WINNER OF THREE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS D.C. AWARDS
D.C. Statehood Activists Gear Up Page 5
Vol. 56, No. 35 • June 17 - 23, 2021
Black Dads Continue to Persevere and Love Their Children Families Prepare to Celebrate Father’s Day on June 20 William J. Ford WI Staff Writer
5 Sinclair Bayard, Sr. with his two daughters, Aleisha, 12 (left) and Ashleigh, 14. (Photo courtesy of Janna Parker)
5 Devon Holmes and his son, Devon Holmes. Jr. (Photo courtesy of Devon Holmes)
When looking up the word “dad” on a Google search, white faces appear in the first series of images, leading many to wonder why Black fathers fail to be presented in equal proportion in photos that illustrate parental love and support. But we found several fathers anxious to discuss the upcoming day when Americans pause to cel-
ebrate dads and who willingly replied to the question, “What does Father’s Day mean to you?” Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford, a father with three adult children, constantly travels the state for various functions and said he’s looking forward to spending a quiet day at home this Father’s Day. “For those of us who are married, [the] wife will often ask you
FATHERS Page 44
Senate Passes Bill Making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday
Efforts to Oust Johnson Middle School Principal Dwan Jordon Continue
D. Kevin McNeir, WI Senior Editor Stacy Brown, WI Senior Writer
Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer
It’s been 1983 since the U.S. Congress, followed by the essential signature of then-President Ronald Reagan, approved the addition of a holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to the federal calendar. Now, nearly four decades later, it appears a new entry will be added to the history books after the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National 5 Last year, two blocks on 16th Street between K and H Streets in Northwest, Independence Day. became a D.C. destination: "Black Lives Matter Plaza.” People celebrated Political pundits predict that the bill will pass
As the school year comes to a close, teachers and other staff members at John Hayden Johnson Middle School in Southeast remain resolute in securing the removal of the principal they said has lowered staff morale with verbal abuse, intimidation, unethical behavior, and unilateral decision-making. Not long after Dwan Antho-
Must Be Approved by the House and President to Become Law
Ongoing Questions of Connections in DCPS Central Office, Principal’s Questionable Tactics
Juneteenth on the Plaza protesting the murder of George Floyd. (WI File Photo/
HOLIDAY Page 44 Roy Lewis)
ny Jordon assumed the helm at Johnson Middle School last August, the cadre of staff members-turned-activists took their qualms to the DC Public Schools [DCPS] central office. They said their cries have fallen on deaf ears, even with the backing of the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU), D.C. Council Chairperson Phil Mendelson (D), and D.C. Coun-
SCHOOL Page 46
Celebrating 56 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area
Our House - Keeping Homes Black-owned in D.C.’s Wards 7 and 8
Exploring Black Homeownership in D.C.’s Ward 7 and 8
Do you live in Ward 7 or 8?
Yes
No
Are you a homeowner?
Yes
No
If you are a homeowner, how long have you owned your home? Years If you are a homeowner, what resources made it possible to purchase your home? (savings, homebuyers assistance program, inheritance, tax sale, other)
What’s behind the loss of Black homeownership and displacement in D.C.? Gentrification is notably the number one cause for the displacement of low-income and Black residents in D.C. But how does gentrification happen? And, what are the examples of gentrification causing long-time District residents to be pushed or priced out of their homes? Why are some neighborhoods targeted to gentrify, and what are the long-term adverse effects of gentrification on building and sustaining wealth for Black D.C. residents? Residents in Wards 7 and 8 have watched economic and housing growth across the city, and they are bracing themselves for a shift that is storming its way to their doorsteps. They foresee a takeover of what was once an affordable community to live in despite what others have historically viewed as neighborhoods that are geographically, economically, and racially unattractive.
American families in Wards 7 and 8. The project will also examine the short-and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic moratorium on mortgage foreclosures soon to be lifted in D.C. “I am extremely excited to engage in this work that will address a critical issue – gentrification – that has played out across the District and how it is displacing residents east of the Anacostia River,” said Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes. “This project will provide a newsletter offering a one-stop source of information about gentrification and resources available to help residents keep their homes,” Barnes added. “Data research and analyses provided by CPI will deliver added value to residents, community groups, policymakers, elected officials and financial institutions that play critical roles in the preservation and gentrification of Black neighborhoods.”
Times have changed though, and neighborhoods in Wards 7 and 8 are quickly becoming the hottest real estate markets in the city.
GENTRIFICATION IN D.C. HAS REACHED ITS LAST FRONTIER.
The Washington Informer, in partnership with the Center for Public Integrity, announces a yearlong journalism study to determine the factors causing Black and low-income residents, including seniors, in Wards 7 and 8 to lose their homes. The project will also explore the sources of information and public or private resources to help residents save their homes. Our House: Keeping Homes Black-Owned in D.C.’s Ward 7 and 8 is a year-long journalism project that will include a series of articles about gentrification, tax sales and foreclosure published in The Washington Informer, a bi-weekly e-newsletter, community events, data reports, and personal testimonies from residents to determine to what extent property tax sales – also known as the “gentrification tax” – are impacting homeownership among African
2 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
Interested in learning more about Black homeownership? In The Washington Informer’s annual Homeownership Issue published Thursday, June 10, in recognition of Home Ownership Month in June, readers will find the project’s first survey soliciting residents’ perspectives on gentrification and its impact on their neighborhoods. The Informer has also launched the Our House landing page, where the survey and other information is posted on the Informer’s website at www.washingtoninformer.com. Readers can also sign-up for the Our House Newsletter to be delivered bi-weekly by email.
Do you live in a multigenerational household? Yes
No
If you’re not a homeowner, what are some of the barriers or obstacles you have faced that prevented you from buying a home?
Do you have an older relative who owns a home in Ward 7 or 8? Do they have plans for their property in the future? If so, what are they?
What changes have you seen in your community since you’ve lived there?
Have they received inquiries from individuals asking to purchase your home? Yes No If you found yourself faced with the likelihood of losing your home, do you know where to go to find help?
Are you aware of any neighbors who were on the verge of or lost their home due to unpaid property taxes? Yes No If so, how did things turn out?
Send your completed survey to: Our House, c/o The Washington Informer, 3117 ML King Jr Ave SE, Washington, DC 20032 Yes, I want to subscribe to the Our House newsletter to keep me up to date with news about what’s behind the loss of Black Homeownership and displacement in D.C. Email address:
Emails may include promotional information. You may opt-out at anytime.
You can also complete this survey online by using this QR Code
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In Memoriam Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. Wilhelmina J. Rolark THE WASHINGTON INFORMER NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published weekly on each Thursday. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C. and additional mailing offices. News and advertising deadline is Monday prior to publication. Announcements must be received two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2016 by The Washington Informer. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send change of addresses to The Washington Informer, 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. 20032. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. The Informer Newspaper cannot guarantee the return of photographs. Subscription rates are $45 per year, two years $60. Papers will be received not more than a week after publication. Make checks payable to: THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E Washington, D.C. 20032 Phone: 202 561-4100 Fax: 202 574-3785 news@washingtoninformer.com www.washingtoninformer.com
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4 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
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COMPILED BY WI SENIOR EDITOR D. KEVIN MCNEIR
Faith Leaders Gather in D.C. to Proclaim, ‘My Vote is Sacred’
New Orchestra of Washington Marks Juneteenth with Music of Black Composers
In response to a domino effect that first began in the State of Georgia earlier this year, faith leaders from around the country continue to assemble in the District this week for a series of events promoting the need for voting rights legislation. “My Vote is Sacred,” held June 15 – 17, featured worship services, rallies, legislative briefings and advocacy meetings with congressional officials. “My Vote is Sacred” was first anchored and organized by a contingent of Georgia faith leaders including AME Georgia Bishop Reginald Jackson, Dr. Cynthia Hale, Dr. Bernice King and Dr. Jamal Bryant. Most of the events will occur at the Mayflower Hotel in Northwest. Earlier this year, Republican Governor Brian Kemp made Georgia the first state in the country to sign into law legislation explicitly aimed at making it less likely for people of color to vote. In weeks that have followed, Republican elected leaders from around the country have proposed or passed voter suppression bills in 47 states.WI
On Saturday, June 19 at 7 p.m., New Orchestra of Wa s h i n g t o n [NOW] presents Juneteenth Celebration: Lift Every Voice! The performance will be held at the newly built, outdoor, Strathmore Patio Stage on the Trawick Terrace (10701 Rockville Pike) and will mark the first live audience performance for NOW since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The evening will present audiences with the music and story behind some of the most talented African-American composers from the past and present, including works by George Walker, Jessie Montgomery, William Grant Still and Florence Price. “We believe in the transformative power of music to bring us closer and connect us to one another, an experience only made richer by the variety of our backgrounds,” said NOW Artistic Director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez. “Our society is deeply hurt by racial and economic injustice, with politics and the pandemic exacerbating this pain. We hope that our Lift Every Voice concert will provide a place for dialogue and discovery, understanding and connection.” Tickets will be sold as pods for 4 people, seated at each table (which will be spaced six feet apart). For information, visit www.neworchestraofwashington.org. WI
Novavax Offers U.S. a Fourth COVID-19 Vaccine Novavax, a small American company based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, recently announced the results of a clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. and Mexico, finding that its two-shot inoculation provides potent protection against the coronavirus. In the 29,960-person trial, the vaccine demonstrated an overall efficacy of 90.4 percent, on par with the vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna and higher than the one-shot vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. The Novavax vaccine showed an efficacy of 100 percent at preventing moderate or severe disease. Despite these impressive results, the vaccine’s future in the U.S. remains uncertain and it might be needed more in other countries. Novavax says it may not seek emergency authorization from the FDA until the end of September. The company’s chief executive, Stanley Erck, acknowledged in an interview that Novavax would probably win its first authorization elsewhere. The company is also applying in Britain, the European Union, India and South Korea. By the time Novavax gets the green light from the U.S. government, it may be too late to contribute to the country’s first wave of vaccinations. But many vaccine experts expect that, with waning immunity and emerging variants, the country will need booster shots at some point. And the protein-based technology used in the Novavax vaccine may do a particularly good job at amplifying protection, even if people have previously been vaccinated with a different formulation. WI
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D.C. Statehood Activists Gear Up for Historic June 22 Senate Hearing Bill Establishing a 51st State Faces Second Round James Wright WI Staff Writer D.C. statehood activists are organizing their supporters for the June 22 hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs which will consider Sen. Thomas Carper’s legislation designating the District as the 51st state. “We will be very busy that day,” Anise Jenkins, the executive director of Stand Up! for Democracy in DC, said. “At this point, we will be working in coalition with other organizations on what we will do on the day of the hearing. My guess is we may be sign-waving in the streets near the Senate early in the morning to get people’s attention about the hearing.” The June 22 hearing marks the second time a Senate committee will consider D.C. statehood legislation. In 2014, Carper, a Delaware Democrat, chaired the Homeland Security committee and held the first hearing on the matter. The present hearing will be chaired by Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), a D.C. statehood supporter. Carper’s bill has 45 cosponsors, all Democrats and Independents who caucus with them. While Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) says he supports the District becoming a state, he said he feels it should be done by way of constitutional amendment instead of a bill. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Angus King (I-Maine) haven’t revealed whether they will support Carper’s bill. No Republicans support Carper’s bill as cosponsors but Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) haven’t rejected D.C. statehood publicly yet.
DC VOTE
Bo Shuff serves as the executive director of DC Vote, an organization with the mission of educating members of the Congress and the public of the plight of District residents not having full congressional representation and autonomy over its local affairs like the states.
Shuff’s organization played a key role on the grassroots level in helping D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton securing passage of her D.C. statehood bill last year in late June and in April. Shuff said his organization will have an event on the hearing date but didn’t disclose specifics. “We are in the planning stages at this point,” Shuff said. Shuff said members of the public won’t be allowed in the hearing room due to coronavirus restrictions. He said the hearing will be
While Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) says he supports the District becoming a state, he said he feels it should be done by way of constitutional amendment instead of a bill.
Informer 5.5”
5 D.C. Statehood activists in front of John A. Wilson Building in Northwest. (WI File Photo/Roy Lewis)
livestreamed and people can watch the proceedings in that manner.
D.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY
D.C. Democratic State Committee Chairman Charles Wilson said the local party plans to have an event during the hearing. Wilson said he has heard unofficially former Sen. Joe Lieberman, who ran for vice president in 2000, will speak on behalf of Carper’s bill, along with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Norton. Wilson said District Democrats will be highly motivated in the period leading up to and during the hearing. “We will be all hands-on deck,” he said. “Right now, members of the party are encouraging District residents to call their family and friends in other states to support the D.C. statehood bill.” WI @JamesDCWrighter
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JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 5
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1871 – Author, lyricist, poet and educator James Weldon Johnson — who wrote the lyrics of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," known as the "Negro national anthem" — is born in Jacksonville, Florida. 1937 – Journalist Robert Maynard, who became the first African American owner of a major metropolitan daily newspaper in 1983 when he and his wife purchased The Oakland Tribune, is born. 1980 – Tennis great Venus Williams, the first Black American woman to be ranked No. 1 in the world during the Open era, is born.
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1899 – Inventor W.H. Richardson patents the "Baby Buggy," the first reversible stroller. 1942 – Bernard W. Robinson, Harvard University medical student, becomes the Navy's first Black officer. 1968 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that it is a violation of the law to discriminate in selling or renting residential property.
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1949 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lionel Richie (above) is born in Tuskegee, Alabama. 1960 – Harry Belafonte becomes the first African American to win an Emmy Award for his special "Tonight with Harry Belafonte." 1967 – Muhammad Ali is convicted in federal court of violating the Selective Service Act by refusing induction into the armed services. He was fined $10,000 and sentenced to five years in prison. Ali, who opposed the Vietnam War, refused to report for service on grounds of his religion of Islam.
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tion Proclamation, issued two years earlier, marking the beginning of "Juneteenth." 1918 – John H. Johnson, editor and publisher of Jet and Ebony magazines and founder of Johnson Publishing Company, is born. 1948 – Actress Phylicia Rashad (top), best known for her role as Clair Huxtable in "The Cosby Show," is born in Houston.
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1832 – Joseph Rainey, the first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, is born. 1927 – Former Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes, the first African American elected mayor of a major city, is born. 1945 – Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes the first African American to command a U.S. Army Air Corps base.
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1948 – Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who succeeded Thurgood Marshall as the second African American to serve on the court, is born in Pin Point, Georgia. 1997 – Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X, dies at 61 from burns suffered three weeks earlier in a house fire set by her grandson. WI
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KEITH SMITH / WASHINGTON, D.C.
And none of that money came from the cops that killed him. The citizens of Baton Rouge paid that out. Qualified immunity needs to go away.
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I'm all for financial compensation, but the idea that cops aren't affected by it bothers me. The very folks who protested are the taxpayers whose dollars are being used. It's disgusting.
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No man’s life can amount to money.
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JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 7
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D.C. Set to Celebrate Juneteenth
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Many District residents on June 19 will celebrate an official Texas state holiday: Juneteenth. Juneteenth has been feted since 1865 as the day Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas announcing slavery had ended in the state. Black Texans celebrated Juneteenth as an unofficial day of observance for many years until 1979, when Texas State Rep. Al Edwards (D-Houston) led the effort to make it an official holiday. Since then, 47 states and numerous municipalities across the country have recognized Juneteenth with festivals, picnics, concerts and community events. In recent years, the governors of Virginia, New York and New Jersey have issued executive orders allowing employees to take the day off with paid leave. Some Juneteenth activists want it to be a national holiday and U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) introduced legislation in February to make that a reality. In the District, residents will mark Juneteenth with a wide range of activities with the focus on Black political and economic empowerment and wellness. Additionally, the Bowser administration plans to use Juneteenth as an opportunity for its DC COVID-19 Communi-
(Courtesy photo)
ty Corps to canvass District neighborhoods to encourage people to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
NATIONAL BLACK UNITED FRONT
The National Black United Front will have its Juneteenth Day of Service. Its goal will be to provide 100 families in vulnerable communities with care packages and resources “that can empower them to be more self-sustaining, according to a news release. Plus, volunteers plan a clean-up along the Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., Avenues, S.E. corridors. Later, there will be performances by The Malcolm X Drummers and Dancers along with vendors and demonstrations near the intersection of the two avenues named for the slain civil rights leaders. For Haley Wiggins, executive director of The Family Place, which will enter its fourth year as a charter school this upcoming fall, the adult students who come through the doors of the school need these resources now more than ever, especially given what many of them as English language learners had to endure throughout the pandemic.
SISTERHOOD SUPPER
A group of Ward 7 and Ward 8 organizations are gathering for a Sisterhood Supper from 4-7 p.m.
8 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
at Oxon Run Park in Southeast to celebrate Juneteenth. The female-oriented event will consist of fun, food and fellowship to kickoff a collective challenge to celebrate sisterhood through shared recipes to collective action and policy change to improve nutrition security and food justice, a news release said. “COVID-19 has exposed the need to center self-care for the Black community, especially among women juggling motherhood, work and personal health,” Mary Bickford, owner of Market 7, an upcoming food hall in Ward 7, said. “One of the most important parts of our community’s liberation is achieving health equity: particularly in communities that lack the social determinants of health that enable a community to heal itself.” The event will feature a local DJ and artists like Canadian-Nigerian singer Tolu Mide and a community supper representing the African diaspora. Event organizers are encouraging people to wear African prints to celebrate their culture and bring their stories and photos to capture during the storytelling session. Tambra Raye Stevenson, a Ward 8 resident who founded WANDA: Women Advancing Nutrition Dietetics and Agriculture, said at the event stories and recipes will be collected for the Sister-
JUNETEENTH Page 44
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Adult Charter Schools Address Post-COVID Workforce Development Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer
As the District embarks on a return to pre-pandemic conditions, the public and private sectors are collaborating on matters of employment and workforce development. Local adult charter schools have also been on the frontlines of these ongoing efforts. At Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School for instance, Olianka Wingate and her colleagues have continued along in their attempt to remove barriers to employment for adult students, many of whom emigrated to the U.S. from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. Throughout the pandemic, many faced hurdles of competing demands to meet their academic obligations simultaneously with their children who are learning virtually at home. With much of the world reopening, the race to reenter the workforce has intensified among the students Wingate encounters. “Before the pandemic, competition was normal, but now it’s getting tougher,” said Wingate, director of student services at Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, where students can take language courses, or acquire their GED along with certifications in health, IT, culinary arts and education. While helping some of the more than 2,100 students navigate the school’s curriculum, Wingate, a native of the Dominican Republic and District resident of 13 years, reflects on her own experiences as a student. Upon graduating from Carlos Rosario in 2011, Wingate obtained an associate’s and bachelor’s degree from the University of the District of Columbia before returning to her alma mater as a bookkeeper and later ascending to her current role. “Higher education is more in demand than before,” she told The Informer. “Our Department of Student Success connects students with scholarships and helps them get their credentials validated. If they don’t have that, we provide them with GED. We guide them all the way to the end.”
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Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School counted among the groups represented on a virtual panel titled “DC’s Post-COVID Economy: Adult Charter Schools and a Resilient Workforce.” The discussion, which took place on June 10, featured D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman (I-At large). At the Goodwill Excel Center, that also means providing students with a flexible academic environment that doesn’t compete with their priorities as parents and leaders in their families. On July 15, a second cohort of graduates for the 2021-2022 academic year will mark their milestone at Nationals Park. Fifty adult learners completed Goodwill Excel’s program at their own pace as part of an extended-year model where enrollees can take on as many courses as desired during five eight-week grading periods. This course load, Goodwill Excel Center Director Chelsea Kirk told The Informer, merges secondary and post-secondary instruction, along with access to a childcare center and travel stipends. Kirk said that these offerings have been of particular benefit to students during the pandemic that opened their eyes to a world of new possibilities. “That has been a big shift for the adult learner. People leave school because of school structure, family situations, employment, and health [along with] not having a good relationship with people at their old schools,” she continued.
