Around the Region

A Look at the Ward 8 D.C. State Board Race

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

This article is the second installment of a four-part series about the D.C. State Board of Education [DCSBOE] races, the winners of whom will develop and promote policies on behalf of students, parents and teachers in Wards 2, 7 and 8 and throughout the entire District.

The winner of the Ward 8 DCSBOE seat will represent a jurisdiction in the District with the largest proportion of school-aged children and one where a significant number of schools, because of an enrollment-based funding formula, often lack the resources needed to serve a population which includes students with special needs.

Over the years, the STAR rating system – described by some as similarly ineffective – has, in part, led to the shuttering of several charter schools in Ward 8.

In the scramble for quality education, students have flocked to other parts of the District. Meanwhile, the ward’s only two high schools have made strides in their academic offerings, addressing matters of school and community safety and attracting students from their cluster schools and other parts of the city.

With the shift to virtual learning occurring this fall, greater attention has been given to gaps in technology and Wi-Fi access that continue to elude education leaders, despite the influx of dollars dedicated to tackling these issues.

As the following profiles show, these two Ward 8 DCSBOE candidates have varying perspectives on what it would take to achieve educational parity.

CARLENE D. REID: THE EXPERIENCED EDUCATOR

Carlene D. Reid, an advocate for strong neighborhood schools, entered the Ward 8 DCSBOE race last November. She touts her 15 years of experience as a special educator and administrator in the D.C. public and public charter school systems and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education [OSSE] as an asset in speaking to various stakeholders across the ward and developing educational policy that addresses key issues.

If elected, Reid’s priorities include spurring funding for technology and innovative curricula, creating opportunities for members of the Ward 8 community to engage one another and leveraging her professional experience to influence the decision making of the D.C. Council and OSSE.

She has pointed to the STAR rating system as a mechanism in need of vast improvements, including those that better allow parents, particularly those with special needs, to understand the accommodations available to their children at certain schools.

In regards to connecting families to elected officials, Reid said it requires boosting parental engagement and providing community members with the information they need to make recommendations to the Ward 8 SBOE representative that reflect their values and desires for their community and not those of education officials with an agenda.

“We have to move away from the process of special and emergency meetings for issues that we know are coming down the pike,” Reid, an education program specialist at the U.S. Department of Education, told The Informer.

“I am the only individual running who has made policy and implemented programs at the local, state and national level which have included a variety of stakeholders. My professional experiences have taught me that it is not simply being at the table but engaging the community in tangible solutions that make a difference,” Reid continued.

“Our community is made up of a variety of individuals. Of course, I run into parents who are engaged in the process. I [also] hear people who don’t have children and business owners who can contribute say they would like to help. It’s all hands on deck when it comes to Ward 8 education,” Reid said. LAJOY JOHNSON-LAW: A PARENT FIRST

Over the last decade, LaJoy Johnson-Law has worn several hats in the education community but none with more pride than that of a mother with a special needs child.

If elected as the Ward 8 representative on the DCSBOE, Johnson-Law said she’ll act as an authentic parental voice on a government body that hasn’t been the friendliest, or most transparent, to District families when it comes to recommending policy directly affecting students.

Johnson-Law, a parent support specialist at Advocates for Justice and Education, said nothing has prepared her more for that job than the disappointment of not seeing her daughter’s Individualized Education Program fully implemented. RACES Page 31

5 Carlene D. Reid (Courtesy Photo) 5 LaJoy Johnson-Law (Courtesy Photo)

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OCT. 1 1960 – African nation Nigeria gains independence from the United Kingdom. 1962 – James Meredith becomes the first African American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi.

OCT. 2 1800 – Nat Turner, the leader of a major slave rebellion, is born in Southampton County, Virginia. 1935 – Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., the first African American astronaut, is born in Chicago. 1937 – Famed lawyer Johnnie Cochran is born in Shreveport, Louisiana. 1967 – Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African American Supreme Court justice. 2005 – August Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, dies of cancer at 60 in Seattle.

