VOL. 53, NO. 24 • MARCH 29 - APRIL 4, 2018
We Wish our Readers and Supporters a Happy Easter
WI Bridge Center SEction
Young People Lead the Way, Demand Greater Gun Control Residents Look for Opportunity in Ward 8 Development
America’s Youth Vow to Remain Diligent Through Mid-term Elections
By Tatyana Hopkins WI Staff Writer
By D. Kevin McNeir, WI Editor and By William J. Ford, WI Staff Writer Young people from across the Greater Washington Area joined forces with others who had traveled from all parts of the U.S., landing in the District on Saturday, March 24 – hell bent on making sure both America and the world heard their pleas for change loud and clear. They expressed their disgruntlement, dejection and disgust – taking aim at a president and a Republican-dominated Congress who have routinely refused to approve greater gun control legislation that might effectively
MARCH Page 28
5 D’Angelo McCade, a high school student from Chicago, delivers a passionate speech March 24 at the March for Our Lives rally in Northwest. Him and other teenagers demanded lawmakers approve stronger gin legislation. /Photo by Maurice Bland
Why Unopposed Bowser Hurts D.C. By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer D.C. Councilman Robert White will not run for mayor and, as of now, neither will fellow Council member and former Mayor Vincent Gray. White told a local newspaper that he wouldn’t run because he has a 18-month-old daughter at home. Through his spokesperson Mtokufa Ngwenya, White blew off a Washington Informer request for comment about the race. As for Gray, he simply didn’t file the paperwork. He said many have asked, if not urged, him to run —
particularly, since the recent D.C. Public Schools controversy. Gray admits pondering the thought ever since his triumphant return to D.C. politics in 2017 after being exonerated in a probe that derailed his mayoral re-election campaign in 2014. “I’ve certainly been considering it,” Gray said. “I get asked all of the time.” Without a foe like White and a formidable opponent like Gray, who says he still may consider a general election campaign, it appears Mayor Muriel Bowser will have a cakewalk to re-election — at
MAYOR Page 38
5 Nick Fratino, Kelly Cantley and Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White spoke during a panel discussion on affordable housing in new developments in Ward 8 at the RISE Demonstration Center in Southeast on Tuesday, March 27. /Photo by Brigette White
Weeks ago, residents of Ward 8 faced off with managers of the Maple View Flats development on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Southeast for lack of neighborhood engagement in the project’s development. For two consecutive days, the protesters sent workers home, shutting down the development worksite they said they were kept off of due to the construction company’s lack of hiring within the ward. At a recent community meeting, Ward 8 Council member Trayon White bought the parties together to figure out how to move forward. Residents remained laser focused on finding employment opportunities within the $50 million development. “The problem, here, is this you came into this ward and did not give the people of this ward jobs,” said Otis Meriedy Jr., 60, a Ward 8 resident and pastor to representatives of Bozzuto Construction Company. “That’s where the problem started.” The development is being overseen by Chapman Development and construction has been subcontracted to Bozzutto. Tension with members of the Ward 8 community began with claims that companies managing and constructing the new development had not extended opportunities to work on the project to residents of Ward 8. White said he requested a list of Ward 8 employees and subcontractors working on the project from the
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Celebrating 53 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area