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Research conducted by McKinsey & Company showed that more than 25 percent of workers than previously estimated will have to make a career shift due to trends in remote work, e-commerce and automation. Experts said these changes would affect workers in the healthcare, food services and hospitality fields where
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Prepare for unexpected power outages with a Generac home standby generator 5 Olianka Wingate, student services director at Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, with a student. (Courtesy photo)
human contact stands at above 80 percent. In anticipation of these trends, administrators at The Family Place Public Charter School are trying to help members of their multigenerational, multi-ethnic student population acquire the computer skills they need to compete in the digital realm. In addition to the English language learner coursework, students learn how to use chromebooks, navigate Zoom video conferencing and tackle the sometimes mundane aspects of the job search, including filling out online applications. For Haley Wiggins, executive director of The Family Place, a threeyear old charter school,d the adult students who come through the doors of the school need these resources now more than ever, especially given what many of them as English language learners had to endure throughout the pandemic. “People have lost jobs and they’re starting to go back but they’re getting less hours. They’re picking up work wherever they can but it’s interrupting their studies,” Wiggins told The Informer. “There are a lot of hard decisions being made, and priorities are shifting to take any job. [That’s why] we’re trying to stay in touch with people with food support, training and other resources to encourage them to keep studying so when the opportunity arises, they can advance.” WI @SamPKCollins
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D.C. Jail Inmate Joel Caston Wins ANC 7F07 Race James Wright WI Staff Writer
Joel Caston, an inmate at the D.C. Jail, made history on June 15 as the first from that correctional institution to be elected to a public office in the District. Caston will serve as the advisory neighborhood commissioner (ANC) for single-member district 7F07 in Ward 7. In addition to the roughly 1,500 residents of the D.C. jail, the district includes the Harriet Tubman Women’s Shelter and residents of Park Kennedy, an apartment complex across the street from the jail. Caston is believed to be the only incarcerated person to have been elected to a political office in the country at this time. The process for filling the seat started last year when some Ward 6 commissioners, a group of District residents known as the Neighbors for Justice and returning citizens advocates made the seat’s vacancy
known to city officials and urged the D.C. Department of Corrections to work to fill the position. An election occurred in November and Caston won the position but was disqualified due to a technical error regarding his voter registration. Plus, the seat couldn’t be filled in a special election because of the public health emergency declared by Bowser earlier that year due to the coronavirus pandemic suspending such activity. In March, the D.C. Council made an exception to the emergency and passed a bill requiring the D.C. Board of Elections to resume filling elections to empty ANC positions, making way for the June 15 7F07 election. Additionally, the District’s elections and corrections departments worked with the Office of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions to get qualified inmates for running for the seat and voting. Caston defeated Keith Littlepage-El, Gary Proctor, Aaron
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Brown and Kim Thompson to win the election out of a total of 142 votes cast. Caston also will be the first to serve as 7F07’s commissioner since the position came into being in 2011 as a result of the 2010 redistricting process. Tyrell M. Holcomb, the chairman of the 7F Commission expressed excitement about Caston’s victory. “Representation is an important part of equity and inclusion,” Holcomb said. “I could not be more excited of a new colleague (a resident of the DC Jail) joining the 7F commission. Those who reside at both the D.C. jail and women’s shelter deserve a voice who can advocate on their behalf of their issues and concerns. As chair of ANC 7F I look forward to welcoming my new colleague to the 7F commission and working with him. Now is the time we collaboratively work together on behalf of all those in our community.” WI @JamesDCWrighter
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5 D.C. Jail inmates Keith Littlepage-El, Gary Proctor, Aaron Brown, the winner Joel Caston and Kim Thompson. (Courtesy photos/WJLA)
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PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY Prince George’s Focused on a Post-COVID-19 Future William J. Ford WI Staff Writer Prince George’s County colleges and universities should connect with small and medium-sized businesses to recruit and hire graduating seniors, public school and county officials need to meet more frequently and more WiFi “hotspots” are needed throughout the jurisdiction.
These are three of the 29 recommendations in a report released last week worked on since last year by a 42-member task force announced by County Executive Angela Alsobrooks to enhance and provide better services in a post-COVID-19 climate. “With the release of this report, I will turn my focus to implementing the recommendations to enable our county to better deliver services
5 The University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center in Largo opened June 12. (FILE: Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)
and make a difference in the lives of all our residents,” she said in the report. The group, chaired by former Prince George’s Community College president Charlene Dukes and David Velasquez, president
and CEO of Pepco Holdings, assessed ways to improve the county through five subcommittees: government operations, economic development, education, health and human and social services. A few recommendations al-
Local Vendors Showcase Edible Dishes at FedEx Field William J. Ford WI Staff Writer Oxtail spring rolls drizzled with a sauce similar to ketchup mixed with hot sauce made by Kitchen Cray located in Northeast. Meanwhile, several people devoured a sample of seafood gumbo from EllaRay’s Café of District Heights. These dishes count as just a few of the dozens prepared by chefs and culinary entrepreneurs on Monday,
June 14 during a Flavor of the DMW Showcase at FedEx Field in Landover. The Washington Football Team hosted the event for 22 vendors, one of whom will become an official gameday vendor for the team’s 2021 season. “I really hope I’m one of the selected few,” said Cleavon “Clay” Morris who turns 30 on June 24 and serves as the chef and owner of The Tropical Express based out of Clinton. “It’s motivational to be around
5 Former Washington football players Rick “Doc” Walker (left) and Fred Smoot sample food June 14 at Flavors of the DMV Showcase hosted by the Washington Football Team at FedEx Field in Landover. (William J. Ford/The Washington Informer)
12 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
these guys. Just to be in this position where people tell me my food tastes good, I’m just happy,” he said. It’s unclear when a winner would be announced but the Washington organization wanted to ensure a community vendor will become part of the team’s eight home games starting with the season and home opener Sept. 12 against the San Diego Chargers. “It’s the first time the team has ever done anything like this,” said Joey Colby-Begovich, vice president of guest experience. “It’s part of our larger effort to bring more community elements into the stadium and the gameday experience.” The Shell Shack Seafood, which operates a food truck with a patio in downtown Silver Spring, established its operation in April 2020. The company entered the competition about one hour before the deadline thanks to a customer sending an Instagram link. “Thank God for the customer,” said Nicole Watson, director of operations for The Shell Shack. “No two days are ever the same in our business, which makes it so very interesting.” Some of the taste-testers included season ticket holders, two executive chefs and former Washington players. Each person received six tokens to
place in a box to help choose their favorite vendor. According to the judging rules, participants faced evaluation on food or product quality that included taste, appearance and texture; ease of prep and service; overall presentation; uniqueness of the product; and connections to the DMV. In case of a tie, the head chef for Levy Hospitality Group will serve as the tiebreaker. A few vendors in attendance operate outside the D.C. region including South Mountain Creamery in Middletown, Frederick County, which delivers its homemade ice cream and other products to various businesses in the region. Several people walked to the creamery’s table to guzzle their signature 12-ounce raspberry lemonade. Former Washington tight end Rick “Doc” Walker didn’t speak for about 35 seconds after taking a bite of a plant-based sausage from Everything Legendary of Largo. He even swayed side-to-side while chewing. “I stand by my product, man,” yelled Duane Cheers, president and CEO of Everything Legendary. “This food makes you dance.” WI @jabariwill
ready in the works include creating more county services online as some agencies continue to work virtually and develop policies and procedures for residents in need of accommodations. These and other items could be completed within the next year. A county executive spokesman said in an email Thursday, June 10 at least a half dozen recommendations could take several years to launch. For instance, an “economic resiliency function” would require an annual budget in preparation for emergency situations. When the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of businesses in March 2020, the county lost 10,000 jobs in 10 days, David Iannucci, president and CEO of the county’s Economic Development Corpsaid. Entrepreneurship and leadership skills are proposed as part of an education plan to create a dual-enrollment program for students “that emphasizes creating innovators with social responsibility…to develop the critical 21st century skills they will need to succeed.” Those particular programs usually involve high school students also enrolled at a community college or local university. In terms of health, officials and residents view the newly opened University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center as a way to boost care. In the state of Maryland, the county has the highest rates of obesity, diabetes and infant mortality. The majority Black jurisdiction leads the state in confirmed coronavirus cases, but vaccinations improved with slightly more than 40 percent of those ages 12 and older are fully vaccinated with the twodose or single-dose vaccines. One strategy to improve health, according to the report, is creating a database to collect and store patient information for clinicians to track over time. Another proposal would be to expand the county’s “HealthAssure” program to cover the estimated 12.5 percent of uninsured residents that include low-wage workers, part-timers and employees at small businesses. Dukes has a message for residents reading the report: “Please get a COVID-19 vaccine.” To read the report, go to https://bit. ly/3iy6jux. WI @jabariwill
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Pride in Prince George’s William J. Ford WI Staff Writer
Although America has slowly become more welcoming to those in the LGBTQ community, Del. Gabriel Acevero and other elected officials and activists said it’s not enough. LGBTQ Victory Institute of Northwest, which provides national and international advocacy and training for elected and appointed officials, noted in an interactive map at https:// outforamerica.org the U.S. has nearly 1,000 LGBTQ elected officials. “Even though we are looking at this pattern and seeing the brilliance of the queer community…we must also recognize that we have so, so far to go in terms of representation,” said Acevero (D-Montgomery County), the first openly gay man of Afro-Latino descent elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2018. “I’m not just talking about public office, [but also] nonprofit corporate suites, organized labor to academia to health care. There’s a real lack of cultural competency to LGBTQ+ folks.” Acevero joined an online discussion Thursday, June 10 which focused on building LGBTQ political power. Along with LGBTQ+ Prince George’s Pride, PG Change Makers Coalition hosted a discussion on its Facebook page to coincide with June being Pride Month. The original organizers used it to pay homage to the Stonewall revolt in 1969 in New York City, credited as the spark igniting the modern gay rights movement. Part of Thursday’s discussion focused on boosting representation in leadership positions to craft inclusive policies. Berwyn Heights council mem-
ber Ethan Sweep said there should be education for police officers to not misidentify trans individuals. A 2013 document from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs at ncavp_transhvfactsheet.pdf stated transgender people “were 3.7 times more likely to experience police violence compared to cisgender survivors and victims.” “There are people who are just like, ‘I never would’ve thought of that. I’ll look into it,’” Sweep said. “That simple act of being at the table and making your voice heard can be such a powerful thing.” Briana Urbina, first elected Latina in the city of New Carrollton and married to her wife of 11 years, said combating culture wars remain a problem. Urbina mentioned the Arkansas law addressing parents’ role in providing health care for their transgender children. In April, the Republican-led legislature overrode a veto from Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson to ban access gender-conforming health care for those 18 and younger, even with parental consent. “I don’t know what happened that allowed for this to intervene…but that is definitely a very large concern that I have,” she said. Combating hate and fear rank high on the agenda, discussion participants noted. Jeremy A. Lannan recalled receiving death threats in 2018 a few months after becoming the first openly gay man chosen as national vice president for Women and Fair Practices for the American Federal of Government Employees. “It was definitely hurtful, but I had to recognize that any time you’re creating change or doing what’s right … is
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY
never easy,” said Lannan, who emphasized LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter movements intersect in bringing change to society. With the coronavirus pandemic still lingering, some Pride events took place online. Some local events still went on in-person such as one Saturday, June 12 in Hyattsville organized by Del. Wanika Fisher (D-District 47B) of Hyattsville, Ashanti Martinez and Krystal Oriadha. Martinez and Oriadha co-hosted the panel discussion Thursday and said they will continue community dialogue not only throughout this month, but entire year. “I want [people] to live so unapologetically themselves because on the other end of that is true happiness and greatness in every single thing you do,” said Oriadha, co-founder of PG Changer Makers. “Don’t hide yourself. Be yourself.” WI @jabariwill
5 Krystal Oriadha, co-founder of PG Change Makers Coalition, riding a bicycle June 12 during a “Run, Walk, or Ride” Pride event in Hyattsville. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce June Message As the Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce’s fiscal year winds down, and after the most tremulous Pandemic in human history, the Chamber stands strong. Navigating these stormy waters was no easy task, but the Chamber rammed through it with vigor and steadfastness. This year, businesses were hard hit with some going under. The Chamber worked with Federal and County officials to channel needed resources that kept businesses afloat. Of critical need, was getting dollars and other support required to maintain personnel and operations. In response to this need, the Chamber- through its Capital Accelerator Program and partnership with the University of Maryland Small Business Development Center (SBDC) led monthly technical assistance sessions that connected businesses to grants and loans. This initiative saw millions of dollars go to small businesses keeping them active in the marketplace. The Chamber’s advocacy arm was in full swing working with key legislators on business-friendly policy and pushing back on those adding burdens to businesses. Active in the halls of the General Assembly and County Council, the Chamber was influential in bringing business views and amendments to legislators. We appreciate their willingness and availability to hear the Chamber’s perspective. The Chamber’s committees worked extremely hard to convene virtual events. The Economic Development Committee highlighted Prince George’s development projects and showed how businesses could tap into them. Chamber First was in full swing, connecting members to private procurement and other contract opportunities. Women in Business Development Committee executives came together to discuss their businesses, strategies for sustaining & opportunities to work together. Finally, the Chamber held an in-person sold out Golf Tournament & Fundraiser that was a venue for reconnecting and networking. All of these would not have been possible without member support and the leadership of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, especially Board Chair Tisa Clark of JD Clark Professional Services. The dawn of the New Fiscal Year brings high expectations of strengthening advocacy, procurement opportunities & in-person networking. Added to all of these, the Chamber will continue its regional reach bringing opportunities outside of the County to members front doors. Stay tuned and thank you for your continued support! Not a member? Please visit our website, www.pgcoc.org to get started! Membership is good for a full calendar year, so it’s always a good time to join*
5 Hyattsville Mayor Kevin Ward, left, receives an award June 12 from LGTBQ+ Prince George’s Pride for “Excellence in Government.” Ward, who’s gay, served as interim mayor before he won last’s month city election as mayor. (Anthony Tilghman/ The Washington Informer)
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David C. Harrington President & CEO
JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 13
BUSINESS Sunny Sumter Promoted to President/CEO of DC Jazz Festival Organization WI Staff Report The DC Jazz Festival® [DCJF] recently announced the promotion of Sunny Sumter to the role of president and chief executive officer for the highly-acclaimed nonprofit organization that celebrates America’s unique art form – jazz – through year-round programs and performances. Featured artists showcased
by DCJF represent the Greater Washington Area, other parts of the U.S. and nations from around the globe. “We are proud to elevate Sunny to this expanded leadership role for her outstanding work on behalf of the DC Jazz Festival,” said Conrad D. Kenley, Chairman of the DCJF Board of Directors. “She earned this very deserving promotion through her excep-
“I look forward to continuing to grow the annual DC JazzFest, one of the District’s cultural destinations, while finding more ways to introduce fans, young and old, to jazz.” tional strategic guidance, management skills and devotion and commitment to promoting jazz
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in our city and beyond.” In this elevated role, Sumter will oversee the expansion of the annual DC JazzFest, one of the largest annual events of DC’s cultural calendar, direct its yearround educational and community engagement programming and guide the organization’s new strategies and goals. Sumter, a professional jazz vocalist and seasoned arts executive, joined the organization in 2008 and has served as its executive director since 2010, overseeing DCJF’s signature programs including the annual DC JazzFest, the year-round DCJF Education Program and the Charles Fishman Embassy Series. Last year during the COVID-19 pandemic that sidelined so many events across the globe, Sumter led her talented team in producing a highly successful, all-virtual festival that attracted a record-breaking 200,000 music fans from countries that included Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Panama and the UK. According to Pollstar’s weekly Live Stream chart, the 2020 DC JazzFest reached the third-highest number of viewers of any live-streamed event in the world during the last week of September 2020. “It’s truly a labor of love to
5 Sunny Sumter (Courtesy photo)
work in my hometown to expand the rich, culturally important and impactful art form that is jazz,” said, Sumter, a D.C. native who attended the District’s renowned Duke Ellington School of the Arts and earned her bachelor’s degree in music business with a jazz voice minor from Howard University. “I look forward to continuing to grow the annual DC JazzFest, one of the District’s cultural destinations, while finding more ways to introduce fans, young and old, to jazz,” she said. Prior to her tenure at the DC Jazz Festival, Sumter held management/director positions with the Aspen Institute, National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, the Smithsonian Institution and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. The recipient of honors which include the Howard University Benny Golson Award and a DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Fellowship, she’s also a current fellow with the DeVos Institute of Arts Management and serves on several boards. For more about the DC Jazz Festival and its programs, visit www. dcjazzfest.org. WI
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JPMorgan Chase Working to Keep Housing Affordable in D.C. By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer JPMorgan Chase announced it is making a $400 million nationwide philanthropic commitment to close the housing affordability gap for Black and Latinx households. The investment is part of the firm’s $30 billion commitment to help advance racial equity and drive an inclusive recovery. It also continues the banking giant’s commitment locally. Nearly three years ago, JPMorgan Chase received a visionary idea submitted by a D.C. collaborative which included the Douglass Community Land Trust (Douglass CLT). The submission helps families in their homes and communities under a proven shared-equity model that develops and preserves permanently affordable housing in neighborhoods over generations. The submission earned a $5 million, three-year investment, and because of JPMorgan Chase’s initial funding, the Land Trust has now purchased land for 219 units to keep housing affordable in six wards. “D.C. is so expensive I wasn’t sure I would be able to find somewhere affordable. This opportunity through Douglas Community Land Trust, to own a home and be close to my family - was unlike anything else out there,” homeowner Nery Peña said in an email. Peña closed on her new home earlier this month. “I am so happy we were able to take advantage of it,” she said. “Now, my daughters and I have something that we can call our own. I am the first homeowner in my family, and I plan to live here for the long term and then pass the house down to my daughters.” Ginger Rumph, Executive Director Douglass Community Land Trust, described the nonprofit as an organization centered around racial and economic equity created to prevent displacement of current and future District residents.
“The organization helps to build wealth for individuals and families while giving residents the ability to make decisions within the community,” Rumph explained. Fundamentally, Douglass CLT aims to make D.C. an equitable place where everyone can stay and thrive – and specifically low-income, Black and Brown residents. Those residents have contributed to making D.C. the thriving community it has become but hasn’t benefitted from the economic prosperity in nearly the same proportion as their white counterparts, she noted further. Rumph also explained the Douglass CLT pay-it-forward concept. “Douglass Community Land Trust uses a resale formula, built into the Land Lease and outlined in the Permanent Affordability Covenant, to determine the maximum price for which a Douglass CLT property owner can sell their home at a later date,” Rumph added. She continued: “This Resale Formula is designed to provide a fair amount of wealth creation for the selling household/ owner while at the same time keeping the home affordable for subsequent buyers/occupants. “Subsidy initially invested in Douglass CLT properties is retained over time, serving generations of homeowners and occupants without requiring increasing subsidies at each successive sale to keep them affordable. This formula still provides equity growth for the owner without allowing home prices to balloon. Therefore, the home can be made affordable for the next purchaser – what we call ‘Pay-It-Forward.’” Additionally, the pay-it-forward term is used as part of Douglass CLT’s mission to focus on serving more than one generation. Dekonti Mends-Cole, Vice President, JPMorgan Chase Mid-Atlantic, Global Philanthropy, said the Douglass CLT is one part of a wider nonprofit collaborative effort that was formed to help prevent resident and small business displacement due to increased gentrification East of the Anacostia – and that the 11th Street Bridge Park project benefits
all residents. The collaborative also includes: Building Bridges Across the River, City First Enterprise, Skyland Workforce Center, and Washington Area Community Investment Fund, “The collaborative submitted an award entry to the JPMorgan Chase PRO Neighborhoods competition (now AdvancingCities), and its nomination stood out to us because of their ability to work collaboratively to support longstanding D.C. residents,” MendsCole stated. “Preserving affordable housing is often a challenge when a city gentrifies, which is why the Douglass Community Land Trust is designed to helping long-term, D.C. residents of color have access to quality affordable housing for generations,” Mends-Cole further noted. She continued: “This region has seen accelerated regional growth due to an influx of people, public and private capital, but we believe lasting and real growth in the region is dependent on advancing the economic trajec-
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tory of low-income residents. A core driver displacing low-income residents is the evaporation of affordable housing, and the District has experienced some the highest levels of resident displacement in the country.” The community land trust model is one of many interventions actively working to shift the tide of displacement and ensure that all neighbors can benefit from a prosperous region no matter what income level they are. “A Land Trust is a great way to offer pathways of increasing permanent affordable housing in a city. It’s also an initiative that provides a solution for and by the people who live here, as its success is measured and is dependent on meeting the needs of residents,” Mends-Cole concluded. “The Land Trust has grown so much since its infancy and is constantly able to acquire new properties and land thanks to funding from JPMorgan Chase and other public and private investors, showing a testament to how much this work is needed and valued.” JPMorgan Chase’s new $400
million philanthropic commitment includes addressing housing stability, affordability, and wealth creation. The bank seeks to create more affordable and sustainable homeownership paths. A new Chase Community Home Lending Advisor will help more people realize their homeownership dreams and engage with industry partners and regulators to find ways to address the gaps in the residential appraisal process. “We’re trying to address some of the barriers to affordable housing and homeownership to help provide family stability and build generational wealth for Black and Latinx families,” Jamie Dimon, Chairman, and CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co., said in a news release. “Whether you rent or own your home, more families deserve fair, sustainable, and accessible options, and businesses have a responsibility to develop housing solutions for those who lack access to opportunity.”
JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 15
NATIONAL Great Britain’s First Black Studies Professor Wants to Unite the Diaspora By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer Kehinde Andrews grew up as a child of the British Black Power movement. A professor of Black Studies in the School of Social Sciences at Birmingham City University in Great Britain, Andrews, said both parents were heavily involved in the 1970s movement. “Both my parents were heavily involved. We also had the Saturday Schools, which were formed as supplemental learning because the racism was so bad, even in elementary school,” Andrews, who counts as the United Kingdom’s first Black Studies Professor told
the nonprofit Truthout. “It was not until the mid-1960s that Britain started to have large numbers of Black children in the schools here. But since the educational setting and curriculum were so colonial in their views and teachings – so anti-Black, anti-Caribbean, and anti-African – we made our own schools on the weekends,” Andrews continued in his conversation with Truthout. He said those supplementary schools were not just for Black history and culture. “Those same schools also included math and English because a lot of Black children weren’t receiving any education at all,” Andrews asserted.