OCT. 3 1904 – Mary McLeod Bethune opens the Daytona Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls, which eventually became Bethune-Cookman University. 1941 – Singer Chubby Checker of “The Twist” fame

AUGUST WILSON

is born in Spring Gully, South Carolina. 1949 – WERD, the first radio station owned and programmed by African Americans, is established in Atlanta.

1954 – The Rev.

Al Sharpton is born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. 1974 – Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson (top) is named manager of the Cleveland Indians, be- coming the major leagues’ first Black manager.

OCT. 4 1943 – Social activist H. Rap Brown is born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

OCT. 5 1992 – Soul singer Eddie Kendricks, one of the founding members of the Temptations, dies of lung cancer in Birmingham, Alabama.

OCT. 6 1917 – Fannie Lou Hamer, voting rights activist and civil rights leader, is born in Montgomery County, Mississippi. 1971 – The first legal interracial marriage in North Carolina, between John A. Wilkinson and Lorraine Mary Turner, takes place.

OCT. 7 1897 – Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad is born in Sandersville, Georgia. 1931 – Desmond Tutu, anti-apartheid activist and retired Anglican bishop, is born in Klerksdorp, South Africa. 1934 – Amiri Baraka, renowned African American writer, is born in Newark, New Jersey. 1993 – Famed author Toni Morrison (above) wins the Nobel Prize in literature. WI

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The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump paid $750 in federal tax in 2016 and 2017 and zero in several years prior. Some are calling for the president to be prosecuted. What are your thoughts?

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SHACKLEFORDS, VIRGINIA Donald Trump had a conniption fit when talking about [Amazon CEO] Jeff Bezos not paying any taxes. He also berates our foreign allies because they don’t pay their fair share to NATO. In addition, he complains that poor people are abusing unemployment benefits and extra stimulus payments during this health crisis. What a hypocrite!

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WASHINGTON, D.C. To Mrs. Nancy Pelosi and Mr. Chuck Schumer: Not only does Trump need to be investigated for tax fraud, so does the CPA who did his taxes, the IRS representative who audited his taxes and accepted his taxes! They also need to investigate Jared Kushner, Melania Trump, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump, Jr.

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Cries of ‘COVID Fatigue’ are Excuses for Our Impatience

As the days grow shorter and the heat of summer gives way to cool- er fall temperatures, the U.S. has reached a disturbing milestone, six months after the coronavirus invad- ed our lives.

Data released by the Centers for Disease Control as of Sept. 28 shows COVID-19 total cases and deaths in the U.S. have reached 7,115,046 and 204,756, respective- ly. As for the Greater Washington Area, coronavirus cases in the last week have dropped to their lowest level since mid-July. But there’s still reason to move with caution. In the DMV, as of Sept. 28, the total num- ber of cases stands at 284,797 and 7,718 deaths.

But do not be fooled. While we may have believed the worst was behind us and that we can look for- ward to the fall season and a return to “normal,” the scientific commu- nity tells us just the opposite.

That said, it appears that schools will continue to operate in virtual mode, restaurants will remain lim- ited to carry-out or outdoor ser- vice and the doors to churches and movie theaters will stay shuttered as small business owners hang on for dear life.

Despite the conflicting rhetoric issued nearly every day by Donald Trump and his minions, according to officials and health experts, infec- tions will in all likelihood escalate this fall and winter forcing author- ities to reverse course and tighten restrictions on public activities.

In fact, the “real” experts warn us that within the next several months,

As the days grow shorter and the heat of summer gives way to cooler fall tempera- tures, the U.S. has reached a disturbing milestone, six months after the coronavirus invaded our lives.

the U.S. will face a “twindemic” – that is, the confluence of two infec- tious disease outbreaks: influenza and COVID-19. They predict that with the frigid temperatures most of Americans will again endure during the winter that will result in more people staying indoors, often in large groups, conditions will be ripe for a “perfect storm.”

It’s understandable that many cit- izens have long grown frustrated after complying with local shutdown orders and other measures initiated as early as March in efforts to con- tain the virus that have not achieved the desired ends – driving down in- fections. The result has been what’s now referred to as “COVID fa- tigue.”

