VOL. 55, NO. 6 • NOVEMBER 21 - 27, 2019
Holiday Fun Begins with Montgomery County's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Nov. 23
Gray Makes Case for East-End Healthcare System
Students, Teachers Call for Stronger Response to Gun Violence
Farewell Bei Bei
orum Serves as F Inventory of Health Accomplishments, Some Residents Hesitant
Community Members Flood Block Party and Rally
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins The promise of a new stateof-the-art hospital hasn’t quelled Ward 7 and 8 residents’ concerns about accessing proximate maternal and emergency healthcare in the here and now. That’s why discussions have revolved around whether and how best to support an under-resourced, financially-bleeding United Medical Center (UMC) during the two-year wait. D.C. Councilmember Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7) started recent conversations seeking input on a quality healthcare system that would complement the new hospital while providing entry points to affordable, holistic care for residents. “There’s no denying that eastend residents need to have quality healthcare services. We don’t need to wait until a new hospital is open to get to that point,” Gray told community members, health professionals and advocates on Tuesday night during a forum at the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization (MHCDO) headquarters. The event featured Thomas Duncan, Linda Elam, Karen Dale and Marie Morilus-Black, all heads of managed care organi-
HOSPITAL Page 38
Go-Go Awards Page 35
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins
5 The District says farewell to the popular panda Bei Bei who left the National Zoo Monday, November 18 for return ride home to China. (The Washington Informer/Roy Lewis)
Stacey Abrams Would Consider VP Spot on 2020 Dem Ticket By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams spoke bluntly, but also with a sense of humor about her 2018 campaign, voter disenfranchisement and her two nonprofit organizations during a luncheon Friday at the National Press Club in northwest D.C. But what those in attendance wanted to know was whether Abrams, 45, would seek a vice presidential nomination on the
Democratic ticket. "Would I be honored to serve as the second to a person who's trying to fix our nation? Absolutely," she said. "Would I be open to doing so with any of the top nominees? Absolutely. I'm a Democrat and I believe that I can serve. "This is the first time I remember in modern history where a young Black woman — and I consider myself young because I'm under 46 — has been talked about openly as a potential vice presidential
ABRAMS Page 29
For some of the students and teachers of DC Prep Benning Middle School, the gun violence they witnessed outside their Northeast campus during school hours conjured memories of past traumatic experiences and stoked fears about their demise in a supposedly neutral space. Over the past few months, those feelings inspired writing workshops
GUNS Page 21
5 A police car was present at a block party and rally on November 16 hosted by the TraRon Center, a community provider of therapy for gun violence trauma, on the campus of DC Prep Benning Middle School in Northeast. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
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Women the Cycle of wi hotBreak topics Domestic Violence Ribbon Cutting for
Bowie State Wins CIAA law enforcement. She they threat,” she‘The said. St.saidElizabeths Championship WI Staff Writer had come together to bring a Among the programs Marlow 22nd are of uniformity in the way wants toNov. see implemented Bowie State University’s football sense team won a sec- Residences’ By Tia Carol Jones
When L.Y. Marlow's domestic violence ond consecutive CIAA 23-year(Central Intercollegiate Ath- victims and stricter restraining order policies, old daughter told her the father survivors are treated. more rights for victim's families letic Association) championship by defeating Fayofetteville her daughter threatened “She'sNov. using16her own personal to intervene on behalf of a vicState University 23-7her on Saturday, life, and the life of This theirmarked child, thestory, herstraight own personal pain to tim, a domestic violence assessin Salem, Virginia. second she knew something had to be push forward,” year the Bowie State bulldogs beat Fayetteville State Davis-Nickens ment unit coupled with further done. Out of her frustration said about Marlow. training for law enforcement for the conference title and third consecutive D-II with law enforcement's handling Davis-Nickens said anyone agencies, a Child's Life Protecplayoff appearance. Bowie State (11-0) remains the ofonly the undefeated situation, she decided to who reads Marlow's book will tion Act and mandatory counselHBCU football team in the counstart the Saving Promise cam- “get it.” She said she “puts the ing for batterers. try. With this achievement, it will host a Division II paign. in such a way, the average “If we are ever going to eradiplayoff game on the Bowie campuscase a 1 p.m. Satur“It seems to be a vicious cycle person can get it.” She said at the cate domestic violence, we must day, Nov. 23 against Carson-Newman University of that won't turn my family end of the day, the book will look at both sides of the coin. JeffersonMarlow City, Tennessee. The school represents three loose,” said. Marlow help people begin to have a dia- We need to address both the victeams from the South Atlantic that will shared her story with the audi-Conference logue about domestic violence. tim and the batterer,” Marlow play in the D-II playoffs. ence at the District Heights Also present at the event was said. It will beViolence the first Symposium ever Domestic Mildred Muhammad, the exMarlow would also like to see meeting the Heights wife of John Allen Muhammad, programs designed to raise on May 7between at the District two schools. Municipal Center. The sympo- who was sentenced to six consec- awareness among children in Joinparole Mayor Muriel and cityschools. officials for sium was sponsored by the utive life terms without publicBowser and private Shethe Family and Youth Services by a Maryland jury for ribbon cutting the children Residences at St. Elizabeths his role in offeels need to be educat- on Center of the city of District the Beltway SniperFriday, her promise attacksNov. in 22.edContinuing about domestic violence.to bring Heights and the National Hook- 2002. Mildred Muhammad more affordable housing to the the pasmornis “We have to District, stop being Up of Black Women. the founder of After the ingTrauma, marks another milestone inwith D.C.poor with chilthe desive-aggressive Marlow has written a book, an organization thatlivering helps of themoredren domesticapartments violence,” on thanabout 200 affordable “Color Me Butterfly,” which is a survivors of domestic Marlow said. the violence historic St. Elizabeths East Campus in Congress story about four generations of and their children. Heights. The ceremony Marlow hasatworked begins 11 a.m. to break domestic violence. The book is “I lived in fear for six years. Six the cycle of abuse in her family, inspired by her own experiences, years in fear is a long time. It is and is confident the policies she and those of her grandmother, not an easy thing to come out is pushing for will start that her mother and her daughter. of,” she said. process. She said every time she reads Mildred Muhammad said “I plan to take these policies to excerpts from her book, she still people who want to help a Congress and implore them to can not believe the words came domestic violence victim must change our laws,” Marlow said. from her. “Color Me Butterfly” be careful of how they go into “I will not stop until these poliwon the 2007 National “Best the victim's life, and understand cies are passed.” Books” Award. 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 children about domestic violence. I plan to take these policies to Congress and implore them to change our laws. I will not stop until these policies are passed. L.Y. Marlow
CIRCULATION Paul Trantham
4 / May 15 - 21, 2008 The Washington Informer / www.washingtoninformer.com
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Ward 7's Gray Announces Reelection Campaign
'Our Work is Not Finished,' Former Mayor Says By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia Ward 7 Councilman and former Mayor Vincent Gray has never sat still — not when it comes to trying to improve the quality of life for District residents. He's been outspoken about St. Elizabeths Hospital, and was one of the first to respond to reports of a meningitis case at Burrville Elementary School. Among Gray's most recent pieces of legislation, the council member seeks to move an anti-vaping bill to discourage young people from the practice amid rising nationwide fear related to rising vapor-related illnesses and death.
"I am very pleased to learn that…the water system at St. Elizabeths Hospital has been successfully treated and all bacteria has been eliminated," Gray said. In response to the case of bacterial meningitis at Burrville Elementary earlier this year, Gray reached out to the Department of Health and school officials, who immediately worked to assure the safety of all students and staff. "While I am relieved to learn that DCPS and DC Health acted swiftly to inform affected school families as soon as DC Health was alerted of the meningitis case, I am extremely concerned that the rest of the Burrville school families received no communication about this critical and potentially fatal health matter,"
5 Ward 7 Councilman Vincent Gray (WI file photo)
Ward 7 Councilman and former Mayor Vincent Gray has never sat still — not when it comes to trying to improve the quality of life for District residents. Gray has no plans to quit. He's announced his reelection campaign where he hopes to have more of an impact in Ward 7. "When I launched my campaign four years ago, I said, 'The hope and promise of Ward 7 cannot slip away,'" Gray said. "By working together we have reinvigorated communities. Projects that were stalled are succeeding now. Progress is no longer something we wait for, it is something we are seeing. Residents of Ward 7 and people across the District deserve more. "I have dedicated my entire career to serving and uplifting District residents, especially those with the greatest needs," he said. "For every person who we've helped, for every achievement we've celebrated, there are countless others that require our commitment. Our work is not finished." Recently, after bacteria was detected in the water at St. Elizabeths, Gray, the chair for the Committee on Health, immediately began working with the Department of Behavioral Health to correct the situation which was cleared shortly after.
Gray said in October. Carrie L. Thornhill, a longtime resident of Ward 7, will chair Gray's campaign. For a number of years Thornhill has been actively engaged in public education reform, community development and social action. She serves as the chair of the Dunbar High School Alumni Federation and she has served as chair of the Washington East Foundation, vice president for Youth Investment and Community Outreach with DC Agenda, president of the Committee on Strategies to Reduce Chronic Poverty, project manager for the DC Kids Count Collaborative, CEO of Pre-K for All DC and a mayoral appointee to the District of Columbia Board of Education, the Board of Zoning Adjustment and the University of the District of Columbia. "Before taking office in January 2017, I convened a Ward 7 summit that was attended by more than 400 residents and stakeholders," Gray said. "The agenda that emerged from the summit has shaped my work on behalf of Ward 7 residents." WI
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black facts
NOV 21 -27, 2019 SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB
NOV. 21
1969 – Baseball great Ken Griffey Jr. (right) is born in Donora, Pennsylvania. 1984 – Worldwide protests against apartheid begin, largely centralized at the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C.
NOV. 22
1942 – Pilot Guion Bluford, the first African American in space, is born in Philadelphia. 1986 – George Branham becomes the first African American to win a Professional Bowling Association (PBA) title. 1989 – Frederick D. Gregory becomes the first African American to lead a space mission.
NOV. 23
1897 – Inventor Andrew J. Beard patents the jenny coupler, used to connect railroad cars. 1897 – Inventor John Lee Love patents a portable pencil sharpener known as the "Love Sharpener."
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NOV. 24
1775 – The Continental Congress of the United States issues the order to bar Blacks from the army. 1868 – Famed composer and pianist Scott Joplin, the "King of Ragtime," is born in Northeast Texas. 1870 – Robert Sengstacke Abbott, founder of the Black-owned Chicago Defender newspaper, is born in Chicago.
NOV. 25
1949 – Famed tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson dies of heart failure in New York City at 71. 1955 – The Interstate Commerce Commission bans racial segregation on interstate buses, train lines and in waiting rooms. 1975 – South American nation Suriname gains its indepen-
dence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
NOV. 26
1883 – Famed abolitionist, author and human rights activist Sojourner Truth dies in her Battle Creek, Michigan, home at age 86. 1895 – The National Negro Medical Association is founded. 1907 – Rudolph Dunbar, the first Black man to conduct the London Philharmonic Orchestra, is born in Nabacalis, British Guiana. 1939 – Music icon Tina Turner (above) is born in Nutbush, Tennessee.
NOV. 27
1928 – Marjorie Joyner is issued a patent for a hair wave machine. 1942 – Rock legend and guitar virtuoso Jimi Hendrix is born in Seattle. WI
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view P INT
BY SARAFINA WRIGHT
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, out of league since 2016 after refusing to stand for the national anthem, held a workout over the weekend with numerous representatives from league teams in attendance. The display ignited dialogue on whether Kaepernick made the right move. What are your thoughts?
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Colin was two steps ahead of the NFL. The non-negotiable scheduled workout, no media, exposed that the waiver was all designed to set him up and their way of getting out of future legal action. They are pissed he didn't set a foot in a booby trap house they built for Saturday's workout. I stand with Colin.
DAVID ADAMS / SALINAS, CALIFORNIA
The NFL is grimy. I stand with Kaepernick, he was ahead of the game, and he knew he was being ambushed. I knew this whole thing was suspect from the gate. Ask yourself why the NFL would give him a "deal" after he won a settlement from them. That payout was the end of his career. … I must admit, the NFL had millions of people distracted including me from all the real-life issues that are going on right now. The jig is up!
LOUIS TERRELL /
WASHINGTON, D.C.
People are only divided because integrity is so lacking that it looks foreign. Principled men are not heavily covered in the media because it's typically not a strong news story. He is standing with consistency in his cause and his belief. And if you read excerpts from the contract the NFL wanted him to sign for this workout, I guarantee, you wouldn't have signed either. With zero media coverage or video, they could have all walked out and told everybody he wasn't fit or ready.
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AROUND THE REGION The World According to Dominic BY D. KEVIN MCNEIR / WI EDITOR / @DKEVINMCNEIR
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If I hear Donald Trump refer to one more African-American as “My Negro,” you’d better get out of my way and make room before I lose my lunch. Despite the president’s fury over today’s impeachment hearings, and his propensity for ripping off ill-advised tweets, he’s a sly and wily competitor. With a base of supporters estimated at 24 percent – much smaller than he’s willing to publicly admit – key gubernatorial loses in Kentucky and Louisiana even after Trump sent out the cavalry and recent polls which indicate that 44 percent of registered voters “strongly disapprove” of the president’s performance, No. 45 has had to revise his game plan. Enter African-American voters, an unknown quantity who, despite ongoing efforts of voter suppression and returning citizens numbering thousands denied the right to vote after having done their time, have the potential to swing the vote for or against Trump who appears willing to say or do whatever it takes to secure a coveted second term in office. “We’ve done more for African Americans in three years than the broken Washington estab-
If I hear Donald Trump refer to one more African-American as “My Negro,” you’d better get out of my way and make room before I lose my lunch. Despite the president’s fury over today’s impeachment hearings, and his propensity for ripping off ill-advised tweets, he’s a sly and wily competitor. lishment has done in 30 years,” Trump recently told the crowd at the Georgia World Congress Center while urging Blacks to join the Republican Party so that “liberal extremists” won’t run their lives. He further argued that his economic and criminal justice policies have done more for Blacks in decades of false promises from Democratic leaders who he says, “took [Blacks] for granted” – an assertion that I must admit is close to the truth and the reason why I remain unable to swallow the salutations of any candidate among the dozens of Democratic-hopefuls hook, line and sinker. So, while Bernie and Elizabeth continue their march to the left, armed with a quiver of policies reflective of their political stances, and Buttigieg enjoys his first time leading his opponents in the much-ballyhooed Iowa sweepstakes, Black voters face a dilemma. Not only do Blacks, in poll after poll, show that they don’t want to give their support to anyone who lacks what’s needed to defeat Trump, but they also bring attitudes, habits and traditions indicative of a conservative collective. We may not go on public record but in my limited experienc-
es, I find my brothers and sisters doggedly-opposed to voting for a woman, a gay man or anyone with socialist tendencies for president of the United States. This could explain why Blacks are willing to give Biden a pass and look the other way when it comes to his long-ago stance against busing, his failure in overseeing the Anita Hill testimony about Clarence Thomas and his former support of the 1994 crime bill. For now, I cannot identify a “friend” in any of the leading candidates, including Senator Warren who during a recent rally in South Carolina at the Historically-Black institution Clinton College, distributed signs which read, “Black issues are American issues.” Sounds great. However, such patronizing “quotable quotes” don’t make life more equitable for people of color – something that she probably realized as she looked out into a crowd of mostly white faces. Black voters are a lot smarter than the candidates, particularly the frontrunners, seem to believe. Even more, Blacks realize that those running for president, Democrat, Republican or Independent, have traditionally made a slew of promises to African Americans in exchange for their support and vote that never come to pass. We need cash in hand not cancelled checks or promissory notes, as Dr. King once emphasized. We are less than one year away from the General Election and the celebration we enjoyed with the successful election of our nation’s first Black president is over. All that remains are overturned chairs, party favors and confetti and empty bottles of champagne. If the proverbial “American pie” is so delicious, so fulfilling and so large that we can all receive a healthy slice, why are Blacks still being offered a handful of crumbs? And why are we still willing to accept them? WI
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Landlords Weigh in on Rent Control Debate
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins
While there's agreement on preserving rent control, the circumstances of a proposed renewal of the law have incited debate over the past couple of months. Legislation introduced by D.C. Councilwoman Anita Bonds (D-At Large) extends rent control protections by a decade but some people have issued a call for what they describe as a more balanced solution. Industry leaders, like Dianah Shaw, suggest that the legislation takes into account the financial burden placed on owners of deteriorating rent-controlled buildings in communities with rapidly rising housing costs. She said that oftentimes, the money collected from tenants in those spaces doesn't suffice in helping landlords keep up with their well-endowed corporate counterparts. "The owner is not able to generate the income they need to keep up with the repairs, especially when you look at the increased costs of utilities, repair and maintenance expenses for materials and labor habitually on the rise," Shaw, president of the DC Association of Realtors, told The Informer. Shaw's quest to shape housing policy on behalf of her constituents brought her before the DC Council Committee on Housing and Revitalization last week where she and other public witnesses testified in favor of a five-year extension of the rent control law. She said the shorter time frame would allow just enough time for the D.C. Council some time to engage all involved parties and include tools of equal benefit to landlords and tenants coexisting in an increasingly expensive city. "Many of these buildings are owned by individuals and families who have lived in the District their whole lives and are having a hard time keeping up with their side," Shaw continued. "Many of them still work. They're not living on income generated from the rental property. They have jobs like everyone else and must supplement the rental property with their income, savings, retirement funds to maintain an inherited or purchased real estate that should be minimally self-sufficient or at least generate income as rental property is designed to do." The Rent Control Act of 1985, set to expire in 2020, protects tenants in District units constructed before 1976 — of which 80,000 remain. Since the law's inception, the Dis-
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5 D.C. Councilwoman Anita Bonds (D-At Large) (Courtesy photo)
trict's affordable housing stock has significantly dwindled, due mostly to the conversion of decaying buildings into modern, market-rate dwellings. That's why tenant advocacy organizations, particularly those under the umbrella of the Reclaim Rent Control campaign, have demanded that the legislation up for consideration mandates rent control for units in the District older than 15 years old. Members of the Reclaim Rent Control campaign have also advocated for safeguards that discourage landlord neglect and collusion with developers. Last month, representatives launched their movement in the lobby of 220 Hamilton Street NW, a property cited by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs for 170 housing violations last year. The landlord reportedly filed bankruptcy and sold it to another party before tenants used their rights under the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act to remain in the building. That story and others during the event supported an urgent call to expand rent control and rein in negligent landlords. As mandated in the rent control law, landlords of rent-controlled apartments in the District lease units to tenants at well below the market rate, with the rent slightly increasing every year. This rate wouldn't exceed 10 percent. Landlords hoping to circumvent those stipulations can file exemptions often claiming economic hardship, or the need for capital improvements and substantial repairs. In doing so,
they have to petition the rent administrator and 70 percent of tenants for their consent. Some tenant advocates haven't deemed such attempts at maintaining balance as sufficient in preventing the displacement of low-income families. Since the turn of the century, more than 20,000 have moved out of the District in what the Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity called the most intense level of gentrification in the United States. That's why some local landlords, like one who agreed to speak to The Informer anonymously, said they want to maintain rent control, even if it causes them significant financial burden. Since inheriting their father's 24-unit upper Northwest apartment in 2008, this woman and her brother have found it increasingly difficult to stay true to their father's affordable housing vision amid increasing property taxes and structural repairs. "The development is all around us, in the front and back of our building. I'm bombarded," the woman said. "These [developers] worry me to death trying to buy the property. The bank wanted to buy the property [when] I approached them get refinancing. This is all worth it in my heart as a native Washingtonian. Rent control could be helpful, but all the rules regarding rental shift to the tenants. We have to pick up the slack [while] they have numerous opportunities to come up with the rent or not pay." WI
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“If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right side up again!”
