“There are two ways of exerting one’s strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.” – Booker T. Washington
Raynard Jackson Talks Diversity See Page 32 •
C e l e b r a t i n g 4 9 Ye a r s o f S e r v i c e
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Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area / Vol. 49, No.18 Feb. 13 - Feb. 19, 2014
A Page of the Past Julian Kiganda, Curator Freedom House Museum explains how cotton plantations and slave labor functioned at the Franklin & Armfield Slave Office & Pen during the Civil War. The tour is part of the Washington Informer’s fourth Annual African American Heritage Tour, held Saturday February 7 in Alexandria, Virginia. See story TOUR in the Black History Section on Page 20. / Photo by Roy Lewis.
Mills Family Seeks Justice Firefighters Disregard Medical Emergency By Barrington M. Salmon WI Staff Writer@bsalmondc District residents and elected officials are still at a loss as to why firefighters from the En-
gine 15 station house neglected to help a critically ill man last month. That man, longtime D.C. resident Medric Cecil Mills Jr., died of a heart attack after firefighters ignored the pleas of passersby who ran across the street and banged on the station house door seeking help. He and his
daughter Marie were out running errands. Add to that puzzlement, copious doses of outrage as city officials attempt to get to the bottom of what really happened on January 25 in the 1300 block of Rhode Island Avenue, N.E. Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe is weathering the storm. In a Feb.
11 interview, he described the incident as tragic, adding that he’s awaiting preliminary results of an internal investigation that should be in his hands by the end of this week. Lt. Kellene Davis, a 30-year veteran and the ranking officer at the station, has been placed on administrative leave with
Visit us online for daily updates and much more @ www.washingtoninformer.com Beverly Bond Addresses GWU Students Page 4
Program Educates Youth on Dating Violence Page 13
pay. And contrary to published reports, Ellerbe said, Davis has not retired. Another employee is on paid leave and a third person has been reassigned. The department is also studying the actions of dispatch and the crew of an ambulance which went to an address in the wrong quadrant.
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District Milliner’s Hats Part of New Smithsonian Museum Page 34
See ELLERBE on Page 8
and on DCTV 95 & 96