5 The co-editor of “Blackness in Britain,” and director of the Center for Critical Social Research, Kehinde Andrews, has called on the African diaspora to unite.
“The Saturday Schools are definitely where my calling first began. Black Studies may be new here in the formal sense, but our resistance has always been present.” The co-editor of “Blackness in Britain,” and director of the Center for Critical Social Research, Andrews, has called on the African diaspora to unite. In a follow-up to his 2018 book, “Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century,” Andrews has penned,
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS – PEST CONTROL SERVICES The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (the “Agency” or “DCHFA”) requests proposals from qualified and experienced pest management vendors to provide the labor and materials required to render quality Pest Control Services to provide prevention, management strategies, and routine maintenance for a pest free environment for the Agency’s headquarters building located at 815 Florida Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001. Preference is given to CBE’s and companies located in the District of Columbia. For the detailed RFP visit our website at www.dchfa.org or contact Keami Estep at (202) 777-1600 or via email at procurement@dchfa.org. Deadline for submission of responses is Wednesday, July 7, 2021 @4:00pm ET. Companies planning to submit proposals should attend the pre-bid meeting on Tuesday, June 22, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. (ET). The Pre-Bid Meeting will be held at 815 Florida Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001. Face covering and social distancing is required. Proposals from companies who do not attend the Pre-Bid Meeting will not be considered. Question’s deadline is Friday, June 25, 2021, at Noon.
16 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
“The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World.” “With ‘The New Age of Empire,’ I wanted to start with the very beginning of this thing called the West in 1492. This period marks the start of the largest genocide in human history, which in turn led to the enslavement of Africa and the evolution of colonial violence,” Andrews remarked. “One of the things I wanted to drive home is this connection of colonial violence that makes capitalism possible. Without this history of colonial violence, not only is capitalism not possible, neither is White supremacy and the industrialization of Europe as we currently know it.” According to the book’s editors, the professor and historian “take
the reader from genocide to slavery to colonialism, deftly explaining the histories of these phenomena, how their justifications are linked, and how they continue to shape our world to this day.” The editors contend that “The New Age of Empire” is a damning indictment of White-centered ideologies from Marxism to neoliberalism and a reminder that our histories are never really over. “I also wanted to show how this history still shapes what the West is today,” Andrews insisted. “To our oppressors, the same Black life that was disposable 500 years ago is just as disposable in 2021 – from the U.K. to the U.S., from the Caribbean to the continent of Africa.” WI @StacyBrownMedia
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Report: Millions of Americans Have No One to Turn to for Help White, College-Educated Residents Have More Support Sarafina Wright WI Contributing Writer Countless Americans are suffering from feelings of loneliness and isolation, a growing trend that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. According to an Impact Genome/ AP-NORC Poll, millions of Americans lack key social bonds in their personal and workplace lives, face barriers to accessing important services and institutions or aren’t meaningfully engaged in their community. COVID-19 has more often led to a decrease rather than increase in social capital on these measures, says the study. About 46 million adults (18 percent) have only one person or no one to count on for help, emotional support or aid when, for instance, when their child is sick. About 49 million (20 percent) have no one in their professional network who can help draft a resume, connect with a potential employer or provide advice on workplace challenges. These bonds—called social capital—can boost economic recovery and promote social mobility, particularly after major shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the study. “Our survey found that the pandemic has led to a decrease in social capital for many. This decrease means that millions of adults could miss out on support to find jobs, overcome barriers accessing important services and institutions, and benefit from
meaningful relationships within their community,” said Jennifer Benz, deputy director of the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “The COVID-19 quarantine measures were certainly necessary for public health, but also left 1 in 6 Americans with even smaller trusted personal networks than before the pandemic.” Differences in the size of trusted networks are “especially acute by income, race and ethnicity, and education: white, college-educated, and wealthier adults are more likely to have more people they can rely on for personal support,” said study authors. On the professional front, 20 percent, or 49 million Americans, have no contact in their trusted network who can help draft a resume, connect with a potential employer or provide advice with workplace challenges, according to results from the survey. White adults and more educated Americans again fared better in this category with having larger trusted professional networks. About a third (30 percent) of Americans have used government services like unemployment, cash assistance, food assistance or Social Security in the past year. Most Americans were able to access the essential services they needed, but Black Americans were more likely than whites (25 percent versus 10 percent) to face barriers, notes the study. The most common barrier to access among all Americans is knowledge: 62 percent cite not knowing if
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NATIONAL
Darnella Frazier, Teen Who Filmed George Floyd’s Murder, Receives Special Pulitzer D. Kevin McNeir WI Senior Editor
FLOOD AND WATER DAMAGE: PREVENTION, PROTECTION AND PROGRAMS YOU ARE INVITED Please join the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking for a virtual Flood and Water Damage Forum. Learn how to protect your property from water damage due to flooding. Also, learn about resources and complaint processes available if damage occurs. Topics include: w Assistance for residents affected by water damage DC Water w Public alert systems, emergency preparedness, community engagement resources DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency w Early warning systems, flood plan management and mitigation activities DC Department of Energy and the Environment w Changes to National Flood Insurance Program that lower flood insurance premiums Federal Emergency Management Agency w Role of insurance brokers/agents, claims process, policy inclusions and exclusions District of Columbia Insurance Federation WHEN Thursday, June 24 Time: 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. JOIN BY PHONE 1-650-479-3208 Access Code: 172-179-7613 JOIN BY COMPUTER/ONLINE bit.ly/3hqeloJ Phone line and website open at 3:45 p.m. on June 24 FOR MORE INFORMATION Idriys J. Abdullah 202-442-7832 idriys.abdullah@dc.gov
JUNE 21-25 IS DC FLOOD AWARENESS WEEK! Learn more about events and resources that will help YOU be prepared! Visit: ready.dc.gov/floodweek.
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Minnesota teenager Darnella Frazier, who filmed the death of George Floyd, received a special citation by the Pulitzer Board on Friday, June 11. Aminda Marqués González, cochair of the Pulitzer Prize Board, said they chose to honor Frazier “for courageously recording the murder of Floyd.” The video, which went viral, “spurred protests against police brutality around the world, highlighting the crucial role of citizens in journalists' quest for truth and justice,” González said. Darnella, then 17 years old, recorded Floyd's murder in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Her video showed former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. The video became a critical piece of evidence at Chauvin's murder trial earlier this year and would be repeatedly played over the course of the trial. A jury found him guilty of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Frazier has received widespread praise for her actions from people including President Biden, film director Spike Lee, Anita Hill. The awards, administered by Columbia University, recognize reporting in newspapers, magazines and digital news outlets. This year's announcement, originally scheduled for April 19, would be postponed to June so that the board members could meet in-person to evaluate the entries rather than choosing the winners remotely. Frazier, an African-American youth, recently said she was proud of herself for recording Floyd's murder even though it became a "traumatic life-changing experience" for her in the aftermath. “A lot of people call me a hero even though I don’t see myself as one,” Darnella said on Twitter. “I was just in the right place at the right time. Behind this smile, be-
“W
5 Darnella Frazier (Courtesy photo)
hind these awards, behind the publicity, I’m a girl trying to heal from something I am reminded of every day. #DarnellaFrazier #Pulitzer Sherrilyn Hill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., tweeted her congratulations to Darnella. “How wonderful, extraordinary and painful. Well done, Pulitzer Committee. One day our children will get to be children. Until then, reward their courage & contribution to truth-telling.” The three topics which dominated the 2020 news cycle and impacted every aspect of life including how newsrooms operated, the pandemic, racial injustice and the presidential election, counted among the areas honored with Pulitzer Prizes – the most prestigious awards in American journalism. Dolores Barclay, an adjunct faculty member at Columbia Journalism School and a former National Writer and Arts Editor of The Associated Press, said that while she likens the role which people like Darnella play more as an observer and not a reporter, their participa-
The video became a critical piece of evidence at Chauvin's murder trial earlier this year and would be repeatedly played over the course of the trial. tion continues to provide crucial support to journalists in their quest to report the truth. St. Paul, Minnesota Mayor Melvin Carter earlier suggested Darnella should win the Pulitzer Prize for taping the arrest that would later go viral. “All of this,” Carter tweeted Friday in response to the news that Frazier had been awarded a special citation. “So well deserved.” WI
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South Africa’s President Urges G-7 to Boost Covid-19 Global Program
South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa wants the Group of Seven countries to help finance the World Health Organization’s program to boost COVID-19 testing, diagnostics and vaccines, the presidency said on Sunday, June 13. Ramaphosa, who joined the summit of the club of rich democracies in England and addressed them on Saturday, said the G-7 countries, which together account for more than half of global output, should support the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator to plug the $16.8 billion funding gap for this year. “We need to address the substantial financing gap for tests, treatments, critical supplies like oxygen and the health systems that enable testing, treatment and vaccination,” Ramaphosa said in the presidency statement. The World Health Organization’s ACT Accelerator program for global COVID-19 treatments aims to fast-track production and ensure equitable access to tests, treatments, and vaccines in the fight against COVID-19. “If all G-7 countries met their fair share target, this initiative would be two-thirds funded – and it would be 90 percent funded if all G-20 countries made their fair share contributions,” Ramaphosa said. Ramaphosa also urged G-7 members to support the TRIPS waiver on patents for COVID-19 vaccines and engage in negotiations that could help boost vaccine production. Around 90 percent of African countries will miss a September target to vaccinate at least 10 percent of their populations against the virus as a third wave of the pandemic looms on the continent, the WHO has said. Africa has now registered five million COVID-19 cases, with the southern Africa region the worst affected, a Reuters tally has shown. “If the world is to emerge from this grave crisis, it is essential that we work together to mobilize and direct resources to those countries in the greatest need – and that we do so now,” said Ramaphosa. The G-7 groups the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada. WI
caribbean now Education Ministry Unveils Summer School Plans
The Hon. Fayval Williams, Jamaica’s Minister of Education, Youth and Information, wants students to participate in the ministry’s upcoming summer school offering to make up for learning opportunities lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Education takes time; learning takes time and in order for us to have our students catch up to where they were before the pandemic and to move them further, we have to spend more time,” she said. Mrs. Williams was addressing a virtual Town Hall on Vaccine Sensitization for the Education System on Friday, June 11. She noted that while students’ involvement will be voluntary, it is important that they can “recover smarter” from learning loss stemming from not being able to be in the face-to-face environment, unreliable internet connection or not having connectivity to log onto
online classes. “We are encouraging our students (to participate). Yes, we know you’ve been living through the pandemic and we know the hardship and so on, but we have to make all the preparations and we have to ensure that your education is still accessible, regardless of whether it’s summer, regardless of whether it’s night or day, and we have the technology, we can scale it up across the system and we have a responsibility to do so,” she said. CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Fayval Williams clarifies a matter, while addressing a virtual Town Hall on Vaccine Sensitization for the Education System on Friday, June 11. (Photo by Yhomo Hutchinson) WI
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HEALTH COVID-19 UPDATE
Surge in Violent Crime in D.C. Impacts Both Youth and Seniors Non-Profit Horton’s Kids Provides Resources for Residents in Ward 8
Maya Smith WI Staff Writer The high-pitched sound of police
sirens, the bangs of gunfire, or the yellow police tape separating onlookers from crime scenes, are a part of everyday life for residents of
D.C.’s Wards 7 and 8. Aaron Dunmore, 69, is an avid cyclist who lives in Ward 7. He recalls riding past crime scene tape more times than he can count during the past month. “It’s a monster over in Northeast,” Dunmore said. “It’s a mess. It’s always something.” Dunmore no longer goes out after dark anymore. “I try to be as close as possible to home by dark. So much stuff is going on nowadays. I can’t risk being out. I’m not trying to be a victim, he said, adding that when he must go out after nightfall, “I just watch my back. I make it my business to look over my shoulder. You have to play defense.” According to police data, nearly half, 46 percent, of the 1,674 violent crimes committed in the city over the past six months occurred in Wards 7 and 8. The categories of violent crimes include homicide, sexual abuse, assault with a dangerous weapon, and robbery.
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5 A resident glances at the traveling pedestrians while waiting for the Metro train to arrive. (Ja’Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)
FEAR OF VIOLENCE CAN LEAD TO PARALYSIS
Sandra Crewe, dean of Howard University’s School of Social Work, said older residents remain especially vulnerable to the effects of violent crime in the community. Crewe said one of the effects of living in a violent neighborhood for older residents is fear of leaving their homes. “If I fear there is danger on the street, then I’m tethered to where I live. Then they miss out on interactions, and for older people, social isolation is a killer.” Isolation, she said, can be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. After her daughter and husband were robbed in Southeast neighborhoods on separate occasions, 68-yearold Ingrid Scott said she became hesitant to leave her house. “My husband came home bloodied one day,” Scott said. “We opened the door, and we saw his face was bleeding and bruised.” After that incident, she started carrying a knife and made a more concerted effort to be aware of her surroundings whenever she went out. “You know when to look back, when to look over your shoulder, when not to look back. You have to be on your p’s and q’s at all times,” she said. However, over time, she realized, “I can’t live like this. And you just pray a lot and keep going,” Scott said. Crewe said heightened fears such as those experienced by Scott often impact the lives of others who have similarly faced violence and may develop into generalized anxiety, which
can trigger depression. These mental issues can worsen pre-existing conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure – conditions prevalent in the Black community. Crewe added that many older, Black residents are dealing with current stressors and the historical trauma of racial injustice. “It is the current violence that sometimes connects itself to the past and changes their quality of life,” Crewe said. “They are essentially re-traumatized by the violence in their community.”
VIOLENCE, TRAUMA, AND YOUTH
On the other end of the spectrum, children are also vulnerable to the effects of violence around them. Meghan McCain, senior manager of mental health and trauma-informed practice for Horton’s Kids, said trauma as a result of violence manifests differently based on a child’s developmental stage. She said that trauma symptoms could cause sleeping or eating problems for children five or younger, while a nine-year-old may suffer from nightmares or begin to exhibit aggressive tendencies. For teenagers, trauma may lead to antisocial behavior, truancy, or violence. At Horton’s Kids, a non-profit organization that offers academic support and other wrap-around services at its two community resource centers in Wellington Park and Stanton Oaks, trauma-informed care is embedded in every service the organiza-
HEALTH Page 44
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Fauci Goes on Offensive to Increase COVID-19 Vaccinations for Adolescents CDC Report: 3.3 Million Infections, 314 Deaths in Those Younger than 18 D. Kevin McNeir WI Senior Editor With coronavirus vaccines becoming more available throughout the U.S., officials have ramped up efforts to expand COVID-19 vaccination coverage among adolescents. Speaking recently at a White House COVID-19 response team virtual town hall, President Biden’s chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, illustrated the importance of stepping up vaccinations for youth highlighting 3.3 million coronavirus infections and 314 deaths in those younger than 18. Federal data indicates 24.1% of kids aged 12-15 have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose with the figure climbing to 38.9% in teens aged 16-17. Dr. Fauci also cited a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which indicated low hospitalization rates among adolescents, at just two per 100,000 at the peak. Of the 204 children under
study, nearly one-third were sent to an ICU and 5% required mechanical ventilation, however, there were no deaths. Also, 70.6% of the total had at least one underlying medical issue. "The bottom line is that COVID-19 in pediatric patients, although rare with regard to serious complications, definitely can be very serious and the good news is that COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be very safe and effective, including in younger people," he said. When Dr. Fauci asked Dr. Lee Beers, pediatrician and president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, her opinion on the most compelling reasons for adolescents to get vaccinated, she cited three "key issues" in support of her recommendation. Besides preventing illness and the more rare occurrence of death, she also said vaccinations will help children get back to school, sports and social networks, while also noting "a
VACCINE Page 52
HEALTH Uterine Fibroids: A New Era of Treatment Nearby Submitted by Medstar Health Our Fibroid Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of these growths that become more common as women age. It’s a familiar feeling for millions of women in their childbearing years—the heavy or even painful menstrual cramps, uncomfortable sense of pressure in the pelvic region, bouts of constipation and frequent urination. For others, there’s the added agony felt during intercourse, struggles with infertility and miscarriage. It’s understandable why anxiety and depression often follow. While all of these symptoms can have different causes, one of the most common is uterine fibroids.
WHAT ARE FIBROIDS?
Fibroids are growths that develop in the wall of the uterus. They’re almost always non-cancerous, but that doesn’t mean they don’t make life challenging for those suffering with symptoms. Various factors can increase your risk of developing fibroids. We know that age plays a significant role, especially for women in their 30s and 40s. We know having a family member with fibroids increases your risk, as does being African-American. Obesity and lifestyle factors like diet have also been linked. Fibroid treatment encompasses a wide range of surgical and non-surgical treatment options that can address a patient’s symptoms and goals. Accommodating decisions regarding future fertility are often a starting point in charting the least invasive treatment approach possible. Surgical fibroid removal procedures such as myomectomy have advanced
through the advent of laparoscopic and robotic technologies, and most hysterectomy surgeries are now performed on an outpatient basis. Another minimally invasive procedure called uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) can alleviate symptoms by blocking arteries supplying blood to fibroids, causing them to shrink and allowing patients to go home within two hours of the procedure.
CONSULT OUR EXPERTS
You owe it to yourself to be evaluated by our multidisciplinary team of specialists who can discuss the treatment options recommended with you. Every patient follows a personalized treatment plan that
carefully considers the size and location of their fibroids, age, overall health, and future reproductive plans. Our Fibroid Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center is proud to be one of the first practices in the region to receive a SCOPE certification, recognizing leaders in women’s healthcare through a rigorous review process that analyzes patient safety. In these times of COVID-19, safety has naturally been on patients’ minds. We’re taking extra safety precautions—including the option to have a Video Visit—so that you can begin or continue care for fibroids without delay. To schedule a consultation, call 202780-0107, or visit MedStarHealth.org/ FibroidTreatment for more information.
According to data from the National Institutes of Health, nearly a third of women ages 25 to 44 have uterine fibroid symptoms
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5 Anthony Fauci (Courtesy photo)
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JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 23
HEALTH
HOLIDAY from Page 1
quickly in the House and then be signed by President Joe Biden. After that, the new law would provide employees of the federal government a day off from work every year on June 19, or a Friday or Monday closest to the prescribed date. Conversations about and analyses of the events leading up to Juneteenth, a day of celebration which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., have dominated public discourse over the past year. As for the legislation, for which sponsors of the bill advocated
making Juneteenth a federal holiday, efforts leading to its congressional approval have been fueled by nationwide protests inspired by the police-involved killing of George Floyd in 2020. The successful takeover of Congress and the White House by Democrats have also factored heavily into the legislation’s momentum. Still, it remains to be seen whether local governments and the private sector will choose to observe Juneteenth as several federal holidays, including Veterans Day, Columbus Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, routinely go unobserved by many of their employees.
A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE HOLIDAY’S EARLY ROOTS
On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger announced in Galveston, Texas, the end of slavery in accordance with President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. In Galveston, African Americans did not learn of their until nearly three years later. Also known as “Freedom Day,” Juneteenth marks the emancipation of former slaves who remained enslaved in Texas despite Lincoln’s proclaiming an end to slavery on Sept. 22,1862. In comments referring to the “first Juneteenth,” Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
DCTAG,
said the following in an article originally posted on The Root. “Maj. Gen. Granger had no idea that in establishing the Union Army’s authority over the people of Texas, he was also establishing the basis for a holiday – today the most popular annual celebration of emancipation from slavery in the United States,” Gates writes. “But Granger wasn’t just a few months late … When Texas fell, and Granger dispatched his now famous order No. 3, it wasn’t exactly instant magic for most of the Lone Star State’s 250,000 slaves. On plantations, masters had to decide when and how to announce the news – or wait for a government agent to arrive – and it was not uncommon for them to wait until after the harvest.” “Those [former slaves] who acted on the news did so at their peril,” Gates concludes.
BIPARTISAN SUPPORT PAVES THE WAY
Apply Now.
Take Classes In-person or Online If you’re 26 or younger, a DC resident with a high school diploma or GED, and meet a few other requirements, the DC Tuition Assistance Grant (DCTAG) can help by providing up to $10,000 a year to participating colleges and universities, nationwide. Apply by September 17, 2021, to begin classes this fall.