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Speech at Woman’s Rights Convention, Akron, OH [1851], born Nov. 19, 1797(c.)
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AG Pledges to Fight Bigotry By James Wright WI Staff Writer @jamesdcwrighter The Office of the District of Columbia Attorney General released a report on Nov. 6 on how residents feel about civil rights issues and what the agency plans on doing to enforce laws guaranteeing fair treatment under the law. The report, "Community Voices: Perspectives on Civil Rights in the District of Columbia," compiles what 90 residents told D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine and his Civil Rights Section staff at five community listening sessions on the way discrimination hinders their opportunities for housing, employment, education and public access in the District. In a statement, Racine said he empathizes with those who suffer from discrimination. "Community members describe to us a painful truth — many District residents still face harmful discrimination and even violence because of why they are, who they love or where they are from," the attorney general said. "The passionate and personal stories residents shared have pointed our civil rights work to a path forward. We will continue to listen and work closely with the community to knock down barriers to opportunity here in the District."
According to the nine-page report, 44 percent of the listening sessions participants consisted of Blacks while 34 percent identified themselves as White, 13 percent as multiracial, seven percent of Hispanic origin and two percent Native American. Females made up 68 percent of participants, with males at 29 percent and three percent non-binary. Only 16 percent identified themselves as a member of the LGBTQ community. Sixteen percent said they belonged to immigrant groups. Housing discrimination emerged as the main form of bigotry, with 49 percent saying that, the report said. Employment came in second with 28 percent, followed by 15 percent in education and eight percent, public accommodations. When it came to what form of discrimination concerned participants, 47 percent said source of income discrimination, 40 percent mentioned access to credit and 13 percent chose place of residence or business discrimination, the report said. Participants said racial discrimination as the main barrier in their lives at 52 percent, followed by 16 percent sexual orientation bias, 11 percent national origin, seven percent gender discrimina-
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Wash full loads of laundry and dishes, as opposed to numerous smaller loads.
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RACINE Page 44
5 D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
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NOVEMBER 21 - 27, 2019 11
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY Prince George's Shoots Down ICE Cooperation By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill The Prince George's County Council unanimously approved legislation Tuesday that will ensure local law enforcement doesn't work alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to detain residents for non-criminal incidents. Dozens of residents, community leaders and other supporters of the act held signs that simply
said, "Yes to CB-62." "Hopefully, we can spread the message to provide this kind of legislation throughout the state," said Councilwoman Deni Taveras (D-District 2) of Adelphi, who sponsored the legislation. "We need to stress the urgency with which to send a comforting message that shows it's OK to work with the government." Part of the legislation states: "No agent or agency may require persons to prove their citizenship status, country of origin, or
5 Dozens of residents, community leaders and supporters attend a Prince George's County Council meeting in Upper Marlboro on Nov. 19 to support legislation that requires local law enforcement to not honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers. (William J. Ford/The Washington Informer)
information related to their immigration status in the United States. Agents may not request identification for the sole purpose of determining a person's immigration status." Before the council voted 11-0,
Largo Teacher Charged with Assaulting Student By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill A Prince George's County judge released a Largo High School teacher on her own recognizance Monday, Nov. 18, three days after a physical altercation between the teacher and a 17-year-old student. The judge's decision is based on the conditions that Vivian Noirie, 36, of Clinton, stays away from minors other than her own children and from the location of the incident. A preliminary investigation by Prince George's County police outlines the altercation, which occurred at the school at about 10:25 a.m. Friday. A video of the fight between Noirie and the student was recorded and posted on social media. Police said the student, upset with Noirie for calling her parents the night before, admitted to stepping on Noirie's foot and then bumping into her. The teacher began to swing continuously at the student. Video of the incident shows the two being separated. As Noirie walked away, the
12 NOVEMBER 21 -27, 2019
5 Vivian Noirie (Courtesy of PGCPD)
student grabbed her from behind and began punching her before a school employee quickly separated the two. During a press conference Friday at the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building in Largo, Prince George's County Police Chief Hank Stawinski called the incident "very, very disturbing." Noirie has been charged with
physical child abuse and second-degree assault. A preliminary hearing is scheduled in District Court for Dec. 18. Authorities are also pursuing charges against the student. Investigators will interview 30 students and eight administrators as potential witnesses. Police spokeswoman Jennifer Donelan said neither the student nor teacher required medical attention. Prince George's County Public Schools CEO Monica Goldson said the teacher began working for the school system in November 2018. The student is a high school senior. "I am extremely disappointed by the horrific actions that took place in our classroom today," Goldson said during Friday's press conference. "What you saw in that video does not represent the hard work that over 10,000 teachers do every single day. I ask that our community not rush to judgment so quickly on one staff member and one student." County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who also attended the press conference, called the incident "completely unacceptable" and "reprehensible." WI
several people told short stories on how it would bring distrust with police. Jorge Benitez-Perez of Chillum immigrated to the United States 15 years ago as a 5-year-old boy from El Salvador with his younger brother and mother, Maria Perez, who left an abusive husband. Last year, a county police officer pulled over Perez for speeding in Hyattsville. Benitez-Perez told the council Tuesday the police officer turned his mother over to ICE agents in Laurel. Lawyers stepped in and she remains in the county. However, Benitez-Perez said his mother has a hearing in March 2021 and a judge will decide whether she can remain in Prince George's or is deported back to El Salvador. "She has no criminal record. She's raised me and my brother the right way," said Benitez-Perez, 20, a student at Prince George's Community College studying political science. "Nobody believed this was happening to my mom. I'm glad this legislation passed so no one else will have to go through this." Former state Sen. Victor Ramirez also gave testimony. He presented similar legislation two years ago in Annapolis, but didn't pass. "What [Benitez-Perez] did showed a lot of courage. He should be enjoying college, but he is worried about his mother being deported and could drastically change his life," Ramirez said. "There's no new [state] leadership. I hope the General Assembly will say, ‘It's time to
pass something that protects every one of our residents from being harassed." In other business, the council approved legislation on non-compostable straws and stirrers with an agreeable amendment from Councilman Tom Dernoga. Instead of an outright ban on straws, retailers and restaurants can sell and provide them for those with physical or medical needs. A business can sell items that are "home compostable," which means they are biodegradable. "This was complex and a good learning experience," Dernoga said. "The thing that I walk away from this is we have the retailers and the Sierra Club supporting the bill. Something turned out OK." Before the nearly all-day session began Tuesday, the council confirmed several appointments, including Major Riddick Jr. as chief administrative officer. One notable person came to offer his support for Riddick: former Prince George's County Executive Rushern L. Baker III. "There are very few things that would get me to move out of my house to go anywhere these days," he said. "I want somebody who understands the county and the state and the budget to be advising my county executive. It is purely for a selfish reason, Major, that I stand here. My wife and I ain't going nowhere. This is our county and we want the best for it." WI
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Rally, Faith Part of Black Caucus Initiatives
By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill
The Maryland Black Caucus Foundation pushes for affordable prescriptions drug, economic prosperity and other community initiatives. The foundation, a nonprofit organization with a focus on legislative priorities for the Black community, held its 24th annual legislation weekend Nov. 14-16 in various parts of the state. Ivory A. Toldson, president and CEO of Quality Education for Minorities Network in Northwest, presented a keynote address Friday, Nov. 15 in Annapolis. Toldson, a counseling psychology professor at Howard University, also published a book this year, "No BS (Bad Stats): Black People Need People Who Believe in Black People Enough Not to
Believe Every Bad Thing They Hear about Black People." During a breakfast Thursday, Nov. 14 at the Tommy Douglas Conference Center in Silver Spring, church leaders discussed how state legislation can affect the Black church and communities they serve. "One of the biggest things that really affects our community is affordable housing," said the Rev. Charles W. McNeill Jr., faith community liaison in the Prince George's County executive's office and pastor of Unity Baptist Church in Northeast. "How can our legislative branch help our faith-based community, which has property, to be able to develop affordable housing? If you look at the housing market, the average house in Prince George's County [starts] between $300,000 to $400,000. We can start there in
helping our people out." The City of Joy church in Temple Hills continues work on helping homeless veterans, but state legislation on workforce development programs could help them find employment. "We recognize homeless displacement is extremely high and helping person to get back on their feet and become protective citizens is priority," said the Rev. C. A. Thompson, pastor of City of Joy. "We see not only big numbers in the church, but in the community. They served our country and…should have the opportunity to become protective citizens." Before the legislation session began, members of the Black Caucus organized a rally Nov. 13 in Annapolis to end a 13-year lawsuit against the state of Maryland in a fight to
RALLY Page 44
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5 Alvin Thornton (left), chair of the Prince George's County school board, speaks during a Nov. 13 rally in Annapolis to push for an end to a 13-year lawsuit seeking adequate funding for Maryland's four historically Black colleges and universities. (William J. Ford/The Washington Informer)
We’ve come a long way!
The Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce has become a standout local and regional Voice of Wealth Creation. With over 600 members and getting very close to 700, the Chamber is taking the lead in advoca5cy,Tim networking and learning (business forecasting). In advocacy, the Chamber has formed impactful relationships with key federal, state and local officials. Through these relationships, the Chamber won business friendly legislative amendments on state minimum wage and sick leave. In local procurement, Chamber members have received substantial contract awards and, presently, the Chamber is playing a leading role working with the Alsobrooks Administration on public procurement measures. The Chamber continues to work with the Prince George’s County public school system on its procurement policies, as well. On a regional level, the Chamber has strong ties with the Montgomery County Chamber, the Washington Board of Trade, and the Greater Washington Partnership. With these organizations, the Chamber won reliable funding for Metro and engaged in regional growth and technology. On the federal space, through connecting with of local federal delegation- the Chamber regularly shares insights on needed MBE improvements, 8(a) contracting and overall procurement to small and minority business. Recently, the Chamber hosted House Leader Steny Hoyer and met with Senator Ben Cardin. We’ve also had several meetings on transportation with Congressman Anthony Brown and Senator Chris Van Hollen. Since the Chamber has been able to amass notable corporate partners, it has connected members to private business opportunities. Some of our members include: Kaiser Permanente, CareFirst, 2U, MGM, Pepco, Washington Gas, Metro, WSSC, Clark Construction, Hensel Phelps, Bank of America, Sun Trust, Old Line Bank, Industrial Bank, M&T Bank, City First Bank, Southern Management, Adventist Health Care, Doctors Hospital, Corenic Construction, Capital Structures, JD Clark Professional Services, Elecon Group, Lanier Electronics, NGEN , The Ravens Group, Six Flags, Tri-Logistics, Columbia Construction, O’Malley Miles, Alexander & Cleaver, Walton Group and a host of other leading companies shaping economic development in Prince George’s County. For the small business community and members, the Chamber is the place to grow business and make meaningful contacts. The Chamber has grown in significance in both the public and private sector and is well positioned as the Voice of Wealth Creation! Not a member? Please visit our website, www.pgcoc.org or drop by for a visit to get started! Membership is good for a full calendar year, so it’s always a good time to join! David C. Harrington President & CEO
NOVEMBER 21 - 27, 2019 13
BUSINESS D.C. Resident is the Musician Behind the SHADD Piano By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia From churches and especially symphonic tunings, Warren Shadd said he understood that the piano had a disadvantage. "In terms of the pianists especially being able to hear themselves play, because in church you're in total competition with the Hammond B-3 organ or the pipe organ, the drums, the bass, the percussion, the choir, and the congregation," Shadd, a jazz drummer and the world's first African American piano manufacturer, said in an earlier interview with N "They would put microphones in the piano, but they weren't placed right to give you the most opulent sound of the piano … my first notion was enhancing the volume of the acoustic piano by itself, without any kind of electronics," Shadd stated, explaining why he decided to manufacture pianos. He studied, researched, and wrote a dissertation. He also experimented with the soundboard of some of the pianos that he had previously restored. "One day, I was tuning a piano at this old man, Mr. Tucker's house," Shadd stated in the
lengthy 2014 NPR interview. "As I'm tuning his old upright piano, he started whimpering. I said, 'Mr. Tucker, what's going on?' He said, 'It's all right, Shadd, it's all right.' So I go on tuning the piano, then he really starts crying a lot. 'What's wrong, Mr. Tucker?' He said, 'Shadd, see that piano? See the name on the front of it? That should say, Shadd, because you're the only one!' I said, 'OK, Mr. Tucker, I've got these ideas, I'm gonna go back and study.' He pretty much planted the seed." That seed has blossomed. Earlier this year, the Shadd was named the official piano of the Vatican. The Shadd also became branding partners with Rolls Royce. The automaker rarely advertises as a brand but is sold mostly on its reputation among the wealthy. The popular television music competition show "American Idol" uses the Shadd as its stage piano, and it's the official instrument of the blockbuster TV show "Empire." "As a diversified musician and technology enthusiast, I can appreciate the advent of fusing the acoustic piano with electronic keyboards, synthesizers, sequencers, computers, and their accessories as well as incorporation In-
5 Warren Shadd (Courtesy of Shadd Pianos)
ternet access," Grammy-winning musician Herbie Hancock said in a statement. "The Shadd piano allows me to perform the gamut of genres in their original form, from 'Maiden Voyage' to 'Rockit' and beyond." Keyboardist, music director and composer Michael Bearden, who has worked with Lady Gaga, Usher, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and others, said the Shadd piano has helped bring modern-day musicians into the new century. "I can use the Shadd piano in everything from traditional jazz settings to cutting edge techno," Bearden noted in a statement. "As I must adapt to many different playing and compositional styles, I need an instrument that can cover a lot of ground. The Shadd piano affords me the opportunity to play a real acoustic piano as well as utilizing up-todate computer technology and sounds at my fingertips. "Once musicians get to experience the versatility of the Shadd piano, I believe it will become industry standard – whether on tour, in the studio, or at home," he said. William Shadd is a second-generation piano techni-
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14 NOVEMBER 21 -27, 2019
cian and third-generation musician. He has performed and toured worldwide in every aspect of live and recorded music with hundreds of celebrities, according to his official biography. On drums, at the early age of four, he played his first of many jazz concerts and was proclaimed a child prodigy. From high school through Howard University, Shadd performed with numerous icons such as Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Lionel Hampton, Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Wilson, his biography states. As a piano technician, Shadd has tuned, repaired or rebuilt pianos for countless major per-
forming artists, concert halls, churches, schools, and institutions worldwide. He's tuned and rebuilt pianos for Tony Bennett, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, George Duke and many others. In 2003, he founded Shadd Pianos USA, a Piano, and Keyboard Manufacturing Company. "I do know there's a responsibility with this, to make the best piano – not one of the best – the best piano, period, in the world, and that's what I believe I've done," Shadd has said. "I'm a perfectionist, so every nuance that goes into this piano has to be very best." WI
Henry's Soul Cafe: It's the Sweet Potato Pie By James Wright WI Staff Writer @jamesdcwrighter When Washingtonians, even those who have lived in the White House, think of sweet potato pie, Henry's Soul Cafe emerges as the best place to get it in the metropolitan area and Jermaine Smith, the president and CEO, and his family are working to keep it that way. Jermaine's father, Henry Smith, opened up a convenience store and restaurant at 1704 U Street NW in February 1968, where he sold goods and merchandise but also cooked hamburgers, hot dogs and sub sandwiches also. In 1970, Henry Smith added employees that included his sister, Jean Quick, to the business and they collectively decided to add soul food items such as fried chicken, sides and the family's
version of sweet potato pie. Jermaine said the sweet potato pie soon became popular. "My father told me people really liked the sweet potato pie and started coming into our restaurant for it," Smith said. The business eventually became Henry's Soul Cafe, abandoned selling non-food items and focusing on soul food, Jermaine said. Presently, Henry's has become a well-known eatery with its original location on U Street and another in Oxon Hill, Md. Customers can order soul food fare but the sweet potato pie remains its most popular dish. Jermaine said Henry's sells 100,000 sweet potato pies a year, with one-fifth of those sales taking place during the Thanksgiving season. Jermaine notes Henry's customer base consists of every-
HENRY'S Page 15
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5 Henry's Soul Cafe's original location on 17th and U streets in Northwest (Courtesy of Jermaine Smith)
HENRY'S from Page 14 day people to District mayors and U.S. presidents. Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have had the sweet potato pie, Jermaine said. "As a matter of fact, President Obama orders two pies from us a month," he said proudly. When asked why the sweet potato pie popularity endures, he smiles and says, "it's an old family recipe." In Jermaine's view, family has become the key to Henry's success. Henry Smith died on Oct. 10, 2014 and left the business to his family. Jermaine's sister, Henrietta Smith Davis, runs U Street location and he supervises the enterprise with her, his mother, Eleanor Smith, and business partner Bernard Brooks. Jermaine, a 1991 graduate of H.D. Woodson Senior High School and a 1999 alumnus of Howard University, said he worked alongside his father almost daily while growing up. "I put some blood, sweat and tears at the U Street location, but I learned a lot from my father," he said. "The food is the draw but it is how you treat people when they come into your business. Many of our customers have been with us a very long time and we appreciate them for that." Clifton Thompson has come to the U Street location for several years and plans to continue to patronize Henry's. "The food is great and the ser-
"My father told me people really liked
the sweet potato pie and started coming into our restaurant for it."
