The Washington Informer - May 23, 2019 by The Washington Informer

VOL. 54, NO. 32 • MAY 23 - 29, 2019

Take a Moment on Memorial Day for Vets Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice

VA Coast Pipeline Opponents Page 22

Lawmakers Propose Commission on Social Status of Black Males Morehouse

Grads Euphoric over Generous Student Loan Gift

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia Wearing their signature red ties with images of black handprints, leaders and members of 5,000 Role Models of Excellence Project, a decades-old mentoring program in four Florida counties for Black boys founded by Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson, joined a Capitol Hill news conference Wednesday, May 15 as lawmakers formally announced the introduction of House Resolution 1636 — the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys. The underlying goal of the proposal is to better understand and eventually eliminate the educational and social chasms that have made it extraordinarily difficult for Black males to become upward mobile. House Resolution 1636 would establish a bipartisan 19-member commission to study social prob-

BLACK MEN Page 37

By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill Brandon Manor recalled when he first walked onto the Morehouse College campus in Atlanta four years ago on academic probation after he graduated from Dr. Henry Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro. Today, the 21-year-old college graduate joins nearly 400 Morehouse “brothers” in the Class of 2019 who will have existing student debt erased thanks to the family of billionaire and philanthropist Robert F. Smith. Manor said he accrued more than $100,000 in student loans. “I screamed, I stood up, I smiled,” 5 Tracy Martin (center), father of slain youth Trayvon Martin, speaks during a press conference May 15 on Capitol Hill to said Manor, who garnered a bachannounce a bill calling for the creation of the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys. (Anthony Tilghman/ elor’s degree in psychology. “It was The Washington Informer) just an emotional moment for everyone. It’s kind of indescribable. It swept me off my feet.” Smith, who donated $1.5 million to the college earlier this year, served as the all-male college’s commencement speaker Sunday, May 19. Near the end of his 35-minute speech, he where thousands more raised signs said his family promised to eliminate and voices, adamant in their refusal to an estimated $40 million in student allow state legislators to turn back the loans for the graduates. It equates to clock on women’s reproductive rights. about $100,000 per student. Tuesday’s national day of protest Smith’s announcement sparked featured more than 50 organizations an explosion on social media, inincluding Planned Parenthood and cluding a tweet from Bernice King, the American Civil Liberties Union daughter of the late civil rights icon who took the lead in developing the Martin Luther King Jr., himself a rallies. Morehouse alum. President Donald Trump, rarely at “Wow. What a love-power move a loss for words, has attempted to dis- 5 Democratic Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) joins supporters of Planned Partance himself from the controversial, enthood in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Northeast on Tuesday, May 21. Rallies were by Robert Smith. I believe it’s the similarly-restrictive legislation recently planned across the U.S for abortion rights. The “Day of Action” rally comes after the state of start of something major. I’m grate-

Alabama’s New Abortion Law Most Restrictive in U.S. Protests Waged Across the Country; Black Participants Few in Number By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir From Mobile to Montgomery, throngs of Alabamians gathered Sunday, May 19 expressing discontent with the state’s new abortion law – widely-considered to be the most restrictive in the U.S. Evidence of increased outrage and frustration dominated the scene two days later on May 21, as #StopTheBans demonstrations kicked off around noon at over 500 statehouses and courthouses in all 50 states – even on the steps of the Supreme Court

ABORTION Page 31

Alabama passed the most restrictive abortion ban, making abortions illegal and punishable with up to 99 years in prison. (Michael A. McCoy/The Washington Informer)

MOREHOUSE Page 8

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May 24, 1944 Legendary singer Patti LaBelle is born Patricia Louise Holte in Philadelphia.

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Women the Cycle of wi hotBreak topics Domestic Violence Report: Lidl Grocery Store to

enforcement. SheBlack said they Women, threat,” she said. Girls Open Next Year inlaw had come together to bring a Among the programs Marlow Biasare Southeast DC sense of uniformity inExperience the way wants toRacial see implemented

By Tia Carol Jones WI Staff Writer

When L.Y. Marlow's 23-year- domestic violence victims and stricter restraining order policies, report old daughter told her the father survivors are treated. A more rights for victim's families released of her daughter threatened her “She's using her own personal last to intervene on behalf of a viclife, and the life of their child, story, her own personal week painfrom to the tim, a domestic violence assessshe knew something had to be push forward,” Davis-Nickens G e o r g e t o wment n unit coupled with further done. Out of her frustration said about Marlow. Law Center training for law enforcement with law enforcement's handling Davis-Nickens said on anyone Poverty agencies, a Child's Life Protecof the situation, she decided to who reads Marlow's and book Inequality will tion Act and mandatory counselstart the Saving Promise cam- “get it.” She said sheconfirms “puts the the ing for batterers. paign. case in such a way, the average beliefs of what “If we are ever going to eradi“It seems to be a vicious cycle person can get it.” SheBlack said at the cate domestic violence, we must women that won't turn my family end of the day, the and bookgirls will have look at both sides of the coin. Photo Georgetown loose,” said. who’ve Marlowlonghelp people begin a diaWardMarlow 7 residents, envisioned the to have We5 need to courtesy addressofboth the vic-Law said for decades: Center on Poverty and Inequality shared her story thefide audilogue about domestic they violence. tim and the batterer,” Marlow convenience of with a bona grocery store in their experience ence at the can District Heights to theAlso present event was said. community, look forward rewards of at a the “adultification Domestic Violence Symposium Muhammad, the The ex- term Marlow woulda also to seefrom full-service, discount supermarketMildred when the Lidl bias.” came from 2017likereport ongrocery May 7chain at thetakes District Heights wife of according John Allen Muhammad, programs designed to raise and anchor late next year, the law center’s Initiative on Gender Justice Municipal Center. Bowser. The sympo- who was sentenced to six consec- awareness among children in to Mayor Muriel Opportunity based on responses released May 16 siumThewas by Skyland the utive termsat without parole public and private schools. She and site sponsored of the 18-acre Townlife Center in the document “Listening to Black Women Family and Youth Services by a Maryland jury for his role in feels children need to be educatGood Hope and Naylor roads near Alabama Avenue Girls: Lived Experiences of Adultification Bias.” Center of the iscity of District the will Beltway Sniper attacks in ed about domestic violence. in Southeast, where the new chain be built The document doesn’t identify the women and Heights andthere the National Hook- of2002. Mildred is “We have to stop being pasalthough was no mention that site when Muhammad girls who responded nationwide, but they ranged in Up of Black Women. the founder of After the Trauma, sive-aggressive with poor chilthe Arlington County-headquartered German grobetween 12 and older than 60. They all believe Marlow has written a book, an organization that age helps the dren about domestic violence,” cery operations announced on May 17 that it would view Black girls and women “less innocent “Color Me Butterfly,” which is a survivors of domesticadults violence Marlow said. open three stores in the Greater DC area. thanhas their whitetopeers.” story about four generations of and their children. and more adult-like Marlow worked breakOne According to Bowser’s office, the new store will participant said a police officer handcuffed and findomestic violence. The book is “I lived in fear for six years. Six the cycle of abuse in her family, be the first internationally recognized fullservice gerprinted her because the officer didn’t believe inspired by her own experiences, years in fear is a long time. It is and is confident the policies she she grocery to open East of the River in 12 years. identification at 15for years old.start “Well, and thosestore of her grandmother, not an easy thing to carried come out is pushing will thatchild, Bowser, who noted that four mayors have worked you know, don’t lie to us. And if you tell us the her mother and her daughter. of,” she said. process. on the said insheannouncing the deal earlier, real —said your real“Iage real these name,policies we wouldn’t She saidproject, every time reads Mildred Muhammad planand to take to that shefrom will be last mayor on the store’s havehelp to bea going throughand none of this,’” the to girl in excerpts herthe book, she stillto work people who want to Congress implore them launch from start finish.came domestic violence victim age group 13-17 stated in the report. To read can not believe thetowords must change our laws,” Marlow said. the currently operates 65bestores across the full report to https://bit. fromLidl, her.which “Color Me Butterfly” careful of how they go into and“Ivarious will notresponses, stop untilgothese policountry, plans to have more than 100 stores bylife, theand understand ly/2YBgilD. cies are passed.” won the 2007 National “Best the victim's end ofAward. 2020. Books” that she may be in “survival Tia Carol Jones can be reached “I was just 16-years-old when mode”. at tiacaroljones@sbcglobal.net my eye first blackened and my “Before you get to 'I'm going lips bled,” Marlow said. to kill you,' it started as a verbal WI Elaine Davis-Nickens, president of the National Hook-Up of Black Women, said there is no consistency in the way domestic violence issues are dealt with by

We have to stop being passive-aggressive with poor After more about than a dozen domestic public hearings, meetchildren ings and other sessions on Prince George’s County’s proposed fiscal year 2020 budget, the Council violence. I plan to take these County plans to adopt a spending plan Wednesday, May 29. County Executive Angela Alsobrooks Congress andwith presented ato proposed $4.2 billion budget, Prince George’s County public schools will startpolicies nearly $2.1 billion toward education. A utility the 2019-20 school year Sept. 3, one day after Labor company connected the budget, Washington Day. The school board approved next year’s calenimplore them to with change our Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), received dar March 7, slightly more than three weeks before approval earlier this month for an $817 million the Maryland General Assembly decided March 29 laws. I will stop until operating budgetnot and a $570 million capital budto override a veto from Maryland Gov. Larry Hoget. A bi-county agency comprised of officials gan. The vote also allowed county and Baltimore these passed. from policies Prince George’s are and Montgomery counties City school boards to set their own school calendars

for the next school year. Prince George’s decided to keep its approved calendar, but whether the counPaul Trantham ty and other school systems will have the luxury to control future calendars remain uncertain. Hogan has pushed to place the matter on a referendum for the 2020 election. As for Prince George’s, the last day of school this year will be June 14. 4 / May 15 - 21, 2008 The Washington Informer / www.washingtoninformer.com Roy Lewis,CIRCULATION Jr., Mark Mahonny

4 MAY 23 - 29, 2019

Prince George’s Slated to Adopt Budget Next Week

“

Prince George’s Schools Will Start After Labor Day

“

SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY

COMPILED BY WILLIAM J. FORD, WI STAFF WRITER AND DOROTHY ROWLEY, WI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

approved money for the agency that provides waL.Y. Marlow ter and sewer service in both jurisdictions. The approval also allows a 5 percent increase for customers that begins July 1. For more information on the new rate structure, go to https://www.wsscwater. com/billchanges. By the law, council must approve the full budget by June 1.

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

AROUND THE REGION Spoken Word Festival Celebrates Musings of The Last Poets By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins The spoken word group known as The Last Poets set the foundation for early hip-hop with poems that raised the collective Black consciousness. Their work evoked the uncompromising spirit of Malcolm X, whose life and legacy inspired their 1968 inception. On Sunday, several poets, singers and instrumentalists carried on that tradition during a fivehour outdoor event named in The Last Poets’ honor. Throughout much of the evening, guests who attended The Last Poets Block Party grooved and nodded their heads to the sounds of Talib Kweli, Smif-nWessun, Black Alley and a slew of locally and nationally renowned spoken word artists. “One of the messages the Last Poets shared with the world is the power and beauty of Black people,” said Sabriyah Hassan, daughter of The Last Poets founding member Umar Bin Hassan and executive director of Team Triumphant, a Baltimore-based youth-development nonprofit that hosted The Last Poets Block Party, which commemorated the group’s founding and Malcolm X’s birth anniversary, both of which fall on the same day. Other live acts on Sunday evening included 2019 DC Youth Slam Grand Champion Marjan Naderi, Dwayne B! The Crochet KingPin, Rasheed Copeland, Ke’era Ingram of Howard University’s P.O.E.T. Out, Malachi “MalPractice” Byrd and Theresa Tha Songbird. Revelers took in the sounds, participated in live painting and board games and purchased a slew of books, jewelry, candles and other Afrocentric wares. Hassan said Anacostia served as the ideal neighborhood for the May 19 block party because of its connection to Frederick Douglass, a one-time resident and Black historical figure she learned more about in her role at the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis.

“It’s been [The Last Poets’] goal to share the message that Black people are the master creators,” Hassan said. “That wasn’t something popular for anyone — Black or white — to say. That’s why my father penned The Last Poets’ most famous poem, ‘N*ggas are Scared of Revolution.’ We can’t be afraid to show and use our poets, and what better way to celebrate The Last Poets than on El Hajj Malik Shabazz’s birthday?” From 1968 on, The Last Poets changed its lineup several times, with Abiodun Oyewole, Umar Bin Hassan and Baba Donn Babatunde counting among its most prominent members. The group’s 1971 album “This is Madness” caught the attention of the Nixon Administration, who placed them on the COINTELPRO list alongside Malcolm X, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, The Last Poets gained notoriety as the grandfathers of the hip-hop genre, in part solidified by cameos in “Big Fun in the Big Town” and John Singleton’s “Poetic Justice.” They’ve also appeared on songs with rappers Common, Nas, and Kanye West and hiphop group Wu Tang Clan. In tying Sunday’s event to burgeoning #DontMuteDC movement, Pages Matam, a nationally renowned slam poetry champion who recruited the spoken word acts, said he wanted to circulate positive energy and encourage awareness about the issues affecting people on the margins of society. “Art has been a voice and tool of revolution,” said Matam, also director of poetry events for Busboys and Poets. “Just about every revolution utilized art in some kind of way, either as a protest, celebration, or historical keepsake. The songs are created and things are said to keep memories. It’s important that we have events like this that shed light and provide a platform for people to speak for their community.” WI

5 Rapper Talib Kweli performs during the Last Poets Block party held in Southeast on Sunday, May 19. (Courtesy photo/Last Poets)

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The spoken word group known as The Last Poets set the foundation for early hip-hop with poems that raised the collective Black consciousness. WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER

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black facts MAY 23

1921 – “Shuffle Along,” the first of a succession of widely popular Black musicals performed for white audiences, opens at the 63rd Street Theatre in New York City becoming the first African-American Broadway musical. The musical comedy combined the talents of the legendary team of Euboea Blake and Noble Sizzle.

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2010 – The book “The Unspoken Alliance: Israel’s Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa” is released, revealing that Israel aided the racist regime of South Africa and supported providMAY 24 ing chemical and nu1854 – Anthony Burns, one of the most celebrated fugitive slaves in American history, is clear weapons to them for possible use against captured by deputy U.S. marshals in Boston. the country’s majority 1944 – Legendary singer Patti LaBelle is Black population. The born Patricia Louise Holte in Philadelphia. documents were discovered by American scholar Sasha Polakow-Suransky.

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1878 – World-renowned dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson is born in Richmond, Virginia.

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1851 – Sojourner Truth delivers her “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech to the Ohio Women’s Rights MAY 26 Convention. 1799 – Famous Black Russian writer Alexan1865 – President Andrew Johnson announcder Sergeyevich Pushkin, known as the “father es his program of Reconstruction. It required of Russian Literature,” ratification of the 13th Amendment, but did not is born in Moscow. guarantee Black suffrage. 1949 – Pam Grier, 1980 – Vernon Jordan, then-president of the one of the premier National Urban League, is critically injured in Black actresses and attempted assassination in Fort Wayne, Indiana. top sex symbols of WI the 1970s, is born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

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1958 – Ernest Green graduates from Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, becoming the first Black to do so. Green was a member of the “Little Rock Nine,” (pictured) the group of Black students who first integrated the high school with the aid of federal troops.

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ful for what Mr. Smith, who purchased my father’s birth home for the National Park Service, is doing for @Morehouse, which happens to be daddy’s alma mater.” Meanwhile, Manor and other D.C.-area students remain in euphoria and shock and can’t stop smiling. “It took us a few seconds to process it. Then we all shouted, ‘MVP,’” said Quintin Paschall, 21, a 2015 high school graduate of McKinley Technology High School in Northeast who received a bachelor’s degree in English. “This wasn’t the icing on the cake. This was a whole new cake in itself. You will see a lot more dreams fulfilled coming out of the Class of 2019.” Paschall, president of the college’s student government association, said Tuesday, May 21 he accrued only $7,000 in student loans during his senior year at the college. That’s because he earned scholarships his freshman year, his mother used her retirement funds toward his sophomore and junior years, and Morehouse paid for most of his tuition his last year as an undergraduate. The gift also raises the question of student debt in America the Brookings Institution called a “crisis.” Last year, the public policy organization in northwest D.C. analyzed Black college graduates with a bachelor’s degree in 2004 would have a debt of almost $64,000; compared to $27,770 to white graduates. Adam Looney, a senior fellow with the institution, outlined several recommendations in an April letter to discharge student loans. Some of them include make income-based payment universal and automatic; prioritize loans for first- and sec-

5 Morehouse College 2019 graduate Darrell Larome. (Courtesy photo/ Darrell)Larome) 4 Quinton Paschall, president of Morehouse student government and an alum of McKinley Tech in Northeast is one of the beneficiaries of Robert F. Smith’s generous gift to pay off the student loans for the class of 2019. (Courtesy photo/Quinton Paschall)

ond-year undergraduates; and dismiss small loan balances to eliminate burdens for millions of borrowers. “There are many flaws in our student lending programs and too many borrowers are struggling with loans they can’t pay,” he said. “But that’s a call to fix the system, not scrap it.” Thousands continue to pursue higher education as a means to achieve critical thinking, build a social network and increase opportunities for employment. However, Morehouse alums proudly proclaim the school as one of the most unique Historical Black Colleges and University in the country. Prince George’s County school board member Curtis Valentine, a 2000 Morehouse alum, summarized Freshmen are welcomed to the campus by a drum ceremony and then greeted by one during graduation. “When you see 400 Black men march together and then you see 200 more alumni march together, the spirit will move you,” said Valentine, who attended Sunday’s commencement. “It is an understanding you are not just getting an education. You are part of a brotherhood.” Valentine established a pipeline five years ago between Morehouse and Prince George’s Community College in Largo called the Diverse Male Student Initiative to offer mentorship, fellowship and academic assistance. Darrell Larome, who graduated from Suitland High School in 2011, became the first student from the community college to graduate

through the Morehouse pipeline. Larome, 25, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in drama and will attend graduate school in a few months at Columbia University in New York City on a full scholarship. He praised the achievement of his Morehouse classmates. For instance, Paschall will head to New York in July to begin his teaching career at Excellence Boys Middle Academy Charter School in Brooklyn. In September, Manor will conduct research for two years in the National Institutes of Health’s Intramural Research Training Award program in Bethesda. He plans to enroll in medical school. “Morehouse really develops young men or boys into men that can impact this world in various forms and specialties,” Larome said. “The gift [from Smith] really does change lives to end the generational curse of debt that a lot of us have in the [Black] community. The more money we have available, we can contribute to our institutions, decrease debt … and increase scholarship opportunities for those in African American communities who can attend Morehouse College.” WI