From my perspective, this “COVID fatigue” is little more than the behavior of people who have become accustomed to doing their own thing in a society which allows for the prevalence of instant gratification, giving excuses for their

inability or refusal to follow Cen- ters for Disease Control guidelines including wearing masks and main- taining social distancing whenever in public. During my freshman year in college, while pledging Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., we were in- structed to memorize a poem enti- tled, “Excuses.” Its message seems apropos in response to those who lament changes from the norm due to coronavirus, even saying they can’t take much more of this. Excuses are monuments of noth- ing that lead to nowhere. Those who use these tools of incompetence are masters of nothing. The reality we must all accept is things are going to get worse as the tandem of weather and noncom- pliance frustrate our hopes that the virus would have begun to wane after nearly seven months of unprecedented shutdowns and shuttering. Further, ‘COVID fatigue,” which some may be using as an excuse to hit the local watering hole or to throw caution to the wind and join dangerously large groups at outdoor concerts and beaches, also represents a legitimate case – a pub- lic weariness that has overwhelmed hundreds of thousands after following months over six months of adhering to health guidelines. So, what’s a person to do? While I’ve never asked my physician for a flu shot, this year I’m going to do it. Meanwhile, I’m going to follow the three S’s: SELFISH because I want to stay out of the hospital during COVID-19 as getting both influ- enza and coronavirus could prove deadly. SELFLESS because I want to prevent hospitals near me from be- ing overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases. SCIENTIFIC because vaccina- tions boost the immune system. May the “Force” and common sense be with you all! WI THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

Nonpartisan Groups Assist in Voter Registration Efforts in the District By James Wright WI Staff Writer @JamesDCWrighter

The District’s civic, neighborhood and some public organizations have instituted measures to increase residents’ participation in the political process and the Nov. 3 general election by sponsoring voter registration drives and education campaigns on candidates and the electoral process.

The District’s general election ballot will offer residents the opportunity to vote for public offices from U.S. president to their single-member district advisory neighborhood commissioner. W. Earl Williams, the president of the D.C. Citizens Federation and a member of the Hillcrest Community Civic Association in Ward 7, said civic and neighborhood associations—which are designed to encourage and facilitate communal participation in local matters of interest—should embolden residents to vote in this year’s election.

“It is our important civic duty to encourage our neighbors to vote in this election,” Williams said. “This election is a turning point in our country. Everybody should have the chance to be heard.”

While political clubs have long sponsored voter registration drives to get residents processed to vote in primaries, special and general elections, civic, neighborhood and even government agencies have held events with the same purpose in mind, without the partisan bent. The League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia serves as an example of this type of organization and Kathy P. Chiron, the president, champions her group’s nonpartisan charge.

“We make it a point to register to vote anyone who is eligible, and we don’t ask party affiliation,” Chiron said.

The League, operating since 1920, bills itself on its website “as the premier source for nonpartisan election information.” In terms of voter registration, the website said, “We register voters across the city every year and actively encourage all citizens to vote.

“We concentrate our registration drives at locations in the city where D.C. residents are less likely to be registered to vote or participate in election,” the website said.

Chiron said since the advent of the

5

Volunteers help register a Ward 8 resident to vote. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)

coronavirus in the District in midMarch, the League has worked with the D.C. Board of Elections to help residents register to vote virtually and online and has held a limited number of in-person events such as hosting a table outside of the MOM’S Organic Market in the Ivy City-Trinidad neighborhood in Northeast on Sept. 22. Chiron said members of her organization have mounted posters encouraging residents to vote throughout the District in apartment buildings, liquor stores and retail establishments. The League has interacted with neighborhood list serves, faith-based groups and has utilized social media “as best as we can,” Chiron said. She also said postcards have been sent to residents.

Chiron said the League will work with residents and the board of elections to make sure the mail-in ballot process will go as smoothly as possible. This year, the board decided to mail all registered voters a ballot they can send in by mail or put in a dropbox and Chiron said part of her organization’s education campaign will be to inform residents how the process works.