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– JERMAINE SMITH vice is great," Thompson said. "My mother has been coming here for years and loves it. She is now up in age and can't come out like she used to so I buy the food for her. As a native of South Carolina, she loves chitterlings but likes the sweet potato pie, too." When it comes to the future of Henry's, Jermaine said his children will go into the business and even speculates that his grandchildren will also run it, too. On the business side, Smith's plans don't include another venue. "We don't need another brick-and-mortar location," Smith said. "We are looking to get our sweet potato pies into local grocery stores such as Safeway and retailers like Walmart and Target. Plus, we want to expand our catering businesses that is doing quite well." WI
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NATIONAL D.C. Council Chair Silent on Cuba Embargo Resolution
Activist Group Pushes for Vote By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins Since the Trump administration reimposed travel restrictions on Cuba, leaders of several U.S. cities and foreign governments have passed resolutions urging an end to what has been characterized as economic genocide. A group of activists said they want D.C. lawmakers to take a similar course of action. Their campaign demands that D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D) bring a Cuba embargo resolution to a council vote before the end of the legislative year. Five months ago, the resolution, introduced by four council members, had gone under Mendelson's purview without indication of if, or when it would
go up for a vote. "We want people to be able to write Mendelson to have a hearing about this issue," Nubia Kai, a member of the DC Metro Coalition in Solidarity with the Cuban Revolution, told The Informer. She and Mark Ginsburg reiterated that request Nov. 12 on WPFW 89.3 FM's "Voices with Vision." "We've been working for over a year on this. They've put it on the backburner. If Sacramento, Hartford, and Minneapolis [among nine other cities] can do it, then D.C. can do it. D.C. is supposed to be a progressive, liberal city." D.C. Council Chair Mendelson's office declined to respond to The Informer's inquiry about when the council chair will bring the Cuba embargo resolution
5 D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D) (Courtesy photo)
up for a vote. Council members David Grosso (I-At Large), Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1), and Robert White (D-At Large), all of whom introduced the resolution, also didn't reply an email asking similar questions. For more than a decade, the DC Metro Coalition in Solidarity with the Cuban Revolution has organized in favor of amicable diplomatic relations between Cuba and the U.S. Their latest endeavor comes at a time when the Trump administration has taken a stance out of step with the majority of Americans, and the international community, who have expressed a desire for establishing commerce with the island nation. Earlier this year, the Trump administration cut flights to all Cuban cities but the capital city of Havana while banning cruise ships from traveling to the island. In June, the Commerce Department limited leasing of airplanes
to Cuban state-owned airports. These restrictions, in reaction toward Cuban embrace of the Maduro government in Venezuela, deviated from what former U.S. President Barack Obama and former Cuban President Raul Castro solidified. That 2015 agreement opened the U.S. embassy in Cuba, the staffing of which has been significantly reduced in recent years. The Trump administration has also since ordered 17 Cuban diplomats to leave the U.S. Kai and her DC Metro Coalition colleague Mark Ginsburg's Nov. 12 WPFW appearance followed the United Nations General Assembly's denouncement of the embargo for the 28th consecutive year. In that vote, United States, Israel, and Brazil counted among the only members of the 193-member body that voted against the resolution. Columbia and Ukraine abstained. The U.S. imposed this economic, commercial, and finan-
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cial embargo on Cuba in 1960 after the Kennedy administration's failed Bay of Pigs invasion. Those restrictions followed the American government's refusal to sell weapons to Cuba's Bautista regime in the late 1950s. In the years following, U.S. lawmakers passed more laws further restricting its economic relationship with Cuba, including the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, which penalizes foreign companies trading with Cuba. Despite the hardship that has ensued from its isolation, now-deceased Cuban President Fidel Castro and subsequent leaders haven't quite acquiesced to the U.S. demands to move away from Marxist-Leninist socialism. During his recent visit to a town near Guantanamo Bay, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel carried on that tradition, telling townspeople and reporters that he wouldn't bend to President Donald Trump's will. Ginsburg echoed those sentiments on Nov. 12, partially by highlighting the feats Cubans had been able to achieve on their own and in solidarity with other nations. "Cuba came to Liberia during the Ebola crisis and stood ready to do that again, even though the United States and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are pulling back. It's not just military," Ginsburg said on "Voices with Vision." "In fact, one of the great lies that has come out of the White House in recent months is that the Cuban doctors in Venezuela are somehow soldiers and it's an act of solidarity," he said. "I don't think my Cuban colleagues are comfortable with aid. They are comfortable with collaboration." WI
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NATIONAL The Dissolution of the AERA and its Effect on the Suffrage Movement By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia This is part of an ongoing Washington Informer series about the Women's Suffrage Movement and an initiative that includes Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes that will use the lens of history, the fabric of art and culture and the venue of the public square to shine a light into dark places, equipping all with a compass to chart the way forward. The initiative lives in the institutional home of the Washington Informer Charities. One hundred and fifty years ago the American Equal Rights Association (AERA) reportedly was wrecked by disagreements over the 14th Amendment and the question of whether to support the proposed 15th Amendment which would enfranchise Black American males while avoiding the question of woman suffrage. Both Susan B. Anthony and
Elizabeth Cady Stanton were at one time part of the AERA, a group they formed with Frederick Douglass and other in 1866, according to history.com. The organization's goal was to win voting rights "for both women and African Americans," Lisa Tetrault, a history professor at Carnegie Mellon University, told history.com. "There's tension from the very beginning over the priority of those two demands," she said. "Black women fall out of this equation." In America, both the women's rights movement and the Black rights movement had their roots in the abolitionist organizations of the early 1800s, and they shared many members, goals, and methods. Despite these early commonalities, though, in the latter half of the century the two movements faced each other as adversaries, Whitney Hampson, a junior history major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, wrote in the white paper, "On Account of Color or Sex: A
Historical Examination of the Split between Black Rights and Women's Rights in the American Equal Rights Association, 1866-1869." Throughout the antebellum and Civil War years, the movements had cultivated increasingly divergent goals and tactics, particularly in regards to the issues of suffrage, Hampson wrote By the late 1860s, the leaders of the two movements disagreed completely on the relationship between their movement and the existing political structure, particularly the Republican Party. They also held divergent opinions on why either women or Black people needed to vote and when enfranchisement should occur. By the end of the decade, they would not even acknowledge the legitimacy of each other's goals, Hampson continued. "Although the conflict was played out in many forums, it is most clear in the proceedings of the AERA," she wrote. "This organization, designed to com-
bine the resources and energy of the Black and women's suffrage movements, held three annual conferences after its initial meeting in 1866. "These meetings forced the leaders of the two movements to articulate their goals and means by which they were to achieve those goals. Eventually, the two movements had no choice but to confront the reality of the growing rift between them," Hampson stated. It was on the convention floor in 1867 and 1868 that the conflict over the Republican Party and the urgency of suffrage became clear, and the debate at the group's final meeting in 1869 revealed that these fundamental disagreements had destroyed desire for cooperation and even respect between the two movements, Hampson concluded. "The collapse of the AERA is often viewed as a symbol of the split between women's suffragists and Black suffragists," she
SUFFRAGE Page 44
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The government of Liberia through the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) in collaboration with other institutions will commence a three-day international exhibition conference on mining, gas and oil sector of the country. The conference, which is expected to take place Nov. 28-30, is aimed at bringing together several government officials, investors, international industry experts, as well as mining, energy, petroleum and related technology providers and financiers to discuss challenges, highlight investment opportunities, as well as celebrate the successes of the country's energy sector. The conference will be held under the theme, "Exploring Opportunities and Investing in Africa's Mining, Energy and Petroleum Industries," the Daily Observer reported. Mines and Energy Minister Gesler E. Murray told journalists at a press conference in Monrovia on Thursday, Nov. 14, that the country is blessed with an impressive variety of mineral resources and has traditionally relied on mining — chiefly iron ore, gold, and diamonds — as a major source of income. Murray, who quoted a report released by the World Bank's chief for Africa, said it was stated that the mining sector in Liberia grew by 7%, as compared to the non-mining sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing, which declined by 3.5%. He said the recent growth in the mining sector signals a potential to contribute significantly to employment, income generation, and infrastructure development. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Murray said that the development of these mineral resources has significant environmental impacts that often go unnoticed. "This is why the Ministry of Mines and Energy works in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other environmental-related institutions to ensure that operating companies uphold high environmental standards and best practices," he said. He said that the mining and export of iron ore have been the mainstream of the Liberian economy for more than half a century now. The mining and export of gold and diamonds, he added, have also contributed importantly to the country's revenue stream, noting that some other known mineral deposits that require further assessment to determine their economic viability are manganese, bauxite, kyanite, barite, and phosphate. "Our energy sector also offers enormous opportunities relating mainly to hydro and solar potentials," Murray said. "This is why our vision focuses on the country becoming a hub for renewable energy with the capacity to export excess generation." This vision, he said, is based on the fact that Liberia falls within a solar-rich region, lying between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn above the equator. "Overall, Liberia-based load projection of its entire energy mix is estimated at 4,000 MW," he said. "Our legal, fiscal, and regulatory framework already gives investors the clarity and transparency they need. And in the spirit of a win-win partnership, Liberia is committed to providing investors with the incentives and other benefits they need to grow successful businesses." Murray said that energy access in Liberia represents a significant challenge, as the country has one of the lowest electrification rates in the world. According to research, in 2016, an estimated 88% of the population — more than four million people — did not have access to electricity, with a significant disparity in rates of access between urban (16% access) and rural (3% access) areas. The government has set a target of increasing electrification rates to 70% in Monrovia and 35% of rural areas by 2025, and universal electricity access nationwide by 2030. WI
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Food Security, Climate Change Cited Among Saint Lucia's Biggest Challenges The Ministry of Agriculture, along with the Republic of China (Taiwan), has embarked on a project which seeks to reduce Saint Lucia's food import bill. The production and distribution enhancement project will focus on seven crops over a three-year period, the Saint Lucia Times reported. Ezechiel Joseph, minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Co-operatives, said the introduction of new technologies and techniques helps Saint Lucia produce these crops more sustainably. "Take lettuce, for example. One year we imported over $1 million worth of lettuce as if we cannot produce it in Saint Lucia," Joseph said. "We can, and I have the fullest confidence that we can with the new technologies that will be introduced to us through the Taiwanese Technical Mission from the ICDF." With an annual food import bill of $4.5 million, Saint Lucia — with the help of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) — will seek to enhance agricultural intelligence information systems, analyze market demand, and assist farmers plan production cycles based on market demands. Ambassador Douglas Chen said the biggest challenge facing Saint Lucia today is how to achieve food security and combat climate change. The project will focus on cabbage, lettuce, watermelon, cantaloupe, bell pepper, pineapple, and tomato crops, and will receive financial and technical support from the Republic of China (Taiwan), for a period of three years. WI
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HEALTH Preparing a Soul Food Thanksgiving By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia
and different," said Justus Frank, owner and chef of the soul food eatery Live Oak in Alexandria, Va. "I am going to take a brined Amish turkey and remove the legs, using them as confit meat to go with a turkey and dumplings side dish. "I will be turning the breasts into a roulade filled with cornbread stuffing and collard greens," Frank said. "The turkey breast roulade is going to be trussed with butcher's twine, seared in a braising pan, and then roasted in the oven. It's a hit-or-miss idea because there are many traditionalists out there
Turkey? Check. Stuffing? Check. Cranberry sauce? Check. Most Americans will again consume traditional Thanksgiving food during the annual holiday feast. But The Washington Informer recently set out to find those who might be changing things up a bit, who might be keeping it real with a soul food meal. "This year, I will be switching up the traditional turkey preparation in favor of something new
(Courtesy of soulfoodandsoutherncooking.com)
who prefer their turkey done the old school way. Wish me luck. It could get mixed reviews, but going South was the way to go for me this year." Executive Chef Rosalind "Roz" Tucker, who is known for her delicious take on southern fusion, is also changing things up this year. Tucker has created a cornbread dressing by adding —
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wait for it — biscuits. "The biscuit is the key, it makes the dressing rich and moist, and no gravy is needed," Tucker said. She's also added peaches to her cranberry sauce, giving it an unusual but zesty flavor. Andrew Farinaccio, the head content writer for the online travel agency Hotels4Teams, said one of his biggest passions, in addition to writing, is cooking. "Back in college, I was fortunate enough to be able to combine both of these passions as the virtual editorial intern for Jersey Bites," Farinaccio said. "They're a blog that covers New Jersey-related food news and restaurant reviews." As an avid cook, Thanksgiving counts as one of Farinaccio's favorite holidays, second only to Christmas. Some of his favorite dishes to make for Thanksgiving include zesty orange-cranberry sauce, bacon-wrapped potato wedges with honey-scallion sauce, and pecan pie. "Sometimes, I'll switch things up and substitute one dish for another to try out something new," he said. "But there's one dish that
I always make, even though it's not what usually comes to mind when people think of Thanksgiving: mashed turnips. The holiday dinner table just doesn't feel complete without it." Mashed turnips is a dish that's as simple as it is special, Farinaccio explained. "That refreshing combination is, to me, the very definition of soul food," he said. "I got the recipe for it from my mom, who, in turn, got it from her mother. "My family's mashed turnips recipe features only a handful of ingredients," Farinaccio said. "There's turnips, of course, as well as carrots, milk, butter, salt and a healthy dose of black pepper. I like to add some extra black pepper to mine for good measure. "It's a simple dish that's perfect for cooks of all skill levels," he said. "If you know how to make mashed potatoes, you already know how to make mashed turnips. The most labor-intensive part, really, is preparing the turnips. But since you can do that well in advance, it's hardly an issue." WI
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GUNS from Page 1 about gun violence, and more recently a block party and rally on the front steps of DC Prep Benning Middle. That public gathering served as an opportunity not only to unite community members but to cajole into action the people that event organizers said haven't done much to address the issue. "During the most recent shooting, we were in our classrooms and we thought this would be nothing but a regular day," Jamia Hardy, an eighth grader at DC Prep Benning Middle, told The Informer as she recounted what would become the third time within a calendar year students put into practice what they learned during safety drills. Upon her return home, Jamia would express her anxieties about attending school to her mother. "They didn't call this a regular lockdown," Jamia said. "We all sat there really quietly. Some people wanted to call their parents. Ever since I came to DC Prep, we practiced a lockdown drill once a month, [but] you don't see parents taking their kids out. People are just used to hearing about this [but] it's not normal and we shouldn't have to adapt."
