Since the District’s pilot curfew program went into effect, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has dispatched officers to seven areas where young people have frequently engaged in violent activities at night.
Since moving to the Bellevue neighborhood of Ward 8 three years ago, Jay Clark has become quite familiar with the lack of quality produce in his community grocery stores.
So much so that he often travels across the Anacostia River to shop for his food.
Clark, a lifelong D.C. resident hailing from Northeast, said it’s by design that the Giant stores located in Eastover in Oxon Hill, Maryland and along Alabama Avenue in Southeast carry what he, and several others,
consider some of the worst produce in the D.C. area.
“They don’t give the people in Southeast good, quality foods. Simple as that," said Clark, 41.
"The pineapples aren’t going to look like the pineapples they carry in the Connecticut Avenue location,” he continued. “They aren’t going to get the fresh peaches, the fresh bananas. Not the top of the line.”
Clark lives in a food desert, which is defined as a geographic area where residents lack access to grocery stores
INSECURITY Page 60
Tia Bell, a District resident committed to quelling violence through a public health approach, said MPD took one of her young people to the Department of Youth and Rehabilitative Services (DYRS) after an encounter near Georgia Avenue in Northwest on Sept. 1, the first night of the curfew.
The youth was returning home from a football game, Bell said.
However Bell contends that D.C. officials didn't include her
CURFEW Page 31
5
where young people have frequently engaged in violent activities at night as part of the new curfew program. However, some people worry about the effectiveness of the program and are challenging District officials to hold parents accountable for their childrens’ actions.
(Courtesy Photo)
James Daniel Debeuneure was a father, husband, church-man and fifth grade teacher at Ketcham Elementary School in Washington, D.C. In addition to teaching he devoted much of his time to students, educational programs and working with the school safety patrol.
On September 11, 2001, Debeuneure was part of group six of teachers and students from three District schools who were aboard American Airlines Flight 77 headed to California when shortly after takeoff from Dulles Airport terrorists hijacked and
As the Bowser administration continues to reel from the sexual harassment claims surrounding former chief of staff John Falcicchio, three agency heads are preparing to transition out of their roles.
According to a Bowser administration spokesperson, D.C. Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Everett Lott (left), Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs Director Elliot Tommingo (center), and Kristi Whitfield, director of the D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) (right) recently announced their resignations.
Staffers learned about the leadership changes on Sept. 7, when Bowser installed Tiffany Crowe as acting director of the D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection.
In 2018, Lott came into his role amid great frustration among constituents about delayed traffic safety assessments, reckless drivers and lack of speed bumps and stop signs on D.C. streets. With little progress toward goals outlined in Vision Zero, Lott, Bowser and
other officials have hinted at a need for a pivot. Whitfield, who became head of DSLBD in 2017, has sat at the helm of the agency amid concerns about whether small businesses can secure lucrative government contracts.
Among the departees, Tommingo,a major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves who Bowser nominated in 2019, has spent the least time in his role.
Bowser is expected to name interim directors for DDOT, the Mayor’s Office of Veteran Affairs, and DSLBD in the coming weeks, a Bowser administration spokesperson said. WI
THE WASHINGTON INFORMER NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published weekly on each Thursday. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C. and additional mailing offices. News and advertising deadline is Monday prior to publication. Announcements must be received two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2016 by The Washington Informer. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send change of addresses to The Washington Informer, 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. 20032. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. The Informer Newspaper cannot guarantee the return of photographs. Subscription rates are $55 per year, two years $70. Papers will be received not more than a week after publication. Make checks payable to:
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved updated COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech in response to the surge in cases and hospitalizations. Both manufacturers have reported that their vaccines demonstrate effectiveness against the currently dominant EG.5 strain in the United States. Health authorities have emphasized the urgency of vaccination once the shots become available. The new release coincides with a late summer surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations and growing concerns over the potential impact of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syn-
cytial virus, in the upcoming fall and winter seasons.
Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, underlined the importance of vaccination in protecting against severe COVID-19 consequences.
“The public can be assured that these updated vaccines have met the agency’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. We very much encourage those who are eligible to consider getting vaccinated,” Marks stated in a news release.
WI
Read more on washingtoninformer.com.
Chuck Todd hosted his final episode of “Meet the Press” on NBC, handing the reins over to White House Correspondent Kristen Welker, who will make history as the first Black person to host the iconic program.
Todd announced earlier this year that he would leave the show he has hosted since 2014. He mentioned feeling concerned about this moment in history but reassured by the standards they have set for the show. On his final show, which aired on Sunday, Sept. 10, Todd thanked his viewers and team and offered a glimpse of what the show would look like with Welker as host.
“The last nine years as moderator of the longest-running show on television have been the honor of my professional life, and as I prepare to pass the baton to the next custodian, it is a privilege to pass it to
someone who needs no introduction,” Todd remarked. Welker wasted little time letting viewers know she was up to the task.
“I take this responsibility so seriously. I’m ready because you have helped me get ready, Chuck. You are someone who invests in the people that you care about, and you have invested in me, and I am so eternally grateful for that,” Welker said. WI
By Andrew S. Jacobson WI Bridge
In fusing sport and streetwear, Major League Soccer (MLS) released a limited-edition All-Star capsule collection, partnering with local brands SOMEWHERE® and WJW. The collaboration aligns with MLS’ All-Star celebrations, aimed at amplifying Washington, D.C.’s distinctive style and culture on a national stage.
The collaboration couldn’t have been more authentic, with both brands having deep roots in the D.C. area. D.C. brand SOMEWHERE® has de signed a collection that encapsulates the local streetwear scene, with pieces like t-shirts, bucket hats, tote bags, boot/travel bags, and a premium 3D woven scarf made in collaboration with Dutch textile company, By Borre.
Dominick Adams, co-owner and founder of SOMEWHERE®, expressed his excitement about the collaboration: “This is a dream come true because I could literally see my old apart ment from the stadium.”
SEPT 14 - 20, 2023
SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB
ture, is passed by the U.S. Congress.
1895 – Booker T. Washington delivers the Atlanta Compromise speech. The compromise was a deal struck between Southern Blacks and whites that Blacks would work and submit to white political rule in exchange for basic education and due process in law.
1951 – Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon and former presidential candidate, is born in Detroit.
1970 – Rock icon Jimi Hendrix is found dead in a London apartment at age 27.
1980 – Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, a Cuban Air Force pilot, becomes the first Hispanic and first person of African ancestry to travel in outer space.
SEPT. 19
1893 – Black inventor Elbert R. Robinson receives patent for the electric highway trolley. 1931 – Singer Brook Benton of "Rainy Night in Georgia" fame is born in Camden, South Carolina.
SEPT. 20
1958 – Martin Luther King Jr. is stabbed during a Harlem book signing by Izola Ware Curry, an African American woman later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
SEPT. 14
1861 – Abolitionist John Rock to be admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, gains admittance to the Massachusetts Bar.
SEPT. 15
1963 – Four African American girls are killed in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Birmingham, Alabama.
SEPT. 16
1889 – Claude Barnett, founder of the Associated Ne gro Press, is born in Sanford, Florida.
1925 – Legendary blues singer and guitarist B.B. King is born in Itta Bena, Mississippi.
SEPT. 17
1973 – Illinois becomes the first state to honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a holiday.
1983 – Vanessa Williams becomes the first African American to be crowned Miss America.
SEPT. 18
1850 – The Fugitive Slave Act quired that all escaped slaves were to be returned to their masters upon cap
1984 – "The Cosby Show" debuts on NBC, beginning an eight-year run as one of television's all-time most beloved and successful shows.
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African American tennis star Coco Gauff, 19, recently won her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, making her the youngest American woman to do so since Serena Williams. What are your thoughts?
KEEKEE GONZALEZ / NEWARK, N.J.
Congratulations, young queen! Well done, parents!
SANDRA SMITH / MONROE, LA.
Congratulations, and may she continue to elevate. She’s such an amazing talent!
VONNIE PRINCE / ST. JOHNS, FLA.
Love to her parents. [She] couldn’t have done it without them.
LISA L. SHULER / WASHINGTON, D.C.
Another one for the culture!
NANCY MUÑIZ / WASHINGTON, D.C.
Wow, what a beautiful picture! Great job to the parents. The sky is Coco’s limit.
By James Wright WI Staff Writer
The John Hayden Johnson Middle School Panthers football team, based in Ward 8, confidently walked out of the front of the school with dozens of students, faculty, staff, parents, and community members cheering them on Sept. 8 to the bus waiting to take them to their next game, against the University Middle School Hawks in Morgantown, West Virginia.
“We are proud of you, say we are proud of you,” chanted five members of the school’s cheerleading squad several times.
The young men wore white dress shirts, khakis pants and a black and gold striped tie, representing the school colors. They walked single file to the bus carrying overnight bags and some had paper bags for snacks. While the football players went to the bus, anti-violence activist and entrepreneur Ron Moten wore a white poster saying, “Let’s Go Johnson.” Some students stood in front of the school building holding posters saying, “You Got This Panthers,” and “Let’s Go JMS.”
The Panthers have amassed an impressive win streak on the gridiron. The last time they lost a
game was in 2018. They have won eight city championships in recent years. They were first in the nation ranking for middle school football in 2022. They were traveling to Morgantown to contest for the national championship. However, Panthers head coach Mike Sharrieff said he is most proud of the fact that many of the players are on the school’s honor roll.
When Moten learned a few weeks ago about the football team’s quest to play in the national championship game but lacked the funds to make the trip, he went into action.
“They came to my youth summit, and it broke my heart that these young men didn’t have the money to go to West Virginia despite the obstacles they face and the great things they are doing,” said Moten, 53. “They have received no media attention for what they are doing. Me and a few others decided to step up and help them.”
Moten said by helping the Panthers go to West Virginia, he was sending a message to young people in the community.
“In the Black community, there is a mentality that it is cool to be a fool,” he said. “That is wrong, and we have to do what we can to put a stop to that.”
D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I-At Large) was at the send-off and he said the event produced memories.
“I remember as a young man participating in AAU basketball and traveling all day to a tournament in Florida,” McDuffie, 49, said. “That trip produced many memories, and I formed relationships that I still have today.”
McDuffie noted the community turnout for the send-off and said, “this is what success looks like, this is what a village looks like.”
Nicole Jasper was one of the parents who attended the send-off. She is the mother of David Jasper, a sixth grader.
“I had to be here, this is his first trip,” Jasper, 52, said. “This is an exciting experience for the children here. Coach Mike has done a wonderful job with these young people.”
Sharrieff, 59, said the team defeated the Hawks, 42-0. He said
Though D.C. government officials touted the completion of an unprecedented number of work orders in District public schools this summer, community members say at least one public school hasn't experienced the fruits of that labor.
For weeks, teachers and students at Whittier Elementary School in Northwest have struggled to comfortably engage the learning process in classrooms with broken HVAC systems. So much so, that when outdoor temperatures surpassed 90 degrees, some teachers stopped lessons amid students' cries for cool air.
Climate change, caused by the addition of heat-trapping greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere, is increasing the urgency of D.C. public schools’ HVAC problem.
The heat wave that hit last week, just as students and teachers kicked off the school year, set records as the hottest five-day stretch the region has ever experienced in September. Climate change made some of the week’s weather five times more likely to happen than it would be otherwise, according to an analysis by Climate Central.
The District may experience three or four times more emergency heat days—when it feels like 95 degrees or hotter—by the 2050s compared
to 2015 levels, a report commissioned by the city government projected.
Those extreme temperatures won’t hit all of D.C.’s schools equally. Areas with more green space and tree canopy experience far lower temperatures than places that have tons of asphalt. Because of that phenomenon, known as the “heat island effect,” some neighborhoods in Wards 1, 2, and 5 can get up 10 to 20 degrees hotter than some of the leafiest areas in Wards 2 and 3, an investigation by nonprofit Hola Cultura found.
Angela Anderson, Whittier's parent-teacher organization president, said at least three classrooms have been affected by the recent heat wave. On Sept. 4, she sent a letter to the Department of General Services (DGS) asking why work orders hadn't been completed during the summer.
"We've seen DGS staff come in and out of the building but not addressing our issues," said Anderson, the parent of a third grade Whittier student. "When it's 100 degrees and teachers can't get through lesson plans, why do we have to go on social media, write letters and call out council members … to get the attention we deserve? Imagine a four-yearold student being irritated [about the heat]. It looks very different from an adult who can articulate their discomfort."
In August, City Administrator Kevin Donohue said DGS had worked 80% of the way through a high-priority work order list that had been compiled during the spring. That list, he said, had 3,400 work orders across all District public schools, 3,000 of which had been completed by early August.
A DGS spokesperson would later tell the Informer that the agency has taken steps to increase work order transparency and accuracy. They cited an upgraded work order reporting system in which DGS' public dashboard shows school personnel when work orders have been completed or if a work order requires additional tasks.
The Informer unsuccessfully attempted to gather information from DGS about the number of HVAC-related work orders received from Whittier in the spring and DGS’ plan to address community members’ concerns.
Last year, students, teachers and parents converged on the front steps of Whittier to express concerns about building conditions. They spoke about the broken HVAC system, rodent infestation, asbestos, flooding toilets, and a leaky roof that complicated the academic experience in the nearly century-old building.
The construction phase of Whittier's modernization is scheduled to
5 Whittier Education Campus (Courtesy photo)
start in fiscal year 2026. Sharpe Elementary School on 13th Street in Northwest has been designated as the swing space -- the building where students will learn during their school’s modernization process.
Sharpe, which is more than two miles from Whittier, currently serves as a swing space for half of the students attending Truesdell Elementary School and all of the students attending Dorothy Height Elementary School. When construction starts on LaSalle-Backus Elementary School during the fall of 2027, teachers and students will also report to Sharpe.
D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) secured
this arrangement for Truesdell in 2022 in response to concerns about overcrowding at Roosevelt STAY and backlash from Truesdell parents who expressed concern about the designation of former Garnet-Patterson Middle School -- located three miles away from Truesdell -- as swing space during Truesdell’s modernization.
In years past, Lewis George has conducted readiness tours and visits at Whittier, successfully advocated alongside the Whittier community for the acceleration of Whittier’s modernization and secured
HVAC Page 28
Who’s Reading the Informer?
Rev. Jerome Robinson from New York reads the Washington Informer. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)
– Dorothy Height
“If you worry about who is going to get credit, you don't get much work done.”
Local entrepreneur London Ward recently spent a few hours on a Friday afternoon connecting with like-minded people and spreading the word about Snob Nails Technician School, a Temple Hills, Maryland-based school for aspiring nail technicians.
Ward, a nurse-turned-nail technician, launched Snob Nails Technician School in 2020. She did so after opening two nail salons and embracing a career change that allowed her more flexibility and a substantial income increase necessary to raise a special-needs child.
In the first year of the Snob Nails Technician School’s existence, Ward provided training for several young people at a low cost. When grant funds ran out, she pivoted to selling t-shirts, press on-nails, book bags and other Snob Nails paraphernalia to subsidize what she considers a lucrative education.
On Sept. 8, she showcased some of those items during MelaninCon, a multi-day event at Arena Stage that attracted and united Black millennials of various professional backgrounds around the common goal of celebrating Blackness and tackling the litany of challenges facing the Black community.
Ward said that, by exposing Black people to career advancement opportunities in the nail tech industry, she’s playing her part in fulfilling that mission.
“We’re a huge minority in the nail tech industry,” Ward said. “There’s a lack of education and mentorship, and we’re the most creative but have the least funding. That’s why I need to find a way to get students and make [my classes] affordable. This skill has made me a seven-figure earner and live life on my terms. I’m not scared to give the know-how.”
Ward counted among more than 100 young people who converged
on Arena Stage during MelaninCon, what founder Donovan Woodberry described as a “Celebration of Us.”
On Friday, participants flooded the lobby of Arena Stage to network with one another. They later listened to panel discussions centered on brand cultivation, navigating the Black business landscape, financial planning, holistically addressing youth crime, and mental health.
Brandon Andrews, a casting director for ABC’s Shark Tank, gave a keynote address intended to shed light on the equitable relationship between entrepreneurs and investors.
Throughout the weekend, MelaninCon took to the D.C. streets during a feed-the-homeless events along Benning Road in Northeast and in McPherson Square in Northwest. Participants also flooded the photo booth and danced the night away at a Black Excellence Gala that featured Black-owned spirit brands. Other seminal moments brought participants to Audi Field and La Vie in Southwest, and Pop Social in Northwest.
In reflecting about MelaninCon, Woodberry said that the three-day function highlights how he has grown in his love for D.C.. Woodberry has called the Dis-
trict home since leaving University of Louisville in 2017 to immerse himself in what he described as a unique Black urban experience and build upon a flourishing career as an influencer, fashion designer and model. He called the District a significant change from what he had encountered as a young adult at a predominantly white university.
“I like D.C.’s sense of culture and [being able to] see the different types of Black people -- those in the hood, those in government, and those from out of the country,” Woodberry said as he further explained the inspiration behind MelaninCon. “I thought about our problems and created panels around that. There’s a wealth gap and it’s hard to collaborate with people so I wanted to create the flame of positive Black influence on the community for collaboration.”
Andrews, senior impact strategist with Values Partnership, expressed similar sentiments about the young people who attended MelaninCon, saying that melanin represents the diversity and uniqueness of the Black race.
In the spirit of collaboration, Andrews spent a portion of his keynote address offering to help connect entrepreneurs with resources
MELANINCON Page 45
Thousands of attendees from across the region came to Greenbelt's Roosevelt Center to participate in the festivities as part of the Labor Day Festival from Friday, Sept. 1 through Monday, Sept. 4.
During the festival, a circus wheel and other carnival rides were erected, food vendors sold their wares to a hungry audience and live music was performed on stage each night. There was even a stand offering a wide variety of books for low prices in the Roosevelt Center, all to benefit the volunteer organizations who put the festival together.
Councilmember Ric Gordon said he saw about 1,000 attendees on Saturday and was looking forward to a chicken stick following his interview at the festival. Earlier that day, the politician was victorious during a pie eating contest and had advice for future contestants.
“Go in hungry. Don’t eat that morning,” said Gordon about how he beat Mayor Emmett Jordan (D) in the almost seven-decade long tradition of the pie eating contest. “I ate one slice the fastest. We had our hands behind our back and had to see who was the quickest.”
Catalyst Hot Dogs, another vendor present for the festival that operates out of Riverdale, offered Saturday’s attendees a food deal.
For $12, attendees could get two hot dogs, chips and a drink. In just one day, the vendor sold well over 200 hot dogs.
The Roosevelt Democratic Club, a Greenbelt-based Democratic organization, raised additional funds by selling festival staples: funnel cakes and Boardwalk fries.
The 67th Annual Labor Day Parade was held on Monday morning. WI
For the first time this year, the University of Maryland, College Park is implementing COVID-19 policies to reduce the spread as cases are increasing.
The new COVID-19 policy reads, in part: "All students living on-campus will need to isolate at their permanent home or another off-campus location if they test positive."
According to the new policy, students can only return on day six if they meet a list of conditions, including: no fever for 24 hours, improving symptoms and a negative rapid test on day six. Even then, there's another five days of masking and dining alone. Students can request a sick meal be delivered to their dorm room.
Interviews with students have yielded a variety of responses. While some students understand
the need for this new policy, some out of state students worry that isolation outside of their campus housing may force them to return home.
"My friend just had COVID last week. One of my friends, he tested positive yesterday, and he's, like, 'I'm going home.' I just thought he was doing it to be safe, but I guess it was because he has to,” said UMD student Elizabeth Rand.
"I'm only an hour and a half away, but even I thought to myself, class would kind of be inaccessible, and stuff like that, if I had to go home if I got COVID.” WI
Barbara Holt Streeter was appointed as the County’s new Director of Strategic Partnerships on Sept. 5 and Samantha Howard was appointed as the Latino Affairs Liaison on Sept. 7.
Holt Streeter previously served as the partnership officer for Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS), where she was responsible for establishing and maintaining effective partnerships within PGCPS. Her other service has included as an adjunct professor at Prince
George’s Community College, manager of External Affairs and the Faith-Based and Community Outreach manager at the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and as the Communications Director of the Office of Lieutenant Governor for the State of Maryland.
“I am honored for the opportunity to work with County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, an amazing leader whose passion, vision, and management have positioned us to be a stronger County,” said Holt Streeter.
In her new role, Holt Streeter said her goal is to collaborate with her team: “to connect, collaborate, and cultivate strategic partnerships with our non-profit, faith, small business, and corporate partners.”
“We want to have a strong presence in Prince George’s County and provide resources, information, and opportunities for our partners because together, we are Prince George’s Proud,” Holt Streeter added enthusiastically.
Samanatha Howard, a native of Puerto Rico who moved to Prince George’s in 1989, previously served as the coordinator of Recruitment and Community Relations at Prince George’s Community College for more than 15 years where she reached out to underrepresented student populations and advocated to end out-of-state tuition for un-
documented and DACA students.
“It is with sincere enthusiasm that I step into the Latino Affairs Liaison role,” said Howard. “My passion for serving the Hispanic/Latino community and other underrepresented populations in Prince George’s County has driven me to remain focused and committed to the work. I am excited to start my next chapter in a role where I can leverage my experience and leadership for the benefit of my community.”
“We are excited to welcome Mrs. Samantha Howard as our new Latino Affairs Liaison,” said Alsobrooks. “With her background, knowledge, and expertise, we are confident that she will support our continued efforts to further connect with our county’s Hispanic/Latino community.” WI
“Go in hungry. Don’t eat that morning,” said Gordon about how he beat Mayor Emmett Jordan (D) in the almost seven-decade long tradition of the pie eating contest.PRINCE GEORGE’S
Maryland’s Office of Social Equity (OSE) has officially launched their website portal for those interested in entering the cannabis business who meet the necessary requirements.
