WINNER OF FIVE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS D.C. AWARDS Don't Miss This Month's WI Bridge Center Section Vol. 56, No. 23 • March 25 -31, 2021
Democrats Push for D.C. Statehood During Tense U.S. House Hearing
Fear, Cultural Mores Keep Many Asian Americans Silent Following Atlanta Murders
GOP Says Constitutional Amendment Essential for Ratification
Nation Confronts Recent Rise in Attacks Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
James Wright WI Staff Writer
Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer For some Americans, the shocking attacks and murders over a week ago by a white man in Atlanta that took the lives of eight people, six of them Asian women, provide further credence for more stringent gun control laws in the U.S. despite objections from those who point to the Second Amendment. But even before the March 16 shootings at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area, many who identify as Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders [AAPI] had already become aware of and concerned about an increase in “hate crimes” in which they or others from their community had been victims. Some assert that the rise in attacks, whether physical or verbal, began to escalate after former President Trump took office. Not only did Trump refer to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus” or the “Wuhan flu” and support anti-Asian hashtags but the Biden Administration says his “damaging rhetoric” both fueled anti-Asian dis-
ASIAN Page 5
5 The 51-star flags lined Pennsylvania Avenue to bring attention to the District of Columbia’s quest to become the 51st state. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)
During a tense three-hour hearing on March 22, District leaders and Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee spoke in favor of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s (D-D.C.) bill [The Washington D.C. Admission Act of 2021] which would make D.C. the 51st state of the Union.
The consideration of Norton’s bill early in the 117th session on Congress reflects the growing attention that the statehood issue has received both locally and nationally. Monday’s hearing has emerged as the first step toward the House approving the statehood bill which has garnered the support of President Biden but
STATEHOOD Page 5
D.C. Set to Probe White Power Ties Among Police Ranks James Wright WI Staff Writer In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, the D.C. Council has been among the leading voices calling for investigation into –and summary purging of—D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officers who are linked to white supremacist groups. On Feb. 13, D.C. acting Police Chief Robert J. Contee III echoed that approach to white supremacist influence on the force to the Washington Post, saying he wants the department investigated for ties to extremist groups, particularly those that advocate white supremacy. What’s more, he said, he would endorse Bowser administration pol-
5 Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (Courtesy photo/Janeese Lewis George)
icy curtailing officers’ interactions with white supremacist groups and supports hiring an outside firm to check for such links. “We have to do a top-to-bottom look for everything,” Contee said to
POLICE Page 34
5 The No. 22 will forever be remembered by fans and players of the Los Angeles Lakers as the jersey worn by NBA Hall of Famer and Laker legend Elgin Baylor who died March 22 at the age of 86. See the full story on page 33. (Courtesy photo)
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