HEALTH Jamia's peers in her social studies class shared similar sentiments, especially upon learning that many of them had friends and family members who have experienced gun violence. As of last week, homicides in the District have increased by 4 percent since last year, according to the latest data from the Metropolitan Police Department. One of those deaths, involving a man in his early 20s, happened one block away from the DC Prep Benning Middle campus last month. On November 8, three teenagers had to be treated for gun wounds during two separate shootings up the street from the school. In response to what teachers described as a growing nonchalance, 7th and 8th graders have spent class time watching slides and learning about the mental and emotional toll that gun violence takes on victims, families and community members. They also completed assignments prompting them to explain the mindset of the aggressor in those situations. That exercise often culminated in group discussions intended to make students more comfortable speaking about the feelings of vulnerability they've internalized over time. In other instances, guest
speakers, like Jamia's uncle visited the class to impart words of wisdom. On Saturday afternoon, Jamia and her mother stood before the DC Prep Benning Middle community as the mother, in an impassioned cry for caution, reflected on the moment she learned that an assailant shot Jamia's uncle several times and killed his friend at a house party. Jamia solemnly held up a large white poster bearing photos of her uncle in the 1990s, before and after the shooting confined him to a wheelchair. During the block party, guests commemorated friends and family members lost to gun violence with bracelets. Community members also ate burgers, hot dogs, and other treats while frolicking, dancing to music and competing for special prizes. Organizers collected book donations for children of color and parents of youth who have experienced trauma. In the days leading up to the block party and rally, students and teachers combed the streets and hit the airwaves to garner support for their efforts. Less than a week after the Nov. 16 event, organizers said their attention has turned to effecting policy. "There wasn't a lot of action tak-
Two young boys take the opportunity to checkout the inside of a police car and play around with the computer during a block party and rally hosted by the TraRon Center, a community provider of therapy for gun violence trauma, on the campus of DC Prep Benning Middle School in Northeast. (Anthony Tilghman/ The Washington Informer)
en. We want to see that schools in Wards 7 and 8 are being provided great services, like Safe Passage," said Donsha Watkins, a 7th and 8th grade social studies teacher at DC Prep Benning Middle School who coordinated the block party and rally with Ellie Webster, the operations manager.
"We want it to be equitable, so kids can get the same level of access," Watkins said. "Schools have to be willing to stand up with parents and community members. We want people to be informed and productive so they can empower the community." WI
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EDUCATION D.C. Mosque Seeks Support for Renovations By Jacqueline Fuller WI Religion Writer @JacquelineF10178 Masjid Muhammad has launched a fundraising campaign for repairs to improve and expand their building. The mosque was built over 50 years ago and needs to make the renovations to meet the demands to increase their services and outreach efforts, said Imam Tablib Shareef. "The maintenance of a building that old hasn't had a lot of upgrades over time and things are starting to fall," said Shareef, citing the leaky plumbing system as an example. Shareef said the renovations are necessary right now to meet the needs of their visitors and young people. Though membership has decreased due to people moving out of the District, the diversity has increased with members from over 40 countries. Masjid Muhammad, known as the "Nation's Mosque," is the oldest Muslim community in D.C. It dates back to the mid1930s and was established by the descendants of enslaved Africans, who met at numerous locations to practice their faith, including a funeral parlor until 1960 when the mosque was built. It is located on the 1500 block of 4th Street NW, designated as "Islamic Way." Shareef said the total cost for the renovations is $4.5 million,
$1.5 million of which has been raised thus far. If Masjid Muhammad receives the full amount to make the upgrades, it can be completed within 12-15 months. The responses they received were positive during an ANC meeting with Bradley Thomas and the D.C. Council. "Now it's going through the permit phase," Shareef said. A few people who are new to the community that had some concerns about the process to make the upgrades, he said. "It was small stuff, so we responded to it," Shareef said. "After the hearings, everything worked out. The biggest challenge right now is getting the money." Masjid Muhammad has a development team lined up and expect to have the permit approved by February 2020. If it is approved, the renovations will start early spring. Shareef mentioned how everyone at Masjid Muhammad is thrilled about making the renovations. "Everybody is excited," he said. "About 15 percent of those who built the current building are still around and it was always the hope to build up a bigger expression. They didn't have a lot of resources back then. They did what they could. They sacrificed and that's what we need to do today." Masjid Muhammad is using numerous online platforms for
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5 An image of Masjid Muhammad after the renovations is shown here. (Courtesy of Masjid Muhammad)
the public to make donations towards the upgrades. They have a LaunchGood page set up to collect donations and using social media to get the word out about the renovations. Recently, they launched an ad on Facebook as part of their fundraising cam-
paign and a building expansion video on YouTube. Shareef said if people cannot make financial contributions to their fundraising campaign to pray for them doing their transition. The renovations will also provide the youth with their own
space and have more programming at the mosque. They have a parking lot at the property and Shareef wants to invite people to come there to have their meetings. "Everything we do we want to invite the community," he said. WI
Pan African Women of Faith Advocate for Global Nutrition By Jacqueline Fuller WI Religion Writer @JacquelineF1017 Seventy-five women answered the call to action to end hunger and poverty at the "African at Heart: 2019 Advocacy and Resource Summit" on Nov. 13-15 in D.C. They represented numerous organizations including the Pan African Women of Faith of Bread for the World, the Pan African Women's Ecumenical Empowerment Network of the World Council of Churches and the African Union. The inspiration for the summit came from the Pan African Women of Faith Conference Call to Action in 2018 said Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith, senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church Engagement at Bread for the World and editor of their publication "Lament and Hope: A Pan-African Devotional Guide Commemorating the 2019 Quad-Centennial of the Forced Transatlantic Voyage of Enslaved African Peoples to Jamestown, Virginia (USA)." This year's focus was to bring Pan African Women of Faith together to discuss global nutrition and to remember the transatlan-
tic slave trade and 1619. "They are disproportionately affected by global nutrition concerns and related intersectional issues," Walker-Smith said. "They are the children of or kindred of the ancestors of the transatlantic slave trade in some way." The women made the trek to the nation's capital from Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, Georgia, Illinois and Connecticut. Others were from the D.C. metropolitan area. Participants also traveled from Angola, Brazil, Bahamas, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Ghana to be a part of the event. On the first day of the summit, the women participated in the "1619 Potomac Pilgrimage," to perform ceremonies of lament, celebration and vision. The first stop was at the African American History and Culture Museum to remember the sale of enslaved Africans. The next stop on their journey was to reflect and celebrate the Pan African Abolitionist movement at Frederick Douglass' home. The final journey of the pilgrimage was to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial for a vision ceremony to profess what repair and flourishing will look like for the people
of the African diaspora and call for reparations and restitution. After the pilgrimage, the women went to Ebenezer United Methodist Church at 400 D Street, Southeast for dinner and to celebrate Pan African Women of Faith. The second day of the summit was called the Thursdays in Black: Resistance and Resilience campaign and the women went to Capitol Hill to lobby for global maternal and child nutrition. The day ended with a reception and a keynote address from Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Black Maternal Health Caucus and the founder of the Black Women and Girls Caucus. The summit concluded with workshops and a plenary session featuring Ertharin Cousin, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture from 2009-2012. "Our Pan African vision of connection through our diversities of African heritage and genealogy give us an important voice in remembering and envisioning a future based on spiritual resistance to enslavement and other forms of marginalization, racism and violence," Walker-Smith said. WI
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EDUCATION
UDC Hosts Open House for Doctoral Candidate Programs Targets Entrepreneurs, Computer Science, Engineers
WI Staff Report The University of the District of Columbia [UDC] is hosting an open house for its doctoral programs, the Ph.D. Program in Urban Leadership & Entrepreneurship and the Ph.D. Program in Computer Science & Engineering. The fall open house will take place at UDC Thursday, Nov. 21, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., in the Department of Urban Architecture and Community Planning, Building 32, 2nd Floor, Suite 200. The event will afford prospective students an opportunity to learn more about the programs and the chance to meet with faculty to discuss personal research interests.
The Ph.D. program in Urban Leadership and Entrepreneurship is the only doctoral-level program of its kind in the nation. It utilizes a scholar-practitioner approach to learning and research. Through a partnership between UDC and Fielding Graduate University, the program seeks to prepare students for successful careers in research, academia, and industry, by offering a balance between rigorous research and real-world application. The program will develop the next generation of leaders to address urban challenges. The Ph.D. program in Computer Science and Engineering has an interdisciplinary focus with
an emphasis on design thinking, and the ability to solve complex problems. For more information, visit www.udc.edu/causes/phd to learn more about the Ph.D. program in Urban Leadership & Entrepreneurship and visit www. udc.edu/seas/phd-in-computer-science-and-engineering/ to learn more about the Ph.D. program in Computer Science & Engineering. UDC is located at the Van Ness/UDC Metro stop on the Red Line. There is a parking garage on campus for those who prefer to drive. Limited street parking is available. WI
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EDITORIAL
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS
With 700,000 Lives in Limbo, Will Justices Listen to Americans or Trump?
The steps of the U.S. Supreme Court and the surrounding grounds were blanketed in a sea of boisterous protesters on Tuesday, Nov. 12 – a throng of Americans standing shoulder-to-shoulder with anxious immigrants, many of whom first came to the U.S. as undocumented children and now find themselves dangling like puppets in a mostly-partisan battle over America’s immigration policies. The Trump Administration remains steadfast in its efforts to end DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] – a holdout program from the Obama Administration which Trump has opposed even before moving into the White House and has promised to derail. But with the lives of around 700,000 young, undocumented immigrants in limbo, one wonders why there’s such an insatiable hunger to snatch away America’s centuries-old welcome mat as these brown-skinned “DREAMers” yearn for citizenship and education in search of the “American Dream?” As their ability or right to legally remain in the U.S. hinges on the decision of the Supreme Court whose majority voices now lean toward the right, the consensus seems to be that the days of the DREAMers’ stay in America are numbered. Public sentiment and recent polls suggest that more Americans favor employing alternative solutions and not allowing law which calls for the deportation of the DREAMers, if for no other reason than many of them would be forced to return to countries they do not know, some even confronted with a language they cannot speak. Still, the president says we must, “Build the wall.” Among the Court’s conservative majority are two recent additions, both Trump-appointed justices, who have already indicated that they have no plans to second-guess the president’s reasoning and believe its explanations to be sufficient. Does this imply that they’ve already made up their minds? Seems like it. If we’re correct, then the Supreme Court has become little more than a gaggle of gawkers dominated by those eager and willing to provide a rubberstamp for Trump and the GOP – a far cry from the vision of the Founding Fathers whose prudence led them to establish three, independent bodies within our government. Say it isn’t so! WI
The Meaning of Black Friday It is interesting to discover how someone or something got its name. Was there a particular person or a special event or a special day that gave rise to that name? Next week, the day after Thanksgiving is “Black Friday,” – a two-word phrase that means just about the same to everybody. Black Friday signals the direction for consumers to “Go Buy Something.” It’s one of the most profitable days of the year and is to the retail industry what bamboo is to a panda. It brings frantic energy to the economy, causing a frenzy among shoppers who go out and spend marking the kick-off the Christmas holiday shopping season. Black Friday wasn’t always viewed positively, however. It once described the negative feelings on-duty police officers had for a day marked by annoying traffic jams, crowded sidewalks and overcrowded stores. Meanwhile, employees took the day off to shop and to enjoy a rare, four-day holiday. Thus, Black Friday became popular. It’s popularity still comes with a cost, sometimes lives. The popular shopping day is marred by reports of violence, including murders. Incidents of Black Friday shoppers being trampled and killed by stampeding crowds in malls, shopping centers and parking lots have also been reported. But it gets worse. Astonishing is the negative story that alleges Black Friday got its name from the day after Thanksgiving when white slave owners offered discounts on the sale of Black slaves. One can only imagine how that may have contributed to the economy. However, we’re unsure of its validity. One thing that is true: Black consumers can give Black Friday its own meaning and some already have. They define it as the day to buy Black – a day to only buy from Black-owned businesses. It makes sense, especially when days have been given to other consumer causes, such as Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday or Giving Tuesday. So, we’d like to offer our own definition. Make Black Friday the day to give. Make it the day you donate, or pledge to volunteer, to a Black organization that supports a cause important to you. We know it’s in Black people to do so. It was the only way we funded the building of our homes, churches, schools, colleges and universities, businesses and towns. WI
TO THE EDITOR We Must School Don't Forget Seniors Youth About Money Dear Informer, I would like you all It's good to see that the city council is "eyeing" a financial literacy elective for students. I use to be one of those people that believed it wasn't the school's job to raise kids and teach them things they should learn at home. But I've learned that if some children don't get it at school, they simply won't get it or have to learn the hard way. I agree with making this an elective.
to cover the senior community more. We are a large community within the black community and we have various issues that I'd like to see more. Things like health care, housing and dating, specifically for us. That's all. Jenine Thomas Laurel, Md.
Linda Banes Washington, D.C.
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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist
By Raynard Jackson
Republicans Have Eyes and Ears But Cannot See or Hear
In the Bible, Job 3:25 states, "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me." How appropriate after last week's Republican loss in the Louisiana gubernatorial race. Republicans have lost two of the three governor's races this year; Mississippi being the only race that we won. The other governor's race we lost was in Kentucky.
