WI Bridge 10th Anniversary Issue by The Washington Informer

March 2025. Volume 10. Issue 3.

10 Year Anniversary Edition

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Lafayette Barnes IV

Photography : Lafayette Barnes IV

Layout Design :

Lafayette Barnes IV

Contributing Writers : Micha P. Green

letter from the editor

Dear Readers, This year marks the 10th anniversary of this amazing publication. From the very beginning, my goal has been to celebrate young people who are shaping the culture and defying expectations for what’s possible for creatives in the metro area. We started as a small blog, prooling our event collaborators and posting photos from our late-night SHAM parties. Today, we reach over 15,000 print readers each month, connect with millions on social media, and create experiences that will live forever in the DMV. It’s been incredibly inspiring to discover the world-class creatives in our community. I’ve enjoyed working on stories and collaborating with writers, photographers, videographers, and more to help build what has become an iconic magazine. You are the reason we exist. None of this would have been possible without the vision of my grandfather, the late Calvin W. Rolark Sr.—a civil rights activist, entrepreneur, community leader, family man, and a true visionary for this city. And of course, my mother, Denise Rolark Barnes, who has taken the helm and guided us through the digital transformation. From old-school manual print to satellite-connected social media, we’ve maintained our presence as a force for good. Thank you for taking this ride with us. Where will we go next? Lafayette Barnes IV Editor-in-Chief The Washington Informer Bridge

Photo by Semhar Zacharias

Celebrating a Decade of Publishing, Highlighting D.C. Culture Publisher Lafayette Barnes IV Reﬂects on Journey, Vision for the Future

Written by: Micha P. Green

With federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs eliminated and institutions losing funding for teaching Black history, sharing African American stories through news is one way of celebrating and preserving the culture. Lafayette Barnes IV, a native Washingtonian, media specialist and clothing entrepreneur, has long emphasized the value in highlighting District artists, influencers and trailblazers as a critical component of upliiing and sustaining the beauty and breadth of D.C.’s rich culture and heritage. As founder and publisher of The Washington Informer (WI) Bridge, Barnes isn’t concerned about how the current Trump administration or any leaders in the future view DEI and value of Black narratives. Marking the 10th anniversary of WI Bridge this year, Barnes plans to continue what he’s been doing for the past decade: publishing engaging, entertaining and informative stories that showcase D.C.’s Black culture and its influence on the nation and world. “Our goal is to highlight young influencers, changemakers, community members and entrepreneurs in D.C. who typically don’t get the recognition that we believe they should,” Barnes said. “And so no matter who the president is or what the political situation is, that always remains our goal.” For Barnes, the current political landscape presents opportunities for WI Bridge to continue growing, finding more diverse and creative ways to highlight the stories of overlooked District innovators paving paths locally and worldwide.

“The less the mainstream pays attention, the more opportunities there are for us,” he explained. “What I ooen see happening is mainstream businesses piggybacking on the ideas that African Americans or minority communities come up with. So they want to go one way and we want to go another way— that's ﬁne. It just creates less of a competition for us.” Over the past decade, WI Bridge has developed from a monthly insert in The Informer, to a multimedia outlet that includes a strong digital presence, thousands of social media followers, video projects, panels, community events and major local, national and international partnerships. With a lifetime of exposure to the Black Press— as his grandfather is founder of the 60-year-old Washington Informer and mother is the publication’s longtime publisher— Barnes is committed to providing powerful stories across platforms. In the next decade and beyond, he plans to follow technological and societal advancements to continue ﬁnding ways to build WI Bridge, while engaging and empowering the community every step of the way. “News changes every day, and we’re reacting to what’s happening every day. So we’re going to continue to do our best storytelling and represent the communities that we work with,” Barnes said. “We’re also going to continue to embrace technology and discover the best ways to reach our audience.”

Growing Up in the Black Press With publishing in his blood, Barnes has always been exposed to and understood the power of media and storytelling. However, it’s been years of honing skills in multiple ﬁelds, from marketing, photography, videography, web editing, and more, that has prepared Barnes to fully walk in his family legacy. In the beginning of his time with The Informer, it wasn’t all business for Barnes or his younger brother Desmond “DB Bantino” Barnes. “Lafayette and Desmond would come to the oﬃce as kids and act like it was a playground. They were balling up papers and the trash cans were the basketball courts, and oh, it was tough,” Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of The Washington Informer, said chuckling. “But I have to hand it to them, they made the best of their time there.” While “boys will be boys,” the Barnes brothers quickly became intrigued and involved in the family business. Barnes said spending time at The Washington Informer allowed him to soak in a wealth of knowledge. “[I was] gaining interest through basically osmosis— observing the photographers, seeing the cool pictures,” Barnes said. “And eventually I started to delve into photography, just in my personal time, and learn about photography through folks at the paper.”

For Barnes, learning photography and appreciating the newsroom, quickly turned into capturing moments around the District and using his time in school and outside of The Informer to prepare him for joining the family business. “Marketing was my major at Howard University. I became a graphic designer for a company in Alexandria for about ﬁve years aaer that and learned a lot about the corporate side of marketing and content creation,” Barnes explained. “So I hope I’ve been able to add some of that to the business.” Over time, the publisher and sustainable clothing entrepreneur began doing more with The Informer, using: his photography skills to cover events, his marketing chops to spread the word of the newspaper, and hosting events to engage with the community. “I was freelancing as a photographer and a videographer and throwing events, and just creating my own world with the skills I was learning,” he said. “Eventually, I ended up collaborating with the paper and now we’ve been doing the Bridge for about 10 years.”