“The World According to Dominic” will return from vacation on June 1, 2019 8 MAY 23 - 29, 2019

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Maryland Senators Author Bill to Assist Those with Criminal Records

AROUND THE REGION

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia

Three Maryland lawmakers and a Hawaii senator joined forces to introduce a pair of bills that would expand access to education for Americans with criminal records — whether they are in prison or applying to return to school with a rap sheet. The bills — known as Promoting Reentry through Education in Prisons (PREP) Act and the Beyond the Box for Higher Education Act — would reform prison education and encourage colleges and universities to keep criminal records out of the admission process. “There isn’t a single member of Congress who hasn’t received a second chance at one point or another — others who have made mistakes deserve the same opportunities for redemption,” said Maryland Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who introduced the bill along with fellow Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). “If we want to reduce recidivism, we must do all we can to better integrate citizens back into their communities. Expanding educational opportunities is one of the most effective ways to restore hope and provide new skills for post-incarceration success.” Rep. Elijah Cummings (DMd.) announced the introduction of both bills in the House. “Education changes lives and is proven to help individuals successfully re-enter their communities,” Cummings said. “The bills we introduced provide educational resources for individuals while incarcerated and remove barriers that hold many formally-incarcerated aspiring students back from successfully starting their second chance. “If people are willing to better themselves through education, then we must provide them with every opportunity to do so,” he said. The PREP Act would improve federal prison education by creating both an office within the Bureau of Prisons focused on federal correctional education and a new program focused on partnerships between federal prisons and local education providers. It would also provide training and resources for state and local

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prisons to use in their own education programs and help eligible incarcerated veterans’ access to education benefits in prison. The Beyond the Box for Higher Education Act would encourage colleges and universities to remove criminal and juvenile justice questions from their admissions applications by providing guidance and training to schools to change their policies. “Access to education helps break down barriers and open doors,” Van Hollen said, adding that about 70 million Ameri-

cans have some type of criminal record, which shows up on all routine background checks. “Expanding opportunities for returning citizens and individuals in prison is crucial to ensuring these men and women are able to have a successful future. These efforts not only directly help returning citizens, but they also reduce recidivism rates and the sizable burden incarceration puts our economy. I urge Congress to take up these common-sense proposals immediately.” WI

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Weekend Conference Commemorates African Liberation Day African People’s Socialist Party to Host March and Workshops By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins People of African descent across the world will commemorate the 1963 founding of the Organization of African Unity this weekend during African Liberation Day, an occasion that allows for deep study and reflection on the degree to which the goal of a unified, fully self-determined Pan-African society has been realized. For members of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP), various gatherings on May 25 -26 provide an opportunity to market their organization as a key engineer of a global revolution that has and can continue to organize the Black working class against bourgeoisie and white imperialist interests. “History is not something we experience and do so on our own terms and record it. There are frequently times when doors and windows are opened,” APSP Chairman and Founder Omali Yeshitela told audience members during his analysis of modern-day imperialism on a May 19 #OmaliTaughtMe livestream. Yeshitela and African Socialist International Secretary General Luwezi Kinshasa count among the speakers for the APSP’s African Liberation Day celebration, themed “Africa for the Africans: At Home and Abroad: Death to White Imperialist Power!” On Saturday morning, participants will pound the pavement during a march that starts at Anacostia Metro Station in Southeast. Gatherings at Union Temple Baptist Church in Southeast on Saturday and the Stuart Center in Northeast on Sunday will also feature Michael Africa Junior, Yejide Orunmila of the African Women’s National Organization (ANWO), and other speakers who will provide pieces to a blueprint for a modern-day revolution.

“We have to seize those times and move through those doors and windows if we’ll be successful within the period of to time we’re trying to make this revolution,” Yeshitela continued in in his broadcast on May 19, the 94th anniversary of Malcolm X’s birth. “The African People’s Socialist Party is the vehicle through which the revolution has to be made.” APSP’s event counts among several African Liberation Day functions taking place around the District, including the Mass Emphasis Children’s History & Theatre Company’s production about Malcolm X, Patrice Lumumba, and Frantz Fanon at St.Stephen and the Incarnation Church in Northwest. In response to economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, members of the December 12th Movement will lead a protest from the African-American Civil War Memorial to the White House. APSP workshops at Union Temple Baptist Church and the Stuart Center this weekend will highlight various issues affecting African people, including disaster relief and reparations, and the work ANWO has done since 1972 in those areas. Another topic of concern involves Black mothers, a group that Orunmila said must be supported by the greater collective. “Women join us all the time in our movement,” said Orunmila, ANWO president since 2015. “We want all of our people to be free and we work very hard to deal with any backward notion that men or women bring so that we can be stronger organizers for our people. “There are a lot of real-world things that keep women from joining,” she said. “If they’re mothers, they don’t have time to join an organization. We want to make sure our mothers aren’t left out, so that requires us to support them while they become great organizers.” WI

5 Omali Yeshitela, founder and chairman of the African People’s Socialist Party (Courtesy photo)

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PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY Bowie State University Brings Commencement Ceremony Back to Campus By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill One of the first items presented to Aminta H. Breaux when she became Bowie State University’s 10th and first female president in 2017: bring commencement ceremonies back on campus. After a seven-year hiatus because of logistics, space and other challenges, the more than 700 students in the Class of 2019 celebrated on Friday the school’s spring commencement

at Bulldog Stadium. Previous ceremonies took place at the University of Maryland’s College Park campus. As the sun shined upon Bulldog Stadium with the gold bulldog emblazoned at midfield, Breaux praised the school’s alumni association in organizing the school’s annual tradition back at the oldest of the state’s historically Black colleges and universities. In addition, members of the Prince George’s County Police Department helped guide traffic around the campus and drove golf

5 Alpha Phi Alpha brothers celebrate youth’s graduation. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

carts for parents and family members to the stadium. The school added two additional bleachers to accommodate several hundred more people. “This has been an extraordinary time in the university,” Breaux said. “Class of 2019: where are you? I am so very proud of you. We are racing to excellence.” A record 6,320 students enrolled

Beltway Expansion Proposal Years Away By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill

Ray Ferguson knows limited details about the state of Maryland’s proposal to expand Interstates 495 and 270 in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. But the avid bicycle rider says state legislation to incorporate bicycle lanes on state roads such as Route 310 could decrease vehicle usage and increase multimodal transportation. “We try to inform the community that cycling is a viable option, but also for exercising,” said Ferguson, president of the bicycle club called Beech Tree Pedalers of Upper Marlboro. “If we clear the debris, or implement a bike lane that will highly encourage and enhance the cycling environment.” Bicycle alternatives as a mode of transportation isn’t a primary focus for a highway plan to relieve traffic congestion based on a public-private partnership that Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has said could become the first in the nation for a transportation project. The state’s Board of Public Works, which includes Hogan, Treasurer Nancy Kopp and Comp-

14 MAY 23 - 29, 2019

troller Peter Franchot, may decide next month on the next steps to approve the P3 model and seek private firms to design, build and finance the 70-mile road project. Before a possible in Annapolis, Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Maryland) plans to hold a town-hall meeting Thursday, May 23 on the proposal at the Wayne K. Curry Sports and Learning Center in Landover. The proposed work would happen between I-495 west of the Branch Avenue in Temple Hills in Prince George’s County, continue north on I-270 just north of I-370 in Montgomery County and west

on I-495 in Cabin John south of the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Montgomery County. The state Department of Transportation outlined six alternatives to add toll lanes with the most expensive proposal estimated at $9.8 billion. One of the alternatives would add two high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in each direction on Interstates 95 and 270, which resembles a pattern in Northern Virginia. Commuters in the Commonwealth with an EZ-Pass can travel the HOT lanes for free with three or more people to encourage carpooling and transit use.

5 An illustration that highlights one alternative to add two high-occupancy toll lanes on Interstates 95 and 270 (Courtesy of Maryland Department of Transportation)

at the school in the 2018-2019 year. Shanell Powell, 22, who received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management, will relocate to the West Coast and work for Microsoft in Seattle. “Bowie State helped me grow,” said Powell, who graduated from Parkdale High School in Riverdale. “My opportunity is to open up the

door for everybody else following me and make this a normal thing coming from an HBCU.” DeRonte Craig, 21, not only served as one of the most visible student leaders on campus as Mister Bowie, but he also survived with his father incarcerated to earn a bachelor’s degree in business administra-

Even with construction of the Purple Line light-rail project between New Carrollton in Prince George’s and Bethesda in Montgomery County, the Maryland Department of Transportation concludes a “no-build” option for highway project estimates the average commuter in the D.C. region would lose more than 87 hours annually due to congestion. However, the state’s “managed lane study” concludes a commuter’s travel time would decrease between 45 to 73 hours per year to widen the Capital Beltway and I-270. It also assessed 34 homes and four businesses could be affected. “Through the environment study, we’ve identified preliminary property needs,” said Lisa Choplin, project director for the plan. “We’re going to be continuing as we move forward in completing the study looking at opportunities to further reduce those needs. What you see today … we expect that to be the worst case.” State officials conducted final workshops to explain the proposal last week in Oxon Hill in Prince George’s and Germantown in Montgomery County. If the P3 plan gets approved, more public hearings will take place to complete a draft of an en-

vironmental impact statement. A private firm or number of companies would operate and maintain the toll lanes, with the maintenance of the roads handled by the Maryland Department of Transportation. A final decision that includes a specific contract isn’t scheduled until 2020 and construction underway one or two years later. According to an interactive map, the heaviest congestion in working on the project resides in a seven-mile stretch in Montgomery County between Route 29 along I-495 to the Virginia border. Citizens Against Beltway Expansion, a group of residents in Silver Spring, drafted an opposition letter addressed to the state Board of Public Works. “It is premature to approve this project before an environmental impact statement has been conducted to assess how it would affect our air, water and the public health,” the letter stated. “The proposal utilizes a public-private partnership model that has led to very high tolls in other communities, such as Northern Virginia. Yet, MDOT has not analyzed whether a P3 project would be more financially advantageous to Marylanders than conventional financing.” WI

BOWIE STATE Page 44

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PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY

Amazon Helps Md. Students on Path to Computer Science Careers

By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill

Trinity Jones wants to represent not only women, but women of color in the computer science industry. The 17-year-old and 13 of her fellow senior classmates at Gwynn Park High School completed Amazon’s Future Engineer program. “I definitely want to break a glass ceiling,” Trinity, who will major in both computer science and government/political science this fall at University of Maryland in College Park, said Thursday while seated at a computer to review a previous assignment on coding. “Women can do this.” Gwynn Park joined about 50 other high schools in the D.C. region who participated in the online retail giant’s program that seeks to help underserved communities and students of color pursue careers in computer science. Thanks to Amazon providing the software and other resources, students took advanced placement (AP) courses which helped them to create a website and cre-

ate code for a robot to go through a maze. The school not only honored seniors who completed the course, but also received congratulatory words from Ardine Williams, vice president of workforce development at Amazon HQ2. “When you look around this room, this is a very, very rich population of both women and diversity,” she said. “As they finish college, we’re going to bring a more diverse workforce. In order to solve problems for customers, it is important they walk in the same shoes as our customers do.” Williams said in an April 29 blog entry that several jobs in human resources, finance, corporate procurement and facilities are open at the company’s Arlington County, Virginia, office. The state won a bid for Amazon to build a second headquarters, which will bring 25,000 new jobs in at least the next decade. The goal will be to start operations in its Crystal City office next month. Amazon’s engineer program also provided $10,000 grants toward a robotics initiative through

5 Valeria Jovel, a senior at Gwynn Park High School, signs a poster highlighting her and fellow seniors’ participation in the Amazon Future Engineer program on May 16. (Courtesy of PGCPS)

FIRST, which boost STEM education and host robotics competitions. The company announced last month 100 schools, including 25 in the D.C. region, received money for its location near an Amazon site and gets Title I mon-

ey for educating a majority of low-income students. In Prince George’s County, Central and High Point high schools garnered the grant to launch robotics teams. The Amazon program began

Riverdale Baptist Crusaders Finish #1 in MISAL Baseball Championship WI Staff Writer The improbable and unexpected happened on Thursday, May 16, 2019 in Upper Marlboro, Md. The Riverdale Baptist Crusaders Baseball Team won the 2019 Metro Independent School Athletic League (MISAL) Baseball Championship by defeating Southern Maryland Christian Academy 7-4. It was a hard-fought game that exhibited a well-coached and disciplined Riverdale team with good pitching, excellent defense, smart base running and timely hitting. Playing at home in front of parents, school officials, students and friends, the team was jubilant when the final out was made to end the game. Riverdale Baptist School, located in Prince George’s County, has for years fielded a nationally ranked baseball team, but this year due to coaching changes, graduations and transfers, the school was not expected to field a team. Enter Aaron Graves, who was hired as the new baseball coach last summer. Graves brought a determination to field a team and implement a strategy of rebuilding the program while developing the

character of the young men with an equal focus on athletic and academic excellence. The team only had 10 players on the team: one junior, two sophomores, one ninth grader and the rest seventh and eighth graders. The season started with

some on and off-field challenges but the young team came together and finished with the unexpected championship trophy. “Despite everything we as team faced, we never doubted God and trusted His process for us both on the baseball field and in life,”

Graves said. “Now we are Champions, no one can ever take that away from us.” Looking forward, Graves said, “Recruiting for next year is ongoing and the goal is to build on our accomplishments from this year and to again exceed expectations” WI

5 Riverdale Baptist Crusaders Baseball Team pose with the championship trophy after winning the 2019 MISAL Baseball Championship (Photo Marlon Bovell)

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at Gwynn Park three years ago, and participants have garnered several certifications in programs such as JavaScript, MTA HTML5 and C sharp that would help them receive internships as first-year college students or earn entry-level positions in the computer industry. Antoine Mensah, 18, plans to increase his knowledge of computer programming and web design at High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, in the fall. “I can make my own website, I can add things like a drop-down menu,” said Antoine, who will major in game and interactive media design. “Those are things I was able to learn [at Gwynn Park].” The school’s eventual valedictorian has participated in the program each year. This year’s honor will go to Valeria Joel, 18, who will also attend the University of Maryland this fall and plans to student computer engineering. Although figures show only 18 percent of women receive a bachelor’s degree in computer science, young women represent 40 percent of Gwynn Park’s program. “The principal told me last week I’ll be the third valedictorian from the program,” said Joel, who moved to the United States from El Salvador at age 10. “There’s so many opportunities in computer science engineering. I can work on hardware and software. There’s not many women in the field, so it’s an opportunity to show the world we can do it as well.” WI

MAY 23 - 29, 2019 15

BUSINESS NAREB Seeks to Increase Homeownership of Blacks by at least Two Million By James Wright WI Staff Writer

A national organization of real estate professionals has made the commitment to see the number of Black home owners in the U.S. increase by two million in the coming years. The National Association

of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), whose headquarters sits in Lanham, Md., is a membership organization with more than 18,000 real estate brokers, agents, investors, appraisers and others associated with the real estate industry in 35 states and the District of Columbia. NAREB’s executive director, Antonio Thompson, has made a

5 Antonio Thompson, a former New York State senator, leads the National Association of Real Estate Brokers. (Courtesy photo/ Antonio Thompson)

commitment to see that Blacks own homes. “NAREB wants to educate African Americans about the value of home ownership,” Thompson said. “Before the 2008 Great Recession, Blacks were making progress in bring-

ing up the home ownership level but when the recession hit and afterwards, Blacks were adversely affected. The problem is that while other racial groups are recovering, African Americans are not.” Thompson said that racial discrimination in lending by financial institutions still exists, and that Blacks continue to be discouraged from living in certain neighborhoods not based on income or wealth, but because of the color of their skin. In 2004, census data reported 49 percent of all Black families owned a home, but those numbers declined during the Great Recession that officially, according to the U.S. Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, started in December 2007 and technically

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ended June 2009, with the after effects of the downturn still being felt to this day. In 2017, the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies reported the home ownership rate overall in the U.S. at 63.9 percent, with Whites at 72.9 percent, Latinos posting at 46.2 percent and African Americans at 43 percent. In the District of Columbia, 71.8 percent of Whites are home owners while 48.8 percent of Blacks own homes. NAREB, with its motto of “Democracy in Housing” was established in 1947 when Black real estate professionals could not join the National Association of Realtors because of ra-

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BUSINESS NAREB from Page 16 cial discrimination. Since that time, Thompson noted that NAREB has played a major role in the passage of fair housing laws in the 1960s, with the culmination of the 1968 Fair Housing Act being signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Thompson said the organization has since played a role in the creation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 and the effort to put more teeth into the enforcement effort of the Fair Housing Act, in 1989. NAREB has established its reputation as an advocate for Blacks in housing with the establishment of its “State of Housing in Black America” report released annually in September since 2013. Thompson served in the New York State Senate representing the Buffalo area from 20072011 and prior to that, represented a district on the Buffalo Common Council from 20012007. He joined NAREB in 2015 and said he has worked to benefit the association with his background in public policy,

politics and entrepreneurship. Thompson wants to engage Black faith, fraternal and other professional organizations in the effort to increase Black home ownership. He said while Black organizations have long embraced home ownership, it has rarely been a top priority. “Owning your own home is still the number one way to build wealth,” Thompson said. “Studies have shown that homeowners have higher life expectancy rates, are more civically and politically engaged and the most successful businesses are started in homes.” Thompson cited businesses such as Hewlett-Packard and billionaires such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates who started by running their businesses from their homes. He also said too many African Americans are renting apartments when they should own homes. “You aren’t building any equity in that apartment,” Thompson said. “That message should be spread to some Black millennials who are making $100,000 a year and living in an apartment. There is no economic benefit to that because it doesn’t increase their wealth, just the wealth of the landlord.”