In Kentucky, the incumbent Republican lost to a Democrat; in Mississippi, the incumbent Republican governor will be succeeded with another Republican; and the Louisiana incumbent Democrat beat a Republican. So, Republicans had a net loss of one seat meaning in January Republicans will control 26 statehouses and Democrats will control 24. Needless to say, my party is heading in the wrong direction! In last week's column, I wrote about the precipitous decline of the Republican Party of Virginia. Similarly, I predicted we would lose the Louisiana governor's race
Guest Columnist
because the Republican candidate made a conscious decision to write off the Black community. Blacks are 32% of the state's population and 31% of the voting-age population. Republicans begin their campaigns by writing off nearly a third of the state's voters or 450, 243 potential voters; therefore, they need to get a significant percentage of the white vote just to be competitive; and there are not enough of them to secure victory. Before the election, I talked with friends of mine in Louisiana who are political operatives in both parties. The one common theme I heard throughout
the state, from both sides, was that early voting turnout among Blacks was at historic levels. Blacks accounted for 31% of the early voting last week for the runoff versus 25% during the primary voting, a 6-point increase. This means there were approximately 30,000 additional votes cast by Blacks for the Democrats. The Republican candidate lost by only 40,341 votes. You do the math. The Republican candidate only got 7% of the Black vote in last week's election. Just think if our candidate would have spent time and money to get somewhere between 10-15% of the Black vote;
he would be governor right now. Because our Republican candidate had no Black operatives around him, they were totally unprepared and unqualified to respond to the Democrats race-baiting radio spots that ran on Black radio. One Black group ran a series of ads comparing the Republican candidate to notorious racist and KKK member David Duke. The ad stated, "What is the difference between David Duke, Eddie Rispone (the Republican candidate), and Donald Trump? The only difference is that Ri-
JACKSON Page 45
By Pam Taylor
PGCPS Chief Focuses on Teaching, Not Testing "Devastating," according to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos describing the recently released results from the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). NAEP, the exam administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, is widely viewed as the nation's report card on student achievement. New Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) CEO Dr. Monica E. Goldson uses a different yardstick for measuring student achievement. "Exam results count but there
are better strategies for measuring and achieving student success," Goldson said. Goldson supports "programs that target classroom instruction for teachers, grade-appropriate curriculum development, strategic use and implementation of technology, and those that focus on the needs of our most vulnerable students." "I believe in experiences and programs with measurable goals that propel students to their highest levels of excellence," she said. About 15 years ago, while
Guest Columnist
principal of the county's Henry A. Wise Jr. High School, Goldson joined students to advocate for a dual enrollment program with the local community college. Targeted to high school juniors, students would graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate's degree. "Although many of the initial dually enrolled student participants weren't good test-takers, they were smart and excelled in the program," Goldson said. Today the program has enrolled 1,200 students and evolved into two Academies (the Academy of
Health Science and the Teachers Academy) supported by the University of Maryland, Bowie State and Howard University. Goldson has also created an Adopt-A-School program to support county schools with enhanced educational experiences, financial support and volunteerism focused on improving student outcomes. "The goal is to ensure all of our schools are adopted by a business, community or interfaith partner by the start of the 20192020 school year," she said. To date, Goldson reports that
68 elementary, 18 middle, 19 high and 12 specialty (charter and academy) schools have been adopted. Her other priorities include expanded access to prekindergarten, increased school resources for low-performing schools, creating additional public-private partnerships to accelerate construction projects, and improving the availability of mental health services to students and families. Enrollment in PGCPS exceed-
TAYLOR Page 45
By Ryan Girdusky
Kudos to Trump for Cracking Down on H-1B Visa Abuse President Trump's administration is delivering for American workers. During his time as president, the number of H-1B guest worker visa denials is at a decade high. For years, employers have used the H-1B program to displace qualified Americans and import cheaper foreign labor. Tightening this program's requirements could save millions of Americans from layoffs and lower wages. Congress created the H-1B program in 1990. Lawmakers wanted to give companies a way
26 NOVEMBER 21 -27, 2019
to recruit highly skilled foreigners when they couldn't find any qualified Americans. Unfortunately, when the law was written it allowed employers to exploit the program to use guest workers to displace qualified Americans. Today, big companies, especially tech firms, use it to hire entry-level workers from abroad — mainly from India — who are willing to work for less money than their American counterparts. Currently, almost half a million H-1B visas holders work in the United States. And 85,000
more join their ranks each year. Most of these foreigners possess no extraordinary skills or abilities. Over 50 percent of H-1B guest workers toil away in entry-level positions, according to the Government Accountability Office. About one in four H-1B applications — which are filed by companies, not the foreigners themselves — are for jobs that don't even require a bachelor's degree. It's not as if Americans are unwilling or unable to perform these jobs. Today, Americans
graduate college at unprecedented rates. Roughly one in five graduates earn a degree in science, technology, math, or engineering — the so-called STEM fields that undergird much of the 21st-century economy. Yet more than half of all STEM graduates can't find jobs in their fields upon graduation. In other words, H-1B guest workers aren't simply filling gaps in the labor market; they're taking jobs that could otherwise go to qualified Americans.
Many foreign workers willingly accept lower salaries than Americans working in the same positions. Four in five H-1B holders earn less than the U.S. average wage for their jobs, according to Labor Department data. In some cases, employers actually terminate Americans to free up jobs for guest workers. In 2014, Disney infamously laid off 250 U.S. tech professionals — but not before forcing these workers to train their H-1B
GIRDUSKY Page 45
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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist
By Charlene Crowell
Discrimination Complaints Hit 24-Year High as HUD Rolls Back Fair Housing Rules
As a candidate, President Donald Trump promised that if elected, deregulation of the federal government would be an administration priority. Soon after taking the oath of office, he issued an executive order requiring all departments and agencies to eliminate two existing regulations for every one new regulation proposed. In some cases,
rules that were adopted before his term in office began but had not yet taken effect were either suspended or delayed. For example, the long-awaited payday rule at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was one important consumer protection that was delayed. Similarly, at the Department of Education, two rules providing protections for student loans were also delayed. More recently, this column shared how Housing and Urban Develop-
Guest Columnist
ment (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson claimed that regulation was the reason for homelessness, not affordable housing. Now new research by the National Fair Housing Alliance finds that as fair lending laws have not been aggressively enforced, a corresponding rise in hate crimes and fair housing complaints have emerged. "Defending Against Unprecedented Attacks on Fair Housing: 2019 Fair Housing Trends Report," recently released by
the D.C.-based National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), tallied 31,202 discriminatory housing complaints filed in just one year – 2018. Moreover, this data point is the highest number ever reported since the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) began collecting data 24 years ago. America's hate crimes jumped 14.7% last year as well. Even when it comes to enforcing and defending legal breaches, NFHA's report documents how few government offices are up-
holding laws. Some 75% of last year's fair housing complaints were pursued by private, nonprofit organizations across the country. Only 25% of such cases were the result of combined government actions by state, local and federal agencies. "All the tools and resources we have been afforded by the passage of our Fair Housing Act and fair lending laws are either under attack or being gutted," noted
CROWELL Page 46
By Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.
The Right to Vote Should Not Fall Victim to Artisan Battles
The right to vote is fundamental to any democracy. Protecting that right — and making it easier to exercise it — ought to be a priority across partisan lines. Instead, in states across the country — particularly in the five years since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act — it has become a pitched battle. The basic reality is clear: Republicans, increasingly a party of older, white voters, have chosen not to reach out to Hispanics,
African Americans or the young, but instead seek ways to make it harder for them to vote — or for their votes to count. Backed by right-wing think tanks, Republican state legislators and governors push a slew of measures to suppress the vote of targeted populations. These are increasingly challenged in courts and protested on the streets. Alabama, for example, is a state that is over onefourth African American. Yet it has had all white appellate court justices for a quarter-century. This was locked in by requiring at-large statewide elections for both appellate and Supreme
Askia-At-Large
Court judges instead of district elections where African American candidates would have a good chance of being elected in some areas. This practice — followed in Texas against Hispanic voters — is now being challenged in a lawsuit filed by the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP. At-large elections are only one of the tactics tried by the Republican power structure in Alabama. Since the Supreme Court's Shelby decision that ended federal pre-approval of voting rights changes, Alabama has passed measures to require a photo ID to vote while seeking to close
driver's license offices disproportionately in black areas. They sought to impose a “proof of citizenship” mandate to register to vote in state and local elections. Dozens of polling places were closed, disproportionately in areas with large African American populations. Get-out-the-vote efforts were made more difficult with the passage of a ban on financial transfers from one PAC to another, an act aimed at the leading organizations working on African American turnout, which got much of their revenue from other political entities. Alabama has also begun the process of purging the voting rolls.
When the state legislature passed a measure giving felons who had served their sentences the right to vote, the state government refused to do anything to inform people that their rights had been restored. Some of these measures have been stalled by judicial decisions, but the effort to constrict the vote continues. Across the country, instead of making voter registration automatic and adopting same-day registration, Republican-led states are making registration harder. Instead of expanding days
JACKSON Page 46
By Askia Muhammad
Trump the Most Corrupt President Ever
Face it. Donald J. Trump is the most corrupt president ever! Even the things he's permitted to do within his powers as president, he does so poorly that long-serving federal workers who see him up-close have sounded the alarm about his open abuses of power. Trump's a man with multiple ex-wives, several bankrupted businesses to his credit, and dozens of former top White House aides of his fired or convicted of crimes,
who has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to silence multiple "adult" entertainers who claim to have had affairs with him while he was married. He even stooped to giving pardons to two convicted war criminals, and one man who has not yet gone to trial. Even Pentagon officials who never met a war they didn't like recoiled when The Donald pardoned Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, a former Green Beret accused of killing a suspected bombmaker during a 2010 deployment to Afghanistan. The second pardon went to
First Lt. Clint Lorance, who had been convicted of murder for ordering his soldiers to fire upon three unarmed Afghan men in July 2012, killing two. Lorance has already served more than six years of a 19-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Despite the fact that the Chief of Naval Operations reviewed the case and refused to grant clemency, Trump went ahead and ordered a promotion for Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Edward Gallagher, the Navy SEAL convicted of posing with a dead Islamic State captive in Iraq in 2017. Gallagher was
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acquitted of murdering the captive. Look for Trump to pardon his crony Roger Stone, who was recently convicted of seven counts of lying to Congress and now possibly faces decades in prison. Stone seemed contemptuous of the court and barely offered any legal defense against the charges, as if he already knew that Trump would reward his loyalty and refuse to snitch, by giving him a pardon. But Dude already admitted that he believes he can get away with murder. "I could stand in the middle of 5th Av-
enue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters," he said at a campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa back in January 2016. In October 2019, one of Trump's private attorneys told a federal appeals court panel that Dude could not be investigated or prosecuted if he shot someone on Fifth Avenue, not as long as he remains in office. The lawyer's argument in a New York federal appeals court over the release Trump's taxes to New York state investigators fell flat, the court ordered the tax re-
ASKIA Page 46
NOVEMBER 21 - 27, 2019 27
LIFESTYLE ‘Heroes: Principles of African Greatness’ Opens at Nat’l Museum of African Art Exhibition Features Classical and Contemporary Artists From 15 African Countries By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir “Heroes: Principles of African Greatness” recently made its debut at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art to great acclaim in the District. With nearly 50 artworks from more than 40 artists, the exhibition tells the story of key heroic principles and people in Africa’s arts and history. It also invites visitors to consider the core values of leadership and embodied in the art. Each artwork in the exhibition is paired with a historic African person, a “hero in history,” who em-
28 NOVEMBER 21 -27, 2019
bodies the thematic value shown in the artwork. “The exhibition comes at a crucial time in the public understanding of Africa and its arts and history,” said Gus Casely-Hayford, director of the museum. “Coinciding with two momentous historical anniversaries – 400 years since the arrival of the first enslaved African laborer in North America and the 25th anniversary of South Africa’s first democratic elections – it invites visitors to consider both the horrors and hopes at work in the continent’s history,” he said. “Through the stories they tell, the artists assembled here challenge us to be our best selves.” The exhibit
shares the stories of key heroic figures in African arts and history by pairing each artwork with a particular African hero. From well-known figures, such as Kwame Nkrumah, Desmond Tutu and the Queen of Sheba to modern day disruptors including writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and LGBTQ activist and filmmaker Beverly Palesa Ditsie, “Heroes” depicts the values of leadership – justice, integrity, generosity, and empathy – in a fresh new way by focusing on the artists as storytellers and teachers. “Heroes” features well-known artworks from the museum’s permanent collection, as well as several new acquisitions. Among the new works on display is a work by former South African president Nelson Mandela. The watercolor depicts the rock quarry in the prison on Robben Island where he was exiled for many years and is a haunting embodiment of the sacrifices he made in the struggle for freedom in South Africa. “Heroes expresses the National Museum of African Art’s commitment to the dignity, complexity and universally accessible excellence of African art history,” said Kevin Dumouchelle, curator at the museum. “Further, it stands as a testament to the museum’s commitment to the telling of unique, compelling and specific historical African stories. The artworks in “Heroes” invite us to imagine our roles in building a new future.”
Visitors to the exhibition can engage further with the artworks on their smartphones using the Smithsonian-developed, webbased HI application. Visitors can scan a work of art to discover an added layer of digital content, including videos, images and key facts connecting the artworks to their corresponding “heroes in history.” Public programs will accompany the exhibition throughout its run to engage the museum’s diverse audiences K–12 to adult. About Curator Kevin D. Dumouchelle Dumouchelle joined the National Museum of African Art in October 2016. He was the project lead for “Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa’s Arts” (2017), the museum’s award-winning permanent galleries, along with chief curator Christine Mullen Kreamer and curator Karen E.
Milbourne. He was the coordinating curator for “World on the Horizon: Swahili Arts Across the Indian Ocean” (2018) and “Good as Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women” (2018), as well as the upcoming exhibition “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange in Medieval Saharan Africa,” which opens April 11, 2020. Dumouchelle was at the Brooklyn Museum for a decade as the curator in charge of the arts of Africa and the Pacific Islands. He earned a doctorate, Master of Philosophy, and master of arts in art history and archaeology from Columbia University after earlier degrees from Georgetown and Oxford University.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART
The National Museum of African Art is the only museum in the world dedicated solely to the collection, conservation, study and exhibition of Africa’s arts across time and media. The museum’s collection of over 12,000 artworks spans more than 1,000 years of African history and includes a variety of media from across the continent – from sculpture and painting, to photography, pottery, jewelry, textile, video and sound art. For more information, call (202) 633-4600 or visit the National Museum of African Art’s website: www.Africa.si.edu. WI
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ABRAMS from Page 1 nominee," Abrams said. "I am never going to diminish that." When asked which Democratic candidate Abrams would support, she said, "I support the winner." Abrams spent Friday in downtown D.C. talking about ways to combat voter suppression. After last year's gubernatorial loss to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, she launched "Fair Fight," which seeks to protect voters' rights in battleground states such as Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and Ohio. She also launched "Fair Count," an initiative that pursues a proper count in the 2020 Census. Abrams said up to 22 states practice felony disenfranchisement, which bars people with felony convictions from being allowed to vote. The Sentencing Project, a D.C.-based advocacy organization, ranks the states with felony disenfranchisement rates per 100,000 residents. The top six states, all in the South, are, in order, Florida, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama. Maryland ranks number 44. The organization didn't have data available for the District of Columbia.
LIFESTYLE Abrams said the voter disenfranchisement began when the Black Codes became instituted after Reconstruction in the 1800s. "It was designed to strip Black people, mainly Black men, of their right to vote," she said. "I do not believe felony disenfranchisement should be a legitimate reason to strip people of their right to vote." A similar conversation took place about five blocks away at the National Union Building during an annual New American Leaders summit. It comprised of elected officials, activists and community leaders who represent immigrants and communities of color. Del. Jheanelle Wilkins (D-Montgomery County), who was born in Jamaica, spoke on a panel about fighting for democracy. She reminded attendees to ensure people are counted in next year's census, especially those from immigrant communities, to inform them the citizenship question posed by President Donald Trump will not be printed on the census when its distributed in March. Wilkins also emphasized the census count provides $800 billion in federal dollars that can be used for schools, roads
Abrams said up to 22 states practice felony disenfranchisement, which bars people with felony convictions from being allowed to vote. and other community resources. Maryland receives about $16 billion annually, Wilkins said. "It's really about money and power," she said. "When those things come together, we have a hell of a lot of work ahead of us to make sure we are at the table. When it comes to that money and resources, we need to make sure that every single person is counted." WI
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5 Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams speaks at the National Press Club in D.C. on Nov. 15. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
NOVEMBER 21 - 27, 2019 29
LIFESTYLE
Play Brings Lesson on Deadly Results of Homophobia to Suitland High
Restoration Stage Co-founder Courtney Baker-Oliver Directs ‘The Laramie Project’ By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir
5 Courtney Baker-Oliver, co-founder of Restoration Stage, Inc. (Courtesy photo)
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Fresh off his directorial duties for the warmly-received D.C. premier of the play, “Veils,” Courtney Baker-Oliver, co-founder of Restoration Stage, Inc., brings a production replete with “teachable moments” to the auditorium of Suitland High in District Heights for two shows, Nov. 21 and 22, with the curtain rising both evenings at 7 p.m. The play, “The Laramie Project,” while far afield of the more Afrocentric-themed, originally-written works produced by Restoration Stage to which theater enthusiasts in the Greater Washington Area have grown familiar and supported, shares scenes from the life of a bold college student in rural Wyoming, 1998 – victimized, beaten and left to die simply because of his sexual identity. Matthew Shephard, on whose life and murder the play’s based, lost his life because he stood boldly and openly gay in a case that remains one of nation’s most unforgettable examples of hate crimes against gays and led to demands for legislation which now guarantees their protection and equality under the law. Still, as the production’s opening approached, a once-barely audible buzz has allegedly grown louder voiced by some parents, educators and activists uncomfortable with if not opposed to the play, given its controversial theme and issues. However, when juxtaposed against the rash of recent and disturbing assaults and murders in the District targeting the LGBTQ community, the play brings another opportunity for sorely-needed awareness and education so that America’s “and justice for all” mantra rests in reality – not held captive in the rhetorical realm.