The mission of OSE is to provide resources and support for historically disadvantaged individuals and businesses seeking to enter the Maryland adult-use cannabis industry.
The law defines an eligible social equity applicant as having at least 65% ownership and control held by one or more individuals who:
Has lived in a disproportionately impacted area for at least five of the last 10 years immediately preceding the submission of the application; or
Attended a public school in a disproportionately impacted area for at least five years; or
For at least two years, attended a four-year institution of higher education in Maryland where at least 40% of the individuals who attended the institution of higher education received a Pell Grant.
In mid-July, Governor Wes Moore (D) announced the appointment of Audrey L. Johnson as Acting Executive Director of the Office of Social Equity and Courtney Davis as Deputy Director of the OSE. WI
County Councilmember Jolene Ivey (D-District 5) hosted a Back to School event complete with food trucks to begin the new school year on Aug. 31.
Carletta Lundy, a former Bladensburg Councilmember who now serves on the Prince George’s County Board of Elections, had a table to distribute voter registration alongside her husband and a cycling group recruited for future rides. Soultarian
Cafe, I Got The Scoop and It’s in Tha Bag were the present food trucks, and a law change led by Ivey should usher in significantly more food truck access to County residents.
Ivey was the main sponsor of CB53 in 2022, which eliminated food truck hubs and allowed for food trucks in different locations around the County.
“Before the county legislation, food trucks could not operate, and it has been so great for the community to have food trucks available at community events but also to help small businesses jump-start here in the County,” said Cheverly Councilmember and Ivey’s Chief of Staff Amy Jean Chung Fry in an email.
“The passage of this historic legislation is a great step in supporting the entrepreneurial spirit of our food truck community by expanding the vending opportunities in the County," said Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation CEO and President David Iannucci in 2022. WI
The Board of Public Works, currently composed of Governor Wes Moore (D), Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D) and Treasurer Dereck Davis (D), unanimously voted to approve a change to require new vehicles get inspections after six years, rather than after three years.
Vehicles older than six years will still require an inspection every other year. The estimated lost revenue to the transportation fund is between $3,000,000 (the Motor Vehicle Administration’s estimate) and $6,100,000 (the Department of Legislative Services estimate). However, the Transportation Trust Fund is expecting a four billion dollar shortfall and state leaders recently convened a work group to find new revenue sources.
During the discussion regarding the proposed change, Lierman acknowledged the predicted loss of
revenue
Davis said he was okay with the change, as over 99% of vehicles pass their inspections after six years.
The Maryland Department of the Environment is holding a vir-
tual public hearing on Sept. 18 on how it will implement the new rule, which will then be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval. WI
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During its Sept. 6 session, the Prince George’s County Council voted unanimously to enact legislation requiring gas stations to prominently display credit card prices on their signs.
The measure was authored by Council member Edward Burroughs III (D-District 8). In a statement, Burroughs said the bill is about protecting consumers.
“We have so many seniors and individuals who go to the pump every single day thinking that they are going to pay one price, but because they primarily use a credit card or debit card, they are forced to pay a higher price,” he said. “We even have situations where gas companies will post the price of gas based on whether you receive a car wash or not, so you believe you are paying a certain amount when you are really paying several dollars more. The goal of this bill is to increase transparency.”
The bill will take effect 45 calendar days after it becomes law. Convenience stores and gas stations presently in operation have a full year from the effective
comply. Noncompliant convenience stores and gas stations, after a grace period, shall be charged a civil monetary fine of $100 for the first offense, $250 for the second offense, $500 for the third offense and $1,000 for every subsequent offense every calendar year.
WIThe Greater Washington Urban League is offering a class for people looking to make a shift in their current job or a career change but don’t know where to start.
The class, “Map Your New Beginning” will be offered by the organization’s Center for Financial Inclusion and the Financial Empowerment Center as a part of its “Spark Series” classes.
The career change class will offer a coach who will walk participants through the important questions one should ask themselves during the process. Also, participants will learn how to develop a skills inventory as well as map current skills, passions, and curiosities to new opportunities. Plus,
troduce participants to assessment tools that identify talents and strengths to help start mapping a new beginning.
The “Map Your Beginning” class will be held online via webinar on Sept. 18 at 1 p.m. Other classes in the “Spark Series'' include: “It’s Stressful But It’s Not All You, Part 1” on Sept. 19; “It’s Stressful But It’s Not All You, Part 2” on Sept. 20; “Package Your Brilliance” on Sept.21; “Playing Chess not Checkers” on Sept. 25; and Employment Law on Sept. 26.
The highly interactive classes are designed to include any learner at any level. There is no charge to take the class, which is online. Upon the completion of the “Spark Series”, participants will be eligible to take advantage of our career coaching sessions at no cost. For more information, call 202265-8200. WI
The National Building Museum will sponsor a day-long event, FUTURE CITIES Housing Affordability Summit, which will take place on Sept. 19 from 9:30 a.m.6:30 p.m.
The museum will convene a diverse group of thought leaders who will engage in critical conversations about the challenges and opportunities facing communities when it comes to affordable housing.
The discussion will center around displacement, wealth disparities and equitable development; affordable housing and the equitable energy transition; and intergenerational communities and alternative housing.
Housing has been central to the museum’s mission since it opened in 1980 through exhibitions, conferences, partnerships, and numerous programming initiatives creating conversation about how design and construction can create opportunity and empower communities.
Former Obama administration U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan will serve as one of the headline speakers.
The museum is located at 401 F Street., NW, Washington, D,C. WI
Well-known litigator Willie Gary, a 1974 alumnus of the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) School of Law, will be portrayed by renowned actor Jamie Fox in the upcoming movie, “The Burial.”
The film depicts Gary’s legal battle to save Jeremiah O’Keefe’s Mississippi funeral home from a corporate giant. NCCU School of Law Dean Patricia Tim-
“We knew domestic travelers would return quicker than those from international markets, and when domestic travelers are considering where to spend their money, the data tells us D.C. is a top choice,” said Ferguson.
mons-Goodson will participate in a panel discussion following a private “The Burial” screening at the 10th Annual National HBCU Pre-Law Summit & Law Expo that will take place at the University of the District of Columbia, 4340 Connecticut Avenue NW on Sept. 22-23.
The film arrives in select theaters on Oct. 6 and on Prime Video.
Gary is a partner in the law firm of Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary located in Stuart, Florida. He has earned the reputation as “The Giant Killer” according to his firms’ website, due to taking down some of America’s most well-known corporate giants on behalf of his clients.
Gary has won some of the largest jury awards and settlements in U.S. history, including cases valued more than $30 billion. WI
@JamesWrightJr10
D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb announced on Sept. 11 that a multistate settlement with Tempoe, LLC, a third-party financing company, resolves an investigation into the firm’s advertising and leasing practices nationally.
The settlement includes 41 states and the District. The investigation revealed Tempoe tricked consumers into believing they were signing up to buy products like appliances or furniture on an installment plan, when they were entering into pricey lease agreements. As a part of the settlement, Tempoe is canceling more than $33 million in outstanding lease agreements and is permanently banned from engaging in future leasing activities.
Consumers will also be able to keep the products Tempoe deceived them into leasing.
“District consumers have a right to complete and accurate up-front information about the products they are purchasing,” Schwalb said. “My office will continue to hold unscrupulous businesses accountable for deceiving District residents.”
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares also joined in the settlement.
WI
@JamesWrightJr10
In September we celebrate not only Grandparents but also Kinship Care Month, recognizing relatives, members of tribes and clans and non-related extended family members who provide protection and nurturing for younger family members.
As a community we have historically care for others who are not biologically our children. Sometimes they are our children’s children or cousins or simply a person we know who needs protection and nurturing. There does not necessarily have to be a legal or biological connection. That is noble and kind.
As estate planning attorneys, it is a joy to see that love is not restricted or denied based upon the rules of parentage, but it is given, many times, liberally to whoever may present the need.
As estate planning attorneys it is also devasting when there has not been strategic planning to care for those who are loved but do not fall within the natural structure that the court recognizes.
When there is no strategic plan that complies with the structure of the law, there is very little opportunity to support those after life that you have supported during your lifetime. I have worked with families where the grandparents have taken responsibility for their grandchildren because the parents were unfit. When the grandparents passed away, because there was no legal action taken, the children received the inheritance, irrespective of the fact that they were not capable of managing the resources effectively, and the receipt was to their detriment. In addition, the grandchildren who were cared for by the grandparents and also cared for the grandparents as they aged, were not legally in a position to receive any inheritance.
The opportunity to provide for the ones we love is a blessing. Yet it is complicated. So many things we do because of love and we want to keep it simple. However, the support that we provide those we love comes with a great level of responsibility. The legal questions need to be taken into consideration. The authorization to support the minor must be provided by the parent or through the court. The court system is always the least preferred, but authorization must be granted. The authorization must delineate the level of support that is granted and for what span of time is the authorization granted.
In estate planning, we often prepare standby guardianship designations that provide an opportunity for the parent or legal guardian to identify someone who can serve as the guardian of the minor child in the interim before the court process can take effect. The responsibility that we take on to care for others is a lot! It is a choice that we make often for the balance of our lives or the lives of the loved ones. It should not be entered into lightly. Whether we are biological or adoptive guardians, legally or lovingly, we should be mindful of the impact and the opportunity. We should be thoughtful not just for the decisions of the day but the opportunity to build the legacy for tomorrow.
The Life and Legacy Counselors would be honored to support you to build the legacy for your biological or adoptive family.
As Congress reconvened after their routine summer break work to avoid a federal government shutdown on Oct. 1 continued.
“The questions flying around the Capitol come in two categories. Top of mind are the logistical ones: When will the government shut down? And for how long?” Philip
Elliott wrote for TIME.
The critical issue is the passage of a short-term spending bill to stave off the looming government shutdown.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, caught in the crossfire of a political maelstrom, finds himself in a most precarious position.
According to CNN, during a recent private conference call, McCarthy urged his colleagues to support a short-term spending deal to avert an
5 Seniors could be hurt most by a federal government shutdown. (Courtesy Photo/ Wikimedia Commons).
impending shutdown. He proposed postponing the larger funding fight until later in the fall, a strategy that some view as prudent to ensure the government continues to function.
The House and Senate face sub-
stantial differences in their funding proposals, with McCarthy’s prior deal with the White House crumbling under the pressure of demands from the conservative wing of his party. As a result, the two chambers are hundreds of billions of dollars apart, increasing the urgency to find a compromise.
According to NBC News, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-KY.) has made clear that he and his fellow Republicans intend to stick to the previous terms of the deal.
“The speaker and the president reached an agreement which I supported in connection with raising the debt ceiling to set spending levels for next year,” McConnell said, according to the network. “The House then turned around and passed spending levels that were below that level. Without stating an opinion about that, that’s not going to be replicated in the Senate.”
The White House and senators from both sides of the aisle advocate tying the short-term funding bill to critical provisions such as $24 billion in aid to Ukraine and an additional $16 billion for communities devastated by natural disasters. However, a vocal faction of House conservatives opposes swiftly passing additional aid to Ukraine.
The procedural hurdle of securing a rule vote in the House adds another layer of complexity. Some hard-right conservatives have declared their willingness to block the rule vote for the spending bill if their
demands are not met.
McCarthy must decide whether to align with conservative hardliners, risk a head-on collision with the White House, or forge a compromise with Democrats, passing the spending bill by a two-thirds majority. The latter option could jeopardize his standing among the MAGA wing and possibly lead to his being removed as House Speaker.
“Certainly, I’m willing to shut the government down,” Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall stated. “Whatever it takes to force the issue, to slow down the government spending up here, I’m willing to do it.”
Meanwhile, Reuters said investors have concerns over a possible shutdown, which could have ramifications for the economy heading into the year-end and beyond. A significant portion of government functions could grind to a halt, and Goldman Sachs strategists estimate that such an event could lead to a 0.2% reduction in U.S. economic growth for each week it persists.
A shutdown would represent the fourth in the last ten years, affecting most federal civilian workers. Military institutions could experience severe impacts, but troops and some Defense Department civilians would be required to stay at their posts without receiving pay.
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers also could be furloughed without pay, causing disruptions in services ranging from passport applications to national park maintenance. Workers deemed essential would remain on duty without pay, but mail delivery, tax collection, and debt payments would continue. Most social security payments would continue, because of automated processes. However, depending on the shutdown’s length, customer service for social security claimants and beneficiaries could face significant disruptions.
“Our seniors deserve to be a priority,” Max Richtman, a former staff director at the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and president and CEO of the nonprofit National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, wrote in an oped.
“And they shouldn’t have to worry about their earned benefits because MAGA House members once again are willing to hold the government hostage to their extremist aims.”
WI @StacyBrownMedia
Black America for Immigration Reform, a new group in Washington, D.C., that works on immigration policy, has been making waves in the political world. Even though the name sounds progressive, the group’s founder, William W. Chip, is a white person with a history of making controversial racial posts. The organization’s primary goal is to limit immigrants, which many groups have criticized.
Chip served as Donald Trump’s senior counselor at the Department of Homeland Security, and is the only person named as an agent for the new group. Chip, who claims that more immigration could hurt Black Americans, has worked as a tax attorney and written for the Center for Immigration Studies, which wants to limit immigration.
Politico, which broke the story
about the new group, noted that some see the start of this nonprofit as an attempt to get more people to agree that immigration hurts Black workers, and the federal government should limit immigrants. Critics argue that it might be a deceptive way to stop efforts to overhaul immigration.
Chip claimed that he assembled the group on behalf of two Black board members of the Center for Immigration Studies, T. Willard Fair and Frank Morris. He asserted that he wouldn’t sit on the board, but he, Fair, and Morris will work with three other group members.
Chip said that any study that says there should be less immigration often gets pushback from the mainstream media and left-leaning groups, who sometimes call people who support it “white racists.” He said he believes they could counter this by having an authentic African American group with wellknown Black individuals on the
board, providing more credibility to their views.
Fair, the head of the Urban League in Miami, said that the idea for the group came from worries about how immigration would affect Black neighborhoods.
“In Dade County, having experienced the Haitians coming here, I knew how if it was not controlled how it could impact negatively the progress of my constituents, who happen to be Black Miamians,” Fair told Politico, noting that he has been talking about this issue for decades. “And then Chip came up with the idea that we ought to begin to react again based on what’s going on at the southern border, and how it was going to impact us going forward. So, he said, ‘let’s organize a group.’”
According to Politico, Chip’s group aligns with organizations such as Numbers USA, the Federation for American Immigration, and the Institute for Sound
Public Policy (formerly known as Project for Immigration Reform). These organizations share a common belief that immigra -
tion negatively impacts Black workers and advocate for immigration restrictions.
WI
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
As students return to campuses nationwide, Vice President Kamala Harris is embarking on a month-long college tour, rallying young people to champion fundamental freedoms and rights. The ambitious initiative, dubbed the “Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour,” will see Harris crisscrossing a dozen campuses in at least seven states, uniting thousands of students in high-energy, large-scale events.
The whirlwind tour will put a spotlight on critical issues disproportionately affecting young Americans. From reproductive freedom and gun safety to climate action, voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and the banning of books, the vice president aims to engage and empower the next gen-
eration to be at the forefront of these battles.
“This generation is critical to the urgent issues that are at stake right now for our future,” Harris emphasized in a statement issued by The White House. “It is young leaders throughout America who know what the solutions look like and are organizing in their communities to make them a reality. My message to students is clear: We are counting on you, we need you, you are everything.”
The “Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour” will encompass historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, community colleges, apprenticeship programs, and state schools.
During her visits, the vice president will not only highlight the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris Administration for young
people, but also outline the forthcoming work required to safeguard these crucial liberties. The White House said she will engage “directly with students who are leading the charge in these pivotal fights, encouraging them to register to vote, use their voices, and remain actively involved in shaping their future.”
The tour builds upon the vice president’s recent travels and follows her Summer of Action, which encompassed visits to 17 states. In 2023 alone, Harris has already graced 11 college campuses, following 14 schools visited in 2022.
The Vice President’s “Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour” includes the following stops:
• Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia on 9/14
• North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, North Carolina on 9/15
• Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia on 9/26
• University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin
• College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Northern Arizona University
in Flagstaff, Arizona
The White House said further campus visits and additional details will be unveiled in the coming days. WI @StacyBrownMedia
Former White House official Gabe Amo emerged victorious in a crowded Democratic primary, securing his path to represent Rhode Island’s deep blue first congressional district.
The Associated Press projected Amo’s victory after he overcame competition from 10 other Democratic contenders in the primary, positioning him as the likely successor to former Democratic Rep. David Cicilline, who resigned earlier this year to lead a prominent nonprofit organization.
With the general election scheduled for November, Amo faces off against GOP primary winner Gerry Leonard as he seeks to maintain the district’s staunch Democratic tradition. The first congressional district overwhelmingly supported President
Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Political experts contend the victory underscores the continued strength of Biden’s brand within the Democratic Party’s rank and file.
Addressing a jubilant crowd of supporters during his victory speech, Amo, whose father and mother immigrated to Rhode Island from Ghana and Liberia, respectively, expressed his gratitude for the trust and support of Rhode Islanders.
“This election, this primary election, showed that Rhode Islanders believe in a state where one of their sons, the son of two West African immigrants—from Ghana and Liberia—could receive the love and the investment of a community and go from serving the president of the United States a briefing in the Oval Office to being the Democratic nominee from the first congressional district,” he remarked.
Amo further emphasized his unique background and tenure working in the White House under Biden and Barack Obama. He created a television advertisement that emphasized his strong connection with the two Democratic leaders. Through the ad, he presented himself as the candidate who had earned the trust of both presidents, showcasing captivating visuals of himself in the prestigious surroundings of the Oval Office.
Notably, neither Obama nor Biden formally endorsed any candidate in the race.
Amo’s campaign also benefited from the support of former Biden White House chief of staff Ron Klain, who played a pivotal role in his bid for the congressional seat.
Amo’s role as deputy director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs was central to his campaign
narrative. He described himself as “Biden’s principal liaison to mayors and local elected officials.”
His messaging closely mirrored that of President Biden, with campaign ads emphasizing his experience and invoking the events of January 6th and the presidency of Donald Trump to underscore the importance of his candidacy.
Some political watchers claimed that Amo’s victory in the Democratic primary underscored the enduring appeal of Biden’s vision within the party and his ability to rally support from diverse constituents in Rhode Island’s first congressional district.
In securing victory, Amo also defeated Aaron Regunberg, a former state representative who had the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
The African Union (AU) on Sept. 9 formally secured its seat within the G20, after accepting an invitation extended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 summit in New Delhi, India. As part of this influential group, consisting of 19 countries and the European Union (EU), the AU gains access to a host of advantages that can propel the continent's interests and actively shape global agendas.
Joining the G20 has significantly elevated the AU's representation on the global stage. Previously designated as an "invited international organization," the African Union, composed of 55 member states, now enjoys the same status as the European Union, granting its leaders a platform to directly engage with the world's leading economies, ensuring African voices are heard and respected in international decision-making processes.
5 African Union became a permanent member of the G20 during the G20 Summit 2023 at the Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi, Saturday, Sept. 9. (Courtesy Photo)
Membership in the G20 empowers the AU to actively participate in shaping global governance. Africa can advocate for policies and initiatives aligned with its unique challenges and priorities, whether related to climate change, trade agreements, or security matters. Amb. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, expressed the potential of this membership for amplifying the continent's advocacy efforts. Participation in the G20 contributes to Africa's economic growth. The AU can leverage this platform to foster economic cooperation, attract investments, and explore opportunities for trade expansion with major global players. The World Bank's positive GDP growth forecasts for Africa further underline the potential for economic advancement.
G20 membership opens doors to increased foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic partnerships. African nations can attract investments in vital sectors like infrastructure, technology, and renewable energy, fostering economic development.
The AU can actively engage in discussions related to international trade agreements within the G20, shaping trade policies that benefit the continent, promote fair trade practices, and reduce trade barriers. G20 leaders are committed to open trade and have mandated key organizations to monitor and report on these commitments.
Also, as a G20 member, the AU can advocate for financial assistance and support for African nations, addressing crucial issues such as poverty alleviation, healthcare, and infrastructure development. The G20's comprehensive financial inclusion plan benefits all nations and populations, including vulnerable groups.
The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) is extending its reach across the region, as the work of its Founder and President Kemar Saffrey continues to garner attention in regional circles, Barbados Today reported on Sunday, Sept. 10.
5 Kemar Saffrey, president of the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH). (Courtesy Photo)
Saffrey will be traveling to Antigua and Barbuda shortly, to assess the homeless situation in that Caribbean country. He will meet with government and key officials there to consult with them on this matter, as Antigua and Barbuda continue to seek ways to tackle homelessness in select areas of the island.
Saffrey has acknowledged that he is willing and ready to share any advice sought with regional counterparts, so they too can put measures in place to deal with the homeless situation that confronts them.
“It is a privilege to see that other parts of the Caribbean have taken an interest in the work that we do here in Barbados” Saffrey said. “They have seen the progress and the success that we have had here. They have seen the level to which we have brought homelessness under control in Barbados and I am happy that myself and my team can be looked at as professionals within the industry and we are able to connect with other Caribbean countries now to offer our best practices as well, seeing that in the Caribbean, we are limited based on the expertise that is available to address homelessness in the region.”
Saffrey, who currently holds chairmanship of the charitable organization Caribbean Alliance to End Homelessness, has revealed that he is also in talks with officials in Tobago, to look at their homeless situation there, which will also extend the reach of his organization across the Caribbean. WI
lead agency for a ward. The Lead Agency grant program seamlessly aligns with our mission of providing comprehensive, person-centered services tailored to your unique needs as you age.