“Presently, there will be 55 dropboxes in the city and there will be dropboxes in the D.C. jail and at senior citizen centers,” she said.

She said the League will encourage residents to vote as early as possible.

“When you get that ballot, send it in as soon as possible,” Chiron said. “If you get it in early and there are errors, corrections can be made before Election Day. Also, early voting begins on Oct. 27 and we encourage people to take advantage of that to avoid long lines on Election Day.”

While the League works on a nonpartisan basis, the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Service, a government agency, held a nonpartisan voter registration event on Sept.22 aimed at registering young people at its facility in the Gallery Place neighborhood in Northwest. Janay Williams, the program manager for the Achievement Center where the event took place coordinated the drive with the purpose of getting young people politically motivated.

“I would like to highlight the fact that we are asking kids to get registered and we are doing it in a safe place,” she said. “While the focus is on the young people we serve, anyone could come in and register. We have representatives from the board of election to help.”

Williams said she has noticed an interest in politics among her constituents spurred by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as the first woman of color being tapped to run on a presidential ticket as vice president.

“A lot of youth is excited about Harris,” Williams said. “Some of them are looking at her and saying if she can do it, so can I. It has encouraged them to go through obstacles in their life.”

Citizens Federation president Williams said he, too, has noticed African America interest in the election lately.

“I think the African American turnout will be higher than it was in 2016,” he said. “If the Black turnout had been in 2016 what it was in 2012, our country will not be in the situation it is in now. I also think the at-large council races have generated a lot of interest in the city. As a result, it is up to the civic organizations to provide people the information so they can vote effectively and safely.” WI

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“Having traveled over a considerable portion of these United States, and having, in the course of my travels, taken the most accurate observations of things as they exist – the result . . . has warranted the full and unshaken conviction, that we (colored people) are the most degraded, wretched and abject set of beings that ever lived since the world began; and I pray God that none like us ever may live again until time shall be no more.”

– David Walker “David Walker’s Appeal” [published Sept. 28, 1829]

AROUND THE REGION

Gen Z and Millennials Debate Social Justice Issues

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

Family, friends and community members recently said their final good-byes to Deon Kay during a funeral at the Temple of Praise on Southern Avenue during which mourners reflected on what could’ve been a bright future for the teen shot and killed by a D.C. police officer just days after turning 18.

In the weeks since his Sept. 2 death, supporters have not only had to find solace in the memories of their fallen son and friend, but combat residents and public figures who’ve lambasted those lionizing Kay as a victim of police brutality.

Anti-violence advocate Miss Hardy DC, one of several who converged on the 200 block of Orange Street after MPD Officer Alexander Alvarez shot and killed Kay, recalled receiving phone calls from local leaders who called Kay a menace and questioned her perspective.

“I got so much hate for supporting Deon Kay,” Hardy told an audience at Eaton DC in Northwest during a Friday evening event that commemorated the two-year anniversary of Speakezie..Go Hard, a collective of artists, poets and musicians dedicated to tackling racial injustice and trauma in communities of color.

Miss Hardy DC, known for Guns Down Fridays, told Speakezie..Go Hard founder ElJay’Em that people need to affirm the humanity of Kay and other people living in portions of Southeast and a racist society at large without the tools needed to thrive. “The issue is that nothing is being done,” Miss Hardy DC said. “That specific neighborhood doesn’t have violence interrupters. They don’t have resources in that neighborhood. Everyone’s not on accord for fighting injustice. That’s the most heartbreaking part.”

YOUNG PEOPLE SPEAK UP

Throughout much of the year, as District residents young and old have combated COVID-19 and racial injustice, year-to-date figures have shown an increase in violent crime, much to the chagrin of D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) and others who’ve called for an increase of funding for violence interrupters charged with quelling neighborhood disputes.

During the earlier part of September, some students started virtual learning still reeling from the deaths of 11-year-old Davon McNeal, 17-year-old Christopher Brown and several other young people who lost their lives over the summer.

As their peers continue to fall victim to gun violence, students have brought to the virtual classroom questions about the conditions of their community and the pandemonium unfolding across the country during a tenuous election year.