THE ROOTS OF ‘LARAMIE PROJECT’
“The Laramie Project” serves
as a documentary-style play by Moises Kaufman and members of Tectonic Theater Project, an experimental company whose work often touched on social themes. For the production, the Tectonic Theater Project traveled from New York to Laramie just four weeks after Shepard's death. There, they interviewed dozens of townspeople, collecting a wide array of different perspectives on the crime. The dialogue and monologues that comprise “The Laramie Project” would be taken from those interviews, along with news reports, courtroom transcripts and journal entries. In 2009, Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a piece of legislation that strengthens existing hate crime laws. Since first produced in 2000, “The Laramie Project” has become a popular work of theater, often used in schools to teach tolerance and inclusivity. The playwright would later write a sequel dealing with the legacy of the Shepard murder, 10 years later.
DIRECTOR’S MUSINGS: LESSONS GLEANED FROM LARAMIE
The play’s director says he vividly recalls how responses and outrage about Shephard’s death soon dominated conversations on Howard’s campus – his temporary home as he completed requirements for his degree in his stead as a student teacher at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in the District. “I was accustomed to hearing [my colleagues] discuss the latest innovation in various fields or the famous person with whom they’d had dinner the night before – even analyzing the progress of their favorite author’s latest novel,” Baker-Oliver said. “But something fundamental shifted that fall when word of the Shepherd case went viral. It was all they could talk about.” Perhaps it was the school’s diverse student population or the
diversity of the larger community of artists from which the staff at Ellington had emerged but the attack on Matt Shepherd felt personal to us. And everyone was asking the same question: “how would we keep our students safe?” As Baker-Oliver acknowledges, today’s youth live in an era where the acceptance of differences and diversity within the American landscape have morphed from a seat of absurdity if not, in some instances illegal, to being so commonplace that all Americans, differences notwithstanding, confidently assume that one’s safety and equal treatment under the law can now be expected. “Playwright Moises Kaufman wrote, ‘there are moments in history when an event brings various ideologies and beliefs prevailing in a culture into sharp focus. The brutal murder of Matthew Shepherd was an event of this kind which brought to the surface how we think about privileges and rights and the difference between tolerance and acceptance,’” Baker-Oliver said. “Kaufman was right. Matthew’s murder was a moment. And like the racially-motivated murder of Emmett Till a half century earlier, it must be recognized as a reminder of the high price we all pay when we chose to hate what we do not understand rather than accept the differences between us with grace.” “There is much more work to do but it is my fervent hope that this production challenges each of us to assess how we show up in an ever-broadening world inclusive of diverse perspectives – even those in which we do not personally believe.” “Matthew Shepherd died because of intolerance. No one else should have to,” he said. “The Laramie Project” can be seen Nov. 21 and 22 at 7 p.m. for both performances. Tickets can be purchased at the door, Suitland High School Auditorium, 5200 Silver Hill Road, District Heights, MD. WI
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Kenneth Collier Facilities Manager U.S. Navy Veteran, 8 years
“No one ever told me transitioning back to civilian life would be harder than anything I ever did in the Navy. Comcast gave me an opportunity.” At Comcast NBCUniversal, we’re grateful to our Nation’s military for their dedicated service. That’s why we’re committed to hiring at least 21,000 members of the military community between 2015 and the end of 2021 and have an internal support network of fellow military members to help with the transition. Learn more at comcastcorporation.com/military
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NOVEMBER 21 - 27, 2019 31
LIFESTYLE Concert to Feature Music of America’s Women Composers
Congressional Chorus Prepares for ‘Nevertheless, She Persisted’ mons spoke with the Washington Informer about the upcoming performance and how he selected the theme and music. “Over the past 10 years, we’ve devoted a lot of time on our concert programs to the issues of racial equality and racial justice, the issues of equality and justice for the LGBT community, as well as issues of equality and justice for our immigrant communities and issues of gender discrimination,” Simmons said. “It struck me that as we are a musical organization, we should hone in on the particular struggles of women composers to have their music published, programmed and heard in an industry that is still strongly dominated and controlled by men.” “I wanted to shine a light on
By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir It was just a few months ago when the immensely talented and popular District singers, the Congressional Chorus traveled to the South for a series of moving concerts in iconic locations of the Civil Rights Movement. Now, once again led by Artistic Director David Simmons, they’re making final tune-ups for “Nevertheless, She Persisted: America’s Women Composers, which will include a dance troupe and several guest vocalists and musicians. The concert takes place on Sunday, Nov. 24, 4:30 p.m., at the Church of the Epiphany in Northwest and promises be a festive, moving afternoon. Sim-
the fact that women composers of the past really had to PERSIST against adversity and a great deal of cards stacked against them to have their music heard. I also wanted to highlight not only the incredible accomplishments of the trailblazing women composers of the past, but to also shine a light on the incredible work being created by TODAY'S women composers.” Simmons says that being a community choir in a major cosmopolitan area has its usual challenges: being heard when competing with much larger venues and organizations and fundraising – a task, he said, “Never stops.” “D.C. is filled with many community choirs, all of whom
20th ANNIVERSARY
are struggling to get the public’s attention and we don’t have the advantage of being the only game in town,” he said. “As for the fundraising side, I have to ensure that it doesn’t overwhelm the artistic side of my job.” He notes that he tends to like music that’s “all over the chart” in terms of composition and style but especially prefers works that, while accessible to all listeners, still challenge audiences to “stretch their musical imaginations” – pointing to the following selections from this concert for illustrative purposes: Jennifer Higdon's "A Quiet Moment," Libby Larsen's "Look, Be, Leap!," Elizabeth Walker's "Same Birds" and Rosephanye Powell's "Get Busy!" The concert will feature a young composer, Crys Matthews, a Black lesbian and preacher’s kid from North Carolina who has dedicated much of her work to the creation of music with a real social conscience. She proclaims having witnessed the power of music from an early age. The former drum major and classical-
ly-trained clarinetist turned folk singer has since chosen to use her voice to answer Dr. King’s call to be "a drum major for justice." “Not only do the lyrics of her works address issues that are important to our chorus, such as the Black Lives Matter movement and the gender equality movement, but I absolutely adore her music,” Simmons said. “It has a fresh, clean, yet gritty sound that will serve as a good counterpoint to some of the other works on the concert. There is nothing manufactured about her sound. She’s genuine and unique.” What’s up next for the Congressional Chorus? They’ll be back in mid-March for their annual cabaret performances, this time entitled “Vogue: Return to the 90s.” They’ll close the season on May 30 when they collaborate with the Capital City Symphony. For tickets, visit www.congressionalchorus.org or call 202629-3140. Washington Informer readers can receive 30 percent of all ticket prices using ticket code INFORMER when purchasing online. WI
5 Crys Mathews (Courtesy photo)
5 Rosephanye Powel (Courtesy photo)
Feast of Sharing AT THE WALTER E.WASHINGTON CONVENTION CENTER
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF SHARING AND CARING Join us for a holiday celebration featuring a delicious free Thanksgiving meal, live entertainment, free health screenings and community service exhibitors, a free clothing distribution, fun prizes, and more. Wednesday, November 27, 2019 9:30 am - 1:00 pm 9:30 am Community Services and Health Expo, and Clothing Distribution Open 11:30 am Meal Seatings Begin Walter E. Washington Convention Center 801 Mount Vernon Place NW, Washington, DC
THIS EVENT IS METRO ACCESSIBLE The closest stations are Mt. Vernon Square 7th Street-Convention Center (Green/Yellow Lines) and Gallery Place (Red Line).
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5 November concert showing full chorus, orchestra and dancers. (Courtesy photo)
32 NOVEMBER 21 -27, 2019
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Discovery Education and Business Leaders Launch Unique STEM Initiative By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital curriculum resources, content, and professional development for K-12 classrooms nationwide, has announced the creation of a STEM Careers Coalition. Officials said the initiative will help educators develop a pipeline of students who are interested in pursuing careers in STEM fields. It will also provide no-cost resources to students and educators, including virtual field trips, digital instructional assets, and career exploration videos. Discovery Education officials said these resources would help students build foundational STEM knowledge and develop critical thinking 21st-century skills for college and career success. “Last week we launched a critical initiative about future careers, a conduit through which students can see the work of the future, and a set of resources that bring relevancy to learning and broaden our understanding of and engagement with STEM,” stated Marla Wilson, the Senior Director of the Coalition. “Solutions to local, national, or global challenges are best ad-
dressed with a collaborative community of companies, industries, and non-profits,” Wilson added. “This world of work is most effective when the individuals contributing to and leading this evolution represent the diversity of our communities and the richness of multiple perspectives. We are excited to work with our anchor partners to intentionally focus on girls and students of color, as we move to provide equity and access and de-mystify STEM,” she stated. The initiative launched at the Carnegie Institution for Science, where former astronaut Leland Melvin joined a panel discussion that included leaders in education, industry, and government. Members of the newly formed Coalition includes key anchor partners like the American Petroleum Institute (API), Chevron, The Manufacturing Institute, Boeing, Microsoft, and Best Buy. Each of those companies has provided initial seed funding and support to power the initiative's launch. The initiative would take place in a phased approach that includes a pilot year. The approach should help measure the program's effectiveness and strategically developed ways to scale, Discovery officials stated. The initiative will scale up over five years, and it's expected to
Former NASA Astronaut, Leland Melvin, is the only person drafted into the National Football League, NFL, to have flown in space.
A very powerful and inspiring presentation was given to the launch attendees. Everyone in the room walked away with motivation to make this initiative successful
reach 10 million students by 2025 with support from various corporate partners. Among the components of the STEM Coalition's work is a direct investment in schools by providing K-12 STEM career resources, STEM Connect access, and professional development for under-resourced schools. The Coalition will implement employee engagement through mobilizing the current STEM workforce at scale to inspire and connect with future employees through engaging classroom experiences. Coalition members will also underwrite Discovery Education STEM Connect in local communities identified by the partners. Inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges for Engineering, STEM Connect is an interdisciplinary resource that enhances the core curriculum. It helps students build valuable problem-solving skills as they develop and apply solutions to critical real-world challenges. Rooted in authoritative research, users become part of a global student laboratory to share data and collaborate with others around the world, officials stated "We really see ourselves as problem solvers, and we're trying to tackle the world's greatest energy
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challenges. Meeting the growing demand for energy around the world and producing building blocks that we need to manufacture everyday products and to fuel the economy," stated Rebecca Winkel, an Economic Advisor of Regulatory and Economic Policy at API. "It's a big job, and we're trying to do that smarter, safer, better, and more effectively every day. We know that to continue this work, we need a talented workforce. And we have quite a large workforce gap that we see coming," Winkel stated. She continued: "There will be millions of job opportunities that we will need to fill in this industry over the next two decades. And so to be able to continue solving the problems and facing the challenges that we face, we need to make sure that the next generation is as prepared as possible. Investing in education at the earliest stages is necessary to make this happen. "Diversity, equity and access are key; we want to make sure that we are providing resources to schools that are traditionally under-resourced and making sure that girls and students of color, in particular, can have access to it." In addition to Melvin, guests at the launch included those identified as individuals invested in preparing the next generation of solution seekers and leveraging the
power of technology to close the awareness gap. "The STEM Careers Coalition will connect classrooms to careers at an unprecedented scale, said Lori McFarling, President of Corporate Partnerships, Discovery Education. "We believe that through direct investment in schools with a focus on equity of access, engagement of Coalition member employees, and exposure to digitally immersive STEM career experiences, more students will have the opportunity to envision their future in STEM and emerge as the STEM leaders of the future to fill the ever-growing careers pipeline," McFarling stated. Over time, the efforts of the Coalition are expected to result in increased awareness as it relates to STEM and STEM careers, stated Wilson, the Senior Director of the Coalition. "Through the generosity of the Coalition partners, students will have access to an array of STEM-focused resources, such as virtual field trips, digital instructional assets, career exploration videos, and more," Wilson stated. For businesses and organizations interested in learning more about joining the STEM Careers Coalition and school districts interested in learning more about the scholarship process, please visit https:// stemcareerscoalition.org/.
NOVEMBER 21 - 27, 2019 33
LIFESTYLE
wi book review "What God is Honored Here?"
edited by Shannon Gibney and Kao Kalia Yang c.2019, University of Minnesota Press $19.95 274 pages
By Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer You're doing OK. Shaky, most days, and you can't stop crying but you're doing OK. Thanks for asking, although nobody ever really wants to know. They look away, up or down or anywhere but at the truth: you've lost a baby but in "What God is Honored Here?" edited by Shannon Gibney and Kao Kalia Yang, you'll find sisterhood. In long days after the loss of their unborn babies, journalists Gibney and Yang began a different kind of healing journey, looking "desperately for answers … finding meaning in human experience." Alas, for them, as non-white women, it was lacking. It was then that they began researching, specifically seeking stories from Native women and women of color — tales that were painful to tell, or that the tellers had suppressed. This book is made from those stories. Here are tales of women who knew their babies were dying; they knew about problems, that the baby was sick, wasn't flourishing, wouldn't live; they minimized news of birth defects. Mistakes were made, maybe; guilt was involved, or a doctor was particularly uncaring. No matter — those mothers wanted their babies, their first or second or seventh pregnancy that didn't last. Their newborn that didn't live. They're memories of an Anishinaabeg woman, a Thai refugee, a Black woman with white in-laws, an Asian American woman, a wife of a Mongolian man who didn't speak his language enough, each left with empty arms, dealing with "a tiny baby" in a way that makes sense at the end of something that makes no sense at all. Each wondering what happened, and getting answers that left them angry, stunned, satisfied that it wasn't their "fault," or without answers altogether. And yet, there's hope in this book. Hope in the tales of the future, and babies that will live to hear about a missing sibling. Hope for twins, though there should've been triplets. Hope, when one can't be a "creator of children" and instead heals by creating something else. Without a doubt, "What God is Honored Here?" may be the most painful book you read this year — not because of what's in it, but because of its content. That may seem like a contradiction, but here: the pain doesn't come from the stories and poems themselves, but from what they say and what they mean for women of color. Statistics, seen in the introduction, don't lie. It's what's told that feels like a knife. Some of the tales are recalled in the most emotionless voices imaginable, with flat words of decades-old disbelief. Others brim with anger tinged with guilt, and an Everest of grief. Every now and then, humor peeks between lines of this book, forcing a quick lightness before plunging back in. And then there's that hope … For mothers who grieve, this book is great but it's also for fathers, grandmas, aunties and friends. Just know this: it may be cathartic to cry through "What God is Honored Here?' but take it slow. Give yourself time, and this book'll be more than just OK. WI
34 NOVEMBER 21 -27, 2019
horoscopes
NOV 21 - 27, 2019
ARIES The focus on your sector of shared assets and business increases when determined Mars moves into Scorpio on Monday. Its presence here energizes the area and encourages you to be proactive about any ongoing issues. Lucky Numbers: 9, 18, 25 TAURUS The intensity may be about to ramp up in your relationships as dynamic Mars enters this zone on Monday. Do you need to clear the air? You'll be very tempted, but try not to come on too strong if you want to keep the relationship intact. If you don't mind one way or the other, then tell it like it is. Lucky Numbers: 15, 19, 26 GEMINI Vitality can increase this week as powerful Mars moves into your lifestyle and wellness zone on Monday. It will be here for around six weeks, so this is your chance to get organized, as well as initiate a new exercise routine or get a diet back on track. Lucky Numbers: 12, 29, 49 CANCER Get ready to enjoy life as proactive Mars moves into your leisure sector on Monday. This zone is also linked with creative activities, competitive sports, romance, and your confidence about expressing yourself. Over the coming weeks, you have a chance to initiate activities that you might really enjoy. And getting away from the everyday routine and focusing on those things you love to do most can also be very healing. Lucky Numbers: 14, 16, 47 LEO With fiery Mars moving into your domestic sector this week, you'll be ready to get your place in order. If you haven't decluttered in some while, who knows what secrets you may find as you delve into dark corners and dusty cupboards? The upshot can be more space and a freeing up of emotional energy that brings more happiness and money your way. Lucky Numbers: 23, 31, 37 VIRGO Your thoughts and conversations could gain passionate intensity as potent Mars moves into your sector of talk and thought on Monday. If you should get into an argument or find yourself in conflict with someone this week, the likelihood of finding a compromise may be slim. Fiery Mars opposes maverick Uranus over the days ahead, so you might prefer to stand your ground rather than give an inch. Lucky Numbers: 14, 16, 56 LIBRA As sizzling Mars enters your money zone on Monday, you may find that cash flows in and rolls out just as quickly. You might earn more, but chances are good that you'll spend more, too. However, you'll also have the incentive to sort out your affairs and get your finances in order. If you want to earn more cash, this is certainly the time to do so. Lucky Numbers: 2, 12, 15 SCORPIO As focused Mars powers into your sign on Monday for a six-week stay, you'll feel like you are well and truly back in the driver's seat. Your desires may be stronger than usual, and you'll be ready to do what it takes to fulfill them, even if it means pushing for what you want. Lucky Numbers: 8, 19, 21 SAGITTARIUS Your spiritual zone may be stirred up by the presence of potent Mars as it enters this sector for a six-week stay on Monday. Situations that have lain dormant may surface. These could seem fated, and they might encourage you to rethink your plans and strategy. Watch out for signs and coincidences, too, because these could point the way ahead, especially if you're wondering what your next step should be. Lucky Numbers: 5, 8, 24 CAPRICORN Your social life perks up early on as dynamic Mars moves into this zone for a six-week stay. This could find you being very proactive about making new friends, connecting with the right people, and moving in new circles. And with lively Mercury turning direct midweek after its retrograde phase, you'll also find that misunderstandings and complications in key relationships begin to ease. Lucky Numbers: 17, 35, 39 AQUARIUS Career goals and ambitions may be stirred up this week as feisty Mars powers into your sector of responsibility on Monday. As it moves into the sign of Scorpio, you could be very determined to accomplish something important to you. The presence of warrior Mars can encourage you to keep going until you succeed, in spite of any obstacles. Lucky Numbers: 2, 32, 50 PISCES Are you ready to travel? As determined Mars moves into your travel zone on Monday, you might have a desire to explore new places and enjoy doing so. This lively influence could also encourage you to reach out for new opportunities that take you out of your comfort zone. Lucky Numbers: 17, 29, 38
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CAPTURE the moment
The Glory of Go-Go
DISTRICT CELEBRATES ITS OWN WITH GO-GO AWARDS
The Successful Sinner, Change Your Choices to Change Your Life Andrew C. Walker is an entrepreneur, author and speaker. In his new book “The Successful Sinner, Change Your Choices to Change Your Life” he shares real life challenges. Sharing his journey and story, he hopes to inspire other people to meet their challenges head on. The thought that a situation is hopeless does not constitute hopelessness. Contact Andrew: andrewhart101@verizon.net Get his book: amazon.com/author/andrewwalker
New Affordable Housing Opportunity in the Navy Yard, Washington D.C.