Our dedication to enhancing the lives of DC's seniors is evident in this progressive approach. DACL's Lead Agency grant program plays a pivotal role in ensuring you have access to essential social programs, nutrition services, and various forms of support. Through innovation and collaboration within our Senior Service Network, we deliver impactful community resources via a coordinated service delivery model that values personal choice and cultural awareness.
youth, seniors, and communities to become more self-sufficient through integrated and collaborative community-based services utilizing evidence-based practices that are family-focused and person-centered. DACL will be the lead agency for Ward 1 senior residents and will work in partnership with ERFSC. To learn more, visit erfsc.org.
• Ward 2 & 3: Iona Senior Services – Iona supports individuals navigating the challenges of aging by providing education, advocacy, and community-based services that promote well-being. For more information, visit iona.org.
seniors, and communities to become self-sufficient through integrated, community-based services. Learn more at erfsc.org.
These organizations showcase an extraordinary capacity to deliver high-quality senior services. Their dedication positions them as invaluable partners in advancing our mission of upholding independence, dignity, and choice among
seniors across the District. As the leaves change and the promise of a new season hangs in the air, join me in celebrating this new journey of optimism and a shared vision of making a meaningful difference in the lives of all of you who have paved the way for us.
In Service, Charon P.W. HinesDear Seniors,
As we enter the autumn season, I am thrilled to share a significant achievement that underscores our agency's unwavering dedication to the well-being of seniors like yourself here in the District. This bold move demonstrates our commitment to forging impactful partnerships and leaving a lasting imprint. The Department of Aging and Community Living (DACL) has assumed the role of the lead agency for Ward 1.
Through our Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Lead Agency Grant initiative, I am proud to announce that this marks a historic moment – the first time in a decade that we have revamped our grant program and DACL's debut as a
This journey is not one we will undertake alone. I am delighted to share news of our partnership with our longtime partner, East River Family Strengthening Collaborative, an organization that shares our values and commitment to improving seniors' lives. Our collaborative efforts as the Ward 1 lead agency aim to elevate service excellence and innovation. Together, we strive to create a profound and enduring impact on the lives of older residents, adults with disabilities, and those who care for them.
After a thorough selection process involving community members and our dedicated staff, DACL proudly recognizes the recipients of the FY24 Lead Agency Grant program:
• Ward 1: East River Family Strengthening CollaborativeThe mission of East River Family Strengthening Collaborative, Inc. (ERFSC) is to empower families,
• Ward 4: Genevieve N. Johnson Senior Day Care Program –Also known as GNJ, this program offers adult care with a focus on creating joyful moments and enhancing seniors' lives. To learn more, visit gnjseniordaycare.com.
• Ward 5 & 6: Seabury Resources for Aging – Seabury offers programs and comprehensive support for DC's older adults, addressing their essential needs and aiding families in making crucial decisions about their future. For more information, visit seaburyresources.org.
• Ward 7 & 8: East River Family Strengthening Collaborative –ERFSC empowers families, youth,
This journey is not one we will undertake alone. I am delighted to share news of our partnership with our l ongtime partner, East River Family Strengthening Collaborative, an organization that shares our values and commitment to improving seniors' lives.
September examines Yoga
Awareness Month, highlighting the various health benefits and ways in which people are applying the practice to their daily lives. Across the D.C. Metropolitan region physicians and yoga enthusiasts alike are teaching people and
families how to implement the anaerobic exercise for a balanced well-being.
Yoga is the ancient practice of spiritual discipline that focuses on physical poses, deep breathing, and concentration to maintain the body’s physical and mental alignment.
Dr. Ehsan Jazini, a spine surgeon and yogi practicing out of North-
ern Virginia, has found himself implementing yoga practices in the recovery routines of his pa-
THURS., SEPT. 21, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
If you are struggling about what to feed the kids after school — we can help! Bring the family in to learn how to choose and make healthy snacks that will hold them over until dinner time. This includes a snack making activity for the kids!
tients who suffer from spine issues.
Jazini emphasizes that within his practice, he has found nearly 95% of patients fare better when utilizing the more holistic option of yoga. Despite his expertise as a spine surgeon, he consistently aims to educate patients on how to achieve spine correction without major surgery.
“What we need to stress, whether you are a therapist or a spine surgeon, to our patients with back issues and society as a whole, is we need to learn how to work and manage our aches and pains that we have [by figuring] out more holistic options before we go after a structural fix,” Jazini explained.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, yoga offers a slew of physical and mental health benefits for people of all age groups, helping to accelerate the body’s healing whether recovering from a chronic condition or surgery.
Various branches of yoga provide a large scope of benefits barring physical results including: alleviating back pain, easing arthritis symptoms, reducing stress and body-wide inflammation which contributes to better heart health, better sleep, boosting energy and mood, managing stress, and promoting overall better self-care.
While yoga is not the only physical modality that encourages the body’s healing, Jazini emphasized the well-rounded nature of
yoga. Practicing yoga, according to Jazini, encapsulates a holistic remedy that bridges together the three main aspects of why yoga is so beneficial: it strengthens and balances the body’s core strength, promotes flexibility, and maintains positive mental health.
“The reason yoga is so phenomenal is because it focuses on working on your core, it works on your strength, and it focuses on your flexibility. The issue is when we are not flexible and we become stiff as we get older, especially in our hips and our knee joints, then we are putting more stress on our lower back because you can’t move as much through your hips,” Jazini said. “And so, the other aspect of it, in terms of why yoga is so beneficial, is because it also works on your flexibility. So there are three main reasons it is so beneficial to anyone, which is [strengthening] your core, your flexibility, and then your mental health or mindfulness.”
Certified yoga instructor, and early education teacher, Katrice Nelson, has not been able to pull herself away from the practice since her first yoga experience a few years ago. Nelson said yoga found her at the perfect time, as she became drawn to the mental and emotional benefits of the stress-reducing exercise.
“It changed my life. Because I was stressed, my shoulders, my neck, everything was hurting and I was tense. After the movement of that one class, I was feeling more relaxed, I could concentrate, and I saw the value of it. Since then, I have never stopped.”
What Nelson deems as a remarkable experience gave her the inspiration to share her newfound lifestyle and practice with others. Her non-profit, “Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds Yoga,” began teaching classes at community centers, libraries, schools, and other community spaces to share the life-changing practice for children and adults.
Growing beyond her local teachings, Nelson is proudly spearheading her second year of “DMV Black Yoga Week,'' offering local community members and practitioners various sessions that will dive deeper into the vast world of yoga, meditation, and positive health practices.
The event, which will be held in the Oxon Hill and Suitland area, provides a host of classes and seminars teaching personalized
methods of wellness modalities to encourage mental, physical, and spiritual health across the D.C. Metropolitan community. Simultaneously, the week-long event will highlight local Black yoga wellness and creative arts businesses.
The week-long effort is supported by Nelson’s community of prominent yoga wellness leaders who will contribute to the event’s list of sessions, as she shares her excitement to bring the wellness event to residents around the area and potentially beyond.
“Yoga is more than just movement, it’s the mind, body, the breath, and the spirit. Noticing your heart rate when you are anxious or upset and afraid, and being able to do something to calm yourself. Yoga gives you a proactive way when you are in a crisis,” Nelson said.
“What I’ve noticed is that the breath is so important, that if you practice yoga regularly and you monitor your breathing when you are faced with difficulty, your body will naturally start to respond on its own. It’s not just a matter of being flexible, it’s a proactive approach to wellness.”
WI
There is a Red 2015 Nissan Altima S Vin# 1N4AL3APXFC285831, that has been repaired and standing at SA Auto Repair since October 25th, 2019. If this is your vehicle, please claim it by providing proof of ownership and you will have to pay for the repair that was done, as well as storage, and bill fees.
Please reach out to us within 2 weeks of this posting, otherwise the car will be auctioned. Call at 202-320-5030 for additional information or claim details.
SA Auto Repair
3011 Martin Luther King Jr, AVE SE Washington DC, 20032"
•
OT Blount was one of the Ward 8 Woods Conservancy’s longest-serving park stewards, a dedicated leader in keeping D.C.’s forests healthy and a deeply caring friend and mentor to those he worked alongside.
Born in Hampton, Virginia October 7, 1968, Blount passed
away Aug. 8 due to heart complications. The 54-year-old had used a pacemaker for more than five years, but that never kept him from working hard and keeping busy, said friends and family who gathered to celebrate his life at a September 8 funeral.
“He wasn’t one for just laying around, sitting around,” recalled his sister Paula Blount, with whom Blount had been living for more than a decade. She said her brother
preferred to get around on his own two feet and rarely took the bus.
“And he walked fast,” she emphasized with a laugh.
Paula is one of five older sisters Blount left behind, along
with many nieces, nephews, grand-nephews and a host of other relatives and friends. The youngest sibling by 15 years, Blount—called Junior by family members—always had his big sisters watching out for him. Henrietta Rogers, his next-oldest sister, remembered praying for him when he first went to the hospital and had to get a pacemaker.
It was 2015, and the family had been told to come quickly because the outlook wasn’t good.
“I leaned down and said in his ear, I told him to rise up!” Rogers said. “That was on a Friday. On Sunday, he was sitting up, eating a hamburger.”
Blount brought that resilience with him to work every day as a park steward with Ward 8 Woods, a role he took on in October 2020.
Nathan Harrington, a close friend and the organization’s founder, said he was one of Ward 8 Woods’ most dedicated and longest-serving team members.
“He helped us remove more than a million pounds of trash from public parkland over the last five years; he helped us save almost 6000 trees from invasive vines,”
Harrington said during a reflection he shared at the funeral.
OT rarely missed a day, unless it was raining, Harrington said. Each morning upon arriving at the site, Blount would greet Harrington as “Nate the Great.”
Blount wasn’t a fan of his own given name, Henderson, and the team called him “OT,” which stood for “Old Timer.” The moniker suited him as he came to serve as a mentor for younger park stewards and friends.
“He had the wisdom of years, and of having experience of some of the things that the younger people were going through, and he would talk to them about it,” Harrington said in an interview. “He was a very calm, very solid presence in our crew.”
Harrington described Blount as “a man of few words” who always “meant what he said and said what he meant.” He was a stickler for sanitation, always checking to see if work gloves had gotten properly cleaned and peering into the water cooler to look out for any dirt or debris.
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But many, including nephew Rhondell Williams, described Blount as having a “funny, outgoing” side as well.
Chris Williams, a coworker who worked with Blount for about six months, laughed as he recalled a prank on the job: Blount asked him to come over and help with a bag that was too heavy. But when Williams walked over, it turned out Blount had actually stumbled on a beehive.
“He was always having fun, just a good person,” Chris Williams said. “He was always positive— never seen him mad, never seen him complain.”
Blount could always be found wearing his go-to bucket hat, or else—in the coldest months of the year—in a Ward 8 Woods-branded winter hat. Harrington said he gave everyone a winter hat each year around Thanksgiving, and pretty much all the team members, including himself, tended to
lose it within a few weeks.
“Not OT—he always had that hat,” Harrington said. “He would always have the winter hat until spring came and then he would go back to the bucket hat.”
It wasn’t just headgear that Blount looked out and cared for— friends and family described him as someone they could count on for help.
Curtis Wheeler, a friend and fellow Ward 8 Woods park steward, said Blount watched out for him on the job, demanding that he sit down in the air conditioned car when he wasn’t feeling well.
Earlier this year, Wheeler found himself in the hospital for weeks after being hit by a truck. He emotionally recollected how Blount was there for him during that time.
“He came [to the hospital] … I go back to sleep, I woke back up, he was still sitting right there,” Wheeler said. “He called me every day after I got out… He was my backbone.” WI
This story was originally published on Word In Black. For a look at how this issue impacts D.C.’s public school students and teachers specifically, turn to page Record-breaking heat waves are roasting cities nationwide, and the sky-high temps don’t just make everyone sweaty and dehydrated. It turns out elevated temperatures like the one we’ve seen throughout summer 2023 affect the way students learn, too.
And with racial inequities baked into public education in the United States, the heat disproportionately impacts under-resourced schools attended by low-income
Black students. Some student-athletes may be practicing in unsafe temperatures, or kids might be unable to concentrate because their classroom’s a/c either doesn’t work, or hasn’t been installed in the first place.
Research shows that when students have more days above 85 degrees Fahrenheit and more days above 90 degrees Fahrenheit in a school year, it affects test scores. Extreme heat negatively impacting low income and minority student achievement has been documented for years, but climate change may be making things worse.
Nine of the 10 hottest years on record have happened in the last decade. Meanwhile, the latest scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showed that 13-year-olds’ average reading scores are at their lowest point since 2004, and average mathematics scores have gone down to levels last seen in 1990.
In one study published in 2020, researchers found that “students who experience hotter temperatures during the school year before their exams exhibit reduced learning” and that students scored lower with each additional day of temperatures around 80 degrees or above.
The study also found that heat “has substantially larger impacts on the achievement of students in lower-income school districts,” especially Black and Latino students.
“I feel like you guys don’t care about our school.”
That’s what a fourth-grader at Stege Elementary School in Richmond, California, wrote to the
local school board last year about the dilapidated conditions of the 80-year-old campus. The school population is predominantly low-income and/or Black.
“To be really honest, I think it’s racism,” the student’s teacher Hannah Geitner told Richmond Confidential. “There’s just a really long history, and like a lot of things you can point to that kind of make it hard to not say it’s racism, especially because there are other Title 1 schools in the district which have been rebuilt and remodeled.”
The Bay Area school is not alone in needing air conditioning. A 2021 report from the Center for Climate Integrity found that more than 13,700 public schools that did not need cooling systems in 1970 now have installed HVAC systems or will need to install one by 2025, at a cost of over $40 billion.
The report also found that an additional 13,000 schools or more will need to upgrade their existing HVAC systems, at a cost of more than $414 million.
In Florida, students are back in the classroom after summer vacation, despite cities like Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Daytona Beach, and Tallahassee having their hottest August on record so far.
While some school buildings are equipped to keep educators and students cool throughout the day, some educators said these extended periods of hot weather, particularly in districts that haven’t historically experienced multiple heat waves, make it difficult to teach and are putting students even more at risk.
Chicago saw its highest ever recorded heat index, making some parents concerned about whether CPS buildings can handle the heat.
Leaders with CPS did not offer any long-term solutions to the infrastructure issue and air conditioning problems within the schools other than to say they hoped the heat wave would pass quickly. WI
$125,000 for HVAC improvements.
Even with funds set aside for a bus service that takes students between Whittier and Sharpe, some Whittier community members have taken issue with the outcome. They said they worry that the distance could dismally affect student enrollment and teacher retention, just as had been the case at Raymond Elementary School when students trekked a mile to their swing space, Meyer Elementary School, without transportation provided by D.C. Public Schools (DCPS).
Last year, DCPS' central office rejected Lewis George’s request for a modular swing space complex near Coolidge High School in Northwest. School leaders similarly responded to Whittier’s parent-teacher organization when they asked for swing space in that area, which is under the control of the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation.
Anderson recounted unsuccessful attempts by Lewis George to also secure swing space at a nearby church, and modular space in the field near Metropolitan Police Department's Fourth District station. She said that the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) opposed the setup of swing space at the Coolidge field out of regard for contractors that have paid for the use of the space.
DPR Director Thennie Freeman hasn’t responded to Anderson’s
emails nor that of members of the Whittier community, Anderson told the Informer. The Informer unsuccessfully attempted to gather comment from DPR about the contracts for the field near Coolidge or Freeman’s communication with Whittier community members.
With plans for another protest in the works, some Whittier parents, like Alicia Bolton, remain adamant about pointing out what she describes as the racial and socioeconomic factors at play.
For Bolton, a failure to address infrastructural issues and accommodate parents’ requests for proximate swing space violates the Planning Actively for Comprehensive Education Facilities Act. This legislation requires 10-year master facilities plans to consider each school's facility needs and amends the requirements for the formulation of the six-year capital improvement plan.
"This is still a system [where you get resources] based on your ward's affluence and who you know. It's unacceptable,” Bolton said. “The city can build a brand new high school while we fight for air conditioning and they can't figure out how to build modular space."
Lewis George said that since becoming chair of the D.C. Council
Committee on Facilities and Family Services, she's become intimately familiar with the precarious situation several District public schools face when it comes to securing swing space.
In February, she introduced legislation requiring DCPS to provide free transportation for students traveling more than half a mile from their school to their school’s swing space. The minimum currently stands at one mile.
Lewis George told the Informer that, under capital improvement plans brought forth this past spring, students and teachers at more than a dozen schools, some of which are located east of the Anacostia River, will have to travel to a swing space outside of their ward during their school’s modernization.
In total, 31 schools will be modernized over seven years.
An arrangement that Lewis George mentioned as “the worst example on the horizon” involved Hendley Elementary School, located on Chesapeake Street in Southeast. When Hendley, a school with 92% at-risk student population, undergoes modernization during fiscal year 2029, families will have to travel nearly eight miles along a heavily congested DC-295 to attend the former Kenilworth Elementary School, their swing space in Ward 7.
During the same time period, students and teachers attending Simon Elementary School in Southeast will be expected to travel seven miles along DC-295 to Davis Elementary School in Northeast, which has been designated as their swing space.
Lewis George cited the D.C. government excess of the shuttered Ferebee-Hope Elementary School and other empty school buildings as a significant factor in the scramble for proximate swing space and the impending shuffling of students several miles away from their original schools.
That’s why, for her, city officials must be mindful of the swing space, or lack thereof, that’s available when drawing up capital improvement plans for schools that have gone several years without modernization.
"We have to figure out a way to not take buildings out of excess so that no schools are in situations like Hendley,” Lewis George said. “The Bowser administration needs to also be open to creating more modular
spaces and expanding transportation regardless of the distance."
Sept. 30 marks the end of the contract currently in place between the Washington Teachers' Union and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and D.C. Public Schools.
Before the beginning of this school year, union leaders compiled recommendations for improvement to workplace conditions, with school safety counting among the more than a dozen items on the list.
A Whittier teacher who requested anonymity pointed out that health also counted as a workplace safety issue. They expressed concern about how the HVAC system breakdown could exacerbate the spread of illness, particularly COVID-19.
For teachers on the edge about the lack of COVID leave and their IMPACT evaluation, coming down with an illness could impede students’ academic progress and make the school year even more cumbersome, the teacher told The Informer. "The air quality is not healthy and people get sick. There needs to be a solution where classes aren't filled to capacity and we have internal swing space," they said. "It's not fair. We have the right to teach in a safe and healthy environment but it doesn’t seem as though anyone cares about what is right and best for students and teachers. " WI
@SamPKCollins
Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Experts during a panel at the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual convention stressed the importance of capital and opportunity to help underrepresented entrepreneurs succeed.
Susie Sturdivant got straight to the point when asked about her entrepreneurial journey during a luncheon panel for Black journalists and small business owners on Aug. 4 in Birmingham, Alabama. The panel, entitled “Making Small Business Growth Happen” sponsored by JPMorgan Chase, was one of the programs held this year at the National Association of Black Journalists’ (NABJ) annual convention, which gathers thousands of journalists and media professionals from around the U.S. for a week of networking and learning opportunities.
“It wasn’t easy,” Sturdivant said during the panel. She was candid as she shared challenges, such as establishing credit to fund her daycare center, managing payroll, hiring trusted employees and making sure her team was running the center smoothly when she took time off for personal matters.
Such stories aren’t unusual for many who’ve started a business and gone through the process of growth and scale. But Black entrepreneurs like Sturdivant have historically faced greater structural barriers to small business success. Those barriers have often forced underrepresented entrepreneurs to exit their business sooner than they wanted, or have prevented them from starting their businesses altogether.
Mikal Quarles, Head of Diverse Business Strategies at JPMorgan Chase, joined Sturdivant and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin on the panel to discuss how small business owners can overcome ob-
stacles to growth and take their businesses to the next level. Alfred A. Edmond Jr., Executive Editor of Black Enterprise, served as the moderator.
“When you think about small businesses, I'm beyond the day where I will accept someone else telling us that what we need is education,” Quarles said. “What we need is access. Sometimes that access is to information, but often it's to capital and it's to opportunity.”
For small business owners looking to scale, the panelists shared the following top five takeaways:
1. Invest in your business….not fancy cars or vacations. By investing in your business, you’re investing in yourself and in your future.
2. Be purposeful about what you’re trying to accomplish. Have a plan, understand what success means to you and measure progress.
3. Be prepared to pivot and evolve. Be forward looking and be nimble when things inevitably change. You can’t predict what may come your way as your business grows, but by being flexible you will find a way to work around changes and continue reaching your goals.
4. Find the right financial advisor for you and your business. Financial advisors can help with the process of operating a small business, in addition to helping a small business owner establish and manage lines of credit.
5. Look for support and initiatives from both the public and private sector to develop impactful small business growth strategies. It takes engaged leadership, a collaborative business community and creativity from local organizations to help entrepreneurs funnel their vision into sustainable businesses.
Quarles also discussed how increasing access is a key focus of the fiveyear, $30 billion Racial Equity Commitment JPMorgan Chase launched in 2020 to help close the racial wealth gap in the U.S. He added that this commitment wasn’t intended to be a
“stopping point” for Chase’s efforts to advance economic inclusion among Black, Hispanic and Latino customers and underserved communities.
As part of the Racial Equity Commitment, JPMorgan Chase now offers diverse small business owners a free one-on-one coaching program with 51 trained Senior Business consultants in 21 U.S. cities to provide mentoring and advice. Through this initiative, the bank has worked with more than 4,000 small business owners to help local entrepreneurs grow, start or expand their small business to date. Other initiatives include the Special Purpose Credit Program started in 2022, which extends credit to small business owners in majority Black, Hispanic and Latino communities who might not otherwise be approved or receive it on less favorable terms.
Access to capital was part of the initial struggle for Sturdivant when she worked to launch her business, Little House for Little People Early Learning Center in Bessemer, Alabama. As a mother of three in her 20s at the time, Sturdivant and her husband understood the need for quality daycare for working families, which motivated her to start the cen-
ter in 2004 with four children. Today, her business serves 100 children in a 10,000 square-foot facility, and she’s opening a second center soon.
