Tribute to Dick Gregory Page 36
VOL. 52, NO. 49 • SEPTEMBER 21 - 27, 2017
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
'I Didn't Ask for Sickle Cell - It Chose Me'
'And Still I Rise' - Fitting Theme for CBCF Conference
mayor's ward 5 safety walk
Facing the Challenges of a Lifelong Disease
Annual Event Hosts Provocative Conversations in 'Age of Trump'
By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor
5 Mayor Muriel Bowser (left) and Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (far right) participate in a communi-
By Benjamin Clark Special to The Informer My name is Benjamin Clark, I am 26 years old and I was born with sickle cell disease. I have endured 166 hospital admissions, 89 blood transfusions, and endured a major surgery. SCD is a lifelong disease. People with SCD have irregularly shaped red blood cells, which cannot easily move through the small blood vessels and cause blockage, reducing blood flow and delivery of oxygen. Even though SCD is considered a red blood cell disease, it affects every type of blood cell in the body. SCD occurs in about 1 in 500 African-Americans and 1 in 36,000 Hispanic Americans. Due to my illness, I never completed high school. I remember being admitted into the hospital what seemed like every two weeks. My mom would present documents to my school proving
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ty public safety walk through Ward 5, Mon., Sept. 18. During the safety walk, officials heard concerns from residents and business leaders on a range of issues, including traffic patterns, environmental runoffs, and local business viability. Representatives from District agencies provided real-time feedback during the walk and debriefed with the mayor after the walk to reiterate specific actions that will be taken in response to each of the concerns raised along the route. The walk is one of an ongoing series of community walks sponsored by the mayor’s office to get direct insight into issues faced by residents and businesses throughout the District. /Photo by E Watson/EDI Photo
Trayon White Addresses Ward 8
By Tatyana Hopkins WI Staff Writer
D.C. Council member Trayon White gave his inaugural State of the Ward address Thursday evening at the Union Temple Baptist Church in Southeast, issuing a call for action in his quest to uplift the community. In his popular call-and-response style, White began his speech with a quote from Washington Informer Publisher and civic activist Calvin W. Rolark Sr.: "If it is to be, it is up to me." The theme of the his address, "Be Ye Ready," a reference to Biblical scripture, invoked his famous slogan, "Don't just stand there, do something!" "I believe that bad things hap-
pen when good people do nothing and my job is trying to bring those people together to ensure we have a great community to live, work and play in," he said. "We must fight for our community because if we don't stand up and stand in the gap, no one else will." Located east of the Anacostia River, Ward 8 has long been physically and economically cut off from the rest of the city's growing prosperity. The median family income in Ward 8 dropped nearly 17 percent between 2006-2010 and 2010-2015, from $28,979 to $24,096. By comparison, while it rose in Ward 2 from $114,752 to $189,324. Ward 8 has the city's highest
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5 Ward 8 Council member Tray-
on White delivers his State of the Ward address at Union Temple Baptist Church in Southeast on Sept. 14. /Photo by Demetrious Kinney
Charles Dickens, in his classic "A Tale of Two Cities" while looking at the economic and entrepreneurial conditions faced by 19th century Europe, described the situation this way: "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness … it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." His paradoxical passage accurately speaks to today's "Age of Trump" where Blacks all along Main Street USA see consistent efforts by GOP leaders and the White House to roll back clocks and renege on past promises — rights and privileges for which Blacks have fought and died to obtain. Perhaps that's why this year's 47th Annual Legislative Conference (ALC), sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) and which kicked off Wednesday, Sept. 20, yields so much significance on the lives of Blacks around the globe in general and Black Americans in particular. The conference, which continues through Sunday, Sept.
CBC OVERVIEW Page 11
Celebrating 52 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area