Thompson also wants to increase the number of African Americans in the real estate industry and educate Blacks against questionable promotional practices such as “selling homes in seven days.” “I tell people talk to a realtor when talking about selling a home,” he said. “Those commercials, billboards, posters and flyers are targeted to Black and Latino zip codes because they know those groups may have a need for quick cash. If you go to areas such as Bethesda, you don’t see that type of advertising.” WI

5 Only 48.8 percent of homeowners in the District of Columbia are African American. (WI File Photo/The Washington Informer) off

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MAY 23 - 29, 2019 17

NATIONAL Venezuelan Embassy Showdown Continues By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins

Several days after a U.S.-backed coup d’etat fizzled in Venezuela, the class and racial schisms undergirding the Trump administration’s attempt to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro continue to play out on the front steps of the Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown. That’s where law enforcement

officials arrested four people last week in what activists have called a violation of international law. On Saturday, protesters towing signs, drums, and loudspeakers marched from the Venezuelan Embassy to the White House in support of the pro-Maduro quartet that had long refused to leave the ambassadorial dwellings, even as authorities cut off electricity and water and issued a fake eviction notice. “The protectors held down the

5 The Rev. Jesse Jackson (center) shows support for the pro-Maduro quartet in a march from the Venezuelan Embassy to the White House and led chants during a protest at the Venezuelan Embassy in Northwest on May 19. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)

embassy. After the failed coup, the opposition that represents the wealthy special class interests of white Venezuelans and the United States broke into the embassy while the Secret Service idly stood by,” said Garrett Harris of the Black Al-

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liance for Peace (BAP), an anti-imperialist collective. To Harris and his comrades’ disappointment, a D.C. judge formally charged the four embassy protectors last Friday and issued a stay-away order. “This is illegal because this is supposed to be Venezuelan soil,” said Garrett, also a member of Pan-African Community Action, a BAP umbrella organization. “We have the blessing of the Venezuelan government and people are breaking international law by occupying that space.” In January, Maduro and U.S.backed Venezuela National Assembly President Juan Guaido clashed after Guaido named himself interim president in the aftermath of Maduro’s reelection. Earlier this week, Maduro called for an early vote for the National Assembly, a suggestion that his detractors mocked on social media. Meanwhile, Amnesty International has urged the International Criminal Court to look into Maduro’s alleged crackdown on anti-government protests. The European Union has also condemned Maduro’s attempts to block members from entering parliament. But pro-Maduro supporters posted in front of the Venezuelan Embassy have appeared to ignore those institutional reactions, especially since the Rev. Jesse Jackson appeared as a resource. On Sunday, Jackson, a key proponent of mediation between Maduro and Guaido, spoke before a large crowd of protesters in front of the Venezuelan Embassy. Days earlier, before the quartet’s arrest, he brought bags of food to the embassy. “They’re trying to choke [protesters] into submission,” Jackson said. “I’m not interested in taking sides as much as reconciling sides. We

support the United Nations [in] bringing the competing sides to the table. We choose the bargaining table. We want food, water, clothing, housing, education, and doctors in Venezuela now. We cannot sit by and support the overthrow of the government and say we have clean hands.” Venezuela currently stands alongside Iran as a country of interest to the Trump administration, in part because of superfluous oil reserves under the control of its nationalized oil company. U.S. economic sanctions against oil providers have crippled the Venezuelan economy, causing a yearslong food crisis credited with more than 40,000 deaths. Since the failed April 30 coup, Maduro has brushed off U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton’s demands that he resign and leave the country. During a press conference, Bolton revealed that two Maduro administration officials backed out of a plan to break away from Maduro. Despite Trump’s frustration with recent events, there has been little indication that Bolton will lose his job. “John Bolton said the U.S. is in Venezuela for oil. They have been trying to overthrow the government for a long time,” said Benjamin Woods, another BAP member who protested on Saturday during the event organized by BAP, Code Pink, the Answer Coalition, and other entities. “I stand in solidarity with the working-class people of Venezuela,” Woods said. “The solution to this issue is the organization of anti-imperialist movement in the U.S. so we can connect with our struggling brothers and sisters abroad. Once we bring working-class Black people together, the whole character [of the movement] changes.” WI

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Ghanaian Students Get Scholarships to Study Medicine in Cuba

Two hundred Ghanaian students are expected to leave for Cuba this year on scholarship to begin a six-year program in medicine. The opportunity is under an agreement between the governments of Ghana and Cuba, with support from the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Foundation. The students comprise both undergraduate and postgraduate students from various schools across the country. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, the Minister of Health, has consequently charged them to be prepared to work in remote areas of Ghana on their return to enable the country to attain an equitable distribution of health professionals across the country. “The President wishes that the kind of services provided by the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is replicated everywhere in the country,” the Minister said. “Once it has been given to you, you have to give back to society. So don’t think that you will be coming back to Ghana to be in the cities. The people in the hinterlands need your services too, and that is patriotism.” Agyemang-Manu made the remarks when he met some of the beneficiaries in Accra last Tuesday to bid them farewell. “There are districts with just one doctor per hospital who work for 24 hours every day, and some do not have doctors at all,” he explained. “That doesn’t help the fair delivery of quality health care. When we are distributing quality health care fairly, we need to have good doctors in all districts and villages.” He urged the students to be hardworking and disciplined in order to achieve excellence. Agyemang-Manu noted that the tuition fees of close to $55,000 per student for the entire period would be funded with some locked-up funds of Ghana in Cuba. “The government had some $26 million locked up in Cuba for a very long time which had not been pursued,” he said. “So we came to a compromise with the Cuban government that they will provide us with such services to offset the debt since they could not pay us the money anytime soon.” He added that part of the money would also be used to fund a malaria control project and other projects that the government was pursuing. Pedro Luis Despaigne González, Cuban ambassador to Ghana, wished the students the best of luck and challenged them to stay focused on their studies. WI

caribbean now UWI Lecturer Among Group Assembled to Combat Hypertension Dr. Kenneth Connell, a lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI), is among 16 international experts chosen by the World Health Organization (WHO) to form a Guideline Development Group (GDG) for the diagnosis and pharmacological treatment of hypertension in adults. The announcement came as the international community recognized World Hypertension Day on May 17. Dr. Connell is the only Caribbean member in the Group. The UWI said his appointment is a testament of the recognition of his expertise in the discipline of hypertension science, as well as a larger endorsement of the contributions made by the region and the regional university. According to WHO, guidelines dealing specifically with raised blood pressure were last published 20 years ago in 1999 and are overdue for an update. Dr. Connell and his colleagues on the newly established GDG are expected to focus on an extensive review of the best available evidence and expert opinion. They will then develop a final document that is likely to set an international standard for the management of hypertension globally. Commenting on his appointment, Connell said: “I consider this nomination one of the most significant professional recognitions in my relatively early career as an academic... the members of the GDG are all leaders in the field, and it is truly an honor to be recognized as an equal within this group. I will represent both the people of the region and The UWI in Geneva in the deliberations on the new guidelines.” Connell joined the Faculty of Medical Sciences, UWI Cave Hill Campus, in 2011 and held the office of Deputy Dean, Preclinical Sciences from 2014 to 2017. He was Principal Investigator on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/ Pan American Health Organization Standardized Hypertension Treatment Project - Barbados pilot from April 2014 to April 2016. Connell is currently a lecturer in Clinical Pharmacology at the Cave Hill Campus, as well as an expert consultant for the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the WHO Global Hearts Initiative, a program of health system interventions to improve blood pressure outcomes. WI WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER

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HEALTH D.C. Youth Advocate for Mental Health Services

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins

Members of Generation Z, often referred to as the iGeneration because of their infinite access to technology and social media, suffer from mental illness at a rate unlike that of their older counterparts, due to unaddressed trauma and a widening gap in community- and school-based mental and social services. That’s why a group of young people affiliated with the Black Swan Academy has issued a call to their elected officials to invest in District youth’s collective mental, social and emotional well-being. Their advocacy counts as part of the #LetMeVent campaign, an effort to boost the youth’s voice in discussions about their

20 MAY 23 - 29, 2019

daily experiences. “Some kids with [Individual Education Plans] go to counselors to express themselves, but not all students are provided these services,” Black Swan Academy Youth Leader Ty’kirah Ellis told D.C. Council members on April 4 during her testimony at the Joint Budget Oversight Hearing during which she repeated “Let me vent” several times. Ty’kirah cited evidence from Georgetown Law School Juvenile Justice Center about the lack of mental health services in schools with a heavy police presence. She also spoke about the harmful effects of unaddressed mental illness and how current conditions don’t allow young people to say what’s on their mind. “Clinical depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder affect stu-

5 Youth throughout the District of Columbia join the ACLU on Friday, May 17 for their voice in the change they are making in their schools and communities through advocacy, organizing and service at #aclu100. (Facebook grab/Samantha Davis/Black Swann Academy)

dents,” Ty’kirah said. “When these things aren’t addressed, reactions can be students hurting themselves or something else bad happening. We need more counselors and social workers in our schools. We need supplementary and public health support rather than suspensions and jail.” As a follow up to their D.C. Council appearance, the youth leaders of the Black Swan Academy led a rally at the Ron Brown College Preparatory High School in Northeast. Access to mental health services for youth affected by neighborhood violence counts among the key tenets of The 2019 Black Youth Agenda, compiled by middle

and high school youth from Wards 7 and 8. Research shows that unmitigated mental illness can lead to suspensions, stints in the juvenile justice system and suicide. One in 7 young people across the country -- more than 7 million -- grapple with at least one mental disorder, including attention deficit disorder, depression and anxiety, a University of Michigan study found last year. Researchers estimated that half of those youth fell through the cracks, never receiving the help they desired. During his April 4 testimony, Black Swan Academy member and IDEA Public Charter School student Jalen Gross re-

flected on his struggle to access mental health services after his mother died. “I needed dire services. I waited days for help only to talk to a counselor for 30 minutes. Because of there being only one therapist, I thought it was useless to talk at that point,” Jalen, 17, said. “I’m asking the D.C. Council to devote funds for student mental health services. It’s about the hearts of youth in this community.” Since its inception, the Black Swan Academy has provided District youth with the tools they need to organize in their communities and engage their elected officials. Program offerings include the annual “I Have Pride” Black history and culture essay writing contest, the Youth Civic Leadership Summit and the year-round after-school activities in schools located east of the Anacostia River. Samantha Davis, founder and director of the Black Swan Academy, said The 2019 Black Youth Agenda culminates a series of discussions youth had about issues affecting them. “In the long term, we want to shift the culture so there are young Black people at the decision-making table,” Davis said. “Young Black people are impacted the most by the social issues: gun violence and lack of housing and mental health services. These are the most prevalent issues that they want their leaders to invest in. We want to support that and foster an environment for these young people to thrive.” WI

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5 Change Agents: (L-R) David Kennedy, Dr. Joseph Richardson, Chief Peter Newsham, Tyrone Parker, Ty’velle Wilson, and Taniecia Byrd (Courtesy photo/Alliance of Concerned Men)

New Manual Outlines Conflict Resolution Strategies for Youth By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins As the total for 2019 D.C. homicides nears 60, some people on the front lines of local violence prevention efforts said youth and adults must learn and practice the emotional intelligence needed to avoid deadly conflict. A conflict resolution manual has been touted as the newest tool in reaching that goal. The Alliance of Concerned Men recently released its Conflict Resolution & Youth Training Resource, an 88-page document that explores the origins of conflict and outlines solutions for addressing differences. In the weeks since its launch, members have announced partnerships for citywide implementation and the development of an accompanying mobile app and animation. “We created this manual to give people the skills to facilitate themselves in situations they come across, and show them how to circumvent problems,” said Tyrone Parker, executive director of Alliance for Concerned Men, an organization that has provided District youth and families with a bevy of resources, including conflict resolution between neighborhood crews, for nearly three decades. Late last month, the Alliance of Concerned Men released its manual at an event that featured Metropolitan Police Department

Chief Peter Newsham, WUSA-TV (Channel 9) news anchor Bruce Johnson, Tanieica Byrd of Momma’s Safe Haven, Alliance of Concerned Men Youth Ambassador Ty’velle Wilson, Dr. David Kennedy of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Dr. Joseph Richardson of the University of Maryland. The Alliance’s Conflict Resolution & Youth Training Resource represents a collaboration with the American University (AU) School of International Service that started in the aftermath of the 2015 death of AU student Matthew Shlonsky, who was killed by a stray bullet during a daytime shootout on 7th Street in Northwest. Shlonsky friends and family established a fund in his name, part of which financed the two years of research done to create the manual. In that time, the Metropolitan Police Department reported nearly 300 homicides. The 2018 total of 160 surpassed that of the previous year by more than 40 percent. “When we started Alliance of Concerned Men, it was about the gangs and crews, but now violence has gotten more spontaneous,” Parker continued as he explained the importance of the Conflict Resolution & Youth Training Resource. “We’re working with young people and they’re utilizing the practices of the manual for everyday use. They’re learning to be compassionate, concerned, and

putting themselves in the place of others,” he said. The manual supports the Alliance of Concerned Men’s trainthe-trainer program, through which nonprofits and other providers learn how to teach conflict resolution to youth and adults designated as peace-builders. Various activities outlined in the manual help participants learn their triggers, analyze their identity, and address their strengths and weaknesses. Chapters on conflict and restorative justice show readers how to teach self-awareness, critical thinking, restorative justice, and negotiating skills to youth and adults. To create the manual, Alliance of Concerned Men engaged 20 youth from the communities surrounding 7th and O Streets in conversation about the ongoing violence, its key causes, and what they believed to be solutions. Organizers said some of the youth expressed their desire for more extracurricular activities and pledged to turn in their guns. They also recounted youth visits to American University for the individualized conflict resolution and life skills training that incorporated evidence-based best practices. “We want people to know their neighbors, understand their trigger, and understand that when you take a step back and think before you react, things can change,” said Clayton Aris-

RESOLUTION Page 33

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EDUCATION Atlantic Coast Pipeline Opponents Rally for Cause in Richmond Residents of Predominantly-Black Community at Center of Discord By Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer Opponents of the formidable Dominion Energy’s plans to construct compressor station in a predominantly African-American community in Buckingham County joined forces Friday in Richmond to protest the natural gas conduit that will run 550 miles between West Virginia and eastern North Carolina. Many of those who participated in the hourlong rally on May 17 in a park atop the picturesque James River traveled from the tight-knit Union Hill enclave in Buckingham County, where tem-

pers have flared now for several years over the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline slated to run through their community. “We’ve been fighting this thing forever,” said the Rev. Paul Wilson, 66, pastor of the county’s Union Grove Baptist Church. Wilson strongly believes his community, built at the hands of emancipated slaves, has become the sacrificial lamb for the sake of the dollar. “It’s been five years of racial injustice,” he said. “It’s all about the money and people have been bought off, paid off and governments have been shanghaied. It’s just been so much that is going on

5 John Laury, an associate pastor at Union Grove Baptist Church in Buckingham County, Va., says the community has become accustomed to breathing clean, fresh air and endeavors to keep it that way. (Dorothy Rowley/The Washington Informer)

and we’ve been all over the country, in the national news, and in all kinds of media dealing with this.” Construction of the pipeline began a year ago in West Virginia, and while opponents insist that exhaust from the compressor station would largely cast a negative impact on Union Hill’s low-income and elderly residents, supporters counter that the pipeline will enhance area development. To that end, Dominion Energy maintains that in addition to an abundance of land for sale in the area, Union Hill’s location for the pipeline’s 54,000-horsepower compressor station was chosen because of its intersection with an existing pipeline the community. “We still breathe clean, fresh

air and we have water from our springs, and we’ve become used to that,” said John Laury, a 70-something who grew up on his grandfather’s farm in Union Hill. Laury, an associate pastor at Union Grove, said he came back after a stint in the military because he liked the community’s rolling hills. “All was well until I received word from the board of supervisors, who were voting on this monster of a special-use permit to build the compressor station,” he recalled. “But this thing came in illegally. The community spoke at different hearings, but our voices were not heard. The population was lied about, and the history, as well of the culture of the community, was ignored. Everything was

Humanities DC Awards Vision Grants to 13 Projects WI Staff

An after-school writing lab, a course in dance journalism, mapping segregation in D.C. and an array of digitization projects were among the 13 winning proposals selected this year to receive grant funding up to $20,000 by Humanities DC for its

Vision Grant program. The 13 recipients were invited to the Uline Arena in Northeast last Friday for one of the first in-person reception and presentation events hosted by Humanities DC in seven years. Joy Ford Austin, Humanities DC executive director, said she was as

excited as the grantees this year and glad to bring back the presentation event. “It means a lot to me to see the anticipation and to share my joy of the opportunities that lie ahead for you,” she said. More than 50 nonprofit organizations competed for a grant this

5 The Washington Informer Charities President Denise Rolark Barnes (3rd, right) receives a grant from Humanities DC (formerly known as the Humanities Council of Washington, DC) on Wednesday, May 15 at Uline Arena in Northeast. (Robert Roberts/The Washington Informer)

22 MAY 23 - 29, 2019

year, and 52 made it to the review process. “Of all the years I’ve been here — and that’s 20 years that I’ve looked at the cadre of grants — you had stiff competition,” Austin said to the recipients. “There were excellent proposals that did not get funded, so, again, I congratulate you for the high-quality work you gave us.” The grants will provide financial and capacity-building resources for projects that offer innovative interpretations of life, history and culture for public audiences in D.C. It is one of roughly 10 grant funding, capacity-building and cultural awareness programs provided by Humanities DC, and this year there was more money to give away. “For years and years, we gave $5,000 and then $10,000. I think all of you are in good shape today,” Austin joked, before passing along grants ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 to each awardee. Grant awardees from neighbor-

AWARDS Page 23

erased for the purpose of bringing in this compressor station, and the entire idea was a lie, all for the sake of industry.” In his closing comments that elicited a thunderous round of applause from the audience of about 200 supporters, Laury said that regardless of President Donald Trump’s inclinations, “renewed energy has to come forward and fossil fuel has to go out.” Andrew Tyler, 60, a Native American from Richmond, Virginia, also weighed in, saying he supported the rally because of its theme of environmental justice and racism. “People have forgotten that environmental racism is not a new thing to happen to the people of Virginia,” Tyler said. “It’s happened since 1492, and my people have been on the bad end of this kind of racism since that time. We, like the residents of Union Hill refuse to go quietly into the night. We’re reclaiming our lands — and one of the ways to do that, is tell developers like Dominion Energy that our homes, businesses and church stand on the backbone of our ancestors.” Tyler said that overall, his message of opposition is to Gov. Ralph Northam, who’s rallied support of the pipeline. “Right now, ground water around the drill sites is unusable,” he said. “People can’t drink it, they can’t bathe in it, they can’t nourish their livestock with it, so when Gov. Northam supports this project, he is causing great harm to the people of Union Hill.” Earlier this year, as part of an environmental justice tour, former Vice President Al Gore and social justice activist Rev. William Barber II met with residents of Union Hill, where Gore likewise stated that Dominion Energy’s proposal equated to a “vivid example of environmental racism.” WI