“My success did not come overnight,” Sturdivant said. “But you can do this. You can do this if you invest in yourself and invest in your business. Keep pushing through the trials and challenges. Use every obstacle in your path as an opportunity to learn and work hard to reach your goals. The only thing standing between you and success is you.”
By Denise Rolark Barnes WI Publisher
Amidst a gloomy sky filled with dark gray clouds and relentless rain outside Harmony Hall in Fort Washington, Maryland, smiles and laughter illuminated the interior as the Foundation for the Advancement of Music and Education (FAME) celebrated the grand opening of its new music training studio on Saturday, Sept. 7.
"We've been wanting to come to the South County for such a long time because there are a lot of great musicians and talented students that we can serve here,” said Founder and CEO of FAME A. Toni Lewis, expressing her long-awaited excitement. “This location answers the call from communities to provide FAME's programming to neighborhoods where public transportation and access to out-of-school activities are limited."
FAME, a non-profit organization committed to ensuring equal access to quality music education for all children and young adults, irrespective of their social and eco-
nomic circumstances, holds music as a key element in shaping character and nurturing a new generation of leaders for the nation.
"We believe that the power of music, which is a key factor to a well-rounded character, will produce a new generation of leaders for our nation,” Lewis explained. “We further believe that equity in the arts is vital to building strong communities."
As guests traversed the halls of Harmony Hall, they discovered a three-room studio. In the primary room, Lewis explained, "Desktops are lined with electronic keyboards, monitors, and headsets where students can produce and mix their music using the latest technology. Teachers can observe and instruct from a soundproof studio equipped with a full set of drums and several other instruments."
This new satellite location aligns seamlessly with FAME's mission to "give every young musician the best opportunity to succeed in life by providing music training and academic support." It further bolsters the program's comprehensive
approach to preparing middle and high school students for college and career success through music instruction, academic support, college preparation, and work readiness.
A parent with two sons who have been involved in FAME for the past two years shared her thoughts, stating, "The program has helped them (her sons) grow musically and academically, and it is a very strong community. As a parent, I feel supported."
Wayne Ferguson, UPS Division Manager and FAME board member for eight years, emphasized the significance of technological upgrades and the transition from a basement setup.
"I'm not a musician at all, but to see the upgrade in technology and to get this out of her basement is impressive to me. It's exciting and makes the work well worth it. One of the major upgrades is the recording booth."
In addition to UPS, FAME's efforts received support from the Prince George's Department of Parks and Recreation and a local area giving circle called Giving Together.
Co-presidents Renee Licht and Wendy Yaross highlighted their organization's commitment to supporting programs that serve
women and families in need.
"We learned after the George Floyd murder in 2020 that we all thought we knew something about structural racism, and we are against racism, but we didn't realize how much we didn't know and how comprehensive and deep it really goes,” Yaross explained.
Licht said the organization “learned during the pandemic that Black-led non-profits were disproportionately underfunded by mainstream philanthropy.”
“We decided we wanted to do our part in changing that picture,” Licht said. “We began finding all of these hidden gems of nonprofits doing amazing work in the DMV area. That's how FAME came to our attention. We are so pleased and admiring of the work that Toni and FAME have done. It's also really gratifying to see that the grantees expand and achieve more."
Renowned jazz saxophonist and national recording artist Brian Lanier, who has been collaborating with FAME, expressed his enthusiasm with the program and Lewis’ work.
"I'm loving what Toni is doing with FAME. I wish when I was coming up, I had the facility like what they have right now. It's priceless for learning about writ-
ing, instruments, and business. I'm happy to be a part of this experience."
The celebrated jazz artists shared his perspective on the advancements in technology.
"Music is a getaway and a platform where you can pour out what you have inside,” Lanier told the Informer. “When I was coming up, I used two cassette players to record– one for the baseline and the other to record the medley. I'm from the Stone Age, but they no longer have to do that. The state-of-the-art technology makes things a lot easier. And Toni is amazing." WI
Licht said the organization
“learned during the pandemic that Black-led non-profits were disproportionately underfunded by mainstream philanthropy.”
CURFEW from Page 1
youth in initial reports about the curfew program in which they said no young people went to DYRS on the first night.
A DYRS spokesperson said MPD didn't take any young people to DYRS on the first night of the curfew pilot program.
By the end of that weekend, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice reported that MPD picked up four young people and transferred them to DYRS. During the weekend of Sept 8-10, MPD transferred three youths to DYRS. One of those youths was released to the Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA).
Despite a willingness to explore the curfew’s effectiveness, Bell said that the program places a target on the backs of young people and their parents.
“My student’s traumatized and exposed to more harm and exposed to this system,” said Bell, founder and executive director of The T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project.
“There are risks when you’re trying to arrest your way through violent crime," Bell added. "When you think about the root causes of gun violence, youth have housing issues. So where can they be safe for curfew? I know we have to do something to stop the violence but we need to think long term.”
Toward the latter part of August, the Bowser administration unveiled the curfew pilot as part of a multifaceted crime reduction strategy. Acting MPD Chief Pamela Smith said that young people caught outside during the nighttime hours would be taken to DYRS, not as detainees, but as people who could be connected with social services.
Agencies participating in this program are Department of Behavioral Services, Child and Family Services Agency, and Department of Human Services.
Areas of focus are: Chinatown and Navy Yard; U Street corridor; Howard University and Banneker field; 14th Street between Otis Street and Spring Road in Northwest; 4000 block of Georgia Avenue in Northwest; 4400-4600 block of Benning Road in Southeast; and 1300 block of Congress Street in Southeast.
The curfew program, aimed at youth under the age of 17, has intensified discussions about the role parents have played in the violence that has gripped the city in recent years. For some people, like Tammy Givens, parents who she said have shirked on their responsibilities to their children by letting them roam the streets.
“Anything that's out of hand with parents needs to be addressed and they need to be held accountable,” said Givens, a Northeast mother of a student who attends D.C. Public Schools.
Givens, a mother of four, touted tough love and boundaries as an essential part of her children’s academic and professional success. She told the Informer that oldschool values have been thrown to the wayside, much to the detriment of the greater community.
“These are young children committing crimes,” Givens said. “People’s cars are getting stolen and they’re getting robbed. I guarantee if you hold parents accountable, all
CURFEW Page 60
Windows by Kerry James Marshall and Poetry by Elizabeth Alexander Replaces monuments that honored two Confederate generals.
On September 23, 2023, Washington National Cathedral will unveil its transformative racial-justice-themed stained-glass windows, created by world-renowned artist Kerry James Marshall. The reimagined windows—titled “Now and Forever” — signify a new chapter in the Cathedral’s historic legacy of art and architecture, symbolizing its dedication to serving as a sacred gathering space where all Americans can witness themselves reflected in the building’s expanding art and iconography.
In addition, celebrated poet, author, scholar and president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Dr. Elizabeth Alexander has composed a new poem titled “American Song” that will be engraved on stone tablets beneath Marshall’s window installation, replacing the previous stone tablets that paid tribute to Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson Confederate generals.
The newly designed windows replace windows that honored Lee and Jackson, which contained two depictions of the Confederate battle flag; those windows were removed in 2017.
The Cathedral’s commission represents Marshall’s first time working with stained glass as a medium, and the windows will be one of only three permanent public exhibitions of Marshall’s art in the United States.
Kerry James Marshall has created new windows focused on racial justice that “capture both darkness and light, both the pain of yesterday and the promise of tomorrow, as well as the quiet and exemplary dignity of the African American struggle for justice and equality and the indelible and progressive impact it has had on American society.” Now completed, the newly installed racial justice windows will remain a permanent part of the Cathedral’s world-renowned sacred iconography. Marshall has taught painting at the University of Illinois at Chicago and has been named to TIME’s annual
list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
“The unveiling of Kerry James Marshall's windows and Elizabeth Alexander's poem marks a significant moment in the Cathedral's history—windows that celebrated division are being replaced by windows extolling the pursuit of justice," said the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral. “The addition of these windows and the powerful words that accompany them allows us to tell a truer story of America, a story that confronts our past and invites all of us into a more inclusive and hopeful future."
“Art isn’t only about aesthetics; it also can be a tool for reinterpreting familiar narratives and confronting uncomfortable truths,” said artist Kerry James Marshall. “It can also inspire progress, and these windows are a visual invitation to reflect on the meaning of America today.”
“‘American Song’ was composed to invite meditation in the unique sacred space of the National Cathedral, which also has a broad and crucial civic function,” said poet Elizabeth Alexander. “I am forever honored to have been invited to offer these words to live alongside Kerry James Marshall’s magnificent stained glass windows, making space for feeling and reflection on our multivocal history as we try to move forward into a more just and beautiful future.”
The poem will be hand-carved into limestone tablets over the next nine months, using a custom design by renowned lettering expert Nick Benson of the historic John Stevens Shop in Newport, R.I., and carved by the Cathedral’s stone carvers, Sean Callahan and Andy Uhl.
The original stained-glass windows and carved inscriptions honoring Lee and Jackson were donated to the Cathedral by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and installed in 1953 on the southern face of the nave. Following the shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015, thenDean Gary Hall called for the Lee-Jackson windows’ removal, objecting to the Confederate Bat-
tle Flag as “the primary symbol of a culture of white supremacy.” The Cathedral Chapter formed a special task force to consider the future of the Lee-Jackson Windows, which recommended that the windows should remain in place for at least two years to help catalyze “honest discussions about race and the legacy of slavery that the windows represent, and the alternative narratives that those windows reflect.”
In 2016, the Cathedral Chapter accepted the Task Force report, but also voted unanimously to immediately remove the Confederate battle flag imagery from the Lee-Jackson windows. Cathedral Dean Randolph Marshall Hollerith announced that the Cathedral would serve as a leading voice on racial justice and reconciliation issues, and in the following years, the Cathedral hosted a series of public programs centered on racial justice and American history.
About Washington National Cathedral
Grounded in the reconciling love of Jesus Christ, Washington National
Cathedral is a house of prayer for all people, conceived by our founders to serve as a great church for national purposes.
No matter what you’re into, streaming has never been easier than with the Xfinity 10G Network. With a reliable connection, you can sit back, relax and enjoy your shows. Or movies. Or live sports. All without missing a beat on the network made for streaming. Because cliff-hangers should come from plotlines—not your WiFi connection. So get way more into what you’re into when you stream on the next generation Xfinity 10G Network.
The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says, “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Our country’s founders believed punishment for criminal offenses, out of line with the offense, should be prohibited.
The Eighth Amendment has been subject to numerous interpretations since its ratification, with practices such as the death penalty or excessive sentences for individuals possessing crack cocaine as legal even though they view those punishments as being extreme.
Lately, many scholars and criminal justice and political activists are pointing out that solitary confinement—a form of punishment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single cell with little or no contact with other people—as cruel and unusual punishment.
Solitary confinement is legal in the District of Columbia jail and there is a call for it to end.
D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) has authored a bill, ERASE (Eliminating Restrictive and Segregated Enclosures) Solitary Confinement Act of 2023, banning all forms of solitary confinement.
Nadeau’s bill would ban administrative segregation as in when residents are moved for safety reasons to reduce conflicts, as well as utilizing solitary confinement to separate transgender and other unsafe residents. Her bill would allow exemptions for short-term suicide prevention or medical isolation.
Mary Cheh, when she represented Ward 3 on the council, attempted to have a solitary confinement ban bill passed but it never made it past a public hearing. Nadeau has noticed Cheh’s legislative intent and rightly so.
The purpose of incarceration is to punish an individual for a crime or transgression committed. Incarceration is also supposed to be designed to correct an individual’s attitude and behavior so that they will become a more productive member of society.
Solitary confinement, sometimes used for purposes by correctional officials other than rehabilitation, has yet to be widely accepted as a form of punishment to improve behavior. Indeed, studies have shown that solitary confinement often increases an individual’s antisocial behavior.
The D.C. Council and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser should do the right thing and pass Nadeau’s bill and put the city in line with the true intent and spirit of the Eighth Amendment. WI
Congratulations are in order for 2023 U.S. Open Women’s Singles Champion Coco Gauff, who, at 19, proved victorious over Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday, Sept. 9, at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens.
Watching Gauff’s journey from the first game to the championship was a lesson in how talent, determination and self-advocacy can take someone to the top.
There’s no denying Gauff is talented and determined. She’s been garnering attention for years. The tennis star turned pro in 2018. At 15, she famously beat Venus Williams in straight sets in her main draw debut at the 2019 Wimbledon, where her four matches were most-watched on ESPN in the first week of their coverage of the tournament.
In her match during this year’s U.S. open, in a now viral video, Gauff can be seen advocating for herself with an umpire, who she said had unfairly disregarded her opponent Laura Siegemund. Gauff said Siegemund, 35, had not been adhering to the 25 seconds rule– the time players can take to initiate a play or a serve.
In the third set, Gauff was even required to serve again after Siegemund put her hand up to say she wasn’t ready.
The player was patient, until she professionally called out the unfair treatment in a true “enough is enough,” moment.
Frustrated with the continued unpunished rule violations, the teen tennis star boldly advocated for herself– taking it up with the umpire Marijana Veljovic in front of a packed crowd that included former President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama.
"She's never ready when I'm serving," Gauff said about her opponent to the umpire. "She went over the clock, like, four times and you gave her a time violation once. How is this fair,” she added, garnering applause from the audience.
Gauff listened to Veljovic’s defense. The umpire felt Siegemund served slowly and that the teen did so quickly. However, the tennis star respectfully replied she served at a normal to medium pace.
After she notes her continued patience, Gauff, in my favorite part of the self-advocacy
I really enjoy the Business Briefs section of the newspaper. It’s a great way to know what’s happening with the business community and events and how to participate.
Marilyn Perry Washington, D.C.I’m so glad The Washington Informer is covering National Sickle Cell Awareness Month. As African Americans, it’s important we keep this disease in front of mind to care for ourselves and our loved ones.
Ulysses Yates Washington, D.C.moment, tells Veljovic her expectations for professionalism.
“I don’t care what she’s doing on her serve, but my serve, she has to be ready.”
We can all learn from how Gauff conducted herself with the umpire during the match, and implement it in our own respective professional environments.
Gauff was clear and concise.
She listened.
She had receipts.
She maintained professionalism and respect for all parties.
She set clear standards and expectations.
She wasn’t rude or nasty about Siege-
mund’s skill or Veljovic’s abilities as an umpire. However, she had clear examples where neither were adhering to the rules or expectations of their jobs, thus serving as an unfair detriment to her own work and productivity. After continuously ignoring the violations, Gauff had examples of how the player and umpire were both wrong, and then clearly stated how she hopes to move forward in a productive manner for all parties.
After that, Gauff went on to win those games and six others to earn the championship title.
What a lesson in self-advocacy and determination!
debt and credit. At mid-year, the nation's total household debt rose to $17.06 trillion — a $2.9 trillion increase since the start of the pandemic recession in late 2019.
collect up-front fees and never deliver for consumers.
As consumers complain about the real-life challenges of keeping pace with the rising costs of living, key financial reports reveal that the challenges are as high and widespread as this summer's scorching heat.
In early August, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released its quarterly report on household
Little wonder then, that millions of consumers became susceptible to phone calls and advertising that promised financial relief. At the same time, businesses looking to make major profits from others' financial woes have been busy. Chief among these financial predators are debt relief and credit repair firms that make promises,
A job for all. Everyone ready and able to work will get a job — a good job that pays enough to bring a family above the poverty line — guaranteed by the federal government. At a time when our political leaders seem more intent on driving us apart rather than bringing us together, a federally guaranteed jobs program is an idea bold enough to break through the muck. Moreover, when Jerome Powell, the
head of the Federal Reserve, essentially announces that he will continue to fight inflation by raising interest rates until millions lose their jobs, it is long past time to stop sacrificing workers and their families for prices that they do not control.
A federal jobs guarantee is not a new idea. Coming out of World War II, Franklin Delano Roosevelt argued that Americans had come to understand that political and social rights had to be accompanied by economic rights. He pledged an Economic Bill of Rights that included the right to a job
Gwich'in name rings true.
On Aug. 28, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a $2.7 billion judgment against major members of this industry. An order now awaiting federal court approval would also ban these firms from telemarketing credit repair services for 10 years for illegal actions dating back as far as 2016.
"Americans across the country looking to improve their credit scores have turned to companies
like CreditRepair.com and Lexington Law. These credit repair giants used fake real estate and rent-toown opportunities to illegally bait people and pad their pockets with billions in fees," said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. "This scam is another sign that we must do more to fix the credit reporting and scoring system in our country."
CFPB's lawsuit charged its defendants with failure to perform legitimate credit monitoring services. Its legal challenges cited the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.
for everyone willing and able to work. Sadly, he died before he could make that promise real.
A. Philip Randolph, a visionary leader of both the labor and the civil rights movement, took up Roosevelt’s promise, arguing that "if full employment can be maintained in a war for destruction, it can also be maintained in peace for construction." The mobilization for World War II had created a booming economy with full employment. Now the question was what would be done in the peacetime. Both FDR and Randolph argued that
Ben Jealous
a Federal Jobs Guarantee would provide the foundation for a thriving democracy and a just society. Randolph joined with other labor leaders to push Congress to pass a Full Employment Bill. Their efforts were stymied by the business lobby, conservatives in both parties, and by Southern Democrats fearful that full employment might empower Blacks to challenge segregation and the South’s system of legal apartheid.
A Federal Jobs Guarantee would offer every person a job with a living wage. Instead of paying unemploy-
that requires fees for telemarketed credit repair services be paid after — not before — the promised credit repair has been completed. The rule also requires that credit repair firms provide documentation that substantiates the promised results were achieved within six months. Additional counts in the complaint charged that the defendants used deceptive acts and practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA).
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ment to laid-off workers, the government would provide wages to put people to work.
There is no shortage of necessary work to be done. Our infrastructure remains decrepit and dangerous, and even Biden’s infrastructure bill only provides a down payment on what needs to be done. Catastrophic climate change and extreme weather require a massive effort to strengthen our defenses against catastrophe, to clean up after calamities that are growing worse
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The Sacred Place Where Life Begins. That's what the Gwich'in people call the coastal plain of Alaska where they live.
The Porcupine Caribou on who the Gwich'in have relied for tens of thousands of years for their subsistence way of life migrate hundreds of miles each spring to give birth to their calves there. So that
It was that life that the Biden administration protected for years to come with the announcement last week that it was cancelling oil and gas drilling leases in the 19.6-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and moving to prohibit drilling in another 13 million acres of protected lands bordering the refuge.
It wasn't just the Gwich'in, who have been fighting drilling for nearly 50 years, and the caribou who won. The Inupiaq people
who live at the edge of the Arctic Ocean, polar bears, musk oxen, Dall sheep, and birds you can find in all 50 states have roots in the Arctic Refuge.
That corner of Alaska is one of the world's last untouched wild places, our country's largest wildlife refuge, and the only one designed specifically for wilderness purposes. Its continued existence in its pristine, rugged state signals our commitment to nature and our appreciation of its wonder. It's a sign of our national character.
But the value isn't just symbolic. We're on pace this year to produce more oil in the United States than ever before. Creating a glut will only extend our addiction to fossil fuels when we know that we need to move swiftly in the direction of burning less. And the trade-off is infrastructure needed to drill that will destroy the refuge forever.
It's a trade that the American people repeatedly have said they don't want to make. In polls in recent years, roughly two thirds of voters opposed drilling in the Arc-
tic Refuge. After the president's decision to allow another Alaskan drilling project to proceed months ago, this is the leadership most voters want.
The argument of proponents that Arctic drilling will boost U.S. energy independence and national security fall short when you know that all the oil under that part of Alaska is barely a year of the nation's consumption by many estimates. We won't drill our way
point of all this sudden harassment of Black women?
Like many of our sisters who are doing their very best to do the right thing, I've had my fill of threats, too — one as late as the past week. Mine was simply a telephone call, but the person on the call let me know he knows who I am, what I represent, and how to reach me at home. It doesn't bother me that the caller has my telephone number, but what is the
We've listened to what our sister, District Attorney Fani Willis, has to endure as she tries her best to do her job. As she follows the law faithfully, she is facing scared small-minded men who try to change the laws to fit their purposes and try to frighten her so that she will allow obvious criminals to go free. As she works to uphold the laws of our land, she has to contend with the Jim Jordans of the Congress using his platform to try to harass her for doing her job. She
has to contend with a person who never should have been president in the first place. We must speak up and speak out for her protection full-time, and Black male law enforcers should be volunteering to be on her security force around the clock until these scared men get off her back.
Why should she have to write a nine-page letter to the likes of Jim Jordan about invoking congressional authority to intrude upon and interfere with an active criminal case which she is more than qualified to handle. She warned him to
Marc H. Morial
deal with reality or reality will deal with him. She lets him know he is out of his league since he is not a lawyer and that he should read the laws. She went on to give him the price of a law book. She suggested he contact the Department of Justice about stopping threats against her staff and her and stop trying to obstruct criminal proceedings in the Trump case.
Who is this Mary McCord, who criticizes D.A. Willis about how she responded to Jim Jordan when it's about time he gets the wrath of all Black people? When a Black
woman has had enough, she's had enough, and it's time DA Willis has put him in his place!
New York A.G. Tish James has had more than her share of threats and craziness. The Hon. Keisha Lance Bottoms has had her share. The list of threats on Black women must stop.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson had to endure the foolishness of members of the U.S. Senate like Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee when she was being questioned to WILLIAMS Page 62
went to Black and Latino women founders.
“In the face of persistent, systemic discrimination against Black people and all people of color arising from our country's long history of racism, Ed Blum and his recently-created front group are bent on dismantling programs benefiting the Black community. They seek to kneecap any effort to undo entrenched racial inequalities and further cement the sta-
tus quo of inequitable market access.”
— Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under LawIn recent years, women entrepreneurs of color have started companies at more than four times the rate of the overall population.