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee count as members of Congress who led the effort to make Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday. Howevcer, in 2020, Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson blocked the bill, positing that a day off for federal employees would cost American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. He dropped his objection this week despite his concerns, paving the way for the bill's passage in the Senate. “Although I strongly support celebrating Emancipation, I objected to the cost and lack of debate,” Johnson said in a statement. “While it still seems strange that having taxpayers provide federal employees paid time off is now
required to celebrate the end of slavery, it is clear that there is no appetite in Congress to further discuss the matter.” Johnson was not the only member of Congress opposed to the legislation. Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, similarly frowned on giving federal workers an extra day off. In fact, Lankford and Johnson earlier attempted to amend the Juneteenth bill to remove another federal holiday. However, their efforts faced stiff opposition from groups with ties to those days, like Italian-Americans with Columbus Day. The Senate bill, with 60 bipartisan co-sponsors, could have successfully thwarted a filibuster if one or more senators had objected. But doing so would have taken up considerable floor time that Democrats said would be better spent focusing on more significant issues including an infrastructure bill and the confirmation of judges. That said, passing the bill with a unanimous consent motion, emerged as the most preferred route. Texas Democratic Congressman Al Green began recognizing Juneteenth as a paid holiday in his office last year, so when the U.S. Senate passed the legislation, he served as one of the first to express his excitement. “What began as a grassroots movement to commemorate Texas history is now set to become our nation’s 12th federal holiday,” Congressman Green stated. “In honor of the late Al Edwards – the father of the Juneteenth holiday in Texas – and every person illegally enslaved in Texas during the period between Lincoln’s proclamation and Granger’s announcement of emancipation, I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to vote for this legislation on the House floor.” WI
TEXT DCTAG @ 474747 to get started. dconeapp.dc.gov (Courtesy photo)
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JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 25
EDUCATION D.C. Teachers Advocate for Programs that Boost Diversity in Profession
New Initiatives Proposed as America Hopes to Overcome Ravages of Pandemic Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer As a testament of her commitment to academic acceleration in the aftermath of the pandemic, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) recently proposed a budget that increased per-pupil funding and expanded access to men-
tal health services along with other services for students. But for a contingent of teachers and paraprofessionals, Bowser has a serious blindspot as it relates to shaping the District’s teacher workforce so it reflects the diversity of the student population. They assert that like a cadet pro-
gram would do for the Metropolitan Police Department, a change from business as usual could attract more District high school graduates to the teaching profession. The lack of what’s been called a “grow your own'' program has also, as Patricia Stamper told The Informer, stagnated the career trajectory of many District educators, despite the number of years they’ve accumulated in the classroom. “There are paraprofessionals who can’t afford to [repeatedly] take the Praxis test and live in D.C. Some of them have accepted that they won’t rise and grow within the teaching profession to anything other than support staff,” said Stamper, a paraprofessional at Miner Elementary in Ward 6 who advocates for EmpowerEd, a local nonprofit dedicated to educational equity and elevating the diverse voices of District teachers. “We are in the minor leagues. This is a living wage issue,” Stamper continued. “Paraprofessionals are paid pennies to the dollar compared to lead teachers who are given bonus money. There is no incentive for growth.”
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TO ENTRY
Entering the classroom as a fullfledged educator in the District often requires a teaching credential that’s obtained through completion of master’s level courses and a passing score on the PRAXIS for the relevant subject areas. Teachers who don’t acquire licensure by next March will be terminated by the end of the 2021-2022 academic year according to the DCPS AUTO BODY AUTO BODYwebsite. EmpowerEd’s campaign to create SHOP WASHINGTON DC AUTOIN BODY a “growDC your own” teacher pipeline SHOP IN WASHINGTON program, three years in the making, Authorized Direct repair facility for has entered Authorized Direct repair facility for a stage where members SHOP IN WASHINGTON DC Major Insurance Companies Authorized Direct repair facility for have begun to engage members of the Major Insurance Companies Authorized Direct repair facility for D.C. Council for the introduction of 10% off Body Repair Labor with Insurance Claim legislation.Claim This includes D.C. CounMajor Insurance Companies 10% off Body Repair Labor with Insurance Major Insurance Companies cilmember Elissa Silverman (I- At Rental Car Available/Anacostia Rental Lease & Sales large) who&chairs the Committee on Rentalwith Car Available/Anacostia Rental Lease Sales 10% Body Labor Insurance Claim 10% offoff Body RepairRepair Labor with Insurance Claim TOWING AVAILABLE Labor and Workforce Development, Rental Car Available/Anacostia Rental Lease & SalesTOWING AVAILABLECouncilmember Robert White (DRental Car Available/Anacostia Rental Lease & Sales 1710 Good Hope Road SE At large) and Janeese Lewis George 1710 Good Hope Road SE TOWING AVAILABLE (D-Ward 4). Washington DC 20020 TOWING AVAILABLE Washington DC 20020 Toward the end of last month, 1710 Good Hope Road SE Ph:202-678-0100 EmpowerEd members converged 1710 Good Hope Road SE Ph:202-678-0100 on Freedom Plaza in support of a Washington DC 20020 www.murphysautobodyshopdc.com program that would give students www.murphysautobodyshopdc.com Ph:202-678-0100 Washington DC 20020 academic and financial incentives to It’s YOUR CHOICE where you have your vehicle repaired. pursuevehicle careers inrepaired. education before It’s YOUR CHOICE where you have your www.murphysautobodyshopdc.com Ph:202-678-0100 and after graduation. OUR CHOICE where you have your vehicle repaired. This would happen through an office that coordinates activity between www.murphysautobodyshopdc.com the Office of the State Superinten-
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5 D.C. State Board Representative Carlene Reid (Ward 8) supported teachers who converged on Freedom Plaza in Northwest to advocate for the creation of a pipeline that increases teacher diversity. (Photo courtesy of EmpowerEd)
dent of Education [OSSE], District high schools and local universities. If the program comes to fruition, it would increase offerings currently in existence at select District high schools along with the University of the District of Columbia, Trinity Washington University and Catholic University of America. The program would also potentially raise the District’s standing as an incubator of a diverse teacher workforce. In an analysis about teacher recruitment and diversity conducted by The Education Trust, the District received low ratings in the areas of access to teacher diversity data and setting clear goals to boost teacher diversity. However, when it came to intentional recruitment and investment in preparation programs, the District partially met the criteria compared to its counterparts in other school districts across the country. “We looked at some of the early sort of pipeline-building efforts, like teacher academies that target students or color and bring investments,” said Eric Duncan, a P-12 data and policy senior analyst at EdTrust who specializes in policies related to increasing teacher diversity. “In addition to teacher academies for high school students, we look at [states that are] recruiting paraprofessionals without credentials [because] the support staff is the more diverse base,” he said.
IS A TEACHER EXODUS LOOMING?
In the months before the pandemic, a report compiled by OSSE re-
vealed that while teacher diversity in the District surpassed that of other jurisdictions, it didn’t reflect the student population, especially Latino students in wards 1 and 4. Though the District retained teachers deemed effective and highly effective, special education and elementary education counted among the positions with the highest number of vacancies. Throughout the virtual learning experience, teachers in public and public charter sectors have reported socioemotional stress and struggles to engage students in the majority-Black portions of the city. In March, the results of the DC State Board of Education’s All-Teachers survey hinted at the likelihood of departure among nearly half of teachers who responded. That’s why, for Isabella Sanchez, a teacher at Garrison Elementary and EmpowerEd member, time remains of the essence in bringing more teachers, particularly those of color and those living in the District, into the District's public and public charter schools. “This is not just an issue in D.C. States have put money into growyour-own programs that create a sustainable teacher pipeline in high school where you have students thinking about a career as teachers,” Sanchez said. “[It’s even] making it more accessible for paraprofessionals who want to be teachers but see the Praxis as a barrier. We can get this pipeline in place to remove those barriers.” WI @SamPKCollins
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DCPS
BRIEFS Compiled by Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer
NO APPOINTMENT VACCINATIONS
The DC Heath Department in partnership with Safeway Pharmacies is offering vaccinations for which no appointments are needed. Any District resident who is 12 years or older can visit select a DCPS building and receive their COVID-19. Services are being provided at vaccine at walk-in clinics that include Anacostia High School, Eastern High School, Luke C. Moore High School, and Ida B. Wells Middle School. Schools will be open Monday-Saturday and hours vary by location.
VIRTUAL LEARNING ACCOMMODATIONS
To support students with a documented medical condition who need to continue learning virtually, DCPS will offer virtual instruction for a limited number of students who meet medical eligibility requirements. Consistent with a District-wide policy, families who need virtual learning must provide documentation of a medical need as determined by a health professional. DCPS will provide a rich online learning environment for students who need virtual instruction, including a technology device for those who require one. Families in need of virtual learning accommodations are encouraged to complete the registration process by July 6 to allow schools time to create fall schedules. “We know that our students thrive best in our classrooms, and that is why we are excited to open fully for all students this fall,” DCPS Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said in a statement. “We will work with our teachers, families and community to create a safe and trusting classroom experience where we will accelerate student learning. With collaboration, transparency, and a commitment to health and safety, we will
ensure our buildings remain safe and healthy spaces for engaging and joyful learning experiences.”
EDUCATION
RELIEF FUNDS
DCPS recently announced that it is scheduled to receive $191 million in the American Rescue Plan Act’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds. This federal investment will support the full reopening of schools for in-person learning in the fall and ensure students are supported on the path to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile DCPS is asking families, teachers, staff and community members to help prioritize how the ARP ESSER funds should be used for next school year, via a survey that be accessed at bit.ly/dcps-recovery-survey.
DCPS GOES TO COLLEGE!
Jasmin Menjivar can’t wait to start the next chapter of her life after recently graduating from Coolidge High School. She is especially looking forward to meeting new people, seeing new places, and becoming part of the Guilford College family. “I always knew I wanted to study business since I was little,” says Jasmin. “I also had the chance to interact and learn from many professionals through the Academy of Health Sciences program at Coolidge.”
Nathan McAlpine is excited about graduating and attending Georgia Tech. “There are just so many opportunities to learn, grow, and have fun,” said Nathan who was selected by the university as a Stamps President’s Scholar, earning him a full four-year scholarship. WI
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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS
EDITORIAL
Justice and Equity for All, including Black Americans
The long-fought battle for justice and equity for Black Americans is beginning to bear fruit, it appears. Last year, when George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white Minnesota police officer, there was little faith in a judicial system that most often let police officers off the hook for the murder of Black men and boys, and Black women, as well. But hope reigns, although the writing on the wall assured many that Floyd’s murderer would not be held accountable. Surprisingly, Officer Derek Chauvin was found civilly liable and later criminally guilty. A 12-member jury of six Whites, four Blacks, and two multi-racial people convicted him on three counts of second and third-degree murder for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed a portion of 16th Street, N.W., one of the most wellknown streets in America, Black Lives Matter Plaza. The bright yellow street name painted on a street where Black Lives Matter protestors continue to gather and issue their demands leads directly to the White House. Last November, American voters put Kamala Harris there alongside President Joe Biden, electing her as the first Black and first woman vice president of the U.S., one of the most powerful positions in the world. Standing in the footsteps of Ida B. Wells, George Frazier, and Aretha Franklin is 18-year old Darnella Frazier, the teenager that documented George Floyd’s death by filming the horrific event on her cell phone camera. Frazier was recently awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for her courageous act that led to Chauvin’s conviction. She is the first individual to receive the honor as a citizen journalist. This week, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to establish June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day, commemorating the end of slavery in America. Next, the bill will go to the House of Representatives for a vote and then to President Joe Biden for his signature, declaring the bill a law. These are but a few examples over the past year of the seismic racial shift happening in the U.S. Still, the fight for justice and equity for Black Americans continues, and hope will never end. WI
As America Mourns the Death of 600,000 to COVID-19, Slow and Steady is the Best Strategy Let the party begin – at least that’s what everyone seems to be saying these days. That’s because most cities, counties and states across the U.S. have either relaxed or completely lifted COVID-19 restrictions after the numbers of infections and deaths have thankfully and significantly fallen. But before we go overboard, let us remember that the U.S. recently acknowledged the somber news that more than 600, 000 men, women and children have died due to the coronavirus. And infections and deaths continue each day, albeit at much lower numbers than America was recording over a year ago. Consider that the number of deaths, 600,000, equals the yearly death rate for cancer in the U.S. That puts COVID-19 at the top of the list of causes of death in the U.S. In the District, the D.C. Council has given Mayor Bowser the authority to either extend the state of emergency through July 25, or lift it now. She has chosen to invite other Americans to D.C. for the upcoming Fourth of July festivities. Of course, she has asked participants to wear masks, follow social distance protocols and urged everyone to be sure they’re vaccinated. In the Commonwealth, Virginia Governor Northam will allow the state of emergency order to end at the end of June. Meanwhile, in Maryland, while the official end of the state of emergency is July 11, Governor Hogan has said he has no plans to extend that date. These dates change from day to day, but in all cases, it’s apparent that our leaders believe we have rounded the curve and weathered the storm. Still, variants of the virus, most notably the delta variant, have health officials concerned and with good reason. In the United Kingdom for example, leaders have delayed reopening plans because infection rates are once again climbing. Sure, we want to get out and about. Everyone’s tired of being housebound. But this must be done carefully and with the best science we can muster guiding us. As the great Aesop once wrote, “slow and steady wins the race.” WI
TO THE EDITOR Black Excellence
Holding Serve
I just wanted to commend The Washington Informer for the great works it has done over the past 50-plus years as a Black business in the District. You all should be extremely proud of producing a great newspaper week after week for all these years. Signed, a loyal reader.
Kudos to Naomi Osaka for speaking up for herself against the international tennis institution that continues to act as if they’re doing our athletes a favor instead of acknowledging them as hardworking professionals. May she set the tone for the next generation!
Ina Haggard Washington, D.C.
Leonard Phillips Washington, D.C.
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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist
Julianne Malveauxl
Pride Month Means Black Pride, Too
June is Pride Month, commemorating the violent police raid on the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969, when GLBTQ activists fought abusive police officers who beat gay men, lesbians and those who cross-dressed. So-called law enforcement also participated in blackmail and extortion against those who were closeted. It took 50 years, until June 2019, for the New York City police commissioner to apologize
for the raid. While the GLBTQIA community has increased visibility and acceptance, there is also the putrid and hateful resistance to the very existence of this community. In a tiny Texas town, a bakery that offered Rainbow cookies in honor of Pride Month faced a detestable backlash when a patron who ordered five dozen cookies — a sizable order for a small, family-run bakery — canceled their order (having not paid for it) because they felt that a Facebook recognition of Pride month was "gay propaganda." (https://www.washington-
Guest Columnist
post.com/lifestyle/2021/06/09/ pride-month-rainbow-bakery-customer/). In Jacksonville, Florida, a planned bridge lighting in honor of Pride Month was threatened, some say over intergovernmental jurisdictional issues, while others say it was simple homophobia. In a D.C. suburb, a teacher says he violates his religion to refer to young people by their preferred pronouns. He was fired, and he sues saying that it violates his faith for him to be courteous and compassionate to others. The court agrees with him, and he is headed back to
the classroom, intolerant as ever. These are incidents that have bubbled into the national consciousness, but there are others that go unreported. The bottom line is that hate — racism, homophobia and more — thrives in our nation, and few are prepared to stop it. Police violence is at the root of Pride Month, just as it is at the foundation of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The Movement for Black Lives has been firmly and fiercely supportive of GLBTQIA rights, especially sensitive to the rights of trans people, focusing
on the trans women who are exponentially more likely to be murdered than others. But with police violence as the common root of two vital movements, why is there so little visible collaboration between those communities). Gay pride is Black pride, too. Let's call the roll of Black GBLTQIA leaders and thinkers —Bayard Rustin, Pauli Murray, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, so many others. And let’s look at hate and hate crime from an intersectional perspective and solutions from that same place.
been the subject of contention and debate. Few will debate its existence, but there is significant disagreement as to the cause. Some will argue that the career related choices of women and the stereotypical obligations of "womanhood" (homemaker, wife and mother) reduce their "time on the clock" and, therefore, their resulting income. Others contend that, historically and contemporarily, the work and performance of women has been undervalued, and, among other reasons, employ-
ers have routinely practiced the payment of lower wages in women-dominated career fields. I support the latter position. Despite the Equal Pay Act of 1963, throughout their careers women continue to earn less than men do, and this disparity occurs as early as one year out of college. Christianne M. Corbett, a senior researcher at the American Association of University Women, co-au-
MALVEAUX Page 53
E. Faye Williams
Lives Are Depending on It
The postponed and rescheduled 2020 Olympic Games are only a few weeks away. If the Japanese and International Olympic Committees can manage a COVID-safe environment, I welcome them. I consider this event to be one of the purest forms of athletic competition. Participants train and compete fairly in a test of physical prowess.
If you will, imagine yourself as a participant in the finals of the 100-meter dash. When you arrive at the starting area, you find the starting block in your lane 18 meters behind those of your competitors. The race begins with little to no hope of you overcoming the disadvantage imposed upon you. In real life, that is the type of disadvantage imposed upon the average American woman. PayScale, a compensation research organization, asserts that in 2021,
Guest Columnist
the average American woman earns 82 cents for every dollar earned by the average American male — 18 cents less! To raise awareness of this disparity, Equal Pay Day is observed. It is the day to which the average woman must work in a new year to achieve earning parity with the average male's earnings for the past year. In 2021, Equal Pay Day was March 24. This date is calculated without regard to experience or job type. The Gender Pay Gap has long
WILLIAMS Page 53
Marc H. Morial
Juneteenth is Opportunity to Confront the Nation's 'Hard History'
"Slavery is hard history. It is hard to comprehend the inhumanity that defined it. It is hard to discuss the violence that sustained it. It is hard to teach the ideology of white supremacy that justified it. And it is hard to learn about those who abided it. We the people have a deep-seated aversion to hard history because we are uncomfortable with the implica-
30 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
tions it raises about the past as well as the present. … We enjoy thinking about Thomas Jefferson proclaiming, 'All men are created equal.' But we are deeply troubled by the prospect of the enslaved woman Sally Hemings, who bore him six children, declaring, 'Me too.'" — Hasan Kwame Jeffries When I was a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, I accompanied my parents on a trip to the West African nation of Senegal.
As part of our journey, we took a ferry to Gorée, a tiny island about a mile from Dakar's main harbor. The haunting images of the slave trade we encountered there left a lifetime impression. "Soon, we came upon a large stone structure," My mother, Sybil Haydel Morial, wrote in her memoir, Witness to Change. "The remains of what appeared to be shackles were embedded in the floor. For nearly three centuries, men, women and children were
brought forcibly to this island and sold to European and American slave traders. The tour guide explained that the slaves were corralled and held until the next slave ship arrives. On the far side of the building, was a large opening onto the Atlantic. The slaves were taken along a short gangplank into the hold of the ship. The guide called it 'the Door of No Return,' as those African people would never see their homeland again." As the nation prepares to ob-
serve Juneteenth, the celebration of the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States, we are engaged in a bitter battle over the teaching of history, particularly the acknowledgment of white supremacy's role in shaping our laws and institutions. My great-great-grandparents, Victor Theophile Haydel and Marie Celeste Becnel, were born on the Whitney Plantation, 50
MORIAL Page 53
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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist
H.J. Harris
Where Is America? Will It Fade Into Yesterday?
While the world is coming out of the pandemic, the Republican party is attempting to turn back the clock on truth, freedom, and justice. It is attempting to take America back to the good old days that conservatives long for. Republicans are making a three-fold attack on the heart and soul of America.
First: Republicans are perpetuating the Big Lie — that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Second: The Republican party is attempting to restrict voting rights of Black Americans. Third: The Republicans are institutionalizing the denial of racism in America. Let us look deeper into these three assaults on truth, freedom, and justice. First: Certain leaders and their enablers refuse to accept that the 2020 election was fair
Guest Columnist
and free of election fraud. They ignore the findings of the US Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the Election Security Agency, and virtually every other court and state election board in the country. It is a blow to the heart of America when the validated vote of the American people — the cornerstone of the American democracy - is disputed by baseless, false, unsupported allegations of election fraud. This assault on the sanctity of the vote of the American
people is confirmed by the anticipated ouster from Congressional Republican leadership of Liz Cheney - an otherwise party loyal - for standing up for truth and contradicting the Big Lie. Second: The Republican Party is committed to restrict voting rights of Black Americans. An article by Amy Gardner in The Washington Post (3/11/2021) reveals that Republican lawmakers in 43 states have proposed at least 250 laws that would restrict voting rights. Georgia and Florida have al-
ready enacted legislation that will restrict voting rights. This current national assault on voting rights is taken from the racist playbook of voter suppression. The playbook for voter suppression was an outcome of the only coup that occurred on American soil — "the Coup of 1898 in Wilmington, North Carolina." After the legitimately elected government of Wilmington,
HARRIS Page 53
Ben Jealous
Black Churches Have Moral Authority to Defend the Black Vote
During the civil rights movement's struggle against discrimination and voter suppression in Jim Crow America, the Black Church was a source of refuge and resolve. Today, a new wave of voter suppression laws is targeting Black voters, and new generations of Black clergy are bringing their moral authority to a campaign to defend the Black vote. We need these prophetic voic-
es. The new Jim Crow doesn't look exactly like the old Jim Crow, but it is grounded in the same assault on the dignity, humanity and citizenship rights of Black Americans. We need our communities' truth-tellers to speak out. Because the new Jim Crow is grounded in layers of lies. The Big Lie told by former President Donald Trump and his supporters is that he won the 2020 election, but had his victory stolen by corrupt election officials and Black and brown people casting fraudulent votes.
