The Washington Informer - November 23 2017

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VOL. 53, NO.6 • NOVEMBER 23 - 29, 2017

Happy Thanksgiving from the Washington Informer Family

CBC Chair Slams Sessions for Lack of Black Hires

Farrakhan Pulls No Punches in Address to Trump

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

Says U.S. Doomed if it Continues on Long-established Course

By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, 84, the erstwhile leader of the Nation of Islam and a devoted scholar whose fiery speeches reflect his many hours of study and quiet reflection, delivered his first speech to Donald Trump and the country’s government since the business mogul turned politician took over as president of the U.S.

FARRAKHAN Page 11

5 Organizations in the DMV celebrate the season of giving by preparing and serving meals throughout the area. Volunteers with Children of Mine Youth Center, Inc., Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church and Martha’s Table partnered together on Saturday, Nov. 18 to serve Thanksgiving dinner at the Panorama Room in Southeast. More photos on Page 34. /Photo by Roy Lewis

DCHFA Hosts Free Thanksgiving Meal All Welcome at 815 Florida Ave. NW

By Sarafina Wright WI Staff Writer

5 Louis Farrakhan /Photo by Shevry Lassiter

The Magic of Nina Simone Page 28

For the first time ever, DC Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) will open its doors on Thanksgiving Day to distribute 200 dinners to at-risk, homeless families and individuals in need of a meal. From noon to 4 p.m., dinner will be served by DCHFA staff members and their families to ensure that others in the community are fed for the holiday. “As a Washingtonian, I felt an obligation to share my time and the agency’s services with the people in the communi-

ty around us beyond DCHFA’s role in housing,” said Todd A. Lee, DCHFA executive director/CEO. “The celebration of Thanksgiving is centered on the Thanksgiving Day meal. For the first time the Agency will be open on Thanksgiving Day for members of our community to receive Thanksgiving dinner.” The agency will provide 200 meals on a first-come, first-served basis where residents can choose to eat there or take their meal home. “We have conducted outreach to local organizations that serve at-risk and homeless residents to inform their constituents

that DCHFA is a place where they can come for dinner on Thanksgiving Day,” Lee said. The agency insists that all are welcome to sliced roasted turkey, honey baked ham, Southern-style herb stuffing, whipped garlic potatoes, green beans almondine and steamed mixed vegetables, cornbread, buttered rolls and baked pies. “We want the community to know that meals will be available and to spread the word to anyone that they know is in need of a meal on Thanksgiving,” Lee said. “All are welcome.” WI

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was grilled last week by the House Judiciary Committee regarding the Russians’ role in interfering with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. But some of the toughest questions weren’t exactly about WikiLeaks, Donald Trump or Russian President Vladimir Putin. They were about Sessions’ history of alleged racism and the current administration’s lack of diversity, specifically the lack of black staff and nominees. When Sessions suggested that the Department of Justice does focus on diversity and inclusion, Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, appeared bemused. “How is it that the Justice Department is fostering diversity when 91 percent of its judicial nominees have been white men?” Richmond asked Sessions during a question-and-answer portion of the attorney general’s Nov. 14 hearing before the House committee on Capitol Hill. “I’m not aware of the numbers,” Sessions retorted. “You should look for quality candidates, and diversity is a matter that has significance,” he said. Undaunted, Richmond then replied by asking Sessions just how many African-Americans were on his senior staff.

SESSIONS Page 38

Celebrating 53 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area


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