Testing the Theory, Trying New Ideas Washington Informer Bridge came out of an idea to test a theory about society, and has continued to be a platform for trying out new ideas, projects and collaborations that reach the local community and beyond. “One of the reasons why WI Bridge was started was because people claimed that young folks don't read, and not only that they don't read, but they don't read newspapers. So the Bridge was our test of that ideology to determine if that's the case,” said Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of The Washington Informer. With papers ﬂying oﬀ news racks and glowing feedback in The Informer’s “Letters to the Editors,” the community quickly proved that notion wrong. “What we found, which has always been the case, folks like seeing themselves in print,” Rolark Barnes continued. “They like it online, but [it’s powerful] to know that there's a print edition, that there's something that they can pick up, and show and share.”

The Bridge has also become a go-to source for keeping up-to-date on the District’s newest creatives and changemakers, including regular articles, videos, interviews and the annual “35 Under 35” list presented in collaboration with The Media Prince and Just1PR. “We've deﬁnitely taken a lead on our video production and our inﬂuencer strategy, and things that have sort of become more important and relevant in the past [10 years],” Barnes explained. In a decade, WI Bridge has found success from Barnes’ willingness to keep trying new things as he follows the ever-evolving news cycle, technology and world. “The Bridge I think of as like a prototyping space for ideas,” said Barnes, who is able to take what he’s learning at his own publication to help grow The Informer, which is celebrating 60 years. “I'm proud of creating energy around those ideas and assisting wherever I can to try to make those ideas happen and all of our businesses great.”

For 10 years, WI Bridge has been a physical and cultural presence in the District. From early partnerships with local organizations such as Broccoli City for “Bridge All Night,” to collaborating with New Balance and City First Bank, sponsorships from The Kennedy Center, and engagement and coverage as far as Paris Fashion Week, WI Bridge isn’t just a publication, it’s become a cultural force.

Building The Bridge, Connecting the Community, Preserving the Culture Barnes has not been the only person instrumental to The Bridge’s work and legacy. Over the past years, he’s had editors such as Sam P.K. Collins, an award-winning Washington Informer reporter, Claudia Watts, an arts administrator currently with the National Gallery of Art, and activist and organizer Mahadi Lawa. These editors have been responsible for curating, gathering, and delivering content to audiences. As The Bridge’s first publisher, Collins remembers the publication in its early days and is proud to see Barnes continuing the work and mission a decade later. “I became founding editor in chief of WI Bridge at a time when me and many of my peers got swept up in the wave of Pan-African consciousness that undergirded the fight against police brutality and other manifestations of so-called white supremacy. The content matter spoke to that, and further affirmed the need for Black owned media in these times,” Collins said. Just as the publication’s original audience has continued to grow, mature and pave new paths in their respective fields, the Bridge has also evolved. “A decade later, Black millennials are the parents, aunties, uncles and leaders molding a new generation of activists, industrialists, and thought leaders. That very phenomenon speaks to the significance of the millennial generation in this time,” Collins said. “May WI Bridge continue to be a platform that speaks to various generations, each of whom, we as millennials, have the tools to engage, given the unique timing of our birth and coming of age.” 8

Barnes works with Candor Labs for web design and management, to keep the Bridge’s website up-to-date, as he stays busy publishing the monthly paper, and regularly updating the media outlet’s social media. However, he still lauds community engagement as a key aspect of keeping WI Bridge thriving. “Before the Internet…you had a direct connection with the audience. You had a very community oriented business, where now, because of social media and the digital ‘third person in the room,’ there’s a little bit of a gray area when it comes to how connected you are to your audience,” he said. “So I hope that going forward we ﬁgure out ways to keep bringing our audience in.” The entrepreneur and publisher has hosted events such as WI Bridge Salons, discussing the importance of sustainability and supporting local businesses, not only highlighting important topics, but creating space for networking and building community. D.C. entrepreneur, cultural curator and community inﬂuencer Kevin “Scooty” Hallums expressed how important WI Bridge has been to District overall District culture. “The Bridge has been a major supporter of every project I’ve been a part of over the past decade,” said Hallums, who has been a collaborator or the mastermind behind some of the District’s most treasured spaces for cultural and social connections and events. “From Rock Creek Social Club, to BCFest (Broccoli City Fest), Diet Starts Monday, and more recently with the expansion of Sandlot DC, they’re always there in some capacity. That consistency is the thing that sticks out in my mind the most. I’m forever grateful.”

Marking 10 years of creativity, storytelling and community work with WI Bridge, Barnes has no plans of slowing down, and is ready to continue highlighting the best of D.C.’s rich culture while connecting with and empowering the community through the multi platform media outlet.

“The Washington Informer Bridge will continue to celebrate emerging trailblazers shaping the future of media, entertainment, fashion, entrepreneurship, and community impact. As a hub for innovation, artistry, and leadership, we champion those redeﬁning industries and upliiing their communities,” Barnes declared. “We’re committed to dreaming bigger, pushing further, and building on our legacy to ensure our stories and voices remain at the forefront.”