To channel that enthusiasm for change, DC Public Schools [DCPS] hosted the Empowering Males of Color/Reign virtual conference last Saturday. The five-hour event, themed “Virtual Vibes: Surviving to Thriving,” included keynotes and panel discussions led by author Jason Reynolds and activist Brittany Packnett Cunningham.

Workshops about various aspects of the Gen-Z experience attracted youth from grades six through 12.

The conference, which also included an appearance by 93.9WKYS’ own Little Bacon Bear, also provided a platform for young people, like Khalil Sommerville, to take their peers to task for not embracing causes that make society better for people from all walks of life.

“In the Black community, we care about issues facing us but we don’t care about issues facing other groups even if other groups are intermingled with us,” said Khalil, a McKinley Technology High School student and participant in the Reynolds panel.

“They are at odds. In the end that’s going to bring us down,” he continued. “I hope to help people realize that we face a common struggle with the authority above us. It’s all really connected in the end with the struggle that we can’t defeat by ourselves.”

While speaking with Cunningham and her younger peers, DCPS alumnae Madison Bryan-Barnes noted that young people experiencing virtual learning at the K-12 and collegiate levels will determine the future trajectory of public policy. She told The Informer that she not only relished the opportunity to weigh in on contemporary issues as a DCPS graduate, but as an on-campus freshman at George Mason University.

“D.C. has allowed me to understand how diverse we actually are. In Georgetown, you have people who might not know how to interact with people who don’t look like them or in a position of power where they can do what they want,” said Bryan-Barnes, a 2020 graduate of The Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

“Even though I went to school in an area that wasn’t designed for me, it was a very humbling experience to say that this is D.C., what people would call Chocolate City,” Bryan-Barnes added. “I wish I would’ve

GEN Z Page 37

5 ElJay’Em of Speakezie..GoHard interviews Ari Theresa of Stoop Law during an event commemorating Speakezie..GoHard’s two-year anniversary on September 25 at Eaton DC in Northwest. (Courtesy Photo)

PRINCE that information. I know it is hard for teachers to teach the content through a screen.” GEORGE'S COUNTY Monday, Sept. 28 marked the fourth week of Prince George’s public school students attending the 2020- 21 school year strictly online. As of that day, health officials reported XXX confirmed coronavirus cases in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. With hundreds of thousands of students, and in some cases, parents at Virtual Learning in home either working or unemployed due to the pandemic, school officials continue to host virtual sessions to Prince George’s try and ease problems with the online form of instruction. 5 Ninah Jackson, a senior who attends Oxon Hill High School, poses at her home Sept. 24. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer) Garners Mixed Reviews The Pew Research Center of Northwest completed a survey of U.S. adults In addition, the school system paid schedule in which students don’t take between April 7 and April 12 that Comcast Internet Essentials for althe same class daily. By William J. Ford rolled in only three classes: AP Calshowed how would technology reach most 4,000 families and 5,00 Verizon Blocker’s enrolled in nine classes WI Staff Writer culus, organic chemistry and research their children when schools resumed hot spots so students can receive interthat include math, world history and @jabariwill practicum through the county’s sciin the fall. net access. drama. He also plays on the school’s ence and technology program. According to the center’s report reSome students such as Jaylen football team and works at Outback

Ninah Jackson said virtual learning “Virtual learning is an adjustment leased Sept. 10, about 80 percent of Blocker, 17, already experienced some Steakhouse in Largo. in Prince George’s County provides for everybody. I’m definitely not an the 4,917 who participated believed Wi-Fi problems that booted him out “We get more work through virtual freedom and flexibility within a stuaudio-visual learner. I’m more of a traschool systems have a responsibility during classroom lessons on Zoom. learning,” he said. “It can really mess dent’s class schedule, especially with ditional learner. Give me a textbook “to at least some of their students to Once internet connection returns, you up.” built-in breaks to not sit in front of a and send me off to do what I need provide computers or tablets to help Blocker will email his teacher to exAs for now, the more than 136,000 computer for several hours. to do,” said the 17-year-old senior at students complete their schoolwork plain what happened. students in Prince George’s are sched

