participants’ involvement in the criminal justice system – and the Family and Survivor Support which assists survivors and families of violent incidents when in crisis. The School Based Initiative

launched in 2019 in partnership with Anacostia High School to alleviate barriers to success for high-risk students.

Similarly, Cure the Streets, a public safety pilot program based in Wards 5, 7 and 8, hires and trains neighborhood residents who are credible in their communities to work as violence interrupters. Their tasks include working to mediate brewing conflicts and resolve them peacefully before they evolve into violence. The program also recruits outreach workers who connect participants with needed services such as housing, counseling, employment assistance – developing action plans leading to more positive futures.

“We need to do more for young people in our community” said Virginia White, a long-time Ward 8 resident. “Residents and government leaders working together will hope-

fully shift the focus and bring better coordination between local programs and services to bring real change.”

Harper started her career with D.C. Public Schools as a Substance Abuse Prevention Intervention Coordinator at the former Oak Hill Youth Center and has led extensive reforms in youth justice and violence prevention. Prior to the Mayor’s announcement, violence mitigation efforts have resided in two different offices: The Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, and the Office of the Attorney General's Cure the Streets Program.

The goal of these offices is to take a public health approach to gun violence by offering resources and support to young people who are involved in violence or at risk of becoming involved.

Harper is now tasked with centralizing the city's violence interruption efforts.

WI

PLAN from Page 11

way. They don’t want to consult with advisory neighborhood commissions or community organizations. The mayor’s amendments don’t address this at all.”

Norouzi wants the Bowser administration to re-write its amendments to reflect the needs of lower income District residents and for Mendelson to delay consideration of the plan until further community input takes place.

dents in the District—denounced it as racially bigoted.

“The development patterns in this city have produced an exodus of 40,000 Black residents from this city in the past two decades,” Norouzi said. “How will the mayor’s amendments change this? This plan says nothing about stopping the displacement of residents. It does not provide details on that.”

She said the plan doesn’t address Black poverty and calls for any changes to be made to it to push for “sharing the wealth and sharing the equity.”

Norouzi questions the housing amendment, asking rhetorically who benefits from it.

“The mayor talks about affordable housing for people or families who earn in the range of $70,000 or $80,000,” she said. “That’s not going to be much help for a Black family who earns $45,000 a year. It seems many Black families in the city won’t be able to take advantage of the new housing to be built.”

Norouzi said the biggest beneficiaries of the mayor’s amendments are developers.

“The land grab among developers is already taking place,” she said.

“The developers have been focusing on this comprehensive plan process for some time and want to use it as much as possible. Some developers want to construct buildings higher in height and with more density.

But they don’t want to consult with the community. They want to go to the city zoning board and have their

KINDER, GENTLER OPPOSITION

W. Earl Williams, a resident of the Hillcrest neighborhood in Ward 7 and former president of the D.C. Citizens Federation, doesn’t convey Norouzi’s ferocity toward the plan but voices concerns.

“I am concerned about the comprehensive plan supporting commercial development in residential areas such as mine,” he said. “In Hillcrest, we don’t want a commercial building next to a single-family home.”

Williams says he understands the importance of the plan and wants to see more widespread residential interest.

“When newcomers come to our city, they look at the comprehensive plan to decide where they want to live,” he said. “They are looking at areas that are going to boom economically. Our neighbors west of the Anacostia River pay attention to things like that but many people who live east don’t. We have to do that because our children’s lives are at stake.”

WI @JamesDCWrighter

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

MALVEAUX from Page 29 connected from national electric grids that might have been able to help when ERCOT could not. In the end, even though former Gov. Rick Perry said he would prefer to freeze than have the federal government involved, President Biden declared Texas an emergency and ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to direct resources to Texas.

The National Guard is delivering food, water, shelter and other emergency relief. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez crossed

MORAN from Page 29 now believe, planning ahead would have provided an easier and more peaceful death.

My family's situation is similar to many others: Fewer than half of all African Americans have spoken with their families about their end-of-life care priorities, and only one in three has a documented advanced directive that ensures they get the medical care they want at the end of life. An advanced directive is a simple document that you can fill out online and give to your doctor. It provides peace of mind by explaining what health care you want to receive or decline if you become severely injured or terminally ill.