The existence of widespread voter fraud is itself a lie. It has been debunked over and over again. But Republicans in dozens of states are using that lie to justify new restrictive voting rules. They claim to be protecting "election integrity" but they are really trying to make it harder for some Black and brown people to cast a ballot and have it counted. Right-wing lawmakers feel free to impose discriminatory voting rules thanks to another lie — this one told by John Roberts, the chief justice of the United States. He justified the
Askia-At-Large
decision of a conservative majority of the court in 2013 to abolish a key enforcement mechanism of the Voting Rights Act by saying in effect that racial discrimination in voting was a thing of the past. States from across the old Confederacy proved him wrong, by acting to impose new restrictions on registration and voting. Some went into effect just hours after the Supreme Court gave them the green light. That was bad enough. But the right wing's voter suppression machinery really kicked into high gear
after the 2020 election. Republican lawmakers saw that Black voter turnout helped President Joe Biden win key battleground states. And they vowed not to let that happen again. Republican lawmakers' strategy for holding onto power is not to reach out to Black voters, but to shut them out. But we won't be shut out. We will push Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, two laws that are needed to overturn the new
Wrong forever on the throne — Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own," Lowell wrote, and the words are certainly true today. Would you believe, in one state, legislators have proposed that teachers be required to wear body cameras to ensure that they don't sneak and tell their pupils the true history of racial oppression in this country? If they could, these same white
people would try to blow out the light of the sun as if it was a candle. They are sadly delusional and their way of thinking will be buried on the scrap heap of history.
JEALOUS Page 54
Askia Muhammad
White Americans Murdering Truth
In their descent into the bowels of hell, white Americans have literally murdered The Truth, and are racing to make it illegal to teach this country's true history in classrooms. Lawmakers in at least 15 states are attempting to pass legislation that would require teachers to lie to students about the role of racism and oppression throughout U.S. history.
They mistakenly believe that by banishing truth-telling, the true history of this country will go away, and that they will never be held accountable for it. Wrong! Chattel slavery was once perfectly legal in this country, and the law of the land prohibited teaching Black people to read. Super, supermajorities on the Supreme Court upheld the most draconian laws punishing Black folks, yet a Black man has been elected president of this republic and a Black woman is now vice president.
And look at us now — reading, writing and, with our "Hidden Figures" geniuses, an educated Black woman helped put white men on the moon. Those wicked, white ideologies cannot stand the test of time. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was fond of quoting poet James Russell Lowell's words from his epic, "The Present Crisis," written in 1845, when slavery and the practices of anti-Black race hatred were at their worst in the U.S. "Truth forever on the scaffold,
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They think that by banning discussions of what is known as "critical race theory," they can disinfect their filthy past as though the United States of America had not, in fact, committed the worst crimes in hu-
ASKIA Page 54 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 31
LIFESTYLE E! Co-Host Rolls Out Apparel for Plus-Size Women Macy’s Presents Nina Parker Collection to Rave Reviews Brenda C. Siler Contributing Writer Look up the phrase “dreams can come true” and you will see a picture of Nina Parker. Parker, a co-host on E!’s “Nightly Pop” rolled out her clothing line for curvy women in May. The response resulted in sell-outs for many of the items. This month, new styles were added to the Nina Parker Collection sold exclusively by Macy’s. Again, the response has been overwhelming. The versatile size-inclusive clothing line includes tops, dusters, dresses and jogging separates. Some designs include peek-a-boo shoulders and waist exposures. The collection includes clothing incorporating bright colors, animal prints and sequins. No drab black, gray or navy blue for these clothes. Nina’s designs celebrate the beauty and boldness of a woman who may be a size 14 and up. Following the rollout of designs in May and June, the Nina Parker Collection will have new styles added every month beginning in August. “My vision is to include everything, '' said Parker in a recent Zoom interview. “I want to expand to swimwear, undergarments. Right now I am focusing on the line for this year and working toward November. For years full-figured women shopped at retailers like Lane Bryant, Ashley Stewart, Avenue, Catherines and in what has been labeled the “Plus Size” departments in major department stores. Parker’s vision has been on styles that were trendy, contemporary and accessible to women of all
32 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
ages. In working with her agent, Parker started collaborating with Reunited Clothing, a design house that works with retailers, brands, celebrities and influencers. From that process came the perfect match with Macy’s. “It’s been fairly effortless,” says Parker about bringing the collection to market. “My biggest challenge has been that everything has been selling out. You don’t know what people will gravitate towards and what they won’t.” Navigating the supply and demand has been part of the learning process for this new phase of Parker’s career.
That has been the case with Parker’s sequin jogger set which has been available in three different colors. Parker has gained insight on what styles to bring back due to high demand. In addition to being an E!’s “Nightly Pop” co-host, Parker’s top-tobottom fashion-forward styling has been admired for several years. In her hosting role, Parker often wears her own designs accessorized with thigh-high boots, strappy shoes or leather pants. Several celebrities wear the Nina Parker Collection and sing the praises of the clothing line. Wearing the line giving ecstatic compliments are Loni Love from “The Real,” Meghan McCain from “The View,” actress Jessica Garcia and Oscar winner Octavia Spencer. “It’s a really good response. People like to see how to style something and that is one of my strengths, said Parker about the versatility of her collection. “There is a way to style things that makes it sexy, then there is a conservative way to style things.” Parker says she thinks ahead about other ways to extend her fashion brand, but for now she wants to see how the current Nina Parker Collection grows. “Right now, I want to get the plus-size clothing in a great place, '' said Parker about her size-inclusive collection. “I feel like I need to get things in a really good groove before working on something else. I just want curvy women to feel they are my focus.” The Nina Parker Collection is available in sizes 0X-3X at Macy’s online www.macys.com or at Macy’s retail locations. In the Washington, D.C. area the Macy’s store locations for the Nina Parker Collection can be found at Macy’s Pentagon City, Tysons Corner and Columbia Mall. WI
#1: This jogger set from the Nina Parker Collection at Macy’s. #2: The Nina Parker Collection includes colorful designs as seen in this top. #3: This crop T-shirt and skirt can be worn as separates or as a complete outfit. #4: An off-the-shoulder jumpsuit. The clothing line is available at Macy’s online or in select stores. (Photos courtesy Macy’s)
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LIFESTYLE
Tupac: Legacy of the Unforgotten Legend Natalie C. Hockaday WI Staff Writer When it comes to the rhymes and the rhythm of hip hop, 2Pac gifted the world with his lyricism and social commentary. Challenging norms within the music industry, the west coast rapper paved the way for artists today. His highly noted song “Keep Ya Head Up” taps into the of staying strong despite all the hardships one may go through. 2Pac points out the cycle that is created when a community of people is neglected and how they start to internalize those negative messages. His social commentary on the experience of seeing his community struggle due to many factors is what ties together his songs like
5 Tupac '2Pac' Shakur (Courtesy photo)
“Unconditional Love,” “Brenda’s Got a Baby” and “Dear Mama.” Although his lyrics are decades old, they still hold relevance to-
day and highlight the struggles the Black community faces. His commentary through interviews on social justice parallels current discussions today on police brutality and systemic racism. The artist also became an actor showing that moving from a crossover musician to actor was possible. His most notable films were “Juice,” “Poetic Justice” and “Above the Rim” where he showcased his natural acting abilities. 2Pac is often characterized as a musical and social icon who took action into making more and better spaces for the Black community to uplift themselves. His music was at the vanguard of a movement that preceded his untimely death and left a legacy on the world of hip hop today. WI
Bridges of Survival: Protecting Wildlife and Preventing Accidents Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
The natural corridors of the C&O Canal, Rock Creek, and Anacostia Park are havens for wild animals who, usually at dusk, tend to bound toward the busy roadways, which too often result in collisions with motorists. It presents a hazard that not only concerns District officials but authorities in just about every city in the United States. “I have seen for myself how dangerous it can be for both animals and humans to be around roads and highways without wildlife crossings,” revealed Jennifer Schultz, an outdoor guide and instructor Outforia. As Catrin Einhorn of the New York Times noted in a recent report, there are few things Americans can agree on these days. Wildlife crossings, it seems, are one of them. Einhorn reported that engineers in the Pinedale region of Wyoming built overpasses for vehicles, not wildlife. “But every spring and fall, collisions with mule deer and pronghorn spiked where Route 191 disrupted the animals’ age-old migration
paths,” the journalist asserted. “So the state Department of Transportation joined with the state wildlife agency and nonprofit groups to create a series of crossings, including the one pictured above. Collisions have dropped by roughly 90 percent.” Collisions reportedly have dropped in other places where workers have constructed wildlife crossings. The most recent data from State Farm revealed that U.S. drivers, on average, have a 1 in 116 chance of a collision with an animal. The company estimates over 1.9 million animal collision insurance claims in the U.S. between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020. “I live for walking, running, and trekking,” Schultz stated. “I like wildlife crossings [because] they protect wildlife, especially endangered species. If you’re driving along these highways and happen to hit one of these scared animals, you’ll probably just see them as roadkill. But when you have seen up close, it’s a lot sadder.” In D.C., park officials cite the C&O Canal, Rock Creek Park, and Anacostia Park as wildlife
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5 A deer crosses the road in Montgomery County. (Courtesy photo)
“highways.” In 2018, Bloomberg reported that Maryland’s $2 billion Intercounty Connector included a plan to build ten animal underpasses from the start. “And even before construction finished, animals were ducking underneath,” the website noted. “The deer, the raccoons and opossums, they’ve been going through these culverts long before they had to,” Robert E. Shreeve, who worked on the project with the Maryland Department of Environment at the time, told the Baltimore Sun. “Suburban animals are not shy,” Shreeve noted. The Virginia General Assembly in February passed legislation to protect wildlife corridors and help keep drivers safer.
WILDLIFE Page 38
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JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 33
LIFESTYLE
Washington Informer Takes Three Top Honors in SPJ Awards
D. Kevin McNeir WI Senior Editor
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The Society of Professional Journalists [SPJ] serves as the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. Each year the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists joints with its sister chapters in sponsoring regional contests to honor excellence in journalism. This year, SPJ held its awards for the D.C. Washington, D.C., Pro Chapter on Tuesday, June 15. While the event would be held virtually, it counted as something to which all journalists looked forward. The Washington, D.C. Chapter’s Dateline Awards recognizes print, online and broadcast journalists in the D.C. metropolitan area and parts of neighboring counties. The contest divisions encompass: daily newspapers, weekly Newspapers, magazines, television, radio, newsletters/trade publications and online publications Within each division, there are nearly 20 categories – from Breaking News and Sports to Blogs and Feature Photography. Entries are judged by a sister chapter and our chapter in turn judges another, thus guaranteeing fair and impartial selections of finalists and winners. As some of our readers may recall, The Washington Informer received five awards in 2020 for the stellar contributions of work published in 2019 by Samuel Collins, Stacy Brown, William J. Ford, Anthony Tilghman and D. Kevin McNeir. This year, honors went to three of our staff members (with the specific awards listed below): Anthony Tilghman, Stacy Brown and D. Kevin McNeir. Denise Rolark Barnes, WI publisher had this to say: “Congratulations to Anthony Tilghman, winner of the SPJDC Dateline Feature Photography Award, and to Stacy Brown and D. Kevin McNeir for being named among the finalists in the Best Series and Commentary & Criticism categories, respectively. Great work and a job well done! Best Series Winner: Avi Bajpai, Reginald Black, Julia Pinney, Street Sense Media, “How Covid-19 Affected DC’s Homeless Community” Finalist: Stacy Brown, The Washington Informer, “One Hundred Years after Suffrage Victories, Black Women Still Carrying the Torch” Stacy Brown:“It's incredibly humbling to be recognized for the second consecutive year by SPJ. Certainly much credit goes to Denise Rolark Barnes, Kevin McNeir, Tarron Lively and the Informer editing team. The Informer raises the bar daily so I'm never surprised when this newspaper is recognized for excellence.” Commentary & Criticism Winner: Joey DiGuglielmo, Washington Blade, “Album roundup: Gaga Just So-So on New Album ‘Chromatica’”
5 Stacy Brown (Courtesy photo)
5 D. Kevin McNeir (Courtesy photo)
5 Anthony Tilghman (Courtesy photo)
Finalist: D. Kevin McNeir, The Washington Informer, “The Word According to Dominic” Finalist: Andrew Dunbar, Alexandria Times, “Strokes, Bob Dylan, Gorillaz” Finalist: Cody Mello-Klein, Alexandria Times, “Her Name was Jo” D. Kevin McNeir:“It’s an honor to be acknowledged for doing something that I ‘cannot not do’ – that is writing. I consider it a privilege to be included among other writers who continue to work hard at perfecting their craft. While I truly love writing news and feature stories, the art of commentary writing has recently become something with which I am intrigued. I recall sitting at the feet of Clarence Page over 20 years ago when I was just beginning as a journalist in Chicago and saying to myself, ‘one day I want to inspire thoughts among Americans that break the confines of conformity.’ I’m still working each day to consistently achieve that goal.” Feature Photography Winner: Anthony Tilghman, The Washington Informer, “The Washington National Cathedral’s Exhibit of Doves Symbolizing Hope for the Days and Year Ahead” Anthony Tilghman: “It's an honor to be a winner again; I'm humbled and honored. Thanks to the Washington, DC, Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for the recognition. I enjoy capturing moments and telling stories with my photos. I want to thank the writers and staff at The Informer for allowing me to have fun and be creative with my images. As Marc Anthony once said, ‘If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life.’” WI
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LIFESTYLE
Poll: Majority of Americans Support Same-Sex Marriage
Get Covered. Stay Covered.
Americans Regardless of Age, Not In Support of Transgender Issues Sarafina Wright WI Contributing Writer According to the latest Gallup poll, U.S. support for same-sex marriage reached an historic high of 70 percent. The latest figure released last week marks an increase of 10 percentage points since 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all states must recognize same-sex marriages. “Today's 70 percent support for same-sex marriage marks a new milestone in a trend that has pointed upward for a quarter of a century,” said Gallup on June 8. “A small minority of Americans (27 percent) supported legal recognition of gay and lesbian marriages in 1996, when Gallup first asked the question. But support rose steadily over time, eventually reaching the majority level for the first time in 2011.” Gallup pollsters also say for the first time Republicans, consistently the party group least in favor of same-sex marriage, show majority support this year with 55 percent in favor. Authors say the latest increase in support by the numbers is driven largely by changes in Republicans' views. They add that Democrats have consistently been among the biggest supporters of legal same-sex marriage. The current 83 percent among Democrats is on par with the level of support Gallup has recorded over the past few years. “This could suggest that support for gay marriage has reached a ceiling for this group, at least for now. Meanwhile, support among political independents, now at 73 percent, is slightly higher than the 68 percent to 71 percent range recorded from 2017 to 2020,” said Gallup. With the growing support among Americans for same-sex marriage age differences remain says Gallup. Eighty-four percent of young adults are in favor of same-sex marriage compared to 72 percent of mid-
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(Photo courtesy of Pexels.)
dle-aged adults, and 60 percent of older adults. The new same-sex marriage poll comes as LGBT identification rose to 5.6 percent [up from 4.5 percent in 2017] in Gallup’s latest U.S. estimate released in February. The poll on Americans sexual identity found that the majority of LGBT peoples consider themselves bisexual and one in six Gen Z adults identify as part of the LGBT community. While Americans are increasingly in favor of LGBT rights, the response has been mixed on transgender issues regarding whether or not they can serve in the military or play sports as a trans person. A majority of the public (66 percent) continues to favor allowing openly transgender men and women to serve in the U.S. military says Gallup, but the opposite is true when it comes to sports. A majority of Americans (62 percent) say trans athletes should only be allowed to play on sports teams that correspond with their birth gender, while 34 percent say they should be able to play on teams that match their gender identity. Politically, 63 percent of self-identified liberals are most supportive of allowing athletes to play on teams according to their gender identity,
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decades regarding same-sex and interracial couples, the same is possible for transgender issues. “It's possible that Americans may view the issue differently down the
line. However, changes in views on LGBT issues are often driven by generational change, and at the moment, young Americans hold views similar to their elders.” WI
JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 35
LIFESTYLE
Liberians’ Pleas for War and Economic Crimes Court Increase Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer For years after the end of both the first and second Liberian civil wars, there’ve been ruminations about how, or if, the Liberian government would assemble a war and economic crimes court to hold accountable those who committed and continue to commit atrocities against the nation’s men, women and children. Recently, grassroots activists and government officials have reignited calls for the judicial body. These demands come amidst both the rise of a former warlord to a top senatorial position and ongoing allegations of corruption and violence within the administration of Liberian President George Weah. While the rallying cry has reached a fever pitch within a matter of weeks, some Liberians across the globe, including Robtel Neajai Pailey, have long used their platforms to espouse support of the court along with other measures that would allow Liberians to confront the deep-seated problems plaguing their
small West African nation. “It’s almost like the elephant in the room. People have to pay for those crimes,” said Pailey, the author of “Development, (Dual) Citizenship and Its Discontents in Africa” in which she challenges the popular notion that dual citizenship would improve Liberia’s socioeconomic situation. Additionally, she makes the case for Liberians to establish an identity outside of what the American Colonization Society manufactured in the early 19th century. In her book, Pailey posits that since the country’s founding, Liberia has struggled to formulate citizenship norms under which each and every Liberian, regardless of ethnic identity or economic standing, feels included. She said the relevance of this perspective comes at a time when those responsible for human rights abuses during the war continue to walk among the people and hold positions of power. “People are still very supportive of the war crimes court [because] the level of impunity doesn’t bode well for the future. It sends a message that
anyone can do anything,” Pailey said. “How do you create social cohesion given that people have legitimate grievances? The question of citizenship, national identity and the failed diaspora project goes back to post-war transitional justice.”
A WAR THAT LIVES IN LIBERIANS’ COLLECTIVE CONSCIENCE
At least 150,000 people died in the Liberian Civil War as thousands more became refugees. A report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission would later designate theft and rape of women as the primary means of control among rebel leaders. It also implicated all involved warring factions for committing human rights violations while touting the war and economic crimes court as a form of reparations for affected Liberians. However, that has not been the case throughout the Weah presidency or that of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, his predecessor and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. While alleged mismanagement
5 Liberian President George Weah. (Courtesy photo)
of funds and intimidation of political rivals incited opposition for nearly two decades, recent events have served as icing on the cake. Earlier in May, the successful elections of Nimba County Senator Prince Y. Johnson as head of the Libe-
rian Senate’s Committee on Defense and National Security and Grand Cape Mount County Senator Varney Sherman as head of the Committee of the Judiciary drew the ire of both Li-
WAR Page 38
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WAR from Page 36
berians opposed to the Weah administration and the U.S. Embassy in the Liberian capital of Monrovia. Johnson, a Liberian rebel leader-turned politician, has been connected to multiple murders committed during the Liberian Civil War, including that of Liberian President Samuel K. Doe. According to witness reports, Johnson and his troops publicly tortured, mutilated and killed Doe who killed his predecessor, President William Tolbert, a decade prior. As for Sherman, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Sherman for his alleged bribery of judges, so ruled in two corruption cases (2010 and 2019), one of which involved the approval of a government contract with a British mining company.
A WEAH CRITIC SPEAKS
Since Weah, a world-renowned soccer star and Congress for Democratic
38 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
Change [CDC] party leader, entered office in 2018, Liberia’s economic situation has remained unchanged. Neither has the Liberian government convened a war and economic crimes court. Throughout the duration of the Weah Administration, few have been more critical of the president than radio host and opposition leader Henry P. Costa who has not only criticized Weah on broadcasts but organized protests and helped usher the defeat of CDC senatorial candidates during elections in 2020. In a recent broadcast, Costa made the case for a war and economics crime court by envisioning a world in which Weah did not win reelection in 2022 and a new political party, most likely his, took over the executive office. “Weah and them would have destroyed the country so badly, it would be a while before the people could feel the impact of the new government. You won’t be able to make things happen overnight [because] the economy is so bad. In order to not be unpopu-
lar, the new government would have to go after the old people. You can’t go into power, see the people suffering and let the old government people go free,” Costa said during his May 24 broadcast. WI
WILDLIFE from Page 33 SB 1274 directs state agencies to incorporate wildlife corridors and road crossings into their planning across Virginia. In 2020, the state enacted legislation to produce a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan (WCAP) to identify essential wildlife corridors and road crossings. The measure directed the departments of Conservation and Recreation, Transportation, and the State Forester to integrate the recommendations of the WCAP into their own planning documents. Reportedly more than 60,000 deer-related crashes occur within the state each year, costing approximately $533 million in damages annually.
According to one report, Virginia ranks 12th in the United States for deer-related car crashes, experiencing 10,000 serious human injuries and 200 fatalities due to wildlife-vehicle collisions every year. “Protecting wildlife corridors and improving habitat connectivity by planning for wildlife crossings has led to a 98 percent reduction in wildlife-vehicle collisions at a study site in Virginia,” the report stated. Since these types of accidents are a national problem, the federal government’s responsibility is to decrease the risk by improving infrastructure or at least subsidizing state-funded
infrastructure projects, stated attorney Matthew Dolman. “Safe wildlife crossings are a great idea, and they should not be a partisan battle; everyone who runs into a deer is likely to get hurt or incur major property damage,” Dolman remarked. “If Congress cannot agree on how to include legislation about wildlife safety and infrastructure, I think that the department of transportation should potentially team up with the Environmental Protection Agency to implement a sustainable long-term solution to this problem.” WI @StacyBrownMedia
According to one report, Virginia ranks 12th in the United States for deer-related car crashes, experiencing 10,000 serious human injuries and 200 fatalities due to wildlife-vehicle collisions every year.