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EDUCATION

D.C. Students Chart Academic Path to College and Careers with New Guide By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins With the launch of the D.C. Public Schools Student Guide to Graduation, College and Career comes the opportunity for thousands of high school students to track their progress toward a traditional school diploma and chart a path to the college and career of their choice. Last month, ninth-, 10th-, and 11th-graders received hard copies of their individualized student guide, along with access to an online version. Both, to be released twice an academic year, include an unofficial transcript and individualized college readiness guide, an aggregation of career opportunities based on students’ interests, and an action plan. “We thought that students should be empowered with this information on a regular basis,” said DCPS Deputy Chief of Graduation Sarah Navarro in reference to the High School Graduation Progress chart where footprints of various colors indicated completion of a course. Data points in the seven-page booklet show a student’s attendance rate, SAT and PSAT scores, community service hours completed, and weighted GPA. The College Readiness Guide portion uses the aforementioned information to measure a student’s likelihood of acceptance into colleges and universities based in the District and five

AWARDS from Page 22 hoods across the District will be using the funds to document life in the District. As each shared the highlights of their projects, their enthusiasm often caused them to exceed their two-minute time limit and left other grantees offering ways to collaborate. Among the grantees are Roadwork, a multiracial coalition that puts women’s culture on the road, plans to interview sign language interpreters and deaf community members in a video with a particular focus on the a capella group Sweet Honey in the Rock and Dr. Ysaye Barnwell, the group’s first sign language interpreter. Kindred Spirit will examine the people, places, and landscapes that inspired D.C. artists and educators Hilda Wilkinson Brown and Lillian Thomas Burwell, who worked and lived in D.C. during segregation.

surrounding states. In the Career Opportunities section, students learn their earning potential in the fields of their choice and reminisce on their past work-based learning opportunities documented in the guide. Navarro said the visually appealing interface of the Student Guide to Graduation, College and Career, based on a model that originated in Long Beach, California, served as one of the biggest draw in conversations with students and other stakeholders. “Each of the requirements toward a traditional DCPS diploma are articulated by subject matter and seen in a visually friendly way,” she said. “Students will see what [classes] they had, what they passed, and where they are enrolled. When students are off track, the red footprints [on the third page of the guide] will cause students to reflect on where they are.” Planning and production around the guide started in the fall of 2017. DCPS officials engaged students, parents, staff members, student groups and members of the chancellor’s student cabinet for more than a year, at times showing them mockups of the student guide at various stages of the guide’s development. Student ambassadors would later also gather feedback from their peers at various schools across the District about their high school experience and col-

lege search. For DCPS students such as freshman Natalia Givens, the guide gives her and her mother greater insight into what she has to do to achieve her goals. Natalia, an aspiring therapist, said she

plans to work and take part in the College Success Foundation this summer. “Everything I’ve done since I got to Woodson Senior High School is in the guide,” she said. “It showed me what I need and

what I have done so far. My mother knows my attendance and PSAT score. My plan is to take certain classes so I can get them out of the way and push myself to go to college.” WI

5 (L-R) H.D. Woodson freshman Natalia Givens and senior class valedictorian Tarrell Talbert discuss their progress using the D.C. Public Schools Student Guide to Graduation, College and Career with Damali Stewart, manager of post-secondary planning for DC Public Schools and a former Woodson counselor. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

Washington Informer Charities was represented by Chairman Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of The Washington Informer, who said she was thrilled and encouraged by the grant Washington Informer Charities received to digitize the print archives of the newspaper started 55 years ago. “I realize all of you [grantees] will need to research stories The Washington Informer has covered, but they are in newspapers buried in cardboard boxes in a storage unit,” Barnes said. “This grant will allow us to begin digitizing those newspapers, share them with the Humanities Digital Archives so that we can provide a richer narrative about life and culture in D.C.” Austin said she is looking forward to receiving more funds to give to more organizations in the coming years. WI 315656_6_x_6.5.indd 1

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EDITORIAL

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

What Happens to a Dream (Un)deferred? It’s difficult to describe the reaction to the gift billionaire Robert F. Smith bestowed upon the Morehouse College Class of 2019 during the 135th commencement exercise held Sunday on the campus of the HBCU in Atlanta. Nearly one week later, it’s still the top story in the news, on the internet, and across every social media platform. No matter how you describe the unexpected, graciously-given gift, it re-poses the question Langston Hughes asked more than 50 years ago in his poem, “What happens to a dream deferred?” The expensive and rising tuition costs, the enormous debt college students incur, and the inability to repay the debt despite a high-quality education, results in the questions Hughes wrote about: Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore — and then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over — like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? From former President Barack Obama to the average college graduate (before Mr. Smith arrived), it is nearly impossible to believe that the average student loan debt of more than $33,000 will ever be repaid. With that kind of debt hanging over a young person’s head, it is difficult to dream of owning a home, marrying or starting a family. On top of that, President Trump wants to redirect nearly $9 million from the Pell Grant college fund to support NASA’s space program to send astronauts to the moon and Mars, further deferring the dream, and discouraging the dreamer. Voters must deal with Mr. Trump in 2020, while alumni, to whom Mr. Smith spoke to directly, must deal with keeping the dream alive. Very few can do what Mr. Smith did, and very few who can will. Black people scraped their way up by earning and spending hard-earned nickels, dimes and quarters to build colleges and universities whose graduates are the manifestation of their dreams. What Mr. Smith asked is what we can all do: give not just once, but often, to support a student or a school, especially an HBCU. Let’s see what can happen to a dream undeferred. WI

Plan to Restructure Funding for Arts Needs Further Analysis The ongoing brouhaha between the D.C. Council and Mayor Muriel Bowser over the 2020 budget will continue next week at the May 28th meeting of the Committee of the Whole when members will cast their final vote before sending the budget on to the U.S. Congress for approval. That, within itself, is ludicrous, and one reason why support for Statehood remains strong. But the issue at hand, are the concerns about the budget that are keeping in play the looming impact of gentrification and equity on residents, small businesses, and non-profit organizations. What we don’t want to see is a power play between Council Chair Phil Mendelson and Mayor Muriel Bowser that will create unfair and inequitable results for District residents. Among the myriad of issues that have come to our attention is the push to restructure the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, a District agency that provides $15 million in grants, programs and educational activities each year to artists and audiences across the city. Mendelson recently acquired oversight of the commission, now headed by new executive director Terrie Rouse-Rosario. In the mayor’s 2020 budget plan, the DCAH would become a new Department of Arts and Humanities. Mendelson, on the other hand, wants to remove the commission out of the executive branch, and thus remove the mayor’s influence over the 17-member commission and ultimately the grant process, creating an independent entity. Among the greatest concern about Mendelson’s proposal is that the District’s wealthiest arts organizations, including the Kennedy Center, the National Theatre and 11 others located in Ward 2, will suck up a significant part of the arts budget, about 34.5 percent, while the remaining arts organizations, particularly those east of the river, will be disproportionately impacted. And, if the commission is removed from the mayor’s purview, who will then have oversight The mayor’s proposal has its critics, as well, despite the fact that she recently introduced the District’s first-ever D.C. Cultural Plan, that details strategies to “build upon, strengthen, and invest in the people, places, communities, and ideas that define culture within DC.” Critics are concerned the commission’s lack of independence and the changes in funding. Our concern rests in the possibility – if not an inevitability – that an already highly competitive funding source will become more competitive and less equitable. Organizations currently based in three wards, specifically wards 4, 7 and 8, already disproportionately represented in terms of dedicated dollars, would have to fight even harder for a real piece of the pie. Make no mistake – the dollars in question are no chump change. Even more, there appears to be a growing movement afoot of those on the commission and their colleagues who frequently whisper in their ears, that believe Bowser has too much power. We have already seen what happens when checks and balances are thrown out of the window – at least when such efforts gain momentum – as evidenced in the current fight between Donald Trump and Congress. We should not – we must not – we cannot follow suit. What’s the rush, Mr. Mendelson? Let’s take our time before making such a potentially-costly move that could hurt the little people in the District. And if it won’t, then prove it. WI

TO THE EDITOR Who Polices the Police? Wow, that picture of the woman who was beaten by Metro police was very jarring, to say the least. However, it was very necessary to showcase what happens to people by the system that attacks first and ask questions later. I don’t know all of the facts of the case, but she did not deserve such a brutal attack. And the fact that the officer can’t be sued because he’s protected by WMATA. SMH. I feel helpless. Margaret Lynden Washington, D.C.

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Taraji the Right One for Mental Health Push I loved the spread of D.C.’s own Taraji P. Henson and how she beautiful she is. I think it’s great that she’s taking on mental health in the Black community. I think she is the perfect person to front this cause, because she will surely influence people to at least listen and consider the information they’re given. Chantel Simmons Laurel, Maryland

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MAY 23 - 29, 2019 25

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist

By Julianne Malveaux

Forget the Adversity Score — Just Dump the SAT

The College Board, the organization that develops and administers the SAT test, has developed a new “adversity score” to augment the widely used college admissions examination. The fact that the College Board has had to create an “adversity score” is reason enough to discard the badly flawed SAT test, a test that many consider racially biased, and that only measures the likelihood of first-year college success. In other words, it measures the

accumulated advantages that some students have over others because of the quality of their high schools, their family wealth, and other factors. The “adversity score” seeks to measure the disadvantages that some students experience. Interestingly, the “adversity score” does not measure race, although racial discrimination is alive and well in our nation. Indeed, the development of an adversity score that does not account for race is a capitulation to the anti-affirmative action forces, some directed by this administration’s Justice Department that have brought law-

suits against Harvard and other universities because of “anti-Asian” bias. It is also a bow to the argument that a white student from a poor family is more disadvantaged than a Black child whose family is upper-middle class when there is plenty of evidence that this is not necessarily so. Structural racism is so woven into our national consciousness that a child of middle-class Black folks is likely to do worse than their parents did. Our nation is in race denial, and this adversity score, which does not consider race, is part of the denial. The pilot testing of the adversity score seems to indicate that using it may create more diverse admissions,

Guest Columnist

but there are precious few details about the score (and it won’t even be shared with students and their parents). But the very existence of an adversity score raises questions about the efficacy of the SAT. This is perhaps why.

that promote equity and excellence.”

This is an interesting time for the adversity score to be rolled out. Robert Schaffer, public education director of Fair Test (the National Center for Fair and Open Testing), says the adversity scores are a way for the College Board to defend itself against its critics. He said, “Schools do not need the SAT or ACT — with or without ‘adversity scores’ — to make high-quality, admissions decisions

What should colleges use instead to evaluate students? How about high school grades? Some will argue that the quality of high schools varies. Well, that ought to be an impetus for improving the quality of some high schools, especially those in inner cities. How about class rank? The University of Texas uses class

In fact, more than 1,000 colleges and universities, including half for the top 100 liberal arts colleges, do not use the SAT to evaluate applicants.

MALVEAUX Page 45

By Marc H. Morial

Graduation Season: Celebrating Accomplishments, Committing to Equality

“You are young, gifted, and Black. We must begin to tell our young, ‘There’s a world waiting for you, Yours is the quest that’s just begun.’” — James Weldon Johnson Each year I have the privilege to speak at commencement ceremonies at colleges and universities, large and small, across the country. Most recently, I had the honor to address Grambling State University — an HBCU that is experienc-

ing a resurgence under President Rick Gallot — most notably for its cutting-edge new cybersecurity program. As an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. I’m proud to join the “Gram Fam.” To them — and to all the graduates of 2019 — I share the message of “the three B’s”: the ballot, the book and the buck. The ballot: this generation must thunder to the polls to make its voice heard, even as there are forces at work to silence it. We cannot surrender the power of the ballot. The book: today’s graduates achieve something fewer than 25% of African Americans have achieved,

a college degree. May their learning and curiosity continue for life. The buck: our people must accumulate appreciating assets — real estate, investments, small businesses. This generation must build a new path toward economic empowerment. These commencement ceremonies are always joyous occasions, attended by parents bursting with pride over their children’s achievements. As someone who has the privilege to lead a movement that has dedicated itself to preparing every child for college, work and life, I share that pride. More than three million students

Guest Columnist

and adults have been served by Urban League affiliates’ education services since 2005. Earlier this month, many of our affiliates in the Project Ready program celebrated College Signing Day, highlighting the achievements of our high schoolers who have been accepted to further their educations. While I’m proud of our Urban League accomplishments — as proud as those parents in the crowds at college commencements — I am also reminded of those whom opportunity has eluded. As the late evolutionary biologist Stephen J. Gould wrote, “I

am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.” Last week marked the 65th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, one of the most significant civil rights cases of the 20th century. We were proud to participate in the commemorative rally at the U.S. Capitol commemorating the decision. Falling as it does in the midst of graduation season, it is an

MORIAL Page 45

By Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.

Extremist Laws Will Make it Harder for Poor Women to End Pregnancies

Alabama — led by utterly clueless male legislators — just passed the most restrictive ban on abortion in the country, with Georgia and Missouri piling on. Other states dominated by right-wing Republican politicians are jockeying to join in. Their aim is to get the courts, newly packed with right-wing judges appointed by Trump, to overturn Roe v.

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Wade, the landmark precedent that established a woman’s right to choose in the early months of pregnancy. The new laws generally deem abortion murder after six or eight weeks, no exceptions. This is often before women are even aware that they are pregnant. Some of the laws would imprison doctors; others lock up mothers. This is what the anti-abortion movement has demanded. It has been spurred on by cynical politicians like Donald Trump, who devoted part of his State of the Union address to a blood-curdling description of in-

fanticide that came completely from his own ugly imagination. Now anti-abortion activists are on the verge of getting what they want — the ability to prosecute doctors and/or pregnant women for murder if they choose to abort a fetus early in their pregnancies. Even if the life of the mother is at risk, doctors would be loath to risk imprisonment by taking the necessary step to save her. Suddenly, right-wing politicians and moral hypocrites are expressing dismay at their victory. Donald Trump, who not many years ago was

entirely pro-choice, tweeted that he didn’t support the Alabama laws, that he believed in exceptions for rape, incest and protecting the life of the mother. Apparently murder isn’t always murder for the president — or for televangelist Pat Robertson, or for House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who said the law “goes further than I believe,” because he would allow “exceptions” as a matter of “personal belief.” But as E.J. Dionne notes in The Washington Post, if personal beliefs can carve out exceptions to murder,

why would Trump’s or McCarthy’s exceptions weigh more than the considered choices of the women struggling with whether to take a fetus to term? Cynical male politicians weighing how to placate the anti-abortion conservatives without alienating the vast majority aren’t making a more moral, more reasoned decision than the woman involved. Lost in this posturing — mostly by male politicians — is the basic reality. Passing laws that outlaw abortions

JACKSON Page 45

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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist

By Marian Wright Edelman

Staying Vigilant on Brown

As a teenager, many of Barbara Johns’ wildest dreams were about a surprising subject: a new school. “My imagination would run rampant — and I would dream that some mighty man of great wealth built us a new school building or that our parents got together and surprised us with this grand new building and we

had a big celebration — I even imagined that a great storm came through and blew down the main building and splattered the shacks to splinters,” she said. Then a day came when 16-year-old Barbara decided to put her dreams into action: “It was time that Negroes were treated equally with whites, time that they had a decent school, time for the students themselves to do something about it. There wasn’t any fear. I just thought — this is your moment. Seize it!”

Guest Columnist

The year was 1951 and Barbara was a junior at segregated Robert R. Moton High School in Prince Edward County, Virginia. As her sister Joan remembered, “Most of the school supplies that we got were torn and tattered, and we didn’t have enough supplies to write with. The school we went to was overcrowded. Consequently, the county decided to build three tarpaper shacks for us to hold classes in. A tarpaper shack looks like a dilapidated black building, which is similar

to a chicken coop on a farm...It was a very difficult setting for trying to learn.” Barbara organized and led 400 students in a strike to protest Moton’s terrible conditions and demand facilities more like the county’s white high school. NAACP attorneys Spottswood Robinson and Oliver Hill became involved after Barbara’s persistent calls to their Richmond office, and after the students agreed they were willing to fight for a desegregated school rather than just a

better segregated one. The legal case against the Prince Edward County school board was ultimately bundled with four similar cases by NAACP attorneys in Brown vs. Board of Education et al., leading to the landmark Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation in public schools 65 years ago this month on May 17, 1954. But the triumph of Brown was sadly not the end of the story

EDELMAN Page 46

By E. Faye Williams

Where is Harriet?