In 2021, 17% of Black women were in the process of starting or running new businesses, compared to 10% of white women and 15%
of white men. While Black women represent 14% of the female population, they account for 42% of net new women-owned businesses.
Black women business owners who apply for funding are rejected at three times the rate of white business owners. Only 3% of Black women-owned companies mature and survive longer than five years. Last year, only 0.1% — one-tenth of 1% — of venture capital funds
Anti-racial justice activist Edward Blum, backed by wealthy, dark-money foundations, contends the system is rigged — in favor of Black women.
Blum has filed suit against the Fearless Fund, a venture capital firm that has awarded $26 million in investments and $3 million in grants in the past four years to more 40 businesses led by women of color.
Blum, who was behind the law-
The United States has long been described as a nation of ideas. The founding fathers wrote that "with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence … mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." This closing line of the Declaration of Independence underscored that the
founders of this great country were willing to put their lives on the line to protect the God-given freedoms we continue to hold dear. Today, our brave service members carry on that torch, entering dangerous circumstances to secure our unalienable rights.
In return, we have a solemn responsibility to prepare those we send into harm's way and care for them and their families when they return home. This is a promise we have not always kept. And the impacts have often been
devastating. But Democrats, under the leadership of President Joe Biden, are taking giant steps to right these wrongs and fulfill this sacred obligation.
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military engaged in an aggressive chemical warfare program, codenamed Operation Ranch Hand, to eliminate forest cover and destroy crops attempting to gain military advantage over North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops. More than 20 million gallons of various herbicides doused
roads, rivers, rice paddies, and farmland across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, causing massive environmental devastation. Several herbicides were manufactured, commonly referred to as Agent Pink, Agent Green, Agent Purple, Agent White, Agent Blue and the most widely used, Agent Orange. When American troops began returning home after the war, many of them and their families began reporting strange symptoms and afflictions, from painful rashes to miscarriages, birth
suit that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended affirmative action in college admissions, is on a well-funded and increasingly successful crusade to preserve systemic racial inequities and the advantages they afford people like himself and his backers.
As if to add insult to injury, he is suing under a post-Civil War law intended to protect Black Americans from racial discrimination.
His lawsuit — like his many
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defects, cancers, and varying diseases. In 1988, Operation Ranch Hand scientist and Air Force researcher Dr. James Clary wrote to Sen. Tom Daschle that "when we initiated the herbicide program in the 1960s, we were aware of the potential for damage due to dioxin contamination in the herbicide. However, none of us were overly concerned because the material was to be used on the enemy. We never considered
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to raise questions about the creative process in entertainment. This summer, thee Recording Academy updated the GRAMMY Awards Rules and Guidelines for the 66th GRAMMY Awards. AI factored prominently in some of the changes in the rules and guidelines.
In an exclusive interview with the Washington Informer, Harvey Mason, Jr., CEO of the Recording
Academy, said he has been looking closely at AI during the past year.
“It’s something that I’ve witnessed through my time in studios and as I continue to create work with music makers,” said Mason. “I see AI being deployed, so it’s always been on my mind.”
Mason said the internal process for looking at AI began when Ruby Marchand, chief awards and industry officer for the Recording Academy, got the ball rolling in late spring.
“It was the awards team, the people from membership, and our in-
By Andrew S. Jacobson WI Contributing Writer
Leaders from the Kashmiri American and African diasporas came together in a powerful demonstration of cross-cultural solidarity, calling for civil rights actions to alleviate the longstanding suffering in Kashmir. The meeting, held under the banner "Unity Across Continents," was co-hosted by the World Kashmir Awareness Forum and the Sierra Leone Muslim Jamaat.
Imam Teslim Afghali, who led the discussion, emphasized the urgency of the human rights issues in Kashmir, a region disputed between India and Pakistan since 1947.
Quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Imam Afghali remarked, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," urging the
audience to unite with the Kashmiri American diaspora.
The panel also drew attention to recent developments, including Prince George County's unanimous adoption of a resolution declaring a "Kashmiri Muslims Remembrance Day."
Dr. Ghulam N. Mir, president of the World Kashmir Awareness Forum, and Dr. Imtiaz Khan, a professor at George Washington University, expressed gratitude for acts of solidarity and delved into harrowing historical accounts of atrocities committed against the Kashmiri population. They criticized the Modi government for its actions since the abrogation of Article 370 and 35-A in August 2019, which they say effectively stripped Kashmir of its autonomy.
Read more on www.washingtoninformer.com WI
house counsel that came together,” continued Mason. “We ultimately held a roundtable-like summit where we invited industry leaders, artists, producers, labels, streamers, lawyers, and legislators. There were a lot of conversations with different people. This is something on which we have been intentional.”
Mason reported, with the new policies, the Recording Academy will allow AI music and content to be submitted for consideration.
“If there is an AI voice singing the song or AI instrumentation, we'll consider it. But in a songwrit ing-based category, it must be writ ten mostly by a human,” Mason said.
“The same goes for performance categories, where only a human performer can be considered for a GRAMMY. The guidelines further explain that if AI did the songwriting or created the music, that's a differ
ent consideration. But the GRAMMY will go to human creators at this point.”
The Recording Academy ensures it will not be closed-minded to technology but does understand its AI policy affects many aspects of the creative process. Mason shared several questions the Recording Academy
is constantly reviewing.
“We stand strong on making sure we are protecting human creators. How do we use technology to enhance what it is we do?” Mason said. “How do we make sure there are guardrails in place to make sure there is equitable and fair treatment? How do we make sure we’re not closed off to advancements? That’s the juggling act we are all facing.
Nominations for the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be announced on Nov. 10. The GRAMMYs will air on February 4, 2024, from Los Angeles.
For more information on the GRAMMY rules and guidelines, visit recordingacademy.com.
WI @bcscomm
By Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer
The nationwide SAG-AFTRA union took to picket lines this year on July 14, joining writers who began striking against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP six weeks earlier in May. With such actions, union actors in movies and television programs filmed in D.C. are not working, and other businesses that support the industry are losing revenue.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), known as SAG-AFTRA, is an umbrella union representing 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other media professionals.
SAG-AFTRA has been negotiating with AMPTP, the entertainment industry's representative, negotiating on behalf of over 350 motion picture and television producers, including its member companies and their production entities of studios, broadcast networks, certain cable networks and independent producers.
It is a David vs. Goliath scenario.
The core demands from SAG-AFTRA focus on general wage increases,
protection against the use of actor images through artificial intelligence (AI), boosts in compensation for successful streaming programs and improvements in health and retirement benefits. AI also is a concern for the Writers Guild Association and The Recording Academy, also known as the GRAMMYs.
“The landscape has changed dramatically for actors and for others who play a significant part in the production of movies and television programs,” said Towanda Underdue, a National Board of SAG-AFTRA member currently on the association’s Negotiating Committee.
Underdue, a Baltimore actor, represents the Washington-Mid Atlantic Local of SAG-AFTRA, which includes D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina.
She recently spoke about the negotiations during a guest appearance on WIN-TV, the digital platform show produced by the Washington Informer.
“As many people know, many things have gone from network to streaming. Streaming platforms are getting millions and millions of viewers,” said Underdue on WIN-TV. “There haven’t been any parameters around how performers are compensated. Sometimes we literally get pennies from the streaming network platforms.”
Underdue emphasized that it is not just actors on the screen that are impacted by this ongoing strike, businesses that serve the film industry are also affected.
“The entertainment industry impacts so many different occupations,” continued Underdue.
“We are talking about those who build our sets, move gear around, drivers, who work on wardrobe, catering, restaurants, hotels, and security. Our fellow unions, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and the teamsters are also impacted.”
IG: @sagaftra WI @bcscomm
By Andrew S. Jacobson WI Contributing
When Tim Okamura's paintings arrive at a gallery, they resonate. With Okamura's work already garnering attention in the D.C. area, his new exhibition, “Onna-Bugeisha: Warriors of Light,” which premieres this October at Pittsburgh’s August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC), promises to be a landmark event in the artist’s ascending career.
Canadian-born and Brooklyn-based, Okamura, has left a significant imprint on Smithsonian art enthusiasts. His inclusion in the esteemed "Outwin: American Portraiture Today," exhibition cemented his reputation, aligning him with luminaries such as Amy Sherald, the artist behind former First Lady Michelle Obama’s
White House portrait.
The artist’s influence extends to the political sphere as well. Back in 2015, he received a letter from now-President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., acknowledging his artistic contributions to criminal justice reform.
Curated by Karla Ferguson of Miami's Yeelen Group, the upcoming exhibition is a narrative series of large-scale works, paintings and installations. “Onna-Bugeisha: Warriors of Light,” dives into an alternate reality where a group of women warriors rise against an authoritarian regime.
Drawing upon his own Japanese-Canadian heritage, and the influence of pop culture and historical figures, Okamura offers a tale of resistance with
multi-cultural richness.
“Onna-Bugeisha: Warriors of Light is a new direction in my lifelong quest to explore cultural identity,” said Okamura. “This series is a testament to the power of the human spirit, particularly focusing on Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIOPIC) women as a band of Samurai warriors, echoing the real-life stories of heroes like Yasuke, the first Black Samurai, and legendary female Samurai Tomoe Gozen.” While the exhibition's storyline and imagery are fantastical, the themes are pointedly real. Okamura fearlessly confronts issues like oppression, women’s rights, and the erosion of democratic institutions.
Kimberly Jacobs, assistant curator at AWAACC, explained the exhibition emanates, "a sense of power, pride, and beauty that draws from a rich multicultural visual language.”
Okamura's "Warriors of Light" aren't just a painted army; they’re an allegory for social justice warriors of today. These women are embodying resilience, unity, and the fight for a better world.
"Their stories are imbued in these paintings as a testament to the power of the human spirit,” Okamura shared, “and my aim is to honor their efforts and raise awareness through my art."
Named after the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson, the AWAAC said Okamura’s exhibit is a further extension to the arts organization’s commitment to showcasing diverse artistic voices.
"We are honored to present Okamura's largest solo exhibition in the U.S. to our community," Jacobs said. The exhibition is set to open on Oct. 12, providing a platform for dialogue that is expected to engage and inspire not just art critics and collectors but a broader audience attuned to social change.” WI
Sunrise – January 25, 1929
Sunset – September 1, 2023
Della M. Burke was called home to eternal paradise on Sept 1, 2023, at Washington Hospital Center.
Della Mae Antoinette Entzminger was born in Columbia, SC on January 25, 1929, to Maceo Antonio and Della Mae Jenkins Entzminger. She was the second of two daughters, making her the baby sister to Harriet.
Della Mae completed her early education in Columbia and graduated High School there before enrolling in South Carolina State College (now South Carlina State University). After attending SC State for two years, she transferred to Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) where she graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor’s Degree.
While at Hampton, she pledged AKA, and also met Ralph G Burke. Ralph and Della were married in Hampton, VA in 1950 shortly after they both graduated. The marriage produced two sons, Ronald G. (1952) and Maceo E. (1954) and they remained married for 46 years, until Ralph’s passing in 1996.
After graduation and marriage, Della and Ralph moved to Hattiesburg, MS but after 3 months, they decided to return to Hampton, VA where they were both employed at Hampton Institute. They remained in Hampton for 16 years, until moving to Washington DC in 1966.
Shortly after arriving in DC, she began substitute teaching at several DC schools, before settling in at Woodrow Wilson High School (now Jackson Reed), as a permanent teacher. She taught typing, record keeping, shorthand and worked in the college bureau helping students with college applications, before retiring after 22 years.
1n 1967, she found her church home in Trinity Episcopal Church where she remained an active member until being called home to be with The Lord., She served the Church and The Lord as a Lay Reader and Usher, while also being a member of TECW (Trinity Episcopal Church Women), Daughters of the King, and the Repast Committee. Other memberships include Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and Delta Kappa Gamma International Society. She was also a member of “The Wilson High School Lunch Bunch” and regularly participated in luncheons with colleagues from her days
of teaching.
All her life she was a strong woman of Faith, with a beautiful spirit and it paid dividends to her many times over, as she was blessed with longevity in life, a long loving marriage, two sons and a daughter in law (Jennell), two grandchildren (Cheynne S and Ronald W. known as Took). She was also blessed with many other loving family members, neighbors, friends, and her church family.
As she got older, Della began experiencing dementia and had a series of falls. In July of 2020, she suffered from a bad fall that landed her in Washington Hospital Center ICU, where she remained for about 40 days. She was not responding to treatment and her doctors forecasted the end was near and were ready to put her in hospice care. The Lord had other plans and her condition improved enough for her to be transferred to rehab. She was transferred to Carroll Manor Nursing Home, where she received the round-the-clock care, she needed. When told that the doctors were ready to start “end of life” care in hospice, she said, “well the devil didn’t want me, and The Lord was not ready for me yet”.
She was well cared for at Carroll Manor and remained there until that final visit to Washington Hospital Center, although Ronnie and Maceo made sure to visit her frequently and bring her out for family celebrations such as birthdays, Mother’s Day, Christmas, and Thanksgiving.
With “The Lord being ready for her” she is preceded in death by her husband Ralph, her sister Harriet Bartelle, her parents, and many cousins. Left to mourn her passing, are her sons, Ronnie, as she called him (Jennell), Maceo, grandchildren, Cheyenne and Ronald W (Took), Jennell’s mother Joyce, and host of nieces, nephews and cousins. She will be missed by many others.
Homegoing services will be on Saturday September 16, 2023, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 7005 Piney Branch Rd NW, Washington DC 20012. Viewing will be at 11 AM and the service will begin at noon. Repast will follow the service.
Armory Week, a highly anticipated event in the art world, once again brought together a vibrant mix of artists, collectors, and foundations in New York City. This year's Armory Week featured a diverse range of artworks, reflecting the rich tapestry of voices in the contemporary art scene.
Galleries from around the world descended upon the city, and several notable exhibitions and projects caught the attention of attendees.
One of the standout exhibitions during Armory Week was "Marking Oneself in Dark Places," by Tariku Shiferaw, hosted by Galerie Lelong & Co. This solo exhibition showcased new paintings and installations by Shiferaw, exploring themes of cultural space-making and confronting Eurocentric systems of erasure. Shiferaw's work, including the "Mata Semay" series, offered a fresh perspective on the night sky, imagining how it would appear if influenced by diasporic cultural contributions. His powerful artworks not only challenged existing paradigms but also coincided with his museum debut at the Southampton African American Museum.
In another captivating exhibition, Sperone Westwater presented "In Light of the Hunt" by Shaunté Gates. Gates' mixed media paintings drew viewers into a world where dreams, reality, theater and myth intertwined. His work explored the concept of "The Shadow," examining the influence of hidden aspects of our personalities on society as a whole. Using cinematic visuals, philosophical concepts, and psychological theories, Gates delved into the inter-
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DC Art All Night is a yearly opportunity for all communities in the District to reconnect, redefine and rediscover all that the city has to offer. Further, the event helps small businesses, like Eckington Hall, bridge gaps by connecting communities to local small businesses.
After 12 years of serving and entertaining the community, DC Art All Night remains fresh and vibrant annually through its continued championing of new and veteran small businesses.
In collaboration with the DC Bouldering Project for BoulderFest Market, Eckington Hall, a local gallery and event space, will be one of the many small businesses featured in this year’s Art All Night.
David Ross, Eckington Hall’s owner, attested to the support Art All Night provides for local entrepreneurs.
“Art All Night brought people out,” Ross told the Informer. “I mean people told me they had no idea I existed.”
Ross added that the event encour-
aged new engagement with not only his establishment, but also the NoMa community at large.
“NoMa is trying to build itself as an art community and Art All Night creates awareness about all the interesting things going on in NoMa,” Ross said, Last year, Ross’ businesses featured the exhibit, “Whatever I Want,” a photo art installation that included the work of four local photographers, Celina Magda Donis, Gayatri Malhotra, Julian Thomas, and Benjamin Frey. The pieces go against the idea that art has to have a particular theme, exploring each artist’s unique perspective.
Eckington Hall, Ross proclaimed, is a hub for abstract ideas and expression, and thus, appreciates that he gets to be authentic to the business, and showcase raw and alternative local talent.
“They allow you to do what you want,” Ross shared, explaining that Art All Night embraces everyone’s unique perspective and taste. This freedom al-
lows room for each attendee’s interest to be piqued and each business owner the opportunity to unapologetically express what they are all about.
Ross said that at this year’s Art All Night, attendees can look forward to his collaboration with the DC Bouldering Project for BoulderFest Market, taking place on Sep 30. The event will begin at 9 a.m. and run until 10 p.m.
The event will feature a plethora of installations and treats, such as sustainable art, baked goods and hot food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, outerwear, vintage clothes, sporting goods, and more. With so many options, Ross emphasized that the DC Art All Night event at Eckington Hall allows for many people to unify in the name of local arts and culture.
“A lot of the nation is pretty separate,” Ross said, “but this event offers everyone the opportunity to be a part of an exciting vibe and unique collaboration.”
WI
The fourth World Culture Festival will take place on the National Mall from Sept. 29 – Oct. 1.
Occurring every five years, close to 250,000 global citizens, from over 100 countries, are expected to descend on Washington, D.C.
The gathering is being convened by Mayor Muriel Bowser and world-renowned humanitarian Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation. According to organizers, it will be “a grand occasion to celebrate a rich tapestry of cultures from every corner of the globe.”
“D.C.’s status as a multicultural capital will be emphasized throughout the three-day extravaganza,” the organizers emphasized.
With so many cultures coming together for the event, attendees will get a taste of D.C., which will feature gogo, the official music of the city.
People will “come together on the National Mall for a celebration of culture, diversity, and unity,” said Mayor Bowser. “As Washington, D.C., welcomes the world, we invite all global citizens to join us in honor of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s message that diversity is the beauty of creation. It is
the foundation of our D.C. values and the reason we are so excited to host World Culture Festival.”
In addition to go-go, other highlights will include a diverse international food festival featuring more than 80 sustainable food trucks, performers from over 35 countries, Yoga for Unity, and a special Meditation for World Peace. All eight of the District’s
wards will be involved in the cultural events.
At a recent press conference, Shankar was asked about the symbolism of the festival being hosted in Washington right after the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington.
“You’re right, our program is just one month after Dr. Martin Luther King’s march to Washington, D.C.,” he responded. “And he said, ‘I Have a Dream.’ Now the Art of Living World Culture Festival will rekindle that dream, rekindle hope in people to say, ‘Yes, we have to work together to address problems inflicting our society ... whether it's eliminating poverty, eliminating stress and violence … to addressing food security, and environmental issues.’ Let’s wake up and see the whole world as one family. .”
Ward 8 lifelong resident and community activist Barbara Jones was appointed Special Envoy to the nation’s capital.
“Can you imagine the stage? It’s going to be better than the halftime at the Super Bowl. And it’s a free event! It’s a three-day event and we are expecting over 100,000 people each day. All eyes are on D.C.,” said Jones. “We are going to show the world that we can come together in peace and love and harmony. We are one.” WI
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING ENTERPRISES (DCHE)
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
SOLICITATION NO.: DCHE 2023-6
DC Housing Enterprises (“DCHE”) is a wholly owned subsidiary, and an instrumentality of the District of Columbia Housing Authority (“DCHA”) is requesting underwriting, transaction and technical support services to assist in evaluating NMTC funding applications.
SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS will be available beginning on Monday, September 11, 2023, on DCHA’s website at; www.dchousing.org under “Business” and “Solicitations”.
SEALED PROPOSAL RESPONSES ARE DUE ON, OR BEFORE Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Send email correspondences to Lolita Washington, Contract Specialist lwashing@dchousing.org with copy to business@dchousing.org for additional information.
connectedness of mythology, mass media, and societal control.
A prolific artist, Derrick Adams showcased various bodies of work, including "Style Variations" and "Eye Candy." His "Style Variations" series reflected on cultural and social rituals tied to beauty, portraying men and women with expressive hairstyles. Adams' "Eye Candy" project, comprising six panels depicting a Black male figure in various colored clothing, critically examined the media's portrayal of Blackness as consumable. His work sparked conversations about consumerism, cultural standards and the power of seduction in media.
Additionally, Adams presented "Parlay," inspired by the dice pattern in Black American fashion designer Patrick Kelly's work. The prints explored the concept of life as a gamble and the shifting scale of chance, embracing the beauty of risk and uncertainty.
In another corner of the Armory Show, Gisela McDaniel's portraits, hosted by Pilar Corrias, shed light on the effects of displacement and colonization. McDaniel, an Indigenous CHamoru artist, worked primarily with BIPOC women and non-binary individuals to disrupt systemic silencing in art and
politics. Her work incorporated audio interviews, assemblage, and oil painting to give subjects control over their representation, challenging historical art traditions that favored the artist's perspective.
Highlighting the diversity during Armory Week, Conrad Woody, a D.C.-based art collector, noted his appreciation for the Norman Lewis show at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery and Gabriel Mills' solo booth at Alexander Berggruen.
An anonymous D.C.-based private art foundation president shared top Armory Week experience, emphasizing the historical context and value found in 20th-century art. The local art foundation leader drew attention to the importance of discovering artists like Marie Laurencin and her connections to early Armory Shows, which added a layer of significance to her works.
Armory Week 2023 demonstrated the continued relevance of art in sparking conversations, challenging norms and celebrating diversity.
The exhibitions and projects on display offered a glimpse into the evolving landscape of contemporary art and the vital role played by D.C.-based artists, collectors and foundations in shaping its narrative. WI
MELANINCON from Page 11
that will help them expand their business ventures.
“Donovan has brought people together for years and it’s good seeing the work culminate,” Andrews said. “Our community has wonderful ideas and entrepreneurs and this is another reminder. I’m always looking for people who are passionate in how they show up. It’s important to know that when they’re with investors, it’s value for value.”
Kharisty Akins traveled more than 1,300 miles to attend MelaninCon and further explore her calling as a life coach.