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LIFESTYLE
Founded by Former Slaves, Historically-Black East Towson Residents Say White Supremacy and Environmental Racism Threaten their Land Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer In historic East Towson, Md., things are not always black and white. But residents of the Baltimore County municipality that freed slaves founded in the 1850s are seeing red over a proposed 56-unit affordable housing development they called blatant environmental racism. The residents are appealing Administrative Law Judge Maureen Murphy’s March 2021 ruling to allow the so-called Red Maple Place development to proceed. “This project is an effort to turn the community over,” Nancy Goldring, president of the Northeast Towson Improvement Association, wrote in an email to the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). The NNPA is the trade association representing the hundreds of African American-owned newspapers and media companies that comprise the Black Press of America.
“Cities everywhere are tearing down developments like Red Maple Place, so what would drive the powers-that-be in Baltimore County to build a housing project at precisely the same time that Towson is reinventing herself? The late (Baltimore County Commissioner) Kevin Kamenetz envisioned Towson as the next Bethesda, but Montgomery County has inclusionary zoning for working-class families,” Goldring insisted. “You can’t have it both ways, and you can’t be progressive and backward at the same time. Or, can you? Even if it takes 40 years, someone somewhere wants this last six blocks of an already gentrifying African American neighborhood gone.” Goldring added that Baltimore County recently purchased 24.5 acres of land to preserve a neighborhood suburb but refuses to use the same state funding source to protect land on behalf of East Towson. She said trees, ballfields, amenity green space, and walking trails are not
“Ordinary Men doing Extraordinary Things”
Greater DC NAN Chair Frank Malone
Chairman, Frank Malone is Committee Chairman for Greater DC Chapter, National Action Network. (100 Responsible Fathers) Honorable Rev. Dr. Al Sharpton founder of National Action Network in 1991
40 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
the province of the rich. “Nature is not white privilege,” Goldring said. “If there was a basic human right, it is or ought to be accessible to nature. We think it only right to share the bounty and privilege of greenspace allotted to neighboring communities with historic East Towson, the region’s oldest African American community.” Further, if the property is paved, the most oversized parcel of green space in Towson would be a cemetery, Goldring noted. Goldring and other residents are proud of East Towson’s history. In September 1853, newly freed slave Daniel Harris purchased a plot of land for $187.50 from Benjamin Payne and became the first documented African American to hold land in Towson. According to published reports, by 1927, East Towson was 95 percent improved with single-family dwellings, social buildings, a school, and religious structures. Through the years, the community suffered after younger families moved out and larger buildings were developed, effectively removing some of East Towson’s character and charm. Many of the homeowners in East Towson today are descendants of the first Black residents. David Riley, president of the nearby Knollwood association, said local officials are breaking laws to enable the Red Maple development. “An agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which requires the county to add a total of 1,000 affordable units by 2027, said nothing about fulfilling the requirement on the back of a historic working-class minority community,” Riley argued. “When you see a working-class minority community being marginalized to this extent, you have to ask, ‘in what country club was this deal cut?” Riley asserted that East Towson has always been the dumping ground of municipal solutions that the political establishment “did not have the guts to enact anywhere else.” “When Towson needed a bigger power grid, historic East Towson’s ballfields were bulldozed over for a power station,” Riley stated. “When traffic in the downtown district became too congested, a by-
5 The residents of historic East Towson,Md., are fighting a development that they said threatens their neighborhood environmentally and otherwise/Facebook
Riley asserted that East Towson has always been the dumping ground of municipal solutions that the political establishment “did not have the guts to enact anywhere else. pass was built that cut the community in half. And now, a court order for affordable housing is cause to build an oversized and environmentally dangerous project in the community.” Despite her ruling, Murphy acknowledges the intrusions. She announced that those intrusions have “caused and, or, contributed to attempts to erase this neighborhood. However, Murphy determined that the development of Red Maple would occur outside the boundaries of East Towson’s Community Conservation Area, so she said it will not negatively
affect the character of the municipality. “Historic East Towson is on the verge of extinction from decades of being systemically carved up by the political establishment,” Riley continued in his argument against Red Maple, which she called the latest and possibly greatest threat to the town. “This project, opposed by numerous environmental and politically progressive groups and by a bipartisan alliance of elected officials, will further concentrate specialized housing in a working-class minority community,” Riley determined. “The community is only minutes from the downtown district and should be the cultural jewel of the surrounding region. The proximity to the Hampden Mansion Historic Site makes this an ideal two-stop educational destination for visitors to the central Maryland area. “The Elks Lodge, the social heart of the Historic East Towson community, has the potential to be a localized version of the iconic Apollo Theater in New York. Instead of continually tearing down the community, an alliance of government, business, and community groups should be working to protect and restore the area.” Goldring had a sobering message for local officials and others whom she said want to decimate East Towson and its rich African American history: “It is cheaper to commemorate the dead than it is to empower the living.” WI @StacyBrownMedia
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LIFESTYLE IN MEMORIAM Clark Ray of Arkansas Became a Son of D.C. Former Liason to Gay Community Died
Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer
5 Clark Ray (Courtesy photo)
42 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
Sometimes people come along with a heart so big that they transcend race, class and socioeconomic status during a life that impacts generations. In looking at the hundreds who packed into Southeast Tennis and Learning Center last Saturday, it was clear that Clark E. Ray was such a person. He served four mayors over
20 years of service in the District of Columbia. Ray, who died June 5, directed the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation. In 2009 he ran unsuccessfully for an At-Large seat on the D.C. Council, and in 2012 he became the executive director of the newly formed D.C. State Athletic Association. He was 57. Ray forged the development of state championship events, the for-
mation of a student-athlete scholarship program and the creation of the DCSAA High School Hall of Fame in 2017. Former D.C. Councilmember Brandon Todd, D.C. Child and Family Service Director Brenda Donald, D.C. Councilmember and former Mayor Vincent Gray, of the DC Department of General Services Director Keith Anderson and Mayor Muriel Bowser all spoke Saturday. “He was known by just about everybody in the halls of D.C.,” Gray said during the service. “Everyone of us was impressed with his passion for public service and advocacy. I watched him so unselfishly turn the state athletic association into a firstclass operation that symbolized excellence and achievement.” Bowser said Clark set an example as an adoptive parent who adopted boys. “Clark spoke with his whole body. He had a very physical way to express everything that he did. What a beautiful way to make a family through adoption.” In life Ray was a political contradiction. A white man from Arkansas who was a member of Union Temple Baptist Church in Southeast. He voted for Ronald Reagan but he was chief of staff for Tipper Gore. He was a proud member of white college fraternity but his husband and their four sons were African American. “Was he straight, was he gay, was he white, was he black, was he an official, was he a boss, was he a colleague?” former D.C. first lady Cora Masters Barry said. “What I concluded is that some kind of way he transcended all of that.” John Stokes, who worked with Ray at the Recreation Department, said, “He was loved and revered by people from many walks of life.” Ray, born in El Dorado, Ark., served as student body president as a senior at Smackover High School and graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1986, he pursued his masters degree at Temple University. In 1992 he joined the presidential campaign of Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Following the election victory, he accepted an appointment to the Department of Agriculture. During the 2000 Gore Presidential campaign, Ray became chief of staff for Tipper Gore. Many former staff members from the Al Gore presidential campaign attended the funeral, including Donna Brazile, former chair of the Democratic National
Committee and acting campaign manager for Gore. “He was good people, Not only is this a loss for the city, but the nation,” said Brazile, adding that Ray occupied a special place in the Clinton/ Gore White House and that is why so many from that era offered written tributes. “President Biden, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Tipper Gore, everyone who knew Clark, loved Clark, ” Brazile said. “I had to call a lot of people in Arkansas when I learned of his death. It is just tragic.” Ray wore many hats in the District after his White House years. Peter Rosenstein, columnist for the Washington Blade, said, “Clark is one of the few people that not only talked the talk of equality and justice and love, he walked it every day, he lived it. He was one of those amazing people who could be part of every community in D.C. and he was loved by everybody.” Retired Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Brett A. Parson, who ran a special liaison branch that focused on the gay community, said Ray was more than a police officer. “Clark was a friend, he was a mentor, he was role model, he was a fellow community member as a gay man. He meant more to me than five people put together.” Ray is survived by his husband Aubrey Dubra. Together, they adopted four boys, Rahmeer, 21; Tajon, 18; Jamar, 12; and Richard, nine. He also leaves behind his mother, Gerrie Ray, his brother Mike Ray, sister-in-law Rhonda Ray, nephew Dakota Ray, his wife Callie Ray and a niece, Nicole Ballard, her husband Grant and many other cousins, relatives and friends. Before delivering the benediction, Rev. Willie Wilson, pastor emeritus of Union Temple Baptist Church, reflected on how Ray loved visiting his house for his Friday evening fish fries. “Clarke could eat. There were … never any leftovers when Clark came over for dinner,” Wilson said. Wilson expounded during the service on a deeper aspect of the relationship Clark had with him and the other members of Union Temple who served as ushers. “Every time I called Clark, or he called me, or we met for breakfast as we often did, he would say, ‘Rev, it is just another day in paradise in Washington, D.C., with all the hate, with all the division in the world,’ He had to know something.” WI
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LIFESTYLE
wi book review "The Bench" By Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex Pictures by Christian Robinson c.2021, Liveright / $15.95 / 149 pages "The Crown in Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication" By Alexander Larman c.2020, St. Martin's Press / $27.99 / 333 pages "The Windsor Diaries 1940-45" By Alathea Fitzalan Howard c.2021, Atria / $30 / 368 pages By Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer When you sit down for dinner tonight, everyone will be at their favorite seat. Mama might sit next to you on one side and Daddy on the other side. You might have a booster seat, or a pile of books to sit on at Grandma's house. Nobody ever sits on someone else's seat because that's the way it is but in "The Bench" by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, pictures by Christian Robinson, there's one place where everyone wants to be. Somewhere in your yard or on your porch, there is a bench your daddy sat on when you were born. He waited for you there, watching the trees and the cars go by. It's where he sits now, to spend time with you. He knows that there'll come a day when you'll be a big kid but until then, he goes to that bench to watch you grow, and he makes sure he's there when you need him. He wipes your tears when you're sad. He tells you that he loves you. He keeps you safe there and "you'll never be 'lone." Here's a truth: when you're seeking a book for a very small child, you're really giving a gift to the parent. The same is true with "The Bench": kids will love the sweet simple story and the quiet illustrations, but this book is just as much for the adult who'll read it aloud. Look closely at the illustrations by Christian Robinson, and you'll see a few familiar figures. Keep them in mind as you read Meghan, The Duchess of Suxxex's words, and you'll see how this children's story, told from the point of view of a mother fits in with everything you know about Meghan and Harry and all you feel about being a (grand)parent. Lilibet Diana is going to love this precious, lovely book. So will you and your child. While you're grabbing "The Bench," why not find something for yourself, too? History lovers will truly be riveted by "The Crown in Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication" by Alexander Larman. Most folks alive today won't recall the turmoil that led up to the ultimate job-quitting, when King Edward VIII stepped down from the throne, as he said, "… for the woman I love." In this book, you'll find intrigue and thrills, controversy, and a host of characters who advised the King and those who worked against his plans to marry Wallis Simpson. It's an amazing look at a bit of the past that changed the course of history. For something lighter, look for "The Windsor Diaries 1950-45" by Alathea Fitzalan Howard, who was sent to live with her grandfather during World War II, to keep her safe. Like every child around, she loved to go play with the neighbor kids … who just happened to be the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. Written in diary form, this book is easy to enjoy, as a delightful look at a British childhood during a tumultuous time. Grab it, and have a seat … WI
horoscopes
JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
ARIES With heightened clarity about where you're going comes heightened articulateness; the right words roll off your tongue without much effort. Wednesday and Thursday are no time for hesitating. If you pursue your goals with energy, you'll be able to bring your wildest dreams to fruition. Eventually. This is still the early stage. Lucky Numbers: 12, 18, 40 TAURUS You are human, so you can't do everything or be all things to all people. But what might be difficult for you may well be a snap for one of your friends,. Let the natural talents of the people around you guide your next move. A dinner party on Wednesday or Thursday could double as a strategy meeting. Have it at your house, which has good energy these days. Lucky Numbers: 4, 44, 55 GEMINI Inspiration strikes you on Monday — maybe in the form of a romantic muse. Flirtation figures strongly Tuesday as well. Your way of relating to people you've just met is flirtatious, and you're meeting a lot of people these days, therefore the distinction between friends and love interests is a bit blurry. Nevertheless, Wednesday and Thursday return you to purely practical, non-social matters. Lucky Numbers: 2, 15, 34 CANCER The best solution on Monday might be the one that seems the most far-fetched. You have a knack for innovation these days. Trust your instincts, even if your ideas raise eyebrows. Raise the roof! Be weird! Wednesday and Thursday are explosive days — the energy in the air is almost visible — and they present plenty of opportunities, both social and professional. Lucky Numbers: 18, 26, 33 LEO Your friends act as a springboard for your ideas, and they have some solid ideas of their own. Plus, they don't mind when you launch into one of your crazy lectures about frogs or baking or the nature of love. You're unique, that's for sure. Wednesday and Thursday find you grounded, modest and deeply content. And then, the icing on the cake: Friday. A day of achievement. Your pinnacle. Lucky Numbers: 24, 33, 39 VIRGO The week has the potential to be either great or a drag, and what happens early on will determine how things pan out. Relationships are important, as details are as well. You are a brilliant communicator when you put your mind to it. So, put your mind to it! Wednesday and Thursday you get your energy from other people — so surround yourself with people who give off good vibes — and Friday is so full-speed-ahead you have to fasten your hat to your head, but you won't mind. Lucky Numbers: 11, 19, 36 LIBRA You're not in the mood for anything superficial. What you need is an intellectual conversation. Find someone you like talking to — someone smarter than you — and let yourselves go. Wednesday and Thursday, you're more interested in getting things done than in dwelling on emotions, but that's not to say you should ignore the peripheral beauty that surrounds you — it can be inspiring. Lucky Numbers: 8, 14, 22 SCORPIO A detail that seems minor on Monday could snowball into something huge. It could mean the difference between success and failure. If someone else's money is involved in this venture, take particular care. Managing your own losses is far easier than being responsible for someone else's. Then again, Wednesday and Thursday you're likely going to get whatever it is you want. Relinquish control of dinner plans and you'll be pleasantly surprised by what ends up on your plate. Lucky Numbers: 9, 34, 43 SAGITTARIUS You have worked hard enough lately. Put the engine in neutral and let yourself coast at the beginning of the week. Ambition is healthy but it's also exhausting, and there are a lot of people who'd love a slice of your attention. Wednesday and Thursday you feel an almost spiritual connection to your friends. Your energies are slightly mismatched, but the contrasts (plus intense mutual love) yield fascinating philosophical interactions. If travel figures into your weekend, it will go swimmingly. Lucky Numbers: 2, 4, 51 CAPRICORN You think with words these days, and the more articulate you are, the better. Plus, being clear is an effective antidote to the flightiness that seems to surround you, at least until the middle of the week. Wednesday and Thursday someone is being downright clingy; focusing on them might exhaust you, but it will solve their anxiety. Lucky Numbers: 31, 48, 57 AQUARIUS A love affair lifts you off your feet on Monday and transplants you to the moon. Tuesday is a great day, too — spent building and then tromping through sandcastles of moon dust — but Wednesday and Thursday your responsibilities take priority. Try to get exercise while getting things done (if you have to run an errand, walk instead of drive). Lucky Numbers: 6, 13, 15 PISCES It's understandable if you're feeling overwhelmed at the outset of the week. If you don't feel like doing much, don't do much. Put on some music and busy yourself with tasks around the house. Doing dishes can be therapeutic. Vacuuming can be fun. Wednesday and Thursday your fun comes in the form of something a lot more exciting than dishes and vacuuming — put simply, love is in the air — but Friday and this weekend you will most likely feel like flying solo. Lucky Numbers: 2, 13, 30
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JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 43
FATHERS from Page 1 ‘what do you want for dinner?’ I’m pretty simple when it comes to it. My favorite meal is fried chicken. That’s what I ask for,” he said on the newspaper’s online WIN-TV program Friday, June 11. “Other than that . . . just the quiet time where I am not necessarily doing something. Even though you sit around for a while, you see something that you need to do and you just start doing it but at least it’s because I wanted to, versus I had to,” he said. Two other fathers, James Dula of Clinton and Sinclair Bayard, Sr. of Camp Springs, have celebrated the special day for years. Dula, a longtime community activist and former president of the South County Democratic Club, has one daughter, age 46. Bayard, a health coach with Freqwake Health Solutions, maintains sole custody of his two daughters, ages 14 and 12. Because the girls stay with their biological mom every summer, they’ve only spent Father’s Day with their dad two of the last 10 years. As for Devon Holmes, 37, an HVAC consultant from White Plains in Charles County, this year marks his very first Father’s Day after his wife gave birth May 7 to their son, Devon Holmes, Jr. “For Father’s Day, don’t give me no necktie,” he said laughing. “You can cook me breakfast.” While the D.C. region tries to regain a semblance of normalcy as health officials continue battling the still deadly coronavirus pandemic, our featured fathers, Holmes, Bayard and Dula, shared
their own words of advice on how to safely celebrate “their day.”
HOLMES: FATHER FOR THE FIRST TIME
“I’m number five of seven kids. I learned a lot from my father. Once my son was born, the first thing I was thinking [when] he was in the hospital warming tray, I get to teach everything my father taught me to this little guy. It took me a minute to really just sit down and think how much my father provided for us.” “He was always there. He taught us everything as far as how to be a man. He especially taught us about being a Black man in this society. He told us pretty much the pros and cons of what we were going to experience growing up. He made sure we did anything we wanted to do in life but he made sure we had a back-up plan just in case things didn’t work out.” “I had things I wanted to do but apparently it wasn’t God’s plan. I picked up a trade and it was a trade [at which my father] is a master. Everything kind of worked out. And it was a blessing because I was able to work during the pandemic. Little things like that my father instilled in me at a young age -- all that stuff I get to just flood over this little boy as the years go on. It’s just a surreal feeling.”
BAYARD: BREAKS THE NORM AS A SINGLE FATHER
“Father’s Day to me is a very special day because I don’t normally get to celebrate it with my daugh-
JUNTEENTH from Page 8
HEALTH from Page 22
hood Community Cookbook “to capture the meals, memories and moments of this historic time we are living.” Ward 8 advisory neighborhood commissioner Jamila White supports the event, saying it meets a real need. “Our community has been a food desert, and it will take bold steps to change that, but it all starts with building and fostering a real community,” White said. “I really believe fellowship, collective action and good food can be important ingredients in sparking change.” WI @JamesDCWrighter
tion provides. “I don’t know statistics, but I would bet everyone we work with has known or lost someone to violence,” McCamis said. “And that takes a huge toll on you.” Shandell Richards, the group’s senior director of strategic initiatives and engagement, calls the organization a “one-stop-shop for the community.” Horton’s Kids serves about 150 families and 500 children a year. “The most important thing a child wants to feel when they come home is safety,” Richards said. “Imagine not being able to come home and feel safe. That’s what
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5 James Dula with his daughter, Tonya Dula Clayon, and his wife, Phyllis. (Photo courtesy of James Dula)
ters, unless there’s like a Nor’easter or something that changes [and extends] the school schedule so that they’re still here with me.” “I get Father’s Day every day. I treat every day like a special day. Some people look for that one grain of rice. I got a whole bowl. I got my daughters all the time. The Holy Spirit really hit me about doing something for my father that I just wasn’t in the place to do before. It was really on my heart to do that -- to send him pictures of my daughters over the last couple of years because he lives in South Carolina. He was like, ‘I would just like to have
some pictures.’” “Most people ask for pictures and then you just send the pictures. They’ve got to find frames. I went and got the frames, put [the pictures] in frames, put them in a box and sent them to my dad. He received it [Friday] and he called me. He was like, ‘You gave me the biggest reason to smile today. I just want to say thank you for what you did because I received my granddaughters’ pictures and I can just hang them up.’” “Father’s Day to me is about appreciating the significance of the sacrifice and the attention as a father should.”