I know it sounds like such a long time ago that Barack Obama was our dearly beloved president, but when he was, we rejoiced in the fact that Harriet Tubman was finally going to be properly recognized at the national level for all the work she did under dangerous circumstances to perfect our union. Those who knew of her great work were overjoyed that her likeness was going to grace the $20 bill. We were so sure that planning for that to happen

was already underway. Hearing nothing about that effort since President Obama left office, we are concerned. Is anyone planning to make it happen? I’ve been hearing things are at a standstill. Maybe you should ask your elected representatives to find out the status of the project. The person who can answer that is Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, but good luck in reaching his office! That’s why I’m suggesting asking your member of Congress to raise the question for us. Harriet was a freedom fighter and did all that she could

Askia-At-Large

to bring people out of slavery. She did all that she could to save our country from its evil ways toward Black and Native people. She was known as the “Conductor of the Underground Railroad” through her celebrated Civil War service as a soldier, spy and as a nurse. She risked her life to save others even when some were too afraid to help themselves. She had the kind of courage we so badly need today. She was a selfless leader and liberator. She cared so much for our people that even when she went through dangerous terrain to free herself, she continued to return to

bring others out of slavery. Harriet was the kind of strategist we need today, and Lord knows we need one who can get us through the current administration that seems to hate everybody and all that is good. Many of us who call ourselves leaders are weary from having to continue to fight the same battles for justice and equality. Maulana Karenga described Harriet in a way that puts our people to shame who are always too tired, too busy and too uncaring to do liberation work. He described her as an “all-seasons soldier, abolitionist, freedom fighter, strategist,

teacher, nurse, advocate of human, civil and women’s rights. … At the heart, center and core of the life, work and struggle of Harriet Tubman is her focus on freedom. It is from the outset an inclusive and indivisible freedom: the collective practice of self-determination in and for community. Thus, it’s not enough for her to free herself, for that to her was only an escape from the immediate bondage of the devilish enslaver and the radically evil system they built and maintained. And it wasn’t enough to have crossed

WILLIAMS Page 46

By Askia Muhammad

Welcome Back, U.S. Anti-War Movement

Now that this president appears to be bored with his parlor games — emboldening white racists everywhere, using desperate asylum seekers (especially children) as his personal political punching bag, lining his pockets by regularly vacationing at his own resorts at the government’s expense, stacking the courts and stiffing the Congress, hastening the pollution of the air, the rivers and the oceans, and wreaking worldwide economic havoc to be

paid for by American consumers by battling U.S. allies and adversaries alike, lying about his great victories at a rate which would make Nazi Joseph Goebbels blush — Dude appears to be ready to try his hand at weaponized warfare in Venezuela and Iran, along with ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Never mind that no country can successfully fight wars in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East all at the same time (just read Sun Tzu’s 2,000-year-old “The Art of War”) while encouraging an armed rebellion of white

meth addicts against everyone non-white at home. Never mind that all empires in the past have crumbled from rot within. Thankfully, however, the U.S. anti-war movement has sprung to life, just in time. Folks in CODEPINK Women for Peace, the ANSWER Coalition, Veterans for Peace and others have now mobilized in the streets (in small numbers at first) to oppose the evil Trump regime, the way they did by the tens of thousands during the administration of George W. Bush when he fooled the country into attacking

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Saddam Hussein, whose nonexistent “weapons of mass destruction” posed absolutely no threat to this country. Despite objections from European military authorities — and from some of his own military commanders — Trump has resorted to old, failed playbooks in order to launch his wicked plans. They tried the disastrous Bay of Pigs model from the failed Cuba invasion to try to foment an uprising in Venezuela, in order to install a puppet who did not receive one single vote in the country’s recent presidential elec-

tion. This latest uprising went nowhere. A few troops, maybe a platoon’s worth, and later one general defected. But there was no general uprising, despite the fact that U.S. imposed sanctions, embargoes and outright theft are punishing the ordinary people by the millions in the country with the world’s largest known oil reserves. Next, he sent a naval aircraft carrier strike group into the waters off Iran and threatened to send 120,000 troops into the re-

ASKIA Page 46 MAY 23 - 29, 2019 27

LIFESTYLE ‘Spunk’ Brings Zora Neale Hurston’s Stories Back for Today’s Generation By Eve M. Ferguson WI Contributing Writer Legend has it that the author/ playwright/anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston could keep people riveted for hours with her lively storytelling. “Spunk,” now playing at the Signature Theatre keeps her spirit alive in a trilogy of short stories by Hurston, woven together by the blues. Told through the narration of Blues Speak Woman, played by Iyona Blake, a regular with Signature, the soaring vocals she lays down to the backdrop of acoustic guitar by Jonathan Mosely-Perry as Guitar Man, bring the folksiness of Hurston’s tales into their fullness.

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The first tale, “Sweat,” written in 1926, is one of Hurston’s most-read short stories, which are frequently overshadowed by her famous novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” But the stories in “Spunk” carry the same Southern Black down-home flavor as her 1937 classic novel. The simple story of a marriage gone wrong is masterfully told with offstage sound effects, dialogue which weaves in and out with the characters telling their own story directly to the audience, and a sparse set of rugged wood designed by Luciana Stecconi. The second tale, “Story in Harlem Slang,” takes place up North in New York City, but

5 Drew Drake (Folk Man 3), Jonathan Mosley-Perry (Guitar Man), Iyona Blake (Blues Speak Woman) and Ines Nassara (Folk Woman) in Spunk at Signature Theater. (Courtesy photo/Signature Theatre/Christopher Mueller)

carries the Southern dialect and folkways into a familiar story of the Great Migration that Southern Blacks undertook following Reconstruction. The plight of Jelly (Marty Austen Lamar), an Alabama man who comes to New York City penniless, and his rivalry with another ne’er do well, Sweet Back (KenYatta Rogers) for the attention and financial support of well-paid women, is animated and full of dialect, even presenting a slow-motion

fight scene/dance number. In fact, Hurston was frequently criticized for her use of Southern Black vernacular, which while it authenticates the origins of her folktales, many saw as playing up to the white perception that African Americans were ignorant. It did not stop the author, who grounded much of her fiction in the research she conducted, recording Southern folkways as an Ivy League university-trained anthropologist. Hurston worked with acclaimed anthropologist Franz Boas to document the folkways of Southern Blacks and African-based religions in the Caribbean. The final tale, “The Gilded Six Bits,” is yet another story of infidelity and marriage, chock full of old adages, period costumes using quilting and intricate stitchery (by Kendra Rai) and animated choreography (by Dane Figueroa Edidi) that takes full advantage of the theater in the round, as the small cast of six moved around and danced using all corners and different levels of the stage. Ines Nassara, whose character is just referred to as “Folk Woman,” plays the female lead in all three plays, completely entrancing the audience with her strong voice, sinuous moves and engaging dialogue with the other characters and the audience. The original adaptation of “Spunk” was created by George C. Wolfe, who also directed with music by Chic Street Man. The Signature Theatre production calls on the talents of Timothy Douglas, who recently directed the Arena Stage production of

“Nina Simone: Four Women” and “Disgraced.” “Our ever-shifting world seems to confront us daily with yet another angle of the human prism through which to view the holistic wonder and complexity of what it is to be a woman in what chronically has been a man’s world,” said director Timothy Douglas. “With this Signature Theater production of ‘Spunk,’ I, along with this luminous ensemble, have been charged to honor, embrace, and bring authentically to life the smart and lyrical sass of this writer’s Harlem Renaissance heyday — yet in doing so, it is with an informed theatrical abandon that we surrender to Zora Neale Hurston’s soulful language, thus allowing her to level up to a 21st-century sensibility, whereby her clear-eyed and sober heroines may proclaim through open throats, ‘me, too!’” On June 2, a complementary program, “#OwnVoices: The Legacy of Zora Neale Hurston” will be held at Busboys & Poets-Shirlington at 5:00 p.m. The event will feature Glory Edim, author of “Well-Read Black Girl” and Hurston/Wright Foundation Board Member Melanie Hunter in conversation with a cast member of “Spunk” to discuss Zora Neale Hurston’s influence on American literature and today’s efforts to empower female authors. The event is free. “Spunk” plays at the Signature Theatre’s ARK Theatre through June 23. Signature is located at 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington, Va., 22206. Call 703-820-9771 or go to www.sigtheatre.org for tickets and showtimes. WI

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LIFESTYLE

Maryland Girl, 8, to Fellow Kids: ‘Watch Ur Words’ By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia In between balancing school, homework and filming, 8-yearold Janiya Williams finds time to encourage, inspire and motivate other children to “Watch Ur Words,” on social media platforms. This fall, Janiya is scheduled to play the role of “Carrie” in a new web series called “Patricia’s Independence,” a film about a top lobbyist, wife, and a mother of two who lives a lavish lifestyle and maintains an independent attitude. Janiya’s mother said her daughter loves to act and she relishes the opportunity to “instill positive vibes” in others while inspiring young ones to become great role models. “Janiya’s very passionate with encouraging kids to ‘Watch their Words,’ so she thought of launching the ‘Watch Ur Words’ — or WUW — campaign,” said Janiya’s mom, Brittany. “She believes this practice will not only benefit the young but the old, too. “I am so proud of my daughter and how she is taking a stand against bullies,” said Brittany, who chooses to go simply by her first name. “Janiya has come home on many occasions with sad stories about how kids in her class were pushed around and laughed at and it always bothered her. “She came up with [the campaign] to teach kids how to always be mindful of what you say and how you say it,” Brittany said. “Bullying has taken lives of many of our kids in America and I’m so proud that my daughter at her age is trying to make a change.”

For Janiya, coming up with the WUW campaign was quite simple for the 8-year-old. “I kept hearing kids in school say mean, hurtful and disrespectful things to other kids and then I started hearing on the news how some kids committed suicide,” Janiya said. “I thought that was awful and sad. So, I started thinking if everyone watches what they say to each other, then the world would be a better place so I came up with ‘Watch UR Words.’” While her schedule and certainly her ideas might seem a bit much for someone so young, Janiya keeps an agenda that helps her stay on track. “I write down the things that I need and want to do the night before,” she said. “I start my day off with positive thoughts. Then when unexpected things come up, I fit them into my activities and sometimes shift things around.” Janiya said she dreams of being both a gymnast and an actress because she “loves flipping all day long and I love playing different characters.” Above all, however, is Janiya’s admonition to all young ones to “Watch Ur Words.” “It’s important that everyone watch their words because nowadays kids are saying so many mean things to other kids that some kids don’t want to come school, they are fearful of bullies, some kids cry when kids say mean things and some kids are even committing suicide,” Janiya said. “If everyone takes a second to think about how bad negative words really hurt people, then we would live in a happier place because we’re using positive words and saying nice things to people.” WI

5 Janiya Williams (Courtesy photo)

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JUBILEE

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MAY 23 - 29, 2019 29

LIFESTYLE

Activists Gear Up for Protest against Zimbabwe Sanctions By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins

5 Members of the December 12th Movement, some of whom are in this photo, recently announced a May 25 march in response to U.S.-imposed economic sanctions on Zimbabwe. (Courtesy photo/Foundation Code)

As an already beleaguered Zimbabwe reels from the effects of a natural disaster, a group of Pan-Africanists has announced their intentions to challenge the longstanding U.S. economic sanctions they credit with engineering an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the southeastern African nation. On May 25, what’s known as African Liberation Day, members of December 12th Movement, Friends of Zimbabwe, and other organizations will march from the African-American Civil War Memorial on U Street to the White House as part of their appeal to

President Donald Trump (R) and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to revisit their stance on Zimbabwe. “We’re asking the Congressional Black Caucus to invite people from the Zimbabwean government to re-evaluate the sanctions, and understand that the most recent election was verified all around the world, except in the west,” said Omowale Clay of the December 12th Movement, a New York-based Black human rights organization, during a Wednesday afternoon press conference at the African-American Civil War Memorial. Omowale, surrounded by his December 12th Movement colleagues Roger Wareham, Esq and Youth Division Leader Iman Essiet, and Salim Adofo of the National Black United Front’s D.C. chapter, challenged Black elected officials to follow in the footsteps of the late Reps. Ron Dellums and Charles Diggs in their advocacy for Africans abroad. “We want to make clear that we stand with the Zimbabwean people and their resistance to the imposition of intimidation,” Clay continued. “The CBC doesn’t know how insidious sanctions are. They come with things you don’t think of, like the [denial] of medical supplies.” Despite pleas from Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, President Trump extended sanctions against Zimbabwe by a year in March, out of what he described as concern for its threat against U.S. foreign policy. CBC members, as had been

in the case with other executives, supported the prolongment. The U.S. economic sanctions against Zimbabwe have been in effect since the early 2000s. More than 141 individuals and entities, including Mnangagwa, former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, and ruling ZANU-PF party, have been targeted. Opponents credit the sanctions with expanding Zimbabwe’s external debt, causing medical supply shortages, and increasing the prevalence of cholera and diabetes -- especially in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai. The communications director for Rep. Karen Bass (D- CA 33) didn’t reply The Informer’s inquiry about whether Bass, CBC chair and chair of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, would allow Zimbabwean officials to testify before U.S. lawmakers about the on-theground effects of the sanctions. During the May 15 press conference, Iman Essiet characterized the aforementioned outcomes as retaliation for Zimbabwe exerting its independence. “The Zimbabwean people dared to liberate the masses and take back their land. [That’s why] the United States wants to impose immoral sanctions,” Essiet told reporters and onlookers. “Medical supplies aren’t allowed, and the economy has been attacked, she continued. “The youth are turning to drugs to suppress their depression. We must take a stand to lift the immoral sanctions. Zimbabwe has a right to be self-determined.” WI

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ABORTION Page 1 signed into law in states that include Alabama, Georgia and Missouri. But if the trend continues, it’s clear that an inevitable showdown will take place in the U.S. Supreme Court with Roe v. Wade and women’s right to choose hanging in the balance. “This size [of the protest] shows that people are mad. We are the majority and abortion rights are human rights and that’s what we want for the state of Alabama,” said Megan Skipper, one of the organizers for last weekend’s Montgomery rally. The law, signed by Gov. Kay Ivey last week, does not allow exceptions for cases of rape or incest, outlawing all abortions except when necessary to prevent serious health problems for the woman. Women remain exempt from criminal or civil liability but physicians who perform abortions face being charged with a Class A felony punishable by up to 99 years in prison. The law goes into effect in six months but both supporters and opponents predict it will be blocked by federal courts. But while the D.C. rally even drew several Democratic 2020 presidential candidates, including Senators Amy Klobuchar, Corey Booker and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Black and Hispanic women, whose abortion rates significantly eclipse those of white women, remained visibly absent.

facilities that provide abortions are also safe havens for women to receive prenatal care, sexual education and pregnancy care. These facilities are particularly crucial to low-income Black women and those in rural areas.” “Yet, the states with high populations of Black women – some with the worst records on Black women’s healthcare – are the ones pushing hardest for abortion bans: Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio and Georgia.” She concludes that abortion bans do not stop women from having abortions but only make it more dangerous and expensive for women to terminate pregnancies. So, while the bans promise to be detrimental to all women, they would be devastating to the well-being of Black women “as we still struggle to gain equal footing in a world that is so quick to hate us.” Toni Bond, the first Black woman to serve as executive director for the Chicago Abortion Fund [CAF], points to similarities between CAF and the majority of other reproductive rights organizations in the U.S., which service mostly low-income women of color but rarely include them in their board rooms or when making plans for participation in local or national protests on women’s reproductive rights. “White feminists say they want to

be inclusive of diverse constituencies. But Black women have been and still are treated as ‘invited guests’ in the reproductive rights movement. We are the invitees on the guest list to their meeting or event, despite the fact that issues of access to abortion services, forced and coercive sterilization, reproductive tract infections and infant and maternal mortality and morbidity impact women of color, especially Black women, most severely.” “The majority of Black women support the right to choose but have difficulty with abortion always front and center. Immediate and extended family is highly valued in the Black community. Oftentimes, family is the only place one can turn. Low wages, unemployment, childcare, etc., make abortion for many women, particularly women of color, the decision they are forced to make, not necessarily the choice they always want to make,” Bond said. On the other extreme, the Black anti-abortion movement, as indicated in a recently-released documentary, tends to view “abortion as Black genocide.” With the backing of PBS Frontline and the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute, award-winning filmmaker Yoruba Richen set out to better understand how the Black anti-abortion movement operates, speaking to a

BLACK WOMEN ABSENT FROM PROTESTS, COULD SUFFER MOST WITH NEW LAWS

As President Trump promised during the 2016 campaign, he would make overturning Roe v. Wade part of his mission. And as more and more states pass or are trying to pass draconian laws banning abortions, these bans – bad for all women – serve as a potential crisis for Black women, says Black Enterprise columnist Samara Lynn in a May 16 opinion piece, citing long-established inequities in healthcare, from slavery through the post-Civil Rights era as documented in the report, “Racism, African American Women, and Their Sexual and Reproductive Health: A Review of Historical and Contemporary Evidence and Implications for Health Equity.” Black women, many with limited resources, often have unequal access to quality healthcare, Lynn observes, adding that infant mortality, pregnancy complications and access to vital prenatal care are all issues affecting Black women’s reproductive health. “What the anti-choice advocates conveniently leave out of their hateful, misogynistic narrative is that the same

LIFESTYLE

number of people on both sides of the issue and releasing a short film on the topic, “Anti-Abortion Crusaders: Inside The African-American Abortion Battle,” in December 2018. “I think the anti-abortion movement did earlier work of looking at racial aspects in ways that the mainstream white abortion movement hadn’t done,” she said. “Planned Parenthood only recently acknowledged that Margaret Sanger [its founder] has a checkered history and I think the anti-abortion folks are able to use nuggets of this and exaggerate it and twist it to make it a whole genocidal approach that Sanger had and that Planned Parenthood has.”

ROE V. WADE: THE FACTS, FURY AND ITS FUTURE

On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed Roe v. Wade affirming access to safe and legal abortion as a constitutional right. But upon Trump’s nominations and the subsequent recent confirmation by U.S. senators of extreme conservative to lifetime positions on federal courts, most notably the Supreme Court, the future of Roe v. Wade now stands at risk in ways unseen since the Court first approved the legalization of abortion in America more than four decades ago.

ABORTION Page 37

ARE YOU FACING EVICTION OR FORECLOSURE? FY20 APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE MAY 3

Legal Counsel for the Elderly may be able to help.* LCE serves D.C. Residents, 60 and older.

Call 202-434-2120 Applications for FY 2020 project-based grants for individuals and organizations will be available online May 3, 2019.

*Income Eligibility Applies

For more information on upcoming grant programs, including technical assistance workshops for applicants, contact us at www.dcarts.dc.gov | 202-724-5613

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MAY 23 - 29, 2019 31

LIFESTYLE

Jessye Norman Talks Humble Roots, Storied Career at LOC Event By Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer

Before Jessye Norman took the stage at the Library of Congress

on Thursday, May 16, the audience was treated to a video of her career. A look at a few of her performances, accolades from others in classical music and a brief look at

her life offstage was all taken in by Norman’s fans. The audience was more than ready to hear from the legendary singer herself, who grandly ap-

Take Metrobus and Metrorail to the...

Tickets at dcjazzfest.org | @dcjazzfest

DC JAZZ FESTIVAL AND THE KENNEDY CENTER PRESENT

GREAT MASTERS OF JAZZ Honoring the life and work of

Quincy Jones • Roy Hargrove • Nancy Wilson • and more!

