VOL. 54, NO. 26 • APRIL 11 - 17, 2019
Emancipation Day Gears Up Saturday: Celebrate, Learn, Share Our History
UDC Hosts Food Justice Youth Summit / Page 20
District Poised Boko Haram Survivor’s Urgent Plea: ‘Do Not Forget Us’ Rep. Wilson Continues for Annual Advocacy for Chibok Emancipation Girls, Five Years Later Day Festivities By D. Kevin McNeir
Family-friendly Fete includes Parade, Fireworks, Star-studded Entertainment
WI Editor @dkevinmcneir
By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir The venerable citizens of Washington, D.C. have proven that they’re masters at throwing a party and what better reason to host a celebration than showcasing the annual, historic recounting of Emancipation Day which honors the courage and struggle of those who fought to end slavery and the
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5 Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-FL) hugging former Chibok girl Patience Bulus with Dr. Margee Ensign, president of Dickinson College, where Bulus is a current student during a panel discussion on Capitol Hill Tuesday, April 9. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
#DontMuteDC Movement Counters Protests over Go-Go Landmark Noise Complaints Viewed as Further Evidence of Continued Gentrification By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins For nearly a quarter century, the MetroPCS store on the corner of Florida Avenue and 7th Street in Northwest has kept residents and passersby alike jamming to the sounds of go-go, solidifying its status as a staple of authentic, homegrown D.C. culture. And it hasn’t stopped even in light of changes within the Shaw community – changes that many believe to be more evidence of gentrification
which continues to displace longtime residents and businesses in the District. However, the writing appears to be on the wall as T-Mobile’s corporate office recently told the local MetroPCS branch to cut off the music, allegedly in response to complaints from residents in nearby condos about the volume. Upon hearing the news on Monday, local activists, go-go aficionados and others rallied against what they considered as the latest assault on their way of life. “When I left school, I would fall
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5 #DontMuteDC creators and Howard University students Julien Broomfield and Asia Grant letting their voices be heard at the intersection of 7th & Florida Ave in Northwest. (Ja’Mon Jackson/WI Bridge)
It’s probably impossible to imagine having one’s daughter, still in braces and perhaps having just entered that awkward period of puberty, snatched away without warning – gone in an instance and with little hopes of every seeing her again. But that’s what happened to scores of Nigerian families when nearly five years (April 14, 2016), 276 Nigerian schoolgirls in the country’s Chibok province, days away from taking their exams, suddenly became captives of the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram after being kidnapped during the night. Some of the girls, fully aware that if they survived, they’d be forced into lives as slaves or concubines, somehow summoned the courage and ingenuity to escape – leaping from moving trucks as they sped through the forests. Others would eventually be released by their captors. But five years later, 112 of the girls still remain missing – presumably lost forever and torn from families and friends whose lives have never been the same. And as a means of remembering those still in captivity and to applaud the efforts of former Chibok girls, now young women, who continue to rebuild their lives, Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) hosted a panel discussion wrought with emotion
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Celebrating 54 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area