Horton’s Kids provides. We’re home.” “In order for you to move on in life and think past your circumstances, you have to learn how to dream. If I’m able to explore and be exposed to something different, then I can learn there is something more.” Richards said she believes the communities Horton’s Kids serves have been “looked at as less than and forgotten about. We’re not here to do that. We are here to help you get better — whatever better looks like for you.” “I understand that this is a community that doesn’t dream. But you can only start dreaming when you feel comfortable and safe,” she said. Dreaming is a catalyst for change, Richards said. WI
DULA: SEASONED FATHER MENTORS OTHERS
“I have mentored and still mentor fathers. For a while I chaired The Fatherhood Initiative here [Prince George’s County] for a few years. My message to fathers was always to make sure you listen to your children. Never give up on them. I taught at Crossland High School for five years. Whenever parents came to me and said, ‘Dr. Dula, you talk to him because I can't talk to him anymore,’ I encouraged them to listen to what their child or children had to say because eventually they would listen to their parents.” “I never had a parent come
back and say it didn’t work. Take them to McDonald’s. Sit down. Buy them a hamburger. You don’t have to do a lot of talking. Just be there in the presence of your child. Eventually, they get comfortable enough to be able to speak with you. When they see that you’re listening, to them that means that you care.” “I can say I am very proud of my daughter because she’s at the FDA and has been in the middle of this COVID-19 thing between the White House and the FDA. We know that she got her work ethics and commitment to service for others from her mother and me.” “I’m retired Air Force and she's a retired civilian from the Coast Guard. She always saw us doing things. I always found time to sit her down at a park or at a McDonald’s and just be there. I learned a lot more than I ever thought I would. That’s my thing to fathers. Listen to your child and lead by example. Editor’s Note: For those who wonder why Sinclair Bayard, Sr. is named as such but does not have a son who would be named Bayard, Jr., it appears his mother named him that way. She wanted to claim that he would have a son. Now, he’s hoping that he and his girlfriend, Janna Parker, will make that happen soon. WI @jabariwill
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SPORTS NBA Names Amadou Gallo Fall President of Basketball Africa League WI Staff Report The National Basketball Association (NBA) has been named NBA Vice President and Managing Director for Africa, Amadou Gallo Fall, as president of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), a new professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa scheduled to begin play next year. Fall will assume his role as BAL president immediately while assisting in the transition and search
for a new managing director of the NBA in Africa. “Amadou’s efforts to grow basketball and the NBA’s business across Africa have been extraordinary and he is an ideal choice to lead the Basketball Africa League,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum. “This historic initiative will not only further enhance the game in Africa but also provide new opportunities in media, technology and infrastructure on the continent.”
The announcement, which marks the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside of North America, occurred at the NBA All-Star 2019 Africa Luncheon in Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 16. Fall, a Senegalese native who joined the NBA in January 2010, helped open the league’s office in Johannesburg, South Africa in May 2010 and has directed the NBA’s grassroots basketball development initiatives and partnerships with marketing, media and consumer product companies in Africa. Under his leadership, the NBA has expanded its grassroots and elite development efforts across the continent, including the Jr. NBA, Basketball Without Borders [BWB] Africa and The NBA Academy Africa. This year, the NBA plans to reach more than 2.5 million boys and girls ages 16 and under through Jr. NBA programs in 21 African countries. Through joint efforts targeting global basketball development and community outreach program, 10 former BWB Africa campers have been drafted into the NBA. Fall has been recognized as instrumental in opening The
5 Amadou Gallo Fall (Courtesy photo)
NBA Academy Africa in May 2017, where 25 elite male prospects ages 14-20 have received scholarships and training after scouting
UVA’s Cinderella Season Continues as Baseball Team Advances to College World Series After struggling in conference play earlier in the season with a 4-12 record and then facing elimination six times within the past 10 days, the University of Virginia [UVA] upset Dallas Baptist on Monday, June 14 to advance to the College World Series. UVA freshman right fielder Kyle Teel connected for a grand slam with the Cavaliers down by one run, facing two outs with bases loaded. Then the pitcher for the Cavaliers, Matt Wyatt, secured the final six outs in an impressive relief effort and a 5-2 win. It’s UVA’s first trip to the College World Series, which will take place in Omaha, since 2015. Virginia joins Rice (1999) and Florida State (2008) to become the third team since the NCAA baseball tournament expanded the playoffs to 64 teams to move on to the “Big Dance” after losing its opening game in both the regional and super regional rounds and to then win six elimination games to advance to the College World Series. UVA meets the No. 3 seed Tennessee on Sunday, June 20 at 2 p.m. Compiled by WI Senior Editor D. Kevin McNeir
5 College baseball continues to attract thousands of fans. (Courtesy photo)
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programs conducted with local federations across the continent. Three NBA Academy Africa graduates have gone on to commit to NCAA Division 1 schools. Fall, a recipient of multiple leadership awards for his contribution to the growth of the game of basketball and youth development on the African continent, previously worked for the Dallas Mavericks, starting as a scout in 1998 before ultimately becoming Director of Player Personnel and Vice President of International Affairs. In that position, he served as the team’s international goodwill ambassador and oversaw scouting assignments. He also helped start Basketball Without Borders Africa in 2003 and served as Camp Director until 2010. Fall also counts as founder of SEED (Sports for Education and Economic Development), a global non-profit organization established in 1998 with the mission of using sport as a vehicle to inspire, empower and support the holistic development of promising African youth and preparing them to become global citizens. A magna cum laude graduate of the University of the District of Columbia [UDC], Fall played center on the basketball team before being inducted into the UDC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019. WI
JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 45
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cilmembers Robert White (D-At large) and Trayon White (D-Ward 8), and the D.C. chapter of the NAACP. A group of longtime Johnson Middle School staff members who spoke to The Informer on the condition of anonymity said, despite blemishes on his record, Jordon’s connections among DCPS officials have not only guaranteed him a spot at the school, but emboldened him to mistreat staff members with impunity. “All Principal Jordon believes in is the data and what the numbers in the chart says,” said a Johnson Middle School staff member of more than a decade who, in speaking to The Informer, recounted receiving a low IMPACT score for an incident earlier in the year that involved the incorrect spelling of her name. The staff member said that, in his eagerness to improve the school’s academic standing, Jordon has repeatedly shut down teachers’ suggestions, discouraged use of vacation days, lied to community members, and pressured employees to alter student attendance records. “Jordon’s motivation is being hired to move Johnson from a twostar to a five-star school when people know that’s not going to happen in a virtual environment and in one year when you don’t have staff involved in the process,” the staff member said.
AN EMPLOYMENT HISTORY MIRED IN CONTROVERSY
In the latest juncture of their campaign, some Johnson Middle School staff members have contacted D.C. Auditor Kathleen Patterson for documentation about his assignment to Johnson. The Office of the D.C. Auditor didn’t return The Informer’s inquiry confirming receipt of the Johnson staff members’ request. A D.C. native, Jordon was head of schools and school support leader and project advisor at KIPP DC. Before then, he served on the D.C. State Board of Education High School Graduation Requirements Task Force. He also ran Friendship Collegiate Academy Public Charter School and the Parkside campus of Cesar Chavez Public Charter School for Public Policy. During his time at Chavez, the school received
46 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
5 Johnson Middle School. (Ja’Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)
a Tier 1 designation. Under D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, Jordon served as principal at John Philip Sousa Middle School. While standardized test scores increased by more than 20 percentage points, dozens of teachers and staff members either left on their own accord or were fired. Later, Sousa failed to adequately meet the metrics of yearly progress, which critics said spoke to the shortcomings of assessing teacher effectiveness solely on student progress.
PARENTS COMPLAIN ABOUT POLICIES
Following the death of an eighth grade student in January, Jordan did not offer condolences to the family or actively promote the prayer vigil taking place on the steps of Johnson Middle School. Before the COVID pandemic, Johnson Middle School, a Title 1 institution receiving federal funds to assist low-income families, received a STAR rating of two, with five points being the maximum. Nearly one out of four children at the majority-Black school, located on Burke Street in Southeast, also identify as special needs, while 1 out of 10 young people who attend the school are either in foster care or homeless. Given the circumstances, some parents like Shacora Simmons, said they welcome Jordon’s tactics, even going as far to question teachers who’ve opposed him throughout the year. “Some of the teachers are okay with Johnson Middle School lacking and students lacking,” said Simmons, who described a significant dearth of communication between her and her son’s teachers through-
out the pandemic. “I’m big on community so my son will continue going to Johnson. If we pull our kids out, Johnson won’t get funding. It’s about the children, teachers and parents. It’s about how dedicated the teachers are.” Ameykay Stocks, a parent of two Johnson Middle School alumni, had a different sentiment. “Principal Jordon’s nature is nowhere near what Ward 8 needs. We need people more hands-on with students where you can’t sense the tension with teachers,” said Stocks, a Ward eight resident of 14 years.
CRONYISM ALLEGATIONS
Currently Johnson Middle School staff members who oppose Jordon are pressing for release of survey data they said would reveal deep dissatisfaction with Jordon’s leadership. The battle has attracted the attention of D.C. Councilmembers Robert White and Trayon White who have written DCPS Chancellor Ferebee inquiring about the situation. Council Chairperson Mendelson has also reportedly looked into the longstanding battle. Staff members at Johnson Middle School contend their complaints are blunted by Jordon and DCPS Chancellor Lewis Ferebee’s ties to the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and Jordon’s rapport with Deputy Chancellor Melissa Kim, with whom he worked at KIPP DC. DCPS officials did not respond to The Informer’s inquiry about the circumstances of Jordon’s appointment to Johnson Middle School,
SCHOOL Page 53
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RELIGION the religion corner WITH LYNDIA GRANT
Father's Day Tributes: Dads Who Made a Difference Proverbs 23:24 says, "The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise." Happy Father's Day to men everywhere! If you want to hear about a Black man who never left his large family, stay married to the same women 58 years, and together, with little education, raised nine children to become successful adults, then that would be my father, Bishop Benjamin F. Grant Sr. Head of household was his forte. The best farmer, a sharecropper who earned much more money for the land owners than he ever did for himself. Happy Heavenly Father's Day to my father Bishop Grant. This year, I kept my father's tribute short. Yielding this space to Cary Williams — who wrote this tribute to his late father, Joe Williams, and to his late godfather, Charles White II — has been a pleasure. Here is what Cary said: "My dad passed away at the end of February in 2020. A little over two months later, my godfather passed away from COVID. I have thought about them both a lot over the past year, and what they have meant to my life. One thing
that I really appreciated about my dad is that he would do anything for anyone. After he passed away, a young man who used to work for my dad at a uniform company when he was in his 20s, wrote an article on Facebook about how my dad would pick him up at 3:30 a.m. so that they could start their shift at 4 a.m. He spoke about how he learned leadership and work ethic from my dad. This young man eventually grew within that company until he started his own real estate business. He spoke about how it meant so much to him that my dad was proud of the man he had become. For the past eight years, I worked supporting people with developmental disabilities — I do not think I would have gone into that line of work without learning the lessons I learned from him. However, it meant a lot to me to see that the lessons my dad taught me, he also passed on to others. "My godfather died of COVID in May of 2020 at the age of 77. He had a magnetic smile and boisterous laugh. You could not be around him without feeling blessed, and yet when he saw you the first thing he did was thank you for being in his presence. He worked for decades as a D.C. public school teacher and on the staff of the D.C. Teachers' Union. He dedicated his life to improving the
Mt. Zion Baptist Church
lives of others. I honestly believe that he felt that this was his calling from God, and he accepted that calling with joy. "As I think about Father's Day, I remember two men who believed that being a father extended beyond their biological children, and that fatherhood involved lifting many boats. Their success in life was not measured just on what they did, but also on how what they did helped others grow. This Father's Day I remember and miss my dad, Joe Williams, and my godfather, Charles White. However, I also love and rejoice in their memory, and hope to pass on the lessons they taught me.” What a tremendous tribute Cary gave to his two fathers. I remember how my father never applied for food stamps, which he truly was eligible to do with so many mouths to feed. Nothing against food stamps — millions of people of all races have used food stamps to help them to get to a better place. But my father was a father who taught us to work to earn our keep — no handouts. He was true to himself. We must appreciate good fathers in every way possible. Salute to all of the dads, godfathers, mentors and those who are standing in the gap for other boys and girls. 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
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headline and photo for LIF Mount Olivet MALCOLMXDAY 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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JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 47
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
48 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
Services and Times Sundays: 10:00am Worship Services Bible Study: Wonderful Wednesdays in Worship and the Word Bible Study Wednesdays 12:00 Noon; 6:30 PM (dinner @ 5:30 PM) Sunday School: 9:00 AM – Hour of Power “An inclusive ministry where all are welcomed and affirmed.” www.covenantdc.org
“We are one in the Spirit” www.ssbc5757.org / E-mail: ssbc5757@verizon.net
Services and Times Sunday School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM Sunday Community Worship Service: 8:30 AM “Ambassadors for Christ to the Nation’s Capital” www.thirdstreet.org Live Stream Sunday Worship Service begins @ 12:00 noon www.thirdstreet.org
Crusader Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Alton W. Jordan Pastor 800 I Street, NE - Washington, DC 20002 202-548-0707 - Fax No. 202-548-0703 Service and Times Sunday Morning Worship: 11:00 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday Sunday School: 9:45 AM Men’s Monday Bible Study: 7:00 PM Wednesday Night Bible Study: 7:00 PM Women’s Ministry Bible Study: 3rd Friday -7:00 PM Computer Classes: Announced Family and Marital Counseling by appointment E-mail: Crusadersbaptistchurch@verizon.net www.CrusadersBaptistChurch.org / “God is Love”
Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.; Senior Bishop & Evangelist Susie C. Owens – Co-Pastor 610 Rhode Island Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 529-4547 office • (202) 529-4495 fax
Sunday Worship Service: 8:00 AM and 10:45 AM Sunday Youth Worship Services: 1st & 4th 10:45 AM; 804 R.I. Ave., NE 5th 8 AM & 10:45 AM; Main Church Prayer Services Tuesday – Noon, Wednesday 6:00 AM & 6:30 PM Calvary Bible Institute: Year-Round Contact Church / Communion Every 3rd Sunday The Church in The Hood that will do you Good! www.gmchc.org / emailus@gmchc.org
Isle of Patmos Baptist Church Reverend Dr. Calvin L. Matthews Senior Pastor 1200 Isle of Patmos Plaza, Northeast Washington, DC 20018 Office: (202) 529-6767 - Fax: (202) 526-1661 Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM Holy Communion: 2nd Sunday at 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM Sunday Church School: 9:20 AM Seniors Bible Study: Tuesdays at 10:30 AM Noon Day Prayer Service: Tuesdays at Noon Bible Study: Tuesdays at 7 PM Motto: “A Ministry of Reconciliation Where Everybody is Somebody!” Website: http://isleofpatmosbc.org Church Email: ipbcsecretary@verizon.net
St Marks Baptist Come Worship with us... Dr. Raymond T. Matthews Pastor and First Lady Marcia Matthews St. Mark's Baptist Church 624 Underwood Street, NW Washington, dc 20011 Services and Times Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wed. Noon Day prayer service Thur. Prayer service: 6:45 PM Thur. Bible Study: 7:15 PM
Twelfth Street Christian Church Reverend Dr. Paul H. Saddler Senior Pastor (Disciples of Christ) 1812 12th Street, NW - Washington, DC 20009 Phone: 202-265-4494 Fax: 202 265 4340 Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM Communion every Sunday: 11:00 AM Sunday School: 10:00 AM Bible Study Tuesday: 12 Noon Pastor’s Bible Study Tuesday: 6:30 PM Motto: “Discover Something Wonderful” Website: 12thscc.org / Email: Twelfthstcc@aol.com
Mount Carmel Baptist Church Reverend Dr. Paris L Smith, Sr. Senior Pastor 901 Third Street N.W. Washington, DC. 20001 Phone (202) 842-3411 Fax (202) 682-9423 Service and Times Sunday Church School : 9:00 AM Sunday Morning Worship: 10:10 AM Bible Study Tuesday: 6: 00 PM Prayer Service Tuesday: 7:00 PM Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday 10:10 AM themcbc.org
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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
WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER
Service and Times Sunday School for All Ages: 8:00 AM Sunday Worship Services: 9:30 AM Midday Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 11:30AM Evening Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00 PM Laymen's League: Thursday 7:00 PM Email: Froffice@firstrising.org Website: www.firstrising.org “Changing Lives On Purpose “
Email:mthoreb@mthoreb.org Website:www.mthoreb.org For further information, please contact me at (202) 529-3180.
JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 49
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 000715
2021 ADM 486
2021 ADM 000015
Thermon Lee Decedent
Cathryn T. Gartmann Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
James Larry Frazier, Esq. 918 Maryland Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney
Floyd White Decedent James Larry Frazier, Esq. 918 Maryland Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Robbin C. Johnson, whose address is 3703 Woodsman Court, Suitland, MD 20746, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Floyd White who died on April 23, 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/3/2021. 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 12/3/2021, 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: June 3, 2021 Robbin C. Johnson Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Caroline Lee, whose address is 1428 Whittier Place, NW, Washington, DC 20012, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Thermon Lee who died on January 24, 2021 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/3/2021. 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 12/3/2021, 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: 6/3/2021 Caroline Lee Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
Washington Informer
In God We Trust. Declaration of Nationality. Notice of White Flag Surrender. Notice of Special Appearance : I am that I am: " Tony Shawn Lewis© ", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: " LEWIS, TONY SHAWN© ", corp.sole Dba.: " TONY SHAWN LEWIS© ", having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the northwestern and southwestern shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly certified, hereby affirms to declare my tribal intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a: Moorish American, but not a citizen of the United States. I declare permanent, and unalienable, allegiance to The Moorish Empire, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados, The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, [ United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ], and all natural laws governing moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: Moorish American. I am that I am: " Tony Shawn Lewis© ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: " aadil aahga muhammad© ". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of The Moorish Empire, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND ( HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title : This order is to preserve legal and equitable title , and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: Health, Pennsylvania Department Of; COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; State File Number: XXXXXXXXXX, " TONY SHAWN LEWIS© ", is as a special deposit order conveyed to " Nml Tribal Trust© ". All property of the same issue and amount, in like kind and specie, is to be returned fully intact , as a Special Deposit order of the Depositor / Beneficiary / Bailor / Donor / Principal / Creditor: " aadil aahga muhammad© ", nom deguerre: " Tony Shawn Lewis© ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : " Nml Tribal Trust© ", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. This deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee / agent / bailee / donee / debtor. This deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfaction. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente.
50 JUNE 17 - 23, 2021
In God We Trust. Declaration of Nationality. Notice of White Flag Surrender. Notice of Special Appearance : I am that I am: " JAMAAL ANTHONY JACKSON© ", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: " JACKSON, JAMAAL ANTHONY© ", corp.sole Dba.: " JAMAAL ANTHONY JACKSON© ", having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the northwestern and southwestern shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly certified, hereby affirms to declare my tribal intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a: Moorish American, but not a citizen of the United States. I declare permanent, and unalienable, allegiance to The Moorish Empire, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados, The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, [ United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ], and all natural laws governing moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: Moorish American. I am that I am: " JAMAAL ANTHONY JACKSON© ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: " jamaal anthony jackson © ". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as " hors de combat ", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of: The Moorish Empire, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND ( HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title : This order is to preserve legal and equitable title, and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: Public Health, Illinois Department Of, ILLINOIS STATE FILE NUMBER: 112-92-036757, " JAMAAL ANTHONY JACKSON© ", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to: " JJ&J Holdings Trust© ". All property of the same issue and amount, in like kind and specie, is to be returned fully intact , as a Special Deposit order of the Depositor / Beneficiary / Bailor / Donor / Principal / Creditor: "jamaal jackson© ", nom deguerre: " JAMAAL ANTHONY JACKSON© ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : " JJ&J HoldingsTrust© ", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. This deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee / agent / bailee / donee / debtor. This deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfaction. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente.
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Stephanie Gartmann, whose address is 1711 Mass. Ave., NW, #132, Washington, DC 20036, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Cathryn T. Gartmann who died on December 16, 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/03/2021. 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 12/03/2021, 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: 6/3/2021 Stephanie Gartmann Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2021 ADM 000572 Estate of
Hattie Norris NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Nailani Norris for standard probate, including
the appointment of one or more personal representatives.
Unless a responsive pleading in the form of a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division
Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.
In the absence of a will or proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution, enter an order determining that the decedent died intestate appoint an unsupervised personal representative Date of first publication: 6/10/2021
Nailani Norris
LEGAL NOTICES In God We Trust. Declaration of Nationality. Notice of White Flag Surrender. Notice of Special Appearance : I am that I am: " Jessica Maria Lewis© ", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: " LEWIS, JESSICA MARIA© ", corp.sole Dba.: " JESSICA MARIA LEWIS© ", having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the northwestern and southwestern shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly certified, hereby affirms to declare my tribal intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a: Moorish American, but not a citizen of the United States. I declare permanent, and unalienable, allegiance to The Moorish Empire, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados, The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, [ United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ], and all natural laws governing moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: Moorish American. I am that I am: " Jessica Maria Lewis© ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: " ablaa fawziya bayyacht© ". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of The Moorish Empire, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND ( HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title : This order is to preserve legal and equitable title , and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: State File Number 0109260-1982, " JESSICA MARIA LEWIS© ", is as a special deposit order conveyed to " Freedom Lineage Trust© ". All property of the same issue and amount, in like kind and specie, is to be returned fully intact , as a Special Deposit order of the Depositor / Beneficiary / Bailor / Donor / Principal / Creditor: " ablaa fawziya bayyacht© ", nom deguerre: " Jessica Maria Lewis© ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : " Freedom Lineage Trust© ", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. This deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee / agent / bailee / donee / debtor. This deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfaction. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente.