Sunday June 16, 2019

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 8:00 PM • Concert Hall Tickets available at kennedy-center.org WITH PERFORMANCES BY

PATTI AUSTIN

JUSTIN KAUFLIN

e 44

ROY HARGROVE BIG BAND SHARÓN CLARK and Kenny Garrett • The Princess Mhoon Dance Project Adam Clayton Powell III • Angela Stribling • and more! Presentation of Annual DC Jazz Festival Lifetime Achievement Awards to Quincy Jones and Fred Foss PRESENTING SPONSOR

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peared as the movie screen was raised. A standing ovation was necessary because she was more than worthy. Norman’s ensuing conversation with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, part of the Music Division’s “Concerts from the Library of Congress” series, was a blend of her being in awe of her highly successful career while being clear about how she wanted to be seen and accepted in her life. Growing up in Augusta, Ga., Norman was exposed to segregation in everything her family did. “As a very young child, I understood it was wrong and it is still wrong,” she said. Exposure to strong women such as her mother, grandmother and aunts allowed Norman to understand how she should conduct herself in order to command dignity and respect. She talked about how these women helped her understand how to be treated as a full citizen. “I have to acknowledge the things that my ancestors had gone through to make it possible for me and others,” she said. “It’s a legacy of people who decided not to bow down.” When Hayden asked about how she started her professional career, Norman told the audience about being in Berlin to audition and she sang a portion of an aria. The director heard her sing and offered a long-term performance opportunity. “I’ve been very lucky to have people a few generations before me to tell me what to do,” Norman said of how she has navigated her career. “They would tell me ‘do that’ or ‘don’t do that.’” When asked about what she wanted to pass on to the next generation of classical vocalists, Nor-

man simply said, “Preparation and opportunity equals success.” In Augusta, she opened the Jessye Norman School of the Arts, a tuition-free after-school program for middle and high school students in that offers academic tutoring and arts education. The school also encourages young people with disabilities to participate. “Because public school has decreased funding for arts programs, we need to have a place for people who cannot afford to attend arts education programs,” Norman said. “We are now in our 15th academic season.” The Library of Congress used the occasion to announce that Norman is donating her papers to the library, including thousands of items documenting her illustrious 50-year career. The collection of about 29,000 items consists of musical arrangements written specifically for Norman, including orchestrations of songs by George and Ira Gershwin and the sacred music of Duke Ellington. There also are business papers related to Norman’s opera and concert performance, publicity materials, concert and opera programs, mockups of album artwork, fan mail, recordings and professional and amateur photographs, providing a visual record of her legacy as a performer. Several of the items were on display outside of the auditorium where the Hayden and Norman conversation took place. “When a freshman at Howard University, having found my way to the Library of Congress, I could never have imagined that years later this august building would store papers from my professional life, which at that time, was not imaginable either,” Norman said. “I am honored beyond.” WI

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The DC Jazz Festival®, a 501(c)(3) non-profit service organization, and its 2019 programs are made possible, in part, with major grants from the Government of the District of Columbia, Muriel Bowser, Mayor; with awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts; the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment; the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development; and, in part, by major grants from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Galena-Yorktown Foundation, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, Gillon Family Charitable Fund, the NEA Foundation, Venable Foundation, The Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts, The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, and the Reva & David Logan Foundation. ©2019 DC Jazz Festival. All rights reserved.

32 MAY 23 - 29, 2019

5 Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden (left) converses with Jessye Norman during an event at the Library of Congress in Southeast on May 16. (Rob Roberts/The Washington Informer)

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LIFESTYLE REDEMPTION from Page 1

Concerned Men has done since 1991 in engaging youth from Simple City, Benning Park, Kenilworth, 640, and other D.C. neighborhoods. Onetime D.C. resident Derrick Ross attested to the Alliance of Concerned Men’s role in the conflict resolution space. He said their process gave him some awareness about the severity of the situation unfolding in his Southeast neighborhood during his late teens. “The Alliance of Concerned Men gave us an opportunity to talk to the other side,” Ross, a maintenance superintendent who has lived in New Orleans since 2010. “By then, everyone wanted to stop the violence,” he continued. “ We just didn’t have a way to tell each other it would be OK. When we got to the table, we asked how did we get to the point that we don’t care about each other. That was the hard part about it, especially for me.” WI

totle Rosenberg, chief operating officer of Alliance for Concerned Men for nearly three years. “The violence is not continuing. People go off of what they feel in that moment. Transformation is possible, and people can use healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation.” The release of the Conflict Resolution & Youth Training Resource comes amid conversation about increasing violence and concerns about police-community relationships. In early May, when Mayor Muriel Bowser announced an impending influx of officers in six neighborhoods, some residents bemoaned the possibility of youth getting harassed. In recent years, the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement’s violence interrupters had been one of the city’s tools in quelling neighborhood disputes. That work builds on what organizations like the Alliance of

Level Next A Celebration of Gospel Choirs

Washington Performing Arts Men, Women & Children of the Gospel Choirs Michele Fowlin & Theodore Thorpe III, artistic directors

DC JAZZ FESTIVAL AND THE KENNEDY CENTER PRESENT:

CELEBRATING RANDY WESTON SUNDAY, JUNE 9 • FAMILY THEATER • 8:00 PM

VIJAY IYER/MARC CARY/RODNEY KENDRICK/ ALEX BLAKE/TK BLUE/NEIL CLARKE WWW.KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG

Friday, June 7, 8pm The Music Center at Strathmore “Let’s go higher, higher, higher!”

Take Metrobus and Metrorail to the...

FOR ARTISTS AND COMPLETE SCHEDULE, VISIT DCJAZZFEST.ORG FOWLIN

Join us for an unforgettable night of joy and affirmation as two of the DMV’s finest gospel choirs combine to sing old-school hits, contemporary classics, THORPE and more. PLUS a special performance by multi-Grammy-nominated Special Guest: and multi-Stellar AwardRichard winning composer/singer Richard Smallwood! Smallwood

Tickets: $35-75

$10 for students of all ages (with valid I.D.)

WashingtonPerformingArts.org 202.785.9727

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This performance is made possible through the generous support of Theodore and Trista L.P. Colbert; Catherine and Douglas Wheeler; Tom Gallagher, in honor of Turnaround, Inc.; Ruth and Arne Sorenson; and Sid Stolz and David Hatfield. Performances by the Children of the Gospel Choir are made possible through the generous support of Jacqueline Badger Mars and Mars, Incorporated. Gospel music programs at Washington Performing Arts are made possible by the Beech Street Foundation and Mr. Jeffrey Bauman and Ms. Linda Fienberg, Hubert “Hank” Schlosberg and the Schlosberg Family, Reginald Van Lee, the Dan Cameron Family Foundation, Inc., and Bruce Rosenblum and Lori Laitman.

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MAY 23 - 29, 2019 33

LIFESTYLE

Gala Touts Mexican Culture By Eve M. Ferguson WI Contributing Writer

5 The 2019 Phillips Collection Annual Gala held at Union Market in Northeast on May 10. (L-R) Co-Chairs Mr. and Mrs. Josh and Sarah Eastright, and The Phillips Collection Vradenburg Director and CEO Dorothy Kosinski and Mr. Thomas Krähenbühl at the Phillips Collection 2019 Annual Gala, Mexico: A Land of Beauty held (Courtesy photo/Paul Morigi/The Phillips Collection)

34 MAY 23 - 29, 2019

The Phillips Collection, a small gem of a museum tucked away just north of Dupont Circle, held its annual fundraising gala on May 10, just days after the Cinco de Mayo festivities. This year, the gala highlighted Mexican art and culture in a bash geared towards the “Contemporaries,” those in the age range of 25 to 40. “Maravillas de Mexico (Wonders of Mexico),” gave that demographic an opportunity to give philanthropically to benefit the multifaceted educational programs that the museum holds in its facility and at other venues in the city. The “Contemporaries Bash,” held at Dock 5 at Union Market, was co-sponsored by the Embassy of Mexico, and featured Mexican Margaritas and Mezcal, Mexican finger foods and Latin beats. Held in the event space/warehouse just behind the main market, the patrons wore all manner of formal wear to party in the appropriately decorated warehouse. This year’s gala honored four Mexican artists; Jose Dávila, Aliza Nisenbaum, Bosco Sodi, and culinary artist Pati Jinich. The 2019 Congressional honorees are Texas Reps. Joaquin Castro (D) and William Hurd (R). “Mexico and the United States are inextricably linked by a rich common history in which there has been immense creative and artistic exchange,” said Dorothy Kosinski, the Vradenburg director and CEO of The Phillips Collection. “Our gala honorees are Mexican artists. But our space at the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus, Phillips@ THEARC drives engagement with D.C. Public Schools and East of the River residents. This campus offers southeast D.C. residents, especially caregivers and older adults, free arts and wellness programs and also arts integration programs for teachers and students.” The gala also supports other outreach programs such as “Arts Integration with Prism K-12,” and makes the connection between art and wellness

and the enhanced museum experience. In focusing on Mexico, The Phillips Collection is also ushering in new, more diverse exhibitions and collections. “The Warmth of Other Suns: Stories of Global Displacement” features historical and contemporary artworks by 75 global artists from places such as Algeria, Bangladesh, Ghana, Brazil, Egypt, Iraq, Belgium, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Vietnam and the United Kingdom, as well as the United States, whose work “poses urgent questions around the experiences and perceptions of migration and the current global refugee crisis.” The Phillips Collection also announced a major new acquisition of five Gee’s Bend Quilts from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, created by African American female quilt makers of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, among other recent acquisitions. These new acquisitions reflect the museum’s collecting strategy to prioritize works from artists of color and women as part of an ongoing effort to diversify the collection. Furthering this effort, recent acquisitions include works by Angela Bulloch, Amy Cutler, John Edmonds, Sam Gilliam, Helen Lundeberg, Nara Park, Ellington Robinson, Bosco Sodi and Regina Pilawuk Wilson. In addition, Kosinski has used a discretionary fund established in 2015 to acquire works by artists including Zilia Sánchez, McArthur Binion, Alejandro Pintado, Renée Stout, and most recently, the purchase of Simone Leigh’s faceless bust entitled No Face (Crown Heights) purchased in December 2018. Leigh, the recipient of the prestigious 2018 Hugo Boss Prize, “creates exquisitely crafted ceramic sculptures informed by her ongoing exploration of black female subjectivity and ethnography.” The Phillips Collection is located at 1600 21st Street NW. Call 202-387-2151 for more information about exhibits and other programs at the museum and around the city. WI

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LIFESTYLE

wi book review “Ladysitting: My Year with Nana at the End of Her Century” By Lorene Caryn

c.2019, W.W. Norton $25.95 ($34.95 Canada) 256 pages

By Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer You were their hope for the future. For your elders, your birth represented things they wished would happen but that they’d never know. It was a joy for them to see you come into the world but for you, as in the new book “Ladysitting” by Lorene Cary, it’s harder to see them go. When it comes to children, “spoiling” is a word that Black adults particularly hate to hear, but that’s what Lorene Cary says she got from her Nana. Some of Cary’s earliest memories are of Nana’s sun-splashed New Jersey apartment, make-believe play, and being cherished. Nana didn’t indulge her completely — Cary had rules to follow — but Nana showered love and paid attention, two things Cary needed most. Back then, Lorene H. Jackson had been a formidable force, a no-nonsense, feisty and independent, powerful businesswoman who still went to her Philadelphia office well into her nineties. A decade later, in the summer she turned 100, a bladder infection set her low and she became frail, sometimes rattled. Because there were complications and family issues, Cary moved Nana into her home, a rectory near the church where Cary’s husband was a minister. On both sides, it would take some getting used to. The Cary family was a busy one: there were older children in the household, Cary had founded a growing non-profit to nurture, and there was a congregation to attend to. For her part, Nana could be irascible; she obviously hated being dependent, fretted about her possessions, and she couldn’t be alone for long. Tensions rose. And then Nana began to seriously decline. Falls and confusion became all too common. Nana’s hearing, which hadn’t been good for some time, worsened. And yet, she outlived her allotted hospice time, and her memory remained relatively sharp. She had enough spring in her life to make demands and to keep connections to family and friends. Still, there was no denying it: Cary’s grandmother was dying… Open the cover of “Ladysitting,” and you’re immediately yanked into a story with an ending you already know. Get past that initial, irresistible pull, though, and it may feel like a challenge to continue: author Lorene Cary seems to lose focus. Was that done accidentally, or by design? Doesn’t matter, because it works to show readers what it’s like to care for someone who’s elderly or terminally ill, while trying to do self-care and maintain some amount of control over the uncontrollable. There’s linear thought here, but only enough to keep readers awake. Frustration comes roaring through, but not so that compassion slips. Confusion is everywhere in this tale, but it doesn’t forsake compassion. Cary adds careful amounts of family history for clarity, even daring to include occasional humorous anecdotes — not inappropriately, but in enhancement of what is one of the more deftly-written, truthful accounts in this genre. The key here is patience because this is a tough story to know. That’s especially true for millennials and older Gen Xers: “Ladysitting” is good, but it could offer a small glimpse into your future. WI

horoscopes

MAY 23 - 29, 2019

ARIES There’s a shift of focus to your sector of communication and mind. Mercury is very at home here, so the coming weeks could be lively and sociable. And you might be very curious about what you can accomplish. If you’re led to the right information, there are many opportunities out there for you. Lucky Numbers: 17, 24, 38 TAURUS Money makes the world go ‘round, so they say. And this week as the radiant sun and talkative Mercury move into your money zone, you’ll be geared up to finalize some positive deals. This lively pairing could see you approaching all financial matters with an inquisitive and positive outlook. You’ll be eager to gather information and look at the ways other people earn money so you can learn from them. This might be especially applicable to online businesses or marketing. If you see an opening here, you might be encouraged to take it up. Lucky Numbers: 4, 34, 50 GEMINI You’ll come into your own this week as the illuminating sun and dashing Mercury, your witty ruler, move into your sign. You’ll feel truly in your element as this lively pairing encourages you to run with your naturally curious nature. You might have a lot to talk about on various subjects and a lot to discuss with others as you initiate plans and give and take advice. And you might be involved in business or some wonderful romantic interactions. Lucky Numbers: 7, 9, 12 CANCER This week you move into a phase in which the cosmos encourages you to take a step back from life to reflect and recharge. As the sun and thoughtful Mercury move into Gemini, the coming four weeks or so can be an opportunity to clear out any emotional baggage and find closure on any issues that are holding you back. It’s also a time for self-care and giving yourself a simpler schedule so you can master your inner game. Lucky Numbers: 5, 17, 20 LEO A delightful duo made up of the sun and flirtatious Mercury moves into your social sector this week, bringing further opportunities for fun and laughter. With these two influences on your team, you might relish attending all kinds of events and be eager to meet new people and make valuable new connections. The coming weeks can be your opportunity to hold some interesting conversations and perhaps close a few lucrative deals. Most of all, the chance to spend time in good company will be uplifting. Lucky Numbers: 7, 18, 38 VIRGO You’re about to be beamed into the spotlight. If you’ve avoided being on stage and preferred to work behind the scenes, this phase is now at an end. The cosmos is encouraging you to hog the limelight and promote your work even if you feel too modest to do so. Post on social media, give presentations, and share your skills and knowledge. Doing so can truly benefit you. Lucky Numbers: 27, 47, 58 LIBRA Perhaps you enjoyed your trip through the underworld over recent weeks. However, the week ahead could see you leaving this zone and moving into brighter regions as the sun and lively Mercury enter your sector of travel and adventure. You might feel strangely cleansed and energized as a result of shedding those old issues, and this could give you a clean slate to work on. Lucky Numbers: 18, 22, 55 SCORPIO The sun and reflective Mercury move into a more intense zone over coming days. And the coming weeks could be an opportunity to dive deep and perhaps understand yourself better. Things that have been hidden might come to light as events mirror what is going on within you. This could be a very revealing time when you get firsthand understanding of how your subconscious mind shapes your reality. Look to your dreams, too, because they could be very revealing. Lucky Numbers: 6, 7, 39 SAGITTARIUS Relationships develop more sparkle this week. Over the coming weeks, you might have more interactions, and your social life could be busier, too. This is the time to gather information, seek out people who can be mutually beneficial, and perhaps collaborate on ideas and projects. Lucky Numbers: 15, 41, 47 CAPRICORN The weeks ahead could be enjoyably busy as the focus shifts to your work and lifestyle sector. You’ll enjoy looking into new ideas and opportunities. You might even find yourself with too many fingers in too many pies. However, what you discover could be something to chew on or pass along to others. Lucky Numbers: 2, 6, 23 AQUARIUS The coming weeks could feel like the holidays have arrived after a term at school. As the sun and chatty Mercury move into your leisure sector, it could be very freeing to follow your own inclinations. You might have been deeply involved with family affairs over the past weeks, and now, in the coming weeks, you might have more opportunities to do things that please you. Lucky Numbers: 2, 7, 41 PISCES The focus shifts this week to your home and family sector as the sun and expressive Mercury move into Gemini for the coming weeks. This lively influence might encourage you to open your home to others, do more entertaining, and enjoy having people around to feed and nurture. Lucky Numbers: 8, 14, 18

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MAY 23 - 29, 2019 35

SPORTS

3 A Turf Monsters player attempts to beat out a throw to first base as the DC Dynasty player extends to make the catch during the Dynasty’s 13-0 win at St. Albans Field in D.C. on Saturday, May 18.

Photos by John E. DeFreitas/The Washington Informer

6 A DC Dynasty player greets his first base coach after reaching base during the Dynasty’s 13-0 win at St. Albans Field in D.C. on Saturday, May 18.

Dynasty Blanks Turf Monsters in Youth Baseball Action

(Far left top) The catcher for the Turf Monsters attempts to field a pitch as a DC Dynasty batter looks on during the Dynasty’s 13-0 win at St. Albans Field in D.C. on Saturday, May 18. (Far left bottom) A DC Dynasty player awaits the throw as a Turf Monsters base runner slides safely into first base during the Dynasty’s 13-0 win at St. Albans Field in D.C. on Saturday, May 18.

Valor Ekes by Soul

5 Philadelphia Soul quarterback Dan Raudabaugh shovels a pass to fullback Adrian Ferns, who is instantly tackled by Washington Valor defensive lineman Roderick Henderson during the Valor’s 45-40 win at Capital One Arena in D.C. on Saturday, May 18. 4 Washington Valor wide receiver Dezmon Epps shields the football from Philadelphia Soul kicker Kenny Spencer while being tackled during the Valor’s 45-40 win at Capital One Arena on Saturday, May 18.