African Americans also rarely use hospice, a Medicare benefit that provides comfort care services

MACK from Page 29 historically saying those still enslaved don't matter. I am in favor of celebrating and remembering June 19, however, I am not in favor of celebrating the notion of ALL or how EVAH you think, when I remember those 225,000plus who were not free.

It is historically clear that Black Liberation Day should be Dec. 6.

Those Black legislators and supporters of the current actions, I applaud your intent. However, if your intent is pure, then put aside your ego and replace it with truth and honor. America would never allow anyone to designate July 3rd as Independence Day. Not one person reading this article would accept any day other than their birthday as fact. So why should we accept what is a bold, and now

both state and party lines to provide emergency supplies. I don't think former Gov. Perry would turn this assistance down. What a difference an administration makes! While the previous president would have undoubtedly gone to one of the places where people have lined up to throw water bottles at them, just like he threw paper towels in Puerto Rico, President Biden has eschewed the spotlight and quietly directed resources to Texas.

Ted Cruz provides a lesson from Texas regarding class, race and access. He had the mon-

ey to jump on a plane and take his family with him. Too many don't have that access. Disasters hit most people hard, but they hit some people harder. When we develop disaster relief, we must be mindful of the inequalities that every disaster reveals. Those who are privileged should not be allowed to exert their privilege during a disaster.

Kudos to AOC, Beto O'Rourke, Sheila Jackson Lee and others who have stepped up to help.

Texas is a tragedy, but it is also an opportunity to learn more about planning and prevention. WI

for the terminally ill. According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, 76 percent of hospice beneficiaries are white, while only 8 percent are Black.

There is a common misconception that choosing hospice means giving up hope. But this isn't true. Those who use hospice experience less suffering, have more time with loved ones, and can have the dignified death we all want.

That's why I am proud that the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women adopted a resolution at this year's annual conference to advance education about end-of-life care issues like hospice and advanced planning; I also co-authored a bill last session to increase funding for that education in our own community.

Talking with our families about death and making a plan might

seem difficult, but with the right support, the experience can bring families closer. These are important questions: What makes life worth living? What's most important to us as we grow older? What do we want our loved ones to know when we can no longer speak for ourselves? And how do we want our final days to reflect the values and priorities of a lifetime? These conversations are a gift. Documenting specific answers to these questions will help protect your family from the confusion or conflict that can easily arise otherwise.

Talking about death won't kill you, but not preparing for it can cause quite a lot of pain and suffering. Visit compassionandchoices. org/end-of-life-planning to learn how to start your own conversation.

WI

popular, historical error in the spirit of acknowledging America's Original Sin? I'll tell you why: ignorance. Ben Franklin once said, "the only thing more expensive than education is ignorance." Franklin once owned slaves, he corrected his error. Out of respect for my ancestors — all my ancestors — remembrance, honor and history is loudly calling upon you, in the words of Spike Lee, to do the right thing!

We all remember 9/11. In the aftermath, America wanted retribution. Republicans and Democrats alike voted to go to war with Iraq because the nation was told they had weapons of mass destruction.

I remember Washington state Rep. Jim McDermott attempting to tell the nation the facts as presented were inaccurate. He was labeled unpatriotic and "Baghdad Jim."

History is clear that Rep. McDermott was "American Jim." I understand the shame America has about her original sin, which is, in part, why the Black Experience, aka, Black history is not taught in schools today. There is a price for our ignorance, and today, following the "wokeness" of America because of the murder of George Floyd, we have sat quietly by and watched 46 states dishonor those quarter-million Black people.

Indeed, the pen is mightier than the sword, so as a simple fix, let's use the pen. For those who have passed the legislation, simply change the date from June 19 to Dec. 6, and ALL will be honored.

True leaders, when faced with new accurate information, change course. Those who don't … in the words of "A Few Good Men," "You can't handle the truth!" WI

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to the National Commission on Race and the University of Mississippi founded the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation.

In 2008 I served on the selection committee when he received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing education and racial reconciliation.

Among his many other honors were the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award from the National Education Association and the National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award. He was a vocal supporter of the 2001 referendum to remove the Confederate emblem from the Mississippi state flag which failed, but Mississippi voters chose a new flag in November 2020.