In God We Trust. Declaration of Nationality. Notice of White Flag Surrender. Notice of Special Appearance : I am that I am: " Nathan James Izzard© ", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: " IZZARD, NATHAN JAMES© ", corp.sole Dba.: " NATHAN JAMES IZZARD© ", having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the northwestern and southwestern shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly certified, hereby affirms to declare my tribal intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a: Moorish American, but not a citizen of the United States. I declare permanent, and unalienable, allegiance to The Moorish Empire, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados, The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, [ United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ], and all natural laws governing moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: Moorish American. I am that I am: " Nathan James Izzard© ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: " nathan bayyacht© ". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of The Moorish Empire, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND ( HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title : This order is to preserve legal and equitable title , and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: State File Number: XXXX, " NATHAN JAMES IZZARD© ", is as a special deposit order conveyed to " Bayyacht Family Trust© ". All property of the same issue and amount, in like kind and specie, is to be returned fully intact , as a Special Deposit order of the Depositor / Beneficiary / Bailor / Donor / Principal / Creditor: " nathan bayyacht© ", nom deguerre: " Nathan James Izzard© ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : " Bayyacht Family Trust© ", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. This deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee / agent / bailee / donee / debtor. This deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfaction. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente.
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2021 ADM 509
2021 ADM 000483
Eugenia Diener Decedent
Mary J. Thomas Decedent
Valerie Edwards 1725 DeSales Street, NW Suite 600 Washington, DC 20036 Attorney
Peggy A. Miller 5130 7th Street, NE Washington, DC 20011-2625 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Gloria Johnson, whose address is 3235 Beech Street, NW, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Eugenia Diener who died on December 26, 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/10/2021. 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 12/10/2021, 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.
15 Valley Lake Place, Apt. K
Date of first publication: 6/10/2021
Petitioner/Attorney:
Gloria Johnson Personal Representative
Timonium, MD 21030
LEGAL NOTICES
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Marlo Thomas, whose address is 838 Buchanan St., NE, Washington, DC 20017, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Mary J. Thomas who died on 11/17/2020 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/10/2021. 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 12/10/2021, 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: 6/10/2021 Marlo Thomas Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
TRUE TEST COPY
Washington Informer
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Register of Wills Washington Informer
Washington Informer
THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM
LEGAL NOTICES SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2020 ADM 000578 Constance T. Laws Decedent Aimee D. Griffin, Esq. The Griffin Firm PLLC 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Lauren J. Laws, whose address is 1925 Cradock Street, Silver Spring, Maryland 20905, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Constance T. Laws who died on December 22, 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/10/2021. 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 12/10/2021, 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: 6/10/2021
LEGAL NOTICES
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2021 FEP 54
2021 ADM 000545
2021 FEP 000045
2021 ADM 000563
July 26, 2008 Date of Death
William Lumpkin Decedent
March 10, 2016 Date of Death
Arjan Dev Kwatra Name of Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS Michael Williams whose address is 4 More London Riverside, Greater London, UK SE1 2AU was appointed personal representative of the estate of Arjan Dev Kwatra, deceased, by the High Court of Justice, The District Probate Registry at Winchester, Winchester, UK, on February 3. 2010. Service of process may be made upon Kerri M. Castellini. Esq., 409 Seventh Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20004 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned District of Columbia personal property. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice. Date of first publication: 6/10/2021
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
Washington Informer
2021 ADM 000563 Juette Johnson Day Decedent Maria K. Day-Marshall 6329 Joslyn Place Cheverly, Maryland 20785 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Maria K. Day-Marshall, whose address is 6329 Joslyn Place, Cheverly, Maryland 20785, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Juette Johnson Day who died on February 7, 2021 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/10/2021. 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 12/10/2021, 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: 6/10/2021 Maria K. Day-Marshall Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
LEGAL NOTICES
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
Michael Williams Personal Representative
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
LEGAL NOTICES
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
Lauren J. Laws Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
LEGAL NOTICES
In God We Trust. Declaration of Nationality. Notice of White Flag Surrender. Notice of Special Appearance : I am that I am: "Mustafa Khan©", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: "KHAN, MUSTAFA©", corp.sole Dba: "MUSTAFA KHAN©," having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the northwestern and southwestern shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly certified, hereby affirms to declare my tribal intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a: Moorish American, but not a citizen of the United States. I declare permanent, and unalienable, allegiance to The Moorish Empire, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados, The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, [United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples], and all natural laws governing moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: Moorish American. I am that I am: "Mustafa Khan©", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: "mustafa khan bey©". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of The Moorish Empire, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND ( HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title : This order is to preserve legal and equitable title , and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: State File Number 048793, " MUSTAFA KHAN© ", is as a special deposit order conveyed to "Garden Of Life Trust©". All property of the same issue and amount, in like kind and specie, is to be returned fully intact , as a Special Deposit order of the Depositor / Beneficiary / Bailor / Donor / Principal / Creditor: "mustafa khan bey©", nom deguerre: "Mustafa Khan©", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : "Garden Of Life Trust©", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. This deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee / agent / bailee / donee / debtor. This deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfaction. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente. Notice of Reference : 0112358-13
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS William Lumpkin, whose address is 60 O Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of William Lumpkin who died on September 7, 2019 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/10/2021. 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 12/10/2021, 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: 6/10/2021 William Lumpkin Personal Representative
Karl A. Simpson, II Name of Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS Annette Simpson whose address is 4301 Brinkley Rd., Temple Hills, MD 20748 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Karl A. Simpson, II, deceased, by the Register of Wills Court for Prince Georges County, State of Maryland. Service of process may be made upon Deborah D. Boddie, Esq., 1308 Ninth Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20001 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real estate. 2329 Pomeroy Road, SE, Washington, DC 20020 The decedent owned District of Columbia personal property. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice. Date of first publication: 6/10/2021
TRUE TEST COPY
Annette Simpson Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2021 ADM 000577
2021 ADM 554
Joseph Carter Tidline Decedent
Albert Holley Decedent
Kathy Brissette-Minus, Esq. Law Office of Kathy Brissette-Minus, LLC 9701 Apollo Drive, Suite 230 Largo, MD 20774 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Sterling X. Tidline and Ava M. Tidline, whose addresses are 8106 Thornfield Terr., Forestville, MD 20747 & 4226 H Street, SE, Washington, DC 20019, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Joseph Carter Tidline who died on 2/2/2021 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/17/2021. 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 12/17/2021, 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: June 17, 2021 Sterling X. Tidline Ava M. Tidline Personal Representatives
Juette Johnson Day Decedent Maria K. Day-Marshall 6329 Joslyn Place Cheverly, Maryland 20785 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Maria K. Day-Marshall, whose address is 6329 Joslyn Place, Cheverly, Maryland 20785, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Juette Johnson Day who died on February 7, 2021 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/10/2021. 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 12/10/2021, 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: 6/10/2021 Maria K. Day-Marshall Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
Tina Smith Nelson Legal Counsel for the Elderly 601 E Street, NW Washington, DC 20049 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Jacqueline Holley Perry, whose address is 240 11th Street SE, WDC 20003, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Albert Holley who died on 2/26/2008 with a Will, and will serve with 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/17/2021. 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 12/17/2021, 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: June 17, 2021 Jacqueline Holley Perry Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
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Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
Washington Informer
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JUNE 17 - 23, 2021 51
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VACCINE from Page 23 sense of community obligation and service." Beers said many pediatricians nationwide have expressed a consistent trend in patients presenting lingering symptoms following COVID-19 infection, also known as long COVID, underscoring the importance of vaccines in this younger age group. Dr. Fauci also noted a degree of vaccine hesitancy which officials continue to address. But while some pediatricians remain unsure about vaccination due to conflicting information, Beers said others have more specific concerns about the speed with which the vaccine became available and the lack of data about the vaccine in children In addition, others point to unsubstantiated reports including a rumor that COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility. "Unfortunately social media is powerful and there’s a lot of misinformation on social media and our adolescents are on social media a whole lot," Dr. Beers said. "And so they see the good stuff but they also see the misinformation on there." Nationwide, one month since the first COVID-19 vaccines were cleared for ages 12 and up, vaccination rates for children 12 to 17 have surged in the Northeast and lagged in the South. In Vermont, nearly 59 percent of adolescents have received their first dose while in Massachusetts, the number is more than half. In Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, more than 40 percent of 12- to 17-yearolds have received one shot. And in New Jersey and New York, the rate stands at 36.8 and 32.8 percent, respectively. But youth living in the South remain least likely to have had their first dose. Just over 7 percent of Mississippi 12- to 17-year-olds have received their first dose with less than 10 percent of that age group in Louisiana and Alabama reporting the lowest rate in the U.S. at 5.5 percent, according to the CDC. Vaccine hesitancy seems to play a key role in low rates in the South, said Dr. David Kimberlin, a pediatric infectious diseases expert with the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Kimberlin said he has personally witnessed rising rates of vaccine hesitancy among parents in his practice over the past several decades. He said while parents aren’t necessarily
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anti-vaccine, many remain fearful of shots having been misled by vaccine myths. "I think personally that it fits into a broader challenge that we have in this country, of just not knowing who to trust," he said. "It can be frustrating. You debunk one misinformation issue, and then two or three others pop up. It's like whack-a-mole." Last week, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky urged parents to vaccinate their teenagers, citing a recent rise in the number of young people hospitalized with the illness. "I am deeply concerned by the number of hospitalized adolescents and saddened to see the number of adolescents who required treatment in intensive care units or mechanical ventilation," she said in a statement. In the first three months of the year, CDC researchers found that nearly one-third of adolescents hospitalized with Covid-19 required admission into an ICU and 5 percent needed invasive mechanical ventilation. "Much of this suffering can be prevented," Dr. Walensky said. WI
North Carolina was overthrown in the "Coup of 1898," white legislators in the state government enacted "Jim Crow" laws that would suppress the rights of Black voters. A direct result of the effectiveness of the voter suppression campaign in North Carolina made it impossible for George Henry White, the last Black American in the US Congress after the reconstruction, to be re-elected. After Congressman White's term ended in 1901, it was nearly 92 years before another Black American was elected to the US Congress from the state of North Carolina. Eva Clayton — a Black American — was elected to Congress from North Carolina in 1992. As a result of voter suppression laws enacted after the Coup of 1898, no Black people served in Congress for the next 28 years, and none represented any Southern state for the next 72 years. In 1898, the goal of the state legislators was to prevent the re-occurrence of the 1898 liberal political victory that had been destroyed by the "Coup of 1898." The true goal of today's national assault on voting rights — the "New Jim Crow" - is the same as in 1898. Republicans want to ensure that the victories by the democrats in winning the presidency and control of the US Senate would never be repeated in upcoming elections. Third: The denial of the existence of systemic racism in America. The republican claim that America is not a racist country clearly ignores the history and present reality that most Black Americans live every day. According to The Washington Post on April 28, 2021, there are "GOP efforts across the country to push similar legislation that would ban critical race theory, which examines the way policies and laws perpetuate systemic racism." The injustice and impact of historical racism will never be resolved if political and religious leaders continue to deny
Pride Month has to be about Black Pride, too, about embracing all LGBTQIA identities. After all, as we experience major demographic shifts, the population, and the electorate, are increasingly diverse. We need to see the intersectional in our commemorations, celebration, and more. And we need to be vocal about our opposition to hate and hateful behavior no matter how it is directed. For example, in an ideal world, the NAACP would have bought some Juneteenth cookies (and maybe they still will) from the Confections bakery in Lufkin, Texas. Our task is not to respond to each hateful incident but to build
SCHOOL from Page 46 the steps taken to address staff members’ concerns, or whether Jordon would be called to return for the 2021-2022 academic year. In a statement, the central office said that it thoroughly investigates all claims made by staff members. Even so, some people, like another staff member who spoke anonymously, said they sense more nefarious motives behind Jordon’s installment, especially with the wave of gentrification slowly engulfing communities east of the Anacostia River. “I believe DC Public Schools put Principal Jordon there to take over the school and do what they want with it,” said the Johnson employee of nearly two years with nearly two decades of experience in the Prince George’s County public school system who also recounted receiving a low IMPACT evaluation from Jordon. “The demographics [in the area] could be changing. Since I’ve been here, there've been five or more people who’ve quit because they couldn’t deal with Jordon. This person couldn’t make people quit if he wasn’t trying that hard, especially if they’ve had long careers.” WI
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WILLIAMS from Page 30 thored a study titled "Graduating to a Pay Gap." For college graduates, her research demonstrated that, after factoring variables such as college major, occupation, and number of hours worked, women's pay was 82% of their male counterparts' pay one year after graduation. In this study, on average, men earned nearly $8,000 more than women did one year after graduating. Unfortunately, these "averages" do not reflect the pay disparities that are inherent when factoring racial and ethnic differences. According to PayScale, women of color fall victim
MORIAL from Page 30 miles east of New Orleans. Victor's mother, Anna, arrived on the plantation sometime between 1820 and 1853. She was "purchased to be the 'pet' of her infertile owner," journalist Daja Henry wrote in the New Orleans Tribune. "After she got too big to play with, she was tossed among the other enslaved; and like many other enslaved women, she was raped by white men. In Anna's case, it was the plantation owner's brother, Antoine Haydel." Marie Celeste's mother, Francoise, also had been raped by a member of the owner's family, Florestan Becnel. When the last Haydel family member to own the plantation died in 1860, Anna and Victor were listed as part of an inventory of her estate. Victor was valued at 800 piastres — the Cajun word for dollars — and
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a movement that rejects hate. And our mission is to do it "at a time such as this" when the haters empower many who are fearful of inevitable change. Now is a time for a mass movement against racism, homophobia, sexism and hate. It begins when we know our histories and share them. It starts when we acknowledge that Gay Pride Month is about Black Pride, too, that women's history is not white women's history, Native American history is not a footnote, and hatred is contemptuous. The carte blanche that so-called "officers of the law" have to terrorize communities they don't like is especially contemptuous. The same way they bullied gay folks in the 1950s and '60s is the same
way they terrorize Blak communities today. Building on Stonewall's history, the GLBTQIA communities should be some of the most vital voices supporting the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Dr. Dorothy Irene Height was fond of speaking of collective strength. She would say, if I tap you with my finger, you may never feel it, but if my fingers turn into a fist and I tap you then, you'll feel it. If Black folks and LGBTQIA folks join with others, perhaps we can stop the hate. The folks who patronized Celebrations Bakery in the face of hate put a firewall between ugly and love. They are the fist Dr. Height referenced. Are we part of the fist? WI
to an even greater Gender Pay Gap than that of the average. One does not have to be an Einstein to understand the impact of this pay disparity on single-mothers and double-income families. If circumstances were not bad enough, COVID-19 has had a disparate, negative impact on women. Almost daily, we learn from the media that the greatest impact of this pandemic has been on women and it's not difficult to understand that those starting farther back in the race suffer the most. A review of the facts of this systemic discrimination are instructional, but information alone can-
not effect change. As with any other form of discrimination, change can only occur with major impetus initiated by the discriminator or those with the power to direct necessary change. In this case, employers must assess and monitor their policies and practices to assure compliance with genuine anti-discrimination goals. In the absence of enlightenment by employers, legislators must be open to the review and modernization of existing laws and policies. Both must work to increase transparency in compensation practices for the identification and remedy of disparities. Lives depend on it! WI
Anna at 100 piestres. As Juneteenth approaches, I am reminded of the words of Dr. Ibrahima Seck, a Senegalese historian who traced the Haydel family's history: "The best way to honor the memories of Anna, Victor and Celeste, is to let the world know the hardship they went through and the injustice of being considered chattel for many years with a price imposed on each of them. In doing so, much respect would also be paid to those who sacrificed their lives in the defense of freedom and civil rights in this country and beyond." Unfortunately, stories like Anna's are rarely taught in American schools. Slavery is treated "like a dot on a timeline," according to Maureen Costello, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance program. An investigation by the SPLC, Teaching Hard History, revealed an alarming ignorance among high
school seniors. Only 8 percent could identify slavery as the central cause of the Civil War. Two-thirds didn't know that it took a constitutional amendment to formally end slavery. Fewer than one in four could correctly identify how provisions in the Constitution gave advantages to slaveholders. This is no way to honor the memories of Anna, Victor and Celeste, or the millions who were kidnapped, enslaved, brutalized and oppressed. We cannot build a stable home on a broken foundation. As the SPLC study's authors concluded, "Teaching about slavery is hard. It requires often-difficult conversations about race and a deep understanding of American history. Learning about slavery is essential if we are ever to come to grips with the racial differences that continue to divide our nation." WI
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that America has been and continues to be infected by systemic racism. The denial that American is a racist nation provides a cover for attempting to reenact a 21st-century version of the Black Codes, Jim Crow and voter suppression. It also undermines the spiritual solution to the issue of racism set forth in the Bible. Without acknowledging the wrong of slavery and racism, there will be no reason to ask forgiveness, or make atonement. Political, religious and spiritual leaders cannot stand by in
silent acquiescence as American democracy is constantly attacked. If these three assaults on our democracy are not addressed, the sins of racism and injustice in the past will be relived in the present and perpetuated in the future. Abraham Lincoln said, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." We have a choice. We can be the "better angels" that Abraham Lincoln described in his first inaugural address. We can
reaffirm the words set forth by the Founding Fathers: "That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Or we can continue in the darkness of untruths and bitter division. Where is America? Will it fade into yesterday? To paraphrase William Shakespeare, the answer is not in our stars, but in ourselves. Are we brave enough to seek and speak the truth? WI
bitious peer-to-peer texting program. And we will continue to be inspired by the vision and leadership of Black clergy like the Rev. Timothy McDonald, who launched the African American Ministers Leadership Council and its Souls to the Polls movement more than 20 years ago. When Georgia Republicans tried to shut down Souls to the Polls by banning early voting on Sundays, Rev. McDonald called them out as "the Klan in three-piece suits." Rev. McDonald's righteous truth-telling shamed Georgia Republicans into dropping that part of their voter suppression plan. But the rest of it became law — including the infamous ban on groups providing water to people forced to wait in long
voting lines. Voting rights activists have gone to court to challenge the Georgia law and others like it. Organizers will do everything possible to help Black voters overcome any new obstacles that have been put between them and the ballot box. And the Black church will once again give voice to the aspirations of our people, drawing on a long tradition of prophetic witness against injustice combined with strategic organizing on behalf of freedom and equality. "We endured slavery, Jim Crow and lynching by being creative and strategic," Rev. McDonald told CNN. "We're going to use their own tools and throw them back at them. We have to beat them at their own game." WI
United States' national narrative." Race-hating white people want no parts of that 1619 reality being taught today, as though ignoring it makes it less true, as though ignoring it makes their forefathers less guilty of the crimes against humanity which they committed for centuries. It's not just critical race theory — the academic movement of civil rights scholars and activists in the United States who seek to critically examine the law as it intersects with issues of race and to challenge mainstream liberal approaches to racial justice in the U.S. It's not just the 1619 Project. These Neanderthals deny that their rapacious consumption of the earth's resources and the way their reckless behavior is contributing to dangerous climate change. They are wrong, wrong, wrong. They are wrong about the environment and most everything scientific if it goes against the grain of their wantonly gluttonous lifestyle.
They are wrong about the virtues of their wicked history. They think it's something to boast about, for example, that Texas, then officially a part of Mexico, seceded from that country, because Mexico was poised to abolish slavery. And they are wrong, thinking that their unjust rule over the darker peoples of the earth will endure. "Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever," Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, and third U.S. president wrote in 1781 in his "Notes on the State of Virginia." And yet, they persist, although they certainly will not prevail. "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice," Dr. King also reminded us, from the words of 19th Century theologian Theodore Parker. So it is, white people. So shall it be. WI
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JEALOUS from Page 31 Jim Crow laws and prevent future restrictions on voting. The late Rep. John Lewis told us in his farewell message last year that if we don't use our right to vote, it can be taken from us. This year we are seeing new efforts to take the vote from us because we voted. We can't let politicians turn us around. At People For the American Way, we are investing more resources in our Defend the Black Vote project. We are sounding the alarm about disenfranchisement. And we are building our capacity to reach, educate, and mobilize even more Black voters than we did in 2020 through digital media, paid advertising, and an am-
ASKIA from Page 31 man history — enslaving millions of Africans to defend and build this country and make it wealthy, on land stolen from the Native people who were wantonly murdered, massacred in a centuries-long genocide. The University of North Carolina is a classic example of this wicked white paranoia. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Nikole Hannah-Jones was hired to teach there, at her alma mater, but was at first denied a tenure tract because of her brilliant "1619 Project" — an exhaustive work from The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine that was presented in 2019 on the 400th anniversary of slaves arriving at Jamestown, Virginia. The 1619 Project "aims to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the
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