We are proud to introduce Estate apartments offering 52 brand new studio, one-and two-bedroom apartments for qualified low-income households at The Yards in Washington, D.C.’s Navy Yard. Waitlist is now open. First move-ins January 2020. Income and program restrictions apply. Admission standards include economic criteria. Persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Housing Choice vouchers are accepted. Equal Housing Opportunity Provider. Applications may be picked up October 15, 2019 through December 2, 2020 from 9:00am to 6:00pm, Monday - Friday at 1212 4th Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003 or by calling (202) 479-2734. Affordable Housing Program – Rents* Apartment Type Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom
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NOVEMBER 21 - 27, 2019 35
SPORTS
Penn State Blows Past G'Town
For more photos, visit www.washingtoninformer.com
5 Georgetown Hoyas forward Jamorko Pickett posts up Penn State Nittany Lions guard Myles Dread during Penn State's 81-66 win at Capital One Arena in Northeast on Thursday, Nov 14. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer)
5 Penn State Nittany Lions guard Izaiah Brockington defends Georgetown Hoyas guard Terrell Allen during Penn State's 81-66 win at Capital One Arena in Northeast on Thursday, Nov 14. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer)
4 Georgetown Hoyas forward Galen Alexander drives against Penn State Nittany Lions guard Myles Dread during Penn State's 81-66 win at Capital One Arena in Northeast on Thursday, Nov 14. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer)
Redskins Fall to Jets
5 Washington Redskins cornerback Jimmy Moreland attempts to break up a pass to New York Jets wide receiver Demaryius Thomas during the Redskins' 34-17 loss at FedEx field in Landover, Md., on Sunday, Nov. 17. (Rodney Pierce/The Washington Informer) 4 Washington Redskins running back Darrius Guice attempts to leap over New York Jets defenders at the goal line during the Redskins' 34-17 loss at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., on Sunday, Nov. 17. (Rodney Pierce/The Washington Informer)
36 NOVEMBER 21 -27, 2019
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BARRY FARM C�n�����n� ��� Lega��
“
The current, intentional community-based plan has been created with the support and input of former and returning residents along with local community leaders and small businesses... Barry Farm will become a driver for community revitalization, economic growth and opportunity for all Ward 8 residents in particular and the city as a whole.
”
Stanley Jackson, President & CEO, Anacostia Economic Development Corporation
The Barry Farm redevelopment will replace the vacant dilapidated public housing with more than 1,100 safe and healthy affordable apartments, parks, community center, retail stores and historical structures to honor the past.
Learn more at: www.barryfarmredevelopment.org
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#LetUsComeHome
NOVEMBER 21 - 27, 2019 37
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38 NOVEMBER 21 -27, 2019
zations that Gray says serve a total of more than 100,000 low-income District residents. Before fielding questions from audience members, Gray spoke about plans in the works, at one point giving kudos to Black, of MBI Health Services LLC, for opening the east-of-the-river community’s first-ever urgent care clinic. “MBI is slated for an April 2020 opening on Nannie Helen Burroughs and Division avenues,” Gray. “We have a new medical building coming to Skyland. In addition Sibley is operating the Ward Infinity program to assess the health needs of those who live in Wards 7 and 8. [We need] some money in the budget to help us continue running the Infinity program. The building that I mentioned on the grounds of Skyland would include a host of specialty services like radiology.“ Tuesday night’s forum briefly shifted to another public health topic as Gray exchanged words with Black Youth Project’s protesters numbering about 100, chanting their support of sex work decriminalization and admonishing the Ward 7 councilmember for missing a recent 14-hour hearing about legislation that could make it possible. Gray, along with several elders in the space, dismissed the activists who quietly sat among audience members for several minutes before interrupting the proceedings in four waves. Minutes later, Gray suggested that the current catastrophe afflicting Wards 7 and 8 could’ve been avoided had D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) honored his allocation of funds in the 2015 budget to replace UMC with a new hospital. The accompanying array of healthcare centers, in tandem with legislation to expand healthy food choices and discourage vape smoking, became part of the council mem-
5 Vincent Gray (Courtesy photo)
ber’s multifaceted response to a public health crisis unfolding east of the Anacostia. The District leads the pack in maternal deaths and residents of Wards 7 and 8 disproportionately suffer from a range of chronic ailments, most of which stem from lack of healthy food sources and healthcare options. A Southeast woman who recently gave birth to a stillborn baby blamed an ambulance delay and the lack of a nearby maternity ward. The closure of UMC’s obstetrics center in 2017 and that of Northeast’s Providence Hospital in April have further destabilized what residents had already characterized as a broken healthcare system. In the months after Providence’s closure, Northwest’s Washington Hospital Center and the George Washington University Hospital, the former of restricted use of two Medicaid types in 2016, experienced more strain from the influx of patients
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coming from Wards 7 and 8. In Southeast, staff at UMC said they haven’t been able to keep up with the patients that come into the facility daily. Tuesday’s forum took place nearly a month after the D.C. Council Committee on Health, on which Gray serves as chair, hosted a public oversight hearing about the quality of patient care at UMC. Those who spoke before the Committee on Health on October 25 mulled over how to best split a $15 million annual operating subsidy -- a far cry from the $40 million UMC requested -- between an emergency department, behavioral health services, and in-patient, out-patient and support services. All the while, uncertainty hovers over the status of UMC’s replacement. Gray said the hospital operator, Universal Health Services, will most likely testify before the D.C. Council within the next month. Underreported behind-the-scenes action between Universal Health Services and the mayor’s office has caused some anxiety, on the council and in the streets, about whether the hospital would be completed on time and what happens if the construction goes beyond 2022. On Tuesday, Gray assured the dozens of community members present that UMC wouldn’t close until the end of the new hospital’s construction. Later, during a Q&A session, the three other panelists, Elam, Dale, and Duncan -- each of whom sit at the helm of Amerigroup, Amerihealth Caritas, and Trusted Health Plan, respectively -- spoke about the potential for collaborations with community partners -- the D.C. Department of Employment Services, for example -- to get clients their basic needs, the lack of which prevents them from overcoming health challenges. Regardless of the outcome of the new hospital or healthcare system, Marshall Heights resident Carlene Thompson said District officials need to provide loan reimbursements and other economic incentives for doctors to practice medicine in the District for at least the next three fiscal years. “If the council member does for doctors what they do for teachers in impoverished communities, then you’ll have a lot of doctors from all over the United States,” said Thompson, an MHCDO board member. “I’m the type of person who has to see it to believe it because you know people get removed. I heard no one said it was pinned down.” WI
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RELIGION the religion corner WITH LYNDIA GRANT
Walk Down a Different Street …
Let me reiterate in this week's column how critically important I believe it is for each of us to travel through life by creating new experiences. There are people that I know very well, who lived at the same address throughout children, graduated from high school and maybe went off to college, yet throughout their entire 18 years or so, they stayed within the same boundaries. This column is a suggestion to those who fit that description, to encourage you to take on new projects in your life or take a different road. We've all heard Einstein's definition of insanity, "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Being stuck can be incredibly stressful. The first step in changing our plan of attack is to realize that what we are doing isn't working. I'd like to share a story with you again. I heard from a talk by 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”
Dr. Wayne Dyer about 10 years ago. I think it really illustrates how we need to change the way we think about things and especially how we run our lives. In order to get ourselves to move forward with change and progress in our lives, it requires we do a new thing. In his talk, Dyer discussed five chapters in a book about our normal progression. In fact, it is exactly how many of us live our lives. Dyer said how he enjoyed the way Cheri Flake said it in this quote: "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."
At the ripe old age of 68, I'll share with you a new experience in my life. During the summer, I listened to the Holy Spirit, which said, "audition for this gospel stage play." Result? Well, last Saturday, it was my pleasure to try something new in my life. Working with a veteran cast, it was my acting debut. After selling more than 70 tickets, I walked out on stage in the gospel stage play called "The Home" beside a legend, Melba Moore, playing the small role as a senior citizen living in an assisted living home. It was quite a surprise to me, but I found myself extremely nervous. It's called stage fright! The producer, Shuaib Mitchell, said that though I got nervous and forgot my lines a couple times, I stayed in character. He said I passed the test, because the audience did not know what had happened! Speaking before crowds doesn't bother me, hosting my radio show weekly works. Stage fright really had me going, my friends, at least for the first show. Then for the second show, my stage fright was much less. Another goal conquered — now to trust God and grow. I'm practicing what I preach, took a different road. This was quite an experience, but yet another challenge, dream fulfilled. WI
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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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NOVEMBER 21 - 27, 2019 39
RELIGION The Miracle Center of Faith Missionary Baptist Church
Pilgrim Baptist Church Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor
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”
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
Blessed Word of Life Church
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)
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
5757 Temple Hill Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748 Office 301-899-8885 – fax 301-899-2555 Services and Times Sunday Early Morning Worship: 7:45 AM Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Morning Worship: 10:45 AM Tuesday: 7:00pm/Kingdom Building Bible Institute Wednesday , 12:30 PM Mid-Day Bible Study Wednesday: Prayer/Praise/Bible Study-7:30 PM Baptism & Communion Service: 4th Sunday – 10:30 AM
www.blessedwordoflifechurch.org E-mail: church@blessedwordoflifechurch.org
“An inclusive ministry where all are welcomed and affirmed.” www.covenantdc.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
www.thirdstreet.org Live Stream Sunday Worship Service begins @ 12:00 noon www.thirdstreet.org
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
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
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
Virgil K. Thomas, Sr. Senior Pastor/ Teacher
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
“Ambassadors for Christ to the Nation’s Capital”
E-mail: Crusadersbaptistchurch@verizon.net www.CrusadersBaptistChurch.org “God is Love”
Isle of Patmos Baptist Church
Twelfth Street Christian Church
Turning Hearts Church
421 Alabama Ave. SE Washington, DC 20032 Phone: 202-746-0113 Fax: 301-843-2445
“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
Crusader 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
40 NOVEMBER 21 -27, 2019
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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 9:00 a.m. – Sunday School 10:15 a.m. – Worship Service Wed. Noon: Dea. Robert Owens Bible Study 7 PM Pastor’s Bible Study Ordinance of Baptism 2nd Sunday, Holy Communion 4th Sunday Mission: Zion shall: Enlist Sinners, Educate Students, Empower the Suffering, Encourage the Saints, And Exalt our Savior. (Acts 2: 41-47) www.zionbaptistchurchdc.org
St. Luke Baptist Church Rev. Aubrey C. Lewis Pastor 1415 Gallatin Street, NW Washington, DC 20011-3851 P: (202) 726-5940 Service and Times Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM Sunday School: 9:15 AM Holy Communion: 11:00 a.m., 3rd Sun. Bible Institute: Wednesday - 1:30 PM Prayer Meeting: Wednesday - 12:00 Noon
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
Reverend Peter R. Blue Sr. Pastor St. Matthews Baptist Church 2001 Brooks Drive District Heights MD. 20744 240.838.7074 Service and Times Sunday Worship Experience: 10:15am Sunday School: 9:00am Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Morning Noontime Bible Study: Tuesday @ 12:00pm Prayer Meeting/Bible Study: Tuesday @7:00pm Theme: "Building On A Firm Foundation" Email: revprbstmbc@gmail.com Website: www.stmatthewsbaptist.org
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. Curtis l. Staley Pastor 621 Alabama Ave., S.E.- Washington, D.C. 20032 P: (202) 561-1111 - F: (202) 561-1112 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 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
Pennsylvania Ave. 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
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.
NOVEMBER 21 - 27, 2019 41
LEGAL NOTICES Legal Notice William W. Crocker Decedent
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2019 ADM 001106
2019 ADM 001146
2019 ADM 001075
2019 ADM 001083 Walter K. Angevine aka Walter Angevine aka Walter King Angevine Decedent
NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Rosemary Tate, whose address is 761 Quebec Place, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20010, is the personal representative of the estate of William W. Crocker who died April 15, 2002 without a will and will serve without court supervision. All unknown heirs and whose whereabouts are unknown. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned on or before 12/19/2019 or forever be barred. Persons believed to be heirs to the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Melvin T. L. Wilson Decedent
Sheila E. Jackson Decedent
Tafaraji Allen Decedent
Deborah D. Boddie, Esq. Probate Law DC 1308 Ninth Street, NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20001 Attorney
Howard Haley, Esq. The Haley Firm, PC 7600 Georgia Ave., NW #405 Washington, DC 20012 Attorney
Brian Gormley 10605 Concord Street Suite 420 Kensington, MD 20895 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Date of first publication: 10/3/2019
Melvin Craig Wilson, whose address is 711 57th Place, NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Melvin T. L. Wilson who died on August 13, 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 5/7/2020. 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 5/7/2020, 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.
Sheila E. Jenkins, whose address is 2213 Gaylord Drive, Suitland, MD 20746, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Sheila E. Jackson who died on May 9, 2008 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 5/7/2020. 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 5/7/2020, 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: 11/7/2019
Date of first publication: 11/7/2019
Melvin Craig Wilson Personal Representative
Sheila E. Jenkins Personal Representative
Rosemary Tate Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Register of Wills
TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Acting Register of Wills Washington Informer
Nicole Stevens Acting Register of Wills
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2019 ADM 001152
2019 ADM 001076
2019 ADM 480
Betty B. Robinson Decedent
Essie M. Sims aka Essie Mae Sims Decedent
Herman C. Oglesby aka Herman Cecil Oglesby Decedent
Bobby G. Henry, Jr. 9701 Apollo Drive, Suite 100 Largo, Maryland 20774 Attorney
Caren M. Webb, Esq. 1308 Ninth Street, NW Suite 250 Washington, DC 20001 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Jan Turso Robinson, whose address is 1245 DuBois Avenue, Richmond, VA 23220, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Betty B. Robinson who died on March 8, 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 5/14/2020. 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 5/14/2020, 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.
Agnes Batts, whose address is 130 Adler Lane, Goldsboro, NC 27530, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Essie M. Sims aka Essie Mae Sims who died on February 16, 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 5/14/2020. 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 5/14/2020, 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.
