WINNER OF THREE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS D.C. AWARDS
Vol. 56, No. 37 • July 1 - 7, 2021
June 2021. Volume 7. Issue 6.
Center Section
New Sounds of the DMV
Don't Miss This Month's WI Bridge New Sounds of the DMV ALMOST TO AWESOME | VISH: BREAKING BARRIERS | CONVERSATION WITH ANKHLEJOHN | UNITYFEST
D.C. Pedestrian Bridge Collapse Intensifies Infrastructure Debate Recent Tragedy in Miami Further Evidence that Congress Must Act Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer
5 The pedestrian bridge at Polk Street over Route 295 collapsed onto several cars traveling on the highway on June 24. (Photo courtesy DC Fire Dept.)
Bard High School Early College Grads Garner Twofold Benefit
James Wright WI Staff Writer
Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer
GRADUATION Page 32
INFRACTURE Page 34
D.C., National Leaders Rally for Statehood on National Mall
Students Receive Diploma and Associate Degree in Leap Toward the Future
For more than a dozen high school graduates, the transition to a four-year college should prove easier after completing an academic program in which they’ve earned both their high school diploma and an associate degree, the latter free of charge. In the two years since Bard High School Early College DC’s opened its doors in Southeast, 15 youth, many residents of wards 7 and 8, have explored their academic and career interests, completed 60 hours of college-level
In the aftermath of a pedestrian bridge’s collapse on DC-295, several city officials have called for an investigation into the cause of the catastrophic event and the immediate repair of bridges that ensure pedestrian access across the Kenilworth Avenue corridor. However, some Ward 7 residents contend that the entire Kenilworth Avenue corridor, long-neglected, re-
mains in serious need of repair. Since the bridge’s collapse on Monday, June 23, D.C. resident Sherice Muhammad has been in contact with Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton’s office to garner federal support for what she described as a vast infrastructure project. Upgrades which Muhammad recommends include additional lanes and exits allowing for easier vehicular access to portions of Ward 8, the in-
5 District residents demand equality now! (Anthony Tilghman/ The Washington Informer)
District and national voting rights leaders, as well as the daughter of a former U.S. president, called on Congress June 26 to pass legislation making Washington, D.C. the 51st state of the union. They addressed an estimated 10,000 people at a rally on the National Mall that included participants of the Black Voters Matter trek through several southern states beginning June 19 and assembled on the mall to press for congressional action on the For the
People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act in addition to a District statehood bill introduced by Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.).od. The rally came just a few days after the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held its second hearing in the chamber’s history on a D.C. statehood bill. No statehood bill has been vetted by a Senate committee after a successful House vote until last week. Carper’s bill has
BLACK VOTE Page 40
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