On Friday, Akins, a resident of Dallas, sold copies of her book “When Never Happens: How to Navigate Life When the Unexpected Occurs.” She said the book builds upon her community work by highlighting her healing journey and showcasing how she’s been able to overcome the challenges that life
has thrown her way.
For the rest of the weekend, she connected with other entrepreneurs while getting more of a feel for a city she said is ripe with opportunity for Black people striving to make a way.
“The support for Black business is through the roof,” Akins said.
“The support brings awareness to become a better person. I’m meeting people from different walks of life and educating myself about what they got going on. It’s a twoway street and I’m learning to take my business to the next level.”
WI @SamPKCollinsJOHNSON from Page 8
the team’s linemen performed well. The game was played at the stadium of University Middle School.
“We had outstanding work from our offensive line,” he said. “Our defensive line did well also. Their physicality made all the difference in the game.
Sharrieff said players Trevor Mercer, Donovan Burch, Chris Alston, John Strickland, Daquran Tibbs, Tayron Burwell and Uriah Johnson were among the players who stood out. The coach said he is looking forward to a productive season and hopes that his team will travel to Florida and Canada to play in 2024.
Sharrieff said there were no problems with the 50 players that made the trip, along with assistant coaches and other staff.
“The young men acted perfectly,” he said. “We got a number of compliments for our team’s manners. I teach my players to respect authority.
Taryon Burwell, 14 and an eighth grader, said the trip to Morgantown was enjoyable.
“The trip was fun, but we saw it as a business,” Tayron said. “It was a good experience and we really had to mature when it came to staying with our roommate. That is what they do in college and now we know what it is like.”
Ziyon Jenifer, 13, who is also in the eighth, agreed with his teammate.
“It was an amazing experience,” Ziyon said. “This is something I have never done before. The whole experience was great. The room was nice. The food was nice.”
WI @JamesWrightJr10
By Denise R. Barnes WI Publisher
Juanita Britton, the visionary behind BZB International, proudly unveiled the Goods@DCA retail store on Thursday, Sept. 7, at Reagan National Airport (DCA). This cutting-edge commercial space introduces a blend of High Tech and High Touch innovations, celebrated during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The Goods@DCA is more than just an airport store; it's a dynamic marketplace. Juanita Britton, the driving force behind this unique retail concept, personally welcomed and expressed gratitude to each customer while providing a guided tour for the media.
“What’s exciting about this store is it’s like a marketplace,” she said. “It’s not your typical airport store.”
Situated in Pier D of the airport, the Goods@DCA represents one of several new concessions managed by BZB International in collaboration with Paradies Lagardère, a renowned North American travel retailer and restaurateur that owns multiple retail establishments and dining options within Reagan National and Dulles International Airports.
Over the past two decades, BZB International has successfully launched 20 stores in partnership with Paradies Lagardère. Among the eight current stores under their ownership are renowned brands such as Brooks Brothers, Spanx, Wow Bao, two bars, and Big Bowl.
The state-of-the-art commercial venue also includes the local bookstore Mahogany Books, iStore, GODIVA Chocolates, Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out Technology’, and Clockwork, a 15-minute automated manicure machine. A new Starbucks outlet is set to join their lineup soon.
Britton's commitment to innovation and excellence shines through in the Goods@DCA and its extensive retail portfolio. Vending machines that line the outside of the store provide the only 24-hour automated vending program in the airport.
“This is an exciting store within a store concept that will elevate and personalize shopping in Reagan National Airport,” said Jack Potter, president and CEO, of Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority. “It fits right into the airport's goal of enhancing traveler’s airport experience”
“It is an amazing concept and a blueprint for retail in airports,” Britton added. WI
Below is a silly news story written by an imaginary reporter named I.B. Curious. It’s a news report that could have happened in this fairy tale:
Reporters, also called journalists, gather facts to tell people what is happening. Some reporters work for newspapers. Some work for online news. Some work for television
Can you match each pair of glass slippers in under two minutes?
FAIRYLAND PALACE – Just after midnight last night, the Prince of Fairyland found a glass slipper on the grand stairway outside the palace entrance, according to Captain Turret of the Palace Guard.
“Prince Kevin III met a young woman last evening at the Royal Ball,” said Captain Turret. “His majesty wished to ask her out on a date. But the young woman suddenly ran off, just as the clock struck midnight.”
beautiful, golden coach pulled by a team of white horses. Dozens of witnesses said that she appeared to be wearing only one sparkling shoe.
Captain Turret revealed that Prince Kevin III discovered a single glass slipper on the staircase moments later.
“His majesty has declared that he will lead the search to find the young woman, visiting every house in the kingdom to find the woman whose foot fits this tiny shoe,” said Turret.
An offical announcement from the Prince’s assistant requested that anyone with any information about the identity or location of the unknown woman contact the nearest Palace guard immediately.
Ask people about this event. Write down what they say. You might nd a way to include a quote from one or more in your news report.
What is happening?
Pick something to report about. It should be about an upcoming event. Answer each of the following questions about the event. 1. 2.
When will it happen?
Where will it happen?
Why will it happen?
Real news articles report on facts. Look through a page of a newspaper. Underline facts in green. Circle opinions in red.
STEP 3
announced that
WHO
WHAT
5. Who is involved?
6. Add additional facts or details.
WHERE
WHEN (DAY OR DATE) WHO QUOTE SHOULD BE ABOUT WHY THE EVENT IS HAPPENING
STEP 4
will be happening at the on . said, “ .” Draw a picture or take a picture.
Below the picture, write a caption telling who or what is in the picture.
Read an article in the newspaper. What questions did the reporter ask to get the information in the article? What questions would you ask?
Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Understand and interpret quotations in expository text.
c.2023, Forge
$29
432 pages
Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing WriterOne drop.
That's all they said it took to determine someone's race. Just one drop, the tiniest of amounts, and everything changed: no access, no rights, no cold drink from a fountain on a hot day, no freedoms. No safety. No say in the matter. And in the new novel, "One Blood" by Denene Millner, no way to change it, but time.
The first night Grace saw her Maw Maw catch a baby, she had a mess of feelings: a little sick, scared, but mostly awed at what Maw Maw called a miracle. Grace was small then, but she paid attention. One day, Maw Maw promised, Grace would be the one catching babies.
Just days after her own mother died, though, the sheriff came for Maw Maw, who'd falsified a birth certificate to protect a newborn from a white man not its father. The sheriff beat Maw Maw and dragged her off, and Grace was spirited away north to Brooklyn, to safety, to be cared for by an Auntie who didn't want her.
Hattie made no bones about that.
She treated Grace no better than a common maid, and she warned that a country gal like Grace had no business in Brooklyn society. Hattie didn't want the embarrassment of an illegitimate child around, either, and so when Grace got pregnant, Hattie tricked her into losing her baby to adoption.
Lolo never told Tommy the truth because she knew he wanted children.
She'd been terribly mutilated down there when she was younger, so she let him think he was the cause of their infertility. She didn't want children anyhow, but she became a mother with the adoption of a boy first, then a girl, and she didn't tell either of her children.
On a sunny day when she was 13, Rae learned a truth about herself, and she kept it close. She loved her mother, she appreciated Lolo's sacrifices and didn't want to hurt her. But as she grew into a woman with the same troubles she'd seen in her mother's life, Rae wondered where her blood came from …
Here's some advice: if you're not completely immersed in "One Blood" by page 10, you might want to get yourself checked out. There could be something wrong with you.
Covering just a matter of decades, author Denene Millner introduces readers to a family of women, each of whom leave an unknown legacy for the next generation. They do it while dealing with the issues of the day, racism, violence, classism, and infidelity, and with a little help from the ethereal connection they share — all of which dip and soar throughout this four-part tale. Millner is a great teller, sharing each woman's story with brutal reality, the kind that can shock you emotionless, but also with a lightness that feels like skipping.
It's a mix you can't miss.
Readers who want a novel that includes a little bit of last-century history and current events will eat this book up. "One Blood" is a book you'll drop everything to read. WI
ARIES On Monday, you are a turtle entirely uncomfortable with the idea of sunlight, and Tuesday is a stayinside-your-shell kind of day too. It won't be until midweek that you'll be ready for the outside world, though then you'll be ready with a vengeance. Wednesday and Thursday see you marching boldly forward, introducing yourself to strangers, putting foreign foods into your gullet, and being generally pioneering. Lucky Numbers: 8, 13, 43
TAURUS You wish you could take things lightly on Monday and Tuesday, but that just isn't your personality right now. Everything is significant. Emotions are intense. You may feel a surge of jealousy over something it's ridiculous to be jealous about. On Wednesday and Thursday, practice not coming across as righteous and not feeling righteous. Modesty should be your modus operandi. Lucky Numbers: 22, 24, 35
GEMINI Health is at the top of your mind on Monday. The slightest hint of a symptom sends you searching online for information about what may be going on. Little may be going on at all, but interest in your well-being is, you know, a healthy interest. On Tuesday, you're observant of your body as well as other areas; you're a detective. Wednesday and Thursday see you probing deeply. Lucky Numbers: 7, 10, 48
CANCER The ship is rocking and heaving and throwing you all around. You're in no position to sit down and sign something. Your signature would just slide off the page. This is what Monday and Tuesday are like. By Wednesday, the ship will have steadied a bit, but rather than be overly ambitious, you should invest your energy in yourself and do something self-nurturing. Lucky Numbers: 18, 34, 44
LEO To figure out what's going on in the garden, sometimes you have to uproot everything and take a look at the soil. On Monday and Tuesday, the situation below the surface is finally getting some of your attention. Sound boring? Perhaps. But Wednesday and Thursday are the exact opposite of boring. They are fiery, fun, "cruising down the highway with the top down" sort of days, full of romance and exciting roadside distractions. Lucky Numbers: 7, 10, 41
VIRGO Your restlessness on Monday and Tuesday is useful. It's due to an unquenchable intellectual curiosity, and intellectual curiosity (obviously) is what has led to the advances that the modern world is built on in terms of science, philosophy, and the arts. Lucky Numbers: 2, 10, 37
LIBRA They say money makes the world go 'round, and it's certainly all you can think about on Monday and Tuesday. Not that you're thinking like a greedy person. You're just thinking. What are things worth? What do you want to do with your money? These questions deserve as much consideration as you're willing to invest in them. Maybe a conversation along these lines would interest a friend on Wednesday or Thursday. Lucky Numbers: 23, 26, 34
SCORPIO Rebirth and regeneration are key themes at the beginning of the week. The old things are being replaced by new ones. You feel more connected to your friends and they feel more connected to you, as will be obvious on Wednesday and, well, every day after that this week. You find yourself doing things you wouldn't normally do on your own on Thursday. Lucky Numbers: 2, 11, 18
SAGITTARIUS It's OK to be moody on Monday and Tuesday. Try not to be moody around other people, if you can help it, but don't beat yourself up for your feelings. And besides, everything will go on the upswing and stay that way by Wednesday. Thursday will be a jovial day too. Lucky Numbers: 21, 29, 45
CAPRICORN You have a decision to make on Monday or Tuesday, and you have tons of friends who can help you make it. Rely on them more than you usually might (after all, you've surrounded yourself with smart people, and they know of what they speak). Certain things might not seem possible on Wednesday or Thursday, but they are possible so long as you persevere and don't opt out (emotionally) too early on. Lucky Numbers: 5, 32, 50
AQUARIUS The thoughts you have about your career at the start of the week are good thoughts to be having, healthy thoughts to be having. You are an ambitious, goal-oriented person, and while this sometimes produces stress in your life, in the long run you'll have something to show for it. Try to relieve some of this stress with a social activity, or better yet, several social activities, on Wednesday or Thursday. Lucky Numbers: 15, 36, 45
PISCES You are swimming in cloudy waters on Monday and Tuesday, and some of the fish nearby are starting to appear suspiciously more like sharks. Are they sharks? Do they have your best interests at heart? No sense in getting paranoid, but pay attention this week, especially on Wednesday and Thursday. Lucky Numbers: 2, 9, 55
Mentioning Howard University and Hampton University in the same conversation often is an immediate impetus for banter over who is " the Real HU." These two outstanding institutions of higher learning have produced some of the top African American leaders in the history of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Because of that, arguments can often lead to competitive passion. There’s various tales and fuzzy knowledge about when the debate actually began, but there is no question that the competition has heightened due to the athletic competition on the fields and courts. Whenever the two meet on the football field, the courts or maybe even marbles, it can get pretty intense.
Before we get into this, let's give a brief history. Howard was founded in 1867 while Hampton followed the next year. Originally Hampton Institute, it received University status in 1984.
Both were original members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), the oldest HBCU conference in history. In 1971-72, Howard decided to make the jump to NCAA Division 1 and became a member of the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Hampton would later follow and became a member in 1995 and some say that is where "the Real HU'' argument became intense.
Legend has it that in the first meeting as members of the MEAC, the football teams were invited to play in the Greater Washington Urban League Classic at RFK Stadium in 1997. It was
a good choice as both institutions had a large representation of students and alums in the DMV area.
On that day, Howard University, which went on to win the Black National Championship, dominated their old foe and welcomed their new member. It did not sit well with the Hampton faithful, especially the then, affectionately known as “President for Life,” Dr. William R. Harvey. During the presentation of the winner and loser trophies following the game, Harvey is reported to have proclaimed to the Howard administrators, "this will never happen again."
And you know what, he proved to be prophetic. For the next 13 times that the two met, Hampton came out victorious. Because of their profile and the budding rivalry, the two would meet in numerous venues, including Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands and in Chicago at Soldiers Field As a result of this rivalry, many of the games were close and bitter defeats for Howard and Hampton took great joy in beating their rivals.
Then things took a turn and in 2011, under then head coach Gary "Flea" Harrell, the Bison snapped the Pirates streak with a 10-7 victory at Hampton. Following the game, several of the Hampton players were so upset that they initiated a confrontation with the Howard players and refused to shake hands.
"As a player at Howard, I knew nothing about the rivalry," recalled Harrell, who was a member of the 1993 team at Howard that went undefeated. "I know that both schools are proud institutions and pride themselves on their legacies. But I have to admit that as a proud Howard alum, the streak bothered
me. So I just told the players that they had to get over the mental hurdle that had played a role. I told them that they had to get out of the mental block and make it about who we are as Howard University."
Following that victory, Howard would go on to begin a streak of its own, winning four in a row.
Harrell is currently wide receivers coach at the University of Colorado.
In the meantime, the battle for “the real HU” permeated to the other sports.
No one can speak to this as well as Kevin Nickelberry. He coached at Hampton for five years before coming to Howard and coaching there for 10 years. He is now an assistant coach at Florida State.
"When I was at Hampton, there was an unbelievable passion when it came to playing Howard," recalls Nickelberry. "And then when I came to Howard, the passion was equally strong. They are two great schools with strong passions about who they are and what they stand for."
Women's basketball was also part of "the real HU" storyline. Before Hampton became a member of the MEAC, the Howard women's basketball team had dominated for many years. It took a couple of years but eventually Hampton became the kingpin of the conference. During one period, the two met for the conference tournament three straight
years and Howard lost all three by a combined total of seven points.
Even volleyball, softball and now women's soccer are now in the fray. In softball, Howard's first ever trip to the NCAAs in the sport came after unseating the Pirates, the reigning champions.
Howard's women's soccer became the first HBCU to field a Division 1 program (2001-02). Hampton is only in its third year in the sport. Two years ago, the two played at Howard and drew its largest home crowd ever.
Hampton has now left the MEAC and is a member of the CIAA, but despite the fact that they have changed, some things never change. They still play each other in football and occasionally the other sports.
That leads to this coming Saturday when the two meet in the “Truth and Service Classic” at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. The game is set to broadcast on ESPN2 and will kick off at 3:30 pm. It will be the 100th meeting between the two on the football field.
Hampton maintains a 55-43-1 advantage in the series that started in 1908 and has won six in a row. Before that, Howard had won six of seven.
"The thing I appreciate most about this game is that we get a chance to show how two HBCUs have a great balance between academics and athletics," noted Greg McGhee, quarterback of the 2011
team that stopped the Hampton win streak and current quarterback coach for the Bison. "At the end of the day, this game is all about pride." WI
"When I was at Hampton, there was an unbelievable passion when it came to playing Howard," recalls Nickelberry. "And then when I came to Howard, the passion was equally strong. They are two great schools with strong passions about who they are and what they stand for."
The 7th Annual DC Bike Ride presented by CareFirst Blue Cross BlueShield and EventsDC was held September 9 to celebrate the people, places, and culture of Washington, DC. The DC Bike Ride benefits local charities and their efforts to support street safety programs and local food banks.
(Shedrick Pelt @sdotpdotmedia/The Washington Informer)
Nyeka Wilson, principal, Leckie Education Campus, distributes red and blue ribbons to pre-K through eighth-grade students who tie them along the wrought-iron fence surrounding a memorial garden of peace at the school located on Chesapeake Street between MLK King Jr. Avenue and Second Street, S.W. For more than 20 years, students at the school have honored Leckie student Bernard Curtis Brown II, teacher Hilda Taylor, and two parents employed at the Pentagon killed in the plane that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The fence and memorial garden were donated to the school in 2003. (DR Barnes/The Washington Informer)
The members of a Northeast Washington Presbyterian congregation are praying and keeping the faith even though the leaders of their church voted to close their building, which is in despair and hasn’t been used since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They are trying to take the church because they want to sell our building,” said Carolyn Johns Gray, 81, a longtime member of Garden Memorial Presbyterian Church in Northeast. “We are a mixed racial church. We don’t turn anyone away but they want to sell our building.”
Gray, who joined Garden Memorial in 1989, said Garden Memorial had a strong membership and daycare center but the congregation has dwin-
dled to about 15 members.
In September 2022, National Capital Presbytery (NCP) officials, the governing body of Presbyterian congregations in the Washington area, appointed an Administrative Commission “to assume original jurisdiction and act as the session for Garden Memorial Presbyterian Church to assess the vitality of the congregation.”
However, on June 15, she got a letter from church leaders saying the church would be closing.
”The Administrative Commission held a meeting on June 5, 2023, and –after due deliberation and prayer – the Commission voted to dissolve Garden Memorial Presbyterian Church,” the letter read. “This action was not taken lightly. It comes as the culmination of years of attempts by NCP (National Capital Presbytery) representatives to
work on a variety of actions to assist the Church, including paying overdue property taxes, providing representation on specific legal issues, facilitating access to temporary stated supply, and providing advice and counseling on possible initiatives with Church leaders who were willing to engage. “
The Rockville-based NCP explained that for months the Administrative Commission made various efforts to reach out to members of the Church and discern a path forward. These efforts included meetings with congregational members, requests for church records, assessment of church facilities, management of utilities, and termination of a long standing lease
with a for profit organization.
According to NCP documents, while a few members were willing to engage with the Administrative Commission, others refused to cooperate or to provide the requested records necessary to address the needs of the Church.
In a letter to the NCP, Gray wrote, “I feel that the Presbytery has violated our rights as a congregation.”
“This is habitual behavior and it needs to stop. I am not saying that we are totally clear of being part of the position we are in,” Gray continued. “We should be allowed to tend to our own business without being treated like we are mismanaging our church.”
She explained the congregation was
small, but might.
“We are a small congregation with big hearts that manages to keep our church afloat and help in the community. We are a family that believes in the Lord and the directions of the Bible,” Gray wrote to the governing body.
Between a lack of pastor and leadership, previous tax and financial challenges, and loss of heat in the sanctuary and room beneath, which was used for receptions, the church was running into many difficulties.
“We were no longer able to let anyone use the spaces causing a financial loss,” she explained.
More challenges faced the Northeast church, Gray explained.
“The education building began to leak so we could not make use of the Education building. The nursery stopped paying for its space and eventually moved out. We tried a GoFundMe twice to no avail. In trying to find large donors, people could not understand why the Presbytery… could not take care of its own,” Gray shared. “Thus, we ran out of funds to pay bills, which resulted in the church being in disrepair and the taxes not being paid, especially since the nursery was the reason for the taxes and the nursery was not paying."
Gray said she hoped the Presbyter’s involvement would have kept the church’s doors open, as opposed to the challenges Garden Memorial currently faces.
Read more on www.washingtoninformer.com WI
was entitled, “Getting Your Room Ready.”
crashed the plane into the Pentagon. Student Bernard Brown, and teacher Hilda Taylor from Leckie Elementary; Debeuneure and student Rodney Dickens, of Ketcham Elementary; and student Asia Cottom and teacher Sara Clark, from Backus Middle School all died in the mass tragedy that killed thousands that fateful day, when terrorists took over and crashed four different planes: two into the World Trade Center, one in the Pentagon, and the other in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Even though the event was 22 years ago this week, the memories from that tragic day are fresh in the mind of the Rev. Henry P. Davis, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park.
“The last sermon [Debeuneure] heard on that Sunday before that fateful day, was as he sat in the balcony of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park,” said Davis III, whose sermon
“There is a hole in the hearts of so many people. From a spiritual perspective, many people started to lean on their faith,” Davis said. “[September 11, 2001] was a wake-up call for many people and at the time churches were filled up as if the world was getting ready.”
Wife, mother, co-worker and friend Angelene C. Carter gave 26 of service to the government, with the last eight at the Pentagon, where she was a staff accountant for the Department of the Army.
Keeping her memory alive, husband Fred Carter refused to talk about his wife in the past tense after she died on Sept. 11. Instead, he talked about
falling in love with a woman he met on the dance floor and how they enjoyed each other.
A member of the St. Paul Baptist Church of Capital Heights, Maryland, Carter was known for her patience and prudence, advocacy for teamwork, and, of utmost importance, a ministry of encouragement built around great subjects such as God’s sovereignty, power, compassion, and forgiveness. She was a member of the Adult Usher Board and various Bible study groups. According to her family, after a full day of regimentation, she would conclude the day with a personal Bible meditation and reflection period followed by prayer.