Nina Smallwood-Johnson, whose address is 7806 Cryden Way, Forestville, MD 20747, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Herman C. Oglesby aka Herman Cecil Oglesby who died on January 29, 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 5/14/2020. 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 5/14/2020, 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: 11/14/2019 Jan Turso Robinson Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Acting Register of Wills Washington Informer
Agnes Batts Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Acting Register of Wills Washington Informer
Taylor Allen, whose address is 2128 Turley Green Place, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Tafaraji Allen who died on September 14, 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 5/7/2020. 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 5/7/2020, 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: 11/7/2019 Taylor Allen Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Acting Register of Wills Washington Informer
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
Date of first publication: 11/14/2019
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
TRUE TEST COPY TRUE TEST COPY
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
Johnny M. Howard 1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 402 Washington, DC 20036 Attorney
LEGAL NOTICES
Date of first publication: 11/14/2019 Nina Smallwood-Johnson Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Acting Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2019 ADM 001161 Melvin Frank Graves, Jr. Decedent Aimee D. Griffin 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Suite 440 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Marni Graves, whose address is 1015 Jansen Avenue, Capitol Heights, MD 20743, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Melvin Frank Graves, Jr. who died on September 19, 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 5/14/2020. 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 5/14/2020, 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: 11/14/2019
Jeffrey K. Gordon, Esq. 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW #700 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS James Angevine, whose address is 5109 41st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20016, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Walter K. Angevine aka Walter Angevine aka Walter King Angevine who died on August 31, 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 5/7/2020. 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 5/7/2020, 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: 11/7/2019 James Angevine Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Acting Register of Wills Washington Informer SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2019 ADM 001149 William C. Catoe, Jr. Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Charles Thornton, whose address is 1400 Carrollsburg Place, SW, Washington, DC 20024, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of William C. Catoe, Jr. who died on October 26th, 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 5/14/2020. 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 5/14/2020, 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: 11/14/2019 Charles Thornton Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Acting Register of Wills Washington Informer
Marni Graves Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Acting Register of Wills Washington Informer
42 NOVEMBER 21 -27, 2019
THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2019 ADM 1089
2019 ADM 001092 Allen Johnson aka Allen D. Johnson aka Allen Demont Johnson aka Allen Demar Johnson Decedent
Jeannine S. Ballard Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Michelle R. Ballard, whose address is 6018 Black Bear Ct., Waldorf, MD 20603, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Jeannine S. Ballard, who died on July 1, 2016 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 5/21/2020. 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 5/21/2020, 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: 11/21/2019
Janet W. Blassingame, Esq. 1413 K Street, NW, Suite 1500 Washington, DC 20005 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Adelaida Johnson, whose address is 652 Franklin St., NE, Washington, DC 20017, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Allen Johnson aka Allen D. Johnson aka Allen Demont Johnson aka Allen Demar Johnson who died on July 20, 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 5/21/2020. 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 5/21/2020, 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: 11/21/2019
Michelle R. Ballard Personal Representative
Adelaida Johnson Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Acting Register of Wills
Nicole Stevens Acting Register of Wills
Washington Informer
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2019 ADM 001179 Jean Elizabeth Lightfoot Decedent Paula Mattson-Sarli, Esq. 8957A Edmonston Road Greenbelt, Maryland 20770 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Lori A. Duke, whose address is 5223 South Dakota Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Jean Elizabeth Lightfoot who died on October 14, 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 5/21/2020. 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 5/21/2020, 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: 11/21/2019 Lori A. Duke Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY
CL ASSIFIEDS
CL ASSIFIEDS
CL ASSIFIEDS
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SUFFRAGE from Page 17
the Declaration of Independence or Webster's spelling book, making laws for … Susan B. Anthony," she said at the convention. "[The amendment] creates an antagonism everywhere between educated, refined women and the lower orders of men, especially in the South." Neither Anthony nor Stanton lived to see the passing of the 19th Amendment, but it was no secret that the two never worked to secure voting rights for Black women. When women of color such as Frances Ellen Watkins Harper sought assistance from white suffrage groups, they were turned down. "They say basically, 'Help us, we still can't vote,'" Tetrault told history.com. "And those organizations basically say, 'That's a race question, it doesn't concern us.'" WI
wrote. After only three years, the AERA dissolved over heated fights about whether to support the 15th Amendment, with which Black men won the right to vote (in the South, this victory would be short-lived), according to history.com. At a pivotal convention in May 1869, Douglass argued that the AERA should support the amendment while continuing to fight for women's suffrage. Stanton not only disagreed, but also gave an address filled with racist stereotypes about the male immigrants and male former slaves whom the amendment would enfranchise. "Think of Patrick and Sambo and Hans and Yung Tung, who do not know the difference between a monarchy and a republic, who cannot read
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5 The Rev. Charles W. McNeill Jr., faith community liaison in the county executive's office, speaks at the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland faith community breakfast in Silver Spring on Nov. 14. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
RALLY om Page 13
provide more money for the state's four HBCUs. Organizers reaffirmed their disapproval of Gov. Larry Hogan's $200 million settlement offer for Bowie State, Coppin State and Morgan State universities and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. "We want to send a message… that we want more than the $200 million and that we want our HBCUs properly funding and we want those things to happen now," said Del. Darryl Barnes (D-District 25) of Upper Marlboro and chair of the Maryland Black Caucus. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit have presented a $577 million compromise. Barnes said the legislature could present several pieces of legislation to ensure the HBCUs receive additional money. Maryland HBCUs Matters Coalition and other advocates have estimated at least $1 billion would
be needed to fully and equally fund the four schools. Michael D. Jones, an attorney with Kirkland Ellis and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said based on a judge's 2013 ruling that the state of Maryland's treatment of "public education opportunities for African Americans were either nonexistent or decidedly inferior to the opportunities afforded to white citizens." Part of the ruling stemmed from duplicate programs offered at predominately white institutions that plaintiffs have argued could bring in not only additional students at the HBCUs, but also business partnerships and research dollars. That's why several alumni said the estimated and original amount of $1 billion remains the true figure to settle the lawsuit. "Let's tell the governor of the great state of Maryland to make history and end the unconstitutional practices of separate and unequal treatment of Maryland's HBCUs relative to duplication of programs," said Sharon Blake, a Morgan State alumna who serves on the coalition's steering committee "Let's tell our governor to fund high-demand, academic programs for our HBCUs with a down payment of nothing less than $1 billion." Hogan spokeswoman Shareese DeLeaver-Churchill released a statement pointing out that former Gov. Martin O'Malley presented a final offer of $40 million to resolve the case. "The Hogan-Rutherford administration has dramatically increased the state's offer to $200 million — a 500 percent increase," she said. "In addition, we have provided historically high funding for Maryland's HBCUs and … are now better-funded than other state schools. Gov. Hogan has shown real leadership on this issue where others have repeatedly failed over the years." WI
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RACINE om Page 11 tion and four percent based on a disability. The report highlighted concerns over negative police interactions, particularly from participants who reside in Wards 7 and 8. Participants residing in Wards 7 and 8 complained also about city and private resources being concentrated in well-off neighborhoods in the city without regard to their areas. The attorney general's office held two community conversations regarding the report on Nov. 13 at the Capitol View Library in Southeast and the headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign in Northwest. Michelle D. Thomas, the chief of the Civil Rights Section, presented the report to members of the community, in the absence of Racine both days. Thomas said her section has initiated action to fight discrimination in the District based on the report. One effort has produced lawsuits to combat housing and source of income discrimination and she cited such companies as Evolve LLC, and the Curtis Investment Group who don't want renters who use housing vouchers as payments. In another action, she said her section has helped the attorney general's office introduce a bill in the D.C. Council that would fight hate crime by allowing the office to sue offenders who commit hate crimes civilly even if the U.S. Attorney's Office doesn't prosecute them. Thomas added her section will pursue cases where businesses discriminate based on neighborhood. "We reached a settlement with Anderson Renewal, a window-replacement company that did not serve residents who live east of the Anacostia River," she said. "Anderson Renewal paid a $50,000 penalty and end its practice of ignoring customers east of the river." Thomas said her section will continue to fight the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration and will work to educate District residents about their civil rights. "My section is available to talk to community groups, rights groups and anyone about the District's civil rights law," she said. "We are serious about reaching out to the community." Thomas said even though her section has committed to fighting discrimination in the District, she said residents need to do their part also. "We want you to reach out to us," she said. "Call us, email us and write a letter to us. We want to make sure that your rights are respected." WI
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JACKSON from Page 26
Hire American" executive order. He's also considering capping visas issued to Indian applicants. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump pledged to put American workers first. He's keeping that promise when it comes to H-1B reform. WI
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replacements. The "happiest company on Earth" threatened to withhold laid-off employees' severance if they refused to cooperate. Just last year, Verizon announced it would outsource as many as 5,000 jobs to Infosys — an Indian offshoring giant that applied for over 11,000 H-1B visas this year alone. Even American tech workers who keep their jobs still suffer from the H-1B program. "Wages for U.S. computer scientists would have been 2.6 percent to 5.1 percent higher and employment in computer science for U.S. workers would have been 6.1 percent to 10.8 percent higher in 2001" had the H-1B program not existed in the 1990s, according to a research paper from economists at the University of Michigan and University of California, San Diego.
Thankfully, President Trump and his aides are working to reform the system and protect American jobs. The president directed the Department of Homeland Security to issue H-1B visas to only the most-skilled applicants under his "Buy American,
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tion from Bowie State University, and a doctorate in Educational Administration and Policy from Howard University. She is the proud parent of two sons — the oldest is a student at Savannah College of Arts and Design, and the youngest is a senior at the county's Oxon Hill High School. According to Goldson, "God knew I was going to have the challenge of caring for 136,000 diverse students with unique needs, and he blessed me with smart, talented, low-maintenance boys." WI
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ed projections this year — a record 136,000 students attend the county's 206 schools. "This news is a welcome vote of confidence in the incredible work of our school system, teachers, principals and support staff," Goldson said. "When families choose Prince George's County Public Schools, they know their children will receive a high-quality education that prepares them for higher education, the workplace and life beyond the schoolhouse doors.
"I am extremely proud to lead this amazing school district," she said. An alum of the county's Suitland High School, Goldson has spent her entire career in PGCPS. First as a mathematics teacher, later promoted to Mathematics Instructional Specialist, steadily climbing the ranks to CEO. A three-time graduate of historically Black colleges and universities, she holds a bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Florida A&M University, a master's degree in Elementary and Secondary School Administra-
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they couldn't do it. His wife knew about Daniel, who was a Godly man; she summoned him and he interpreted the writing and basically told the king that he would be overthrown from his kingdom. He was overthrown that very night. Being Black in this Republican Party makes me feel a lot like Daniel. I have seen the handwriting on the wall for years when it comes to the party engaging with the Black community. I talk to any and everyone in the party who will listen to me about the value of engaging with the Black community, the handwriting is on the wall. But, like Belshazzar, maybe we need to suffer a few more loses to see the light. I pray that God will open the eyes and ears of this party and let those with eyes to see and ears to hear to see and hear the handwriting on the wall! WI
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spone will be governor if you don't stop him." Any Black operative worth his salt would have been prepared for this tried and true Democrat trick and would have prepared the candidate to anticipate this. Democrats have no positive policy proposals for the Black community, so they always revert to the only thing they know — playing the race card! Trump carried Louisiana by 20 points in 2016 and all the statewide offices are controlled by Republicans other than governor; there is only one Democrat in Louisiana's congressional delegation. There is absolutely no reason why a Republican can't get double-digit support from the Black community. Sooner or later they will have to face the fact that whites are increasingly becoming a smaller percentage of the elec-
torate; therefore, Republicans must be able to cobble together a coalition from various ethnic groups to remain a viable party. Like Job in the Bible, "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me." This continued Republican strategy of focusing only on white turnout is the thing I am most fearful of, and election after election they make my fears a reality. My readers know that I have written frequently on the need for Republicans to cultivate substantive relationships with the Black community. I am reminded of the fifth chapter of Daniel in the Bible. King Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, threw an elaborate party for himself and out of nowhere mysterious handwriting appeared on the wall. The king brought in all of his wise men to interpret the handwriting, but
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CROWELL from Page 27 Lisa Rice, president and CEO of NFHA. "[W]e must concern ourselves with policies pushed by our federal, state, and local governments that are steeped in hatred and designed to inflict pain." Instead of strengthening federal fair housing guarantees, HUD is a prime example of how regulations are trying to reverse decades of progress. One particular HUD rule, disparate impact, is at severe risk. This long-standing legal tool has helped root out discriminatory practices and policies in both housing and lending. In 2013 and under the Obama Administration, HUD set up safeguards that assured consumers could pursue related claims while businesses were protected against claims without merit. With disparate impact, both community banks and FDIC-insured institutions have achieved net growth profits. The rule has proven to create lending that is fairer and profits that investors desire. Even a 2015 landmark fair housing case that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court upheld
JACKSON from Page 27 to vote, they are limiting them. Instead of encouraging voter registration drives, they are adopting various measures to criminalize the activities of voter registration groups. Partisan gerrymandering gets ever more sophisticated. Hackable voting machines pose a true threat of even getting an honest count. Closing polling stations forces some — again, disproportionately those from minority or poor districts —to travel longer and wait in long
ASKIA from Page 27 turns released. What this kind of thinking arouses in the gluttonous president is yet another reason to never leave office. He has mused that (before even being reelected) he might be good for a third, or even a fourth term (despite a Constitutional prohibition on more than two terms), and that should he not be reelected in 2020, his supporters, members of the military and "Bikers for Trump" would resort to physical violence to support him. I have suggested on numerous occasions that in case the voting numbers go badly for him at the polls in 2020, he's got that uprising scenario to give him a
disparate impact as a cognizable claim under the Fair Housing Act. In Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., the nation's highest court found the disparate impact rule to be an important fair housing tool to move towards a more integrated society. So why would Secretary Carson try to roll back a rule that should be settled law? In joint comments filed by the Center for Responsible Lending, Self-Help Credit Union, and Self-Help Federal Credit Union, the organizations advised Secretary Carson.
"Instead of creating barriers for claimants, HUD should honor its mission and work to ensure that African-American, Latino, and other communities harmed by housing and lending discrimination have every tool to stop it so that all Americans have an opportunity to thrive," the organizations wrote. For the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., the Rainbow Push Coalition, and scores of other local, state and regional faith members, HUD was reminded of the immorality of its proposed rule. "Everyday Americans are now struggling to keep and/or find homes they can afford," the clergy wrote. "As housing prices rise faster than incomes, an increasing number of people grapple with challenges of how hard it is to keep their loved ones safe. When the additional and illegal burden of housing discrimination emerges, the lives of many people worsen." Here's hoping that within government there are still public servants that support improving peoples' lives. WI
lines to vote. The only way to counter these measures is massive citizen mobilization — and to elect leaders who will make the right to vote a priority. In 2018, efforts to restrict the right to vote overwhelmed a voter turnout that was the highest since 1914. In 2020, with the fundamental direction of the country at stake, another record turnout is vital. Upon gaining the majority in the House of Representatives in 2018, Democrats immediately passed HR 1, the most extensive election and
democracy reform bill since the Voting Rights Act. Among other things, it would adopt same-day voter registration, limit the role of big money in elections, curb political gerrymanders and much more. That bill sits on the desk of Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who won't even allow it to come to a vote. If voters overcome the tricks and traps designed to make voting difficult and vote in large numbers in 2020, fundamental democratic reform is teed up to move. WI
"legitimate" reason to suspend the Constitution, refuse to accept the election results and to declare himself to be "President for Life." Trump and his right wing and evangelical supporters seem to hate "the left," Muslims, LGBTQ persons, Latinx folks, Africans, and Orientals, more than they love America. They always speak of such other Americans with scorn and contempt. The idea that any kind of governance, or leadership is going on from the Trump White House is ludicrous. Along with the White House, the Republican controlled Senate is in full, drag-your-feet-and-stallthe-process mode. That's just fine with some of these radical
right-wingers — they are in favor of less government, lower taxes and most benefits of American citizenship belonging only to white folks. But what I can't figure out is: why are so many of them so crooked? It makes me think that there must not be any decent, clean-living, honest conservatives. No, they're all crooked and badly flawed like Trump, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and all the other GOP grifters who seem to be drawn to the government by the thought of self-enrichment, rather by the idea of honest, public service. With Trump, I'm afraid, he's incapable of honesty, of ever telling the truth. WI
Instead of strengthening federal fair housing guarantees, HUD is a prime example of how regulations are trying to reverse decades of progress.
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