The negative effect produces no Oxon Hill High School and student during the outbreak.” On a couple of occasions, the Parkuled to continue with virtual learning in-person social and emotional intermember of the county school board. Prince George’s officials distributed dale High School junior used his cell for nearly four more months. action with friends and teachers. “It’s hard to have that endurance to thousands of Chromebooks and tabphone to participate in class. County health, school and govern

Fortunately for Ninah, she’s ensit in front of a screen to internalize lets to students. The school system uses an A and B ment officials will analyze in December whether to incorporate a hybrid Students: ‘Push for Change’ to Improve Community structure with some in-person learning. If approved, students won’t return to school buildings until Feb. 1.

By William J. Ford Taylor case, Ninah Jackson, a 17-yearthrough our voting, supporting candiin Howard County, said SROs are The majority Black jurisdiction con

WI Staff Writer old senior at Oxon Hill School and dates who we believe will change these stationed at 12 of the 20 middle tinues to record the most confirmed @jabariwill member of the Prince George’s Counsystems through our advocacy.” schools. Those 12 schools have the COVID-19 cases in Maryland. ty school board, asked how can stuThe students who participated in highest number of Blacks who at“We think there is great risk in

The same week a grand jury in dents have faith in public institutions, Friday’s discussion entitled “Racial tend them, he said. volved in moving out of the posture

Kentucky decided not to indict three vote, or contact their local officials Injustice in Education” are part of the “If SROs were there to protect we are in right now,” County Execupolice officers in the shooting death of when “the system isn’t going to give state’s Student Member on the Board against school shootings, wouldn’t tive Angela Alsobrooks said during a

Breonna Taylor, high school student them the answer or the results they’re of Education, known as SMOB. they be at every school?” Zach said. COVID-19 briefing Thursday, Sept. leaders in Maryland participated in a looking for?” Some of the topics focused on “I don’t think the data really sup24. “We’re going to continue to make virtual town hall Friday, Sept. 25. “Dissatisfaction is all the more reason student leadership, incorporating ports their presence.” sure we keep the health and safety of

Although eight of the students to want to get involved and all the more LGBTQ education into the curricuThat’s why, as Drake Smith said, our students, their teachers, adminisserve on county school boards and reason to push for change,” said Nick lum and Black Lives Matter in schools. working with adults can be challengtrators and family members in mind. another student moderated the disAsante, a senior and member of the A hot button topic that continues ing because “some of these old peoWe are not ready to go to the hybrid” cussion, they all spoke on behalf of Montgomery County school board. to be discussed nationwide deals with ple can be really hard-headed.” model. themselves. “These systems are broken, so it’s our school resource officers (SROs). Smith, a senior from Anne ArunAlthough students want to see their

In connection to the Breonna job now to go in and fix these systems Ninah said that topic won’t be redel County, said alliances can be friends, health and safety remains the viewed again in Prince George’s until formed by understanding anothbest option. January. er person’s culture. That, in turn, “I would love to get in the building That’s because the school board creates a more diverse and incluas soon as possible,” Jaylen said. “But recently adopted a recommendation sive community in and outside of to be on the safe side, we should just from the Operations, Budget and school, he said. wait until Feb. 1.” Fiscal Affairs Committee to wait until “I don’t expect you to read a whole Neighboring school systems such as a police reform report becomes combook about Islam. All I expect you to Charles County in Maryland and the pleted by the county executive’s police do is not be afraid and talk to these District of Columbia public schools reform task force. The report must be people that don’t look like you,” he are working to offer some in-person completed by Oct. 30. said. “The best learning experience can instruction later in the fall. Afterward, school staff can review happen just by talking to somebody Another D.C. suburb, Montgomthe report and analyze the impact of that doesn’t look like you, someone ery County in Maryland, also plans 5 High school student leaders discuss a myriad of topics during virtual town hall Sept. 25. (Screen grab: MD SMOB Coalition) school resource officers. Zach Koung, a high school senior that’s not cut from the same cloth.” WI to maintain virtual learning under the same timeframe as Prince George’s. WI