The Rev. Grainger Browning, pas-
tor of Ebenezer African Methodist Epicipal Church in Fort Washington, said he lost two of his members from the attack at the Pentagon. Just the day before the attacks, one of the victims dedicated his life to Christ.
9/11 from Page 1 Pentagon. It took on another perspective and the emotional toll.
“The Sunday before 9/11 I extended the invitation for Christian discipleship and a man in uniform came down to give his life to Christ. His name was Jackson. He died on 9/11,” Browning said.
“Rev. [Jesse] Jackson and I went to the Pentagon two days and there were still embers from the explosion and you could still smell the smoke from the explosion. The families were so appreciative that we came and Rev. Jackson prayed for them.”
Browning also had to minister to his family and community right after the attacks.
“For those of us living in Washington, D.C. I remember rushing to my daughters school and I had to pray for so many children whose families worked at the
“The side of the Pentagon that was struck, I used to work in that space “ Minister Davis Worley of the Sandtowne Church of Christ in Baltimore.
Worley, 60, a retired Marine Staff Sgt, is a husband and father of three.
He said it is “hard” for generations today “ to identify with 9/11 because they didn't see all of the destruction, the agony and the sorrow.”
“I passed the Pentagon that morning before the incident and we didn't know that day if we would be called into action because I was still on active duty. I knew several people,” Worley explained.
“My message today is never to forget the past,” he added. “Our past is really a teacher for our future.” WI
The economy in America today varies from day to day, based on who is doing the talking! Bob Deitrick, a principal at Polaris Financial Partners, studies political parties to determine which party is better for Americans' finances. In an article published in Forbes magazine, Deitrick said, "President Reagan is considered the best modern-day president."
Deitrick compared Reagan's performance during the 1980s recession with that of President Obama's during the "Great Recession" of his term: "Regardless of Reagan's popularity, statistics prove President Obama's job creation surpassed that of President Reagan."
Deitrick further asserted, "President Obama has achieved a 6.1 percent unemployment rate in his sixth year, fully one year faster than President Reagan did."
Since the Reagan years, not only have we had Obama, but we also had Donald John Trump, which has changed the entire trajectory of where and how America is respected. These improvements in the economy do exist, which means millions are now getting their lives back again. On the other hand, there are tens of thousands of you who have storms of life issues raging. You've lost homes, you've lost loved ones to COVID-19, or you lost your job and you're living with relatives or friends. Things just have not been the same for you for one reason or another for years now. And to you, it may feel like God has forgotten about you. He hasn't!
According to the CDC, suicide rates are up! After declining in 2019 and 2020, suicide deaths increased by ap-
WITH LYNDIA GRANT
proximately 5% in the United States in 2021. The provisional estimates recently released indicate that suicide deaths increased again in 2022, rising from 48,183 deaths in 2021 to an estimated 49,449 deaths in 2022, an increase of approximately 2.6%. However, two groups did see a decline in numbers — American Indian and Alaska Native people (down 6.1%) and people 10-24 years old (down 8.4%).
"Nine in 10 Americans believe America is facing a mental health crisis. The new suicide death data reported by CDC illustrates why. One life lost to suicide is one too many. Yet too many people still believe asking for help is a sign of weakness," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. "The Biden-Harris administration is making unprecedented investments to transform how mental health is understood, accessed and treated as part of President Biden's Unity Agenda. We must continue to eliminate the stigmatization of mental health and make care available to all Americans."
Debra Houry, CDC's chief medical officer, said the "troubling increase" in suicide rates "requires immediate action across our society to address the staggering loss of life from tragedies that are preventable."
"Everyone can play a role in efforts to save lives and reverse the rise in suicide deaths," Houry said.
Be very careful of how you think. Happy, loving and caring thoughts are of God, but the dark side is not, and when such negative thought patterns continue for long periods, that thinking can be detrimental. So shake the devil off!
Thre is a Scripture, Ephesians 6:12, which says: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
Folks, when we allow negative thinking to persist, it is often catastrophic.
Here is where I'd like to encourage those of you who are feeling downtrodden. Keep your hand in God's hand. It really doesn't matter what's going on — the Lord will fix it for you.
Don't allow your dire circumstances to cause you to take your own life. And watch out for your teenage children too — there are so many of them hurting as well. No storm continues to rage. The winds will subside, clouds will clear, and the sun will surely return, so use Mother Earth's model. Green grass grows after much rain, but those who take their own lives — well, that will be forever.
Like the lyrics from my favorite Shirley Caesar song, "He'll Do It Again!," "You may be down and feel like God has somehow forgotten/that you are faced with circumstances you can't get through/But now it seems that there's no way out and you're going under/God's proven time and time again He'll take care of you.
In the chorus, she says, "And He'll do it again, He'll do it again/Just take a look at where you are now and where you've been/Well, hasn't He always come through for you? He's the same now as then/You may not know how, you may not know when, but He'll do it again!" WI
The Miracle Center of Faith Missionary Baptist Church
Crusader Baptist Church Isle of Patmos Baptist Church Pilgrim Baptist Church
Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor 700 I Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 547-8849
Service and Times Worship Sundays: 7:30 & 11:00 AM
Sundays: 9:30 AM
Sundays: Baptism & Holy Communion Prayer & Praise:
Blessed Word
Dr. Dekontee L. & Dr. Ayele A. Johnson
Pastors
4001 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 (202) 265-6147 Office
1-800 576-1047 Voicemail/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 www.blessedwordoflifechurch.org
Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ
Reverend William Young IV Pastor
3845 South Capitol Street Washington, DC 20032
(202) 562-5576 (Office) / (202) 562-4219 (Fax)
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
“An inclusive ministry where all are welcomed and affirmed.” www.covenantdc.org
St. Stephen Baptist Church
Bishop Lanier C. Twyman, Sr. Senior Pastor
5757 Temple Hill Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748 Office 301.899.8885 – Fax 301.899.2555 Services and Times
Sunday Early Morning Worship 8:00 AM
Sunday School 9:30 AM
Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 AM
Tuesday: 7:00 PM – Kingdom Building Bible Institute
Wednesday: 12:30 PM – Mid-Day Bible Study
Wednesday: 7:00 PM – Prayer/Praise/Bible Study
Baptism - 3rd Sunday – Communion 4th Sunday
“We are one in the Spirit” www.ssbcmd.org | secretary@ssbcmd.org
Rev. Dr. Alton W. Jordan Pastor 800 I Street, NE - Washington, DC 20002 202-548-0707 - Fax No. 202-548-0703
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
E-mail: Crusadersbaptistchurch@verizon.net
www.CrusadersBaptistChurch.org / “God is Love”
Third Street Church of God
Rev. Cheryl J. Sanders, Th.D. Senior Pastor 1204 Third Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 202-347-5889 office / 202-638-1803 fax
Services and Times
Sunday School: 9:30 AM
Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM
Sunday Community Worship Service: 8:30 AM
“Ambassadors for Christ to the Nation’s Capital” www.thirdstreet.org
Live Stream Sunday Worship Service begins @ 12:00 noon www.thirdstreet.org
Reverend Dr. Calvin L. Matthews Senior Pastor 1200 Isle of Patmos Plaza, Northeast Washington, DC 20018
Office: (202) 529-6767 - Fax: (202) 526-1661
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
Study: Tuesdays at 7 PM
“A Ministry of Reconciliation Where Everybody is Somebody!” Website: http://isleofpatmosbc.org
“Friendliest Church in the City” Website: mountolivetdc.org Email: mtolivedc@gmail.com
All Nations Baptist Church
Rev. Dr. James Coleman Pastor
2001 North Capitol St, N.E. - Washington, DC 20002 Phone (202) 832-9591
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
Adams Inspirational A.M.E. Church
Dr. E. Gail Anderson Holness Senior Pastor
Rev. Ali Gail Holness-Roland Assistant & Youth Pastor 12801 Old Fort Road • Ft. Washington, MD 20744 Office (301) 292.6323 • FAX (301) 292.2164
Service and Times
Sunday Worship 10:15 am
Sunday Church School 11:00 am
Youth Sunday every 4th Sunday Prayer Call @ Noon every Tuesday & Thursday 978.990.5166 code: 6166047#
Virtual Bible Study Wednesday Facebook & Zoom 7:00 pm
“A Growing Church for a Coming Christ” www.adamsinspirationalamec.org
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
Emmanuel Baptist Church
Reverend Christopher L. Nichols Pastor 2409 Ainger Pl.,SE – WDC 20020 (202) 678-0884 – Office / (202) 678-0885 – Fax
“Moving Faith Forward”
0% Perfect . . 100% Forgiven!
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
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”
www.mtzbcdc.org
Shiloh Church of God 7th Day
Elder Jonathan M. Carson Senior Pastor 5701 Eastern Avenue, Hyattsville, MD 20782 Phone: 301 559-5262
Service and Times
Sabbath Worship @ 1:00 pm in-person/FB/Zoom
Tuesday - Prayer@ 7:30 pm on Zoom
Wednesday Bible Study@ 7:30 pm on Zoom
Friday - Sabbath School@ 7:30 pm on Zoom
Web: shiloh7thday.org
Email: shiloh7thdaycomm@gmail.com
"A culturally diverse church of edification, deliverance and transformation"
Florida Avenue Baptist Church Holy Trinity United Baptist Church
Dr. Earl D. Trent
Senior Pastor 623 Florida Ave.. NW WDC. 20001 Church (202) 667-3409 / Study (202) 265-0836
Home Study (301) 464-8211 Fax (202) 483-4009
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
Rev. Dr. George C. Gilbert Senior Pastor 4504 Gault Place, N.E. / Washington, D.C 20019 202-397-7775 – 7184 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
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)
Israel Baptist Church
Pastor
1251 Saratoga Ave., NE Washington, DC 20018 (202) 269-0288
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
1301 North Carolina Ave. N E Washington, D C 20002 202 543 1318 - lincolnpark@lpumcdc.org www.lpumcdc.org
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"
Sermon On The Mount Temple Of Joy Apostolic Faith
5606 Marlboro Pike District Heights, MD 20747 301-735-6005
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
Matthews Memorial Baptist Church
and People are Loved”
Rev. Aubrey
Pastor
Gallatin Street, NW Washington, DC 20011-3851 P: (202) 726-5940 Service and Times
Dr. Lucius M. Dalton
Senior Pastor 1636 East Capitol Street, NE Washington, DC 20003
Telephone: 202-544-5588 - Fax: 202-544-2964
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
Web: www.mountmoriahchurch.org
Email: mtmoriah@mountmoriahchurch.org
Damion M. Briggs Pastor 8213 Manson Street Landover, MD 20785 Tel: (301) 322-9787 Fax: (301) 322-9240 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
“Real Worship for Real People” Website: www.easterncommunity.org Email: ecc@easterncommunity.org
Rev. Stephen E. Tucker Senior Pastor 13701 Old Jericho Park Road Bowie, MD. 20720 (301) 262-0560
Service and Times
Sunday Worship: 11 AM
Sunday School: 10 AM
Wednesday Mid-Week Worship, Prayer & Bible Study: Wed. 7 PM
“A Church Where Love Is Essential and Praise is Intentional”
Rev. Dr. Michael T. Bell
“The Loving Church of the living lord “ Email Address: admin@pbc712.org
Service and Times Sunday Service: 10:00 AM Sunday School for all ages: 8:30 AM
Sunday Baptism: 10:00 AM 2nd Sunday Holy Communion:10:00 AM
Bible Study: 6:30 PM
Meeting: 7:45 PM
Motto: “Where God is First and Where Friendly People Worship”
Pennsylvania Ave. Baptist Church
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
Foggy Bottom - Founded in 1867
728 23rd Street, NW - Washington, DC 20037 Church office: 202-333-3985 Fax : 202-338-4958
Service and Times
Sundays: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Music and Hymns
Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist www.stmarysfoggybottom.org
Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org
All are welcome to St. Mary’s to Learn, Worship, and Grow.
Rev Kevin A. O'Bryant Pastor
401 Van Buren St., NW, Washington D.C. 20012 Office (202)-882-8331
Service and Times
Sunday Worship 10:30 am Zoom: zoom.us/;/2028828331
Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00pm Communion Every First Sunday "Serve, teach and Live by precept and example the saving grace of Jesus Christ."
Website: Theplbc.org Email: churchclerk@theplbc.org
Oran W. Young Pastor 602 N Street NW - Washington, D.C. 20001 Office:(202) 289-4480 Fax: (202) 289-4595
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 “
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 001005
Mark Lamont Stevens
Decedent
Norris Stevens-Kornegay
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Norris Stevens-Kornegay, whose address is 609 N. Church Street, Mt. Olive, NC 28365, was appointed Personal
Representative of the estate of Mark Lamont Stevens who died on April 10, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/1/2024. 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 3/1/2024, 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:
8/31/2023
Norris Stevens-Kornegay
Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens
Register of Wills
Washington Informer
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 966
Jane C. Coony aka Jane Comeau Coony Decedent
Torrey G. Wilkins, Esq. Furey, Doolan & Abell, LLP 7600 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 600 Bethesda, MD 20814 Attorney
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
AND NOTICE
Thomas E. Coony, whose address is 2801 North Glade Street, NW, Washington, DC 20016, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Jane C. Coony aka Jane Comeau Coony who died on June 19, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/1/2024. 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 3/1/2024, 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:
8/31/2023
Thomas E. Coony Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 980
Marion Shanita Burney Decedent
Ethel Mitchell 8403 Colesville Road Suite 1100 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Sharon L. Burney, whose address is 5102 La Sombre Drive, Raleigh, NC 27616, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Marion Shanita Burney who died on March 18, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/1/2024. 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 3/1/2024, 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: 8/31/2023
Sharon L. Burney Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 929
Ronald Ausbrooks Decedent
Ethel Mitchell 8403 Colesville Road Suite 1100 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Mark Ausbrooks, whose address is 11106 Saddle Court, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Ronald Ausbrooks who died on October 13, 2020 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/2/2024. 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 3/2/2024, 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: 8/31/2023
Mark Ausbrooks Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 971
Mable Deas aka Mabel Deas
Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Donna Pollard, whose address is 4415 Rena Road, Apartment 201, Suitland, MD 20746, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Mable Deas aka Mabel Deas who died on July 10, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/1/2024. 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 3/1/2024, 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:
8/31/2023
Donna Pollard
Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 940
Kevin Maurice Young Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Gerald A. Young and Destinee V. Young, whose addresses are 6315 28th Place, NW, Washington, DC 20015 and 310 Buchanan Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Kevin Maurice Young who died on March 22, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/1/2024. 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 3/1/2024, 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: 8/31/2023
Gerald A. Young 6315 28th Place NW Washington, DC 20015
Destinee V. Young 310 Buchanan Street, NW
Washington, DC 20011
Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 000961
Martanaze Earl Dew, Jr. Decedent
Suren G. Adams, Esq. Adams Law Office, LLC 4201 Northview Drive, Ste. 401 Bowie, MD 20716
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Sherika Jones, whose address is 1426 Clifton Street, NW, Apt. 10, Washington, DC 20009, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Martanaze Earl Dew, Jr. who died on May 20, 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/1/2024. 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 3/1/2024, 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: 8/31/2023
Sherika Jones
Personal Representative TRUE
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 000935
Walter D. Johnson Decedent
Joan M. Wilbon 1629 K Street, NW Suite 300 Washington DC 20006 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Deborah A. Cowan, whose address is 1643 Primrose Rd., NW, Washington, DC 20012, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Walter D. Johnson who died on June 3, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/1/2024. 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 3/1/2024, 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: 8/31/2024
Deborah A. Cowan Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 FEP 000085
March 30, 2007
Date of Death
Miriam Celeste Jackson Name of Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
John Jackson whose address is 811 Arbor Park Place, Mitchellville, MD 20721 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Miriam Celeste Jackson, deceased, by the Prince George’s County Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, State of Maryland, on April 10, 2007.
Service of process may be made upon Eric Gilliam, 1611 A Street SE, Washington, DC 20003 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C.
The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real estate.
4940 Blaine Street, NE, Washington, DC 20019. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Date of first publication: 8/31/2023
John Jackson
Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 927
Arthesia McGill Decedent
Ferguson Evans, Esq. 601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Suite 900 South Bldg. Washington, DC 20004
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Angela McClurkin, whose address is 11051 Fawn Creek Lane, Orland Park, IL, 60467, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Arthesia McGill who died on 7/4/1997 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/2/2024. 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 3/2/2024, 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:
8/31/2023
Angela McClurkin Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 000953
John Lemon Epps, Jr. aka John Lemon Epps
Decedent
Aimee D. Griffin, Esq. 5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW Suite 440
Washington, DC 20015
Attorney
NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Cheryl Y. Barnes and James A. Epps, whose addresses are 7703 Klovstad Dr. Fort Washington, MD 20744, 5905 Auth Rd., Suitland, MD 20746, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of John Lemon Epps, Jr. aka John Lemon Epps who died on 1/3/2022 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/1/2024. 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 3/1/2024, 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: 8/31/2023
Cheryl Y. Barnes
James A. Epps
Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 989
Mavis Outlaw Mueller aka Mavis O. Mueller
Decedent
Cecilia R. Jones, Esq.
5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite #440 Washington, DC 20015
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Albert L. Mueller, Jr. and Elizabeth F. Mueller Dionne, whose addresses are 208 Stepping Stone Rd., Somerset, PA 15501, 1096 River Bay Rd., Annapolis, MD 21409, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Mavis Outlaw Mueller aka Mavis O. Mueller who died on 7/17/2022 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/7/2024. 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 3/7/2024, 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:
9/7/2023
Albert L. Mueller, Jr.
Elizabeth F. Mueller Dionne
Personal Representative
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 938
Ronald Beverly Grimes aka Ronald B. Grimes Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Lisa Monica Napper and Robin Diane Jones whose addresses are 503 Capitol Heights, Blvd, Capitol Heights, MD 20743 and 6906 Briarcliff Dr., Clinton, MD 20735, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Ronald Beverly Grimes aka Ronald B. Grimes who died on March 16, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/7/2024. 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 3/7/2024, 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: 9/7/2023
Lisa Monica Napper 503 Capitol Heights Blvd. Capitol Heights, MD 20743
Robin Diane Jones 6906 Briarcliff Drive Clinton, MD 20735
Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 982
Mary Young aka Mary Young Fuller Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Selina Fuller, whose address is 1025 44th Street NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Mary Young aka Mary Young Fuller who died on June 2, 2020 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision.
All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/7/2024. 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 3/7/2024, 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:
9/7/2023
Selina Fuller Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 1010
Lucile Myers Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Evelyn Johnson, whose address is 13213 Davenport Drive, Brandywine MD 20613, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Lucile Myers who died on March 14, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/7/2024. 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 3/7/2024, 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: 9/7/2023
Evelyn Johnson Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 000990
James Daniel Moore
Decedent
Suren G. Adams, Esq. Adams Law Office, LLC 4201 Northview Drive, Suite 401 Bowie, MD 20716 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Jermaine Moore, whose address is 2003 Ruby Turn, Bowie, MD 20721, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of James Daniel Moore who died on February 28, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/7/2024. 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 3/7/2024, 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: 9/7/2023
Jermaine Moore
Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 000993
Edris L. Service
Decedent
Johnny M. Howard Houston & Howard 1001 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 402 Washington, DC 20036 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Jousett Service, whose address is 1230 Euclid Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Edris L. Service who died on July 3, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/7/2024. 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 3/7/2024, 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: 9/7/2023
Jousett Service
Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 001007
Bessye Ann Peterson aka Bessye Anne Peterson aka Bessye A. Peterson aka Bessye Peterson aka Ann Peterson aka B. Ann Peterson Decedent
Law Office Of Robert P. Newman Robert P. Newman, Esq. 8001 Wayne Ave., Suite 400 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
David Melvin Peterson, Sr., whose address is 13512 Gordon Drive, Manassas, VA 20112, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Bessye Ann Peterson aka Bessye Anne Peterson aka Bessye A. Peterson aka Bessye Peterson aka Ann Peterson aka B. Ann Peterson who died on 6/9/2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/7/2024. 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 3/7/2024, 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: 9/7/2023
David Melvin Peterson Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 001032
Tracy Rochelle Stubblefield Decedent
Colline Silvera Robinson Kirlew & Associates, PC 7731 Belle Point Dr. Greenbelt, MD 20770
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Claire Stubblefield, whose address is 830 Franklin Dr., Ardmore, OK 73401, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Tracy Rochelle Stubblefield who died on May 15, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/7/2024. 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 3/7/2024, 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:
9/7/2023
Claire Stubblefield Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 001020
Charles Lee White Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Brenda C. White and Bertha Lacey White, whose addresses are 1622 Lyric St. Pritchard, AL 36610/ 403 S Wilson Ave. Prichard, AL 36610, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Charles Lee White who died on June 5, 2022 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/7/2024. 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 3/7/2024, 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: 9/7/2023
Brenda C. White
Bertha Lacey White
Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens
Register of Wills
Washington Informer
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
“Indeed, no more than (Affidavit) is necessary to make the prima facie case.” United States v. Kis, 658 F.2nd 526, 536 (7 th Cir. 1981); Cert Denied 50 U.S. L.W. 2169 S.CT. March 22, 1982.”
COMES NOW, One, :gary-villand::harris:, the living man and Biblical assignee, to affirm the following as the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me Almighty God.
Certified Notice, of One, :gary-villand: :harris:, authorized by Constitutional law, and Biblical birthright; Deuteronomy 21: 15-17, as of September 4, 2020, did accept and claim One’s federally-protected heritage from one’s mother, :ruby-jewel: :smith: I.e., including two (2) automobiles; Forty-five (45) pieces assorted jewelry, clothing (13 mink fur coats), furniture, three (3’) foot floor safe, bank accounts, land patents issued December 27, 1883, by Southern Pacific Railroad Company; stocks dividends, financial bonds and all other earthly valuables and possessions held and maintained at the 8510 Bella Vista Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California, held in possession of the decedent, :ruby-jewel: :smith’s: first-born, biological son; passing on, September 4th, 2020, as above stated; Physical possession of the above passed, in full witness by colleagues, in the immediate presence, without prejudice to any rights thereto. All such equitable and interest claim(s) to the said Federal Patent Land is included in this inheritance noticed and recorded in the said General Land Office of California Republic.