He was a champion for Mississippi's children and all children and

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50 - FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021

The first part of the For the People Act is a version of the Voter Empowerment Act that the late Rep. John Lewis championed for the past 10 years. It would encourage online and same-day registration — and preregistration for youth who will reach voting age by Election Day. It would encourage trust in the election process with paper ballots and recounts.

ASKIA from Page 30 them for 50 years after that. The wicked scheme was called "COINTELPRO," the FBI's Counter Intelligence Program.

So, the wicked rumor persists: The Black Muslims killed Malcolm X. Every popular depiction of Brother Malcolm or Muhammad Ali, in book form or on the screen, fiction or documentary, has the same goal: besmirch Elijah Muhammad. From tawdry story lines with flimsy evidence and witnesses, to cheap movie tricks like dark camera shots and dark, foreboding music whenever a Nation of Islam character engages the hero. It happens every time, and the public goes for it like that's the way it's supposed to be: Spike Lee, Regina King, Les Payne, you name it, all the authors, all the movies, the depiction is the same: Malcolm X, Black Nationalist Muslim=good; Black Muslims=bad.

But the fact of the matter is, The Black Muslims did not murder Mal-

a longtime friend of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF). He spoke at CDF national conferences and participated in the CDF Freedom Schools pilgrimage to Philadelphia, Mississippi to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer. He joined 300 young people CDF convened from across the country to visit the site where James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were murdered in June 1964 trying to establish Freedom Schools and help local citizens register to vote. He met with community members terrorized during that time and apologized for the state of Mississippi's complicity. He showed our young servant-leaders that personal and political transformation are possible.

After Gov. Winter died, his pastor in Jackson wrote: "The William Winter I came to know as a man of faith was as shaped by humility

of spirit and gentleness of character as the politician I looked up to as a young man. Beneath his accomplishments as a politician, a public servant, a visionary for a better Mississippi, and an advocate for a more just and equitable world was a humble and hopeful faith. It was that faith that let him see a world beyond the limitations of the moment. He was a dreamer of big dreams and when our imaginations failed us, he was there to help us see through his lens of hope. … Combatting racism and working for racial reconciliation are, he estimated, some of the most important work a public servant or private citizen can do. He recognized that racism does not always announce itself in the public square. It all too often hides in the structural disparities of society. The only way to fight the structures of racism is to reform the structures that promote it."

Amen. WI

Other parts of the For the People Act would restrict the power of big money in politics. And it would take on the kind of cynical partisan redistricting that state-level Republicans have used to give themselves far more power in state legislatures and in Congress than they deserve based on their share of the vote.

Voter suppression, gerrymandering, and big money are all tools being used by right-wing leaders

who fear the inclusive multiracial and multiethnic democracy we are building. They are willing to weaken democracy if it will maintain their ability to hang onto power even though they are a shrinking minority.

We must not let them. Erecting barriers to try to keep Black people from voting is an ugly part of our past that we must make sure is not part of our future.

WI

colm. Evidence has been revealed that maybe a bowtie-wearing dude out of the Newark area, maybe even affiliated with the NOI mosque there, may have been one of the triggermen, along with Talmadge Hayer. But there was no plot!

The latest revelation is a deathbed confession letter by Ray Wood, an undercover New York cop who says that he made mischief that enabled the assassination of Malcolm X. He setup Brother Malcolm's main security so they would be arrested days before the Audubon Ballroom speech in a trumped-up plot to bomb the Statue of Liberty. This was all revealed Feb. 20 in a press conference by attorney Benjamin Crump.

So, now we know two triggermen and two undercover cops were in on it. Who else? The biggest fink of all, that's who! The still-unknown person on Brother Malcolm's "team" who gave instructions that the customary security check would not be enforced on Feb. 21, the very day assassins en-

tered the ballroom with guns!

In Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" movie, there is a scene where Malcolm talks on the telephone with "someone" telling him to drop the search. That person is not identified.

That's because Malcolm X would never have eliminated the search. His house had just been firebombed that week! He was not suicidal! He certainly would not have wanted less security at a public meeting than at his home!

Who murdered Brother Malcolm X? We know a few names, none of which are associated officially with the Nation of Islam. Still unknown to us though, is the snitch, on the inside at the highest level of Malcolm's Organization of Afro-American Unity, who told the security team to stand down that day, permitting the assassins to walk right in with their hidden guns.

That's who!

Justice demands that the FBI and New York police Department release all their Malcolm X files.

WI

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