“The truest form of love is how you behave toward someone, not how you feel about them.” – Steve Hall Askia Muhammad Analyzes the Fiscal Cliff See Page 23 •
C e l e b r a t i n g 4 8 Ye a r s o f S e r v i c e
•
Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area / Vol. 48, No. 7 Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2012
A Civil Rights Warrior Remembered Guyot Leaves a Void That Cannot Be Filled By Barrington M. Salmon WI Staff Writer
Lawrence Guyot never backed down from a fight. Any hint of injustice, brought the warrior in him to the fore. /Courtesy Photo
Lawrence Guyot never encountered a fight he didn’t relish and that willingness to put his body, ideals and life on the line is what those who knew him remember in the days since his death on Friday, Nov. 23. Guyot, a renowned civil rights activist, died at his home in Mt. Rainier, Md., following a long illness. He is survived by wife Monica, two children, Lawrence III, Julie and four grandchildren. The Mississippi native was one of the young foot soldiers – black and white – who fought to topple the centuries-old tradition of segregation and who faced down savage packs of white racists intent on maintaining the status quo. “My best recollection is that I’ve known him since 1962 when I met him in Mississippi,” said Ward 8 Council member and four-term D.C. Mayor Marion Barry – one of the students who heeded the call for freedom … We were revolutionaries in our own thinking who stayed in Mis-
Visit us online for daily updates and much more @ www.washingtoninformer.com. Enthusiasm Builds Over St. Elizabeths Complex Page 12
Duke Ellington Offers Creative Approach to Learning Page 24
sissippi until black people were empowered. Only three percent of the registered voters in Mississippi were black but blacks made up 42 percent of the population. Everything was segregated.” Barry, 76, said Guyot came to the District in the 1960s and worked on his mayoral campaign in the late ’70s. “A bunch of SNCC [Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee] people worked at the grassroots level,” Barry recalled. “He worked in D.C. government but could not be contained by a 9-5 job. He worked for people at the city council and as an advisory neighborhood commissioner. He was an unsung hero. While a lot of people were all over TV, he was in the trenches.” Guyot became an integral part of the fabric of District politics and advocacy. Denise Reed said she first met Guyot when she worked on Eleanor Holmes Norton’s first congressional campaign in 1990. “He was always a step ahead in
Follow us on
Sports Highlights Page 34
See WARRIOR on Page 8 and on DCTV 95 & 96