36 MAY 23 - 29, 2019

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BLACK MEN from Page 1

lems that plague Black males and recommend solutions — and inform legislation that will be crafted regarding reparations for Black American descendants of slaves. “All too often, Black males in America are treated as their own class of citizens,” said Wilson, who cited disparities in various aspects of well-being that begin in childhood. “They are rarely given the benefit of the doubt. They are labeled ‘delinquent,’ not ‘rowdy.’ They are ‘hardened criminals,’ not ‘misguided youth.’” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said it’s time to break down the artificial barriers holding back African-American men and boys. “We stand behind this legislation squarely and look forward to actively supporting it as we move through the process,” Jeffries said. “It’s unfortunate but we understand that when America catches a cold, the Black community catches a fever. When the Black community catches fever, often it’s young black men and boys at the center of the affliction of economic pneumonia. We can’t continue to ignore the realties of this which is why this commission is so important.” With that, the legislation counts as an attempt to address at a national level hardships that disproportionately affect Black men and boys in a wide range of areas, including employment, health, education, violence, criminal justice, fatherhood and mentorship. It’s also an effort to make the issue a national priority. “These hardships have negative consequences for national productivity, especially for Black families and communities,” the resolution notes. The commission, which would be housed in the federal Commission on Civil Rights Office under the staff director, would meet quarterly with the first meeting occurring within 30 days of all initial commissioners being appointed. Its membership would consist

ABORTION from Page 37

Recent polls indicate that 73 percent of Americans oppose overturning Roe v. Wade. However, if the courts overturn or further allow the dismantling of Roe v. Wade, an estimated one-third of women of reproductive age in the U.S. could lose the ability to access abortion in their respective states. It should be noted that the 1973 decision of Roe did not serve as the inauguration of abortion in America. Instead, it allowed women to access abortion legally, preventing scores of pregnant women from suffering death due to unsafe, illegal abortions. In 1965, illegal abortions comprised one-sixth of all pregnancy-related deaths according to official re-

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5 Tracy Martin (center) stands with a group of young men after a press conference held May 15 where legislation was introduced to focus more attention on issues disproportionately affecting Black men and boys. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

of one person outside federal employment appointed by each of the Senate and House majority and minority leaders; the chairperson and five members of the Congressional Black Caucus with relevant expertise or committee assignments from housing, healthcare, education, labor and employment, and justice and civil rights; two non-federal employee appointees by the president; and one each from their staffs by the federal Commission on Civil Rights, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and departments of justice, education, labor, housing and urban development, and health and human services All appointees should have expertise on issues affecting Black males relevant to their appointment, which should be made within 90 days of establishment of the commission. The Senate, House and CBC appointments will last two years; the others are four-year terms. Commissioners would serve without compensation and may be reappointed. The resolution, which has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, calls for an annual report to be submitted to the president, cabinet, Congress and chairs of relevant legislative committees. It also would be posted on a centralized federal website for public access. Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee told the young men gathered at the news conference that, “You are too good to lose.”

“This is what we’re speaking of in the longevity when we talk about the introduction of reparations,” said Jackson Lee, a senior member of the judiciary committee. “We’re talking about changing the infrastructure and the best practices, and we’re going to lift that discussion to a level that we are of intellect, of analysis, and then giving the roadmap for the comprehensive response to how the African-American community has been treated.” The real sense of the proposed resolution is that it’s time for America to own its actions, develop a remedy and finally invest in the asset of young African-American men and boys, said Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.). Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon Martin; James Thompson, president of 100 Black Men of Greater Washington, D.C.; and CBC Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.) counted among the speakers at the news conference. Georgia Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath recounted the shooting death of her 17-year-old son, Jordan Davis, seven years ago. “My son, like so many others, was the victim of implicit bias and racism,” McBath said. “And I feel an obligation in my core to address these issues on behalf each of the young men that are standing here today, full of potential and destined to do great things. This is legislation whose time has come and I’m so proud to stand with you.” WI

ports even though physicians say the true number remained significantly higher. The illegality of abortion most profoundly impacted women of low incomes including self-induced and highly-dangerous abortions attempted by women lacking the financial means to undergone safer procedures. Since abortion became a legal right due to Roe v. Wade, it has become one of the safest medical procedures in the U.S. with a record of safety over 99 percent. In addition, those who chose abortion can now receive the support and advice of medical professionals.

ABORTION BATTLE

KAVANAUGH CONFIRMATION: TURNING POINT IN

Abortion has been ensconced within the American legal system for more than 45 years – an integral part of the fabric of American society. Yet, it continues to be an issue fueling unprecedented debate with opponents recently hampering its access – ramping up attacks whenever possible. For an example, the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court signaled a huge setback to women’s right to safe, legal abortions. Prior to his nomination, Trump asserted his plan to nominate judges who would “automatically” overturn Roe v. Wade. The Kavanaugh nomination, celebrated by abortion opponents, re-

ABORTION Page 45

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MAY 23 - 29, 2019 37

RELIGION

The Honorable Ronald V. Dellums, Advocate for Social Justice, Laid to Rest Wife of Former Congressman Remembers “Beloved Lion’ By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir The Honorable Ronald V. Dellums, 82, who died July 30, 2018 after a valiant fight with cancer, described as a “warrior for peace and justice,” was interred with military services at Arlington National Cemetery May 9 – followed by a memorial tribute the next day at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Northwest. An announcement about the twoday farewell shared these words: “The time has come to lay down the lion to a well-deserved rest” – an apropos summation of the former Bay Area social worker whose understanding of the importance of access to local power led him to pursue a life in electoral politics – from a seat on the Berkeley City Council to 27 years in Congress – even a four-year stint as mayor of Oakland after his retirement from the House at the behest of the electorate from his beloved hometown. Dellums, from his first days on the Hill in 1971, exhibited no qualms in challenging the status quo including standing head and shoulders above many others – 6 feet 4, svelte, mustached and decked out in the garb representative of the West Coast including bell bottoms and an afro. In addition, he would forever remain a stanch opponent to the more popular insistence on and support of principles of war, unequivocally critical of the Vietnam War while lobbying for the reduction of the military budget. He resolutely joined 12 other members of Congress to found the Congressional Black Caucus during his freshman year – an organization whose tenets fit well with his commitment to activism. But it would be his leadership in sponsoring legislation against apartheid in South Africa which eventually led to U.S. companies divesting holdings in the country and, after years of undaunted advocacy, successfully persuading enough of his colleagues from the House, and the Senate, to override a veto by President Ronald Reagan and pass the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, Oct. 2, 1986, that would, in his own words, serve as the “highest point” of his political career. Dellums, survived by his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as a cadre of younger Black men and women for whom he willingly became a mentor, continues to be revered as one who remained true to an agenda that elevated and advanced programs for people and civil rights over warfare and weapons.

38 MAY 23 - 29, 2019

His wife, Cynthia Dellums, while still mourning his death, has become a vocal proponent for medical research and care specifically targeting Black men facing prostate cancer – the disease from which Dellums would eventually succumb. She spoke with The Washington Informer about his life, his work and shared a few of her treasured memories from their years of love and friendship. “I continue to feel his spirit surrounding me and he possessed a powerful spirit,” she said. “Ron was definitely comfortable in his own skin, had great compassion and was one who put significant thought into the forming of his decisions. He believed in always being prepared and followed the same advice that he would give to reporters: be sure to do your homework.” “While going through some of his papers and speeches, I was reminded that he viewed challenges and issues from the perspective of a social worker even while serving in the political arena. His training taught him to accept people where they were instead of attempting to move them where you think they should be. Many politicians, he felt, failed those who elected them because of their insistence on understanding people through the prism of their own self-interests rather than the needs and interests of their constituents – the people.” “Some in the District may be familiar with his passion to end apartheid but he was equally committed to the District gaining statehood and all of the rights that come with that. In his first year in Congress, he introduced legislation for D.C. statehood because he objected to its citizens living as if they were members of a colony within a country dedicated to democracy. He would say just imagine what D.C.’s citizens felt on Election Day when every citizen in America had been able to vote for representatives to promote their interests in Congress while residents in the District were denied that right. He saw it as a denial of one’s rights as a full citizen – a situation that at the least was insulting.” “Those who wish to honor his legacy and continue along the path that he blazed should be mindful that Ron believed that we are all citizens in a global community – we are all part of the human family. That’s one of the reasons that he was so committed to the politics of coalition building. If there was ever a time we needed to recommit ourselves to the global community and human family, based on our common objectives and strengthening our partnerships through coalitions, now is the time.”

“He advised newcomers to Congress to understand that while being an agitator for justice wouldn’t always be the more popular stance, that it was always the right way to serve the people. To that end, he said, “despite the urge to sprint, we have to become long distance runners in this game. Real problems require real solutions – solutions which can only be realized if one is committed to the long haul.” Editor’s Note: The Dellums family has requested that those who wish to provide lasting tributes to Ronald Dellums consider making donations to the Prostate Cancer Foundation (www.pcf.org/ RVDellumsMemorial) so that funds can be used to specifically focus on improving the health needs of men of color while also raising awareness about prostate cancer which continues to disproportionately impact Black men in the U.S. WI

Congresswoman Maxine M. Waters talks about working with Congressman Ronald V. Dellums on laws, bills and other programs that affected all Americans during a memorial service May 10 in Northwest. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)

Geneva Mays, 83, Local Civil Rights Activist, Remembered as Pioneer

By Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer Decades before Prince George’s County had a plethora of African-American leaders from affluent enclaves, Geneva Mays was working hard to organize a local chapter of Jack & Jill of America, a mother’s organization that was dedicated to helping Black children believe that anything is possible. Fittingly, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks would be among the influential women to pay their final respects to Mays, who died May 1 at the age of 83. Mays was eulogized Thursday, May 16 at Shiloh Baptist Church in Northwest as a pioneering mother and civil rights activist who dedicated her life for the advancement of generations of children. “What an amazing woman she was, historic in many ways,” Alsobrooks said. “She was a person who inspired me and so many of the younger women. She has a spirit that

couldn’t be fatigued. I loved her focus and commitment. She was very inspirational. Her body couldn’t do what she wanted, but her mind never failed.” During the 1963 March on Washington, Mays was on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as a field marshal for the Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.) when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech, and she personally heard Mahalia Jackson say, “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” In 1974, Mays was a charter member and first president of the Prince George’s County chapter of Jack & Jill of America, an organization of mothers advocating for rights and privileges of Black children. The group fought for fair treatment and access to places once deemed off-limits to Blacks, such as the Glen Echo amusement park. Kimberly Hulsey, president of the Prince George’s County chapter of Jack & Jill, said Mays was truly a beacon as a working mother. “When I have my tired days, I can still press forward,” Hulsey said. “She created a legacy that I can follow in her footsteps and I simply will not let her down.” Born Geneva Wise in New York City on March 17, 1936, she attended elementary school in the city before her family moved to North Carolina, where she finished high school in Asheville. Mays served for more than 20 years in the U.S. Department of Transportation as manager of its equal-employment opportunity division. At one

point, she worked in the Office of Civil Rights, where she was known for her writing skills. When integration came and communities across the D.C. area opened, Mays continued to push for social change, whether it was as an EEO officer at the U.S. Department of Treasury or as a charter member of the Prince George’s County Chapter of Links, Inc. established in 1979. Mays was also a board member of the Coalition for African Americans in Performing Arts and a volunteer in the Prince George’s County Public Schools. In 2010, the Geneva Mays Merit Scholarship was established in her name. Donna Graves, president of the Prince George’s County Chapter of Links, said Mays lived up to the virtues of her Friendship and Service organization and was “a servant” regardless of what she was doing. Rev. Wallace Charles Smith of Shiloh Baptist Church, where Mays was a member for more than 30 years, compared her during his eulogy to the Prophetess Deborah in the Old Testament. “[Mays] was a leader,” Smith said. “She was strong in her convictions and she showed the world with Deborah’s style of leadership.” Mays is survived by her two sons, Paul Eric and Jon William, and their wives Germaine and Kendra, respectively, five grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and one sisterin-law. WI

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RELIGION the religion corner WITH LYNDIA GRANT

Did You Learn Your Lesson Yet? Einstein once said, Einstein once said, “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is insanity.” Many of us believe we are dealing with the cards life dealt us, with no choices in how our future will go. They read their Bibles, but don’t understand how to become transformed. We keep doing these things because that’s the way we learned it throughout our lives. During my training under motivational speaker Les Brown, he often spoke of Martin Seligman, who in the 1960s researched the process by which animals or humans relate one thing to another. In the case of Seligman’s experiment, he rang a bell and gave a light shock to a dog. After a number of times, the dog reacted to the shock even before it happened. As soon as the dog heard the bell, he reacted the same as when he was shocked. But then something unexpected happened. Seligman put each dog into a large crate that was divided down the middle with a low fence. The dog could see and jump over the fence. On one side of the fence was electrified, but not on the other side. Seligman put the dog on the electrified side and shocked lightly. Expecting the dogs to jump to the non-shocking side of the fence, they just laid down. It was as though they’d Mt. Zion Baptist Church Reverend John W. Davis Pastor 5101 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 Phone: 202-726-2220 Fax: 202-726-9089 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. “A Church with a past to remember – and a future to mold”

“Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is insanity.” Many of us believe we are dealing with the cards life dealt us, with no choices in how our future will go. learned from the first part of the experiment that there was nothing they could do to avoid the shocks, so they gave up in the second part of the experiment. Seligman described their condition as learned helplessness. Romans 12:2 King James Version (KJV) has the answer: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Here is when we need to look at the man in the mirror, take a good look at yourself, then make that change! You have got to ‘want’ to make a change. Don’t just accept your dire conditions and give up. There is another short story

about when we make change in our lives by finally walking down a new street. I first heard Wayne Dyer tell it. Here is how it goes: Chapter One of My Life: I walk down the street. There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It’s not my fault. I still take forever to find a way up. Chapter Two: I walk down the same street. There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again, I can’t believe I’m in the same place! It isn’t my fault, but it still takes a long time to get out. Chapter Three: I walk down the same street. There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it there and I still fall in! It’s a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It’s my fault. I get out immediately. Chapter Four: I walk down the same street. There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it. Chapter Five: I walk down a different street. Romans 8:28 says, “And I know that all things work together for good, to them who love God and are called according to His purpose.” Once you learn this lesson, you will know for the rest of your life, then you can even share. It is called wisdom How many of you know someone who walks down the same streets of life? Life for every one of us is very short, even if you live a hundred years or more. The first step in changing our lives is to realize what we’re doing isn’t working. WI

(301) 864-6070

www.jmlaw.net

(301) 864-6070

jmccollum@jmlaw.net

Mount Olivet Lutheran Church

John F. Johnson Reverend Dr. 1306 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20005 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

www.mtzbcdc.org

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MAY 23 - 29, 2019 39

RELIGION The Miracle Center of Faith Missionary Baptist Church Bishop Michael C. Turner, Sr. Senior Pastor 9161 Hampton Overlook Capitol Heights, MD 20743 Phone: 301-350-2200 Fax: 301-499-8724

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

Pilgrim Baptist Church Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor 700 I Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 547-8849 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

Rev. Dr. Michael E. Bell, Sr., Pastor

Rev. Dr. Alton W. Jordan Pastor

Reverend Dr. Calvin L. Matthews Senior Pastor

Harold Andrew Assistant Pastor

2498 Alabama Ave., SE - Washington D.C. 20020 Office: (202) 889-7296 Fax: (202) 889-2198 - www.acamec.org

800 I Street, NE - Washington, DC 20002 202-548-0707 - Fax No. 202-548-0703

4915 Wheeler Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-894-6464

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”

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

1200 Isle of Patmos Plaza, Northeast Washington, DC 20018 Office: (202) 529-6767 - Fax: (202) 526-1661

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

Third Street Church of God

Dr. Dekontee L. & Dr. Ayele A. Johnson Pastors

Rev. Dr. Alice Greene Interim 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

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

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

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

40 MAY 23 - 29, 2019

“An inclusive ministry where all are welcomed and affirmed.” www.covenantdc.org

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: Prayer/Praise/Bible Study-7:30 PM Baptism & Communion Service: 4th Sunday – 10:30 AM “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

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

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

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

All Nations Baptist Church

King Emmanuel Baptist Church

Bishop Adrian A. Taylor, Sr. Pastor

Rev. Dr. James Coleman Pastor

Rev. Daryl F. Bell Pastor

7801 Livingston Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-534-5471

2001 North Capitol St, N.E. - Washington, DC 20002 Phone (202) 832-9591

2324 Ontario Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-1730

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 Sunday Worship Service: 10:15 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Monday: Noon Bible School Wednesday: Noon & 7 PM Pastor’s Bible Study Ordinance of Baptism 2nd Holy Communion 4th Sunday Mission Zion Baptist Church 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

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

Dr. Earl D. Trent Senior Pastor

Rev. Dr. George C. Gilbert 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

4504 Gault Place, N.E. Washington, D.C 20019 202-397-7775 – 7184

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

“Where Jesus is the King”

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

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

Dr. Lucius M. Dalton Senior Pastor

Damion M. Briggs 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

Rev. Dr. Maxwell M. Washington 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 Service: 10:15 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Morning Prayer Meeting / Bible Study: Tuesday at 7 PM Theme: “The Kingdom Focused Church with an Emphasis on “Evangelism and Discipleship”

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: pastorstmbc@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

Rev. Stephen E. Tucker Senior Pastor

“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

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

“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

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

“The Loving Church of the living lord “

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

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

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. Reginald M. Green Interim Pastor

Web: www.mountmoriahchurch.org Email: mtmoriah@mountmoriahchurch.org

St. Matthews Baptist Church

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

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.

MAY 23 - 29, 2019 41

LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Administration No. 2018 ADM 001097

Administration No. 2019 ADM 000416

Administration No. 2018 ADM 001151

Administration No. 2019 ADM 459

Administration No. 2018 ADM 001282

Samuel James Decedent

Anne Lee Malone Decedent

Neil Gilbride Decedent

Frederick Drew, Jr. Decedent

Janice Burke Decedent

Kisha L. Woolen, Esq. Tobin, O’Connor & Ewing 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW #700 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney

Ronald Dixon Bynum & Jenkins 1010 Cameron Street Alexandria, VA 22314 Attorney

Joan M. Wilbon 1120 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 1020 Washington, DC 20036 Attorney

Kisha L. Woolen, Esq. Tobin, O’Connor & Ewing 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, #700 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Kim B. Panchana, whose address is 517 Denham Arch Chesapeake, VA 23322, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Anna Lee Malone who died on January 31, 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., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/5/2019. 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 11/5/2019, 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.