One’s secured interest is recorded and published regarding described land above identified as Parcel No.#1, plus both adjoining lands identified as Parcel No. #1A and Parcel No. #1B, property for posterity purposes. The said land with assessors’ number is includes in the 36,726.51 acres issued December 27, 1883 issued by Southern Pacific Railroad Company. Should any man or woman wish to rebut this affidavit, she or he must do so via certified affidavit within three (3) calendar days from the posting of this notice, or as soon within thirty days of the final day of posting hereof. Any failure to do so is default and failure of response to notice of claims of facts, herein and above, he/she/they must do so on their unlimited liability under penalty of perjury.
By: :gary-villand: :harris:,1308Name: Date
August 21, 2023
Land Also Known As: 8510 Bella Vista Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino County California, is embodied in the original land patent in Section, Township, Range, Metes and Bounds
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 1045
Natasha Lewis
Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Xois Blowe, whose address is 5527 C Street SE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Natasha Lewis who died on April 21, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/14/2024. 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 3/14/2024, 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: 9/14/2023
Xois Blowe
Personal Representative
TRUE
Nicole Stevens
Register of Wills
Washington Informer
“Indeed, no more than (Affidavit) is necessary to make the prima facie case.” United States v. Kis, 658 F.2nd 526, 536 (7th Cir. 1981); Cert Denied, 50 U.S. L.W. 2169 S. CT. March 22, 1982.”
COMES NOW, (this present moment and always), One, :gary-villand::harris:, 1308, the living breathing man, affirms the following as the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me Almighty Creator God. The following truths are ‘notice’ to the world, that One, :gary-villand: :harris:, by authority of constitutional law and God given/ordained birth right (Deuteronomy 21: 15-17), as of September 4, 2020, did and do and always claim and perfect my Federal protected right to the Cars, Jewelry, Clothes, Furniture, three and one half (3 ½’) feet floor Safe, Bank accounts, Land, Stocks, Bonds and All other earthly property and values of :ruby-jewel: :smith: that is the lawful and biblical entitlement to her first born biological son, One, :gary-villand::harris:, on the above underlined date of her earthly death and spiritual passing. Ones’, claim of heritance and lawful right to secure interest in land is backed and supported by Ones’ right to own and possess the Land granted in the Federal Land Patent and recorded in the General Land Office of California Republic and signed by the then governor.
The certified Land Patent so ‘noticed’, that bears One secured interest, is evidenced and mis- identified in the Los Angeles County Recorder’s Office under color of law with assessors’ and Lot numbers in the 15,515.92 acres issued November 24, 1871. Should any man or woman wish to dispute or rebut this affidavit, claims and facts, herein above, he/she/they must do so on their unlimited liability under penalty of perjury.
By:
:gary-villand::harris:,1308
August 21, 2023
Land Constitutionally Granted Also Known As: 10518 7th Avenue, Inglewood, Los Angeles County, yet is embodies in the original land patent in Section, Township, Range, and or Metes and Bounds
AFFIDAVIT Of ‘Notice Of HERITAGE’ 3
“Indeed, no more than (Affidavit) is necessary to make the prima facie case.” United States v. Kis, 658 F.2nd 526, 536 (7th Cir. 1981); Cert Denied, 50 U.S. L.W. 2169 S. CT. March 22, 1982.”
COMES NOW, (this present moment and always), One, :gary-villand::harris:, 1308, the living breathing man, affirms the following as the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me Almighty Creator God. The following truths are ‘notice’ to the world, that One, :gary-villand: :harris:, by authority of constitutional law and God given/ordained birth right (Deuteronomy 21: 15-17), as of September 4, 2020, did and do and always claim and perfect my Federal protected right to the Cars, Jewelry, Clothes, Furniture, three and one half (3 ½’) feet floor Safe, Bank accounts, Land, Stocks, Bonds and All other earthly property and values of :ruby-jewel: :smith: that is the lawful and biblical entitlement to her first born biological son, One, :gary-villand::harris:, on the above underlined date of her earthly death and spiritual passing. Ones’, claim of heritance and lawful right to secure interest in land is backed and supported by Ones’ right to own and possess the Land granted in the Federal Land Patent and recorded in the General Land Office of California Republic and signed by the then governor.
The certified Land Patent so ‘noticed’, that bears One secured interest, is evidenced and mis- identified in the Los Angeles County Recorder’s Office under color of law with assessors’ and Lot numbers in the 15,515.92 acres issued November 24, 1871. Should any man or woman wish to dispute or rebut this affidavit, claims and facts, herein above, he/she/they must do so on their unlimited liability under penalty of perjury.
Also Known As: 1065 W. 110th Street Los Angeles, Los Angeles County California, yet is embodies in the original land patent in Section, Township, Range, and or Metes and Bounds
The certified Land Patent so ‘noticed’, that bears One secured interest, is evidenced and mis identified in the County Recorder’s Office under color of law with assessors’ and Lot numbers. The 15,515.92 acres issued November 24, 1871. Should any man or woman wish to dispute or rebut this affidavit, claims and facts, herein above he/she/they must do so on their unlimited liability under penalty of perjury.
By: :gary-villand: :harris:,1308
August 21, 2023
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 001055
Marva Louise Greene
Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Barbra J. Postell, whose address is 3718 Hill Park Drive, Temple Hills, MD 20748, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Marva Louise Greene who died on 7/14/2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/14/2024. 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 3/14/2024, 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: 9/14/2023
Barbra J. Postell Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 000994
Virginia Ruth Griffin Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Jason Jibri Griffin, whose address is 2115 Sudbury Place NW, Washington, DC 20012, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Virginia Ruth Griffin who died on July 14, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/14/2024. 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 3/14/2024, 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:
9/14/2023
Jason Jibri Griffin
Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 1013
Jerome Barbour Decedent
Valerie Edwards 1725 DeSales St., NW Suite 600 Washington, DC 20036
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Ronald Barbour, whose address is 9240 Edmondston Rd., Greenbelt, MD 20770, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Jerome Barbour who died on August 5, 2013 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/14/2024. 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 3/14/2024, 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: 9/14/2023
Ronald Barbour Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 001024
John H. Porter, Sr. Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Lorna A. Kelly, whose address is 36992 Sandpiper Lane, Selbyville, DE 19975, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of John H. Porter, Sr. who died on May 18, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/14/2024. 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 3/14/2024, 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: 9/14/2023
Lorna A. Kelly Personal Representative TRUE
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2023 ADM 001046
Antoine K. Springer Decedent
Suren G. Adams, Esq. Adams Law Office, LLC 4201 Northview Drive Suite 401 Bowie, MD 20716 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Jacqueline Y. Jones, whose address is 2635 12th Street, NE, Apt. 3B, Washington, DC 20018, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Antoine K. Springer who died on December 16, 2020 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/14/2024. 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 3/14/2024, 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: 9/14/2023
Jacqueline Y. Jones
Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 001054
Delores Pauetta Lewis-Beason Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Johnny Palmer Beason, whose address is 1311 Delaware Ave. SW S-747, Washington, DC 20024, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Delores Pauetta Lewis-Beason who died on July 23, 2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/14/2024. 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 3/14/2024, 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: 9/14/2023
Johnny Palmer Beason
Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens
Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 001036
Arvetta Snead aka Arvetta Rivers
Decedent
Robert P. Newman, Esq.
Law Office of Robert P. Newman 801 Wayne Avenue Suite 400 Silver Spring, MD 20910
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE
TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Patricia Arvetta Snead, whose address is 2 M Street, NE, Apt. 828, Washington, DC 20002, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Arvetta Snead aka Arvetta Rivers who died on 5/18/2023 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., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 3/14/2024. 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 3/14/2024, 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:
9/14/2023
Patricia Arvetta Snead
Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
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of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, but no one has followed up since.
A DMPED spokesperson told the Informer that agency staff have been in touch with Henderson's office as recently as the week of Sept. 4.
Henderson has since expressed plans to write a letter to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) that implores her to secure funding for the Give SNAP a Raise Amendment Act, legislation that the D.C. Council passed toward the end of last year to increase the monthly SNAP allotment for District residents by 10%.
INSECURITY from Page 1
that are within convenient traveling distance.
A 2020 grocery store report by D.C. Hunger Solutions revealed that Wards 7 and 8, the District's lowest-income wards, have significantly fewer full-service grocery stores than other parts of the city where residents have higher incomes.
In Ward 7, 26.6% of residents live below the poverty line while 34.2% of Ward 8 residents face a similar situation. These figures are twice that of wards west of the Anacostia River.
Supermarket tax exemptions that waive taxes and fees for grocery stores built in food deserts have been unsuccessful in bringing full service grocery stores to Wards 7 and 8, according to D.C. Hunger Solutions.
In recent years, the Bowser administration has attempted to boost food access east of the Anacostia River. In June, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) commemorated the opening of the new headquarters for the Department of General Services on Minnesota Avenue in Northeast. That move counted as part of an east-of-the-river leasing strategy to attract grocers to Wards 7 and 8.
In March, the Nourish DC Collaborative provided more than a dozen non-white food businesses in Wards 5,7 and 8 with grants, financing, and technical assistance. Additionally, the Office of Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) had nearly $11 million available via the Food Access Fund, which provides qualifying businesses with capital for the expansion of their operations to areas designated as food deserts.
The Neighborhood Prosperity Fund brought Good Food Market to South Capitol Street in Southeast
during the latter part of 2021.
Even so, the number of grocery stores in Ward 8 has remained the same. Redistricting brought Navy Yard -- a more racially heterogeneous, affluent neighborhood located west of the Anacostia River -- into Ward 8. Not long after, Good Food Market closed under the pressure of inflation.
Today, Ward 8 residents living east of the Anacostia River only have access to the Giant on Alabama Avenue. In Ward 7, residents only have Safeway, also on Alabama Avenue, along with Lidl, which opened in Skyland Town Center last year.
This summer, the threat of the Ward 8 Giant's closure, once again, sparked dialogue about food insecurity in the District’s low-income communities. The major grocer cited revenue loss from consumer theft as a major factor in discussions about whether to cease operations.
It has since reversed course, choosing instead to increase security and stop selling name brand items.
Had Giant followed through with shutting down its Ward 8 location, the loss of that grocer would've followed that of Good Food Market on South Capitol Street and Wal-Mart on the H Street corridor in Northeast.
Since entering her role as chair of the D.C. Council Committee on Health, D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At large) has endeavored to bring more full-service grocers to Ward 5, 7 and 8. Part of that effort, she told the Informer, involves pressing DMPED for a comprehensive plan to tackle food insecurity.
Henderson said she emailed Deputy Mayor Keith Anderson on Aug. 22 to inquire about the work that's underway to replace the shuttered Good Food Market. She said Anderson looped in colleagues in the Office
CURFEW from Page
of this will stop. Tell them you’re not going to give them [benefits] and you’ll take them to jail. Parents have to do the footwork.”
In explaining her support for the legislation, Henderson said that attracting large grocers to historically marginalized neighborhoods requires boosting their confidence in consumers’ ability to consistently purchase groceries throughout the month.
Henderson said the Give SNAP a Raise Amendment Act, estimated to cost more than $213 million between fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2026, can do just that at a time when inflation, hits to the agriculture industry, and higher transportation costs have increased grocery prices.
"If we do what we can to expand the purchasing power of communities using SNAP and WIC, it doesn't only benefit them, it benefits our ability to have grocery stores in these areas because now they have conducted research on who can purchase more beyond the first of the month," Henderson said. "Doing this will have a domino effect on the issues concerning food deserts."
D.C. Hunger Solutions reached a similar conclusion about the Give SNAP a Raise Amendment Act in its August report, titled “Still Minding the Grocery Gap in D.C. -- A 2023 Update.” The legislation counted among a bevy of responses to food insecurity that the nonprofit recommended.
While D.C. Hunger Solutions interim director LaMonika Jones said the legislation should be a high priority item during the next budget cycle, she also stressed the need for a more robust public transportation network east of the Anacostia River and a multisector task force that examines barriers to grocery store development.
"We had a lot of these conversations during budget season, assessing the budget when it’s handed down to make sure money is reallocated to an area of highest need," Jones said.
Read more on www.washingtoninformer.com
WI
@SamPKCollins
LV_Writes
On Sept. 2, MPD reported a shooting in Southeast that killed Zyion Turner, a 15-year-old Southeast resident. Officials also arrested three people under the age of 18 for their alleged involvement in an automobile theft that took place in July. Another shooting in Northwest claimed the lives of Mikeya Ferguson, 19, and Cle’shai Perry, 18.
The violence continued into Labor Day when MPD reported a homicide in Northeast that claimed the life of Marcus Thuman, a 29-year-old Northwest resident.
Local attorney and mother
Melody Webb called the violence gripping the District a manifestation of the government’s neglect of parents and children.
Webb, CEO and executive director of antipoverty organization Mother’s Outreach Network, told the Informer that a curfew further mires families in what she described as a punitive system that
doesn’t provide low-income parents the time, space and resources to spend time with their children and hold them accountable.
Particular institutions that Webb implicated included the education system that she said doesn’t properly address the needs of special-needs students. Those students, Webb said, become truant out of frustration with lack of attention they get in academic settings.
That’s why Webb pointed to the fulfillment of 504 plans and individual education programs, also known as of IEPs as the first place to start when addressing criminal activities committed by youth. She also said that youth need guaranteed jobs and income streams throughout the year.
Any route that puts children in contact with law enforcement criminalizes them and their parents, Webb said.
“It’s really treading on parental agency with parents being able to decide when and how children should spend their time,” Webb said.
“Some parents are struggling with work and program requirements," she added. "They lack childcare and make the choice to leave children unsupervised. Parents who want extra help risk a CFSA investigation when they reach out regarding the problems children are experiencing.” WI @SamPKCollins
Two of the lawsuits' defendants, Lexington Law and CreditRepair. com, are the largest credit repair brands in the country. The credit repair services are marketed and offered through a web of lesser-known but related entities operated nationwide and had more than 4 million customers who were subjected to telemarketing. In 2022 alone according to CFPB, the defendants had combined annual revenues of approximately $388 million.
To generate credit repair sales for Lexington Law and CreditRepair. com, defendants used a network of marketing affiliates that advertised a variety of products and services, often related to consumer credit products. Typically, according to CFPB, telephone agents pitched so-called credit repair services to the consumer, and later transferred calls to agents employed by a separate firm who would attempt to
JACKSON from Page 36 and more frequent, and to make the transition to renewable energy and energy efficiency. Biden’s Infrastructure Reduction Act again makes a down payment, but much more needs to be done.
Similarly, it makes sense to invest on the front side of life rather than pay more on the backside, to invest in childcare and head start, the universal pre-K on the front side rather than welfare, jail care and despair on the back side. Every family with children could save literally thousands of dollars a year if the government joined other industrial countries in providing comprehensive assistance for families with children.
A Federal Jobs Guarantee would help mitigate the wild gyrations of our economy that wreak so much damage to families. During downturns, the Federal Guarantee would expand and ensure that everyone has a job rather
JEALOUS from Page 36 out of the need for fossil fuels, but we certainly can drill our way to irreparable damage to the climate in just a few years.
Protecting indigenous people and their way of life in Alaska should demonstrate that we can stand firm to defend more communities on the front lines of cli-
close the credit repair sale. This second firm would be paid by defendants for each sale closed with the deceptive practices that led consumers to believe only a single entity was involved.
Court approval of the settlement will:
- Ban the perpetrators from telemarketing for 10 years: The companies will be banned from telemarketing credit repair services or selling credit repair services that others marketed through telemarketing for 10 years. The companies will also be banned from doing business with certain marketing affiliates. These bans will attach to the companies even after the bankruptcy proceedings are complete.
- Require notices to consumers: The companies will be required to send a notice of the CFPB settlement to any remaining enrolled customers who were previously signed up through telemarketing. The notice will inform consumers of the CFPB's lawsuit, the court's
than going on welfare or unemployment. During booms, the program would contract as the private sector expanded and that would help keep inflation from getting out of control.
A federal jobs guarantee would put a floor under wages across the economy, much the way a minimum wage does now, except far more effectively. That would empower workers to demand more from their employers and give employers incentives to become more efficient.
Most important, a federal jobs guarantee would keep working families from being brutalized when prices begin to rise. Instead of raising interest rates to throw workers out of work, Federal officials would focus on monopoly pricing, on price gouging, on supply chain disruptions, on the financial barracudas that jack up prices and pocket predatory profits before driving good companies into bankruptcy.
The program would be easily affordable. Every worker employed would,
mate change against the unabated greed of Big Oil. An unscathed, unmatched landscape shouldn't be the test for doing right be our neighbors and by the planet.
Too often, we've allowed a few people lacking political power and desperate for economic opportunities to bear the immediate cost of bad environmental choices. The flaw is that more often than not,
summary judgment holding, the settlement, the consumer's right to cancel their credit repair services, and the process for canceling the service.
- Impose a $2.7 billion judgment for redress: The order would impose a $2.7 billion judgment against the companies for redress. Due to the companies' financial insolvency, the CFPB will determine whether the CFPB's victims' relief fund can be used to make payments to those harmed by the perpetrators.
- Impose more than $64 million in civil penalties: The order would impose a $45.8 million civil money penalty against Progrexion Marketing and a $18.4 million civil money penalty against the Heath law firm.
"Credit repair companies that offer quick fixes are often scams that disappear with consumers' hardearned money," noted Pamela Hernandez, a regional manager with the Better Business Bureau. WI
of course, pay taxes — and not collect unemployment or welfare. With unemployment now near record lows, this is a good time to transition to a job guarantee.
Polls show, not surprisingly, that this idea is popular, particularly among working-class people across both parties. Contrary to the jibes of the right, Americans want to work in jobs with a living wage.
Donald Trump seems intent on running on revenge and retribution for what he sees as indignities and injustices of the past. Joe Biden seems intent on running on his record of accomplishments which are better than he’s given credit for — but this too looks backward not forward. Most Americans want to know what can be done to secure their futures, not re-litigate the past. Those who seek to lead this country should rouse us with their vision and their program for the future. If they do, a federal jobs guarantee is an idea whose time has come. WI
we all end up paying.
Whether it's the cancer alleys created in the communities neighboring refineries along the Mississippi or coastal towns repeatedly crushed by extreme weather, they're only the first to feel the burden. As the hottest temperatures ever recorded showed us this summer, no one can escape the toll that fossil fuel charges the planet. WI
WILLIAMS from Page 37
become a member of the Supreme Court. Thanks to Sen. Cory Booker for speaking up.
Why does VP Kamala Harris have to take the abuse she faces daily as she speaks out on issues that matter to Black people?
How can Texans allow Ted Cruz to get on television and spew vulgarity, telling people to kiss parts of his body nobody I know would even want to see, and still have the people of Texas vote for him?
How do Floridians allow Ron DeSantis to remain in office with the ignorant things he comes up with to injure Black people, and take away their opportunity to learn the truth about slavery, others — makes a mockery of both the law and the very idea of racial equity.
about Black History and advise them to be against wokeness on every subject he wants to hide?
When will Donald Trump go where criminals go so these otherwise probably decent people are no
MORIAL from Page 37
The National Urban League has joined in filing an amicus brief in the case, along with Lawyers' Com-
mittee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Action Network, NAACP, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF. As the brief explains, Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866
longer led to do stupid things on his behalf?
How can you have respect for anybody who doesn't even do the right thing to respect our laws and our democracy? WI
was explicitly designed to further the aims of the 13th Amendment by creating a remedy for discrimination against Black people that hampered their ability to enter into contracts and fully participate in the nation's economy.
Programs like Fearless Fund, which strengthen Black Americans' rights to equal participation in the marketplace, are indisputably authorized under federal law.
Fearless Fund founders Ayana Parsons and Arian Simone, both Black women with deep experience in business, estimated they took 300 meetings with potential investors before getting their first $5 million in funding.
Blum and his extremist backers apparently don't think 300 is enough. WI
CLYBURN from Page 37
a scenario in which our personnel would become contaminated with the herbicide."
Dioxin, the dangerous byproduct produced by herbicides, was found in all herbicides used in Vietnam. It is also the byproduct of trash incineration or burn pits. Doctors raised concerns about the impacts of burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan as early as 2004 but were publicly ignored by the U.S. government and military.
The Department of Defense has since closed out most burn pits and plans to close out those that remain, but they have already caused significant harm to our veterans.
Last year, under the leadership of President Biden, Congress
finally acted to address these harms. Aug. 10, 2023, marks one year since the Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act was signed into law — the largest expansion of veterans' benefits in decades.
This law significantly expands VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances. Since the PACT Act was enacted, more than 785,000 veterans have applied or submitted claims for PACT Act-related benefits, and more than 4.1 million have undergone screening for toxic substance exposure. The PACT Act also helps the VA be more responsive to veterans' needs. It authorizes the VA to expand their
workforce and construct 31 new VA facilities across the country to meet the growing demand for services and care. The outdated system of determining presumptive status for medical conditions has been modernized, and the VA will conduct research to better understand veterans' health trends. To detect early signs of toxic exposure-related diseases, the VA has started proactively screening every enrolled veteran for poisonous exposure and will provide follow-up screenings every five years.
We must continue to honor our veterans by providing them with the care and support they need to live safe, healthy lives after they return home. One year after President Biden signed it into law, it is clear the PACT Act is delivering on this sacred commitment. WI
Programs like Fearless Fund, which strengthen Black Americans' rights to equal participation in the marketplace, are indisputably authorized under federal law.
When will Donald Trump go where criminals go so these otherwise probably decent people are no longer led to do stupid things on his behalf?