Ronald Dixon, whose address is Bynum & Jenkins, 1010 Cameron Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Neil Gilbride who died on October 4, 2017 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 (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/16/2019. 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 11/16/2019, 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.

Constance Drew, whose address is 1600 Portal Drive, NW, Washington, DC 20012, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Frederick Drew, Jr. who died on September 22, 2018 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/16/2019. 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 11/16/2019, 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.

Jennifer C. Concino, Esq., whose address is 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW #700, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Janice Burke who died on December 29, 2017 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 (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/16/2019. 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 11/16/2019, 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: 5/9/2019

Date of first publication: 5/16/2019

Kim B. Panchana Personal Representative

Ronald Dixon Personal Representative

Constance Drew Personal Representative

Jennifer C. Concino, Esq Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Anne Meister Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Administration No. 2019 ADM 000446

2019 ADM 480

Administration No. 2019 ADM 451

Administration No. 2019 ADM 256

Administration No. 2019 ADM 476

Lovetta S. Johnson Decedent

Estate of Herman C. Oglesby aka Herman Cecil Oglesby

Annie C. Putman aka Annie Carrie Putman Decedent

James C. Perry Decedent

Edward B. Harrison, Jr. Decedent

Deborah D. Boddie, Esq. Probate Law DC 1308 Ninth Street, NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20001 Attorney

NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Janet W. Blassingame, Esq. 1413 K Street, NW Suite 1500 Washington, DC 20005 Attorney

Kisha L. Woolen, Esq. Tobin O’Connor & Ewing 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW #700 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney

Jeffrey K. Gordon, Esq. 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Michael Putman, whose address is 6100 4th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Annie C Putman aka Annie Carrie Putman who died on January 11, 2019 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/16/2019. 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 11/16/2019, 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.

Cynthia B. Tucker, whose address is 12113 Elmwood Drive, Brandywine, MD 20613, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of James C. Perry who died on August 11, 2004 without 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 shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/23/2019. 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 11/23/2019, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Anthony Q. Harrison, whose address is 9403 Miller Court, Clinton, Maryland 20735, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Edward B. Harrison, Jr. who died on January 28, 2018 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/23/2019. 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 11/23/2019, 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.

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Jennifer Concino, Esq., whose address is 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, #700, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Samuel James who died on November 24, 2017 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 (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/9/2019. 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 11/9/2019, 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: May 9, 2019 Jennifer Concino Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Jawara Johnson, whose address is 820 Xenia Street, SE, Washington, DC 20032, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Lovetta S. Johnson who died on January 28, 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., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/16/2019. 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 11/16/2019, 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: 5/16/2019 Jawara Johnson Personal Representative

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Nina Smallwood-Johnson 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. Admit to probate the Will dated January 28, 1999 exhibited with the petition upon proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution by affidavit of the witnesses or otherwise Date of first publication: 5/16/2019 Caren M. Webb, Esq. 1308 Ninth Street, NW Suite 250 Washington, DC 20001 Petitioner/Attorney: TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer

Date of first publication: 5/16/2019 Michael Putman Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Anne Meister Register of Wills

Washington Informer

42 MAY 23 - 29, 2019

Date of first publication: 5/23/2019 Cynthia B. Tucker Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer

Date of first publication: 5/23/2019 Anthony Q. Harrison Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

LEGAL NOTICES SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2019 ADM 461 Dinesh K. Gupta Decedent James Larry Frazier, Esq. 918 Maryland Ave., NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Robbie E. Gupta, whose address is 3133 Connecticut Avenue, NW, #1020, Washington, DC 20008, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Dinesh K. Gupta who died on December 1, 2018 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/23/2019. 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 11/23/2019, 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: 5/23/2019 Robbie E. Gupta Personal Representative

Anne Meister Register of Wills

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2018 ADM 001467 Andrew M. Thomas, Sr. Decedent Kisha L. Woolen, Esq. Tobin, O’Connor & Ewing 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW #700 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Jennifer C. Concino, Esq., whose address is 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, #700, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Andrew M. Thomas Sr. who died on December 6, 2000 without 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., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/23/2019. 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 11/23/2019, 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: 5/23/2019 Jennifer C. Concino, Esq. Personal Representative

Washington Informer

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Washington Informer

Anne Meister Register of Wills

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TRUE TEST COPY

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MAY 23 - 29, 2019 43

MSU Grads Celebrate Amid City Scandal By Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer

5 Withelma T. Ortiz Walker Pettigrew is a 2019 Morgan State University graduate. (Hamil Harris/The Washington Informer)

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There was the Iraqi war veteran who got addicted to opioids after he lost his arm. There was a 65-year-old man who started college in 1974 but was sidetracked by a prison bid. And then there was Withelma T. Ortiz Walker Pettigrew, who was a victim of human trafficking as a child. But hopes and dreams became joyful realities for these three and roughly 800 other students at Morgan State University during the 2019 commencement witnessed by thousands of family members and friends who filled the university’s football stadium on the Baltimore campus. Founded in 1867, Morgan has graduated more than 50,000 degree candidates in its 150-year history. Joining lines of students dressed in royal blue cap and gowns were members of the Morgan State Class of 1969, who collectively donated $1.4 million to the school in honor of their 50th anniversary. In year filled with police scandals, the resignation of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and even the deaths of two members of the class of 2018, Morgan State President David Wilson and just about everyone in the stadium savored every minute of a graduation ceremony that felt more like a revival. Rep. Elijah Cummings (DMd.), who chairs the House of Representatives committee overseeing several investigations of

President Trump, served as the commencement speaker for the May 18 event. “Never forget the bridge that brought you over,” Cummings told the graduates as he reflected on his life of growing up in row house in southwest Baltimore. He recounted being placed in special education and being told by a counselor, “You will never become a lawyer. … Who do you think that you are?” But Cummings said that he went from Baltimore down to Howard University in D.C., where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. “I thought it was fraternity, I didn’t know it was an academic honor,” he quipped. “After I became a lawyer, one of my first clients was that counselor.” Following the ceremony, a number of students were invited to the president’s luncheon, where one of the honorees was Penelope Blackwell, a District resident and McKinley Tech alumna who overcame serious injury suffered in a car crash to graduate with top honors from both Columbia University and the University of Maryland. Pettigrew, who attended the luncheon, said she persevered despite the many times that she didn’t think she was going to make it. She shared a message on social media to anyone who might think she is a failure. “Failures don’t make the Dean’s list 3x…Failures don’t graduate with honors..Failures don’t get to do what I do,” she tweeted. WI

In year filled with police scandals, the resignation of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and even the deaths of two members of the class of 2018, Morgan State President David Wilson and just about everyone in the stadium savored every minute of a graduation ceremony that felt more like a revival.

BOWIE STATE from Page 14 tion. He plans to pursue graduate school and continue running his company, The Gentlemen’s Toolbox, which provides accessories and consulting for young men to prepare for the business world. “I am creating history and creating a legacy for other people to follow,” he said about 30 minutes before he and the other graduates walked into Bulldog Stadium. “I bleed the black and gold. To be able to leave home the right way is just the best feeling.” Before the ceremony began and graduates walked to the stadium, keynote speaker and journalist Roland S. Martin greeted them and even checked their “shoe game.” “What in the world are you wearing?” he said to laughter and smiles among the students lined up in the school’s College of Arts and Sciences. On more a serious note, Martin focused his 23-minute speech titled, “It’s your time now.” He mentioned as future alumni, it’s important to give back and keep the institution thriving. At the same time, don’t fear speaking out on problems such as challenging the ongoing lawsuit between the state of Maryland and HBCU advocates. Recently, a judged ruled to continue mediation between the two parties. Gov. Larry Hogan offered $100 million settlement over a 10-year-period for Bowie State, Coppin State, Morgan State and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Advocates said at least $1 billion would suffice to provide equal funding for the four Maryland HBCUs. “I will expect that every single graduate of this class to tell Gov. Larry Hogan and the state of Maryland that a $100 million settlement for what this state has done to HBCUs is grossly unacceptable [and] it is wrong,” he said. “This school should not be spending precious resources on lawyers fighting for equity and funding. It’s time for Maryland, a blue state, to do right by its HBCUs.” Although many of the students are in their 20s, he illustrated how the late D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia) and anti-apartheid activist Caroline Hunter all made history fighting injustice at a young age. “You must accept the same challenge and decide what is going to be your fight in 2019,” Martin said. “Who are you going to challenge? Who are you going to confront? You must look folks in the eye and say, ‘Do you understand? I went to Bowie State. I struggled. I fought through and you are facing somebody who is used to fighting … and if you think I’m going to give you, [then] you have another thing coming. It is my time now.’” WI

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MALVEAUX from Page 26

ABORTION from Page 37 flected such an instance. Kavanaugh’s record, before his confirmation to the Supreme Court, reflected a long record of ruling to limit access to safe, legal abortion – a perspective that he has since maintained. Meanwhile, 16 abortion cases stand just one step away from the Supreme Court. Twenty states now seek to ban access to abortion, putting in excess of 25 million women at risk including: 4.3 million Hispanic or Latino women; nearly 3.5 million Black women; over 800,000 Asian women; and nearly 300,000 American Indian or Alaska Native women. States attempting to overturn the 1973

health care, food, shelter — needed to have a chance for a healthy life. I share the concern for life that animates the most sincere opponents of abortion. I also agree that reproductive justice is essential to women. Family planning isn’t a sin, it is a vital necessity for ensuring that the next generation of infants is brought into the world with the love and the care they need. In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled essentially that it is the pregnant woman who is best charged with making the decision about pregnancy until the fetus is viable. I would trust the women agonizing over that choice far more than politicians like Trump or McCarthy, who cynically weigh how to placate their base without alienating the rest of us. WI

Supreme Court ruling, besides Alabama and Missouri, include: Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin. From 2011 through 2018, states have approved 424 restrictions that either pressure or punish women who chose to have an abortion. Some stand in direct opposition to the Supreme Court precedent, like Louisiana where legislators have promoted restrictions reflecting Texas laws found to be unconstitutional. Nonetheless, the GOP-con-

trolled state Missouri Senate recently passed a bill which banned nearly all abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy, becoming the latest state to pass restrictive abortion legislation. Missouri Senate Republicans, Sens. Dave Schatz and Caleb Rosden say the state, “passed one of the most pro-life bills” in the U.S. “This comprehensive, life-affirming legislation prohibits abortions once a heartbeat has been detected, prohibits abortions when a baby is capable of feeling pain and would outlaw abortion in Missouri upon the reversal of Roe v. Wade,” they concluded. WI

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won’t end abortions. They will simply make them less safe, putting more lives at risk. And the posturing totally ignores the deep injustices surrounding reproductive rights, as whatever the law is, rich women will retain the right of choice — even if it requires going to a hospital in another country — while the lives of poor women, already locked out of any federal support for the counseling and choices they need, will be at ever greater risk. Of course, many of these same politicians pushing these laws supposedly to protect life inside the womb do little to save the lives of those outside the womb, voting to roll back Medicaid, cut aid for women and infant children, slash food stamps and eliminate

welfare for impoverished mothers with young children. Donald Trump revealed his brazen cynicism, tweeting out his exceptions to the Alabama law while pleading with the anti-abortion movement to “stick together and win for Life in 2020.” His concern is re-election not making a moral decision on how best to deal with this agonizing concern. This is an ugly debate. The extremist laws passed in Alabama and elsewhere won’t stand, but the result inevitably will be to make it more difficult and perilous for poor women to make the agonizing decision about a pregnancy. The posturing will lead to the punishment of poor women for childbearing, putting more women and more fetuses at risk, and leave more infants born into a life without the basic support —

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JACKSON from Page 26

engagement and education reform efforts. Most recently, we issued “report cards” to states around the country, evaluating their federally required plans to address educational inequity. We included recommendations like congressional hearings on the areas of concern we identified. The Urban League Movement is committed to opening the doors of opportunity to every child, in every community. You can find out more about our efforts — and how you can help — at ncos.iamempowered. com. WI

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occasion to reflect on the significance of the decision and how far we have yet to go. Our mission to prepare every child for college, work and life is especially close to my heart as the son of an educator, and also as a child of the south, born into the waning days of Jim Crow. My parents attended segregated schools and I was one of the very first black students at the schools I attended. In 1954, the year Brown was decided, my father became the first African American to receive a law degree from Loui-

siana State University. In that same year, my mother was rejected from attending graduate school at Tulane University because of her race. It is the stories of my parents’ generation, and those who came before them, that inspires the work of the National Urban League and the Urban League Movement. We are improving outcomes not only for the students enrolled in our programs, but for public schools as a whole, thanks to our advocacy and activism. The National Urban League’s Equity and Excellence project supports local, state and national advocacy,

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MORIAL from Page 26

in their admissions process. Based on those results, more colleges will use the score to measure adversity. I know lots of folks who consider the development of an adversity score good news. It would be much better news if colleges and universities simply decided to stop using the SAT. It measures privilege, not knowledge, and it is demonstrably biased. Attempting to fix a corrupt system instead of changing it completely only serves to reinforce the status quo. WI

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rank to admit some students, which ensures a diverse class given the segregation that remains in our nation’s high schools. The adversity score will purportedly reflect differences in high school quality. Eliminating the use of the SAT would do much the same, allowing college admissions counselors to make better decisions. The College Board says it is a nonprofit organization, but let’s follow the money. It makes so much money that its

president, David Coleman, earns more than a million dollars a year, more than the president of Harvard University. The organization is making megabucks on the backs of our students, and it is reinforcing biases along the way. Some see the adversity score as a step in the right direction toward modifying the SAT. I see it as a defensive move to shore up a flawed test and an even more flawed organization. This fall, more than 150 colleges will use the adversity-enhanced SAT

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for Black children in Prince Edward County. Instead of complying with the Supreme Court decision, the commonwealth of Virginia pursued a campaign of “massive resistance,” enacting a variety of new laws and policies designed to prevent public school desegregation. While other districts eventually gave in, Prince Edward County’s Board of Supervisors continued to refuse to desegregate their schools and instead voted in June 1959 to shut down the county’s entire public school system. It took five years and another Supreme Court decision to finally force the county to reopen its public schools. And the triumph of Brown is still incomplete — and in renewed danger — for millions of students across our nation right now. The struggle for a quality education for every child is still the unfinished business of the civil rights movement and the promise of ending “separate and unequal” schools has not yet been realized. Sixty-five

WILLIAMS from Page 27

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a line that in most minds meant leaving the land of bondage and entering the land of ‘freedom’ and forgetting those left behind.” We must not allow this administration to prevent Harriet from receiving the honor she deserves. Reps. Elijah Cum-

ASKIA from Page 27

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gion because a few Iranian patrol boats are said to have dangerous missiles on them, and because Iranians allegedly attacked a tanker. This was a redux of the Tonkin Gulf scenario which the Pentagon lied about in order to drag this country into the disastrous Vietnam War. Picture the absurdity of what the Trump regime’s strategists would have the world believe: a few small boats with crews of maybe 100 men each, which have been around for years, are now going to go up against a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (with a crew of 5,000 or more and hun-

years after Brown, many of the 58 percent of Black students and 60 percent of Hispanic students who still attend predominantly segregated schools — where 75 percent or more of their peers are minorities — continue to endure inadequate schools, missing supplies, and too many teachers with low expectations for them. Instead of moving to address our nation’s ongoing need to live up to Brown the current Administration is choosing executive and judicial nominees and pursuing regulatory changes all moving in the opposite direction. Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, wrote in a May 12 op-ed for The Washington Post: “Since April 2018, more than two dozen executive and judicial nominees have declined to endorse the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education. This week — one that marks the 65th anniversary of the landmark ruling that struck down legal apartheid in this country — the Senate is poised to confirm three of those judicial

nominees to lifetime seats on the federal bench. That is simply unacceptable. … The ugly truth is that declining to offer approval of Brown signals a willingness to question the project of democracy that Brown created — one in which African Americans and other marginalized groups compelled the federal courts to honor the spirit of equal justice embodied in the words of the 14th Amendment. And this isn’t just deeply troubling; it’s also downright dangerous.” Barbara Johns’ courageous decision to do something about the injustice she saw around her helped change history just like the brave actions of so many other children, youths and adults during the civil rights movement. But we will not see continued progress unless we remain aware of all current threats and ready to meet today’s insidious attempts at “massive resistance” with a mightier moral resistance of our own. In this evil climate, we must be more vigilant than ever to make sure that we keep moving forward, not backward. WI

mings and John Katko and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen offered a bit of hope when they raised concern that the administration is stalling this historic effort and have urged them to follow through and expedite the redesign of the $20 bill. Meanwhile, they’ve introduced a bill to pass the Harriet Tubman Tribute Act of 2019. That’s fine, but we must

take action to put her likeness on the $20 bill to reflect the contributions of all women, especially women of color, in perfecting our union. Call your member of Congress today at 202-225-3121 to ask for the status of the $20 bill that is to carry Harriet Tubman’s likeness, replacing Andrew Jackson. WI

dreds of planes), a nuclear powered cruiser with thousands and thousands of missiles on board, and a destroyer task force with thousands of more missiles. Those Iranian nihilists are supposedly ready to bring certain suicide and the utter destruction of their nation’s infrastructure by launching a futile attack against American “interests” in the region. Nonsense. Since 500 B.C., the Persian Empire has never attacked any of its neighbors or waged war outside its own borders. Since its founding less than 300 years ago, the U.S. has not had one single decade when the country was not at war with someone. Who’s the aggressor in this scenario? If there

was an attack against an oil tanker in the region, it was certainly a “false flag” operation, in which U.S. commandos wore enemy uniforms and flew the flag of an opposing force, attacking their own country’s assets. The history of such fake military attacks goes back to white men wearing Indian makeup and clothes and attacking villages or settlements. So CODEPINK and ANWER got “woke” and recently led a demonstration and march to the White House to protest the dastardly takeover of the Venezuelan embassy, and the Trump regime’s saber-rattling over Iran, to say in a loud voice: “NO WAR!” I agree! WI

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